You asked, "what do the sound guys do?"

Sound techs carry the long booms with microphones attached so that we can hear what they are saying. Most times the teams do not use wireless microphones. Instead, a sound tech is recording the material. That is why whispers get subtitled, the microphone cannot pick up the detail of what they are saying.

Most of the cameras they are using do not have adequate sound recording ability. External microphones are used to record the sound and then synced with the video in postproduction.

Those microphones are also designed to be pointed at the sound source and not omnidirectional, that's why we miss the sounds that the teams are hearing sometimes.

Thanks, that was educational. What I really meant though was what do the sound guys do specifically during a TAPS investigation — because Jason & Grant said they only bring one guy (a camera guy) with them in order to prevent human contamination by having crew members all over the place.

I mean, in the shots where we actually see the crew it seems like there are tons of them but J & G just went on record saying they usually only bring one guy so… I guess I'm less concerned about the crew and more concerned about the apparent contradiction.

I enjoyed the Revelations show. It was fun to see some of the highlights of the past few years and to learn a bit more about the TAPS team.

I have to admit I was surprised that they picked Eastern State as #5 on their list. The first time I saw the footage I was like “wow that is awesome” but then seeing it over and over it is so obvious that there is a pant leg and shoe under that black sheet. Oh well…

The lighthouse was also my favorite episode. There was so much going on there and it would be hard for someone to pull a prank in a lighthouse such as this one.

One other interesting thought came to mind was the new girl on the show. (Is it Kristen?) I for some reason find it hard t buy into the statement that she has been friends with Jay and Grant for about 8 years. She looks very young and she doesn’t really seem all that comfortable with them as a whole. Also there was an opening and she fit right in they said. I don’t see her as being fascinated with the paranormal based on her demeanor and wouldn’t Jay and Grant have someone a little more trained to join the team and be on their show? Don’t get me wrong, it could all be true but for some reason it doesn’t sit right to me. It could be that learning this stuff and being on tv makes her a bit off so I am holding out judgement that she was just added to the show because they needed a female in the mix.

Overall I did enjoy the show and it was nice to have some questions answered. (I wonder why Grant chooses not to tell of his paranormal experience?)

Logisti, I honestly don't know why Jason would say that they only have one guy. Perhaps they have a different audio/visual set up.

Jason and Grant may have a wireless microphone set up. Remember from the Waverly Hills live investigation, Grant stuck his head around the corner of an open door into a stairwell and said something like, "It's a sound guy." I can't remember the exact wording. It seemed that it was a production staff person, though.

They may have a sound tech remotely set up on a floor recording so that he doesn't actually get "in their way".

But we have seen on a number of occasions that teams do have at least a camera and sound tech as they go through an investigation (Frank from the armory, Lisheen ruins).

This pertains to St. Augustine Lighthouse. I too believe this was by far the best of Ghost Hunters. I would like to see Jason & Grant go back there and leave cameras covering the stairway and the top section for a few consective nights with a few real "skeptics" used as securtity guards to keep intruders away from the lighthouse.

Todd, and others, I *BELIEVE* they have wireless mics. Now and then you can see something hanging on the back of their belts with wires running under jackets.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse was great! That was the kind of stuff I want to see/hear.

As for Kristen, I think she isn't used to being on camera yet. And she does seem to be more relaxed with the others…

The Eastern State Pen. Just annoyed me to no end. Just because Brian can't seem to walk and talk at the same time doesnt mean that it was a good test. I think everyone will agree that it looked like someone wearing sneakers. And what about a ski mask? Or something else dark to cover their face and head? With very little effort the whole thing can be faked. The only clips that annoy me more are the ones with that small dark shadow down in a pool table/bar area. For the life of me I can't remember where it was. But it just looked like someones kid running in front of the camera, and back.

Let me end this by saying that I WANT to believe. The trouble is, GH will sometimes bring crap to the table. And even when they don't? I'm still not willing to buy a pig in a poke. Most people, it seems to me, that claim to have seen ghosts aren't the best witnesses. And, to be honest, until one comes up to me and says "Hi I'm Casper, I'm a friendly ghost…have a beer." I'm just going to have a hard time of it. If it were me doing this show, I'd have some kind of camera set up where theres one just showing the main one in that area. To make sure no one is playing games.

Now having said all that. I still like the show. Now and then they get something I can't just say off the top of my head that it's this or that. And it beats Most Haunted all to hell. Also beats 'A Haunting'. Which is really a load of crap. I think they spend the budget on cheap beer.

