T.A.P.S. (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) is headed by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson and includes a close-knit group of paranormal researchers. SCI FI Channel’s Ghost Hunters documents some of the cases that T.A.P.S investigates. Built on Jason and Grant's mutual interest in getting to the bottom of everyday, paranormal occurrences, T.A.P.S. is an eclectic but unified bunch — and certainly not what you'd expect to find at the forefront of paranormal investigation. They're neither Ph.D. scientists, nor zany, theatrical hotline psychics. Jason and Grant are plumbers by trade, and their T.A.P.S. colleagues are in similarly ordinary professions. Factory worker, office manager, teacher — these are respected members of a small, blue-collar Rhode Island community where many of the T.A.P.S. members were born and raised.

It has been more than a decade since Jason and Grant met. Since then T.A.P.S. has grown in size and scope to become one of the most respected paranormal-investigation groups in America. It now has branches across the United States and affiliates in 12 other countries. T.A.P.S. members are, like Jason and Grant, humble, self-assured and inquisitive; they search for answers, but are comfortable with unsolved or unproven conclusions. Through the years, Jason and Grant have not forgotten why they do this — to find answers for themselves, and to help others who have experienced paranormal activity but don't know what to do about it.

Jason and Grant recently sat down with various media outlets to discuss their work, and the return of their show for its fourth season on SCI FI.

Question> Do you explain the cold spots you see in thermal imaging because entities draw on energy?

Jason Hawes> Well that’s one of the theories, is that an entity is drawing the energy from the air, in return making that area around it colder.

Question> What’s the explanation for them showing up on the thermal imaging as a heat signature?

Jason Hawes> That’s actually a good question. The thing is we got the thermal energy camera in hopes to see these cold spots that we’ve been experiencing and that doesn’t work like that. Instead, we are catching these other things that don’t really stick in with that theory, so to speak. So it’s kind of new ground for us. I mean, just catching what we catch on it.

Grant Wilson> Yeah. A lot of times we’re catching things that are giving off a signature. But you’re able to see it through the thermal but not with the naked eye.

Jason Hawes> Actually in Season Four you’re going to see something that fits that theory a little better that we caught on the thermal. So yeah, it’s all learning ground for us. You got to remember that. It’s not like there’s a scientific field for this so we’re pretty much learning each case by case as we’ve been doing for the last 17 years.

Question> Have you ever actually had the feeling that maybe a ghost or some sort of paranormal entity followed you home after doing one of these expeditions?

Jason Hawes> The way I look at it is I’ve got five kids. The least thing they want to do is come to my house. But on a serious note, you know, we’ve had some people say that they believe things have followed them back. I’ve never personally experienced it myself. You know, we’re not the kind of people blessing ourselves with holy water or doing smudges. That’s not what we’re about. We just feel your strength comes from inside of you to keep these things away and keep yourself safe.

Grant Wilson> Right, I’ve never had that happen either. I’ve never actually seen it happen. What I have seen is that some people who start investigating them eventually will start to think their house is haunted. And whether that’s just because now they’re in the field, that they’re just kind of going that way and they hear; it’s hard to say something ever has followed you home. I mean you’re lucky if you catch a picture of these things, much less identify it well enough to recognize it in a different location.

Question> Has there ever been a particular moment for either one of you where you were ghost hunting and you just got so extremely scared you wanted to stop right then and there?

Grant Wilson> No honestly, we’ve never had that. Don’t get me wrong, you know, some of these places you’re in you get an uneasy feeling like you got to look over your shoulder. You’ll be startled by things. But, you know what? You were called in by people to investigate this. They called you in as professionals, looking for your help and guidance. If you run out of their house or, you just tell them I can’t do this, I got to leave, then those people are stranded. And not just stranded, but now they’re even more fearful when the professional that they called in is terrified to be in their house. And now you know what? We’re there for them. I don’t care how scared you can get at certain times. You’ve got to keep yourself in a professional manner and try to help out those who need you the most.

Question> What do your families think make of your job? Are your kids into following in your footsteps or anything like that?

Jason Hawes> Well yeah, I’ve got five kids. I’ve got three daughters and twin sons. And all my children are highly interested in the paranormal and they would love to follow in my footsteps. You know, but mainly my kids look at me as their dad’s a plumber. Yeah, he investigates the paranormal but my main job is I’m a plumber.

Grant Wilson> Yeah, you ask my kids what dad does for a living and they say oh, he’s a plumber. But they watch a lot of Scooby-Doo which is good because, you know, it’s always Old Man Jenkins instead of a ghost. So they’re good. They investigate. They think my barn’s haunted, but I know that it’s just the light outside that’s reflecting on the window.

Question> What is scarier: plumber work or ghost hunting work?

Jason Hawes> Well the problem is, half the plumbing jobs you get can actually be listed under paranormal. So yeah. You know, of course plumbing is more frightening. What if you make a mistake and somebody’s house blows up?  

Grant Wilson> There are a lot of similarities, though. I mean, in both situations you got people who don’t understand the situation. And then you go in with the knowledge, you help them out and you leave them feeling better. And you never know what house you’re walking into. Some people are crazy.  

Jason Hawes> And it’s also problem-solving. Plumbing, just like the paranormal - you’re going in trying to figure out what is going on. You try to help these people, as you are in the paranormal field.

Question> And since you are obviously experts in like different piping and everything like that, can you hear a difference between creaky, leaky pipes -- actually like plumbing problems in pipes -- versus creepy ghost noises in a house?

