Paranormal

Ghost Adventures – Battle of Perryville Field Hospital – S08E11

image The Ghost Adventures team returns a location they visited in the past, the Rocky Point Manor in 2011. This time they’re investigating two houses turned field hospital in Perryville. The homes were smack dab in the middle of an extremely bloody battle. As we know, a field hospital was the greatest place of healing. In times of battle they spend more time sawing limbs off than putting soldiers back together. There was perhaps more pain an suffering inside the hospital than on the battlefield.

These two homes are known for their bloodstained floors, which Zak actually proves using luminol. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise due to the vast amount of amputations that would have taken place, but it does make the pain and suffering more tangible.

As the investigation gets underway, the team brings in a group of re-enactors who give a glimpse of the drama associated with a field hospital. As they play their roles and the chaos ensues, they all relate how they feel sadness, a heaviness and that it became more real than they intended.

Zak makes contact with "Daniel". He carries on a brief conversation before they lose contact. It turns out there was indeed a Daniel McIlwaine that died on that battle field in 1862.

Zak also gets a voice saying, "who’s there?" and "hide, they’re here". This might indicate the house was under siege at some point.

There are lots of footsteps in the house. This has also been witnessed by other investigators who say they hear someone pacing the floor upstairs. It’s still and old house and those footsteps could be any number of things. Many animals sounds and wood expanding sound like footsteps.

One unusual piece of evidence is the Ovilus falling to the ground. Part of the device is still on the table while the other is on the floor. The two pieces are tied together with velcro. In order to fall apart, someone would need to undo that strap and disconnect the wiring. The team is quite certain spirit energy caused this to happen. It’s sort of hard to jump on board with that one.

They do get some interesting EVPs coming through and they do locate the name of an actual soldier who died during the battle. Are the soldiers from the past still walking the grounds? Are they still engaged in battle? The re-enactors certainly believe so.

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Ghost Mine – Shadows in the Drift – S02E11

image When we last left the Crescent mine the team had just lit the fuse to some major explosives that may have cleared more than they bargained for. Turns out they blasted out the backside of the mine and they see plenty of daylight. Turns out the bulkhead they smashed through was actually the entrance to the tunnel and they’ve been going the wrong way. Instead of going deeper into the mine they pushed completely out. Looks like they have to reverse direction if they want to find more gold.

They believe there’s another entrance below them so Patrick volunteers to repel down and check it out. In what was edited together to be tense moments of lost audio and video along with Patrick’s rope acting like he came off of it, we see Patrick perfectly fine in the entrance of the other tunnel. But it turns out this too has been sealed off and caved in. But like the tunnel above, this is an entrance, not an exit. No point in blasting it since they’re still in the wrong place.

Since Kristen has been gone so long, she and Patrick go over the mine to check out any new activity. Turns out the raise platform has multiple spikes going on as they do some EVP work. It gives a particular shake when Kristen asks if there’s gold in the tunnels. Patrick also says he feels a rush of wind at the same time. Let’s keep in mind that there is now a giant hole to the outside and they’re only a few yards away from it. Not to mention standing on a platform resting on blasted and loose rock.

There is additional activity as both miners and investigators head deeper into the mine heading in opposite direction as before. As they get to the new cave-in they all hear the sound of mining equipment being used and someone working. There is the ting of hammers and the sound of rocks falling. Are they picking up sounds from another shaft or spiritual energy? Even Eddie hears it and finds it odd.

Additional viewing of the footage shows what they feel is a shadow figure behind the debris. There is also the sound of what they think is a voice and one that isn’t speaking English. According to their translation it might be speaking the word "demon".

Undaunted, the miners dig in deep and work to clear out the obstruction in the tunnel. Dingus and Jay are given the job, but as they work Jay experiences a couple of different things. He feels a tap on the shoulders and is quite certain he sees someone or something down in the tunnel with them. Jay seems pretty convinced they aren’t alone.

And finally, Kristen and Patrick as about the main entrance to the mine. Did it too have a bulkhead like the others? It wasn’t quite the same, but the timbers are off to the side so they sift through them. Low and behold they discover something, but what it is will have to wait until next week. More than likely we have another symbol from the Masons. No real surprise there. It’s still coming across as though there was a rich ore deposit just out of reach so the mine was boarded up until they could come back for it.

