Ghost Hunters - General Discussion

[Cranberry]

Your general show discussion topic!

[ChicagoCita]

Does anyone know when (if?) Ghost Hunters will be back?  I heard that Kris and Adam have both left.

[OSM Mom]

They will be back in the fall with new episodes. It's Adam and Amy that left, but some of the new episodes will still have them in them. Supposedly Dustin and someone else is replacing Adam and Amy.

[ChicagoCita]

Thanks!  I pictured Amy but typed Kris.  In any case, I'm sorry to see both of them leave.  They were certainly some of the calmest investigators, and I still think of Adam as "the new guy."  It certainly hasn't been the same since Grant left, and I wonder how long they'll go on.  As much as I used to adore this show, it has lost a lot of its allure for me, and I can't figure out why.

[MarkHB]

As much as I used to adore this show, it has lost a lot of its allure for me, and I can't figure out why.

For me, it was CollarGate.  After that, I couldn't make myself believe that anything was on the up-and-up anymore.

[austentatious]

ChicagoCita

It certainly hasn't been the same since Grant left, and I wonder how long they'll go on.  As much as I used to adore this show, it has lost a lot of its allure for me, and I can't figure out why.

 

I think you nailed it; Grant left.  I've always thought Jason overdid it on the shows. Grant seemed like the calm one.

Yes, Mark HB, CollarGate was a stretch but I think back to 2004 when they were just helping home owners and visiting more local places-even though the Brian drama was ongoing-I still have a fond place in my TV heart for the show.  It went all Ghost Adventures  on us.  

Rather than new shows, I wish they'd start rerunning the show from the beginning...or maybe after the move out of Jason's backyard.  The wife-drama was silly.

 

Edited to spell a word correctly.

Edited June 11, 2014 by austentatious

[MarkHB]

Yes, if you go back to S1 (which I watched on DVD long after the original broadcast), when it was a reality show about a bunch of people who hunt ghosts in their spare time instead of being a show about hunting ghosts, it was much different and IMHO better than what came a few seasons later (I didn't mind the wife drama as it showed at the time the seriousness with which they approached what was still a hobby).  But well before I quit watching, it had devolved to the point that the answer to the question "is this place haunted?" was usually the same as the answer to "does this place have a gift shop?"  I remember enjoying it, and it was from watching it that I saw the first commercials for Haven which I still enjoy, but I just can't get to that place anymore.

[MarkHB]

I actually grew to prefer GHI over the original GH.  Maybe it was because the locations were more interesting than Yet Another Restaurant in Pennsylvania, maybe the group interested me more, but I was a GHI fan.  The truth is, though, I gave up around the time Robb and Brandy left, and when they brought in Susan (or as someone called her on TWoP THE SLAUGHTER) when the guys at TAPS had always made a big deal out of not using mediums.  Fortunately, it wasn't long after that that the show had its final meltdown and ended.

[Quilt Fairy]

I still miss Grant, but I think the show made some significant improvements after he left. One of them was having Jason give a voice-over background of the night's location that was coherent and to-the-point. That being said, I try to watch the show, I really do, but it's really 'same old, same old' every ep. Few if any visual captures and the odd EVP which I hardly ever can understand. It's undoubtedly a true picture of the 'profession' as hours and hours go by where nothing ever happens, but it's not interesting to me as a viewer. And do Tango and Steve investigate together any more at all? (If they are, that should show you how much attention I pay!) That combo is just comedy gold.

 

And yet, if they played the St. Augustine lighthouse episode every damn week, I would watch it.

 

Please, however, don't compare the show to Ghost Adventures. I can't last 60 seconds watching that show, much less hang on for 60 minutes!

[Hoosierette]

I only remember there being one or two new episodes early last spring 2014, and then no new shows until fall 2014? What happened to the last season? Where did it disappear?

[AltLivia]

My family and I have been watching GH forever, but with Amy gone, I don't think I'll hang around. After the Ashley fiasco, I don't think they thoroughly think through bringing in newbies. Which is astounding, because they once had an entire show about it. Michelle was competent enough, but didn't make an impression.

 

An episode that really annoyed me was a season or so ago - The Hoover Dam infirmary? A door opened behind Steve and I kid you not, they played the clip of that door squeaking open over and over for HALF THE HOUR, it seemed.

