Paranormal State – Spirits of the Slave Dungeon – S05E03

I was really quite excited about this episode since Charleston is right down the road from me. Charleston is full of ghost stories and is certainly steeped in history so when they made their way to an old city jail where severe punishments were handed out regardless of your crime it seemed they would have an investigation full of evidence. While it sort of starts off that way, it goes off the rails pretty quickly. Right from the beginning Ryan takes on an almost condescending tone toward the tour operator about how he’s treating the spirits. He’s all but saying that running his ghost tours is wrong. Why he’s taking this stance is a bit of a mystery to me. Mr. Stand in the dark and yell at the spirits to come out and show themselves is picking on some guy just trying to run a business. Anyone else see this as a contradiction?

Ryan and team play it up on the first night when they try and reach the spirits. They ask for a sign of their presence and try to record voices and movement. But the next day they get called out by Dr. O who mysteriously shows up out of nowhere and takes issue with the way they’re investigating the spirits. He claims the spirits told him to come down to the jail and talk to Ryan and his team. Dr. O says they need to change their ways and make offerings to appease the tortured spirits of the jail. They need to offer up water, fruit and candles. Ryan gives in immediately and does what he’s told. It’s like their sitting in the Principals office being scolded.

By happenstance there is a large thunderstorm that night (a large thunderstorm at a coastal town, that never happens!) which Ryan attributes to the spirits and the visit by Dr. O. The team makes their offering, apologizes for their insensitivity and then the storm passes, which they again attribute to their own actions.

Talk about odd. Does Ryan really think his actions with the spirit world can make storms come and go? He’s supposedly from South Carolina, but acts as though it never rains in the South. And who is this Dr. O chap and why did he pick now to show and raise a fuss? I’m sure it had nothing to do with the cameras and the thought of a little air time for himself. Why hasn’t he spoken to the tour owner before? Hells Bells, it’s not like the tour started yesterday, he must have known about it for years. This really smacks of seeking some limelight for your own personal gains here.

Why did they actually show this episode? What was the point? If anything is comes across as Ryan having his own personal agenda and he called in Dr. O himself to try and interfere with the city jail tours. Who knows why he would do that, but the whole thing was rather pointless.

Maybe I’ll plan my own trip down there and see what kind of things I can see and hear for myself.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ryan Buell arrested and facing criminal charges
• Using the paranormal to drum up business
• Paranormal State S04E02 – Invitation to Evil
• What’s with all the secrecy?
• Paranormal State – Shadow Caster – S04E09
• Paranormal State – Darkness Falls – S04E08
• Boogeymen – Mothman – S01E01
• Paranormal State – Haunted Homecoming – S05E13
• Paranormal TV – Which shows are coming back?
• Paranormal State – Bedroom Eyes – S05E13