I'll admit it, I watch 'ghost hunting' shows. In fact, they make up about a third of the shows in my Hulu subscription. I don't know why I like them so darn much, but I really do. Maybe it's because there seem to be so many stories all around the world that seem to be related in one way or another. Maybe it's because I do believe that Spirits inhabit this world and that they can, on certain occasion, speak to us (Now "when" and "why" is a discussion for another day). Maybe it's because I've had a fascination with the paranormal ever since I was a kid and would check out all of the ghost and monster books at the Roy City Library and try to study up on them.
Oddly enough, despite my enthusiasm for paranormal investigation, I have never once had a paranormal experience. And that is probably why I like to watch these shows. It lets me vicariously live their experiences, although I would be much more skeptical of certain things that they encounter than they usually are. Plus, let's face it, it makes for darn entertaining television!
So now, for your information here are my favorite (and least favorite) paranormal investigation shows:
My favorite show to watch is Destination Truth, by far. This is mainly due to the fact that the host, Josh Gates, is actually entertaining to watch. He knows that most of the stuff he is going in search for is completely false, so he doesn't take himself that seriously. The show doesn't just deal with ghosts and spirit stuff, but actually started out by looking for legendary creatures (i.e. Bigfoot, Nessie, etc.). I think I mostly like watching it because they visit some very dangerous locations where they could very easily be eaten by large mammals or bitten by poisonous snakes. They also take time during each trip to visit the local markets and show off various cultures that you normally wouldn't see. Also, they have investigated some places where no one in the world has gotten to before such as Chernobyl and King Tut's Tomb. They typically don't find much, which is the case with many of the shows, but needless to say, it is entertaining to watch.
This was the show that started it all. Ghost Hunters is about two Roto-Rooter workers who also have a television show where they try to document ghosts for clients. Most of the time the show goes as such:
Investigator A: "Shh.... Did you hear that?"
Investigator B: "Yeah, what was that?"
Sound Guy: (In his head) "I didn't hear a #$@% thing..."
They try to be scientific about everything, but most of the time, it can get pretty ridiculous with what they are trying to do. Is it real or is it fake? I don't know, but it is entertaining! I do have to give them a tip of the hat, though, because most of the time when they reveal evidence, they throw a lot of the unsure stuff out, not giving it the benefit of the doubt.
Ghost Hunters International follows the same format as Ghost Hunters, but they get to investigate much cooler international locations than the other guys.
I recently stumbled across this show, which has potential, but is sort of a Ghost Hunters Junior type of show right now. Paranormal State is about Penn State's Paranormal Research Society, that goes out to investigate paranormal activity, just like the Ghost Hunters, but with a much smaller budget.
Hands down, the worst paranormal investigation show out there is Ghost Adventures. Developed for the Travel Channel (which explains a lot all ready about the show), it centers around Zak Bagans, a Nick Lachey look-alike who spends way too much time at the gym along with some guys from his grunge band in high school... Well, actually, I don't know if that's the real back story, but it certainly feels like it when you watch the show. Mr. Bagans is always overzealous to provoke any spirits he encounters and often the show consists of more bleeped out dialogue than actual intelligible conversation. If you stumble across this show, I highly recommend changing to the Military Channel (ch. 287 on DirecTV), even if it is another documentary on Heinrich Himmler.
And just for fun, here is a few video clips from for your viewing pleasure:
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