Paranormal State – Shadow Caster – S04E09
To put it bluntly this was an episode that went no where. Things start off interestingly enough when Ryan gets bitten or pinched by something as he’s talking to the client. Perhaps the spirits are as tired of his talking as the rest of us are. There is the photographic evidence of a shadow in the doorway. We top it off with John Oliver the overly dramatic Psychic and Medium who feels the house is just seething with dark energy. Talk about just over exaggerating everything.
But as the team investigates they don’t find a single shred of evidence to support any of the claims the homeowner is making. No shadows, no bumps, no entities, no voices. The only thing they do find is when Kristina hears a voice while in the basement. Turns out it’s just the camera crew talking too close to an air vent. Personally I think most of the voices people hear on these shows could be attributed to noises coming in from the outside.
As with the formula of the show, the client, her family and the PRS team gather together in the living room to speak loudly and tell the spirit to shuffle on down the road.
Not all the episodes have to be teaming with paranormal activity, and for once it was actually refreshing to see Ryan and crew debunk something. However, this was a pretty uneventful episode since nothing happened, plus there was really no cause for any activity since there weren’t the usual stories of deaths, burial grounds, use of ouija boards, Satanic symbols or mental illness that Ryan seems to uncover.
And as for that photo? I have to shrug. When you get some dark outline in a photo and you can clearly see the flash going off, I feel underwhelmed. Plus, faking of photos is so common place these days, it’s hard to get excited over something like that.
I kind of feel like Dr. Malcolm from Jurassic Park where he asks, "Now eventually you might have dinosaurs on your, on your dinosaur tour, right?"
Other Articles of Interest:
- Paranormal State – Darkness Falls – S04E08
- Paranormal State – Bedroom Eyes – S05E13
- Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07
- Paranormal State S04E02 – Invitation to Evil
- Ghost Adventures – Salem Witch House – S04E19
- Ghost Hunters International – Duran Sanatorium/Rose Hall – S02E13
- Paranormal State – Spirits of the Slave Dungeon – S05E03
- Paranormal State – Ghost on the Tracks – S05E04
- Ghost Adventures – Poveglia Island
- Paranormal State – S04E01 – Suicide Possession
Paranormal State – Darkness Falls – S04E08
Could this episode be any more overly dramatic? Could Ryan be any more of an aloof asshole?
Ryan and crew visit the West Virginia State Penitentiary for reasons that aren’t really all that clear. Ryan lays it down thick about how he needed to come back; how he needed to finish what he started. We have no idea what that means since he prefers to be moody and dark. He acts in such a foreboding way as though all their lives are in danger.
It’s the Western State Penitentiary which is believed to be one of the most haunted places in America. There are endless stories of murder, violence and wrongdoings. And Ryan in his dour tone wants his team to face their fears at this place. Again, we have no idea why they need to face their fears and why this is place for such a showdown, but Ryan makes a really big deal that it needs to happen and that he has secrets about the place they need to understand.
On day one the team takes up position and sits in different locations – alone. Not surprisingly they hear noises, bumps and creaks. What abandoned building doesn’t make those sounds at night?
The next night it happens again but this time we add the element that there is an Indian burial mound near the prison. This should fuel the spirit energy.
All the while Ryan is taunting the team that he has a secret about the place that the public doesn’t know about, but he won’t share it because he doesn’t think his team is taking the events seriously. Too much giggling, not enough moodiness.
Of course, no one (including us) has any idea what the hell is going on or why Ryan is being a putz to everyone, but yet everyone needs to take his fears seriously.
Finally, after being pale and tragic Ryan reveals that while he was investigating the Wardens Tower the activity got so intense that he had to leave there. Translation: he got freaked out, soiled himself and ran away. Now he needs to redeem himself in front of his team.
And what’s the big secret of the tower? A pentagram. All this melodrama has been because there is an upside down pentagram on one of the windows in the tower. Clearly, this is the gateway to hell. Really? All of this over a stupid symbol?
Now the conspiracy theory begins that the staff would have been practicing Satanism in the prison and who knows what other dark rituals. This is the Satanic prison, that’s why weird things happen here.
What do we get when all is said and done? Ryan goes back into the tower so he can conquer his fears. With camera strapped to his back and audio recorders at the ready he trudges up the tower stairs, stands in the middle of the room and like a kid talking to monsters in his closet or under his bed, declares he isn’t afraid.
Feeling better about himself for his spectacular display of bravado Ryan calls it a night and asks the team what the penitentiary means to them. WTF? Are you serious? That’s it? Ryan loses his nerve in a tower and there is an hour long episode about him facing his fears?
Call this what it is, how Ryan got his nerve back.
Ryan, you can freak out, it’s ok. Prison can be a scary place at night. But do we really need an episode like this?
Other Articles of Interest:
- Ghost Adventures – Dead Men Walking – S07E08
- Paranormal State, seeing the demonic in a box of Cracker Jacks
- Stranded – West Virginia State Penitentiary – S01E03
- What’s with all the secrecy?
- Ghost Adventures – Missouri State Prison – S08E04
- Paranormal Challenge – Eastern State Penitentiary – S01E02
- Paranormal State – Season 1
- Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07
- Paranormal State – The Jersey Devil – Season Finale
- What a difference a year makes … It’s time to say goodbye
Ghost Hunters International – Argentina/Australia S02E08
So here we are with the next adventure of the GHI team which takes them to Eden Hotel in Argentina and the Monte Cristo House in Australia.
The Eden Hotel reports they have a little girl who died of tuberculosis on the property. There are claims of a woman laughing and that the dining hall still seems to have people enjoying dinner and indulging in conversation. And there is another little spirit who supposedly died of hypothermia and is still crying for help.
