Posted By Peter Downs
Devin Robbins used to be skeptical.
He had a tough time seeing much to believe in the murky world of the paranormal.
That was until the St. Catharines teen donned some high-tech ghost-hunting gear for a popular kids TV show and went searching for signs of disembodied spirits in a building some think is haunted.
The 15-year-old came through the experience with a whole new mindset.
"I started to find some evidence that I couldn't find an explanation for. I started to believe in ghosts," Robbins said Saturday, relaxing at his family home in the city's north end. "By the end of it, it really changed my opinions. It was really creepy."
Robbins, a Grade 10 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, recently wrapped up filming episodes of the YTV show Ghost Trackers.
The series, which begins its fourth season Feb. 2, is shot at spooky locations around Ontario, including one episode shot in November at Keefer Mansion in Thorold.
Robbins is among a dozen teenaged contestants who will compete over 13 weekly episodes at finding signs of ghostly beings.
Each week, two contestants face off in the same location. They're judged by other contestants on how well they track down paranormal activity using various gadgets, such as electro-magnetic field detectors, infrared thermometers and a parabolic microphone.
Robbins originally auditioned for the show in August and then landed the job after a second meeting with the show's producers.
"It was a lot different than I thought it was going to be," he said. "It shocked me because it's a TV show and I thought we would be doing it in different takes, but they did it all really quickly."
Contestants only found out upon arrival which creepy location they had to explore.
Filming was shot with a combination of remote-control cameras placed inside, plus a couple cameras mounted on the contestants.
"You're the only one inside the house," Robbins said.
"It was actually really scary. I was really creeped out going inside."
Appearing in the show is another notch in the aspiring actor's belt. Robbins has performed in a number of commercials, including several for YTV sponsored by McDonald's, as well as educational videos and local theatrical productions.
The teen credits his acting uncle - former pro wrestler Garry Robbins of St. Catharines - with helping him launch his fledgling show-business career.
Robbins isn't permitted by the producers of Ghost Trackers to say how well he fared in the competition or which locations he explored. He and his family, parents Barry and Carol and younger sister Kylee, are bound to secrecy.
All those details will be revealed as the series plays out.
Ghost Trackers begins Feb. 2 on YTV, but a start time hasn't yet been decided, Robbins said.
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