"Hotel Haunts Unleashed" - Rapid City, SD
Hotel Alex Johnson
I am really pushing today. This week I started a new job and it's taken it's toll on me; sitting at a desk may not seem like the most physically challenging work ever, but it's draining. And when you take into consideration that the work I do is repetitive (I'm not complaining - Jesus, it feels great to have a job that handles the bills!), it makes life a little less joyful. But, whatever! On with the show!
Even though the new opening credits are fancy and fun and goofy, I still miss the old credits. We got to see who was on the team at the moment and the graphics were just so piss poor. I especially miss them now that there seems to be a new addition to the team! And I'm not talking about Adam. Though, I would totally rub his belly and give him treats.
The team is ready and waiting in the TAPS headquarters parking lot. Jason and Grant approach with an adorable, scruffy doggie. This is Maddy and she belongs to Jason. Everyone seems to know her already and Steve bends over to pet her. She seems a little freaked out by the whole thing. Jason explains that they have spent eight weeks training her to help on investigations. OH I GET IT!! "UNLEASHED"! LIKE, THE DOG IS OFF IT'S LEASH!
Sounds like a good idea though; she can tell if there are other animals in the area and can pick up on high magnetic fields. Helpful!
Driving into South Dakota, we get to see some awesome looking scenery and Mt. Rushmore. Jason and Grant chat about the place they are investigating, mentioning that they will be spending the night there. I like it when they do that - usually they get some good stuff at night. Amy? Would you like to tell us about the hotel? We've got apparitions of two children (yuck), knocking sounds, doors opening and closing, and Room 812. The story here: a bride, who was staying in that room, threw herself out the window (yikes!) on her wedding night (how shitty do you think that made the husband feel? even Jason makes a face like "the fuck did you say?"). There are reports of very aggressive-type hauntings in there, including being bitten and shoved! Dave is intrigued. Even the hotel manager has had experiences. To lighten the mood, Grant asks if the hotel accepts dogs. Everyone laughs. They fucking better.
The Hotel Alex Johnson! Manager Sam explains that Mr. Johnson built the hotel to commemorate the Native American and Bavarian cultures in the area. Bavarian, you say? Oh, I see. Outside, there's a Bavarian chalet thing going on and inside are a bunch of Indian artifacts. Alright. The place is pretty gorgeous.
Starting in the Lobby, we hear about the ghost of an elderly gentleman walking around. Freaked a few guests out. In the Basement there are voices of people saying "Let me out! Let me out!" and the sound of knocking on the basement door. And in the Laundry Room (which is in the basement), employees report the sounds of people moving around, talking ,etc. Basically going about their business.
Up to Room 304. It's beautiful! Sam lived in the room for about a month when he first arrived, so it has a special (super creepy) place in his heart. As he was laying in bed, asleep, he felt someone get into bed with him and lean on him. He actually felt the bed shift. Fuck. That. Noise. Then the sensation just kind of went away.
The Roof! It's under construction. Some of the men working up there have felt "something" putting pressure on them - like they were being squeezed and a chair was thrown. That's nice. In the crawl space between the 9th and 10th floors is some freaking shit, including growling. GROWLING.
Back down, to Room 802. Not as nice but still lovely. Lots of voices, objects moving, the usual. Though some folks claim to hear the ironing board opening and closing in the closet. There are hotels that still have ironing boards?! A painter that was working in the closets (in that room) claimed to have been touched several times.
And, finally, Room 812. It's not as luxurious as I thought it was going to be, since a bride was spending her wedding night there, and all. But it's not so bad! No reason to throw yourself out of a window. WHOA WHOA WHOA. Sam saying the story is: she either committed suicide by flinging herself from the window or she was murdered by being thrown. VERY DIFFERENT, YOU GUYS. This is where all the biting goes on. And some guests have complained about housekeeping waking them up in the middle of the night by entering the room. When describing the culprit, they always say "dressed in white." Dude. Housekeeping wears black. No. Thank you. Even Sam looks uncomfortable. And some guy claimed "Help Me" was written on the bathroom window after he took a shower.
Time to set up the equipment!
Jason, Grant and Maddy start things off, heading up to the 10th floor. Starting off, everyone is really relaxed - including the doggie. Until Jason heads into the back part of the room. She makes it to the doorway and then stops - Grant check for EMFs and sure enough, they are very high. Down in the basement, there's craaaaazy EMFs and Maddy is having none of that. Grant cannot stop saying "That's awesome!" It gets awesomer when "something" moves.
COMMERCIALS!
(Sears and Craftsman suggest gathering a video camera, a flash light, and some courage and you too can become an investigator!)
They give chase and Grant elaborates that what they heard was someone "grabbing a box and sliding it across the floor." Maddy hears something, too. Good girl!! Jason's K2 Meter starts up and they hear even more noises. I thought I heard something, too, but it's hard to tell. Alas, the second noise was just some machine kicking on. But Maddy doesn't react to that, she's pretty much ignoring the normal noises and focusing on anything paranormal.
The Steve and Dave Show! They're on the 10th Floor now and decide to test the moving chair. Well, to be fair guys - the chair was thrown, not just "moved." Anyway, they do the flour test. You might remember that from Paranormal Activity, except they used baby powder. Flour goes on the floor and chair is, carefully, placed on the flour. If the chair moves at all, the movement will be tracked in the flour. They also set a camera up on it. They also use some fancy-pants thing that reads whatever. I have no idea. Anyway, time to do some EVPs. Steve asks that the ghost move the chair and if it does, they will get the heck out of Dodge.
