Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files (2010) s01e10 Episode Script
Mystery Mermaid & Ghostly Guardian
Tonight on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Do you actually feel this presence? I can feel him watching over me.
Dive.
That was weird.
All of a sudden, my walkie goes off.
Are you seeing what I am seeing? There is something under the boat right now.
It looks pretty sizable.
I don't know what it is.
Oh, my goodness! There's a flying saucer.
I'm getting a series of lights right there.
Oh, my God! What the heck is happening? Good morning.
How's it going? Good, good.
Hey, guys.
Guys, what do we have today? Chi-Lan, what do you have? I have a great ghost story, guys.
It looks like it comes from a police officer's dash cam.
You're gonna see an entire humanlike figure walk across the road.
Totally spooky, guys.
Check it out.
Okay.
Wow.
There it is.
Oh, my God! What is that? Now, the background on this video is a little mysterious.
This is actually coming from David Fortin.
He posted it online, and the way that he found it was he had rented out a place to a retired police officer.
This police officer passed away, and as he was going in and cleaning out his items, he found this video.
I mean, the fact that it wasn't the police officer who posted it is my only big issue with this.
Yeah.
We can't really talk to the witness, who would be the police officer who did the filming.
I agree with Chi-Lan.
We haven't authenticated this actually came from a police officer's dash cam.
What do you guys think about it? I really like it.
I just think we need to get it authenticated.
Definitely.
Let me work a little bit more on this case, guys.
But I was just honestly so excited about the video, I wanted to bring it to you right away.
I like it, too.
It's a good one.
I think that if we can get it authenticated, this really came from a police officer, from his dash cam, maybe we can go find other people he talked to.
Great.
Okay? Let's move on to Austin.
Hey, lookit, dad! It's back! All right, guys, so I got one I just recently discovered, supposedly kind of like a triangle UFO.
Check it out.
Let me know what you guys think.
Go, daddy! Are you getting this? Holy Lookit, daddy! Come on, get out here! It's out here! Oh, my God.
You can hear the toddler in the background talking to his father.
Here's one thing is that one of the lights actually moves, and they change formations.
That movement is kind of strange.
I do know about this case.
You do? Yeah.
This video was created by a filmmaker named Blake Cousins.
He's actually created a whole series of paranormal videos.
Notice how these lights really appear to be simply two-dimensional.
Stop.
These lights are supposed to be behind the pole, but it pops to the front, simply because it's very labor-intensive to track it properly.
That's pretty clear evidence that it's CGI.
So did he pay some kid to just act excited about seeing this? He's actually using his son for the child's voice to add to the realism.
Creates an eyewitness feel to it.
It was a pretty good job.
It looks good for the moment, until we figured that out.
So, it's a good video, but it's not authentic.
It doesn't warrant any further research or looking into, so let's move on to Larry.
Okay, guys, so the case I'm bringing you today is a little out of the ordinary, but I really like it.
It's some pictures that were taken in a smaller community in Hawaii called Mililani, and it's of this girl.
Starting all the way back in 1994, when she was 4 months old, her grandmother would take pictures of her, and there would be an image, which they're claiming to be her guardian spirit.
Whoa.
That's creepy.
It never appears by itself, and it never appears with any other family member, just with this girl.
Now, it's been happening all the way until now, and she's 16 years old.
It is odd how the granddaughter's hair seems to be smearing across the spiral.
The granddaughter, who wishes to stay anonymous, says that she senses the presence of whatever this is.
You can't see it until the photo's developed.
It could just be lens interference.
It could be something physical.
It could be something with the film.
I mean, there are all these different factors.
She has used several different cameras.
She's also claimed that she cuts the strap off the camera, because that's one of the typical explanations of what this is.
Does she seem pretty credible when you talk to her? Yeah.
Seems extremely credible to me.
She has nothing to gain from this at all.
I'd be very cautious before I'd say this is paranormal, but it does look like the granddaughter is noticing this spirit.
Is it worth our time to go out and look at this, Austin? Yeah, I think it's different than what we've done, and I'm always up for trying new things.
I've seen a lot of photos like this.
I'd like to finally get to the bottom of it.
All right, guys.
Well, we have some more videos to look at.
Here's one that's right up my alley.
Some of you may have heard of this case before because it's been all over the news.
Well, in March of 2010, Eugene Ehrlich filmed for eight days straight a series of objects that were coming over the horizon and moving in very strange ways.
That was weird.
Looks weird.
Do you see how rapidly that Yeah, it speeds off.
I can tell you, commercial aircraft They don't make turns like that.
It'd be whiplash city.
A military craft can tackle maneuvers like that.
The Pentagon actually weighed in on it, and there's a NASA research facility there, and they both said that they were not conducting any exercises or experimenting.
I'm a huge UFO skeptic, and I like this video.
Gene Ehrlich has sighted these since that time, I believe, but it does seem that they have subsided.
The problem I'm having with this is that there's not enough reference points to really see what we're looking at.
I think it's great, but maybe we can wait and see if it happens again.
Well, I'm gonna stay in touch with Ehrlich, and we'll see if we can get something really fresh.
So let's put it off for now and see what else we have today.
Jael, I hear you have a really interesting case for us.
Yes, I do.
Well, guys, I have something that I'm really, really excited about.
We're gonna be dealing with a mythical creature that's very famous the mermaid.
Ooh, I like it already.
Yes.
So, it comes from an Australian filmmaker.
In 2009, he was testing an underwater camera in the great barrier reef, and he sees something, but he didn't realize what it was until later, when he went home and reviewed the footage.
So take a look.
Oh.
Check that out.
Okay.
I mean, this is huge.
It was a huge hit on the Internet, as well.
What did he actually think it was when he first saw this? Well, he wasn't sure, and the visibility wasn't that great.
So, after he went home and reviewed it, he said to himself, "this looks so much like a mermaid.
" Now, the only problem we do have is that the witness wants to stay anonymous.
I think he believes that maybe people will start to think he's a little crazy for claiming that he has seen a mermaid.
But we have a very compelling video.
We have ways to test this.
I love the fact that we've never, ever seen a mermaid video, nor heard of a mermaid case.
This is a first on a number of levels.
Who votes that we do the mermaid case? Yes.
We all agree.
Okay.
And let's choose our other case.
I've seen photos like we're seeing in the Hawaiian ghost girl pictures.
That's a case that I want to get to the bottom of.
I think that the photos from Hawaii would make a compelling case.
My vote goes for Hawaii ghost girl.
Well, Chi-Lan, I think you have to be there in Hawaii.
And being a ghost case, Bill, I'd like to see you out on more of those.
Definitely.
Okay? Well, Ben, if you and I do the mermaid case, we're both certified scuba divers, so I think that's a great way to start a hunt.
