eSkeptic: August 10, 2006 - Debunking Ghost Hunters

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                eSkeptic

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       Thursday, August 10th, 2006
              ISSN 15565696

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   http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/06-08-10.html

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THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ORIGAMI
IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND EDUCATION (4OSME)

       September 8th-10th, 2006
       Caltech, Pasadena, CA

4OSME is the 4th interdisciplinary conference that has brought
together artists, scientists, technologists and educators to explore
the relationships between origami (the Japanese art of
paperfolding), mathematics and science. Although not a likely
combination, to be sure -- surprisingly, origami is deeply connected
to many fields of mathematics and has made contributions to
practical scientific problems ranging from the design of airbags to
medical implants and unfolding structures in space! For more
information:

VISIT the conference website:
       http://www.langorigami.com/science/4osme/

       ---------------------------

In this week's eSkeptic Alison Smith, the founder of Skeptical
Analysis of the Paranormal Society (SAPS), an investigative team
devoted to re-creating and debunking popular paranormal video
footage shown on television, debunks "Ghost Hunters" -- a Sci-Fi
Network TV show by one of the most famous paranormal investigation
groups in the world (TAPS -- The Atlantic Paranormal Society). Smith
is a licensed private investigator, armed security officer, and is
also a psychology major at the University of Texas at Arlington.

       ---------------------------

       TAPS vs. SAPS
       The Atlantic Paranormal Society meets the
       Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society

         by Alison Smith


The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) is one of the most famous
paranormal investigation groups in the world according to their web
site, with over 50,000 hits to the site per day. Their fame comes
from being able to deliver, on a regular basis, enough paranormal
evidence to catch the attention of the Sci-Fi Network which led to
their own TV show -- "Ghost Hunters". The hour long show takes you
inside various supposedly haunted places, led by founders Jason
Hawes and Grant Wilson, along with a troupe of lesser known TAPS
members that includes two demonologists and one Wiccan, amongst
others. TAPS claims to have a scientific approach to investigation,
using gadgets like EMF Detectors, Flir cameras, and handheld digital
thermometers to either prove or disprove a haunting. Founder Jason
Hawes has said in various interviews that when TAPS is called to
investigate paranormal claims, they go in attempting to debunk the
haunting. The public's trust was gained through the number of "true
hauntings" TAPS uncovered. The percentage was shockingly small
considering more popularity could be attained with more hauntings.
In the first season, only 25% of all investigated locations were
deemed "haunted". The numbers went up, however, in the second season
when 51.22% of the locations were haunted.

The show "Ghost Hunters" came to my attention when I stumbled upon
their web site and watched a full episode posted there, available
for viewing. I was impressed with their lack of paranormal evidence,
and purchased Season One on DVD. Episode 104 featured an
investigation of Race Rock Lighthouse. During a review of their
investigation, they discovered that a folding travel chair that had
been left in an empty room moved, apparently on its own. I
immediately grew wise in the ways of TAPS. Earlier, in the context
of the show, Lead Investigator Grant Wilson, who had been sitting in
the chair had gotten up, taken it with him, and left the room
closing the door behind him. This did not fit with their findings,
which showed the chair in an empty room with the door to the room
open. I wondered why this inconsistency existed, and decided to
attempt a re-creation of a chair moving of its own accord. I tried a
variety of methods, finally settling on black thread to move the
chair. Because of this re-creation, Skeptical Analysis of the
Paranormal Society (SAPS) was formed http://www.skepticalanalysis.com

VIEW the TAPS original footage:
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx8eN9FG9AE

VIEW the SAPS re-creation footage:
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6PoCBLpy00

In creating the footage for this site, I discovered many other
people who were skeptical of the TAPS footage and had attempted
re-creations as well. One of these was for Episode 105: Eastern
State Penitentiary. During this episode, a camera that no one was
anywhere near picked up an image of a cloaked figure that seemingly
appeared out of nowhere and ran down the catwalk the camera was
pointed at. This piece of footage has been debated hotly on the TAPS
official message board http://www.taps18forum.com/index.php

The footage is debated with such passion because, in attempting a
re-creation, it was discovered that the effect that made it appear
as though the cloaked figure materialized out of nowhere could only
be created by altering the footage to 15 frames per second instead
of the usual 30 frames per second TAPS records at. This would mean
that the only people who had access to altering the footage were the
TAPS crew themselves, as they are the ones who do the "reveal" at
the end of each episode, where they share their findings with the
owners of the location.

VIEW the TAPS original footage:
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJjpiXLILnI

VIEW the SAPS re-creation footage:
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkTMRz6lx0w

VIEW the entire debunk for episode 105:
       http://taps-revealed.gq.nu/eastern_stat ... ry1nl.html

In Season One of "Ghost Hunters" TAPS used DVR cameras, IR cameras,
EMF Detectors, Digital Thermometers, Digital Cameras, and Digital
Voice Recorders in their attempts to debunk haunted locations. As
the success of the show grew, Season Two brought in the Flir thermal
camera. In Episode 223: Ghostly Soldier, a Flir camera captured an
image of a person projected on a locker with a number "2" printed on
it. TAPS was convinced that this was evidence of a deceased
soldier's spirit, who was said to haunt the location. However,
analysis by a third party investigator revealed that, in fact, the
image was more likely a reflection off the locker from Lead
Investigator Grant Wilson. The apparition even appears to be looking
down at something in its hand -- the screen of the Flir camera as
Grant held it.

