Jason and Grant, the Ghost Hunters.
Do you believe in ghosts? Well, the Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Network do...sort of. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson head up TAPS--that's short for The Atlantic Paranormal Society.
They are plumbers by trade, but 15 years ago they answered the call of supernature, and now they are responsible for clearing your home's pipes and its spiritual pathways. They've had plenty of adventures, but don't call them ghostbusters.
We talked to them about the life of a Ghost Hunter.
TV.com: Hi guys. What do you have planned for season two and a half?
Grant: Well, we went to the hotel from The Shining.
Jason: That place was incredible. The nice thing was they closed down most of the place just for us. It's built right smack-dab between two mountains, on the side of one mountain. First off, the view is remarkable, but the place definitely has the creepy vibe.
Grant: We really can't get into too much detail, but I think it's definitely going to be a good episode and the fans are going to enjoy it.
TV.com: So, are you guys "ghostbusters?"
Jason:(Laughs) No we call ourselves paranormal researchers. We go and investigate claims of the paranormal.
TV.com: How do you know for sure when you are in the presence of paranormality?
Grant: You don't know for sure, but your body does tend to react: a tightness in the chest, stuff like that. But you can't use that as a basis to call something paranormal.
TV.com: How often, if ever, do you feel threatened?
Grant: In 15 years I have never felt threatened.
Jason: Honestly, the only time you really feel threatened is when you enter a homeowner's place, and you never know who's house you're walking into. It could be the home of someone perfectly normal, or it could be someone with some other issues.
TV.com: The homeowner sometimes affects the feelings?
Jason: Yes, just like on a plumbing call, you never know whose house you're walking into. I've walked into homes where a crack addict lived and I've walked into places where a police chief lived.
TV.com: The police chief is the weird one?
Jason: Yes.
TV.com: Do you worry you will anger the paranormal forces?
Jason: Whoever says that stuff is just going for shock value. It's not like you're going to get followed home by a spirit and beaten up by a demon. In 99 percent of these cases, it is nothing to be afraid of.
TV.com: Then, do you think there are evil and good spirits?
Grant: If these are the spirits of people who have died, then they are going to have the personalities of the people when they were living. There are styles of haunting that come off as negative, but most of the time it is just really harmless stuff.
TV.com: Do you have any memorable investigations?
Jason: On one call, we saw furniture move on its own, and one of our sound guys got leveled. But we have also seen a case where someone mixed a prescription drug with a hallucinogen and created a hallucinatory haunting--there was nothing paranormal going on. Once, a little old lady invited us in to look for a ghost, then 45 minutes later she was coming at us with a frying pan--she had forgotten she invited us in. One lady told us she always thought she was being watched, then we start the investigation and find a cookie jar shaped like a skull head filled to the brim with marijuana.
TV.com: So she was just being paranoid?
Jason: Yeah. Each case is so different, so you have to deal with each one differently.
TV.com: Do the victims seem grateful after you investigate?
Grant: Sometimes you debunk everything they think, and they get really mad.
Jason: Some people think it's a relative, and then you give them explanations for it, and they are very relieved.
TV.com: What do you think makes the Northeast such a hub of paranormal activity, Blair Witch, and so on?
Grant: I don't know if it really is. A lot of towns call themselves the most haunted town in America. In the Northeast you got a lot of history, changing seasons, old buildings, in the winter the nights are longer, people stay inside more, houses settle, they creak and pop. So we get a lot more claims, but I don't know if there is anything to them.
TV.com: What is your take on EMFs (Electro Magnetic Fields that are purported to be emissions of spirits).
Jason: I have very little trust in EMFs, I am a video and audio guy. If I can see it, it holds ground, but just telling me that an EMF reading is going up and down isn't going to do it for me.
Grant: You gotta understand that everything we do is kind of two-fold. We look for unexplainable EMF readings, but also we are looking at the nontech stuff because some of the side effects of having a high EMF are similar to those that people complain about: they feel uneasy, they feel eyes on them.
TV.com: Why do paranormal areas often emit cold spots?
Jason: There are a lot of different theories. One is that the spirit needs to draw energy to manifest itself.
Grant: Very little of this is fact; it's a lot of speculation and theory. The primary theory is that the entity needs to draw energy from somewhere, so why not draw it from the surrounding air.
TV.com: You guys never charge for any of these paranormal investigations. Do your spouses condone your escapades?
Grant: (Laughs) They are very supportive, they really sympathize with the people who are in need. But having a TV show takes us away from home a little more.
TV.com: So you're a lot busier than before?
Grant: Oh yeah, we used to get a few calls a month, now we have hundreds of people trying to get us to come out.
TV.com: You are both fiction writers. Has having a show made it easier for you to get any bites on screenplays or books?
Jason: We have no time at all. Having two full-time jobs and a family. Grant's got three kids, I have five--that is a full life.
TV.com: Thanks for talking to us guys, good luck with the show and the hunt.
Ghost Hunters airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on The Sci-Fi Channel
Source: http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=3918
