tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21552777862991895002024-03-13T17:50:43.296-04:00Brian J CanoHi! I'm Brian J. Cano, from Haunted Collector on SyFy. I'm simple yet complex. Get to know me and you'll see why.
I'm back from the road, but still traveling in my mind...join me as I reminisce about filming season three.Brian Canohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987093945392146281noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-91086908751610261682013-11-05T16:48:00.001-05:002013-11-05T16:48:22.934-05:00MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlS_HNX9ORg/Unk-JVYOwmI/AAAAAAAAAjU/wt1b6WdxD-M/s1600/IMG_4204_credit+photo+AliCotton_com+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlS_HNX9ORg/Unk-JVYOwmI/AAAAAAAAAjU/wt1b6WdxD-M/s400/IMG_4204_credit+photo+AliCotton_com+r.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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<i>"Woke up this morning, can't believe what I saw...a hundred billion bottles, washed up on the shore..."</i></h4>
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- The Police, Message in a Bottle</h4>
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This was the way my Halloween began this year; with the words penned by Sting playing out as I wiped the cobwebs from my mind. I'm no psychic, but I knew something was amiss. What that was, I had no idea. Would it be trick or treat?<br />
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I found out soon enough as I logged onto Facebook for my daily dose of cat memes and status line therapy posts. John had posted that <i>Haunted Collector</i> would not be coming back and that elicited hundreds of responses lamenting the news. Texts and tweets began pouring in about it and I was overwhelmed at first...I needed some confirmation of my own. It came in the form of an email from our production company. It was true. What a way to kick off the biggest day of the year for a paranormal investigator. So, I wrote a post of my own wishing everyone a Happy Halloween and that I would gather my thoughts about it soon. These are those thoughts, on what may be my last blog entry for a while.<br />
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Where do I begin? How can I sum up the experience of a lifetime within just a few paragraphs? We had three seasons of incredible adventures, both on and off camera. I visited places I never thought I'd ever see. I experienced things that forced me to expand my mind concerning the paranormal as well as the way we examine it. The friendships made, the laughs we had, the hard times and the trying times...the way the public responded to us, the people we were able to help, the fans and friends at the events and conventions...all of this and more is woven into the fabric that is <i>Haunted Collector</i>. For me, it was and is much more than a television show. Our adventures, our lives, continue even now that the cameras aren't rolling. We're paranormal investigators, we're a group of friends and above all we're a family unit. No network can dissolve that bond, ratings be damned.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Season One cast, minus John</td></tr>
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In this bittersweet moment of farewell, I exist in the unusual dichotomy of duality...and perhaps I am experiencing the phases of loss simultaneously. I will miss the show, I'll miss the Wednesday nights live-Tweeting with viewers and the interaction with everyone whose lives we touched through it. I'm saddened that we got cut-off mid stride because I felt we weren't done yet...there was still more to do. I'm angry that the politics of those in the power positions in the production companies and networks caused this. I've tried to bargain in my mind the ways we could avoid this, save it, keep it going and as I see these feelings echoed online, I know it is all for naught. As a logical being, these feelings are natural, but counter-productive. So I choose to focus on the positive. You won't see me pointing fingers nor threatening a tell-all of the shenanigans that often seem to come to light after premature cancellations. I was given the opportunity of a lifetime and I am grateful for the gift. Daily, I am contacted by scores of people wanting to be on TV and asking me how they can do it. I wasn't looking to be on TV and somehow I ended up on it. I'm aware of the list of people who despise me for it, but even that I am thankful for. Your ire strengthens me and drives me forward.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Season Two cast</td></tr>
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The honor was mine to follow John Zaffis, my friend, my mentor, my brother on adventures that changed my perspective on many things. In addition to the paranormal aspect of the show, I got to work with some of the hardest working crews in the business. I can't adequately describe how hard these people worked, from the camera and sound guys, to the producers and the editors and even the production assistants. Always smiling, always upbeat, always dedicated. Their work ethic was an inspiration and to all of you cats, I thank you - you made us look like rock stars weekly on TV.<br />
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Recently, I was asked how long I'll keep <i>Haunted Collector</i> on my profile. It struck me as an obnoxious question at first. I've seen actors in one episode of Star Trek's original run in the 60's show up at conventions signing pictures from back in the day. I've always been an avid sic fi fan and con goer and I would enjoy seeing them, but I too would ask myself, "How long are they going to milk that appearance for?" Am I now one of them? I don't feel that way, no. The difference here is that those actors were playing a role. No one on Star Trek has ever been in space. The extended Zaffis Clan really experienced the things you saw bits of on TV. We lived it. We have lessons to pass on. Everything I live through gets added to my arsenal of wisdom, so the answer to the question must be, "forever". I coined the internet hashtag #Collectors to identify those fans of our show and I too will always be a #Collector.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Season Three cast</td></tr>
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Given this, I am forced to acknowledge another truth about our society - television and entertainment are dominant forces in many of our lives. Much of our information we get from the internet and TV. Go ahead and dispute it, resist it, but the fact that you're reading this now lends credibility to the statement. The paranormal community is getting bigger all the time and it is an unfortunate truth that many of the newcomers get their education of such primarily through the para shows. I've always said, let the shows be the inspiration for you, but be sure to read, research, get mentored and then do more reading. Never let the TV be your sole educator. Being on one of the shows, this message was taken to heart and the things we tried to show about process and concepts was digested by the masses. At conventions, I would try to further this by giving as much information as I could about the topics, to the point of overwhelming the audience. The sad reality though, is that without the show, the message will be harder to get out now. Will the new blood care what I have to say without a TV show at my back? This remains to be seen and I hope to be proven wrong.<br />
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I'm not good at goodbyes and I'm not a fan of change...so it's difficult to know how to wrap this up. What I do know is that we'll all continue to do what we've been doing - you'll just have to look a little harder to find us. Just know that out there somewhere, the Zaffis Clan, be it together or separately, is doing well. John Zaffis, Aimee Zaffis, Chris Zaffis, Beth Ezzo, Jason Gates, Jesslyn Brown and myself - veterans still in the service. All week people have been telling me that, "When one door closes, another one opens". I don't subscribe to that adage. When a door closes, you have a closed door, that's all. It's what you do about it that defines your situation. But you can bet that we'll all be knocking on, kicking down and creating new doors for the future. Count on it.<br />
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<h3>
<i><span style="font-size: small;">"Seems I'm not alone in being alone - a hundred billion castaways looking for a home..."</span></i></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never goodbye, more like, "See you later..."</td></tr>
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<br />SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-64923862100608465482013-04-19T21:36:00.000-04:002013-04-19T21:37:01.854-04:00EPISODE 307: Ghosts of Geneva/ Fort Fear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once again we found ourselves in my home state, this time in the town of Geneva. The more I explore New York, the more I appreciate it. It may be known as the Empire State (the Star Wars geek in me revels in that fact), but so much of it is "Small Town, USA" that people forget there is more to New York than Manhattan and the stereotypical Italian/NY accent. But while I'm in this New York state of mind, let's delve into this case.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charged with battery</td></tr>
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• One of the reports that came to us regarding this case centered around a battery that allegedly exploded for no reason. When we arrived at the house, I got a chance to examine it as I listened to the tale of how it happened. It appeared to be melted in some places, burned in others, but all in all not too worse for wear. I noticed that it was a "no frills" brand and in my years in the field, I've learned the hard way that you must spend an extra dollar or two for one of the Big Two Brands, or else you'll have dead equipment soon enough. But in this case, was it something attempting to communicate that caused the battery to discharge more than its voltage? Unless we got an EVP from a spirit claiming responsibility for the act, it would be impossible to say. Given the other things that have happened in the house, it's an interesting anecdote, if nothing else.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No shirt, no shoes, no evidence</td></tr>
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• In the office on the first floor, where Margaret has all her family research, Chris and I were doing a full spectrum sweep. While nothing jumped out at us in UV or IR, one of the toys on a nearby table took a dive. It was a little, monster action figure and it seemed to just jump off of it's own accord. At first I thought it may have been the vibrations from us walking into the room that caused it, but that was not so. Nothing else had moved and it wasn't like it leaned back and forth and then tipped over. It jumped! I trained the full spectrum camera on it and we even called John in (as we do often) but we were unable to determine what caused it. Oh, and here's a little fourth wall demolition - the cameraman had no shoes on. People often ask about the cameramen when it comes to things moving or falling and that's a valid inquiry but in this case, as it was muddy outside, the whole crew just had socks on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It touched you, where?!"</td></tr>
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• Now I have to watch the episode again, since I was busy live tweeting during it, but I don't recall them showing John and I in the living room on Night Two. After his posterior probing experience on the couch, John brought me in to examine it to see if I could explain how it happened - power recliner, nearby wires, etc Needless to say, I found nothing out of the ordinary and we decided to conduct an EVP session there to get a confession (again, I'm looking for ghosts to take responsibility for their actions...lol). I tend to lose command of the English language when I'm in a session with John. His many years of experience and his expertise continue to humble me, so I tend to stay quiet and let him lead the session. Even when he asks me to throw a question out there, I find myself stammering and asking something repetitively basic. This time, however, we had no problems going back and forth with our line of questioning. I had the REM pod extension on my Mel activated during this and it seemed to be responding to my questions. That is, until Jason called from the prison. That momentary break was all that was needed to sever the tie to whomever I was communing with, if indeed it was a "whom" and not just coincidence. I'm going to have to go over that audio again because if I'm remembering correctly, there were some funny puns flying during that session...another reason it got cut, I'll wager.<br />
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It had been a cold winter thus far and Detroit was no exception. The sun shone brightly each day, but offered no warmth to our traveling cadre of Collectors. Having just come from the beaches and the heat of Puerto Rico, we were not in the best of spirits to deal with the temperatures of the North. John had been to Fort Wayne before and he told us tales of the activity there - the fact that things had taken a darker turn made us put aside our desire for comfort and got our heads in the game.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun that offers no warmth</td></tr>
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• Did I mention the cold? Well, that's too simple a term; frigid or arctic would serve better. No matter how much we layered up, the wind coming off the water cut through our sweaters and jackets and made it seem like we were wearing shorts and tank tops. This was definitely a factor during the investigation, since it's hard to listen for EVPs when your body is shivering and your teeth are chattering. The areas in the fort we were in had little or no heat, so even when we came in from outside it was only to escape the ever-present wind. While it's impossible to investigate in "ideal conditions" all the time, it is important to note all the things that can affect your body and thus, your perception. If it's fifteen degrees outside, you're not going to feel any "cold spots". Your body is concerned with survival - you will shiver involuntarily to generate warmth - those personal experiences such as being touched, tugged or anything of the sort are now off the table.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneaking Sally through the alley</td></tr>
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• The one sense I was sure would not be affected by the cold was my sight. Maybe my hearing as well, but it was sight that served me the best at Fort Wayne. The first spot I found myself investigating was one of the sally ports. The term "sally port" hails back to medieval times. It refers to a door, or access point to the side or back of a fortress, smaller than the main gate. If the fortress was being attacked, the defenders could deploy troops from that port and try and flank the enemy force. The action of marching out to battle this way was called, "sallying forth" and thus the door was a "sally port". Chris and I spent a lot of time in the sally ports. We kept hearing banging sounds as if something were hitting into the doors and walls. At one point, we felt like someone was in there with us and we ran throughout the tunnels to try and corner whomever it was but we came up empty. Then we conducted an EVP session at the intersection of two of the tunnels. Upon listening back to it, we heard an inexplicable sound - just then, Chris and I saw something pass in front of the tunnel entrance. Was it a producer? John or Aimee? Or even a homeless person cutting across the grounds? It was too dark to tell, so we decided to go look. Moving quickly and silently, we emerged from the tunnel only to find that the figure had already crossed the grounds and was over by the main building. It seemed unlikely for a human to cover that distance so fast, so we gave chase! The shadowy figure then bolted around the corner and towards the gate. We ran until we found ourselves over by the prison house. I guess this didn't make it in the cut due to time constraints, or the fact that Chris and I were red-faced and out of breath by the time we lost track of it. I thank the editors for maintaining the illusion that we're in-shape!<br />
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Here is a bonus scene depicting one of those chases:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fort Chon John</td></tr>
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• I'm a movie buff. I quote movies a lot as part of my everyday speech. I'd do well as a <i>Family Guy</i> character, but it irks my producers as so much of my dialogue gets cut because of it. Honestly, I don't know why...said movies and shows do not own the words I'm speaking out of context. I've gotten a few through over the years, I'll have to make a list of what made it someday. But off camera, Chris and I amused ourselves with a Jackie Chan quote from <i>Shanghai Noon</i>: in the movie his name was Chon Wang, pronounced like "John Wayne". Because we were in Fort Wayne, that's all we found ourselves able to say the whole time. "Chon Wang" "That's a horrible cowboy name, that'd never work!" As I've admitted to in previous entries, we're silly. Guilty as charged.<br />
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• More scenes you didn't see: inside the jail house, it seems like we came in, then immediately ran back out after the shadow again. We spent a considerable amount of time in there doing EVP sessions, a ghost box session as well as deploying a few REM pods and a REM pad. In addition to the pencils in the office falling to the floor, a pile of wood near the furnace fell as well. Was it a sign from beyond or merely gravity? I concluded it was the latter, but the timing of all the things falling was intriguing. We also kept hearing banging noises on the walls. We thought that perhaps it was a tree branch hitting the side of the building or a (very heavy) squirrel on the roof. I even went outside to see if I could reproduce those noises by banging on the walls and windows, but it did not match up. The first night Chris and I investigated in there and the second night we returned with Jason. Remember, just because you didn't see it, doesn't mean it didn't happen! :)<br />
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Speaking of things unseen, there was a tank parked nearby that I very much wanted to get into. I saw it but never got close to it, much less in it. Equip that bad boy with some EMF meters and a particle thrower and I'd be ready to take on any urban terrain investigation!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5QkWmmGZjcA/UXA8AqpLF2I/AAAAAAAAAdY/Hxo6a-zhWLU/s1600/Ep-307-Jay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5QkWmmGZjcA/UXA8AqpLF2I/AAAAAAAAAdY/Hxo6a-zhWLU/s200/Ep-307-Jay.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living in a box</td></tr>
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• Because I was assigned the outer reaches of the fort to investigate, I spent little time in the main building. I got to explore it a little bit as the production crew was setting up interviews and other shots I wasn't needed for. I forgot my flashlight at the hotel, so I wandered around in the dark for most of it. it was kind of cool to do it that way - only my senses to guide me and the hope that I didn't fall into an open shaft or something else equally as dangerous. It reminded me very much of the "Nightmares Fear Factory" in Niagra Falls that Jesslyn and I went to...wandering around in the dark, arms outstretched, moving from corridor to corridor by feel. Some sections had light filtering in from the outside and some of the lights in the old displays were on, but for the most part it was dark. There were a lot of historical boards and educational kiosks throughout the barracks. I'm hoping they get to fix it up and open it again to the public as a museum of some sort. History is an important thing to remember and as far as Fort Wayne goes, it is rich in that even without the haunted element being involved. It can be said that we are all haunted by the past and by learning from it, we can grow and continue to develop.
