Subs created by: David Coleman.
Narrator: Tonight on "Fact or Faked:.."
- What the.. - Whoa.
- What?! - "Paranormal files"..
[ Gasps ] Ohh!
Look at this place. It's been totally abandoned.
A bunch of the employees, they were experiencing bizarre things..
A blue ghost roaming around different floors.
Now, you guys, when it comes to paranormal activity,
- I've never seen anything like this. - Wow.
In this vicinity, all of us get this ominous feeling of something bad.
Something just fell right next to me like it was thrown at me.
Why are you still here?
[ Gasps ] Whoa!
Let it rip!
[ Electricity crackles ]
Oh (Bleep)..
Oh, my goodness!
There's a flying saucer.
I'm getting a series of lights right there.
So, you're seeing what I am seeing?
What the heck is happening?
[ Lanisha chuckles ]
Ohh.
Hey. How are you? Have a seat.
- Okay. Well, who wants to go first? - Lanisha: I do.
All right. Lanisha, you have the floor.
All right, guys. I have a great amateur video that I want you all to see.
Now, this was shot in December of 2011 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Now, this homeowner was testing out a new camcorder
when he heard a disturbance behind him.
When he whipped his camera around,
he captured what he feels is pure poltergeist activity.
- Take a look. - Okay.
Man: I want to sell it, though.
Oh, [Bleep]
[Bleep]
Bailey?
- What the.. - Whoa.
Bailey!
Bai..
Austin: Now, that's pretty good.
The only thing that does concern me, though,
is that you can't actually see behind the wall.
I mean, why couldn't somebody just be back there
with some mono filament line, just pulling on it?
I hear you, but his reaction seemed genuine enough.
Austin, I'm with you on this.
This would be pretty easy to fake. Take a look at this.
Both objects open from left to right.
So, it would take two simple pieces of mono filament line,
one person behind a wall just going like this and like this.
The objects don't move in any other direction.
- The objects over here don't move. - Ben: I agree.
You know, just seeing this doesn't mean this didn't happen or couldn't happen.
However, it's very simple to replicate.
So, I think we should pass on this. Okay?
Bill, batter up.
Now, I have a clip I want everybody to see.
Now, a team of paranormal researchers were investigating
the allegedly haunted Tri-County Truck Stop,
which is located on Route 66 in Villa Ridge, Missouri.
They capture two key pieces of evidence.
Take a look at this photo first.
So, clearly, you can see this mist-like apparition
that seems to be forming in the men's restroom.
Jael: Wow.
The photographer did say that he saw it with the naked eye,
aimed the camera, snapped this photo.. There it is.
Devin: Wow. So, he was compelled to take this photo because he saw something.
- I like that. - I like that, too. Jael: Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, at first glance, you look at this and you go,
"oh, maybe the investigator just captured a bug".
But it looks more like floating energy.
If you guys think this photo was compelling,
take a look at this video we have next.
So, now, this was shot in the basement.
So, obviously you have very little light to contend with down there.
Yeah. Now, what are we look.. [ Gasps ]
- Oh! I like that! - Okay!
It almost has, like, a humanoid shape to it.
- Yes. - I mean, the apparition is
a full humanoid figure, and it's glowing bright blue.
I haven't seen that before.
Devin: Is there a background here that plays in the paranormal lore?
Yes, Devin. I mean, this location
is considered a hotbed of paranormal activity.
Former employees have seen a male apparition in the dining room.
They've seen what looks like a shadow figure
ascending the stairs from the basement.
And throughout the entire grounds, people have reported poltergeist activity.
So, very active location.
This is really impressive.
I say we put this on the short list.
- Okay. Cool. - Okay.
Okay. So, the video that I have comes from Lowell, Massachusetts.
There's a couple of guys who saw this triangular-shaped object
floating over a residential neighborhood.
Now, they're pretty panicked about this.
They actually called the police.
So, you can hear this whole conversation.
Watch this.
I like that. All right. Yeah. Yeah.
Man: All right. This is a triangle with lights.
J.. Th.. This is the.. This is the tri..
This is what I was telling you. It's a triangle.
Man #2: We can't hear anything.
How far do you think they are?
That's only about 1,000 feet above the ground.
1,000 feet above the ground.
It's hovering in Lowell, Mass, right now.
Now, if that's actually 1,000 feet away, as the witness claims,
then that thing must be pretty huge.
I believe he doesn't know what he's seeing.
- Jael: Yeah. - It's different from
what we normally get. We usually get people
like, "oh, my gosh! Aah! What is that?!"
But it's just hard to tell what this is we're looking at.
Yeah.
I mean, unless we turn up more evidence,
this just feels like too many videos that we've already seen
and cases we've already done.
Maybe it looks so much like other videos we've seen
because people are really capturing these things.
I guess the last thing we want to do is get so jaded by UFO videos
that we'll dismiss one when we see an actual UFO.
Devin: That's a really good point.