Austin, want to join us? I don't see any reason why not.
Hawaii and Australia.
Let's go.
Let's do it.
So, Cairns, Australia The gateway to the great barrier reef.
So, guys, this mermaid film that we're investigating Even though the filmmaker wants to remain anonymous, I think we have all the information we need to launch a full investigation.
He did give us information as to where in the great barrier reef it was filmed.
So the first thing I think we should do is do an investigation of the location where this was filmed a reef hunt.
Well, the great barrier reef is home to numerous creatures that I think could easily be mistaken for a mermaid.
We'll be able to see what kind of marine life is down there.
This could easily be a case of mistaken identity.
This is the marina.
Let's go find our boat.
This is it.
You must be Marcus.
Yes.
I'm Ben.
Welcome aboard the Floreat.
So, we're launching our investigation right here at the great barrier reef, where the mermaid video was shot.
Jael and I are gonna get under the water.
We're gonna be searching for any signs, anything that could look like a mermaid.
We're exploring the possibility that this is just a case of mistaken identity.
It might just be another creature that's indigenous to the area.
Execute reef hunt in 3, 2, 1.
Dive.
While Ben and Jael are underwater, I'm gonna be here manning the sonar.
So we're gonna be having a full scan of everything that's in the water around us.
Ben, do we have clear communication? Over.
Austin, we copy.
Austin, we're down about 15 to 20 feet at this point.
Over.
I'm picking you up on the sonar.
We're gonna swim toward the coral to see what we find.
We see quite a bit of marine life down here.
How does our location look compared to the original video? The coral is about the same.
I think we're about the same depth.
Jael, Austin There's something about 30 feet away.
There it is.
I'm seeing it now.
I'm picking it up on sonar.
I'm trying to get closer to it.
It looks pretty sizable.
I don't know what it is.
Team, are you catching this? Are you seeing what I am seeing? There is something under the boat right now.
Coming up on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" I can feel him beside me.
Did you guys just hear that over the walkie? So, for our first experiment, we're going to do a reef hunt, searching for anything that could look like a mermaid.
Team, are you catching this? Are you seeing what I am seeing? Something about 30 feet away.
I'm trying to get closer to it.
Ben, this looks big.
What is it? Austin, there's a shark down here.
I have eyes on a shark.
It's about 4 1/2, 5 feet.
We see quite a bit of marine life down here nothing bigger than that and nothing that resembles a mermaid.
So we're coming back.
How was it? Well, kind of like the video, you know, visibility's probably about 30, 40 feet.
Maybe 25, 30 feet.
Once we got close, you actually start seeing that this is a shark.
The movement is totally different than what we're seeing in the video.
So we're dealing with something else.
Still could be a case of mistaken identity.
I know sailors for thousands of years have mistaken the dugong, also known as the sea cow, for a mermaid.
So, now we're gonna head to the Sydney Aquarium, where we can film a live dugong.
There's only actually six dugongs in captivity in the world, and they have two of them here.
I'm Ben.
Nice to meet you.
Hi, Ben.
I'm Jael.
It's a pleasure.
Well, we hear that you're the dugong expert.
Have you ever heard of the theory that dugongs have been mistaken for a mermaid? I actually have.
I have heard it many, many times.
In fact, it's so widely believed that we even named our oceanarium "Mermaid Lagoon.
" So, now we're gonna explore the popular theory that mermaid sightings are actually just a case of mistaken identity, and the culprit the dugong.
Look, there he is.
Mermaid lagoon.
Look at how huge he is.
That is way bigger than I thought it was gonna be.
Look at the tail.
The tail does look so much like it.
I can see already that the tail has got that kind of graceful movement to it.
So, for our next test, we're gonna be filming the dugong underwater, and we're gonna be looking for its form, shape, and movement to see if it actually replicates the footage we have of our original mermaid.
Even though I would love to jump in this tank and film with the dugongs, the ecosystem here is actually pretty delicate.
So we've attached our underwater camera onto a long pole so we can get that underwater shot.
I'm gonna stay up top, and you guys can go to the underwater tunnel and try to capture everything as it comes around.
So, I'm gonna try to replicate the original footage.
Hopefully, we can get the dugong to swim away from us so I can get the fin going further and further in that direction, and that way we can get that same look.
Team to Ben.
Do you read? Yep.
Go ahead, Austin.
Jael has got the camera framed up.
Let's go ahead and get this dugong to move.
Okay, guys, they're gonna feed her some more lettuce.
Hopefully, the lettuce tray will entice the dugong to follow the same path that the mermaid did in the original footage.
Hopefully, she'll pass by and come to find something to eat.
Dugong is approaching the underwater cam as we speak.
Soon as he dropped the lettuce, we were able to control exactly where the dugong went.
Oh, oh, oh.
That's good.
Oh, Austin, this might be our money shot.
There we go disappearing into the distance.
It's a good shot.
Okay, okay.
As you can see, the swimming motion is very similar.
The tails were almost exact, the swimming pattern almost exact.
Better visibility in this water, I think, than in the video.
It's just way too bulky.
Let's be honest.
Anatomically speaking, not an exact match.
I agree.
You know what? I think it's time to move on to our next theory, which is that this could just be a woman in a mermaid suit.
So my suggestion is that we go back to the great barrier reef and we try just that.
We put a woman in a mermaid suit.
Coming up on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" I have to say that I'm quite nervous.
I have absolutely no idea what's gonna happen.
We've come as close as we can to trying to replicate the video with animals that are indigenous to this area.
Let's be honest.
Anatomically speaking, not an exact match.
I agree.
So now we're heading back to the same spot where the original footage was shot to get Jael in a mermaid suit.
I've made my own mermaid tail out of lycra and a monofin.
I'm gonna be the guy under the water.
I'll see if I can frame it up and get the exact pictures we saw in the original video.
I've got my mermaid tail on.
It feels totally unnatural.
My legs are bound together.
And I have to say that I'm quite nervous to just jump into the water this way, because I have absolutely no idea what's gonna happen.
All right, Ben, it's on standby, ready to shoot.
In 3, 2, 1.
Good job.
Yeah.
Wow.
It's really tiring.
One of the only problems I found is, even from up here, I can see the imprint of your legs through that suit.
I can see that they're legs.
As you can see, I don't have the ability to stay down there for a very long time.
I think it would take a lot of practice to be able to go back and forth.
And, also, it just kind of feels unnatural.
I'm not used to these monofins.
All right, guys.
I got the video footage that Ben shot of your dive.
You did a really good job getting the mermaid motion.
It's just being able to stay underwater and seeing your legs.
You know, if you had somebody that had a lot of practice and you had a better costume, a better fin, I think we could make it look almost exact.
Being bound that way, it was really difficult for me to replicate the movement from the original footage.
