GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL Returns to Scare the Pants Off You
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Jan 13 2010, 12:01 PM
Guess I'd better break out the teddy bear. I'm going to need it, because GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL returns to SyFy tonight. I was lucky enough to wander through the darkened halls of the haunted Stanley Hotel with the GHOST HUNTERS a while back and it got me totally hooked on the show. I'm not saying it was a ghost. I'm not saying it wasn't. I'm just saying that something flipped my earring in a hotel room and I couldn't come up with any other explanation. Anyway, the experience got me hooked on the show, as well as it's world-traveling companion GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL. I just got a chance to participate in a conference call with GHI hunters Barry FitzGerald and Dustin Pari, who gave us some info on the upcoming episodes, scary mannequins, how they got involved with otherworldly entities and whether or not Barry dresses up in a STAR TREK uniform.
GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL airs Wednesday, January 13th at 9/8 c on SyFy. Check out a sneak peek after the interview.
Barry I wanted to know how hard or easy is it to spook you?
Barry FitzGerald: My biggest nemesis has to be mannequins. And I have to say that those truly frighten the living hell plain out of me. And because I have my main sense on - I'm there to do a job, I'm there to look for ghosts and all of a sudden this dummy should be leaning against somewhere maybe where it shouldn't have been before. And it’s truly - it’s absolutely frightening the hell out of me. I have to say that in Argentina in the case that’s coming up that they had images of - it was the death images that was taken back in the Victorian times where people would have been propped up and different things around them. And a photograph would have been taken. So I was in a dark room obviously with my own camera taking photographs of these photographs because I'd never actually seen them before. And the only thing I had to focus - or the only thing I - light-wise I had was the autofocus on the camera. So as you can imagine as I turned around and there was this small dummy of a child leaning against the wall. Well I have to tell you this, I screamed louder than Brandy Green ever could. And I think all of them nearly split their stomachs laughing at me. But I hate those things, I really do.
Since you are the technical manager is there any new equipment out there that you guys haven't employed yet that you want to get a hold of?
FitzGerald: We are going to be bringing new equipment along. It’s going to be some revolutionary new video equipment. And we start - we start filming I believe later this year. That new technology is going to come along because it takes the full spectrum technology must further....it’s fantastic. It’s a fantastic new camera system that truly brings us 10 years ahead of current technology.
I've been a GHOST HUNTERS and GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL fan ever since they both premiered. And I do know that Jason (Hawes) and Grant (Wilson) have had experiences in their life that sort of gravitated them to hunting ghosts. I was just curious because we never hear too much about the other individuals like yourself, Dustin and Barry, whether you've had paranormal experiences growing up in your childhood that sort of lent you to do this. And if you had without revealing too many details could you tell us a little bit about them?
FitzGerald: I think from my perspective I have to say that a lot of people who get involved in this field do have experiences as children. And certainly I was no exception. And growing up in a property back in Ireland it presented phenomenon to my parents. And they of course not wanting to frighten the children said nothing about it. But it was just a matter of time when the children themselves were going to be introduced to this. And certainly I was the first. And it was the middle of the night and I seen the figure coming up the stairs. And I was aware that that person should not be there. And that was my first time of seeing an apparition as it climbed the stairs. It was only years later that I confessed to my parents to seeing this. There were other things that happened on the property as well which would still plague my dreams. And the house now to my knowledge is now ripped up - that remains. I'm aware that the last family to stay there only lasted a month. And that was very intense. And that intense that it still plagues my nightmares.
Wow. What about you Dustin?
Dustin Pari: It’s hard to follow up such a tale. The Irishman really knows how to relay his experiences. I had a similar experience though. When I was about 8 or 9 I was living in a house in Providence, Rhode Island with my family. And I was awoken during the night and I had seen a shadow figure that was standing in the doorway of my bedroom. And, you know, there was my bedroom then there was a hallway and the kitchen light was on so this thing was backlit. But it was just one of these very shadow figures that I've actually been encounter a couple of times since doing my investigations. But they’re very elusive. They seem to move very quickly. And it’s very interesting, the phenomenon and really still trying to get answers on that. But that was the first thing that really got me interested in going out and looking for these answers. And since then it’s kind of taken on a much larger picture and almost like a spiritual quest if you will to get more confirmation about, you know, what happens to the spirit after we pass on from this life.
