Ghost Hunters vs Most Haunted

Today on the Sci-Fi Channel, there was a mini marathon of the TV show Ghost Hunters. Though I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, I do enjoy watching shows about them...normally. However, after watching 3 or 4 episodes of Ghost Hunters, I've reached one conclusion: WEAK. It's amazing that this show got the green light. More often than not, the only thing that manifests itself routinely is machismo and implausible ghostbusting "skills." It's definitely targeting the eXtreme Generation. It's hard to take supposed paranormalists seriously once you've heard one exclaim "Dude, RUN!!" *eye roll* In short, the places they visit appear scary because they're dark (what isn't scarier in the dark?), but more often than not the viewer rarely gets to see and/or hear half the stuff these people are claiming to be experiencing. AND more often than not their results are "inconclusive." YAWN.

I prefer the Travel Channel's TV show Most Haunted. For entertainment value alone, this show has Ghost Hunters beat. No competition. The premise of Most Haunted is pretty much the same as Ghost Hunters (it should be, GH being nothing more than an inferior copycat): A group of paranormal investigators explore "haunted" locales. Most Haunted is genuinely more spooky and feels a lot more polished and real than Sci-Fi's Ghost Hunters. And, unlike GH, MH actually helps resolve some of the activity (particularly when it takes place in a home where a family is currently dwelling), whereas GH go in, set up their equipment, walk around in the dark and then go home to find out that they captured nothing of interest (to anyone) on any of their equipment...again. Amazing how they rarely (if ever) seem to capture the phenomena they claim to have experienced, on film. In addition, the cast seem to think that the more they repeat the one "paranormal" thing that happened to them, it'll somehow pad the show in order to fill their allotted time slot. In short, GH suffers from The Boy Who Cried Wolf Syndrome.

I know you're probably asking yourself "If it was so boring, why did you keep watching it?" Good question. To be honest, I was waiting for the payoff. Waiting for it to get better. It just never did. I realize that with the given subject matter that every investigation can't be The Haunting each time, but c'mon. The fact that Ghost Hunters has lasted more than 1 season already is a testament that people will watch anything. Trust me, the best thing about the show is their well-edited, misleading promos.

As for Most Haunted, the show looks great, the people investigating are plausible (sans Derek Acorah) and the show is just a lot more interesting. Not to mention the fact that the show has been in production for going on 4 years now. I also like the fact that they do instant replays for all their sights and sounds, unlike GH. This gives the viewer the opportunity to actually HEAR & SEE what the investigators experienced. Whereas the cast of GH simply exclaim "Did you hear that?!, then proceed to TELL you what they heard. Shyeah...what-ever.

The only beef I have with Most Haunted is the überqueer "Spiritualist Medium" Derek Acorah (shown at left). OMG, he's the gayest thing since Liberace. I find it incredulous that he manages to be the one singled out in almost every episode, to be "possessed" by some spirit that is supposedly-involved with the locale the team is investigating. Interesting how his "possessions" seemed to manifest themselves more frequently after the success (i.e. camera time) of his first one. His so-called possessions wreak of attention whore. The fruity voices, the over-the-top acting, etc. Gaa-aa-aa-y! Plus, it's achingly obvious that the other legitimate paranormalists don't buy it either. They never come out and say it, but you can tell they don't. Acorah is simply there for entertainment value...for what's it's worth. Seriously though, he's fruitier than Carmen Miranda's hat. And get this: He's "married" to a woman and is the father of two children. Faaaabulous.

So, other than the fruitacular exploits of one retard, Most Haunted gets my vote over the inferior Ghost Hunters. You can check them out and judge for yourself. To read another person's take on Ghost Hunters, check out this article by Ted Twietmeyer over at rense.com.

Most Haunted airs Fridays at 9PM on the Travel Channel, while Ghost Hunters airs Wednesdays at 9PM on the Sci-Fi Channel.