New UK Paranormal Show Needs Your Help OcUKers!

Decide what you want to do first. I suggest that your most profitable route is to skillfully fake some stuff in order to fool enough suckers to ensure plenty of viewers and therefore money. You can spin that stuff out for dozens of episodes at least. Like any such program, the choice of presenters is key. They must fit the characters you create.

If you're going to try to do it for real rather than simply creating fake investigations and passing them off as real, you'll get the enormous problem of having nothing to show for it. You won't get many episodes out of hour after hour of nothing happening.

There are plenty of people who want to believe ghosts are all over the place. They're your audience, so just make what they want.
 
So far everyone seems to be really enthusiastic about hearing the historical side of things. The macabre stories and mysterious legends that shadow supposed hauntings would might end up taking centre stage with perhaps a smaller investigation into the location (rather than the traditional format which focuses more on screaming in the dark).

To those that don't believe in this 'nonesense' I think you guys would be an audience we would want to cater for too. Shows like MH put a lot of people off, but I think there's a niche for a well-made show that is exciting, dark and informative.

What about a 'bare-bones' team of guys doing an investigation? Maybe only 3 team members? Or would a big, proper crew be better viewing?
 
the 90's program, "strange but true" is how this sort of program should be done - no gadgets or mediums, just hearing peoples personal stories and the evidence they have collected - and then getting a priest in to bless the room in the cases of poltergeists etc :)

my favourite friday night program ever.
 
Forde said:
Should mediums be included?

No. Turns the whole thing instantly into farce and a rubbish show. Unless you're just taking the mickey out of them, that would be entertaining
Is the history of the haunting important?
Absolutely. How people dealt with hauntings back in the 17th century WHEN PEOPLE BELIEVED THEM would be awesome to learn
Do investigators need to use the latest electronic gadgets to aid investigations?
No. Everyone with a brain knows they are not real, so why bother with a thermal imaging camera showing some leaves moving around when 'there is little wind' ...? Stick with the history, that is interesting

Would you be happy seeing a show where not much happens (instead of the shennanigans that happen on other shows)?
Yes, more a learning on how the people of some village in the 14th century ACTUALLY BURNT TO DEATH 24 witches .. their rational .. the form of justice (jury? mob? etc) .. sounds interesting.


We are also trying to find a new 'angle' for the show to mark it out from the other ones currently on TV. Something new and exciting, so any ideas are most welcome!

Er .. some kind of investigation into how mob justice works (as it did for witches). Get 15 unsuspecting people and put them into (fake) peril - for example the locked room starts filling with water .. let them know one of the people is responsible for it and has the power to start/stop the water with his mind or the water might stop if whoever it is, isn't conscious!! and watch the wonders of mob-justice in action (until you call it off). That'd be awesome.

Any ideas and feedback are most welcome - I appreciate the help!


Matt.
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jonno.co.uk said:
the 90's program, "strange but true" is how this sort of program should be done - no gadgets or mediums, just hearing peoples personal stories and the evidence they have collected - and then getting a priest in to bless the room in the cases of poltergeists etc :)

my favourite friday night program ever.
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YES, bring back Strange but True. Please.
 
Forde said:
What about a 'bare-bones' team of guys doing an investigation? Maybe only 3 team members? Or would a big, proper crew be better viewing?
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You need a proper team, otherwise you will be putting doubt in to the case.

You will need to secure the perimeter, guards and cameras, sweep the building to make sure no one is in there.

You will then need complete video coverage, 2 cameras per room in opposite corners to make sure you have full coverage of the room.

Crew members should always be on camera.

IF anything was to happen you want to be able to rule out everything 'non-believers' will throw at you. "Its was someone throwing a spoon", "oh, it was one of the staff slamming a door" etc.

I won't be cheap to do, but if you want to do it properly you won't have much choice.
 
AHarvey said:
You need a proper team, otherwise you will be putting doubt in to the case.

You will need to secure the perimeter, guards and cameras, sweep the building to make sure no one is in there.

You will then need complete video coverage, 2 cameras per room in opposite corners to make sure you have full coverage of the room.

