February 20, 2008
GHI: Frankenstein Castle
For the season one finale of Ghost Hunters International the team finds themselves investigating the famous Castle Frankenstein in Germany with Destination: Truth's Josh Gates. Ghosts aside, there was some pretty fascinating history to be learned: For instance, many know that there really was a family of the name "Frankenstein" but I hadn't realized the family name died out in the early 17th century.
Again, the investigation itself was fairly straightforward, which I think is good because that tends to make it easier to evaluate. Nearly all of the activity seemed to center around a chapel which is said to house the spirit of a long-dead knight of the Frankenstein family. Unfortunately it was mostly Donna seeing shadows.
Now, I don't disbelieve Donna, but aside from the obvious lack of any sort of recorded evidence it's just simply too easy to see that sort of thing in extreme low-light conditions. I remember one night when I was a kid I was trying to be a big boy and sleep without the night-light (okay, okay, stop saying, "awww!") and I got really freaked out because I thought I saw something move in the dark. Then I saw something else, and something else.
After a few minutes, as a little experiment to see if this was real or not, I tried to *make* myself see something in a particular area of the room, and with a little practice I could really see a dark shadow there. With a little more practice I was able to see it moving left, right, coming towards me, moving away, etc. Basically, your eyes are not designed to see in such low-light conditions and your brain does it's best to interpret the limited signals coming in. When absolutely everything is black, any variation at all can be picked up on and misinterpreted by your brain. Defects in your own eyes that you never notice in daylight can have you seeing things moving all over the place in a featureless room if the lights are out and you're straining hard enough to see.
So we've established that I'm not impressed by someone seeing shadows (but you already knew that), but having said that there was another incident in the same room where Andy & Robb both saw a shadow pass by one of the windows. Now, with no light source and no one moving it's a given that any "natural" explanation would have to be from outside, but the window in question was more than 30 feet off the ground.
Now, that just means someone couldn't have walked past it, but their host mentioned something about trees — I'm not sure how tall the trees were in the area, but trees moving in a wind can definitely make weird shadows come in windows — and the other possibility that occurred to me was a cloud passing over the moon. Andy and Robb didn't really get too specific about what they thought they saw, so I think it's fair to file this under "ehhhh… whatever". Coulda been this, coulda been that, we'll never know, let's move on.
The most interesting thing that happened during the investigation itself was when Andy & Donna were in the chapel. They both clearly heard (and it was also recorded) the sound of the door knob moving on the heavy door leading outside. Now, this is yet another ancient door, presumably very heavy construction and it was specifically mentioned that the knob itself didn't turn easily. All parties, including their host, considered and subsequently ruled out wind as a possibility.
Robb also said he was either with, or could see from where he was standing, everyone else besides Andy & Donna and that no one was near the chapel. For their part, Andy & Donna ran outside fairly quickly, looked for anyone running away and radioed to find out where all the team members were at that moment. So of course we can't rule out an errant local pulling a prank or even a crew member, but it would seem the list of potential "normal" explanations is short and unpalatable.
Andy also gets extra "cool" points for debunking some of the upper levels of a tower that was closed to the team for apparent safety reasons. The points aren't for the debunking itself, which he did a good job of — the reports were of a spirit that threw rocks at intruders, Andy verified that the concrete and stonework of the tower is crumbling and there is fallen debris all over the upper levels that could easy get knocked down further — no, the points are for finding some sort of metal pole, propping it up into a corner and scurrying twenty feet up the pole and over a railing to get to where he should not have been.
Also of note: on the way down he dropped a camera which nearly struck Josh Gates with potentially lethal force. Let's revise the rules, Andy: Try not to get yourself or anyone else killed 
Seriously though, kudos for going out-of-bounds to get the debunk.
