Catching Up with the Stars of Ghost Bait: An Interview with Bob Magill and Tina Storer

Thanks to Travel Channel reviving Ghost Bait, I was offered a unique opportunity to chat with the show’s stars before it premieres Thursday, April 4 at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. (It’s a two-episode premiere.)

Like I did when I got to talk with Adam and Amy before the Kindred Spirits season premiere, I asked what would you ask the stars of Travel Channel’s new show?

Once again people had some great questions. And once again I ran out of time before I could ask them all. However I got to ask a lot, and Bob and Tina couldn’t have been nicer or more gracious answering them.

New vs. Old

The first question was one I had to know: what will be the same as the first Ghost Bait, and what will be different? Bob fielded this one.

His main objective has always been to help people who are having problems on the supernatural or paranormal side of things. That’s what the first show was all about. That same underlying idea is what the new show is about too.

He really stressed that hunting ghosts is not what they do. Helping people is.

And another thing that’s different is Tina. He had been looking for someone new to join him. Tina’s name kept coming up. Fate saw fit to cross their paths. #Serendipity

Fear: Therapy vs. Investigating

Jim Tackitt from Facebook and @katiemotivates on Instagram both had very similar questions for Bob and Tina about feeling fear in a location. Jim’s was more about how they’d process that and would they proceed with the investigation. Katie wanted to know if they’d ever been so creeped out by activity somewhere they didn’t want to go back.

Since they don’t really investigate, it’s not as much about the places as it is about the people living and working in them. Their main goal is to help people overcome their fears of whatever entities are challenging them.

Bob and Tina are passionate that fear feeds phenomenon. Remove that, and you take away the entities power while empowering the living to continue…well, living.

Bob also said something else interesting having to do with all of this. He talked about how often times ghost hunters and paranormal investigators enter a home or haunted place and don’t feel or experience what the homeowners or employees do. Mainly because the ghost hunters aren’t afraid. Also, because what’s scary for one is not always scary for another. Everyone processes things differently.

Investigators normally don’t have the same experiences as the people living and working in the locations. So, if an entity needs fear to help it manifest and be active, a ghost hunter without fear isn’t going to “feed” it, and thus they’ll come away saying, “I’m not experiencing what you’re claiming to.” That doesn’t help the person who is experiencing the activity much, does it?

That’s what Bob brings to the table. He’s not there to confirm there’s activity. He believes the person when they say something is happening. He’s not there to confirm that. He’s there to help them empower themselves to face it and/or overcome it.

Hooded Bait

My friend Deedee, aka @madeupgirlcom on Insta (which is how she submitted her question to me), had a great question for Bob and Tina. She wanted to know what was up with the hoods she’d seen on the bait in the show’s trailers. She wanted to know what was the purpose of the hood. To heighten the fear as much as possible, or to help the people tune into it because they don’t see what’s coming?

Deedee was pretty close with all of it. Both Bob and Tina answered.

Bob said, yes, it’s about heightening the fear as much as possible. More fear brings out more activity.

Tina added that the hood serves to take away their sensory too. As she put it, it helps them “check into their own selves.” They’re seeing not with their eyeballs but with their third eye. She emphasized that it’s amazing what happens when you take away sight –and it’s an amazingly cycle to witness.  

The Number One Question They’re Asked

@pamela.ki and @debrhodes65 basically had the same question: If you’re freaked out by ghosts, why be bait? And what happens if they take the bait?

This was the question that made both Bob and Tina chuckle, and it’s the one Bob said everyone always asks.

Bob then went on to talk a little bit more about his background in therapy and how becoming “ghost bait” is a type of therapy. Specifically, aversion therapy.

Through guidance in a controlled environment, they can help people overcome their fears so they can get back to living a normal life. One free of fear. But to do that, the people first have to face fear head one.

Fave Cases?

As we were talking, I got to wondering if they’d had a favorite case or episode. Neither really did.

Tina said with each case she’d think, “It can’t get better than that.” But then it did. 

Bob said for him the moment of triumph and accomplishment after a successful session was great. Also, that it was very emotional, because the amount of gratitude the people expressed after having overcome their fears with Bob and Tina’s help was so sincere. 

Not One Size Fits All

I also wondered since they can’t physically go on location to every person being haunted by the paranormal, did they have any general advice for people experiencing a frightening situation? Or did they have any tips they’d found worked well overall?

Bob said, no. Not really. It’s not a one size fits all process. It might seem like it’d be the same at first glance. However, as people watch each episode, they’ll see each is unique. Because different people have different situations, which leads to different means of administering the therapy.

Tina added that she’d just advise people to be strong. Tap into their strength. Find ways to empower themselves. 

Why Watch?

Another really great question that @katiemotivates had was: what makes Ghost Bait a must watch?

While I didn’t ask it directly, Bob sort of offered it when responding to the question in the “One Size Fits All” section above: each case is unique.

While some aspects of the therapy, like it all being the same type (aversion) and certain tools (the hood) may be the same, each situation is different. Each way a person responds to their fear is different.

Also, the fact that this show is less about investigating and more about therapy, brings a different angle to the paranormal.