The Skeptic's Cliff Notes
[Please note this article was written in 2007 -- see other articles in the Skeptic's Library (on the right) for more updated and in-depth analysis]
Here is a brief rundown on some of the more controversial pieces of footage TAPS has claimed potentially paranormal. While there may be some chance a few of these are paranormal, chances are much better that they are not. Read on for details.
1) ESP Apparition footage: Even Jason says it looks like a guy in a cloak, but Brian does a terrible job attempting to reproduce it and somehow that qualifies it as real. There is a lot of minutia about how fast the figure moves or whether or not it bobs up and down like a human, but most suspicious is a what appears to be a large sheet hanging a few feet beside where the "spirit" enters and leaves the camera's view. Some claim this was used as a marker so the hoax-ster could see how far he could go before the camera would see him.
We know for sure that it sways noticeably when the "spirit" passes by but the thing that REALLY makes it suspicious is that we were shown a different recording from that area just an hour before and the sheet WAS NOT THERE. This means that someone went up there and hung that sheet, and it also means TAPS would have to have caught this person on camera, but no mention of this was ever made by TAPS.
2) Chair moving in the lighthouse attic: Forget about people who have cleaned up the footage and see what appears to be a string tied to the chair. It's grainy footage and what looks like a string might just be noise in the video. The fact that the chair seems to move slightly TOWARDS the stairs also seems a little suspicious. Certainly if the chair moved AWAY FROM the stairs, that would have been a lot more convincing. But the real suspicious part is that during the investigation we see that Grant comes down from the attic in the middle of the investigation and he is CARRYING the folding chair.
During the analysis we see Grant get up and walk down the stairs WITHOUT the folding chair, yet when he explains this departure he doesn't say "I just got up to go get a soda". He says he was cutting his attic investigation short because of the heat. The disconnect between Grant leaving the attic WITH the chair and Grant leaving the attic WITHOUT the chair certainly isn't enough to pass judgment, but it *is* enough to cast suspicion. If he was leaving for good, we would expect him to have taken the chair with him, not come back for it later.
3) The lamp moving during the season 2 opener: We see (before the lamp begins moving) that the power cord runs off the back of the table, under a frame of some sort and down to the electrical outlet right next to the table. Later in the investigation we see footage which shows the power cord has been removed from under the frame and now hangs off the side of the table closest to Grant. Furthermore, we see that rather than hang loosely down (as it was before) the power cord is clearly taut as if being pulled by either Grant's left hand (tucked under his right arm) or someone (or someTHING, granted) behind Grant's chair.
Again, this isn't PROOF of a hoax, and also not PROOF that Grant is a hoaxer, but we know for sure that the power cord from the lamp was being manipulated during the evening. Jay and Grant filmed a "debunking" which purportedly shows the lamp could not have been pulled by the cord without moving the tablecloth, but they showed us 2 attempts, neither one of which matched up with what we see in the footage of the taut power cord. Of those 2 attempts, the tablecloth only moved the first time and that was when they were trying to pull the cord straight down towards the floor while the cord was still pressed between the frame and the tablecloth (which we know is not the angle at which it was at when seen last). Also of note: the following day, when they walked into the room to "debunk" the cord being pulled, the cord had been miraculously replaced underneath the frame.
4) The FLIR Footage from the Mason Murders episode has been proven to be doctored. At no time during the analysis or reveal did the audience see TAPS in posession of the doctored footage, so TAPS may be entirely innocent and this may have been done by the post-production company. Some speculate it was not meant to be fraudulent, simply to add a visual aid of sorts to the program but others decry the failure to properly label is as a DRAMATIZATION if that were the case. In any case, innocent or not, TAPS's credibility is on the line and they need to respond to this in a big way. So far Grant has only said he was looking into the matter.
Read more about this on the Doctored Manson FLIR page.
Comments on The Skeptic's Cliff Notes
Emmy @ 10:10 am
Glad to see this.
Sadly it's needed as there seems to be a lot of dodgy stuff coming from TAPS.
It would be great to see each written up in its own article.
Oh yes, and what about that alleged full body apparition caught on a locker door? To me, it appears to be a heat reflection of Grant, right down to showing the monitor of the FLIR he's holding.
But I could be wrong, it'd be interesting to see a discussion/examination of those claims.