When it came to the evidence, there were really just two EVP's and to my ear only one of them crossed over the line where it really did sound like it was a voice. The GHI team couldn't or wouldn't assign words to the sound before meeting with the client — which is probably something they should make a habit of, because telling the client what they should be hearing isn't what scientists would call a "best practice" — but the client seemed to immediately recognize both of the recordings as Old-German language speech and told the team what he thought they said. One, he thought, was the Frankenstein Knight in the chapel announcing himself almost in a challenge and the other seemed to be a man asking the team to come closer.
So, while we never do seem to get that really solid piece of evidence, and this investigation didn't even come close, there were some intriguing things going on here and no one did anything dumb so I think we can call this one a pseudo-success. Hurrah!
Filed under Ghost Hunters International, Posts by Logisti
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Comments on GHI: Frankenstein Castle »
Logisti @ 11:41 pm
Favorite Moment: When Josh Gates is talking to Brian about Konrad Dippel von Frankenstein.
Apparently Dippel was an unsavory alchemist in his day (unsavory because he liked to dig up bodies for his experiments) and supposedly in one of his experiments he created Nitro Glycerin (which is a motion-sensitive explosive) and accidentally blew up his lab.
Well Dippel apparently survived that episode, but later was tragically (and ironically) killed (poisoned) while testing a recipe for Elixir of Life (for immortality).
But I had to rewind the DVR to catch that part of the conversation. Originally I had just gotten a soda, walked back into the room and heard Josh say to Brian, "Being stupid *will* catch up with you eventually."
Needless to say, some of the soda did come out of my nose.
Dante Hicks @ 9:11 am
I just watched the show. I've never been a big fan of GHI, but it's something to watch when there's nothing else. Anyway, Donna… poor Donna. "Barry, where are you??" I mean, if you think Barry is walking towards you, are you going to ask like that? Sounds to me like she was trying a bit too hard to sound authentic.
I think Josh being there made the whole show. They need to keep him to make things more interesting. When he hosted the Halloween special, he got on my nerves, but has redeemed himself on GHI.
I was wondering how the historian would react to the EVP's. The fact that he "knew" right off what they were, and the team didn't have a clue was pretty cool.
Andy was another that used to get on my nerves, but I'm starting to come around. I like that he will put himself out there like that to debunk something.
Todd @ 9:44 am
I remember the episode of GH where Andy was invited by Jason to go along with them in order to play the role of debunking phenomena. But it seemed that the rest of the episodes downplayed his ability in this or made him out to be an annoying twit. GHI shows that he just may have the stuff to be a decent debunker. I, too, was impressed with his shimmying up that pipe/pole. He also made a valiant effort at trying to debunk the voices heard in the chapel, the shadow outside the window, and what may have made the door handle rattle.
Brian, though, came off as somewhat less than professional in this episode. Reminded me of the time that Brian and Steve were supposed to be reviewing evidence and we are shown a montage of them being completely distracted at times. Then Jason jumped their case about it. Brian was shown (not saying he didn't investigate) as playing the fool for Josh. And Josh states that his time with Brian made his night.
CrowTRobot @ 10:25 am
This was the second straight week that I didn't bother watching the original airing and just caught the rerun 'just in case'.
Yea, Josh made the show. I don't think the team was ready for someone as professional or with a personality like him. But I agree about Andy. He's there to debunk, and that's what he did.
Things I found interesting:
1)I don't recall Brian seeing a shadow.
2)I don't think Barry ran from anything.
3)In the chapel, when Donna asked Shannon if she got up because she saw something, Shannon looked at her like, "Jeez. Not this crap again."
4)As the new guy, Josh was the only one NOT to see a shadow or hear something. That just seems a bit odd to me.
Oh, and I've written it down as I plan to use the line: "Being stupid WILL catch up with you eventually"
Stephen @ 3:23 am
Some quick notes:
This is my favorite GHI episode so far, mostly because of Josh's sense of humor.
When we had the obligatory Robb "Some people believe that…" line, I realized that someone must have come up with a Ghost Hunters/GHI drinking game by now, and that that has to be worth at least a sip. "Subtitles appear for a local who speaks excellent English" is probably another sip-line, at least for GHI.
