Catching Ghosts with the Parabot

[CptSternn]

http://www2.richmond.com/video/2009/...parabot-23927/

Richmonder Robert Bess ain't afraid of no ghosts.

He's built a ghost catching machine called the Parabot -- short for paranormal containment chamber. And now the only thing he has to do is test it. On live national television.

The Travel Channel's live Halloween broadcast, to be exact.

We got a sneak peek before Bess heads to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia to test the Parabot on national TV. With the help of hosts from "Ghost Adventues LIVE," he'll try to catch a ghost during a seven-hour paranormal investigation on Oct. 30, 2009.

But first, Bess gave as an unofficial demo of the Parabot in action. Bess works at a printing shop in Richmond's far West End where he keeps the Parabot in the back, under tight lock and key, just in case you were wondering.

The Parabot looks like a giant glass coffin on wheels. It's remote control operated. Two magnets are fixed to either side of the doors. Green neon lights illuminate the chamber. And a giant, copper-colored Tesla coil sits in the center of it.

Bess fires up the Parabot. It has sensors for motion that beep when they pick up electromagnetic fields. The Tesla coil snaps and crackles in the center.

The Parabot can turn right and left. He shows us how it can move up to 25 to 30 miles per hour. How it can twist and turn on a pivotal base. "It can even do pirouettes," Bess says. With a flick of his remote control, Bess shows us how he can shut the glass door and "trap" the ghost.

The first version of the Parabot was eight feet tall and weighed 1,400 pounds. Bess invested $10,000 of his own money to make the Parabot. He claims to have caught two ghosts in May 2007. And eight ghosts at the same location with the most recent version of the Parabot.

According to Bess, the Parabot can trap ghosts using a combination of electromagnetic fields and the high frequency charge from the Tesla coil. He claims to have caught ghosts and poltergeists during his experiments. He also says he has DVD footage of these experiments.

For the record, the only footage we've seen consists of white dots or blurs. For more on Bess' ghost-catching experiments, check out our story from last year.

Bess says his ghost-catching obsession started 27 years ago in a haunted farmhouse in Memphis when he and a friend had a near-death experience. Ever since then, Bess says, he's wanted to know if there are ghosts. "I need to see it," he says. "I'm looking for the answer. This is only the beginning."

The Travel Channel heard about Bess' invention and became intrigued after seeing footage of it on a local NBC station. They booked Bess for their Halloween special in the hopes that his ghost-catching machine will be successful in snatching a ghost on live TV.

"We think the Parabot is a fascinating piece of equipment, especially for a live event, it is perfect - very visual for the viewers and with potential for capturing great evidence," Katelyn Balach, publicity spokesperson for the Travel Channel says. "If the Parabot can capture anything compelling, anything mysterious, anything that gets a dialogue going, it will be a home run."

Bess says he's heard rumors about the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, the haunted spot he'll be visiting for the Travel Channel. "I've heard crazy stories," he says. It housed the insane from the mid-1800s to 1994 when the asylum closed for good and has a very spooky-looking website that you can check out to find out more about the ghosts that supposedly haunt its halls.

The Travel Channel says it is most excited that Bess' invention is mobile.

"It will be able to roam the hallways of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum on 'Ghost Adventures Live' and provide as thorough a ghost hunt as any piece of equipment out there," Balach says. "We're really excited to feature Parabot and are hoping it will capture some compelling evidence."

In the meantime, Bess's Parabot is fired up in the West End and ready to make the journey to the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

"If there's a ghost in that asylum," Bess says. "The Parabot will get it."

Catch more of Robert Bess and his Para bot on Ghost Adventures LIVE, Oct. 30, on the Travel Channel.

[CptSternn]

Looks like a motorised server rack to me, but hey, I'm no ghost hunter.

[Liathano]

Be interesting to see if anything really happens. Pity I probably won't get to see it down here in Oz...

[SweetJane]

Man, I hate it when Scooby and Shaggy get so baked they forget they're not actually scientists. $10,000 is alot of money to drop on pseudo-science, but I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that's the average ammount upper-middle class people spend on new-agey bullshit every year.


... still, I'd love to steal that thing and charge people to go on guided tours where I convince everyone that I'm doing something besides looking like a tool.

[I_Zik]

When I see a real fucking Ghostbuster with a captured ghost, then I'll start taking it a little more seriously rather than with quiet contemplation of what they're saying and a "is this guy serious?" look on my face. Of course if someone actually captured a ghost, wouldn't that be global news? You would probably see it on every news network across the globe if they did. Pseudoscience needs a series of government grants and some really dedicated scientists. Otherwise it'll be left to people who are plumbers by day, and douches at night. It''l never leave their garages if it's left to the average Joe.

[Liathano]

Originally Posted by SweetJane

Man, I hate it when Scooby and Shaggy get so baked they forget they're not actually scientists. $10,000 is alot of money to drop on pseudo-science, but I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that's the average ammount upper-middle class people spend on new-agey bullshit every year.


... still, I'd love to steal that thing and charge people to go on guided tours where I convince everyone that I'm doing something besides looking like a tool.

That's fucking funny babe.... Can I help?!?