Wednesday, Feb. 23, brings The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) crew back together for the seventh season of "Ghost Hunters." Beginning with its first-ever investigation of an entire city, Grant and Jason lead the team to the historic Alexandria, La.
Does the entire-city approach change things up at all? No, not even a little.
At this point, you’re either a fan of "Ghost Hunters" or you are not. You either really believe the TAPS team is picking up voices from beyond the grave on their digital recorders, or you see the group as mid-life kids who believe clubs are just as cool today as they were in third grade.
In either camp, there is a certain element of fun to the show. There is some part of each of us that wants to believe in ghosts, no matter how underwhelming the physical evidence. Only, after six seasons, the non-believers are probably getting a little bored with the formula, and the first two episodes of Season 7 do little to shake things up.
In the premiere episode, city officials call in TAPS to look at three different paranormal “hot spots.” The first is the historic Hotel Bentley, which was built in the early 1900s. Guests claim they’ve seen the original owner and others even claim to have been tripped while descending hotel stairs.
The next spot, Finnigan’s Wake Tavern, presents an owner who’s afraid to go into his own establishment alone. Reports of shadowy figures and tipping glasses have him asking TAPS for answers. And finally, the Diamond Grill, a jewelry-store-turned-haunted-restaurant, has staffers telling stories of flickering lights and moving trays.
The investigation results are presented during a town hall meeting, and without giving away too much, they’re pretty much the same results you’ve seen in every previous episode of "Ghost Hunters."
On March 2, the team does another asylum episode. The Pennhurst Asylum in Pennsylvania has a history far scarier than anything from the possible netherworld, but Syfy fans demand EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). So the TAPS team sets up cameras, laser grids and digital recorders to capture whatever strangeness they can.
Again, nothing new, but there are some genuinely creepy moments.
"Ghost Hunters" has a dedicated following that is pretty happy with two-word whispers and the occasional bump in the other room. For the casual viewer who is hoping to see an apparition on screen every week, there isn’t likely much to be excited about — at least not from the first two episodes.
Short of proton packs and a few more “holy grail” shots, "Ghost Hunters" Season 7 is a core-fan only affair.