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I've said all that i had to say about ghost hunters, so i'll leave you with a two part episode from the professionals themselves, the great magic and debunking duo, Penn and Teller. (videos after the jump)

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

Night vision, the ghost hunter's favorite tool, every paranormal investigator has it, they can't leave the house without a night vision camera or equipment, why is it so popular?, well, because it has helped capture over 2000 ghosts on camera, all hard, cold, evidence that has been approved by scientific research. Oh, wait, no it's not!, it hasn't helped at all, if anything, it makes things more blurry and confusing than they already are.

Yesterday we talked about how popular ghost hunting has become, today, i'm gonna go through some of the things paranormal investigators fail to realize when they are doing their research, how science is different from pseudoscience and how personal feelings or belief influences all the investigation done by ghost hunters.

Coincidences happen, they happen a lot, if you've ever seen one of these TV shows about paranormal activity, you might have noticed that on every episode the phrase "what the hell was that???" is mentioned at least 5 times per episode, has it ever occurred to these people that maybe, just maybe, they are being influenced by their own expectations?, if you go to a house who is supposed to be haunted, normally a big house, an old house, a wooden house, a house that you've never been to for more than the few hours that takes you to shoot a show, wouldn't you have to expect a few cranky noises or light coming into the house from some unexpected places?, wouldn't it be fair to think that "cold spots" on the house, are just like any other cold spot on any other house?, the only difference is that you wouldn't know, because you've never lived on the supposed haunted house!.

With the rise of the internet and sites like youtube, there has been an inevitable uprise on these freelance, amateur, so called, ghost hunters, or paranormal investigators, the phenomenon has been extended even to mainstream television with shows like "Ghost Hunters" or "Ghost Adventures". Despite the lack of acceptance among the scientific community, ghost hunters shamelessly misuse technology like night vision, motion sensors or EMF meters to facilitate their job. Ghost hunting is such an easy job, that most shows have probably influenced the average viewer into doing some investigation of their own, after all, who hasn't heard a ghost story during a gathering or reunion?.

According to this article, 34% of Americans believe in ghosts, that's a pretty big number, enough for a bunch of charlatans to make a living thanks to ignorance. Ghost hunting is a multi million dollar industry, its not just about going into some abandoned hospital or some creepy house, it has plenty limes to squeeze, there are many stores and websites that advertise and sell ghost hunting equipment, there's ghost counseling, books, a ton of books, DVDs, websites, advertising and tours of supposed haunted mansions or hotels.