Manifest Destiny

It'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! :)

My Paranormal Life

Well, 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.

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. This is my life, this is my job. 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. This 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.

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...

Trouble 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.

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.

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?

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.

Worlds Collide

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 Haunted Collector, 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!

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.

Some behind-the-scenes highlights from this case so far:

• Best quote - "A question was posed in the Eighties...did they ever find out who was zoomin' who?" ~Aimee Zaffis

• 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.

• I still have yet to execute a "night train" maneuver, but I'm hopeful for the future...

• 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.

• Brooks was here and so was Red. Now, Brian has been there too.

• Hall and Oates music has been following me and I don't mind at all.

• Wearing my full SCARED! uniform underneath some required safety gear feels like a proper nod to that which got me where I am today.

More to come...

Showers and storms

The 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.

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.

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 adjustability...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.

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 be 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:

"The hurricane doesn't choose who it rains on."

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...stalking us. Something was observing us...watching us and taking note of our habits and looking for weak spots.

I keep watch on the skies and in the shadows around me. Keep watching me, you only see what I allow you to...

Third 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.

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.

The entire team had experiences in this location - even the camera crew!

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...

Travel Day

Dart 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!

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...

I'll be able to be more specific eventually, but for now I have to be vague.

Day 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.

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.

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.

Time to sleep now. To sleep, perchance to dream.

East bound and down

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.

So here it is. The occasional thought, deep or otherwise. My updates from the road. Tomorrow we hit our first case of Season Two.

Haunted Collector Season 2

On the road again. I can't wait to get on the road again. Updates to follow!