This week I came across the Sir Noface documentary currently touring America. Led by Chad Calek, a well-known paranormal investigator and filmmaker, the documentary claims to provide definitive proof of ghosts – in the form of a full apparition appearing on camera. As always I remain sceptical of this claim, particularly following the commercialised manner in which it appears to be being presented to the public – sell out tours including a range of ticket packages, a documentary film which I am sure will come with a price tag, merchandise etc. Surely, one would assume, if you had dedicated your life to paranormal research and you truly believe you have finally found proof of ghosts you would share far and wide? Open up the footage to further analysis? Invite other researchers and scientists along to discuss the merit and implications of such a find? Furthermore, the recent claim by Most Haunted to have captured a ghost on camera – which looks suspiciously like a poor attempt at a video overlay of Stuart accompanied by some pretty terrible acting – has left a sour taste for such claims. I do, however, like to remain open-minded and I can’t help but feel curious both about the footage itself, and why it is being revealed the way that it is…
It did get me thinking though – what if it was real? What if after all these years someone finally did have unequivocal evidence that ghosts exist? In the world of paranormal research we are often pre-occupied with the question – “do ghosts exist?”. However, we rarely stop to think what would happen if they do, and I think it is worth some thought.
So let’s pretend for a moment that proof is finally presented that ghosts, that is spirits of the dead, are real. What might it mean for…
Our day-to-day lives…what if that bump in the night could actually be a ghost? Or you potentially share your home with a phantom lodger? Would you suddenly feel more self conscious having a shower or walking around in your undies? Perhaps we would think more about the history of our homes when we buy them and along with questions about woodworm and damp spots, we might also ask if it is haunted.
Research…at current paranormal research is considered to be at the fringes of an ‘acceptable’ research topic. However, I imagine this would change. Perhaps University departments such as the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes (CSAPP) at the University of Northampton, Anomalous Experience Research Unit (AERU) at the University of York or the Koestler Unit at the University of Edinburgh would become popular research centres. The potential for funding would likely increase and as such new centres of research, courses in the paranormal and research projects may emerge. And new questions may be on the agenda. Instead of investigating if such phenomena exists, we might be considering what ghosts are? What their existence means? How can we study/ understand them further?
Religion and belief…what would it mean for religion? I imagine for some that proof of ghosts would be considered proof of a soul, and therefore an afterlife. As in most cases, the existence of ghosts would likely be interpreted in different ways by different faiths and I guess others would use it to solidify their own belief systems. Some may deny the evidence, and others may set up new religious groups based on it.
Business…in previous posts I have discussed the commercialisation of ghosts. Part of the draw to forms of ghost tourism is the ‘possibility’ of ghosts and the desire to be enchanted by such experiences. However, what if the ‘possibility’ is taken away? Would the business of ghosts lose the intrigue that makes its so appealing? Would the prospect that we are potentially living with ghosts on a daily basis take a way from the desire to go ‘seeking’ them? Or on the other hand would it encourage the commercialisation of ghosts further – perhaps mediums and psychics would feel justified, and ghost hunts would be more popular because the experiences are suddenly more authentic. I also wonder if there may be ethical implications…I can imagine groups being set up to protect the rights of ghosts, or certifications being required to be a genuinely haunted location or for working in the field.
Death…and what might it mean for our inevitability? Would it alleviate our fear of death to know that something exists beyond? And how would I feel if I thought my loved ones might be ghosts? I guess to some extent this may raise more questions. When I spoke to my husband about this he said it might be quite good as being a ghost you could possibly travel around the world visiting places you could not in life – and I guess that would be pretty cool. At the same time, what if you or a loved one was trapped, as we often perceive ghosts to be. This must be a lonely existence and actually the thought of this is potentially more upsetting than not knowing at all (I notice a new film is soon coming out exploring this issue from the ghosts perspective – A Ghost Story).
I am sure there would be plenty more questions and implications of ghosts existing, but after considering this possibility briefly one certainty is that it seems to raise more questions than answers. And maybe this makes the need to question proof all the more important and perhaps if, one day, proof really is established we should consider how such evidence is introduced to the world…
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