Ghosts Whisper Their Goodbyes on CBS

Melinda Gordon isn't easily scared. After all, she sees dead people. As a medium on CBS' first-year series Ghost Whisperer, she helps "earthbound spirits" make amends with the living. That usually involves getting in touch with someone still grieving the loss of a loved one, relaying a message from the afterlife and then helping the ghost "cross over into the light." And, of course, convincing said living parties that she isn't crazy.

All this leaves little room for Melinda to be frightened.

Fear Factor From Beyond
Based on its premise, this series could easily stray far and often into the macabre, à la NBC's Medium. But Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays Melinda, says there's a concerted effort to refrain from doing so. "Because of the subject matter we're dealing with, we can't get too scary or else it starts to make fun of the idea of what this woman does and what her gift is. So it won't be jump-out-of-your-seat, horror-movie scary, but there will be some definite suspense. There will be some things that catch you by surprise."

Still, a typical hour of Ghost Whisperer begins with the "freaky-meter" turned up to, say, six or seven. A crusty old man floats past a doorway. A drowned victim floods a women's bathroom. A hanged artist paints haunting pictures with his bloody hands. But as the hour passes we learn more about their stories and, wouldn't you know it, before the credits roll these fearsome figures have become as tame and friendly—both in appearance and demeanor—as Casper. A virtual zero on the scare-o-meter. As they make up for lost time and say their last goodbyes, there's supposedly not a dry eye in the house. Or in the graveyard down the street.

Choose Your Own Haunting
Ghost Whisperer offers a hefty dose of positivity by underscoring the importance of settling relational accounts while we still have the chance. But where this Touched by an Apparition trips up is in its muddled concept of the afterlife.

So far, onscreen, we've been told that "places aren't haunted, people are haunted." Ghosts are supposedly awoken by a ripple effect sent through the spirit world whenever there's a big change in their earthly family. Often they're unaware that they're dead and are confused by their surroundings. Initially, most appear as they did when they passed on (which brings in the stock horror element—especially for those who died violently). Some learn how to interact with real objects. But ultimately, they're stuck on earth until they reach closure with whatever person or issue is preventing them from entering eternity (there's no mention of heaven or hell).

If any of this seems a little sketchy, blame the show's main influence and co-executive producer, James Van Praagh. Having made a living as a real-life psychic/medium for the past 25 years, his mishmash of the supernatural is quintessential Hollywood. "I think there are many paths to enlightenment. Religion is one of them. [The] paranormal is another one," he says. "People are searching. People go within. Whether that's religion they're searching for or spirituality or yoga, whatever brings them into their self, their inner self, their spirit self. My way is not the only way—there are many belief systems. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter."

The Real Spirit Realm
It doesn't? There's little room for doubt that the spirit world is real, as the Bible is chock-full of passages relating to an otherworldly realm. More explicitly, 1 Samuel 28 finds King Saul using a medium to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel, while the Transfiguration includes Jesus talking with the visible spirits of Elijah and Moses (Mark 9:4).

Throughout His Word, God clearly indicates the existence of the supernatural and life after death. But He's equally as explicit in His warnings about messing around with such matters. In Leviticus 19:31 He says, "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them." Deuteronomy 18:10-12 clumps summoning the dead in with witchcraft, sorcery and the like—all of which God describes as "detestable."

Series creator John Gray isn't convinced. "There's just too much for us to know what's probably going on out there," he says. "It's arrogant to say there can't be [ghosts], that I only believe what I see. And it's probably equally arrogant to say here's how it works. We don't know."

So what is any self-respecting, ratings-hungry TV producer to do? Fashion Ghost Whisperer in such a way that believers and skeptics alike won't have to think about theology, they'll just get to sit back and be entertained by endearing ghouls dying to make amends with living loved ones. It's a nice sentiment. But when it's stacked up against God's Word, it's a scary one.