The good news is there's actually a professional mermaid that works here in Australia, so we're gonna phone her.
We're gonna find out if she can come out and meet us.
Hi, is this Hannah? We were wondering if you were available, because we need your help today.
So, how was it? I am jealous.
So, guys, Australia it was it was amazing.
Now, if you remember, in 2009, we have this videographer who comes out of the great barrier reef saying that he's filmed some type of creature he thinks to be a mermaid.
He was very reluctant to talk to us, but he did point out the location and the area where this was filmed, so that's where we headed.
The first thing we did was a reef hunt, hoping that maybe we could find some kind of large mammal in the water that would resemble a mermaid.
At one point, we thought we found something, but it actually turned out to be a reef shark.
No kidding.
Even though we couldn't find a mermaid, we decided, you know what? There is a creature that has been mistaken for a mermaid for centuries The dugong.
So we went to the Sydney Aquarium to test this theory.
Check out the video.
- Wow.
- Look at that.
Which is different than fish, which have a vertical fin.
But in this video, it definitely wasn't an exact match.
So we decided that we should make our own mermaid suit.
I got into it and dove in.
Not bad.
Look at the motion that she's able to create.
I'm really surprised how similar it looked.
It turned out well, but at the end of it, you know, I really couldn't hold my breath for very long, and I didn't get the movement exactly right.
So we decided that maybe we should look for a pro.
And I actually found a professional mermaid.
Wait, there's actually professional mermaids in existence? Yes.
Yes, there are.
Now, this girl's name is Hannah.
She has years of experience, and she has a suit that she's made that looks perfect.
And being a professional, she could hold her breath a really long time and had that movement nailed.
Look what happens.
This is amazing, guys.
You guys totally nailed it with this re-creation.
This is a hoax.
As much as I would love to believe the mermaid theory, I think this is fake.
Not only that, but if a mermaid really did exist, it wouldn't be the classic depiction that we know of as beautiful woman/half-fish creature.
I had a C.
G.
model created.
Humans can't survive in water that's colder than 98.
6 for a very long time, so they would need a thicker skin insulation, probably something very blubbery.
That's weird.
Not only that, the salt water would create this skin that kind of shrivels up because of osmosis.
And the hair would only get in the way and would cause drag, so it'd probably be hairless.
So it would look a lot like a dugong.
That's what you call a debunk slam dunk.
Tell me about Hawaii, huh? Let me start off by saying it was visually stunning.
If you recall the case, this is where our witness, Norma, had been taking photographs of her granddaughter.
And in the photos, we have this ghostly apparition which Norma believes and the family believes that is one of the guardian spirits protecting her granddaughter.
Hawaii is beautiful.
Rarely do we get a case that has such a connection to the local culture like this case.
We get in with this story about a young girl.
Her family believes that a guardian angel watches over her.
It's called the aumakua.
The fact that there's physical evidence of it is just astonishing.
A lot of people think that it's more of a mistaken identity with the camera strap.
She claims that she cut the camera strap off.
She claims that she's used several different cameras.
I'm really looking forward to being able to actually meet the family and talk with Norma's granddaughter, as well as Norma.
This is it right here.
Aloha.
Aloha.
You're the photographer.
Yes.
I started taking pictures, just regular pictures of my granddaughter, and they ended up having these white anomalies.
Norma, a lot of people be that this is proof that there are guardian angels.
Does your granddaughter still feel the presence around her of a protective spirit? She's seen it.
She has seen it? Yes.
Aloha.
You're the photographer.
Yes.
Does your granddaughter still feel the presence around her of a protective spirit? She's seen it.
She has seen it? Yes.
Is it possible we can meet your granddaughter? Yes.
Hi, there.
I'm Chi-Lan.
I understand that you want your identity disguised, so what we've planned on doing is setting up a really bright light behind you.
It'll actually disguise your features and pretty much make you just a silhouette.
We just want to talk to you about some of your experiences.
Do you actually feel this presence when the pictures are being shot? Not actually when the pictures are being shot, but mostly at night.
It's just a sense of someone watching you.
Now, in a lot of these photographs, it seems like you're looking at the object.
Something tells me to look there, like, unconsciously.
I'm wondering if you could give us permission to take pictures of you as you are right now? Yeah, that's okay.
We're gonna give it a go ourselves.
We're gonna use your camera.
We're gonna take some pictures of your granddaughter, and we're gonna see if we can capture any apparitions, okay? So, just sit there.
I'm just gonna take a couple pictures.
And we're gonna see if we can capture anything ourselves.
Even if nothing comes out in these pictures, we're gonna set up a control lab next door to test a number of popular theories as to what these ghostly images could be.
Right now, we're building our examination room.
In it, we're gonna have Chi-Lan's photo-handling table with all the equipment to handle the physical prints.
We'll also have Larry's digital-processing station, where we can scan in and zoom on any of the photos.
I was lucky enough to get a color processor so we can process all of the film, and we can eliminate any outside contamination.
Now I'm going to develop the pictures of Norma's granddaughter to see if anything unusual materializes.
Guys, here's the first roll that I was able to print.
And this is just from our interview right now.
Honestly, I'm not seeing anything remarkable in this.
This just looks like we disguised her.
I'm not really surprised.
To really address the skeptics' view of what those pictures are, the next thing we have to do is really decide on the experiments and decide what picture we're gonna replicate.
I'm kind of drawn towards this one, guys.
Well, it seems like it's obvious the next thing to do is see if we can replicate this picture as closely as possible.
Now, I'm not sure how we're gonna get this sort of smearing.
I think we'll be able to get pretty close to the streaking.
Look at this right now I think we nailed it.
This matches perfectly.
Yeah, it's an amazing replica.
Let's not mess with it anymore.
Let's start our experiments.
Let's do it.
The camera strap is a no-brainer.
I mean, it was really common for that to happen before there were LCD viewfinders.
People would look right through the camera, and then the strap would fall through right in front.
They wouldn't notice it.
They would snap the picture, and there you would have it.
We're gonna put a camera strap in front of it, kind of in the same way that it appeared in the picture.
Let me frame this up, though.
And the camera was, maybe, swinging.
Wouldn't the camera the picture be blurry, as well, if there's movement? Not if this is really fast-speed camera.
It's a well-lit environment, and with the flash, these automatics adjust.
All right, guys, now that we've shot these photographs, I'm gonna go ahead and process this film.
Wow.
Doesn't that look Doesn't that look Yeah, good, right? Surprisingly, really, yeah.
But it almost didn't come out transparent enough.
I'm not seeing the texture.
It's way too blown out, way too white.
We've managed to show that, yes, you can do a very close approximation to the original photos, but our work isn't done yet.
I'm sure you guys have noticed how hot and humid it is here.
You know that heat and humidity totally degrade film.
