Is it Evidence, or Lies?

[AZDZ]

Destination Truth, Ghost Hunters, Haunted Highway, etc. etc. They all usually offer some level of "evidence" to the Paranormal question. EVP's, perhaps even a video of something truly un-explainable. Sometimes strong enough to even cause hardcore skeptics to have pause.

But is it real? Can we say the body of evidence has grown large enough to "prove" anything yet? Or is none of the evidence valid?

[Ealdwita]

The question is too 'black and white' for me, I'm afraid.

[Left-Field]

People can hold a belief in the paranormal without feeling such instances have been concretely proven.

People can also feel there is nothing of substance proving the paranormal is true, and use that as a reason to not believe in such things, without also feeling those who do believe - due to personal experiences or otherwise - are liars and / or knowingly produce faked "evidence."

[Q-C]

It doesn't matter to me what the TV shows present as evidence. I do watch them for entertainment purposes only, but not to figure out if they're faking anything. But one thing I have noticed about these shows is that they never actually say that anything is real or not to the audiences. They just say they are unexplained.

In my experience:

I've heard GH tell people straight up "Yes, you have activity" Tthey confirm entities and hauntings to their clients and whether the entities are friendly or harmful.

GA Says at the beginning of every episode "He wasn't a believer until he saw a ghost for himself" again paraphrasing.

And FB confirms bigfoot activity "Yes, you saw or have bigfoot activity"

That is why I think shows like this disclaim with "for entertainment purposes only"

Edited August 27, 2012 by QuiteContrary

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

Iv always wondered this about that show but then I mean its kind of like that other show celebrity ghost stories, Iv come to the conclusion that most of the time these people are experiencing what they describe. I mean I guess they could all be lying but there pretty convincing so I take it as them telling the truth

[Ashotep]

I think some of the people on the shows about the paranormal aren't telling the truth but I think the majority of them are. I saw a ghost a couple of years ago and until then it was harder to believe in the paranormal. Now I take it as another fact in life.

[AZDZ]

The question is too 'black and white' for me, I'm afraid.

So you're undecided whether or not presented evedence is faked or not?

[Wookietim]

It is simply way too easy and too tempting to fake evidence on a TV show. The crew controls the location, the set up and the POV of the viewer by way of the camera. Therefore there is no way I will ever believe anything on these shows beyond a "Well, that was intriguing" level. None of it is actual proof in other words.

[jenny101024]

I believe in ghosts and I am a huge Ghost Adventures fan, but I don't know if they're always telling the truth. I would have to be niave to believe everything on TV, but the show is very entertaining.

[sickpuppy]

bones101

I do watch them for entertainment purposes only

quitecontrary

That is why I think shows like this disclaim with "for entertainment purposes only"

jenny101024

...the show is very entertaining.

i'd allow one step further; edu-tainment.

did someone say EVP?

i recall some norweigan bird-watcher in the 1950's who happened to record a voice, i think he's even credited with the discovery? can't remember the name offhand...? ...swedenbourg? i think jack kerouac and william s. burroughs also did some work here. i'm unsure if these guys tried to sell their discoveries or just do it for the sake of adding to the human storehouse of knowledge. most of the information i came across was free. which i think is how it should be.

'stuff' happens... but i think it's stupid to try and 'sell it' ..it makes the whole scene like a tourist trap. it discredits real research. that's why it's packaged off as just for fun. if we started taking this stuff seriously, cripes, who knows where it'd end up? people living with a purpose, people detaching from the materialistic control matrix, looking for more out of life... no.. we can't have any of that.

[Guest Xetan]

While I hold paranormal belief, I lost faith in these shows when one of the men on Ghost Hunters was walking around with that electro-reader thing-a-majig all the ghost busting folks have these days, and held it up to a lightbulb and declared: "THERE'S A SPIKE HERE!"

[buckskin scout]

I believe all paranormal shows arent the shining example of honesty.

There is plenty of obvious scripting going around, and there is always a cliffhanger before the commercial breaks, and then the "big reveal" after the commercial breaks.

For all we know, if these people ran into a real demon, they'd in their cars so fast and flying down the highways. And the show would be either instantly cancelled ... or they would be seeking new hosts.

[ImmortalSupernaturalAlien]

Well, I myself have believed in the paranormal before my expierience. But I think that Ghost Adventures, Haunted Highway, etc. do show evidence of these things. But also it depends on someones point of view. Maybe a skeptic may watch these shows and be like "yeah, right its all fake" but, maybe the skeptic says that because he/she hasn't seen a ghost in their life. And up until they have a face to face encounter (like Zak Bagans) they finally believe that it is all true.

[ThickasaBrick]

The question is too 'black and white' for me, I'm afraid.

This exactly.

