Category Archives: Debunking the Debunked

Valdosta (GA) Ring Camera Footage Captures a Reflection–Not a Partial Manifestation

03 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by in Debunking the Debunked, Ghost Hunting, Hauntings, Paranormal, Videos

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On February 20, 2020, a supposed Reddit user uploaded a video he claimed to be of his Valdosta, Georgia home’s Ring security camera, hanging in his carport, capturing a ghost manifesting in his driveway. The are several large holes in his assessment.

The video clip, with extensive editing to zoom in on the light source, was posted on YouTube and, expectedly, went viral. The video has received over 18,000 views. The online account, The Hidden Underbelly 2.0, boldly states that this is a “partial manifestation.” Case closed. However, it’s not a manifestation.

Debate continues on what was captured on the footage. The security camera is set up at the back of the carport, an open garage with side walls but not a closing garage door. Parked outside the carport are two vehicles: a truck and a car. A light source shifts from the truck, on the left, to the car, on the right. Some speculate that the “ghost” is jumping from truck to car. I did not see that. I saw a light source moving from the back of the truck across to the front of the car.

In the paranormal field, a manifestation is when an image is clearly discernable. A full body apparition’s manifestation would be where witnesses can clearly make out the figure. A partial manifestation is when parts of the body are clearly visible. These are sometimes called “semi-formed ghost.” The video does not show a partial manifestation of a ghost.

The “story” told by the Reddit user is that he was notified that the security camera was tripped. He reviewed the video and found the “image.” Generally, when a security camera is tripped, lights go on. Here, the lights were already on.

The camera’s placement is also problematic. The camera is affixed to the back wall of the carport. Carports are 20-21 feet deep. (The purpose is to house cars.) The camera displays out from the back wall and shows the side door to the house on the right. It also shows the two vehicles parked in front. They appear to be roughly 10 feet past the carport. According to Ring, the security camera’s motion detection zone is a range of 270 degrees side-to-side and 30 feet forward. The image is passed the front of the cars; therefore, out of range for the motion detector to go off.

When the motion sensor goes off, Ring may push a notification to the owner. Instead of walking to the door and looking outside, the owner loaded the video. This seems odd. It is easier to look out the window or open the door to see the culprit rather than watch the video. However, the owner may not be home. Then one would question why the lights are on.

We may never know what the homeowner was thinking. I cannot locate the supposed Reddit posting. None of the articles actually link to that initial post. Instead, everything is linked to the YouTube account, whose identity is unknown; however, he does answer questions as if he was the owner.

The carport was well lit. The cars reflected community lights. This is probably a case where the camera captured a car passing, someone walking his dog, or a cat heading home. (Personally, I think it’s a deer.) It should not be hailed as the definitive evidence of a “partial manifestation.” Because…It’s not.

“Mysterious Elf” Actually a Human

17 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Debunking the Debunked, Pranks, Uncategorized, Videos

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VivianGomez

“Mysterious Elf” Actually a Human

On June 6, 2019, Vivian Gomez of Colorado Springs, Colorado uploaded a video of a “mysterious” creature to her Facebook account. She asked: “[W]hat the heck??” Gomez captured a prankster dancing on her security camera.

The 10-second video failed to show where the person went. Instead, Gomez cropped the video to merely show the backside of a human walking down her driveway. Had she let the 15 million viewers who have watched the video see the ending, she would have given up the joke.

Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/vivian.gomez.35977/videos/10216790852937217/

Although Gomez probably wasn’t in on the joke, she should not be so cynical about whether the mystery will be solved. It has. Someone in flip flops came to her house and decided to dance away.

Ghosts of Shepherdstown Brouhaha—It Hasn’t Been Debunked as Fake

08 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by in Debunking the Debunked, Destination America, Ghosts of Shepherdstown, In the News, Reality TV, Uncategorized

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Ghosts of Shepherdstown Brouhaha—It Hasn’t Been Debunked as Fake

This week saw Destination America’s sophomore series Ghosts of Shepherdstown under attack as “faked” in order to “make good television.” While tracking down the story, it was difficult to locate the originating source that actually calls the show out. In fact, the original article does NOT. The subsequent articles misconstrue the intent of the first article to kick up some paranormal dirt.