Well, for now, why don't we set it aside.. Maybe come back to it later
when we discuss what else we have today?
Devin: Okay.
I have a series of photos for you guys captured in march 2011
by a pair of amateur paranormal researchers in Logtown, Mississippi.
Now, they were investigating Logtown's secluded cemetery
when they captured what appears to be electric paranormal activity.
- Whoa. - Austin: Electric?
Really bizarre. Take a look at this.
Look at that.
Lanisha: Wow!
- Bill: Oh, my gosh. - Ben: Wow.
A lot of activity goes on at this cemetery,
and they were there snapping photos like crazy.
Look what they keep capturing.
Wow!
I mean, I would have thought maybe motion blur,
like a light source and moving the camera,
but there are other objects, even people, that are very crisp in the same image.
It's almost like lightning.
Ben: Very strange.
And it's not just the bolt itself that looks like electricity.
There's, like, this kind of glow around it, you know?
Like a mist almost.
Now, in the '60s, NASA actually bought
the entire town of Logtown, Mississippi, and leveled it
because it was so close to their testing facility.
All that's left is this cemetery.
There have been so many reports of activity going on there..
Screams and disembodied voices..
- It's actually causing a problem. - Wow.
Ben: I like this one a lot.
Time to choose sides. Who wants what?
Bill: I stand by Tri-County truck stop.
I mean, it's got the compelling video, available witness.
I think it's a case that we should do.
Yep. I'm gonna have to go with Bill all the way here.
I've never seen anything like it before.
I'm really interested in this case.
Well, guys, I really like the graveyard lightning photograph
that you brought, Devin.
That place has such a good back story,
- ooh, it just makes me want to go. - I want to go to the graveyard.
I'm with you, Bill. I like "Truck Stop Terror".
Supposedly, it's abandoned, but I want to see if it's still inhabited
by something otherworldly, maybe.
So, why don't I go with Jael and Devin?
Let's go to Mississippi.
Let's go to that cemetery and find out what's going on.
And, Bill, Lanisha, and Austin, "Truck Stop Terror".
- Missouri or bust. - Lanisha: All right. [ Laughs ]
I'm in.
Okay. Okay.
Guys, I am excited to be here in Villa Ridge, Missouri,
investigating paranormal activity captured
at the abandoned and supposedly haunted Tri-County truck stop.
Now, the video and the photo that brought us into this case
was recorded by the paranormal task force out of Missouri.
These guys have a lot of experience.
Austin: Now, the leader of the group was Greg Myers,
and he was actually present when both events happened.
But it was Tom Halstead.. Now, he's the investigator
who actually captured the photo of the luminous apparition.
Lanisha: Now, regarding the second piece of evidence,
the video camera was locked off and left running
in the basement of the facility,
and it wasn't until they played the footage back
that they actually spotted that apparition.
You know, this group and a lot of others
consider this place a serious hotbed of paranormal activity.
Let's start this investigation by interviewing Greg and Tom
and getting their back stories about what happened
on the nights they recorded that video and the photo.
Take a look at this place.
- It looks creepy even from the outside. - It sure does.
Look at this place.
It's been totally abandoned.
Hey, guys. How you doing?
- I'm Greg. - Greg.
- Tom. - Tom.
This is Lanisha, and this is Austin.
If you guys can tell us what happened the night that you guys shot this video
and about the general paranormal history of the Tri-County truck stop.
Well, back in 2006, we were actually contacted by the restaurant owner
and a bunch of the employees here
because they were experiencing bizarre things..
A blue ghost roaming around different floors,
a shadow thing in the basement they said that would throw stuff at them.
And then some of the kids coming through
would actually see what they called a monster
on the stairs going up to the second floor.
Now, this truck stop has been abandoned for five years.
During the time of your investigation,
was it open for business, or was it closed?
It was open.
Was anybody from the public here during your investigation?
No. They closed, and we actually did a complete walk-through.
- Okay. - Now, you have video, and you have photos.
- Where was the video captured? - Right where you're standing,
pointing towards the post there.
So, that's about where the apparition was seen..
- Like, right in here? - Yeah. Uh-huh.
Everybody was outside. Nobody was in the basement.
We heard some banging noises down here.
We heard the motion-sensor alarm go off,
so we came down here and checked our cameras,
and that's when I noticed that we had captured something.
What kind of camera were you using?
It was an S1-IS Canon.
Do you have that camera with you,
- by any chance? - I sure do.
Okay. Would you mind us using it for our experiments?
Sure.
Let's talk about the still photo that you guys captured
of this uh.. Appears to be a misty apparition.
Where did you guys capture that?
It was actually captured in the men's room upstairs.
- We'll follow you guys. - Okay.
So, Tom, you were the one that actually took the photo?
Yes. I walked over here, looked over.
I just glanced over to my left,
- right where you're standing, right there. - So, I'd be the apparition?
Yeah. It was moving towards that wall there.
I tapped my little SLR, takes the snapshot.