The film stock that Norma had, if it had degraded, then, yeah, perhaps the film itself was damaged and had malfunctioned.
I think the next thing we have to do is test how climate can wreak havoc on film.
Heat and humidity cause film to release an acid, and that acid gives off a type of very strong, vinegary odor, so it's actually called the vinegar syndrome.
Now, what we have here is some acetic acid that we're gonna mix with some water.
We'll probably gonna do about two grams, and that'll give us the acid that we're gonna put onto the film.
This is unexposed film, so it has to be done completely in the dark.
Lights out.
3, 2, 1.
Dark.
Coming up on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" Did you guys just hear that? So, the team is actually gonna undertake an experiment where we'll see and test the weather damage on film.
Lights out.
3, 2, 1.
Dark.
I've pulled the film out.
Now I'm gonna dip the q-tip in the acid solution that I have made.
Great.
Now I'm actually putting the acid on the emulsion side of the film.
That'll mimic the same effects that weather has on the film here.
We're gonna wind this film back up, take pictures with it, and expose it traditionally, just like we would with a regular roll of film.
So we can turn the lights on.
Perfect.
Whew, that's bright.
All right.
Frame it right.
So, I've loaded the vinegar-syndrome photographs onto the monitor, and I'm pulling those up right now.
I mean, we have a nice little streak there, but the color's wrong.
I mean, obviously, it's blue, and what are we seeing in the picture? It's almost like you were able to get this, sort of, just pattern, almost like randomness.
This is by no means anything similar to what Norma got.
I think it's safe to say that this was definitely not it, but I think it's time we start to explore the possibility that maybe this was a hoax with a more elaborate setup.
For this next test, we're creating a hologram, which consists of four parts a clear plexiglas sheet, which is in front of our mannequin A bright light And a black backdrop.
On the backdrop, I'm gonna be attaching what is gonna be our ghost.
So, I'm gonna be hitting the tubing with this light at a 45-degree angle, and that, hopefully, will give us the reflection in the plexiglas.
Yeah, that's right about right.
If I stand on this end, I think we'll get it.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's right over her head.
Not perfect by any means, but you do see a ghostly apparition.
If this was a hoax, they had to go through a very elaborate setup like we had to do here, and I'm guessing that it wasn't a hoax.
Even though we can replicate the result of creating a light streak that appeared ghostly That doesn't say that that's how these images were being formed in the first place.
We owe it to the family and we owe it to ourselves to have a nighttime investigation.
So, we're all set up for the nighttime investigation.
Chi-Lan, you're gonna be here at our control center.
That's right.
We're each gonna have a walkie-talkie so we stay in radio contact.
We have a surveillance camera in the living room, where the main photograph has been taken of the apparition, another one covering the stairs, and yet a third one up in Norma's granddaughter's bedroom.
Here are your walkies.
This one's for you.
It's already set up.
This one's yours, Bill, and I will be down here with mine.
We're ready to go green? Let's get the lights.
On 3, 2, 1.
Dark.
I'm gonna start in Norma's granddaughter's room.
I will capture anything you see, Larry.
So, we're gonna do our sweep, see if we have any interesting things that are happening.
Are you getting any anomalous readings up there? In the room itself, I'm not really getting anything on my thermal imager.
Copy that, Larry.
It is definitely warmer in this closet.
I have no idea why.
I mean, there's no It's like a wall of warmth right here.
Chi-Lan for Bill.
Go for Bill.
Said that she shot the picture.
Did you guys just hear that over the walkie? I did not hear anything.
Over.
What did you hear, Larry? I honestly have no idea what it was.
The sound was I had never heard anything like it.
I'm gonna go ahead and come back down.
Did you see anything? I didn't see anything.
I heard a sound over the walkie that I've never heard anything like it before.
Now, I'm a skeptic at heart, and it makes me think that all of the noises could just be a malfunction of wires crossing or a bad battery.
I want to call Norma in here and have an EVP session, or at least try to.
Larry and Chi-Lan, I've brought Norma in.
Norma, if you could have a seat here on the couch.
If there is a spirit a guardian spirit or any of the other spirits that may visit this house with us, can you please identify yourself? Did you guys just hear that? Let me start by saying Hawaii is stunningly beautiful.
If you recall the case, this is where our witness, Norma, had been taking photographs of her granddaughter, and in the photos, you have this ghostly apparition, which Norma believes and the family believes that is one of the guardian spirit protecting her granddaughter.
So, we started out by taking pictures of Norma's granddaughter.
Take a look.
Of course, she wanted to stay anonymous, so we blurred out her face a little bit, but you can also see that there's nothing around her at all that could be mistaken as a guardian spirit.
Now, we decided to take one picture from when she was little and try to replicate that for our experiment.
The most popular theory is that this is just a camera strap, so we tested that.
Now, you see the balance from the flash of the camera strap is not matching the original photo that we chose.
It's way more solid.
Very reflective.
Yeah.
We decided to move on to the possibility that it maybe had some sort of atmospheric solution.
That's right.
When you think about Hawaii, it's a very hot, humid climate.
And a lot of people don't know this, but, you know, hot weather can actually corrode film.
It's called the vinegar syndrome.
So we decided to run our own vinegar-syndrome test on the film.
I took some acid and painted it onto the unexposed negative.
The smear with the acid does not appear to be cylindrical.
So the test got even more elaborate after this.
We decided to test the theory that maybe it was a hoax, and we did that by generating a hologram.
But it was just such an elaborate setup that we decided it wasn't a hoax.
At that point, we decided, "you know what? Let's go ahead and do a nighttime investigation.
" And this is the crazy thing, guys.
Bill and Larry did not have their walkie-talkies on.
My walkie was on.
And, all of a sudden, I hear a pop, a hum of interference, some crackling, and then it just shuts off.
That'sstrange.
Bill's running an EVP.
All of a sudden, same crackling.
Was it a sound that's not typical for the walkie? Well, we'll go ahead and play this EVP, and you guys let me know what you hear.
Excited to hear this.
If there is a guardian spirit or any of the other spirits that may visit this house with us, can you please identify yourself? It's very pronounced.
Yeah, it's really, really clear.
It could have just been walkie interference, but it's a little strange that it sounds like somebody saying, "I'm watching you right now.
" That is weird.
You possibly had some electromagnetic interference.
You guys heard your walkies going off and breaking squelch.
It's interesting.
So, even though we didn't get any definitive of paranormal activity in the house, we cannot discount the personal experiences that we all had.
Okay, fair enough.
What do you think, Chi-Lan? I got to say, I was there.
When I first looked at these pictures, the most obvious explanation for me is the answer It is the camera strap.
I could agree with that.
Yeah, I agree.
I think she nailed it.
It sounds like we all agree, pretty much, that what was going on is some type of lens interference A camera strap.
