Watching and Waiting for GH and Evaluating the New Kid on the Paranormal Block

Syfy aired a new Ghost Hunters episode last night that caused a bit of an uproar. Why? First, because it was aired at 8:00 p.m. EDT instead of the usual 9:00 p.m. Next, it was believed by many to be the first episode of the NEW season, and oops! no, that won't begin until August 24th, apparently, with GHI episodes beginning in July. Third, the team investigated a museum in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and we viewers never saw the Reveal because at the end, Jason and Grant received a call from Steve (who was not with them due to his reluctance to fly), that there was an emergency case involving a young child back east who was experiencing interactivity with unseen entities. So neither the Reveal nor the new case was shown. It feels as if we're all holding our breath--waiting to exhale, so to speak--to know what evidence was uncovered in the Pearl Harbor investigation and what is happening with the young child case. Why didn't Syfy just make it a longer episode? Or why not have a special second day of Ghost Hunters to give us the reveal? Even Jason Hawes seemed caught off-guard by the strange scheduling in his Facebook post about the show.

Only those in TV-land know for sure, but one reason may have been the debut of Haunted Collector, a show about yet another paranormal investigation team, this time one that investigates items that may be the source ofparanormal activity in a location. John Zaffis says he's been doing this work for about 40 years. He oversees the Zaffis Museum in Stratford, CT, where he has on display the items that he has removed from locations because they've been causing problems for those who've owned them. Ironically, we don't know from the show whether or not these items continue to wreak havoc once placed in the Zaffis Museum (the web site says they are cleansed for display purposes--I assume that means "spiritually cleansed"). And, how is it that he gets to keep these pieces--some of them apparently being valuable antiques? I question the process. He goes in, determines through his own methods that an item has a spirit attached to it, takes the item from its owner, and puts it in his museum on display. Does he charge admission to people to come see these items? Seems as if the former owners should at least get a tax deduction for donating to the museum.
One place featured in last night's inaugural episode was the Deep River Public Library (not li-berry) in Deep River, Connecticut, where children were reportedly afraid to stay based on sitings of a shadowy woman in black on the stairs and in one of the rooms. A typewriter in the attic (a valuable antique in excellent condition) was also making noises in the attic as if someone were throwing the return carriage and causing it to "ding." A large built-in cast iron stove in the back kitchen was also a significant item of interest in the building. John ended up with the typewriter for his museum, though I'd bet if he could have wrangled that stove out of the library, that would have ended up in the museum, too, as an item related to the haunting.

I really wanted to like this new show. I know people who have had items in their homes that purportedly caused strange occurrences to occur. It makes sense to me that it could be possible for a spirit to become attached to something--enough living people do so (to their cars, their homes, their jewelry, etc.). But I got the sense that this was a less-than-satisfying copycat version of the typical paranormal investigation program, except focused on individual antiques as the source of the problem--rather than, as most of the paranormal shows allude to, past issues involving violence, extreme emotion, or high energy. However, John did attribute an emotional attachment to the typewriter by its assumed former owner as the reason for the haunting and attachment to the object. For me, it was a stretch. And it bothered me to see him take the typewriter from the library for his museum.

The other investigators working with him were his son and daughter, and two relatively attractive others--a tech guy, Brian Cano, who I'd bet was brought in to attract an audience of both males and females; and a young attractive woman, Beth Ezzo, "lead investigator" who may or may not be intuitive -- it was suggested but denied at the same time. Having the family working together on the show and its subject matter being paranormal brought to mind Mary Knows Best, the reality show about psychic Mary O and her family. The difference was that Mary Knows Best seemed to be showcasing the family issues and less the psychic readings than Haunted Collector is doing. However, there does not seem to be much new information imparted by Haunted Collector to differentiate it from say, Ghost Hunters--the apparent reigning paranormal investigation program of the day. And, as a matter of fact, the presentation is less detailed and clear than that of Ghost Hunters or GHI.

All that being said, I don't believe that it is impossible for this show to craft itself into a better and more unique offering that does not ride on the coattails of Syfy's other paranormal investigative programs. It is too similar at this point and, therefore, too easy to make comparison to Ghost Hunters. It is also taking over the 9:00 p.m. slot normally reserved by one or another Ghost Hunters-related program, and GH fans may not like their comfort level being toyed with.