- Right here? - Right there.
And then I took another shot, and it was gone.
Now, comparable to the photo, did it look the same to the naked eye?
It did, yes.
So, now, I have to ask..
Were you or any members of your team involved in any hoax?
No. Absolutely not.
All right, guys. Thank you so much for your time.
- Okay. All right. - See you, Tom. See you, Greg.
I think we should start with photos in this bathroom.
I'll go grab our camera from the evidence kit,
- and we'll get it started. - All right.
- All right. All right. - All right, let's get set up.
All right. Well, you know what, guys?
Anytime I see that type of artifact in a photo,
I have to question how clean the lens or the sensor is.
Well, I know when you have a piece of hair or dust
that actually falls on the camera lens,
it really can create kind of cool optical illusions in the photos.
But the only problem that I'm having is that Tom mentioned
that he was able to see that entity with his naked eye,
and the hair-on-the-lens test.. It doesn't account for that.
Well, that's assuming that Tom is remembering that night correctly,
- because it was five years ago. - Yeah.
Well, also, Tom did mention that the flash was on
during the time the photo was taken.
That extreme burst of light
would completely blow out any hair that was on the lens,
possibly creating this white and undefined shape that we're seeing here.
Well, then we're dealing with forced perspective, then, right?
I mean, it's making the hair appear to be a lot larger in the room
because of its close proximity to the camera lens.
Exactly.
It's certainly worth testing, and it would be a natural explanation.
I'll donate some hair. This is a worthy cause.
[ Chuckles ] [ Laughing ] Yeah.
Okay. So, let's just try a single hair.
You ready?
Actually, it's kind of sticking to it.
- Yeah. All right. - Okay. Let's try that.
All right. So, hair on the lens in 3..
2..
1..
Bill: Right now we're exploring the theory
that a strand of hair created the apparition
that we see in the original photo.
All right. So, hair on the lens in 3..
2..
1..
We're definitely picking something up.
Austin: Think about it. We put a piece of dark hair on the lens,
and because of the flash, it actually illuminates it and make it look white.
- Mm-hum. - It does look white.
I mean, the color transparency is good and the shape seems to be a match
to what we're seeing in the original photo here.
I personally think this is a plausible explanation for what we're seeing,
but I guess to do due diligence..
I mean, what else do you think is in this restroom
that could possibly re-create the same effect
that we see in the original photo?
Let's move on to another test..
Something that could explain what he thinks he saw.
So, we were fairly pleased with the results of our last test,
but the hair-on-the-lens theory didn't line up with Tom's eyewitness testimony,
so now we're gonna move on to another experiment.
Lanisha: All right guys, What if what we're seeing is steam or even mist..
Maybe even something like.. Like a burst pipe?
- I could see that. - How about the air freshener?
I mean, maybe these air fresheners have timers
and it just released a large burst
that, like, fills the room and then dissipates.
Austin: Bill, I like that. The automatic dispenser goes off.
All of a sudden, he just sees this mist,
snaps the photo, it dissipates, it's gone.
- I think we test it. - Yeah.
This unit is clearly not working any more.
I'm gonna go see if maybe they have a new air freshener.
All right. I'm gonna get this old one off the wall
and prep so we can put the new one up when you get back.
All right. I'll see you guys soon.
- There you go. - Oh, we're good.
- Hey, guys. - What's up, Bill? Hey.
- I got everything we needed. - Okay.
This could be our culprit right here.
I'll get the camera framed up.
Bill: Okay.
So, this dispenser has got a switch,
so I can set it to automatically release the aerosol at timed intervals.
- You framed up? - Yeah. I'm framed up and good to go.
3..
2..
1.. It should spray.
- [ Laughing ] Yeah! - Bill: There it goes.
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
Man, I don't know how that looked on the camera, but right off the bat,
I mean, if I was coming out of the restroom and I saw that,
it would look like that white mist.
Take a look. Look at this.
You know what? That's pretty good.
We've got a pretty good match here.
This misty apparition is formed right underneath the aerosol dispenser.
This could be our culprit right here.
I'm pretty pleased with what we got here.
I agree. I'm happy with a couple scenarios.
The scenario we just did with the air freshener looks really good.
On top of that, when we used the hair on the lens,
I mean, both those are so close, I feel like it's pretty fair to say
either one of those could be a plausible, natural explanation.
I say move on to the basement
and go check out the video of the blue, floating entity.
Yeah. Let's move on to the video.
You guys, the first thing I noticed when watching the video
is that the apparition appears to be illuminated.
So, I mean, if there is a natural explanation..
What's making it light up?
Well, all right, guys. We have a number of reflective surfaces down here.
We have the metal rafters.
We have an A.C. duct over here, and there's plenty of piping.
Now, what if a light hit any one of these surfaces
and then bounced back into the camera?
I mean, that could give the illusion of what we're seeing in the original video.
So, if you're saying it's a misdirected beam of light,
what's the source of the light?