But Perhaps there is something paranormal going on that may not be related to what they saw in the photos.
Dive.
That was weird.
All of a sudden, my walkie goes off.
Are you seeing what I am seeing? There is something under the boat right now.
It looks pretty sizable.
I don't know what it is.
Oh, my goodness! There's a flying saucer.
I'm getting a series of lights right there.
Oh, my God! What the heck is happening? Good morning.
How's it going? Good, good.
Hey, guys.
Guys, what do we have today? Chi-Lan, what do you have? I have a great ghost story, guys.
It looks like it comes from a police officer's dash cam.
You're gonna see an entire humanlike figure walk across the road.
Totally spooky, guys.
Check it out.
Okay.
Wow.
There it is.
Oh, my God! What is that? Now, the background on this video is a little mysterious.
This is actually coming from David Fortin.
He posted it online, and the way that he found it was he had rented out a place to a retired police officer.
This police officer passed away, and as he was going in and cleaning out his items, he found this video.
I mean, the fact that it wasn't the police officer who posted it is my only big issue with this.
Yeah.
We can't really talk to the witness, who would be the police officer who did the filming.
I agree with Chi-Lan.
We haven't authenticated this actually came from a police officer's dash cam.
What do you guys think about it? I really like it.
I just think we need to get it authenticated.
Definitely.
Let me work a little bit more on this case, guys.
But I was just honestly so excited about the video, I wanted to bring it to you right away.
I like it, too.
It's a good one.
I think that if we can get it authenticated, this really came from a police officer, from his dash cam, maybe we can go find other people he talked to.
Great.
Okay? Let's move on to Austin.
Hey, lookit, dad! It's back! All right, guys, so I got one I just recently discovered, supposedly kind of like a triangle UFO.
Check it out.
Let me know what you guys think.
Go, daddy! Are you getting this? Holy Lookit, daddy! Come on, get out here! It's out here! Oh, my God.
You can hear the toddler in the background talking to his father.
Here's one thing is that one of the lights actually moves, and they change formations.
That movement is kind of strange.
I do know about this case.
You do? Yeah.
This video was created by a filmmaker named Blake Cousins.
He's actually created a whole series of paranormal videos.
Notice how these lights really appear to be simply two-dimensional.
Stop.
These lights are supposed to be behind the pole, but it pops to the front, simply because it's very labor-intensive to track it properly.
That's pretty clear evidence that it's CGI.
So did he pay some kid to just act excited about seeing this? He's actually using his son for the child's voice to add to the realism.
Creates an eyewitness feel to it.
It was a pretty good job.
It looks good for the moment, until we figured that out.
So, it's a good video, but it's not authentic.
It doesn't warrant any further research or looking into, so let's move on to Larry.
Okay, guys, so the case I'm bringing you today is a little out of the ordinary, but I really like it.
It's some pictures that were taken in a smaller community in Hawaii called Mililani, and it's of this girl.
Starting all the way back in 1994, when she was 4 months old, her grandmother would take pictures of her, and there would be an image, which they're claiming to be her guardian spirit.
Whoa.
That's creepy.
It never appears by itself, and it never appears with any other family member, just with this girl.
Now, it's been happening all the way until now, and she's 16 years old.
It is odd how the granddaughter's hair seems to be smearing across the spiral.
The granddaughter, who wishes to stay anonymous, says that she senses the presence of whatever this is.
You can't see it until the photo's developed.
It could just be lens interference.
It could be something physical.
It could be something with the film.
I mean, there are all these different factors.
She has used several different cameras.
She's also claimed that she cuts the strap off the camera, because that's one of the typical explanations of what this is.
Does she seem pretty credible when you talk to her? Yeah.
Seems extremely credible to me.
She has nothing to gain from this at all.
I'd be very cautious before I'd say this is paranormal, but it does look like the granddaughter is noticing this spirit.
Is it worth our time to go out and look at this, Austin? Yeah, I think it's different than what we've done, and I'm always up for trying new things.
I've seen a lot of photos like this.
I'd like to finally get to the bottom of it.
All right, guys.
Well, we have some more videos to look at.
Here's one that's right up my alley.
Some of you may have heard of this case before because it's been all over the news.
Well, in March of 2010, Eugene Ehrlich filmed for eight days straight a series of objects that were coming over the horizon and moving in very strange ways.
That was weird.
Looks weird.
Do you see how rapidly that Yeah, it speeds off.
I can tell you, commercial aircraft They don't make turns like that.
It'd be whiplash city.
A military craft can tackle maneuvers like that.
The Pentagon actually weighed in on it, and there's a NASA research facility there, and they both said that they were not conducting any exercises or experimenting.
I'm a huge UFO skeptic, and I like this video.
Gene Ehrlich has sighted these since that time, I believe, but it does seem that they have subsided.
The problem I'm having with this is that there's not enough reference points to really see what we're looking at.
I think it's great, but maybe we can wait and see if it happens again.
Well, I'm gonna stay in touch with Ehrlich, and we'll see if we can get something really fresh.
So let's put it off for now and see what else we have today.
Jael, I hear you have a really interesting case for us.
Yes, I do.
Well, guys, I have something that I'm really, really excited about.
We're gonna be dealing with a mythical creature that's very famous the mermaid.
Ooh, I like it already.
Yes.
So, it comes from an Australian filmmaker.
In 2009, he was testing an underwater camera in the great barrier reef, and he sees something, but he didn't realize what it was until later, when he went home and reviewed the footage.
So take a look.
Oh.
Check that out.
Okay.
I mean, this is huge.
It was a huge hit on the Internet, as well.
What did he actually think it was when he first saw this? Well, he wasn't sure, and the visibility wasn't that great.
So, after he went home and reviewed it, he said to himself, "this looks so much like a mermaid.
" Now, the only problem we do have is that the witness wants to stay anonymous.
I think he believes that maybe people will start to think he's a little crazy for claiming that he has seen a mermaid.
But we have a very compelling video.
We have ways to test this.
I love the fact that we've never, ever seen a mermaid video, nor heard of a mermaid case.
This is a first on a number of levels.
Who votes that we do the mermaid case? Yes.
We all agree.
Okay.
And let's choose our other case.
I've seen photos like we're seeing in the Hawaiian ghost girl pictures.
That's a case that I want to get to the bottom of.
I think that the photos from Hawaii would make a compelling case.
My vote goes for Hawaii ghost girl.
Well, Chi-Lan, I think you have to be there in Hawaii.
And being a ghost case, Bill, I'd like to see you out on more of those.
Definitely.
Okay? Well, Ben, if you and I do the mermaid case, we're both certified scuba divers, so I think that's a great way to start a hunt.
Austin, want to join us? I don't see any reason why not.
Hawaii and Australia.
Let's go.
Let's do it.
