Ghost Hunters episode: November 11, 2009, New Hampshire Gothic

Ghost Hunters--the popular television show on the Sci Fi (Scy Fy) Channel featuring T.A.P.S. (The Atlantic Paranormal Society)--aired an episode entitled New Hampshire Gothic on November 11, 2009. This episode featured T.A.P.S. controversial investigation of the Amos J. Blake House Museum, in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire that is managed by the Fitzwilliam Historical Society.

Sights Unseen Paranormal has intimate knowledge of the site, and several members of the team have investigated the location on multiple occasions. We watched the episode with interest to see if Ghost Hunters results would coincide with what we know about the historic building.

Concerning the 'evidence' that T.A.P.S did gather, I believe that the ‘ghost cat' can be easily debunked. The evidence was as follows: Jason and Grant reported the smell of cat urine, captured an EVP of what sounded like a cat, and Grant reported the feeling of something brushing up against his leg.

The smell of the urine can be debunked by assuming that a stray cat had recently made its way into the basement due to the advent of the cold weather. Having been in the basement myself on multiple occasions, it appeared to be fairly secure, however any competent investigator has to assume that this is more likely then the existence of a ghost cat.

The EVP was inconclusive. EVPs are not proof of the paranormal and are discounted by skeptics as being caused by a variety of factors.

Grant's first-person report of something brushing against is leg is just that, a first-person report and thus subjective. Again, not proof of anything.

I found the chain moving and the pitchfork falling over highly suspicious and suspect that it possibly could have been staged. Having been in the location many times, all the furniture and belongings were placed pretty much as I remember. One thing that I certainly don’t remember is the chain and the pitchfork. It simply seemed out of place to me.

It appears unusual that these objects were in the location and placed as they were. I am unsure why--with so many valuable artifacts present--one would stand a pitchfork on end, leaning it against the wall where it could easily fall over.

One must also consider the way boards can shift when stepped on–the door opening upstairs earlier in the episode was debunked secondary to this process. During the episode, Jason clearly points out that shifting boards can cause things to move. I propose that the investigators walking by could have triggered the movement by this principle. I’d have to see the footage analyzed by a physicist before I was really convinced that the event was paranormal in origin.

An analysis of the video by another team of experienced investigators--whom we collaborate with--found that the pitchfork moved before the chain, and not visa versa as was put forth by T.A.P.S.

Finally, if one looks very closely, it appears that a there is a piece of tape on the wall that was holding the pitchfork in place. Review the video for yourself. Look closely and you can see the light of an investigators flashlight reflecting from it after the pitchfork had fallen over. At the very least, standing a pitchfork up against the wall in a precarious position, then securing it with a piece of tape seems like a very unwise thing to do, especially in a museum.

In all likelihood, a thorough debunker would have made note that the pitchfork was standing in a potentially unstable position and realized beforehand that it had the potential to fall over--even if it was secured by a piece of tape. I'm not saying that T.A.P.S. didn't notice this fact, but if so, they didn't mention it.

Even if the event was paranormal in origin, it still has to be discounted because of the probability that the movement could of occurred simply due to the tape becoming detached from the pitchfork. There is also the fact that there were people moving by the location at the same time.

There are simply too many questions, variables, and coincidences and thus the event cannot be accepted as possible evidence by anyone who is a competent debunker. All-in-all, it seems a little too convenient or coincidental.

As a group, we try very hard to debunk phenomena and believe that too often people resort to 'ghostly' explanations for phenomena with environmental causes. We've also had personal experience with people altering and/or manufacturing evidence in an attempt to support their claims that a specific location may be haunted, and thus view any such events with skepticism if there is any way it can be explained by more earthly causes.

Ask yourself...is it more likely that a ghost moved the chain causing the pitchfork to fall over rather then due to the possible causes mentioned earlier? Perhaps the 'ghost cat' knocked over the pitchfork. The point is, no evidence gathered during this episode can even remotely be considered paranormal. There are simply too many other possibilities.

Something else that bears mentioning is the fact that the curator of the museum and the ‘volunteer’ that were interviewed are both members of a paranormal team that formed after it was discovered T.A.P.S. was going to investigate the location. It was shortly after the group was formed that reports of multiple apparitions and conscious spirits haunting the location were reported. There appeared to be very little hard "evidence" to back up these claims, but they certainly piqued the public's interest and in the lead-up to the episode.

I do firmly believe that there may be something is going on at the site, and would rate it a 2 out of 10 regarding possible paranormal activity. I’ve recorded a disembodied voice and had a cold spot sit on my shoulder while investigating the Amos J. Blake House Museum. I also observed some photographs of some strange mist, but that's the extent of any evidence that I've ever encountered at location.

TAPS did do a fairly good job debunking in my estimation. The smell of cat urine and a pitch fork falling over, even with the chain moving,aren’t enough for me–nor TAPS–to consider the place really haunted.

There is one fact that can't be disputed, The Amos J. Blake House Museum is a wonderful example of a New England historical society museum and I was pleased to see that TAPS results correlated with our teams experience with the building.


Bobby Elgee; Sights Unseen Paranormal