I would be more interested in seeing John Zaffis talk about the items in the museum and how he acquired them, with interviews with the former owners of the objects and any footage of those investigations. I also found it interesting on his Zaffis Museum website that he has the items cleansed so that they will be "safe" to view. The website also says that some items are not displayed because they cannot be cleansed to such a degree of being non-threatening. Now THAT is interesting. Don't give me a poor imitation of Ghost Hunters; give me something NEW in a new way--like how the objects are cleansed, what the research is that such objects may be...possessed (?). Give me some advice as a possible owner of such a haunted object. And let us know how to find the right people to deal with these things. John says on his website that there are reasons not to destroy these objects--that burning or destroying them in some cases could unleash some undesirable consequences. Such as what? Educate the public with the show, don't just pacify them with yet another of what has worked elsewhere -- a paranormal investigative team with meters and cameras, SYFY guys and ladies. Think a bit outside the box, like you did with Fact or Faked Paranormal.

What people want to see in paranormal reality television is whether or not there are trustworthy people giving information that viewers are seeking to find out about, in a believable and informative way. Reality TV, to many people these days, is almost as important as news or educational television.

So, John Zaffis and team, I wish you the best in your endeavors to make your area of expertise more widely known, however, I am not a fan of the format being used in the show. But, I believe with some tweaking ,it could work in its own right.

Let the Deceased Decide

Check out my article TLC's Paranormal Court is in Session on Technorati about the newest paranormal show featuring medium Robert Hansen, from Long Island.

Here is a preview from YouTube.

A number of years ago I had gone to a Borders book store where Hansen appeared in front of a group of believers hoping to get a message from beyond. A good friend of mine did get messages from her brother -- or at least answers that fit the personality of her brother. I thought some of those answers could have been from the person I was hoping to hear from -- my grandmother--but I didn't claim them and my friend did.

I subsequently went to see Hansen give audience readings (a la John Edward's gallery), which he did at the time in his karate school in Wantagh, Long Island. I did not get a reading that night, though I paid to be there. I noticed a few years ago that Hansen was doing regular Saturday night audience readings for a reasonable price on Long Island, and never had the chance to go. It just bothered me to keep paying to go, and not to get a reading.

At least the Spiritualist church in NYC where I went to a seance gave everyone a reading who paid to participate -- don't know if that is a good or a bad thing -- makes you wonder if they are really getting a message or just making sure you get your money's worth so that you'll keep coming back.

Unfortunately, I was out of town the night this aired and I was unable to DVR it. I asked a friend to tape it, which he did, and he accidentally taped over it. So I guess I wasn't meant to see the show. However, I understand that he gave readings similar to the way Lisa Williams did on her show "Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead" but that Hansen has a specific mission of solving disputes, and that when he gave the answer, everyone agreed to abide by the "ruling."

For a couple of reasons I hope Hansen's show succeeds -- one reason is the selfish fact that I am writing about paranormal television for my dissertation and the other medium shows have been cancelled, for the most part, except for Psychic Kids. The other reason is that I think Hansen is a good medium and a really nice person. I just don't know if the whole premise of the show will fly or at least be sustainable for the long haul. I think just doing a basic show about a medium's work is better than a medium with a gimmick, but this show is airing when the others are not (Cross Country with John Edward, and Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead).

Good luck, Robert. Hope to see more of your show, and more of your peers.

The Haunted on Animal Planet

I think it's great that just about every cable station has one or more paranormal reality show on it. When I saw that Animal Planet had a show about hauntings (The Haunted) I laughed. What could the rationale possibly be for Animal Planet to be showing a ghost show? Duh! Animals are more aware and sensitive to paranormal activity. Of course!

Which begs the question then why, if animals can sense things that we cannot, are they not brought in for these threats more? They are used to find bombs, bed bugs and bodies and other things that have specific smells. Even with the terrorist threat, they bring in expensive technical equipment to look at us naked. Instead, have a team of dogs each with its own special scent tracking capability and have them walking around the security lines at airports. Then pick the people off the line and forget about questions of racial and ethnic profiling, the dog would give reason for checking them out.

