Ghost Hunters

A few months ago, during the writer's strike and nothing good was on television, my wife and I stumbled upon a show called Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Channel.

It has since become a staple in the Kane household, so much so that we have changed our usual Wednesday trips to Erika's parents house to Tuesdays, so that we can watch Ghost Hunters on Wednesday night.

The show is about a group of people, who have labeled themselves TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society), headed by Jason and Grant (right). TAPS is notified of a certain home, library, building, etc. where people have claims to see or hear paranormal activity. They then go into the building, with their EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomenons), thermal cameras, video cameras, etc. and try to either debunk (prove wrong) or find proof of paranormal activity.

We have been watching now for a few months, and a handful of times the group will not find anything paranormal in a certain place during one of their sweeps. But, most of the time there is usually at least some proof of activity in the house, whether it be an EVP, a personal experience, or (on rare occasions) an actual image of an entity (or ghost).

The show airs on SciFi Wednesday nights at 9 p.m., but older shows air in the two hours leading up to the new show. Since we are new to the show, we have also been catching the older seasons as well. Although the older shows are still excellent to watch, due to the findings, the show itself has come along way in its newer versions. One thing I am definitely happy they did away with were the flashing of scary images during the show, ones that had no business being there except for the fact to try and make the show a little scarier. It was unnecessary, the show itself is spooky, especially when actual evidence is found.

Ghost Hunters has actually evolved into another show (sort of like CSI), but this one is called Ghost Hunters: International. A few of the original TAPS members and a handful of others explore buildings, much like in Ghost Hunters, but these buildings are of castles, dungeons, etc. things that have been around for hundreds of years.

Finally, during one of those Ghost Hunters: International shows, a guy by the name of Josh Gates (left) tagged along with the group on one of its excursions. Apparently Josh had a show if his own called Destination Truth, also on SciFi. Erika and I both thought Josh was a funny guy, that actually livened up the Ghost Hunters: International show, so we decided to check out his show as well - which airs in the 10 p.m. slot after Ghost Hunters.

His show is a little different, as he searches for unexplained things, such as the loch ness monster, or other various species that have claimed to have been seen, but not truly verified. His show is pretty interesting, and his brand of humor certainly livens up the broadcast. My only true disappointment, however, is that unlike Ghost Hunters, Josh and his team rarely find what it is they are looking for.

So there you have it, a trio of shows that may spark your interest. Ghost Hunters has truly become a staple in our household, and I guess we can thank the writer's strike for that. Although, we are happy to see our shows slowly working their way back onto the networks.