THE BACK STORY: ...or so it reportedly goes, once-plumbers Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson had singularly experienced ghostly paranormal activity, in their lives; exchanging information on their experiences, they decided to pull their resources together, 'plumbing' by day, but moonlighting as paranormal investigators by night...documenting their findings, for the purpose of this so-so intriguingly unconventional reality show production...the main purpose of which, according to our intrepid lead players, is to provide greater insight and overall comfort, regarding paranormal activity, to those who call upon their unique and unconventional services. Eventually, this arcane nocturnal activity culminated in their forming of the TAPS group (...The Atlanta Paranormal Society), having since up the ante and streamlined their operations, after eight successful 'seasons'...emphasizing strictly on their paranormal investigative endeavors (...i.e., no more plumbing, though in the initial onset, I'm sure that the classic line, 'don't quit your day job' was bantered about by doubters)...with the addition of multiple vehicles, supportively enhanced sponsorship, more specified technical equipment...to 'deftly and accurately' aid in gaging, measuring and documenting their findings (...despite how questionably vague it might seem, in the depicted use of such equipment)...as well as procuring additional personnel...adding four-to-five eager and open-minded, albeit lesser experienced investigators, with the occasional 'guest investigator', depending upon the case investigated...
...a staunch and structured regiment of approach ensues, with each investigation, starting with a thorough survey and background check of the property investigated, as well as a candid interview with the concerned 'hauntees', who relate the instances of paranormal activity to the TAPS team. The investigative process begins soon after, as the team sets up their test components & video surveillance equipment, splits up into teams to be stationed at the specific areas of ghostly activity, and in most cases herein, all lights are shut off, with the majority of the featured investigative process, being conducted with flashlights and infrared video photography. Given whatever results, which the investigative process wroughts...be it visual, aural and/or physical...the team gathers the information, conducts an overall analysis...identifying what cannot be explained, and what can be explained, or 'debunked'...and finally, led by Jason and Grant, briefs the people who called upon the TAPS team, to explain their findings, what those findings might be interpreted as, and what the best course of action might be...
THE INVESTIGATION: ...from Kings Island Amusement Park in Mason, Ohio...to Hales Bar Dam in Halestown, Tennessee...to the Major Graham Mansion in Max Meadows, Virginia...to the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity House, at the University of Rhode Island, in Kingston...to Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania...to the USS Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina...and many other locations, in between all these aforementioned points, the TAPS team is called upon...eagerly and dutifully responding...to check out & confirm the paranormal experiences of those closely associated with the featured locations, using technically 'state-of-the-art' (...though truthfully, not fully explained) 'gizmos', as well as simpler, traditionally tried & true methods (...I loved the coordinated multi-flashlight bit, used to communicate with suspected ghosts...used multiple times, in the course of the twelve episodes) to attempt contact with lingering paranormal dissidents. Coaxedly calling upon the wayward spirits of little girls (...and several of these cases seemed to preponderantly involve little girls, for some reason...Go Figure!!), deceased once-residents of a local bed & breakfast, a royal princess, lost mine workers, a slave-owning major...killed by his servants, and the slain sailors of a long-since fought war, amongst others...the multi-faceted, investigative team diligently & appearingly weed out the explainable, from the not-so explainable...occasionally jumping out of their skins, as the startling result of the latter, but mostly, given to 'oh wow' moments...and genuinely appear to impress themselves, as well as their clients, with documented evidence of mysterious cold spots, creaks, groans, screams, footsteps, and simple, sometimes indeterminate vocalizations of unknown origins...wayward unearthly shadows, and flashes of light...even outright physical contact, as reported by team members. At the end of the investigation, the TAPS team attempts to calm and reassure their clients of the level of paranormal presence & activity involved, what said presence might be attributed to, whether or not the presence and/or activity means any harm, and suggest how the client should proceed, with regards to dealing with the ghostly presence...or merely accepting it. In the midst of these investigations, inner-mingling drama DOES ensue...in the case of these twelve episodes, when the team finds out, and has to deal with the heartfelt eventuality, that one of the founding, well-liked & respected team leaders of the TAPS group, has to leave the team, for unexplained personal reasons...
THE ANALYSIS: ...for an intrigued, albeit somewhat doubting viewer like myself, when it comes to productions like this, the most appealing aspect of this series, would not so much be the resigningly routine, sometimes quite predictable investigations, and the ohhh-sooo 'spooky' results, which take place almost identically, from episode to episode, despite the change in locale (...setting up...testing the environment..."Are you in the room with us??...Wait!! What's that noise?? WOW!!"...testing some more...looking for signs..."Knock three times for us, so we know you're there...Wait?? What's that flash of light?? WOW!!"...testing some more...looking for signs..."OK, that's it...that's a wrap!!"), but the alternately interesting, charming, exotic, historical & strikingly beautiful location and landmarks, where the suggested paranormal activity reportedly takes place...with my personal favorites being the trip to the Thomas House Bed & Breakfast in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee...The Major Graham Mansion in Max Meadows, Virginia...The Mount Washington Resort, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire...and the USS Yorktown visit. At best, one might even extrapolate an exceptionally scenic travelogue itinerary, as most of these places seem ideal places to visit, with the suspected ghosts and ghoulies and long-legged beasties, being part of the alluring charm...
