93 replies to this topic

[Glass Ocean]

Syfy premieres a new reality series, Haunted Collector, another in the genre of reality investigation shows, but with a twist. Rather than a ghost or particular entity, the show focuses on objects that have some sort of energy associated with them. John Zaffis, a paranormal investigator for the past 30 years, leads the team along with his son and daughter.

John Zaffis, nephew of famed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, has decided to try his luck at a new paranormal show. He brings along his two grown kids as well as a tech manager and lead investigator. They get called in by someone associated with the building who has requested assistance in tracking down paranormal events. Zaffis has not been blessed with a mellifluous voice for doing intros and explanations. If he finds something nasty, he hauls it home to his own collectors' museum, so I don't know why that doesn't transfer the haunting back to his digs.

[Quilt Fairy]

Based on the first episode only, I like it. The crew seems calm, serious, and professional. There appear to be complete future episodes available online on the SyFy website; I might check those out.

But that clown head cookie jar? Cree-peey! I honestly thought "Anyone who has that in their kitchen deserves to be haunted."

[Lava VaVoom]

"liberry?" I had the show on and was half-listening. Did they ever find anything anywhere? like in the "liberry?"

[msbeesknees]

Yes! Someone else heard liberry!! Thank you La VaVoom. You know I knew about Zaffis being nephew to the famed Warrens (who have always annoyed the shit out of me by the way but that's neither here nor there) and respect him for not bringing them up. Or did he? Anyway, Zaffis never seemed to be that crazy about smiting demons and always seemed far more level-headed and scientific to me. We shall see. The show was enjoyable although off to a rather slow start.

[Crunchberry]

I watched it, and will watch it again... Even though Zaffis sounds like a 4th grader reading a book report and his repeated mispronunciation of the word 'library'
I love all things scary/spooky/haunted. GIMME MOAR!!!!

[Glass Ocean]

repeated mispronunciation of the word 'library'

It makes me wonder if it isn't a regional dialect thing. I was watching a different show where the folks say "turkle" for "turtle", and my sister's MIL always said "terlet" for "toilet".

I was actually surprised when the kitchen floor of the LA house showed so large a blue area on the thermal. And then to find the old gun hidden in a muddy box directly underneath was unsettling. Question: who leaves all their old decorations and collectibles in a house they're renting out? As in "I thought the new people might enjoy my mother's babydoll from hell"? Even if they were renting out the house as furnished, still...

[ratgirlagogo]

I was so disappointed when I discovered this was yet another of the lame ghost "reality" shows. I thought they were doing a remake of my beloved Friday the 13th the Series - you know, a scripted show. What a letdown.

[HaveMetalIssues]

Rewatch this one scene and see if you spot it. They did not mention it on the show so I guess they didn't see it.

Go to the 37:41 mark where the two guys are watching the monitors in the attic. In the lower right-hand monitor we see the four strings hanging to detect paranormal movement. Keep your eye on the fourth string on the left, toward the top of the string. At the 37:46 mark a distinct round white transparent orb materializes and floats up to the top of that screen, out of view. It is probably visible for 2 seconds so you might have to try several times before you catch it, but it is unmistakable!

But... this seems like an easy way for a guy to swindle gullible people out of their antique possessions... if he moves them into his museum, why don't the spirits follow and haunt his museum?

Edited by HaveMetalIssues, Jun 4, 2011 @ 6:38 PM.

[SiameseCatLady]

I enjoyed this show and also the fact that they can ghosthunt in the daytime. The repeated use of "liberry" probably amused me more than it should have, but I am a "liberrian" who wishes she worked in a haunted "liberry" located in a historic home instead of a badly designed 1980s building.

[Sleepyhead Case]

But that clown head cookie jar? Cree-peey! I honestly thought "Anyone who has that in their kitchen deserves to be haunted."

Hahaha. Seriously. The expression just looked ominous. After, I just had to look up haunted dolls on eBay. Strange show. It was like Ghost Adventure meets Hoarders.

