April 9, 2009
GH: Sacco's Bowl-Haven
Okay, I know it's not cool to make fun of someone's last name, but Sacco's Bowl-Haven just seems like the complete package of "funny name" for a Ghost Hunters investigation — especially as a follow-up to the very esteemed-sounding "Belcourt Castle". Still, I should hold my tongue because this investigation in some ways turned out to be far more satisfying than the other.
Towards the beginning of the night Jay & Grant played some pool and they even bowled a few frames, both with their trusty K-II meter in tow and both times they saw some intermittent activity, but nothing they felt attributable to an intelligent presence. I thought this was a little strange since it seems to me they nearly always consider intermittent activity on the K-II that has no ready explanation as potentially paranormal, but that's probably just in the locations they've already convinced themselves are haunted… but I digress.
This investigation was filled solid with excellent debunking. Employees reported bowling balls coming down the return even after they powered down the lanes — Jay & Grant experience this themselves and determined when the lanes were powered down the ball return mechanisms didn't stop immediately, they just began to slow down and bowling balls that had been stuck would spontaneously catch on the flywheel and come rolling down the lanes.
In one of the back rooms employees reported occasionally hearing someone breathing. Jay & Grant noticed a toilet with a leaky flapper, which made it occasionally refill on it's own. It might be a stretch to confuse two seconds of water running through pipes for the sound of someone exhaling, but I suppose it's possible — especially if the employees were already freaked out and ready to misinterpret the slightest unexpected sound; and from the sound of it, Sacco's employees had been largely on-edge.
Steve & Tango attribute that to a breaker box located right behind the counter where employees spend most of their time — they might even lean up against it while waiting on customers. Their meters showed an expected high EM field surrounding the box and of course this led to the "fear cage" theory where people exposed to high EM fields might experience some paranoia and other symptoms. I don't think the science is there, but leaning up against an electrical box all day doesn't seem particularly healthy either so I'll give TAPS points for applying their hypotheses consistently and arriving at reasonable conclusions.
Kris & Amy even had their own debunk, completing the TAPS circle. They'd been hearing footsteps and noticed the sounds seemed tied to their own footsteps. With the long boards on the lanes, apparently taking a step in one place can cause the boards to creak a long ways down the lane, creating the impression someone else is there.
All in all, an interesting exploration of how bowling alleys are really creepy places to visit with all the lights off.
Filed under Ghost Hunters, Posts by Logisti
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Comments on GH: Sacco's Bowl-Haven »
MissBlue @ 4:30 pm
One word: boring. I'm just glad that TAPS didn't manufacture evidence. I have to say, though, that I'm really sick and tired of the TAPS team finding high EMF everywhere they go, as if all alleged hauntings can be explained as EMF-induced paranoia. That seems to be their one debunking method. Oh, that and leaky plumbing.
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alicat @ 4:40 pm
Agree MissBlue. I didn't need my Ambien last night. I fell asleep just after the beginning of this investigation. Glad to know I didn't miss anything.
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Nosfer @ 6:14 pm
Funny how the K2 lit up RIGHT AS Grant rapped on the Pool Table. No possible contamination there!!
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Chris @ 6:58 pm
Overall I very boring investigation. I also noticed that the K2 lit up whenever Grant smashed the pool table. Did they just do this one to have an excuse to play some pool and bowl.? I would of much preferred J&G talking about how bowling pins and how weird they were.
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Nosfer @ 7:15 pm
The observations about how boring it was is probably why they spice things up. If they were all "boring" the show would fold fast. I would actually rather see one like this that was boring but in which they actually debunked things rather than one that was more exciting (ie "finding" more) where they misinterpreted and misused things…like the one immediately preceding this one!