 

Questions, fellow posters. What is CollarGate? And, do any of you remember the episode with the seaside bar, that the owners  sort of set up to seem haunted, and Jason and Grant angrily debunked their efforts at every turn? Did we ever get to see the "reveal" segment? And how did the culprits act?

Edited June 19, 2014 by ScullyInApt42

[Quilt Fairy]

SIA42, I'm sure someone else will pop in with the exact details, but a few years ago, they were in a house and Grant claimed that someone pulled his jacket. That clip went viral as some folks claimed it was demonstrably a lie. Personally, I see no reason why Grant (of all people) would try to fake something like that when he's got a cameraman following a few feet behind him recording everything.

 

As to the haunted bar(somewhere on the West Coast, IIRC), I know they stopped the investigation once they realized they were being punked, and they talked to someone (either the owners or the manager) who really didn't take a lot of responsibility for the set-up (blaming others), but I think they may have done it that night rather than go through a standard reveal.

[MarkHB]

My personal take on Collargate (and I was the one who called it that here) was that it was so blatant that after seeing it, there was no way to handwave that J&G were innocent of any shenanigans (as opposed to production making things happen, but TAPS being innocent).  It was during one of the long, live Halloween episodes (2008 as it turns out), possibly the last one, that it happened, and I think a lot of us felt that they (meaning both TAPS and Pilgrim) were so desperate to have something, anything happen in order to reward people for watching 6+ hours of grainy IR footage that they got clumsy ... here's part of it:

 

And here's someone's longer version with (biased) commentary:

 

The "haunted" bar was the Moss Beach Distillery in California.  IIRC, Jason told them that with all the fakery (and it was pretty elaborate... a hydraulic system to make the hanging lights in the bar shake, etc.) it was impossible to determine if anything supernatural was there.

[harrie]

I've seen similar Collargate footage, but this one is much more convincing -- well thought out and presented, if still biased.   It's a shame when people who appear respectable in their field (maybe it's just me but the GH crew is much more down to earth, sane, professional or whatever than, say, the Ghost Adventures guys) feel the need to stoop to stuff like this. All they're doing is damaging any credibility they might have built up through legitimate investigations.

 

Years back, the MTV show Fear went to an old asylum around here and angered local paranormal groups by splattering paint around to look like blood on floors and walls and doing other acts of fakery.  The groups were pissed because according to them the place was quite haunted, and the theatrics were totally unnecessary. 

[ABay]

Grant will be back for the 200th episode. There was a brief promo during The Wil Wheaton Project Tuesday night with Jason & Steve announcing it. They might have put up a date but I missed it.

 

But found it: Oct. 22. So the show returns 10/8 and Grant returns for the 200th on 10/22.

Edited August 14, 2014 by ABay

[Aging Goth]

This used to be my favorite show when Jason and Grant refused to allow any little this to be evidence of a haunting.  I also liked that they had their moments of in fighting and struggling to get the ghost business up and running.  However now, they are just phoning it in for the paycheck.  Any thing, even the stuff they would just ignore before, are now big evidence of a haunting.  No longer are they going to regular residences but only to "reported" haunted tourist attractions.  Even Ghost Adventure has them beat now.

[ABay]

I wouldn't go so far as to say GA is better, but GH is not the skeptical debunking team it used to be. Last night's episode is on the DVR and I'll watch it this weekend, just to skip past the "what was that?"--dramatic music--cut to commercial--"What was that?!" reveal.

[ABay]

So...anyone else watch the last couple? On Grant's return...I  wish Dustin was back full-time. Maybe he can come back now that Adam's leaving. Not that I dislike Grant, I just haven't missed him. The openings with Jason just telling us in voice-over what the place is, etc. are better then the original format and that change came when Grant left, so there's that. The re-enactment bits shown during the voice-over, however, are cheesy and need to go away.

 

If anyone else is watching, does the production camera work seem extra wonky this season? It seems like every time something happens, the camera is re-focusing.

 

I have never been able to make out anything on EVPs, often even after they say what they think the words are.

 

I could not see what Amy and Adam saw in the Cincinnati music hall and I really tried.

[Quilt Fairy]

I've been recording the last few episodes out of a misguided sense of loyalty, but it's hard for me to watch more than a few minutes of the show at a time. It's so damn repetitive. I will say that the parts of last week's special at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum that I did watch gave me the creeps in a way that GH hasn't done for me in years.

