For Matt and Ian
Regarding the show Ghost Hunters (and TAPS in general):
I'm bored at work like usual, so I figured I'd follow up on our conversation about Ghost Hunters, and try to consolidate a lot of the stuff that I've come across that kills most or all the credibility TAPS has.
Firstly, I'm not relaying this particular information as proof positive that the Ghost Hunters can't be trusted, but the fact is that the two main Ghost Hunters you see in any given episode (Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson) are plumbers by trade. They have no bios on the TAPS page, or on Wikipedia, so I was unable to find whatever educational background they may have beyond the plumbing trade, so for the time being, looking for the simplest explanation possible, I'm forced to assume that they have little to no experience in paranormal investigation, video/audio analyzation, proper video/audio recording techniques, field investigative techniques, or really, proper investigative techniques for the purpose of scientific observation at all. So, they're basically plumbers who take footage and make a show out of it. They have absolutely no real credentials in any kind of scientific field in any way related to what they do on their show, at all.
In addition, they have used dowsing a number of times as an investigative technique, which any expert in a related scientific or investigative field can tell you is about as effective as bringing Lassie on board to help. They've also associated more than one time with John Zaffis, a noted "Demonologist" and frequent guest on Coast to Coast AM, which should raise your skeptic alarm markedly.
If you really listen to the "reveals" at the end of any given episode where a "haunting" is found, you will hear telltale cold-reading techniques, such as priming the house/building owner, and upon seeing the video, immediately telling the owner that all normal explanations for the footage have been ruled out, and that whatever footage they're looking at could not possibly be anything other than proof of paranormal activity.
Secondly, your estimate of maybe 8 times on the show total where they have come up with what they would call a haunting or even an unexplainable phenomenon, is grossly off. This link shows a breakdown of just the first two seasons of the show. In the first season, 25% of the investigations came away with a positive "haunting", and others found evidence of paranormal activity. This jumped to about 52% in season 2. Simplest explanation? Finding ghosts nets more viewers than not finding ghosts.
As far as actual evidence for the incredibly unscientific way they go about their investigations, this link is a good overall summary of their techniques and includes many links to other debunking pages, as well as video footage of certain "evidence" used in the show, and how it could've been faked. None of the explanations presented on that page or in its links prove conclusively that Ghost Hunters footage has been doctored or tampered with, it just shows how extremely easy it is to recreate with perfect accuracy the "evidence" that the Ghost Hunters use as proof positive of paranormal activity during their reveals at the end of the episode.
But, this link is conclusive proof that at least one episode features tampered/doctored footage. This is corroborated by the fact that all re-runs of that episode since the time that the show's creators were notified of this issue have had that footage removed.
Hopefully, these links will help you understand that while Ghost Hunters may be an interesting show, it really isn't all that factual, in any form, and it definitely should not be taken as a real paranormal investigation. The very fact that they started using K2 meters in season 3 is telling of how unscientific the show has become as the seasons move on.
A K2 meter is, in the words of the TAPS page, an EMF gauss meter that has been specially calibrated to detect "spirits". This presupposes several things out of nowhere, namely that spirits collect EMF energy, and are themselves comprised of electro-magnetic fields. The one and only question needed to debunk that assumption is: says who? Considering no one has ever captured an alleged spirit, how do we know that spirits, if they exist, emit, collect, or are made up of EMF energy? How can anyone create a K2 meter, given that the only alleged difference between a K2 meter and a real EMF meter is that, supposedly, a K2 meter has been calibrated against a spirit that no one has ever seen or caught or studied in any way?
(Just for reference, the only real difference between a K2 meter and a normal EMF meter is that all shielding has been removed from the K2 meter, so it is more susceptible to interference and anomalies... oh, and a K2 meter uses lights instead of a peg to indicate the amount of EMF in any given area. So, two differences. :P)
So, you can see why I'm not all that impressed with Mario and Luigi (the two plumbers!) finding ghosts. Maybe they just need to defeat the Big Boo and they'll all go away?