This show gave me the willies for 3 days after I watched the Thanksgiving Day special. All episodes of Season 3 back to back!
I have one comment about the Lighthouse footage: Be very careful believing what you are seeing when a camera is static - not moving. It is easy for someone to edit the footage to show an "entity" moving at a high rate of speed or vanishing and showing up again say, a couple of flights up very quickly. After all, when a camera is locked down there is no frame of reference because the background never changes. You could film a figure leaning over the railing - pause the camera - run up a few flights of stairs - start recording - figure leans over railing - pause - figure moves off camera - record and POOF! The figure disappeared! Video cameras these days even have the ability to "fade out/in" while rolling without any external editing gear.
Even Tango debunked a bed in some "haunted" hotel room that appeared to unmake itself. Again, the camera was static - locked down. The covers of the bed suddenly folded backwards. Pretty impressive but Tango found that someone had paused the camera at 3 different intervals while pulling the covers back with a fishing line. Every time the camera was restarted the covers were slightly off for that single frame. Tango found it by playing the shot frame by frame. He's a thorough investigator. Kinda took the wind outta everyone else's sails though. Love the show BTW.

I believe the camera at the bottom wasn't the mini-dv but rather one of their IR cams that was hooked up to the laptop, so the only way it was edited was if TAPS did it themselves — also they were alone in the lighthouse but had hundreds of guests and staff around when they were at the Queen Mary (the bed unmaking itself) — one of the hotel staff in particular acted a little suspicious and some suspect she was the one who perpetrated the hoax.

All-in-all, I think the only chance the video from St. Augustine Lighthouse was altered was if TAPS did the hoaxing themselves — and I'm certainly not ruling that possibility out but for the most part the only assumption I tend to make in my analyses is that most or all the TAPS team is honest — otherwise there isn't any point in analyzing any footage from the show ever.

"…otherwise there isn't any point in analyzing any footage from the show ever."
Ratings can be a huge motivator. I am not suggesting they are manipulating their footage either BUT when you have a hit show on your hands it behooves you to keep that gravy train running, no?

Much of the footage we have is highly suspicious — for instance the moving lamp (cord) — but doesn't actually prove anything per say. On the other hand, the Manson FLIR footage is easily proven to have been doctored but since that footage was never shown in TAPS' possession (either during the analysis or the reveal) it's possible they are entirely innocent and the production company did it after-the-fact.

I think everyone would agree it's unfair to label anyone "guilty" until the evidence is clear and no reasonable doubt remains, however in this case any potentially "guilty" parties are in a position to manipulate what "evidence" we see and what ends up on the cutting room floor — Ergo, my assertion that we have to take them at their word — not because it's the "right" thing to do but because we don't really have much choice. If someone on the TAPS team really is hoaxing their audience the best we can hope for is someone messes up and a piece of damning footage slips through into the final cut of an episode.

That might happen, but assuming it won't then we can't be sure whether or not to trust what they show us. If we decide to trust (that there isn't a grand conspiracy that everyone at TAPS in involved in) then we can discuss their footage in a semi-serious manner (as we do). If we decide not to trust then we can dismiss even the most convincing footage on the basis that it may have been expertly manipulated in some undetectable way by the source.

Logisti, i'm confused. you have made a few comments questioning Grant's honesty and tactics. the lamp cord is an example and the moving folding chair in the attic is another.

What I'm talking about here is if *everyone* is "in" on it. Were that the case every time they say, "There's only one way in and out of there, they'd have to walk past the camera but everyone was accounted for" it could be a blatant lie, and that's just for starters — every piece of video and audio could be tampered with to their heart's content, making sure it was dark enough or blurry enough to hide strings, wires or sneakers, adding manufactured "EVPs", etc.

If only one TAPS team member is involved in hoaxing and no one else suspects that anything devious is going on then we do have a fair chance of any damning footage making it to air. Either way, I'm always on the lookout for evidence that someone might be engaged in some deliberate trickery but assuming we don't find any we're left with the choice to either assume every piece of evidence they come up with might be tampered with in some way, or not and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Good Evidence Vs. Debunkery

The TAPS series has been fun, but, frankly, about the only two mysterious occurrences that impressed me so far are:

1. The soundman getting knocked down in the Armory.

2. The 2 EVPs picked up, of the little girl, in the 3rd season.

Let’s face it, most of the, so-called, evidence could have an unusual but normal explanation. Some of the EVPs could be anything from a camera crew guy unconsciously speaking under his breath, to the screeching of a water faucet being turned on, or scuffling feet. Grant’s rigged, moving lamp needs no comment. On the other hand, the two occurrences, I mentioned, impressed me.