On to the evidence:
1. EVP 1: Before I heard the Old German translation, I wrote down what I thought the voice said: "Somebody stuttered." Not too similar to the line the guide heard, even in the original German.
2. EVP 2: Sounded remarkably like heavy breathing.
3. The door rattling– they both look at the door, but that could be expectation. It's not the instant reaction of directional hearing– they pause for almost a second, long enough to think about it, and only then glance toward the door. If something else in the room occasionally makes a sound like a rattling door (which seemed plausible, given their guide's reaction at the reveal, something like "I do not know where that sound comes from") then it's less impressive.
I'm curious as to where the show is going with all of the shadow traffic. On the original GH (if my impression was correct), they would more often describe a shadow just off screen, then be disappointed when it wasn't caught. Now we can see where the shadow should be if there were anything there– and nothing's showing up.
Are they implying that Donna, Shannon, and the rest are seeing these things via psychic powers? Are they implying that the shadows simply don't show up on night vision cameras for some reason?
Interestingly, ScienceDaily had a link today to a study on a visual effect that may have an explanation for these shadow sightings: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080215103210.htm From the article: "This may explain why we are prone to 'see' imaginary shapes in the shadows when the light is poor."
Overall, I call it the most enjoyable episode of GHI so far. I hope that they can find a way of adding someone to the team with Josh's sense of humor and down-to-earth approach. Andy proved again why he's the skeptics' favorite ghost hunter.
Dina @ 1:08 am
I agree with Stephen—Josh made the show better with his witty banter.
However, I have a problem with something I saw and I'm begging anyone who still has the episode to view it and tell me what they see, because it is not mentioned in the script of the show.
In the Chapel, right after Donna and Andy run out to find out what the noise was, they show a clip where the cameraman pans the alter where Andy set the videocamera down to film his & Donna's session. You see the videocam in the middle of the screen with the tree to the right–as the camera pans a little to the left something emerges from the left side of the tree.
Does anyone else see this? And what could it possibly be?
I was not doing the GHI drinking game when I saw it, although I might start now, cause this is driving me nuts!
Logisti @ 11:19 am
It's someone wearing a baseball cap taking a couple of steps backwards (which in this case is to the camera's left). It's less certain, but it looks like it could be Andy just going over the room.
They actually show this clip twice, and both times it's when Andy mentions that camera — so it's very likely it was filmed at an earlier point, like when him and Donna first went into the room, and the post-production director just decided to splice it into the episode at those points to give a visual on what Andy's saying.
Also, keep in mind that particular footage likely goes on for seconds more, so while it appears uncertain in the final cut it was probably obvious to the post-production crew (who saw the uncut footage) who was doing what in that clip and it probably never crossed their minds that anyone might interpret it as potentially supernatural (so I don't think they did it on purpose).
CrowTRobot @ 12:56 pm
I know this whole language/communication thing has been beat to death. And I think most would agree the most impressive EVPs were the ones they got in the native language. But that just makes me wonder how many potential EVPs were missed simply because the GHI team didn't speak the language. I would guess that every language has sounds and words that sound like noise to those unfamilier with it.
Even understanding the English language, GH had some EVPs that were difficult to make out. OTOH, there were some that GH couldn't make out that I think I did, simply because I had taught reading and phonics for a period. (I'm not pretending to be an expert here. There were just a couple that I thought I could make out due to the rhythm or cadence, or some other educational term I've long forgotten.)
Anyway, it's simple, obvious things like this that really made it hard for me to see GHI as more than just entertainment programming. And that's dissapointing.
CrowTRobot @ 1:03 pm
Yes, I just saw that I misspelled 'Disappointing'…..
and yes, I am disappointed.
bill kelly @ 11:33 pm
if you watch destination truth, josh is great on that too. i just finally saw some of the 1st season of GH and brian has been the same since day 1 - always hearing and seeing things. what a tool. i also liked the fact that andy has debunked a lot on GHI. i'm surprised he wanted to pair with brian again since they disagreed a lot on GH, but glad at least andy has changed.
maybe this isnt the place to add this but, i'm glad i found this site. i loved GH when i 1st started watching since ive been through a couple things, but after reading this site GH has me skeptical.