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I think that's all I have to say about these two cases for the time being. It's been too long since I've assembled a blog entry so it's still coming out a bit rusty. You'd think my stint in <a href="http://articles.dailyamerican.com/2013-04-01/ourtown/38333705_1_grand-midway-hotel-haunted-collector-screenplay" target="_blank">Writer's Jail</a> would have oiled those literary gears in my brain to turn a bit faster, but I think I'm still warming up. I'll be going back to write entries for the first half of this season as well as going back to finish the entries from last season. Hey, what do you expect? We're not even out on DVD, this might be the only extra content you ever see from Haunted Collector. Hmm, we're going to have to do something about that...<br />
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See you next week, for "Shadow Boxer/ Ghost Storm".SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-85299624757139886352013-04-19T21:05:00.000-04:002013-04-19T21:07:40.682-04:00EPISODE 302: Cigar Bar Spirits/ Child's Play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RH3OJTUlG3U/UXGJ_O2vJuI/AAAAAAAAAeY/Y7-K7r_q6M8/s1600/Ep-302-tripic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RH3OJTUlG3U/UXGJ_O2vJuI/AAAAAAAAAeY/Y7-K7r_q6M8/s400/Ep-302-tripic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The adventures of the extended Zaffis Clan have taken me to many points across our nation and even as far west as Hawaii, but ironically it took us three seasons to get as far east as Boston. We seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in Ohio and Connecticut, so it was a real treat to visit Beantown and experience a major city I had never been to. "Never been to Boston before??", you might say. How is it possible that a movie nut like myself has never been to the setting of <i>Cheers</i>, <i>Good Will Hunting</i> and <i>The Departed</i>? I've never been to the moon or Middle Earth either, so sue me. When I got into my hotel room, as is my custom, the first thing I do is set my luggage down and turn on HBO. What movie was on? <i>Knight and Day</i> with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Ironically, it was a scene where they were racing through Boston, over a bridge...I look out my window and I see that very bridge, sans Cruise and Diaz, of course. But that's not what you came here to read...allow me to get to the case.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-htXOr92jLiU/UXGUL-njEzI/AAAAAAAAAeo/nSx9MPdGdL4/s1600/Ep-302-graveyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-htXOr92jLiU/UXGUL-njEzI/AAAAAAAAAeo/nSx9MPdGdL4/s200/Ep-302-graveyard.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The journey continues</td></tr>
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• There is so much famous history in Boston and especially the North End, where our case was located. Honestly, I was surprised about the layout of this part of town. Having been in countless cities and towns over the past three years I just assumed Boston would be more of the same - hell, even Maui had a Taco Bell and a WalMart within its borders. But I found it to be very European, with thin, winding side streets barely wide enough for a single car, bistros, bakeries and bike riders everywhere. The chain stores and restaurants I was used to seeing were nowhere to be found and that was strangely comforting. I was forced to go outside my norm and try different things...like Boston Clam Chowder, for starters. Because of the parking situation around the case, we had to walk to and from the hotel each day, which was just fine with all of us. My path took me through the Paul Revere Mall (not a shopping center), past the Old North Church, by an old graveyard and over the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (not the easiest name to remember). Corny as it sounds, I really could feel the echoes of the past reverberating off of every brick in the road, every tree that swayed in the wind. Be it factual or the result of my thinking about it, it made my time there so much richer.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vL8656KKXxQ/UXGeY8WEI9I/AAAAAAAAAew/nfxVuF_RjL4/s1600/Ep-302-tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vL8656KKXxQ/UXGeY8WEI9I/AAAAAAAAAew/nfxVuF_RjL4/s200/Ep-302-tomato.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's damn right</td></tr>
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• Our first day there, we were slated to film the opening introduction, where John says, "Welcome to..." wherever we were. Here, it was to be shot at the Paul Revere Mall, the walkway you see in the above main cast picture. But seemingly minutes before we were to start shooting, a protest group came along and covered much of the area with tomatoes. The funny thing was that no one saw it happen, they just all showed up - one minute the mall was empty and then it wasn't. To my knowledge we hadn't angered the Tomato God so I didn't know why his minions were marching on us. The producers grumbled and retreated into an emergency meeting to decide how this would be handled. In the mean time, Jason and I noticed a guy lurking across the street - he was connected to this somehow. Perhaps he was a familiar of one of the Tomato Lords and was staying behind to make sure the troops remained undisturbed. We decided to corner and question him. It was then that is was revealed that this was a protest against some agricultural company involved with the city. Our production schedule was an unfortunate victim of collateral damage by this particular protest. We were assured that this would all be cleared away by the end of the day, pushing our intro back to the last day of shooting. We got the scene in the can, but it was ultimately cut.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sKSMSvFLpc0/UXGp82x4IhI/AAAAAAAAAe4/YBHJzKvC3H8/s1600/Ep-302-redbar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sKSMSvFLpc0/UXGp82x4IhI/AAAAAAAAAe4/YBHJzKvC3H8/s200/Ep-302-redbar.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collector's Paradise</td></tr>
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• While I'm on the subject of cut scenes, one thing you will notice about Season Three is the absence of the baseline sweep. I bitched about that from the moment I found out they were not being used to this day. Chris and I spend so much time canvasing each location and finding logical explanations for much of the reports that I feel it's important to show even some of it. That and the fact that for many viewers, if they don't see it, they assume it has not been done. Let me assure you, I have done plenty this season that will never see a final cut. At the cafe, we checked out the reports of cups and dishes flying off the shelves, the spinning wheel of the coffee grinder as well as the tommy gun encased above the back steps. There was so much to see and so much to check off the list there, I can understand why much of it got cut, but I would love it if even a montage of the baseline was put back in, just to show the scope of what was done.<br />
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To the producer's credit, we bitched enough about wanting extra content and cut scenes shown that they began posting them on SyFy.com last season. Here is one from the Cigar Bar:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGBGZRAPaaw/UXGvBhDNv8I/AAAAAAAAAfI/ozRtb0Xt9fA/s1600/Ep-302-cast-plus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGBGZRAPaaw/UXGvBhDNv8I/AAAAAAAAAfI/ozRtb0Xt9fA/s200/Ep-302-cast-plus.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extended family</td></tr>
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• I feel it's something I've answered many times, but it warrants repeating here. I get asked all the time how much John sells the items he removes for, or why don't they get compensated for the removal, or a million other finance-related inquiries. I instantly get heated when I hear these questions...not because I don't encourage questioning, but it's the fact that money is the first thing that pops into everyone's heads. None of what we do is for the money. Yes, we're on a TV show and we get paid to be on it, but the only people making out like fat cats here are the production companies and the network. It's all about advertising dollars for them. For us, it's about the investigation, the evidence and helping those who asked us for it. When John removes an item, it's not for personal, or financial gain - it's to help the victims. People who have been tormented by negative activity are like addicts in many ways...the chance for relapse is very high in those early days after we remove the item. The item itself is not an expensive trinket with a dollar value, it's a representation of pain or discomfort and many of the people we help are very eager to see those items go. There are those who complain down the road, but it's usually by those who were looking for something other than help...and I'll leave it at that.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04mBGBwvxJM/UXGx5TABzWI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/MgvzxH2bhz8/s1600/Ep-302-tripic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04mBGBwvxJM/UXGx5TABzWI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/MgvzxH2bhz8/s400/Ep-302-tripic2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The cases in this episode were flopped in production. That is to say, the Wappingers Falls case was filmed before the Boston case. It was our third case back and it already felt like an old glove. The team fell into their roles comfortably and all the old jokes became funny again. After this one we were headed to Boston and then home for Thanksgiving, so already there was a feeling of, "We're going home soon..." in the air. Three of our first four cases were in New York so for me, I was never far from home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d60n7ky8zGA/UXHNmVrtTDI/AAAAAAAAAfg/uqvepqfUOHc/s1600/Ep-302-newspaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d60n7ky8zGA/UXHNmVrtTDI/AAAAAAAAAfg/uqvepqfUOHc/s200/Ep-302-newspaper.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local Support</td></tr>
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• The week this episode aired, The Poughkeepsie Journal did an <a href="http://www.missfannys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/16th2darkerpage1.pdf" target="_blank">article</a> about our time there. Unfortunately, the paper is a smaller one and they no longer have the full article online. It's nice when local news outlets are interested in us and our show. Being from NYC and not being on one of the two "Big Shows", I'd have to kidnap a politician's pet or leak a sex tape to get any press around here. To make the waters even muddier, there was a sort of de facto block on the media with us. Any time a news crew or reporter would show up, we'd get herded into holding, as if it were a quarantine zone. Personally, I feel the more they write about us, the better - let's get the word out there, even if it's one small, local paper at a time. When it comes to press and our producers, I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tudTRbnkw1I/UXHI8UjjilI/AAAAAAAAAfY/vYnp3u5_h-g/s1600/Ep-302-Ethan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tudTRbnkw1I/UXHI8UjjilI/AAAAAAAAAfY/vYnp3u5_h-g/s200/Ep-302-Ethan.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Everman Ethan</td></tr>
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• The audience is very inquisitive when it comes to procedure and how long we spent in a place; did we try X or Y, or why didn't we show A or B? Maybe one day we'll air a 26-hour long episode of Haunted Collector and then they'll be sorry! Seriously though, I have to give a huge amount of respect to the unsung (yet well paid) cameramen who make us look like rock stars every week. For every EVP session that does not get shown, there is a cameraman, a sound tech and a producer in the area, sitting in silence, letting us do our thing. Usually only the cameraman is with us, so that means if we're getting responses or craziness coming through, they are there with us for all of it. At the Drahos house, Chris and I spent a lot of time in the basement - with Ethan, the third man to our A-Team with us the whole time. So why are certain things cut when they seem so important to the case? To let the editors off the hook for a moment, I will say that in the basement a lot happened - but not a lot of it was captured on camera. What do we say all the time? Paranormal activity does not occur on command - there is no "action" call for the supernatural, it happens when it happens. Down here, it happened almost exclusively when Ethan was running out of tape or battery life. If I recall correctly, he went through three tapes and two batteries while Chris and I were in the basement. Psst...just to let you know, the tapes record for 45 minutes. Much of the, "holy crap" moments occurred as he waited for someone to bring him fresh assets. Some things we can redo, such as reactions, other things we cannot. C'est la vie, Collector.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uMwYTxCuyCc/UXHRtLysn2I/AAAAAAAAAfo/gDAQKe6ET4U/s1600/Ep-302-placard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uMwYTxCuyCc/UXHRtLysn2I/AAAAAAAAAfo/gDAQKe6ET4U/s200/Ep-302-placard.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Condensation confusion</td></tr>
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• Let's discuss the casket plate for a moment. Of all the cases we've been on and all the items we've discovered, I was the most confused by this one. We've gotten errant readings on the thermal before that have alerted us to items being charged with energy of that unknown type, but this time is came complete with condensation! In the past, it's just been a reading and it typically seems to be an inverse one...if it reads very hot, it tends to actually be cool and vice versa (although a warm object being paranormal seems to be rare given the energy it would require to heat it up). Never before has there been a secondary indicator - now with the casket plate, the condensation was the cause of the reading, but what was the cause of the condensation? Nothing else on that wall was affected. John brought the item to an expert and a possible solution was arrived at, but in my mind, I'm still at the top of those stairs, wondering what the hell caused the condensation! I remember last season while we were on the road we had four cases in a row that each had something to do with the four basic elements of the earth: air, fire, earth and water. I also remember asking John if an elemental could be responsible for any of them, or possibly a djinn. He didn't actually answer me, he just raised an eyebrow, gave me that patented John Zaffis Mystery stare and ran his fingertips through his beard. I've come to learn that when he does not answer me, he's deep in thought and whatever I've said has put him into archive mode, as he searches for the answer in a past case. Now I'm not saying that there is a water elemental at the Drahos House, I'm just considering all of the possibilities since I have so little to go on. officially, on the record, I still consider that portion of the case very much open.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WG39wz3iV24/UXHZE8eYoxI/AAAAAAAAAfw/Km3wejuUTPo/s1600/Ep-302-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WG39wz3iV24/UXHZE8eYoxI/AAAAAAAAAfw/Km3wejuUTPo/s200/Ep-302-house.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Fanny's Party House</td></tr>
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• One of the common questions I'm asked is, "Of the cases you do, how many are residential and how many are business?" For the show, it's about 50/50. The top of this episode was the Cigar Bar, a business and even though Julia runs <a href="http://www.missfannys.com/" target="_blank">events</a> at her house, it is still a residence. Because of that, I can safely say that the place will never be totally free from activity. I just hope that us being there helped reduce the negative activity there. Given that it's not too far from me, I may have to stop in again in the future and see how things are there for myself, when the cameras are off.<br />
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So that was episode two of Season Three. It's weird to refer to it that way...those were times of my life where I learned, I laughed, I lived. To boil it down to a unit of reference, to be packaged on the shelf and indexed feels...sterile. If I could only hook my brain to a USB port and share with you all that colored those days you'd see so much more. But, that's why I started this blog, to give you guys even a sliver of that extra stuff, be it from the case or from my perspective during it. Now if the other five would do the same, we'd really have a compendium of craziness at our fingertips! See you next episode, "Ghost Behind Bars/ Haunted Brothel".SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-74144543443950791692013-04-11T22:11:00.002-04:002013-04-11T22:11:27.517-04:00Initializing...I've been lazy. I've been devoid of inspiration. I just got out of "Writer's Jail" (that's another story) so it's in my best interest to not let my literary outlet lag. They may drag me bag. That being said, give me another day or two and I will get back on the recaps with a vengeance! Seriously!SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-4996485347099824832012-10-04T00:49:00.001-04:002012-10-04T00:50:58.476-04:00EPISODE 207: Casino Phantom/California Nightmare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cuNQKwHycbU/UGpzlElYT9I/AAAAAAAAAYU/m4uWfHj0Ss0/s1600/Ep-207-tripic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cuNQKwHycbU/UGpzlElYT9I/AAAAAAAAAYU/m4uWfHj0Ss0/s400/Ep-207-tripic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Finally, the Haunted Collector Crew hit Vegas, where we all got little sleep, had an incredible time and somehow managed to leave with our wallets and our sanity in tact. Most of my memories there have nothing to do with the paranormal. I can recall EVPs being captured that were not used in the final edit, moments of terror in the dark as well as the usual antics between the Ziggity and the rest of us, but it's all being overshadowed by the table games, the zip lining and the glitz and glamour of Sin City. What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, but here are some of the fun memories that will undoubtedly bring me back there some day.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0uAOg-iIRJE/UGp9UpEmosI/AAAAAAAAAY0/uFwTtAbL4FY/s1600/Ep-207-Copperfield2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0uAOg-iIRJE/UGp9UpEmosI/AAAAAAAAAY0/uFwTtAbL4FY/s200/Ep-207-Copperfield2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegas: Night One</td></tr>
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• We had only been in Vegas a couple of hours. I had only had my new iPhone for a few days. We'd been sitting in a casino pub for some time waiting for our food to arrive...the service was lousy and to kill time I was trying to comprehend the cultural black hole known as Twitter. The network had wanted us to use it and now that I owned a smart phone (I was amongst the last hold-outs to the cell phone revolution) I could play with apps and all this cool, new toy had to offer me. Friends of mine would tell me how famous people would "follow" them on Twitter and it seemed like an interesting concept.</div>
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From the moment I found out we would be filming in Vegas, I had asked everyone on the production staff if they had connections to get tickets to see The Beatles: Love or David Copperfield. I'm a huge David Copperfield fan. I was when I was young and I remain one to this day. Why? Well, what grabbed me about his specials were the amazing tricks, the great soundtrack, the pretty girls - what's not to like? Magicians today seem to do silly things like starve themselves or other stunts that have nothing to do with "magic" and when they do, I find myself going, "Yeah, I've seen David Copperfield do it - and with more style!" I was in Vegas and I wanted to see his show. But it seemed like the Hollywood clan was able to talk endlessly about connections and people they knew until it came time to producing them...talk is certainly cheap and in Vegas none of them could ante up. So there I sat in the pub, waiting for our food and I found myself on Twitter. It's been my opinion that Twitter would not be for me since I didn't really have anything to say that anyone would care to hear, and certainly not in 140 characters! But the words of my friend echoed in my head about connecting with celebrities and I decided to cast the line out there with the tweet, "I'm in Vegas and all I want to do is see David Copperfield - anyone have a connection?" To my amazement, not ten minutes had passed when I got the response, "I do. Can you be at the MGM in twenty minutes?" Now remember, Twitter was still very new to me, as was this whole smart phone business. It took me a second to realize who it was from...@D_Copperfield...it was from the man himself! I was dumbfounded and I gaped at the screen for long minutes before I held it out to Chris and Jesslyn, muttering feverishly. Finally I was able to blurt it out, "DAVID COPPERFIELD JUST TWEETED ME!!!"</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G9D_41-CQsM/UGp0iRxr_VI/AAAAAAAAAYc/6KNOrVMNOWc/s1600/Ep-207-Copperfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G9D_41-CQsM/UGp0iRxr_VI/AAAAAAAAAYc/6KNOrVMNOWc/s200/Ep-207-Copperfield.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why I now love Twitter</td></tr>
