Description

Through American history often in times of crisis there have been outbreaks of obsession with the paranormal Between 2004 and 2019 over six dozen documentarystyle series dealing with paranormal subject matter premiered on television in the United States Combining the stylistic traits of horror with earnest accounts of what are claimed to be actual events paranormal reality incorporates subject matter formerly characterized as occult or supernatural into the established category of reality TV

Despite the high number of programs and their evident popularity paranormal reality television has to date received little critical attention Ghost Channels provides an overview of the paranormal reality television genre its development and its place in television history Conducting indepth analyses of over thirty paranormal television series author Amy Lawrence suggests these programs reveal much about Americans contemporary fears

Ridiculed by nearly everyone paranormal reality TV showswith their psychics ghost hunters and haunted housesprovide unique insights into contemporary American culture Halfhorror halfdocumentary realism these shows expose deepseated questions about class race gender the value of technology the failure of institutions and what it means to be American in the twentyfirst century