One of my favorite quotes is from Hunter S. Thompson.  It's almost my motto: "You buy the ticket, you take the ride."  I couldn't help but to think of that when I read the story.  You hunt for ghosts in the dead of night ON TRAIN TRACKS…you get what you get.  I mean I would hope the person is alright…but…you know…stick your arm in the lion's cage and you get bit…don't come crying to me when all of a sudden you can only count up to five…

I've always been kind of amazed that more "ghost hunters" don't get hurt.  But I agree with Bobarino, the frequency of these "ghost-related" injuries will increase. 

As far as the other part of the conversation…I can't help but to always sigh when someone does something kind of stupid and violent and somehow video games get brought into it.  People were stupid, violent, weak, and in need of help (like the guy in Nosfer's gaming link) for thousands of years.  Well before video games came along. And we still are..nothing has really changed except for our toys (I can hardly argue against that point).  To me, blaming video games for any sort of decline of our civilization is like blaming that last rain drop for making the oceans of the world wet. 

At full disclosure…I've been a big time gamer for years.  And for years…when a lonely kid takes his own life or some morons get involved in a bit of the ultra-violence…suddenly little cartoon guys are the spawn of Satan and to blame for the world's woes.  I have yet to hear a convincing argument on that matter in the last 20 years.  The lawsuit in Nosfer's link may be heard…but it will get thrown out.  They always are.  And should be.  Perhaps, in this particular case…although symbolically as well…perhaps the young man should just take responsibility for his own actions, stop trying to find blame in others, and get the help that he needs to succeed in life.

Which…in full circle…back to the ghost hunters hit by the train.  The person that was injured…I'm sure their lawyer is looking for somebody to sue…paranormal TV shows, the train-line, maybe even members of that ghost hunting group for not taking proper precautions and not warning the person.  Always something or somebody to blame instead of taking personal responsibility.

Hmmm…I guess the moral of the story?  If it is ever a ghost hunter versus a train on the "Deadliest Warrior"…always throw down money on the train…

Nosfer asked: "So what would you see as the cause of this increase?"

A couple of factors.  The first…as we ride out this paranormal craze, the sheer amount of people being exposed to it increases.  As the number of people increases, a few small categories increase…including those not physically up to the challenge of climbing and such.  Those with existing injuries and conditions.  Push them enough and they'll get hurt.  Also…you start hitting the jackpot for the "crazies."  Those that are bound and determined to do something crazy and reckless regardless of the activity itself.  Ghost hunting will be blamed in this instance, but really…this category of people would do something crazy anyway.  Ghost-hunting is only the vehicle in which to get to the land of broken legs and ignorance for this group. 

The other main factor is this "one-upmanship" that we're seeing in everything, especially in online videos.  Compare videos from five years ago to those right now.  The "extreme" videos seem to be really escalating in danger and stupidity (see this link for any question on that).  Translate that to ghost hunting now.  People will trespass more.  People will cross shaky walk-ways, unstable floors, and challenge asbestos and whatever other obstacle that they should be steering clear of…and in the dark as well.  This willingness to push things, to crankit up to the next level will include more injuries.  And if they can get these accidents on film…so much the better.  After all, people want their little videos to get big numbers on Youtube.  To do that, you need to stand out.  How do you do that?  Show people "going extreme" and getting hurt.

It will escalate and ghost hunters will start dying (if they haven't already).  At this point, the hunter becomes the prey.  Other ghost hunters will come and try to communicate with the ghosts of the previous ghost hunters.  At last…the vicious circle complete. 

(Oh, and for the record Nosfer…in no way, shape, or form was I insulting your point of view on games or bating you into a debate over it.  It's just that the "video games are bad" argument has been pushed down my throat for over two decades now.  To me, it's like the "ghost thing."  There is no concrete evidence that video games are bad, yet many people "believe" it.  Typically, those that believe it do not play the games.  They only judge the most graphic and most shocking game at the moment.  If one looks objectively at the topic as a whole, the argument that video games actually add something positive to society is infinitely more solid than the counter-argument.  This has always been the case, yet…popular belief…video games are still "bad."  That belief is slowly changing, but for those of us that play and have to put up with it…not fast enough.) 

Here's an update with just a bit more information about the accident.  To the right of the story near the top you can find video of the trestle itself and the 911 call.

http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=13055036

Bobarino said: "2. RE: "Was GH a cause or result", I would say result."

I would agree that GH was just a result of the paranormal craze as opposed to the cause.  Just before GH hit the airwaves, there were already two very popular paranormal shows on TV.

The first was MTV's "Fear."  I loved that show.  Stick a bunch of college kids in scary places, let them do "challenges" and see who wets themselves.  That's just good TV.  Anyway…love or hate MTV, they are extremely innovative and do begin many trends that other networks follow.  With this particular show, it proved that a reality style show paired with the paranormal would work.

And when GH began on SyFy ("Sci Fi" back then), keep in mind, it wasn't even the highest rated "ghost-centric" show on the network.  That title belonged to "Crossing Over" with John Edwards.  Some would argue that it was a "psychic" show.  Sure…but the main push was that he "talked to the dead."  Which really, is a big part of GH with their EVP sessions.

So I believe that GH took the paranormal craze to the next level, but it certainly wasn't the cause of it.  I just don't want to give them that kind of credit…