New Teen Danger: The Paranormal
Dwayne Claud, director for Western New York Paranormal of Rochester examines the dangers of popular paranormal related television shows. He looks at what the shows do not provide for the viewers which are important including physical and spiritual dangers of ghost hunting.
Leicester, NY (PRWEB) August 30, 2005
It wasn’t so long ago that parents worried about their children getting hurt in sports, driving home on prom night and that first heartbreak. Times have changed the concerns that parents have for their children – now it’s pregnancy, drinking and driving or drug overdose. What about the new concern that should be on the horizon – the influence the paranormal can have on our children?
National media has brought attention to the paranormal field with television programs such as Creepy Canada, and the SciFi ChannelÂ’s Ghost Hunters. Programs like these focus more on the glamorization of paranormal investigation and haunted sites rather then the responsibilities and dangers involved with both. Across the United States and Canada these non-addressed issues are creating an escalating problem that involving our youth.
This past season Creepy Canada aired an episode on the Blue Ghost Tunnel. The Blue Ghost Tunnel is a seven hundred-foot tunnel running beneath the Welland Canal in St. Catherine's, Ontario. This area was once the scene of a fatal train wreck. Today it is abandoned, but Creepy Canada took a paranormal research team into the tunnel, filming their expedition. The result of the broadcast was an increase in the education of those interested in the paranormal – but also an increase in the amount of thrill seekers to that site. According to a representative from the seaway, the tunnel became a destination for teenagers seeking a “fright,” but the result was more of a desecration with increased vandalism and illegal activities. As a result, a gate has been placed on the tunnel and visitors are greeted by authorities if they attempt to enter.
“Things don’t just jump out and say ‘boo”, expressed Dwayne Claud of Western New York Paranormal of Rochester. He continues to say that “(he’s) all for paranormal education, but these television shows leave so much important information out – they glamorize everything in only the way Hollywood can do.” The time the paranormal investigator spends in the dark can be just that-time. They spend hours upon hours recording, photographing and video taping what may appear to be nothing. “It’s usually only when we go back and review our materials that we find the interesting things – rarely does anything supernatural happen on site like many of these shows depict,” he states.
“The belief in ghosts is as old as mankind itself – and so are the dangers,” expresses Claud. Teenagers and other viewers to programs such the SciFi Channel’s Ghost Hunters aren’t presented with the dangers of conducting a paranormal investigation and the possible legal issues. “If people are investigating an old abandoned building and don’t have permission for being there, that’s trespassing and you could be prosecuted,” states Claud. In addition to the legal liability, amateur investigators risk physical injuries and even death from unsafe environmental conditions not seen walking around in the dark. “The risk of physical injury is only increased when someone is looking to be ‘scared.’ Your adrenaline is racing,” states Claud. “Things can happen when you least expect them.”
“Although there is a growing opportunity for those interested in ghost hunting to have their own paranormal experience, many ‘suspected’ haunted sites across the country are now conducting ghost tours. The public is encouraged to participate in a ghost hunt for a fee,” said Claud. Ghost hunts such as these have become popular at Ohio’s Mansfield Reformatory, West Virginia’s Moundsville State Reformatory, and smaller locations like New York’s Rolling Hills Country Mall. Locations like these address the physical dangers of ghost hunting yet still ignore another more elusive one: the spiritual danger and influence that is just as real.
At a young age, children are raised to believe that ghosts aren’t real, and that paranormal phenomenon can’t really occur. This little bit of doubt placed in the minds of teenagers can be a dangerous opening into the spiritual realm. “The main ingredient that these shows miss is that of faith and reverence,” states Claud. He continues, “Like it or not, there’s more than just science going on here. There is a tremendous amount of spirituality and theology. And if people don’t have an understanding of these they can get themselves into a lot of trouble.”
“Ghosts can’t hurt you. But there’s more out there than just the dearly departed,” believes Claud. The bible tells of malevolent spirits waiting to take advantage to a welcoming person-looking for someone with an open spiritual door. A young teenager wanting “a scare” is an open invitation to one of these entities. If you couple that curiosity a teenager may have with a Ouija board and magick, the situation becomes more dangerous. “Popular television shows don’t emphasize the inherent spiritual dangers that are just as real as tripping in the dark. If you’re not prepared and protected, your life will literally become hell. After all, The Exorcist was based on a true story,” said Claud.
Claud recalls an investigation he took part in a number of years ago at a “commercialized public hunt.” One of the participants in the investigation was a sixteen year old girl. She had an avid interest in the paranormal and presented with what she would claim would be “sensitivity to it”. It was only two hours into the investigation when she began to feel as though she were a spectator in her own body. She began to walk in circles, hear voices telling her to do unspeakable things and attempting controlling her actions. This young lady had come under a partial possession by an entity in a matter of hours. “This can happen to anyone at any time. Especially to a teenager who is open to everything around them–not knowing good from evil,” states Claud. It wasn’t until another investigator intervened into the situation with prayer that the scary situation came under control. However, it still took almost six months to bring the whole situation to a positive conclusion. “And it all happened because a teenager with an open mind and spirit was at the wrong place,” said Claud.
“Until programs like SciFi’s Ghost Hunters and others address all the dangers involved in paranormal investigation, they shouldn’t be on the air,” Claud strongly believes. It’s very much akin to showing a teen a shiny pistol and not telling him the dangers involved in using it. “Most of the dangerous cases we hear about through www. WNYPARANORMAL. com have their roots traced back to a point of contact such as an open teenager, Ouija board or séance and/or Magick. Western New York Paranormal encourages people to explore the unknown, but not as a thrill and only when you’re old enough to understand and accept the consequences.
For more information, contact Dwayne Claud with Western New York Paranormal at 585-382-3644 or visit www. WNYPARANORMAL. com.
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