September 17, 2009
GH: Union County Courthouse
Sheetie is back! Welcome to the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Dave Tango's father, Bruce thought TAPS might be interested in the case and even came along to investigate as part of the team. This location has a naturally high creep-factor. For one thing, the building sits right next to one of the oldest graveyards in Union County, where many of the gravestones date back to the Revolutionary war — and an employee at the courthouse believes he saw one such resident walking the grounds.
The records room is also fantastic; I've always thought libraries had the potential to be creepy places, with all the long, narrow corridors of books, cross-walkways and even the potential to reach through a shelf into an adjacent aisle. The records room at the Union County Courthouse was something like a bureaucratic, perhaps Brazil-esque version of this, with rows of small drawers, shelves, and the like.
I immediately became a bit suspicious when, as the team set up their equipment, Grant gave the camera a completely unnecessary explanation about how it's really hard to have cameras pointed at the exact right spot at the exact time something paranormal happens, but they will do their best. Really? After all these years you think we don't understand that yet? After seeing sheetie in the opening montage, I'm having a real hard time believing it's just a coincidence Grant suddenly gives this little speech out of nowhere right before they capture their most interesting video evidence in quite some time. Hmmm…
During the investigation Bruce Tango heard what he believed to be footsteps right behind him a couple of times upstairs in the rotunda, but there seemed to be a possible correlation with Dave snapping pictures with his digital camera. Bruce seemed at first open to the possibility of the sound being an echo of Steve or Dave's footsteps from elsewhere in the large, circular room but the second time he heard the sound no one seemed to be moving — but Dave had only just taken a photograph. I'm wondering if he wasn't actually hearing an echo of the sound made by the camera.
In the records room Jay & Grant had just begun their night when they noticed the door to the room making some odd noises. The noises seemed to happen every time the wind picked up outside, and Jay & Grant theorized that this was the sound one of the guards must have heard and thought the door had opened and closed when it had really just moved slightly due to the wind. Not a bad thought, except I'm pretty sure the guard reported that he came over after hearing the noise and found the door wide open. I don't like half-baked theories that ignore major facts, regardless of whether they're in support of a ghostly explanation or against one.
In one of the courtrooms Kris and Amy both heard a noise and Kris saw a dark shadow pass in front of a locked door… was sheetie making a live appearance? Now, this would be interesting because all of the other times sheetie has been captured on video no one has been around. If sheetie has become bold enough to run through a room where two TAPS investigators are sitting and observing, that definitely would definitely be a new development.
As it turned out, the video TAPS caught of a figure approaching their Mini-DV wasn't in the courtroom with Kris and Amy but it was in a room with two TAPS investigators. Can you believe this image was captured in the records room while Jay and Grant were investigating there? It's truly shocking, and adds a whole new level of credibility to the evidence.
Of course, when we're told Jay & Grant were in the records room at the time we're shown video of them leaning on a counter next to each other and chatting, but I have maybe one or two doubts that someone accurately sync'ed up the time of the anomaly with the other video and showed the audience video of Jay & Grant at the precise moment we see a figure walking towards the mini-DV. I also find it odd that they had multiple IR cameras covering the records room, including an overhead view — and all those other cameras had much better illumination but for some reason this anomaly was caught on only a single camera (as opposed to the overhead with a view of the entire room) and that camera happened to be practically blind in the dark compared with the others.
…but of course these are just circumstantial reasons one might distrust the evidence, nothing concrete. Still, even without prior history of this sort of thing it casts a lot of doubt in my mind as to the origin of the figure in the footage.
Now, during the reveal Grant contended that on the tape the figure seems to turn and walk into/through the records-room equivalent of a long public-library bookshelf. He claimed there was no place a person could have walked and their host agreed, however I think this is a misinterpretation of the evidence. If you look at the video closely you can see a darker vertical area that is the end of the shelf, where this aisle cross-connects with other aisles. To me it seemed pretty clear the figure went into this aisle — but because nearly the entire frame is different shades of black (including the figure) it creates an optical effect that plays tricks on the eyes.
