Travel Channel’s new paranormal series “Ghost Bait” has just premiered and sets out to help those plagued by paranormal activity by guiding victims to face their problems in a unique way. I had the opportunity to speak with paranormal pioneer Bob Magill and investigator Tina Storer about the series and their process of helping victims as well as what made them want to be paranormal investigators.
Horror Fuel: “How did “Ghost Bait” come to be?”
Bob Magill: “Ghost Bait started as a web series back in 2011. I have a background in therapy and a production company and I love anything that has to do with the paranormal. So, Ghost Bait is basically a combination of those three things, helping people, filming it, and the supernatural. It became a three-part special on A&E and was very successful. Last year, the Travel Channel reached out and they were fans of the show and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to reboot it for a full season.’ At that point, we kept hearing Tina’s name come up in the paranormal community. We reached out to her and brought her on board. Now it’s Tina and I on the new version of Ghost Bait.”
Horror Fuel: “Congratulations to you both on the series. Can you explain a little about the process with the bag?”
Bob Magill: “Sure. At first glance, people will see techniques we use that are skeptical, are shocked or will say, ‘There’s no way you’d do that to me. Forget it.’ The whole thing is based on immersion therapy. If you’re afraid of heights you get on an elevator and go to the top of a building or get on an airplane, maybe you get really brave and go parachuting. When you climb a latter at home suddenly it doesn’t seem so bad. Ghost Bait is basically people who are having their lives affected by paranormal activity and rather than just going there and validating it, which we do, we also put it in their hands to face that. When we do that, the idea is to take away one of their senses. If I put you in a big, very dark warehouse, and you can hear me and I can hear you, you’d be looking around everywhere and thinking that you saw something. By taking away your sense of sight and making that person listen very carefully and feel what’s around them, we’ve gotten results where that fear intensifies that activity. It really forces them to stop and hear what’s going on in that room versus looking for something.”
Horror Fuel: “Oh, I see. That makes sense. Can you tell our readers about some of the places you visit this season?”
Tina Storer: “We were really blessed with the opportunity to go travel the country and have a really great team, to be able to reach out to people, to find cases where people are really in need. We’re traveling all over the country from California up to the top of Maine, all the way down to Georgia, and everywhere in between. There’s going to be a lot of places in residential areas and businesses where people are ready to leave their jobs. We get a lot of really unique cases.
Horror Fuel: “What are some of the more terrifying things you’ve experienced this season?”
Tina Storer: “That’s a good question. I feel like I say the same thing every time. It truly is hard to pinpoint “the most terrifying experience,” But for me, I think I get spooked easier, and I started off in the paranormal being truly terrified of the paranormal and even my own shadow, but I faced it. But the most terrifying experience would be having physical contact and psychological attacks. Sometimes we have these really aggressive spirits come between us and the bait, those are truly terrifying.”
Horror Fuel: “I bet they are.”
Bob Magill: ” For me, I could say a lot of the same things. I think that’s true for most of us. My fears mostly have to do with the clients and what they’re going through. Watching them sit there and watching them go through these moments where they are truly terrified. That kind of spills over to you, carrying them through that and helping them through that. When their breathing is getting erratic, you hear that through the earpiece. You can hear their voice get erratic, shaking, and quivering. You get that fear second hand through them. If that makes sense?”
Horror Fuel: “It does. Speaking of fear, what were your first experiences with the paranormal?”
Tina Storer: “For me, personally, I was 14 years old and had been trying to sleep in my grandmother’s attic and all of a sudden, I felt this very breathy, eerie voice right in my ear just almost seething, “Yes…”, the word yes really creepy right into my ear. And I sat right up. It was the first time I had heard a voice. I was interested in the paranormal but I was way too afraid to dive into it. But after that was the first experience I had. I didn’t get into it because I was afraid of what would happen.”
Bob Magill: “My first experience was also as a child. It’s a little less specific, it was more of an over the course of a day. I was at a friends house and their parents were hesitant to leave us alone. But the house itself seemed to have these little paranormal happenings. It started with seeing a strange image on TV and then – Have you ever had one of those goosebumps or chills down your spine? Just feeling like there is someone there with you? – It was literally like that for me for a better part of a day. We called them to come back home. It doesn’t sound that exciting, but I went and talked to an authority figure, someone I looked up to, and they didn’t just brush it off, like ‘It’s just your imagination.’ They acknowledged it and validated it, much like we do for people. It made me feel comfortable about it and curious to understand it.”
Horror Fuel: “You both started young.
If you could give a message to people who are experiencing paranormal events, what advice would you give them?”
Tina Storer: “I like that question a lot. With these cases, it’s not always one size fits all. These are very unique and we really do treat everything individually. We cater to their specific needs are, but for everyone out there I think what they have in common thing that we do is to try and get to a place of empowerment. Come back in and really claim your space. Do something that makes you feel powerful and bring the light into your life. Open up the windows, play happy music, just feel that self-empowerment.”
Horror Fuel: “That’s great advice. I think we need more of those things in life in general.
The series premiered last week, for those who missed, can you tell us a little?
Tina Storer: “I believe that episode takes us to Brookdale Lodge in Santa Cruz, California. We helped an employee there, Agnes, who is truly being bullied by one of the darker entities there. We have her confront her fear, as is the formula with this show, and we guide her to confront her fears. We’re really excited to see how people can witness the transformation that our clients go through. It’s a really special feeling for them to trust us and to be a part of this special moment for them.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m sure that they are very grateful for your help and that you are grateful to share their success. I’ve experienced paranormal activity and I know how scary it can be. It’s amazing that you and Bob have a chance to really help these people.
Tune in for “Ghost Bait” Thursday nights on the Travel Channel to see where Bob and Tina’s next case will lead. Be sure to follow “Ghost Bait” on Facebook and Twitter. Visit TravelChannel.com for more on this series and others.