How about car headlights shining into one of the air ducts down here
that lead to the parking lot?
I'll just run outside.
I'll shine it through the vents, replicate a car headlight.
- You guys let me know what it looks like. - Okay. Okay.
Austin: All right, guys. You ready?
Yeah.
How's that looking?
Um..
Not impressive.
- Lanisha: Yeah. - Really?
No. Why don't you come back down here?
Lanisha, I am looking for reflective surfaces here.
I really can't get anything to even reflect onto the tripod head.
Well, you know what, Bill?
Tom and Greg did mention that the motion sensor placed down here did trigger
at the time the apparition was seen.
Car headlights wouldn't cause a motion sensor to go off, but a human would.
What if there was somebody else down here?
Bill: That makes total sense.
It could have been somebody else with a flashlight
and they're the ones that set off the motion detector.
All right. Well, let's start shining our flashlights around
- and see if we can get that effect. - Okay.
I'm a part of the paranormal task force,
and I'm looking around, and I happen to pass by the lens of the camera.
Is it picking it up?
It's definitely picking it up,
and the light, believe it or not.. It looks blue.
But we're not getting that humanoid figure that we see in the original video.
How 'bout the blue laser? We got the blue laser?
- Oh, let's try that. - Oh, good call.
- On. - There we go.
- Ready? - All right.
Oh, wait a minute. That's too bright, Bill.
- Is it? - Yeah. It's completely
blowing out the whole lens.
Okay. So, it's not a laser.
We can rule that out completely.
Okay. Yeah, I think it's time we start moving on
to the possibility this might be a hoax.
Well, you know, guys, a common method
used to hoax paranormal videos is the Pepper's Ghost Illusion.
That method is classic.
It's really a simple illusionary technique.
I mean, basically, you take, like, a sheet of reflective material,
and you put it at a 45-degree angle to the lens.
Then you take an object which you then illuminate,
which is reflected onto that surface, seen by the camera,
but the background is also visible by the camera.
Austin: Well, here's what I'm thinking.
This place was a coffee shop
- when the video was shot, right? - Yeah.
What if we stick with that theme?
I mean, we have a light that's blue.
What if we just take a coffee filter,
we just put it on top, attach it, maybe tape it on,
shape it so it has the same form as the manifestation in the video,
walk that along the plexiglas, and voilà.. We have our apparition.
I like it. You know what?
We've got some plexiglas sheets in the truck.
Austin: We're moving on to the possibility that this might be a hoax.
We have mounted plexiglas.
Set that up at 45 degrees from the camera.
Bill's outfitting a blue flashlight, shape it to the form of our apparition.
He's gonna be running along the plexiglas with it lit up,
and hopefully the reflection will give us the same effect
that we see in the original video.
All right, guys. I'm recording it, so let's start running this experiment.
Okay. Let me go out of frame.
All right. In 3..
2..
1..
Make it happen.
Lanisha: While on vacation in Anchorage, Alaska, in January of 2011,
California Native Erica Bentley captured this outstanding photo
of an unusual shaft light in the sky.
With no apparent point of origin, the image generated buzz when posted online.
Many called it proof of an alien life form beaming down to Earth.
But is this image Fact or Faked?
The answer, coming up.
Lanisha: In 2011, this photo of a mysterious beam in the sky over Anchorage
had paranormal researchers claiming the image
evidence of an alien life form beaming down to Earth.
But is this mystery light Fact or Faked?
Fact.
The beam of light was in the sky when this photo was captured,
but it's not proof of an alien visitation.
Scientists have identified the beam as a light pillar,
a rare but natural phenomenon caused by sunlight reflecting off ice crystals
suspended in the Earth's atmosphere.
Bill: Right now we're erecting a reflective surface
for our Pepper's Ghost experiment.
We have a blue flashlight that we're gonna use
to illuminate our handmade ghost,
and we're gonna use this plexiglas to reflect it
at a 45-degree angle from the camera's lens.
Hopefully this will re-create what we see in the original video.
All right, guys. I'm recording it, so let's start running this experiment.
Okay. Let me go out of frame.
All right. In 3..
2..
1..
Make it happen.
Drop.
Exit. Slight bump.
Yes. [ Chuckling ] Yes!
That was good, Bill.
- Look. - Oh, dang!
- That looks good. - It does.
Look how close it is. It appears to be hovering.
It's transparent. The movement is spot-on.
The color is spot-on. I mean, we got really close.
But our apparition looks like it's completely filled in.
I think that is probably the one big flaw that I'm seeing.
Well, you know what? I think these results are pretty good.
But there's a lot of activity that's been reported here.
I mean, maybe we can experience some of that ourselves and record it.
So, you guys are saying night investigation, then?
- Yes. Yes. - Yeah. Definitely.
So, let's get packed up, and we'll prep for a night investigation.
- We got to break this down. - All right. All righty.
Bill: We've decided to do a nighttime investigation
and sweep the entire facility
to see if we can come up with evidence on our own.
