On Ghost Hunters International, a team of paranormal investigators seek out the legendary haunted locations of Europe and conduct their scientific studies to debunk some of the continent’s legends.  The series is a spin-off of Sci Fi Channel’s popular Ghost Hunters.  Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson from Ghost Hunters were set to speak at Comic Con 2008 in San Diego last week, but had to cancel at the last minute.  Donna LaCroix, who has worked with The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) and both teams since before there was a series and Robb Demarest from GHI filled in.  The audience listened intently as they laid out the details behind upcoming shows, and some of their most frightening experiences to date.

Robb and Donna also answered questions for the press during and after their panel session.  It was also announced officially during the Comic Con panel that the show had indeed been picked up for a second season.

How did you both get involved with Ghost Hunters and the shows?

Donna> I actually got involved with TAPS when a relative was having some problems that seemed to be of a paranormal nature.  I wanted to find a group in my state that was reputable, and I found TAPS.  So I went and talked to Jason and Grant, and I really liked their philosophy and the way they investigated.  I wanted to have them come in and help my relative out, and I started going to the meetings.  I’ve always loved the paranormal and joined the group.  This was way before the show had started.  When the show came into being, they’d asked me if I wanted to do the TV show.  I’m an engineer, not an actress, and I said I can’t go in front of the camera.  But I started going on these investigations, and four years later here I am.

Robb> I’m also with Florida Ghost Team (FGT), an affiliate of TAPS.  I actually met Jay through them.  So I got a phone call and they asked me how I’d like to go to Europe, and work with some of the new people and some of the returning people.  And I was thrilled and ready to go….until I saw a TV camera.  My eyes got huge, and I started sweating, but I’m getting over it now. 

Do you have any input into where you go?

Donna> I believe Hawaii’s always been on the top of my list, but I’m still trying to convince them.  As far as choosing places, there’s a lot of input from the team.  But ultimately, sometimes it ends up being a surprise and we go where we go. 

Robb> We’re actually going to South Africa in a few episodes and I’ve helped out there with some cases before.  Some of it is really crazy, we had a lot of stuff going on.  We had one team member who was by himself in what used to be a torture chamber in this old fort.  He actually got a good whack for his efforts.  He said, “Can you make something happen, can you do something to me right now?”  And you’ll see what happens; it’s crazy. 

You’re going to Dracula’s castle for the season finale?

Robb> That’s the last case we did.  It’s 1400 steps to the top, so you can imagine trying to get our gear up there to the top.  But with the investigation itself, we actually did some techniques that we’ve never done before, because it’s a really strange location.  It was tough, because a lot of people said a lot of activity was going on there.  But almost no one knew what it was because no one would go up there at night.  So it was pretty exciting to get up there.

So you have some new gear for future episodes?

Robb> Barry Fitzgerald has some stuff that he is bringing out for the next couple of episodes that I guarantee will blow your mind.  You’ve never seen stuff like this before.  One of the things we do is EVPs.  But the next step to that is how can we start doing legitimate real time communications. What we’re doing now is asking questions, then going home and we get an answer.  But by that point, it’s no good.  It’s like I ask you what you want on your pizza, then I come up to you the next day and I’m like, “Pepperoni!”  It’s lost all of it’s meaning.  So what we want to do going forward is have real time communication, and we’re taking the steps to get there. 

During the first season of the show, you said one of your goals for coming on the show was to have what you would consider a legitimate paranormal experience.  Would you say you’ve had that yet?

Donna> It’s a hard question to answer because the word legitimate can constitute so many things.  We try to verify all of the evidence.  I feel like I’ve had a legitimate paranormal experience based on all the variables that I’m aware of.  But yeah, I feel like I have and it was terrifying.  It’s something that kind of enters your brain and you don’t forget about it, so I feel like I’ve reached that goal. 

Which episode was that?

Donna> That was at Castle Orava.  To go into a little more detail, it was in the taxidermy room and this room was so dark you couldn’t even see your hand in front of you.  Barry was investigating with me, and we were standing there and you could just feel something walking around you.  I thought he tugged on my shirt, then I see this hand come right up to my face.  I thought it was Barry playing a trick on me, and I said “Barry, what are you doing, stop it.”  He said, “I didn’t do it.”  I was literally frozen with fear.  As a seasoned paranormal investigator at that point what you are supposed to do is not run.  You’re supposed to stay in the moment and see if you can observe everything going on around you.  I wanted to fly out of that place so bad.  Even the director on site couldn’t  wait to get out of that room.  Other investigators went up there and had very similar experiences, so it wasn’t just myself.  So that was validating, but something I’ll never, never forget.

