April 17, 2009

GH: Georgia Aquarium

TAPS headed down south for this investigation to visit the Georgia Aquarium, the temporary home of the traveling Titanic exhibit. Joe & Diana Avena, two investigators local to the Atlanta area, hooked the Ghost Hunters team up with the gig and had the privilege of joining them for the evening. According to their host, the activity at the Georgia Aquarium is not restricted to just the Titanic Exhibit itself, but the small number of reports not associated with the exhibit seemed rather vague and not particularly paranormal. For instance, one day someone noticed unusual air bubbles in one of the larger tanks which they couldn't explain, and the bubbles also seemed unusual because they didn't seem to rise to the surface as one would expect. A scientific puzzle perhaps, but it doesn't bring to mind "ghosts" or "spirits" the way reports of voices or shadowy figures do.

As Jay & Grant began their investigation they started to run into quite a few cold spots. In fact, they seemed to believe the cold spots might actually be moving — perhaps created by a single entity that was following them around and drawing energy from the nearby air. Initially I was yet again frustrated by the team's lack of thermometers, however after some number of cold spots they actually broke down and ran out to their van to get one. Why supposedly scientific investigators think it's normal or okay to be so reluctant to actually measure things scientifically with instruments they own and have nearby I cannot surmise, but at least they finally did get a thermometer which is more than they've done the previous dozen or more times they had an unusual temperature worth measuring.

Of course, this situation was complicated by the fact that most of these cold spots seemed to be occurring in a room the aquarium used to house a realistic iceberg for visitors to touch (and feel how cold it is, etc). One might postulate that the presence of an enormous block of ice in a room could create temperature fluctuations in the room, perhaps even localized pockets of cold that move with the airflow of the room.  I applaud Jay & Grant for getting the right tool for the job, taking measurements and displaying the readouts on camera for the audience to verify, but cold spots in a room where one wall is covered with a giant block of ice just doesn't seem paranormal to me.

Nothing much seemed to happen for Steve & Tango, Kris & Amy or even Joe & Diana (although I found it slightly odd how Steve kept referring to the passengers of the "Titanic ship"). The remainder of the investigation's interesting activity surrounded Jay & Grant in a room housing actual artifacts and personal affects recovered from the ship on the bottom of the Atlantic. First Grant noticed a figure (shadow) which he thought was Jay entering the room until he realized a moment later that Jay was in a different place entirely. Then Jay sat next to him and they both reported seeing figures moving in nearby rooms, but when Jay got up to be certain it wasn't another investigator or crew member he confirmed no one was actually there. Jay asked any spirits who wanted them to leave to "knock twice", but there was apparently no knocking — however there was a response caught on audio during the evidence review: a fairly clear voice saying something like, "No, please wait". Shortly afterwards (without having heard that voice at the time) Jay & Grant got up to leave the room when Grant reported feeling a firm hand on his shoulder preventing him from standing up.

I won't attempt to evaluate Grant's experience one way or the other. The voice I will evaluate, I thought it absolutely sounded like a voice speaking English and I found it to be one of the clearest potentially paranormal recordings I've yet heard. My largest issue with it is trust and editing. The editing issue is simple: on the production footage we see Jay ask that question (about the two knocks) but the footage is cut off immediately afterwards. This could easily be a reasonable call by the editing team, but it creates a problem for the audience because we know there are two recordings of the event (one with video), we know one of them has an anomalous voice and we know the other one shouldn't but we don't know whether or not it really does. For all we know, that production footage might blatantly show Grant speaking those words heard on the other recording in a funny little half-whisper. Ultimately, no matter how impressive this evidence might seem on the surface, if there is room to distrust TAPS then it's not impressive at all. Personally, I've seen enough to convince me I can't take the team at their word, but others may feel differently.

Filed under Ghost Hunters, Posts by Logisti

Permalink Print Comment

Comments on GH: Georgia Aquarium »

April 17, 2009

MissBlue @ 5:14 pm

Maybe someone can help me - or correct me - but when Jason and Grant were measuring the temperature of the cold spot, I thought they said that the cold spot was about five degrees cooler. Then, at the reveal, they said that the difference was six to ten degrees. Did I mishear?