All right. I.R. cameras are all set up.
All right. Perfect.
So, each of these monitors correspond to a different I.R. camera.
The first is an exterior of the facility, and the second one is in the restroom
where Tom took the photo.
The third one is of the stairs that lead from the basement to the kitchen,
and the last one is in the basement where the video was shot.
Now, Lanisha, you're gonna be monitoring base camp.
Austin, you and I are gonna be fanning out throughout the whole location.
I'm gonna keep the EMF detector with me
in case there's any anomalous electromagnetic fields.
As we all know, a lot of times with paranormal activity,
there's a lot of temperature changes,
so I'm gonna be taking the thermal imager and scanning with that,
and on top of that, I'm gonna set up the geophone on the stairs
leading from the basement to the kitchen.
That way, if there's any motion, then you'll have a visual of it.
I'm gonna be monitoring my vitals to see if I manifest
any strange physical reactions to my surroundings.
I'll have a heart monitor attached to my wrist, and I'll also be connected
to the galvanic skin resistance meter.
Perfect.
These are the contacts that go on your skin,
and they're gonna be measuring the electrical conductance.
So, you they go around your fingertips.
Now, this electrical conductance varies
with the amount of moisture that's in your fingertips.
- Okay. - Now, this is really of interest
because if there's a paranormal event that's occurring,
your mind may not be fully aware of it,
but your body could be reacting to it, and this meter could spike.
Okay.
All right. Are you guys ready to go green?
Ready. All right. All right. Make sure we stay in contact via walkie.
And you guys be careful. Whatever we're dealing with
here has been known to be extremely aggressive.
All right. Go green.
Lanisha, I'm coming down the stairwell right now.
Do you have a visual of me?
I'm picking you up perfectly, Austin.
Yeah. I'm gonna set up a geophone right now.
What the hell?
Lanisha, I was just standing under the duct, and something just fell,
and it fell right next to me.
Like, it was almost like it was thrown at me.
I picked that up in the monitor.
It's crazy.
If there's something trying to interact with me, please make yourself known.
If you're trying to interact physically, go ahead and throw something at me.
[ Object clatters ]
Oh [Bleep]
Bill, as soon as I said,
"if you're trying to make your presence known, throw something at me,"
right then, something dropped again.
Bill: It is really significant.
Be careful, Austin.
[ Crack ]
Hey, Austin, are you near the geophone?
I'm just picking it up in the monitor.
It's going crazy right now. Are you near it?
I am seeing it. The geophone just went off.
I'm seeing this.
Lanisha, I am hearing footsteps walk above me right now.
Are you seeing or hearing or feeling anything up there?
Because I am literally directly underneath you in the basement.
There's nothing else going on over here.
Keep your eyes open and keep your senses up,
because whatever is here, it's interacting physically.
Hey, Bill, the galvanic meter just spiked to 5 volts.
Now, I'm not seeing anything up here,
but Austin's in the basement, and he's saying
that he's hearing footsteps right where I'm at.
I'm on the way.
Now is the time for us to be conducting an EVP session
- right here in the kitchen area. - I agree.
Okay.
This is Bill and Lanisha.
If you're able to communicate with us right now, we're both here.
What's your name?
Did you die here?
Are you trying to contact us from the other side?
Lani..
What the [Bleep]
Are you trying to contact us from the other side?
Lani..
What the..?
What the heck was that?
Talk to me, Austin. What are you seeing?
Bill and I were at base camp, and we conducted an EVP session.
So, in the middle of it, we heard this sound
like something had been knocked over.
I heard it, too.
And when I ran to go check it out, I found absolutely nothing.
So, you didn't know where it was coming from?
No. We looked. We could not find anything.
- But it was recorded on audio. - Okay.
But also, more significantly, during the EVP session,
I also asked the question, why is this entity present?
This is what the recorder picked up.
Bill: Why are you still here?
Man: Get out of here.
[ Gasps ]
Jael: Whoa.
It sounds like, "we're still here".
Austin: Or "get out of here".
- Yeah. - Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
Oh, my gosh. That just gave me chills.
Let me play that again.
Bill: Why are you still here?
- There it is. There it is. - Lanisha: Mm-hmm.
This is pretty good evidence supporting an intelligent haunting.
Yeah. It's not very often that you actually capture class "A" EVPs.
- We're pretty lucky on this one. - Yeah.
So, guys, taking this into account, the Route 66 Tri-County truck stop..
Fact or Faked?
I feel like we showed a couple natural explanations
for what could have been responsible for the photo.
I think we did a good job replicating the video, showing that we could hoax it.
But, I mean, during our night investigation, we had some experiences..
It just leaves me thinking that that truck stop is haunted.
Lanisha: I agree.
There's definitely something strange going on at the Tri-County truck stop.
I'm not completely sure how to interpret all of this evidence,
but I do believe that this suggests that we were not alone,
and I believe that we may have gotten evidence to prove it.
