Post by numbuheightbitstar on Jan 17, 2006 5:54:23 GMT
So, I look to see what Sci-Fi channel's marathon of the day is, and it turns out to be this paranormal investigation show called "Proof Positive: Evidence of the Paranormal." Now, this being on a channel whose name stands for "Science Fiction," and remembering that this was the same channel that did a documentary on the Blair Witch, I went in with a grain of salt.
Turns out I was right to do so. The first case they bring up is about a haunted VIP room in a hotel. They talk about how the spirit is usually friendly and all, and stuff, and then about how nobody ever wants to clean that room because it's supposedly haunted (yet on camera, the room looks spotless... oh, and isn't the ghost supposed to be friendly?)
But that's not the best part. Oh no.... the real fun comes when this one girl is describing her sighting. She points at the bed, and says "There was a ball of light hovering right there."
"You mean like THAT?" I say, pointing at the upper edge of the screen where, in fact, a lightbulb is plainly visible, in the exact area the girl is pointing out!
The girl goes on to talk about how this light hovered in place and then disappeared.
On a later episode in which they covered the Chupacabra, the show featured a "self-styled expert." "Self-styled" of course, meaning he's some guy who no one has ever heard of and probably has no real credentials (In fact, it's funny how I always see these "experts on the paranormal" only once or twice, and always only in one show).
As a kid, I really bought into this paranormal stuff, and even today I can't help but be a little curious about it. But when I see shows like this on TV nowadays, really my first reaction is to laugh and look for holes and flaws rather than take it seriously. But then, with how much of a splurge in shows of this nature there has been since 1990, maybe I'm justified in being skeptical.
Particularly when a Science Fiction channel is trying to run "documentaries."
.... And while I'm at it, since there's many people here who believe in ghosts and have gone so far as to believe they've been stalked by them, I would like to refer you to The Skeptic's Dictionary, in particular their page on ghosts. Hopefully this will quell your fears.
Turns out I was right to do so. The first case they bring up is about a haunted VIP room in a hotel. They talk about how the spirit is usually friendly and all, and stuff, and then about how nobody ever wants to clean that room because it's supposedly haunted (yet on camera, the room looks spotless... oh, and isn't the ghost supposed to be friendly?)
But that's not the best part. Oh no.... the real fun comes when this one girl is describing her sighting. She points at the bed, and says "There was a ball of light hovering right there."
"You mean like THAT?" I say, pointing at the upper edge of the screen where, in fact, a lightbulb is plainly visible, in the exact area the girl is pointing out!
The girl goes on to talk about how this light hovered in place and then disappeared.
On a later episode in which they covered the Chupacabra, the show featured a "self-styled expert." "Self-styled" of course, meaning he's some guy who no one has ever heard of and probably has no real credentials (In fact, it's funny how I always see these "experts on the paranormal" only once or twice, and always only in one show).
As a kid, I really bought into this paranormal stuff, and even today I can't help but be a little curious about it. But when I see shows like this on TV nowadays, really my first reaction is to laugh and look for holes and flaws rather than take it seriously. But then, with how much of a splurge in shows of this nature there has been since 1990, maybe I'm justified in being skeptical.
Particularly when a Science Fiction channel is trying to run "documentaries."
.... And while I'm at it, since there's many people here who believe in ghosts and have gone so far as to believe they've been stalked by them, I would like to refer you to The Skeptic's Dictionary, in particular their page on ghosts. Hopefully this will quell your fears.