By the same token, we have a whole show about how sensitive animals are to the paranormal and ghosts and demons and spirits, etc. Why then do we have a gazillion paranormal investigation shows -- plumbers, cops, Texans, college students, mediums, private eyes, etc.-- and not ONE of those groups uses dogs or other animals to detect the presence of spirits. (the canary in the coal mine, so to speak). They have EMF detectors that MAY or may not reveal paranormal activity. They have digital cameras, digital voice recorders, infrared, full spectrum cameras, thermal imaging cameras. All kinds of man-made devices -- they even have psychic mediums who, I guess, could be called the "dogs" of the human race -- who are more in tune with these non-physical presences than the rest of us. But you have to PAY psychic mediums for their time. You can just FEED a dog and throw them a biscuit. Give them a place to sleep at night.

Last night's The Haunted on Animal Planet featuring Carrie, her sister and mother moving into a haunted house prompted me to wonder why, if people realize something is wrong, do they choose to ignore it? Obviously the dogs were barking for a reason. They were acting strange as if there were an intruder. They were acting afraid. Why do people ignore that? (on a side note, I read an article by a man who said that the behavior of the dog during the Nicole Brown Simpson murder should have been part of the evidence because that specific breed behaves in a different way around its master than it does around a stranger, and that dog behaved in a way that indicated the master was present at the murder scene--in other words a stranger did not commit the murder, OJ did). But I digress.

The other thought I had was that people do not believe what is happening because society tells them that these things are not possible or people who believe in spirits, ghosts, demons, psychic phenomena are kookie. We have no place to get legitimate information (other than these paranormal shows--which is another risk of being considered kookie, if we believe what's shown on these programs), so there is no place to really get such information on demons, spirits, and what is known and what is normally done. This family knew something was not right but thought by ignoring what they saw going on that life would be normal for them. When their dogs are barking and trying to protect them in the middle of the night from things they did not see, they go under the covers. They have no knowledge of how to get psychic and spiritual protection. Even religious institutions do not give much credence (publicly) to these encounters or make known what they would recommend in the face of a demonic haunting or a negative entity attacking someone. Paranormal media actually is the only place where one finds out about burning sage, the St. Michael prayer, excorcism or house blessings, demonologists (like Lorraine Warren), rescue mediums, Native American beliefs about the dead. What we don't know can hurt us, and it is what these people don't know that leaves them vulnerable.

Another question I had was about real estate -- trying to sell a home that is known to be haunted or have demonic activity. I wonder if there is a haunted real estate site that let's people who are interested in being in such a place know where they can buy one. If you are afraid people won't buy it because it is haunted, then figure out a way to market to people who WANT to live in a haunted location. Perhaps paranormal investigative teams could buy such a place and use it to train new people -- like Ghost Hunters Academy did in specific haunted locations. Once on Ghost Hunters a southern paranormal investigative team brought in TAPS to allow them to train a new investigator in a house they knew to be haunted. Why not buy up these places as training grounds for teams. An offsite training weekend for the paranormal.

On another note, I am seeking people who watch paranormal television to tell me their stories about why they watch and whether the programs have changed their views on the paranormal, and if not paranormal, death and afterlife beliefs.

High EMFS on Ghost Lab vs. Ghost Hunters

Has anyone else noticed that when Jason and Grant's team members on Ghost Hunters are getting high EMFs around electrical wiring or pipes, etc., they do not attribute any of those readings to paranormal activity? They say that the high EMFs make people feel as if they are being watched or can give them hallucinations or make their hair stand on end. But they discount claims by people based on those traceable EMF readings.

On the other hand, Barry and Brad Klinge on Ghost Lab attribute those areas of traceable high EMF readings to being a cause of paranormal experiences.

So basically Ghost Hunters says areas that create high EMFs due to a high number of electrical connections cause a PERCEPTION of paranormal activity that is not valid, while Brad and Barry claim those areas that generate high EMFs are like a "nest" that draws out actual paranormal events.

