And who could forget the timeless classic, Mansquito?!

   In 2004 when it was announced that there would be a new paranormal based reality show, based on the recent Sci-Fi Channel programing, I was less than optimistic. I take that back. I WANTED to be optimistic. I TRIED to be optimistic. I mean, this is MY thing. This is what I do, and if they're going to make a TV show about it then I'm DEFIANTLY down! I LOVE this stuff. But, looking at their track record, I had to ask myself, could The Sci-Fi Channel deliver the goods?

Ghost Hunters Vs. TAPS
   I think something needs to be made perfectly clear. This is something that a lot of people don't realize, so I have explain some basics for some of you guys.

TAPS, The Atlantic Paranormal Society is a a paranormal investigation organization.

There are typically 2 different goals of  a paranormal investigation organization. One of those goals is to investigate claims of paranormal events to discover the truth behind these claims or find PROOF of paranormal activity. The other is to help or provide piece of mind to those who are experiencing possible paranormal problems. MOST organizations are a combination of the two. However, if an organization considers evidence or proof as one of their duties, then scientific credibility, should be considered a top priority for that particular group. With that in mind, certain methods of investigation would not be trusted, and could not be used to obtain believable evidence. Methods of investigation can be anything from using psychics, Ouija boards, mediums, dowsing rods, scientific gadgets, debunking, or even religion. Organizations that intend to claim any degree of integrity DO NOT charge for their services, and are NON-Profit. (This part is only my opinion, but damn it... I'm right about this. Charging for paranormal investigation is like a cover charge at church!)

Do you understand the difference? Do you also see the possible conflict of interest in combining the two?

   I just wanted to point this out because some of you are fans of the show, and credit TAPS to it, and more importantly, allow your respect, or love for TAPS cloud your belief in a television show. There are also those of you that would LOVE to discredit TAPS because you hate that TAPS has a TV show, and you don't.

   The point is, if you fit into one of those categories, you're stupid. Yup... You're stupid. But, don't worry, I'm sitting next to ya on that short bus. I was stupid too. I'll explain about that in a minute, but most importantly I wanted to make absolutely clear that this page is a critical review of a television program, and not a paranormal investigation organization.

A Review From A TV Fan
   A minute ago, I mentioned that I was stupid. I was like many people who watch the show. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I believed what I was seeing because I wanted to. For the record, there's nothing wrong with that. It's called suspension of disbelief.  It's entertainment. Reality shows thrive on making us viewers suspend that disbelief. It's supposed to be an escape! They make us think that what we're watching is actually REAL. That's a fun thing to do from time to time.

   It is also important to know when it's time to come back to the REAL reality. So many of us have forgotten that, including myself until recently, particularly when it comes to Ghost Hunters.

  Like I said, when the show first came on, I was skeptical about the Sci-Fi Channels programming, but was willing to give it a shot. At the time, I knew nothing of TAPS, and didn't care. It could have been ANY team on the show, and it wouldn't have mattered. It's spooky stuff on TV and I'm gonna watch it!

   And ya know what? As someone who just wanted to be entertained and watch a spooky based show, I actually liked it. I enjoyed the debunking. I enjoyed the drama. Is Brian kicked out? Is he gonna quit? Although he got yelled at, I even liked "Dude run!" Was that a professional way to be acting on an investigation? Hell no, but it showed that the team had some personality. I honestly think I was tuning in for that more than anything at the time.

The first season was more about the work, investigating, and teaching the viewer what they were looking at.They did big famous locations that we've ALL wanted to investigate at some point, but a few of the investigations were in local homes, and actually helping people. Those were the investigations I enjoyed watching because it's the kind of investigation that hits home. I don't know. It's just a personal preference. I like the small private home investigations a lot more.    They'd show up at the front door to somebody's house and say, "We're here to help." People WERE being helped in some form or another from my point of view. I REALLY liked that.    Second season came along, and it had more episodes so there were a lot more investigations. Because there was more for me to watch and take in, this is where I started to notice certain problems. They really weren't problems, but more like my own nitpicks as a viewer.   First off, it had about the same amount of private home investigations as the first season, but because there were over DOUBLE the investigations, it SEEMED like a lot less. That made me sad. There were a lot of public, and famous places done in this season. For a lot of people, I'm sure that it worked out just fine. It's not that I mind watching those, but there IS one thing that REALLY bugs me about them.

