The Haunted Textile Mill: A Review of Episode 5 of "Celebrity Paranormal Project"
By Pat Dunn

What: "Celebrity Paranormal Project"
Where: VH1 cable channel
When viewed: November 19, 2006
Episode #5: "Tanner's Ghost"
Official site link: http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/celebrity_paranormal/110144/episode.jhtml

The fifth episode of VH1's "Celebrity Paranormal Project" chose as its location an abandoned textile mill, the Hawthorne Mill, located in Penoboscot County, Maine, and accessible only by boat. The ghost of a foreman killed in an industrial accident was the subject of this search.

The team for this episode consisted of:

David Carradine, actor, says he is both a skeptic and a believer
Coolio, rapper and actor, says he both a believer and a skeptic
Mia St. John, female boxing champ, a believer
Andrew Firestone, appeared on a television reality contest show as "The Bachelor", skeptical
Bridget Marquardt, Playboy magazine model, a believer.

As a long-time fan of David Carradine, who had watched both of his "Kung Fu" series first-run, I was looking forward to this episode. I thought, "If anyone can confront a ghost on this show, it'd be Caine himself, right?" Well... maybe.

The episode started well, as the five team members learned their target location was on an island off the coast of Maine and that they had to be ferried across by boat.
Hawthorne Mill was the location of a gruesome industrial accident in 1965, when the foreman, John Tanner, bled to death after his arm was severed in a machine called "the shredder." As Tanner had had an affair with the owner's wife, and had quarreled with the owner shortly before the accident, it was speculated that the foreman's death might not have been completely "accidental." In 1969, a fire claimed the lives of thirty-two men, and it was believed Tanner's ghost was responsible for the tragedy.

The first assignment sent Coolio and Bridget, with the EMF detector, motion detector, and thermometer to The Boiler Room, said to be the site of Tanner's secret meetings with Clara, wife of the mill's owner. Bridget was told to go alone behind the boiler and set up the motion detector, then Coolio was directed to go back to the stairs so he would not set off the motion detector. Both heard "footsteps on metal", and Bridget also heard "a whisper." In an effort to recreate the secret affair, Coolio was directed back to Bridget, and they embraced. They were able to measure a temperature drop, and heard a "strange noise" just before the motion detector went off. Andrew, on the radio, directed them back to the command center, and Bridget reported that she had heard a "whispery voice."

The second assignment sent David and Mia through the red fire door and downstairs to a sublevel into The Shredder Room, where Tanner had died. While walking towards their destination, Mia reports there are rags and bits of clothing scattered around with "bloodstains" on them; but David merely acknowledges "there's something red" on them. The pair are told to stand in front of the shredder machine, and Mia is instructed to place her right hand on the bottom roller of the huge device. Mia does so, then screams and pulls her hand back. She said she heard "a hollow knocking sound" and just knows someone else is present. David asks her to be quiet so he can listen, but she keeps screaming, and he is obviously irritated with her. David finally says he thought he heard something, but "it's gone now." Andrew asked via radio if they could continue the assignment, but as Mia refused to do so, the team wa called back to the command center.

The third assignment sent Coolio and Andrew into The Dye Room, the site of the mill's worst industrial fire, as a blocked exit killed more than two dozen workers. Observers reported seeing a figure within the flames, apparently unharmed by them, and the fire's cause was later traced to a cigar (the same brand Tanner had smoked) found in a trash barrel. To recreate this fire, the men have been given a sack containing matches, cigars, and a themometer. They lighted the fibers in a barrel, dropped the cigar into the flames, and then received some strange temperture readings. Andrew reported the temp had shot up to 113 degrees Farenheit, then had dropped to 50. (Duh, you were standing in front of a barrel with a blazing fire in it when you got that high reading, pal!) They used a handy fire-extinguisher on the flames in the barrel, and returned to the command center, agreeing the Dye Room wasn't "the heart of the haunting."

The fourth assignment sent Bridget and Mia to The Picker Room, where owner Paul Hawthorne's lifeless body was found hanging in 1975, an apparent suicide. The women are told to stop under a hook in the roof. Another large piece of machinery was the focus, as Mia was told to place her hands on it and call "Hawthorne" repeatedly. Mia flat-out refused to obey and Bridget agreed to do so. She began calling the owner's name, while Mia was allowed to leave the room. Mia ignored Andrew's instruction to wait for Bridget and headed back to the command center, screaming once when she saw a mannequin. Bridget completed her task without results, and had to return to the command center by herself.

The Boiler Room was soon selected as "the heart of the haunting," but the debate over which team member had "the closest connection to the spirits" became a little tense as David insisted it should be "the one who said she saw something," by which he meant Mia. Mia finally admitted she "was freaked", but didn't think she had actually seen anything. (Yeah, I'll bet!) Coolio finally suggested it should be Bridget, who had kept her cool in the Picker Room, and had heard the whisper in The Boiler Room, and she accepted the honor.

The entire team took the "channeling scroll," book with instructions, and Tanner's time-card as "the token from the spirit's past", returned to the Boiler Room and set up for their attempt to contact Tanner's ghost. Bridget touched the time card, while the others placed their left hands on the handprints on the scroll. They "invoked the spirit" by the now-formulatic words.

Bridget answered "yes" to the question if the spirit was John Tanner, then smiled and said she was just saying "the first thing that pops into my head." A loud noise directly over their heads startled the team, and they quickly performed the banishing ritual. David advised the "spirit" to "move on," and the team retreated. Coolio said he was not scared.

Bridget loved the adventure. David said "it appeared" as if the place was haunted. (Frankly, I think David was disappointed with the tone of the program. I personally would love to see him participate in a more scientific ghost hunt, preferably one without any screaming women on the team). I would like to also note that "appearances" can be deceiving, as they say.