Cool. Cool. Just to shift gears a little bit because we've been talking about something very serious, what have been your funniest experience or experiences at locations? I'm sure you've had a couple. Maybe?
Pari: Well some of them we'll have to censor I think at the end of the show. Certainly I know in last week’s episode everyone gets to see how I reacted to a flock of pigeons as they came flying out of the rooftop in Argentina. I've been plagued by pigeons and bats. I'm not a big fan of things just randomly popping out in the darkness. I can take a spirit starting to show itself but if something is flying at me I get pretty startled and I often fall down things or knock people over. It gets a little crazy.
Why do you think that younger people are so much more in tune to seeing things like that?
FitzGerald: There is - Dustin and I wrote about it in our last book, “The Complete Approach”, because this has happened many, many times. It’s quite a frequent thing that will happen to children. And the biological reason simply is because there’s a filter that thickens over the eye. And as we become - as we change from children into young adults between the ages of 7-13 that filter thickens up totally and develops completely. And that we no longer can see into the light spectrum. So as adults we can no longer see what our children see. And that’s one of the reasons why the cameras - the full spectrum camera was developed to open up that spectrum again so that we could start to see what was being reported by mediums and psychics and our children of course.
Switching gears a little bit it was stated last week in the episode, in Hotel Vienna, that the location had more mystery to it than any other. Now is there any other place that would be even more of an ultimate location for either one of you or was this basically it? And if it was pretty much the be-all end-all where do you go from here?
Pari: No I think there’s a lot of places for us to keep on going. I think the mystery part of it, obviously how it related to the conspiracy theories of Hitler’s escape and, you know, radical plastic surgery and such. But from a paranormal standpoint, you know, it was a fantastic case. It provided us with some incredible activity. But there’s still a lot out there to be discovered and a lot of locations that I know we want to travel. You know, for me personally I'd like to get over to Greece at some point just as - Greece has great history and they have a lot of talking spirit and spiritual activity and a lot of things that they used to do out in the islands and stuff that is very intriguing to me and still a place that I would like to get to at some point.
You've both in some of the scariest places in the world. And I'm wondering are you kind of fearless in real life situations like going into a dark basement or there’s a power outage?
FitzGerald: There are occasions that you do become I suppose attune to it and you become used to it. And many times we will arrive on location and you get that all’s better sense that there’s something very unusual going on and sometimes you don't. And I know for, you know, if the lights go out in the basement I go down there and I do what needs to be done and come back up again and I'm okay. However put me into a situation where after 18 years of research I start to know when something is around that’s whenever I become cautious because there are many different types out there. And certainly Europe has got quite a handful. And I was just doing some research today on one of them in London. And that bugger, he put a person out through the window onto the iron railing and snapped their neck. And so it’s extremely dangerous. So it’s those types that you need to be careful about. For the most mundane spirits they’re okay, you know, you can pass them off. But from time to time you do come across one that you do have to be wary of and for good reason.
How about you Dustin?
Pari: For me the spirit world so far has been pretty pleasant but the like Barry said there are certain things that we become aware of and we become more in tune with that you definitely need to be on your guard about. And it’s important to always be in the right place, you know, mentally and physically as well as spiritually when you’re working in this field. But on a personal note I've always been a bit of a thrill seeker, you know, long before I made my debut on the GHOST HUNTERS television show, you know, I was in this field. It was something that intrigued me and it was also an adrenaline rush. But I was also somebody else that would do like demolition derbies and sky diving and I used to do all that kind of stuff for fun as well. But there’s still some things that kind of frighten me. I have to say as of recently the biggest one would be probably flying back and forth across the world so many times just because of the state of things in the world and the problems that you have with planes. And you almost feel like you're, you know, kind of playing the lottery every time you’re up there, you never know what’s going to go on. And we've been on a flight or two that’s had, you know, mechanical problems and things like that so it gets to be a little bit nerve wracking at points.