Whew. I'd say.
As far as the Tri-County truck stop goes of paranormal activity, I say, "fact".
Amazing job, guys. That was really cool.
So, Ben, how did it go in Mississippi?
Well, you remember we went to Logtown, Mississippi,
to investigate these strange photos that were taken by a paranormal group
in a cemetery there.
This is how it went.
All right, guys. We're here.
We're in Logtown, Mississippi..
Or, I guess, whatever's left of it.
Logtown looked quite a bit different before NASA came in..
Bought it from the state, bulldozed it down
because it was too close to their rocket facilities.
And the Point Cemetery where we're going is one of the things that was left.
- Devin: Yeah. - Right. There's some weird stuff
going on at this cemetery.
People are talking about things like disembodied screams, loud voices, crashes.
I mean, whatever it is, it's not subtle.
Devin: What we know is J.R. Harter, Bryant Geary,
and a group of amateur paranormal investigators
were at the cemetery looking for something paranormal
when they captured these photographs.
Well, we've got the best three to work with today.
Well, we're almost to the cemetery now,
and J.R. and Bryant will be there waiting for us.
They'll be able to tell us the details of what happened that night.
Look at this location.
I'm starting to get a little eerie feeling about this place.
I think that's gonna make it even better.
This place is creepy.
Ben: Hey, guys. How's it going?
- I'm Ben. - Bryant.
This is quite an unusual cemetery.
It's, like, out in the middle of nowhere.
This is a ghost town.
So, what brings you here? Why would you come to this spot?
We heard they had a lot of paranormal activity out here.
And what was the weather like?
- It was about this weather. - Yeah.
- So, it was like this? - It wasn't so humid? Mm-mm.
Did you guys capture all of the photos that we have here today
- on the same night? - Yes.
Can you guys take us to the location where this photo was taken?
Is that nearby?
We were standing right here, and this is that tree.
- Jael: Shooting this way? - Yep.
So, this other investigator that was with you..
Did he feel anything while that happened?
He did feel a presence with him at that time.
He just felt creeped out, like somebody was over his shoulder.
What type of camera was it, and what settings did you have that thing on?
It's on the auto settings.
- It's an old digital camera. - Really?
I actually got it with me.
- You do? - Yeah.
Can we use it for some of our experiments?
Yep.
So, two of the photos that we have look kind of like lightning,
but one of them is more like an apparition, like a dust of yellow.
Can you show us where that happened?
Yeah. It's actually this way over here.
- Okay. - Ben: All right.
- So, around here? - Yep.
I was actually standing where you're standing right now..
- Okay. - And pointing towards the bushes.
But what do you think it is?
I actually think it's an apparition of a spirit
with a little more energy to show itself.
Can you guys take us to the location where this photo was taken?
- Harter: Yep. - Yep. It's right over here.
Okay.
So, somewhere in this area?
Yeah. Actually, right here.
It's kind of an odd place to take a picture.
Any reason that you were kind of, like, just shooting off into the woods there?
Well, in this vicinity, for some reason,
all of us get this ominous feeling of something bad.
Can you tell me with all honesty
that you were not involved in any type of hoax?
We were not involved in any type of hoax.
Okay. Fair enough.
Thank you so much for your time.
- We've got to get to work here. - Take care. It was a pleasure.
- All right. Thanks, guys. - Nice to meet you.
All right. Well..
We've got three great photos,
and they're all really pretty close to each other.
Why don't we start with this one right here..
This strange light-streak anomaly we have?
- Come on. Let's get started. - All right.
Okay.
Now, a lot of people are saying that these photos
are evidence of some type of plasma formation.
Now, plasma's really interesting stuff.
I mean, under certain conditions of really high temperatures,
that heat can break apart the chemical bond, and it ionizes the matter,
and it makes it kind of like a cross between a gas and a liquid.
So, it's electrically conductive.
And that magnetic field can kind of create those weird shapes we see.
Devin: So, to simplify it, this plasma
is kind of like ball lightning, but it is very rare.
So, maybe we should pull out some equipment
to test the electromagnetic fields in this area and see if we get a reading.
- Jael: All right. - Yeah.
Me and the guys are just getting some baseline readings of the area.
I've got the FLIR to try and see if I can capture
any anomalous heat signatures.
Ben's got the trifield meter to gauge any electrical charge in the area,
while Devin has the EMF meter, reading electromagnetic fields.
Well, I'm pretty flat-lined myself.
All right. So, it doesn't seem like this location is electrically charged,
but we are talking about a spontaneous phenomena.
If this was not a natural occurrence of plasma, what else could it be?
Well, he did say that there were three of them.
He was the one taking the photos.
What if he didn't realize that there was an L.E.D.
Or some sort of a head lamp or a flashlight in front of him,
flashed the camera, and created some sort
of what they call, like, a light painting?
But if the camera was taking a little bit of time to actually snap the photo
- because it's adjusting in the dark.. - Sure, sure.
