Zak, Nick, and Aaron are back on the hunt in the new season of Ghost Adventures.
The first episode of the season took us to a recently closed prison that is soon to be demolished. The GA guys were the first and only paranormal investigators to check out the place. This made for an interesting background. They came up with some decent evidence, including a super cool video on their full spectrum camcorder of what they thought was a portal to the other side. There is one thing that bothered me about the start to their new season.
Ghost Adventures has always been one of the more entertaining paranormal shows on television. After watching the first episode of Season 7 (Wow has it been 7 years already?!) I noticed a difference in our three ghost hunters. Zak referred to their investigation a couple times as "research." They have been more careful about claiming things that happen are paranormal because they've taken a lot of crap about it in the past few years. Well, I don't like it! I love watching Zak totally freak out at every little sound. I love the way Aaron would shake in his boots when Zak and Nick made him stay in the darkest, creepiest room by himself. That's what made the show entertaining. Aaron did go off by himself to investigate but Zak and Nick didn't tease him or make him go and Nick was way too serious the entire show despite the fact a spirit put him in a rotten mood. Zak just wasn't overflowing with excitement for the hunt. These guys are usually hyper, funny, and even down right rude and antagonizing. I love that about them!I always believed they were true paranormal investigators, maybe a little over the top, but always there for the right reasons. So why can't they have an eccentric personality to go with it? That's what made them unique and different from other paranormal shows. Don't give in to peer pressure Zak, Nick, and Aaron. Be who you are!  Ashmore Estates, Illinois
Can Ghost Hunters Survive Without Grant? Last night was the season premiere episode of Ghost Hunters without Grant Wilson. Teaser commercials claimed this season was going to be different. Well, according to the first episode I saw only minor differences. Right away I noticed Jay did not appoint someone as a co-lead investigator to take his partner's place. Although Steve, the obvious choice, did investigate with Jay, so did Amy. Tango seemed to take over as equipment tech, Steve's previous position. Maybe it's just a matter of time before Steve slips into that lead investigator role.One of the first things I noticed was the split screens. They showed where each investigator was in a different screen. Takes a little getting used to but was helpful when something paranormal happened to one of them you could tell where everyone else was. I'm glad they didn't over do it but I sure wouldn't want the video editor's job.
Amy announced she is pregnant and has decided to continue investigating which is controversial in the paranormal world. Some people think pregnancy increases paranormal activity with the mother's protective instinct taking over therefore enhancing the senses and pregnancy hormones aiding in spirit energy. On the downside some think a spirit can attach to the fetus. There are spirits everywhere. If this were the case then pregnant women can run into the paranormal in the delivery room. Freeloading spirits aside, pregnant woman should be careful in the field for obvious reasons including dangerous abandoned buildings, poor air quality, etc. Jay has already taken a protective role with Amy and I think she will be safe and not take any chances. With Amy due in the fall and being the only female investigator, scenes for next week's episode include a new female ghost hunter. She's gonna have a hard time filling Amy's shoes.This show was a little more edgy than in past seasons. Production crew member, Hagar, endured numerous scratches inflicted on her by an unseen force. This poor girl, not even a team investigator, got more than she bargained for. With scratches all over her body Hagar insisted she wanted to return to the old jail and continue the investigation. This bravery alone should shoe her into Amy's soon-to-be vacant role. We like Hagar. She earned the right to be on the team. Who is this other female investigator in next week's episode? I don't know but already Hagar has my vote. New girl, you've got your work cut out for you.I had high hopes this season that Ghost Hunters would be different. So far I am not convinced it is but we have a whole season to look forward to and I hope some surprises.
STAR TIME
What is Star Time? The topic of Sidereal Time was brought up in a new paranormal forum, Buster's Ghost Gear (sign up for some great conversation!). I had never heard of this term so I decided to check it out. Sidereal Time is also called "Star Time". Unlike our traditional time clock which is based on the relation of the earth to the sun, "Solar Time", Star Time relates to, you guessed it, the stars.
