For three seasons starting in 2008, ghost enthusiasts had the opportunity to vicariously explore fascinating haunts around the world by watching Ghost Hunters International. With plenty of creepy international locations and an engaging crew, the Ghost Hunters spinoff took paranormal enthusiasts places they'd never been before. This popular paranormal investigative show also had behind-the-scenes dramas that continually intrigued fans.
Ghost Hunters International Debut
Ghost Hunters International (GHI) debuted in January 2008 and ended in 2012. Pilgrim Films and Television created GHI to capitalize on the popularity of Ghost Hunters by taking it to the next level with a different team of paranormal investigators. Instead of looking into American hauntings, the GHI team explored some of the world's most intriguing locations.
The original cast consisted of co-lead investigators Robb Demarest and Andy Andrews (formerly of GH), tech manager Brian Harnois (formerly of GH), case manager Donna LaCroix (formerly of GH), and investigator Shannon Sylvia. Barry Fitzgerald (formerly GH) was quietly shifted into the lead investigator position, replacing Robb Demarest, who stayed on as an investigator until 2010.
Most of the team members were experienced ghost hunters prior to appearing on Ghost Hunters' International. However, a few, like first season alumnus, Shannon Sylvia, had little investigatory experience prior to signing on with the team. Sylvia was also a client on Paranormal State (PS) before she signed on to GHI. While neither GHI nor PS production companies felt there wasn't any conflict of interest, fans weren't happy about her double roles.
Sylvia left after the first season. In short order, LaCroix left citing complications from Crohn's disease, although there were rumors of personality conflicts with some cast members, GH former bosses, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, and contract grievances. Harnois and Andrews both left after the first year, claiming their roles as fathers required them to be home. However, Harnois had previously left Ghost Hunters on bad terms with Wilson and Hawes. In fact, controversy over his public fighting with both men was further fueled when LaCroix accused the two GH bosses of mentally abusing Brian.
As team members left, others joined them during the first season, including Angela Alderman (Season 1), Joe Chin, Kris Williams, Brandy Green, and Dustin Pari. Over the next two seasons, more new faces showed up on the team including, Paul Bradford, Susan Slaughter, Scott Tepperman, and Ashley Godwin.
Investigating the Paranormal Around the World
The GHI team lived up to their name and traveled all over the world investigating haunted places. Their first episode was an investigation at England's Chillingham Castle and Scotland's Mary King's Close. All the places they investigated were renowned for paranormal activity, such as the former military prison, Karosta Cietums, in Liepaja, Latvia, and the demons of Nicaragua. Their paranormal investigations took them to places like Les Carrières des Capucins in France, Larnach Castle in New Zealand, Citadel Râsnov in Romania, the Real Felipe Fortress in Peru, and other most haunted places in the world. Throughout the series, the team welcomed guest investigators. For example, when they braved the real Frankenstein's Castle in Germany, Josh Gates of Destination Truth showed up to participate in the investigation.
How GHI Conducted Paranormal Investigations
GHI's team used the same investigative approach as Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson did with the Ghost Hunters team. They called this approach "scientific debunking." Simply put, it was a process of elimination. The team tried to first disprove the haunting. Failing to do so, they stamped the place as officially haunted. This process of elimination had worked for GH and frankly, the fan base expectation was for GHI to follow the same procedures as a spinoff TV show.
The team used a variety of tried-and-true methods and equipment to investigate hauntings. They attempted to contact spirits by playing music and recreating circumstances of the era familiar to the spirits. However, Fitzgerald introduced many uproven but interesting ideas for investigation. He would unveil some new piece of equipment or method to test out his latest theory.
On occasion, these experiments yielded interesting results. However, the team relied on the common practices for supporting evidence of a haunting. These included photographic and video anomalies, personal experiences, electromagnetic fields (EMF), and electronic voice phenomenon (EVP).
The EVPs were often a topic of debate among fans because most of the ones GHI captured were in English. It didn't matter what country the team was in; those disembodied voices somehow knew English. This wasn't a phenomenon peculiar to GHI. Many English-speaking paranormal investigators have captured English EVPs in foreign countries or old settlements where English wasn't a native language.
Where Are the GHI Team Members Now?
Many of the team members went on to other careers, such as Donna LaCroix, who tried acting and had a short-lived podcast with Brian Harnois called B Ware Radio. Kris Williams moved to Australia for a while, started a travel and lifestyle blog, and then came home to the USA. She occasionally attends a paranormal event/conference. Barry Fitzgerald appeared in the movie Southwest (2013) and directed a short film, Exposing Antarctica (2017). In October 2020, the paranormal TV show, The Paraseekers announced Brian Harnois, would be joining them in Season 2. Susan Slaughter went on to act in several films, including Bliss, The Dawn, and Slay Bells. She was a panel expert commentator on the TV Series documentary, Paranormal Caught on Camera (2019 -2020).
Ghost Hunters International Still Available for Streaming
If you missed Ghost Hunters International during its heyday, you can catch up by binge watching the entire series on Peacock. You'll get to enjoy a good ghost story and vicariously explore far away haunted places with the team.