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What followed was a whirlwind of awesomeness. We went back and forth with a few direct messages and within minutes we were on our feet ready to run! Just then our food arrived! Isn't that the way? We quickly settled the bill and took off running through the maze of the casino and out to the street where we hailed the first cab we saw and piled in. Racing across town to the MGM Grand Hotel, the driver performed like a pro, handling the car skillfully like a race car driver, or perhaps even a New York cabbie. He got us to the hotel in record time and we once again found ourselves running, zig-zagging through the crowds of people and navigating another casino maze. One of his assistants was waiting for us at the theater entrance. After identifying myself he promptly ushered us inside and to a table at the front and center of the audience! The lights dimmed and the show began - many of the tricks I'd seen him do on TV many times before but here in person, mere feet from me, I was amazed all over again. It was an incredible performance. He is still very much at the top of his game and the music was still cool and the girls were pretty as ever. Awesome. When the show ended, we were invited backstage to meet him and get autographs. We chatted briefly and then we thanked him and left. We had only been in Vegas a few hours. Already it had been a magical experience...literally. All thanks to Twitter. Maybe this smart phone thing wouldn't be as bad as I had thought... <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cx8qcMuWs6Q/UGS_B_mAeUI/AAAAAAAAAX8/mF6vP8H9SHk/s1600/Ep-207-ghostbusters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cx8qcMuWs6Q/UGS_B_mAeUI/AAAAAAAAAX8/mF6vP8H9SHk/s200/Ep-207-ghostbusters.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What about the Twinkie?</td></tr>
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• The expression, "Winner winner, chicken dinner" allegedly originated here at Binion's. Where did I learn that from? The beginning of the movie <i>21</i> with Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey. We were in Vegas and blackjack was obviously on my mind. I had planned on staying away from the tables, but it was difficult...our brief stint at the Belterra in Indiana woke the sleeping monster. But we were a long way from the friendly and loose casinos of the Midwest. Vegas smiles at you, but waits patiently for you to hand over your wallets, your jewels and anything else of value you might possess. It's like a voluntary mugging and the general populace is thrilled to oblige. It would be easier to resist if it weren't so damn fun! And what did I see the minute I walked into the hotel? A Ghostbusters slot machine! I despise slot machines...there is no skill, there is no strategy, you just have to hope you get lucky. But this machine...it had the music, the sounds, the pictures - everything - from Ghostbusters...I was powerless to resist. I sat down, put in one dollar and it spit out seventy-five. I smiled and immediately cashed out. Take that, Vegas! Brian - 1, casino - 0. Let's see how long I could keep that score going. ;)<br />
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• So much of this blog will be about personal memories, not case-relevant memories, I figured I would attach a deleted scene. It features another Brian, who is telling me about something he experienced. It's also one of the few interviews I got to conduct on the show...many of the ones I did got cut. Must be a Brian thing, huh?<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="288" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="http://www.hulu.com/embed.html?eid=jl51ref-5jy2ptrw3stjug" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="512"></iframe></center>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Txb72lyu2sc/UGS925kwuSI/AAAAAAAAAX0/_MVn_T_Yiqg/s1600/Ep-207-queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Txb72lyu2sc/UGS925kwuSI/AAAAAAAAAX0/_MVn_T_Yiqg/s200/Ep-207-queen.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10pm, time for Queen</td></tr>
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• I haven't mentioned my hotel room in some time...I thought I'd give everyone a break from that constant consideration of mine. But we were in old Vegas, in an old casino/hotel so while the accommodations may have once been luxurious, they were just about standard these days. Outside my window was the video ceiling of the Freemont Experience. It was a fun and exciting street to be next to. At night time, there would be hourly presentations and music videos - my favorite of which was the tribute to Queen. Nothing quite like "We Will Rock You" blasting at full volume with a three-block long video screen displaying images to get you pumped. Whenever they would flash the names of the band members I'd try to get the larger-than-life "BRIAN" (for Queen guitarist Brian May) captured in a photo...alas, with no success. Ironic, isn't it? I can snag snippets of the supernatural but when it comes to a video screen that repeats every night at the same time, I just can't get it together. Speaking of the spiritual, even though the hotel wasn't on par with the likes of The Bellagio, even I felt the echoes of the past in every hallway. It truly was an interesting stay.<br />
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• "You guys - what have you got against Terry Benedict?" Despite my blackjack addition, my obsession with movies is greater and the entire time we were in Vegas I found myself quoting the <i>Ocean's Eleven</i> movies. I even begged - PLEADED - with the director to close out the episode with a scene of us watching the fountain show in front of The Bellagio and one by one us all walking away. The request was met with the usual response: a smile, a chuckle and Johnny Haug going, "Heh. Yeah." and then moving on to another topic.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AM-0W2xDMJw/UGqEWYlgl5I/AAAAAAAAAZM/t1uaftqw8JY/s1600/Ep-207-zipline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AM-0W2xDMJw/UGqEWYlgl5I/AAAAAAAAAZM/t1uaftqw8JY/s200/Ep-207-zipline.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-fetus position</td></tr>
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• I started the visit off with the thrill of meeting one of my childhood idols. I wanted to end it with a thrill of a different sort. The whole time we were at the Freemont Experience, we'd all seen tourists flying above us on the ziplines and I knew that before we left, I would do it. That last day, I must have ridden the line four or five times. Much like a roller coaster or log flume, they take your picture as you're hurtling towards the end - and just like those other pictures there is no way you can look dignified in them. I forget now how we came up with this, but given that fact, Jay and I decided that we might as well pose in the silliest position we could for the camera. That position was the fetal position and as we launched ourselves off the platform, we cried out to the crowd below, "WE'RE GOING FULL FETAL!" I'm laughing even now as I write this, but it was even funnier then. Ironically, the cameras never caught us in the position...just me in various scowls...I guess I just always look that way.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ueo90djvNS0/UGqKK3Y6RqI/AAAAAAAAAZk/u6j4zGTTrl8/s1600/Ep-207-tripic-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ueo90djvNS0/UGqKK3Y6RqI/AAAAAAAAAZk/u6j4zGTTrl8/s400/Ep-207-tripic-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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From Vegas, we continued west to California. We drove through the desert until we reached the mountains and the valley beyond...our destination: San Dimas. Whoa. I was determined to get a <i>Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure</i> reference into the episode somehow, but I don't think I succeeded. Thus far I had not gotten my <i>Seven</i> quote, "What's in the box?!" on air, so I'd have to try some different tactics. But I didn't see how Chris or I would be able to work, "Be excellent to each other" naturally into the conversation of the scenes. Maybe during season three I'll find a way to sneak them by the editors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0RPH4wsCpg/UGqOP9eBOEI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/8K2rATmG3tU/s1600/Ep-207-Gouldy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0RPH4wsCpg/UGqOP9eBOEI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/8K2rATmG3tU/s200/Ep-207-Gouldy.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solid Gould</td></tr>
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• After saying goodbye to him in Michigan, we were reunited with one of our audio guys, Mark Gouldy. Given the size of the estate and the multiple buildings we'd need to get the IR cameras into, I was happy to have him with us again. In the episode you saw the main house and the smaller house on the side. But we also had checked out another building on the road leading up the driveway. As I've explained in the past, if an avenue of our investigation doesn't lead anywhere, it typically hits the cutting room floor. Chris and I did a lot of exploring the nearby grounds following up on claims of activity but we came up empty. Since we were outside I took my super flashlight with me. The thing is as powerful as a spotlight and it's been nicknamed the "Bat Signal" because of its strength. Well, while I was outside I made the mistake of doing just that - shining it up into the night sky. Immediately, the production crew ran over to tell me to turn it off - because in California, a beacon like that meant that there was trouble or someone needed help. I was skeptical, but their words were shortly verified when a police helicopter came flying over the estate. They shone no light towards the ground nor did they attempt to call down. But they did fly around in a wide circle for about fifteen minutes before leaving. I was asked firmly by the director to not do that again...<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CWsS097BtZ0/UGz1WJdTbzI/AAAAAAAAAaU/PA9mv4qMfDE/s1600/Ep-207-seismograph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CWsS097BtZ0/UGz1WJdTbzI/AAAAAAAAAaU/PA9mv4qMfDE/s200/Ep-207-seismograph.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shake it up.</td></tr>
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• I don't always use my laptop on cases, but it came out this time to make use of a nifty app. At this location, there were reports of the house shaking - now this is California, so I felt that this would be very easy to explain. A tremor in the Golden State? Unheard of! It must be paranormal! Heh heh...I figured that if we picked up any activity that was seismic in nature, we'd be able to cross-reference it with any of the local agencies. The program I had measured seismic activity using the Sudden Motion Sensor to display real-time, three-axis acceleration graphs. Translation: it measures when the computer shakes. Basically, you saw us use it in the episode and what you saw is what happened...nothing much to add to it other than this <a href="http://seismac.en.softonic.com/mac" target="_blank">link</a>, where you can get it yourself!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lzYnNE3NpUU/UG0QHobRZXI/AAAAAAAAAas/o6QpzJx3WmE/s1600/Ep-207-monitors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lzYnNE3NpUU/UG0QHobRZXI/AAAAAAAAAas/o6QpzJx3WmE/s200/Ep-207-monitors.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We hit the self destruct button!</td></tr>
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• That reminds me, when it comes to tech, you see Chris and I roll up to these locations with these big cases of equipment and then it seems like we use the same two gadgets every time. I had a conversation with Gary Galka recently, inventor of the MEL Meter, and he expressed his displeasure with that. I have a lot of equipment that he has made in my arsenal and I use a lot of things on each case, but only what adds to the story is used in the final edit. I've used the Shadow Detectors on almost every case, but you only saw them for the first time on this one. What makes it particularly annoying for me is that I have to explain their use each time as if it were the first time, just in case this segment gets moved up to the head of the season. Imagine that, every time I use a meter or attempt to capture an EVP I have to explain what I am doing as if this were Sesame Street. Well, in that case, this blog is brought to you by the letter B and the number 22!<br />
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This case was an interesting one, but to be honest, my thoughts were elsewhere during this one. They were about 2400 miles west of there...where I would be shortly after this case wrapped, and where you will be with me in this blog at the end of the season! Join me here next time for my take on Episode 208: Bare Bones/Octagon Haunting.</div>
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SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com78tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-14390387853930764692012-09-24T00:56:00.000-04:002012-09-24T01:04:12.959-04:00EPISODE 206: Stirring the Dead/Ghost Writer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TfN14EY7Nbw/UF-gwhz-FZI/AAAAAAAAAVg/LxW8BZ-xAUM/s1600/Ep-206-tripic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TfN14EY7Nbw/UF-gwhz-FZI/AAAAAAAAAVg/LxW8BZ-xAUM/s400/Ep-206-tripic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Coming to you from Oberlin, OH, this case was the fourth one we filmed this season and right after it we all took a break for the holidays. It was cold, it was cloudy, but we were all happy to be back and filming season two. This case also coincided with John's birthday. Jesslyn and I made several trips to WalMart to get gifts and cards and generally prepare for his surprise party. One of those trips he actually came with us and since we had no good reason to deny him, we had to cloak and dagger it the whole time, sneaking around to try and keep him in the dark as to what we were planning. The quick-thinking and comedy of the situation was worthy of an episode of <i>Three's Company</i>. Classic.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuk_pHgYhvU/UF-e02Jiy2I/AAAAAAAAAVY/hrnnDIsN8JA/s1600/Ep-206-antenna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuk_pHgYhvU/UF-e02Jiy2I/AAAAAAAAAVY/hrnnDIsN8JA/s200/Ep-206-antenna.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground Control to Major Tom</td></tr>
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• As some of you may have noticed, this season we had a souped-up, mega-surveillance system to use. Last season, the modest one we used was mine, as you could probably tell from the SCARED! sticker on the top of the DVR unit. Dubbed the "DIGE 5000" after it's purchaser, it served us well on Haunted Collector and still does during SCARED! investigations. but for season two, the producers wanted to go bigger. I was behind this 100% - if we were going to be on a channel called "SyFy" I wanted some cutting-edge gear! So we had a new system built...ten military grade IR cameras, plus two PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) 360º cameras with separate IR illuminator modules all tied into a touch screen command module which was cleverly built into a Pelican case for transport. It was like something out of a James Bond movie...and it was about time, if you asked me. Chris and I hovered over that little monitor of mine for long enough, now we had something a bit more sexy. However, since it was all built last-minute, it did have it's share of malfunctions...and during this case it bombed out the first night we were there. The hard drive for the DVR had crashed and threatened to take the footage from our last three cases with it. As the Fates would have it, the clients husband, Joel, was an IT guy as well as a handy technician. He saved our footage and did a field repair on the DVR module. Big thanks go out to him for saving that portion of our show! He knew what he was doing in that area, since he was into ham radios and electronics and all sorts of communication equipment. The footage was mostly cut, but he had an antenna array up in the attic that looked like it could contact Mars! It was probably an ordinary one but the fact that it was in the attic and not up on the roof made it interesting. When we first did our walk through, devoid of camera crew, I began to wonder what kind of signals this was pulling in beyond just radio or TV. Spirits being comprised of energy and having a vibration, could it be possible that they piggy-back on the waves we use and interact with every day?<br />
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Speaking of cut footage, here is a bonus scene from the episode regarding some activity coming from the attic. Perhaps it lends credence to my theory? Hmm...<br />
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<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="288" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="http://www.hulu.com/embed.html?eid=ji2ng4-weozrrma_aqc4za" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="512"></iframe></center>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Z657UvPDVo/UF-Y1zP0oNI/AAAAAAAAAU8/vHdejWy3XNA/s1600/Ep-206-Mansfield2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Z657UvPDVo/UF-Y1zP0oNI/AAAAAAAAAU8/vHdejWy3XNA/s200/Ep-206-Mansfield2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh fish!</td></tr>
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• One of the things I loved about this season were our field trips. On days off or when we had a half day of filming, I'd hop in the van and take off to the nearest paranormal spot, with mixed cast in tow. St. Augustine's Lighthouse, Bobby Mackey's...there always seemed to be a famous haunt nearby where we filmed. But by far, my favorite was Ohio Reformatory, a.k.a. Mansfield - better known by it's big screen moniker, Shawshank Prison! When we first got there, the gates were shut - there were no tours and they were closed for the season! This simply would not do...<i>The Shawshank Redemption</i> is perhaps my favorite movie and I'd never been there before, so to be so close and denied access to it was killing me. We called the number on the gate, got no answer. We circled the perimeter of the place, which got the attention of a prison guard in a patrol car - next to the historic prison is a more modern, operating prison and it looked like we were the getaway car for a potential escapee! I parlayed our way out of that one and we returned to the main gate where we saw some people in front of the building.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cwM4ELNjTV4/UF-Y0ZpDVvI/AAAAAAAAAU0/3FCtXY4IVKk/s1600/Ep-206-Mansfield1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cwM4ELNjTV4/UF-Y0ZpDVvI/AAAAAAAAAU0/3FCtXY4IVKk/s200/Ep-206-Mansfield1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Gracious Hosts</td></tr>
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We made some noise, beeped the horn, got their attention and suddenly the gate opened. We drove down the driveway, much like the prison bus did in the movie. As the building grew larger and loomed before us, the fan boy in me grew more excited. But we really had no leverage to be there so I imagined that we'd have to take in as much of the outside as we could before we were sent on our way. I turned to Chris and Jason and told them to follow my lead, I was going in...long story short, the guys we met were beyond cool. They had heard of the show before and knew the Zaffis reputation so that got us a private, guided tour to every part of the prison! It was ironic, as we toured the cell blocks and hallways, they would stop to point out parts that were allegedly haunted and all I wanted to hear about were the behind-the-scenes bits about <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i>, which they were happy to provide me with. It was a great day and the special treatment made us feel even better. We were all floating on the ride back to the hotel, having successfully gotten in - and out - of prison!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TTywNTcrXZ4/UF-iSig5s-I/AAAAAAAAAVo/JVp5s6zX93o/s1600/Ep-206-Harrison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TTywNTcrXZ4/UF-iSig5s-I/AAAAAAAAAVo/JVp5s6zX93o/s200/Ep-206-Harrison.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do they sell used YT-1000's?</td></tr>