Crew members should always be on camera.

IF anything was to happen you want to be able to rule out everything 'non-believers' will throw at you. "Its was someone throwing a spoon", "oh, it was one of the staff slamming a door" etc.

I won't be cheap to do, but if you want to do it properly you won't have much choice.
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The trouble is ghosts etc simply do not exist. So you're going to end up with 25 hours of footage of precisely NOTHING just some room in a big house.

I'd find it more fun if you PRETENDED to some amateurs you were doing a ghost study, got them to spend a night in a house, then did some really evil FAKE stuff to them to watch them freak out. Not door slamming .. a lot more hardcore than that - like 1 guy is a 'plant' and halfway through the night he announces to everyone he's going for a walk. He comes back with a 'fake' knife in him, bloody pouring everywhere. To see how the others react, that'd be quite a watch ..
 
Jokester said:
Should mediums be included?
No

Is the history of the haunting important?
Yes, I would like to see a program that's maybe covers two angles, the history behind it in terms of the actual history of the haunting, plus the history of the story behind the person/thing that's "doing" the haunting.

Do investigators need to use the latest electronic gadgets to aid investigations?
The other part would cover a scientific investigation of the site of the hauntings, such as CCTV, thermal, electromagnetism etc over a period of time.

Would you be happy seeing a show where not much happens (instead of the shennanigans that happen on other shows)?
I think the history part could do enough, the more gruesome the better! Obviously coming up with anything concrete during the site investigation isn't likely. Only thing is how many episodes you could do, I think you might struggle to get more than 6 or so out of it.
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I totally aree with this. I think it would make my series link TBH
 
Keep it factual.

Play down the drama.

Bring up the history, and if possible research the information to see if it matches with records of the alleged times the events that caused the haunting.

Explain any new equipment used in detail and explain what can cause such readings/anomalies.

Investigate local non-paranormal phenomenon that might contribute/cause unusual sensations or apparitions.

The gap in the market is for a really factual and objective study using science. Where you can de-bunk or explain away phenomenon that might cause experiences.
 
britboy4321 said:
The trouble is ghosts etc simply do not exist. So you're going to end up with 25 hours of footage of precisely NOTHING just some room in a big house.

blah blah blah
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You do realise that you sound as moronic as those people that believe everything is a ghost?

No one can prove, one way or the other that ghosts exist.
 
AHarvey said:
You do realise that you sound as moronic as those people that believe everything is a ghost?

No one can prove, one way or the other that ghosts exist.
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I never understood why some people openly laugh at aspects of the paranormal when it marks them out as being just as blinkered and narrow-minded as blind-faithers. Personally, I believe that most hauntings have a rational explanation, but there are certainly things out there that are currently beyond us.
 
Forde said:
Should mediums be included?
No because they talk testicles

Is the history of the haunting important?
Yes because that can be interesting assuming each event is presented in an unbiased and well documented manner (none of this 'and ZOMG i saw a ghost! Can't of been anything else, oh no.')

Do investigators need to use the latest electronic gadgets to aid investigations?
No because 'ghost detecting' is a bunch of testicles.

Would you be happy seeing a show where not much happens (instead of the shennanigans that happen on other shows)?
I'd rather it did nothing than those stupid 'shennanigans' you speak of. 90% of the british population doesn't fall for that gash. What i'd rather is have a show where they attempt to DISPROVE the stories of ghosts, find the source of the 'myth'. You'll find that often these things simply can't be explained which is far more frightening than the presenters hamming it up.
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Sp00n said:
I'd be more interested in the horrow/macabre history than some sort of pathetic "ghost" hunt.
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Pretty much what i'm trying to say. I find the documentaries where they actively hunt for the source of these myths far more gratifying, rather than when they just tell you spooky ghost stories.
 
I think there's plenty of sensible suggestions so far, my biggest thing which I think could massively increase your potential audience is to keep it impartial, if you're investigating these things don't be afraid to say "no, we don't think this place is haunted, it can be too easily explained by xyz", and obviously if there are things that you can't explain then make that clear too, although I think you'll end up with far more that you can than you can't.
 
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