1. we still dont know why jason/grant refuse to say what happened to them. to be a credible team, dont you think they'd want to say what happened to them?
2. shadows. again, you guys have perfectly stated why these dont prove anything.
3. they never pan the camera when they see things.
4. i have a communications degree and roomed with a film major so i know some tricks. the post production of these shows is ….sketchy to say the least.
these are just a few things - thanks to everyone here - that make me think twice when i watch GH and GHI. so thanks for clearing some things up and heres to reading more with the start of GH next week.
Crymsyn @ 6:01 pm
I copy and pasted this from another site I chat in the forums. (SciFI)
Didn't anyone notice the discrepancies in the reveal compared to the actual things that happened. I don't have Tivo to replay it but when they did the reveal they said in the chapel that Barry saw the shadow behind Donna and it was actually DONNA who saw a dark shadow move behind her and ask Barry it if was him? There was another mix up in the reveal about a shadow but
The second goof was DOnna and Shannon are in the chapel and Donna lets out her sigh Shannon asked if she heard that then Donna looking towards Shannon asks her if she stood up. Nowhere did I see her mentioning anything behind her. Maybe it was lost in the editing process but sure is confusing. IN the reveal they said something about Donna seeing a shadow behind her and thinking it was Shannon. Well Donna didn't even look behind her this time she thought she saw a shadow in the direction Shannon was in. Boy did they get that one wrong.
It may not have meant anything to some but to me I noticed it and said "what the frig!" lol They really need to get the facts straight there it almost made me think that the reveal was scripted by someone who 'kind of' watched the footage.
Crymsyn @ 6:03 pm
In case anyone misunderstands the first line this is MY comment on that other site I didn't copy anyone elses comments TY Crym
Logisti @ 8:35 pm
This is just a general problem with their investigative process (one of many). They consistently pass along incomplete or incorrect pieces of information, like playing a game of telephone where people whisper in each others ear and by the time the message gets to the last person in the chain it's completely butchered.
For instance, there was an episode where they visited some sort of observatory (I'm sorry I don't remember the name) and the person there said people kept seeing this man and since he was seen so often they gave him a name — I forget what it was, let's say "Jim".
So, the employees had a running joke, "Did you see Jim last night?" sort of thing but when the team went in to do EVP's later they started asking for Jim and if Jim was there and how Jim died — despite the fact that it was already made clear the name Jim was made up by the staff, it was never claimed that was the actual name of the spirit.
In any case, many times we see the original footage so we just have to filter it out on our end. I think it's a given that we should always work as close to the "original source" material as possible and that when it comes down to someone giving their version of what happened there's always the chance they've "interpreted" or "remembered" something wrong so when evaluating what happened I often just ignore the "final" version of events.
Tash @ 8:06 pm
I just don't understand why they didn't use a German speaking person to translate the questions they ask during their EVP work. To me it seems it couldn't hurt for them to try a translator in any country they investigate where English isn't/hasn't been spoken or is rarely spoken.
gem @ 4:22 pm
Stephen - Thanks for the link to ScienceDaily! That was very interesting, and a great explanation for so many shadow sightings. It also helps explain why ghost hunters investigate at night with the lights off; it's easier to see anomalies in a grey, fuzzy environment rather than in a starkly lit one. It also seems to be easier to see things that aren't there.
And do you notice how most of the sightings are out of the corner of the eye? I know there's a scientific reason for this, but I've forgotten it. Maybe someone else knows?
I remember reading an opinion somewhere else on this site that investigators should investigate during the same time the supposed sightings occurred, even during the day (gasp!). I always thought that, too. But I guess there's something to be said for conducting searches at night; for better or worse.
