December 4, 2008
GH: San Diego Maritime Museum
This looked like it was going to be a fun, interesting investigation — and it actually kinda was, which is nice. When it started the first thought in my mind was that I would be very, very happy if we got through an entire investigation without logic forcing me to be suspicious of any of the cast or crew — and I was wrong; It only made me "fairly" happy. Nevertheless, we did indeed have an investigation that seemed on the up-and-up.
The location itself was at the Maritime Museum in San Diego, CA — specifically on two ships, a ferry called the Berkeley and an very large sailboat (Schooner?) known as the Star if India. Due to the Californian location, Amy Bruni came along for the investigation — oh wait, she's a regular now right? Well they found some other random person to bring along too. His name is "Britt Griffith", which sounds a bit like he made it up (like "Wolf Blitzer" and "Colt McCoy") but I'm guessing he was just blessed with this nominal awesomeness from birth. Side note: I like him better than Amy already, and that's saying something because I've always liked redheads. Maybe it's the way she looks in the IR grayscale, or maybe it's that she doesn't really seem like she adds much to the investigations she joins, but I think it's probably the fact that she answered like 5 questions in 7 hours during the Halloween Live 2008 event when her entire job was just to sit there and answer questions. Maybe it was more than 5, but some of them she was answering "I don't know" like, to the question of how old Dustin is. Ummm… could you trouble yourself to ASK him? I mean, he is right there in the building with you.
Where was I? Ahh yes, Colt McCoy. No, wait… Giant Footsteps. Yes, that's right. On the Berkeley there had been reports of "Giant Footsteps", as in: footsteps that seem to have an enormous distance between strides. I'm not sure if this is precisely what Jay & Grant experienced, but right as they got started it seemed they heard these footsteps in the area they'd been reported (I wish they'd stop walking around when they're listening for footsteps) and the footsteps "walked right up to" them and then stopped. Interesting, but it didn't recur so there was no way to determine what was causing the sound.
Other than that, the Berkeley seemed to get a thorough debunking. The intro teased about Tango being attacked by an "unseen force" — this turned out to be "Motion Sickness" as he became nauseous from the boat rocking. This occurred in an area where people reported feeling uneasy and Tango suggested perhaps it was just mild seasickness they were feeling. Jay & Grant also determined that a huge portion of the ship below-deck had EM fields flowing through the pipes and ceiling, which they promptly labeled a "fear cage" and thus offered a second possibility for the uneasy feelings — albeit, as we've discussed elsewhere, a less scientific one.
Steve & Tango were below decks and heard a rapid clicking sound which seemed truly odd, but Dave instantly said it was "Pistol Shrimp" flicking their tails or something. This may be so, but I am curious how he so-instantly came to that conclusion off the top of his head.
…and that was it for the Berkeley. During the Reveal, Jay said of the Berkeley, "I don't really think there's much going on there, haunting-wise" — which struck me as odd mainly because of the footsteps they started off the night with. If they had a theory, any theory at all about how those sounds might be coming from a "normal" source, they didn't share it with the audience. To my memory, every other time they've had even just one single experience they couldn't explain they've left the question of haunting open and unanswered. They've even come out of places with no evidence or experiences at all and said maybe the ghosts just didn't want to come out on that particular night. I'm not sure why they would suddenly decide to be dismissive and say they don't think the place is haunted, but then again I expect scientific methods and consistency so I'm often disappointed and confused by the things that go on at TAPS.
The Star of India was another matter entirely though. Again, the investigation — which took place on a different night than the Berkely investigation, although they did a single Reveal to the client for both — began with footsteps. Britt, Grant and Jay were below deck when they all heard footsteps above them. Grant ran up and said he sat down on a bench (I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here, since the sounds began before he went up top) and he said he could feel the footsteps through the deck beneath his feet. Downstairs with the camera, Britt had his hands to the ceiling and said that he could feel the footsteps as well. Most interesting was what Grant reported: the footsteps seemed to walk towards the helm and then the wheel turned slightly, and he said this happened twice.
