Beardo Live: Fake Vs Real Pt2

This second part of Beardo Live: Fake vs Real will discuss Beardo's livestream from the moment Joe Vitale joins until the moment Stee and Dolly from Paranormal By The Sea leaves. If you haven't read part one, the livestream was conducted on the 14th of August 2024 and lasted for just over three hours. It was led by 'Beardo' from 'Beardo Gets Scared'; a paranormal investigation and debunking YouTube channel. He featured a number of guests on this livestream, these being Justin from the Paranormal Monkey Podcast, Paul from Ghosts On Trent, Stee and Dolly from Paranormal By The Sea, Joe Vitale from Entity Seven Paranormal, Kev Kerr from Kev Kerr Paranormal, and Kenny Biddle. For the part of the stream discussed in this article, Kev and Kenny have not yet joined the livestream.

Joe Vitale joined the livestream roughly fifty-six minutes in, and for his introduction he explained that he has investigated the paranormal for the last thirty years on and off. He said that means he goes out out, sees what happens, and tests claims. I think it's good that Joe joined the stream, not only because of him being an experienced investigator, but because he's American. Everyone else on the panel up to this point was English or Welsh, so it was good for an American to join as it offered a completely different perspective on the paranormal from a cultural perspective. For example, in America there is an area known as 'the bible belt' which is a highly religious area where the paranormal is frowned upon; however as far as I'm aware that kind of thing doesn't exist in the UK. 

Fiona Curr's Comment:

"OK SO HERE IS A QUESTION. SO I TOTALLY GET THAT THERE ARE FAKERS. TOTALLY: BUT WHAT IF CERTAIN SPIRITS ARE DRAWN TO CERTAIN PEOPLE!"

Beardo replied to this comment by saying they probably are, or can be, but they're not on YouTube. He went on to explain that there are people going to different places all over the world who are getting activity week in and week out without fail, and that this isn't how the paranormal works which means those people are lying. Paul, from Ghosts On Trent, added to Beardo's answer by saying if certain spirits are drawn to certain people then debunkers are debunking the spirits as debunkers are debunking the activity they're creating. He then mentioned the specific things the dubunkers call out such as masks, people throwing things, and strings being pulled; all of which would be ridiculous for a spirit to use. Beardo then said some debunkers don't believe in the paranormal at all, but others such as himself do come from a place of belief. 

Justin, from the Paranormal Monkey Podcast, then gave his answer to the comment by saying if a spirit is drawn to someone known for faking, and they then get spirit activity, then the viewer won't ever know if that activity is genuine. He then compared it to the boy who cried wolf, and so you won't know what's real and what's fake. He also said if someone is caught faking once then the respect of the channel plummets and he won't believe anything they capture even if they do go on to catch something real. 

Beardo then said that if one of the channels, such as Sam and Colby, came out and said everything was fake up to that point then it wouldn't do any damage to them; but if they captured something genuine then no one would believe them due to the past fakery. To back this suspicion up, he said that himself and Paul went to the Jumangi house and experienced things which other teams had experienced; but people wouldn't believe those other teams even though it seems their experiences may have been genuine as they've lied in the past. Joe, from Entity Seven Paranormal, added by saying he's talked about it a few times and that people could be having a real experience but the credibility isn't there. 

Paul, from Ghosts On Trent, then played devils advocate to the scenario. He said on the flip side a genuine team could build up the trust with viewers, but if they fake something then people will be more likely to believe it as the channel was known to be genuine. He also said he's seen some channels start out legitimately, or seem to have started out that way, but then they eventually fake things and so people are more inclined to believe the fakery due to the team's reputation; and so you can't be biased. Justin, from the Paranormal Monkey Podcast, added to Paul's comment by saying the ones that really annoy him are those who portray themselves as skeptical or as a debunker, but then are later caught for faking. 

I think all of the teams made excellent points in their responses to this question. It was particularly great for them to acknowledge not only that fakers likely will never be seen as legitimate, but that it's difficult for someone who is legitimate to then be viewed as fake when they do fake things. That acknowledgement towards the bias created through reputation is incredibly important, and really does emphasise that you shouldn't ever judge a team's evidence based on their past. I think ech piece of evidence should be looked at individually, and as a result if it seems nothing is faked then you can say it could be genuine. Of course, if the team has faked things in the past then it will put a question mark over this possibly genuine evidence as perhaps they've faked it through an unknown method. I don't think it should be thrown out entirely though. I always say that at the end of the day, these fake teams are going to places which contain tales of hauntings; therefore it's entirely possible that they may capture something genuine. 

World Of MrGrey's Comment:

"Question, who comes up with these redonkulous names for places? Like jumangi house, hell house? Demon house About 20 of them now lol"

Beardo replied to this comment by saying he thinks there is a reason in the UK. He went on to say that this reason is so that people don't give a location away for other to then go there and trash the place. In his explanation of the consequences of giving away locations, he said the Jumangi house had vines up the inside walls and games inside, and so they don't want to give away the location. 

