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Grant, Jason and the rest of the TAPS gang return tonight with all new episodes of Ghost Hunters. The series begins its fifth season tonight at 9:00 on Syfy and the first investigation is a real doosey.
Their first case involves a private home in Blackstone, Massachusetts. The Ladouceur family were willing to look the other way when all they had to deal with were bangs from the basement. But when their teenage son is approached by a black mass that actually grabs hold of him, that’s another story. They call in the TAPS team with hopes of ridding themselves of this malevolent monster.
If you can believe what you see on the screen (that is, you believe they haven’t edited the film or used special effects) then there are a couple of interesting scenes in this episode.
First, Grant and Jason go down to the basement to have a talk with the spirit and they find it in a very conversational mood. The guys ask questions and every time the answer is yes, the EMF meter lights up like Broadway at night. The spikes are too well timed to the pauses after their questions to be a coincidence, which leaves only one other option — they really are conversing with a ghost. The bad news is that the spirit claims it’s being held at the location against its will by an evil “Inhuman Entity,” which just happens to be the name of the episode. Creepy.
Later Grant and Jason head upstairs to investigate a crawlspace that runs behind the master bedroom. Here they try to antagonize the ghost into coming forward and they do a good job. Jason complains of ice cold, then heat on his leg. He pulls up his pant leg to reveal a five thin scratches as if someone raked their nails across his skin. He says its not conclusive evidence of a haunting, but it works for me.
The second part of the episode takes us to Brentsville Historic Centre in Virginia, a complex of five pre-Civil War buildings including a jail and a courthouse. The site used to house prisoners waiting for trial and was the location of at least thirteen hangings. Though the history behind the site is interesting, the investigation itself is pretty routine.
One thing I really wish they would stop doing is pretending they’re not on a reality show while setting up the scenes. For example, the show opens with Grant and Jason taking care of a plumbing problem as part of their “day job” when they get a call saying they’re urgently needed for an investigation. It’s so very Bat Signal that it makes them look foolish. The same goes for the pre-planned driving sequences where they pretend they haven’t heard the paranormal activity reports before their teammate recites them over the walkie. We know you’re on a reality show. We know there are cameramen and boom operators following you around. Why try to pretend this is all new and unrehearsed?
I will say, that once they got into the investigation of both sites, I was pulled in like always, scanning the edges of the screen for a shape, a face, a bouncing orb. Listening intently to hisses and whistles, believing that what I heard were actual words. It’s a strange bit of human nature that lets us think this will be the one where they capture an apparition on film. It never happens but that doesn’t stop us from tuning in week after week.
Ghost Hunters airs on Wednesday nights at 9:00 on Syfy.
Pictured: (l-r) Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson — SCI FI Channel Photo: Gavin Bond