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Ghost Mine – Passageway to the Unknown – S02E10

image As we pick back up with the team we move forward with finding out what’s the behind the wooden bulkhead someone put up. The guys seem to be on the right path for gold since obviously someone else was here before them. It doesn’t take long for Dingus to knock down the barrier only to find the wall dead ends mere feet in front of them. Why block off the area if it’s already blocked off and doesn’t lead anywhere? Seems a pointless exercise.

Meanwhile Kristen and Stan are still in Arizona scouting the next location for Season 3 of Ghost Mine. The Octave mine has had two crews come in and both of them have left after seeing shadows and hearing noises and knocking sounds. Many of the stories seem similar to those of the Crescent. That seems pretty typical for these paranormal stories. What you hear in one place you hear in another with only slight changes to the details. I compare it to everyone having a "Resurrection Mary" story.

Kristen learns of some notorious figures from the area, specifically Charlie "Bloody" Stanton, an outlaw who terrorized the town. It seems he was trying to take over the town through various means. The Weaver Cemetery, a mile down the road, has the remains of Charlie and many other outlaws. Kristen heads down there to gather evidence. While taking an EVP she hears some unusual noises that turn out to be a fallen cross she had replaced on a grave.

Things get a little more interesting as she and Stan head into the mine itself to gather some evidence. Stan is totally on board with the investigation and even begins to talk out loud to any spirits that might be listening. They hear rocks falling on multiple occasions and even Stan admits to hearing some sort of breath while down there. They also get a few spikes on the Mel Meter as they move around.

As they head down one of the side tunnels, both Stan and Kristen believe they see something moving in the shadows. Stan says he saw something moving really fast. It certainly could have been an animal, but neither of them are sure what they saw.

Back the Crescent, Patrick tries a new experiment. He actually records the sound of the quartz with a microphone. When he plays it back, it sort of has the sound of heartbeat. At least that’s what Bucket says since I didn’t hear anything. Patrick interprets this as the mountain is charged with energy because of all the quartz. What that means in the long run is hard to say. Does that mean it’s dangerous? It’s hard to say. Quartz does hold energy. It can vibrate. Does that mean it holds the energy, negative or otherwise of lost miners? It might make the hauntings more intense. It might have an impact on the way people feel in that space. It might be increasing the level of paranormal activity.

But regardless of what it does, Eddie is going to be stopped in his quest for gold. The crew sets off another series of blasts in this newly found area and seems to punch their way right to the surface. It obviously edited to be dramatic, but it appears sunlight is streaming through the hole they just blasted and their new tunnel has lead them back to the surface. It doesn’t look like they found the rich vein of gold they were hoping for. They may have just run out of options for this mine.

Unlike the previous episode, there wasn’t as much physical evidence to be had. The sound of rocks falling, odd noises in a mind and perhaps even something moving can all easily be explained. But the odd part is the human element. Why did someone wall up a dead end tunnel? In retrospect perhaps the other miners knew they were heading up to the surface and put the wall in place to stop other people from making the same mistake. It looks like this team is running into some bad luck, not only with their equipment, but with their decision making paradigm.

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Ghost Adventures Halloween Special – Transylvania

image Right off the bat there was very little about this episode I liked. It played into every cliché that exists about Dracula and vampires. It’s fantastic they got to visit such a legendary and quite frankly superstitious country, but come on does it really have to be like this? Vlad was a real man, not a vampire. He wasn’t evil, he was a mad protecting his home and country. He was outmanned and decided to show absolute determination to make invaders think twice about destroying his village. He’s seen by most in his home country as a hero. His overwhelming show of force lead to Bram Stoker using some of those elements for his story. And despite what Zak would like to think or interpret, Dracul means DRAGON, so Vlad Dracul is Son of the Dragon, not Son of the Devil. Stop making shit up to try and be sinister.

Aside from amateur mistakes like that, this episode was like watching 8 years run around an amusement park. It’s like Zak was channeling Shatner as he tried to make everything overly dramatic and dangerous. It’s a couple hours of overcompensating for things aren’t happening on the investigation.

