Tapped Out? – TV’s Ghost Hunters plan to make a press release
TV show with original cast members
TAPS- Jason and Grant, the super hero’s of the supernatural. They are no longer mere plumbers, they are business men. They own, produce and manage an empire. The TAPS empire. From big dollar property , merchandise, magazines, to giant events. TAPS is living large these days, thanks to their fans of course. On top of filming for the weekly TV show on Syfy, Ghost Hunters are now the poster children according to some for literally “selling out”. The majority of people that watch the shows are fans, as for TAPS fellow paranormal researchers watching, not so much.
Lately, the TAPS empire has been under the microscope by their peers. What used to be the occasional “oh my that’s a paranormal” moment, has turned into a weekly cat and mouse chase of let’s see what they can get on film this week. From jacket tugging to sliding pieces of furniture, the past two seasons have been chocked full of ghostly phenomenon, too good to be true. Once self proclaimed “debunkers” are now getting debunked. Not only by fellow paranormal researchers but by regular people that have a great deal of common sense and a keen eye for too good to be true moments. Perhaps TAPS has taught their viewers well? The TAPS scrutiny hit hard during the Halloween live episode where Grant, reported to have his jacket “tugged” by a ghost. Perhaps it would have been more convincing if the “ghost” tugged just once, but it was actually tugged 3 times. Overkill is never good for live TV. Since then, the pressure is on. The real paranormal community is watching like a hawk. The heat may be on for the TAPS crew to get more evidence, perhaps that is why they are getting miraculous events, caught on tape each week. Remember, it is a business.
I will provide a few links for you to see how the general population is getting the word out about rumors of staging crews and rigged evidence. Want more? Visit YouTube, there is a plethora of video to help you make up your mind, or not.
Recent TV show starring singing icon called Meatloaf & Part II
& of course Sliding Lamp Want more? Visit Youtube
I am not setting out to change the way people think about a scripted reality based TV show on the Science FictionNetwork, so don’t get too upset with me. But I do want to share what some are calling breaking news in the paranormal field concerning TAPS. Oh and to remind you that TAPS, Syfy and Pilgrim films are to offer a press release to clear their tainted image this week.
The not so “breaking news”- Many remember Donna Lacroix from the first few seasons of Ghost Hunters and perhaps, Ghost Hunters International. She was involved with the starting of the show, before it became big business.
This week, Donna spoke about her time on the set of Ghost Hunters as a cast member live on the internet radio show titled GhostDiva-Live. The GhostDivas show is a fun and unique broadcast. It comes on late and is targeted towards adults. The show basis is similar to the popular TV & Radio show titled “Whatever Martha” The women sit and talk about what is on TV, have guests and poke and prod at the paranormal field, just for laughs. Donna was a guest on this show this past week and she told the hosts that they can ask anything, from plastic surgery to rumors of TAPS faking evidence. She agreed.
The show has now hit the paranormal and even skeptic community like a tornado. Although, Donna’s intentions were just to speak her mind. The possibility of the TV show staging evidence has become focus. On several sites Jason Hawes of TAPS have made statements concerning Donna’s interview. He also stated that Pilgrim Films and SyFy network are preparing a press release over the show. I find it odd that they are taking this internet radio show so serious. Was Donna telling the truth enough to make the TAPS empire nervous? Many people feel that yes, it was enough to tarnish their image. Donna has made many statements that all she wanted to do was to talk about it. She was also aware that it would ruffle some feathers in the community, but she had no idea that it would circulate around the internet as it did in less than 72 hours. I do have to ask why TAPS, Pilgrim Films and even the SyFy network would take her statements so serious to create a press release? The truth is, GhostDivas LIVE is a small but very popular (for like minds) type of radio show, based in Oklahoma, and broadcast by the Supernatural Radio Network, it’s not a huge radio show by any means.
There are message boards, forums, youtube videos, tweets, Facebook updates, myspace blogs, standard blogs and beyond in an uproar about this show. Many people have been sitting back waiting on the smoking gun to officially shut the TAPS empire down. This show was not the smoking gun, it may lead to it yes, but it is not. The radio interview was to allow Donna to speak her mind and for people to ask questions about the production. To most, Donna is a hero for speaking out, while to a small few, they were disappointed that it was not the bomb they had been wishing for. No matter what your opinion is about TV’s TAPS/Ghost Hunters, the radio interview offers an entirely different outlook when it comes to the super hero status that is seen on TV.
No matter what you might think about the TAPS/Ghost Hunters TV show you must remember that the show was created for entertainment purposes only. Why would TAPS be the only “real” TV show on a network that has nothing other than Science Fiction based programming is a great question to ask yourself. If you are a fan of this show that is fine, but keep in mind that it is for entertainment and quite possibly fiction wrapped in a cozy “reality based” blanket.
I will be awaiting patiently the press release from the Syfy network, TAPS and Pilgrim Films. Nobody is attempting to change anyone’s mind, but I do ask that you see both sides of every story from the youtube videos to net radio shows. Do not believe everything you see on TV and continue to think critically when it comes to those claiming to have evidence of the afterlife. In my 11 years of research, I have yet to have a ghost perform for me on camera. Now, I am asking myself, maybe it’s because I’m not wearing a TAPS official and certified t-shirt?
