With the greatest respect to the late and much loved Lou Gentile, who has contributed more to the field of the paranormal than I probably ever will, the Derren Brown Investigates documentary - Pt III, The Ghost Hunter - while being in some ways a memoriam to the life and work of Mr Gentile, highlights the dangers of (i) approaching paranormal investigation from a position of belief, and (ii) making claims that the evidence you have collected is definite proof of paranormal phenomena. The reason for writing this post about a three-year-old TV documentary is that I feel we, as paranormal investigators, can take some valuable lessons from what was presented in it. Derren Brown, being a famed arch-skeptic of the paranormal, went pretty easy on Lou Gentile. I wonder if this was out of respect and politeness (he seemed to quite like Lou); or was it more just showing Lou as he found him, using the technique of 'give em' enough rope'. Also, it is most probable Brown knew at the time of shooting the TV doco that his subject was terminally ill. (Tragically, Lou Gentile passed away due to cancer a few months after the documentary was filmed.) I thought it was sad that Lou held up photos and EVPs as his life's work in the paranormal field that were, at best, highly questionable as to their paranormal content. As photos were projected, Lou showed us the faces in them, claiming the images as indisputable proof that ghosts and demons exist. The same claim was made in regard to some fairly iffy EVP recordings; they could maybe have been paranormal, but once the supposed content of the paranormal message in the EVP was suggested (in this case, also subtitled onscreen) the chance for viewers to regard it objectively was lost. (I would also question the documentary's producers for this fault. The recordings could perhaps have been presented neutrally, at least before screening Lou's opinion.) Lou Gentile approached the paranormal from the perspective of a believer, and when it comes to presenting evidence, this approach is fundamentally flawed. It inevitably polarises viewers into one of two positions: 'I believe it', or 'It is total nonsense'. There is little room left for middle ground analysis, as a Yes or No response is effectively demanded. Any strongly subjective viewpoint (like Gentile's) polarises opinion, and that is ultimately counterproductive. Also, and perhaps more crucially, the process of investigating and gathering the evidence from the paranormal believers' subjective viewpoint raises even more difficult questions regarding the validity of that evidence. What we are being presented with may not be the entire document; we will tend to think it has been edited to strengthen it, to make a case, ignoring other parts that lessen its value. What are we not being shown? Most paranormal TV shows that are designed to be entertainment also work in this way and suffer from the same fault. Brown's documentary is more objective, but we are still not allowed to consider any evidence or claim very thoroughly. In the TV-world interests of story telling and brevity, there is little depth to it. I would suggest that as paranormal investigators, we should avoid these traps and do our best to be objective. We should concentrate on trying to establish what is occurring without jumping to the conclusion that it is paranormal - it probably is not - and we should present all of the relevant evidence without making inevitably unsustainable claims as to its meaning and interpretation. Taking this path will help immensely on the credibility front. There is nothing wrong with a bit of speculation in summarising the evidence found in an investigation, as long as it is presented as speculation; but making strong claims that photographs, sound recordings and other documents represent proof of the paranormal does no good. Rather, it invites ridicule and casts the paranormal investigator/s concerned, and the whole field, to a degree, in a poor light. I don't know enough about Lou Gentile's work as a Demonologist to discuss it here (and it is not the subject of this essay), but it has to be said that, in general, the practice of exorcising supposed demons is highly dangerous. It may be that if the 'victim' of the possession is suffering some kind of delusion and/or hysteria, a successful exorcism will relieve them of the belief that they are possessed and thereby cure them. But how can someone who is not a qualified medical practitioner be sure that they are not dealing with an epileptic seizure or some other kind of mental illness manifesting itself? Early in the documentary, the man on the bed is clearly having a seizure of some kind - be it self induced though hysteria, or otherwise - and I sincerely doubt there's a demon at the bottom of it. I thought it sad, watching Brown's Lou Gentile documentary for the second time, that this man's life's work, his dedication to the field of the paranormal, and his unswerving need to help others was reduced to a few pretty iffy claims of proof of the paranormal. The documentary was, while at some level respectful and a just memoriam, at the last rather belittling. Note: another lengthy treatment of the life and work of Lou Gentile can be found in the book Will Storr vs the Supernatural. It is an excellent read. Will Storr's approach is akin to Derren Brown's - he presents people and situations as he finds them, steering clear of cynicism. There is underlying humour, but reader or viewer is invited to draw their own conclusions. 14th Oct. 2016: Author comment: this is not a debate about homosexuality or Christianity.
Comments relating to these topics will be deleted. Thank you.
23 Comments
Mick
21/4/2013 05:05:47 am
Derren Brown is an atheist and homosexual, therefore all his shows are skewed to ridiculing paranormal phenomena, Christianity and any hint of an afterlife, so he's about as much to be taken seriously as Mary Poppins..:)
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Tom
21/4/2013 05:54:35 am
What does his sexuality have to do with it?
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I appreciate that athiests may have a bias against the existence of most paranormal phenomena, but fail to see how homosexuality, or any other sexual orientation, would affect anyone's views here.
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Reposting comment by Derren (no email supplied) minus the F and C words, because he makes a valid point. Comments containing abuse will be deleted.
