A show about ghost hunting and science? On the same billing?!
How ghost hunters use technology to find spooks, and how that tech really works.
Even if the camera never lies, how are both we AND technology bamboozled by natural things?
My stepdaughter is a big fan of the TV show, ‘Ghost Adventures‘, and the moments we shared disagreeing over the ‘evidence’ presented inspired the narrative of this show. It’s deliberately designed to appeal to audiences wishing for something unusual at a science festival. Everybody has an opinion about the paranormal and this show shares all opinions in a safe space.
Rather than focussing on personal beliefs, I suggest that people continue to ghost hunt if that is their want, and advocate how the scientific method can refine their practice. For instance, for phenomena ‘X’ to be true, we need to carry out experiments to prove that it is not caused by ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’. Even if none are responsible for the phenomena, we can still only acknowledge it is something we do not yet understand, or even that science may likely never understand (AKA, the dictionary definition of the word ‘paranormal’).
Likewise, we demonstrate how both the tech being used, and the investigator themselves, can be misled. Our brains are particularly keen to make sense of the chaos around us, leading us to ascribe meaning to experiences that may merely be the result of ‘noise’.
Using video footage of myself on a ghost hunt, we journey through several of the phenomena commonly experienced and consider why that might have been so. Ultimately, big claims require big evidence. Something that all can agree on.
The Tech
Part of the 12+ version of this show focusses on building ghost hunting technology, and the skills you can develop by exploring this equipment. So to complement the show, I’ve posted comprehensive instructions about how some of this kit is traditionally used in ghost hunting and how you can you can make it yourself. The following are links to the various posts:
Festival hosts wishing to book Jon to perform the show can find more details and a key information pack on the Events page, or get in touch.