ripple effect

As of 2020, there are over 800 million users on TikTok. It is one of the hottest social media platforms around. In one minute or less, you can be treated to a story, a how-to tutorial, a dance, the list goes on.

One of the most popular niches on TikTok is paranormal. From ghost stories to footage of paranormal activity, there are millions of users becoming TikTok famous thanks to the paranormal. However, not all is perfect. Some of the most popular accounts and videos include doors slamming open and shut, things moving, basically some of the most remarkable evidence of the paranormal you can find.

Sadly, most of those videos are not real.

Think about it; some of us are hanging out in the most haunted places in the world, and we’re lucky if we get 20 minutes of spirit interaction out of the eight hours we’re there. And yet, all these people get hours and hours of data and their cameras just happen to be on and pointed in the right direction.

Is TikTok Hurting the Paranormal Field?

In my opinion, yes. It’s creating a weird version of paranormal investigating that’s even further from the truth than what you see on TV. If the paranormal phenomenon was that dramatic, we would have been able to prove the existence of ghosts a long time ago. It’s creating this disillusioned version of paranormal experiences that’s almost offensive. Yet, it’s the creators who are faking who are clearly getting the millions of followers. They have their Venmo, CashApp, and PayPal info in their bio. They’re being sent gifts and other freebies from their concerned fanbase. Not to mention, the TikTok Creators Fund. If you hit 10K followers, you can monetize on the platform and you’re compensated for views. The fake accounts on haunted TikTok are making some money (if they signed up for the program).

Finally, I also think the circus-act of creating poltergeist-like phenomena for the camera is almost offensive to the people who are having true paranormal experiences. Many of them don’t have a camera pointing at it. And blatant fakery like this makes it harder for the folks having legit experiences to be believed.

Easy to Fake

I thought I would have built my TikTok platform on scary stories and ghost hunting tips. But, I’ve become a debunker. Those are my most popular videos. Well, those and making spoofs of Ghost Adventures, but that’s another conversation for another time.

Haunted TikTok and Paranormal TikTok is full of videos that contain nothing more than parlor tricks. In some of these videos, you can even see the fishing line. What is unfortunate is that many of these videos are reaching an audience that isn’t familiar with the paranormal world, let alone debunking.

One of the craziest videos I found (and debunked) included a woman who was using audio from a YouTube video claiming that it was a spirit voice coming from the walls. Even though I debunked this with the actual YouTube video, people didn’t believe me. I was accused of being a hater. Here’s one of the videos in case you’re curious.

@thespookystuff
#stitch with @danceswithwerewolves At least put some effort into it. #hauntedtiktok #paranormaltiktok #paranormalinvestigator #paranormalresearcher
♬ original sound – Alex Matsuo

It’s amazingly easy to create fake haunted videos on TikTok. You just need to use the right camera angle so that no one can see the manipulation of the physical objects. Also, you can find random audio anywhere. What a lot of people don’t realize is that you can edit TikTok videos on professional editing software like Filmora, Adobe Premiere, Canva, etc. It’s not just hitting the record button and then posting right after. People are doing incredible things with their TikTok videos.

How Are People Getting Away with This?

Simply put, no one is asking questions. When I’m scrolling through TikTok, I barely comment unless I’m friends with the creator. What is even worse is that people will reshare the content, not realizing it’s fake. I did call out one creator, and she reached out to me after and explained what happened with this photo she shared of a ghost. Turns out, that ghost came from a ghost app.

Here’s that video. Note: The original creator is a sweetheart, and she definitely acknowledged the flub and did a duet with this video after.

@thespookystuff
#greenscreen Debunking another photo. @kimberlyrhoades112, you were sent a fake. #hauntedtiktok #paranormaltiktok #ghosthunter #paranormalphotography
♬ Baby Elephant Walk – Henry Mancini

We don’t ask many questions on TikTok unless it resonates with us on a level where we want to question it. When it comes to Haunted TikTok, people like storytelling and they like being scared. They may not want to claim the energy in the video, but they’ll keep binging until they fall asleep.

There’s also little-to-no accountability on TikTok. Even if you manage to debunk something, it will get lost in the sea of videos and comments are eventually buried.

I think one of the most popular and misleading effects out there on the app is the ripple effect. It has people convinced that they’re seeing ghosts in their home. The ripple effect was made based on a algorithm created to detect body shape. This doesn’t mean it will only pick up ghosts. The AI technology that makes the ripple effect makes it go off based on anything that could resemble a body. This means that random objects can be picked up.

@thespookystuff
#duet with @witchywomanlife Its easy to trigger Reality Ripple. @cherisewilliams.xo covered this too. #hauntedtiktok #paranormaltiktok #ghosthunter
♬ original sound – Alissa Chasse

Look at it this way; we don’t know what a spirit is made of. How can we build a smartphone to pick up on something without telling it what it’s made of? Let alone, how can TikTok build an app to detect energy when we don’t know what it even is? It doesn’t. It’s made to pick up shapes, no matter whether it’s a person or your grandma’s favorite chair.

Why Should We Care?