They start of their Romanian trip by visiting the supposed birthplace of Vlad. Hey wouldn’t you know it, it’s a tourist trap. It’s now a café with a ridiculously cheesy display upstairs. To hell with the idea of putting out historical information, lets drape the room in blood red fabric and have a guy sit in a coffin.

With that bit of nonsense behind the real investigation begins. The trio decides to split up with Zak and Billy going to the Hoia Baciu Forest where people claim to see UFOs, Elementals, Balls of light and all sorts of spirits. The locals are so afraid they won’t enter the forest at night. Makes me think of Sherwood Forest from Robin Hood. But the locals take it quite seriously and refuse to enter the forest at night.

A lot is made of the "circle" in the middle of the forest where trees refuse to grow. Clearly this can’t be the work of toxic soil, rocks or minerals in the ground, it has to spirit work. And we soon find out when Zak and Billy enter the forest that there are forces they can’t deal with. Zak is struck silent as he stands stupefied – apparently in the grasp of some otherworldly force. As Billy comes to his aid, Zak nearly soils himself and has a bit of a breakdown. He’s nearly on the verge of tears as he tells Billy something is wrong. This bit of melodrama is only usurped by the glowing ball of red light coming from the center of the forest. Too bad they couldn’t focus on the ball long enough for us to tell it was the tail light of the ATV they drove up in.

Meanwhile Aaron and Nick scare the Dickens out of each other at Targoviste Castle where many of the death surrounding the Dracul legend took place. This is where many invaders were stuck on spikes as a warning to others. While in there Aaron believes he hears his name as well as the word "hello, Vlad and Flowers".

Next, they meet up at the Hunedoara Castle where they hear more stories including one where the security guard let in a band of Satan worshipers who performed their dark rituals. Well, clearly he didn’t think it was all that sinister since he let them in. But of course Zak and Nick make it out to be the opening of the gates of hell and it definitely means it’s demonic.

Next we have little imp and tour guide Anca who gives all sorts of tidbits to the American tourists about how haunted the place is and how much torture took place there. But then again, she is trying to sell tickets and bump up that tourism, so what else is she gonna say?

The guys investigate the place with Zak going into the cell/pit where Vlad was supposedly kept for a year. They capture what they believe is some women laughing (witches I’m sure) and then Aaron begins to have massive pains in his chest. After he gets mad at everyone over his "Charlie horse" Zak thinks he might be having a heart attack. Clearly that’s not it, it’s the work of evil spirits.

They next to go to the Chapel where the Satan Worshipers did their "messed up" rituals in the Chapel. So Nick lights a bunch of candles in a circle and lays down on the floor asking someone to blow them out. Then scary things happen and they hear a door creak. It’s Vlad!!

To add to their mysterious stay in the Castle and to emulate the feeling from the Dracula novel they claim something is making it to where they don’t want to leave.

But they overcome and visit an actual descendant of Vlad Tepes, Princess Brianna Caradja, who tells a story of making contact with Vlad. While using a Ouija, she makes contact and the spirit spells out Vlad. Odd, the Ouija is claimed by so many to be a surefire way to open a portal to hell and bringing forth demons you can’t possibly control. Yet, Zak doesn’t seem to chastise her. He was all manner of distraught in the Exorcist House, but doesn’t say anything here. Hmm. Don’t want to tempt the wrath of a descendant of Vlad eh?

Oh, nearly forgot, Zak decides to make a wild connection and say the word "flower" they heard in Targoviste has to mean the flowers in the garden where they talk to Princess Brianna. Obviously, that’s what it means. It couldn’t mean anything else, right?

It should come as no surprise that when the investigation is over the decree the entire area of Romania haunted. Every square inch. The spirit of Vlad permeates every nook and cranny of the place. Well, not quite that bad, but they do say it’s extremely haunted and charged with energy. We all knew they would say that even before the episode aired.

I don’t think Romania is any more haunted than any other place that has seen it’s share of death and war. The people of Romania are superstitious and believe in legends as part of their daily lives. Plus, they are steeped in the mystery that surrounds Bram Stoker and Dracula. And clearly they take advantage of that tourism dollar. It’s no surprise that everything is shrouded in the legend and over time people just come to believe that those stories are true. You can say the same thing about Savannah and New Orleans. It happens all over the place.

All that being said, I thought this was a great place to visit and show off, but this investigation was pretty damn cheesy.

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