This afternoon I spent two hours listening to Bonus Episode 24 of How Haunted? I don’t usually listen to the recordings of actual ghost hunts, as they remind me far too much of Most Haunted, which - despite being packaged as 'a British paranormal reality television series' - is, in my view, absolute nonsense. There is nothing real about it. The show trivialises genuine paranormal experiences, and you would have to be rather naïve to take anything on that show at face value. That is, of course, my personal opinion - but honestly, can anyone truly say they believe it? On several occasions, the programme has been exposed as fabricated.
I did enjoy the episode I listened to today. I appreciate that the host leaves in the mundane conversational moments, which adds authenticity. However, I still have to take much of it with a generous pinch of salt. I think the participants genuinely believe they are seeing or experiencing something, yet I struggle to understand how they can reach those conclusions when the “medium” (yes, the quotation marks are intentional) and the ghost hunt leader appear to be guiding the entire group - host included - through subtle prompts and suggestive commentary. I would wager a substantial sum that had those individuals said nothing at all, most participants would have experienced nothing.
Because of what they were told beforehand, they entered the building with preconceived expectations. Once inside, they continued to receive subtle cues. Phrases such as “Can you feel anything?” or “Is anyone experiencing anything?” immediately prime people to believe they should feel something. Even prompts like “Did you think you saw something?” are leading. These are classic techniques used by fortune tellers, tarot readers, and others who rely on suggestion to steer perceptions.
If a participant were to say, unprompted, “Oh, that was odd - I thought I saw something,” it would carry far more weight. Instead, it seems the event organisers hope their paying customers will experience something noteworthy - after all, satisfied customers tell their friends, and that drives future bookings. I understand this from a business perspective; I run a small business myself. But I dislike fakery, and I take issue with practices that prey on people’s hopes or beliefs.
I’ve visited many supposedly haunted locations throughout my life, including places renowned for high activity, yet I’ve never experienced anything. If ghosts do exist - a very big “if” - they certainly don’t appear on demand simply because someone has stepped into the location they’re said to inhabit. I know this reality makes it challenging for event organisers if their clients witness nothing, but honestly, 99.99% of the time, that’s precisely what will happen. Encouraging people to believe otherwise is ultimately more harmful.
In this episode, several participants mentioned smelling woodsmoke. While the hosts acknowledged that the building itself had no history of fires, no one pointed out the far more rational explanation: it was a cold night, and nearby homes may have had wood burners lit. Even now, as I’m writing this, I can smell woodsmoke indoors despite closed doors. Buildings are never fully sealed, and air—especially scented air like smoke - travels easily on even the slightest breeze. Yet during the episode, this perfectly normal phenomenon was repeatedly interpreted as something paranormal.
The power of suggestion on a susceptible mind is exactly what many ghost hunt organisers and self-proclaimed mediums rely upon. The only report I found believable in this episode was from the man who said he felt a headache coming on. Even then, given the cold, the unfamiliar environment, and the lack of lighting - which would cause eye strain - a headache is hardly surprising. But again, no one discussed these basic explanations.
As for claims of something brushing past a participant’s face, this could easily be explained by a stray hair or a drifting cobweb. And no matter how often people insist “there was no breeze,” I will always point out that a room full of breathing people will have air movement - more than enough to shift dust, hair, or cobwebs.
If you run a ghost-hunting group, please don’t deceive your clients. Tell them they may very well experience nothing. And if they do experience something, help them consider logical explanations. You’re not helping anyone by indulging or encouraging what may be misinterpretations. In fact, it places you uncomfortably close to the charlatans of the past - taking people’s money and exploiting their desire to believe.
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