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• The picture here speaks for itself. There is little more I can say to convey the coolness of this. Every time we passed this place on the way to or from the case, I had to point it out. And now I'm pointing it out to all of you...the circle is now complete.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u7NwfLv8fbA/UF-oEj7n9YI/AAAAAAAAAV8/_wWv9uPWeYM/s1600/Ep-206-night-train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u7NwfLv8fbA/UF-oEj7n9YI/AAAAAAAAAV8/_wWv9uPWeYM/s200/Ep-206-night-train.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NIGHT TRAIN!</td></tr>
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• Being our fourth case with the new cast members, we were still getting to know them. The following incident made it clear to me that Jason was definitely one of us. One night, on the way back to the case, Chris, Jay and I were stopped at a train crossing waiting for the train to pass by. I was driving and Chris was in the back seat. Jason heard the train approaching and he seemed to get antsy...we looked at him and asked what was up. His response was short and simple, "Sorry guys, I gotta do this...NIGHT TRAIN!" And with that, he hopped out of the car and ran up towards the tracks. Chris snapped out of his usual trance and stuck his head through the seats. "What - is he doing?" he asked. "Night train?" I responded, clearly baffled. Just beyond the barricade stood Jason, arms extended above his head in a victory stance, the wind from the passing train buffeting him as it sped by. Chris made a grunt and then before I knew it, he was getting out of the car to join Jason beyond the barricade. There I sat, bewildered as my two teammates hooted and hollered victory cries at the metal monstrosity. Had they gone insane? Had the bleakness of winter and the sparseness of Ohio driven them mad? Regardless, I envied them at that moment. They were experiencing a freedom I could not share in. For the rest of the season, everywhere we went, we would hear trains nearby and look at each other knowingly. I kept saying that I wanted to pull a Night Train Maneuver myself but it was not to be...perhaps during Season Three.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_PiHbRDvvVA/UF-sDyYxgnI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/cD2_K0lXgmg/s1600/Ep-206-explore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_PiHbRDvvVA/UF-sDyYxgnI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/cD2_K0lXgmg/s200/Ep-206-explore.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Threshold</td></tr>
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• During the case, we poked around the house a lot more than you saw on TV. I climbed up into the access shaft that led to a weird middle-attic. I don't think it was officially a room, but more of a space that was created by other walls that just happened to form a cubby hole of it's own. Supposedly that's where the boot came from that triggered the start of all the activity. Also, during our baseline sweep, Chris and I were startled by a light bulb that broke behind us. I don't know if it just rolled off a table or was thrown at us, but the noise it made as it shattered was loud and we both jumped - a rare instance of that - I'm surprised it didn't make it to the air!<br />
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In filming order, we had just seen the implosion in Huron. Next stop, Tipp City to Browse Awhile Books. Our tour of Ohio continued. The implosion was such a big deal they decided to make it the season opener - not a bad choice on the parts of the producers. So it was with that fresh in our minds that we arrived at our next case - and despite the lack of explosives, it turned out to be an interesting one!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read...or else!</td></tr>
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• I knew this place would be active for us from the moment I walked in. I've always loved books and books are special to people, so in a store that has a lot of used books, the energies from those people will have collected. My suspicions were confirmed almost immediately. Chris and I were on our way to check out the science fiction section in the back and as we made our way through the stacks, a book flew out in front of me. About six feet in front of me, from a shelf to the right a book came flying out with a clear and defined horizontal vector. It landed in front of me and I stopped to look at Chris with the typical question, "Did you see that??" I wasn't threatened, I was excited! Such things rarely happen so quickly to me, so this "greeting" of sorts was a sign that we'd have a great investigation and that the energy in here was sufficient to literally get things moving. And to be honest, I'm glad it happened this way...with no cameras rolling or no production team around. I told the producers about it after and they were surprised that it was starting so soon. When I told John, he just smiled. For the record, the book was a book about World War II planes...which I have always said I wanted to fly. Coincidence?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ball Two</td></tr>
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• Given that experience, I was not surprised at all that several things moved during our time there. Now allow me to clear up something that got muddled in the episode. In the mystery room we captured footage of the ball moving - there is a discrepancy in the edit however, and in one shot the ball is at rest further to the right than it was in the original shot. For the episode, it was a big moment, but in reality, it happened more than once. The editors didn't use the same shots twice, which was unfortunate, but given the usual frequency of kinetic activity, I'm not surprised they thought it just happened once. I just wish something other than the ball had moved, or even something in addition to it. If a book can be moved, why not the cow? I bought those animal figures with the express purpose of having them be trigger objects. One of them I kept and still have - the cat (which never made it to the floor). He became my <i>Inception</i>-esque token. I had it on me for most of the season afterwards. Whenever John tried to hassle me, I'd pull out the cat and hold it in front of me to ward him away.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Missing Crystals</td></tr>
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• This season, the audience gets to see a little bit more of how John works and what he does to help people who need it. It's not simply investigate, remove object, repeat. Even so, some things do hit the wall of network sensibility and bureaucracy. Why? Your guess is as good as mine, but at least some of it got through. At the end of this case, John is seen telling Amanda to put mirrors in the windows to help reflect some of the energy away. What you didn't see was him helping her put crystals in the corners to help as well. If it's not the usual formula of things, the network sometimes gets skittish. Perhaps the mirrors were all they could handle...maybe the crystals seemed too far from the tech explanation they like so much. But, when working in the paranormal, there are often many different solutions and some of them are quite old school. For us, it's whatever gets the job done.<br />
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I'm so far behind in this blog, by the time I get through all the episodes and my commentary, the new season will be upon us. But maybe that's not such a bad thing, is it? ;)SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-40594344701801919102012-08-04T14:33:00.000-04:002012-08-04T14:33:18.272-04:00EPISODE 205: Haunted Rectory/Grand Midway Ghosts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After spending several weeks in the northern part of Ohio, we finally made our way down to Cincinnati and our next case. A tiny neighborhood on the outskirts called Sedamsville was our destination. For the greater part of our stay there, we were unsure of how to pronounce it. Was it 'seed-ams-ville' or 'seh-dahms-ville'? To this day, I'm honestly not sure, we heard it pronounced both ways. None of it really mattered to me as there was a Skyway Chili across from our hotel and I was introduced to a local dish, called the "Five Way". It was COLD in the home town of WKRP's Johnny Fever and we all needed a bit of comfort food. I found myself feasting on this Queen City delight several times during our stay. With memories of a full stomach, I begin this blog...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shadow Dancing</td></tr>
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• Given the current landscape of the paranormal field it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a place that no one has investigated before. For some purposes, it's desirable to have an untouched location, but for us, it's actually helpful to have prior investigations take place. Despite the attitudes of a few, we really are all on the same side, looking for answers. Our methods may differ, but every photo, every scan, every personal experience gets added to the collective pot, increasing the knowledge pool for all of us. That being said, this case had some evidence for us to go over when we arrived. One report had involved a shadow form on the second floor in a room that contained a suitcase and a rocking chair. These are the kind of reports we look for, the ones that help us determine whether or not it could be an item based case. We were shown a picture taken from a full spectrum camera that showed a weird form captured along the wall, a double shadow that seemed like it would be difficult to duplicate. I don't have that photo, but during the case I was able to look at it and try to reproduce the effect, which, I am satisfied we did. Am I saying that I refute the evidence presented by the prior investigator? Not exactly, I'm just offering up another explanation. I wasn't there when the original photo was taken so I can't be sure. But we looked into it...we even did an EVP session next to the suitcase and had two stationary cameras set up in the room, just in case. On the episodes it sometimes appears that we set up cameras at random or we don't explain why we put them where we do, but there is always a reason.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chopper, sic ghosts!</td></tr>
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• This case was different for us in that we brought a dog along with us on the nighttime investigation. The canine was on loan to us from another group who used the dog as a fellow ghost hunter. The dog pictured at left is not that dog, nor even the same breed, but I wanted to take a moment to give my opinion about the subject: are dogs/animals useful on an investigation? I suppose they could be, but personally, I would not bring one along. I love animals, but when it comes down to it, that has nothing to do with the question. Let's look at the pros and cons briefly. Pro: dogs have an excellent sense of smell and can hear frequencies we cannot. They are good at being trained to follow commands and can be very disciplined when it comes to their given tasks. For example, there are dogs who sniff out bombs, dogs who sniff out drugs, even dogs who can detect the onset of a seizure or even cancer. They are also very loyal and would act to protect their loved ones. Cons: the flip side to each of those points is as follows - given that they can smell and hear what we cannot, who's to say we know what spirits smell and sound like to say that the dog is getting it right? Seizures are observable and cancer is physical, the animal can be shown these things and trained to respond as needed. Ghosts don't act on cue, much less show up to train your pet! Furthermore, dogs bark at cars passing by, random noises and seemingly sometimes for no reason. It would be foolhardy to assume that the latter must be supernatural. The animal can't communicate exactly what it is experiencing, so how can we look at it logically and try to figure out the rational explanations? As a science, the paranormal has not been grounded in hard facts yet, only conjecture, so I don't feel we have enough to go on yet and certainly not enough to train a dog with. HOWEVER, I lack the patience to try and for those who are giving it a shot, I applaud their efforts. I'll stick with my meters and save a frisbee for the dogs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian in Their Belfry</td></tr>
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• The rectory is undergoing renovations, but the church next to it is sitting abandoned and continues to be a ruin. Urban exploration is one of my things, so the crew knew that when I had down time, I'd be found poking around the old church. It was just too tempting and too beautiful a structure to not explore. There is a certain beauty to decay, the crumbling of civilization...I appreciate the architecture as it once was, even as it falls apart. This church wasn't large, but it was tall. I found my way up into the spire and navigated from one ladder to another, each one getting smaller and leading into a darker area. The wood was rotting in many areas and the footing was precarious at best but the thrill of the discovery kept me going on. This is one of the main reasons I get sent underneath houses and into attics to retrieve the haunted objects...because this is what I really do, cameras or no. I am the man for this job.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beauty of Decay</td></tr>
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• On another, completely different note, I have always wondered something about abandoned churches. I'm no longer practicing, but I was raised Catholic, so the traditions and the masses still reside within me. I no longer report to a building, but I have all of that with me all the time. But what about the building itself? What happens to a house of God when it is abandoned? Does God abandon it too? In the absence of that holiness, does its opposite rush in to fill the void? These are the thoughts that run through my head whenever I find myself in an abandoned church. For the purposes of this blog, they are rhetorical questions, but given the reported activity next door in the rectory, they came to the surface again as I wandered the old place of worship. Could it be a contributing factor to all the activity? A battery, if you will, that may help feed whatever is going on in the rectory itself?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May the Bert be with you...</td></tr>
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• Let's switch gears for a moment...I was getting pretty deep, now I'm going to get completely silly. One night, after we finished filming for the night, Jason and I decided to try out the Waffle House across from the hotel (yes, this was across the street as well - we also had a White Castle and a pizza joint). Now, I've never particularly liked this chain and the handful of times I've been there have done nothing to reverse that evaluation. This time was no different but oh my, did we have a good time. It was around one or two in the morning, so the place was pretty much empty, so I decided to dump five dollars into the jukebox to play some of my favorite tunes. We observed how the dirty counters were made even more so by the splashing of the woman hastily washing the dishes in front of us. I raised an eyebrow at the cook who made some sort of sandwich on the grill, then mashed it together with his bare hands. I looked down at the menu, then at Jason and remarked, "Just remember, anything you order will be made by THAT guy...choose wisely". Despite the squalor of the place, all we could do was laugh. It was that time of night and we were absolutely loopy. Plus, the cast of Waffle House employees made for quite the sitcom. There was the hairy cook, the waif-thin waitress who complained about her pay as well as the sassy black woman who happily played into every stereotype you might conceive of for a diner at 2 in the morning. My choice for consumption was "Bert's Handmade Chili" which was featured quite proudly on the menu. Last time I had been in a Waffle House I passed on the chance but I thought that now would be the perfect time to sample what Bert had to offer...it was Cincy and so far the chili was enjoyable everywhere I went (yes, I had it a lot that stay). It was then that I noticed the sign on the wall, which depicted Bert himself giving the "okay" gesture to us. What stood out to me was the size of his hands...they were so small! I quipped to Jason, "Does he stir the chili with those exquisitely small hands? Is that the secret?" We laughed hard at that and at that moment, <i>The Legend of Bert</i> began. He was more than just a man, he was a demigod, who gave not fire, but chili to mankind. He dwells in a realm close to ours and he stirred his chili with his hands, deciding our fate as he did. To know Bert is to love Bert. Bert be praised! Yeah, we're ridiculous, but boy did we have fun that night.<br />
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The Grand Midway Hotel. I had been looking forward to and dreading this case simultaneously for the two months we had been on the road up until that point. Back in 2009 myself and the rest of the SCARED! Crew filmed a <a href="http://www.scaredonline.com/videos/grand-midway-hotel/" target="_blank">documentary</a> of our investigation there. It was a serendipitous weekend that teamed us up with Rosemary Ellen Guiley and Adam Blai, as well as John. When I had called him and told him where we were going, things just started falling into place and it ended up with us having an experience that changed us all forever. Our team is built around the triumvirate of The Psychic, The Scientist and The Skeptic. It's a system of checks and balances that allows us to approach cases with as little bias as possible. We call it the Three Pillar System. That night, all three of us had left in agreement about what we found in the hotel...an event that has never happened before, or since. That was then, this was now...a different team, a different time...and the Thing in the Dark waited still. Patient, observant, yet filled with rage and hatred. I thought of all these things and I worried. Watch the opening scene in the restaurant again. Notice how quiet I am and the expression on my face...it speaks volumes.<br />
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• As the documentary points out, our previous investigation of the place had resulted in some overlapping evidence, the creepiest of which being an EVP that sent chills up our spines. This video goes into it briefly:<br />
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I'm all for follow-up investigations, but as far as evidence went, I was sure of what was up on the third floor. I didn't need another investigation to tell me that. Is there more than one thing haunting the Grand Midway? Absolutely, but given that we had rookies on the team, I didn't want their enthusiasm to put them in danger when it came to that room on the third floor. Were it up to me, I would have made that area off-limits. "Why so serious?" you ask...I just don't believe in kicking a hornet's nest. You will get stung. Repeatedly. But, as you saw throughout the segment, I was strangely mute. Any footage of John or myself talking about our friendship with Blair or the events of our last investigation hit the cutting room floor. Thankfully, the producers paid us enough respect to at least cut together the above scene to acknowledge what had come before and for that I thank them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rematch with the malevolent?</td></tr>
