US ghosbuster tells of the 'most disturbing thing I've ever seen' and it was Down Under
US-based ghostbuster Robb Demarest has been to our spooky shores and he has a hair-raising tale to tell.
HE is a black belt in taekwondo and a master of Brazilian jujitsu. The dude can even show you how to pin down an angry, chest-beating gorilla and steal his bananas.
But when a feisty ghost smacks your mate in the head and knocks him out cold, your martial arts skills are a little redundant. What are you going to do, swing at the darkened air?
Oh, and don't worry, he's tried.
Welcome to Australia, Robb Demarest, a US-based ghost buster, only without the vacuum cleaner and the khaki uniform.
You've heard about our dangerous snakes, our hungry sharks and deadly spiders. Well even our ghosts can pack a punch.
The star of Ghost Hunters International, Demarest spent a few months travelling around Australia with a gang of fellow ghost nuts, psychics, exorcists and clairvoyants filming our most haunted sites.
The spooky result hits the screens on February 3 on Foxtel, the world premiere of an eight-episode series Haunting: Australia.
Why Australia? Because we love our ghosts, apparently.
Perhaps love isn't the right word. A Galaxy poll conducted this month suggests 88 per cent of Australians believe in the paranormal, while 68 per cent have a personal experience to retell around the camp fire.
Demarest will be telling his latest yarn for many years to come. He had been lured to the Barossa Valley town of Kupunda for the very reason many stay away - it's Australia's most haunted town.
"We went into a hallway of a hotel that hasn't been used in 30, 40 years. There were stories that people who go into that hallway had been shoved, had been attacked, had been shouted at,'' he said. "I disregarded that. I thought 'great ghost story'.''
Yes, even the world's most renowned ghost hunter is a skeptic at times.
"Then this gentleman walks in. One of the members of the team says 'something does not look right', and the next thing you know, he's face down, laid out on the ground. He had to be carried out by the cast and the crew.
"I've been doing this over 20 years and this is perhaps the most disturbing thing I have ever seen.''
Who ya gunna call? Well, an ambulance would be good.
Armed with his laser and smoke machine, his array of full-spectrum cameras, Demarest and his ghoul gang also laid siege to the supernatural on Cockatoo Island.
Within the convict-built sandstone walls of Biloela House, they hit the ghostly mother lode. Not that Demarest is divulging the details yet, suffice to say ghosts apparently like a bit of role-playing. Despite his vast global experience, Demarest is a ghost hunter without sensation. Put him in a room with a silent, invisible ghost and he'd tell you the place is empty.
"If I came to you and said 'ooh, there are many ghosts there at Cockatoo Island', you would look at me sceptically and say 'sure there are'. But if I can show you a picture, if I can play you a recording, now we can have a back and forth,'' he said.
"This time around we thought we would try something different. We combined a laser machine with a fog machine.
"What really happens is the slightest movement that goes through that fog or laser can be picked up by the assortment of cameras around the room. And we have something.''
They are the kind of ghosts Demarest prefers. Not the ones that can through an invisible haymaker.
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