September 10, 2009
GH: Essex County Penitentiary
By the time Jay, Grant and the rest of the TAPS team got there, the Essex County Jail had been abandoned for about five years and was in a surprising state of disrepair for that short amount of time. Originally constructed in 1862 to house Confederate prisoners of war, the prison is an impressive structure and all the more spooky for the debris and peeling paint.
Joining the team on this investigation were the ubiquitous Britt Griffith and the inimitable Josh Gates. Josh's show "Destination: Truth" has featured members of the TAPS team as paranormal consultants for the past two episodes and I'm getting the distinct impression SciFi (or SyFy if they prefer) noticed TAPS' credibility problem since the live Halloween investigation last year, noticed that most people found Josh to be very credible and decided maybe his golden touch could do the Ghost Hunters some good. Personally, I think it's working the other way around — the new season of Josh's show and Josh's appearance on Ghost Hunters both feature him getting excited over marginal occurrences he'd previously have left in the column marked "curious but hardly conclusive".
Needless to say, as a fan of Josh and Destination: Truth I was initially excited to see him on this investigation but in retrospect I don't think he really elevated TAPS' investigation at all and it would seem he's lowered standards on his own show.
For one thing, towards the beginning of the night Josh was handling the thermal imaging camera — a device he's used many times in his own investigations (and he pointed this out) — when he got worked up over something that "looked like a head". Now, a human outline is one thing but something that "looked like a head" ?? Basically you saw a roundish blob on the screen, but okay it's still interesting because it clearly wasn't anyone in the group and there was "nothing there to reflect" someone's thermal image. Except right after he said there was nothing there to reflect he described the video of the thermal anomaly thusly, "I could see you, your reflection, and almost like a head." Right. So, you see Grant's reflection, but the "head" growing out of Grant's reflection can't possibly be a reflection because there is nothing there to reflect.
Josh Gates, you have lost 877,425 credibility points. Please report to the 2009 Halloween LIVE investigation for further processing.
…but don't get the idea this episode gives it all up at the beginning. There's more ridiculous nonsense to come! For instance, by popular demand (one can hope) TAPS has brought back their one and only headcam! Yay! And they've strapped it on Kris Williams and sent her down into the tunnels alone because the tunnels are very cramped and it just makes sense to send one person alone with a headcam. Okay! Sounds plausible to me, I'll buy it. Well, for every shot from Kris' headcam during her brief trek through the tunnels there was an accompanying external shot of Kris. Yes, as she talked to herself (or to the spirits, who knows?) and heard unidentifiable noises we get to experience the entire journey through the headcam she wore on her head, and we can also see her carefully moving around in the tunnels and the sometimes frightened expression on her face.
Wait, what?
Yes, Kris Williams went down into the tunnels with the headcam "alone" if by "alone" you mean "not alone". The most outrageous thing is Grant even continues this line of B.S. during the Reveal when he tells their host Kris was down there alone with the headcam. To quote Seth Myer and Amy Poehler, "I mean, Really?!" I have two questions: (1) How stupid does Grant think we are, that he repeatedly said Kris was alone despite the fact that we see external shots of her journey through the tunnel from the cameraman who was with her, and (2) Am I just really overestimating people's intelligence or did he actually successfully slip this by the majority of TAPS' audience?
Later, when Josh was investigating with Steve and Tango they were doing an EMF sweep and everyone was getting very excited about the "big readings" they were getting. We see that the meter spikes all the way up to 1 milligauss at one point, and Steve tells us at another point it went up to 3 for a split second. This is particularly exciting because there is no electricity turned on or even running through the walls of the building. Of course, he neglected to form any postulations that (A) it might have something to do with the fact he was standing in the cell-block taking readings about six inches from thousands of pounds of metal, which occasionally has been known to have magnetic properties — and not once in the scores of investigations they've conducted have we ever heard anyone point out this basic fact: EM fields occur naturally and readings or fluctuations between 1 and 3 milligauss are typically considered standard background EM noise — at least by people who know what they're doing, but unfortunately not by many paranormal investigators.
The actual evidence collected by the team was restricted to some unidentified noises that happened to a variety of team members at a variety of locations on the prison grounds, but my favorite part of the reveal was the personal experiences. At one point during the night Josh had reported seeing something move that he almost swore must be a living person except there was no sound and there was no place the person could have gone. Shortly afterwards Jay claimed to see something similar and then as they "tracked" it's movement Grant claimed to see it go down a flight of stairs.
