April 23, 2008
GH: Goldfield Hotel
TAPS was invited to investigate the Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield, Nevada — supposedly this will be the last investigation permitted by the owner before major renovations, although I'm not too sure when those renovations are coming. Some of you may have seen a two-hour special called "Ghost Adventures" which was received rather well and I believe this location, as well as the next one (The Old Washoe Club) were featured in that documentary.
Red Roberts, the owner, says he isn't a believer despite all the hype around his building but he'd very much like to believe and is hoping TAPS will come back to him with some solid evidence. There are a number of stories about the history of the building, including a man being killed in the elevator shaft and a woman who became pregnant from another man was chained to a radiator and left to die by her lover, who allegedly took her baby and threw it down a mind shaft. Reports include the scent of cigars, perfume, various apparitions and even being pushed in the 4th floor hallway.
Joining the regular investigators for their trip out west was a tech guy named Britt from a California TAPS affiliate. He started the night off with Steve on the second floor and the both of them seemed to agree right away that certain parts of the floor felt normal but other parts felt uncomfortable, despite the entire floor basically being very uniform and identical, as you would expect in a hotel. They heard what Steve described as boots on the floor nearby followed by a few more sounds to the point where Steve seemed to almost believe there must be someone up there playing a trick on them.
As they looked down the hall Steve said he saw a shadow several times, but he said he was sure it wasn't a shadow because he could see how the shadow-play was going on in the hallway and what he was seeing didn't match up. Britt started seeing either the same thing or something similar, which he described as something child-sized, about three to four feet tall. Of note: There were at least two cameras rolling (handheld + production crew) and no shadows caught on film.
Tango & Kris are in another hallway when they both see shadows moving at the end of the hall. Tango first instinct seems to be that it might be cars passing by outside but he quickly decides that doesn't match up with what he's observing. Unfortunately, there is no footage of this shadowplay either. Later Kris goes into room 109 to bond with "Elizabeth", the woman who was supposedly chained to the radiator. This is where the infamous K2 meter makes it's long-feared return to the TAPS arsenal of ghost hunting tools. Interestingly, they appear to now be using it in an "always on" mode, placing them somewhere in a room and then retreating to observe from a short distance away. This should satisfy most critics of the K2 (because it can be easily manipulated by someone holding it), although the larger debate of whether it (or any other EMF detector) actually detects anything paranormal still rages on.
Elsewhere in the building, Jay & Grant are playing with everybody's favorite toy, the FLIR camera. Jay actually picks up two small cirlces as hotspot anomalies, apparently on the ceiling of a closet. Grant goes to investigate and reports hearing three distinct footsteps as if someone had walked away from the spot where he was standing. Oddly, no audio of these footsteps was recorded despite the production crew being just a couple of feet behind him.
On the 4th floor Jay & Grant both see something moving down the hall and this time Grant holds the camera as Jay walks down to investigate. Jay hears some noises but that's about it. Grant gets in yet another mention of "Residual Haunting" here, but I can't fault him for it because I think it's the first time he mentioned it when it was actually appropriate. Apparently the area Jay believes he saw movement in was a doorway that was in the process of being walled up. The thought process being that a "residual" haunting wouldn't know any different and would continue to walk through wall as if the doorway was still there.
During the evidence review they discovered a few EVPs centered around Kris in room 109. In one EVP there seem to be two voices. One is barely audible and is thought to say, "Get out". It's followed almost immediately by a gruff voice that Jay believes says, "Where did the b*tch go?".
There is another EVP a bit later that sounds like a high-pitch squeaky voice (thought to say, "Can we go now?") — it's extremely notable not because it's significantly better or different than the others but Grant specifically says that there were three audio recorders in that room and this was only captured on one of them.
We've discussed this elsewhere and in the podcast, but one of the criteria we would impose on a "real" EVP would be having multiple recorders and only one of them gets the EVP, so I think that's really interesting and I think it's great that the Ghost Hunters are paying attention to those little details.
There is one piece of video evidence, in the basement there is a shadow which seems out of place and moving in an odd way, but to me the motion at least seems to be consistent with the light causing shadowplay on a stationary object.
For his part, Red said he was semi-converted by their evidence, but not quite a believer. He did invite TAPS back to conduct another investigation once renovations are complete. This is also significant because there have been many reports which seem to link building renovations to increased paranormal activity. Until then, we have a few EVPs and a shadow caught on video.
Filed under Ghost Hunters, Posts by Logisti
 |
| ^ Please Support our Sponsor |
Comments on GH: Goldfield Hotel »
J. @ 11:00 pm
Just a thought, and I know the believers will dislike me saying this, but… if Grant has hoaxed things like it is strongly suspected he has (and yes, I know there is no concrete evidence of it), then there's no reason to trust/believe him when he says he hears paranormal sounds (footsteps, etc.) especially when the camera is right there to pick up what he claims he is hearing and captures nothing.
The same thing would apply to anything he saw but has no evidence for, like shadows.