I'm bored at work like usual, so I figured I'd follow up on our conversation about Ghost Hunters, and try to consolidate a lot of the stuff that I've come across that kills most or all the credibility TAPS has.
Firstly, I'm not relaying this particular information as proof positive that the Ghost Hunters can't be trusted, but the fact is that the two main Ghost Hunters you see in any given episode (Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson) are plumbers by trade. They have no bios on the TAPS page, or on Wikipedia, so I was unable to find whatever educational background they may have beyond the plumbing trade, so for the time being, looking for the simplest explanation possible, I'm forced to assume that they have little to no experience in paranormal investigation, video/audio analyzation, proper video/audio recording techniques, field investigative techniques, or really, proper investigative techniques for the purpose of scientific observation at all. So, they're basically plumbers who take footage and make a show out of it. They have absolutely no real credentials in any kind of scientific field in any way related to what they do on their show, at all.
In addition, they have used dowsing a number of times as an investigative technique, which any expert in a related scientific or investigative field can tell you is about as effective as bringing Lassie on board to help. They've also associated more than one time with John Zaffis, a noted "Demonologist" and frequent guest on Coast to Coast AM, which should raise your skeptic alarm markedly.
If you really listen to the "reveals" at the end of any given episode where a "haunting" is found, you will hear telltale cold-reading techniques, such as priming the house/building owner, and upon seeing the video, immediately telling the owner that all normal explanations for the footage have been ruled out, and that whatever footage they're looking at could not possibly be anything other than proof of paranormal activity.
Secondly, your estimate of maybe 8 times on the show total where they have come up with what they would call a haunting or even an unexplainable phenomenon, is grossly off. This link shows a breakdown of just the first two seasons of the show. In the first season, 25% of the investigations came away with a positive "haunting", and others found evidence of paranormal activity. This jumped to about 52% in season 2. Simplest explanation? Finding ghosts nets more viewers than not finding ghosts.
As far as actual evidence for the incredibly unscientific way they go about their investigations, this link is a good overall summary of their techniques and includes many links to other debunking pages, as well as video footage of certain "evidence" used in the show, and how it could've been faked. None of the explanations presented on that page or in its links prove conclusively that Ghost Hunters footage has been doctored or tampered with, it just shows how extremely easy it is to recreate with perfect accuracy the "evidence" that the Ghost Hunters use as proof positive of paranormal activity during their reveals at the end of the episode.
But, this link is conclusive proof that at least one episode features tampered/doctored footage. This is corroborated by the fact that all re-runs of that episode since the time that the show's creators were notified of this issue have had that footage removed.
Hopefully, these links will help you understand that while Ghost Hunters may be an interesting show, it really isn't all that factual, in any form, and it definitely should not be taken as a real paranormal investigation. The very fact that they started using K2 meters in season 3 is telling of how unscientific the show has become as the seasons move on.
A K2 meter is, in the words of the TAPS page, an EMF gauss meter that has been specially calibrated to detect "spirits". This presupposes several things out of nowhere, namely that spirits collect EMF energy, and are themselves comprised of electro-magnetic fields. The one and only question needed to debunk that assumption is: says who? Considering no one has ever captured an alleged spirit, how do we know that spirits, if they exist, emit, collect, or are made up of EMF energy? How can anyone create a K2 meter, given that the only alleged difference between a K2 meter and a real EMF meter is that, supposedly, a K2 meter has been calibrated against a spirit that no one has ever seen or caught or studied in any way?
(Just for reference, the only real difference between a K2 meter and a normal EMF meter is that all shielding has been removed from the K2 meter, so it is more susceptible to interference and anomalies... oh, and a K2 meter uses lights instead of a peg to indicate the amount of EMF in any given area. So, two differences. :P)
So, you can see why I'm not all that impressed with Mario and Luigi (the two plumbers!) finding ghosts. Maybe they just need to defeat the Big Boo and they'll all go away?