Any debunking theories on how those could be anything other than of a paranormal nature.

Re: 1
The bag jumping up, whacking the man under the chin, was very impressive. The man’s surprise and agitation appeared absolutely genuine.

Re: 2
The girls voice says, “Where’is Jason?” and later “Uh, na, na, na, na”. They sound genuine and I believe them to actually be a little girl’s voice – but there were no children in the house during the hunt.

– Dave

i have a question…

the episode where the team goes to the birdcage hotel they had several things happen,why wouldn't they have stayed a second night placing the cameras where they saw and felt the most?

Henry

Re: Why not stay a second night.

I suspect it just wasn't on their agenda — one place/one episode per customer. I'm afraid that's all we get. But there's alway a possiblity they might do another show there again?

– Dave

wow a skeptic site about a skeptic show. There goal is to disprove hauntings, which they do…..not very often do they say its haunted.

having worked on a reality show, its is very tough to put all the video together in time. When you have the crew footage and many handheld camara's. tough.

that said keep an eye to keep grant and jason in control…..i want to see satin show up on one of these haunts

Brent, you have a point about the difficulty in editing the show, having so much footage. The bizarre part is that someone took out the time to "fix" the FLIR footage (see other thread).

I suspect there are several assitant editors involved looking for the best bits to eventually put together - and people adding the extra visual effects.

It appears that Satan hasn't been invited on the show yet as a special guest star - but watch for wrestling guys.

– Dave

i'm no electronic whiz so i cant speak of evp's. but for someone here who said they wanted casper to come say hi….i was very close to my dad. we were extremely close and our lives have come close to equalling each others. in two life or death experiences, my dad came to me. one he was a shadow but knew the voice the other he was fully there. ive learned that some spirits will stay connected with loved ones while others will never have an experience. so, as for evps being "too clear" on the show and people not believing til they see Casper themselves, believe what you want but things do happen.

the new girl is kris and shes 26 so she could know them for 8 yrs. she also acted in some b-movie so she has been on camera. my prob with her is in her 1st episode she said she became interested due to her grandma but on this show she said her and a friend were in a cemetary when something happened. too inconsistent. she's the hottest girl so far, but she doesnt say much and in the halloween show, you'd think they'd use her "little-girl-type voice" not dustins, to get "timmy" to come out and play

My problem with the live Halloween episode at the Stanley Hotel, was how Grant reacts when he starts to hear the little girl's voice calling back to them (which sounded like something being broadcast from a speaker if you ask me). As this is going on, he suddenly stops, turns toward Jason and starts to play it back on his digital voice recorder for him to hear, almost as if he knew that was all that there was going to be.

Now, if I'm in the same situation and I'm hearing what could be a disembodied spirit actually talking back to me, am I going to stop recording so soon into it and turn away from it when there could be more? Of course not. You'd want to make sure that you caught as much of the phenomenon as you could and it possible, spur it along some more.

It reminded me of the first Waverly Hills trip, where they caught the image of some "child ghost" running across the hall on the thermal. Rather than racing down there to see what it was, they play it back on instead.

Shawn

First I would like to say.. I don't believe that Grant and Jay are trying to deceive anyone. Their are many factors that are just not explainable.

St Augustine Lighthouse episode was one of my favorites. I was a little freaked out by what I was seeing. I played watched it over and over. If you remember they put a camera facing up through the center of the lighthouse. So every time they looked up they may have been looking up at their own shadow being cast up. Think about it you lean forward you will see a shadow cast lean forward ((hence over the rail looking down)). They ran up and the shadow ran - hmmm. The what appears to be eyes may be a reflection of lights being flashed up and the shadow casted up disrupted the lights. I wish someone would have stayed up top and some of the guys would stay below to see if they were still seeing shadow people or if it was their own shadow. The same thing happened to the second group. As far as voices. I can't explain that - being a lighthouse and the area it could have been numerous sounds.

Again I believe this is a good show and would like to see something really scarey.

Hey Shawn, … I figure the reason why they stop recording imediately to review the tape (instead of intesifying the search) is because they're just slipshod. It's all "Goober and the Ghost Chasers."