It could actually make that effect.
Well, let's start with the settings that he mentioned on the camera
and just see what the streaking light looks like.
Yeah, let's try it.
For our first test, we're gonna operate under the theory
that this could've been light painting,
which is simply a light passing quickly through the frame
and creating a streak that's imprinted onto the photo.
- Ben: Do you want to take the photo? - All right.
Devin: I'll play with the lights.
Why don't you stand kind of like right here?
- Devin? - Yeah?
You want to start somewhere, like, just here?
And you can tell him when he's just out of the edge of frame.
Yeah. Maybe, actually, if you want to stand
- a little bit more on this side, Devin. - Okay.
And a little bit closer to me, actually, would be great.
- Yeah. - Okay. Crazy light test.
- You ready, Devin? - I'm ready.
Okay. Get crazy with it in 3..
2..
- 1.. - [ Camera shutter clicks ]
Ooh!
For our first test, we're gonna operate under the theory
that this could've been light painting,
which is simply a light passing quickly through the frame
and creating a streak that's imprinted onto the photo.
Maybe that was the source of our original photograph.
Okay. Crazy light test.
- You ready, Devin? - I'm ready.
Okay. Get crazy with it in 3..
2..
1..
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
Ooh!
Does it look good?
- Check this out, guys. - Look at that!
We're actually getting the streak.
Whoa! All right. This is incredibly revealing.
- Yeah. - We're getting a glowing streak,
and my arm is completely blurred out.
But, I mean, what are the odds that he took a photo
with the flash on at a high shutter speed
and didn't notice that there was a light
blasting through the frame in front of him, what, 10, 20 times?
- How many of these photos did they take? - Right.
We're gonna have to start heading into the hoax scenario,
so that way we can actually just make this photo
- look like we want it to. - Exactly, Devin.
At the end of the day, these guys got several photographs
with this kind of light and in different parts of the cemetery.
Let's throw together a test that has its own light source,
gives us complete control, and something that we can just set in frame.
I think we should play with some electricity.
- All right. - Yeah.
I'll leave it to you to hook it up, man.
[ Chuckles ]
Neon tubing.
This tube is preformed, but I think it's gonna work just fine.
- All right. - We're gonna be able to hold this in frame
and take as many photos as we want of it.
Now, it's a hoax scenario, but we got to test everything, right?
Well, I've got the transformer.
This transformer's gonna boost the electricity from 120 volts to 12,000 volts,
so make sure it's not plugged in while you're touching the wires.
And, Jael, tell him where he needs to be for frame.
Okay.
Maybe you should try and move your body
so that that's, like.. Your arm's not really showing.
- How's that? - Yeah. That's better.
Are you ready for this?
I'm holding 12,000 volts.
And I'm connecting you to it.
Lighting Devin up.
- There we go! - Nice.
- Let's do this. - Okay.
Neon experiment. Here it goes in 3..
2..
1..
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
All right, guys. We got it.
- Yeah? Let's take a look, Devin. - Let me see. All right.
Okay. Okay. It's very defined.
And I'm actually really surprised with the way the neon light looks.
I don't know, guys. It's so defined.
It looks like neon tubing to me.
Guys, honestly, compared to the first test,
- I like the first test better. - Yeah, me too.
Do you like the actual results better?
Because I think this nails it, as well.
Look at the number of pictures that they have.
That means that they would have to have a different-shaped
neon tube for each photograph.
- Right. - I think the previous test is
more likely, and it was closer.
Yeah. I agree with you.
I think we came pretty close with out first test,
but maybe if we move on to our next photograph, we can get some more answers.
- Yeah. - Yeah, that cloudy haze
is a completely different thing going on, I believe.
All right. Well, unplug me and let's move on.
[ Laughs ]
Okay. So, we got a new location here.
Let's talk about how we're gonna re-create this yellow mist.
Ben: I don't know if that's a reaction of the flash
or maybe the particles in the air of something like pollen, maybe.
It means that the flash is illuminating something.
Look over here. You've got these mounds of dirt.
These are, like, freshly dug graves,
- that are pretty close to us. - Right!
Even though it could've been a pretty still night,
what if some of that dirt, you know, got kind of stirred up
- from them walking around in here? - Okay.
And you don't even see it, because they don't have their flashlights,
but as soon as they take the flash, bingo..
- All of a sudden, it shows up. - Yeah. Cool.
It's definitely a plausible, natural explanation.
Well, let's try it out.
Now, this photo appears to be some type of apparition
hovering over this gravestone in the background.
So, what we're going to do is we're going to take a leaf blower..
Blow some very fine Fuller's Earth up into the air.
So, Devin and Jael are back there preparing our pile,
and I'm gonna hook up the generator.
All right, guys. I got the camera right here.
- Devin: Ready? - All right. You got power.
Count me down.
Okay, Jael. You framed up?
I'm all framed up.
Here we go. Pollen in the wind.
3..
2..