Astronomers use this to view a particular star at a certain time each night. The time is determined by a radio emission from the center of the Milky Way galaxy that passes overhead every 23 hours and 56 minutes and the time it takes the Earth to make one rotation relative to the vernal equinox. Numerous studies have been done and a correlation has been found between this mysterious time, specifically 1330 sidereal time, and psychic abilities and paranormal activity. Coincidence?
This strange radio emission happens not every 24 hours but every 23 hours and 56 minutes pinpointing a different time every day. One theory is that a large concentration of dark matter in this region is pulling the Milky Way galaxy in its direction. Can the energy generated to make this happen aid in the paranormal?
We decided to try out this theory at an investigation at Ashmore Estates, Illinois. I used the link below to calculate when Star Time would be in this location at 1330 Sidreal Time and came up with 2323 Solar Time. At this particular time, there was a lot of activity during our investigation. We had great hits on our K2 meter while asking questions to a girl spirit, some of the best evidence of the night. Of course, I had to try it out again to make sure this theory was legit. We had an investigation at a private residence. I calculated Star Time at this location the night of the investigation and came up with 2313 Solar Time coinciding with 1330 Sidreal Time. Again, at this time we had a lot of action in the attic of the house. A flashlight went on and off on command and our K2 meter went off to questions we asked the spirits. This particular time was the most activity of the night.
Could there really be something to this? On the TV show, Paranormal State, their theory is that paranormal activity occurs at 3am "Dead Time". On all of our investigations we have never had anything happen at that time. All our activity seems to happen earlier in the night. But does it have something to do with the stars? I think we are off to a good start but need more evidence to determine if this celestial time clock can pinpoint us to paranormal events happening around us.Calculate Sidereal Time at your location: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/sidereal.html
This topic has been a wildfire of conversation in the paranormal world. With so many paranormal TV shows cropping up you begin to wonder can they all find ghosts all the time? Is there that much paranormal activity going on around us and we never knew it until Ghost Hunters premiered on TV? During the first few seasons of Ghost Hunters they rarely found evidence of a haunting. Now they discover spirits lurking in every corner of the globe.  I want to have faith it's not all a hoax but my paranormal group recently investigated Ashmore Estates, as seen on Ghost Adventures, and spoke with the owner. He gave us the scoop on the Ghost Adventures Crew's episode. Zak, you broke my heart! I could detail everything he told us about things that were exaggerated or manipulated but I won't. I prefer to watch these TV shows with rose-colored glasses. These are the guys that gave me the inspiration to investigate paranormal sites and divulge further into the unknown without feeling like I was the only person in the world who liked this stuff. They may or may not be intentionally deceiving us but I don't care. It's a TV show that has brought awareness to the paranormal field. Before the flood of ghost shows you couldn't talk about anything paranormal around the water cooler without people looking at you like you're crazy. This still happens but I think we are less inclined to keep the strange and unusual to ourselves, giving up living the double life.
I know this first hand because I have come out of my paranormal shell and told a few people what I do for a full-time hobby. Nobody had a clue before I broke the news. I also know that it can backfire on you. After following a lead on research I was doing for an investigation, I ended up at a fire station after business hours. The firemen welcomed me inside. I asked them about any house fires in the area and they talked freely about their occupation. They asked me why I wanted to know. I told them the truth, that I was investigating a haunting at a residence in town. Then I made sure I got in my question about whether or not they thought the firehouse was haunted, a rumor I heard while doing research, because I knew the end of my welcomed questions was near. They answered with a resounding no it's not haunted, looked at me like I had escaped from a mental institution, and showed me the door. It doesn't always work out but the stigma attached to ghost hunting is slowly dissipating.
I'm sick of everyone scrutinizing these shows for evidence it's all a scam. Would you enjoy watching if you knew it was all set up? Stop looking folks and take it for what it is, a TV show.
