Any ghost hunting enthusiast, or even just someone who likes to channel surf, is more than familiar with Ghost Hunters.

It is a paranormal show that has captivated many and kept us all in suspense. Every episode offers up the promise of finding definitive proof of the supernatural, after all, the team is made up of the best in the business.

Ghost Hunters was formed by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. Along with other team members, they would visit locations of interest to investigate the presence of any paranormal activity, and hopefully catch it on camera or recording.

Together, the two founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). 

The TAPS team would find their next haunt and first discuss the history of the location with the owners.

They would also do their own background research, to obtain any missing details and learn who may have lived there before.

Once they had gathered enough information, the crew would then set up electronic equipment throughout the house, focussing on the hotspots.

After this, the team spent time taking all different types of readings – electromagnetic fields, temperatures, and even voice recordings. 

They would record the whole investigation on digital cameras, both to capture their experience and hopefully evidence of the supernatural.

Often if they were having trouble getting a response from any entities, they would verbally entice the ghosts into making contact – whatever they had to do to get a response, all while being respectful of the spirits that may have been present.

The team emphasized that there needs to be respected for those who have passed, and would only coax a ghost out with taunts if it was someone who had passed with a bad reputation.

Often the coaxing worked, and they would record responses that could be heard when playing the tapes back.

Once the investigation was done, the team would spend hours and sometimes days analyzing all the readings and recordings.

They used state of the art equipment to see and hear even the slightest of sights and sounds.

All of the team members are trained to pick up on shadows and sounds that ordinary people may just write off as interference, and then interpret these occurrences.

  Some of the evidence they collected won viewers over, cementing for many that there are supernatural beings out there, waiting to be found.

The team did, however, state that not all the evidence captured on tape was supernatural – sometimes it could be creaky pipes or a fly in front of the camera.

That is why their interpretation of the recordings was so important – they were honest.

Viewers fell in love with the team and the dynamic of Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson.

They were synonymous with Ghost Hunting and all things paranormal, all while having some fun doing so.

Their belief in the paranormal had us all interested in it as well, so it was a big blow to their cult following, and to ordinary viewers, when Grant Wilson announced he would be leaving Ghost Hunters and TAPS.

Why Grant Wilson Left Ghost Hunters and TAPS

When Grant announced his departure from the show and TAPS, everyone knew that it would not be the same without him.

There were theories about why he left – fighting between cast members, a bad haunting and other crazy stories, but the answer was fairly simple, very understandable, and just plain human –

He wanted more time for other aspects of his life.

Sometimes, things can just be simple.

There doesn’t have to be some big drama forcing a cast member to quit. As in this case, it could simply be someone moving on and wanting to pursue a different avenue in life.

Grant Wilson is a phenomenal paranormal investigator. If anyone could locate and record ghosts, it was him and his team.

However, there is a side to Grant that not everyone knows about – his absolute love for music and visual arts.

More than ghost hunting and more than seeking out the existence of the paranormal, Grant loved creativity, making art through music and painting.

Pursuing Ghost Hunting as a hobby turned into a full-time career for Grant. It was a way to explore his love for all things supernatural, earn a living, and share his experiences with the rest of the world.

It was the perfect win-win for him and his team. It was a platform that allowed him to share his love with others, to educate others in the paranormal realm.

He offered up his wisdom and experience openly, helping other budding supernatural enthusiasts gather enough confidence and knowledge to start their own ghost hunting journey.

He was one of the best people to do so, he was friendly, giving and one of the most knowledgeable in the ghost hunting business.

But, there does come a time in a person’s life when we need to re-prioritize. Just like any other career person – an accountant, an admin clerk, a lawyer, things change and our interests change.

You look back at all your years doing the same thing and think hey, do I want to continue with this path, or do I want to embark on something new, follow my interests and pursue something I love?

It is a relatable feeling, it is a very human feeling, and it isn’t a feeling that Ghost Hunters are immune to! They can very easily land up in the same boat.

Living the Dream?

To some of us, it might be really difficult to understand why someone who is seemingly living their dream, might want to give it up.

For those on the outside, Grant Wilson was doing what he loved. He got to visit amazing locations, meet incredible people, and use the best equipment around and the most experienced crew, to capture what he believed to be real – the existence of the supernatural.

It seemed that it was his calling, and what he would be doing until the day he couldn’t do it anymore.

But that isn’t the truth. Yes, it might have been his absolute passion at one point in time, but people change, and along with it, so do their priorities and interests.

While it seemed that Grant Wilson was living the dream, to him it was hard work as well.

Every ghost hunt was taxing, the traveling, the analyzing of the evidence, the time away from family – it can become more work than a passion, and it can take a toll on anyone.

The time spent researching, filming and everything else in between kept Grant Wilson away from his other passions.

Soon, he felt a longing for pursuing other avenues of his interests, he had spent his time ghost hunting for many years, and now it was time to develop and explore his love for music and visual arts.

He isn’t a one-trick pony. He is a man of many talents, and he deserves the opportunity to explore his other talents, some of which friends and family claim are better than his ghost hunting skills.

Grant Wilson made the decision over time, and with respect for the ghost hunting industry. He respected his teammates, his partner, and the crew, but knew that it was time to focus on himself and his passions.

Saying Goodbye

Many people looked at Grant Wilson’s departure as a loss for the paranormal community, that he would be leaving a void in the industry that would be difficult to replace; but this really isn’t the reality.

Grant Wilson dedicated his ghost hunting career to enlightening viewers and enthusiasts on the art of finding the supernatural.

With TAPS, he spread his knowledge and experience as far and wide as he could.

The TAPS team was full of all the ghost hunting wisdom needed to embark on this journey, and Grant Wilson’s departure did indeed leave a void, but it is one that is filled with the knowledge he left behind.

All hope is not lost, however – Grant Wilson still shows up at ghost hunting conferences and events.

He is still happy to guide those looking to start their own journey into the unknown

. His love for the paranormal and seeking evidence of anything supernatural will never be lost, it is always there, but it has just taken a bit of a backseat for now.

Maybe one day he will find himself behind the camera at a haunted location yet again, who knows?

The Supernatural Awaits

If you were one of the die-hard fans who lived off of every episode of Ghost Hunters and followed every shred of information from TAPS, Grant Wilson leaving the show might have been upsetting and demotivating.

At the end of the day, you need to see it as a positive.

Why not gather up all the information you can, and along with your love for the paranormal, go out and seek evidence of the supernatural on your own.

You might be the next Grant Wilson, and you may even find the most concrete evidence of ghosts yet! 

Use it as a motivation to start your own paranormal career; you might even be invited as an honorary guest to TAPS if you are successful.