“Pensacola Lighthouse” – Pensacola, Florida

Head down south with the Ghost Hunters crew as they investigate the spooky Pensacola Lighthouse. Tales of a ghost-like woman lurking the halls have been passed down from generation to generation.

Brace yourself as TAPS searches for clues to explain creepy transparent figures, invisible fingers tapping guests on the head and light switches turning off and on by themselves. Tune in as the team reveals some of their most startling on-camera evidence yet!

**The photo is from an upcoming episode. Can you name the famous writer that may be haunting the house behind them?

Pictured: (l-r) Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson — Syfy Photo: Cheryl Senter

GHOST HUNTERS ACADEMY:

“The Honeymoon’s Over”

This week on Ghost Hunters Academy, Steve and Tango take the investigators-in-training down to North Carolina and put their skills to the test at the U.S.S. Carolina.

Their job will be to collect concrete evidence that will back up the chilling claims of doors slamming, people talking, and pots and pans banging when there’s no one else in the room. They’ll learn how to use more ghost hunting technology. But will their egos get in the way as they try to maneuver through the haunted ship maze?

Tune in to see if one of the students ends up walking the plank and kissing their dreams of becoming a Ghost Hunter goodbye.

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That’s kind of the idea behind Ghost Hunters Academy, the latest spin-off series from the popular Ghost Hunters franchise. Spirit-chasing wannabes are shoved head-long into a ghost hunt and only the strong will survive.

In this case, strong doesn’t mean brave or even paranormally talented — it means hard-working, honest, passionate people who are interested in getting the job done even when they’re not on camera. In this group, I’d say you’re talking about one out of the five.

Ghost Hunters second’s Dave Tango and Steve Gonsalves are in charge of training the newbies. They take them to a hunt in a spiffy new camper that gives you the “living in one house” feel of other reality shows. And though Steve and Dave don’t curse or throw tantrums like Gordon Ramsey, they do express their disappointment when someone screws up.

In the first episode, which premieres this Wednesday, November 11 at 10:00 on Syfy, the group investigates Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. TAPS has been here before with good results so it’s time to see if the newbies can find anything.

Karl Pfeiffer and Ben Smith were pretty interchangable for me. Ben is a little geekier but neither made an impression in a good or bad way. Chris McCune strikes me as a 15 minutes of fame guy. He’s not going to last long.  Both girls are a problem (in a good way, because that’s what makes this show interesting). Heathyr Hoffman claims to be a medium, something the TAPS people are very skeptical about. Because she’s a medium she asks for special treatment, going so far as to sit out the site tour at the top of the investigation so she isn’t “influenced” by what she hears. That’s simply not going to work in the long run. Not with the way these guys conduct their investigations.

Then there’s the appropriately named Susan Slaughter.  She’s hiding something and that lands her in hot water with the bosses by the end of the episode.

The best thing about the episode is the bullshit meter – seriously, they should have a graphic on the screen because it is deep in there. When one trainee started going on about, “wow man, that’s why you guys are the pros,” in response to a common sense tip, I thought, oh please. Then we switch to Steve talking to camera about how this guy is kissing ass big time. Hooray!

The best bit comes when Steve purposely sets out a line of nonsense to see if any of the trainees will take the bait. One does and Steve calls him on it instantly, leaving the kid floundering for an explanation as to why he agreed with something that made no sense. Lesson learned? I doubt it and therein lies the fun.

I’ve been watching Ghost Hunters since the series began and lately I’ve been feeling like it needed a shot in the arm. Ghost Hunters Academy is that shot. These fresh personalities mixed with the patented Ghost Hunters formula is making everything old look new again. And though they aren’t kicking anyone off at the end of the episode, there is that sense of competition that you get from other reality shows such as Hell’s Kitchen or America’s Next Top Model.

If you’ve become an infrequent viewer of Ghost Hunters, try this new incarnation. They’re still not photographing full-body apparitions but you never know. Maybe Heathyr the medium will redeem herself and be the first one to get a ghost to smile for the camera.

Ghost Hunters Academy premieres this Wednesday, November 11 at 10:00 on Syfy.

Dave Tango, Steve Gonsalves — Syfy Photo: Tommy Garcia

(l-r) Karl Pfeiffer, Heathyr Hoffman, Chris McCune, Ben Smith, Susan Slaughter — Syfy Photo: Michael Perez

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Ghost Hunters: Ghost of Buffalo Bill

Air Date: November 4 on Syfy

The West is about to get a whole lot wilder.

Warehouse 13’s Eddie McClintock dons Ghost Hunters gear for a special TAPS investigation. Today, the team tackles the haunted gravesite of the legendary Buffalo Bill.

Violent, invisible forces are believed to haunt the area. The mysterious specter of a cowboy has been spotted in the neighboring museum. Spooky whispers echo through the building’s empty halls.

Could TAPS have a close encounter with our nation’s greatest showman? Or will they run into more hostile spirits?

