How Britain became a nation of ghost hunters
Ghost-hunting events are on the increase, and not just at Halloween.
Rachel Dixon asks why we became so interested in the paranormal - and
whether we're wasting our money
Rachel Dixon
guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009 11.00 GMT
Oxford Castle, the spooky setting for the ghost hunt. Photograph: PR
Midnight on Friday. Thirty people are crouching in a dark castle
crypt, silently waiting for … what? A ghostly apparition, or an
otherworldly sound - a communication, in short, from beyond the grave.
Suddenly, a woman screams. "Something just hit me on the head!" The
tension broken, everyone starts talking at once and turning on their
torches.
We are on a ghost-hunting event at Oxford Castle, one of a growing
number of paranormal-themed experiences springing up around the
country. Fright Nights, the company behind the evening, organises
ghost hunts at 170 locations in the UK, scaring - or trying to scare -
1,000 customers a month. While it claims to be the "undisputed number
one ghost hunting company in the UK", it has certainly spawned a lot
of imitators - Haunted Happenings, Dead Haunted, Let's Be Spooked -
all making a living from our desire to be frightened.
Martin Jeffrey founded Fright Nights 10 years ago. At the time, there
were no public ghost hunts in Britain, but interest in the paranormal
had been piqued by TV programmes such as The X-Files. Jeffrey, who
carried out his first investigation into the supernatural when he was
14 years old, began by taking groups of friends on informal ghost
hunts. A business idea was born, and Fright Nights now employs around
40 full- and part-time members of staff and has a turnover of more
than £500,000.
Ghost hunts, as you'd expect, take place in old buildings that are
thought to be haunted. Members of the public are guided by a medium or
'parapsychologist' through vigils and seances, 'glass divination' and
gadget-checking. Some companies place the emphasis on fun and frights,
while others pride themselves on a more scientific approach. The event
I attended was aimed at sceptics, so the opening remarks from medium
Ian Doherty were a little surprising: "I'm like the little boy in the
Sixth Sense: I see dead people."
And indeed he did. Dozens of ghosts paraded before Doherty throughout
the night, all described by him in impeccably accurate historical
detail. Unfortunately, none were seen by the rest of the group, though
some valiantly reported feeling "a bit cold" from time to time. The
fact that we were spending the night in a draughty 11th century castle
may or may not be connected with this strange phenomenon … To be fair
to Doherty, he was certainly entertaining.
Nothing to be scared of?
Ghost-hunting participants vary enormously, from devotees of the
paranormal to hen parties looking for something different. On my
visit, several sceptical-looking groups clearly found it nothing more
than a bit of a laugh (I overheard one woman's no-nonsense description
of Doherty: "Full of shit!"). Others took it deadly seriously. Tony,
the 'believer' of the group, plied the experts with questions and took
their answers about 'spirit energy' and 'alpha waves' at face value.
In return, he regaled them with tales of spooky experiences of his own
- and his friends, and even a relative's cat.
An analysis of Fright Nights' customers found that they are "a
complete cross-section of society", says Jeffrey. They vary in age
from 18 to 85; they have different religious beliefs; some come in
couples, some in groups. But many of them have one thing in common:
gender. Seventy per cent of ghost hunters are women. "Maybe men are
more sceptical?" posits Jeffrey tentatively.
Ghost hunting has become a popular pastime. According to Dr Ciaran
O'Keeffe, a parapsychologist from Living TV's Most Haunted programme,
there were 150 amateur ghost groups in Britain in 1999. Now there are
2,500 and counting. Ghostly experiences can be purchased as gifts
online, and sales of "ghost-detecting equipment" are soaring.
The recession has done little to dampen the public's enthusiasm for
the supernatural. (And ghosts, presumably, are unaffected by the
credit crunch, having no fears of eviction.) Since the end of July,
Fright Nights' bookings have been up 20% on the same period last year,
previously the busiest year ever. Interestingly, August is the busiest
time, not Halloween.
What has caused this surge in popularity? Television is credited with
bringing the paranormal into the mainstream, from America's Ghost
Hunters to Britain's Most Haunted. On the latter, spooky experiences
happen to 'ordinary' people, from cameramen and makeup artists to
members of the public. This, says O'Keeffe, "has made an interest in
the supernatural more socially acceptable."