A short while later they all hear what seems to be running from one of the decks above them and Grant goes to check again — which really made me start wondering: Where were Steve & Tango? Why didn't they just radio to them and ask if anyone else (or they themselves) were on the ship? After Grant came back down with nothing to report, the three heard a sound and Jay said he saw a shadow crouch and move away. He gave chase a little and said he saw it on the deck above where they'd originally been, and that it went through a closed, locked door. Unfortunately, no camera captured any part of this aside from Jay running from place to place. After they hear another noise, then they radio up to Steve and ask if anyone else is on the boat. Steve says there is not.
Kris & Amy are in (what I believe to be) this same area later when Amy reports seeing a shadow moving. This particular section of the ship has a square opening going all the way to the top deck so they check to see if anyone was walking around one of the upper levels and perhaps they cast a shadow down on the lower level, and maybe this is what Amy saw. The experiment came back a double negative because not only did they clearly hear the footsteps when someone was walking up above them, but also no shadow was cast. I think this is a bit more interesting than it would seem by itself, simply because Jay had also reported seeing something similar. This could suggest there is an actual phenomenon (as opposed to a random trick of the eyes) going on, although whether that phenomenon is caused by something natural or environmental would still remain to be seen.
The evidence collected for the Star of India was a bit of a joke though. First off, I'll begin with the least humorous: a gate swining. Now, yes it is a boat floating on water, however the gate is supposedly mounted on a 1 degree uphill slope so it will not swing closed on it's own. It did appear to swing slightly against that gravity, but it's possible the ship just listed more than usual in that moment. Also against the "normal" explanation: it only happened one time the entire night. You would figure if it was the ship rocking then we'd see the gate move every so often, but apparently it did not — so that's kinda-sorta interesting. Maybe.
Next we have the EVP: "Get off my ship". I have two comments on this: (1) it was fairly clear and not much question in my mind that it was a voice and it was really saying what we thought it said, and (2) it sounded to me exactly like the inflection and tone of a text-to-speech generator. You know, when you type a phrase into the computer, and the computer reads it back to you? Those things often have strange characteristics not only to inflection but also the pronunciation and even to the cadence between words. To me, this "EVP" sounded exactly like that: a computer generated voice. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know Stephen's been suspecting them of playing around with such computer generated voices for some time now so I'm curious. Maybe this is just a circumstantial "hunch" that doesn't prove anything, but if someone happens to have this exact voice and generator and could reproduce it exactly, well that might just be hard evidence.
The LOL moment, for me, was the thermal footage. There is a piece of thermal footage Steve shows Jay during the evidence review. We see a heat signature appear and then disappear. I'm wondering where the footage was taken, what direction it was pointing, and if maybe there was someone standing there at the moment this was filmed. Steve had the answer to none of these questions. It did look like it might have been from the room Kris & Amy were in when Amy saw the shadow, pointing upwards towards the railing on the top deck, but even then if we don't know when and under what circumstances it was filmed we can't know whether or not maybe a crew member was standing up top at the time and maybe that's what we're seeing.
Jay basically points out these flaws to Steve, and then he proceeds to show the footage to the client anyway. No, I'm not kidding; wish I was. He basically tells the client the same thing he told Steve, but why should he show that footage to the client under any circumstances? What kind of an investigator would I be if I said to the client, "Here's a photo we took of the Captain's Salon, as you can see there is a foot in the photo. I'm not sure if the foot belongs to a ghost, it could belong to a camera operator or even the person who took the picture. We don't even really know who took the picture, what time it was taken at or where anyone was while it was taken, but since someone took a picture of a foot and you asked to see pictures of your ship being haunted, we put two and two together and decided to show you a picture of a foot." ?!?!
Yaaaaaggghhhhhh! The horror…. The horror….