“Oakland Hall” – Eaton, Georgia

And later in the episode, residents of Oakland Hall are scared senseless. For the past three years, a strange spirit has haunted the home, causing visitors to feel nauseated and sick. TAPS heads in to investigate.

Built in the early 1800s, Oakland Hall survived General Sherman’s famous “March to the Sea.” Today, the ghost of a mentally ill child is believed to haunt the premises. Electronics turn on and off, and apparitions have been spotted on the grounds.

Watch as TAPS solves the mystery of the haunted hall.

DESTINATION TRUTH – FALL FINALE
“Bhutan Yeti”

In the fall finale, Josh and the rest of the Destination Truth crew travel to Bhutan, Nepal to continue their search of the Yeti, after their exciting discovery of a mysterious footprint during a past investigation.

This timeless myth proves once again to yield fruitful results for the team, and they return to the United States with more startling evidence of the elusive creature..

WAREHOUSE 13 — Pictured: Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer — SCI FI Channel Photo: Justin Stephens

Post from: SF Universe

The day begins with a count down of the viewers’ choice five scariest episodes of Ghost Hunters. Then, Destination Truth star Josh Gates will join Ghost Hunters Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango and the Ghost Hunters Academy team for a night at the infamouse Essex County Hospital: the massive, abandoned hospital complex where over 10,000 souls perished.

Throughout the evening, you can log on to www.syfy.com/ghlive and help the team gather evidence by scanning the location through five live camera & audio feeds, letting the team know of suspicious activity via the site’s popular “panic button” feature. Steve, Tango and the team will investigate these hits during LIVE segments throughout the marathon.

I sat in for a few hours last year, even though I kept telling myself enough was enough. There’s something oddly tempting about watching live webcams looking for any sign of ghostly activity on a cold Halloween night. Are you likely to spot anything paranormal? No, but it’s still a fun party. Hope to see you there.

The six-hour event begins Saturday, October 31 @ 7 PM ET/PT.

Pictured: (l-r) Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango — Syfy Photo: Michael Perez

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In the past, scientists were easy to recognize, white lab coats, horn rimmed glasses, and a collage degree.  Today’s scientists blend in a little bit better, backwards facing hats, cargo shorts and t-shirts.  The equipment however is no less impressive, and the purpose hasn’t changed, to discover and learn about the world around us.

As paranormal investigators and ghost hunters that is the very thing we try to do.  We have seen things in this world that modern science cannot explain.  A select few of us decided we would not sit on the side lines and let the world tell us that the things that we’ve experienced could not have happened just because modern science hasn’t found an answer for it yet, we decided we would look for the answers ourselves.

From full bodied apparitions to unexplained voices they all happen and for a reason, but why, how.  That’s what we want to know. So do our clients.  For most of us the clients are the fuel that keeps us going. We feel a deep feeling of responsibility to help those that are having these experiences.  We go looking for them, but our clients do not ask to be woken up in the middle of the night with the shadow of a figure standing over there bed or have things in there home constantly disappearing or moving seemingly by themselves, and that’s just examples of a calm haunting. Some hauntings have been known to be so serious as to affect the health or threaten the very life of the client.

Who are they supposed to turn to when the rest of the world just thinks they’re being irrational or just imagining things.  A few years ago no one knew.  Today, thanks to mainstream media, they now know that there are people out there that believe their stories and want to help them any way they can.

Shows like “Ghost Hunters”, “Paranormal State”, and now the new “Ghost Lab” to name a few, show people that they don’t have to face these experiences alone.  We don’t  laugh, we don’t make jokes, they talk and we listen and do everything in our power to supply the help they need.  Because, like them, we’ve been in there shoes.  We face a constant stream of criticism from skeptics and even some religions.  The networks that have decided to air shows based on the paranormal have opened a door into our world and have educated millions of people on topics that used to be considered taboo.

People who have lived for years with unexplained occurrences happening around them now don’t feel so alone, they see that there are other people out there that live through the same things, and so have allowed them to seek our help without fear of embarrassment feeling there is something shameful about living with spirits.

Now each show has a different way of doing things.  Some shows concentrate more on evidence some on history or telling the story of the haunting, some concentrate more on the relationship that develops between the  investigator and the client.  Personally, this is my favorite format.  The first show that I saw that put more emphasis on this aspect than any others was “Paranormal State” I applauded PRS for showing exactly to what lengths we as investigators go to help our clients.  More so than “Ghost Hunters” did, while TAPS will go to no less extremes for their clients, that relationship is not really shown on the show.  Before “Paranormal State” some viewers thought all we did was go in, shake the clients hand, do the investigation, show the client what was found, then leave.  This is not the case at all.  And then this aspect seems to have been completely lost on “Ghost Lab” where so far it seems they just use the client to do a quick history on the location, before they show the investigation.  While I’m sure they also work very closely with there clients as well, this is just a different format for their show.

While anyone can find fault  with any of the shows today individually, collectively they all show a fairly good picture of all the aspects of the life and times of a modern day paranormal investigator.