Actually, the Stanley voice in the dugout was likely to be a member of the Stanley staff in the kitchen above them. I suspect a kitchen worker heard them underfoot and just said, "Hello?" With all the pipes and stuff in that area, sounds are bound to be reverberated all over the place. Also, I believe the music, they said they heard, was actually a worker's radio playing music (probably coming from the big kitchen).

– Dave

Re: St Augustine Lighthouse

Vic, … Yes, I agree, it was likely shadows being cast by people or moving things (heads, arms, hands, bugs, ect.) in the area. I don't think they really tried to debunk it properly. It would all depend on where all the lights were located, which, it appears, we'll never exactly know.

– Dave

Irish Elemental" - Episode 305

The castle is home to an "elemental", a 3 foot tall invisible Goulish Demon with the face of a decayed corpse known to emit a smell of sulfur.

Grant expounds his vast knowledge on the subject of demonic personalities.

Jason warns the TV audience that "elementals have the power to kill".(More magicial thinking)

We are introduced to new pseudoscientific JARGON, it appears there is a relationship between barometric pressure and spirit activity.

During the investigation Barry detects a pressure change using a scientific-looking gadget he begins warning his team mate"Careful! Careful! It's about to make a hit!".Does Barry have phychic powers. The elemental fails to materialize, So we get the usual, did you see that, did you hear that.

At"bloody chapel" Dustin is supposedly knocked on his ass by the mysterious, entity.

Watching Dustins reaction I noticed it did not seem relaistic or "genuine . It looked more like he was trying to act upset, but not really " He was breathing hard and hiding his face. Have you ever seen anyone hit hard enough to get knocked on their butt? I have been knocked on my butt, I have knocked people on their butt. I have never seen anyone react by holding both hands over their face. Not convincing.

Then we have THE darkness that light won't penetrate" Brian makes a statement his flashlight beam won't illuminate the demon's lair. "HEY folks" Things like this do happen on the Scfi channel.

Jason and Grant meet with Sean Ryan for the "reveal" Jason can't wait to anounce his decision that the castle is haunted. Jason and Grant for some reason change their opinion they now believe the goulish decaying elementel / demon is just merely grumpy and will not kill humans. Do you think they changed their opinion because they know. Or was it because any negative statement will effect tourism dollars.

Skeptical Viewer, uses critical thinking with a critical eye when examining claims of the paranormal.

Hey Paul,

Re: Irish Elemental

Barometric Pressure:

The change in pressure was likely due to that deeper location in the castle being damp and cold (high pressure). Open the door and you would probably see a change in pressure. Also, the man said he was pushed (or hit) by the thing before. Here again, it could have just been air rushing by? Unfortunately, our ghost hunters did nothing to look into considering a more scientific explanation. Was it paranormal or ordinary phenomena? – we’ll never know?

Re: Dustin’s Fall

Dustin, and the others, did mention the putrid air and I wonder if this caused a cramp in his chest and shoulder. If so, his fall might have just been a reaction to the bad air and the excitement of the situation, and set off by a shoulder twinge/cramp. True, he may have beefed it up for the cameras a bit, but I don’t think it was planned. On the other hand, the soundman’s push/fall in the guard armory (different episode, where the bag jumps up and hits him under the chin) still appears to be genuine phenomena in my opinion. Critical thinking can’t cut through that one, I’m afraid. If you can give me an explanation for it, then we might have something worth trying to debunk.

– Dave

Hey Dave
Regarding Soundman Bag Jump

Whats in the bag? We will never know, was it full of heavy sound equipment. or was it filled with foam or feathers. Are we the victim of Misdirection and Sleight of Hand. Did we see the incident live? We saw the edited version.. In summary, they tell us what must've happened, so that when we see the footage again, we are biased towards their explanation. False Memory Implantation."What If" the bag was full of foam and Frank had fish line or a wire connected around his back to the bag, A third person off camera could give it a quick pull.Wouldn't this give the illusion the bag fliped up with no other apparent reason. Prior to the fall The sound man or someone else could have applied a harmless ointment or spray which causes redness and swelling this would account for the thermal 'bruising'. No paranormal explaination required. Just another Hoax.

For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, none will suffice

Paul, … Nice try on the debunk. Like anything else, you’ll have to use your own judgment on what actually occurred with the soundman incident. In my opinion, it may have been of a paranormal or preternatural cause, or something may have happened that was so fluky that nobody can figure it out.