I have a question about child hauntings. I had actually done a trip with the other GHOST HUNTERS. And the scariest thing we saw was a child in a room who flipped my earring so I'm actually really curious about how you approach child hauntings and if you approach them differently.
Pari: It’s funny that you would ask that because it actually relates to the case that’s going to be shown this week on GHI. Also we were, you know, we were also in Argentina at a hotel called Eden Park Hotel I think was the proper name of it. And one of the stories was of this young child who had passed away on the property. And one of the things that, you know, always kind of plays at the heartstrings anytime you hear of a child passing over, you know, just because life is precious obviously when you’re young and innocent you hate to see anybody’s life cut so short. So, you know, Barry and I always try to put it forward to really make contact if we can. But one of the things that we do technique-wise to try to better make that connection is a simple thing, actually. It’s just kind of lowering our stance while we’re in there, you know, when we sit down to our (EDP) work instead of walking around the place we'll sit down on the floor just like when you deal with a child in this life. If they don't know you, a stranger, the mere height can be intimidating to them. So you kind of bring yourself down to their level in a way to try to ease that fear and try to coax them to come forward and to communicate with you.
I've actually talked to a couple people about this and I'm really curious about your opinions. If you really ever did get something that was completely proof-wise incontrovertible, there was really no way you could disprove it, what effect do you think that would have on society?
Pari: Getting irrefutable evidence is always challenging. You know, there’s always going to be people that will question everything even if they were there with you at the time. You know, which is good because we approach it skeptically as well; we try to recreate things and try to find any alternative explanation for anything that we do experience. However, you know, I do hope that by our work in this field, you know, especially for me personally I think it’s important that I try to show others that, you know, there is something after this life. It’s kind of a personal thing for me in that I think if we can get people in today’s society who I think unfortunately in today’s society has become very self centered. You know, with the budding of technology that let’s you broadcast yourself on the Web and you can have everything you need in the palm of your hand, it’s very easily - it’s sort of easy to become isolated and to forget that we’re all kind of in this world together and that this isn't the end of it. I think that by proving to people that there is life after this one maybe they'll start to live this life a little better being a little nicer to others and a little more considerate and thoughtful of what may happen to us when we get out of here.
What is the biggest difference between working in the States with TAPS and then working overseas with GHI?
Pari: Well it’s quite obvious I think, I get to work with the lovely and talented son of Ireland Mr. Barry FitzGerald...
FitzGerald: That is worth at lest $20.
Pari: Yeah, exactly. You know what, do me a favor, pay me in euro when I see you. No the differences obviously are, you know, outside of missing home when I'm on the road it’s a fantastic opportunity to really kind of immerse myself in different societies and really soak up the history of some of the locations we get to explore. You know, and it’s almost funny when I'm home from the road for a couple of weeks it seems odd not to be in a castle, you know, doing GHI we’re in a castle like every couple of weeks. So it’s kind of strange, you know. But it’s a beautiful look at different cultures and it’s really made me see things from a much larger perspective. And, you know, in this life and also approaching, you know, making contact with the spirits who have passed on I've learned a great deal of respect for other cultures and a lot of respect for being home too, it really makes me more appreciative of a lot of the things that we have in such an advanced society. You know, Barry and I have stayed in some places that are, you know, a good couple of hours away from even a fast food place. And even then, you know, they close at like 6:00 or 7:00 at night. So there’s a lot of things that you get kind of accustomed to in the US that you don't get to have when you’re on the road.
Thanks. This question is for Barry. If you could have any guest star on the show to investigate with you guys who would you choose?
FitzGerald: Dustin I think you could even answer that one.
Pari: I was going to say we missed William Shatner?
FitzGerald: Oh you win the gold star. I would have to say working with Bill must be an absolute pleasure I would have to say. And I've always been a fan of his work and certainly the last things he’s done there on BOSTON LEGAL was tremendous. But certainly I would love to see William Shatner on the show.