Destination America’s Ghosts of Shepherdstown debuted last year. It features ghost hunter Nick Groff, formerly of Ghost Adventures, Paranormal Lockdown, and Ghost Stalkers; Elizabeth Saint, an actress and paranormal enthusiast; and Bill Hartley, a Civil War re-enactor and ghost hunter. The first season explored strange phenomena occurring in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Billed as “America’s most haunted town,” Shepherdstown is a small college town. Thomas Shepherd received a land grant in 1734 and established the town as an outpost. The town was officially formed in 1762 as Mecklenburg. The name changed to Shepherdstown honoring Shepherd shortly after the Civil War. It sits on the Potomac River and is home to a small college. The town’s population peaked at 2,137 in 2012 and currently sits at 2,095. This is one small town!

Dread Central posted an article on July 3, 2017 penned by Steve Barton. He claims that the show has “recently come under the microscope.” He cites another article in The Inquisitr whereby the director of the local visitor’s center was quoted as saying parts of the show were “staged and faked.” The article contains an Editor’s Note stating Barton used an earlier version of The Inquisitr’s article noting it was misleading. The note describes an error with incorrect quotations and original sourcing.

Julie Johnson wrote the July 3rd article in The Inquisitr. This article quotes “critics” who claim the show is scripted and hires actors as witnesses. Further, the author points to Paranormal U.S. and posts on the online forum LiveSciFi to highlight viewer skepticism. Paranormal U.S. is a website run by Donna, no last name is provided. She writes of a life-long interest in the paranormal and blogs about haunted locations. Ms. Johnson does not refer to Donna by name nor links to any of her blogs in the article; therefore, she may or may not be the person stating Shepherdstown looks staged.

LiveSciFi is a forum where paranormal fans and viewers chat. They have one bulletin board devoted to Shepherdstown. The forum “Is Ghosts of Shepherdstown Fake?” began July 20, 2016. The last entry was posted on March 31, 2017. There are 17 posts from 12 people. The consensus from these para-fans is that the show seemed faked or staged but none proffered much in the way as evidence. One user, Lee Keensnach, proclaimed the show fake because one of the “witnesses” has an IMDb page.

Yes, one of the “witnesses” was played by the actor Bradley Nnadi. He appears in the pilot. Considering the show utilizes re-enactments, it’s reasonable to expect actors to be hired to play other roles. This hardly supports the show being faked. Further, most reality television shows are scripted. It doesn’t mean they are fictitious; it’s an industry standard. Finally, note the last entry date. It is a full 3 months since the Dread Central article was posted. None of the posts refer to the quotation from the visitor center’s director.

But then there’s the quotation from Marianne Davis, the director of the visitor’s center. Specifically, the article states: “parts … are staged (locations were changed) and fake (ghost stories were changed) ‘to make good television.’”

First, there seems to be a misunderstanding of the word usage of “staged.” While the Dread Central article used it to mean “made-up,” here it clearly means “locations were changed.” Pay attention to the direct quote. Producers changed the locations. It doesn’t mean stories were fabricated; it means the producers used different locations. Unfortunately, the author doesn’t explain why this occurred. However, there are numerous reasons why: inability to film, location no longer exists, safety issues, etc.

The second part is more problematic—just slightly, though. Taken at face-value, the quote states that paranormal stories were altered for production reasons. Again, there may be reasons for this. Fear not, though. The author helps with the interpretation. She provides the exact quotation from the original article: “Davis said some of the locations or ghost stories were changed by the show’s producers ‘to make good television.’” Read it again. Ms. Davis does not say the show was faked. She merely states that stories were altered. Again, no reason is provided. Sadly, paranormal trolls latched onto this quote and ran with it proclaiming that the show has been debunked! Well, not exactly.

The original-original now original article is from January 25, 2017. Mary Stortstrom wrote the article “Strange Things: “Ghosts of Shepherdstown” Gears Up for Second Season” in The Journal. Ms. Davis is quoted as stating the above; however, she further states that some of the stories are from long ago. Ms. Davis nor Ms. Stortstrom provided examples of such changes. Ms. Davis’ comments were positive and encouraging. She merely spoke about the impact the series has had on the town and tourism.

Nick Groff jumped out in front of the Dread Central article by posting a response to his Facebook page. In part, he points out that Dread Central did not provide the original content or research for their article—they regurgitated information from another site. Next Mr. Groff states what is addressed above: At no time did Ms. Davis say the show was faked. At no time did she say the stories were made up.