So, Cairns, Australia The gateway to the great barrier reef.
So, guys, this mermaid film that we're investigating Even though the filmmaker wants to remain anonymous, I think we have all the information we need to launch a full investigation.
He did give us information as to where in the great barrier reef it was filmed.
So the first thing I think we should do is do an investigation of the location where this was filmed a reef hunt.
Well, the great barrier reef is home to numerous creatures that I think could easily be mistaken for a mermaid.
We'll be able to see what kind of marine life is down there.
This could easily be a case of mistaken identity.
This is the marina.
Let's go find our boat.
This is it.
You must be Marcus.
Yes.
I'm Ben.
Welcome aboard the Floreat.
So, we're launching our investigation right here at the great barrier reef, where the mermaid video was shot.
Jael and I are gonna get under the water.
We're gonna be searching for any signs, anything that could look like a mermaid.
We're exploring the possibility that this is just a case of mistaken identity.
It might just be another creature that's indigenous to the area.
Execute reef hunt in 3, 2, 1.
Dive.
While Ben and Jael are underwater, I'm gonna be here manning the sonar.
So we're gonna be having a full scan of everything that's in the water around us.
Ben, do we have clear communication? Over.
Austin, we copy.
Austin, we're down about 15 to 20 feet at this point.
Over.
I'm picking you up on the sonar.
We're gonna swim toward the coral to see what we find.
We see quite a bit of marine life down here.
How does our location look compared to the original video? The coral is about the same.
I think we're about the same depth.
Jael, Austin There's something about 30 feet away.
There it is.
I'm seeing it now.
I'm picking it up on sonar.
I'm trying to get closer to it.
It looks pretty sizable.
I don't know what it is.
Team, are you catching this? Are you seeing what I am seeing? There is something under the boat right now.
Coming up on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" I can feel him beside me.
Did you guys just hear that over the walkie? So, for our first experiment, we're going to do a reef hunt, searching for anything that could look like a mermaid.
Team, are you catching this? Are you seeing what I am seeing? Something about 30 feet away.
I'm trying to get closer to it.
Ben, this looks big.
What is it? Austin, there's a shark down here.
I have eyes on a shark.
It's about 4 1/2, 5 feet.
We see quite a bit of marine life down here nothing bigger than that and nothing that resembles a mermaid.
So we're coming back.
How was it? Well, kind of like the video, you know, visibility's probably about 30, 40 feet.
Maybe 25, 30 feet.
Once we got close, you actually start seeing that this is a shark.
The movement is totally different than what we're seeing in the video.
So we're dealing with something else.
Still could be a case of mistaken identity.
I know sailors for thousands of years have mistaken the dugong, also known as the sea cow, for a mermaid.
So, now we're gonna head to the Sydney Aquarium, where we can film a live dugong.
There's only actually six dugongs in captivity in the world, and they have two of them here.
I'm Ben.
Nice to meet you.
Hi, Ben.
I'm Jael.
It's a pleasure.
Well, we hear that you're the dugong expert.
Have you ever heard of the theory that dugongs have been mistaken for a mermaid? I actually have.
I have heard it many, many times.
In fact, it's so widely believed that we even named our oceanarium "Mermaid Lagoon.
" So, now we're gonna explore the popular theory that mermaid sightings are actually just a case of mistaken identity, and the culprit the dugong.
Look, there he is.
Mermaid lagoon.
Look at how huge he is.
That is way bigger than I thought it was gonna be.
Look at the tail.
The tail does look so much like it.
I can see already that the tail has got that kind of graceful movement to it.
So, for our next test, we're gonna be filming the dugong underwater, and we're gonna be looking for its form, shape, and movement to see if it actually replicates the footage we have of our original mermaid.
Even though I would love to jump in this tank and film with the dugongs, the ecosystem here is actually pretty delicate.
So we've attached our underwater camera onto a long pole so we can get that underwater shot.
I'm gonna stay up top, and you guys can go to the underwater tunnel and try to capture everything as it comes around.
So, I'm gonna try to replicate the original footage.
Hopefully, we can get the dugong to swim away from us so I can get the fin going further and further in that direction, and that way we can get that same look.
Team to Ben.
Do you read? Yep.
Go ahead, Austin.
Jael has got the camera framed up.
Let's go ahead and get this dugong to move.
Okay, guys, they're gonna feed her some more lettuce.
Hopefully, the lettuce tray will entice the dugong to follow the same path that the mermaid did in the original footage.
Hopefully, she'll pass by and come to find something to eat.
Dugong is approaching the underwater cam as we speak.
Soon as he dropped the lettuce, we were able to control exactly where the dugong went.
Oh, oh, oh.
That's good.
Oh, Austin, this might be our money shot.
There we go disappearing into the distance.
It's a good shot.
Okay, okay.
As you can see, the swimming motion is very similar.
The tails were almost exact, the swimming pattern almost exact.
Better visibility in this water, I think, than in the video.
It's just way too bulky.
Let's be honest.
Anatomically speaking, not an exact match.
I agree.
You know what? I think it's time to move on to our next theory, which is that this could just be a woman in a mermaid suit.
So my suggestion is that we go back to the great barrier reef and we try just that.
We put a woman in a mermaid suit.
Coming up on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" I have to say that I'm quite nervous.
I have absolutely no idea what's gonna happen.
We've come as close as we can to trying to replicate the video with animals that are indigenous to this area.
Let's be honest.
Anatomically speaking, not an exact match.
I agree.
So now we're heading back to the same spot where the original footage was shot to get Jael in a mermaid suit.
I've made my own mermaid tail out of lycra and a monofin.
I'm gonna be the guy under the water.
I'll see if I can frame it up and get the exact pictures we saw in the original video.
I've got my mermaid tail on.
It feels totally unnatural.
My legs are bound together.
And I have to say that I'm quite nervous to just jump into the water this way, because I have absolutely no idea what's gonna happen.
All right, Ben, it's on standby, ready to shoot.
In 3, 2, 1.
Good job.
Yeah.
Wow.
It's really tiring.
One of the only problems I found is, even from up here, I can see the imprint of your legs through that suit.
I can see that they're legs.
As you can see, I don't have the ability to stay down there for a very long time.
I think it would take a lot of practice to be able to go back and forth.
And, also, it just kind of feels unnatural.
I'm not used to these monofins.
All right, guys.
I got the video footage that Ben shot of your dive.
You did a really good job getting the mermaid motion.
It's just being able to stay underwater and seeing your legs.
You know, if you had somebody that had a lot of practice and you had a better costume, a better fin, I think we could make it look almost exact.
Being bound that way, it was really difficult for me to replicate the movement from the original footage.
The good news is there's actually a professional mermaid that works here in Australia, so we're gonna phone her.
We're gonna find out if she can come out and meet us.