If he is willing to hoax things for ratings, then he'd obviously be willing to say he heard and saw stuff he didn't for ratings also.
Todd @ 11:14 am
RT, Destination Truth uses body mounted, IR capable cameras for face shots of the team. So, yes it would be possible.
Here are some of the observations that I made watching this episode.
First, it was 23 minutes into the episode before the aforementioned "residual" haunting comment. That is 9 minutes later than last weeks 14 minutes.
Second, really as much a procedural gripe as an observation, if you have a hand held video camera and you are in a two person team, then the camera person should always be in FRONT of the team. While I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy gratuitous shots of someone's behind, this is about evidence collection. Get the camera in the front to perhaps catch some of this movement.
This brings up a third observation. Steve and Britt both claim to see shadow movement at the end of the hall. There is a stationary camera with an IR light source between them and the "source" of the shadows. Steve seemed to be packing a little (itty-bitty) LED flashlight, the keychain type. I doubt it was being used for a constant light source. And the IR would not illuminate in the visual range. So the shadows were most likely in near absolute darkness (assuming a little outside light penetration).
The human eye has a very hard time processing data in low light situations. This is why our eyes are said to "play tricks" on us at night. Anyone who has laid in bed in a mostly darkened room has seen "movement". Because of the structure of our eyes as organic systems, there will always be "interference" in processing what is taking place in near absolute darkness.
The video camera does not have the organic interference. It simply records the data that is transmitted into the lens. If there is a light source to bounce off of an object or to be obstructed, it can record it. Therefore, the shadows that Steve and Britt are seeing but are not showing up on camera could be the natural interpretation of the human eye. They wouldn't show up on the film because the camera has a light source that is not being interrupted.
Fourth, wasn't this the place that had the "amazing" video of the flying brick? There wasn't a tour of the basement (although Grant makes a comment about being in the basement). Jason makes a lot of pretense about places where this is a "lot of action". If I remember the Ghost Adventures, they had a lot of experiences in the basement outside of the brick incident.
Logisti @ 11:24 am
The video footage of the "Shadow" was from the basement, but that's about it. Nothing really impressive.
Dixie @ 12:05 pm
Why dont they run towards sounds and shadows..that place was so big anyone could be hiding in it…I didnt even watch the 2nd half.
yawn…:>o
Sully @ 12:29 pm
What's the thinking behind the theory of an EVP being more likely to be legitimate if it only appears on one recorder — is that because it is less-likely to have been faked, if just a single device picks it up? Or is it something about sound frequencies?
Seems logical to me that if there was a sound in the room, if one device could capture it, every device present should have it, too …
Robbin @ 12:29 pm
I agree there was much ado about nothing with this show. And Todd right on about the person with the camera being in front. Why are they always behind? It is stupid if there is something there hopefully the person in front is not blocking it or they have moved quickly enough to get around the person in front.
What I got from Steve and Britt was that Steve felt there was someone else in there. That was a huge place that was wide open and I am sure that everyone and their brother knew TAPS was coming.
I could not understand what the EVP's were saying but I could hear there was something being said. The reveal was not too impressive I am not sure what to make of this one. I do think that someone from the neighborhood was up to something. Which kind of takes the wind out of the sails.
CrowTRobot @ 12:45 pm
Dixie: I was wondering the same thing, but thought it was just me. Except for Jason going down the hall to check out a room, it seemed the others would see/hear something and just stand there looking, squinting to see what it was….Hell, I was doing that sitting in my living room. Go down there! See what it is! That's what you travelled across the flippin' country for!!
As for the EVPs, I heard "Get out."; but couldn't make out the others – even after Jason told us what to listen for.
Robbin: Yea, driving up in big black vans with TAPS on the side is a sure way to stir up the locals……If they came to my town, I might be tempted myself.
Harry @ 3:23 pm
I've visited Goldfield a few times and posted about it to my blog today as a result of last night's "Ghost Hunters."
Regarding everyone in Goldfield knowing TAPS was coming, I'm certain that's the case and I'm equally certain no one minded—-Goldfield desperately needs visitor dollars and would likely be very happy if more people wanted to visit the "haunted hotel." As I note in my blog post, previous owners of the Goldfield Hotel have tried to make money off its reputation as being haunted. I wouldn't be too surprised if the current owner has surmised that it might be easier to make money from a "haunted hotel" than a non-haunted one in the middle of nowhere.
Todd @ 4:15 pm
I recorded Haunted History the other night on History Channel when they featured Tombstone. The remarkable thing that I got out of that episode was the claim that the movies of the first half of the 20th century that highlighted the OK Corral was what saved Tombstone. After those movies people began to travel to Tombstone just to see the famous gunfight location.
We are seeing a growing industry around paranormal tourism. It has always been around, but it was sort of a niche market. Now it is growing. Who knows, maybe this will be another boom for Goldfield.
jim mancini @ 4:16 pm
taps obviously knew about ghost adventures. wouldnt they try to debunk the flying brick. why wasnt more time spent in the basement?????????????????
