Ghost Hunters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ghost Hunters | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Docu-soap |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Developer(s) | Pilgrim Films and Television Inc. |
| Executive producer(s) | Craig Piligian Tom Thayer |
| Starring | See Credited cast below |
| Narrated by | Mike Rowe |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original channel | Sci Fi Channel |
| Original run | October 6, 2004–present |
| No. of episodes | 34 (May 31, 2006) |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
- For other uses of the name, see Ghosthunters (disambiguation).
Ghost Hunters is a reality television series produced by Pilgrim Films featuring Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, Roto-Rooter plumbers who investigate claimed hauntings and ghosts as part of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). The show debuted in October 2004 on the American Sci-fi Channel.
It should not be confused with the original 1996 Inca Productions show Ghosthunters produced for the Discovery Channel. The format was sold to the US to become Ghost Hunters. The only remaining link between the two shows is presenter Ian Cashmore who anchored the UK/Europe show. Cashmore piloted the US show, but chose not to remain part of the US venture after he filmed the promos.
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[edit] Episode format
Hawes and Wilson, along with other team members, investigate ghosts and spirits with electronic equipment that is sensitive enough to record supposed paranormal activity. Part of their arsenal include digital thermometers, EMF (electromagnetic field) scanners, infrared and night vision cameras, handheld digital video cameras, digital audio recorders, and laptop computers to record their data.
Their first step when investigating a location is to take a tour of the site with the owners of the property present to describe their paranormal experience. Based on this, the team then sets up their electronic equipment in the paranormal "hot spots" as indicated by the owners' tales. The TAPS team then spends several hours roaming through the location, taking EMF and temperature readings, recording audio for EVP, and film using their digital video cameras. Afterwards, the team spends several hours analyzing all of the audio and video gathered for any speculated paranormal activity.
A few days after reviewing the information, Hawes and Wilson discuss their findings with the location site owners. They offer suggestions to help deal with the assumed activity and answer any questions the owner may have.
Since the show began airing, TAPS has recorded thousands of hours of audio and video footage. Most investigations, according to TAPS, turn up cold with very little paranormal activity, if any at all. The ghost hunters claim to have several good recordings of strange mists, odd lights, moving objects, and shadowy figures that manifest before the camera and disappear quickly - all highlighted at the end of the show.
TAPS claims to not believe every piece of evidence gathered is proof of the paranormal. To help lend some credibility to their investigations, the team tries to debunk what they find and look for a reasonable explanation for such things as "cold spots" (that may be identified as drafty windows), to "moving objects" (something was accidentally bumped or tugged), "phantom lights" (as reflections of light from a passing vehicle), and "strange noises" that could have a more logical explanation, like a thumping branch or vermin in the walls.
In addition to the investigative aspect, the show highlights personal conflicts and relationships between members of the TAPS team, which may have been the influence for the SciFi network to categorize the show as a docu-soap.
[edit] Success and growth
Ghost Hunters has garnered some of the highest ratings of any Sci-Fi Channel network programming.[1] From the beginning, the show found an eager audience for its mixture of paranormal content and interpersonal drama.
In its early shows, TAPS was headquartered in a trailer located behind Jason Hawes's house. Within one season, they moved the entire operation to a storefront in downtown Warwick, RI and acquired a number of new TAPS vehicles equipped with surveillance instrumentation.
Besides engaging in a successful television venture, TAPS operates a web-site that boasts a growing membership list where they can share their stories, photographs, and ghost hunting videos. Perhaps due to the relative popularity of the show, TAPS cast members have signed contracts with at least two talent agencies, Escape Artistry and GP Entertainment, to manage their appearances at lectures, conferences and public events.
[edit] Criticism
Ghost Hunters has attracted varied critics and skeptics. Some suggest the episodes do not focus enough on the investigations, favoring instead to showcase the melodrama between various TAPS members. Others debate the scientific validity of the investigations conducted by the TAPS team,[2] and contend that shows such as Ghost Hunters blur the line between reality and fantasy. For persons uncertain about their beliefs in paranormal phenomenon, seeing such oddities on television may influence their decisions about the existence of such things, based on a survey by a Purdue communication professor.[3] There are also concerns regarding the time spent gathering evidence, as some contend that multiple days or weeks of data collection per site are necessary to make a valid judgement on paranormal activity or haunting.[4]Still others question the more extraordinary evidence gathered by the team and its lack of critical, third-party peer review,[5]citing that within the mainstream scientific community, refusal of peer review invalidates a researcher’s results. The group does not release detailed records for independent examination, though they do sell DVDs which are said to include additional information and bonus scenes not shown on TV. With each new season, critics of Ghost Hunters continue to publish skeptical analyses and theories on the Internet, often employing frame-by-frame analysis of episode footage which they believe debunk the show's findings.[6]
[edit] Storylines
As with many reality shows, Ghost Hunters has some developed storylines which carry over from episode to episode.