Robb> As far as paranormal stuff I’ve experienced, when we did the pilot, we did Lucedio (Lucedio Abbey).  Donna and I were walking in what is now an abandoned church.  There was no one else around, Brian was actually walking in front of us, and we were leaving.  Right behind us something whispered, “Get Out.”  I was like, “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice.”  That one, we were actually really lucky because we picked it up on tape.  So sometime people ask how is that possible.  I don’t know how it’s possible, but I can tell you right now, GHI has never faked evidence.  We stand by that, so as sure as I’m sitting here, I can tell you we heard that.

Donna> The usual thing with EVPs is that you hear them later on, you don’t hear them during.  We heard it loud and clear, “Get Out!”  There’s nothing like that at all.

What do you think of the reception you’ve received here at Comic Con?

Donna> Oh my gosh, it was amazing!  There was so much support for us there, and so many people showed up, I was blown away.  I looked into the audience and there was just a sea of people out there, all fans and it was wonderful to see that.

Robb> That was the biggest group I’ve ever spoken in front of.  It was actually better when they had the lights in front of face, because I could pretend it was like three or four out there.  Then it was like time for questions, and they hit the switch. 

Were you nervous at all knowing that Jason and Grant weren’t going to be here and you were going to have to cover it?

Robb> Honestly, I’d have thought it was hilarious if we’d gotten booed going out there.  Jason and Great can’t be here, but here come the guys from GHI!  Honestly, with my sense of humor, I’d have thought that was really amusing.  But everyone was great.  People were kind of disappointed.  Jason and Grant have been doing this a long time, but thankfully Donna came along because she’s been there from the beginning as well.  It was awesome.

Do you both still have day jobs on the side, or is this a full time thing now?

Donna> Yes, I actually work for a family company and also work for a friends environmental company.  So when I’m not on the road filming, I’m at home plugging away.

Robb> I’m a professional tutor for a private family, and I actually travel back and forth to work with them quite a bit in different countries.  Then I was traveling before, but they’ve been really accommodating.  They’re like, “As long as you keep getting your job done you can go out there and keep looking for ghosts.”  So I got lucky on that one.

What do your friends and family and the people around you think about the job and the show?

Donna> At first my family…All of them are skeptics.  At first, they just thought this was crazy and “What are you doing?”  Now they are complete fans.  They watch the show, they love it, and they come to me with a lot of questions.  That’s something I never imagined would ever happen.  So it’s been a subject that’s easily brought up around the dinner table now, which is nice.

Robb> My mom is kind of new age, and been into this for a long time.  The best thing is she’s always like, “What do you do after the investigations?  Do you do smudging and say a prayer?”  And I’m like, “Nah, that’s what Donna does.”  She’s like, “Why don’t you listen to Donna, she really has a head on her shoulders.”  But a lot of the guys I hang out with, they are kind of accepting, but they’re kind of like standoffish.  “I don’t know if I believe in those ghosts, but I don’t mess with ‘em.  Just leave ‘em be!”.  They’re cool about it but they want to keep their distance.

Is there any concern about maybe waking something up?  Maybe like a classic horror movie, but is there ever a concern that maybe a prayer isn’t going to be enough and something is going to come back with you?

Donna> It’s definitely always a concern for me, because we don’t know a whole lot about what’s out there, and how it’s going to affect us.  I certainly do the prayer before and after and I’m hoping it’s enough.  I am a big believer that you do need spiritual protection when you are getting into something that you can’t see or can’t hear.  All around you, things do happen.  I’ve heard some really awful stories about people being oppressed from places that they have investigated.   So yeah, it’s definitely a possibility.  Nothing like that has happened to me yet, thank God, knock on wood.  But you just never know.  We don’t know the total ramifications of putting ourselves out there in the field just yet.  Hopefully nothing will ever happen like that.

When the show is edited down, does the show tell the story you think it should? I mean has there ever been a time when it showed something you didn’t think it should, or made something look different than it actually happened?  How many hours of filming actually is behind that 40 min of what goes on TV?

Robb> Let’s say we’re talking about a half hour episode that breaks two cases up.  We’re talking a week where we filmed from eight to ten hours a day for several days.  We can kind of sit back like Monday morning quarterbacks and ask why they left out this part, or why they showed that part.  But at the end of the day, we trust that they are doing their best to bring it to life.  It’s like a highlight reel.  For the most part, they’ve always brought out the best stuff.  If we didn’t do it on camera, they can’t use it.  So you can’t go back after and say, “How could production do this?”  If you saw it on camera, it happened.  I think they really do a good job of bringing out the best stuff that happened.