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Davey
22/4/2013 02:20:44 pm
I watched the documentary for the first time on Friday evening (19th April 2013). Again I do not see the relevance of Derren being an athiest on a tv program about ghost hunting (he wasnt setting out to disprove any existence of God, just trying to rationalise things which go bump in the night). I thought that Lou was an honourable and truthful man who had gone too far down a road to make a u-turn or reverse. Derrens role seemed simply to balance the evidence by asking himself and experts their considered opinions on what other causes exist.
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Antoinette
4/4/2016 08:36:02 pm
Hi. This is Lou Gentile's wife. I just wanted to let everyone know that Derren Brown did not know Lou had cancer. No one did. Not even close friends. Derren was an extremely nice man, along with his filming crew. It was a pleasure to meet him and everyone involved.
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james Gilberd
4/4/2016 11:01:48 pm
Thank you very much for your comment, Antoinette.
ConcernedPerson
28/4/2013 05:19:09 am
I watched this recently and thought darren could of tried to interview more researchers but was shocked to learn of lous death. I hope he is okay wherever he is now. Its not fair to simply outcast a persons view in the name of science. Einstein said the universe was created by the big bang and infact it was a religious priest who taugh him that. Therefor science and religion are still both mystifiying. Rip Lou.
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8/8/2013 04:05:35 pm
I clearly support and admit what you said; the documentary was, while at some level respectful and a just memoriam, at the last rather belittling. It could have been way much better. Thanks a lot for the brief information.
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James
30/9/2013 02:57:44 am
Sorry, I have no idea. Not an i-user.
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James Gilberd (author)
5/1/2014 07:42:27 am
I have just deleted a comment and reply, both attacking Derren Brown because of his sexuality. Hey guys, this is the 21st century!
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Stacie Gentile
11/1/2014 11:04:09 am
Lou Gentile was my father, and yes, he passed away from Cancer in June of 2009, which was about 8 months after the making of this show. Derren and his people were down to earth, they all showed great respect for my fathers work. My dad handled everything exactly like he should have, which always inspired me.. We all have to understand that it's very hard to try to convince a skeptic that the paranormal is a real thing, but my dad did a hell of a job, and his legacy will forever live on!! Thank you for the post!!
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11/1/2014 11:42:46 am
Thank you very much for posting your comment, Stacie. Indeed, your father's legacy will live on. Good to hear that Derren and his team acted well also.
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Daniel
10/11/2014 03:53:25 pm
I think Lou Gentile done a commendable and courageous job. I'd like to share my interpretation: (This is not an attack on homosexuality)
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Matthew
14/10/2016 03:36:51 am
21st century now, time to leave silly 5th century reasoning to establish someone gay as beneath you, or your god.
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Daniel
10/11/2014 05:17:08 pm
Also I'd like to add a couple of things. The technician who assessed the voice recorder said the electrical static came from the devices circuits, can he prove that? A disclaimer on the device mentioned interference, where's the proof that the origin ISN'T inorganic entities? Also, concerning the exorcism: the physical specialist explained the biological processes of a pseudo seizure which is caused by someones reality shutting down under emotional stress. Isn't that the desired result of an exorcism? The hijacking entity's consciousness is shut down under the pressure from the exorcist, thus the hosts biological response as the entity has been ejected from the body. It doesn't disprove anything, even strengthens the exorcism argument. Also makes them look like idiots for thinking that it is a convincing argument.
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NX
1/5/2017 02:25:10 pm
I'm watching the Derren Brown series featuring Lou and, as ever with subjects that intrigue me, doing a little background on Lou. I get the feeling from watching Derren in this episode that yes, he does like Lou, but his and by extension the program's kind treatment has much to with the fact that Lou did not seek to profit from his endeavours.
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Ruth
26/10/2017 06:21:51 am
I'm currently researching paranormal phenomena for a novel & re-watched this documentary today after seeing it when it first aired. Reading the dedication to Lou at the end of the documentary I was saddened. He was a real believer & strove to do good in a field which is so often full of frauds & the deluded.
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26/10/2017 02:01:19 pm
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Ruth. I tend to agree. Actually, I've just finished a novel with a paranormal theme - 'Edwin J Smith, Paranormal Investigator' - see https://strangeoccurrencesparanormal.weebly.com/new-paranormal-novel.html
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Ruth
26/10/2017 06:13:49 pm
Hi James - ironically, like your own novel, mine is a comic fantasy based around Paranormal Investigation; allthough a lot more suspension of disbelief is required as the main protagonist is more of a detective with her deceased Uncle acting as both partner & mentor. However, I've referenced a lot of actual hauntings & both sceptics & psychics from the real world throughout. I find the subject utterly fascinating & have done since I was very young, so I feel like my whole life so far has been research ;) 26/10/2017 06:21:14 pm
Well, I look forward to reading your novel, Ruth (but not before I finish Part 2 of my own, which I hope to do over this summer (maybe your winter).
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Ectoplasmic Residueis a blog by James Gilberd - leader and co-founder of Strange Occurrences. Views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the Strange Occurrences team. AuthorJames Gilberd is an amateur paranormalist, writer and musician, and a professional photographer, living in Wellington, New Zealand. Archives
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