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A great article about TAPS
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http://www.rense.com/general67/taps.htm



TAPS Ghost Hunters -
Leading People Astray?
From Ted Twietmeyer
tedtw@frontiernet.net
9-26-5

PLEASE READ THIS UPDATE BEFORE EMAILING ME
This update covers three areas:
1. Please do not email me about my statements made above as compared to the current show. The above article was written back in September 2005 and should NOT be compared to the current show.

2. There is an error I made regarding the two lead characters of the TAPS show. Lead characters are actually Jason and Grant.

3. As for the stated lack of doing real research at haunted sites for more than 2 hours (on the average) as far as I know that still goes on. No real determination of any site being haunted (or not haunted) can made using such limited data. It's just plain bad science. Is there an unwritten law or requirement that lights have to be out for a haunted site to manifest iteself? I think not. Theatrical license is more likely the reason for this. Perhaps producers are thinking this is what the average person expects.

Thankyou.
Ted Twietmeyer
-----

The TAPS show airs on the Sci-fi channel on Wednesday nights. Often two episodes are aired in serial fashion. But what is it we are watching? What does it mean? It's time we looked at this a bit closer.

For those who have not seen the show, TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Service) is a service run by a pair of plumbers (yes, real working plumbers) mysteriously only listed as Jason and Steve in the show's credits. The show is never protrayed as fiction, and utilizes some of the latest in high tech equipment to record strange events. Restaurants, a lighthouse, hotels and historic sites in New England and mid-Atlantic states are the typical locations for the show.

Property owners or caretakers call the service looking for TAPS to provide proof positive of activity. Jason and Steve have two or three others help them collect the data late at night, on location at the site of interest. Near-infrared, thermoscan cameras, still digital cameras and other devices are used to record events. At some point in the show, production cameras go with them on Roto-Rooter house calls, rubber gloves and all. Some scenes look like out-takes from another TV show, titled "Dirty Jobs." Overall, to the trained eye it gives a strong impression of an extended product placement insert for the well-known national plumbing company.

Instead of meeting in a converted house trailer, in TAP's 2005 season they now meet in a tiny building located on a commercial street. The actual location is never discussed. Apparently now the sci-fi channel is pumping some funding into the show, to give it a face-lift.

Without further delay, let's look at how they collect data in what some call a fringe area of science. Data collection at haunted locations inherently presents technical challenges, even to those well-educated in the paranormal. If someone was considering calling these guys, they might want to review the various facts about the methods used as described below.

1. A pre-production interview with the client is not shown, but it is discussed very briefly at the beginning of the show. A brief verbal thumbnail sketch of what they are looking for is given, probably because of time limits for show length.

2. Video cameras are set up which have their own infrared illuminators, apparently with very little planning ahead of time.

3. A thermoscan camera is rarely used, even though it could provide a visual image of a "cold spot" that clients often describe.

4. Recording of late night phenomena (according to TAPS) doesn't require a month of recording, or even a week. Only few hours of just one night. It is apparently chosen at random for convenience of all involved, and not based on any pattern of activity. This is all the recording for audio and video that is done. A one night walk-through of two teams using handheld thermometers, cameras and other instruments is performed. Real paranormal professionals require many nights and days of recording and observation. I cannot recall anyone, anywhere ever describing paranormal activity taking place every single night of the week.

5. EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) recording is also used to a limited degree. On site recordings often have far too much chit-chat between investigators, drowning out any potential voices or usuable audio.

5. Two of the technical crew (Steve and another crew member) are given the tedious job of sitting and staring at monitors back at the TAPS office or in a hotel room, for many hours looking for anything out of the ordinary. Anyone who has done this with long video or audio tapes, will confirm that fatigue sets in. It's very easy to miss something important. Or see something that isn't there. If a real event appears on the screen for a second or less (which is often the case) it can easily be missed.

6. Jason and Steve then make a summary of the observations, and return to the site they collected data from. This is usually called "The Reveal." Their conclusions are given in person, on camera to the caretakers, managers or owners who called them in. On at least one show, they just called them on a speaker phone and gave the person a quick summary.


BEING HAUNTED CAN BE BOTH GOOD AND BAD

If you sell real-estate in many states of the USA, you must declare whether or not a building or property is haunted to the buyer. This is true in NY state, too. Yet despite the negative stigma that a haunted property can have, the effect can be quite the opposite for commercial purposes. For owners of bars, hotels, restaurants, etc... it can be a great marketing tool encouraging people to boast "we've had our property checked professionally, and it's haunted." For commercial properties like bars, hotels and restaurants, haunting adds a certain element of charm. For private real-estate, it can be a curse that won't go away when you want to sell. And if the owner of an establishment finds out that their place of business is NOT haunted after they have told everyone for years that they are? Serious embarrassment or even legal problems can result after a negative conclusion is aired on the show. One can just imagine the disclaimers and agreements not to sue that one must sign before production of the show begins.