Heck, it's even possible the figure itself might just be caused by the camera itself due to not having enough light to render a proper image. I don't think this is the most likely explanation because it really does look like someone walking in the aisle, but the closer I look, the more it looks like that person is not approaching the camera and walking into a shelf but simply walking down the connecting (perpendicular) aisle. Of course, rather than examining this evidence more closely and noticing these facts, Jay instead noticed how he thinks he sees specific body language in the shadowy blob which leads him to believe it may be female, and therefore could be a specific spirit they had been told haunted the grounds of the courthouse.
Of course, once you convince yourself that the figure essentially walked through a wall then your mind is free to jump to all sorts of interesting additional possibilities, but upon closer examination you can see for yourself that the figure does not walk towards the camera and then turn, as Grant claimed, but actually just walks in a constant motion across the path of the camera, disappearing behind the pillar at the end of the aisle just the way you would expect a living, breathing person to.
Don't worry Grant. I can explain it. It's really quite simple. Do you see that large black area in the center of the frame where the shelves stop? That's the cross-connecting aisle all the way at the end of the aisle you're sitting in for the reveal, the aisle we can clearly see all the way in the background. People can walk down it. Doing so does not qualify as supernatural, you don't have to have super powers, or anything! Really!
Filed under Ghost Hunters, Posts by Logisti
 |
| ^ Please Support our Sponsor |
Comments on GH: Union County Courthouse »
The Doctor @ 8:52 pm
When Steve is calling out the cameras, the last he mentions is the one in the records room – then goes on to say we do have mini-dv in the records room as well ( with the inflection as if it were some different room.)
Curious that he would not just mention them together, like " we have camera 5 covering the records room from above and a mini-dv covering the reverse angle".
Also curious that we don't SEE the mini-dv he mentions in the DVR overhead camera shot.
Further curious that Grant's handheld, which appears to be on and pointed in the right direction at the time, sees nothing of any consequence to rate telling us about yet it's field of view is almost the same as the mini-dv.
I would sure like to see time-synced shots from the minidv, the dvr camera 5, Grant's handheld and the production camera.
Lar @ 9:06 pm
O.K. I'll be the 1st to say it. They investigate a court house & reveal an entity but I am SUSPECT of their evidence.
Every week it's (near) the same script. The Boys (Tango & Stango) & the Girls (Bruni & Blondie) get to play Ghost Hunter while J&G witness "TRUE," paranomal activity. Same scenario just a different locale.
WHERE ARE THE SECURITY CAMERAS? This is a court house. Are there no security cameras installed? I find it hard to believe in our post 9/11 world there aren't cameras present & if there are, wouldn't one of them capture the ghost that "hanuts," it.
Instead two guys can stand/chat in a room with their camera pointed in the precise direction to capture it for their TV show.
Like Eastern State Penn & other "captures," it doesn't come close to the camera. It stays away instead walking into a wall. When I watched that moment it appears to not go into a wall but instead between the wall & column.
Personally I think it was a production member who figured since it was dark he could quietly sneak out of the picture only to be the picture of the paranormal.
Nosfer @ 9:07 pm
First, Logisti, is there any way that we can get these discussions all together in one thread (the one that is going full speed in the forums and this one here) this is going to get unwieldy going back and forth again.
Second, The Doctor, I thought the figure captured WAS from Grant's camera, you're right the angle is not only almost the same, it looks like it IS the same. I sometimes wonder if the handheld and minidv terms are used interchangeably. When the Pilgrim camera is filming Jason and Grant leaning on the counter with the camera set on it, there is no other camera seen. The view from that camera is shown as it is set down and I'm almost certain it is the one that captures the figure, not that other minidv that Steve mysteriously mentions during setup.
The Doctor @ 10:15 pm
Nosfer – That's what seemed strange, Our Techmangler Steve specifically calls out the Mini-DV covering the Records room, yet it is NOT seen in the overhead DVR shot, it is covering basically nothing of note, and Grant picks up the handheld he is normally seen carrying as he leaves.
If it IS the same camera, just why does Steve mention it in the beginning, or why does Grant take it away with him, and just when is it moved to and left in the exact position of the Casper shot ? Grant would have had to luckily change it's angle JUST enough to center Casper perfectly.
… and we still have the question of why the crappy video of a monitor.
If the whole thing was a setup, Grant might have told Steve to include the mini-dv, which could explain his somewhat awkward mentioning of it as an afterthought.