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alicat @ 7:35 pm
Agreed Nosfer. I would much rather see them debunk things but they usually don't put them first because the general public wants to see ghosts and debunking would not be popular. Personally, I love a puzzle to solve. Instead, we hear a noise, see shots of them doing a quick head turn with a quizzical look and then we go to commercial. Of course, all this is done by misunderstanding and misusing the equipment. I think the commercial locations illustrate this flaw more and more and it's obvious they are being used for increased publicity and revenue.
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Nosfer @ 7:48 pm
@alicat…most definitely. It's almost a formula they have:
Noise
"huh?"/"What the fetch?"
"Are you tired of credit card companies harassing you?"
After watching a few of the earlier episodes last night I just wanted to yell (I actually did a few times) And in the Belcourt episode they talk about coming back with new equipment. All the equipment in the world isn't going to mean a hill of beans if they can't use it properly.
Reminds me of the inept guy who just got a new digital camera. He was bragging that it was a 12.1 megapixel camera and so much better than the 8 that his friend had. The person he was bragging to got tired of it and finally said "So, now you can take REALLY high-resolution pictures of the lens cap"
I love a good puzzle, too. I wish they would just play straight and not make up puzzles whether intentionally or through incompetence.
You're right on about commercial locations and I CAN'T WAIT to see all these ghosts from the Titanic who are attached to the objects that were brought up. Oh Boy! I may have to get out some extra mugs!
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alicat @ 7:56 pm
Agreed Nosfer. LOL! Curiously, one thing that they never said was exactly what new equipment they were using. I would really love to know if that is true. I guess, once again, we are supposed to take them at their word. Sorry but I cannot. Did they go there with just "flashlights" and a recorder? Yes, things change but before 2004 they bragged they didn't make any money but had spent $60,000 on equipment. On what? Flashlights? Yukons?
Check out the post on the earlier show. I love the 48 Hours article.
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blinddog50 @ 8:26 pm
Ah yes, the ol' rapping on the table trick to set off the K2.
Has anyone noticed the use of more wireless mics than in the past.
Did anyone notice where Grant's mic transmitter was(right rear hip).
Grant leaned to the right to rap on the table, therefore the transmitter was close to the K2 as the sound of him hitting the table was being transmitted to the camera.
Wa la, instant blinky lights caused by the emf from the wireless mic transmitter.
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Nosfer @ 8:48 pm
I wonder, too, if just the vibration from rapping on the table could have jiggled the quarter that they were using to hold the switch down….that along with a wireless mic transmitting would all but assure a light up.
And also the other time it lights up is just as Jason bowls. Ball hitting the wood, pins going down, pretty good vibrations.
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MissBlue @ 1:26 am
I don't think the episode was boring because of lack of evidence. The episode was boring because the TAPS team was thoroughly lackluster. The debunking was mediocre, the investigation itself seemed hurried, and nothing at all interesting happened (and that doesn't have to mean ghosts). I miss the old pace of the show. And it's very formulaic. Surprise me with a Tango and Steve mud wrestling match or something.
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Oubliette @ 7:39 am
To me this show illustrated how people are way too quick to think "paranormal". In that way, it was a decent debunking of the place. Their lack of enthusiasm may have come from realizing fairly early on that the location was not going to yield anything. Seems the employees were scaring themselves.
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CrowTRobot @ 8:01 am
OK. Just one thing:
A BOWLING ALLEY!?…………….A FREAKIN' BOWLING ALLEY!?!?
@ Oubliette: Agree. I watch some of these episodes and I think, "That's it? You called TAPS - AND got on tv - for THAT?" I lived alone in a two-story house for awhile. It was in a new subdivision and I was one of two houses for MILES around. I heard stuff all the time. Floors creaked; noises in the attic; noises outside. I never ONCE thought to myself, "Oh my GOD! GHOSTS!"
But, more to the point:
A BOWLING ALLEY!?…………….A FREAKIN' BOWLING ALLEY!?!?
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Oubliette @ 8:09 am
Agree with Crow. GH must really be running out of locations. This was ludicrous.
