Mustafa Gatollari is one of the investigators on the TV show "Ghost Hunters" and host/producer of the series "Haunted Discoveries." While he writes that "there are too many people who've had too many strange experiences to discount the pursuit of paranormal research as a pastime for deluded hobbyists," he doesn't take kindly to TV fakery of evidence suggesting ghostly activity. For example, there's the oft-cited claim that weird occurrences are sometimes tied to aberrations in electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) measured by an electronic instrument. Thing is, the radio signals from walkie-talkies, a common tool wielded by TV ghostbusters, are known to mess with analog EMF meters. And that's just one of the tricks of the trade, Gatollari explains in the The Independent:
Let's take another popular ghost-hunting "tech" trope: flashlight communication. The technique behind this works as follows:Get yourself a twist on/off flashlight and "split the difference" so that the device teeters in between being fully engaged and not. You want to loosen it just enough so that if you tap the flashlight, it will flicker on.
Now set the flashlight down and begin your line of questioning, or invite entities to come and touch the device in order to communicate with you. The theory behind this trope is that the electromagnetic energy from the entities "touching" the flashlight will create enough juice to connect the bulb to its power source, resulting in a beam of affirmation.
Many investigative programs will stitch together video snippets of this "communication" to make it seem like the flashlight is going off after questions are being asked.
In this footage, a burning RV is consumed by fire. As the conflagration rages within, the starter motor shorts and the horn starts blaring and the vehicle lurches into motion, rolling into life like a blazing ghost ship. No-one was within, and no-one was harmed in the incident. Thumbnail Image: Pxhere (public domain) READ THE REST
Grant Morrison's The Invisibles is one of my absolute favorite comic book series of all time. I fell in love by the middle of the very first issue, when King Mob, Morrison's pseudo-self-insert in the story, performs some ritualistic chaos magick to summon the spirit of John Lennon. My young mind was blown by this… READ THE REST
On May 6, 2022, the union representing writers from Buzzfeed News ratified a contract with their parent company. Hooray! That's good news. Better news is that Buzzfeed News is — as far as I'm aware — the only media union that includes legal protection against ghosts. (Full disclosure: I am a member of the Wirecutter… READ THE REST
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Education has changed a lot as the tides of technology have changed with it for the better (well, mostly). Scholastics are nothing new to you. However, as someone who gets a kick… READ THE REST
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn't mean your adventures have to stop. Whether it's a business trip or weekend galavanting around town, broadening your world can be… READ THE REST
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Nothing's worse than trying to find that random image someone sent you, however many months back, frantically searching through email threads for something that looks familiar. Not only is that stressful, but it's… READ THE REST
Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms of Service.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise sales and affiliate links. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy.
Who will be eaten first? Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines.
Boing Boing is published under a Creative Commons license except where otherwise noted.