(Report comment)

Nosfer @ 5:42 pm

My comments on this episode are in the forums, but yes, I noticed and asked the same thing there…upon review, that is indeed what was said, though the term "at least" preceded the 5 so who knows!

(Report comment)

April 18, 2009

ninjakitty @ 1:08 am

1. Often when Steve is showing the camera angle, he'll make reference to a report of activity in the area that the camera covers. But half the time, what he says is significantly different than whatever report they've just shown. In this case the person who experienced something said "i felt pressure on my head like a shower cap was on me" and when Steve showed that area on camera he was like "this is where a person got touched and felt a hand on their head." THAT'S NOT THE SAME AT ALL. THIS TOTALLY ANNOYS ME.

2. Thank god they finally went to get the thermometer to prove the cold spot was cold. When Jay and Grant find the cold spot in the exhibit, they are like wooo dawg this is cold, yeah man that is so cold, it's like 40 degrees colder. HOW DO THEY KNOW? it was irritating me. and then when they did finally get the cold spot measured, they werein a room that contains a GIANT REFRIGERATED FAKE ICEBERG, which seems suspect. they didn't seem to check the huge thing that makes cold for whether it could be influencing the "cold spot".

3. Steve and Tango never find anything.

4. Grant is a terrible actor.

(Report comment)

Obi Wan Canubi @ 6:46 am

I am glad someone other then me noticed they were looking for an cold spot in the same room with a 500 pound ice cube. I enjoy ghost hunters, but I think if they ever found any solid evidence I would have to find it suspect because of all the underhanded tactics they have pulled over the years.

(Report comment)

Oubliette @ 2:43 pm

If there is ventilation in that room then it would not be too much a stretch of the imagination to realize that when the system would kick in it would blow some of the cold emanating from the ice out into the room. Hence, a cold spot that was several feet away from the block of ice.

Not many attempts at debunking going on lately, is there? Some posters here have already come up with some good explanations for the footprints, some that TAPS didn't even seem to come up with themselves.

Maybe we need our own show ;)

(Report comment)

Stephen @ 4:31 pm

For the record, Grant's using a Mannix IRT408K thermometer with a K probe.

(Report comment)

April 19, 2009

human being @ 2:38 pm

One thing that I have been noticing (mainly on GHI) is how sometimes when the investigators are conducting an EVP session they always assume that the "spirit" wants them to leave. It really bugs me… If I was a spirit I think I would want to try to communicate with living people who are trying to reach out to me.

I almost laughed when J&G started getting all excited about the cold spots in the iceberg room. I was sitting there thinking "Don't you guys see that humongous piece of freezing cold fake ice right next to you?!"

(Report comment)

Stephen @ 7:52 pm

Atlantan skeptic MasalaSkeptic has a post about the episode on SkepChick here:

http://skepchick.org/blog/?p=6890

(Report comment)

Lar @ 9:02 pm

Here's my best review on this episode & the entire season. YAWN.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..

(Report comment)

April 20, 2009

Oubliette @ 9:22 am

I forgot about the report of odd bubbles in the aquarium. How ridiculous to even consider this might indicate something paranormal. Even if the source of the bubbles was not readily apparent, logic dictates that some creature left them behind. A ghost fish, perhaps???

When I saw a Titanic exhibit in Atlantic City quite a few years back, I was filled with sorrow and a poignancy about the event that has stayed with me all these years. But at that time, and even at present, I've never heard of any paranormal activities associated with these artifacts.

Once again, we are unfortunately left with the impression that the Aquarium wanted another means to advertise both the exhibit and the aquarium itself. Who is booking TAPS into these places??? It is only rebounding to their discredit.