We need to care because Haunted TikTok is turning into a circus. Don’t get me wrong, there are legitimate creators out there putting out genuine data. But they’re being overlooked by the fishing line and intentional forgery. It’s truly a shame because there are a lot of people out there curious about the paranormal and want to learn more.

Also, there are some very gullible people on TikTok who really don’t know any better. Most of the messages I’m getting these days are from folks who watched a video of an alleged haunting, and it freaked them out so much that they can’t sleep or live life peacefully after. This is why I maintain my presence as a skeptical believer. For some reason, people enjoy my content and they like how I balance between skepticism and spiritual. I also try to redirect my followers to other skeptics and balanced creators who aren’t just posting videos of fishing line for likes, follows, and even money.

What Can We Do?

Ask questions. Debunk and call out when you see obvious fakery like a fishing line. If you see a TikTok video that is too good to be true, it most likely is. Ask the creator if you can see the video from another angle. Also, ask about background and history. Finally, if it seems that they have an ongoing haunting that won’t stop, ask if they’ve had a team come in. What I’ve found is that most of these creators will not get a team involved because they’ll soon find out there’s nothing paranormal happening.

Is All Hope Lost?

Not at all. TikTok is still a young platform trying to find its feet. The people that end up on Haunted TikTok eventually make their way to the more skeptical side. I try to devote a few videos per week to debunking videos. Some of the creators I debunk are really cool, while others are a bit mean and then try to sic their followers on me.

Also, what I really like about TikTok is I can make videos from comments left on my other videos. This puts a face and a voice to my name, and it’s so much more than just text on a screen. TikTok manages to keep reminding us that we’re all people behind these accounts, and that’s why I’m so drawn to it.

If I’m not full-out debunking, I’m honest and share the questions I have to make my viewers think differently. If I can at least plant that seed of critical thinking, I’m doing my job.

One recent morning, a friend alerted me to a new effect that was available on TikTok. They call it the Ripple Effect, and it creates multi colors around a moving thing, regardless of whether it’s a person, animal, or furniture. While many people were taking advantage of it for its intended person, there’s another audience that is using it to detect ghosts.

For the best viewing experience, I recommend watching the video I made on YouTube, so you can see what is being broken down. The TikTok videos are also below for your viewing pleasure.

First Round

Because I’m curious in nature, it was time to give it a try. I already had the app installed, and quickly found the effect. I turned it on and started scanning my apartment. To be honest, I hoped it would go off where Frank the Kitchen Ghost likes to hang out. But I got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I walked to the bathroom, scanned each room, and still…nada. I was starting to think that maybe other users had rigged the app to go off on inanimate objects.

As I walked to the living room, I was intrigued to see that my bookshelf was radiating with colors. That bookshelf also happens to house my mother’s urn as well as a number of her trinkets. With the shape of the urn on the top shelf, it honestly looked like a person was standing there.

What was really interesting was that when I changed angles, the colors stopped.

@thespookystuff
I was trying out #realityripple to see if it really detects ghost movements. The only movement was where my mom’s urn is. #paranormal #ghost
♬ original sound – Alex Matsuo

Finding the Catalyst

The next step I made was to remove my mom’s urn. Even though my mom’s urn had been moved, the bookshelf was still triggering the ripple effect. What movement could be going on? This is where I wonder whether there were vibrations in the floor, or could it be the crystals in that bowl all creating their own little vibrations?

The shape also changed, and it completely enveloped the bookshelf, since the urn was no longer there to make the share of the head.

@thespookystuff
Test #2 I moved the urn. let’s see what happens. #paranormal #ghost #realityripple #realityripple
♬ original sound – Alex Matsuo

Take It All Away

So, my third step was to remove the trinkets from the shelf. The trinkets included small statues as well as a bowl of stones and crystals my mom had. I did a video immediately after, and there was still movement. I almost decided that it was just the app itself making the ripple effect based on shape instead of movement. But then a friend told me to let the bookshelf breathe. I let the shelf sit for a bit without the trinkets, and I did another video.

This last time, there was nothing.

@thespookystuff
#realityripple
♬ original sound – Alex Matsuo

The Explanation

I feel this kind of technology can be misleading for folks trying to find spirits. The way that apps like these are developed is that it’s creating to detect movement. If no movement is obvious, then the technology will work harder to create a pattern out of nothingness. It is very similar to the technology behind the SLS camera. Kenny Biddle does a great job explaining the technology behind the SLS camera and why it doesn’t detect ghosts. It’s all based on an algorithm. To keep it high level, it’s creating something out of nothing.

I’ve also considered the idea that all those stones and crystals my mom had, all in that bowl together, were creating some sort of vibration on their own. This is actual science. My friend actually managed to create a radio with crystals, without any electricity or frequency.

I also think perhaps the air vent may have had something to do with it, as the vent is right above the bookshelf. I forgot to take note of whether or not the air was on when I did the video. However, there are vents all over my apartment, and none of the other vents went off.

As more TikTok users flock to the ripple effect to try to find ghosts in their own homes, it just further proves that there is a thirst for more paranormal knowledge out there. As humans, we continue to be curious about the afterlife, and it means that many will grasp onto anything they can to get a taste of that experience.

Tag: ripple effect

Why We Need to Debunk Haunted TikTok