Pari: Yeah, I didn't tell him, Barry, how you dress up in your STAR TREK uniform sometimes.
FitzGerald: That’s a lie. That’s a lie.
Pari: I've got a photo somewhere to prove it.
Well presumably you guys don't spend 24/7 hunting ghosts so what do you do in your free time?
Pari: I try to spend as much time as I can with my family when I'm home just because of the travel and stuff that work brings me. But I also still work when I'm back in the States as a anesthesia technician for oral and facial cosmetic surgery and stay busy trying to write another book with Barry. We’re working on another project that should be out early in the year. And so we try to do that to keep enlightening people about the field on a deeper level. And, you know, for hobbies and stuff I work on a lot of old American muscle cars. I'm starting a small collection. And, you know, that’s - those are the kind of things I like to do to pass my time.
FitzGerald: Certainly for me photography is a big thing for me and so much so that I'm planning to open a gallery in Austria. And writing the book with Dustin and we’re hoping to have that out at the end of February, maybe March. And so I always continue to keep myself busy. And I'm always traveling back and forward between Ireland or America or Austria. And then the cases that come up, the private cases that I've attended on as well just to keep my hand in the scene and to see what new developments are happening and understand the continual development of technology. And I’m working with a good bunch of engineers now in Colorado. And we’re devising a new video system which is truly state of the art and takes the full spectrum technology much further than ever before.
Dustin, I wanted to know what’s scarier, castles or prisons?
Pari: I'd have to say prisons. I get a little on edge when I have to walk down those long hallways with all the open darkened cells. I'm - my wife will - likes to but my chops because I can't watch horror movies. I don't like it when things pop out. And I know it seems really, you know, silly considering what I do out there in the field. But I'm okay with spirits and such I just don't like it when things pop out of dark corners. So prisons definitely rank up there with some of the spookier of places.
I can see that because prisons probably have a pretty dark history too right?
Pari: Yeah, yeah, there’s always, you know, there’s always prison rape, that’s scary.
Fair enough. And one more quick thing for Barry. I was looking through all of the places you guys have hit, is there any talk of going to Russia in the future?
FitzGerald: I would love to go to Russia and...
Pari: Just because you already have the hats.
FitzGerald: Never listen to Dustin. But, yeah, I would love to go to Russia. I know that - I've been making a few inquiries into a couple of locations there in Russia. However I'm not so sure that the Russian authorities might let us go in there such as the old - oh what are they called - the Secret Service, Dustin, what were their name?
KGB.
FitzGerald: KGB, yeah. The old KGB... The old KGB stations underground and that you can only access wearing total body chemical suits. Places like that intrigue me to wonder what type of history went on inside but of course we need to get the permits. And permits in Russia can be extremely expensive. And even after you get the permits then you have to still - you have to bribe people on the street and so that could become hugely, grossly expensive. And then there’s the threat of the equipment being stolen as well. And so I would love to see it, will it happen, I don't know. But only time will tell.
In your opinion what was the most convincing piece of evidence that you ever collected on an investigation?
Pari: The most convincing pieces - I'd have to say that for me one of the best pieces of evidence we ever captured was we were doing a prison in Latvia and there was a voice that came through there - it was a just muddied voice of a woman who spoke in Latvian for about seven or eight seconds. And it was captured on all the pieces of equipment that we had in the room as well as our production equipment. And to me that was the most impressive pieces that had come down the pike. And it was very emotional. There was something in her tone that was very touching. And to this day it’s one of my favorite experiences.
FitzGerald: And certainly one of mine would have to be a photograph that was taken down in Australia which is coming up in the shows...and for the life of me I can't explain this. I have tried and tried and tried with science - using science it simply couldn't have happened. And yet it did. And I'm perplexed by the entire episode. And - but that’s coming up so you'll get to see that as well.
Cool. Cool. Was it a human image that you picked up or what - just curious.