Patrick French: Founder/Director, Huntsville Ghost Hunters www.myspace.com/huntsvilleghost / huntsvilleghost@myspace.com

Graphic provided by Patrick French

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Air Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 @ 9 PM

Congress Theater -Chicago, Illinois

For their next investigation, TAPS packs up their gear and heads to the Windy City. Mysterious paranormal activities at the Congress Theater have employees and visitors spooked senseless.

The Congress Theater is a famous Chicago landmark that has inhabited the city since 1926. Beyond the auditorium and stage is a dark, twisted labyrinth of old dressing rooms, rickety catwalks and desolate corridors. For decades, theater employees claim to have seen and heard the unexplainable—floating apparitions walking off balconies and voices arguing when no one is there.

Could phantoms of the past be haunting the theater?

DESTINATION TRUTH: “HAUNTED LOST CITY / THUNDERBIRD”

Air Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 @ 10 PM

Haunted Lost City – Peru

Leads team into the rugged mountains of Peru to investigate claims that the Incan ruins there are haunted. Shrouded in the Andes mountains, the Incan city disappeared half a millennia ago: the residents reportedly buried their gold in the tunnels underneath the city and committed suicide before the Spanish conquistadors could invade. Today, local farmers claim that their animals react violently when passing by the ruins.

Josh and his team are the first to head to the region with a camera crew and stay overnight. Midway up the trail, the team’s horses start to panic inexplicably; the locals will head no further and take their animals back down with them, leaving Josh and team to continue on their own.

The investigation yields such compelling audio and visual evidence that Josh calls on expert analysts Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango from Ghost Hunters to determine whether the Lost City is still inhabited with spirits.

Thunderbird – Alaska

The team takes their adventures to Alaska, where locals claim a giant winged bird is terrorizing their community. A nocturnal creature said to be part bird, part reptile, the “Thunderbird” has recently been sighted soaring high over the Alaskan landscape by local pilots. Josh and crew set out for a sub-zero exploration of the artic terrain.

GHOST HUNTERS — “Essex County Penitentiary” — Pictured: (l-r) Grant Wilson, Josh Gates, Jason Hawes — Syfy Photo: Barbara Nitke

Post from: SF Universe

Air Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 @ 10 PM on Syfy

Chullachaqui – Peru

Joined by special guest stars Robb Demarest and Dustin Pari from Ghost Hunters International, Josh and team make their way to the jungles of Peru, where a terrifying creature resembling a gremlin is reportedly terrorizing the locals.

Bermuda Triangle

Josh and his team take on the age-old legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area in the Atlantic Ocean infamous for pulling planes out of the sky and swallowing ships into the sea. It is believed that the triangle’s strange energy vortexes appear at the same locations again and again, so the team plans to chart a direct course through each known coordinate where ships and planes had disappeared. As a result, they manage to collect a phenomenal amount of evidence, including strong electromagnetic disturbances and a mysterious image on their IR camera.

Pictured: Josh Gates — SyFy Channel Photo: Joshua Gates

Post from: SF Universe

Air Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 @ 9 PM

Fort Henry – Kingston, Ontario

TAPS heads north to explore the most haunted place in Canada. Fort Henry served as a prison and execution site for hundreds of dangerous convicts. Over the years, employees and visitors have witnessed a number of strange, frightening events.

Built in 1812, Fort Henry served as a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Nazis during World War II. Today, the fort is a National Heritage Site and a memorial to Canada’s military history. Historical eyewitness accounts suggest that paranormal entities have long been haunting the fort.

Strange apparitions, mysterious sounds of shattering glass and other ghostly activities have been recorded in this great maze of a military complex. Could the restless spirits of dead prisoners be stirring trouble? TAPS investigates.

Pictured: (front) Grant Wilson, (behind) Jason Hawes — Syfy Photo: Gavin Bond

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ABC has given a full season order to the new series FlashForward

Syfy gives birth to a new baby, Ghost Hunters Academy will premiere on November 11 with Ghost Hunters pros Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango teaching trainees how to hunt.

Cartoon Network has launched the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Game Creator which allows you to play as a series character, select a vehicle and build your own part of the Clone Wars universe, which you can then share with others via CartoonNetwork.com.

FLASHFORWARD – ABC’s “FlashForward” stars Dominic Monaghan as Simon. (ABC/BOB D’AMICO)

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When you hunt  ghosts for a living, everyday must seem like Halloween, but that didn’t stop Ghost Hunters Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango from enjoying Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando.

This year, Universal Orlando is devoting the entire event to bringing horror films to life – like “SAW,” “The Wolfman” and “Chucky.” The event runs select nights now through October 31.

If you’re in California, Universal Studios is running a “My Bloody Valentine” attraction instead of “Wolfman.”

For some extra Halloween fun, visit The Screamstress before October 15. She’s giving away a copy of the very funny Ghost Hunters book “Chilling Tales From the Porcelain Seat”

© 2009 Universal Orlando Resort. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: Kevin Kolczynski, Universal Orlando

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