...however, the crust of the lucrative and controversial business at hand...the paranormal investigations...very much falls short of hopeful expectations, in the sense that the whole ordeal, from place to place, seems exploitively 'showy' and exhibitionist, giving little to awe and wonder about, once once takes away the smoke & mirrors (...granted, if any; the team leaders, Jason & Grant, DO suggest that nothing is set up in advance, nothing is deceptively made up, and everything projected to the viewing audience is real, with a supposed 80/20 ratio, associated with what can be explained, and what cannot be explained)...the ethereal-looking, tension-instilling infrared photography...the fast paced, snap-snap-snap editing (...especially at startling and revelational, crescendo moments, right before commercial breaks)...and the riveting, suspense-zinging music. When stripped of all these theatrical 'enhancements', what is left seems nothing more than harmless, moderately startling and impishly Casper-esque moments...the faint squeaks, scratches, screams, wails, groans, whimpers, knocks, footsteps and discernible voices...admittedly a bit spooky and chilling, in the routine interim, but ultimately, the whole ordeal, from episode to episode, suggests mere matter-of-fact, shoulder-shrugging fare...more whisper, than bang. In fact, considering that 'Ghost Hunters' has endured for nine years, to date...with hours upon hours of documented 'evidence', exhuing the aforementioned subtle, whisperous 'ticks'...it is genuinely surprising that even the seasoned members of the TAPS investigative crew still give an '...oh wow, that's weird!!' response to every faintly mysterious noise, which they come across, no matter what it is. They heart-thumpingly jump out of their skins, at the few-and-far-between 'scare' moments, amidst these investigations, but in contrast, during 'technically' applied proceedings, appear to have matter-of-fact, almost yawn-inducing moments...viewer-questionable moments, such as, when they entice a spiritual presence to communicate, via the twisting of a series of flashlights (...given a rather vivid imagination, personally, I'd be more freaked out by the latter, than the more subtle 'events', if I was 'johnny-on-the-spot'; I mean, heck...if the spirits can 'operate' flashlights, what's to stop them from 'operating' something ELSE...something more affecting, even threatening...really, think about it)...
...and SO condescendingly sounding are they...these TAPS team members...when addressing the suspected paranormal presence..."We want to help you...Will you help us?? Will you play with us??" Ugh, as if they really COULD 'help' them, considering the juxstapositioned, albeit misaligned planes of existence. Once again, given my imagination, if I was one of these restless spirits, which these hapless 'ghost hunters' were trying to contact, I might be inclined to be insulted...or at the very least, with a sigh-irritant 'hurrumph', do whatever could to lead them on...mess with them...chorklingly counting the aforementioned 'oh, wow's. And in the end, what do they REALLY accomplish?? Merely acknowledge and confirm the supposed paranormal presence, without really identifying it, suggesting to the client that the presence is 'not harmful', and that they are just going to have to deal with it, or put their foot down, so to speak, demanding that the presence leave(?). Even the clients themselves seem to exhibit a sense of gullibility...appearing to genuinely praise the efforts and results of the oh-so qualified TAPS team...to a small measure, almost likened to being deceived by a modern-day snake oil salesperson, with deftly and convincingly welded tricks-to-the-trade...not fully realizing that anything was actually accomplished, at all. Just part of the exploitive exhibitionist flavor, perhaps?? You're guess is as good as this viewer's.....
THE REVEAL: ..."Ghost Hunters", in a very slick 'reality TV' way, very much recalls a level of exploitive exhibitionist fun, which flavored the creepily sensationalist approach of the past...say, even as far back as ghostly-manufactured, sensationalist William Castle horror productions of the '50's & '60's. Just don't look too closely...don't pull back the curtain, and reveal the guy back there (...or, in the case of this series, pair away the showboating, exploitively enhancing Hollywood trappings, both visual and aural) , or you'll ruin the illusion. Not quite 'much ado about nothing'...but close. Rather, it's the interesting & intriguingly exotic, charming and historical locations, which are visited upon by the TAPS team, are more the standout, in this series...with the amiable combination of exploitation and locale, making this episodic paranormal investigative production...eh, amusing and entertaining enough to warrant viewer devotion. Worth the occasional 'boo'-instilled look...at least once in a while.....
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