August 7, 2008
GHI: Nottingham Road Hotel
For those who were wondering if the"i" in GHI stood for "European" with the small exception of New Zealand, it looks like the answer is going to be definitively, "No". This investigation took the Ghost Hunters International team to a new continent: Africa. The Nottingham Road Hotel looks like a nice establishment, and it certainly has a lot of history — going back to when the British held it as a territory and were engaged in conflict there.
To aid in this investigation, they apparently booked the entire hotel. It's not a particularly large hotel and for all I know it may be there off-season and they just didn't have any other guests, but the absence of other people on-site is certainly a welcome change. Traditionally the Ghost Hunters team has had to work around the regular guests of hotels like the Stanley and the Queen Mary — there was even one time when they were investigating one ballroom while a party was going on in the ballroom right across the hall. Apparently the owner just wasn't that interested in a clean investigation, but such was not the case for our GHI heroes on this occasion.
The primary reports of this hotel are of a woman supposedly known as Charlotte who has a backstory involving a solder who died in battle — I won't bore you with the details, suffice it to say that this woman has been reportedly seen fully corporeal, as a translucent apparition, and is thought to be responsible for at least one television, one lamp, and one sink faucent turning on and/or off.
During one point of the investigation there were some very odd sounds which were quite plain — and turned out to be coming from a children's party next door. Oh well, neighbors, what can you do?
Andy had an idea to test the faucet and he noticed when the hot water tap was turned on, then turned off (but loosely) the gasket would heat up and within a short time the faucet would be flowing freely again without human intervention — a seemingly paranormal event that was indeed not.
He also checked the TV in question after seeing it go off by itself right in front of the entire team (on CCTV) when no one was even in the room. This wasn't a definitive debunk, but Andy surmised the timer button on the remote might be to blame. Hit it once by accident and the TV will turn itself off in a couple of hours, nothing paranormal about that (although it begs the question of who pressed that button prior to or during this particular investigation).
In the kitchen Brandy & Barry both saw a light coming from a storage room with no other door, no windows and no lights. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that wasn't caught on camera so that leaves open the question of whether or not there actually was a light. Of course, even if we could determine that there was no light recorded at the precise time & place Barry and Brandy said they saw one we could make the argument that since they both saw it we can't rule out some other type of phenomena that affects people's senses in some real, but poorly understood way.
Because of the light and the fact that they both agreed it felt like the room had cold drifting through it from no determinate origin, Barry wanted to play with a gadget that measures positive ions. I'm not exactly sure what this means, but I suspect it might be like detecting ozone. He also apparently checked a barometer (according to Robb), I saw there was some sort of digital weather gadget that was reading thunderstorms but I didn't see the standard barometer reading in inches or cm. I
n any case, the positive ion reading apparently shot up dramatically in the room as Barry tried to get a spirit to interact, and the weather-thingy did seem to be saying there was a storm outside when there was none, so there is physical evidence something odd was going on in the kitchen. At the very least I think it's true that humans can react physiologically to ionized air and low pressure, possibly causing a feeling of anxiety or discomfort which one might attribute to a spirit. On the other hand, even if the feelings are caused by an understood phenomenon it's still not clear why such an atmosphere might suddenly coalesce in a room with no apparent cause.
Other than what's been mentioned, the only other evidence caught during this investigation were three EVPs. In my opinion, they were actually pretty decent this time. One seemed to whisper, "yes" in response to a question while another seemed to say, "come back" as Barry was packing up his gear and leaving a room. The loudest, if not the most distinct, was a voice that the team thinks was saying, "Ask me" when Andy was challenging it to attack him. I'm not sure if it was a voice or what it might have said, but there is an unmistakable sound on the recording that doesn't sound like anything we're used to hearing.
None of these voices (with the possible exception of the first one, in my opinion) sounded female, which surprised the client and the GHI team both. They suggested that the supposed spirit of Charlotte may indeed be around but perhaps decided not to interact with the team on this night — and there is a different spirit which did. A fairly reasoned guess, I agree, but here's what bothered me: Robb issued a "Haunted" verdict.
Yes, a haunted verdict on only EVP evidence, which if I recall was something Jason & Grant had specifically singled out as a no-no. They may have broken this rule at some point, I don't recall off-hand, but I think it was a good rule and I'm drawing a line there. Declaring something haunted with a couple of audio clips is not cool with me.
What's worse — and this may just be due to editing — it appeared they didn't even tell the client about their successful debunking. I hope they actually told them and Pilgrim just cut it out, but on the surface this echoed their last investigation to me: great investigation topped off by conclusions that seemed to come from a completely different team which had watched the actual investigation on a 9" television while dropping acid.
I'm not sure what else to say. Thoughts?