What I thought was great about this sequence of storytelling wasn't just that Jay & Grant seemed to almost literally jump on the bandwagon of Josh Gates' credibility the moment he reported an experience and built their own experiences off of it in a way that seemed simultaneously plausible and a little too convenient but at one point Grant described seeing this shadow go down the stairs and says he didn't know where it went from there but "it must have gone to the right", then upon further questioning he said he didn't just see it out of the corner of his eye, he "saw it straight on". Right. Because when I see something "straight on" that goes to the right I often use the words "it must have gone to the right" to describe how precisely certain I am because I saw it straight on.
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Comments on GH: Essex County Penitentiary »
Angelayo1970 @ 11:32 am
I have to say it was such a contrast, watching this new episode after seeing the Fortuna/Topton episode from 2004 and the Two Brothers/Willard Library episode from 2006. It made me vividly remember when they actually tried (and usually could!) debunk just about everything. Those were the days…sigh…
I started a forum thread about the ECP reveal, and I'd be interested in hearing input on it, so please check it out!
The Doctor @ 12:32 pm
Curious that Grant's K2 readings and Steve's EMF meter readings never made it into the reveal.
Anyone know what that other piece of gear near Britt's knee is ?
Lar @ 12:40 pm
It could've been worse. This could've been PAY PER VIEW. In fact this episode was so bad they should've PAID the viewers to watch it. All the money raised could've been used to help restore their careers!
The EVP? PERRRRRRRRRRRRRRICE-LESS!
The FLIR image? Josh, should be more like the dead & be QUIET. He really stuffed his foot in his mouth and that that's the (Destination) Truth!
ENJOY:
http://debunkthegunk.blogspot.com/2009/09/debunk-click.html
fendergrl @ 1:18 pm
I agree, this is one of the worst episodes ever! So boring! And I miss them trying to replicate and debunk everything, instead of automatically assuming it's paranormal. The show is now less about investigation and more about trying to justify what they are doing.
And seriously…the dramatic sounds they put in are really distracting. You can't hear what the "investigators" hear because they are too busy playing "scary" music and fake heart beats!
Nosfer @ 1:41 pm
That third head is someone's HAND and a DVR…it belongs to the SECOND head that is right to the left of it and is, in fact, attached to the SECOND head's torso via a very distinct ARM. Wow!
Bobarino @ 1:57 pm
Nosfer,
I agree with your post in the forums. They flat out LIED when they said she was alone with the head-cam. She was very obviously NOT alone.
All night long all the teams reported hearing sound that sounded awfully similar to rodents scurrying around. IS that really surprising considering the condition of the building?
And, once again, only J&G "saw" anything. Grant had a full-on view of a shadow-figure. No one else ever sees anything but J&G. (Josh did say he thought he saw something in the dark in the distance, but that could be explained away due to pixelation or other non-paranormal reasons.)
And what a comparison with DT right after. GH is really getting boring. Perhaps because the paranormal element has been removed, but I fight to stay awake. On the other hand, DT was VERY entertaining, both in the presentation (I couldn't stop laughing when the roof fell of the plane! I almost fell out of my chair! What a Classic moment!) but also in the investigation.
alicat @ 2:14 pm
Bobarino,
I have to agree with you. The difference between the two was palpable. The roof flying off the plane was one of the funniest moments I've ever seen on either show and I couldn't stop laughing. It certainly was the last thing I ever expected even with a much older plane. Definitely a classic. As far as a comparison between the two, it was a relief when GH finished and DT came on. The total lack of GH/TAPS believability was extremely obvious.
Nosfer @ 2:44 pm
I'm starting to feel embarrassed for Steve. How many times can they milk a flipping bat…granted, bats ARE mammals, but still!
StanTheMan @ 3:52 pm
Agreed it was totally boring. Did I see an air conditioner in the window of the warden's house. If the buildings have not been used in years, and the condition they were in certainly showed that to be true, wouldn't they have removed an AC.
I just posted in the forum that Kris said it was her camera which she set down in the tunnel and that she was alone. Jason also said that they all spent time there alone but only hers was shown.
