15 replies to this topic

[msbeesknees]

New on Syfy... 6 episodes surround a haunted gold mine.

From the Examiner article here.

"The show centers around a mine in Oregon that was one of the richest in the country, but was abandoned 80 years ago after a series of tragedies. The new owner who reopened the mine is already on his second crew after the first went "tramping," which is to say, got the heck out of there. So a couple of paranormal investigators are called in to see what is going on. Paranormal investigators Patrick Doyle and Kristen Luman not only face the mine dangers, but also the surprisingly superstitious miners, who are less than thrilled with their presence. The miners do tolerate the ghost hunters, however, because they're really worried about the mine ghosts, or 'tommyknockers.' "

GHOST MINE -- Episode 101 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jay Verburg, Larry Overman
Photo credit: Syfy
During the course of this first episode, it's revealed most of these guys are pretty down on their luck, and took this job out of desperation. But even that wasn't enough to keep one old-timer around, as he said he'd had enough after being spooked by a tommyknocker.

Did anyone watch it last night? Hearing the tommyknockers freaked me the fuck out! And the black blob in the laser net. WHAAAAT? WAS THAT?

Edited by TWoP Howard, Jan 17, 2013 @ 10:59 PM.
Added quote tags

[patroo]

I watched it and thought it was pretty good. For investigators, they aren't nearly so idiotic as some I can name. I do find it strange that I've never heard of this mine or its story. There are many mines in Northeast Oregon, however, and I haven't heard all the mine names. If this mine is so notorious, though, you'd think it would have either made it into regional histories or the several Oregon ghost story books. I did like finding out that there is a reason for the tommyknocker phenomenon, and that it truly is a safety net for the miners. I'll try to remember to watch more episodes.

It is a very active gold-mining region, and there are people who do well with metal detectors, hunting streambeds and tailings piles.

The blob? Have No Idea. There are scary things...

[ThatBadgerChick]

I watched it, too! Cynical me was thinking, "I bet that female investigator dyed her hair red before the show, just to freak the miners out a little bit extra." I like the premise of it, though, that they will be focusing on this same mine throughout the season (I'm assuming?) and that hopefully we'll get to learn a little more of its history. And get to know the miners a little bit better because I really liked all of them. I can understand that fast-talking guy just fine so I don't know why they feel like they need to caption him.

While watching them blast and muck out the mine I was thinking, "Hey, it's like Minecraft, but in real life!" /nerd

[bilgistic]

I wasn't going to watch this (had seen a commercial during Face Off) until I came here and saw some positive comments. I'm so glad there is no one from Fact or Faked on the show. It felt pretty well done, especially compared to other ghost-hunting shows, and I enjoyed the miners; I find it funny (in a snarky way) that everyone has a nickname. The "meetings" felt a little staged, as did "Duck" leaving so abruptly, "tommyknockers" or not. People have to make a living and it was well stated how economically depressed the area is. (Which, by the way, guy with six kids? Birth control--look into it.)

I'm on the fence about whether the miners actually bought the "paranormal evidence" or if that was staged. A big part of me says these are hard-working, no-nonsense, rural blue-collar guys who probably wouldn't believe in the paranormal. I couldn't hear from what they played on the EVPs what the "responses" were until they captioned them (but I rarely can), so were the miners "coached" to hear something? The movement in front of the laser grid gives me pause, certainly. I'm just so damn cynical anymore. I expect people making "reality" TV to be not presenting the truth.

While there are fewer fatalities now than in the past just due to safety measures, mining has always been an extremely dangerous profession with regular fatalities. It would stand to reason that any number of mines would be haunted just based on that.

Edited by bilgistic, Jan 23, 2013 @ 3:48 AM.

[msbeesknees]

I caught an interview on Darkness Radio of the two ghost hunters Patrick and Kristen and one of the miners named Jay. After hearing the interview they solidified their legitimacy for me. I'll leave thelink here. But yeah, the miners DID NOT like having the investigators there at first. They take their superstitions very seriously so it was interesting to hear how the investigators had to really work to gain their respect.

[patroo]

Second episode was kind of dull for me. It was nice of the owner to give the crew a break with their families, but I didn't care about the haunted b&b. I'd be so thrilled if I saw a manifestation, I don't think I'd be fearful. I think that the participants in this reality show are more real than most such participants. Those are genuine working men. I haven't seen any real clangers work-wise, and they appear competent and skilled.

The bones in the collapse were interesting, but I didn't catch if they actually figured out what they were. I think they were sending them out for analysis?

Using the front-end loader is interesting. My knowledge of mining apparently has huge gaps at the contemporary small mine level - I know a bit about historic Western mining techniques with ore carts and tracks, but using the loader saves a lot of construction and time. It's much faster to drive it out (except for the fumes it leaves inside) and look at the load. The only other mining I know about is large scale with ginormous trucks and loaders.

If this mine became a paying enterprise, they'd upgrade the equipment and safety gear. Right now there's no proof that there's any significant pay streak. Of course, the saying in mining is, "You could be one foot from a million dollars...or a million feet from one dollar."

I'd actually prefer to know more about that aspect of the show, than the boogeyman in the dark.

[msbeesknees]

Yes, I do believe the bones were being analyzed and would be reported to the Police if they turned out to be human. No biggie though, I'm sure they are over 100 years old by now.

The best part of the show for me was the hotel investigation and the television continuously turning itself on. The motion sensors going off on the stairs also had me totally enthralled. Good stuff, I'm hooked.

[msbeesknees]

OK, last night was FRACKING amazing!!!!!! Two pretty obvious full-body apparitions caught on film... I was screaming at the tv!!!!