[msbeesknees]

I noticed the orb right away HaveMetalIssues but I'm guessing it was dust or a bug since no one mentioned it. I mean it was really obvious, just as bright as could be, so how could they have NOT seen it?

[Sleepyhead Case]

I noticed the orb too. I thought they would comment on it.

[Glass Ocean]

I noticed the orb too. I thought they would comment on it.

Maybe the Zaffis crew is not particularly Pro-Orb. They went really really low tech with the hanging strings, which is something I've never seen before. Their new hook is obviously that they look for objects which might have spookies attached, so I wonder what they'll do if they find a random ghost hanging around the house but NOT attached to a specific thing. Give it a pass?

I do hope they stick to private homes or small buildings -- I've had more than enough of the Major Tourist Attractions!

[ATs Wife]

My husband and I both think that this is a scam to get peoples antiques. On the last show, I knew when the lead guy saw that gun cane, that he was going to walk away with it, and sure enough, the other two guys found "something" going on with it.

Also, I find the investigating into the background of the objects a little suspect. Just because someone got shot with a cane gun in Brooklyn, you assume that that is the gun that did it? You don't even know where the gun originally came from. Just that he bought it in Brooklyn.

I find the whole show strange and seems very scripted.

Plus, the "liberry" thing bugged the shit out of me.

[Quilt Fairy]

I found the first ep kind of interesting (a little different, at least), but the 2nd ep bored me to tears. I may watch just because it's in the traditional GH timeslot and there're not a lot of other interesting shows right now, but it's not must see TV.

[austentatious]

John Zaffis was much more interesting in the small segments he was featured in on various paranormal shows. While his style is laid back and non-confrontational (Hello Klinge-ons) he is a bit dry. I thought the premise was interesting since we've heard about the phenomenon but it's kind of a boring show.
I'll give it a few more shows but I don't expect a lot.
What ever happened to the Paranormal Cops show? I liked that show since it was a Chicaaago area show.

[Quilt Fairy]

What ever happened to the Paranormal Cops show? I liked that show since it was a Chicaaago area show

Another Chicagoan here. I liked it, too, but I think it only had a run of about 8 shows and then it disappeared. I don't even remember what the original channel was, but I do see reruns pop up occasionally.

Edited by Quilt Fairy, Jun 14, 2011 @ 7:52 PM.

[Sleepyhead Case]

My husband and I both think that this is a scam to get peoples antiques. On the last show, I knew when the lead guy saw that gun cane, that he was going to walk away with it, and sure enough, the other two guys found "something" going on with it.

I caught this episode last night. Your statement about it being a scam stuck in my head. I wonder if the "antique gun expert" also doubled as an appraiser....after the cameras stopped rolling.

[Imdee]

I've only seen the episode with the cane gun so far, but my first thought was that he sees some unusual object in a house and thinks "Hmm... that would look good in my museum....." I wonder if people pay him to take their haunted stuff away, or if the collectibles are payment. I will watch again, but it did seem a little fishy.

[SiameseCatLady]

I think the interesting thing about this show is that they are able to get such good, clear evidence - and a lot of it in broad daylight. All their EVPS, like the "Yes" in last night's ep are so much clearer than anyone else's. I can always tell what's being said before they tell me. And the shadows outside the bathroom stall filmed from inside the bathroom stall. Yeah. Creepy. Not sure if I buy any or all of it being real, but they've gotten some evidence that is much more impressive than what we see on Ghost Hunters. Of course, some of that may be that they visit homes/lesser known places while GH is now mostly going to big tourist attractions.

[Glass Ocean]

The lady who owned the Outback or Backdoor or whatever seemed genuinely terrified, and if her fear was faked then she deserves an Oscar. From the elevated firepit to the gas cooking jets being randomly turned on seemed to have gotten to her big time. I think she mentioned several workers being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning due to the gas. All those things seemed like good cause to worry about real physical harm. Plus the shadows of footsteps outside the bathroom looked easy to capture on video in broad daylight and would have made me consider whether I needed to use the facilities ever. I think bladder infections would have been rampant in that place.