Some things against it being faked:
1. The action was caught using a randomly moving, hand-held camera.
2. The soundman fell over and definitely appeared distraught and shaken-up (like he just got the wind knocked out of him).
3. There were signs of irritation under his chin that showed up on the thermal camera.
4. The group is unlikely to have set up the stunt using an ordinary soundman.
5. One of the armory people, there, tried to seriously help out and recognizing a real situation.

Re: Bag Of Feathers
The bag looks heavy and you can’t record sound with feathers.
Re: Editing or CGI Fake
Possibly the footage was fixed to show a jumping bag but it would be extremely difficult trying to match-up with a moving camera (note the FLIR footage, on previous post, that’s so obvious it shows how slipshod they are, and they’re unlikely to have created such a great computer graphics fake).
Re: False Memory
Has no meaning since it was caught on video for scrutiny.
Re: Another person there pulling the bag.
There’s no sign of wires and nobody too close to the cameraman (see both angles they caught the fall on).
Re: Artificial Spray Wound
Appears to be beyond the group to consider that, and really isn’t that important but only an added feature.

I like debunking myself – if it’s reasonably debunkable — but your explanations need more thought.

Occam basically said that the simplest explanation is usually the most likely one (fewest assumptions possible) – not the certain one. However, your explanation is rather ambiguous. Yet even in this case, the paranormal is actually the simplest explanation.

Occam on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

– Dave

Logisti, you said in your blog:

"Moving on, Jay reiterated something he had said previously on the show: That 80% of all reported hauntings can be debunked and dismissed. If he really believes that then that would suggest (due to the frequency of hauntings on the show) that for every investigation we see on Ghost Hunters, two other investigations were filmed and thrown in the trash. Somehow I don't believe that's the case."

I would agree with you on this, as it makes no sense for them to do it otherwise. However, I was listening to an older broadcast of Jason & Grant's paranormal radio show, "Beyond Reality" (if you go to http://www.planetparanormal.com you can access archived episodes of it) and in the "Mothman" episode, Jason is talking to a caller about this exact thing.

According to Jason, they'll go on about 60 investigations (I'm assuming he means annually), but they'll only use about 15 or so to make episodes out of. Now, it seems excessive to me that they would lug all this equipment around, travel from state to to state, run up hotel and food bills, etc. and only use about a third of those for episodes - that's just money wasted! But that's straight from the horse's mouth and if he's lying, then that would be one hell of a whopper, if you ask me.

Also, another quote of interest from that same episode, J & G were commenting about a ghost video on the web taken by some other ghost hunting group in Colorado, which Grant hinted that he thought it was fake. He then goes on to say, that he didn't want to accuse anyone of "monkey business" though because they themselves are constantly being accused of it and he assured the listeners that no such thing goes on in their show.

I thought you all would find those two quotes interesting.

Shawn

Thanks Shawn. The Grant quote I wouldn't really give any weight to, as it doesn't really say anything of import — but if Jay says they really do go on a lot more investigations than the ones shown on the Ghost Hunters program then that certainly has a lot of weight, not to mention direct bearing on a common point of criticism.

As you say, that would be a pretty big lie to record and make available online so I think it's fair to give the benefit of the doubt here and assume he's telling the truth so long as we have no evidence to the contrary.

When i first came upon this site, my immediate opinion was "oh just another person where no evidence is good enough". I applaud your views and actually am quite thankful. I agree, I laughed when brian complained about not being able to run b/c he can't see. All he had to do was either hold the rail, make a slit to where he can see through his eyes, go balls out and just run anyways, (cus its not like he would fall over) or, instead of having the one who thinks he see's something ever five minutes, have Steve do it. Although, I should not be too critical b/c I am also sure we do NOT see all the attempts made to debunk eastern state b/c of editing. But, that video does seem like a short person running.. but it does have seem a little transparent. I would like to further check out that sheet that was hung over the railing as you said earlier. That would make the case for a hoax more apparhent. Although, I strongly believe Grant, Jay, Steve, Brian and all the crew are as honest as one could get. Unlike that travesty on the Travel Channel. My other view on easter state has maybe changed all views on paranormal. One, if it is a jokester, he obviously knew where the camera was and immediately backed up or turned around. One must admit at the speed of this "apparition". B/c it does NOT seem the camera's were messed with. Two, is it possible that some paranormal activity or ghosts seem intelligent, b/c alot of the footage of these so called "apparitions" seem to know what and where video camera's are. Perfect example: Eastern State and the LightHouse (which is also my favorite episode) Once they see something out of the norm, they back away, almost knowing they were caught. A few other of their shows present this theory. (except the image of the apparition on the IR camera smack dab right in front of grant and jay.. if i knew that thing was in front of me, i'd be balls to the wall out of there. That possible apparition did not seem to care what was in front of him).

