Pass The Remote Control and Popcorn, My Paranormal Reality TV Show is On

You unlock this door with the key of imagination; beyond it is another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of paranormal TV shows?  

Turn on the TV and it’s easy to find shows that revolve around U.F.O chasers, ghost hunters, zombies or some other paranormal phenomena.

     In recent years, Americans have become obsessed with paranormal reality shows and networks are beginning to see increases in the number of viewers. The most successful of them, Ghost Hunters, a Sci-Fi channel original series that in 2008 drew in a record breaking 2.1 million viewers during a live episode that aired on Halloween night, it paved the way for three additional spinoff series, and dozens of paranormal reality TV shows.

      Delve into the strange and mysterious with Paranormal Research Society founder Ryan Buell and his team of investigators on A&E networks Paranormal State. The series premiered on Dec 10, 2007 and ran for five seasons. According to a press release the network reported its best figures to date just a month later. But paranormal reality series aren’t the only ones getting attention.

The History Channel, hoping to build off the success of the recent paranormal craze did just that, and in 2010, aired their series Ancient Aliens. The program presents hypotheses of ancient astronauts and proposes that historical texts, archaeology and legends contain evidence of past human-extraterrestrial contact. Recently Giorgio A. Tsoukalos a proponent of the program announced on popular paranormal radio show Coast-to-Coast A.M. that the series has been renewed for a 5th season. But is it really a mystery why these strange shows are getting so much attention?

  No, in fact American TV audiences have always been fascinated by horror and paranormal shows ever since they got their first view of creepy and mysteriously popular 1959 TV series The Twilight Zone. The series, which has since been revived three times, continues to generate sales long after the last episode aired in 1964. With merchandise like board games, arcade games, graphic novels, and even a theme park attraction made famous by Walt Disney, the series refuses to be laid to rest.

   In a 1959 interview, Mike Wallace asks Rod Serling the created of The Twilight Zone—you may remember him as the man who appeared in the opening credits briefing the audience with those famous first words “You just crossed over into the twilight zone,”  “Is television good?”  Serling responded, “Some television is wonderful, some television is exciting, and promising and has vast potential, some television is mediocrity and is bad. But, I think it has promise, I think it’s a real art form, I think it will only improve.”

Improve it did, in 1993 American TV audiences  rushed to their sets to watch special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on FOX networks The X-files. The successful paranormal drama series spanned over nine seasons and 202 episodes, including two successful feature films and a third that is currently being discussed.   

  2011 was also a very good year for the gruesomely stomach-churning zombie show AMC networks The Walking Dead, receiving over 9 million viewers for its season two finale. With enough blood, guts, and brains to make George A. Romero cringe, it has become the most-watched basic cable drama series in the history of television.

But why is horror popular? The answer is quite simple, people enjoy being scared. And according to California State University Professor of Psychology, Stuart Fischoff, being scared may be important for your health.  “If we have a relatively calm, uneventful lifestyle, we seek out something that’s going to be exciting for us, because our nervous system requires periodic revving, just like a good muscular engine,” said Fischoff and an inexpensive way to seek out these thrills? Sitting at home and watching television. But what if you seek more beyond the lazy boy sofa?

Horror movies have been scarring the hell out of people since classic silent vampire flick Nosferatu terrorized theatre audiences in 1922.  Beyond the spectrum of subtitles and black and white motion pictures, the genre of horror films has changed dramatically over the years. But people still enjoy them all the same.  “There are people who have a tremendous need for stimulation and excitement,” said Fischoff. “Horror movies are one of the better ways to get really excited.” Not only are they exciting, they’re profitable.

In 2011 scary movie Paranormal Activity 3 racked up an eye popping $54 million its first weekend at the box office, making it the highest grossing horror movie of all time. Paranormal phenomena, sci-fi thrillers, blood and guts, some people get pleasure from seeing a brain in a jar. But for others, they best stick to a comedy.

 “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.”—Stephen King