(Report comment)

alicat @ 12:57 pm

I can't believe I missed this. The Georgia Aquarium press release about paranormal activity states: "Other venues that have housed Titanic Aquatic, such as the Orlando Science Center, have reported strange occurrences similar to the ones at the Georgia Aquarium." Here is the Aquarium press release link: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/newsroom/pressdetail.aspx?id=131

According to the RMS Titanic, Inc. (RMST) press release: "RMS Titanic, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Georgia Aquarium to present the worldwide debut of Titanic: Aquatic. Opening August 22, 2008." And, according to the RMS Titanic website, the only Titanic exhibitions in Florida have been in St. Petersburg and Tampa - none in Orlando.

Also interesting is the fact that the "ownership" of the Titanic artifacts being exhibited by RMS Titanic was just heard in federal court in Virginia with a ruling expected to come down shortly. Obviously, this means it's been in the court system for quite some time. RMS Titanic Inc., which was the salvage company, wants the court to grant it limited ownership of the artifacts it has gathered. If they are not awarded "ownership", it appears they will take a huge hit in their financial portfolio. Apparently, even from the RMST website press releases, Premier has been going through financial and internal conflict. Here is the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-03-24-titanic-artifacts_N.htm

Bottom line is that no where on any site can I find, including RMST's or Premier's who produce the exhibit, is there any reference to parnormal activity and the Georgia Aquarium appears to be misrepresenting the facts and needs to hire themselves a fact checker. I also think because now Roswell Georgia Paranormal is moving up the TAPS scale, it was decided that they needed exposure and confirmation from the big guys.

(Report comment)

Mary @ 1:38 pm

Since this place has an aquarium, and undoubtedly sharks as well, wouldn't this have been the perfect opportunity for either Jay or Grant to get a pair of water skis, and, um, jump the shark-bubbles? LOL!

Edit - Jay could even have found those skis in the same place as that flour! I am now picturing a carrying case in the back of the TAPS van that holds absolutely everything, much like Mary Poppin's carpetbag.

(Report comment)

April 21, 2009

windwhisperer @ 11:24 am

What do you guys think about the scene where Grant alleges he got pushed back down to the floor? He said he felt a hand on his shoulder and it pushed him.
I noticed that the camera was on him the whole time and when the 'push' occurred the camera seemed to switch views or something.
Did I imagine this?

(Report comment)

Nosfer @ 2:00 pm

The camera DOES jump at that point, but I don't think it's an angle switch or anything like that. I think what happened is that, for broadcast, they edited the production film so as to be zoomed in on Grant, ie, he takes up more of the frame than the normal shot showed.

I went frame by frame and don't think this was a splice or recreation because if it were, it would be one of the best jobs Pilgrim has ever done lol. I think it's just a zoom-in for what is shown to the world.

(Report comment)

April 22, 2009

bill kelly @ 11:12 pm

actually my mom saw the exhibit in Memphis and met several people who saw things or had been rouched when no one was around.

my thing was since this is a traveling exhibit and whereever it goes people say its haunted why not got to another city and see if they catch them same things or new stuff??

(Report comment)

April 23, 2009

alicat @ 10:07 am

Bill - the answer is because this exhibit has NOT traveled anywhere and there was NEVER any representation by the Aquarium staff that it did. The Georgia Aquarium is the first and only place this exhibition has ever been. The press release from the exhibit "owners" and previous posts on this subject above and in the forum, states: "RMS Titanic, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Georgia Aquarium to present the worldwide debut of Titanic: Aquatic. Opening August 22, 2008." And, according to the RMS Titanic website, the only other true "Titanic exhibitions" in Florida have been in St. Petersburg and Tampa - none in Orlando.

One of the founders of RMST, who left the company some time ago, created an exhibition in Orlando however he retained no salvaged artifacts as the only company or individual that has any legal rights (salvage with guardianship but not ownership) is RMST. He recreated rooms with reproductions and actors who walk throughout the exhibit as period costumed characters which they proudly note on their website.

The only claims it was a traveling exhibit was the set up by GH from the start. Steve asking Kris if the "activity" happens at this aquarium only or if it follows wherever the exhibit goes. And, of course, Kris states that "wherever this exhibit goes is where the activity goes". Then, Grant states during the PR Director's presentation: "so now this is a traveling exhibit and everywhere it seems to go paranormal activity follows, correct?". To which the PR Director's response is: "there has been a lot of paranormal activity at the different exhibits that they have had all over the world."

