In recent year’s vampires, ware wolves, aliens, ghosts and
zombies have all risen in popularity. Movies, books, video games and even
television shows depicting the supernatural, the paranormal, and psychic
phenomena are drawing audiences of all ages and all walks of life.
This is not the first, and likely will not be the last time our interests
shift to the other worldly. Research suggests that when certain
conditions are evident within a society, its members begin to explore the
unknown and question the unexplained.
There are three primary human conditions that provide fodder for the paranormal.
The first is fear. Children don’t imagine monsters under the bed until they are
old enough to understand that a monster is a frightening thing. In adulthood,
when we feel insecure about our place in world, we begin to revert back to the
monster under the bed. We being to wonder if there may be something else out
there that is causing our fear and uncertainty. It has been proven that there
is a direct correlation between countries at war and U.F.O sightings. Does this
mean U.F.Os’ are attracted to human conflict? Perhaps it is more logical to
believe that when people are under extreme emotional turmoil, they begin seeing
monsters again.
The second human condition is confidence. When a society is fat and full,
when they are economically strong, well fed both physically and emotionally,
and happy with their place in the world they begin to feel like there should be
other worlds to conquer. We settled the west, we traveled to space, grew
technologically by leaps and bounds. Human beings are genetically conditioned
to seek, explore, and conquer. Not everyone can cure disease or create world
peace, but everyone can explore a haunted house, search for a strange creature,
and look for a U.F.O. When we feel secure, we hunger for new things to
believe in. This is in large part the reason that we have made so many advances
in technology.
Finally, the third human condition associated with interest in the
paranormal is insecurity. When a society begins to lose faith in their leaders,
their economy, and their security, they begin to question their priorities and
beliefs. Some turn to religion and become more active in their churches.
Others look for the answer in the unexplained. It is human nature to look for
more when we begin to question the meaning of things. We need purpose and
understanding. If what we thought was the best way to live our lives is no
longer giving us what we need or desire, we look for something else to provide
us with fulfillment.
Of course there are those, like me, who have always had a healthy interest
in the paranormal. We are intrigued regardless of our current life position. We
watch the movies and read the books when we are happy, sad, confident and
insecure. But it is our human condition to question why when we see our
membership rolls grow so quickly and so vast. This genre has grown and declined
in popularity with noticeable peaks and valleys for over one hundred years of
recorded history and will likely see another decline as world politics and
economic concerns become more stable but for now, there is definitely a
plethora of entertainment out there to satisfy the hunger of an eager audience.