Dave goes into the crawl space, where the growling is heard. Steve says "Good luck." Awwww. It's just a shitty, shitty space. Even during the day it's got to suck. Dave asks that the ghost make a knocking sound "like this" and then, after a beat, something makes a knocking sound. Fuuuu ... It's not Steve. Just get the fuck out of there Dave. He thanks the ghost and asks for another knock - he gets it. He asks again but gets nothing. And then leaves. THANK YOU.
Amy and Adam head into 812, where the bride died. She starts in with writing on the window. And, no duh, it's super easy to debunk. Just take your finger and "write" on the window. Then, when someone takes a shower and the window fogs up, the message "appears." Jason and Grant (or maybe Steve and Dave) figured out the same thing and left a little note for Amy: "Hello, Amy. You are fired." Adam reads it cheerfully. And I laugh and laugh. She calls them bastards and Adam points out that "great minds think alike." Then they high five. Calm down, you nerds.
Back to Jason and Grant. And Maddy! Back to the fucking 10th floor. Oh, wait. No Maddy. Lame. Instead, they bring the thermal imaging camera. Both of them head into the creepy crawl space. Grant asks if "you're going to growl" and they hear a bang. Jason says he hears someone walking. Grant can't find any animals. But they both pick out all the heating pipes (being plumbers and all), which can make a growling-like noise. They're going to have to test it out. Then they catch movement on the thermal camera!
COMMERCIALS!
It's a figure on the wall. Looks like a fat man. Grant thinks it's a reflection of a crew member but the camera pans back and he's gone. SPOOKY.
Room 304 with Amy and Adam. This is Sam's old room! Adam thinks this is cool. They test it all out; Amy lays on the bed and Adam sits down to lean on her. She can clearly feel it. While he checks the springy-ness of the mattress, Amy reports that twice now she's felt someone touch the top of her head. He checks for bugs and whatnot - there are none. They both get on the bed and start asking questions and Adam gets touched as well. The EMFs are fairly steady, except for the bed area where they were laying. No thanks.
In the Ballroom with Steve and Dave, investigating voices. They use the nutty laser thing that I still don't understand. Then some ... thing ... happens? I have no idea.
COMMERCIALS!
I think Dave thinks he sees an orb but the camera's viewfinder is just too small to tell, for sure. They ask for a really loud banging sound and I hear some pretty distinct knocks. So do the boys. Not sure where they came from or what caused them.
Jason and Grant are in 304. Again, sans Maddy. This is no good, guys. Jason talks about how freaked out guests are and why people don't want to stay there. Then, twice, he gets the sensation of something blowing on the back of his head. There are no vents and the few holes in the ceiling tiles don't have drafts. MYSTERY!
Back to Amy and Adam, in room 812, investigating this dead broad. Amy is going to investigate further this fucked up little tale, but for now, it's picture time! She busts out a camera and asks if she could take some photos of the lady in her wedding dress. This is a version of the IR camera, so it takes pictures in a different light spectrum? Fuck if I know. Anyway, there's some weird mist forming in the photos she's taking.
COMMERCIALS!
There's no actual shape to it but it is interesting that it starts to appear when she asks about the wedding dress. Adam wants her to stand beside him because he'd love to have his picture taken with her. Nothing.
Time to wrap it up. Which is great because I am falling asleep - not because it's boring but because I am wicked tired. Every one goes to their room - Adam is in 802 (where he was touched), Dave gets 304 and Amy gets 812, but I can't tell where Jason, Grant and Steve are staying. Sadly, we don't get to watch everyone sleeping - hopefully they find something in the evidence.
While the review everything, Dave comes across the "orb" in the ballroom but everyone agrees that it's dust. But wait! There's more! He's found a "deep voice" speaking while Amy and Adam are laying in bed getting touched on. I don't hear it, but what do I know. And ... that's it? Oh, they're just waiting for Jason and Grant. Amy shows off her photos. Grant doesn't think it's paranormal - citing the shape of the "mist" as being similar to the lens of the camera. So it's a reflection? I don't quite understand what he's getting at but, whatever. Steve digs into the thermal footage of the old fat man ghost. However, it might actually be a cameraman's reflection. Bummer. Adam presents footage of him sleeping and a female voice talking for a full 6 seconds. First of all, Adam sleeping is adorable. Second -
COMMERCIALS!
Time to present the evidence. Jason and Grant sit with Sam and start with Dave in the creepy crawl space. Sam seems pretty uncomfortable. He can't explain the sound. Moving on: 802 and 812. Back to Adam sleeping and the female voice that I think sounds like a bird. But everyone else thinks they hear footsteps, the door opening and someone mumbling. Jesus. Now, 304, Sam's favorite place. Jason recounts everyone's experiences - including his own. They play the voice and Sam thinks it sounds like grunting, the guys agree. He's surprised that they found anything, and when the guys ask why, he details that any time something would happen to him, he's explain it away. Grant surmises that Sam would have preferred they found nothing since he'd already "explained it away." Here's Grant's awesome response: "Oh, well. Sorry." And Sam's rebuttal of nervously wiping his brow. Everyone is so perfect this episode!
Grant brings up the limestone theory and points out that there's a shit ton of limestone in the area (some of the building is made with limestone). So, there ya go. They won't say the place is "officially haunted" but they do agree that there's some weird shit going on. Sam is happy because, even though the place is wicked creepy, it's all safe. So far.
On the ride home, Jason and Grant rave about Maddy. BUT WHERE IS SHE?! More mystery!
This was an awesome episode and I hope that Maddy makes another appearance, soon.
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