FitzGerald: Let’s say it was a figure...for once - I'm not going to say.
Guess I'd better break out the teddy bear. I'm going to need it, because GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL returns to SyFy tonight. I was lucky enough to wander through the darkened halls of the haunted Stanley Hotel with the GHOST HUNTERS a while back and it got me totally hooked on the show. I'm not saying it was a ghost. I'm not saying it wasn't. I'm just saying that something flipped my earring in a hotel room and I couldn't come up with any other explanation. Anyway, the experience got me hooked on the show, as well as it's world-traveling companion GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL. I just got a chance to participate in a conference call with GHI hunters Barry FitzGerald and Dustin Pari, who gave us some info on the upcoming episodes, scary mannequins, how they got involved with otherworldly entities and whether or not Barry dresses up in a STAR TREK uniform.
GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL airs Wednesday, January 13th at 9/8 c on SyFy. Check out a sneak peek after the interview.
Barry I wanted to know how hard or easy is it to spook you?
Barry FitzGerald: My biggest nemesis has to be mannequins. And I have to say that those truly frighten the living hell plain out of me. And because I have my main sense on - I'm there to do a job, I'm there to look for ghosts and all of a sudden this dummy should be leaning against somewhere maybe where it shouldn't have been before. And it’s truly - it’s absolutely frightening the hell out of me. I have to say that in Argentina in the case that’s coming up that they had images of - it was the death images that was taken back in the Victorian times where people would have been propped up and different things around them. And a photograph would have been taken. So I was in a dark room obviously with my own camera taking photographs of these photographs because I'd never actually seen them before. And the only thing I had to focus - or the only thing I - light-wise I had was the autofocus on the camera. So as you can imagine as I turned around and there was this small dummy of a child leaning against the wall. Well I have to tell you this, I screamed louder than Brandy Green ever could. And I think all of them nearly split their stomachs laughing at me. But I hate those things, I really do.
Since you are the technical manager is there any new equipment out there that you guys haven't employed yet that you want to get a hold of?
FitzGerald: We are going to be bringing new equipment along. It’s going to be some revolutionary new video equipment. And we start - we start filming I believe later this year. That new technology is going to come along because it takes the full spectrum technology must further....it’s fantastic. It’s a fantastic new camera system that truly brings us 10 years ahead of current technology.
I've been a GHOST HUNTERS and GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL fan ever since they both premiered. And I do know that Jason (Hawes) and Grant (Wilson) have had experiences in their life that sort of gravitated them to hunting ghosts. I was just curious because we never hear too much about the other individuals like yourself, Dustin and Barry, whether you've had paranormal experiences growing up in your childhood that sort of lent you to do this. And if you had without revealing too many details could you tell us a little bit about them?
FitzGerald: I think from my perspective I have to say that a lot of people who get involved in this field do have experiences as children. And certainly I was no exception. And growing up in a property back in Ireland it presented phenomenon to my parents. And they of course not wanting to frighten the children said nothing about it. But it was just a matter of time when the children themselves were going to be introduced to this. And certainly I was the first. And it was the middle of the night and I seen the figure coming up the stairs. And I was aware that that person should not be there. And that was my first time of seeing an apparition as it climbed the stairs. It was only years later that I confessed to my parents to seeing this. There were other things that happened on the property as well which would still plague my dreams. And the house now to my knowledge is now ripped up - that remains. I'm aware that the last family to stay there only lasted a month. And that was very intense. And that intense that it still plagues my nightmares.
Wow. What about you Dustin?
Dustin Pari: It’s hard to follow up such a tale. The Irishman really knows how to relay his experiences. I had a similar experience though. When I was about 8 or 9 I was living in a house in Providence, Rhode Island with my family. And I was awoken during the night and I had seen a shadow figure that was standing in the doorway of my bedroom. And, you know, there was my bedroom then there was a hallway and the kitchen light was on so this thing was backlit. But it was just one of these very shadow figures that I've actually been encounter a couple of times since doing my investigations. But they’re very elusive. They seem to move very quickly. And it’s very interesting, the phenomenon and really still trying to get answers on that. But that was the first thing that really got me interested in going out and looking for these answers. And since then it’s kind of taken on a much larger picture and almost like a spiritual quest if you will to get more confirmation about, you know, what happens to the spirit after we pass on from this life.