I agree with Beardo here. While I do agree that some of these names are 'redonkulous', it is in the best interests of the property or property owners that the location remains anonymous. I've done it myself with my 'Location X' Spirit Talker word lists as I knew issues could arise if I revealed the location to the public. It is important to remember that paranormal investigation teams don't only investigate paid locations where they've got the owner's permission to publicly say a place is haunted. Some teams explore seemingly abandoned locations, and these are the places which need to remain anonymous as otherwise people would just break in and destroy what remains of the place. As for why they have names like 'hell house' and 'demon house', that's likely all because of getting YouTube clicks and views. The more dramatic it sounds, the more likely someone is to watch the video.

Beardo's First Comment 

"Joe, you wanted to bring, er, something up that I think is relevant as well about actual buildings and them basically letting people to get away with murder to sell tickets"

Joe Vitale, from Entity Seven Paranormal, made a good observation at this point in the livestream. He did that teams go to locations, get told a story, and then run with the story they are told; however, if those teams did their research then within ten minutes they would find out the stories aren't true. He added by saying that most locations in America are good about their history, and so if they're not too sure on something then they'll just say it's what they've heard and that they don't know if it's true; something which is very good of them to do. Joe then said he had been to locations in the past, heard nothing about demons being there, but then a new owner took over and suddenly there is a demon there; leading teams to run with demon stories as a result. Joe continued by saying that other owners won't say anything about demons, but they also won't care if the investigators say otherwise as it brings business to the building. He did then acknowledge that there are some owners who do call out investigators who make false claims about the building they've investigated.

Beardo then replied by saying he knows of a lady who went against a channel as big as Sam and Colby's for disrespect in the house, which is something Beardo views as massively brave for the owner to do. He also acknowledged that other owners would just let them get away with it. Joe then said that when he goes to American locations, he hears that the owners don't want the fake investigators back due to all the lies they've spread; but he does also say other owners don't care about the lies. 

Justin, from the Paranormal Monkey Podcast, added by saying he had issues with 39 De Grey Street in Hull as the owner was spinning a narrative about it being a one time mortuary, along with other tales such as that people renting the property couldn't stay as it was so haunted. Due to this, Justin brought a historian with the team to the property and the historian said there was no link to a mortuary along with other facts that contradicted what the owner said. Justin then said that they had to keep the owner and historian seperate as threats ended up occuring between the two. He went on to say that some places, before letting a team in, say what the history is and that they want the team to stick to this history. He said they want no mention of demons, and that they want to see the video before it goes on YouTube as they don't want the location to be muddied by tales of demons and other things. 

Joe agreed and said a couple of locations do that, and that they do want to see and OK the footage first. He said he's aware that some teams go to a location, claim there's a demon there, release the video, and then the owner isn't happy. Joe then makes an excellent point about the bible belt, which is an area in America which is highly religious and so is incredibly wary of anything to do with the paranormal. He said it's hard to get your hands on a location within the bible belt due to the paranormal; and so when word about a demon being present in one location got out, the owner of that location got into trouble from the city. He also said that on the other side regarding the history of places, owners say to stick to it and don't allow for the investigators to debunk it. If they do, then lawsuits get involved. He also said that for the investigators trying to figure out what's going on, if they can't say these people in history weren't there, and that certain things didn't happen, then that makes it stranger and helps the location more if anything else. 

Having done plenty of research on haunted locations, I can confirm what has been discussed here seems absolutely true. Quite often I will find conflicting details regarding a location's history, along with what is said to haunt the property, and I always speculate that this is perhaps down to the location putting things out to boost the tourism or it's due to certain well known teams making things up. I've also found that Chinese whispers can likely play a part too in any misinformation, and so it isn't always intentional. I suspect some sources can get a small detail wrong, or write it in a way that can be misinterpreted, and so when someone else does some research and uses those sources then the truth can be tweaked yet again. This could occur to the point where the truth is hardly recognisable in a statement, and so the history or rumoured hauntings of a location can be changed. 

Beardo's Second Comment

"I've just seen a comment about Really Haunted. Obviously all you guys are involved in the paranormal, I'd love to get your take on this; I personally think, not just him, anyone that does that, faking things from their own house, is the laziest griff on the platform."

I've cut down Beardo's comment to the essential point as he did then go on to say how channels such as Smug Puppy and Really Haunted seem lazy as you can easily see the cuts and how it's faked. Justin, from the Paranormal Monkey Podcast, said he doesn't want to start ranting but that it is pure laziness for them to do it in their homes. He also said that faking makes the paranormal a laughing stock, and he commented that the sloppy methods of making the fake videos further adds to the paranormal seeming like a joke. 

Dolly, from Paranormal By The Sea, said it's frustrating because she wants to bring real evidence of the truth; but then you've got the other channels faking things where it doesn't cost them to do that and they're sloppy with how they make their videos. Stee, also from Paranormal By The Sea, added by saying it's annoying to go to a location where other teams have gone and gotten lots of views, but they hardly get any views and hear nothing in that location. It's also said they don't want to call out those fake channels as it will bring negativity to their own channel, and so they're thankful to the debunkers as they do the calling out for them.

