But at night I'm a junk food junkie

Hi, my name is Steve, and while I appear to be a normal, rational human being, I (not so) secretly watch Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Channel (note to scifi.com, not everybody has broadband). Ghost Hunters is a "reality TV show" about The Atlantic Paranormal Society, which is one of many organizations dedicated to "hunting" ghosts (and since they've hit it big, well, let's just say there have been changes, congrats guys, but really, a TapsCon?).

So, why do I watch? Well, it's good TV (or at least when they do it right it's very good). The International version doesn't do it for me, so here I'm just talking about the US version. And it's one of SciFi's most popular shows, so I'm not the only one.

Let's get some things out of the way. On the show, they like to say they're scientific. "Rational," sure. "Methodological" yes, they are. "Skeptical" well, it's a matter of degrees. "Scientific" not so much. At least they've stopped looking for "orbs" (which consumed much of Season 1's "Findings" time - when they review their tapes, I don't think they ever found one that was credible). Their reliance on some tech is a little iffy, as I don't think they've proven what they're seeing. But some of it helps them find rational explanations for some of the "ghost activity."

Now, if you haven't watched it, you should know that most places they go to, they don't find anything (or, in the past two years, they have found two places that have tried to fake evidence). Much of the "ghost activity" they find a rational answer to explain it. So in that sense, they do pretty good. The crew they have now works pretty well together, and they get along (not exactly the experience of Season 1 and parts of Season 2). They're like family. As one of the "investigators" said of one of the two founders, "He's like a brother to me. A big, mean, older brother" (they sometimes play practical jokes on each other). They go to "famous" haunted places (places they have tours of) and private homes. They mix it up (although they're now going to more famous places).

If you accept the basic premise that it is a reality show, and the producers (or the cast) aren't doctoring the tape, some things they've had on are interesting. The EVPs they have I tend to discount, on the whole. But there are some things on video that, other than them doctoring the tape, I would have a hard time explaining how they did it (to be fair, there's somethings they've had that with proper prep I could pull off and make look realistic). There was an episode halfway through Season 2 where they go to a lighthouse in Florida. That was a very interesting episode. I highly recommend it (if their site wasn't so damn slow I'd get you the number, and maybe a link to the video).

So, again, why do I watch it? It's the only "paranormal investigation" show I can watch. With some of the others I'm rolling my eyes by the first commercial break. Some are just so damn annoying I can't stand it. It's also one of the few "reality shows" I can watch. But I'm watching it for writing research. They answer a lot of questions, and it opens that world to me (like categorizing "paranormal" activity, the tech, the methods, how they move and talk, and some of the lore and history of hunting ghosts). You never know what you can find out.

It could be little things. Like "haint blue" (this wasn't from Ghost Hunters, but I've been thinking about it lately, and the house she references in the article is close to where I live, relatively). In Appalachia, especially in the hills, there's a custom of painting the ceiling of porches a specific shade of blue. I had noticed this before from Tennessee and some of being in West Virginia (even in Southern Ohio I remember seeing one). When I asked about it I was told "so it looks like the sky." Well, the person who told me that was blowing smoke. Turns out the blue is "Haint Blue." As a writer of fantasy, dark modern fantasy, horror and ghost stories, this kind of detail is what turns my knobs to 11.

There's been a lot of info on the show that I can use. How a ghost haunts (they're not all the same). If you're looking to hunt down the ghost, and your house has activity all over except for one room, the ghost hangs out in that room (and doesn't like it when you invade it's space, this is for "intelligent hauntings"). What happens in the room when a ghost "manifests"? What can a manifestation look like? What is a haunted house like? How do people behave around ghosts? Now I know.

And like I said, it's plain fun, good TV; very entertaining.