 

I don't think they'll ever have a better or creepier episode than the St. Augustine Lighthouse from the early years.

[satrunrose]

Agree with the St Augustine love, Quilt Fairy. I watch way more ghost shows than I should and that is the only thing I really can't explain without saying they messed with the footage in post production. Most of the time your full body apparition is my camera smudge or person with a black sheet over him (Sorry, that's what the Eastern State Penitentiary(?) ghost looked like to me) but the St Augustine thing was totally solid, totally clear but definitely not a flesh and blood person. Cree-py

 

That being said, I did really enjoy the last two episodes. I found trans-allegheny good and creepy and the opera house was pretty cool. I really wish the camera had done a better job of picking up the waving balcony shadow, but the disembodied laugh gave me the willies. 

[anony mouse]

Yeah, I always liked GHI best, because of the locales and the bits of history we'd get. It was interesting! That said, it did start to circle the drain and became far less about debunking and explanations, which was the draw of the show for me to begin with. I liked when there were explanations for things, because that made the unexplained all the more creepy.

[ChicagoCita]

Anyone know if this is coming back?  I used to simply adore the show. Later my interest seriously flagged. But I'd still like to see it back. Hope springs eternal.

[Quilt Fairy]

Coming back on August 30th, whether anyone is still watching or not.

[ChicagoCita]

Thanks for the info, Quilt Fairy, that makes me really happy!  Love me some ghost shows, and frankly the ones I've been watching haven't been up to snuff. Maybe GH can rally some of that old magic.

[Quilt Fairy]

Looks like a mini-marathon all day Wednesday in anticipation of the season premier tomorrow night. Just going through the listings, it looks like last season's finale was Halloween 2014. It's been a long time since it's been that long of an interval between GH seasons. Let's hope some of the old magic is back. Or absence makes the heart grow fonder, or some shit like that......

[Iboatedhere]

Meh. I thought this one was okay. It's hard to get excited about sounds and small blips on the thermal when I've seen some really cool thermal evidence from them. Remember that soldier they caught on the locker that looked like it had a civil war cap on? And that image that looked like it was shuffling in a circle, kind of penguin like. I still think about those.

I think I was mislead by the promo commercials. I thought this would be the episode with the thermal 826 showing up and 826 on the EMF meter. That looked like interesting evidence. Hopefully we see it soon.

I haven't watched this show since Grant left and maybe I just miss him. I'll miss Amy too. I like Sam though.

Next week looks good but we'll see.

[ChicagoCita]

I wasn't enthralled, but it was good.  There was less of the silliness, Steve screaming at spiders and Tango being dared to eat gross stuff.  I think that's where the show lost a bit of its focus, too many cast changes, too much "personality" with Steve and Tango. Dammit, I want to be amazed at ghosty stuff!

 

But I'll watch some more.  I was glad they addressed Adam and Amy leaving, I was glad they got down to business without a lot of extraneous stuff.  I know a lot of their appeal is the cast, but when they're not coming up with any evidence, that wore thin for me.

[Quilt Fairy]

FYI, it looks like another mini-marathon this Wednesday as a lead up to the next new episode. These appear to be different from last week's repeats, since my DVR wants to record them.

[Bajovane]

Meh. I thought this one was okay. It's hard to get excited about sounds and small blips on the thermal when I've seen some really cool thermal evidence from them. Remember that soldier they caught on the locker that looked like it had a civil war cap on? And that image that looked like it was shuffling in a circle, kind of penguin like. I still think about those.

I think I was mislead by the promo commercials. I thought this would be the episode with the thermal 826 showing up and 826 on the EMF meter. That looked like interesting evidence. Hopefully we see it soon.

 

I can understand the disappointment when the evidence seems so lame, but if the evidence was always that cool - then we would more than likely suspect that they are manufactoring the evidence for the sake of the show.  What they actually get on a normal basis is usually very boring and subtle.  Ghosts don't come out to play just because the Hunters are looking for them.  Sure wish they would though!

 

What I would really like to see though - is a true blue Bad Haunting - one where they run into something that really is not of this world.  In their books, they wrote of running into these hauntings and they can be scary.

[Quilt Fairy]

What I would really like to see though - is a true blue Bad Haunting - one where they run into something that really is not of this world.  In their books, they wrote of running into these hauntings and they can be scary.