Cool. Cool. Just to shift gears a little bit because we've been talking about something very serious, what have been your funniest experience or experiences at locations? I'm sure you've had a couple. Maybe?
Pari: Well some of them we'll have to censor I think at the end of the show. Certainly I know in last week’s episode everyone gets to see how I reacted to a flock of pigeons as they came flying out of the rooftop in Argentina. I've been plagued by pigeons and bats. I'm not a big fan of things just randomly popping out in the darkness. I can take a spirit starting to show itself but if something is flying at me I get pretty startled and I often fall down things or knock people over. It gets a little crazy.
Why do you think that younger people are so much more in tune to seeing things like that?
FitzGerald: There is - Dustin and I wrote about it in our last book, “The Complete Approach”, because this has happened many, many times. It’s quite a frequent thing that will happen to children. And the biological reason simply is because there’s a filter that thickens over the eye. And as we become - as we change from children into young adults between the ages of 7-13 that filter thickens up totally and develops completely. And that we no longer can see into the light spectrum. So as adults we can no longer see what our children see. And that’s one of the reasons why the cameras - the full spectrum camera was developed to open up that spectrum again so that we could start to see what was being reported by mediums and psychics and our children of course.
Switching gears a little bit it was stated last week in the episode, in Hotel Vienna, that the location had more mystery to it than any other. Now is there any other place that would be even more of an ultimate location for either one of you or was this basically it? And if it was pretty much the be-all end-all where do you go from here?
Pari: No I think there’s a lot of places for us to keep on going. I think the mystery part of it, obviously how it related to the conspiracy theories of Hitler’s escape and, you know, radical plastic surgery and such. But from a paranormal standpoint, you know, it was a fantastic case. It provided us with some incredible activity. But there’s still a lot out there to be discovered and a lot of locations that I know we want to travel. You know, for me personally I'd like to get over to Greece at some point just as - Greece has great history and they have a lot of talking spirit and spiritual activity and a lot of things that they used to do out in the islands and stuff that is very intriguing to me and still a place that I would like to get to at some point.
You've both in some of the scariest places in the world. And I'm wondering are you kind of fearless in real life situations like going into a dark basement or there’s a power outage?
FitzGerald: There are occasions that you do become I suppose attune to it and you become used to it. And many times we will arrive on location and you get that all’s better sense that there’s something very unusual going on and sometimes you don't. And I know for, you know, if the lights go out in the basement I go down there and I do what needs to be done and come back up again and I'm okay. However put me into a situation where after 18 years of research I start to know when something is around that’s whenever I become cautious because there are many different types out there. And certainly Europe has got quite a handful. And I was just doing some research today on one of them in London. And that bugger, he put a person out through the window onto the iron railing and snapped their neck. And so it’s extremely dangerous. So it’s those types that you need to be careful about. For the most mundane spirits they’re okay, you know, you can pass them off. But from time to time you do come across one that you do have to be wary of and for good reason.
How about you Dustin?
Pari: For me the spirit world so far has been pretty pleasant but the like Barry said there are certain things that we become aware of and we become more in tune with that you definitely need to be on your guard about. And it’s important to always be in the right place, you know, mentally and physically as well as spiritually when you’re working in this field. But on a personal note I've always been a bit of a thrill seeker, you know, long before I made my debut on the GHOST HUNTERS television show, you know, I was in this field. It was something that intrigued me and it was also an adrenaline rush. But I was also somebody else that would do like demolition derbies and sky diving and I used to do all that kind of stuff for fun as well. But there’s still some things that kind of frighten me. I have to say as of recently the biggest one would be probably flying back and forth across the world so many times just because of the state of things in the world and the problems that you have with planes. And you almost feel like you're, you know, kind of playing the lottery every time you’re up there, you never know what’s going to go on. And we've been on a flight or two that’s had, you know, mechanical problems and things like that so it gets to be a little bit nerve wracking at points.