Hi, is this Hannah? We were wondering if you were available, because we need your help today.
So, how was it? I am jealous.
So, guys, Australia it was it was amazing.
Now, if you remember, in 2009, we have this videographer who comes out of the great barrier reef saying that he's filmed some type of creature he thinks to be a mermaid.
He was very reluctant to talk to us, but he did point out the location and the area where this was filmed, so that's where we headed.
The first thing we did was a reef hunt, hoping that maybe we could find some kind of large mammal in the water that would resemble a mermaid.
At one point, we thought we found something, but it actually turned out to be a reef shark.
No kidding.
Even though we couldn't find a mermaid, we decided, you know what? There is a creature that has been mistaken for a mermaid for centuries The dugong.
So we went to the Sydney Aquarium to test this theory.
Check out the video.
- Wow.
- Look at that.
Which is different than fish, which have a vertical fin.
But in this video, it definitely wasn't an exact match.
So we decided that we should make our own mermaid suit.
I got into it and dove in.
Not bad.
Look at the motion that she's able to create.
I'm really surprised how similar it looked.
It turned out well, but at the end of it, you know, I really couldn't hold my breath for very long, and I didn't get the movement exactly right.
So we decided that maybe we should look for a pro.
And I actually found a professional mermaid.
Wait, there's actually professional mermaids in existence? Yes.
Yes, there are.
Now, this girl's name is Hannah.
She has years of experience, and she has a suit that she's made that looks perfect.
And being a professional, she could hold her breath a really long time and had that movement nailed.
Look what happens.
This is amazing, guys.
You guys totally nailed it with this re-creation.
This is a hoax.
As much as I would love to believe the mermaid theory, I think this is fake.
Not only that, but if a mermaid really did exist, it wouldn't be the classic depiction that we know of as beautiful woman/half-fish creature.
I had a C.
G.
model created.
Humans can't survive in water that's colder than 98.
6 for a very long time, so they would need a thicker skin insulation, probably something very blubbery.
That's weird.
Not only that, the salt water would create this skin that kind of shrivels up because of osmosis.
And the hair would only get in the way and would cause drag, so it'd probably be hairless.
So it would look a lot like a dugong.
That's what you call a debunk slam dunk.
Tell me about Hawaii, huh? Let me start off by saying it was visually stunning.
If you recall the case, this is where our witness, Norma, had been taking photographs of her granddaughter.
And in the photos, we have this ghostly apparition which Norma believes and the family believes that is one of the guardian spirits protecting her granddaughter.
Hawaii is beautiful.
Rarely do we get a case that has such a connection to the local culture like this case.
We get in with this story about a young girl.
Her family believes that a guardian angel watches over her.
It's called the aumakua.
The fact that there's physical evidence of it is just astonishing.
A lot of people think that it's more of a mistaken identity with the camera strap.
She claims that she cut the camera strap off.
She claims that she's used several different cameras.
I'm really looking forward to being able to actually meet the family and talk with Norma's granddaughter, as well as Norma.
This is it right here.
Aloha.
Aloha.
You're the photographer.
Yes.
I started taking pictures, just regular pictures of my granddaughter, and they ended up having these white anomalies.
Norma, a lot of people be that this is proof that there are guardian angels.
Does your granddaughter still feel the presence around her of a protective spirit? She's seen it.
She has seen it? Yes.
Aloha.
You're the photographer.
Yes.
Does your granddaughter still feel the presence around her of a protective spirit? She's seen it.
She has seen it? Yes.
Is it possible we can meet your granddaughter? Yes.
Hi, there.
I'm Chi-Lan.
I understand that you want your identity disguised, so what we've planned on doing is setting up a really bright light behind you.
It'll actually disguise your features and pretty much make you just a silhouette.
We just want to talk to you about some of your experiences.
Do you actually feel this presence when the pictures are being shot? Not actually when the pictures are being shot, but mostly at night.
It's just a sense of someone watching you.
Now, in a lot of these photographs, it seems like you're looking at the object.
Something tells me to look there, like, unconsciously.
I'm wondering if you could give us permission to take pictures of you as you are right now? Yeah, that's okay.
We're gonna give it a go ourselves.
We're gonna use your camera.
We're gonna take some pictures of your granddaughter, and we're gonna see if we can capture any apparitions, okay? So, just sit there.
I'm just gonna take a couple pictures.
And we're gonna see if we can capture anything ourselves.
Even if nothing comes out in these pictures, we're gonna set up a control lab next door to test a number of popular theories as to what these ghostly images could be.
Right now, we're building our examination room.
In it, we're gonna have Chi-Lan's photo-handling table with all the equipment to handle the physical prints.
We'll also have Larry's digital-processing station, where we can scan in and zoom on any of the photos.
I was lucky enough to get a color processor so we can process all of the film, and we can eliminate any outside contamination.
Now I'm going to develop the pictures of Norma's granddaughter to see if anything unusual materializes.
Guys, here's the first roll that I was able to print.
And this is just from our interview right now.
Honestly, I'm not seeing anything remarkable in this.
This just looks like we disguised her.
I'm not really surprised.
To really address the skeptics' view of what those pictures are, the next thing we have to do is really decide on the experiments and decide what picture we're gonna replicate.
I'm kind of drawn towards this one, guys.
Well, it seems like it's obvious the next thing to do is see if we can replicate this picture as closely as possible.
Now, I'm not sure how we're gonna get this sort of smearing.
I think we'll be able to get pretty close to the streaking.
Look at this right now I think we nailed it.
This matches perfectly.
Yeah, it's an amazing replica.
Let's not mess with it anymore.
Let's start our experiments.
Let's do it.
The camera strap is a no-brainer.
I mean, it was really common for that to happen before there were LCD viewfinders.
People would look right through the camera, and then the strap would fall through right in front.
They wouldn't notice it.
They would snap the picture, and there you would have it.
We're gonna put a camera strap in front of it, kind of in the same way that it appeared in the picture.
Let me frame this up, though.
And the camera was, maybe, swinging.
Wouldn't the camera the picture be blurry, as well, if there's movement? Not if this is really fast-speed camera.
It's a well-lit environment, and with the flash, these automatics adjust.
All right, guys, now that we've shot these photographs, I'm gonna go ahead and process this film.
Wow.
Doesn't that look Doesn't that look Yeah, good, right? Surprisingly, really, yeah.
But it almost didn't come out transparent enough.
I'm not seeing the texture.
It's way too blown out, way too white.
We've managed to show that, yes, you can do a very close approximation to the original photos, but our work isn't done yet.
I'm sure you guys have noticed how hot and humid it is here.
You know that heat and humidity totally degrade film.
The film stock that Norma had, if it had degraded, then, yeah, perhaps the film itself was damaged and had malfunctioned.