Frank the sound guy, is by far the most convincing evidence i have seen b/c we know he is real, he is clearly not acting and there is no mist, no image around him that could be claimed as anything else. just him moving backwards and dropping to the floor. That has to be one scary experience, just imagine a brick or something behind him and him smacking the back of his head on it when he gets laid out..Defense attorney's would then begin to theorize that ghosts can now kill people. just a thought.

I would like to also had, that I can be easily fooled. For me believing in ghosts and hauntings would make me more susceptable to faked evidence or hoaxes, so once again, i applaud your site for giving me a clear understanding. I think you were very fair, honest and by NO means were you critical or judgemental of any of those on TAPS. I think just that alone makes you more legitimate. thanks.

I agree that some of the best evidence that TAPS has gotten is when Frank the sound guy gets hit in the face with his bag. It was cool in the way that they actually have footage of his bag at his side being lifted by something. I believe Frank actually has stated that he was a skeptic before this happened.

I heard that TAPS was going to be back doing shows in March. Has anyone else heard this?

actually, tonight they are starting with the new spin off "Ghost Hunters International" By the looks of it though, I think some members of the orignal GH will be on GHI such as 'disappearing' Brian. Also, tonight at 8pm they are returning to do another investigation at the St. Augustine Lighthouse, which seems to be one of, if not a viewer's favorite including mine.

Love this site!
Nobody mentions the cord being lifted off the bell, at the bird cage theatre.
I find it strange that in all these years, we have not seen a ghost.
Are we to believe that the only time a ghost appears, the ghost is a short black mass running away from where a camera is placed?
What about the episode with the noises in the attic?
How come Grant and Jay don't consider a racoon or squirrel in the attic?
I love the show, however I believe that as ratings went up,
occurances went up.
I believe that a lot goes on behind the scenes.
How do they pay for all the travel,equipment,and all the incidentals without charging anyone?

actually i was very curious about the bird cage theatre. that was another favorite episode of mine. but the image of ghosts HAVE appeared a few times. The one at the morgue, in the IR camera standing in front of the camera, eastern state, a more recent espisode, wear an all black figure, almost a squared rectangled image peeked out over a corner and then disappeared, and a few other possible images of ghosts. BUT, in fact, in MOST or ALL hauntings, actual GHOSTS showing themselves are extremely rare. it is the sounds and other unexplaineable events that are more noticable. As for Jay and Grant not thinking that it may have been a racoon or mouse in the attic, they seemed to be pretty clear that to where Jay heard the noise was right near his ear and had mentioned that there was no animal or did not sound like any animal. At the same time, the faucet turned on. i just dont think they are frauds or fake. The travel channel is FAKE, that show is a disgrace. These ppl are not actors. and they just dont come across as looking to fake ppl. they are plumbers and average joes with a desire to learn more about the unkown. but then again, that could be exactly what SciFi intended to do.

And as always, no evidence is good enough for the skeptic, and any evidence is good for me. lol

altho, you maybe right about ratings going up and the more instances of unexplainable occurences. In fact that is a VERY good POINT!! this could also be explained by them weeding out visits to houses that have no activity what so ever. they still have those shows aired, but now on a limited basis.

even some of these images, like the bird cage theatre do not look doctored. and it seems pretty clear to me, that their reactions are real. so, unless someone was standing there with a string attached to the wire and pulled it off, i dont see how that could be replicated? or, if they were unaware of it being a 'hoax' how could they not know? the only answer would be that they are all in on it.. maybe it's cus i dont wanna believe it, but to me that just does not seem plausable, fair or accurate. altho i could be easily fooled and dead wrong.

Re: Bird Cage Cord

I can hardly see the image. Maybe I was just looking at a bad copy but I can just very barely even see the flip-off. Probably no one mentioned it because the image is so bad nobody can make it out properly. The TAPS or Sci-Fi boys did nothing to clean up the picture (a blow-up, contrast/brightness corrected picture would have been nice - although they did take the time to "fix" FLIR footage).