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• Hold on to your seats, here's something that got cut that had me re-evaluating everything for a time, until I got a grasp of what it really meant. John had gotten an EVP on the second floor and when I listened to it, I froze. The voice was the same as the one in the EVP we had gotten back in 2009! He got this one on the second floor - had the entity gotten loose of it's third floor cage? Was it able to project to other spots in the hotel? What did this mean? John and I discussed it for some time and I was worried, both for the team as well as what this would mean for the Grand Midway moving forward. The Demon on the Third Floor was not something that could be taken care of by removing an object, no matter how large. I panicked for some time and I even told the producers of my worries, since we still had to go back and do more investigating. It took a re-evaluation of the original file to get me to calm down. I looked at the words again..."Can you break out of the circle, the circle of fire? Die." That, "die" at the end always seemed odd to me, as if it did not fit. It also seemed to be in a different voice. So, perhaps it was. Perhaps there was something else asking the question...a guardian, or at the very least another spirit standing by, observing. When the question was posed, the entity within the room lashed out in anger with the simple response. Therefore, when that same questioning voice was heard again elsewhere in the hotel, it could have just been wandering, or on patrol, or very much at home. Either way, I felt that it was NOT the demonic voice from the room and that it was still unable to leave it. Whew!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Mind of an Artist</td></tr>
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• We often film many witness interview segments, but due to time constraints they get cut. The above clip with Chris is one of them. They've begun posting more as "bonus scenes" which I'm happy about. But one interview that got cut would have been very interesting to see, as I was not present for it. It was John talking to Dylan, the painter of the pieces in the "demon room". (A note to all those astute viewers and to those who have been to the hotel before: in the episode, the editor's mislabeled pretty much anything that was on the third floor to be the second floor. My explanation of where the cameras were set up was even clipped to reflect this. Why? Honest mistake, I believe.) But as far as the interview went, the whole "demon" storyline and anything associated with it was deemed too much for the network. Ironic, isn't it? I would have loved to hear more about this fascinating painter and the things he did and more of the story from <i>his</i> perspective. But I digress. All in all, there is so much going on in that hotel and going on still, that I can't say we did much to lessen the activity. As I explained to someone recently, "Take the batteries out of a toy and it stops moving. Take the batteries out of one toy in a toy store and all you have is one less working toy." Discuss.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's get down to business</td></tr>
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• While Chris and I were in the basement, we came across a window that was boarded up and blocked, but it was being pushed in on the sides by dirt, as if something on the other side had collapsed and was caving in on it. Even though I knew it must lead to the side of the house, I had never been to that part yet, as far as I knew, it was flush with the building next to it. We pried the boards loose and let the dirt come in, revealing the night beyond. Air streamed in, but no light...where was this coming from? I wanted to get a visual on it - we were looking for the entrance to the tunnels after all, and it's possible that this forgotten alleyway outside might provide clues. So I raced outside to see - I told the cameraman Zach not to follow me, that I would be right back, but he wanted to capture every moment of this. Upon reaching the alley, I found that the space between the buildings was blocked off by a shed-like structure. It effectively sealed off the space, perhaps to keep people from walking between the two houses. It was a good eight feet tall, but I was determined to see what was beyond it. So, flashlight in hand, I grabbed onto a nearby pipe and hauled myself up onto the top of the shed. There was a tiny alley on the other side! I was about to jump down to check it out when Zach informed me that he was coming up too. If I was Batman, he was my Robin, there was no obstacle that would prevent us from getting to the bottom of this mystery. He handed me the 40-50 pound camera and climbed up onto the roof as well. From there, he filmed me jumping down into the space and looking around. I found the window, where Chris was able to finally stick his hand out of, and we sadly put that lead to bed. It was not an entry way to a tunnel system, it was indeed, just a window. But put a soundtrack under that footage and you have a great Batman-esque deleted scene!<br />
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These memories are my own and they fade and resurface as time goes on...as usual, I'm sure that more stories will arise and I will return to fill in those details. But for now, take these and reflect upon them. Next blog: "Stirring the Dead/Ghost Writer" See you then!SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-70076871479669612582012-07-25T17:51:00.001-04:002012-07-25T20:12:24.366-04:00EPISODE 204: Priest Gun/Haunted Asylum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5yfx3s1oJ20/UA-LsLdj42I/AAAAAAAAAQQ/qWvr7WJ1HNw/s1600/Bri-in-SCARED-uniform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5yfx3s1oJ20/UA-LsLdj42I/AAAAAAAAAQQ/qWvr7WJ1HNw/s400/Bri-in-SCARED-uniform.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've been lazy, I know. I have no good excuse. But, you wanted it, so I'm back with the behind-the-scenes reflections from <i>'Collector</i>. Let's get right to it.<br />
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Sawyer, Michigan, right on the shores of Lake Michigan itself. That's where you want to be during the winter...north and on a Great Lake. Ugh! The days were sunny, but cold. Our spirits were stable, but we all began missing home and those who were missing us. It resulted in a lot of solo time off-camera and I was frankly okay with that. We all need time to ourselves to decompress and relax. It makes the times together that much better, I think. One of the days I wasn't needed on set right away I went to the movies. I went alone, which I never do, but I found myself walking through the hotel parking lot towards the highway, towards the theater on the other side of it. Why did Brian cross the road? Because <i>Safe House</i> with Denzel Washington was playing and I had nothing else to do. So, like Frogger, I made my way across a major highway, hopping two fences and a divider in the process. At that moment I was glad I was alone, I don't think I got over the fences as gracefully as I once might have. It had been a long winter thus far and I was only Batman in voice, not in motion. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-95jlgyLi8x0/UA9wSo30WaI/AAAAAAAAAPg/jV7aUWd8nss/s1600/Ep-204-Dirty-Harry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-95jlgyLi8x0/UA9wSo30WaI/AAAAAAAAAPg/jV7aUWd8nss/s200/Ep-204-Dirty-Harry.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You get any EVPs, punk?</td></tr>
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• Safety was a huge concern on the set this time around, as there was a gun in the mix. An unloaded gun, mind you, but a gun all the same. The producers did not want us fooling around or joking at all with it so we were not allowed to even pick it up or take it out of the case. Given the dark things that we deal with sometimes, it was probably for the best. The last thing we would want associated with Haunted Collector was a tragic accident on-set. I'll stick with the sledgehammers and shovels, thanks. Despite that, you KNOW that every scene Chris and I had in the bedroom with the gun we were quoting Dirty Harry movies. Oh, the footage they have to cut because of me and my pop culture references.<br />
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• There was another story that we were interested in following up on when we first got to Joanie's house. The piano room had a large portrait of a man in it. He was the owner of the piano and a former owner of the house. He was a well known figure in the community...I'll come back to this, I want to get the facts right.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXirT1mVEPA/UA9714N4YoI/AAAAAAAAAPs/m4S8lXklDTA/s1600/Ep-204-tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXirT1mVEPA/UA9714N4YoI/AAAAAAAAAPs/m4S8lXklDTA/s200/Ep-204-tree.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Omen or coincidence?</td></tr>
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• Strange things happened to us in almost every town we rolled into and Sawyer, Michigan was no different. This time, it seems as if we had almost outrun it since it took until the last day of shooting for it to manifest itself. In front of the house is a roughly circular driveway. It's not paved, but it's well-worn enough to see where you're driving. In the center of it is a tree and you can see it in the episode as we drive up to the house for the first time. Well, after the last segment was filmed a storm hit the area. I was back at the hotel, but when the crew returned, they reported that the storm knocked that tree over! This was shortly after our Jordan Springs shoot with the fallen tree. What was more surprising than the tree falling over was the fact that it did not hit a single person, car or piece of equipment. Given how much stuff a production crew brings along with them, that in itself is an amazing statistic. Of course, the first question out of everyones mouth upon hearing about the tree was, "Was there anything buried underneath it?"<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uMuRsv9-wFE/UA-DpPazw1I/AAAAAAAAAP4/SJcBcp09kkY/s1600/Ep-204-KFP2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uMuRsv9-wFE/UA-DpPazw1I/AAAAAAAAAP4/SJcBcp09kkY/s200/Ep-204-KFP2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They know kung fu?</td></tr>
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• What can I say about my life on the road? I tend to talk about our hotels a lot. And why not, the hotel is a major part of your existence when you live in transit. Essentially, it is home. Be it ever so humble...or so small, or depressing or overrun by undesirables...there's no place like home. This time, there was a perpetual pool party going on at the pool on the first floor. At all times of the day and night there were tweens in bathing suits running to and fro as if they were on an Easter Egg hunt. But, despite the occupants, we made the best of it. That Sunday night we had ourselves an Oscar party! Mark Gouldy, our sound guy grilled up all sorts of good eats and others bought snacks and drinks. We cheered for our favorites, we booed at the people who were overlooked and generally had a good time. I especially liked the part of the evening where Chris Zaffis went on a tirade about the injustice of <i>Kung Fu Panda 2</i> not winning anything. It was a barrage worthy of a stand-up comedian on stage...I think I saw a young Lewis Black in the making that night.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ra2yDePn2GU/UA-Ikx7bJLI/AAAAAAAAAQE/5EvBOZ7RaMM/s1600/Ep-204-pinata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ra2yDePn2GU/UA-Ikx7bJLI/AAAAAAAAAQE/5EvBOZ7RaMM/s200/Ep-204-pinata.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Use the Force, Luke</td></tr>
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• Speaking of Gouldy and parties, we were losing him as he was going back home for the rest of the season. We'd already lost his brother Mike to an injury that kept him from returning to the set. It was a sad time, but we were going to have an epic party to celebrate it! As with the Oscar party, we all went out and got food and other items for the festivities. One by one we arrived in one of the hotel's meeting rooms to begin the last hurrah for our friend Mark. Such nights are best experienced and left in the moment, so I won't go into too many details. But I will say this: piñata, blow-up doll, fireworks. 'Nuff said.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-slPVCnXPhgE/UBBcpwjSZPI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/k5osKZesjBI/s1600/Ep-204-tripic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-slPVCnXPhgE/UBBcpwjSZPI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/k5osKZesjBI/s400/Ep-204-tripic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Radford, VA was our next stop - it was a college town and school was in session. The hotel had a Mexican restaurant attached to it called Alejandro's...and for some reason, we delighted in mispronouncing the name (ale-jan-drows) and adding him to our pantheon of mundane demigods (of which the first one I will mention in the next episode's blog). We did a lot of driving to and from the location and we got to know the town pretty well. I got pulled over for speeding, but unlike NY cops, this officer was an actual human being and I was able to reason with him and he let me go without a ticket. Thank you, Radford Officer. Speaking of my home state, we watched an important football game which got the NY Giants into the Super Bowl. I'm not an avid follower of football, or sports in general, but it was nice to see my home team destroy the teams of these west coasters. Heh heh...like I had anything to do with it. There was also a game and comic store in town that I had wanted to go to, but every time I stopped by, they were closed, or doing inventory or SOMETHING. I'd knock on the glass door and a chunky, bespectacled man would peer out at me and say nothing. Never once did he say to come back later, or the next day or offer to let me buy a damn comic or anything. That store is now on my list of arch enemies. Sounds crazy, huh? I guess it was only fitting since we were about to investigate an insane asylum.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WzuddFflX6w/UA-TKpGB1-I/AAAAAAAAAQk/N9ZClTYeOP0/s1600/Ep-204-asylum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WzuddFflX6w/UA-TKpGB1-I/AAAAAAAAAQk/N9ZClTYeOP0/s200/Ep-204-asylum.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many rooms, many mysteries</td></tr>
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• St. Albans was a maze inside...the episode could not accurately convey how disjointed it felt being inside there. I say that a lot too, huh? How the episode falls short of reality? Well, as is true for many topics, nothing beats the real thing. When we first got there, Chris, Jason and I decided to slip away from the production crew and explore. We're all avid gamers, so we tackled the place as if it were a new level in a video game...the mapping system in our heads was recording every turn and every room. But as we got deeper into the place, it kept changing. It felt as if were a patchwork of times and places, where some rooms seemed to not fit the hallway we just came from. This made getting back to the entryway hard. We ended up in dead ends, rooftops, tunnels...the works. But still, I cannot say I am familiar with the place enough to not get lost in it. Perhaps that is how it feels to be a patient at a mental facility...lost, with no recollection of how to get out.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf8UHa8TGQ0/UBBcfCTJhuI/AAAAAAAAAQw/t90UHyonzOk/s1600/Ep-204-luminol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf8UHa8TGQ0/UBBcfCTJhuI/AAAAAAAAAQw/t90UHyonzOk/s200/Ep-204-luminol.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There Won't Be Blood</td></tr>
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• Here's something from the deleted bin: Jesslyn and I were tasked with going to the substance abuse ward and checking on an urban legend we'd heard about. I'm forgetting the fine details, but it was rumored that a massacre occurred in that ward, either by a patient or a disgruntled employee. It was said that the assaults were so savage, blood covered the walls. So, we mixed up some luminol and went down to see if we could find any evidence of this. Now, the way things are filmed, we didn't take any breaks during our sweep of the facility. Jesslyn and I were down in that basement for a long time. The scene you saw where something fell from the ceiling - that was in a bowling alley down there. Yeah, a bowling alley! Those of you who know me know what's coming next...oh yeah, the <i>There Will Be Blood</i> references. "<b>DRAINAGE</b>! I drink your milkshake! I drink it right up!" Again, more footage of me they can't use. I need to get a counter going on this statistic! But anyway, circling back to the luminol, watch that scene again, you'll see either in my hand or hanging off my belt a spray bottle. Come to think of it, it might even be on the floor. Why? Because we had one of the producers prepare the mixture for us and they placed it into a metal spray bottle. METAL. Luminol is best used in a plastic bottle. Why? Because the metal will react with the compound! The bottle had been hooked onto my utility belt as we searched and by the time we got to the bowling alley I realized that the side of my pants was wet. I was confused at first, I thought maybe I had leaned on a wet wall, or didn't notice a drip from the ceiling, but upon further investigation I found that the spray bottle was spurting liquid out of the nozzle periodically, as if the mixture inside were expanding and the gases it was putting off was forcing it out. I pointed it out to Jesslyn and she found the same thing was happening to her bottle. The bottles then both remained on the floor until it was time to head to the substance abuse ward. We sprayed every wall, pipe and door of that area until both of our bottles were empty. Not a single spark or glow from the luminol. That was a dead-end and why you did not see it in the final cut.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C1_mh3XsNdA/UBBgzsuZ1UI/AAAAAAAAARE/h3ukTV873LM/s1600/Ep-204-blanks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C1_mh3XsNdA/UBBgzsuZ1UI/AAAAAAAAARE/h3ukTV873LM/s200/Ep-204-blanks.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who watches the watchers?</td></tr>
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• Aimee is quite the character. She gets a lot of screen time, but mostly she is seen, not heard. She's a funny girl, in a subtle way. We all laugh a lot when we're all together. I call her the "Napolean Dynamite of the Paranormal", because she has that sort of odd humor. You either get her or you don't. Another thing that makes me laugh is how genuinely afraid of ghosts she is. The daughter of a demonologist, she would be happy to do her research from afar and let us know what she finds, never stepping foot into a location. I've seen many comments online about how miserable she looks and mostly that's because she is busy keeping her shit together while in these places. You have to give her credit - she's uncomfortable, but she sticks it out and stays at her post. That is, until St. Albans...down in the boiler room, I wanted Chris down there to help find the source of the sound he was hearing. This left Aimee alone at the command center. Scroll back up to the picture of the front of the building for a moment, the command center was maybe fifty feet inside the main entrance, no more. You could see the entrance from where it was set up and outside was our entire production crew. Aimee was by no means alone, but once Chris left, it was too much for her to handle and she headed outside. When I heard this, I was annoyed at first, but then I heard about an incident with one of her research interviewees. Turns out, one of the men she interviewed to get background on the activity at the asylum had been in there several times and claims to know some of the spirits that are in residence. He told her that there are two spirits down in the basement that know we're coming and are quite evil and are planning to harm us. Furthermore, he told Aimee that these two planned to erase whatever tapes we used there...that they would get back to the edit room only to find them blank. Make no mistake, this guy was the creepy old dude that warns teenagers in the first act of every horror movie. And it resonated with Aimee, causing her to leave the monitors and moving forward, she stopped participating in the nighttime investigations.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-snuNmmfNZQw/UBBmk82BbOI/AAAAAAAAARY/XYNf1KaRJN0/s1600/Ep-204-boiler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-snuNmmfNZQw/UBBmk82BbOI/AAAAAAAAARY/XYNf1KaRJN0/s200/Ep-204-boiler.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dark Night Crouches</td></tr>