The success of Most Haunted, which is currently on its 13th series,
seemed to be a major trigger for the setting up of new ghost-hunting
companies. Jeffrey complained about the "sense of commercialism" that
informs the later additions to the paranormal marketplace. "People
with no previous experience have started companies", he says.
His own company can hardly be said to lack commercial instinct. The
night at Oxford castle, which ran until 5am but included no food other
than biscuits, cost £75 a head. Jeffrey defended his prices - this was
a premium event - and argued that Fright Nights deliver a good value
and "fulfilling" experience. "Even if there's no recognisable
paranormal activity," he added.
There's clearly a difference between watching a spooky television show
and wanting to spend the night in a haunted house. What drives this
desire to experience fear? Psychologists refer to this contradictory
impulse as the "paradox of horror" - seeking out that which should be
unpleasant.
One theory that attempts to explain this paradox is that horror
provides a relatively safe thrill, akin to bungee jumping or riding a
rollercoaster. Jeffrey describes ghost hunting as "the new extreme
sport". The fear is largely simulated and safe, and therefore
enjoyable. In Oxford, people were positively determined to have a
frightening experience. "My fingers are a bit tingly", said one woman,
more in hope than certainty. "My arms are heavy", said another,
prompting much excitement and jostling to stand in her spot.
Woman in white. Photograph: Maria Pavlova
Another theory is that people are looking for answers to existential
questions, and are willing to take risks in order to find them. They
want tangible proof of life after death. O'Keeffe agrees. "Ghost
hunting is the new religion", he asserts, tongue only slightly in
cheek. (Ghost-hunting experts secondary mission seems to be to appear
in Private Eye's Neophiliacs column.) During our 'glass divination'
session, when we tried to contact the spirit world via a beaker and
six fingers, some participants were practically begging the unseen
spirits to make contact. The glass didn't move for me, but the
hectoring tone of medium Mandy Taylor may have put the ghosts' backs
up: "Spirit! Can you move the glass, please! Move the glass please,
spirit!"
Jeffrey points out that people look for evidence of the supernatural
in times of loss and grief. "One of our busiest weeks ever was after
9/11. It was incredibly sad and disturbing," he said. He advises those
suffering trauma to seek proper counselling, not a medium.
It might be assumed that ghost hunting is an American import, as
Halloween is such a big celebration in the States. Certainly it has
taken off there too, but Jeffrey believes there is something
peculiarly British about this strange pursuit. "It has always been in
the British psyche", he said. "We have the greatest ghost story
writers in the world - including Charles Dickens."
Indeed, Charles Dickens was a member of the Ghost Club, which is
thought to be the oldest paranormal research organisation in the
world. Ghost hunting is nothing new, then, but it is only in recent
years that it has become easy for the average amateur to pursue it.
Gadgets and other merchandise have become affordable, and websites and
forums allow people to share their discoveries. Professor Chris
French, co-editor of The Skeptic magazine, which takes a sceptical
look at claims of the paranormal, says the demand has always been
there. "In the past, we had ghost stories around the campfire," he
says. "Now, people can actually get involved."
If it is a simple case of supply and demand, is there anything wrong
with charging up to £100 for a ghost hunt, as some companies do, even
if there is little chance of witnessing any supernatural activity? (In
20 years of investigations, O'Keeffe has only witnessed two incidents
that he was unable to explain; French has not witnessed any.) Ghost
hunts, frankly, can be rather boring - we sat around drinking coffee
and waiting for something to happen for much of the time. Worse,
though, are the groups that deliberately fake paranormal activity.
"Some ghost-hunting groups - not all - are deliberate con artists who
are just ripping people off for their own benefit," says French. "A
lot of people are being ripped off."
O'Keeffe agrees. "The huge majority of ghost groups are operating
unethically," he says.
EU regulations that came into force in May last year have tightened up
the rules in this area. The emphasis is now on the medium to prove
they did not mislead the customer, rather than the customer having to
prove the medium was fraudulent. Jeffrey welcomes the change in the
law. "There has been a huge increase in fraudulent mediums [in recent
years]. It saddens me. It's the biggest lie you can tell." Fraudulent
mediums must be exposed, he says.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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