Bill, please note the lack of confirmation to Grant's question as it is very telling. As an Aquarium employee and the PR Director, she knows she can never confirm Grant's statement and answer the question because the facts are simply not true. It's called job security and making untrue statements on behalf of the Aquarium would put their credibility and job in question as well as hurt the reputation of her employer. So she sidesteps the issue and deflects her answer by speaking about other Titanic exhibits elsewhere. Which, as far as paranormal activity at other exhibits and/or recreations are concerned are quite factually inaccurate as there as absolutely no evidence, other than what you heard on GH, to support these claims - even the RMST and Premier websites (with articles) do not mention any paranormal activity. Ironically, the "Exhibition Director of Education" who was also interviewed does not work for the Aquarium but instead works for Premier Exhibitions and her statements were about other exhibits - not the Georgia exhibit they were investigating. Today, I contacted Premier myself but the Director was "out of town". It was then confirmed to me directly that this exhibition has never traveled and has only been at the George Aquarium. My guess is that in Athens and/or Mexico they used English character actors in dress based on the fact that the former founder who left RMST proceeded to do so when he opened his own recreation exhibit. It would have been in the Athens and Mexico timeframe when he was a part of RMST/Premier.

One other thing that no one has picked up on is that when they claim to be seeing a black mass or perhaps another member of their team walking around but then get up and look to see who it is, you just have to see the black curtains surrounding the exhibit space to know this is what they are interpreting as "paranormal activity" when it is actually real people reflected through the curtains or entering/departing through the curtains. I'm sorry but I've been to enough venues to know that people appear and disappear through curtains to take short cuts to get from one place to another and there's nothing paranormal about that. This place would not have been completely empty because they are required to have workers monitoring/feeding/cleaning the aquarium and the animals in their surroundings 24/7/365 to maintain the Aquarium and they need to get their jobs done despite GH's investigation.

By the way during the PR Director's tour, the following paranormal activity in the first room consisted of: very eerie feelings, footsteps, different areas feeling cold spots, and shadows. Then they cut to a volunteer who stated she felt a pressence and knew something was behind her, she then felt pressure on her head like a swimming cap to which she gleefully stated "It was contact!"? In the personal effects room the only statement was that there was "a lot of activity as well" but no explanation of what. The patron who felt like he was experiencing "it" - but "it" turned out to be an overwhelming feeling of not being able to find out what had happened and had to leave the room. Hardly paranormal - just someone who got overwhelmed with the sadness which is quite understandable but certainly, as I said, not paranormal. Bubbles in the water at the Sea Lion exhibit? Please!

One sign that at least someone had an intelligent thought in this episode was Joe Avena when he stated that the noise he and Diana heard could very well have been a normal aquarium noise! Finally! Someone actually got it right!

(Report comment)

Nosfer @ 10:45 am

Nice description of the "different" exhibits alicat! The more I dig into these episodes, the more I'm finding that what we see is not what actually is. Sometimes it's minor, sometimes not, but in all cases it hurts the show because it makes you wonder what you see that you can actually trust. The Gaither episode about Steve and Tango and the bat was something that I never gave any thought to, but now I see that that scene is pasted together from their investigation and the girl's investigation. The girls saw the bat in the corner, not the guys, but the way the show is edited, reality has been altered. Where, then, does it stop?

(Report comment)

alicat @ 11:17 am

Nosfer,

I re-watched and taped the episodes last night. I'm trying to time the length of the actual footage shown as compared to the entire episode. There were just so many commercials.

I also noticed in the second episode what might confirm what Oubliette wrote about the flour/shoes evidence. When looking at the "prints", it looks more like the sifter made the marks. It obviously was not shoes from the 1800's. Jason did dispense flour from the sifter differently in each area. Your thoughts?

Also, back to the Aquarium, only once did we see the actual thermometer reading although J or G said twice. The first time you see it and it registers 65 degrees (I don't think that is unusual at all based on it being in an aquarium). The second time they start to zoom in but the reading is blurry and you cannot see any numbers. Looks like they subliminaly wanted us to believe we were reading it but, in truth, we just saw an angle with no visable reading.