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• Now I don't remember if it was during the baseline sweep or the nighttime investigation, but we were in the boiler room and the meters spiked suddenly. I looked around, trying to find the source and just then my flashlight turned off, plunging us into darkness. Hmm, now that I say that it must have been at night, since the cameras film the investigations with the astroscopes attached, which means there are no lights on. My flashlight is one of those big Mag Lites...they don't just shut off when the battery is low, they gradually get dimmer and dimmer so I knew it wasn't a battery issue. Then, a muttered curse in the corner - the cameraman reports that the camera just died. He radios up to the producers that he needs a new, "brick and tape" (brick being a new battery). A moment of silence and he then tells us that he doesn't know if he got through or not because no one was responding. I turned to where Chris had placed a stationary camera and started waving my arms around signaling to him that there was a problem. Just then the dull red lights of the infrared went dead. Everything requiring power shut off and would not come back on. A few moments later I heard shouts from down the hall. I could hear the executive producer and the director coming. Johnny the director entered first, leading the way with a small headlamp on his head, a look of astonishment on his face. Rick the executive producer came in next, looking to me, then to the cameraman and finally to Jesslyn. "What the hell is going on? My phone just died and all the monitors went down (referring to the handheld monitors the director used)!" My heart started to beat a little faster...partly from the memory of the two supposedly evil spirits down here and partly from the thrill of these mundanes finally coming to realize that such things do exist. I reminded Rick about Aimee's witness and that just served to make him more nervous. We all stood in uncomfortable silence for some time until the director called a break to assess the situation. As I walked out of the room, I had no idea that the object of our search was mere feet from where I had been standing...<br />
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Originally, we were going to have our first <i>Haunted Collector</i> event at St. Albans, but due to low ticket sales, we've decided to cancel it. Plus, we might not be available in September...all good news on that front. However, I do hope it gets rescheduled and people sign on to attend - it really is a cool place and it's one I do want to get back to, since we've barely scratched the surface of this one. While removing an object may help lessen activity, it doesn't always eradicate it completely, especially in a place like this. St. Albans, I'll be back some day. Count on it...<br />
<br />SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-6619706929728806482012-06-21T17:19:00.000-04:002012-06-22T18:20:13.684-04:00EPISODE 203: Haunted Villa/Spirit Springs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-79l3eeqCAls/T-Kr1hwr7TI/AAAAAAAAANI/MFMsVzQ8bes/s1600/Ep-203-tripic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-79l3eeqCAls/T-Kr1hwr7TI/AAAAAAAAANI/MFMsVzQ8bes/s400/Ep-203-tripic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the past two weeks I've been saying how my adventures seem so much more grand on the screen than they do in my memory. For tonight's episode, I reverse that thought. These two cases were deluxe ones for us. The editors did their usual great job with the edit, but I remember so much more than what I saw in the final product. I have a feeling the audience is going to feel the schism as well and it may generate some negativity. Is there a villain to blame for this? No, but do remember it is a television show and there are many, many levels involved from inception to airing. <i>That</i> is a buck I can safely pass off my desk. Having said that, let's see if I can remember half of what they didn't include in the the edit...<br />
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Another sign o' the times I can direct your attention to is our mode of transportation. Our vehicle changed a few times during the season. We started out with this ugly 15-passenger van, then went back to our old, reliable silver Chrysler Town & Country (I get no kickback for mentioning them, I just really like their van). Then, after much complaining we switched to a bad-ass, black Chevy Suburban. At one point we even end up in a Jurassic Park-like caravan in Jeeps. You'll see that in later episodes though.<br />
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The first segment this week found the Collector Crew in Warwick, NY. We got this case from one of our sister groups in New Jersey (hence why I'm the one bringing it to John at the head of the episode...see? There often is a method to the madness...), so we had a head start on the research into the past of the property. Regardless, Aimee still had a lot to look into. Coming into an investigation with advance knowledge can sometimes be a double-edged sword as you try to remain neutral and yet still use what you know to further the information-gathering process.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x3AWRE43T5M/T-OHOuyAwEI/AAAAAAAAAOs/d0B0etjLMwc/s1600/Ep-203-Villa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x3AWRE43T5M/T-OHOuyAwEI/AAAAAAAAAOs/d0B0etjLMwc/s200/Ep-203-Villa.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"A bottle of white, a bottle of red..."</i></td></tr>
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• Speaking of gathering, in the hunter/gathering sense, now that we were back in New York, we were able to hit a proper diner for the first time in weeks. Ziggity is a big fan of diners and he was thrilled to finally sit down in one again. Personally, I'm not a fan of a place that has steak and lobster on the menu but is only really suited to serve burgers and breakfast, but if it makes the Old Man happy, I shut my mouth and eat. Ironically, we were investigating a fine Italian restaurant and yet we ate elsewhere - for no other reason than we were so used to it. Frank would spy us coming in from lunch and he'd give us that look, the look that said, you do know this is a restaurant, right? The second two days of the shoot were catered by Frank and his kitchens and we all ate quite well. So much so that we all wanted to nap after dinner...but there was no time to waste, there were mysteries to be solved! This time on a very full stomach.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fWF6ql8zC74/T-OJtSh1qSI/AAAAAAAAAO4/kxYY24DLzHU/s1600/Ep-203-Jason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fWF6ql8zC74/T-OJtSh1qSI/AAAAAAAAAO4/kxYY24DLzHU/s200/Ep-203-Jason.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"OH MY GOD!"</td></tr>
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• Just a word about investigations on television; I feel like I repeat myself a lot, but it seems I have to for it to sink in for some. What you see on the show is but a fraction of what happened on the investigation. For reasons of time, content and storyline, things hit the cutting room floor. People wonder why we didn't look into this, or why we didn't explain that and the answer to all of it is that there's a good chance we did, but you're not seeing it in the final cut. In the Villa alone, there were mysteries and debunks that were dead-ends. When John joins us downstairs in the dining room, notice how worked up we all are - that's because we just had a painting fall off the wall, a painting that usually was by Roy Vail's table. We chalked it up to a bent nail, but it was still an exciting few moments. What else? We even got to do cool things like overnight solo missions - Jason got this one and SyFy even put some more of it on their website as a bonus scene showing what else he did during his time alone at the Villa. The man did a good job, but of course we busted his chops for the rest of the shoots about his reaction to the noise in the hall. "OH MY GOD! Oh my God!!" That's what brothers in arms do, we tease each other mercilessly.<br />
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<center style="text-align: left;">• We also looked for the <i>felis spiritus</i> at the Villa, which was reported to have been seen and felt in the dining rooms. Incidentally, the ashes of the family cat are in an urn located in the very room that Roy Vail was said to have shot himself. Coincidence? Could there be a rip in the Vail (pun intended) in that room that allows for spirits to come through? We didn't have any ghostly catnip to coax it out, but we searched for him anyway. I felt confident we would find him given how much we all love animals, and personally, cats. Nothing though. I do believe it is possible though. Animals have personalities and can love and if human spirits can stick around, why can't they as well?</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center>
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The second segment was shot at a place called Jordan Springs, in Virginia. Our hotel was in Winchester, VA which was pretty cool, since we're all big <i>Supernatural</i> fans. For those of you familiar with that show, take a moment and compare Bobby to John. The similarities are not a coincidence, from what I understand. So, John has had a hand in training the likes of Jason & Grant, Zak and Ryan as well as Sam & Dean! Pretty cool if you ask me.</div>
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• As you may have gleaned from the establishing shots, the place was huge! Jason and Jesslyn got to check out the attic, Chris and I covered the basement bar area as well as the third floor. We used gear and gadgets like the Shadow Detector, the REM Pod and our jazzy surveillance system. The place was huge, so it was well suited to an expansive investigation. In parts, the place was a maze of hallways and back staircases. We examined an old gravestone that had been brought in from outside. We conducted EVP sessions in the attic around some old children's toys. Shadow figures had been seen in the stairwell. What did you see in the episode? Not much. I can say that it was heavily edited at the behest of the suits upstairs, but I can't begin to fathom the logic behind it. I can also say that we're planning on having some <i>Haunted Collector</i> events there, so you'll get your chance to see it first hand!<br />
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• Another word about the editing process, if I may. When it comes to television, the producers are trying to take all these pieces and assemble a storyline that is as entertaining as possible. We're not a scripted show, so their work is done very much on the fly. They pray we do our jobs and get the evidence, which as we all know, is difficult to impossible to produce on command. In addition, we're talking about the lives of real people; ours, the client's and those associated with the locations we visit. Someone ignorantly commented online that they had seen Tonie on <i>My Ghost Story</i> recently (don't even get me started on THAT tangent) and that her story differed slightly between the two shows, therefore, this astute viewer, "caught <i>Haunted Collector</i> in a lie!" Sigh. I shouldn't have to explain this, but for the sake of your enjoyment of future episodes, let me remind you that <i>My Ghost Story</i> is also a television show trying to tell a story and facts are picked and chosen to weave a narrative. It 's all semantics. When it comes to semantics, if you want to nitpick, you should put your arguing skills to good use and become a litigator. I'll mistrust you all the same, but at least you'll be well-dressed.<br />
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• The blackjack bug bit us at the Belterra, during our KY Mansion case and we were still suffering from the symptoms. So we found time to throw down the cards in between filming, food and nap time (such varying schedules had us all sleeping whenever we could squeeze in an hour or two). Gambling is more fun when there are no consequences, right? Well, that point is debatable, but none of us had money to burn on a friendly game and besides, I was the house and that would mean I'd eventually have all their money. So, we played with sugar packets. Regular sugar was one dollar, Splenda and Sweet N Low carried the values of five and ten, respectively. At one point, Jason was doing so well that we had to start using English Breakfast Tea as hundreds. During one sitting, after having taken all their "money", we ended up playing War. Yes, a three person, six-deck game of War. It was not pretty. I do believe Amnesty International wants to talk to us about the atrocities committed against mankind during that game.<br />
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• We spent several weeks shooting in Ohio and during that time it seemed as if something dark were following us. There appeared to be omens preceding us and odd occurrences happening even when the cameras weren't rolling. Most of the time, it was a function of weather. The joke was, "Haunted Collector is in town, time for the rainclouds to gather". But this time, the omen was different...and in my mind, spookier. Quick tangent for a moment to set the scene - the first night in our temporary home, I had gotten myself locked OUT of my bathroom. It had a faulty lock and after a six hour drive, I arrived in my room to find that I still could not relieve myself. I called the manager up and we eventually managed to get in. This oddity caused us to be fast friends. That being said, she would chat me up at every opportunity, usually asking me how it went at the location we were at. So, one afternoon I come back to the hotel for my mid-day break and she calls me over with a peculiar look on her face. She took me aside and asked, in a hushed tone, "Does anyone on your crew have any weird fetishes?" I found the question an odd one, were it one I had to answer, but she asked me about the crew, which made it even odder - I had no earthly idea who was into what! I began to wonder if she had a plush costume hidden in the back room. After shrugging off the question, she went on to tell me that three separate people in our crew had called separately to report that their rooms were overrun by crickets. Was this a biblical sign...a plague of locusts, or something? I immediately texted the executive producer the situation and it nearly gave him a panic attack. Remember, these TV types shoot the show, but they don't always believe and when something happens, they are ill-equipped to deal with it. Later that night, said executive producer found his bathroom occupied by several dozen crickets. He ran down to the lobby where he found John and myself talking - when John heard the fear in his voice, he proceeded immediately upstairs to handle it. The rest of this story is one that I unfortunately have to keep to myself and what follows becomes very personal for several people. Bottom line though, everything worked itself out and we stayed mostly cricket-free for the rest of the season. Mostly.<br />
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• To wrap up the case, because the item had it's origins in Native American spiritualism, John called in a local shaman to handle it. Allow my derision for public opinion to shine through for a moment: yes, the guy was white, with blonde hair AND he was a shaman. Were you expecting beads and a feathered head dress, like the guy in the Village People? Furthermore, for the naysayers, YES John happened to know a guy in the area who could help...he's been doing this for 38 years, he HAS met a person or two in his travels. Moving on...to get rid of the object, John let the shaman do what he needed to - I wasn't present for it, but I do believe he burned it. "But I thought you weren't supposed to burn haunted objects?" you'll say and my response to that is, "Yes, YOU aren't supposed to..." But someone qualified to handle such rituals can and this guy was the man for the task. Do take note of the secondary indication of what this means...it shows that John knows what to do and he knows when it's best handled by others. I think there are those out there that need to learn from this example. Getting back to the case, afterwards, we did something cool. The shaman suggested that we close out the investigation with a smoking ritual. Instead of a pipe, we had special cigars to smoke. He explained that such a ritual after a connection to the spirit world was a way of closing the session and it would calm down the energy present. This was not something filmed, it was purely for us. The cast and crew, along with the shaman and his friends gathered together out in the parking lot and under the pinks and purples of the setting sun, we closed the book on the Jordan Springs case.<br />
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I'm not usually one to recommend such practices, being a man of science and logic, but I will say that the ritual made me feel very calm. The stresses of the case and the frustrations of the road melted away and out there in the cool, Virginia air, I was at peace. Next to me, Chris felt the same. Without a word spoken, we both started walking towards the woods. For the next hour or so, as the sun continued to set, we explored the nearby woods, feeling peaceful and one with nature. Every so often we took pause to stop and listen and it was amazing...the sounds of civilization were nowhere to be found...it was just the whisper of the wind and the trees. Yes, I'm sure what we smoked was only a cigar, but man, this is something I'm going to have to start doing after every investigation.<br />
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Okay, it's wrap time for the Episode 203 blog, once again leaving out things such as my Sheetz addiction and the way I pushed their Mac & Cheese bites on the crew 24/7. Maybe for season three I'll have a webcam on me at all times so you can all come with me on my adventures. What you see on TV is but the beginning...step with me into a larger world.SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-89222956959055739752012-06-14T18:44:00.000-04:002012-06-14T18:46:12.551-04:00Episode 202: Haunted Inn/Long Live the Kings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Minus our first case shot this round, I feel the furthest removed from the two locations shown in tonight's episode. Production-wise, they were the second and third cases we shot. We were fresh on the road, getting used to a new director, a new crew and two new investigators: Jason and Jesslyn. Of course we were all getting along and being polite to one other, but let's be honest here - we were thrown together and any fixed marriage takes time for feelings to develop. The Zaffis Clan (of which John says I am a part of, like it or not) didn't quite know what to make of the new blood. Jesslyn was like an outdoor cat; we fed her, so she stuck around and now she's ours. Mr. Gates won us over with his travel backgammon board, that sneaky devil...but I'll get to that in another post.<br />
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For Season Two, you can pretty much tell when things were filmed by the length of my hair. I bitched about a bad cut when I first hit the road and started this blog and tonight was the evidence of it. Unlike Samson, I gain no strength from it's length, but it's such a part of me that when it's cut I feel...off. And "off" is how I entered these two investigations. Thankfully the rest of the team was there to pick up the slack. But I'll try not to slack on the back-end view of this episode. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so at what exchange rate do we factor in video? During the taping of season one, I had hoped that someone would take pictures or behind-the-scenes video to really capture what our life was like on the road. What can I say, I guess I really am a true documentarian at heart. But, we got home with only the episodes themselves as proof of our prior three months. I was not going to let that slide this time. Check out this bit of whimsy then we'll continue with the deep thoughts.<br />
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The first segment took place in my home state of New York, in a town called Boonville. When the producers told me where we were going and about the mob history of the area, I got excited. I'm a big movie buff so I envisioned the opening scenes of <i>Analyze This</i> and all the mobsters fleeing their meeting. If the case were half as fun as that, it would be worth the trip! (Side note: <i>Analyze This</i> was directed by Harold Ramis, a.k.a. - Egon Spengler, Ghostbuster)<br />
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• One of the things we loved about filming was the evolution of the crew's beliefs. These cats are TV people and their main concern is to get their product shot. Their belief in the paranormal is not mandatory. Truth be told, most don't believe in things that go bump in the night. That is, until they spend an extended amount of time with us. Case in point, the first night we were at the Hulbert House, we were shooting the baseline sweep. Josh, a veteran crew member from season one, had the attic door slammed on him. Now, he's a big guy and not much rattles him but little by little the things that go bump were bumping him and others on the crew. When they would tell us what happened, John and I could do nothing but smile.<br />