BTW, I've always thought they should use a translator when investigating in other countries - seems like a no-brainer to me.
ElleAmental @ 10:53 pm
Just watched the rerun. Shannon's strange twisted hairdo and shiny disco jacket are just too ridiculous. I notice she disappears from later episodes. Can someone tell me (as I hope) that she doesn't rejoin the team? Can she take Brian with her? She adds nothing but eyerolling to anything Donna says and a grating accent. Has GHI ever thought of how they & their team represent themselves? I mean walking into an ancient castle dressed as they do, swearing at ghosts, insulting the English in another episode and more. Do they hope to be invited back? It's the "ugly Americans" meet the ghosts of Europe. Is it any wonder that they won't come out to play?
ElleAmental @ 11:01 pm
Whoops, I just got the answer to my own question. Apparently Shannon and Brian decided to leave the show. Strangely, Dustin and Donna left as well. Are we sure they all left voluntarily? The president's advisors always say their leaving to "spend more time with their family", which is code for "they president said leave before you get fired." This is the problem with watching a series only in reruns, the timeframes are all messed up for me!
Logisti @ 1:01 am
I'm pretty sure it was voluntary, at least for Brian and Donna. Also, I don't think any producer in their right mind would deliberately dump half their cast, practically all at once. That would be a big risk.
Are you sure DUSTIN left? He just joined the team.
ElleAmental @ 8:51 pm
Yeah, I see that Dustin is new, I just caught an episode out of order is all, sorry to waste time here. I do think the producers are a little experimental with their cast though. The new team members do seem to come and go pretty quickly and often have the same unappealing or unprofessional characteristics as TAPS members. For example, Kris of TAPS doesn't seem to add a single thing to any investigation, ditto with Kristyn, Lisa and the girl that only wants to sit and watch the monitors (name?), Shannon didn't seem to contribute anything much to GHI either. The jury's out on Brandy but so far she seems to have more of a desire to investigate than the others. Most of these women don't pull their own weight, either with equipment, peeking into dark corners, or analyzing or debunking. I think part of the problem is the poor choices made by the producers in the first place. When team members don't "fit" nobody wants to watch them.
Carissa @ 9:35 pm
This is my favorite GHI episode so far but that's only because I have been to this castle many times myself. I just went again last month. Of course I didnt experience anything but my husband and I plan to do a real ghost hunt on our own here soon just to see.
HollyDolly @ 3:26 pm
I really liked Josh Gates, he made this espisode more enjoyable.Would love to visit Frankenstein's Castle, well Germany period since I have relatives on my late father's side there. I understood exactly what the evps were saying, since my dad spoke german with a Berliner accent,but i never really tried to learn german, though now I wish I had.Yes, it would be nice to have them write questions
down in the language of the country they are in,and ask the ghosts.Even Barry said that ghosts don't only speak in English.
A very good episode.
Oubliette @ 6:57 pm
Josh Gates made a great edition to the team. I thought he and Rob worked well together. Both were no nonsense when it came to investigating, and Josh can always be counted on for a few laughs.
About the evp–I am always impressed when the evp is in a language that would be appropriate for the particular country they are in. I forget which episode it was but they caught one saying "nie" (sp.), which I immediately recognized as "no" in Polish or really any Slavic language, since most are dialects of each other. At least, I think that was the word. But whatever, I understood it even before Barry translated it.
I wonder how many languages Barry speaks, or at least knows a smattering of. He did say something in Latin in Lucedio, I believe. In any case, I think they should have someone translate their questions into the appropriate language since English was not as widespread in the past in Europe as it is today.
As far as GH is concerned, despite my current feelings about them the Leap Castle evp that was in an old form of Gaelic was most impressive. That may have been one of the few authentic evps that they have caught. It sure was way different from what we're treated to now.
Can't wait for the start of GHI. I love the locations they go to, but I wish the members would stabilize and stick around for a while so we get to know them and their individual techniques.