FACT OR FAKED: Symphonic Spirits - Hovering Humanoid

SyFy - Original Air Date: 10/4/10

It seems the team is down to examining 4 videos per week, which is too bad, as I liked both the screening and the debunking of popular vids.  The two discards this show are a poltergeist of many hands in an LA apartment (CGI work) and the mysterious Brown Mountain Lights in NC (probably natural, and too similar to a recent case).  So, they cases they go after are a walking "ghost" caught on a security cam in the the Valentown Museum, Victor NY, and a flying humanoid (witch or bruja) in Texas near Mexico.

Staring at the museum, they talk to the caretaker/curator about the place's history; she firmly believes there are paranormal events happening there.  They also talk to the original videographer, who says they only noticed the "ghost" later.  To me, it looks like a quirky in-lens reflection, but the team starts by trying to see if it's a real person, just out of focus: nope.  They do a reflection test, to see if it was accomplished by a common magician's trick: very close, but not an exact match.  Next, they make a video of someone walking and project that into a wire mesh screen: not as good as the reflection.  At this point, their experiments are interrupted by ghostly piano and then guitar music. Chu Lan, though skeptical, is stumped, so they go into Ghost Hunter mode.  Poking around, they find some odd reflections and hear things, too.  They catch a "scream" on EVP, but, sadly, never go back to their previous investigation.  And I still think the ghost is a lens reflection.  Again, they've stopped investigating too soon.

In Texas, the other team talks to a witness, who says the flying humanoid was not a hoax by her UFO group -- it's an unidentified flying object.  (Nice coincidence that the thing showed up at a UFO meeting.)  The FF team starts by checking out a flying man jet pack.  (I love these.)  There are jet pack enthusiasts around the world, and a several enthusiasts in Monterey Mexico may have access to one. So, they have a pilot fly one and try to replicate the video.  It's close, but could not carry enough fuel to do what's seen in the video (the pack has a 30 second flight limit).  Plus, the flying humanoid was silent, whereas the pack is noisy like a jet.  Next, they try a zip line, but though it looks good, the man on the line is also more human-looking than the original.  (Balloons?  Cutouts?)  Next, they test out debris carried along by the wind: balloons or garbage bags.  They put some balloons in (witch-shaped) garbage bags and fly them like a kite, but the balloons wobble too much.  Ben suggests an elaborate hoax to fool the UFO club - using helicopter remote controls to fly the balloon.  So they set that up and . . . bingo.  It's an exact match and a case well solved.