Para-“normal” Becomes Mainstream

There was a time when ghosts, vampires and werewolves were not cool, at least not outside of a slumber party movie marathon, but now the abundance of paranormal “genre” fair available on mainstream cable programming is staggering.

The unbelievable popularity of vampires, ghost hunters, and zombies in popular series and reality TV has propelled what was once a guilty pleasure into a national pastime.  The Walking Dead is on AMC and reruns play regularly on network channels.  Supernatural is alive and still surprising us with fresh episodes.  Turn to Destination America or any number of other cable channels to find programs about paranormal encounters.

Why are we so drawn to these shows?

Humans have always been fascinated by things that scare us.  Stories have been told about the supernatural for centuries, myths about vampires and ghosts have existed throughout human history.  Some of these stories were most likely attempts to explain the mysterious, the unknown, but their presence shows that humans have always had wonderful imaginations.

Like ghost stories told around a campfire, paranormal and horror stories delight us.  It’s okay to be scared when we know deep down the monsters won’t really harm us, so we can simply enjoy the thrill.  As long as we know that when the show is over we can turn on the lights and everything will be normal again, we’re fine.

When was the last time you watched a TV show, or a movie, or read a book that scared you?  This holiday weekend, after the celebrations and fireworks, and before it’s time to go back to work, make time to pull out a flashlight and a blanket to hide under, and let yourself be scared.  Turn on the TV, tell the kids your old favorite ghost stories, and don’t forget to turn out the lights.  Enjoy!

Happy Independence Day!

Amy

Photo credit: Samet Kilic via Source / CC BY-SA