Dianna @ 2:34 am
If TAPS is confident about their findings, why not have someone like yourself appear on the show after a controversial "find"? If there is no doctoring of evidence the show's producers shouldn't mind.
I watch the show, but you certainly have raised some questions in my mind. Too bad TAPS won't respond to your inquiries. Before reading through your site, I was slowly becoming a believer.
Boo @ 9:47 pm
I think the ghost on the locker is caused either by bumps/defects on the locker, or maybe even something exotic, like a 'painting' of a soldier under the final coat of pain on the locker.
The reason I think this is if you look carefully at their recreation attempt, you can see some features of the 'soldier' reappear in the exact same spot they were originally. Jason & Grant missed it because they were looking down and left too far for the image, and only parts of the image reappeared.
My 'painting under the paint' theory is based on an idea that different colors under the final coat may cause the locker to reflect heat a certain way, causing the image to show throw to topcoat.
I don't think it was Grant's reflection b/c it doesn't seem to move (only changes color), and it appeared in the same spot the next day.
It would be interesting if someone reinvestigated this locker with a similar camera if they can get it.
If you want to see the footage I'm talking about, watch the recreation attempt, and look to the upper left above the #2, you should see parts of the soldier reappear in the same spot (but not the full apparition)
FearTurtles @ 7:13 am
First to the author of this web site. I enjoy how you keep such an even tone to your articles. You simply state your observation and opinions. Thanks.
As for the FLIR locker footage opinion above. The FLIR camera does not capture and record heat; it captures and records the IR light that is associated with heat. So all of the rules of reflection apply. Now if we go back to when we were in grade school we can remember that a blue object absorbs all the colors of the visible spectrum except the color blue. That color is reflected and is what we see. So many objects might be able to reflect IR light we just can't see it with our eyes. A good experiment is to take a camcorder with nightshot and look at a closet full of cloths. You will notice that even some black items will appear white to the camera. So in the end it is more likely that the locker was able to reflect IR light. One thing your theory missed is that the solder moved.
One thing that I will add is that a viewer visited the locker after the show and noticed that the top portion of the locker had been wiped clean. This would make it a better reflector. Just food for thought.
C.L. @ 12:35 am
How about tonight's episode with the 'big man' they caught on with the IR camera in the master bedroom? Upon first seeing it, I'm thinking "reflection", only then they go to great lengths to prove it wasn't, regardless of the large mirror in the room. When they were recreating the shot in the mirror, I felt the images looked VERY similar to what was caught on film originally…only closer to the camera, therefore allowing you to see more detail.
And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Grant originally say that it couldn't be reflection in the mirror because they "hadn't gone that far" with the panning of the camera? only later in the reveal they point out the mirror as they pan by it, then seem to come back TOWARDS it right about the time the head and torso appear (which would be consistant with a reflection in a dresser mirror).
Seems they spent most of their time talking everyone out of thinking it was a reflection and barely showed the footage enough for you to judge on your own.
Logisti @ 10:57 am
C.L. – I'll be posting an analysis of that episode shortly.
tracy @ 11:30 am
Logisti, do you look at older episodes as well? i ask because i watched the repeat from Savannah the other night and was reminded of what i think is the most faked footage from TAPS i've seen. the "apparition" that goes back and forth behind the pool table in the pub? it looked so stupid!
Logisti @ 4:34 pm
I've been thinking about going back through some classic episodes but I guess I needed a little help choosing which episodes. Do you remember the specific name of this episode or the name of the location they were investigating? If I can dig it up to re-watch I'll definitely give it a write-up.
J. @ 8:01 pm
Logisti, it is the episode titled Ghost Hunters Halloween Special… and the date for it is October 31 2005. It's the one where Brian becomes part of TAPS again.
And the review of that episode by "entil2001" saying that the "ghost" in the basement looked super-fake is right on the money.
It's weird, the Eastern State Penitentiary episode was on November 3rd 2004, and almost exactly a year later, in the Halloween Special, the person-in-a-cloak thing happens again. It sure looks like that anyway. Coincidence? I don't think so.
mark @ 11:04 pm
Ghost Hunter's Halloween Special i think, first aired 10/31/2005
Keep up the good works guys, awesome stuff!
mark @ 11:20 pm
What do you guy's think about the *slave in distress voice* in the Bader's House investigation? If that was legit…*WOW*
but i would question this since it is so clear like it was just someone speaking, most evp's i have heard so far on the show never sounded like that, but again they claim none of them heard it, came from inside, etc. etc., i dont see how this could be paranormal it is so frickin human distinct! Still it sounded disturbing. Again this investiagtion really caught nothing so it makes you wonder if they dont want the episode to be a complete bust and threw this in.