ASSAP web site does talk about this on their website under "Ghosts, Baselines and EMF meters."
Here is an excerpt from their article about EMFs and hauntings:

Can EMF meters detect paranormal activity? Given the problems outlined above, it seems unlikely. In summary:

•EMF meters cannot show frequency data so that different readings cannot be compared
•there are many natural sources of variability and spikes in low field areas (including non electrical sources) which cannot be easily distinguished with EMF meters
•EMF meters cannot identify 3 phase interference
•EMF meters cannot identify fields capable of causing hallucinations (EIFs)
In addition, EMF meters are often not used in the best way they could be. Problems include:

•baselines at the start of vigils which are little better than random
•what constitutes 'paranormal activity' is often poorly defined making comparisons between different vigils and different sites problematic
•mediumistic information is sometimes included as 'activity' even when nothing is witnessed by non-mediums
•paranormal activity is not always investigated exhaustively to eliminate natural causes

Brad and Barry do an EMF "sweep" prior to the investigation -- getting an overall baseline reading of the entire area. Jason and Grant don't show that they do that (they might, but we don't know). ASSAP says that a proper baseline EMF reading should be taken over a 24-hour period prior to an investigation, and that there are other types of readings, called EIFs (varying magnetic fields), which may explain possible hallucinations that seem like a haunting.

ASSAP says the best way to do EMF readings is:

A single baseline measurement is therefore not very helpful. A much better solution is a 'positional baseline'. With this sort of setup you position a pair of EMF meters so that one is in a 'hot spot' (where lots of paranormal activity has been reported) and the other in a control area (somewhere nearby and as similar as possible but with no reports of activity). In this setup, instead of comparing readings to a more or less random baseline, you compare contemporary readings in different places. The 'control' instrument effectively provides a continuous baseline for the 'hot spot' one. It is then easy to spot if there are higher readings at the hot spot compared to the control.

I have not seen any of the paranormal investigation teams doing this or reporting this methodology being used in an investigation.

A new show called Paranormal Cops debuts this week on A&E, Tuesday night.

Keep up to date on paranormal reality shows being aired each week by following @dhdobry on Twitter.

When All the World Watches the Paranormal

It is Halloween week again -- sweeps week for paranormal television programming. Ghost Hunters has their annual LIVE event (though, as this article describes, it is not like past years) and now Ghost Adventures is having one the night before Halloween. The Bio Channel's new show, Celebrity Ghost Stories, is also having a Halloween night marathon.

I actually like Celebrity Ghost Stories, which I will go into in more detail in another post, but it's a great idea -- mixing celebrities and the paranormal. People who are not necessarily well-versed or even interested in the paranormal might be interested in the celebrity aspect of the show. And people who ARE interested in the paranormal may be even more fascinated by celebrities reporting their own experiences. Celebrities help ratings, help popularity of an idea, and bring their own value to a story.

Cable television has a lot to offer this week. The History Channel has programs on haunted cities like Washington and Hollywood. They have shows on Haunted History of Halloween and a great Halloween History page on their website.

Even the Travel Channel has documentaries about hauntings for Halloween. Their website has its own Halloween page, including Haunted Travel Destinations, Haunted Hotels and the Top 10 Creepiest Places among lots and lots of other shows about haunted locations around the world. Plan your next year's vacation as you watch!

Lately, John Edward's show on WEtv (John Edward Cross Country) has been noticeably absent, but this Thursday and Friday several episodes are scheduled to be shown.

As this blog is only focused on reports of actual hauntings, communications and paranormal activity, these are the only programs and websites that are mentioned. But this week also invites a host of movies and other paranormal shows featuring ghosts, vampires, demons,crazy murdering masked men, and other productions that quite often are focused on death, spiritual activity and the afterlife. A listing on this Inside TV blog gives a more comprehensive schedule of shows that will be aired this week, many of which are only available intermittently throughout the year (though nowadays, between the Internet and Netflix, its often possible to see them "whenever").

Look for upcoming reviews on Ghost Lab, Celebrity Ghost Stories, and a report on my new LEAST favorite paranormal program.

Welcome to the Continuation of Life After Life

This is a continuation of the original blog Life After Life Ghost Hunter, which was too cumbersome a title to search for.

I will review paranormal television programs, news, authors, books, web sites and other topics related to life after life and spiritual beliefs. Keep checking back for information on an upcoming new venture -- an internet radio program on research behind the paranormal and spiritual beliefs.

Halloween and Ghost Hunting

It is interesting that during Halloween week, ghost hunting is the focus. In fact Ghost Hunters, the TV show is going live tonight. They bring in viewers interactively by having connection to their web site in which viewers can press a button to let the investigators know if they saw something. That opens up a lot of doors to pranksters – they said last year they got 10,000 hits on that button! How annoying would that be to have people pranking them. But at the same time, the show is 7 hours long tonight – from 7 pm to 2 a.m. and hopefully it will be better than the Geraldo live show looking for Al Capone’s treasure.

