Ghosts & Hauntings

Covid uncertainty fuels interest in the paranormal

By T.K. Randall
October 17, 2021

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) The recent uncertainty and anxiety experienced by many due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has had a rather unexpected side effect in the form of an increased interest in the paranormal.

In the UK, TV and streaming shows centered around supernatural themes and plotlines - such as the BBC comedy 'Ghosts' and the Netflix series 'The Haunting of Bly Manor' - have seen a considerable uptick of interest.

Danny Robins, the man behind the popular BBC podcast 'The Battersea Poltergeist', believes that this is down to the "chaotic, uncertain times we find ourselves in."

"It's the biggest question possible: does something happen to us after we die?" he told The Guardian.

It's a trend, he argues, that has been seen before - in particular following traumatic events."You can draw a line between now and after the first and second world wars when there was a boom in supernatural interest and it was linked to people trying to process grief, chaos and uncertainty, and organised religion couldn't fill that gap," he said.

His drama/documentary about the Battersea Poltergeist, for instance, proved an unexpected hit - so much so in fact that it has since spawned a TV show and even a live national tour.

Anything and everything paranormal seems to be receiving more interest than it normally would.

"When we're losing people close to us then that's the point we go reaching for ghosts," said Robins.

"The stakes are much higher... it's something we all relate to as we have skin in the game; we want to know if there's life after death."

Source: The Guardian

Tags: Ghost, Haunting, Covid