Lar @ 10:50 pm
It's harder to debunk the paranormal when quality is poor & they really "POORED," awful video for the reveal. The quality was comparable to a weak snowy TV signal. If only the Chief had asked for a (good) quality copy to analyze.
HipKat @ 7:53 am
Ok, sometimes, I think you guys reach a little far by dissecting the inflection in someone's voice, a change, in this case, in how the equipment layout is presented.
However, a few things about this episode.
First, about a year ago, I dropped cable and I've been watching every episode online, which is adequate. But it means that my 57" Sony HD has been collecting dust watching network TV.
Saturday, I got DirectTV installed, so this is the first time I've watched an episode in HD on a big screen.
Much better experience.
Also, much more obvious how lame the background music is. Annoying, is more like it.
Here's my question. the first time they showed the entity, while going through the evidence, it was pretty clear, but also, I thought it looked just like jay.
When they show it again, in the reveal, it was a totally different resolution, barely perceptible.
What up?? I never saw the revealed evidence look so different than when they discover it.
And thank GOD they didn't try and say the house in NH had any evidence.
That was a lame investigation.
BTW,Kris Williams, in HD, works for me!
alicat @ 8:08 am
Frankly, we don't actually know whether the "set up" shot was filmed more than once to "get it right" and thus Steve's inflection or even if it was filmed after the investigation in order to give them an opportunity to prove or disprove claims. That is the case in each episode. Although I'd like to believe these are the correct sequence of events as shown, however, from what we've seen with other episodes, I'm not exactly sure the sequence of any of these segments are filmed in order.
I find it curious that no one either here or in the forum has mentioned that Britt was never spoken to or even acknowledged but was along for the ride with a seemingly ticked off/annoyed attitude. Sitting in the back of the van driven by Tango with his Dad upfront, standing around at the "set up" and seen only once briefly going up the stairs with Amy when Jason calls for them to shut down. What a difference between that episode and every other episode he's appeared. And, this was filmed in Elizabeth on or around March 14-15, 2009, just one month before they opened the Inn which brings up an interesting point. Weren't they supposedly doing renovations at the Inn at that time and also supposedly filming "Crossing Over". A very minor point here but interestingly they used stock photos of a Warwick street scene, wearing T-shirts and short sleeve shirts in the office and while packing equipment yet wearing winter jackets on the "ride" to Elizabeth. It was in the mid 40's with lows in the 20's on those days in RI. Just goes to show you can't believe any sequence of events – even the set ups so what does that say about the rest of the show?
HipKat – just an fyi – a discussion was started about this episode in the forum prior to the review column being instituted. The discussion includes the "figure" and the camera issues.
Nosfer @ 8:13 am
HipKat: "Here's my question. the first time they showed the entity, while going through the evidence, it was pretty clear, but also, I thought it looked just like jay."
See the discussion over in the forums where that suggestion happened to be made as well.
lar @ 10:43 am
This is all I gotta' say:
1. This needs to be stressed (as the Doctor said), Why don't we see the overhead Records Room camera footage.
2. They manipulate the video quality for only one reason. To confuse you.
3. http://debunkthegunk.blogspot.com/2009/09/debunk-distortion.html
4. Keep DeBunking. Until next Wednesday….
Nosfer @ 10:52 am
Yes, it is rather odd that Britt is shoved so far into the background. Upon reading one of the articles about this investigation, I was surprised when it said something about vans rolling up and eight investigators getting out. I could only count seven until I was reminded that Britt made a very brief appearance.
Sully @ 11:47 am
Good points, peeps. Love the "Debunk the Gunk" blog.
Have to admit, the video in the records room had me wondering at first. TAPS could be manipulating the footage as a distracion, as Lars suggests. Or, it could be Pilgrim's editors trying to heighten the drama. I really hope TAPS hasn't reached the stage where they're planting images of full-body apparitions.
One other thing — Warwick really needs to paint that water tower …
Nosfer @ 12:10 pm
Lar, the overhead camera would not have caught it. Steve is a bit overzealous in his description of the shot, the records room is rather large (as other photos show) and the camera does NOT cover it all, despite his claim.
In your Gunky Debunky (see, I can do it, too) you say it is apparent that it's a "cast or production member in total darkness getting caught by a camera that they didn't see or think would capture them."
