FrightFind had the pleasure to interview Bob Magill and Tina Storer from Travel Channel’s haunted series Ghost Bait. Ghost Bait has been lured back to television and is rebooting Thursday, April 4th, and they’re here to give you the spooky scoop.
Bob is a paranormal pioneer combining state-of-the-art technology with his social sciences background to help people affected by paranormal activity in their own lives. Tina has been investigating the paranormal for nearly ten years and makes it her mission to help others overcome their biggest fears by facing them head-on. The two have combined their collective strengths with a team of seasoned paranormal investigators to solve some of America’s toughest paranormal cases.
FrightFind: Welcome Bob and Tina. Tell us about the genesis of Ghost Bait. The last episode was a few years ago, about six years ago now, and you’re bringing it back. Tell me a little bit about the hiatus and what you have in store for us.
Bob: It’s one of those things where it’s awesome to see something like this have a life years ago and a fan base large enough that Travel Channel asked us to bring it back. With the new network, Travel Channel, they wanted to do it the way we’ve done in the past, where the idea was to help people.
We talked to a lot of different people obviously, and now that it’s premiering this week, it gets a little tricky sometimes with having old episodes out there and so on and so forth.
But when they asked to bring it back. Basically, they wanted to do it the way we’ve done in the past, where the idea was to help people. And, you know, not so much just go there and ghost hunt but also find people that have problems or feel like they have problems with the supernatural and do what we can to help them through that.
When they asked us to reboot Ghost Bait, Tina’s name came up in a couple of different conversations as someone that sort of shares our vision and mission and interest, so we naturally brought her on board for the reboot with Travel Channel.
Tina: As Bob said, I’m here for the reboot which is very special and amazing. I’ve been in the paranormal field for nearly a decade now. What I find really special about being able to be a part of this project is that I started out just like the people we’re helping. I used to be so afraid of this stuff. I was afraid of my own shadow, unable to watch a horror movie. Anything that went bump in the night. And it wasn’t until I faced my fears and actually went on a ghost hunt where I wasn’t afraid to use my abilities. I’m not a medium, but I like to call myself a sensitive and you can see that in the coming season.
It wasn’t until I actually went on my first ghost hunt where I isolated myself and faced those fears that I was able to really to conquer that fear and it truly empowered me to be able to help other people that are going through something similar. It feels really good to be able to do that.
FrightFind: I reviewed your bios and it says that Bob developed a paranormal interest at a young age, and Tina, you had a paranormal experience around age 14. Would you both mind sharing your first experiences and what kind of set you off on this path to where you are today.
Tina: Sure. I was 14 with my first experience and I was trying to fall asleep in my grandmother’s attic and just kept hearing a voice, and all of a sudden this voice got really close to my ear and whispered, “yes.”
I can still feel the breath to this day in my ear. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night.
So later throughout my teenage years, I would hear that same voice every now and then but didn’t know what it was. I had other encounters where I saw a shadow man, he seemed to follow me throughout my life. I don’t see him anymore though but… Yeah, that was my first encounter. And I was so afraid. And I think that added a lot to my fear of the dark and the paranormal and all that stuff.
Bob: You know, mine was sort of a series of events over the course of being at a friend’s house for the weekend at a very young age. Where we just had seen some things in the house that we couldn’t explain. Had some experiences that you know we knew in our heart of hearts that it wasn’t something of this world. It was something supernatural, and really what gave me my interest was not actually as much experience while it was happening, but actually what happened after that.
I talked to an adult about it and I thought for sure they are gonna say, “Oh Kid it’s your imagination.” But to my surprise, someone of authority said, “well, those are the kind of things do happen.” And acknowledging it actually let me sort of look at it in a different way. I was very curious at that young age and it sort of became a lifelong passion to sort of understand and then eventually to help other people in that situation.
FrightFind: Back to the reboot of Ghost Bait. This is a new show and a new start. Some of the methods you use to find a resolution or an answer seem a bit unconventional. People might even say a little controversial. Tell us about your methods and your philosophy of having people face their fears as you help them find a resolution on Ghost Bait.
Bob: Yeah, my background is in therapy, as well as in TV and film and the supernatural, and the idea behind this is basically a form of immersion therapy. And people do sometimes find this controversial. An example that we give a lot of people is if you’re afraid of heights. You know, you may go on an elevator to the top of the building and look out the window, you may go on an airplane for the first time, or maybe you go really brave and go parachuting so that when you come home and climb a six-foot ladder in your kitchen it’s not quite as traumatizing.