Lar @ 5:01 pm
The ONLY amazing moment from this episode was the composure of the TV crew. When Steve FREAKED as the
" flyin' eight dimensional face eating wombat of death," swooped down upon him the camera guy remained calm. Quickly panning up, down & only then did he have to run so he could film Dumpy & Stumpy down the stairs.
Look at this practically. You're investigating an abandoned building, doesn't matter the size, or what it is, it's conditions are one "CLICK," away from demolition. You'd bring a dog to help scour the areas before you investigated, if only for your own safety. You wouldn't just walk into an contaminated "pit," filled with falling debris, animals, mammals, rodents & flesh eating spider bats only to call every shooshing, swooshing sound paranormal.
If they regularly employed a dog in their investigations they would never see another (bogus) shadow. It's tough to claim one just ran passed you when your dog (with 12000 % vision & who can see an acorn 14 miles away in the dark) is just laying there bored…much like the rest of us…Time to roll over!
fendergrl @ 5:15 pm
I love the dog idea!!
Nosfer @ 5:42 pm
"animals, mammals, rodents"
Isn't that a little redundant?
Did they call any of the shooshing and swooshing sounds paranormal?
"with 12000 % vision & who can see an acorn 14 miles away in the dark"
Wow, what breed of dog exhibits THOSE traits?
fendergrl @ 6:03 pm
Hahaha…a dog's vision isn't his strong sense. But his hearing and smell would add a lot to the investigations! The only time I ever get creeped about a ghost story is when an animal is reacting strangly…they have nothing to gain or lose from ghost stories, and don't let their imaginations get the better of them! If they're going to use to technology in made up or "theoretical" ways (the scientist in me cringes when they use the term "theory," but I digress..), they can use the tried-and-true Man's Best Friend!
Nosfer @ 6:05 pm
I don't know…I've seen dogs go absolutely nutso over a fly. If you didn't see the fly, what would you think was going on?
Nosfer @ 6:08 pm
…and who's to say someone isn't standing off-camera with a dog whistle. They would have the added credibility of saying "oh something that has nothing to gain is reacting to something we can't see, must be paranormal." And where would that leave us.
fendergrl @ 6:13 pm
Of course it would not PROVE anything…but most of the crap they use anyway doesn't mean anything. I think it would just be an interesting addition now and then (and yes, they can be manipulated, but so can the eqipment they already use, so if we go by that idea, nothing would ever get used).
Besides, if we get more episodes like last night, at least there would be a dog to entertain us.
alicat @ 6:16 pm
fendergrl,
I wouldn't say that too loudly around anyone who has a sighthound. That is one of their most important traits and mine has the ability to see a mile in the distance and can reach it before you have a chance to react – even in the dark.
Nosfer @ 6:29 pm
"and yes, they can be manipulated, but so can the eqipment they already use, so if we go by that idea, nothing would ever get used"
But you also say:
"The only time I ever get creeped about a ghost story is when an animal is reacting strangly…they have nothing to gain or lose from ghost stories, and don't let their imaginations get the better of them!"
Inanimate objects like a K2 are impersonal and probably more easily accepted as possibly being manipulated, but as you say above, when you talk about a living, non-biased, animal with nothing to be gained by reacting or overreacting, the tendency might be stronger by the masses to accept it as proof. You don't get creeped out when a K2 starts going off, but even you got creeped out when an animal is involved.
Lar @ 7:57 pm
When does it end?
http://www.realitywanted.com/call/4420-casting-paranormal-ghost-hunterdemonologist-with-dog-for-new-ghost-hunting-show
If there was ever an investigation in need of Grant's tampering this was it! This show badly needed the GRANTED touch.The magnitude of the building lent itself to so many opportunities, but Grant really let us down.
If it hadn't been for the laughable reaction from Mopey & Dopey running away from a flying marionette the show would've been a complete bore.
GRANT if you're reading this (& we know you are)get in there & do what you plumbers do best. Install some PVC…
Personal Visual Creations.
Nosfer @ 8:03 pm
"The ONLY amazing moment from this episode was the composure of the TV crew. When Steve FREAKED as the " flyin' eight dimensional face eating wombat of death," swooped down upon him the camera guy remained calm. Quickly panning up, down & only then did he have to run so he could film Dumpy & Stumpy down the stairs. "
"If it hadn't been for the laughable reaction from Mopey & Dopey running away from a flying marionette the show would've been a complete bore."
How many times are you going to post this, changing only the cutesy made up names?