Episode 02 - Fort Ticonderoga (10/03/2010)
Fort Ticonderoga, New York
An 18th Century fort haunted by the dead of three nations needs help from the TAPS team, and the Ghost Hunters are thrilled to oblige.
Fort Ticonderoga has it all: voices from apparitions speaking in French and English, lights flashing, drums and bagpipes playing and even horses stomping. Jason has family in the area, so he is already well versed in the claims of the Fort. Unfortunately, Grant is unable to join in this investigation but Britt is on board to help out.
The Fort's Curator of Collections, Chris Fox, tells the team about the British, French and American soldiers who gave their lives at this historic location and could be responsible for the paranormal activity his staff has experience over the years. Staff members have reported a soldier in 18th century garb in both the officer's barracks and the soldier's barracks. Moving orbs of light have startled several workers. And in the cemetery, people have heard hoof beats, seen a figure on horseback and seen shadows moving around the grounds. It's a lot of ground to cover for the team, but they see this cold and eerie night as high potential for collecting evidence of paranormal activity.
Jason and Steve start out in the Officer's Barracks testing out their French to provoke a spirit. They soon hear footsteps on the floor above, but the building is empty!
In the pitch-black cemetery of unmarked graves, Amy and Britt pick up high EMF readings out in the middle of nowhere and there is no reading on the thermal imaging to indicate power sources. A figure is walking out near the woods. As they talk to it the EMF readings rise and they hear whispering noises- but the thermal shows no indication of a living entity.
Up in the attic of the officer's barracks, Jason and Steve are startled by a bright flashing light. They think Tango and Kris might be up to something, but it turns out they are equally freaked out by the same flash from across the courtyard in the soldier's barracks. Meanwhile, Tango and Kris eliminate all possible sources of the reported footsteps in those barracks. It turns out that if someone walks on an outdoor ramp, it sounds as though they are walking upstairs. Mystery explained!
Jason and Steve move to the officer's quarters, where they hear moaning and breathing. Steve then meets up with Tango in the soldier's barracks, where they hear strange sounds, like someone coughing or grunting.
The full spectrum camera- which captures images using ultraviolet light- makes its debut as Britt and Jason tour the officer's quarters. They trace a mysterious noise to the movement of a door latch, but they can't explain what's making it move.
In the "French ovens", where a woman was supposedly killed and people have heard voices, Amy and Kris are grossed out by the bugs and filth, but they can't seem to get a rise out of any bread-baking spirits.
Amy and Britt take their turn doing EVP work in the soldier's barracks and Amy sees a shadow mass that she mistakes for Britt. The two try to draw the shadows out, but instead they hear noises— like drums— from upstairs. A rocking bench is the culprit, but the question remains: who is rocking it?
The investigation wraps up with each team member having personal experiences- some overlapping. With recorded evidence of voices, doors creaking and unexplained thumping, Jason and Steve tell Chris Fox that they firmly believe there is paranormal activity at Fort Ticonderoga. Only further investigations can tell just how haunted the fort really is!