We kind of embrace that idea, but in a controlled environment. Using Tina and my expertise and experience to put people in a controlled environment where they have to face that fear on their own, but with our support from a distance. That is a process, but at the end of the day, our philosophy is that we can come into a haunted house and do an investigation and verify or attempt to validate what you’re experiencing. But does it really help you if we tell you something that you believe you already know? Or does it help you if we provide you with the tools to face those fears, empower them to take back their homes or whatever the case may be?
If you watch the episodes you will see these people come out the other side of it. You can see they’re truly, truly grateful, that they were able to do this by themselves.
Tina: It’s amazing. At first, I’m like, “okay, what am I doing, why are we doing this to people?” But at the end of the day, watching that process of somebody with their fear in your hands, and then having us coach them through it and having them trust us, and watching them come out. In the end, it’s just so empowering and they’re so proud of themselves. I always wonder what other parts of their lives will this carry over to? Who knows what else they can do. It’s amazing to be a part of that journey and to truly be able to help people overcome whatever fear they’re dealing with.
FrightFind: So what does Ghost Bait’s reboot have in store for us?
Bob: You can find out even more information on Travel Channel. Episode one, we’re actually starting at the haunted Brookdale Lodge in Santa Cruz, California. We’re helping somebody that’s struggling with something as simple as going to work every day. It’s a very, very intense and tough case to start with, but I think it really shows how the process works and how someone can truly benefit from doing this with us.
FrightFind: I don’t know if you get scared anymore. But what scared you the most this year?
Tina: I’ve been doing this for over a decade and helping people overcome their fear but I definitely still get scared when we’re on location and quite a few times throughout the season I definitely got really shaken up. I think it’s definitely when we’ve encountered some of these progressive entities that get a little physical with us at times. I think I was a really easy target for some of the investigations. It’s hard to kind of pinpoint one but definitely like a few instances, you’ll see they kind of really targeted me physically. That really shook me for sure.
Bob: It’s tough to try to pinpoint one. I’m the kind of person that has the guilty pleasure of just loving the entire paranormal world and the excitement that comes with it. I keep waiting for that one case that really, really stands out. And you know, I almost want to be ultimately scared in some way that’s THAT memorable. I don’t have a specific one that jumps out just yet.
FrightFind: When you arrive at a location for shooting. Is there a lot of hustle and bustle of production materials, camera work, etc. that you feel might stir up the place a little bit?
Bob: I feel like it’s almost like a case by case basis. I feel like there is a sense of, wondering what’s going on? Why are they here? We’ve had many times where leading up to shooting where clients come to us and said, “you know, last night, there’s a lot of activity after you guys were here.” Then sometimes people will tell us that things really picked up once we arrived. And then sometimes it’s like a ghost town.
FrightFind: How do you end up choosing which places you’re going to investigate each season?
Bob: There are a couple of different ways that we find the cases. We have a team that is doing research for us on the front end. People may go online. After some vetting, we may take the lead and eventually get to the point where they become valid paranormal cases that we feel we can definitely help with our type of process and then sort of narrow things down from there. And that gives us our cases.
FrightFind: Was there anything else about the new series that you wanted to let everybody know about before I let you go?
Bob: I can just say that I’m grateful that we had a chance to do this again. For people that have seen Ghost Bait in the past, they’re going to get what they used to love from us back when we first did the show. They’re also going to experience some new things and approaches from a new team with Tina on board that brings a whole new angle and element of excitement to the show.
And for people that have never watched it before, I really think if you’re a fan of the paranormal, this will be one that stands out from the others in our approach, how we do things and sort of our philosophy. So that’s always cool to have something a little different than what you’re used to. So we’re excited for old viewers and new viewers and everybody in-between.
FrightFind: So last question for both of you. What candy do you hand out on Halloween?
Tina: I like to go out trick or treating with whether it’s my fiance or nieces and nephews. So handing out candy hasn’t happened in a while.
Bob: For me, I know it’s kind of cliche, but I always want to be that house with the good candy. So I’m trying to do full-size candy bars and just enjoy the night that we call our Paranormal Christmas. That’s what it is. Yeah.
FrightFind: Bob, I will be coming by your house for those full-size candy bars.
Bob: I never thought about the repercussions of all your fans knowing that. HAHAHAHAHA!