They show up at Eastern State Penitentiary and say, "We're here to help."

They go to The Myrtles Plantation, and tell them, "We're here to help."

They visit the Queen Mary. They tell the tour guide, "We're here to help."

Waverley Hills Sanatorium... "We're here to help."

The Stanley Hotel... "We're here to help."

   They go to all these famous places. The people that live near there, and work there all LOVE the idea that these places could be haunted. It's a novelty. It's fun. Yet EVERY investigation... "We're here to help."

   Who the hell are they helping at Lizzie Borden's house?!!!

   It got to the point where every time I heard that, when nobody was REALLY being helped... It just really bothered me. It was like they were show-boating for no reason. I don't like when people try to bullshit me. That's what it felt like. It made it tough to suspend my disbelief. In a NON-scripted 'reality' show, thats not good.

   Another thing was the Roto Rooter commercials in the middle of an episode. Again, this wasn't a deal breaker for me, but it's just a nitpick.

   These two guys are the leaders of this paranormal team of TV stars. They are producers of one of the biggest shows in Sci-Fi Channel history. Am I really supposed to believe that being producers, and TV stars isn't enough to pay the bills, and that they STILL regularly do their jobs as plumbers?

   Simple, right? Take it back to the store. Well, since the problems with piracy, all that stores do is give you another copy of the same thing. The SAME, badly recorded, and flawed product. They no longer do refunds, or exchanges for digital media. I called AND emailed Big Vision Entertainment, and NOBODY would help me. Needless to say, I'm done buying Ghost Hunters DVD's.

   Like I said, I know that it's not TAPS' fault, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. But, I was in luck. Season 3 was starting that same week, and I got a whole bunch of new episodes to get excited for. Wednesday night came around, and I saw a preview. They were going to Tombstone AZ! THE O.K. CORRAL!!! Frickin' great! I love that western crap!

   I was all excited. I made sure that I told everyone to leave me the hell alone cause I wanted to watch my show that night. I had my munchies, and everything all ready to go while I got comfortable on the couch with my kitty. I turned on the TV, and flipped over to the SCI-Fi channel just in time to see them on their way to the investigation.

   They drove up in their snazzy black vans, got out, walked up to the lady that worked there, and said, "We're here to help."

   My stomach turned. I guess that was strike three. I had had enough of Ghost Hunters at that point. Could have been that I was disgusted about the DVD's, or the lack of  home investigations. Whatever... I was no longer feeling it. Wouldn't ya know it? That same season, The History Channel put on a cryptozoology show called Monster Quest. I changed the channel.

   I'll still watch the Ghost Hunters Live specials, and catch an episode now and then, but I just don't enjoy it like I did those first couple of seasons.

A Review From An Investigators Point Of View
   As an investigator myself, I find it hard to watch the show. I have seizures, and shit.

   Here's the thing, and this isn't just Ghost Hunters, but pretty much ANY paranormal based show or movie. I don't know what my problem is, but I wonder if other investigators have this SAME problem when watching these shows. I am SOOO into it that I am going nuts because I become insanely anxious to get out into the field, and off the damn couch. I want to get to work!

   That's just part of it, and that's the pleasant part. The other part is far more problematic. See, Its the same situation as a football coach, or player watching a football game on TV. It's like a firefighter watching the movie, "Backdraft."  


   If you say you don't do it, you're a liar. It's human nature. It doesn't matter if it's a fishing program using the wrong lures, some stupid umpire calling a ball when the pitch was clearly a strike, or Ghost Hunters using methodology which you disagree with.

   You're gonna get frustrated, and if you're like me, you're gonna bitch about it.

