'Ghost Hunters' Season 16 Premiere Brings a 'Once in a Lifetime' Experience for Some Lucky Fans

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The 'Ghost Hunters' Season 16 premiere saw the TAPS team investigate The Bastille, and local residents got to experience a screening on Thursday night.

Published on April 9, 2023

Ghost Hunters Season 16 premiered on Thursday, April 6, with an exciting investigation of The Bastille, an old Wild West prison in Hanford, California. The TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team found evidence of paranormal activity from inmates and employees, confirming the haunted rumors that have surrounded the prison for years. On the night of the premiere on Travel Channel and discovery+, lucky fans in Hanford got to experience a spooky screening of the episode.

The TAPS team investigated The Bastille in the ‘Ghost Hunters’ Season 16 premiere

The Bastille has sat abandoned in Hanford for more than 125 years. It was once a county jail that was overcrowded with inmates of all ages and all crimes, “from drunks and people who owed taxes all the way up to murderers,” as TAPS founder Jason Hawes told The Hanford Sentinel. Deaths in the jail have led to reports of paranormal activity for decades, especially when the building housed restaurants and nightclubs.

During the episode, the TAPS team received help from special guest Chandler Riggs, who starred in The Walking Dead. Their tools picked up sounds of children giggling as strange noises echoed throughout the building. In one chilling moment, a ghost clearly said, “I think they’re gone.” Elsewhere, the TAPS team heard from a woman named Mary and a former sheriff named Orvi Clyde as they haunted The Bastille.

‘Ghost Hunters’ fans got to experience the premiere at a spooky outdoor screening

As The Hanford Sentinel reported, local fans of Ghost Hunters were treated to an outdoor screening of the episode at Civic Park just outside The Bastille. The event had a huge turnout. The Parks and Recreation Department expected 100 people, but “closer to 1,000” people showed up. Families scattered lawn chairs and blankets on the grass under a full moon to enjoy the premiere. They cheered when they saw Hanford landmarks and booed when the screening device almost lost power.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” said Hanford resident Beverly Berning.

The TAPS team debunked sightings of Mary as the shadow of lighting equipment in the window. However, Hanford locals at the event insisted they have seen Mary with their own eyes.

“I’ve seen Miss Mary in there quite a few times,” Tina Bolen shared. “I’ve seen here down here in the bottom and other times, up in the tower window, dangling.”

Other paranormal locations appearing in season 16

The Bastille is one of eight locations to be featured in Ghost Hunters Season 16. Next week, Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango, and Shari DeBenedetti will visit haunted mines in California’s gold country. Later in the season, the TAPS team will investigate haunted mansions and houses, a hospital, and even the Hoover Dam. Along the way, they’ll be accompanied by special guests, including the Destination Fear team and a Mythbusters alum. Fans won’t want to miss this season’s hauntings.

New episodes of Ghost Hunters Season 16 drop on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Travel Channel and discovery+.

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