A good ghost story isn't just for the campfire. With the Sci-Fi channel's latest hit Ghost Hunters (available in HD), you can enjoy these spine chilling tales each week from the comfort of your own couch. The reality styled television show follows a group of paranormal investigators who work for TAPS or The Atlantic Paranormal Society. The two main investigators, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, are Roto-Rooter plumbers by trade. When not working with toilets and sinks, the TAPS team ventures into suspected haunted houses to find evidence of the paranormal. Their crew consists of office managers, teachers, factory workers and psychic hotline counselors, all of whom moonlight with TAPs to try to understand what goes bump in the night.
TAPS uses a variety of electronic equipment to detect paranormal activity. These include EMF or electromagnetic field scanners, infrared and night vision cameras, digital thermometers, HD video cameras, digital audio recorders and computers. The crew also uses an Ion Generator which charges the air with electricity, making it easier for spirits to manifest themselves. The White Noise Generator makes static background noise to assist with EVP recordings. The team has additionally used Geiger counters and light detectors.
In each episode, the TAPS investigators first survey the supposedly haunted property's owners to get their side of the story. They relate their experiences and accordingly, the team sets up their electronic equipment to record any action within the described paranormal hotspots. They take temperature readings, position their HD cameras to film, and record audio for EVP readings. Often times they will call out to the ghost or preternatural entity to try to coax it into making an appearance. Of course, not all the so-called paranormal activity they find is real. Many times the team will debunk noises, cold spots and moving objects. However, sometimes there is no scientific answer for what occurs.
The team has traveled the country exploring everything from old inns and theatres to prisons, lighthouses and even churches. Some of the most popular episodes are the St. Augustine Lighthouse haunting, the Stanley Hotel, and the Manson Murders.
In the lighthouse episode, the crew actually filmed an image of a figure moving at the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse has a long history of paranormal activity with many reporting shadows and figures of little girls. During the filming of the Ghost Hunters episode, they also allegedly captured the voice of a woman crying 'help me'.
At the Stanley Hotel, which inspired Stephen King's the ''Shining'' the TAPS team performed a live six hour long investigation. In room 1312 a maid discovers lamps and pictures on the floor, after the room had just been cleaned. A window on the third floor closes by itself and a woman can be heard shrieking in the concert hall. The crew decides to spend several nights at the hotel. They record mysterious sounds, broken and moved objects, and fleeting shadows. It's really spine chilling, especially in high definition.
In the Manson Murders episode, the team captures temperature readings of an entity in the guest bedroom. They also record audio clips that sound like people crying out in distress and they capture the figure of a woman floating in the air. It's truly electrifying. Catch more episodes like this on the Sci-Fi channel. Also, be sure to watch Ghost Hunters' international debut as a new team of paranormal investigators travel to world's spookiest places.