   But lemme ask you this, and this is the REAL question. Isn't that complaining, and bitching part of the fun?

Psychotic Frickin' Complaints
   So, without further adieu, as an investigator, here are my psychotic frickin' complaints about a few things that I've seen go down on Ghost Hunters that made me want to throw the TV out the window.

1. Extra Crew
As an investigator who is looking for evidence, or proof of paranormal activity, watching OTHER investigators who CLAIM to be doing the same, I have problems with an extra crew being there. There are more people there than those that we see on camera. You know who I mean? I'm talking about the camera crew for the production of the show. There's NO WAY IN HELL that they're not contaminating the investigation. You can't tell me that they're ninjas, and never make a sound to corrupt audio work. You can't say that their extra equipment have no effect on what a paranormal team could capture, or not capture. To have that extra crew there, can NOT be good for the work.

2. Closed-Minded
They consistently cling to bad theories as facts. This isn't just the people on the show. This is actually a problem in the ENTIRE paranormal community, but being on a TV show, and in the spotlight, I have to hold those involved to a higher standard. They have to set an example for everyone else. They use bad theories, and either believe them to be facts, or they teach the viewer to believe in them. I'm not going to go through the whole list of BS, but here's JUST ONE of these 'paranormal facts'.

"In order to manifest, ghosts drain energy out of the air, and leave a cold spot, OR they take the energy from your batteries."
~ I could see where this idea came from, and I haven't completely written it off. Cold spots in the air ARE experienced, and batteries drain like crazy, but to say a ghost is making it happen is leaping to conclusions, AT BEST.  We REALLY have only flimsy, circumstantial evidence of this whole idea. It's FAR from being a fact to base your findings on.

It's a good idea to entertain theories like this as POSSIBILITIES, and work with them. On the other hand, to blindly follow them as they are taught on the show, forces you to close your mind, and prevents you from thinking outside the box. That's a very bad thing in this field.

3. Ghost/Haunting Classification
I've seen on MANY occasions the people on the show describe the haunting or different types of ghosts. They use words such as 'Poltergeist' ,or  'Intelligent haunting'. I've heard them talk about 'residual hauntings' from time to time. They brought in a demonologist on at least one occasion, which leads the viewer to think that the 'entity' could even be demonic'.
Why the HELL are we giving different types of hauntings, and spirit occupations their own properties, rules, and classifications? Don't we have to PROVE that paranormal activity exists FIRST? Isn't that the logical first step? Classifying them, or giving them laws is like step 42. SOME DAY we MAY be able to do this. Right now it's nothing more than cutting corners and bad methodology. PLEASE lets prove that these things exist first before we start naming it, and giving it personalities!

"First learn stand, then learn fly. Nature rule, Daniel-san, not mine." ~ Mr. Miyagi

4. Hypocritical
The show teaches about debunking, and scientific ideas to DISPROVE a haunting first. I have seen quite a few episodes that feature 'sensitives', or people using 'dowsing rods' to find paranormal activity.
Yeah... Um, how does this work with the scientific stance? I can't imagine that it lends itself to good credibility. And another thing,  the K-2 EMF meter is NOT a device to be used for spirit communication. To use one in such a way is NO DIFFERENT from bringing a Ouija Board on an investigation. That's cool if that's your thing. I'm not judging that aspect. However, for someone to claim to be scientific, or interested in 'disproving hauntings', using these kind of 'tools' might prove them to be paranormally impotent to someone who actually uses their brain.

5. Doing Nothing
This one REALLY bugs me. Again, this is a criticism of the SHOW, and not TAPS themselves. Assuming that TAPS actually does REAL paranormal investigations, I have no idea how they REALLY handle it. This is just what I see on the TV show.

Why is it that they show up say, "We're here to help", do their investigation, get their evidence, and on 'The Reveal', if they believe that there's a haunting they say... "Yes, we believe you have a haunting. K Bye! Good luck with that!"
Then they walk away doing NOTHING to help. I thought they were there to help.
WHY?!

