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64 The Shady Science of Ghost Hunting

Are Ghosts Real? —

Evidence Has Not

Materialized

Continued from Page 62

And, of course, with the recent development of
"ghost apps" for smartphones, it's easier than
ever to create seemingly spooky images and
share them on social media, making separating
fact from fiction even more difficult for ghost
researchers.

Why many believe

Most people who believe in ghosts do so
because of some personal experience; they grew
up in a home where the existence of (friendly)
spirits was taken for granted, for example, or
they had some unnerving experience on a ghost
tour or local haunt. However, many people
believe that support for the existence of ghosts are two possible reasons for the failure of ghost thinking. They claim to be skeptics but are very
can be found in no less a hard science than hunters to find good evidence. The first is that credulous and seem to have no real
modern physics. It is widely claimed that Albert ghosts don't exist, and that reports of ghosts can understanding of scientific methods or real
Einstein suggested a scientific basis for the be explained by psychology, misperceptions, investigation. (Audiences don't seem to wonder
reality of ghosts, based on the First Law of mistakes and hoaxes. The second option is that why these "expert" ghost hunters always fail:
Thermodynamics: if energy cannot be created or ghosts do exist, but that ghost hunters are simply Even after two seasons and over ten years of
destroyed but only change form, what happens incompetent and need to bring more science to research, they still have yet to prove that ghosts
to our body's energy when we die? Could that the search. exist!)
somehow be manifested as a ghost? Ultimately, ghost hunting is not about Though most ghost investigators' worst
It seems like a reasonable assumption — the evidence (if it was, the search would have crime is wasting time, sometimes they make
unless you understand basic physics. The been abandoned long ago). Instead, it's about nuisances of themselves and even break the law.
answer is very simple, and not at all mysterious. having fun with friends, telling stories, and the In October 2005, three ghost hunters in
After a person dies, the energy in his or her body enjoyment of pretending they are searching the Salem, Massachusetts, were arrested for
goes where all organisms' energy goes after edge of the unknown. After all, everyone loves a trespassing on private property in search of
death: into the environment. The energy is good ghost story. ghosts. They had entered an abandoned hospital
released in the form of heat, and the body is reputed to be haunted. The group was so busy
transferred into the animals that eat us (i.e., wild The Shady Science of looking for spirits they failed to notice the police
animals if we are left unburied, or worms and station across the street; all three were arrested,
bacteria if we are interred), and the plants that Ghost Hunting fined, and sent home. Trespassing or vandalizing
absorb us. There is no bodily "energy" that ghost hunters have also been arrested in
survives death to be detected with popular by Benjamin Radford cemeteries in Illinois, Connecticut, and other
ghost-hunting devices. states.
While amateur ghost hunters like to
Ghosts are big business. For entities that may or
imagine themselves on the cutting edge of ghost Ghost detectors
may not exist, they seem to be everywhere,
research, they are really engaging in what
especially during Halloween.
folklorists call ostension or legend tripping. It's When it comes to searching for ghosts, you'd
They are in books and on television
basically a form of playacting in which people think that only the most reliable methods would
shows, such as CBS's "The Ghost Whisperer"
"act out" a legend, often involving ghosts or and NBC's "Medium." Dozens of "ghost hunter" be used in an attempt to get solid evidence for
supernatural elements. In his book "Aliens, something as mysterious and elusive as a spirit.
organizations exist across North America, small
Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live" Yet in ghost hunting, often the less scientific the
groups of self-styled ghost buffs who lurk
(University Press of Mississippi, 2003) methods and equipment, the more likely a
around reputedly haunted places, hoping to
folklorist Bill Ellis points out that ghost hunters researcher is to find "evidence" for ghosts.
glimpse or photograph a spirit.
themselves often take the search seriously and Ghost hunters use a variety of creative—
The most famous ghost hunters are two
"venture out to challenge supernatural beings, and dubious—methods to detect their quarry's
plumbers who moonlight as paranormal
confront them in consciously dramatized form, presence, including psychics. Psychics not only
investigators, seen in the popular Sci-Fi Channel
then return to safety. ... The stated purpose of claim to locate ghosts but also to communicate
reality show/soap opera series "Ghost Hunters."
such activities is not entertainment but a sincere They go to haunted places and find "evidence" with the spirits, who unfortunately don't provide
effort to test and define boundaries of the 'real' any useful or verifiable information from the
of ghosts such as cold spots, photographic
world." afterlife [see a séance].
anomalies called orbs, and other such
If ghosts are real, and are some sort of Virtually all ghost hunter groups claim to
spookiness.
as-yet-unknown energy or entity, then their be scientific, and most give that appearance
The two featured investigators, Jason
existence will (like all other scientific because they use high-tech scientific equipment
Hawes and Grant Wilson, are proudly blue-
discoveries) be discovered and verified by such as Geiger counters, Electromagnetic Field
collar workers, not egghead Ph.D. scientists,
scientists through controlled experiments — not (EMF) detectors, ion detectors, and infrared
which adds to their strong "regular guy" appeal.
by weekend ghost hunters wandering around cameras [and sensitive microphones]. Yet the
abandoned houses in the dark late at night with Where are the ghosts? equipment is only as scientific as the person
cameras and flashlights. using it; you may own the world's most
In the end (and despite mountains of sophisticated thermometer, but if you are using
While one doesn't need to be a scientist to search
ambiguous photos, sounds, and videos) the it as a barometer, your measurements are
for ghosts, the pair (like most ghost hunters)
evidence for ghosts is no better today than it was worthless.
could benefit greatly from a little critical
a year ago, a decade ago, or a century ago. There (Continued on Page 65)