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Josh got the band back together and headed over to Ireland for a special live investigation as Destination Truth went in search of the Banshee at Duckett Grove. Josh brought in Jael and Ryder from his previous seasons and enlisted the help of Kris and Barry for GHI. Apparently Allison Scagliotti had so much fun in Chile when investigating the Haunted Mining Town that she made a return visit to hunt for the harbinger of death rather than sitting in the Irish Pub for St. Patty’s Day. This group really knows how to have a good time together.

The investigation is of Ducketts Grove, a massive estate owned by the Duckett family but destroyed by a fire in 1933 and now lies in a rather tragic state of disrepair. It’s said to be haunted by the Banshee and that it has made appearances there for decades. It has been sighted by caretakers and travelers. It’s said to haunt the gardens. And people who pass by avoid the forest at all costs. From the sound of things this place is straight from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. When they did interviews, just about everyone agreed the place was haunted and that trying to find the Banshee was a sure way to get yourself in trouble. If you see the Banshee you’ll die and if you hear her wail it means that someone in your family is going to die. There is basically no end of doom and gloom surrounding her appearance. So out into the darkness to find her!

Since Barry is Irish, Josh asks his opinion about the Banshee. Barry admits he’s heard the wail twice and both times a family member has died. They interview another witness who also heard the wail and he claim his mother passed two days later. He also says she was ill already so was it the work of the Banshee or did the illness take its course? But either way, Barry is fully convinced the Banshee is real and that they need to be extremely careful with what they’re doing. Honestly, I’m a little surprised he decided to come along since it very well could be tempting fate for him.

The house itself is a wreck. The floors are rotting away, trees and bushes are growing inside, the stairs are broken and there is debris everywhere. In some places the floor is actually missing as Josh and Ryder find out as they almost walked off the ledge. They resort to spelunking down the wall to reach the lower level.

There are quite a few interesting events during the night not the least of which was the Syfy.com site being overwhelmed with visitors and being completely unresponsive for a large portion of the event. But, there are tons of birds and wildlife scratching around out there. There is even a bird that crashes into the ground while they are looking around. While none of these actually sounded like the Banshee there is no denying there are tons of sounds that could be mistaken for it and just add to the overall ominous feel of the place.

Rex sees a large shadow moving around while in the walled garden and swears it was a figure moving around. Others in the group think it could just be shadows from the flashlight but he’s convinced he saw something.

There seems to be a lot of activity in the towers where Josh and Ryder keep thinking they see someone or something up there. Even people at home hit the Banshee button saying they see something. Josh, Ryder and Kris head up the tower to see if they can find out what’s going on, but ultimately send Jael up to the very top so she can investigate alone. This is after she’s had a bought of dizziness and perhaps even a little nausea while investigating in the garden. She has to sit down for several minutes and Rex is by her side trying to get her to breathe and settle herself down. It doesn’t look like she got injured but definitely needs to take a breather before moving on.

She looks absolutely shaken and out of sorts and she climbs to the top. It’s hard to say if she’s still suffering from a bit of sickness or if she is just really scared, but her voice is trembling, she is having a hard time walking around and seems unsteady. She claims to hear footsteps and lots of noises when she’s up there. There is nothing tangible to be found and Jael is more than happy to come down out of the tower.

Even though I don’t think they caught very much this was a great event. I only wish Allison would have participated a little more. She basically spent her time watching the monitors and didn’t actually go out and survey the area. Also, several of the old gang were missing like Bicha, Mike and Evan. But overall this was a heck of a lot of fun. Josh was a great host and things flowed together quite nicely. A few audio glitches with the two sets of teams overlapping from time to time, but there was plenty of adventure to be had.

While they didn’t actually find the Banshee they certainly found out why so many people are afraid of the grounds. Not only is it dangerous, but the dense forest, the slew of animals and a myriad of bizarre noises would all solidify that the place is something to be avoided. And as was mentioned during the investigation if you did get frightened and started to run you could fall through the floor, run into a room where there is no floor, trip and fall down the crumbled stairs, get lost in the maze of plants and debris and crash into a wall or any number of other ways to injure yourself or even be killed. The Grove has a true element of danger surrounding it.

I’m excited Josh is back with an all new season and look forward to where he’s going to take us. I think Antarctica is the one I’m looking forward to the most, but from the snippets I’ve seen it looks like the whole season is going to be an awesome adventure.