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• I'm not sure if we're going to be holding public events there or not, but the episode could simply not convey all that was going on in this place. Forget the paranormal for a second and just think about history, even the specific history of a single person. That third floor seemed untouched by time. We checked out all of them and in every one there was something surprising and unique. I spent some time just sitting in each of them, imagining what it must have been like to call that room your own. Thinking about what was going on in the town at that time and what that person's role was in all of it. As the commercials say, "everything has a story" and in the Hulbert House there are many, many stories yet to be told.<br />
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• <b>Sonic Karma?</b> I recall a conversation we had in the van while we waited for Aimee and John to finish the walkthrough. Chris and I heard LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" on the radio and he commented on how amazing it was that they got paid so much to create something so simple. I was feeling rather surly that day so I grumbled that it disgusted me that some people had to work hard for so little and others figuratively step in it. Kind of the same mentality as the <i>Occupy Wall Street </i>movement, except we were in a Rite Aid parking lot so perhaps we were occupying that. Jesslyn piped up that it was a fun song and it made people happy so therein lies the merit. I did mention the surly part right? So, I felt the need to argue a pointless battle over a silly song that was hurting no one. Anyway, now that I'm home and back doing shooting and editing, I've been handling a lot of proms and what's a staple at every one? You got it, plenty of LMFAO, including, "Sexy and I Know It" as well as "Party Rock Anthem". And what do I do when I hear them? Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle! I don't work out, though...LOL<br />
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• I remember the press showing up to see what was happening while we filmed and as it turned out, I was standing outside at the time. It's funny how the piece shows the production team as the investigators. See? This is the perfect example of how an edit can skew reality. Watching this again is making me miss the crew!<br />
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Segment two put the team down in Jacksonville, Fl at a place called the King House. A private residence, it is infamous in the area for tales of murder and spirits alike. We rolled into town and our first meal together (cast and crew) was at a little seafood shack by our hotel. The piles of shrimp, scallops, flounder and other marine morsels took over the table as we caught up on what the past months had brought each of us. This was our first indication that Jason could possibly eat as much as I did...as the season progressed, we made the concept of a doggie bag unnecessary.<br />
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• The cast of 'Collector is made up of animal lovers and we always seemed to find some who loved us as well. This time, it was a cat named...actually, I have no idea what his name was, but Aimee dubbed him <i>Rosa Parks </i>(at right). She has a peculiar preference for naming her animals after civil rights figures. Her cat at home is named <i>Harriet Tubman</i>. Weird, right? I can't talk though, I call every cat I meet, "beadie". Rosa was the coolest animal in the place. The family dog was kept outside, as to not be stressed out by all the people coming in and out of the house. In addition, there were plenty of neighborhood cats who slinked by to check out what we were doing. Then there was the parrot...well, as you saw in the episode, the parrot had a lot to say and often times he was just screeching at the top of his lungs at Chris and I. He was not the kind of Angry Bird I like to play with!<br />
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• Now remember how I said that strange things began happening to the crew to assist in them all becoming believers in the paranormal? Well, at the King House one of our sound guys was forcibly persuaded to consider those possibilities. Allow me to set the scene. At right is a picture of how his audio kit looked like. It's basically a bag loaded with his mixer, batteries, lav receivers and tons of other odds and ends he needs for the job. It's not light, so he has it strapped on him via the contraption shown. Notice the carabiner holding the bag to the strap. As any mountain climber can tell you, the carabiner is important and it's designed to hold a lot of weight and it's not something that would "just happen" to come undone. But, as he was standing there, that is just what happened - his bag lifted up, came off the carabiner and the shift in weight distribution caused him to fall into a nearby table, causing quite a racket! Chris and I witnessed this from the adjoining room, where we were stuck while John filmed a segment down the hall. The audio guy (I withhold his name to protect his integrity) was clearly shaken up. He's a pro and something like this just does not happen. The carabiner was securely fastened when he put his rig on and for it to disengage like that was inconceivable to him. <i><b>Inconceivable!</b></i> "There's that word again...I do not think it means what you think it means..."<br />
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• Speaking of that room, there was activity reported there that we spent some time looking into. A mysterious handprint was reported to appear on one of the window panes. The owner claimed that it would return even after being cleaned off. Sound like the famous handprint in the Old Jail at Jim Thorpe? Well, since that place denies access to their handprint, I was excited to give my debunking skills a go here in Jacksonville! Chris and I got glass cleaner, paper towels and really gave the window a thorough cleaning. My tagline from season one was resurrected: "We get all the fun jobs". Not to disparage the owner of the house, but that room was quite dirty - a smudge on a window would not seem out of place and I certainly wouldn't assign it a paranormal origin, but we had to give it it's due attention. We placed one of our IR cameras on it all night to see if a handprint would reappear, but none did during our time there. There is another lesson to be taken away from this example. Our investigations head down many avenues, but when they lead nowhere, they are prime candidates for the cutting room floor. So when you watch the show and think, "Why didn't they try this or that?" stop for a moment and consider that we probably did and it made for BORING television! :)<br />
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Well, this blog entry has been pretty packed and I know there is a ton I'm forgetting. But, I'll pause here until next week when our adventures in collecting take us to a case that I'll have a TON to write about! For you five faithful readers, I leave you with my traditional sign-off; <i>"Never Stop Searching"</i>.<br />
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<center><iframe frameborder="0" height="170" scrolling="no" src="http://www.syfy.com/_utils/video/embed.php?/videos/small/_vid18613272" width="300"></iframe></center>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-84343053727633250462012-06-07T15:00:00.000-04:002012-06-07T15:17:52.479-04:00EPISODE 201: Haunted Mansion/Ghost Mill<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This building is going DOWN!</td></tr>
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<b>Haunted Collector, Season Two premiered last night.</b> Amidst excitement and trepidation, I sat down to watch it with a Frito pie, in honor of some friends made during Season One. The opening shots began to roll with the VO, "This season on Haunted Collector..." and I got the chills - the good kind! Once again, I have to say I was pleased with what I saw. As an editor, I have a shaky trust with footage I'm in that I'm not editing myself. Ten years of doing my own documentaries will do that! Anyway, I promised you a behind-the-scenes look and that is what I plan to give you. Will it always be interesting? No. Will it always be honest? Absolutely. Call me the <i>Anecdote Collector</i>.<br />
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We'll start with the first segment, which took place in Warsaw, KY. This was not the first case we filmed this season, so we'd been on the road for some time already and had gotten ourselves into little routines. Pack, unpack, populate bathroom sink, gripe over lack of refrigerator or microwave in room, compare room numbers, etc. The prior three cases were all located in Ohio and the hotel accommodations varied from town to town. But when we rolled into this case, we found we were staying across the river in Indiana, at the Belterra Hotel & Casino! The casino itself was situated on a riverboat, supposedly to get around some specific gambling laws. Holy luxury, Batman! The rooms were cushy and comfortable and mine was on the fifteenth floor, so I was able to look out across the river and survey all the sun touched. Quite a change from seeing the parking lot of whatever Holiday Inn Express we'd been in prior to that. My room was the perfect pad for an exhausted investigator to come home to each night. Apparently, not all were so lucky. John and Jason's first rooms were on the other side of the hotel, where there was no hot water. The management explained that since this was their off-season, they didn't bother to turn on the boilers on that side. John changed rooms once, Jason changed rooms twice. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a jacuzzi tub with a television in the washroom. On our off time, we found ourselves in the casino. I'm a frugal gambler. That is, I have no money to lose, so I seldom bet much and I get out the minute I win anything. I will say though that I did conduct a few surgical strikes on the blackjack tables and came out comfortably ahead with no losses or feelings of crushing remorse. Jason subscribed to my methods as well and we delighted in him winning five dollars on an "Aliens" slot machine while I screamed, "CASH OUT!!" Meanwhile, in another part of the casino, Aimee won a considerable sum of money with a few pulls on a "Kitty Glitter" slot machine. This instantly made her MVP for the whole case and earned her a new nickname. We had a lot of laughs on this particular case, which was a nice balance to the sometimes stoic march of the investigation process. Because the mansion was in Kentucky, we all called it the K-Y Mansion, which had it's own slippery connotations. But on to the particulars of what was left out...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evidence or coincidence?</td></tr>
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• What do we have here? While we waited for the camera crew to switch to the astroscope lens (night vision) for the nighttime investigation, I snapped a few pics of Aimee and Chris sitting on the couch. Notice the light anomaly to the right of Chris' head. I immediately saw it on the camera and showed the two of them. Time-wise, this was before that, <i>"Oh my God"</i> EVP they got in that very room. Click on the picture, examine it, ponder it and leave comments as to what you think it is. This is your homework for next week...LOL<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five Statues</td></tr>
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• There were five bronze cowboy-themed statues around the house. During the baseline sweep, John noted that the MEL he and Jesslyn were using was getting crazy readings off of one of them. Did it have something to do with the metal it was made out of? Was it the room it was in or it's position in the house? The other four statues gave off no EMF. On the surface, the only thing that made the one statue different from the rest was that it was the only one placed by a window. So, to try and duplicate the errant readings, I moved another of the cowboys to a night table by a window. I let a few hours pass before checking on it again, but the displaced statue failed to take on the properties of his set mate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What's in the box?!"</td></tr>
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• We also had some odd occurrences centered around an old steamer trunk Charlet had gotten from an estate sale. Random EMF variances, temperature fluctuations as well as an odd smell alerted Jason and I to something possibly going on in that room. While we got nothing conclusive from further examination, it did allow me to say my favorite line in the OTF: "What's in the box?!" For two seasons now, I've been trying to slip the Brad Pitt quote from <i>Seven</i> into the show casually (or even deliberately) with no luck. Even when it makes sense in the scene, the director or the editors see it and go, "HEY, he's doing it again!" *CHOP* goes the footage. Now if there were a head in that trunk they'd feel pretty foolish, wouldn't they? <b>WHAT'S IN THE BOX? COUNT: 1</b><br />
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Moving on to the next segment, we found ourselves in Huron, Ohio. This was really a very exciting case. There could be no "TV magic" distortions of time, this place was going down in 48 hours, so we were under a time crunch. If we missed a spot or the crew didn't get a shot, there was no going back after the fact. It was a live (de)construction site so one of the rules was that we had to wear reflective vests, safety goggles and a hard hat at all times. It was annoying at first, but we decided to act like we were in a Beastie Boys video at all times and that made it cool...to us, anyway. I also got to walk around with a sledgehammer so it made me feel like an <i>American Gladiator</i>. No complaints here.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Would be nice to get clean..."</td></tr>
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• One of the main things the episode didn't convey was the conditions of the place. First of all, it was the beginning of January in Huron, Ohio and it was COLD! We all were wearing layers upon layers upon layers (the astute viewer might notice I was wearing my SCARED! uniform beneath my safety gear ) and when we weren't on camera we hid out in the heated trailer office. Second condition was the mud. It was everywhere. Upon returning to my room each night, I'd spend at least a half hour cleaning my boots and then showering before I could relax.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Wall of Grannon</td></tr>
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• Inside the afore mentioned office trailer, we spent hours waiting for John's segments to be done; the client walkthrough, his OTFs and other bits. The trailer was divided into three portions, a main section with two smaller rooms at either end. At one end was the production office, the other end was where lunch was arranged and in the middle was where we hung out. It was essentially a large, rectangular box, so we had to find ways to entertain ourselves. We played <i>Apples to Apples</i>, <i>Milles Bornes</i>, made silly videos on VidRhythm and doodled all over our safety gear. Eventually, we turned on one another...it was quiet in the trailer. Too quiet. I seized the opportunity to do some redecorating while trying not to alert Chris Grannon in the production office. Stacking every chair in the main area up to block the door, we cleared out of the trailer and turned off the lights. Chris had been working diligently (or playing Words With Friends, I'm not quite sure) in the office room, so he only roused when the lights went off. Let the prank war begin!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There Won't Be Blood</td></tr>
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• During the baseline sweep, right after I noticed the substance on Chris' hard hat, I somehow took a misstep and twisted into a position that caused one of my ribs to dislocate. For anyone who's done this before, you know that this is pretty painful. For the uninitiated, allow me to describe it. It starts off as a dull pain in your chest, small at first but then radiating outward to an arm, making it tingle and then go numb. Breathing became hard and you are forced to take shallow breaths to avoid aggravating the rib further. The first time this happened to me, I thought I was having a heart attack. Not fun. There is nothing you can do to accelerate the rib popping back into place, you just have to wait it out. When I first started feeling the pain and the tingling in my hand, I took a step back and leaned on the wall, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. The director noticed right away and asked if I wanted to stop. He even radioed the production office, telling them that they might need to get an ambulance over here, but I waved him no. We were waiting for John to arrive from the upper floors anyway and I didn't want to hold up the shoot, so all I needed was a moment to rest. What the episode could not convey was the horrible smell of animal feces all over the floor of this level and the adjoining silos. The last thing I wanted to do was spend any more time in there than I had to, so the show must go on. The later shots I struggled through gritting my teeth and ignoring the pain until it began to subside. My inspiration for this was Sylvester Stallone, who often hurts himself during his movies, in more life-threatening ways than I and he always makes it through. Thanks, Sly!<br />
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• There was a lot more urban exploration that what you saw in the show. I was there, so of course I wanted to explore and see every part of it! I climbed every staircase and tower that I could get access to - half the time with the camera crew lagging behind. At one point I wanted to cross a gantry from the main building to the silos and the film crew had stood down as they waited for instructions from the director, who was downstairs. So, I climbed across anyway and yelled across for them to get it on film. The looks of terror on their faces at both the height and the condition of my perch had them all begging me to come down. From my point of view, I thought such shots would make for great TV. On this, I do know what I'm talking about...back in the early days of SCARED! we'd always have people telling us they were so afraid for us watching the show and the things we did were crazy. I know SyFy likes to play it safe, but if I'm going to do it anyway, they might as well have cameras rolling, right? ;)<br />
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There you have it. Some tidbits that round out the experience. Honestly, as I see this entry get longer and longer I can think of other things that made us laugh or that startled us. For more you'll just have to ask us in person. We won't bite, we promise...see you all next week!<br />
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<center><iframe frameborder="0" height="170" scrolling="no" src="http://www.syfy.com/_utils/video/embed.php?/videos/small/_vid18572241" width="300"></iframe></center>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-65705728433428771362012-06-06T11:16:00.000-04:002012-06-06T22:39:32.274-04:00Premiere Night<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Three Amigos</td></tr>
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It's finally here, the night we've all been working towards the past six months...<i>Haunted Collector</i> returns to the air following a season one marathon. So what's new? What do you have to look forward to? What episode is the above picture from? Why do I ask so many questions rhetorically in my own blog?<br />
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There is so much to talk about beyond what you'll see in the episode tonight so weekly I'll be posting audio commentaries for the previous night's episodes here as well as detailing the funny or fearsome things that hit the cutting room floor. When I started this blog, I began taking photos and video with the intent of sharing and then I realized, "I can't share any of this until the show airs!" and it took some of the wind out of my sails. But, the time has come and now I can finally speak. Will it be scandalous? I'm sure I could stir up some, "Brian is dead" controversy by pointing out the hidden clues we left in the episodes to try and reach our fans letting them know I'm really a double...oops, I've already said too much.<br />