Paul, from Ghosts On Trent, agreed and said they don't watch the nonsense; although he does occasionally come across lives on tiktok and gets banned from them by saying things such as the k2 is flickering due to them being live on their phone. He went on to say he doesn't watch any channels as he doesn't think they're legitimate, and that it's sad that people show him Really Haunted and Smug Puppy videos thinking they're real. He also said that young people who are unaware of the paranormal will likely see a fake video pushed by YouTube first, find it interesting, so find a real video; but then will find the real video boring and never watch the real videos again. Beardo agreed and said that the first time he watched the Ouija Brothers, he found it boring and turned it off. 

Joe, from Entity Seven Paranormal, then added by saying it's frustrating that people in the paranormal haven't been properly taught or trained, and that they just copy and paste from what they've seen. He called it lazy, and then said it's actually lots of work as it's both investigating and creating content for YouTube. He added by saying lots of channels only stay somewhere for four hours before then moving on to the next location. 

At this point, Beardo said there is a well known UK team that makes out they're at a location for the whole night but will have only spent two hours in each location. He also said they fake things in that time, although not to ridiculous levels, and then move on to doing three or four more locations that night. He explained by doing this, they're spending only six hours creating a month's worth of footage, and so this is lazy and that they're lying to their audience about the location. He then said it takes him five and a half hours to get to 30 East Drive, he then investigates for twelve to fifteen hours, and then it's five and a half hours to drive home on two hours of sleep. He also said a top five channel then took that footage, edited out the debunk, and claimed a ghost was there. 

Justin, from the Paranormal Monkey Podcast, reiterated that some fake channels must see the paranormal as a joke as they only do it for the views and subscribers. He said they're trying to portray something as real when it isn't, and this is disrespectful to those who want to investigate for legitimate reasons and who want to capture something genuine. Paranormal By The Sea then made an excellent point by saying the fake teams and channels would be better off if they did it as minifilms, and for entertainment purposes only, as it's an insult to those who are looking for the real paranormal. 

Joe, from Entity Seven Paranormal, then said he knows of a team who said they were somewhere for a night when they were only there for four hours. He said they got footage of the 'sunrise', but it was actually footage of the sunset. When he called out this team, they went after his channel and he couldn't livestream for months as a result even though he had a video of someone, who did the tours at the location, saying the team were only there for four hours and that they even lay on the floor and pretended to sleep. Paul, from Ghosts On Trent, then said these teams are lying about more than just paranormal activity as they're also lying about the time of day, the location, and what they did while there.

At this point, Joe said he had a person debunk a rocking chair he caught moving in his documentary; but he didn't argue with this person, instead he found the person was right, and he did a video saying he was right and that the footage was debunked. Dolly, from Paranormal By The Sea, then said that's how it should be, and that it should be respectful between the investigators and debunkers. She also said they've learned, by watching debunkers, to sit in the house and listen to the noises the house makes and to get use to the sounds. She also said they've even looked into victorian plumbing. 

Beardo said he struggles to be respectful to the fakers, but is more respectful to the misguided and will try to steer them in the right direction. He also said that nine out of ten times people are quick to say he's bullying them and so he mocks and makes jokes as a result. He also explained that as the fakers are having a laugh at the real's expense, he doesn't see why he can't have a laugh at the fake's expense. 

I agree to some extent on the laziness conversation. I don't think faking the paranormal in your own house is lazy, I just think that's cheap. However, poor video creation is either lazy or uneducated. It can take time to make good quality videos, and to learn how to do so, and so I don't agree that poor video quality is pure laziness. I do agree with Paranormal By The Sea as I think the fake teams really should have a disclaimer saying they're fake, or they should just make short films. With the overtheatrics which can be in the fake videos, they aren't too far from short films anyway. Plus, you do have questions over morality which play a part in faking paranormal videos. Some of these fake channels say they're being tormented by the spirits in their house, and as a result people want to try and help them however they can. I think it's cruel for the fake channels to see these comments of absolute belief, and of wanting to help, yet they keep up the fakery; especially while making money from it.

Thank You! 

Thank you for reading this article! I've now written out all of the notes for the Beardo Live articles, and so can confirm there will be five seperate parts which will then be followed by an article discussing the overall impact this livestream has had. As said during the first part, I feel these articles are incredibly important as they're a documentation of good discussion points which would otherwise be lost within a three hour livestream amongst a sea of videos on youtube. This way, the livestream is not only broken down into more manageable chunks which highlight certain points, but it also makes it all far more difficult to get lost forever. The next part of Beardo Live will be released on Friday the 4th of October, and the next location article will be released on Monday the 30th of September. If you want to watch Beardo's Full livestream, then you can click the link below:

Beardo's Livestream

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