What is interesting to my study is that people are getting information from a mediated event and they are participating with the television show through the Internet, another mediated aspect of the experience. So it is an event in which possibly millions of people are coming together to watch and/or interact around a paranormal-based reality event – to share a lived experience, discuss it, investigate it (albeit through the representation of the show’s experts and their visitors), and be able to determine among themselves if there is evidence, what the evidence is, and what that means to them. It brings to mind the idea of taking “science” into their own hands… something perhaps blasphemous to a trained scientist, but it is in the same vein as when the bible was put into the hands of the masses (via Gutenburg’s press) and people, rather than priests, were allowed to read and interpret for themselves the words of the bible. In a way, television and other forms of media are allowing people to look at this controversial “pseudo-science” as paranormal research has been called, and to determine for themselves if they think there is something to it.

However, the use of media can make the evidence suspect because there is always the possibility of doctoring the video or audio footage. It would be great if the show would occasionally focus on the steps they take to make sure that these images and sounds are legitimately captured and not added or created by the production company – a topic of discussion I have seen on Internet chat groups about the show. They do have investigators, like Donna LaCroix , who are scientists – she is an engineer, apparently, and it would be helpful if the show played up the more objective and scientific (to whatever degree they can) aspects of what they do. They say what the theories are, but who came up with these theories about EMFs and cold spots? That is a big criticism by skeptics that there is no “proof” – and that is a misguided term, they should say “evidence”—that entities give off high EMFs. But perhaps they do, and this show is making an effort to show that evidence. If there are scientists that they work with, it would be great to see input from those scientists and to know who they are and what their credentials are.

While Ghost Hunters does appeal to those who may too easily believe, it also appeals to those who are well-read in these areas and the just-plain-curious among us who want to see what they are doing. There are even web sites that show amateurs who try to do the same thing themselves. But there are also web sites that show people playing pranks on those watching looking for real footage of entities and then doing something on camera to make them jump, like the video Whoopi Goldberg showed on The View. But Ghost Hunters does not, in my opinion, bring itself credibility when it has investigators who think everything is paranormal, like Brian Harnois did. While I liked his enthusiasm and imagine he had a good friendship with the TAPS people, he was a bit too quick to jump to conclusions that a place was haunted or that an event was paranormal.

The show Ghost Hunters is becoming increasingly popular, at least according to a press release from Sci Fi, the station that airs the show. They don’t, however, say what organization has published those stats (Nielsen or otherwise). But at least at this time of year, there is more interest in things paranormal. And people look for things to watch on television related to hauntings and demons, etc. More channels offer shows about famous places that are supposedly haunted, And newspapers, like The New York Times, as I mentioned in my previous post, are featuring stories about hauntings, real and put on.

From that Times article, there is mention of Bonnie Vent of the San Diego Paranormal group, who channels dead people, many of whom are celebrities. The article mentions her channeling of a message from comedian George Carlin who died in June of this year. This video shows her channeling the "lovely stranger" ghost at the Coronado Hotel in San Diego who apparently was murdered and appears to people at the hotel. This is the kind of programming that Halloween inspires. But, as with the widespread popularity in the Christmas season of generosity and good will, these things are appropriate to focus on year ‘round.

I am posting a video of Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson from Ghost Hunters when they appeared on The View this year. They talk about the way they go about debunking sounds and activity and what tools they use to investigate.

So I'm anxious to see them working live -- as I've missed them doing it the last two years.

More comments later this weekend....

Born to Die?

More riffs on this whole preoccupation with life after life and philosophies surrounding death.

"I don't wanna die, I wish sometimes I'd never been born at all" --Queen


I think I was born for this work. It seems to be my life's purpose -- to explore death. From the time I was five I suffered from thantophobia -- a strong fear of death -- which I don't have now, but it's been a long journey to get from there to here. What could POSSIBLY trigger such a fear of death in a five year old?