To be clear, I don't think Ghost Adventures is "set up". I do think they manipulate things so the audience perceives it as paranormal. Such as Zak will say, "Did you hear that noise?" Not, "Did you hear that noise. It's the spirit of Elvis." They let the viewers form their own opinion. I think they intentionally leave out information, again making things appear paranormal. They also overreact to different events going on but it wouldn't be an entertaining show if they didn't.
I want to believe. I don't care if it's real or fake. If these shows can provide awareness for our ghostly passion and give us the inspiration to invent better equipment for investigating then I'm all for it.
Zak, I forgive you.
"Now it is that time of night,
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide."
Shakespeare
Ley lines are Paths of the Dead _Did Shakespeare know something that is now lost in the past? Ghost are often seen in the same area "walking the same path." Could these paths be ley lines?
Many old churches and burial mounds were built on ley lines. Washington DC is thought to have been built on ley lines so it could draw from the natural energy, in turn making it a powerful city. Some cultures such as the Laos dispose of a corpse by delivering them in a straight line to the burial site.
 Native Indians made perfectly straight roads connecting villages and religious sites, despite cliffs, mountains, and rivers in their path. Chaco Canyon, an Anasasi site in New Mexico, is a good example. They built stairs over canyon walls to continue their roads. It seems like we've lost this knowledge. I think the Indians knew something that has vanished from mankind.
But what happens when a structure is built over these lines? This might explain why some spirits are seen walking through walls.
Dowsing rods are used by ghost hunters to detect these places of energy. In the paranormal community it is thought that spirits need energy to communicate with the living. Can they get this energy from ley lines?
I will use the Ley Line Grid Map to mark the most haunted places in the world. The Isle of Wight is thought to be the most haunted island in the world. It is an island off the Southern part of England and is marked in red. Windsor Castle, England, is marked in light blue. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, is marked in blue. The Bird Cage Theater, Tombstone, Arizona, is marked in orange. Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado, marked in green. Villisca Axe Murder House, Iowa, marked in yellow. Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts, marked in purple.
The Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa hit the nail on the head and the haunted sites in Europe make an impressive cluster but factoring in the other haunted sites, the evidence is inconclusive. Are ley lines a hotbed for spirit activity or could the events that happened in that particular location make a haunting more likely?Unless we discover ancient knowledge that has been missing from our past about the correlation between ley lines and spirits, for now it is just a theory.
Be sure and read Part One in this series, Ley Lines - A Hotbed for Cryptids and Part Three, Ley Lines - A Hotbed for UFOs.
The new craze in ghost hunting is to bring your pet to the hunt but can a dog really sniff out ghosts?
Maddie the dog, new member of Ghost Hunters is listed as a team member of TAPS on the SyFy website. If Ghost Hunters thinks their dog is Scooby Doo then we better look into this. One paranormal pooch, The Captain, even has his own Facebook page!Law enforcement uses canines to sniff out drugs. Are they on to something? Dogs are known to sniff out fear, cancer, a person about to have a seizure, lost kids, cadavers, electricity, insects, and gas lines. Sniffing out electricity can be handy in ghost hunting. Spirits are thought to give off an electromagnetic energy which can be detected with various meters used by the paranormal community and as it appears, your dog too.  _Dogs have a better sniffer than humans. Humans have about 5 million scent receptors. A Bloodhound has about 300 million! A large part of a dog's brain is devoted to smell making a dog's sniffer about 100,000 times better than a man. Sometimes there are certain smells around ghosts such as perfume and cigar smoke. Your dog can sniff them out and make you aware of a smell you may have otherwise overlooked.
_Dogs have supersonic hearing. They can hear high pitched sounds man can't hear. My own dogs can hear the sound of my Jeep blocks away from our house. They know when I'm coming home. My kids say the dogs stand by the door waiting for me and then a couple minutes later I pull into the driveway.
