RottenOne

Ghost Mine – Town Wide Terror – S02E09

Published October 31, 2013 | By RottenOne

In this episode we have quite a few things going on and multiple investigations across different locations. When we last left things, RIPA was having a seizure and almost kicked Jay off the platform. For the moment they ditch that idea until they can get RIPA back under control.

Work continues and as Jamol and Greybeard gather some ore samples, they hear that all too familiar phantom tinging of workers.

As Kristen plots out all the locations of the paranormal sightings she discovers they all form straight lines. Basically, the lines go from town up to the mine. With that in mind Patrick and Kirsten enlist the help of Ashton to help with a town wide investigation. What they discover is a strange glitch that starts in town and moves across every camera they have. It doesn’t stay in town either, that same "static" moves across every camera as it makes it’s way down the mine shaft.

Their investigation also yields some sort of shadow figure on the dredge and multiple loud bangs as Ashton is watching the monitors.

If working a single location isn’t enough, Stan takes Kristen to Arizona to investigate the Octave mine. It apparently has a paranormal past and many speak of the Blue Devil of Octave. Stan and Kristen head into the mine which looks like it’s ready to collapse and make friends with a snake. But while inside they hear the sound of rocks falling and the sound of miners working. The mine has been abandoned for years. They also find depictions of what we should assume is the Blue Devil. It’s a face with horns sketched into the mine tunnel walls. Perhaps those miners attributed the noises they heard to the Blue Devil.

Back at the Crescent, Patrick consults with a geologist about the surrounding area. Dennis lets them know there is a lot of quartz in the area and quartz very easily holds energy. It’s very easy to set in motion and to get a frequency out of it.

With all of this new evidence coming at them, they finally get RIPA fixed so they can check out the new mine shaft they’ve cleared. To their surprise there’s a bulkhead. Someone has sealed off yet another part of the mine.

Some very interesting things going on here. Is there really some entity moving through the length of town that causes the odd glitch on the camera? Is there something to all the quartz in the area and it’s ability to store energy that causes the paranormal events? Is this new mine someone related to the Crescent up in Oregon or did we just see the first couple scenes of the spin-off series?

Whitechapel Season 4

Published October 27, 2013 | By RottenOne

I just finished watching the latest season of Whitechapel from the BBC and it was every bit as dark and ominous as the other seasons and then some. The whole crew is back again to face some very nasty foes such as a killer that is mimicking the deaths from the Salem Witch Trials complete with adding more weight until he gets a confession and burning at the stake.

We also have several stories about the teams personal side, such as Kent’s twin sister, Buchan’s new book and the unusual woman he meets at the book signing and multiple instances of DI Chandler in some putrid settings that make his OCD become nearly debilitating. Then again, if I was covered in raw sewage I can’t say my reaction would be much different.

This was a pretty dark series that had some very unusual storylines and some very interesting references to history. We even get the idea that Whitechapel may be sitting on a gate to hell, that’s why so many bad things happen out there. There is a pretty big supernatural element to this season and most of the team finds themselves dealing with their own personal demons in some way.

It was a pretty compelling season. I certainly hope there’s another one coming.

Ghost Adventures – Thornhaven Manor – S08E10

Published October 26, 2013 | By RottenOne

For this episode the guys head out to Indiana to investigate Thornhaven Manor, a scrawling house that is being consumed by the surround weeds and bushes. As Zak says, nature is wrapping her hands around this place and is pulling it back into the ground. It once looked quite stunning, but now it’s simply overgrown.

Simon Powell was the original owner and his daughter Lizzie apparently died in the house when she was just 2 years old. But Lizzie isn’t the only death. There is also the reported murder of Rueben Bailey who was poisoned with rat poison. The details of the event remain rather vague.

The main reports involve the sound of a loud scream and footsteps. At first, things seem a little dubious as the scream is attributed to nothing more than the squealing brakes of a passing car. And considering the growth and water damage, it seems like the footsteps and other sounds would come from the settling house and animals. Zak seems a little discouraged if you ask me. There is even a large glowing cold spot that turns out to be water damage on the floor.

But Zak forges ahead to try and make lemonade. They too hear footsteps in the house and in one of the rooms the camera seems to have a hard time focusing on things as though someone is walking in front of the camera. They believe they make contact with Lizzie and also someone named Emily.

In trying to make contact with Lizzie, they bring in their device laden teddy bear that immediately starts to go off as though someone is really playing with that bear. Not too long after this they hear the sound of rocks being thrown. Is Lizzie trying to pelt them with stones?

Another usual spot in the house is right at the top of the stairs. As Zak reaches this spot his walkie talkie turns on and stays on. At the same time, there is a shadow figure in the room next to them. This is also the location where they capture a mist like image with the IR still camera. I have to say the mist is a hard one to define. I’ve done plenty of photography and tons of things can show up mist. Shooting photos at night can be tricky business and even the most mundane things can come across as supernatural or otherworldly. In conjunction with the mist they capture what Zak believes is the ball of energy associated with Lizzie. Again, the ball of energy or orb is tricky business. It’s really hard to confirm or debunk that one.

While this is an interesting house, I get the feeling it’s nothing more than an old house that’s rotting away. It’s obviously damaged as hell, so they footsteps are most likely animals or rotting wood. The scream was debunked as a car. The mysterious cold spot was water on the boards. We also have orbs and mists that you can take as you see fit.

From my viewpoint, the main evidence is the EVP work for Lizze and Emily and even that isn’t all that substantial. There is also the bear which is pretty cool. But when you take all this stuff together and remove the dubious evidence I really don’t think there is too much that makes this house haunted. It certainly has the right look and there are plenty of sounds out there, but even with it’s past I’m not sure it has the goods.

What do you think?

Thornhaven Manor

Flaming Pumpkins – The Grinning Jacks

Published October 26, 2013 | By RottenOne

It was a cold night, but nothing warms the place up like a flaming pumpkin. I was once again down at our secret pumpkin burning facility and cooked up these two little rascals. Unfortunately, there wasn’t the usual amount of "oomph" I’m used to, but I think I know why. In the past the rolls have been soaked for hours. And by hours I mean over night. I didn’t have the chance to do that with this batch and I think it shows. It really does take a long time for the liquid to get absorbed into the roll. You can’t just drop it in there and go for broke. It doesn’t have the same effect.

But anyway, based on the limited time I had I still think these came out pretty good. They’re still pretty spectacular even when they’re aren’t quite as spectacular as I would like. I have a reputation to maintain you know.