A veteran ghost hunter has blasted Gen Z content creators for “taking advantage” of the supernatural – accusing them of turning the spirit world into clickbait.
Geraint Hopkins, who’s spent 46 years chasing ghosts and explaining the unknown, says TikTok and YouTube are ruining the once-respected craft.
The 72-year-old from Llanelli, Wales – dubbed The Gothic Ghost Hunter by Phillip Schofield – reckons social media fame-seekers are putting both haunted sites and the paranormal community at risk.
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With spooky season in full swing, thousands of creators are flocking to “haunted” houses and abandoned asylums hoping to capture something spine-chilling on camera.
But Geraint fears it’s gone too far, as reported by Need To Know.
“It’s more mainstream now,” he told Casinos.com.
“There are positives and negatives.
“It’s good that belief helps people, but bad when some take advantage or damage places.
“We must respect history, the buildings, and everyone’s beliefs.
“The equipment helps, but nothing beats being in the room and feeling the atmosphere shift.
“I’ve been doing this since 1979.
“It would be the Holy Grail for anyone to get a genuinely live or rather dead ghost on camera. I am still trying.
“The scariest experience ever was in an old children’s home in South Wales.
“Something felt really bad to everyone, and suddenly a boy’s face came up to one of us, almost nose to nose.
“I always carry a relic of St Benedict, the patron saint of exorcism and we always surround ourselves in white and blue light, which is pure.
“We’ve had negative experiences, but mainly they’re peaceful or confused.”
As well as chasing spirits, Geraint has spent decades working with reptiles in film and TV – earning him another nickname: The Snakeman.
He said he fears for the future of ghost hunting if the new generation keeps chasing views over the truth.
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