THE BIG QUESTION - WOULD YOU CALL TAPS FOR YOUR HAUNTING?

Given the mixed possibilities of having a property declared on national television as haunted (or not,) would TAPS publicity help anyone's business? If someone was looking for publicity, being on the show would be almost useless.

Consider this: Can anyone recall the name of a family, bar, hotel, restaurant, historic site or other facility that has been investigated on the show, and declared by TAPS experts as "haunted?" The show presents some interesting entertainment for a certain demographic.

Being on the show is quite a different matter. Your reputation can be damaged if you claim your business or home is haunted, and TAPS finds nothing conclusive. And this is their overwhelming conclusion for most sites they visit and "analyze." Something to think about before contacting them to be a guinea pig on their show, at your reputation's expense.

A better answer? It would be far wiser to call a college or university with a well-equipped paranormal department that will do field research. Or, another reputable and confidential group which uses good scientific methodology, who will keep the results private. This is important psychologically whether the results of the research determine it is haunted, or not.

And the bottom line? Negative TAPS findings of paranormal activity as a result of just one night's observations, might be taken by some as fact. It could cause them to think the problem is in their head, leading them astray from the real problem. False positives could also result in people moving out of a home that has nothing wrong with it.

Ted Twietmeyer
http://www.data4science.net explores many areas of science that mainstream science ignores, often for lack of funding. It is not covering hauntings as of this writing.


Update - Comment
Ted Twietmeyer
9-27-6

My description of TAPS as "The Atlantic Paranormal Service" was intended as a play on words. It actually means "The Atlantic Paranormal Society."

I have already received a number emails from people that completely agree with
my assessment of TAPS effectiveness, and I thank them for taking the time to write me.

After being encouraged by a rense reader to look at their website at http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com it just confirmed my statements.

(Yes, I really do read all emails from readers.) Brian, their former "tech" guy had some personal problems that caused him to resign from the show. So what do the people of TAPS do? They publish a "magazine" about their "operation" for lack of a better word. And there on the front cover of the current issue is a picture of Brian with the title "Brian's paranormal CRASH." (See picture below.) We should congratulate the TAPS people for lowering themselves all the way down to tabloid level, by capitalizing on another's misfortune.

Brian was honorable, and HE decided to resign before his problems deeply impacted others.

Would you want a "society" made of clowns like this coming to YOUR home? Or even doing your plumbing? If so, then you could end up as tabloid fodder in next month's issue. Perhaps they are a "social society" and they feel Brian just doesn't "fit in." They have proven themselves capable of bickering with each other on camera (which has been kept IN the final cut of the show,) unscientific, nonsensical and ruthless against THEIR OWN PEOPLE. Even off air they trash each other, which their tabloid trash proves without doubt.

To intentionally character-assassinate Brian like this makes them as low as animals that eat their own young.

I hope Brian sues the crap out of them. He never deserved that kind of treatment and he has my support, and the support of many rense.com readers.

Ted Twietmeyer


I couldn't agree more with this guys findings: if people are serious about finding scientific evidence of the paranormal, t.v. is just not the place for it. Nor is funding and promoting tourist traps. It's too bad so much money got involved with the term "ghosts" because it seems to be ruining this field altogether. My roommate and I had some serious problems in our own place and needed help; we emailed dozens of paranormal groups asking what to do: none of them would help because we didn't have a big name in the paranormal field, nor owned a big tourist attraction like a lighthouse. We live on the front line of the Battle of Nashville, so one group emailed me back and plain out told me our problem was residual and nothing more without even asking questions or listening to the dozens of evps and videos we had. It becomes clear that most paranormal groups out there are only in it for the money, publicity, book sales, and other avenues to benefit themselves....i have found no real science involved, or have i seen people actually helping people in this field anymore.
Instead, most of these paranormal groups spend lots of money tracking off to big conventions at Waverly Hills and Stanely Hotel. It just doesn't make any sense to me.


Not to mention, I saw that episode with Brian, for a scientific show, they might have left the kids persoanl problems out of it. I thought the team was just mean and nasty with that kid on public television. No one should be treated like that in public. I felt really bad for that kid.
There was one other episode where one fo the guys, a smaller guy thought he was getting sick from paranormal in an attic or something, and the whole team just treated him terribly on television. You could see the hurt in that kids eyes on tv, and the crew was just outright rude to him. That stuff doesn't need to be on TV. Not to mention the amount of kids that love the show and watch it every week, and then look up the show on myspace. One of the girls actually put a nude picture on their site, come on now, young kids are watching you. That was disappointing to see as well.

But such is media. I will probably not watch the show much in the future anymore, but I hope that people stop using a TV show as science when it is not even close.


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