Ghost Hunters 2.4: "17 Aug 2005"

Case #1: Mordecai House
Case #2: USS North Carolina

I can just imagine what the naysayers are going to say about this episode. Despite the fact that several moments in this episode were devoted to comments on method, equipment, and training, there will be critics saying that it’s not enough. Once again, I say: it’s clear that the editing process cuts a lot of the technical setup out, and even when two groups work together, the resources are still not “ideal”.

While I found Dustin and Kim’s training to be rather spotty at best, it was also heavily edited, so it’s hard to determine whether or not it was sloppy or edited to highlight the more goofy moments. I lean towards the latter, especially since the editing has already been suspect from the very beginning. They always emphasize the silly “behind the scenes” drama, and as usual, it’s the weakest part of the episode. I don’t care about Dustin and his hair, and seeing only the very beginning of his training gives off the impression that it’s the only thing he learned.

Anyway, as for the first case:

If Brennan’s restaurant was a waste of their time, then the Mordecai House was a waste of our time. Even though it only took one act of the episode to cover what happened and why it wasn’t successful, I can’t figure out why they wanted to waste so much time when the second case was far more interesting. Sure, it shows some of the ups and downs, but in the end, it’s reflective of why the “drama” is the weakest part of the series.

Moving on to the USS North Carolina:

Despite the lack of recorded evidence, I think this was one of the better investigations. Like they said themselves: it’s hard to imagine that two nights worth of investigation wouldn’t yield something in a location so storied. I know…the criticism is, why didn’t they find recorded evidence if they had so much equipment and two nights? For me, the answer is simple. They openly admit that they concentrated on so-called “hot spots”, but that never guarantees that activity will take place there. To expect otherwise is to believe (quite illogically) that the phenomenon follows a simple, predictable pattern.

Interestingly enough, when they do have a sustained level of activity in the bowels of the ship, Jason and Grant immediately suspect a prankster. They spend a lot of their time trying to find the source of the noise, and they even accuse the cameraman and crew. It’s not until they start seeing things that they start to consider another option, and even at the end, they don’t come right out and say that it was a ghost. They lean in that direction, but they don’t rely on their own perceptions as final proof. I like that.

I wish there had been more. EMF fields are weak, and the camera movement was strictly up/down…nothing particularly exciting there. The EVP was all right, but nothing like the ones that were so intriguing during the first season. There really wasn’t much else to the case, unfortunately.

Four episodes in, and there hasn’t been a completely solid case yet. The first season had only a few, granted, but there were only ten episodes. I hope that things get more active as the season progresses.

Chill Factor: 6/10