Groff

And it’s true. Marianne Davis never said those things. Therefore, to publish articles claiming she did is misleading. To further state the show has been debunked as fake is libelous—not unless the author provides solid evidence and examples (which none have been provided to support these stories). Reality TV has been around for a long time. It’s not a secret that locations and stories are scripted to fit the constraints of the genre. Moreover, the paranormal community should be skeptical, but that skepticism doesn’t mean everything is faked. It means that more research should be conducted. Frankly, it means that more locations should be explored and more stories shared. To be clear: None of these stories support this show as being faked. Neither the Dread Central or The Inquisitr stories interviewed Mr. Groff or his team. Nor did they interview a sufficient pool of people. Sorry one blogger and 12 fans aren’t critics. They’re a blogger and fans.

 

Note from Lesia: I usually do not provide sources for my articles. However, I have pasted them below. Thank you for reading.

Sources:

http://www.dreadcentral.com/ghosts-shepherdstown-debunked-staged.html

http://www.inquisitr.com/4343034/is-ghosts-of-shepherdstown-real-or-fake-critics-claim-nick-groffs-show-is-scripted-witnesses-are-actors/

http://paranormalunitedstates.com/

http://forums.livescifi.tv/threads/is-ghosts-of-shepardstown-fake.2226/

http://www.inquisitr.com/4343034/is-ghosts-of-shepherdstown-real-or-fake-critics-claim-nick-groffs-show-is-scripted-witnesses-are-actors/

http://www.journal-news.net/news/local-news/2017/01/strange-things-ghosts-of-shepherdstown-gears-up-for-second-season/

http://paranormalunitedstates.com/

 

 

Mothman: Debunking the Debunking

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by in Debunking the Debunked, Mothman, Paranormal, Uncategorized

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Mothman: Debunking the Debunking

This summer I’m busy finishing my manuscript: Mothman: Debunking the Debunking. The book takes a look at Mothman, the sightings in 1966, the explanations that were proffered, and finally, how these explanations don’t pan out. Here’s a teaser:

Mothman: Debunking the Debunking

Fifty years ago, Mothman flew into the imaginations of the residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a small town in the western part of the state. For 13 months, eyewitnesses recall seeing a 7’ tall, red-eyed winged creature. Though it never threatened anyone, its size was menacing. Mothman may have snatched a German Shepard. Other than that, it did not kill or maim. It merely fascinated.

An Urban Legend Is Born

Couples Steve and Mary Mallette and Roger and Linda Scarberry were looking for a good time. The abandoned ammunitions factory was perfect for night exploration. On the evening of November 15, 1966, they drove out on West Virginia Route 62 with Lonnie Button. Their destination was the McClintic Wildlife Management Area, a vast wildlife preserve in Mason County, 5 miles outside Point Pleasant. The area included an ordinance works housing a TNT factory from World War II.

The party of five reached the shackled chain-linked fencing. As the car’s engine ran, the young adults spotted something: a 7’ tall, red-eyed winged creature.

Quickly, they turned the car around and sped off reaching speeds upwards of 100 mph. The creature pursued, flying alongside. The car screeched to a halt at the Point Pleasant Courthouse, located in downtown. The courthouse housed the local police department. The five adults ran inside to alert Deputy Millard Halstead of the frightening flying creature that followed them into town. The deputy went outside; however, the creature was gone.

Roger Scarberry attempted to capture the image of the creature onto paper. He drew an overly simplistic blob-like shape with glowing eyes. He shared it with Deputy Halstead, who filed a police report. Mothman was born.

Follow my blog for publication updates.

 

Mothman Was a … Green Beret?

17 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by in Debunking the Debunked, Famous Locations, Mothman, Paranormal, Road Trip, Uncategorized

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Mothman Was a … Green Beret?

The February 2014 issue of Soldiers of Fortune ran an incredibly thin article claiming that Mothman was a Green Beret. Titled “UFO Mystery Solved “Mothmen” Were Actually Green Berets,” author Harold Hutchison theorized that the 7-foot, red-eyed creature being spotted around Point Pleasant, West Virginia from November 15, 1966-December 15, 1967 was a specially trained US Army soldier wearing temporary glow-in-the-dark reflective paint practicing HALO (high-altitude, low-opening) parachute maneuvers. Unfortunately, the article lacked any evidence supporting his claim.