I take nothing at face value with GH or GHI.

(Report comment)

alicat @ 11:31 am

Oops! I incorrectly identified a reference on Jason's flour prints to Oubliette. It was actually 13pranks. Sorry 13pranks. Oubliette - it must be that Jersey girl connection.

(Report comment)

Nosfer @ 12:02 pm

When I strip out commercials, I get between 41 and 43 minutes per hour-long episode. The Aquarium/Gaither was about 43 minutes and a few seconds.

(Report comment)

April 24, 2009

texasrebel @ 9:57 am

Why don't they use the FLIR to look at the cold spots? Which should allow them to actually see the difference in temprature. Instead they use their hands and a laser thermometer.

(Report comment)

Nosfer @ 10:25 am

@texasrebel…I don't believe that the type of FLIR they are using can see gases. It is only useful for surfaces and the cold spot they reported was "in the air" not on a surface. In that type of case, the FLIR is all but useless.

(Report comment)

texasrebel @ 9:03 pm

Thanks Nosfer. That makes sense. That has bugged me for a long time.

(Report comment)

April 25, 2009

Liz M @ 12:56 am

About the exhibit… there have been similar Titanic exhibits traveling around. A friend of mine had recently told me of an exhibit she visited where they had the fake iceberg as well. And another part of this exhibit included giving you the name of a passenger to take with you and only at the end did you find out if you survived.

I also was glad that the visiting team members chalked noises up to the aquarium. However, wasn't it their group that made the initial claim of footsteps being heard in that area? I may be wrong.

It's so amazing that a huge ice cube couldn't possibly be contributing to cold spots. It just has to be a ghost.

I was impressed with the EVP. Mostly because it was the clearest of the entire season. You'd think they would just pull the same crap they've pulled earlier with digitized white noise.

(Report comment)

DaleA @ 3:44 pm

I've visited one of the traveling Titanic's exhibits at the Arizona Science Museum in Phoenix, AZ. It's been there more than once within the past 7 years. A few of the artifacts in the Atlanta aquarium looked familiar from what I've seen at the AZ museum. I don't remember seeing a big block of ice but I do remember seeing an eerie part of the ship's hull which I didn't notice at the Atlanta exhibit.

After looking at many items and the recreation of some of the ship's rooms, I can certainly understand how some people may get a spooky feeling because seeing the remnants from one of history's most tragic events where lots of lives were lost can overwhelm a person's emotions and make them feel as if they're hearing or seeing people from the past who were involved in this tragedy. (of course, the movie and documentaries bring memories as well) I believe that these so called hauntings aren't hauntings at all but rather tricks of the mind. I felt a little bit of something myself when I visited the exhibit. It gave me the chills but I think it was more psychological than anything. Perhaps people would feel quite different if they were told that it wasn't a tragedy at all and nobody was killed.

As for GH's physical evidence, I don't think they had much of anything that couldn't be explained. The voice on the recording was questionable as anyone could make up such a thing although my impression of TAPS is that they wouldn't fake stuff in contrast to the guys on GA. Unfortunately, they're not as honest as we'd like them to be either because I've noticed quite a few incidents that could easily be debunked. I've also noticed a lack of consistency throughout their shows- whether it be technique, equipment, or their own debunking methods. I keep hearing someone mention seeing something out of the corner of their eye but I haven't heard anyone on the show debunk the 'corner of the eye' technicality everytime someone says it. Perhaps they have on some of the shows, but I've noticed it wasn't caught in one or two of the recent shows. Sometimes, they don't put enough time into debunking something.

It's important to keep in mind that these ghost-hunter type shows all need to keep good ratings in order to succeed so I believe that the more impressive evidence they show to the believers, the more likely they'll succeed in keeping their programs on TV for a long period of time. But real ghosts or not, they're still entertaining to watch because I just love eerie and haunted-looking places. But I also find it funny just to sit there watching some parts and thinking "Yeah, right!"