Filed under Ghost Hunters International, Posts by Logisti
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Comments on GHI: Nottingham Road Hotel »
Logisti @ 7:21 pm
GHI: Cape Town Castle is coming soon, so please hold your comments on the 2nd investigation from this episode until tomorrow. Thanks!
J. @ 7:55 pm
Good debunk on the faucet.
I thought the "ask me" EVP was the best of the bunch. But Andy did ask it to attack him, and it didn't. What a wimpy "ghost".. all talk and no action.
When I was watching the episode and Rob said that the hotel was haunted, based only on EVP's, I knew that would raise red flags on here.
CrowTRobot @ 9:22 pm
I haven't had a chance to watch anything again, but I thought the "Ask me" EVP actually did sound like a woman. I also thought it an odd response because Andy had just asked it to attack him. Didn't he?
And I agree, Logisti. Their investigations seem to be getting more interesting, but the reveals leave me scratching my head, thinking, "What?".
wwayneross @ 1:36 am
Instead of explaining for the 111th time what an EVP is, Robb should use the snippets to lay out his criteria for labeling a place haunted. Because at present it appears to be a flip of the coin.
lar @ 6:16 am
This show's gone from once a week to WEAKLY.
More spirits acknowledging a good investigation, some weird feedback that was definitely technically introduced. Robb said it best..the feedback didn't begin until he started talking!
The whack on Barry's mic could've been anything. Ya' gotta' love Barry though. He's always SPOOKED. He's Europe's Brian! He feels, sees something EVERY episode. The accent & his multi lingual flair only add to the experience. I don't believe most of what it is he claims, but it is entertaining.
The "ASK ME," EVP is what you're led to believe it says. If you heard that BEFORE they suggested it's saying "ASK ME," you'd probably NOT hear that. Once you've been TOLD this IS what it says, you HEAR it.
Hmmn? Why is it, the "spirit," ASKS Andy, to ASK him, to push down on Andy's chest, when that is exactly what Andy is doing. Why not just push down. Andy's what, 5ft 3. 118 lbs. It would take more energy for a spirt to ask him a question than to actually pin him to the mattress.
If you want to see all the GH/GHI shows, this guy posts them, usually every episode is online by the next a day or two.
http://www.youtube.com/user/presidentl
As for the other distorted sounds I'd classify them as EVPs just as they did. EVERYTHINGs Voice Phenom.
I researched too & found this haunting image of the Castle.
Picasa Web Albums - Emily - Cape Town, So… - IMG_0415 (1).JPG
Wes @ 8:04 am
I agree that saying the "EVPs" were proof that a place is haunted is incredibly dubious … Let's put it in perspective: the claims are that a full-bodied ghost of a woman walks around the hotel and can be plainly seen. There are also faucets and TVs that turn on by themselves, and the usual "strange noises." The TV and faucet are debunked, there's nothing even close to a sighting of the woman and we get a few audio artifacts … verdict? It's clearly haunted.
The problem (OK, one of the problems) is that the GHI team (and I think increasingly the GH team) are not investigating places, they are looking for "evidence" that they can use to claim a place is haunted. Their method is no more scientific than a flip of the coin.
And note to Mr. Science (aka Barry) differentials in barometric pressure are normal, and are not always a predictor of storms.
blinddog50 @ 8:44 am
I am beginning to believe I am in need of therapy.
I say this because, isn't the definition of insanity the act of doing the the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
And yet every week I watch GH/GHI over and over and I'm expecting….well you know.
This does have a plus side however.
Every week when I see the lead-in for GHI and I see Andy I holler to the wife: "Honey go to the medicine cabinet and get me a Xanax, Andy's still on the show".
That guy is like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
Maybe the spirit was pushing on Andy's head, just couldn't crack the hair gel to get to him.
Oh! And now Robb has become the hat guy.
May your day be filled with 'rainbows and kittycats'….mine is.
Yeti33 @ 9:21 am
We have to remember that this show is for entertainment. They are no longer going to go into these historic places and say they are not haunted. If they started to do that GH/GHI would get canceled faster that Steve running away from a spider. Of course they are going into these places looking for evidence. Every one of them are going to soak up their 15 minutes and live off of their new "fame" forever.
lar @ 9:31 am
ATTENTION CLASS!
I researched the site below:
http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/evp.html
It goes into great detail as to what EVP's are NOT. I edited the explanation:
Apophenia. This refers to a common perceptual phenomenon whereby we spontaneously perceive connections and find meaningfulness in unrelated things.
A common example of apophenia occurs when people are in the shower, and think that they hear their door bell or the phone. White noise produced by the shower contains a broad spectrum of sounds, including those that make up ringing bells. The ear picks out these sounds and we “detect” a pattern corresponding roughly to a bell.