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Nosfer @ 8:10 am
You know…I think I'm going to cut TAPS a little slack on this one
Despite the fake round-table between J, G, and K that goes along with the fake gas valve and the fake shots of them fixing it and the fake phone call, I REALLY doubt Kris sets these up.
That being said, I'm sure they went along with it because, well, free pool and bowling and maybe the beer taps will be left on!
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Lar @ 1:20 pm
A bowling alley? Now I know why.
I just heard GH is moving away from the norm, instead they're investigating the abnormal locale for paranormal.
The next investigations are:
Herb's Bagel Barn. Cold spots in the freezer, and shadows moving about when standing in the sun.
Alfie's oil change & mini golf. Holes 9, 14 & 17 claim to be haunted. You feel like the guy behind you waiting for his turn to putt is staring at you!
Darla's ice cream shack & feed store. Word has it when you order a cone of your favorite flavor it disappears as you eat it.
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Learjet @ 4:23 pm
Holy bovine brown stuff, a whopping 40 milligauss with the EMF meter pressed hard against a power box!
Call the department of health! Employees should not be allowed anywhere near that. Imagine the lawsuits! They could sue for millions! Imagine the brain damage, birth defects and cancer that comes from something that causes…. and I quote "paranoia, nausea, fatigue, skin irritation and hallucinations" end quote.
That's just so incredibly undangerous! (40mg is about the same as watching TV… no wait, a TV is actually worse due to wider frequency spread of RF).
Exhibit A.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/1307/gm2j.jpg
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Revenant @ 5:10 pm
But I do suffer from nausea, fatigue and hallucinations while watching Ghost Hunters on TV…so that proves they're right.
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Revenant @ 5:17 pm
"But I do suffer from nausea, fatigue and hallucinations while watching Ghost Hunters on TV…so that proves they're right."
Well, maybe I was just being paranoid there. Wait! More proof!!
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TP @ 10:06 pm
I live right down the street from this place and got excited because I never heard of it. What a let down.
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Oubliette @ 11:57 pm
TP-Guess you can't wait to visit the place now, can you? Imagine, you can play pool at the EXACT table where Jay and Grant goofed around. Wow.
I'm not saying this was a business hoping to get some publicity out of GH, but if it is, this is one of the weirdest locales yet to hope that TAPS would help boost its bottom line. What's next? JoJo's miniature golf and billiards?
The mind boggles.
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Oubliette @ 12:21 am
Just had a thought–I vote that Sacco's Bowl Haven should be the site of the next 7 hour Halloween special. When things get slow they can always have a bowling competition. What do you think?
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Nosfer @ 1:32 am
LOL…instead of a Wrestler, a professional bowler.
We know about Sacco now, but I was still waiting for the explanation of where Vanzetti ended up!
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John Galt @ 9:30 pm
Well, it was what it was: flat, uninspired and somewhat a "walk through" by the TAPsters. But, to be fair, they DID debunk several things, which is what we want them to do (rather that scream, "Dude. Run!").
Chris@6:58 - The bowling pins were Candle Pins - like Duck Pins, it's a MA thing (I learned about both when I lived in RI for a while).
I really wish that they'd drop the K2 thing. It brings nothing to the party and is too easily manipulated. The flashlight trick is lame ("Hey ghost boy, dance, dance and turn on my flashlight!"), the "EVP work" is highly suspect. Not sure (as I've stated before) why the lights need to be out - unfortunately, if you've seen one "Ghost Hunters", you've seen all of them.
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MAS @ 11:39 am
Responding to comments about this investigation's "boring" location: I enjoy GH for the same reason I watch GHI- it's a travelogue. I was more fascinated by looking at an old-fashioned bowling alley and mechanism than the investigation. Did you see the bowling pins? (Now I know why those pear-shaped things at my local bowling alley are called "pins".)
Of course, I also like seeing how many times they say "Did you hear that??"
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