One has to wonder (shades of Laura from the "I Am Six" episode of Paranormal State)why, as a parent, you would veer from common sense and logic and believe the word of a couple of people who (at that time) investigate the paranormal in their spare time, when it comes to the mental health of your child! (Whew…long sentence!) I find it completely irresponsible behavior, and have to question the intelligence of said parents.

Now, having said that, the "Grant" story with the doppelganger is amusing to me. Amusing in that it certainly could be construed as showing early evidence of questionable behavior during investigations. One has to wonder what he would have to gain at that time by faking evidence though. I mean, now we can see what the "benefit" is…higher ratings and the gravy train chugging along. But then…makes me wonder. Was he just so eager to be a contributor to the team, to the extent that he would make things up? Even now, he always seems to be so disappointed when something can be debunked. I think he really is a true believer, and what I find sort of sadly funny when reading some of the other TAPS fan forums out there, is that he would probably be the type of fan that would leap to defend TAPS' questionable methods if he were only a viewer as opposed to a team member.

I also find the story of his first paranormal experience somewhat of a let-down. There has been so much build up! And for what? Well…his first of many experiences with mysterious, shadowy figures. Only this one traumatized him so much that he couldn't speak publicly of it…until now? I don't know. Seems pretty lame to me as far as personal experiences go, and I have to wonder why this was such a big "secret" for so long.

On an end note, I do appreciate the thorough review; now I KNOW I won't be reading the book! Great review Stephen, and thanks for taking one for the team!

"At their opening lecture at DragonCon, Jay and Grant hinted that their new book, Seeking Spirits, would detail their adventures doing battle with the forces of evil on behalf of various churches. That's not the book we have here, though."

My God ! You've got the evil twin copy of the book !

Thanks Stephen. That sure is dedication. I hope you enjoy your champagne and I'd order the Blackened Redfish or some Shrimp Creole and Bananas Foster to go along with your wine for dinner. Yum! I'm sure BD gave you some good info on NO. Hope you are enjoying your stay.

Looks like it all comes around to Grant once again. Perhaps his "experiences" and how well they were accepted or not were the training ground for what was to come. Obviously this is something Jason keyed in on very early in the process so I don't think we can be surprised that it has led us to the Grant List or that Jason hasn't been aware of all of this the entire time.

As far as the situation with "Allie" (if true), although I understand you said they do advise anyone experiencing these symptoms should see a doctor, I find it totally despicable and irresponsible that they would even suggest anyone with a mental illness should see a ghost hunter before a physician. I didn't realize they had received their degrees in medicine after the auto mechanic and computer classes. Their actions in that story speak volumes to me. My opinion has been very low of the shenanigans we've seen but after hearing that story (if true), they can't get much lower on the food chain for me.

"Back when Grant was a teenager, he and his friend Chris encountered a mysterious, shadowy entity in the woods. Only Grant could see this strange being, and his friend doubted its existence until one day, when the being was conveniently mimicking Chris' movements, Grant was able to use it to see what Chris was doing behind his back."

And he's still seeing those shadows!

Well I for one will read it. I love a good ghost story

If anyone hasn't already read this, it's worth the time- the Jan. 2004 "lost" possession case is recounted by Keith Johnson in some detail on his N.E.A.R. website. Keith recommended his write up of the case to me when we were both commenting on the TWoP GH forum back in '06 & struck up an email correspondence. Seems a nice fella, only comes across as slightly cracked, & then only occasionally. Here's the page link (scroll to two part article "The Episode We Never Saw, From GH" parts 1-2:

http://www.nearparanormal.com/tales.html

Thanks for reading/reviewing "Seeking Spirits," Stephen. That was Grant's big paranormal experience we've waited years to hear about? Can anyone say "parlor trick" & "gullible friend" with me? All together now…

"Back when Grant was a teenager, he and his friend Chris encountered a mysterious, shadowy entity in the woods. Only Grant could see this strange being, and his friend doubted its existence until one day, when the being was conveniently mimicking Chris' movements, Grant was able to use it to see what Chris was doing behind his back."

I was left wondering if "Chris" was standing in the sun, which would explain why this shadow was mimicking his movements. Or, perhaps, there were puddles of water standing around, thus creating reflections. There are so many normal explanations besides ghosts.

As far as "Allie" goes, nothing surprises me anymore. One only has to look at "Balloon Boy" to realize how low some parents will sink for publicity, and endangering children for money seems to becoming more common. It is a sad, sad commentary on our society.

I can't believe Grant could be this gullible. The "thing" mimicked his friend's movements? What more proof does he need that somebody was playing a trick on him? Wow, this is the BIG revelation after all these years.

And he was the only one to see it…hmm…

"This review was written in a series of haunted restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in the New Orleans French Quarter."

Oh, please tell me you also made it over to The Haunted Mortuary down at the end of Canal St. Probably won't feel or experience anything paranormal there, but the place is quite beautiful, really worth seeing from an architectural standpoint. Plus, on the travel-fun side, their ghost tours are a hoot 'n a half:

http://www.hauntedmortuary.com/

Headed there now. Thanks for the tip!

Very welcome, Stephen. If you get bored at all in the "Haunted" Mortuary, it's really close to Nawlins' Cities of the Dead, aka the city cemeteries. So lovely & evocative walking among those grave sites.

