L to R: TAPS member Steve Gonsalves, TAPS lead investigator Jason Hawes, Tech. Sgt. Brad Gardner, TAPS lead investigator Grant Wilson, and TAPS member Dave Tango.
So, are there ghosts lurking in certain buildings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base? Only base officials and members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, or TAPS, know for sure, but you'll be able to find out too this coming March.
The TAPS team led by Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes are the guys you see on the Sci-Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters, which typically airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Wilson and Hawes are the guys who work for Roto-Rooter by day, and then turn into "Ghost Hunters" at night. They have a team of people helping them investigate claims of hauntings.
The upcoming season of Ghost Hunters set to kick-off in March will feature the team's recent investigation of three buildings on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base - the Arnold House, Building 219 and Building 70. Several reporters from the area including our Jodi Brock from the Centerville-Bellbrook Times and Bill Duffield from the Kettering-Oakwood Times were able to ask the "Ghost Hunters" questions about last week's investigation at the base. The following includes excerpts from that conversation:
Coordinator: Our first question comes from Lisa Burgess with "Stars and Stripes."
Lisa Burgess: Can you just basically explain what it is they think they're seeing there - a little bit of the history and who these entities they think these folks are?
Jason Hawes: Well there's all different claims of activity. They believe that in different buildings they've seen what appears to be full body apparitions and some shadow figures, the sounds of people walking when nobody is there, odd doors opening and closing. So depending on which building it is, you know, the home - the Arnold home, they claim to have objects moving, people walking, full body apparitions, voices going on.
Grant Wilson: Yeah. As far as history and who these entities are, they don't know. They've given them names. One was, what, Madge and the other was - I can't remember the name. But they're not sure if they're even there, number one. And number two, they don't - they've just given them names. And as far as history, they said they can't pull up anything other than hearsay on people passing away and things like that in these areas. But it's just - I don't know, it's just a real honor to be here and being called in by the Air Force.
Jason Hawes: Absolutely.
Grant Wilson: Yeah, they had - Rachel Castle, who started all this, she - I guess she met a lot of resistance and finally got clearance through the Pentagon. So we're very honored. But as far as activity there, yeah, we're investigating the Arnold House, Building 219 and Building 70. And yeah - I mean, when you get the military saying they have experience, you tend to believe them a little bit more because it, you know, they're trained to be honest and...
Jason Hawes: And it definitely...
Grant Wilson: ...trained to figure stuff out.
Jason Hawes: And it definitely helps boost the field - a field that for so many years was hurt due to, you know, people out there.
Lisa Burgess: You - a lot of people don't take this stuff seriously.
Jason Hawes: Right.
Lisa Burgess: What do you do to come in and let - you know, how do you actually do your work? What do you use? What type of equipment do you use to try to validate some of these claims?
Jason Hawes: Well you got to remember first off we're coming in - not trying to validate, but trying to disprove. We're trying to figure out what's really going on. We are firm believers of the paranormal, but we believe over 80 percent of all claims can be disproved. Now with that known, when we come into a place we're coming in with everything from Zero Lux Cameras that can see in total darkness to Thermal Imaging Cameras, which can see temperature fluctuations. You know, audio - wireless audio systems, you know, just the whole gambit of equipment - and electromagnetic field detectors. There's everything.
Lisa Burgess: And have you set any of this equipment up yet? Where are you in your investigation right now?
Grant Wilson: Oh, we've actually investigated all three places and we covered them very thoroughly. We even brought in things like a faraday cage, which is a copper cage that we could our microphone in, which would eliminate any outside signal because we're on a military base. So a lot of radio chatter and things like that - we don't want that to be misinterpreted as an EVP or a disembodied voice. But yeah, we've investigated all the buildings. We set up all this equipment and right now we're in the process of reviewing what that equipment has caught to see if we've got anything.
Coordinator: Our next question comes from Mary Beth Lehman with Fairborn Daily Herald.
Mary Beth Lehman: Hey guys. I was wondering if you could talk any more about the challenges you faced coming on to the military base?
