Destination Truth – Great Wall/Israeli Mermaid S03E11

Published March 27, 2010 | By RottenOne

Great Wall of China

For the first part of the episode Josh heads off to China to investigate sprits that seem to haunt the Great Wall and have been attributed to several recent deaths. Countless lives have been lost building and defending the Great Wall, and many locals feel it is the spirit of these lost soldiers and workers who haunt the ruins. The Chinese people and the government take their ghosts very seriously and have closed down parts of the Wall to visitors. Josh and his team are the first investigative group to be allowed to make an overnight investigation of the site.

Since Josh is in China, the chances of getting a broken down car are pretty slim so he decides to risk his life another way and indulges in the local cuisine. Finding a local food market, he takes in the local color and finds plenty of food "on a stick". Taking to heart the old adage of "when in Rome", Josh chomps down on a big black scorpion that’s still moving. At least it looks like a scorpion, who knows what the devil it was. But make no mistake, it was moving! And it was on a stick!

With a belly full of bugs they called it a night and returned to the hotel. In the morning, they pressed on, and made the drive to the section of the Great Wall were several people have been killed recently. You can only go so far by 4×4, so Josh uses motorcycles to make it the rest of the way. And not just any bikes, but bikes with sidecars. And Josh in WWII vintage goggles and speaking in a crazy accent should solidify the idea that he does indeed march to a different drummer. Let’s also not forget Evan showing off his KungFu moves. And Josh giving tours of the city…

You only have to look at the narrow walkway and icy conditions to realize that just being on the Great Wall in this spot is treacherous.

And repelling down it? Well that’s another matter entirely as we see from Ryder and her minor plunge. It’s only a short slip, but I’m sure it got her heart racing. Remember kids, safety first! Josh may be crazy, but he does seem to know how to tie a knot.

The team finally sets up base camp and heads out into the night to see what they can pick up. There is lots of wind, lots of noises from animals and a couple of thermal hits which are probably nothing more than animals scurrying in the scrub. But as Josh sits doing an EVP session he thinks someone is touching and pushing the buttons on his backpack. It’s even thought that one of the buttons has been shut off.

They hear plenty of noises and feel like something is out there, but with the sun coming up, it’s time to head out and see what the evidence says.

Strangely, Josh meets up with Jason and Grant again for them to go over what he’s found. It does seem like Josh has an EVP of someone saying, "Let me be normal". What this is in reference to is anyone’s guess. Is this an injured soldier talking about his wounds? Or is it one of the crew trying to sneak in a call for help?

It’s hard to say the voices and previous activity are the work of spirits, but no doubt many of the Chinese believe in it.

Israeli Mermaid

Normally you write stories about the mermaid, not offer up $1 million for it’s capture. But that’s what the Israeli government is doing and Josh was quick to take a stab at the bounty. Local citizens have been reporting a slew of recent sightings and many people believe something mysterious is lurking in the waters.

But before the investigation begins, Josh, being the good ambassador that he is, pitches in to help erect a new mermaid statue. With massive drill in hand he does his best to help perpetuate the legend of the mermaid.

First Josh and team head out into the open water with the help of Kayaks. Apparently they forgot to read the manual where it states that when it comes to large open waves versus Kayaks, open waves usually win. After multiple false starts and being dumped out into the water, the team triumphs and heads out to the caves where the mermaid has been sighted. The waters are no calmer and after making a quick investigation the team decides to head out before they’re crushed upon the rocks.

Next, it’s off to another inlet where the mermaid has been seen for some underwater investigation. The water is so murky and dirty they basically can’t see anything. Of course, these are the exact conditions you would expect right before the mermaid makes and appearance. And then Josh sees something. Something big and black in the water. As always it could be anything, but Josh swears something went right past him.

Josh also sends out his team to scout in different locations. Team members take up residence in a lighthouse, along the shore and in another boat to see if anything happens. They do get some odd "figure" that shows up on the thermal imager and send Josh after it. As you might expect, it disappears before he can get to it. Dolphin? Lost swimmer? A log churning in the water? Hard to say, but there’s a blob on the screen.

Did Josh come away with the money? Sadly no. He doesn’t really capture any real evidence to support the claim of the mermaid, but the check is still sitting there, waiting for someone to claim it. He did however come across some nice underwater Roman ruins which are certainly worth investigating.

Even though Josh didn’t come away with much, this episode was hysterical! It has a little bit of everything; action, adventure, mystery, suspense and of course, some nasty, still crawling food. This one ranks right up there as one of my favorites.

Destination Truth – Great Wall/Israeli Mermaid S03E11

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