Voodoo Paranormal

This probably won't end well. Years ago, I brought up the concept of a reality television show based on genuine practicing occultists. I noted at the time that main problem such a show would run into is that from the outside most of our practices either look pretty boring or downright laughable. If we're doing contemplative work, much of what we do is meditation. The internal landscape of what's happening during that practice might be profound, but to a camera it just looks like somebody sitting there. Even if we're engaged in more active magical work, most of what we do is put on odd clothing like robes and then wave funny-looking tools around while vibrating various names and words that have no significance to regular television viewers.

Apparently, though, somebody has now come up with the idea of adding magical elements to a regular paranormal investigation show. In the era before Ghost Hunters became a big hit a lot of those shows employed psychics, but the fact is that most of the material such individuals produced was vague and even the most detailed observations generally proved impossible to verify. The twist to this new show, Voodoo Paranormal, is that the producers are looking to integrate real Voodoo, Hoodoo, and Santeria practices into the show.

The production team is casting for its new unscripted paranormal reality show, Voodoo Paranormal.

"Voodoo Paranormal follows paranormal investigators as they investigate haunted locations in search of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins using sophisticated technology paired with vintage Voodoo spells."

The production team is looking for passionate people that are practitioners of Voodoo, Hoodoo, and Santeria.

From a filming perspective that makes more sense than relying on psychics, as spells from those traditions tend to employ a lot of external materials that look more interesting on a screen than somebody just sitting there with their eyes closed. Still, I can't help but think the occult elements are going to wind up being played for laughs, or at best, aiming for gawkers who know nothing about what's going on. Watching a spell cast on video is simply not the same as being there, caught up in the moment and experiencing the intangible presence of a magical field. Detached from all that it tends to just look flat and therefore kind of silly.

I suppose a good producer could come up with ways to sensationalize such practices, but even then such methods give a highly distorted view of what really goes on during a magical operation. And let's just say that reality television has a pretty dismal history in terms of presenting anything resembling nuance.