(Report comment)

alicat @ 4:23 pm

@DaleA:

It is possible that some of the artifacts may look familiar due to the fact that the only company (RMST) which has salvage/guardianship rights to the Titanic made several trips to gather many items which they have displayed worldwide. However, I have been told first hand by RMST that these items, showcased in the Titanic Aquatic exhibit at the George Aquarium, are making their worldwide debut and have not been displayed elsewhere. They will, of course, be seen elsewhere when the exhibit departs the Aquarium later this year.

I certainly understand the emotional tug of such an exhibit. We've all been brought up on the stories, read the books, seen the photos and newspapers and watched the television shows and movies surrounding this tragic event. And, there are those who have had the opportunity to actually see the various exhibits worldwide. It's hard to imagine the magnitude and horror of the event and to re-live the memories of the stories while viewing actual artifacts must be very difficult. This is even more difficult the older you are because it happened less than 100 years ago which makes it seem like it could have been in our lifetime. I know that sounds strange, but the older you get . . .

(Report comment)

DaleA @ 6:21 pm

@alicat

I think it's quite possible that the TAPS team may have assumed that the one in Atlanta was the same one that travels across the world. Until now, I also thought that there was only one traveling exhibit. I saw some similarities between the one in Atlanta and the one in Phoenix but I can't say that I saw the exact same items so I believe it's true that the exhibits may be the similar but the artifacts are different.

I do recall a few people commenting on the rusted metal hull section saying things like "that's creepy" or "that looks so haunted". And I have to admit that it was very eerie to look at. Surely, whatever artifacts were at the aquarium exhibit could've had that same effect and likewise, any place that hosts the exhibit could report some oddities based on personal experiences that people report.

(Report comment)

alicat @ 7:11 pm

@ DaleA:

I'd really like to believe in GH and that they didn't know but I totally don't buy it. Georgia Paranormal who GH stated "called them in" to investigate the exhibition absolutely knew it was the the world debut and I absolutely do not believe their PR Department would not have any signage bragging about the "worldwide debut" of Titanic Aquatic, especially when the opening shot of the Aquarium had Titantic in huge letters across the front of the building. When you have a worldwide debut at your location, you have a huge PR gem that you use to it's fullest. They also heavily advertised the debut and press releases were sent out by both the Aquarium and RMST. They even sent out press releases and advertised that Georgia Paranormal was investigating there on Halloween. Georgia Paranormal actually was contracted to give paranormal tours afterwards and were involved in the "Last Meal" event recently. Kris, the crack GH investigator she is, when asked about where they were investigating as GH drove to the Aquarium, was clueless as usual - she just read what had been written for her. It was evident to me that she did absolutely no research. All anyone had to do was google the Aquarium or Titantic Aquatic where they were going to investigate and read. I don't think that's too much to ask. I did and posted it in the Titanic forum here on this site. And I can't believe they don't get an actual written run down with all the particulars at some point prior to each taping. As far as the Avenas not telling them - I seriously doubt that but if they didn't - shame on them. I still say, there had to be signage all over as well as flyers/brochures and they had to be filled in prior to taping regarding what they could and could not do regarding the exhibit and aquarium. They would have had been given some rules and regulations as it is a public space they have to respect. As far as TAPS "assuming", we all know what that definition means and it certainly rings through in this case.

I understand it must have been very eerie to look at. I had wanted to go to the Philadelphia exhibition but never got a chance. My sister, brother and brother-in-law all teach scuba diving and they love to dive wrecks. They do say it can be quite eerie and haunting at times but they love it. Knowing Titanic's history and seeing the artifacts, it must be quite compelling which would definitely stir up sadness and emotions but certainly nothing paranormal.

