Spøgelsesjægerne

Spøgelsesjægerne ("The Ghosthunters") is a Danish reality TV show, produced by Blu and aired on Kanal 5 which follows two Danish ghost hunter groups. Unlike many other paranormal television shows, Spøgelsesjægerne does not focus exclusively on the groups' paranormal investigations but also covers the group members' private lives.

Premise

The show follows two groups of paranormal investigators - namely, the Jutland-based group Ghosthunting.dk and the Zealand-based groups Dansk Parapsykologisk Aspekt (DPA). As is typical of paranormal reality TV, Spøgelsesjægerne covers the groups' paranormal investigations and draws on the aesthetics of the genre, such as night camera green and documentary style cutting. However, the show also covers aspects of the day-to-day operations of the two groups.

For instance, the first episode covers an entrance examination for two potential new members of Ghosthunting.dk in the form of a mock ghost hunt (with only one of the two candidates passing),[1] and episode two covers both groups' selection processes when they decide which locations to investigate.[2] Episode 5 infamously covers a team building exercise in which a sexologist therapist coaches DPA in an unconventional manner (the sexologist controversially crashes an investigation in a private home in episode 6), and also depicts the on-camera dismissal of Ghosthunting.dk's researcher from the group.[3] Episode 6 covers documents Ghosthunting.dk experimenting with "ånden i glasset" (a Danish variant of ouija), while a new member is inducted into DPA and put through a trial of fire.[4]

Moreoever, the show covers aspects of the members' private lives, with episode 4 showing one of DPA's members dropping off his Thai girlfriend at the airport, and episode 3 depicting Ghosthunting.dk's researcher's dating activities.[5] Episode 6 depicts an emotional clairvoyance session in which some of Ghosthunting.dk's members make contact with the spirits of dead family members, while episode 2 shows DPA's Chief Investigator in his day job as a mechanic in the local fire department, and episode 5 follows Ghosthunting.dk's leader's trip to the local supermarket. The romantic relationship between Ghosthunting.dk's leader and his long term partner, who is also a member of the group, is a recurring theme.

Criticism

Spøgelsesjægerne has received criticism for not focusing enough on the two groups' paranormal investigations and too much on their private lives, and their eating habits, and several viewers have complained on Kanal 5's Facebook page.[6] Followers of the two groups have complained, not only that there is not enough ghost hunting, but also that the show deliberately ridicules the two groups and deliberately depicts them as amateurs.[7][8]

The show has also received criticism from the two ghost hunting groups themselves. Ghosthunting.dk's leader has expressed dissatisfaction with the way that Blu has edited episode 5, arguing that the episode was edited such that it gives the impression that he fires the group's researcher on-screen, when in reality she chose to leave the group and the two had been discussing it for a long time before her exit from the group.[9] DPA's Chief Investigator posted a response to a comment on the group's Facebook page, stating that he felt that his group was being ridiculed in the way that it was depicted in Spøgelsesjægerne.

Paranormalt Institut, the Danish branch of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, were also invited by Blu to be part of Spøgelsesjægerne, but chose to reject the invitation because they found that the show seemed unserious and uninteresting and that the concept behind the show was too poppy.[10] In fact one or two other groups claims to have been contacted, and invited to be part of "Spøgelsesjægerne", but the fact is that no other group was invited. Ghosthunting and DPA was the first choice for BLU, and since both agreed, there was no reason to invite other groups. Since no one knew the concept of the show beforehand, no one could decline using the concept as an excuse.

Viewer interaction

Both DPA and Ghosthunting.dk openly communicate with the show's viewers. Both groups participate in the show's official chat channel,[11] and Ghosthunting.dk have an additional channel on their own website, and also do live online broadcasts in which the group's members answer questions and respond to comments from the show's viewers.[12] Both groups also interact with viewers via Facebook, DPA using a Facebook-group and Ghosthunting.dk using a Facebook-page.

References

  1. ↑ http://nutv.dk/video?video=4953
  2. ↑ http://nutv.dk/video?video=5001
  3. ↑ http://nutv.dk/video?video=5030
  4. ↑ http://nutv.dk/video?video=5030
  5. ↑ http://nutv.dk/video?video=5016
  6. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/sbs.kanal5
  7. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/255744144033/
  8. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Ghosthunting.dk
  9. ↑ http://www.ghosthunting.dk/kunena/afsnittene/1739-5-afsnit.html#2046
  10. ↑ http://www.paranormalt.dk/print.php?type=N&item_id=5
  11. ↑ http://spøgelsesjægerne.dk/chat-info/
  12. ↑ http://www.ghosthunting.dk/sp%C3%B8gelsesj%C3%A6gerne/live-event.html
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