I think I can safely say, that was the stupidest thing I've yet seen on this show. I thought suddenly forgetting (for one episode) that the FLIR picks up thermal reflections was stupid, or repeating after the client when they tell you about a "Musky" odor of perfume and then later telling them how you debunked that "Musty" smell, but this really trumps those. To top this, Jay will need to hold Amy underwater for ten minutes to find out if she's a witch or something. I mean, seriously? Here is a video of a heat signature on our thermal camera, we have no idea what it is or where it was taken, but we thought it might interest you? Unbelievable.
Filed under Ghost Hunters, Posts by Logisti
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Comments on GH: San Diego Maritime Museum »
christina @ 7:16 pm
I didn't think they were EVER going to get through the beginning "tour". Maybe I'm just too bored with the show now…
Great review, though.
worldharmony @ 7:29 pm
I enjoyed the review and got a few chuckles- more than I got out of this GH episode. The first thing that annoyed me was the fact that the guys kept walking around while claiming to hear footsteps. That's so beyond stupid there isn't a proper word to describe it. I thought my interest might be piqued once Tango was "attacked" by an "unseen force," but not by any stretch of the imagination did that happen. The fact that the phrase was even used for advertising tells me that even SciFi thought this episode was boring. Not impressed. Sigh…
Wes @ 8:12 pm
Spot-on review, Logisti. First impression of the voice was exactly the same: sounded like something generated by a computer – and I thought it was interesting that (I think it was) Steve mentioned that it sounded like the background noise was different during the EVP (as if it was edited in), but that Jay blew that off … hmmmmm. The thermal image looked like someone (or a reflection of someone) kneeling down to change a battery or check some equipment.
To sum up: More shadow chasing and noises we, the audience, can't hear … but at least we didn't get a disembodied pirate voice coming from near Grant: "Ahoy, get off mee ship, matey!" followed by Grant asking "did you hear that?" regarding a 4 million decibel sound that could be heard in Wyoming …
Hal @ 8:17 pm
First the bad news: I agree with Mr. Logisti's criticisms on this episode. Once again J&G, and now Amy, clearly see something move with their own eyes but, alas, we don't get to because of their continued, mule-headed refusal to use head cams!!! Damn it all, TAPS! Jason has repeatedly stated on past shows himself, to the clients, that he would not declare a place haunted, "paranormalled" or whatever without convincing evidence to support such a claim. Well, DUH! What hypocrisy! Your TV viewers, namely, US, follow the same rule! You don't know us and we don't know (personally) you! Don't expect ANYONE outside of your immediate circle of family, fellow investigators, friends, etc. to trust what you guys claim you saw, heard or felt without even a reasonable attempt to SHOW us! Like you could with a damned camera mounted on your head, shoulder, chest, etc.! And vouching for the integrity of each other and how you trust each other (among the TAPS gang) won't cut it either, pal! You gotta show US!
Now for the good news: I hope my fellow "horndogs" on this forum noticed how often they showed squats and lovely bendovers by Kris Williams in her tight jeans!
Dr. Peter Venkman @ 8:39 pm
The FLIR footage shows just how incompetant their investigations have become …
"We have all this equipment and cameras rolling, but we have no idea where the FLIR was pointed at the time. Here's a blob that could be someone kneeling down"
Here's a question for TAPS – was it even ON the boat at the time ?
Paul Anthony @ 8:55 pm
A very interesting and informative review, as usual. I think you brought out some very interesting points on the investigations. Boats and ships with out doubt will make mysterious and unexplained sounds which make it very difficult to nail down exactly what the causes are.
All EVP recordings regardless how clear or muffled or how we think they are made, have one thing in common, There is no evidence to suggest it is the voice of a disembodied spirit. One thing in the review that was not mentioned. Jason’s comment on another theory. ^^^^**Water is a Conductor for the paranormal**^^^ This theory immediately gave me an Ice Cream Headache. Well Jay of course it is, that’s the reason for Ghost Ships.