I'm finding that I really enjoy the daytime inspections since I never understood why Things only go Bump in the Night. Plus the team can actually see where they're going and what else might be in their immediate surroundings. They get their baseline readings and figure out what they might need to check out later. It may not look quite as spooky as the green light but it works for me.

At the St. James Hotel, I was concerned about Beth's nose bleed, but then came back to reality when the tech guy noted they were at 8,000 feet with very dry air. Good observation.

[Sleepyhead Case]

One of the things I do like about this show is that they at least search for things that could be causing the phenomenon.

[Fiddler1]

Just discovered this program and was interested enough to watch a few episodes 'on demand.' Aside from being bugged by the 'liberry' pronunciation, I enjoyed it. They seem to jump to some conclusions a bit too easily (the woman was disabled and lived alone and HAD to write to her family, so therefore the typewriter was hers....)

If I'm not mixing up episodes, I remember one of the guys saying to the other as they watched the attic that it was very dusty up there, so I imagine they wrote that orb off as dust.

Edited by Fiddler1, Jun 19, 2011 @ 2:40 PM.

[Glass Ocean]

We can thank the goddesses that John has not followed in Aunt Lorraine's footsteps by calling everyone "hun". On the other hand, I get a kick out of his calling daughter Aimee "kiddo" in his no-nonsense but affectionate way. And I found it humorous that his son grimaced when Dad mentioned hoping to leave the haunted museum for him to run. Not so sure I'd want to inherit that thing either.

[Paula in Playa]

At the St. James Hotel, I was concerned about Beth's nose bleed, but then came back to reality when the tech guy noted they were at 8,000 feet with very dry air. Good observation.

I said that as soon as she got her nosebleed. Very common in high altitude dry air. I was happy to see them acknowledge it.

I'm finding this show soooo formula now, and John is really starting to bug. Is he married? The way he behaves around Beth makes me wonder about their relationship. And her constant fear is annoying.

I hated how he was harassing that Eric guy in the latest episdoe. This one for some reason seemed really fakey.

[SparksFan59]

I have mixed feelings. I do like the daytime run through, and they have caught some great EVP's. I also like the premise that certain items can have energy attached to them. I do like that they are debunkers as well.

What I don't like is that it seems very formulaic already, and with some stories we don't get any follow up on if the phenomena subsided after the objects were removed.

[Glass Ocean]

I'm wondering if John's flat nasal delivery is going to sound the death knell for the series. Is that what folks from his part of Connecticutt sound like? Personally, I've never heard that accent.

I hated how he was harassing that Eric guy in the latest episdoe. This one for some reason seemed really fakey.

Here I figured it was Eric lying his ass off, but I'm pretty sure I detected some mental health issues going on with him too. It was foreboding that John got scratched as soon as they got on the property -- never a good sign. Fundamentally I believe in his honesty, which is more than I can say for a boatload of the drama queens on other channels. Plus he has no acting skills whatsoever.

In the horsey episode, why did the younger guys have to walk a mile or two to the crossroads? No car or an attempt at comic relief? BTW there are a lot of cultures where crossroads plays a significant role. Listen to some old Blues tunes.

[Paula in Playa]

Fundamentally I believe in his honesty

I don't! I feel a scammy quality to him that makes me uncomfortable watching it. My sister likes it, though, so I'll just have to tell her to watch when I'm not around. :-)

[Miss Write]

I'm fascinated by the idea of haunted objects, but I find the show to be slow and kind of cheesy. I'll stick with it, though. I do get a scammy vibe.

OT: Paula in Playa, you wouldn't happen to be from Playa del Rey, would you?

[PattyorSelma]

So am I the only person watching the new season? I tune in to here him say "liberry" again, but so far no luck.

I love paranormal shows and this team seems to always communicate with a spirit in some way, but I do not fully understand the purpose of removing one object and ending the haunting when there are usually many different ghosts seen or felt. They never really explain how they decide that the one object is the thing causing all the trouble.

Last week's episode was a bit lame. No more paranormal activity reported at the factory that was imploded and no longer exists? I suspect they could have removed any object from that spot and had the same result.