I've also seen the client at the end of the show saying how it was great just to have TAPS there, and that them 'just knowing' was good enough. Have you seen this little interview statement thingy from the client at the end of the investigation?
Ever feel like they weren't COMPLETELY honest?

It Ain't ALL Bad
   I know I did a lot of complaining, and you TAPS fans are probably pretty pissed. Just remember, these are things that I've seen a LOT of investigators do, and it bothers me. We're all entitled to that. There's nothing I can do about it. I have NO IDEA what TAPS does when the cameras aren't rolling. I ONLY SEE what Ghost Hunters tells me to see.

And... It's not ALL bad. There are some things that I think the show has helped with in the paranormal community.

1. Debunking
One things for certain. Without the Ghost Hunters show, a LOT of people out there would still be thinking of paranormal investigators as a bunch of crackpots. I'm was even guilty of it. For the longest time, I thought I was the ONLY person that thought of this as a science. It was something to be learned, studied, and figured out. I saw pretty much every other group leading the way with psychics, and mediums, looking for ghosts, and MIRACULOUSLY finding them EVERYWHERE they looked.
Then came Ghost Hunters...  I was thankful that there were people in the spotlight that were showing the rest of the world that we're not all like that. We're looking for the truth, taking what people say, and trying to understand exactly WHY they're saying it through deductive reasoning. The paranormal community needed it then, and it needs it now.

2a. Paranormal Awareness
The show has brought attention to the paranormal in a way that has never been accomplished. There has been other television shows about this stuff in the past, but this one is mainstream. Sure, it's a bit of a sellout. But... sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad. As I stated before, it has brought a more level headed image to our field. We NEED this. As many complaints as I have, I wouldn't want it to go away as keeping this sort of thing in the publics mind is a GOOD thing. Particularly, when you think of the other paranormal shows on the air.

2b. Paranormal Awareness
There IS a negative aspect to the paranormal awareness that  I think I SHOULD mention. This negative comes in the form of Copycats. Since the show started, there's been about a MILLION paranormal investigation teams created to get themselves a piece. I don't blame TAPS for this, nor do I REALLY blame the show. This kind of thing just happens. We got a million impressionable people with no good ideas of their own who think it might be fun to emulate shit that they've seen on TV. MOST of the time they realize that there's actual work involved, disappear, or go back to World Of Warcraft. I'll tell you though, NOTHING is more annoying than going onto one of these paranormal based forums, and hearing some wannabe talk about how their ghost hunting society is getting the interest of some TV or movie producers. I wouldn't mind if these people cared about the actual WORK, but so many of them only care about fame, and fortune.

3. Anti-Orb
This show has made fun of orbs, and made it clear to people with brains that orbs are to be taken with a BIG grain of salt, or even ignored altogether. This is a beautiful thing.

4. Realism
If you compare Ghost Hunters to the other paranormal shows out there... Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures, Psychic Kids, Paranormal State... They are all melodramatic tripe that I can barely watch for longer than a minute. Ghost Hunters has its faults, but it at least TRIES to maintain the suspension of disbelief, and realism. If the world is EVER going to take our field seriously, this realism, and respect for the subject MUST continue, and be allowed to drown out the other shows that are making us all look like fools.

5. Hope
The show provides hope. The hope that someday soon we MAY just be able to capture some piece of SOLID evidence that paranormal events DO in fact take place, or that there's something on the other side of death. Now, I'm not claiming that ghosts are souls of the dead like so many others claim. I really have no idea what they are. But, I have HOPE that we will one day find out. Ghost Hunters helps that hope remain alive for so many people. That in itself is a good thing.

Jacket Pulls, Hoaxes, & Beyond
   On the 2008 Halloween episode of Ghost Hunters, the team went to Fort Delaware, and got themselves into a bit of trouble with many of us in the paranormal community. See, it was a live episode, as MOST of their Halloween broadcasts are. Something happened in the episode that just didn't set well with the shows more detail oriented, and analytical viewers.

