|
Joe Chin and the cast of 'Ghost Hunters International' returned to Syfy Jan. 6 to debunk more paranormal claims across the world.
By Nalea J. Ko, Reporter
Published January 27, 2010
Paranormal investigator Joe Chin has traveled to nearly 18 different countries in an effort to prove that ghosts exist.
As a member of Syfy’s “Ghost Hunters International,” the 46-year-old has investigated allegedly haunted castles, prisons, hotels and schools, among other locations. The Chinese American estimates that he has investigated about 50 cases with the international TV show, not counting investigations with other ghost-chasing groups.
But there is one pending ghost hunt that continues to haunt him.
“My father passed away when I was 23. And my mom passed in 2006. So, I kind of miss my mom,” said Chin over the phone from his hometown of Rhode Island. “I just wish she got to see an episode of me on television. That would have been nice.”
Chin said he has had many creepy encounters in the paranormal field since first joining TAPS, or The Atlantic Paranormal Society.
He initially teamed up with TAPS founders Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson for the TV show “Ghost Hunters,” and worked with them for about nine months. In 2008 Chin was recruited for “Ghost Hunters International,” or GHI.
Now a seasoned ghost hunter, Chin said he has considered using his experience to take on a more personal, paranormal case.
“Personally I’m curious. I would like to see, you know, go to my mother’s gravesite and see if I can hear her voice or something,” Chin explained. “That’s been in the back of my mind. And I’ve asked my sister and my brother, ‘Do you think I should try to attempt that?’ And my brother says, ‘No.’”
For now Chin is back on the “Ghost Hunters” spin-off show for season two, chasing shadows, footsteps and voices with the rest of the cast. New episodes began airing Jan. 6.
This season the international crew headed to Ireland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Australia and more. Chin said despite the 18-hour workdays on the show, ghost hunting is never dull.
“I’m always excited,” Chin explained. “When I go to a creepy place it’s kind of like Halloween 24/7 [Laughs].”
“I love the traveling. I love meeting new people and seeing different cultures. I hope it continues for as long as it can.”
Finding the “Ghost Hunters”
It might not be a surprise that Chin’s full, family home abounded with noises like footsteps and voices. His siblings, parents and some relatives lived in a three-story tenement in Providence, R.I. However the noises, Chin said, did not come from any of his 10 other siblings.
“We would always hear running up and down the halls. We would hear the doors slam. We would hear giggles and laughter,” Chin said adding that no one would stay on the third floor alone afterward. “Every time we’d go up there, there’d be no one there.”
Chin said he shrugged off the unexplained sounds he heard as a teenager. As an adult he would find himself looking for answers to paranormal claims in other people’s homes.
“I didn’t realize that people look for paranormal activity until I met Jason [Hawes] and Grant [Wilson] when I was in my 30s working at the computer store, Comp USA.” Chin added, “They would come and buy equipment from me. And they established a rapport and they would only buy from me.”
The founders of TAPS soon invited Chin to their office and asked him to join the cast of “Ghost Hunters,” which primarily investigates cases in the continental United States. An offer to travel with the international TV show was made, but Chin wanted to get more experience before committing.
When the TAPS founders asked Chin again to join the international spin-off show, he accepted. Soon the Rhode Island-native, who had only traveled in the U.S. about three times before the show, was trekking across the world in the dark searching for ghosts.
The Hunt
The traveling GHI team of about 18 people includes the show’s cast and production crew. A cameraman trails teams of two investigators while they are on the hunt. Using gadgets like digital recorders, camcorders, and thermal-imaging cameras the ghost hunters hope to gather paranormal evidence. All recorded evidence and personal experiences are then revealed to the clients.
“I’ve been touched. I’ve been scratched. I’ve heard babies cry. I’ve heard women moaning and screaming,” Chin explained. “You hear footsteps all the time. You get chills up and down your body. All the hair stands up. It’s really bizarre sometimes.”
In Denmark Chin said he left a dungeon with a paranormal keepsake.
“I mentioned it to Brandy [Green]. I said, ‘Brandy, my arm is stinging. It burns. I’m not sure what’s wrong with it,” the ghost hunter said about an experience with another investigator.
“I said, ‘Wow those are teeth marks. I can see their curve.’ And it was like four individual teeth marks and then a space and one other tooth. Whatever bit me had a missing tooth in between [Laughs].”
Although the business of ghost hunting is unorthodox, TAPS members like Chin take pride in bringing “professionalism, personality and confidentiality” to paranormal cases. The services are all pro bono, according to the TAPS Web site. Chin said the investigators work to debunk their clients’ claims.
“As a TAPS member we’re trained to disprove hauntings and if you can’t find alternative reasons for what’s going on then we’re left with evidence,” Chin said.
Many YouTube users are not convinced that the sounds and images captured by the show’s ghost hunters are truly paranormal. Some viewers said cast members doctor evidence.
“We do not fake any evidence. I probably wouldn’t stay with them if I knew they were faking evidence. What you see on TV is what we actually go through. And nothing is faked.”
After about four years of ghost hunting, Chin said he too is a skeptic.
“I’m skeptical, but not as skeptical as I was when I first started,” Chin explained. “Hearing what we hear and seeing shadows and being touched and bitten obviously changed my mind a little, but you still have that doubt.” He said he would like to see an apparition straight on and not in his peripheral vision.
Despite being bitten and the long working hours, Chin said he is not tiring of ghost hunting. And on the plus side, he is gaining a new appreciation for a spooky holiday.
“So you go into these creepy places and it looks just like it does in the movies,” he said. “You hear these creaks, and you hear footsteps. You hear moaning and you’re like, “Is that a real moan?’ So you kind of try to find out what it is. So for me it’s like a Halloween party [Laughs].”
“Halloween is becoming my favorite holiday.”
|