Ghost Hunters 2.21: "10 May 2006"

Case #1: Domani’s: Roselle Park, NJ
Case #2: St. John’s County Jail


After the previous episode, I wasn’t sure how the series could follow it up. I mean, shadowy figures, voices recorded that were plainly audible in real-time, that’s not something they catch on a regular basis. So I was a little concerned that it would be a huge letdown, with two investigations where literally nothing happened. Sure, that’s the reality of the field, but it’s hard to deny expectations.

Thankfully, this was an episode with plenty of EVPs. I’m fascinated by EVP, because it’s not something that can be explained very easily. I also follow the “Haunted NJ Podcast”, where they play a number of EVPs from their own cases, so I’m very familiar with the various interpretations and pitfalls. What I like is that the phenomenon isn’t necessarily due to “haunting”; it might also play into aspects of physical reality that aren’t typically apparent. For instance, EVPs can be a recording of sounds “imprinted” within the physical material of a building or object, rather than a traditional haunting.

It also doesn’t hurt that the first case was very close to home. Not only do I know where Domani’s is located (points in the direction of the building), but I’ve been there before! (Donna’s right…the penne is great! And Donna wasn’t bad, either!) I love it when they come to central NJ, because chances are, I’ve been there or driven past the building. I do kick myself a little bit, since I have to wonder if they drove by without me noticing!

Anyway, first case:

A couple personal experiences and some good debunking, topped off with two good EVPs. The second one was pretty clear, and it did sound like a child’s voice. One thing about EVP is that the context isn’t there. Is that a response to a question, or a recording of a past event? The first EVP, however, seems like a definite response. I know that they interpreted it as “What is that contraption?”, but I didn’t hear that. I heard something more like “What was it you(something)?” or something similar. Definitely four words before the longer word, though.

Second case:

This one was interesting because of the unusual EMF results and the EVP. The EMF could have been one of those opportunities for educating the audience, but it didn’t happen. Sure, Brian thought it meant something was there, but they were sitting in the middle of a building filling with metal. Toss in ambient electromagnetic properties for the region and from the weather, and it’s no surprise that there’s a regular, detectable flux. And frankly, that could go a long way towards explaining the movement of metal doors, if the effect was strong enough.

The EVP, though, was unusual. Is it possible that the voice wasn’t speaking English? I couldn’t make out any discernable words, but it sounded like purposeful phrasing. The other possibility is that the sound of conversations elsewhere in the building resonated in the metal itself, causing enough vibration to sound like a conversation without distinct phrasing. I don’t recall them saying where the audio was recorded or when, so it’s a little hard to tell.

Chill Factor: 8/10