1..
Go.
Nice! Nice!
[ Laughs ] All right, turbo. Turn it off.
- That look good? - Yeah. Let's check it out.
Oh, wow. Okay.
- It really kicked up. - That looks really good, actually.
It did. And when it kicked up, it plumed up into the air like I expected it to.
It looks really good.
You know, I'm actually surprised by how well the flash illuminated the dust.
It looks really defined there.
Of all the photos, I think this is one of the more easily explained,
but we still have one more..
One very, very crazy photo.
Right. I believe that one's gonna be our most difficult challenge.
All right. This is it, yeah?
Yeah. Looks like he's standing right at the edge of the third grave.
Yeah. This is our third photo.
And the other two.. They're different
because, although we had this plasma lightning in one of them,
we didn't have this yellow stuff that's, like, spilling over his head.
The scale of this light source is so much bigger,
and it's also such an odd shape.
I don't think that this is a light painting.
We have to deal with the theory of plasma forming on its own.
Why don't we just go straight to
- making our own plasma? - Okay.
I think the closest thing that we can get
to replicate this is to build a Tesla Coil.
Absolutely. All right.
A very, very big Tesla Coil.
This thing needs to strike down to 6 or 7 feet.
I like the idea of this, because it should give us enough power
to create something of this scale.
I'm fairly confident we can create the bolt.
- Okay. - You know, but can we
create this yellow stuff
that's, like, pouring down?
It looks like the person in this photo has something in their hands..
A flashlight or something like that.
Maybe their light source is casting onto the grave,
which is creating this streak.
You know, if someone was holding the camera hand held,
that could create a streak.
It's definitely a possibility.
And then we can try moving the camera to see if that
- causes some streaking. - Let's get to it. All right.
- Let's build a Tesla Coil. - We've got a lot of work to do.
Now, the first part of this Tesla Coil is actually delivered from our generator.
Now, it comes to this power transformer,
which steps up the voltage to about 8,400 volts.
Now, that travels along these wires
and comes over to this first stage of the Tesla Coil.
The part that Devin's working on right here
is the primary winding of the Tesla Coil.
Once the current reaches where he is,
it then travels up to the secondary winding,
which steps up the voltage to about 300,000 volts.
Now, that UFO-looking thing you see on the top is the toroid.
Now, that delivers it to the discharge point, which is the end of that rod,
and then what it does is it jumps across to this rod
that we have smashed into the ground and returns back to the Earth.
You're gonna see a great light show.
Guys, we're all set up.
That thing is no joke.
Right. And that's why we're gonna make sure
we stand at a safe distance from it when we light this thing up.
But when you say "we," I think we mean "you,"
because I'd like to put you underneath the thing,
representing the guy in the photo.
That's fine. I have no problem standing near electricity.
You give it a good zap when I count you down,
and we'll take some photos, see what happens.
Yes. Let's hope we don't get electrocuted, Devin.
- All right. - Okay, are we ready for this?!
I'm ready!
Devin, turn your flashlight on.
Flashlight's on.
All right. We're framed up.
In 3..
2..
1..
- Let it rip! - [ Electricity zapping ]
Awesome!
So, our Tesla Coil is ready to go.
Unfortunately for Devin, he's gonna be the subject of our picture,
so he's gonna be standing under 300,000 volts of power.
This thing is strong.
Okay, are we ready for this?!
Jael: I'm ready!
Devin, turn your flashlight on.
Flashlight's on.
All right. We're framed up.
In 3..
2..
1..
Let it rip!
[ Electricity zapping ]
[ Laughs ]
So, we moved to the third and final photo.
Devin: Now, we were operating under the theory
that what happened here was a combination
of ball lighting, potentially, and motion blur.
I stood in for the investigator that's clearly in the photo.
Behind me, the Tesla Coil is raised.
Now, it's striking that 300,000-volt lightning bolt
to a grounded rod that is about here.
So, we had Devin holding our light, and then when we cued him,
we had him move the light around while we took photographs,
and this is what that looked like.
- I want to see this. - Bill: Yes, seriously.
There's the photo.
- Jael: Look at that! - Lanisha: Oh! Austin: Oh, geez.
You know what? That does look really good.
The Tesla Coil's responsible for making the bolt.
This light actually just comes from Devin giving a little motion to a flashlight
right there over the grave and me moving the camera as he does it.
I think you guys did an amazing job replicating all the photos,
showing possibilities for how to do it,
but I definitely think that the photos were hoaxed.
Definitely not paranormal.
I'm getting the since that the one thing that's constant
to creating these is the camera it's self.
So I'm.. I'm lead to believe that it's really operator error.
It's misuse of the camera.
It's either their faked..
Or there's something going on with their camera.
But, I'm not sold that it's something supernatural.
Well guys I think at the end of the day, we did really well replicating these 3 photos.
And I think I'm comfortable closing this case.
Well good job.
- All right. - Yeah.
Subs created by: David Coleman.