 _Dogs can only see in two colors but they can see in the dark. Your pet is a walking night vision scope. Dogs have an extra part in their eye called a tapetum that allows them to see in less light. This is what causes your dog's eyes to glow in a picture. There's even an app so you can see what a dog sees. Dogs can also detect motion better than us.We've all seen our pets growl at something we can't see or stare into space. They're sensing something we cannot. They might feel threatened and bark to warn you. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Think twice the next time your dog acts strange and barks at the wall.
It takes the right tempered dog to be a good ghost hunter. We have two dogs, both Labradors. Layla is too high spirited to take on a hunt, not to mention she's as big as a person, but our other dog, Coco, obeys commands well and is calmer.
Can dogs detect the supernatural? I think Scooby Doo may have a leg up hunting the paranormal.
Hunters of the Unknown has a canine member, Coco. Coco has yet to provide us with evidence of the paranormal but I am confident she will and who doesn't like bringing their dog on an adventure?
Please leave comments and tell us about your own paranormal pets.
 Coco, the ghost hunting dog
_"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward,
and even the memory of them is forgotten." Ecclesiastes 9:5 NIV
"As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return.
He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.” Job 7:9-10 NIV
Are the dead no longer on this earth in body or in spirit? Are mediums really talking to the devil and not your dead grandmother? This subject came up when speaking with a Catholic friend of mine about spirits. Needless to say, she is not thrilled about my hobby. We were talking about what ghosts really were. Her answer was people who passed away but were waiting in purgatory to be cleansed of their sins until they eventually went to heaven. I said what about children spirits. There are known cases of the same child spirit being seen for many years. Such as the spirits of two young girls aboard the Queen Mary. One of these girls, named Jackie, drowned in the pool and has been seen and heard repeatedly ever since. I didn't think a child could do something so terrible they would be sentenced to purgatory for a long period of time, especially decades. That statement made my friend think. She didn't know the answer but said she would ask her priest. And that she did. I was anxious to receive an answer from my friend. She informed me that not only did she receive an answer from one source but that immediately thereafter, another source confirmed her suspicions and this message could not have been coincidence but was intended only for me.
My friend contacted a Catholic radio station and asked her question. She was informed by a priest all ghosts were really demons. Humans who died could not be spirits. They were gone from this earth forever. If that answer wasn't enough, a special speaker came to her church, Zachary King, a former satanist, and also concluded there is no such thing as a ghost, only a demon in disguise.I was mighty suspicious, after pestering her for months for an answer, she received not one, but two repetitious answers. So I investigated.There are many religions and cultures that do believe in ghosts. The Chinese believe their departed loved ones' souls must be kept happy with offerings and honor. The seventh month of the Chinese New Year is Ghost Month and is celebrated with the Ghost Festival. It represents the connection between the living and dead. During this month they believe spirits come to visit earth. Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism all believe ghosts are deceased people who need our help to move on. Ullambana is a Buddhist festival celebrated to ease the suffering of ghosts. In the Latin American culture they celebrate Day of the Dead. People go to cemeteries, build alters with food, drink, and photos for their deceased loved ones in hopes they will be visited by their soul.
I spoke with a couple other friends of mine who are Catholic. They said they do not believe all spirits are demons. One even believes her mother's spirit visits her occasionally.According to the Bible "... he who goes down to the grave does not return." Does that mean the dead cannot come back to life or does that pertain to their spirit as well? I think it's a matter of interpretation.
I find it hard to believe mediums are speaking with demons. Why would demons want to comfort you or help you obtain closure of the death of your loved one? It doesn't make any sense to me. Demons are out to do bad, not good. Demons can physically attack humans by scratches or other bodily injury and inflict mental oppression, ghosts cannot. Don't demons have better things to do than haunt a house? I do believe demons can disguise themselves as a child or other spirit and can answer any question you ask them correctly but I am not convinced every spirit is a demon. I don't think there is strong evidence either way. For now it is a personal opinion.I would love to hear what everyone thinks about this topic. Are all spirits demons?__
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