Saturday January 14, 2012
Return of the Ghostsoldiers
Tonight saw the return as guests the affable Pat McCormack and Doug McReynolds of Ghostsoldiers. Separately and together they'd previously been guests and occasionally Just Dropped In during 2011.
Henry threw me a curveball asking me to introduce the guests, and I was busy getting Ready. Craig, however, being good friends with them, leaped to the forefront and introduced them. Always the comedians, they brought in their own tongue-in-cheek introduction, regarding their topic of Ghost Hunt Myth Busting.
Pat spoke of his work in film making, which started with experimental editing and such. He went into television production, even while in the military, and now with the Discovery Channel, including but not limited to An Officer and a Movie. He also mentioned with Craig the Ghost Hunter store.
Pat discussed their traveling up and down the east coast and hopes on visiting [me on] the west coast. Currently they have 13 shows and a pilot for a series also called GhostSoldiers. Pat went into his origins into the paranormal, even before moving into a haunted house.
Craig spoke of their first meeting in an Altoona diner; at the Altoona Railroad Museum was Pat's first seeing a Shadow Person and first EVP.
Doug recounted first visiting Gettysburg and his later getting into War Between the States re-creationism.
Patrick and Craig discussed specifics of history within ghost hunting.
Surprisingly, Henry had me take us into the first break, although a bit earlier Pat demonstrated his "version" of outros...
We came back, Pat quoting "And remember, no matter where you go, there you are," which is a Confucius quote made popular by the popular if peculiar movie Buckaroo Banzai. Despite having seen it when it came out, I couldn't think of it on the air (that that quote was used in the film), and I had to look it up (it's not at all one of my favourite movies); I never did get the chance to refer back to it during the show.
Pat and Craig got back into discussing not only their experiences of hearing ghostly gunfire, but the varied locations they'd visited at night, as well as discussing Culp's Hill and the battle thereof, and Jennie Wade.
Craig was praising the possibility of getting a flat on Baltimore street near Steinwehr Avenue, each of which has tourist traps and ghost tours, but that Baltimore goes to the town square and thereby centrally located, and near "battlefield central" as it were.
Henry played back a few of their captured EVP's that Patrick and Doug had earlier provided.
After the next break, they discussed how their higher-end cameras are affected at haunted spots that normally wouldn't happen normally. They also went into various ghost hunting myths such as "having to" hunt at night. The TV-based concept of "Dead Time" was also dismissed as nonsense, as Activity isn't always timed at night. Also dismissed was that ghosts are "stuck in their time;" one ghost followed them up stairs that hadn't existed before their death.
Craig discussed an entity across whom he came at Spanglish Spring who believes the war is still on, as the spirit believes back-up has to arrive first, and that he cannot leave his wounded friends.
They also clarified that ghosts can indeed follow one home...
Next addressed was the idiocy that "all ghosts are demons" or demonic. He suggested people view their Laurel Hill Nursing Home episode to show how to ghost hunt respectfully.
Next was the myth that interdimensional creatures do not exist; Pat stressed about portals between Here and There.
Next discussed was "when people die, you're automatically transported to the Afterlife." Not so much, particularly with suicides.
With six minutes left in the show, Henry asked what place to which they've been the Most Active... Doug wondered if we had another Hour. He and Pat posited the Landon House, the Haldeman Mansion, Gettysburg, anywhere they go, pretty much. Sometimes it takes a bit to work into it, but eventually they get good evidence.
Patrick provided their website and I gave out our own information, and Henry conveyed our guest the next week would be Karen Laven regarding her book Cincinnati Ghosts: And Other Tri-State Haunts.