VIEW the TAPS original footage:
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTWZSTztQs

VIEW the third party re-creation footage:
       http://www.ultimatetechlinks.com/Cresce ... lysis.html

TAPS maintains that they do not charge for their investigations and
are only interested in researching the paranormal, not making money
off of it. Evidence of this could be seen in the first season when,
while not involved in investigations, Grant and Jason worked as
plumbers for Roto-Rooter. This has led many fans to believe that
TAPS is a charitable organization, and that they also do not receive
income for their appearances on "Ghost Hunters". However, in the
second season of the show, Roto-Rooter was put on the back burner in
favor of working in the majority for TAPS. Questions put to Jason
Hawes through e-mail about his salary for "Ghost Hunters" were
unanswered. TAPS also has a button on their main page where you can
offer donations, and another link for purchasing "Official TAPS
Gear" which will soon be available in department stores across the
U.S.

The TAPS 18+ Message Board, home to nearly 4,000 members, is a
favorite of fans for discussion of episodes, anecdotes about
personal hauntings, and investigation techniques for the
up-and-coming paranormal investigator. Members who have repeatedly
posted skeptical evidence, or links to the above re-creations have
been banned from use of the boards without explanation. I was one of
these people, but I was far less likely to let it go. After repeated
attempts to contact the forum's technical administrator, I was
informed that my ban was without any particular reason, and that the
order to ban had come from Jason Hawes himself, who said simply that
I would know the reason for the ban. The only reason I could fathom,
having never broken any of the rules stated in the board's TOS, was
posting skeptical analyses of the TAPS footage. Third party review
of evidence collected by TAPS is not encouraged, and members who
have contacted the group asking for full footage from everything
recorded at the haunted locations have also gone unanswered.

SAPS formed to balance the type of information that the public
receives about paranormal investigations. While our intention is not
to disprove that there are unexplainable phenomena, we hope to show
how easy it is to duplicate the footage that TAPS uses as proof, and
explain the psychological reasons that people are so eager to
believe. One of the things we are most interested in concerning
"Ghost Hunters" is not only the actual evidence presented, but the
way that it is presented and the choice of words the TAPS members
use when presenting it. The conversations bear striking resemblance
to False Memory Implantation. TAPS, when finding paranormal
evidence, tends to go through one particular cycle. First, something
questionable happens, like a figure passing in front of a camera. A
member then exclaims in shock, protesting that it isn't possible
since no one was around, and prepping the audience for what the
investigators want them to see. Usually they show the exclamations
before actually showing the footage, thus allowing their reaction to
influence what the audience will later see. Then, when they finally
reveal the footage, the TAPS members immediately shut down any
possibility that the experience wasn't paranormal at all by making a
statement that sounds like fact but, in actuality, isn't. For
example, in Episode 104: Race Rock, when the chair seemed to move of
its own accord, Grant and Jason both immediately jumped in while
reviewing the evidence and stated that the chair could not possibly
have been moved with fishing line, as a reflection off the line
would be visible on camera. However, a fellow skeptic filmed fishing
line attached to a chair leg under various lighting conditions, and
it was never visible.

VIEW the skeptical fishing line footage:
       http://karpscomputing.com/Ghosts/TAPS/fishingline.wmv

READ about TAPS and False Memory Implantation:
       http://www.skepticalanalysis.com/id11.html

Other statements of supposed fact include that orbs -- which
sometimes appear in photographs as balls of light -- are collections
of energy, that spirits drop the temperature of a room by using
thermal energy surrounding them in order to appear -- sort of like
energy sponges, that high EMF readings and high orb activity are
usually found in haunted places, and that dowsing rods can be used
to indicate the presence of spirits. These statements are all made
without the blink of an eye, or a consideration of a reference. In
fact, in some of the paranormal investigations, the only thing that
makes it paranormal is the word of TAPS themselves. An example can
be found in Episode 219: Haunted Lighthouse, where figures are seen
on a DVR camera that was filming from the bottom of a spiral
staircase looking up. In this footage, a figure can be seen some
number of floors up, walking rapidly up the stairs. The TAPS crew
perceives this as paranormal, despite their own timestamps, and the
titles added during editing placing both Jason and Grant on the
stairs at the time the footage was filmed.

VIEW the evidence:
       http://geocities.com/revealtaps2007/

However, during the reveal at the end of the show, the timestamp is
removed from the footage, and Jason and Grant tell the owners of the
lighthouse that no one was on the stairs at that time.

While it is possible that somewhere, somehow a spirit roams the
earth, it would seem unlikely that TAPS has discovered it. At
Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society, we hope to undo the
damage of falsehoods presented as truths by groups like TAPS and
educate the public on belief systems, how they are formed, and how
groups like TAPS can take advantage of our desires for proof of
something beyond.

Please, visit us often, and feel free to contribute information or
re-creations of your own. -- Alison Smith, Founder of SAPS,
TAGTatters@aol.com

REFERENCES

Wikipedia Entry on TAPS methods, instruments, and goals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atlant ... al_Society

Statistical Analysis of Hauntings in "Ghost Hunters" Episodes
http://taps-revealed.gq.nu/ghost_hunter ... icsnl.html

Jason Hawes quote claiming TAPS intends to disprove hauntings
http://www.basinpark.com/cgi-bin/fullne ... 8826,54217,

Statements by Grant Wilson on the composition of orbs
http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-soci ... -orbs.html

Statement by Jason Hawes indicating paranormal investigations are free
http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-soci ... times.html

The Atlantic Paranormal Society's Official Web Site
http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com

       ---------------------------

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