'Ghost Hunters International' gets bloody in Belize

Leaders Williams & FitzGerald, Courtesy Syfy
BY AMANDA POOLE

Four episodes into the new season and the Ghost Hunters International team decided that when it comes to hunting Mayan spirits, there will be blood. If you missed the episode that has people talking, here is the rundown:

Location: The Cahal Pech Mayan ruins in San Ignacio, Belize

History: The ruins of this ancient Mayan temple date back to 1200BC. The Mayans would perform human sacrifices to appease the gods.

Claims: Many have reported hearing chanting, seeing shadows, and an apparition of a lady in white. The client also had a friend who seemed to become possessed, and began speaking in an unknown language (ancient Mayan)?

Investigation: Team leader Barry FitzGerald had the idea to perform an ancient Mayan bloodletting ritual in hopes that it would draw the spirits out. Co-lead Kris Williams was clearly opposed to the idea, but investigator Susan Slaughter jumped in to volunteer her blood to the Mayan spirits.

In the presence of Barry and the client, Susan cut herself enough to get some blood into an offering bowl. They then lit the incense and the blood on fire. As this ritual was being performed, Paul was on top of the temple pyramid, where the sacrifices would take place. He began to hear what sounded like voices and also thought he saw movement in the plaza below.

Joe Chin and Williams were investigating the grounds when they heard a rumbling sound. Williams said it kind of sounded like thunder, but seemed too low to the ground. Paul Bradford walkied in from the temple verifying he heard it too, but none of them could quite explain where it was coming from. Shortly after, Chin felt as if he was touched. Describing it as fingers running down his left side. Scott Tepperman also had an experience of the sensation of being touched, only his felt like scratches on his neck, but there was no evidence showing on his neck.

Slaughter's bloodletting ritual, courtesy Syfy
Later, FitzGerald and Williams were walking through the plaza when they thought they saw a shadow. They were also hearing sounds that they couldn’t chase down. Chin and Tepperman then took their turn there and had light sensors that would change color if the temperature changed. They tried to provoke the spirits to get a response. When Tepperman commented that the spirits were stupid, the lights began to flash on and off - which they say it has never done before.

After their session, Chin thought he saw a face of an old woman, but there was no one around. They then moved to the area known as "the point of no return." Chin thought he heard dragging sounds and a growl, wondering if anyone was near he walkied to FitzGerald. FitzGerald and Williams where doing an EVP session, and were standing in silence listening for any kind of response, when suddenly FitzGerald’s walkie goes off as Chin checked in - which gave him quite a jump and Williams a good laugh.

Findings: During the analysis, Susan discovered that the sound of the footsteps they were hearing were of an owl flying. The flapping of the wings sounded the same as the footsteps they were hearing. They did however capture a very clear EVP of a male’s voice saying, "Pedro not here." Pedro was the client who called GHI in to investigate.

Best Moment: While it is debatable whether this is a "best," The bloodletting ritual was definitely a first for GHI and caused quite a stir on social media during the episode.

On Twitter, Kris Williams called "f---ing stupdid," apologized to the fans and said "investigators should also take in consideration the kids at home watching." TAPS team leader Jason Hawes supported Williams on the matter and added that kids at home may "try what they see."

So, the question remains, will there be more fallout from the episode? Hawes is an important voice over at Syfy, after all. So if a lead investigator and the founder of TAPS and the Ghost Hunters franchise are both ticked off, will it prompt a response from the network? If enough people complain, is this the type of snafu that leads to someone getting fired? If so, who - a producer, investigator or leader?

Or is this just all-around good publicity for the show? What's your take?