Ghost Adventures Live Halloween Special

Congratulations to the guys for not spewing expletives all over the place on live television! Well, except for that one part.

What better place for a Halloween show than an asylum? And Zak goes in with his usual excitement and enthusiasm. And Aaron goes in with his usual concern and trepidation and raised eyebrow to the camera. Come on Aaron you should be used to this stuff by now.

Overall the investigation was very entertaining to watch. Zak and crew kept things moving along nicely even when they ran into a few glitches.

But let’s get down to the business of discussing some of those crazy devices and the guests they brought on.

Chris Fleming and his spirit box:

Ok, what the hell is this thing? Chris seems like an interesting guy, but his gizmo seems to be tuning in radio stations more than anything else. And does the Spirit Box always sound like that or was it just a TV thing? That pulsing was incredibly annoying. Again, I can’t say I really heard anything and the little bit I did hear sounded like radio waves just as much as the paranormal.

The Constantinos and live EVPs:

First off, ease off on the eye makeup Debbie. Under the IR camera that comes across as, well, scary. The words demonic raccoon come to mind. But moving beyond that, I was pretty underwhelmed with this segment. Again, I’m not hearing the voices and I don’t see how these two have mystical insight into EVPs. As far as their special technique for EVPs? It looks like they’re pressing Record and then Play. Not sure how "specialized" that really is.

It was still interesting to have new people in there. Their part wasn’t too bad until they got to the medical center and then Debbie got a little moody. Maybe that is her style of provoking but she seemed a little out of it all of a sudden.

The Guest investigators:

Who picked these three to be on the show? Kelly looked like he was ready for the challenge, but the other two looked like they were scared to death. However, Kelly barely said anything during the whole segment. And when they got locked in the solitary rooms, they just stood there. You had recorders right? Why not start investigating? You would think they’d have some idea of what to do since they were fans of the show and you would think they’ve at least watch a few paranormal shows on TV. But yet, they pretty much just stood there. Can’t say they offered anything of benefit to the show. It was a neat idea to bring them, I was just expecting a little more. I thought that one girl was going to soil herself when they locked her in. Zak sort of had to break the mood and let her know it’s just for effect.

Robert Bess and the Parabot:

No doubt Tesla coils are cool, but this whole set up came across as a parlor trick. Catching a spirit on television? Where are Ray, Igon and Peter?

The idea of a Tesla coil providing energy to the spirits was one thing, but this noisy ass phone booth just frustrated me. That siren going off whenever the EMF rose above a certain level was distracting to say the least. Did it really have to be there? A light couldn’t have done the trick, and been a lot stealthier?

This was also the segment with the most confusion and system breakdowns. The Parabot wouldn’t fire up correctly (did ya remember to plug it in) and now the guys are left with little to do while they wait for Robert to get it working again.

Once it does fire up, it seems to incite panic and chaos. A million volts seems to have that effect. Everyone starts talking and then yelling at once and you can’t hear a word anyone is saying. Plus, they’re all scared to death this lightning machine is going to fry them. I thought the Parabot was supposed to be able to move on its own. Why didn’t they drive it down the hall? It just sat there in one place. Since they kept seeing shadows and all sorts of other things down the hall, why didn’t they go after it? Pedal to the metal Commander! Doesn’t seem like a very good set up. Basically the Parabot really isn’t doing anything except making a hell of a lot of noise and scaring people. It’s like some robot gone amok on the Jetsons.

But Ok, now it’s up and running. Bess gets thrown around like a rag doll. One moment he’s being punched, the next he’s crashing into the wall. Then the EMF meter in his hand goes hurling down the hall. Then we have more yelling and screaming like some panty raid at a sorority.

And the EMF toss is the big controversy of the night. Was it yanked from his hand or did he throw it for dramatic effect? Now we’re looking at the same thing that hangs over the Ghost Hunters and the coat pulling of Halloween 2008. If you look at the video (just go to YouTube, you’ll find it) it looks pretty clear that Robert did toss the detector down the hall. Maybe he got scared, maybe he got pushed, maybe he got goosed in the hiney, but it does look like he throws it. He put some spin on it, but a toss none the less. I guess he figured he was in the dark and nobody would know. The Shadow knows Robert.

Even Zak had to take him off to the side and have a chat about it once he was done with that segment of the show. Seems the producers let him know the controversy was already starting and the show wasn’t even over.

The Medical Center was quite disappointing. The place is a mess and the history is quite tainted with all the medical procedures that went on in there. You would think the place would be loaded with voice and happenings. Well, not so much. And this is where Debbie Constantino starts to go off the deep end with a weird story from her childhood and how the spirits are now trying to get into her head. She seems to kind of be babbling. Was she just tired or was the place getting to her?

Pretty much nothing happened in the morgue, but Nick was only in there for a few minutes. He claims it got extremely cold and his voice is wavering because of it. Maybe he was just having a reaction to the tight quarters.

There was the bit with Aaron and the pain in his eye. That would have been cool if he was getting a psychic lobotomy, but he could have dust in his eye for all we know.

So what’s the final verdict? You probably think I hated the show. Actually, I thought it was a lot of fun. Even though some parts were lacking I enjoyed watching it. I think Zak and crew handled themselves pretty well and kept things moving amidst the glitches and kooky guests.

They never did go back and check on that ball and music box they left for Lily. They have a "post mortem" show coming up which I’m curious to see. There’s no doubt that running around an asylum in the middle of the night, especially when its Halloween is going to get you worked up. Add some creepy sounds and tricks of light and you have the makings of a good time. We’ll have to see what they have to say about all of it.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum – The Cutdown
• Ghost Adventures – Linda Vista Hospital
• Ghost Adventures – Washoe Club – Final Chapter – S16E07
• Ghost Adventures – Bracken Fern Manor and Tudor House – S12E03
• Paranormal Challenge – Linda Vista Hospital – S01E10
• Deadly Possessions – Dibbuk Box and Robert the Doll – S01E01
• Zozo, Darren Evans, Robert Murch and Darkness Radio – A Zozo Hoax?
• Some sort of crazy paranormal showdown
• Ghost Adventures – Washoe Club and Chollar Mine
• Ghost Adventures Halloween Special