Did you ever see the St Augustine lighthouse episode from back in the first or second season? THAT was scary, still the scariest thing I've ever seen on this show.

[Iboatedhere]

Did you ever see the St Augustine lighthouse episode from back in the first or second season? THAT was scary, still the scariest thing I've ever seen on this show.

 

Is that the one where they see the figure peeking over the railing, it takes off, and a second later it's three levels up?

 

I think the scariest bit of evidence I've seen from them happened in an early season. They were somewhere down south, Louisiana I think, and Brian (DUDE!RUN!) was reviewing the tapes and you can hear a woman screaming bloody murder. It's super clear like someone is playing a joke on them but she's so distressed that if other people had been able to hear it they would've called the cops. I get goose bumps just thinking about it. I never hear anyone talk about it so sometimes I feel like it was a weird kind of fever dream that I made up. I know it's for real because I have that season on DVD.

 

I also really like the princess EVP at the Mt. Washington hotel.

[Bajovane]

The St. Augustine show was fascinating!  I didn't get a sense of anything super scary about it - but it was very much an active haunting.  I would love to see them go back there.  The one episode where they were at an old Tuberculosis sanitarium (can't remember where it was) was great too - remember the child running across the hallway?  That was THE BOMB!  The prison hauntings were great too. 

 

I know Grant and Jason bought a hotel/resort somewhere in New England that was super haunted as well.  They had the GH International team do a hunt there and they caught all kinds of evidence.  That place was great!  I'd love to see another hunt there.

[Quilt Fairy]

IIRC, they've already sold the hotel.

 

ETA: I remember the Mt Washington Hotel episode, too. I was on a bus tour about 5 years ago and we stayed there one night. I was positively petrified (I was by myself) and slept with several lights on.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Quilt Fairy

[Iboatedhere]

DOGGIES!

Those cadaver dogs were legit.

[LadyArcadia]

(wrong ghost show)

Edited February 8, 2016 by LadyArcadia

[Psherryred1]

Ok, when are they REALLY coming back?? They don't do too many episodes as it is. I DO miss Grant. I wonder who does their voice-overs, or GHOST overs, as it is!

[Quilt Fairy]

I wonder who does their voice-overs, or GHOST overs, as it is!

It used to be Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame.

[Psherryred1]

Does anyone know when they will be coming back or are they, themselves truly dead??? Answer me!!

[Quilt Fairy]

Does anyone know when they will be coming back or are they, themselves truly dead??? Answer me!!

http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters Returning this fall. (Google, it's a beautiful thing.)

Edited March 25, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[caligirl50]

I watched the show for the first time last night (there are a few episodes on On Demand).  I was not a fan, unfortunately.

At the Edith Wharton home, they kept calling out to specific people. “Is that you Edith?” Is that you Edith’s husband?” No answer.  It was too specific.  One of the requirements that was asked by the caretakers was to find out who was in the house. The questions they asked were rude (to the husband who had stolen much of Edith’s money) and too specific.  It made no sense. In addition, they hear all this noise on one floor.  One guy goes up there and it is crazy with noise.  He’s whispering to the camera and walking towards the noise and then hears his partner come up the stairs and they start talking in normal voices.  All the noise stops.  What a missed opportunity! There is a black mass in the home, but they don’t do anything other than use their regular machines to try and see it.  Bring a medium if you need to sort out if there is danger to the people who work there.  The people in the house were scared.  

This show is a disappointment.  If the main purpose of these ghost shows is just to gather evidence, I am out.  I was hoping that these Ghost Hunter folks have some apathy to these spirits being stuck, especially if it is a child.   Paranormal State, The Haunting Of and hell, even Ghost Asylum try to help the spirits move on.  That should be the purpose to all these shows.  JMO.

[Quilt Fairy]

New season starts next Wednesday, August 3rd:

Quote

Join the hunt with Jason Hawes and TAPS in 2016 as they brave all-new haunted locations that include: Cleveland, Ohio's Midwest Railway Preservation Society, which is believed to be tied to the notorious, unsolved Cleveland Torso Murderer serial killer case. The team will also investigate the Crown Point, Indiana's Old Lake County Jail, famed for being home to gangster John Dillinger...until he escaped; and the Toledo Yacht Club in Toledo, Ohio, said to be haunted by a boy who died over a century ago

[Psherryred1]

Quote

I'm so glad this show had finally going to run its' course! I'm really waiting for some ghost to have a real 'heart to heart" talk with some mortal (Steve?) about life on the other side instead of the perpetual knocking, stomping and whispering that I have been subjected to all the time they've been on. Just frustrated!