- Investigator Brian Harnois is portrayed as an unreliable misfit and the cause of exasperation among the TAPS team. He is also often used as comic relief. As a result of his apparent cowardice after being spooked in episode 105 during investigation of Eastern State Penitentiary, Harnois's catch phrase was created:
| Dude, run! |
- The phrase was subsequently printed on caps and T-shirts sold by the group’s merchandising arm. Harnois' storyline reached a peak with his resignation from the group, seen in episode 207. He was shown rejoining the group in the 2005 Halloween Special episode after asking leader Jason Hawes for a second chance.
- The opposite of Harnois, technical manager Steve Gonsalves is portrayed as reliable and unruffled, although subject to several phobias, which include fear of heights, spiders, and air travel.
- The relationship between group leaders Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson is characterized by the show as personal and professional friendship as well as parental figures of the TAPS "family". In episode 101, they are seen discussing how to handle a team member's tardiness:
| Wilson: "Why don't you try to show you have a sensitive side?" Hawes: "Why don't you show you have a rugged side?". |
- Hawes's character is depicted variously as authoritarian alpha-male (nicknamed "The Ghostfather") and devoted but irascible "parent". Wilson's character is seen as the milder of the two, more apt to avoid conflict with team members and express support for Hawes decisions.
- Other personalities on the TAPS team like newcomers Dustin Pari and Dave Tango are shown to contribute enthusiasm and occasional horseplay. In episode 213, Tango was apparently duped into wearing a rhinestone tiara during an investigation, while Pari is portrayed as technically knowledgable and eager to display his worth to the group. However, substantial storylines concerning these cast members have not been developed.
[edit] Trivia
- In April 2005, Ghost Hunters viewer Barry Clinton Eckstrom, 51, of Upper St. Clair, PA began sending threatening e-mails to Jason Hawes, founder of the Atlantic Paranormal Society. Hawes alerted the FBI in Providence, R.I., according to a statement filed by a Secret Service agent. During an undercover surveillance, federal agents caught Eckstrom using a computer at a public library typing a message on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Web site in which he threatened to kill President George W. Bush. He had typed the message to make it appear as if it were sent by Hawes, the documents state. In January of 2006, Eckstrom was sentenced to two years in federal prison.[7]
[edit] Credited cast
- Jason Hawes - Producer, Lead Investigator/TAPS Founder
- Grant Wilson - Producer, Lead Investigator/TAPS Co-founder
- Steve Gonsalves - Technical Manager/Evidence Analyst
- Brian Harnois - Investigator/Evidence Analyst
- Dustin Pari - Investigator/Evidence Analyst
- Keith Johnson - Demonologist
- Carl Johnson - Demonologist
- Donna LaCroix - Interviewer/Case Manager
- Paula Donovan - Research/Investigator
- Heather Drolet - Investigator
- Kristyn Gartland - Case Coordinator/Field Researcher
- Lisa Dowaliby - Investigator
- Andy Andrews - Investigator/Evidence Analyst
- Renee Laverdiere - Field Researcher
- Dave Tango - Investigator-in-training
- Craig Piligian - Executive Producer
- Tom Thayer - Executive Producer
- Mike Rowe - Announcer
[edit] List of Ghost Hunters episodes
[edit] Season One
| # | Original Airdate | Location |
| 101 | October 6, 2004 | Altoona, PA - private home |
| 102 | October 13, 2004 | Altoona, PA - Mishler Theatre and Railroad Museum |
| 103 | October 20, 2004 | Connecticut - Lighthouse Inn and Ashland, MA - John Stone Tavern |
| 104 | October 27, 2004 | New London, CT - Race Rock Lighthouse |
| 105 | November 3, 2004 | Philadelphia, PA - Eastern State Penitentiary |
| 106 | November 10, 2004 | Upstate New York - converted church/private home |
| 107 | November 17, 2004 | New Bedford, MA - armory |
| 108 | December 1, 2004 | Philadelphia, PA - Fortuna Apartment & Topton House Pub |
| 109 | December 8, 2004 | Sandisfield, MA - New Boston Inn |
| 110 | December 15, 2004 | Albany, NY - two private homes |
[edit] Season Two
| # | Original Airdate | Location |