I don't think that all the "evidence" is faked or presented by liars. I do think that there is a lot of "finding what you seek". If you look for ghosts you will find them, if you look for a natural explanation you will find that also.

[AZDZ]

BTW, it's an anonymous poll so everyone can vote without fear of being attacked.

These shows do have an entertainment value but that isn't what this poll is about. Accounts of Personal Experiences by investigators or eye witnesses do not count, the final tally of the evidence is what matters here.

While I don't believe everything I see/hear, I have seen and heard things, [evidence] which forced me to make a choice of whether I believed what I saw/heard was faked or truly paranormal. A person either believes in some or all presented evidence or they don't. That is why I made the poll a yes or no choice.

[Timothy]

So you're undecided whether or not presented evedence is faked or not?

I think they mean that the majority of the evidence is not faked, but it's showing things with other explanations which are not paranormal.

I haven't watched much of this crap but that's what I think too from what I have seen.

Eg. Glasses smashing by themselves in a bar. Yes it did really happen but it can be explained.

[mysticwerewolf]

the question in the poll is too black and white for me.

Personally i believe that all the TV shows are fake at least most of the time . Even ghost hunters has gone for the scare factor in this new season. Ratings, ratings, ratings. but are they all fake all the time. or are they all real all the time i can't answer that

the ufo hunters run at the first sight of a white van or a coyote, the monster hunters run at the first sign of movement, paranormal state... well they don't hit me as ....trustworthy but due to things that have happened too me i can't discount everything they do (even though i would like to)

why do they always explore in utter pitch black, need special films and cameras and such if not for ratings most of my experiences have been in daylight or twilight ( not the movie)

the mind is a terrrible thing to try to scare

there needed to be at least one more possibility in the poll but i have no idea what it should have been

[stevemagegod]

Please take out Paranormal State in the poll as i believe PS is faked, and is for all of the drama. However that doesn't mean all of the evidence gathered by these Paranormal shows is fake.

[AZDZ]

I think they mean that the majority of the evidence is not faked, but it's showing things with other explanations which are not paranormal.

I haven't watched much of this crap but that's what I think too from what I have seen.

Eg. Glasses smashing by themselves in a bar. Yes it did really happen but it can be explained.

What about EVP's, especially when they answer a direct question. If they are not faked then they are real, right?

the question in the poll is too black and white for me.

Personally i believe that all the TV shows are fake at least most of the time . Even ghost hunters has gone for the scare factor in this new season. Ratings, ratings, ratings. but are they all fake all the time. or are they all real all the time i can't answer that

the ufo hunters run at the first sight of a white van or a coyote, the monster hunters run at the first sign of movement, paranormal state... well they don't hit me as ....trustworthy but due to things that have happened too me i can't discount everything they do (even though i would like to)

why do they always explore in utter pitch black, need special films and cameras and such if not for ratings most of my experiences have been in daylight or twilight ( not the movie)

the mind is a terrrible thing to try to scare

there needed to be at least one more possibility in the poll but i have no idea what it should have been

That is why I made it so black and white. a middle option would have been too easy to choose. This is about either believing it or not, period.

Please take out Paranormal State in the poll as i believe PS is faked, and is for all of the drama. However that doesn't mean all of the evidence gathered by these Paranormal shows is fake.

I don't mean the TV show, I mean PS as in, something we can see evidence for but cannot absolutely explain. I have witnessed the paranormal state, I believe what I witnessed was real but what it was I witnessed I cannot say. I can only say it wasn't faked.

[mysticwerewolf]

my bad, i was under the impression you ment the TV shows. Yes the paranormal is as far as i am concerned very real and like so many other i have no idea what it actually is. but it is there.

[thorn-v]

I think some are faked, some are real, and some seem like evidence but have other explanations. On the other hand I think some things that are thought to have have normal explanations might have supernatural sources too.

[JGirl]

whether there is evidence to prove ghosts exist or not, you will not ever see it on one of these programs.

it's tv folks. it's all about the ratings.

[AZDZ]

I disagree JGirl.

Now I'll give you the possibility of some "visual" fakery / mis-identification but EVPs can and do occur. I've caught them myself, directly answering my calls for them to respond.

Which sounds more likely here - paranormal activity, or someone monitoring the ether on the offhand chance they intercept someone looking for EVPs and adding a response to trick investigators with? Really, a paranormal explanation makes more sense than some sort of conspiracy, wouldn't you agree?

Edited November 3, 2012 by AZDZ

[mysticwerewolf]

I have to agree with jgirl, It's all about ratings, and i personally don't trust the majority of them to give honest researches with that being said it is always possible they will find something real.

[AZDZ]

I'd be happy to agree as well, providing someone explains my EVP experience. Till then EVPs remain the most irrefutable evidence for the paranormal imo.