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Ghost Hunters debunker debunked.

Cainkane1

Philosopher
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
9,011
Location
The great American southeast
I was watching an anti ghost hunters video that debunked a portion of the program that had a hunter say that his jacket had been pulled. The debunker said he fixed the jacket so that it would appear to be pulled. Well I didn't see that. Theres a possibility that the jacket felt as if it were being pulled when it actually wasn't. I've had the same thing happen to me. I Feel what I think is a tug but nothings doing the tugging. Of course there are no ghosts but it is a weird feeling when you feel like your being touched or tugged when your all by yourself.
 
I don't think you even did watch the video. His jacket collar does move. It is tugged. but the tug is obviously a string in the guy's right hand and nothing else.
 
Absolutely no need for strings, I think. :) Clothes can pull all on their own - selection bias does the rest. I'm with the OP: It's all too easy to call fraud where no fraud is needed at all - have a look at what was being said by some sceptics on the web as late as 2000 about how "orbs" were all photoshopped, or faked, even with extensive technical analysis, to show what nonsense some over enthusiastic debunking can become. I call Andy and the Parasoc boys suggestion that orbs were somehow related to a new generation of chips in digital cameras which were ironically more susceptible to flash reflections off particles causing howls of indignation and claims of pseudoscience. :)

cj x
 
They pull for Grant in the same location three times? And once more while Jason is examining the jacket? While his right hand is in his pocket? Shenanigans. I think Grant has an over abundance of fishing line.
 
They pull for Grant in the same location three times? And once more while Jason is examining the jacket? While his right hand is in his pocket? Shenanigans. I think Grant has an over abundance of fishing line.

Once is a misfortune, three times and I'm with you! Mind you a tailor might be able to tell us if this is actually possible naturally. :) Not having watched the clip hampers me talking anything but nonsense- I'll go view it. Certainly the impression of having clothes tugged is not uncommon in "hauntings" - hang on I'll find out how common... :)

cj x
 
It happens three times because grant keeps resetting his trick. That's why he's always fidgeting. It takes very little to reset his collar (which he does every time), which in itself re-adjusts the slack/tension in the line.

We also know that the jacket wasn't being tugged by a flaw in design because of the isolation of the movement. Only the collar moves.

If you look at videos by youtube user moviedan, Grant responds to the debunking video with his myspace blog, in which he claims that it wasn't a fishing line or even a ghost that may have pulled the jacket after all, but his earpiece wire. Even this post-hoc explanation of the fraud is bogus, as anybody who's tried to handle those things will tell you, you can't just yank on them. And they're not long enough for the trick.
 
Ghost Hunters: Proper noun; a group of people that run around with night vision cameras screaming at nothing and finding mundane occurances "interesting".
 
As promised --- I just had a look at Smith's 2006 study of a purportedly haunted Midlands, UK hotel. Of the 172 narratives she analyzed from the guest book in which supposedly ghostly occurrences were recorded, eleven feature clothes being pulled by "invisible forces". I can't recall if this motif was common in Most Haunted - it certainly was common among 'investigators' in my two year study of them in a purportedly haunted location, being the third most common physical "phenomena" reported. The majority of Smiths 172 reports predate Ghosthunters showing in the uK, and a quick check reveals no chronological clustering os this phenomena after that show aired here. Smith explains it in terms of expectation and selection bias. :)

cj x
 
Give me a few minutes, I want to go through it again. :) As I said when you mentioned 3 times, fraud looks likely - but we will see! :)

cj x
 
Give me a few minutes, I want to go through it again. :) As I said when you mentioned 3 times, fraud looks likely - but we will see! :)

cj x

Take a look at some of the debunking youtubes also, I hadn't seen the jacket move when Jason was examining it until it was pointed out to me.
 
To me it looks very fraudulent. I think it's obvious. Of course others may disagree but on this clip I stand firm by my opinion. I think they hoped to make an interesting episode and made a bad mistake in how they went about it.

Yep...I think these guys have way too much fishing line. :D
 

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