(Report comment)

April 26, 2009

Lily @ 11:28 am

The GA exhibit was similar - fake iceberg, passenger's "boarding pass." I was at a late-night tour the Georgia group held the night before the TAPS taping. LAME! It was the anniversary of the sinking and Diana and Joe made this huge point of asking at 11.40 (iceberg time) whether any presence felt they were reliving a traumatic experiene. As the group was ready to leave the room, some bright spark asked whether the ship actually hit at 11.40 EST. Boy, were J&D confused! lol There were 4 "stations" and two teams were just so obviously embarrassed at having to stand around spouting crap to entertain everybody. For me, the highlight of the evening was two nice women who admitted that the room with the glass wall (for watching fish) wasn't actually particularly haunted. they answered a few questions and then we got to sit and look at sharks go by until it was time for the next room. Like TAPS, these folks were really annoying in assuming that any spirits were either hostile or REALLY wanted to tap on things or talk to them. No particular empathy for anything that might really be there - no desire to help them move on or see if they wanted messages delivered or whatever. (Full disclosure - I don't believe in ghosts but wanted to see the exhibit with a smaller crowd, so maybe I'm overly cynical). If ghosts exist, though, there is no way I'd want to be one just hanging around waiting for some high school dropout to ask me whether I wanted to dish on the trauma for their amusement. This was my first "ghost" tour and maybe I'm being too harsh, but the whole thing seemed boring and crass.

(Report comment)

alicat @ 12:02 pm

@ Lily: I'm sorry to hear about your experience. You must have been so excited to see the exhibit and to have been so disappointed - what a shame. I too would have thought going with a smaller group, especially on that date and time, would have been an incredible experience - apart from Joe and Diana. I believe they were there to add a particular aspect to the exhibit and get those interested in the paranormal, that might ordinarily not go to see such an exhibit, a reason to go.

Question: was there any signage about this being the premier exhibition of Titanic Aquatic? Was it on any brochures, flyers, posters, etc.?

(Report comment)

April 27, 2009

Lily @ 8:21 am

@alicat, the exhibit was still enjoyable although we didn't get to spend as much time viewing it as I'd hoped. Although you've seen it on the show, I will warn anyone who intends to go that it's fairly small - reconstructions of a first class and steerage cabin, some framed documents, and two or three rooms of passengers' small possessions in perspex boxes, as I recall.

Since you bring it up, I can't say the Aquarium really played up the paranormal angle. Their website advertised the dinner and tour, but only said that the latter would be a chance to watch paranormal investigators and hear about their techniques. It didn't mention that GH would be investigating the next night. None of the permanent signage talked about hauntings and I don't think it was heavily advertised. I know I only heard about it from a friend's events newsletter. Not sure if that answers your question and I could certainly have missed something, but I didn't get any sense that the Aquarium wanted to trade on any kind of paranormal activity.

(Report comment)

blinddog50 @ 9:50 am

http://www.titanictix.com

There must be several traveling exhibits as some overlap.
The permanent exhibit is in Las Vegas.
According to Titanic Aquatic that is in Atlanta the exhibit consisted of 190 artifacts that 40 of whom were making their world debut.

(Report comment)

alicat @ 11:18 am

@ Lily, I'm afraid I didn't phrase my question correctly. I didn't mean the paranormal aspect. I would not have expected that since there are no actual claims made except for those of the Avena's which, it turned out were non-existent. What I meant was the "worldwide debut" of the Titanic Aquatic. I've seen the articles, press releases and Aquarium website information about the paranormal aspects but was curious how they were marketing the "debut". Sorry about the misinformation.

@blinddog50 - Yes, RMST has other exhibitions and traveling ones in the US and overseas. They made many salvage trips and are displaying those artifacts all over the world. This particular exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium was the worldwide debut of Titanic Aquatic which has only been at the Aquarium with these artifacts yet GH and the Avenas proceed to talk about paranormal happenings following the exhibit wherever it goes. Unfortunately, it's never gone anywhere but where it is now and will not be leaving to go on tour until towards the end of this year.

(Report comment)

Lily @ 12:07 pm

@ alicat - Sorry, I misunderstood. They mentioned that the exhibit included items not previously exhibited but again, they didn't make a huge point of it. I just looked up the web site again (see below) and it sounds as if 40 of 190 objects were on display for the first time. So I'm not sure "world premier" would have been completely appropriate. http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitus/titanicaquatic.aspx

(Report comment)

Lily @ 12:08 pm

According to the GA website, only 40 of the 190 objects was being displayed for the first time, so they were probably right in not advertising heavily as a world premier event. Sorry I misunderstood!