| 201 | July 27, 2005 | St. Francisville, LA - Myrtles Plantation |
| 202 | August 3, 2005 | Cranston, RI and Grafton, MA - private homes |
| 203 | September 28, 2005 | Philadelphia, PA - Eastern State Penitentiary (revisited), and vacation house |
| 204 | August 10, 2005 | New Orleans, LA - Brennan's Restaurant and a private home |
| 205 | August 17, 2005 | Wilmington, NC - USS North Carolina Museum and Raleigh, NC - Mordecai House |
| 206 | August 24, 2005 | Putnam, CT - Bradley Playhouse and Firehouse |
| 207 | August 31, 2005 | Connecticut Lighthouse and New York City Merchants House Museum |
| 208 | September 7, 2005 | Springfield, MA - Tanguay home and Sutcliffe House |
| 209 | September 14, 2005 | Rhode Island - Astor Mansion and a private home in New Jersey |
| 210 | September 21, 2005 | Bethany, NY - Rolling Hills Asylum and Worthington home in New Hampshire |
| 211 | October 5, 2005 | San José, CA, Winchester House and Long Beach, CA, RMS Queen Mary |
| 212 | October 12, 2005 | Fall River, MA, Lizzie Borden's Home and Mansfield. OH, Mansfield Reformatory |
| 213 | October 19, 2005 | Eureka Springs, AR - Crescent Hotel |
| 214 | March 29, 2006 | Louisville, KY - Waverly Hills Sanatorium |
| 215 | April 5, 2006 | Holliston, MA - private home, and Palladium Theatre investigation |
| 216 | April 12, 2006 | Canandaigua, NY - TAPS investigates two cases in Jason's home town |
| 217 | April 19, 2006 | Evansville, IN - Willard Library's "Grey Lady" ghost and a private home in Massachusetts |
| 218 | April 26, 2006 | New Jersey - private home, and Hartford, CT - Hartford Conservatory music school |
| 219 | May 3, 2006 | St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Light |
| 220 | May 10, 2006 | New Jersey - Domani’s Restaurant, and St. Augustine, FL - old jail |
| 221 | May 17, 2006 | Guthrie, OK - Stone Lion Inn, and Massachusetts - private home |
| 222 | May 24, 2006 | The Best of... (recap of the 20 best Season One and Two investigations) |
| 223 | May 31, 2006 | Estes Park, CO - TAPS investigates The Stanley Hotel which inspired Stephen King's novel "The Shining" |
[edit] Season Three
Note: Season Three is currently airing. Details below are subject to change.
| # | Original Airdate | Location |
| 301 | October 11, 2006 | Tombstone, AZ - Bird Cage Theatre |
| 302 | October 18, 2006 | Bisbee, AZ - Copper Queen Hotel, and Tombstone, AZ - O.K. Corral |
| 303 | October 25, 2006 | Chester, VT - private home, and Moundsville, WV - West Virginia State Penitentiary |
| 304 | November 1, 2006 | Massachusetts - Victorian mansion, and Washington, MA - Bucksteep Manor |
| 305 | November 8, 2006 | Review of The Stanley Hotel 2006 Halloween special. |
| 306 | November 15, 2006 | Ireland - Leap Castle |
| 307 | ||
| 308 | ||
| 309 | ||
| 310 | ||
| 311 | ||
| 312 | ||
| 313 |
[edit] Specials
- 2005 Halloween Special - TAPS went to Savannah, GA to investigate the Moon River Brewery and a historic museum.
- 2006 Halloween Special - "Ghost Hunters Live" - aired live on October 31, 2006 at 11:00 PM EST. It was a 6 hour broadcast originating from The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. ECW Extremist CM Punk joined the Ghost Hunters throughout the investigation.
[edit] DVD
- Best of Ghost Hunters Vol. 1
- Best of Ghost Hunters Vol. 2
- Ghost Hunters - The Complete First Season - (3 DVD set)
- Ghost Hunters - Season 2 - (released in two parts)
[edit] Notes
- The Stanley Hotel episode is notable for reaching #2 in ratings for its time slot that night. Ratings Note
- ^ SciFi Network Ratings Release
- ^ James Randi's Site
- ^ Purdue Study
- ^ Rense.com
- ^ Independent examination of St. Augustine Lighthouse activity
- ^ whatthegeek.com examination of Race Rock Lighthouse footage
- ^ Pittsburgh Business Times - June 9, 2005
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) Official Website
- Ghost Hunters official website at SciFi.com
- Interview with Grant Wilson of Ghost Hunters
- Interview with Steve Gonsalves of Ghost Hunters
- Jim Reaper comic features Ghost Hunters Brian Harnois
- Independent examination of Crescent Hotel ghost image
- Independent examination of Eastern State Penitentiary footage
- Independent statistical analysis of Ghost Hunters evidence
- Alison Smith's article about TAPS vs. SAPS for eSkeptic
