Friday, October 28, 2011

Ghost Hunter Flashlight Phenomenon Explained? No

A YouTube video has surfaced claiming to debunk the flashlight phenomenon.
... The host on the "Viper Paranormal" YouTube video offered another explanation. In the video, he said the flashlight turning on and off is basically a short circuit that occurs at random. He said that many ghosthunters unscrew the backs of their flashlights to the point where the flashlight is teetering between staying on or off, then set it down to ask questions. He compares the effect to lights flickering on and off in a home.

"You're not getting enough voltage to that light and for a split second that light has no power. Well, it's the exact same thing with this flashlight. When this thing is unscrewed, it's teeter-tottering between having a connection. And basically you've got a short circuit, so sometimes this light's going to come on, and sometimes it's going to be off," said Mike St. Clair, the host of the Viper Paranormal YouTube series.

Theoretically, then, any vibration could cause the connection to be completed and the light to turn on.
This explanation would only satisfy the extremely gullible, or maybe someone who has never watched Ghost Hunters. On the show, the flashlight sits unlit and then slowly comes on in response to a question. Then it is turned off slowly at the request of an investigator. The flashlight does not flicker on and off.

This is quite typical of the paranormal "debunking" I've read: It either doesn't debunk what actually happens on the show or outright lies about what happens. None of us outsiders can know whether the show's producers and participants are honest, of course, Assuming no chicanery, however, this explanation doesn't debunk the flashlight phenomenon. Furthermore, Sabrina Wu did an experiment to test whether the explanation was even plausible. Read about the outcome