That is not apparent at all! Don't you think it is rather unlikely that this would happen (someone completely unawares) just in a spot where the camera was aiming and they would happen to capture it? Rather coincidental, wouldn't it be? Thanks to our previous posts you found the right track, but I think you're just going in the wrong direction.
Where is the other view? They don't show it because it wouldn't show anything. It's in another area of the records room and irrelevant. So your bolded "Here's PROOF" is no proof at all. Yes, Steve's description of the camera coverage appears to be wrong, so the fact that they don't include it means nothing.
The Doctor @ 12:19 pm
I took a couple more frame captures, and I'm convinced Casper was captured by Grant's handheld … "mini-dv" and "handheld" appear to be interchangeable terms. So –
When he is reviewing the tapes Steve does not think to mention, nor does anyone else mention that it was Grant's handheld that captured the event. Nothing from Grant like " When we came into the room I put my camera down on the table, and we never realized what was going on at the end down there".
Grant even gives us a little speech in the beginning about the odds of having a camera in the right place at the right time, saying that they "will position them in the most appropriate place" – but GOLL LEE – HE just happens to drop HIS camera randomly on the table, yet tweaks its position a bit, at exactly the right place at the right time, and the prepositioned DVR and the OTHER minidv in the same area get nothing.
Nosfer @ 12:26 pm
I don't think the prepositioned DVR is even in the same area, not from the shot shown of it. Like I said above, that records room looks pretty big from other shots I've seen of it and with the shelves creating aisles and blindspots, there doesn't appear to be any way that the entire room could satisfactorily be captured with only ONE camera.
As for the OTHER minidv, I wonder if it even exists
As for your comment on Grant setting his camera just right like that, I agree, that guy needs to start buying lottery tickets!
The Doctor @ 12:58 pm
I'm curious as to what the curvy blob on the right edge might be.
You're right, if the reveal is actually in the spot they were sitting during Caspers entrance, then the overhead would not have gotten them – the overhead shows nothing like the line of monitors to the back right. BUT – they might have caught Casper before or after he made his appearance in the row they happened to be in … unless that just happened to be also the ONLY place in the Recods room Casper visited.
I guess it's like Steve puts it as he points to the screen " anything that happens in there we'll get on camera " DUH
Nosfer @ 1:03 pm
I don't recall what it was, but when you see Pilgrim's footage showing Jason and Grant leaning on the table, you can clearly see the camera and you can also see the object that is making that curvy shape, but I don't know what it is…no access to the footage at the moment. Jason is holding a flashlight, and it is curious that during the investigation, we see footage of the light beam playing around and then you can see that Jason moves down away from the camera…towards the area where the figure comes from later. Jason is walking on the right side, the figure then comes down on the left side.
Realdeal @ 9:18 pm
That curvy thing is a bottle of hand cleaner that shows up in some shots but not others. Im wondering what this curvey thing is? This still shot is from the reveal. It looks like the letter S on the wall but you can only see it for 2 frames. Looks like some possible Manson epsisode type editing? http://tinypic.com/r/168zqrq/4
Realdeal @ 10:09 pm
Here's another one that shows something interesting. I guess it could be artifacts from the highlight circle when it was overlayed on the original?? Yea thats what it is. http://tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=ru02A%2F45RKB5E320d4tlqoh4l5k2TGxc
Kira @ 11:07 pm
I am surprised none of you caught the thing that, to me, made the "full bodied aparition" obviously fake. When the team was packing up to leave, Grant said something to the effect of, "well we didn't have many experiences here, but who knows, maybe when we look at the tapes we will see the lady walking around in here." Now I have never heard any of them say after a pretty quiet investigation that maybe, just maybe they might have something on video (which rarely ever happens).
At that point I turned to my husband and said, "If they show a ghost of that woman walking around in there after he says that, its gotta be fake and he feels guilty."
And wouldn't ya know it, there it was. Not at all a shock. ANd the ghost kinda looked to me like it had a v-neck on.
Realdeal @ 11:42 pm
Sorry about the bad link above this one should work http://tinypic.com/a/1at8n/2
I only saw the S in the clip they show at the reveal that is highlighted. I know when using ir the edges of the picture can make some strange artifacts especially just outside the range of the ir light but I have never seen the type showing up in these stills. Wonder why they didn't want to get the video analyzed by an expert like they did with the chair and the Eastern State video???