Dixie @ 4:33 pm
Todd: I like the phrase paranormal tourism, this says it in a nutshell…the show is becoming a TAPS travel log..
Todd @ 4:49 pm
My family did a mini-TAPS tour during our vacation last summer. We stopped at Waverly Hills (closed), Willard Library, and stayed in the Crescent Hotel.
I'm looking at the possibility of going to the Stanley Hotel.
Logisti @ 5:18 pm
Sully, the idea is that a "true" EVP isn't a sound, it's a spirit somehow directly manipulating a recording device with localized electromagnetic energy.
If you have a sound on multiple recorders then you can make the case that it was probably an actual sound that people in the room just didn't hear, and therefore maybe it was noise contamination from outside or something.
If it's only on one recorder, it means either the sound was very close to that recorder but not the others (which is why technically speaking for this experiment the recorders should be right next to each other) or it was caused by some sort of EM interference that much closer to it than the other recorders (which some might suspect was caused by a ghost).
Hope that answers your question!
jim mancini @ 5:23 pm
why did it suck last night. ghost adventures was better. Man this season of taps sucks. when is the final show of the season? The Flying Brick The Flying Brick The Flying Brick The Flying Brick. why wouldnt they try and catch that. i'm tired of seeing steves dumbass camara angles also.
anyone out there upset with last night.
PS: didnt even get a tour of the basement. amazing
papagrande @ 6:58 pm
The show is about trying to find out the truth.I think Taps is one of the best show's about ghosts that has been on t.v. for the longest time.I'M 45 years old and I can remember the show in search of with Lenord Nemoy as the host,and also the show unsolved mysteries. That's what us paranormal enthusiast had back then.I'm glad taps is on the air ,they have opened the door for all these new cool show's that are starting to come out. I know Taps has it's flaws but hey at least there out there trying to find the truth…
Garflonk @ 1:47 am
I was just thinking based on what Todd stated about human eyes being ill adjusted to low level light…I saw an episode of Myth Busters where they used an eye patch to adjust their eyes to the darkness. The eye that had been behind the eye patch for just 30 minutes gave the Myth Buster adequate adjustment to low-level light. When the Ghost Hunters go "dark" do they prepare their eyes beforehand, by wearing a eye cover for an amount of time before they wander out into the black. If they don't I would question seeing shadows. I think it would be some shadows from the camera playing tricks on them. Just a thought.
Logisti @ 7:47 am
Garflonk, I recall that Mythbusters episode. I believe it was the first Pirate Special!
Interesting parallel, I don't believe they prepare their eyesight in any way before "going dark" but also it's important to keep in mind that there's a big difference between being able to see "well enough" to navigate an obstacle course (which can take 30 minutes for eyesight to adjust) and being able to see "clearly" without distortions in the dark (which will never happen because human eyes aren't designed for it).
Sully @ 10:49 am
Logisti, thanks for the explanation! Interesting theory.
Could it also be that spirits sometimes communicate at a frequency not audible to the human ear? That might explain why animals like dogs are known to sense spirits when humans don't.
I have to admit, I'm still skeptical about the whole EVP thing, but I'm trying to keep an open mind. Some of the EVPs that TAPS catches are compelling. Who knows?
Jim Mancini, my wife and I are watching the Season Two DVDs right now, and I am struck by how much more hard-nosed Jason and Grant seemed to be, back then. The roster of investigators seemed to be more fun back then, too (nothing against Tango and Kris). The team seems to find more hauntings these days, but then again, they're also visiting more sites known to be haunted.
Still, I enjoy GH and I hope it's around for many seasons to come. As Papagrande said, it's leaps and bounds beyond the stuff we watched back in the 1970s!
blinddog50 @ 8:00 pm
In the first couple of seasons they used a lot of still digital photography.
I don't recall seeing this lately.
Maybe because of their strong dismissal of orbs.
I dunno, just curious.
Dave and Steve, hmmm, I can tolerate the two.
They do good work.
The one I can't stand is Andy.
Man! Let up on the butt kissing and brown nosing.
Just my opinion.
Still love the show.
But it seems to have become more about personalities than hard investigations.
Maybe they should have regional TAPS teams do investigations.
More sites visited and longer investigations.
Les @ 5:12 pm
I know I've said it before but I'll say it again and until hell freezes over, "TAPS, wear helmet cams, dammit!" My original strong attraction to this show is diminishing by the week, even as hard as I try to keep an open mind. Some of the posts on your website are causing me more and more to suspect that TAPS has fallen victim to the commerical desires and objectives of Pilgrim Films and the SciFi Channel even if they may have started off trying to avoid such a thing. They really need to start getting more serious about their own credibility as legitimate investigators before they have none left at all! And any continuing success of their show will NOT be a valid measurement of that credibility because the majority of the TV audience is still too ignorant and gullible to care anyway!