Destination Truth – Ghost Fleet/Japanese River Monster S04E04

Ghosts of Truk Lagoon

Josh and team head out to an underwater graveyard that was the scene of a decisive battle between the US and Japan during World War II. The water is now littered with wrecked vehicles such as planes, tanks and trucks that many of the locals claim are still running. Not only do they hear the sounds of the engines, but many claim to still hear shots as though the war is still being fought. Many of the local people feel that the island has paranormal activity and there seems to be no shortage of people with eyewitness accounts. Scuba divers seem to both love and fear the wreckage out there.

Josh starts things off in typical style by renting a 4-wheel drive Jeep that is more than likely going to asphyxiate them all. It’s pretty much leaking exhaust fumes from every point. If Mike makes it, it’ll certainly be a trip to remember.

The team scouts several locations and then jumps in the water to see what they can see and hear. I have to say the dive is both amazing and creepy. There are dozens of vehicles just sitting in the water. It’s somewhat eerie to see a complete truck or tank just sitting on the reef floor. It does look like they could be turned on at any moment and driven out of there. And strangely, as Josh heads into one of the areas where several of the trucks are sitting, he hears what sounds like an engine running. There is definitely something there and you can hear an engine hum very distinctly. Of course I have to ask, is there some other explanation? Is it the sound of the water rushing alongside the container, or a vibration that’s giving off the noise? It seems very repeatable so more than likely there’s a natural cause. But none the less, having that sound coming from those vehicles would give me the creeps.

But that’s not all, as Josh continues his investigation he comes across multiple sets of human remains. There is no doubt about the destruction and loss of life that took place here. Further, there are still unexploded ordinances lying around. Josh and team swim right up on them and then make a hasty retreat before things go completely wrong.

Finally, they attempt an underwater EVP session to see if the can communicate with the soldiers. This actually seems pretty strange but who knows what kind of results they’ll get. I guess the worst thing that can happen is that they’ll get a response. (By the way, did anyone else think there was a voice saying "Hai" the word for yes in Japanese when Josh asked if anyone was there? That seems to have been glossed over in my opinion)

And with evidence in hand they head back to see they’ve captured. Alas, they yet again bring in Jason and Grant of Ghost Hunters to look over the evidence. Will this ever stop? Go away you two!

But what evidence did they find? There is the sound of the engine and perhaps even a voice. There looks to be someone walking around on the FLIR but that is dismissed as a real person who got in the way. And that makes me ask, are people just walking around while they film this? Isn’t there some sectioned off area where people can’t just wander into? You would think it would be harder just to "stumble" onto an investigation.

It’s hard to tell what Josh captured. The engine sound could easily be a naturally occurring phenomenon. Sure, it’s creepy and just happens to be in the same location as the trucks, but it’s really hard to say if it’s paranormal.

Japanese Kappa Monster

The Kappa Monster, which looks like Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles has gone from being scary lake creature to iconic decoration on lunch boxes and popular plush toy. But it used to be a scary thing right? It used to terrorize the landscape, steal children and drag people to a watery end? Actually, yes it did. Apparently the Kappa is a rather dangerous creature that is still attacking people.

After checking out the merchandising of the Kappa in downtown Tokyo, Josh heads out to look for it. And after paddling their way up the river, they have to make a few river crossing. Not an easy thing to do with all that equipment. But never fear, Josh plunges headlong into the river and builds a pulley system to help ferry things across. That Josh, he’s mighty McGyver-esque.

During the investigation they get several things swimming in the water and Josh even feels something brush up against him. There is no attack by any means so I think we have to conclude they just saw some fish swimming in the stream. Big fish perhaps, but fish all the same.

As the investigation continues they come across a cave and decide to wander on in. Those crazy kids! Alas, there is nothing to be found and the team continues to follow the river and what looks a well worn path to see if they can spot the Kappa.

In the end though, they don’t find much. There are certainly plenty of fish roaming around in the water, but there’s very little out there in the way of wildlife. Normally they stumble across something that growls at them and tramples down the grass, but not this time. They’re not sure what people are seeing, but they don’t come away with any evidence that supports a Turtle-Demon creature. Has the legend simply taken over the imagination? At least for now the Kappa will have to be content to live in infamy on a school lunchbox.

Out of these two investigations I really liked the investigation at Truk Lagoon. I wish it would have actually been an hour episode just on that. I think there is so much more history and underwater sites they could have explored and talked about (especially since that Kappa thing was a bust). Too bad they have such a tight schedule to keep. And did anyone else notice all the high tech gadgets for this investigation, especially the product placement of the iPad? That was really cool!

Other Articles of Interest:

• Destination Truth Spirits Of Angkor Wat/Canadian Lake Monster S04E02
• Destination Truth – Spirits of Tikal and Creature From the Black Lagoon – S05E05
• Destination Truth – Alien Invaders and Swedish Lake Monster – S05E04
• Destination Truth – Naree Pon/Aiya Napa – S04E13
• Haunted Highway – Bear Lake Beast and Vergas Hairy Man – S01E01
• Destination Truth – Haunted Mining Town/Taniwha S03E13
• Destination Truth – Vietnam’s Bigfoot – S05E01
• Destination Truth – Great Wall/Israeli Mermaid S03E11
• Destination Truth – Haunted Island Prison/Ucumar – S04E10
• Destination Truth – Season 1 and Season 4