Ghost Hunter Franschise

Paranormal activity raises great interest in many people today due to the stories passed from all different time periods. When media takes hold of anything that will snag great ratings ghost related based stories come along. A franchise know as Ghost Hunters (Peter Zasuly, Tom Thayer; 2004/05; United States and United Kingdom) produced by Big Vision, which also goes by many variations such as Ghost Hunter, Ghost Hunter International, Ghost Watch all these programs deal with investigating paranormal activity. Each variation consists of a research crew and a place where paranormal activity has been reported; they do not necessarily solve the “ghost problem” or stop the paranormal activity. The reality program Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International, a branch of Ghost Hunters, is televised on the scifi channel in the United States. The program Ghost Watch (Lesley Manning; Oct. 1992; BBC Studio One) is aired in the United Kingdom while Ghost Hunter (Rei Mano; 2006-2007;Japan) airs in Japan distributed by Manga Entertainment (UK) as an anime but also licensed by FUNimation to air in the United States. The ghost hunting televised franchise itself, as determined by personal research, started around 1992. In 1992, when the SCI FI Channel in the US began its popularity and television broadcasts, this was also during the time of Ghost Watch in the UK. However, the “franchise” of sharing ghost stories started long before the media acted and still continues to grow.
The franchise of ghost hunting presents itself as a logical example for homogenization due to the general begins of interest due to past ghost stories and any story of paranormal focus. Since the subject of ghost holds the ability to become a strong connection between individual experiences and personal experiences this would immediately create an interest the public eye. For media to make a story come to life the next natural step was not just to cover a ghost story but also to investigate the home base of the spirits whereabouts. Ghost Hunter and Ghost Hunter International tend to investigate places of historical meaning such as Fort Henry, this gives more meaning to the episode and to those who can connect with this particular historical place. The British version of Ghost Hunters title changes to Ghost Watch, with the same concept in mind the only change between these two concerns the change in filming, Ghost Watch was filmed live format. The Japanese anime Ghost Hunter changes in the way it is viewed, simply because it is an anime, this change appeals to not only adults but to younger children and adolescences. By capturing footage, creating visual for ghost stories, and filming in a live mode connects the audience by moving from story to story and from place to place.
These programs use the “ New Engines” gladiatorial and voting off, gladiatorial is expressed more considering the lack of elimination in these shows. Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International along with Ghost Watch and Ghost Hunter all contain the gladiatorial engine due to the element of surprise. One of the ways the audience can participate and truly connect with the onscreen cast of Ghost Hunters deals with the shows website. The audience sees them live while searching through the location and have the opportunity to warn the cast of anything suspicious.
The British version of the franchise takes a more historical and documentary feel to the franchise. While the Americanized version creates more of a scare factory by filming live and revealing every aspect of the investigation. The Japanese anime will generally choose a school setting for various anime along with the simple dialect.

GHOST WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ76ohFwzO8&feature=related

GHOST HUNTERS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuZ6OFmpVsY

GHOST HUNT (Japanese anime):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coRBLVwHjKE