As for a debunk, that type of thing has happened to me in the past. You put a cord over something and gravity eventually does the job with a little vibration from somewhere. Here again, I am unable to judge how secure the cord actually was, the exact angle it was at, and therefore what might have happened, due to the image quality problem.

– Dave

Hi,

RE : The Cost

Don't forget that they are getting paid by SCI FI to churn this show out not to mention all the seminars, training sessions, merchandise etc… they sell via the TAPS website. I would say the whole enterprise is making them a tidy sum.

Anyway I just wanted to share one of my favourite bits of evidence which I don't think anyone was mentioned. It is in one of the episodes from season 2 I think. It involved a family who had taken on board there sisters daughter after she died. The sisters ashes were kept in a room on top of a shelving unit that was displayed like a memorial.

At one point Steve is sat down filming the room with his hand held cam and as he goes to get up out of the chair and the camera pans slowly as he gets up you see what appears to be a woman, partially in shadow rise up from the floor.

It certainly wasn't Steve's shadow and I think captured something worth a second look.

This has been discussed at some length here and elsewhere. The "shadow" was almost certainly the statue of a woman on the table right in front of the couch steve was sitting on, and it is one of many examples where TAPS gets a "remarkable" piece of evidence after moving a camera about in a wild, uncontrolled manner.

Here is the SkepticalViewer.com writeup on that investigation:
http://www.skepticalviewer.com/2007/10/11/gibbons-home/

The TAPS footage in some cases appears to be staged or simply misinterpreted natural phenomenon.

Examples:

Crescent Hotel: The ghostly figure caught near locker #2 is clearly a reflection of Grant. The reflection even shows Grant’s bent arm holding the infrared camera. The distorted reflection of Grant’s spiked bangs/hair as he bends his head down to look into the viewfinder gives the appearance of the bill of a baseball cap.

Eastern State Penitentiary: I am convinced that this is a prankster running up and down the corridor with a blanket over his/her head. If you examine the “enhanced” footage you can even see the pant legs and shoes underneath the blanket when they run away from the camera.

Race Rock Lighthouse: This looks like someone has tied fishing line to the folding chair that Grant was sitting in and is pulling the line from outside the open door to the right of the chair. I would be a believer if the chair moved to the left, but it only slides to the right towards the open door where someone could be pulling on a string outside of camera view.

St. Augustine Lighthouse: The rapidly moving shadows and figures "peering down at them" are consistent with shadows of birds walking and flying outside the lighthouse window ledges. On several occasions we see an outside, nighttime view of the candy striped lighthouse illuminated with flood lights. Birds walking, standing, or flying between these lighthouse floodlights and the lighthouse windows would cast shadows inside the lighthouse consistent with what the footage shows. The bird squawks outside the windows would definitely be heard inside and could be misinterpreted as a “ghostly conversation” or EVPs.

Myrtles Plantation: The table lamp appears to slide on the tabletop in the direction towards Grant consistent with Grant playing with or tugging on the lamp cord. The lamp cord and Grants hands are conveniently out of frame during the incident.

Cashtown Inn: The picture frame in Grant’s room only moves in a direction consistent with someone pulling it with string concealed behind the raised ledge of the desk. I would be a believer if the picture spun in opposite direction, but like the Race Rock Lighthouse, it is only dragged in a single direction consistent with string pulling it.

Final Observation: Has anyone noticed the amount of phenomenon centered around Grant? Not to say he is a prankster or anything, but it is odd to me that most of the “paranormal” phenomena appears to occur whenever Grant is in the scene. Perhaps one of the extras accompanying Grant (i.e., a camera man or sound man) is pulling a prank on Grant and the rest of us?

Tony, to answer your last question in a word: Yes.

Thyey are getting way too quick to suggest something is paranormal now, and it apparently takes ghosts 2+ years to overcome their fear of cameras, because this latest season, everyone and hteir brother is now getting 'touched' by a ghost, whereas the first two seasons, noone got touched I don't beleive, plus a whole slew of 'evidence' seems ot be popping up this season whereas before there was nary a thing that seemed odd.

As well, everyone on the team exaggerates soemthign aweful- like Jason will hear a very short scratching sound- then latter tell the camera how he heard very distinct footsteps and mumbling? All the others are doing the same hting this season too. At first they really wanted to debunk things, but now everyone is so eager to prove ghosts exist that they exaggerate the facts to no end it seems! Show is going downhill

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