Using the paranormal to drum up business

Ghost hunting has become big business with lots of foot traffic coming to places that can support claims of hauntings and possible TV fame for those who can bring the "truth" to light. Celebrity fame and increased business can be yours if you have the right spin. And that appears to be what’s going on with this article and it seems a little to self-serving to me. If a town wants to start up a ghost walk, ghost tour or whatever, then great for them. Spin yarns of the past and nefarious citizens, but this seems like they’re trying to make the place haunted so they can drum up business. They’re pretty blatant about wanting to get more business downtown:

They see it as a way to draw people to downtown, with an attraction that has been popular in historic large cities like London and New Orleans — and even smaller ones, such as St. Augustine and Savannah, Ga.

Stanford said she hopes the ghost tours would bring more people to downtown Titusville on weekend evenings, and that those people would become more familiar with local restaurants and other merchants.

And even the people coming in to investigate are pretty clear they want a TV show out of the deal:

Pettit is doing the work in Titusville for free, and he hopes to use video from the investigations for a television reality series he wants to market. Among cable-TV series with the ghost-hunting theme are "Ghost Hunters" on Syfy and "Ghost Adventures" on the Travel Channel.

If you have a haunted location or want to share some interesting historical facts about your town then by all means, but I’m not sure I agree with the motivation behind this.

Titusville hopes ghost tours scare up some business

Other Articles of Interest:

• Looks like ghost hunting is becoming big business
• Ghost Adventures – The Stanley Hotel – S04E05
• Paranormal State – Spirits of the Slave Dungeon – S05E03
• Ghost Hunters Academy – Almost making Ghost Lab look good
• Independent investigation of the Spalding Inn
• Ghost Mine – Town Wide Terror – S02E09
• When will the paranormal bubble burst?
• Ghost Hunters 100th Episode from Alcatraz. But not live.
• Haunted Highway – Manchac Swamp and Moonville Tunnel – S02E02
• Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07