Joe,

Check your Facebook messages.

Paul

An excerpt from episode #1.

Paul

Paul was good enough to forward me an advance copy of Episode Two of Ghost Cases. I had the chance to watch it Friday night and I have to tell you I really enjoyed it.

Ghost Cases takes a little different approach from what you might be used to on Ghost Hunters. In this particular episode, Paul and Holly visited a rural farm house in which seemingly paranormal activity was making life pretty uncomfortable for its living occupants. I felt Paul and Holly took the time to tell you a little more about what these people were experiencing and how it affected their lives. Like in most UFO cases, the only concrete thing we usually have is the witnesses, and understanding them may give us our best clue to understanding the phenomenon. You also get to know a bit more about the hunters too. You understand that Paul and Holly are just normal people with normal fears and foibles who just happened to be engaged in an unusual activity.

Ghost Cases is not so technology-centric as Ghost Hunters. For example, they are assisted by a psychic in this case - something I believe that Ghost Hunters used to do but abandoned for a more science-based approach. I would certainly like to see a follow-up to the case to see whether the psychic's efforts had any real or lasting effect on the manifestations there.

As a former TV guy, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the production values and videography were quite good - at some points rather artistic. They kept a few miscues in it (people sometimes at a momentary loss for words and such). I liked that. It gave it more of a sense of reality - in stressful situations, sometimes you do struggle for words.

I hope they pick up the show down here. I think it would be a thoughtful counter-point to some of the overwrought shows we get in the States.

S

Hi Joe,

Glad you liked it. As a director, I always appreciate it when people like the camera work.

You're quite right about us not relying on technology. We use it, but frankly I think the technology is just as useful and valid in its own way as the more esoteric stuff which the "science-based" ghost hunters eschew, I think primarily because they're desperate to see legitimate. I have no such need - it really is just two people looking into weird stuff, and telling stories, and I think that will resonate with people tired of shows that pretend to be the hih-tech uber-ghost hunter types. We shall see...

In terms of the case itself, follow-up with the home owners reports all has been fine since we were there. As I said at the end of the episode, I don't know if any of it was real, but it seems to have had at least a placebo effect on the residents, and that can't be a bad thing. Besides, who knows - maybe we really did "cleanse" the place!

Paul