I think the next thing we have to do is test how climate can wreak havoc on film.
Heat and humidity cause film to release an acid, and that acid gives off a type of very strong, vinegary odor, so it's actually called the vinegar syndrome.
Now, what we have here is some acetic acid that we're gonna mix with some water.
We'll probably gonna do about two grams, and that'll give us the acid that we're gonna put onto the film.
This is unexposed film, so it has to be done completely in the dark.
Lights out.
3, 2, 1.
Dark.
Coming up on "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" Did you guys just hear that? So, the team is actually gonna undertake an experiment where we'll see and test the weather damage on film.
Lights out.
3, 2, 1.
Dark.
I've pulled the film out.
Now I'm gonna dip the q-tip in the acid solution that I have made.
Great.
Now I'm actually putting the acid on the emulsion side of the film.
That'll mimic the same effects that weather has on the film here.
We're gonna wind this film back up, take pictures with it, and expose it traditionally, just like we would with a regular roll of film.
So we can turn the lights on.
Perfect.
Whew, that's bright.
All right.
Frame it right.
So, I've loaded the vinegar-syndrome photographs onto the monitor, and I'm pulling those up right now.
I mean, we have a nice little streak there, but the color's wrong.
I mean, obviously, it's blue, and what are we seeing in the picture? It's almost like you were able to get this, sort of, just pattern, almost like randomness.
This is by no means anything similar to what Norma got.
I think it's safe to say that this was definitely not it, but I think it's time we start to explore the possibility that maybe this was a hoax with a more elaborate setup.
For this next test, we're creating a hologram, which consists of four parts a clear plexiglas sheet, which is in front of our mannequin A bright light And a black backdrop.
On the backdrop, I'm gonna be attaching what is gonna be our ghost.
So, I'm gonna be hitting the tubing with this light at a 45-degree angle, and that, hopefully, will give us the reflection in the plexiglas.
Yeah, that's right about right.
If I stand on this end, I think we'll get it.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's right over her head.
Not perfect by any means, but you do see a ghostly apparition.
If this was a hoax, they had to go through a very elaborate setup like we had to do here, and I'm guessing that it wasn't a hoax.
Even though we can replicate the result of creating a light streak that appeared ghostly That doesn't say that that's how these images were being formed in the first place.
We owe it to the family and we owe it to ourselves to have a nighttime investigation.
So, we're all set up for the nighttime investigation.
Chi-Lan, you're gonna be here at our control center.
That's right.
We're each gonna have a walkie-talkie so we stay in radio contact.
We have a surveillance camera in the living room, where the main photograph has been taken of the apparition, another one covering the stairs, and yet a third one up in Norma's granddaughter's bedroom.
Here are your walkies.
This one's for you.
It's already set up.
This one's yours, Bill, and I will be down here with mine.
We're ready to go green? Let's get the lights.
On 3, 2, 1.
Dark.
I'm gonna start in Norma's granddaughter's room.
I will capture anything you see, Larry.
So, we're gonna do our sweep, see if we have any interesting things that are happening.
Are you getting any anomalous readings up there? In the room itself, I'm not really getting anything on my thermal imager.
Copy that, Larry.
It is definitely warmer in this closet.
I have no idea why.
I mean, there's no It's like a wall of warmth right here.
Chi-Lan for Bill.
Go for Bill.
Said that she shot the picture.
Did you guys just hear that over the walkie? I did not hear anything.
Over.
What did you hear, Larry? I honestly have no idea what it was.
The sound was I had never heard anything like it.
I'm gonna go ahead and come back down.
Did you see anything? I didn't see anything.
I heard a sound over the walkie that I've never heard anything like it before.
Now, I'm a skeptic at heart, and it makes me think that all of the noises could just be a malfunction of wires crossing or a bad battery.
I want to call Norma in here and have an EVP session, or at least try to.
Larry and Chi-Lan, I've brought Norma in.
Norma, if you could have a seat here on the couch.
If there is a spirit a guardian spirit or any of the other spirits that may visit this house with us, can you please identify yourself? Did you guys just hear that? Let me start by saying Hawaii is stunningly beautiful.
If you recall the case, this is where our witness, Norma, had been taking photographs of her granddaughter, and in the photos, you have this ghostly apparition, which Norma believes and the family believes that is one of the guardian spirit protecting her granddaughter.
So, we started out by taking pictures of Norma's granddaughter.
Take a look.
Of course, she wanted to stay anonymous, so we blurred out her face a little bit, but you can also see that there's nothing around her at all that could be mistaken as a guardian spirit.
Now, we decided to take one picture from when she was little and try to replicate that for our experiment.
The most popular theory is that this is just a camera strap, so we tested that.
Now, you see the balance from the flash of the camera strap is not matching the original photo that we chose.
It's way more solid.
Very reflective.
Yeah.
We decided to move on to the possibility that it maybe had some sort of atmospheric solution.
That's right.
When you think about Hawaii, it's a very hot, humid climate.
And a lot of people don't know this, but, you know, hot weather can actually corrode film.
It's called the vinegar syndrome.
So we decided to run our own vinegar-syndrome test on the film.
I took some acid and painted it onto the unexposed negative.
The smear with the acid does not appear to be cylindrical.
So the test got even more elaborate after this.
We decided to test the theory that maybe it was a hoax, and we did that by generating a hologram.
But it was just such an elaborate setup that we decided it wasn't a hoax.
At that point, we decided, "you know what? Let's go ahead and do a nighttime investigation.
" And this is the crazy thing, guys.
Bill and Larry did not have their walkie-talkies on.
My walkie was on.
And, all of a sudden, I hear a pop, a hum of interference, some crackling, and then it just shuts off.
That'sstrange.
Bill's running an EVP.
All of a sudden, same crackling.
Was it a sound that's not typical for the walkie? Well, we'll go ahead and play this EVP, and you guys let me know what you hear.
Excited to hear this.
If there is a guardian spirit or any of the other spirits that may visit this house with us, can you please identify yourself? It's very pronounced.
Yeah, it's really, really clear.
It could have just been walkie interference, but it's a little strange that it sounds like somebody saying, "I'm watching you right now.
" That is weird.
You possibly had some electromagnetic interference.
You guys heard your walkies going off and breaking squelch.
It's interesting.
So, even though we didn't get any definitive of paranormal activity in the house, we cannot discount the personal experiences that we all had.
Okay, fair enough.
What do you think, Chi-Lan? I got to say, I was there.
When I first looked at these pictures, the most obvious explanation for me is the answer It is the camera strap.
I could agree with that.
Yeah, I agree.
I think she nailed it.
It sounds like we all agree, pretty much, that what was going on is some type of lens interference A camera strap.
But Perhaps there is something paranormal going on that may not be related to what they saw in the photos.