First one was a shadow man behind the miners in the first screen capture I grabbed: ghost 1

and the second one was a white man-sized figure that appeared in a flash after they heard a bang in that general area. He appeared (white figure) and then was gone in a split second. See it here: ghost 2

Now I have been watching ghost shows for YEARS and this evidence is some of the best I have seen. This mine and the town are very active. Great show last night!

Edited by msbeesknees, Feb 22, 2013 @ 12:35 AM.

[msbeesknees]

The evidence on this show is MIND-BLOWING!! where the hell are all the ghost show watchers!??????

[Mystery]

I liked this show. I liked that there was a short time limit available and that a lot of the guys REALLY needed the money (I like there to be a reason that people have to go somewhere even if they're scared). I'd been waiting for the figure they showed last night; they used it in the opening credits, didn't they? Liked all the miners and the parapsychologists. I hope they do another show at the other part of the mine. That was a strange ending, with it caved in.

[Quilt Fairy]

I only caught bits and pieces of the first episodes of this show because it sounded kind of hokey. But I ended up watching all of last week and I was impressed. So I tuned in for the finale. The whole Masonic thing sounds vaguely DaVinci Code-ish (or maybe The Man Who Would Be King!) but that figure they photographed in the new mine? Really creepy. I obviously need to find this show onDemand or online to catch all the episodes I missed.

How common is it to call a mine opening a 'portal'? Because that's such a new-agey word.

Are there seriously areas in Oregon where people are snowed in all winter?

ETA: I think maybe a lot of people didn't watch this show because it aired entirely during a new season of Top Chef.

Edited by Quilt Fairy, Feb 21, 2013 @ 11:33 PM.

[msbeesknees]

Check the links I posted up above you guys! They are from the episode where they were investigating the dredge (I think that's what they called it.). The shadow person in the mine was so visible I was in awe! And the apparition peeking at them from the dredge in the second link (he comes up on the temp camera as white) actually make me scream when he appeared.

The apparition in the mine caught on the finale was simply incredible. I just don't even know what to think. What a great show this was. Hope they do more.

[bilgistic]

I wish the paranormal team would have looked into the symbols at the buried mine before uncovering it. Perhaps the one at the enclosure (that the miners broke through) meant "stay out" or "evil inside". Who knows, but with a supposedly still strong Masonic influence in town and presumably historical references available, one could assume they could have found out.

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. The cheese factor was low, and while I'm super-skeptical of "reality" shows and how heavily produced they are, I want to believe in the paranormal.

[TVLady]

I'm an avid ghost show watcher; I watch them all because I, too, want to believe in the paranormal. But there are a few things about Ghost Mine that make me inclined to call phony-baloney.

The camera work and audio is just too danged good that it seems more staged than reality and spur of the moment. Even though there would be a camera man following the investigators whenever they're in the mine, there was always at least one other camera man positioned right outside the mine waiting for them to come running out for whatever reason. And sometimes, there seemed to be camera men from more than one vantage point positioned outside the mine.

And what miners would clear away the entrance to a second, hidden mine without getting permission from the boss first? And I don't mean the foreman, but the owner of the mine they're supposed to be working in. This hidden mine may not have even been owned by him, which would've been a big mistake if that had been the case!

Also, as Quilt Fairy mentioned, since when do miners refer to a mine as a portal?

And I think the clincher for me was towards the beginning of the season when the investigators were doing research in town and a local just happened to mention something about the Masons owning much of the town or that they were a strong presence in town. Immediately they got to thinking, "Hmm, maybe the Masons are involved." Well, immediately I got to thinking, "Hmm, this sounds fishy. Why would they jump to that theory?" I mean, who thinks that way unless something is planned in upcoming episodes to try to tie the Masons to the ghost mine(s)? And this is exactly what happened! It was all too convenient and coincidental to me.

The one thing that didn't seem fake to me was Kristen screaming when she saw the white image in the thermal camera when investigating the dredge. That seemed spontaneous and real.

Like I said, I'd like to believe this show is real and maybe I'll be proven wrong. Until then, I'm leaning towards fakery.

[bilgistic]

I thought they got permission from Larry (the mine owner) to dig open the hidden mine, but it wasn't well-explained. Did he own x amount of land that included the hidden mine? And random townie just offers up the info to the researchers on camera (not in disguise) that the mine is there, but it's "secret information".

The "Joe" story is bothersome. He was a miner and haunts the mine, but he's also haunting the dredge? That was never fully explained. Researcher guy goes to the local cemetery, and lo and behold, there's a headstone with the name "Joseph"! It must be that of the legendary ghost, Joe! That kind of thing annoys me about paranormal shows--so many "pick" someone and decide they are the ghost.

The truth is that old legends are passed down orally, human memory is unreliable, and like the game of "Telephone", the message gets garbled in transmission over time. Details are both added and taken away.

The best example I have is in doing genealogical research and trying to find out what happened to my dad's grandfather who "disappeared" sometime after about 1930. I've uncovered three stories: he was swept away and drowned in a river, he was last seen in service in Oklahoma, and/or he was last seen working the mines in West Virginia. We may never know, but all these stories came from people who are related to and/or "saw" him personally.

[TVLady]

The "Joe" story is bothersome. He was a miner and haunts the mine.... Researcher guy goes to the local cemetery, and lo and behold, there's a headstone with the name "Joseph"! It must be that of the legendary ghost, Joe!

Exactly! This is just one more reason I say this show is a sham. It's as if they had to latch onto a real actual historical figure to make the ghost of "Joe" more plausible and believable, and thus make the show seem more credible and accurate. "Yes! See? There really was a Joe! Here's his grave right here!" Yeah, right.