Paranormal television is a genre of reality television. Its scope comprises purportedly factual investigations of paranormal phenomena, rather than fictional representations found in such shows and movies as Scooby-Doo, Ghostbusters, and Rentaghost. In the print media reports of supernatural occurrences have always been common. When TV became more and more popular stations needed to find way of differentiating themselves. Starting in the 1960’s TV stations began to feature ghost stories. This would eventually transform and develop into the programing that we have today. In 1976 the first truly popular show revolving around the paranormal came onto air; In Search of… hosted by Leonard Nimoy ultimately ran for six years. In Search Of... explored
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Over the years the networks have created and perfected a formula to do just that. This formula often causes shows within the genre to come off very theatrical in nature and is often presented at face value. Noting this, Mike Hale, New York Times Culture editor characterized ghost hunting shows as "pure theater" comparing the genre to professional wrestling or soft core pornography. The “ghost show formula” tends to be fairly consistent around the board. Usually at the start of the episode there is a belief among one or all of the protagonists that the unexplained activities are caused by a supernatural force but the resolution shows that it can be scientifically …show more content…
Our ability to correctly discern whether or not a given phenomenon really exists is something that strikes us all at the very heart of the human endeavor. Culturally speaking ghost stories and legends of hauntings have been present throughout history and seen in just about every culture throughout the world. The reason for this is quite simple; people of all types have either a fascination with the afterlife, the reasoning of death and the interaction between the living and the deceased. The same is absolutely true in the United States. One of man’s mysteries is what happens after death, to find a way to rationalize and explain the afterlife is comforting to many. Comfort, reassurance, and certainty are three things that truly satisfy the American people whether it is financial, religious or in this case paranormal and knowledge of the
Over the years the networks have created and perfected a formula to do just that. This formula often causes shows within the genre to come off very theatrical in nature and is often presented at face value. Noting this, Mike Hale, New York Times Culture editor characterized ghost hunting shows as "pure theater" comparing the genre to professional wrestling or soft core pornography. The “ghost show formula” tends to be fairly consistent around the board. Usually at the start of the episode there is a belief among one or all of the protagonists that the unexplained activities are caused by a supernatural force but the resolution shows that it can be scientifically …show more content…
Our ability to correctly discern whether or not a given phenomenon really exists is something that strikes us all at the very heart of the human endeavor. Culturally speaking ghost stories and legends of hauntings have been present throughout history and seen in just about every culture throughout the world. The reason for this is quite simple; people of all types have either a fascination with the afterlife, the reasoning of death and the interaction between the living and the deceased. The same is absolutely true in the United States. One of man’s mysteries is what happens after death, to find a way to rationalize and explain the afterlife is comforting to many. Comfort, reassurance, and certainty are three things that truly satisfy the American people whether it is financial, religious or in this case paranormal and knowledge of the