Grant Wilson> Well people bring us into their homes for that reason, you know. To fix their plumbing. And if you can’t recognize the sounds then you’re not a very good plumber. But most ghosts disappear when you find out they’re plumbing problems or electrical problems.

Jason Hawes> I mean, you can definitely tell the difference if they’ve got a 30-pound pressurized water line feeding into the house that is leaking or a drain line that’s dripping, or whatever. And it’s not really paranormal.

Question> Will we see you guys appearing on Ghost Hunters International in the future, do you think?

Jason Hawes> Well you know what? That’s up in the air. But we wish them the best of luck over there, overseas. But the main reason Grant and I are not on that is because first off, there’s enough cases here in the United States that request our help. And also, we’ve got families and children. And being overseas for long lengths of time, it’s kind of rough on us. You know what? It’s kind of up to Sci-Fi Channel, Pilgrim Films and Grant and I to all be in agreement that if we do appear on that show, what point we will appear on that show.

Question>  It looks like an awful lot of work, dragging in equipment, the travel, the long nights. What is it that really keeps you guys going every time?

Jason Hawes> Well I think there’s a couple different things that keep us going. First off, being able to help those people who need us the most and give them the power to have their home back and their children to be able to sleep at night. That right there is important enough to us. But also the endless possibility that we might be able to catch that one piece of evidence which is the holy grail that we could put out there for the world that people are just wow, there is something out there in the night.

Grant Wilson> Yeah. I’m motivated mostly by the fact that everybody seems to have, at one point in their lives, had no concept of what was going on around them and they had questions that they needed answered. We all have that feeling of having no one to turn to. And we don’t want people to live like that. There’s a place they can turn to. We’re here for them and each case can present huge answers that can be used on the next case. And slowly you build this tower of knowledge and you get closer to your goal.

Question>  Has anyone ever intentionally faked phenomena  to try to get some airtime with you guys or to see if they could trick you?

Jason Hawes> Absolutely.

Grant Wilson> Of course.

Jason Hawes> We have gotten that but that - we’ve been doing this for 17 years and we go in with a skeptical mindset. We’re going in trying to debunk the claims of paranormal activity. We did have one gentleman who built a speaker inside a wall. He would try to make sounds come from that wall. We were able to track the speaker wire up to the wall. We did a restaurant which I don’t think we will air. But the whole place was rigged with fake paranormal activity and Grant and I were able to figure it all out, and find that.

Grant Wilson> We actually fixed a lot of it.

Jason Hawes> Yeah.

Grant Wilson> So it worked right.

Jason Hawes> But yeah, so you do get that. But that’s a rarity, but it does happen. And people always need to keep their eyes open for that.

Question>What’s the most, for lack of a better word residence or home that you’ve ever set foot in? And can you be specific about where it was and what it was that was the issue?

Jason Hawes> That’s a tough one.

Grant Wilson> Well yeah, it’s tough because some of the most haunted locations we’ve ever been in have been far before the show has been on. We’ve done cases for state senators, police chiefs, you name it, lawyers, doctors. We did a Police Chief’s house in - right around Rhode Island I should say, that we caught some activity being that it was some of the best activity we’ve ever caught. But those fall under a confidentiality agreement. So - but since the show has been on, some of my favorites have been the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado and St. Augustine Lighthouse. Now that being said, that was within the first three seasons. The fourth season, we went to some incredible locations, caught some of the best evidence we’ve ever caught on any of our shows throughout the fourth season.

Jason Hawes> Oh man.

Grant Wilson> And I’ve definitely got some new favorite locations, but I can’t say those yet.

Question> And you are going to the Queen Mary soon?

Jason Hawes> Yeah, we fly in there on Sunday. Well we’ve been to the Queen Mary a few times. We investigated a bunch of places in California and we’re in the midst of setting up a couple other investigations out there for the end of this filming schedule for us. So yeah, I love heading to California. Of course, I’m an East Coast boy so I the best part is when I head home. But we like being at the Queen Mary. A lot of great people over there.

Question> But it’s like a big event, not just an investigation?

Jason Hawes> Yeah, we do these events with and try to keep it down to about 250 to 300 fans and we do these events. And we do an actual fundraiser for charity. You know, at one event Grant and I were able to raise almost $18,000 for a family that was dealing with severe cancer to pay medical bills.

Grant Wilson> And that’s out of 150 people, it’s incredible.

Jason Hawes> Yeah. So that and I think the last one we were able to raise almost $27,000 for charity. And that’s what it’s about. It’s about giving back as much as we can. And I think that that’s the most important thing. Last year we worked with them and all of us combined were able to raise over $850,000 for Cure Kids Cancer, and we’re going to try to see if we can beat that this year.

Question> Why are we fascinated with the paranormal and and ghosts? And why is it popular?

Jason Hawes> Well see I’ve seen a bunch - some people, of course have their own experience and they want to understand it. But what I’m seeing more and more of is people who just want to know that there’s something after this life, that when they pass on they’re going somewhere. And I’ve just seen more and more of those people getting involved in this field.

Grant Wilson> Well we’ve been to the depths of the ocean. We’ve been to the dang moon. You know, what’s left? The Earth is all - we know it, you know. And so I think the last frontier is really paranormal and everyone just wants a little bit of mystery in life because science has taken over and they’ve got answers for everything.