Dr. Peter Venkman @ 8:56 pm
The TAPS folks have said that helmet cams IR lights ponting all over would screw with the production and stationary cams …
Here's a thought – since what we are hoping to see is what your team sees with their NON-IR Mark I eyeballs, how about using standard cams instead of IR's ?
Cameras with a high sensitivity in the visible spectrum should show up these shadows better then their eyes.
Paul Anthony – "^^^^**Water is a Conductor for the paranormal**^^^ "
Well of course it is … how do you think the ghosts from the original USS Hornet that sank found their way to it's replacement ?
Nosfer @ 9:34 pm
Using the logic the new guy gives, we have to throw out any piece of evidence that can be recreated by any normal means. This has supposedly been their MO from the beginning, but I thought it a little extreme and hasty to immediately debunk the bathroom just because he could crawl out like that. If they assume it's just someone playing tricks, why are we so chastised when we begin to make the assumption about THEM?
The same goes for the fear cage principle. Oh, high EMFs, thus people are paranoid so not paranormal. Maybe. But I wouldn't be so dismissive.
Did Grant not take a camera up to the upper deck (er, sorry, FLOOR)? Again we have only his word that the wheel moved. I don't know, whenever the camera shows him moving off from the rest of the group anymore I think "uh oh" Especially when he says he's going to "sit right back where he was" and let the rest come up there to be with him.
Steve @ 10:09 pm
Nobody mentioned the swinging gate…on a boat!
Raphael @ 11:03 pm
The EVP reminded of a dubbed voice on a videotape. I think it was the most suspicious one yet
Queen of the Nerds @ 1:00 am
I had a screaming baby so I only caught bits and pieces of the last half of the episode. I noticed Grant's hand in his pocket when he was in the salon (I think) with Jason and Britt. I had to run out right then, so I missed what happened next. Did they use the KII? I figured since his hand was in his pocket and he was standing while everyone else was sitting then something was going to happen. Can anyone fill me in?
Learjet @ 4:51 am
"Here's a thought – since what we are hoping to see is what your team sees with their NON-IR Mark I eyeballs, how about using standard cams instead of IR's ?
Cameras with a high sensitivity in the visible spectrum should show up these shadows better then their eyes."
A dark adapted human eye is more sensitive to light than any normal camera. One would need starlight, or intensified cameras to match a human's vision. Like the goggles Brian was using in the early series, only with an attached camera. Slow shutter types would not capture motion well so intensifier types would be needed. These are usually IR sensitive also.
Assuming that can be managed, then there's the logistics of wireless transmission, especially over long distances in a large building, or through metal as used in a ship. For short distances it could be done, no doubt with dropouts, but for longer distances, powerful wireless transmitters that require large heavy batteries would be needed. Remember Jay's wireless back pack in the live episode? That was a lot bigger than could be worn on the head.
It's not as easy as it first seems.
Learjet @ 5:10 am
Actually, been thinking, since it doesn't need to be live the video doesn't need to be transmitted. I not thinking straight. That's what lack of sleep does.
An SD card intensified helmet cam would do it. Do these exist?
hammer1 @ 5:14 am
@Queen of the Nerds. Yes I noticed that also. They were about to use the K-II when Grant had his hand in his pocket. From what I recall, Jay started to do his "you can communicate with us thru this device" spiel, but something else distracted them. It might of been the footsteps or the shadow Jay saw. I forget. But yeah as far as I could tell, Grant had his hand in his pocket at that point they were going to use the KII. And they didn't ever go back to the K-II IIRC.
PatAttack @ 10:25 am
Great review. One of the opening shots showed how the Berkley would drift from side to side about four feet. It would also list. AKA, "rock the boat". If this ferry would do this, imagine what the schooner would do. That explains the "gate swing". The voice, please, no need to comment. The review explains that. As far as the ships wheel turning, being that the ship is very old, it has a large rudder underneath the ship. Any amount of current would cause that rudder to swing from side to side, therefore making the wheel turn. Why do you think the wheel was tied down. Why do we never see the, "shadow people"? I could chew nails this aggravates me so much.