I have a question about child hauntings. I had actually done a trip with the other GHOST HUNTERS. And the scariest thing we saw was a child in a room who flipped my earring so I'm actually really curious about how you approach child hauntings and if you approach them differently.
Pari: It’s funny that you would ask that because it actually relates to the case that’s going to be shown this week on GHI. Also we were, you know, we were also in Argentina at a hotel called Eden Park Hotel I think was the proper name of it. And one of the stories was of this young child who had passed away on the property. And one of the things that, you know, always kind of plays at the heartstrings anytime you hear of a child passing over, you know, just because life is precious obviously when you’re young and innocent you hate to see anybody’s life cut so short. So, you know, Barry and I always try to put it forward to really make contact if we can. But one of the things that we do technique-wise to try to better make that connection is a simple thing, actually. It’s just kind of lowering our stance while we’re in there, you know, when we sit down to our (EDP) work instead of walking around the place we'll sit down on the floor just like when you deal with a child in this life. If they don't know you, a stranger, the mere height can be intimidating to them. So you kind of bring yourself down to their level in a way to try to ease that fear and try to coax them to come forward and to communicate with you.
I've actually talked to a couple people about this and I'm really curious about your opinions. If you really ever did get something that was completely proof-wise incontrovertible, there was really no way you could disprove it, what effect do you think that would have on society?
Pari: Getting irrefutable evidence is always challenging. You know, there’s always going to be people that will question everything even if they were there with you at the time. You know, which is good because we approach it skeptically as well; we try to recreate things and try to find any alternative explanation for anything that we do experience. However, you know, I do hope that by our work in this field, you know, especially for me personally I think it’s important that I try to show others that, you know, there is something after this life. It’s kind of a personal thing for me in that I think if we can get people in today’s society who I think unfortunately in today’s society has become very self centered. You know, with the budding of technology that let’s you broadcast yourself on the Web and you can have everything you need in the palm of your hand, it’s very easily - it’s sort of easy to become isolated and to forget that we’re all kind of in this world together and that this isn't the end of it. I think that by proving to people that there is life after this one maybe they'll start to live this life a little better being a little nicer to others and a little more considerate and thoughtful of what may happen to us when we get out of here.
What is the biggest difference between working in the States with TAPS and then working overseas with GHI?
Pari: Well it’s quite obvious I think, I get to work with the lovely and talented son of Ireland Mr. Barry FitzGerald...
FitzGerald: That is worth at lest $20.
Pari: Yeah, exactly. You know what, do me a favor, pay me in euro when I see you. No the differences obviously are, you know, outside of missing home when I'm on the road it’s a fantastic opportunity to really kind of immerse myself in different societies and really soak up the history of some of the locations we get to explore. You know, and it’s almost funny when I'm home from the road for a couple of weeks it seems odd not to be in a castle, you know, doing GHI we’re in a castle like every couple of weeks. So it’s kind of strange, you know. But it’s a beautiful look at different cultures and it’s really made me see things from a much larger perspective. And, you know, in this life and also approaching, you know, making contact with the spirits who have passed on I've learned a great deal of respect for other cultures and a lot of respect for being home too, it really makes me more appreciative of a lot of the things that we have in such an advanced society. You know, Barry and I have stayed in some places that are, you know, a good couple of hours away from even a fast food place. And even then, you know, they close at like 6:00 or 7:00 at night. So there’s a lot of things that you get kind of accustomed to in the US that you don't get to have when you’re on the road.
Thanks. This question is for Barry. If you could have any guest star on the show to investigate with you guys who would you choose?
FitzGerald: Dustin I think you could even answer that one.
Pari: I was going to say we missed William Shatner?
FitzGerald: Oh you win the gold star. I would have to say working with Bill must be an absolute pleasure I would have to say. And I've always been a fan of his work and certainly the last things he’s done there on BOSTON LEGAL was tremendous. But certainly I would love to see William Shatner on the show.