My father's father was riding to work in Manhattan on a LIRR train one morning in 1962 when he realized he had lost his wallet. At the time, I was a five-year-old sitting in my den watching television. My mother, of course, was vacuuming -- her favorite pastime -- and could not hear the phone when it rang. So I hopped up off the couch and picked up the phone in the hallway. It was my father's sister, Bette, asking to speak to my mother. I could tell my mother was upset while talking on the phone and did not really understand that my aunt was telling her that my father's father had suffered a heart attack on the train when he realized he could not find his wallet, and that he was being taken to the hospital. I think my mother called my father at that point.

The next phone call came in, and I answered it again. This time it was my father's step-sister, Carol. When I handed the phone to my mother, I heard my mother start to cry and say, "He was such a nice man." My next memory is of sitting in the same place on the couch in front of the television, this time at night with a babysitter next to me as my parents, dressed in black, were going out the door. Sometime later, possibly the next day, I recall that I was kneeling on the living room sofa looking out the front picture window at a gray day with a heavy rain, while a Rachmaninoff symphony played on the stereo. Everything just felt sad -- the music, the weather, the atmosphere in the house.

I was always the curious child who asked all the difficult questions. What was going on, I wanted to know. Grandpa H. had died. What's that? What does "died" mean? It means he is gone and will not come back. What? Why did that happen? His heart stopped and he died. I hope that doesn't happen to me.... It will. It happens to everyone. What????????? Don't tell me ! THAT is going to happen to me? And not just to me but to my PARENTS? And my BROTHER? and my OTHER grandparents?

That’s where it began. The fears, the sleepless nights, the sense of dread…who says childhood is innocent and carefree?

My older brother was the scientific type who read all the books about the planets and bugs and rocks and chemistry. I must have been about seven when we had a discussion about the end of the world. I said, “I’m afraid that the world will end during my life, and I’m afraid of what that will be like” Well, I said it in my seven-year-old voice and thought process. He told me, “No, the way the world will end is that the sun will die out and the earth will freeze and that won’t happen for a long, long time.” (so much for Global warming). “You will already be dead,” he said. There was that word again. So what was worse? Being dead before the end of the world? Or living UNTIL the end of the world. Either way, there was no way out of it. It just boggled my mind, and affected my ability to live without worrying about everything. At church, when the priests would talk about judgment day – how we would all rise from our graves to be judged by God on how we lived our lives – my seven-year-old mind saw that as the ultimate horror show. I ran out the door of the church on several occasions and threw up in the parking lot.

As a teenager, my fears became more real. I had heard about more people, even my own age, who had died. Frequently, my perceptions about being dead and being buried and no longer existing would overwhelm me in the middle of the night and I would go to my mother’s room literally screaming in fear that I needed someone to help me. Get me out of this situation! But she couldn’t. How could she? She was in the same boat. She stayed awake with me as long as she could and tried to help distract my thoughts – normally through a creative outlet like drawing a picture or a distracting one, watching television or reading a book. What did NOT help was when she tried reading the Bible to me – something that allayed her own fears, but stirred mine.

For a time I became excessively religious – almost superstitiously religious – and read the Bible on my own from front to back, listened to Christian radio stations and read every popular fundamental Christian book I could find. I became fearful of not following the rules that were set forth in those texts lest I not make my way to an after life in paradise. When I decided that I had allowed myself to become a doormat to those less concerned with being good people, I had had enough. The fear of death gradually became repressed, surfacing only briefly in the middle of the night through my early marriage, but the curiosity about it became stronger. I had to figure this out my OWN way in order to be able to put the subject to rest and get on with my life.

Today I will say that I have no fear of death itself, but perhaps the process of dying is scary – or the unknown hour of the event itself in my life. While I am more comfortable with my own demise, I have had only limited experience with other loved ones dying – and when my grandmother, to whom I was very close, died at 92, six years ago, it still felt wrong that she was no longer physically here. I dread to think how I will feel when my own mother dies or if I were to lose someone else I am close to. My eldest son is a fireman, and people ask me if that scares me. It does not. But I cry when I see mothers of firemen who have died holding their sons’ photos or helmets and mourning their loss. I can imagine their pain of loss, but think that what I have come to believe about death will make future loss of that kind in my life easier.

So how do we learn to come to terms with death? I can’t possibly have been the only child to experience that dread. My younger son said to me one day as a child that he did not want to get old and die. I knew what he was feeling. But he has had close friends die at young ages – 14, 19. He’s seen classmates die in car accidents. It scares him, and he does not want to talk about it openly to me. But he knows that I have strong beliefs about life after life and if he needs to he can come to me.