Jason Hawes: The only challenges seemed - you know, the only challenges were while we were here investigating, of course running the wires, finding power in certain areas - really didn't have any troubles getting onto the base because we had security bring us through. But mainly the fact that you're investigating a 600,000 or 700,000 square foot building and, you know, you've only got so much cable. You've only got so many cameras, and you've only got so many extension cords that it can definitely lead to problems that way. What about you, Grant?
Grant Wilson: Yeah. And honestly I mean, it's just - one of the overlying things is the fact that you're doing this for the military and so you really want to do the best you can. And, you know, sometimes it's not as easy as it sounds. And like Jason said, each location is radically different and, you know, not only that you've got C-5's flying overhead all the time and, you know, you got a lot of radio frequency you've got to work around. But, you know, things we knew about and we were prepared for. And, you know, it hasn't been an issue yet.
Coordinator: Our next question comes from Bill Duffield with Jodi Brock/Times Community Newspapers. Your line is open.
Bill Duffield: The question I wanted to ask was if you could compare the investigation at Wright-Pat to maybe some of the other ones you've done in the past? What would it compare to? Would it compare to Waverly or Eastern Penn, or...
Jason Hawes: You know, I don't know if I could compare it to another investigation. But I could say out of a - you know, I don't even know if I could say that. Geez, I'm trying to, you know, phrase my words properly. It was definitely - it was a great investigation and probably one of our best.
Grant Wilson: Yeah, it's, you know, it kind of had - it wasn't overwhelmingly difficult to set up and it wasn't, you know - yeah, you got to watch what you say. It's been a good case and I think that translates into a good show. So - (unintelligible) always does.
Jodi Brock: Hey guys, I wanted to know if you had thought about investigating the Air Force Museum because I know there have been some reports there?
Jason Hawes: Yeah. Actually we're talking to some people about getting in there and investigating him - I mean, it - but I guess there's a whole bunch of issues with doing so, right down to in certain areas they have glass set up a certain way that you can't really snap pictures of. It would just be a problem for our cameras and everything else. But I would love to.
Jodi Brock: Do you guys know when this episode will air?
Jason Hawes: Well, new season starts in March, so...
Grant Wilson: We're not sure where they'll put it in there.
Jason Hawes: Yeah. Maybe the end of March, April - I'm not sure, really.
Jodi Brock: Okay. And then also, did you guys get to leave the base at all to go out and eat, or...
Jason Hawes: Yes.
Grant Wilson: Oh yeah. Well they have everything there. They have their own fire station. They have restaurants. They've got a golf course. They've got it all.
Jason Hawes: Yeah. It's pretty much - it is its own city. The only time we had a problem leaving the base was pretty much yesterday when they got hit with a bomb scare and it created a total lockdown.
Bill Duffield: Do you think maybe that was the paranormals trying to...
Jason Hawes: Oh yeah, I don't think any ghost called in a bomb threat. That's for sure.
Grant Wilson: Well we were riding with a Major at the time and he's like, sorry guys there's nothing I can do. Yeah, they take it very seriously.
Jason Hawes: Yeah, well they need to.
Coordinator: Our next question comes from Jill Del Greco with WHIO-TV. Your line is open.
Jill Del Greco: Were you surprised that your show got to be so popular?
Jason Hawes: Yes. You know what? It's funny because Grant and I - you know, we're plumbers out of Rhode Island. We didn't think anybody wanted to watch anything we did. And we expected that we would do 10 episodes and it would be canceled. We'd just go on with our normal lives. And we never even fathomed we'd be four seasons in and one of the top rated reality shows on cable.
Maureen Granados: Okay. And I - this is Maureen from Sci Fi. I think that about wraps up our call. And Jason and Grant, do you guys have anything to add?
Jason Hawes: Well I just want to say thank you to everybody who took the time out to spend on this call and ask the questions. And...
Grant Wilson: Yeah.
Jason Hawes: ...we really have had a great time in Ohio. The people - they have been wonderful. The military has been incredible and we appreciate everything.
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