Visiting “haunted” hotels and explaining the paranormal
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 30 October 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Americans are expected to spend a record $13.1 billion on Halloween this year. Songs, TV shows, and movies dedicated to Halloween abound. There are even “haunted” Halloween car washes. A recent Popular Science article explains the popularity of the paranormal, citing “primed” settings, psychological effects from environmental contaminants, and cultural influences. But there’s another dimension to the story, one that intends to distract us from the good we could do in our broken world by focusing us on evil. How can we defeat the deceptions of the devil so we can make a positive impact on our fallen world?
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Dr. Jim Denison recommends Texans on Mission for your consideration as they share the gospel and meet needs in Hurricane Melissa ravaged Jamaica. And hDr. Denison strongly encourages your support for Proclaim Cuba, Denison Ministries' longtime partner on the island.
For positive ways to respond to Halloween, see Dr. Ryan Denison’s new article, “What does the Bible say about Halloween? Can Christians celebrate this controversial holiday?”
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Greetings on this Thursday, October the 30th, 2025. Welcome to Denison Forum's Daily Article |
| 0:08.6 | Podcast. I'm Chris Elkins, narrator, voicing today's daily article written by cultural |
| 0:14.2 | apologist and pastor, Dr. Jim Denison. All eyes are on President Trump's landmark meeting with Chinese President Xi, |
| 0:24.4 | but we must not look past the crisis in our own backyard. Hurricane Melissa has left |
| 0:29.6 | dozens dead and widespread devastation across Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica. Power outages and dangerous |
| 0:37.1 | conditions persist today. It is vital that we |
| 0:40.4 | intercede for the victims and look for practical ways to help. I recommend Texans on mission |
| 0:46.1 | as they share the gospel and meet needs in Jamaica. And I strongly encourage you to support |
| 0:52.2 | Proclaimed Cuba, our ministry's longtime partner on the island. |
| 0:56.5 | Links to both of these groups can be found in today's episode notes. |
| 1:00.4 | I have worked with Proclaimed Cuba for many years and love the Cubans deeply. |
| 1:05.6 | They are providing critical aid and sharing the gospel across the island nation. |
| 1:10.2 | The contrast with this unfolding tragedy could not be greater. |
| 1:14.6 | Americans are expected to spend a record $13.1 billion on Halloween this year. |
| 1:22.6 | Songs, TV shows, and movies dedicated to Halloween abound. There are even haunted Halloween car washes. |
| 1:31.6 | Such popularity is unsurprising. More than three in five Americans say they believe in ghosts, |
| 1:37.3 | though I'm not in their number. Over the years, I happen to have visited several sites believed to be |
| 1:43.2 | especially haunted from hotels in Texas |
| 1:46.2 | and Colorado to the battlefields of Gettysburg. I have found Franklin Roosevelt's observation to be |
| 1:52.5 | true, quote, repetition does not transform a lie into a truth. A recent popular science article |
| 1:59.3 | explains the popularity of the paranormal, citing settings such as prisons and battlefields where we are primed to expect ghosts, the psychological effect of black mold, carbon monoxide, and other contaminants, and cultural influences and the power of suggestion that precondition us for paranormal beliefs. |
| 2:21.0 | But I think there's another dimension to the story, one that intends to distract us from the good |
... |
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