Apophenia is virtually synonymous with what has been called Pareidolia, an illusion involving misperception of an external stimulus; Example: When thousands in New Mexico saw the face of Jesus on a Tortilla chip in 1978.
What is going on?
If you are trying to hear your friend while conversing in a noisy room, your brain automatically takes snippets of sound and compares them against possible corresponding words, and guided by context, we can often “hear” more clearly than the sound patterns reaching our ears could account for.
People hearing an EVP are also the product of their own brains, and their expectations, rather than the voices of the dearly departed.
wwayneross @ 9:53 am
Of course there are very distinct EVP's which would not fall into the above category, but in those cases we can't completely rule out external sources, even though the investigators claim that there were none.
Several the EVP's I've listened to(outside of the shows) appear to have been manipulated into a recognizable form by the software used to "enhance" them for clarity.
gem @ 2:18 pm
I always wondered why I kept hearing the phone while in the shower - thank goodness it's not just me! I didn't think the EVP said 'Ask Me' either and it definitely didn't make sense in the context of questions Andy was asking. BTW, I happen to think he's cute and not funny looking at all, and I think he's a great investigator who puts a lot of effort into the investigations and brings a lot to the show. So there!
So this is the first show that Robb didn't explain what an EVP is. No explanations of EMF or anything. If anyone else listened to the San Diego ComicCon on the scifi website, Robb even joked about how many times he explains what an EVP is on the show. So for people who disparage Robb for doing that - again, it's the production company that pieces these clips together.
This episode has seemed to produce a lot of negative comments without a lot of scientific questioning - I'm just wondering if any one of you have actually done an investigation?
I think it's great that Barry is using different methods and pieces of equipment in order to predict and/or help verify the presence of spirit activity. One of the most important things to do while investigating is to have multiple pieces of equipment verify the same phenomena - Barry is doing what every good investigator should do. And let's remember there isn't any equipment specifically designed to detect a ghostly presence - using many different types (like the barometer) and evaluating their effectiveness is imperative in moving the paranormal field forward.
Wes @ 2:20 pm
… and changes in atmospheric pressure help prove the existence of ghosts how, exactly?? Because if it does, there's a 400-mile wave of ghosts moving across the Midwest …
gem @ 2:47 pm
That's funny!
Actually, it's just a theory in the paranormal community that ghosts effect barometric pressure. That's the point of continuing to use a barometer in the field - to prove or disprove this theory. Another one is that ghostly presence will increase positive ions in the air; that is why you see Barry using an Ion Counter sometimes. It's just important to use various pieces of equipment to evaluate their efficacy in the hunt for ghosts.
Wes @ 4:15 pm
What’s the emoticon for pulling hair out?
Not to belabor the point, but just saying something is a “theory” doesn’t make it valid. I can say that there’s a theory that hamburgers “taste funny” in the presence of ghosts and therefore claim that a valid investigative tool is to eat hamburgers and survey the eaters on how funny they taste compared to hamburgers eaten in non-haunted locations. Of course, if atmospheric pressure changes indicate ghosts, the entire world is a haunted location …
gem @ 8:09 pm
Oh, for goodness sakes! I give up!
Hal @ 2:21 pm
Wes, good points and valid sarcasm. Gem, your last comment was your best yet!
kevin @ 6:59 pm
Thank you, Wes, for the hamburger theory. Now I know why my White Castles taste funny when I have dinner in the family crypt.
If a "ghost" can use its energy in such a precise way to manipulate the circuitry of a recorder in order to form a recording of human speech, surely it can mess with a beef patty.
I know we sometimes complain when Robb tells us what an EVP is on every episode of GHI, but I would like a more detailed explanation of how it's supposed to happen. If a person claims an EVP is paranormal and uses this claim to declare a site haunted, he needs to explain how an EVP is captured and, be able to prove that such a thing is possible.
crisfneves @ 9:37 pm
Yes, yes, finally international!!! LOL
I loved this episode. I think they are doing a much better job then TAPS. They seem to use more of their equipments, they also seem to do a better team work, and better debunking.
CrowTRobot @ 3:53 pm
Lar, thanks for the info. I especially found "apophenia" interesting. Many a time I've been in the shower and was so sure my wife had come home, that I'd come out talking to her; or clearly heard voices in the hallway and thought she was either on the phone or her daughter had come over. We live in an apartment, so I had pretty much decided that somehow, the noises I was hearing were coming from the downstairs apartment. However, I think I've now found the real culprit.
nikki @ 3:01 pm
I live in south africa and have been to the nottingham hotel, I have personally experienced it for myself and its safe to say Charloute is definatley there. My dad was there once and he said she climbed into bed with him