[Lemur]

On 5/19/2016 at 5:01 PM, caligirl50 said:

I watched the show for the first time last night (there are a few episodes on On Demand).  I was not a fan, unfortunately.

At the Edith Wharton home, they kept calling out to specific people. “Is that you Edith?” Is that you Edith’s husband?” No answer.  It was too specific.  One of the requirements that was asked by the caretakers was to find out who was in the house. The questions they asked were rude (to the husband who had stolen much of Edith’s money) and too specific.  It made no sense. In addition, they hear all this noise on one floor.  One guy goes up there and it is crazy with noise.  He’s whispering to the camera and walking towards the noise and then hears his partner come up the stairs and they start talking in normal voices.  All the noise stops.  What a missed opportunity! There is a black mass in the home, but they don’t do anything other than use their regular machines to try and see it.  Bring a medium if you need to sort out if there is danger to the people who work there.  The people in the house were scared.  

This show is a disappointment.  If the main purpose of these ghost shows is just to gather evidence, I am out.  I was hoping that these Ghost Hunter folks have some apathy to these spirits being stuck, especially if it is a child.   Paranormal State, The Haunting Of and hell, even Ghost Asylum try to help the spirits move on.  That should be the purpose to all these shows.  JMO.

1.  They don't use mediums because they don't believe in them (and considering most of the "mediums" on these shows are self-appointed and have little verifiable ability, I don't blame them.

2.  They're taking a psuedo-scientific approach to prove ghosts are real.  They often do call in someone to help with a "ghost" they verified, but they don't show it on tv.  

Anyway, it's the last season.   Let them drag the shambling corpse of this show through its final episodes and put it to bed.  I loved the first couple of seasons but haven't watched it in years.  Once it was became clear that half of the "evidence" was producer driven, I was out.  Also, I'm soooooo freaking sick of these types of shows cycling through the same "haunted" locations. 

[ChicagoCita]

Have they announced it's the last season? I'm sorry to hear that. This was once THE paranormal show. But you're right, it's gone downhill. Not sure exactly what happened, but I'm still sad to see it go away.

[Psherryred1]

Boy, I watched the new episode last night and fell asleep during it. Things have CERTAINLY reached a new low!

[Quilt Fairy]

FYI, Adam Berry and Amy Bruni now have their own ghost hunting show called Kindred Spirits. It airs Friday nights on TLC with a rerun Tuesdays on Destination America.  I've only watched part of the first episode, but it looks like they're going back to the original GH style, investigating in people's homes.

[Psherryred1]

I saw it. Adam and Amy have a lot of empathy for their subjects and they appear to have a deep need to help them. It is rewarding to watch.

[Quilt Fairy]

I had a forum created for that show. I'd welcome your comments.

[ABay]

Well. That was anti-climactic. I've been watching from the beginning and would've liked a little closure.

[HeidiW]

On ‎2016‎-‎10‎-‎23 at 7:04 AM, Psherryred1 said:

I saw it. Adam and Amy have a lot of empathy for their subjects and they appear to have a deep need to help them. It is rewarding to watch.

I've noticed, which is a refreshing change from Kris, who pretty much openly ridicules the supernatural and anyone who devotes time to it nowadays. It's one of the reasons she burned her bridges at GH (and later at GHI), and now can't find any television work on account of her abrasive personality, this despite her model-like, made-for-tv looks. Adam and Amy have empathy for others, definitely not so with Kris.

Apparently the GH folks were immensely relieved when the GHI opening came about as it gave them a way of ridding themselves of her without having to get into all the nasty details. Of course she brought the same problems to GHI and that team's morale tanked as well. Yeah, Susan probably had a lapse of judgement with the bloodletting, but the problems began well before that, with Kris actively mocking and ridiculing believers and all aspects of the investigative community, despite it providing her with a livelihood for the better part of a decade.

Nice that the GH folks and Adam and Amy continue to investigate even though the show's been cancelled -- at least on tv. I have a suspicion it might carry on in some way online though...