   There was a scene where a particular member of the TAPS team reported that 'something' pulled on the collar of his jacket. MANY people who are into this field, and watch the show ripped this 'jacket pull' incident apart. They analyzed what the perpetrator was doing BEFORE and AFTER the incident. Things that were taken into question include... The fact that he's right handed, yet his right hand remained at his side the entire time, while his LEFT hand did all the work. The fact that he was playing with his collar BEFORE the incident took pace. The fact that his partner, who is USUALLY very anal about debunking, or at least investigating this sort of thing, seemed to either not care much about the incident, or even like he possibly wanted nothing to do with it. It appeared that his partner was even trying to change the subject.

You put all this stuff together... And something stinks.

  I remembered a previous Halloween episode where somebody seemingly kicked the underneath of a table, and made it jump. I THINK it was the Stanley Hotel. I saw a red flag THEN, but I didn't want to doubt them.

Did they REALLY pull a hoax?
   Thinking about it now, I believe that we're not watching REAL events on the show, and that a LOT of it isn't real. Everything I've EVER witnessed on the show is suspect to being a faked event to entertain.

   The whole, "We're here to help" phenomenon, and the filming 2 guys working on pipes for Roto Rooter is proof enough for me that the production team is capable, and willing to add extra things into the show to gain a desired effect. I think it's possible that they could be doing this in other aspects of the show where it IS NOT as obvious.

Was the infamous 'jacket pull' incident a hoax?

   I'm not going to sling that kind of mud onto TAPS. I don't do that here on this site. I don't give ANYONE answers that I don't have. If you notice that ALL of the topics, and pages written here on The Beyond will NEVER tell people what to think. All I try to do is give you information to use to make up your own mind about these topics.

   This whole Ghost Hunters thing is no different.

   If you're interested on more information on the Jacket pull thing... Do a YOU TUBE search! I'm sure you'll get MORE than enough for you to make an educated opinion. Maybe the doubters are wrong. Who knows?

Final Thought
    I COMPLETELY changed my view on this whole thing. I had every intention on coming on here, laying it all out, and calling them out on everything, and being angry. You can ask anyone who knows me, but I got to thinking...

   Who cares?

   My next door neighbors aren't paranormal investigators. They LOVE the show. I told them about the whole thing, and they couldn't care less. Why? Because the show entertains them. The ONLY people who seem to be upset about this whole thing are people involved in the paranormal community who believed in it. THEY'RE the people with the problem.

   I was one of them.

   I touched on the subject of stupidity earlier. Yeah, it all comes back to stupidity. We can't blame TAPS, or Ghost Hunters for this. They're doing what they're SUPPOSED to be doing. They're getting people to watch, and discuss their show. THAT'S THEIR JOB.

   WE'RE THE ONES TO BLAME! Yes, I am talking to all of you who made the debunking videos on You Tube. I'm talking to all of you paranormal investigators who are so angry about possible hoaxes. I'm talking to MYSELF. I'm talking to anyone who watches these shows for anything more than entertainment.

   Are we all brain dead?

   The Television network that brought us the great Sci-Fi Originals like Manticore, Frankenfish, and Mansquito has put on another SI-FI Original series, and WE'RE UPSET that it may not be REAL?!

   HELLO?

   How many 'REALITY' programs have you decided to watch expecting them to be REAL?

   This is not TAPS' fault. This isn't Sci-Fi's fault. This is OUR fault. It's OUR fault that we're so upset. We take this so seriously that we actually believed that a REALITY show was actually REAL. Do we give Flavor Flav an attitude when one of the hos on his show seems a little fake? How bout when the women on Most Haunted scream like wailing banshees? Do we go apeshit about how their screams weren't convincing enough? How 'bout when a professional wrestler gets his head bashed in with a chair, or some other deadly object? Why aren't we upset that nobody calls the police?

   We want this to be real. But... It's a TV show. We ALL have to come to terms with that. It's just a Sci Fi Original like Mansquito, or ECW.

For entertainment purposes ONLY.