Pari: Yeah, I didn't tell him, Barry, how you dress up in your STAR TREK uniform sometimes.
FitzGerald: That’s a lie. That’s a lie.
Pari: I've got a photo somewhere to prove it.
Well presumably you guys don't spend 24/7 hunting ghosts so what do you do in your free time?
Pari: I try to spend as much time as I can with my family when I'm home just because of the travel and stuff that work brings me. But I also still work when I'm back in the States as a anesthesia technician for oral and facial cosmetic surgery and stay busy trying to write another book with Barry. We’re working on another project that should be out early in the year. And so we try to do that to keep enlightening people about the field on a deeper level. And, you know, for hobbies and stuff I work on a lot of old American muscle cars. I'm starting a small collection. And, you know, that’s - those are the kind of things I like to do to pass my time.
FitzGerald: Certainly for me photography is a big thing for me and so much so that I'm planning to open a gallery in Austria. And writing the book with Dustin and we’re hoping to have that out at the end of February, maybe March. And so I always continue to keep myself busy. And I'm always traveling back and forward between Ireland or America or Austria. And then the cases that come up, the private cases that I've attended on as well just to keep my hand in the scene and to see what new developments are happening and understand the continual development of technology. And I’m working with a good bunch of engineers now in Colorado. And we’re devising a new video system which is truly state of the art and takes the full spectrum technology much further than ever before.
Dustin, I wanted to know what’s scarier, castles or prisons?
Pari: I'd have to say prisons. I get a little on edge when I have to walk down those long hallways with all the open darkened cells. I'm - my wife will - likes to but my chops because I can't watch horror movies. I don't like it when things pop out. And I know it seems really, you know, silly considering what I do out there in the field. But I'm okay with spirits and such I just don't like it when things pop out of dark corners. So prisons definitely rank up there with some of the spookier of places.
I can see that because prisons probably have a pretty dark history too right?
Pari: Yeah, yeah, there’s always, you know, there’s always prison rape, that’s scary.
Fair enough. And one more quick thing for Barry. I was looking through all of the places you guys have hit, is there any talk of going to Russia in the future?
FitzGerald: I would love to go to Russia and...
Pari: Just because you already have the hats.
FitzGerald: Never listen to Dustin. But, yeah, I would love to go to Russia. I know that - I've been making a few inquiries into a couple of locations there in Russia. However I'm not so sure that the Russian authorities might let us go in there such as the old - oh what are they called - the Secret Service, Dustin, what were their name?
KGB.
FitzGerald: KGB, yeah. The old KGB... The old KGB stations underground and that you can only access wearing total body chemical suits. Places like that intrigue me to wonder what type of history went on inside but of course we need to get the permits. And permits in Russia can be extremely expensive. And even after you get the permits then you have to still - you have to bribe people on the street and so that could become hugely, grossly expensive. And then there’s the threat of the equipment being stolen as well. And so I would love to see it, will it happen, I don't know. But only time will tell.
In your opinion what was the most convincing piece of evidence that you ever collected on an investigation?
Pari: The most convincing pieces - I'd have to say that for me one of the best pieces of evidence we ever captured was we were doing a prison in Latvia and there was a voice that came through there - it was a just muddied voice of a woman who spoke in Latvian for about seven or eight seconds. And it was captured on all the pieces of equipment that we had in the room as well as our production equipment. And to me that was the most impressive pieces that had come down the pike. And it was very emotional. There was something in her tone that was very touching. And to this day it’s one of my favorite experiences.
FitzGerald: And certainly one of mine would have to be a photograph that was taken down in Australia which is coming up in the shows...and for the life of me I can't explain this. I have tried and tried and tried with science - using science it simply couldn't have happened. And yet it did. And I'm perplexed by the entire episode. And - but that’s coming up so you'll get to see that as well.
Cool. Cool. Was it a human image that you picked up or what - just curious.
FitzGerald: Let’s say it was a figure...for once - I'm not going to say.
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