As you probably know, Ghost Hunter’s Academy premiered last night on SyFy. To be honest with you, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I like seeing some new faces and I like the idea of TAPS Steve and Tango doing the training. I’m just not sure that this isn’t going to turn into the classic reality show that pits these young ghost hunters against each other in the race to be the best. I hope I’m wrong.

I’m curious to see Ghost Hunter’s Academy unfold. I’m not sure  what kind of training the new recruits received prior to the show, but I would hope they have participated in investigations with Steve and Tango to observe first-hand how TAPS conducts an investigation. To throw them into an investigation expecting them to perform according to TAPS standards, without the benefit of some first-hand experience with the best investigators first, seems a bit odd. Perhaps,  Steve and Tango didn’t see the need to explain the type of training that took place prior to this investigation.

It would be interesting to see Steve and Tango review the same evidence the Ghost Hunter’s Academy students did, just to see if there was any evidence overlooked. Again, perhaps that was done, but not shared with the viewing audience.

At any rate, Ghost Hunter’s Academy shows promise and these young men and women did a nice job with their first assignment. They weren’t perfect and made some errors, but that’s why they have Steve and Tango as teachers.

If you missed the show, check out the videos below. I’d love to hear your reactions to this new show. Take a moment and leave your comments for everyone to read.

I don’t know about you, but the Ghost Hunter’s Live 2009 Halloween Broadcast left me a bit disappointed. I respect Jason and Grant’s desire to spend the evening at home (although I’m not convinced its the real reason they didn’t take part in the show), but I think Syfy took us for a ride. As far as I’m concerned they didn’t deliver what they advertised. I mean, really, are there any Ghost Hunter fans out there who haven’t seen those shows multiple times already?

And what’s with Steve letting one rip on national television when he and Tango investigated noises heard near the thermal camera. His justification was he didn’t think anyone would see it. Come on, Steve, you were in front of a camera with a live feed. What do you mean you didn’t think anyone would be watching you?

And then, there was the delicate issue of publicly criticizing one of the Ghost Hunter Academy students for how they answered a question on air. Sure, Steve was whispering to Tango…. on national television. I’ve always liked Steve (and I still do), but the lack of professionalism that surfaces now and then reflects poorly on Ghost Hunters and TAPS.

I spent some time watching the cameras and listening for sounds. Camera 1 had plenty of sounds. There were numerous conversations in the background…presumably from the crew. It would have been nice to let us know where the crew was, so we’d know whether or not to expect human sounds on the audio.

It was a great idea, really, but it fell short of my expectations. I’d love to hear from you about your observations during the show.

Ghost Hunter Academy

Photo by seriousfun/morguefile

Take time out tonight to watch the meteor shower. Who knows, you just might spot a UFO while you are out stargazing.

Well, my book finally arrived by mail 11 days after ordering it from Amazon. I might have saved a few bucks in shipping, but waiting for it to arrive was, well …  lets just say difficult.

I grabbed a diet pepsi,  made myself comfy and cracked that baby open, ready to read about residual ghosts, intelligent haunts and an occasional inhuman spirit. I won’t say I was disappointed (because I wasn’t) but I will say I was surprised on a number of occasions.

I’m not going to spoil it for you and give you specifics, but I did write a review  Seeking Spirits: By Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson with Michael Jan Friedman: Book Review to share my reactions. Don’t worry, I don’t give away anything to spoil the book.

If you have read Finding Spirits already, take a moment and read my review and drop me a line in the comments. If you haven’t read it then stop by for a quick peak of what you can expect from this intriguing new book.

Despite rumors that Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson will spend Halloween night with their children, Syfy has announced a Live Halloween Investigation on October 31, 2009 at 7pm. The TAPs team will be joined by Josh Gates and the Ghost Hunter Academy to investigate the Essex County Hospital in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

The site is riddled with rumors of paranormal activity believed to stem from the horrendous conditions that claimed the lives of some 10,000 people over a century of pain, violence and starvation.

For more detailed history of the Essex County Hospital and the events that lead up to the haunted location you can read the complete article TAPS Ghost Hunters: Live 2009 Halloween Broadcast from Essex County Hospital.

My copy arrived today and I just had to stop by and tell you that it was definitely worth the wait.  If you are  a TAPS or Ghost Hunters fan, this is the book for you. Not only to you get to hear about real life ghosts stories and hauntings from paranormal investigations conducted by TAPS outside of the Ghost Hunter series, you get a sneak peak into the lives of those you have come to love. Find out about the elusive paranormal experiences that lead Grant Wilson to become involved with TAPS in the first place.

Of course, I haven’t finished it yet, but I am well on my way. Look for a review of the book from me in the next day or too.

I’m waiting patiently (not) for my copy of Seeking Spirits to arrive. When I ordered it, I was a bit excited to qualify for for Amazon’s Super Saver free shipping, but then I didn’t know it would take so long for it to arrive.

So, I decided to reread a bit of Ghost Hunting, Jason and Grant’s first book. I found an interesting tidbit I thought you might enjoy tonight.

In the introduction, Jason gives a bit of background information leading up to the formation of  TAPS.

At the age of 20, Jason apparently met a woman who practiced Reiki. His term for the relationship was “got involve with” and tells of his initial skepticism about life forces. He continues by saying that after exposure to the techniques for several months he began to “see things.”

Jason says: Usually it started with a mist, out of which emanated a dim light, and then out of the light came other things –including see-through animals and human apparitions.

Because no one else could see these images, Jason claims he felt like he was going crazy and finally contacted Frank Zappis for help. Frank performed a series of tests and concluded Jason was becoming sensitive. Seeking the help of others involved in paranormal groups provided no relief.

One day while visiting the aquarium at Mystic, Connecticut a lady approached him to ask how he was doing. She then proceeded to tell him she knew he was seeing things and to make it stop he should eat green olives. She concluded with, “I will see you again.“

From his own admission, he began to consume bottles of green olives on a daily basis. As long as he consumed them the visions kept away, but as soon as he stopped they reappeared.

He recounts meeting her again at a haunted location, but provides no other details.

I brushed this aside the first time I read the book. I don’t know, it sounds a bit.. well.. bizarre. Is he pulling our leg? Did he include it as a joke?

I really don’t know what to think, but I am left wondering if he eats green olives before a ghost hunt.

I shot some random pics of changing foliage yesterday and was quite surprised by what I captured. These miniature lights appeared amongst the leaves. On close inspection, I discovered that some appear to be in front of leaves and branches, while most as in the background.

Although I have never seen this before, I suspect that it is a light anomaly from light peeking through the leaves in the background, but I prefer to think of them a tiny creatures of light dancing among the changing foliage. They certainly appear to be emitting their own light, yet I cannot find any shadows that might indicate they are something more than an anomaly.

Has anyone ever seen this before?