Title: Provocation is so provoking
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Blog Entry: I’ve watched Ghost Hunters on SciFi and now Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel and have noticed that both teams use provocation as a means to increase spirit activity. Why do they do that? If as they say, they are there to document paranormal activity, why would they want to do something that would alter the activity? If they walk into a room and instantly start shouting and cussing at the spirit they certainly won’t get the same response that the homeowner gets when they just sit down and turn on the TV. So what is the purpose? My thought is that it’s just to make a more exciting episode and if that’s the case, then they are doing the paranormal community a disservice. Ghost hunting as a hobby has exploded since the first airing of SciFi’s Ghost Hunters and, unfortunately, there are inexperienced teams that want to emulate Jason & Grant and think that since they saw it on TV it is standard protocol. I started ghost hunting 5 years ago and have never thought that provoking would be a means to document or understand phenomena. I’ve investigated some cases where the spirit made me angry enough to want to cuss it out, but again, to what end. It certainly wouldn’t alleviate the problem that the client is experiencing. I always go into an investigation with the thought that I get to go home to my comfortable, spirit free home at the end of the night but the client has to stay and put up with any mess I may make in my ignorance. If others have a valid reason for provoking spirits, I’d like to hear it. It is possible that my view is too narrow and I’m always open to other positions. So let me know what you think. Does provoking help or hinder investigations?
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