It really is nice there, especially in good weather- pick out a nice spot for a picnic. We have ;->

M. Roget:

Unfortunately, the mortuary was closed, but at least I got a good walk out of it. Got some decent pictures. No orbs, because they fear my skeptic-rays. Also because I didn't turn on the flash.

The account in _Seeking Spirits_ (SS) and the account at NEAR Paranormal differ so much that only the detail of the padlocked room makes me certain they're talking about the same case. The names are different: "Marguerite" in Keith's account becomes "Mary Alicia" in SS, for example. Even stranger, Keith doesn't appear at all in the SS account. His part is taken by "an ordained priest named Kevin whom we had worked with several times before." I'm not sure if this is fictionalization or if this is a different visit to the same place. Keith Johnson, as he makes clear in his account, is not an ordained minister, so if Kevin is supposed to be Keith, they're severely scrambling things. Brian Harnois was left out entirely. In fact, come to think of it, Brian isn't mentioned once in the book. He's an unperson now.

The portrait painted in SS is not flattering to the Craig family (as they're called in SS). Their description of Junior ("Clifford" in the NEAR account) is of a paranoid redneck, talking endlessly about things found in "diggin' holes" and bursting into tears when his precious padlocked room is threatened with invasion. More importantly, Jason and Grant observe him deliberately scratch himself on the corner of the kitchen counter, then dramatically reveal it during "Kevin"'s cleansing ceremony, claiming that he didn't know how the scratches had gotten there.

The overall impression left by Grant's account in SS is of a family that had deluded themselves into believing that the mother was possessed. I certainly didn't get that impression from Keith's version.

Aside from the character changes, the accounts don't exactly conflict on the facts of the case. I can understand changing the name of the family, although it's customary to indicate that names have been changed when you've done so. (I don't know which account's names are accurate. Perhaps neither.) I don't understand changing Keith into Kevin, and I don't quite understand Keith leaving out the scratches incident, if indeed it happened and he knew about it.

There were a number of things that didn't add up for me with Keith's story. First problem with it is minor but still a problem. Keith claims that on January 3, 2004 the roads in Lewiston were "completely iced over". Leaving "late afternoon" it would have taken them over 4 hours from RI to ME – okay. Driving back to RI the same night after driving for 4 hours, then spending all that time with the family seems implausible to me. As to the weather and icy roads, I can't see why they would have been as the weather was overcast but there had been no snow/rain/ice reported for over a week prior to the visit and I researched the weather in Lewiston and went back to 12/26/2003 and added a few days after the "visit" to be sure.

Next, he says condo and then he says apartment. Then the apartment has it's own basement where someone was buried? Huh? Of course, the best part is there is no record of a Pine Hills apartments or condos in Lewiston or the area that I could find.

Frankly, Keith's account reads like he's writing a script or a book. It's too detailed and descriptive in it's writing. Exact quotes of conversations? Unless everyone is speaking clearly and slowly into a mic the entire time, I don't think the transcript would be so detailed.

On top of that, he leads his questions for answers along the lines of the story or he wants and even admits it.

Lewiston (I assume we're talking Maine?) did have some precip on the 3rd. Not a lot, the liquid equivalent was only 0.03", but this would have been recorded by ASOS which often under-reports frozen precipitation. Temperatures were right below the freezing point so I could see this having the potential of causing some problems. Probably came down as a rain/snow mix and froze on the surface.

Depends upon what late afternoon is, but the first occurrence of precip was about 4 in the afternoon and continued until a bit after 9pm.

Correction: Lewiston is an AWOS installation, though it doesn't really change the equation as far as precip recording

Interesting because my WX weather shows nothing and it is Lewiston, Maine. I really don't see how .03" would constitute (even at freezing) the description of "completely iced over" because that implies so much more dramatically than just what I would consider a bit slippery. Don't these guys live in snow country in New England? .03" precip in freezing weather is nothing around here in NJ. That weather would be considered balmy in New England.

If I can remember tomorrow I'll check what was recorded at the nearest COOP which would have manual obs (thus not as much of a problem with the undercatch)

There probably was a bit of "poetic license" in his statement, though. Some slickness which looked a lot better when put down as being totally iced over.

Sending you my link to the research site. Maybe I'm missing something and, if so, please let me know.

Regarding Keith Johnson & his N.E.A.R. account of the "lost" GH ep- I did mention upstairs that he came across in his emails as a slightly cracked egg at times, yeah? Seemed a nice enough guy, somewhat deluded imo regarding his version of a paranormal 'verse & he & his wife's place in it. Take his recounting of that case in '04 for what it's worth: an interesting read if you have the time. Notice the N.E.A.R. site page it's on is entitled "True Tales of the Paranormal." Keith may have emphasized the "tales" aspect in his tale just a tad

Now I have to order "Seeking Spirits" so I can compare the two accounts myself. And I was trying to avoid buying it, dammit.

Sorry you couldn't get into the Mortuary, Stephen. It's a fun tour if you're in the mood for it. Walking through Nola's cemeteries is free & worth your time if you haven't been, but you probably already have done that.

Well, at least slightly cracked. He always seemed like a nice but somewhat odd guy on the show from what I remember but considering everyone else, he wasn't a standout in that area.

I'd check with the local library or sit in BN or Borders and have a latte. Just make sure you are sitting away from people. Hot coffee can scald!