(Report comment)

Anthony Mendez @ 3:06 pm

I would like to point out that the work TAPS does is not really scientific. Now if they had three houses they knew nothing about and only one had paranormal history while the other two had none,I would be very interested in the results. I would like to know about their security arrangements to protect their evidence from tampering. All recording equipment should be checked prior to use and sealed. Large buildings with strange sounds must have wildlife so it does not surprise me there is unexplained noise also too many opportunities for locals who know the site to have some fun like the prison who I could clearly see was a person with a black cloak open to the face (not like Brian with over the head. Look at the ankles and you will see tan just like Brian pants and look for the swirl of the cloak. Thanks

(Report comment)

alicat @ 3:56 pm

Nosfer: I just went over my numbers as to the actual length of each investigation at the Aquarium took place. Per the time stamps provided by GH, the episode started at 10:20 p.m. but the actual investigation began at 11:02 p.m. with J&G starting off the night and ended at 2:54 a.m. (BTW, the cold spot started with Grant stating it was 5' high followed by Jason saying it was 4 1/2' high and then down to 4'). J&G's total investigation on screen was presented in a total of 7 minutes, Steve and Tango in 1 minute, 8 seconds, Kris and Amy in a whopping 13 seconds with Joe and Diana 1 minute, 5 seconds. This leaves us with a grand investigation total on screen of 9 minutes and 26 seconds. The rest was filler, i.e. the obligatory: meeting with Kris, travel conversations, tour guide, explanations of what you just saw (like you couldn't figure it out), commercials, catch ups when cutting back in from commercials, break down, evidence review, reveal and self-congratulatory affirmations. As far as the 13 seconds of Kris and Amy, they only investigated (if you could really call it that) for that time, the rest of what you saw was them actually sitting there talking about what it must have been like which is not what I call investigating.

Interesting isn't it? An hour show, a little over half of it at the Aquarium and you get less than 10 minutes of actual product.

(Report comment)

alicat @ 4:26 pm

I forgot to add one other thing to my previous post. The very beginning of the first half of the show (preview, opening, etc.) to the fist bump, minus commercials (including the Aquarium commercial), ran approximately 24 minutes and 39 seconds out of which 9 minutes and 26 seconds was the investigation.

(Report comment)

May 8, 2009

Salem @ 9:49 pm

Yeah - I had to laugh with the cold spot in a room with an iceburg in it.

Do you ever wonder if these businesses pay to have their place investigated? It seems like a ton of places are haunted these days. I really feel that lately the team is trying to find paranormal and will use any little thing and go with it.

i really hate the k-2 meter. I can't believe thety waste their time with it. With camera men everywhere it would seem that the thing would go off all the time. and how come it is always and I repeat always Jay and Grant who seem to get all the shadows and experiences.

(Report comment)

July 9, 2009

MentalMidget @ 6:26 am

i've been a long time reader of this site and FINALLY signed up to be able to post this morning.

I know that this episode aired quite a while ago, but I just saw it for the first time today, and had to come here to see how bad the cold spots in the "Iceberg Room" were getting ripped. Thanks for not disappointing. I found the episode to be amusing, but I find all of them to be amusing (for one reason or another).

I hope to be able to start posting more actively now that I finally have cable and am not watching 6 months after everyone else when the show is finally released on dvd.

(Report comment)

Revenant @ 1:00 pm

@MentalMidget- Well, glad you finally took the plunge. And welcome to the site.

Yes, that episode has become a favorite of mine. Add in Grant being "pushed" down along with the cold spots in the "Iceberg Room" and it definitely becomes a classic. We discussed it even more in the forums…somewhere in the Ghost Hunter section.

(Report comment)




^ Please Support our Sponsor

Leave a Comment

Subscribe without commenting

Special thanks to our friends at Red 3 Enterprises, be sure to check out their terrific e-stores.
Copyright 2008 SkepticalViewer.com - The Ghost Hunters Fansite for Skeptics