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So, I have some work ahead of me tonight, so for now, enjoy the marathon and I'll see you in the morning!SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-19534639135096510642012-04-20T13:27:00.007-04:002012-04-20T19:48:03.789-04:00Looking forward/looking back<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eC24Sd27FAc/T5GclcNq1pI/AAAAAAAAAKM/Ha58PtcMR3o/s1600/After%2BHC.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eC24Sd27FAc/T5GclcNq1pI/AAAAAAAAAKM/Ha58PtcMR3o/s400/After%2BHC.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733535967661971090" /></a>Well, I'm home again. The long days and the longer nights of filming season two are behind me. Being on the job creates a puzzling dichotomy within me...I long for home, yet can't wait to get back on the road. I seem to exist neither here nor there, yet I am of both worlds. Ironic, isn't it? How much time must you spend chasing ghosts before you become one yourself?<div><br /></div><div>I've been lax on updating this blog, I know. Each night upon returning to my hotel room I would ponder what I should write...what could I share? What was I allowed to share? What instances would wind up on the show and which would hit the cutting room floor? I flopped between not wanting to give away too much and not wanting to leave out any details. So there I sat, in literary limbo, ultimately deciding that I would get to it tomorrow. Several month's worth of tomorrows later and here we are. I find myself on the border, looking back at what we experienced and looking ahead to the premiere in June. Will the show chronicle exactly what I lived during those long, chill nights? Doubtful. My experience was but a fraction of the entire picture and even that would be too much to fit within an hour. But as I always like to say, <blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;">"Television is but the Cliff Notes of reality. It is entertainment meant to give the truth flash."</span></i></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Come June I'm going to watch my adventures and marvel at how the edits and the soundtrack make it seem so much more epic than it really was...and sometimes it truly was epic! I'll get to see my cast mates on their adventures, running concurrently, yet separate from my own and I'll laugh and gasp and be amazed. Every week we'll shake the snow globe and see the controlled chaos brought into a pretty little vista. Perfect and conclusive. I'll probably then spend some time online fielding the inevitable questions as to why they did not show "A" or what about "B" and, "where did the girl with the eyebrows go?" I'll do my best to ignore the haters and those who complain without reason. As I look back at what we've done and look ahead to what is coming I wonder what is next?</div><div><br /></div><div>Looking around my desk, I spy many towers of tapes piled around in relevant stacks. They whisper to me, reminding me of the projects that await finishing. "<i>SCARED! X: Ten Years of Fear</i>", the project we have code named "<i>The Social Doc</i>", "<i>The Urban Explorer's Backpack, Vol. 2</i>", "<i>The Paranormal Investigator's Casebook, Vol. 2</i>", amongst others...I hold true to my original course - SCARED! hasn't gone anywhere and will return with plenty of new material, I just have to get to it. SCARED! gave me the opportunity to be on Haunted Collector and conversely I hope my appearance on that show will get viewers to check out my older stuff and like what they see. Once again, looking forward/looking backwards.</div><div><br /></div><div>So now that filming for HC has wrapped, what will I do with this space? I figure I'll post things after each episode to help answer show-related questions that arise. Think of it as a non-audio commentary to supplement the video portion. And for you, the five people that read my blog, feel free to ask questions. It's what I'm here for...</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-65075015944375857022012-03-17T10:52:00.001-04:002012-03-17T10:54:05.898-04:00Manifest DestinyIt's time to head west. I've been lazy in updating the blog, but I will get to it this week, I promise. For the two people reading it, I have not forgotten you! :)SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-9622377990735605192012-01-25T12:42:00.003-05:002012-01-25T13:25:33.099-05:00My Paranormal Life<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Slb1LA87bLo/TyBAekv3jLI/AAAAAAAAADY/cOJw-uSgrjs/s1600/Quad-image.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Slb1LA87bLo/TyBAekv3jLI/AAAAAAAAADY/cOJw-uSgrjs/s400/Quad-image.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701628022255750322" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ell, we're currently about a third of the way through filming and I can say it's been quite a ride. There have been changes...which means we're doing more work in the same amount of time and the cast and crew has really risen to the occasion. I won't gloss over this...it's been hard. Tempers flare, people get stressed out and there are nights where it seems like we won't make it to the next morning. But, these are all passing things and when the morning does roll around we joke and laugh and get into it like nothing happened.<div><br /></div><div>I try to remember to stop and take a look around every so often and take stock of what's going on around me. I'm not talking about the scenes or the shots, or where the camera is - but the fact that there is a camera next to me. <i>This is my life, this is my job</i>. I investigate the paranormal and for some reason, a network saw it fit to follow me and my friends around while we do it. This is awesome in the realest sense of the word, not in the throwaway manner those fresh out of college use to describe a breakfast burrito. Take last night, for example: I found myself in the belly of an abandoned insane asylum, headlamp on my head, maglite in one hand and a leaking bottle of luminol in the other. I'm two levels below the ground and beneath my feet are the slick wooden planks of a bowling alley. In the darkness, I turn to look over my right shoulder where the dull red glow of an infrared camera watches. I give it the thumbs up, knowing that on the other end of that camera and cord is a monitor screen where Chris and Aimee are seated. Moments earlier there was a loud CRASH! at the far end of the alley. I had gone to see what caused it but could find no explanation. <i>This</i> is my life. In about five months time the rest of America will find themselves in that bowling alley with me, in the dark, complete with thrilling music and interview segments. I had no idea that my life could be so exciting! I watched a rough cut of the first episode this morning and I saw many moments that I lived and at the time they seemed ordinary or routine. But watching them on the show, I found myself excited by it. I was in awe. "Wow," I had said aloud. In that moment, I took a look around, as I did the night before and I was thankful for everything I had and for everything that got me here.</div><div><br /></div><div>This moment of sappy reflection being what it is, don't forget, it does not come easily. I've paid plenty of dues so I feel comfortable reaping the rewards from what I have sown. In a little while I'll be going to the set to film OTF (On The Fly) segments for last night's investigation. It got crazy - I'll have a lot to say...you'll find out what exactly in five months...</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-32655920187657364392012-01-22T16:25:00.004-05:002012-01-22T17:05:51.168-05:00Trouble Ahead?We followed the omens to Ohio. Upon arrival it seemed as if we had evaded the dark clouds for a while. The air was cold and the sun, while bright, offered little warmth. The speed of the investigations and the filming in general seemed to increase. The days and nights began to blur together. With no concept of time and a general feeling of malaise, I feared that the darkness would catch up with us again.<div><br /></div><div>Winter is a bleak and bleary time when the land slumbers and the world holds it's breath, as if spring is an uncertainty yet to be seen. For weeks I had felt that something was watching us, stalking us. Upon returning to the road I had wondered...had we outrun it or was it ahead of us, waiting? Each case; the events, the occurrences...each one sent a flag up the pole alerting an unseen world to our presence. It seemed as if we were helping the people we were investigating for, so that was a positive thing. But when would it turn? I simply could not shake that feeling.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the months prior to filming, Chris (SCARED!) and I had begun to recognize a voice during various ghost box sessions. It was a distinct voice, low and guttural, as if it came from the depths of the earth itself. We heard it more often, clearer and more distinct but we were never able to make out what was being said. It is entirely possible that it was speaking in another language; a language long lost or perhaps foreign to this plane entirely. Whatever the case, it was not a comforting voice. Was it trying to intimidate us? Warn us?</div><div><br /></div><div>Things happen in cycles, I truly believe this. Things come, go and return again. We live life, make mistakes, learn from them, make new mistakes, repeat old ones. Sunrise, sunset, as the song goes. I feel like something is coming back around and that this voice is coming with it. There is a case coming up that I am particularly concerned about...I would not want to avoid it or run from it but I do feel that something will happen during it. I have to be prepared. The team has to be ready.</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-69324272027870349852012-01-08T00:17:00.002-05:002012-01-08T00:42:40.553-05:00Worlds Collide<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OHcVENK06lM/TwknGYy117I/AAAAAAAAADI/SJlG_w9Kyy4/s1600/ConAgra.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OHcVENK06lM/TwknGYy117I/AAAAAAAAADI/SJlG_w9Kyy4/s320/ConAgra.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695126194475095986" /></a>2012 marks the tenth year I have been doing SCARED! Some were wondering if I would continue to do so after joining the cast of <i>Haunted Collector</i>, but that's like saying you would quit being who you are after getting a new job. I'm still very much a part of SCARED!<div><br /></div><div>On this latest case for Haunted Collector, I find my two worlds overlapping. The case had a very heavy urban exploration element to it and I found myself going where the cameras would not. John and the others were taken aback at the condition of the place, but to me it was old hat. Business as usual in the life of an urban explorer...all the danger was real, all the fear was real. The mission concludes tomorrow and we'll move on to a cushier, more hospitable location, but my days of crawling in the dark are certainly not over.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some behind-the-scenes highlights from this case so far:</div><div><br /></div><div>• Best quote - "A question was posed in the Eighties...did they ever find out who was zoomin' who?" ~Aimee Zaffis</div><div><br /></div><div>• Small town hospitality is alive and well, as Chris Zaffis and I got the red carpet rolled out for us at a local Italian restaurant the minute they found out who we were.</div><div><br /></div><div>• I still have yet to execute a "night train" maneuver, but I'm hopeful for the future...</div><div><br /></div><div>• Ten years of urban exploration does not make the cleaning of the boots any easier after a long, muddy day but it does make your bed that much more comfy to lie down in when you finally get to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>• Brooks was here and so was Red. Now, Brian has been there too.</div><div><br /></div><div>• Hall and Oates music has been following me and I don't mind at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>• Wearing my full SCARED! uniform underneath some required safety gear feels like a proper nod to that which got me where I am today.</div><div><br /></div><div>More to come...</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-70642244593833003462011-12-28T13:13:00.005-05:002011-12-28T14:38:43.191-05:00Showers and storms<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lfZABTA99-A/Tvtnldg5RTI/AAAAAAAAACw/ExBeXRNYjws/s1600/storm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lfZABTA99-A/Tvtnldg5RTI/AAAAAAAAACw/ExBeXRNYjws/s320/storm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691256447388173618" /></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><b>T</b></span>he last case began with scratchy towels and a the sensation of swallowing sand as I tried to breathe. Those feelings of discomfort were accentuated by the cold wind that seemed to blow constantly. Ohio was grey and bleak and it was beginning to take its toll on the team. The upcoming holiday break was the carrot that led the production horse forward.<div><br /></div><div> But that morning began like any other. A new hotel room, a new blend of generic toiletries arranged around the tiny sink that would wash away the restless dreams obtained during a night of inadequate sleep. Another "Do Not Disturb" sign that I hoped would survive on my doorknob for more than one day. What would this room be like? Would this illusion of home bring me comfort? Something as simple as a mini fridge and a microwave went far in doing that. What chain were we at currently and is my membership in that rewards program current? "Enjoy your stay, Mr. Cano" they would all say and the dead look in their eyes would belie the insincerity that I carried with me into my temporary home. I'd set it down on the night table along with the extra key card in that little folder with the room number scribbled across it. I'd set it down and pay it no more mind for the rest of my stay. I had other concerns.</div><div><br /></div><div> I'd found that I could predict how the days and cases would play out by a very simple device. It was no scrying tool, it wasn't a Ouija board, or an occult artifact yet it was certainly elemental. My own private seer each morning - the shower head. Water pressure, temperature, spread and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">adjustability</span>...each element received and adapted to like the personality and habits of a new acquaintance. There is always some period of adjustment, no matter how minor. What an odd metaphor for life, but the morning always brought me such strange thoughts. Perhaps it was some leftover wisdom gleaned from the anxiety dreams that plagued me nightly. Wisdom which would soon find it's way down the drain. This seer would speak, but not allow me to retain any of what I learned.</div><div><br /></div><div> A malaise had settled over me. The images from our surveillance system took custody of my eyes by night, the grayness of the sky by day. Every city we had been to had the same featureless sky, the same chill wind. Each place had some bewildered local telling us that this was unusual for that time of year. It was as if a storm was following us. Never quite present, but looming...imminent. I thought of the cartoon black cloud that follows characters on television for comedic effect and wondered if that cloud were hired by the producers. I was on TV now, perhaps I was assigned my own personal weather pattern. The absurdity of the thought provided the joy I needed to get through my morning routine. It was brief, for I continued the string in my head. Weather is mindless, it has no agenda but to simply <i>be</i> and follow the patterns that Nature has set forth for it. It was a saying that I said to myself often, that I often wondered if I myself created: <blockquote style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:180%;">"The hurricane doesn't choose who it rains on."</span></i></blockquote> Indeed. So how could this cloud be following me, following all of us, so consistently? When the team rolled out of town, reports followed how the sun would come out and the frost melted. It was almost as if something were following us...<i>stalking</i> us. Something was observing us...watching us and taking note of our habits and looking for weak spots.</div><div><br /></div><div> I keep watch on the skies and in the shadows around me. Keep watching me, you only see what I allow you to...</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-54608322090095365952011-12-16T02:46:00.003-05:002011-12-16T02:56:49.635-05:00Third Case Completed!Case Number Three is a wrap...just got in after a good night of merriment with the cast and crew. Our sound guys, the Gouldy's (who I thought was spelled like the precious metal because they're so valuable to us) popped and locked and got down to the beat when Michael Jackson came on. Priceless! We love those guys.<div><br /></div><div>We've worked hard this past week. The case before this was in Florida and it was quite a challenge. This last case...all I can say right now is crazy! We got coverage on the local news - and I found myself in an attic filled with pigeon carcasses. Fear not, Haunted Collector fans, I do get sent into the usual places like last season. That is my specialty - given my years doing urban exploration on SCARED!, I can never deny that I do this in my spare time.</div><div><br /></div><div>The entire team had experiences in this location - even the camera crew!</div><div><br /></div><div>What can I say? Being back on the road with John is a blast. Me and Chris Zaffis are back in the saddle, "same as it ever was" and even Aimee is joining the investigations. We're headed to the next case tomorrow - what surprises will it bring? More to come...</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-88002846351694200292011-12-08T23:16:00.002-05:002011-12-08T23:30:13.901-05:00Travel DayDart contest last night. Extreme/most creative shots were the name of the game. Lots of Lady GaGa...and an interesting revelation. And this was during our down time!<div><br /></div><div>Today was a travel day...a precarious drive to the airport followed by two planes and our usual locating of WalMart. Looking forward to the next case tomorrow - the briefing tonight we had with John was quite interesting! New toys! Right up my alley...</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be able to be more specific eventually, but for now I have to be vague.</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-29423504324094699352011-12-06T02:06:00.002-05:002011-12-06T02:24:56.691-05:00Day One - It's a Wrap!Wow. Just wow. What a first day back. It started out with me lamenting the length of my hair...too short for my liking and in the awkward stage of having just been cut. NOT the way I wanted to return to national television. But, it is what it is and once I got swept back into the world of production it all started to settle back into place.<div><br /></div><div>Back on the road. Back on the case. Back in the swing of things. The Zaffis Clan started the day laughing about old times and it wasn't long before we found new things to be hysterical over. Classic Haunted Collector. I believe we lost count on the, "That's what she said" counter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there was the investigation...also wow. We still have several more nights to go, but if tonight was any indication of how the rest of it will go, I have to say we have our hands full. I can't believe we have to wait until June to share it with everyone - but oh, it will be so worth it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Time to sleep now. To sleep, perchance to dream.</div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-17158265524655780042011-12-04T21:19:00.004-05:002011-12-04T21:38:32.829-05:00East bound and down<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hJkVys7SNu4/TtwuNR-sLcI/AAAAAAAAACg/xn1dkk50IyY/s1600/Picture%2B1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hJkVys7SNu4/TtwuNR-sLcI/AAAAAAAAACg/xn1dkk50IyY/s320/Picture%2B1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682467635534245314" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">It begins again, the long road that is filming for a national television show. The gang got back together tonight on the bank of the Mississippi River and shared a drink and caught up on stories of absent friends. The evening breeze blowing off the water was warm, signaling good times ahead. Season One flew by so quickly and we had a great time - but we didn't have time to stop and take note of it as it went.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here it is. The occasional thought, deep or otherwise. My updates from the road. Tomorrow we hit our first case of Season Two. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>SCARED! Brihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05074697909163730465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155277786299189500.post-65742675665459185572011-12-02T19:50:00.001-05:002011-12-02T19:50:49.701-05:00Haunted Collector Season 2On the road again. I can't wait to get on the road again. Updates to follow!Brian Canohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987093945392146281noreply@blogger.com1