Sincere blogger,
Paranormal Eyes
Tonya H.
The reality of Paranormal Activity-The movie
This weekend, for Halloween I headed to the theater to check out the very popular movie titled “Paranormal Activity“. I do want to state that I am not a movie critic. I am a paranormal researcher that likes movies, spooky movies.
I have read some mixed reviews about this flick but I made a point to not read too much or make up my mind before I watched the movie with my own eyes. I did read up on some facts behind the movie. I tried to avoid the over personal opinions about the film.
First, the movie was made with an $11,000 budget. I was worried that the small budget would leave me with motion sickness or camera shaking migraine headache, like the Blair Witch Project successfully achieved. I learned that the actors used their real names during the film, as characters, just to keep the “reality”, well, real. The location was a real home, it was not a set. In fact, the home looked like the average Americans home. Real decor and it was age appropriate for the cast. I did not research a lot of the story line as I wanted it to be fresh and new to me. I did not want to expect or seek out scenes while viewing. With basic information in hand, my family headed to the theater to get the wits scared out of us! Just in time for Halloween!
The movie started out rather slow, but it seemed to pick up about 20 minutes into it. The plot and character placement took it’s sweet time to inform the viewers of who they are in the movie. At first, the camera movements were annoying to me, but I will admit, I did get sucked into the personal relationship between the couple. As for being a low budget film, with no name actors, I did find myself believing that they could in fact, be a real couple. The dynamic between the two of them was very realistic. The script, I forgot there was a script, never really thought about a script. To me, it just started to feel as if I was peeking into someones home life, via home video camera.
The plot grew a the movie continued. I did find myself totally emerged into the storyline.
The scare scenes started out subtle, which I respected. I love suspenseful movies and I feel they pulled it off with class. Compared to movies today, where glitz, effects, music and big bucks create scenes. The producers seemed to realize that a good scare is often worth the wait. I will not list my favorite scenes because I do feel that seeing it on the big screen for yourself will help you make up your list of favorites.
It’s often hard for me to watch ghost related movies and shows and not critique them, as a paranormal researcher. This movie I did not. I was able to focus on the story line and the suspenseful events taking place in the couples bedroom. I did notice a few old school ghost hunting tactics take place during the film and I respect the writers efforts to showcase the simplicity of most “paranormal activity”. Real hauntings are never as Hollywood glorifies them. In my 11 years of researching paranormal claims I have yet to witness breathing walls and clients running down the stairs to greet me while doing a spider walk. In the movie, the basics were covered. They even used the Audacity audio editing program that most paranormal researchers use today.
The couple did call in a psychic for assistance. Which in reality, that would be what people would do in real life. I was impressed that they did not call in a “Ghost Hunting Team” to help them, to me that would have turned the movie sour. The couple handled it on their own and faced the consequences for it. The effects were simple and the unexplainable occurrences were basic. They utilized the power of suspense as they would in older movies that are also some of my favorites. I will point out the fact, that watching a movie without creepy background music was great. This movie did not have music or outrageous sound effects to build suspense.
I have read mixed reviews. The bad reviews are from movie buffs that appreciate and expect money, special effects and the impossible within today’s movies. I will admit, I am one of those people that watch movies and say, “um, that is impossible, that could never happen”. Personally, I do not like over done movies where effects have to build the story line. I am a fan of good writing, strong personal plots and the reality of the entire movie. Psychological thrillers are my favorites and I do feel that Paranormal Activity was worth the ticket price. The movie was just as fun to watch as it was for me to hear grown men scream in the seats behind me.
Was the movie amazing? I would not go as far to say that. For a good thrill and a couple nightmares, yes it was a lot of fun to watch. Was the movie horrible? The camera shaking was annoying at first, but it did get better as the movie progressed. It was not on a Blair Witch level, if it were, I would have walked out. The realistic, reality of “paranormal activity” they showcased in the movie. It’s my opinion that they did a great job in showcasing a lot of claims people make, in real life. Yes, it was crammed into an hour and a half movie, but as a researcher, I have heard and witness people make the same claims, in real life. Therefore, the reality was a truthful, up until the end. (I won’t spoil it for you)
Great movie for the season and for me, a lot of fun to watch.One thing I did notice after watching the movie, I had a couple claw marks and bruises on my arms the next day. Paranormal? Not really, I had both of my children on each side of me, holding on for dear life. For kids and teens, this is a very scary movie. For adults, it could scare you if you allow it to do so. Just try not expect big money effects and creepy music to create your fear. In reality, real paranormal activity does not have sound effects and suspenseful music leading you on. Just allow it to happen.
How do I rate this movie? I won’t. I will leave that up to the people that specialize in movie ratings. I just wanted to share what I thought about the movie, on a paranormal level. My family liked the movie and it was scary and fun. Paranormal Activity will not be a classic in my opinion, but it was done very well for a very small budget.