Americans tend to ignore death’s reality. Doctors don’t like to tell their patients they are likely to die. At funerals, the dead are positioned to look as if they are asleep, and there are even drive-in wakes – where you drive up to a window to pay your last respects. Death is not treated realistically in movies or television shows. More than sex, it is the great taboo that people don’t want to hear about or witness or think about in any realistic way.

Religion is supposed to provide the answers, but as a society we look more and more to science to give us the REAL story. And in religious circles, what is written about in a book for one group can differ from what is written about in another – and on top of that interpretations by religious leaders and scholars bring more variation to the answers.

Science looks at death from THIS side of the coin. What can they find out up until the point of death, and what do they observe happening to the body. They might look at what people say before death, or how they act. (Do they talk about knowing they will die? Do they see or hear things that are related to their possible imminent death?) Even Near Death Experiences (NDEs) have been investigated, but are controversial. If it can’t be proven, documented or replicated, can it be scientifically sound evidence? (a TIME magazine article in September 2008 notes that Dr. Sam Parnia of NY's Weill Cornell Medical Center will be doing a study to investigate claims of outer-body experiences during operations, taking the lead from numerous patients over the years who claim to have knowledge of what was going on in the room while they were being operated on, from a point of view near the ceiling of the room).

In the early 19th Century, scholars and psychologists, and physicists (see Ghost Hunters by Deborah Blum)were looking into claims of psychic experiences, ghostly apparitions, communication with the dead, and with powers that defied the normal realm of experience for most human beings. These visionaries saw a need to investigate claims by the masses to assuage fears and defy exaggerated claims while determining the legitimate experiences from the fraudulent.

What is interesting about the death phenomena is that people tend to choose a belief and stick with it no matter what may be presented as evidence. Their belief may be what you see is what you get – you die and it’s over—or the faith-based religious claims to what they can expect. No matter that the ideas presented by religions are not evidence based or proven scientifically, people are willing to buy into that. When television or the internet provide experiences surrounding death or life after life as an alternative way of documenting the idea of death, people often weigh that against their scientific or religious dogma, without seeing it as a source of information about what other people are finding out or experiencing in their lives about these issues. OR, they watch the shows or go to the sites and find it hard to believe that the things claimed to have happened, really did happen. And then there are those who take those personal experiences of real people and make their own judgments about what is really happening.

These are the issues I want to explore. Because, as the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying says, we are here to prepare for the afterlife. And to prepare for the afterlife, we need to know what to expect or it will overwhelm us. I liken it to preparing for childbirth – when I was pregnant with my first child, I read a book about childbirth in which one woman described it as “feeling like being run over by a train.” Ugh! Again. No way out of this—that baby was coming out of me one way or another, just like I was going to leave this earth someday, one way or another. But a nurse told me that not knowing what to expect in childbirth made the process so much more scary than it had to be. And I believe that not knowing what to expect in death – or not knowing what one believes about the afterlife – makes the reality of it that much more difficult. And the way we as individuals deal with that knowing is what I am exploring, especially in its iterations through popular culture.

LIFE AS WORK

My first post is to explain my blog name -- Life After Life. My dissertation is focused on the television genre that explores life after death in non-fictional ways. Shows about real-life mediums, real-life ghost hunters, shows that document “hauntings” or supernatural or paranormal experiences and psychic phenomena attributed to real people and places.

My work includes marketing and public relations for Teachers College. In this role social media and having an effective online presence is an important skill. We are debating about whether we want to have a Wikipedia for our unit.

Additionally, I import Hungarian Wine, and began a blog at some point that described my experiences in becoming a wine importer and why I chose Hungarian wine to import. My web site for my company, Kristof Wines, is being used to educate and provide interactive feedback on the wines. I plan to include video clips, blog entries, and chat boards to bring interactivity to the educational site. Perhaps I will create a Wiki for my company.

My goal in this class is to learn how to take the various social media and web features and put them together to create the possibilities described above for my business and my role as Director of Marketing.

I may also like to find ways to publish my ideas on paranormal-based reality television as well as to possibly conduct interviews with people who watch these shows to add to my data collection.