J. @ 11:26 pm
I agree mark, that EVP did sound too clear which immediately made my skeptic sense tingle.
tracy @ 11:33 pm
yes, it's the halloween special from '05.
i also think that voice was a real live person. and not one in a good situation either.
tracy @ 11:52 am
J., i really liked entil2001's review, and i think it's funny how s/he wants to blame SciFi for the suspected hoaxes and not the TAPS team. people really like them, and i can see why. maybe s/he is right, though – maybe SciFi producers push finding evidence for ratings and TAPS must follow along. maybe it is not entirely willing on their part and they have to sell out a bit in order to have their show.
J. @ 7:01 am
tracy, entil is a guy. If you click on his name it will take you to his user profile and in the about me section on the right it tells you a bit about him. He gives good reviews of GH.
If they do have to sell out a bit and then push bad evidence, or hoaxes for that matter, on us like it is good evidence — due to pressure from Sci Fi and maybe others to maintain or increase ratings — it would only hurt TAPS reputation and credibility even further.
The pressure thing seems to make sense though — why else would they promote such weak evidence as being paranormal that leaves us scratching (or shaking) our heads? Surely they are not gullible enough to believe some of it themselves. It raises the question: What the heck is going on here?
Of course not helping TAPS credibility is some of the stuff they do on their own, some of which is mentioned in this article (The Skeptic's Cliff Notes). Stuff like that only increases skepticism of them, their claims, and their evidence — and rightfully so.
I hope Ghost Hunters International doesn't suffer from the same problems as its predecessor.
I.G. @ 4:14 pm
I love watching the show, but have always done so from a skeptical point of view. As the paranormal, UFOs, Big Foot, etc. go I'm like Agent Mulder – I want to believe! The hard reality of the physical world keeps me planted firmly in the skeptics corner however. Still, it is fun to watch.
Ghost Hunters is much better at least than Travel Channel's Most Haunted. That one is fun to watch for the laughs it provides and I think they were proved fake a while back.
All that said, I hope Ghost Hunters isn't faking things on a large scale. I suppose Sci-Fi wants sightings and perhaps TAPS is under pressure to provide them.
Does anyone have thoughts on the tech guys who was ran over or run through by something? I forget where they were.
Meanwhile – Dude, Run!
mark @ 2:37 am
New Bedford Armory I.G. as Logisti pointed out in his post on revelations. Frank, one of TAP'S camera people got assaulted by his equipment bag.
This in one of the most interesting things i have seen taken place on this show so far. A funny thing about this is that this guy was a big skeptic before this happened to him. Its hard to believe this was staged, but i am not an expert.
Kbro @ 11:16 pm
Found a good site that tries to debunk the "ghost in the locker door" footage. After seeing this site, I'm convinced it is a reflection of Grant. Keep in mind the footage you see during the show is slowed down in post-production. Go here:
http://www.ultimatetechlinks.com/CrescentHotelAnalysis.html
Dave @ 1:09 pm
Re: Moving Chair at Lighthouse
Actually, I don’t believe it was deliberately faked or pulled by a string or something.
But when I first watched that episode I immediately rejected it as the paranormal, and for good reasons.
It should be understood that lighthouses, by the sea, are very windy places. As a point, the windows in a lighthouse typically have to be made small so the glass wont break due to the wind and differences in air pressure.
The door to the attic was open. I believe the light, portable chair was moved by a strong air current caused by someone opening a door to the outside, somewhere in the lighthouse, causing the air to whip around and moving the light chair.
At least, that’s my take on it.
– Dave
Logisti @ 2:10 pm
Dave, I like the way you think. That sounds entirely plausible. On the other hand though, Grant said the reason he got up and left was because he couldn't stand the heat — so that would seem to rule out the room being very drafty *OR* we have to call Grant's story into question (again).
Either way, it's a great hypothesis but if that really is what happened then Grant doesn't come away looking much better.