Lar @ 11:15 am
Bell ringing sounds STUPID!
With all the tight editing on this show you'd think Pilgrim would've also edited Steve's derogratory comment about Tango's passion as a (church) bell choir performer. I'm sure they got a lotta' hate mail over that one.
Tango should've just ripped into Steve with his near full body tatoos, & fears.
Steve's latest are, he can't eat any cereal that crunches too loudly, the letters R & W, & strawberry preserves.
Just once I'd like to see what is claimed paranormal. We never do. We hear about constant activity, TAPS arrives, nothing happens…unless Grant has his hand(s) in on it, or they have to "create," an evp out of distortion or white noise.
They WON'T wear head cams because nothing's there. Cams would only prove the obvious. Just give Amy & Krissy their own show. Call it Jiggly & Giggly. It won't be any better, possibly worse, it'll just be easier to watch.
Oubliette @ 12:52 pm
Logisti-very entertaining review! I thought Britt's name was a bit odd too, and upon looking it up most sources show it to be a girl's name meaning "exalted one" of possibly Dutch origin. Remember Britt Ecklund, the Scandinavian actress? What were his parents thinking? But now we have names like Twig and Track so who am I to question their judgment? Actually he seemed like a pretty straight up guy. One wonders if he's going to replace now you see him, now you don't Joe Chin.
Which brings me to Amy-I think she was brought in when Kris's contract was going through a re-write with the possibility that she may not be back. There are similarities between the two women. Just second guessing Pilgrim.
I too noticed Grant's famous hand going to the vicinity of his right belt loop/pocket. What it means I have no idea but boy, we've become pretty suspicious since Collargate.
That voice was fake, fake, fake. But this is what we've come to expect anyway. Again I must point out how little excitement there is amongst this group. Just what will it take for them to really show some of the old spark? An apparition tap dancing in front of them?
The best part of the show was seeing the Star of India. Lovely ship. It might be haunted, but we will never know unless and until these guys get a lot more serious, interested and competent about their investigation.
Guys, if you don't want to do it anymore, then don't. Your fans will understand (at least some of them). Nobody wants to watch a yawnfest.
Dr. Peter Venkman @ 1:02 pm
Learjet – "It's not as easy as it first seems."
how about a good pro minirecorder ? under a pound of beltweight.
http://www.focusinfo.com/solutions/fs-5.asp
Coupled with a camera like the Sony P-KPC-EX230HL at .0003 lux might not reach the human eye level of dark sensitivity, but as of now viewers are seeing NOTHING.
I've also wondered why they stay with those crappy wired cameras – Since they film "lights out" and the present color/IR cameras drop into B/W IR mode, why not spend a few bucks and get cameras that are very good IR B/W only cameras instead ?
– and would it hurt to have a few extra IR source/Battery packs for those long dark hallways ?
18 years experience, 4 years on television, and J still thinks unscrewing your battery cap is an acceptable way to perform a professional investigation.
Nosfer @ 1:08 pm
DPV: "18 years experience, 4 years on television, and J still thinks unscrewing your battery cap is an acceptable way to perform a professional investigation."
The nailhead was thoroughly smacked with that sentence…something I've been saying here (and over at TAPS when I 'haunted' that place) for quite a while.
Was kinda funny at the start of the Hanger episode. Jay said they were going to go it "old school" I didn't really notice a difference!
Oubliette @ 1:30 pm
Dr. Venkman's observations are excellent. It's not like this show's budget is of the "shoe string" variety. And more importantly, learn how to CORRECTLY use your equipment. That might lessen the chance of making incorrect and often embarrassing conclusions based on erroneous interpretations of "evidence", like an image reflecting off a locker….
The portable DTE Recorder looks impressive. Maybe they can request one for Christmas
And is it just me or do they seem to have limited their usage of the K-II meters? Perhaps the criticism of this device has gotten to them. Esp. since it first appeared at the Manson episode and Jay admitted he didn't think that much of it, only to make a complete turnaround.