Ducketts Grove

Ducketts Grover History

Banshee of Ireland

Other Articles of Interest:

• Destination Truth – Live 4 Hour Investigation in Ireland
• Destination Truth – Sandstorm Spirits Cerro Azul – S04E11
• Josh Gates and Erin Ryder on the Radio
• Destination Truth – Jungle Temple Ghosts & Namibian Night Stalker – S04E12
• Destination Truth – Ghosts of Masada/The Leprechaun S03E10
• Destination Truth – Jersey Devil/The Yeren S03E12
• Destination Truth – Naree Pon/Aiya Napa – S04E13
• Destination Truth – Vietnam’s Bigfoot – S05E01
• Ghost Hunters International – Port Arthur Penitentiary – S02E10
• Destination Truth – Haunted Mining Town/Taniwha S03E13

To commemorate St. Patrick’s Day and Destination Truth’s season 4.5 premiere, Josh Gates and his team will brave the crumbling ruins of Duckett’s Grove Castle in search of the truth behind the banshee myth. Special guests participating in this exciting live event include: Warehouse 13’s, Allison Scagliotti, paranormal investigators Kris Williams and Barry FitzGerald of Ghost Hunters International and Jael De Pardo from Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files.

I think this is a must see event! Destination Truth does their first live investigation and it’s in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day! Can you really ask for more than that?

Destination Truth Live From Ireland – Thursday March 17 at 7/6c

Other Articles of Interest:

• Haunt Jaunts Interview with Kris Williams of Ghost Hunters
• Ghost Hunters 100th Episode from Alcatraz. But not live.
• Destination Truth – Live from Ireland – S04E09
• Ghost Hunters Live Halloween Event at Buffalo Central Terminal
• SyFy Fall 2010 Schedule
• When will the paranormal bubble burst?
• Destination Truth on the Radio
• Ghost Hunters Halloween Live 2008
• Ghost Hunters Halloween Special 2009 – It’s On!
• Destination Truth: Season 1 – Finally on DVD!

Fangalobolo

Josh and team head to Madagascar to hunt for a massive bat that swoops down out of the night sky and drags people away. It’s been terrorizing the residents for quite some time, but just recently sightings have been on the rise. Basically they’re on the trail of a man sized bat with huge claws that can rip you apart. Exactly what you want to be looking for in the dark!

I swear you never know what’s going to happen when Josh hits the market. A cow’s head without the bones (always a Halloween favorite) and a makeshift ring for some group ass kicking action. I guess you really can find everything and anything is these markets. I’m surprised Josh didn’t take his chances in the ring!

After the market Josh meets up with the Minister of Culture who’s a firm believer in the Fangalobolo. And a witness from a local village says he went into a cave and saw a large bat that seemed to be the leader of the other bats. That image was just a little creepy to me.

As they continue on to the park they seek accommodations in a small village. A small village that throws a big party! And by chance there are some other travelers milling about. The people Josh meets!

But there are also witnesses who say they’ve seen the giant bat in the crocodile cave. Why on earth would you ever go into a place called "crocodile cave"? That’s just asking for the big hurt. Again, lots of people substantiate the claim that there’s an enormous bat.

So it’s off to the cave in a boat that doesn’t look very solid, safe or sea worthy. But should something like safety stop this adventure? Heaven’s no! Jump in and let’s go find the crocs and the giant bat!

And they indeed find crocs in the crocodile cave, did anyone think they wouldn’t? What I didn’t expect was for Josh and Gabe to tip over right as the croc heads into the water. That was certainly unexpected and quite a nail biting moment.

Speaking of nail biting moments, what the hell is the deal with the suspension bridge from the Temple of Doom? Rickety-ass bridge in the middle of the rain forest? Sign me up to cross that! Especially in the dark and not a single piece of safety gear.

Apparently Bobby and Shawn are just as mad as they rig themselves up and climb down a sheer cliff to get to the entrance of a cave. A cave that’s filled with bats that are getting all stirred up by the noise. This adventure is just freaking me out!

What do Bobby and Shawn find for their efforts? They find large scratches on the ceiling of the cave and some sort of talon on the floor.

Josh, Ali and Mike end up in their own bat filled cave after nearly ripping themselves to pieces walking over the jagged lava rocks. Mike takes quite a tumble but manages to keep from really hurting himself. As they venture deeper into the cave they get something on the thermal and Josh says he can see something moving around above them. Something far bigger than the small heat signatures of all the other bats.