First, he misrepresented the second reported sighting. Hutchison wrote that it was “a couple” seeking “an intimate moment” who spotted the creature. However, nearly every writing on the topic credits Steve and Mary Mallette and Roger and Linda Scarberry as the first ones to report an encounter with Mothman. It wasn’t one couple; it was two couples who were together in a car. In addition, the author conveniently left out the part about the couples being chased at 100 M.P.H. By incompletely discussing the sighting, he reduced his credibility in his claim.

Hutchison innocuously wrote that the first reported sighting was made by 5 men digging a grave. This is troublesome. According to the Williamson Daily News, Kenneth Duncan, one of the men digging the grave, recalled seeing a “brown man … gliding through the trees … [with] eyes like red reflectors.” Duncan was describing one man—not several. Further, men parachuting down do not cut through trees. The parachute would restrict this. Moreover, reflective paint differs from glowing red eyes. All of the witness accounts described red eyes—not glowing war paint.

vietnam

Hutchison based his theory on military training here in the US to assist troops abroad in Vietnam. Unfortunately, he didn’t name one unit training in West Virginia. Nor did he supply any evidence that HALO training took place for 13 months around Point Pleasant and then abruptly stopped. Instead, he included a picture from the Utah National Guard completing “[s]imilar jumps.” This isn’t evidence.

He ended the short article reassuring his readers that the Department of Defense remained silent to protect the HALO program but now it was okay to openly discuss and to reveal the “secret.” This argument is flawed. It assumes that the HALO jumps only occurred at night, when in fact jumps also occur during daylight hours. If the Green Berets were in West Virginia practicing HALO jumps, more people, especially the newspaper reporters, would have reported it.

mothman-statue

While Hutchison’s theory is interesting and places a patriotic spin on Mothman, a truly Americana urban legend, it doesn’t make sense. So, no, Mothman was not a wayward Green Beret.

 

 

Debunking Mothman: Not a Greater Sandhill Crane

13 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Animals, Debunking the Debunked, Famous Locations, Mothman, Paranormal, Uncategorized

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Debunking Mothman: Not a Greater Sandhill Crane

This summer I’m heading to West Virginia. In between visiting the family church and cemetery while gathering genealogy information, I’ll be stopping in on some special paranormal destinations. Two are related to Mothman: The Mothman Museum and The McClintic Wildlife Management Area. In doing some preliminary research, I am debunking some of the explanations. Consider it debunking the debunked. In this first installment, Mothman was not a Greater Sandhill Crane.

scarberry-drawing

Mothman was a paranormal event that lasted 13 months, from November 15, 1966-December 15, 1967. Over that span, numerous witnesses in and around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, reported seeing a 7-foot tall creature with glowing red eyes and a 10-foot wingspan. Some of the sightings coincided with U.F.O. sightings and talks about visits from the “Men in Black.” All sightings ceased the day after the December 15, 1967, Silver Bridge collapse, killing 46 people. Several theories have been proffered over the years. An early one was that people saw wayward Greater Sandhill Cranes.

greatersandhill

The Greater Sandhill Crane is the larger form of Sandhill Crane species. They are tall grey birds. Adults have red markings on the head. They are between 3-5 feet in height, weighing 6.5-14 pounds. They “form large flocks” and are migratory. Although they can be found in the Northern United States, they migrate to the Southern US and Mexico during the winter months. The Greater Sandhill Crane was previously spotted within the McClintic Wildlife Management Area, where the first Mothman sighting occurred. However, these people did not mistake a crane for the creature.

There are several reasons as to why the bird was not Mothman. The Greater Sandhill Crane does not have red eyes, a key feature to the witness reports. Further, the bird is too small. Witnesses stated that Mothman was 7-feet tall. That is 2 feet taller than the largest Greater Sandhill Crane. Not one witness reported seeing multiple Mothmen—only the solitary Mothman. The birds live in groups. A wayward single bird may be spotted once, maybe twice, however, not for 13 months. Finally, Greater Sandhill Cranes migrate to warmer climates during the winter. The average temperature in November in Point Pleasant is 14°F. December’s average is 9°F, with January at -2°F, February -4°F, and March rising to 9°F. It’s just too cold in West Virginia for these birds to remain throughout the winter.

In this segment of “Debunking the Debunked,” I believe that Mothman could not have been a Greater Sandhill Crane. More soon.