Rob starts us off by trying to gain the trust of the little girl and asks for her to show him around and find the other spirits. Immediately a cold spot appears which he feels is the little girl ready to give him the tour. Alas no thermal imagery or temperature readings to back up this claim of the cold spot. Cute theory though.
Barry feels that setting up a disco in part of the house will bring out the spirits and they bring in a strobe light and let it run for hours on end with no results for their efforts. Not sure what exactly this was supposed to accomplish. I can only imagine the poor sap who had to sit through that seizure inducing footage.
While sitting at the dining room they pull out the EMF and begin asking questions. Ashley and Joe say the device is getting readings but we don’t get to see the needle move. Right before the detector goes off each time they move the camera away and someone says "It went off". What’s the story with that shoddy camera work?
Finally, Dustin nearly soils himself as he’s searching for the little girl who died of TB. As he’s peering through the doorway he lurches back exclaiming he just saw a shadow figure. Of course we see no figure nor hear any noise. All we see is Dustin tripping over his own tail as he almost crushes the camera guy making his getaway.
With just a couple pieces of really sketchy evidence they claim the place is haunted. Is it me or are they seriously lowering the bar for a place to gain the haunted badge?
In Australia they head to the Monte Cristo house where people hear noises, see apparitions and hear the voice of Mrs. Crowley telling them to leave. Since there is a balcony, there is a story of someone falling from it. The story goes Mr. Crowley himself shoved a woman overboard. A woman, he supposedly got pregnant. Those wealthy landowners, always up to no good with the hired help.
Personally, I don’t think they catch much of anything on this one. Quite frankly, the claims of the paranormal seem pretty slight to begin with. But hey, any reason to go to Australia is a good one right?
The two big pieces of evidence are Dustin and Joe hearing the window rattle as they try to talk to Mrs. Crowley in her bedroom and someone saying "Get Out" as the team is getting ready to end their investigation. A window rattling couldn’t possibly be the wind, a bird or a bug hitting it. As for the "Get Out"? Sadly, that isn’t what it sounds like to me. I’m not even sure they’re words. Sounds like someone breathing right next to the microphone to me.
You would think with someone saying "Get Out" the place has to be haunted right? Nope. They just give it the "there’s paranormal activity here" moniker and head on out. The Eden Hotel had just as lame evidence and they had no problem saying that place was haunted. What’s the deal there? Was it the fact Dustin nearly soiled his pants when he claims he saw the little girl that made the place haunted? Soiled pants = haunted?
Clearly there is no consistency in how they judge these places.
Other Articles of Interest:
- Ghost Hunters International – Quarantine Station
- Ghost Adventures – Crazy Town – S07E13
- Paranormal Lockdown – Anderson Hotel – S01E02
- Ghost Adventures – Texas Horror Hotel – S10E11
- Ghost Adventures – Chinese Town of Locke – S12E05
- Ghost Adventures – Hotel Leger – S16E05
- Ghost Adventures – The Haunted Museum (Old Wengert Mansion) – S12E13
- Ghost Adventures – The National Hotel – S06E04
- Haunted Collector – Hulbert House and King House – S02E02
- Ghost Adventures – Old Town San Diego – S05E03
Paranormal State S04E07 – Satan’s Soldier
Mark feels demonic forces in his house. He constantly hears noises and his wife actually felt the presence of someone laying on top of her. Once again, the owners have problems start occurring as soon as they get there, but they press on regardless.
There are several aspects to this episode that bug me. First of all, who leaves what looks like blood spatters all over the walls of their basement? You would think a coat of paint would be in order. Second, why is Mark answering so many questions with "I don’t remember"? He doesn’t remember what is in the great big trunk the spirits are supposed to be moving around? He doesn’t remember if the chandelier is something he brought into the house? This guy is coming across as a liar right from the get-go.
And then we find out why. Ol’ Mark has been practicing Satanism in his past and there’s a good chance he’s still up to his old tricks. He just doesn’t want his wife to find out since it was responsible for bringing him money, protection and women in the past.
Honestly, I put very little stock in Satanism, but why did Mark call Ryan to come help him then basically lie about everything? That’s just pretty dumb.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that they find no evidence of the paranormal. Michelle says she sees vision of the rituals, but there is no evidence to support those claims. In the end they tell Mark he should throw out his Satanic artifacts which they feel are the chandelier, candles and an abundance of mirrors. They also have Mark confront his "demons" and profess that he is done with Satanism and wishes to be left alone. What’s funny, no one on the team really thinks Mark is done with his dark past.
From where I’m sitting it sounds like Mark is toying with the occult, or at least doesn’t want to let it go and his guilt is making him see and hear things. Pretty much everything in this one came across as a big fabrication and in the end we have a guy who’s hiding stuff from his wife. You noticed he didn’t feel too much guilt about the women and the money. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s chasing that dragon again.
Other Articles of Interest:
- Paranormal State S04E06 – Dark Practice
- Paranormal State – Return of the Dead – The Glove II – S05E06
- Ghost Adventures – Fear Factory – S09E05
- Ghost Adventures – Sharon Tate House – S09E01
- Ghost Adventures – Yost Theater and Ritz Hotel – S08E05
- Ghost Adventures – Fort Chaffee – S04E10
- Paranormal State – Shadow Caster – S04E09
- Haunted Collector – Bare Bones and Octagon Haunting – S02E08
- Ghost Adventures – Freak Show Murder House – S14E02
- Ghost Adventures – Museum of the Mountain West – S15E10
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