Even though they’ve risked their lives there isn’t much evidence. They take the thermal image and the talon back for analysis.

The thermal image is too blurry to make out anything, but it is a pretty substantial blob. Maybe there was something hovering just above them. The "talon" is something Jim Dines can’t identify. It doesn’t really look like a tooth, a talon or a bone so it’s not immediate as to what they’ve found.

The evidence isn’t overwhelming, but Madagascar is known for undiscovered creatures. Even Jim says there are large bats that inhabit the area. He’s not ruling out that such a thing exists.

I do have one question though, why didn’t they get sturdier boats and head back to the crocodile cave where multiple witnesses say they saw something. Their investigation was focused on a completely different location…

Guam Zombies – Taotaomona

Zombies for Halloween, this could be fun!

Josh heads to Guam to investigate claims of zombies that come out at night and haunt the villagers.

It doesn’t sound like these zombies are looking for brains, but they do have rotting flesh, super human strength and give out a blood curdling scream. Yeah, that sounds pretty creepy.

They come across an eyewitness that has a recording of a zombie moaning while he and his mother are sitting around talking. Odd that it was taken when he was a tiny boy, 2 he says, but he’s well into his teens now. Just been holding onto this tape for the right moment to spring it on people? I’m pretty suspicious of this right off the bat. (no pun intended)

They’re told they need to go deep into the jungle to find the Taotaomona. They have to meet with a tribe elder to get permission for the investigation. After he performs the ceremony for the spirits, Gabe makes a blunder and steps on the Latte Stone, their sacred symbol. That was quite the gaffe and Gabe later gets a good cut on his leg which might just be revenge from the spirits.

Now that they’re in the jungle there’s a sheer drop they need to repel down to get to the valley below where the Taotaomona are said to dwell. (I would say live, but that seems wrong) Vanessa does not fair well climbing down the rope and gets multiple cuts on her legs and arms. They look pretty deep and it sends her into shock. She is not having a good time with this adventure. But she’s a trooper and takes her post at base camp to watch the IR cameras.

As the investigation begins, Bobby and Shawn set up a tri-field meter in a cave they discover and get really high readings. Vanessa sees a shadow walk across the IR camera. She heads out and does an EVP session where she saw the shadow.

Back in the cave, Bobby and Shawn come across a precipice and decide they need to repel down into it. These people are daft! Shawn literally reaches the end of his rope and can’t see the bottom of the pit. He makes his way back to the top and they press on with their investigation.

Josh, Ali and Mike find a series of Latte Stones nestled among the Banyan trees. They feel this is a prime location and do an EVP session. Right as they start asking questions Mike is hit in the back and there is a heat signature when Josh puts the thermal imager on him. Mike is clearly shaken and feels it’s a sign for them to move on. He doesn’t want to stick around and get any more signs of their presence.

He gets no argument and the teams heads out.

Josh tosses out the recording they got from the boy and his mom. As Mike says, you can make a recording and make it sound like anything.

The do have the shadow from the IR camera which they can’t really explain. It’s interesting, but they also put that aside. The big evidence is Mike being pushed. It’s hard to say what happened there, but Mike is absolutely convinced he was pushed and that something is out there. However, the Taotaomona are supposed to be a physical being so who knows what Mike encountered.

Did they capture evidence of zombies? No, but I will say that these were probably two of the most dangerous and most exciting episodes they’ve done. The team got pretty banged up and some might even say they got payback from the sprits for stepping on the Latte Stone and for tying a rope to the Banyan tree…

And it looks like that is the end of the first half of the season. Josh and the team are back out on the road, so we’ll have to wait until next year for the exciting conclusion!

Other Articles of Interest:

• Destination Truth – Siberian Snowman – s04e05
• Destination Truth – Haunted Island Ruins / Moroccan Succubus S04E07
• Destination Truth – Ghosts of Haboro/Mngwa – S04E03
• Destination Truth – Jersey Devil/The Yeren S03E12
• Destination Truth – Ghosts of Masada/The Leprechaun S03E10
• Destination Truth – Naree Pon/Aiya Napa – S04E13
• Paranormal State – Bedroom Eyes – S05E13
• Destination Truth – Hanging Coffins and Kiyik Adam – S05E07
• Expedition Unknown – Yamashita’s Gold
• Destination Truth Spirits Of Angkor Wat/Canadian Lake Monster S04E02