‘Ghost Hunters’ Star Mustafa Gatollari Teases ‘Unexpected’ Findings in Anticipated ‘Return to St. Augustine’ Episode (Exclusive)

Since its highly anticipated return this past August, Ghost Hunters has been heating up the small screen and delivering nonstop chills and soul with its second incarnation on A&E. Regarded as the granddaddy of paranormal-themed reality shows beloved by fans with a rich and ghostly history of activity, original series investigator, Grant Wilson is back leading the charge with a new crew as they head to one of the most talked about spots ever covered in show history — the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida.

With a reported increase in paranormal activity around the famous landmark, the exploration was a thrilling one for Ghost Hunters investigator, Mustafa Gatollari, who also serves as the team’s paranormal historian and site analyst. While chatting with PopCulture.com ahead of the reboot’s third episode, “Return to St. Augustine” airing Wednesday night, the New Jersey native admitted exclusively that while he couldn’t contain his excitement upon initially learning of their next case, he did feel a little pressure.

“At first I was like, ‘Heck, yes!’ because I’ve never, ever been there — and then it was like, ‘Oh no! How are we gonna live up to it?’ Because this is one of the most iconic Ghost Hunters episodes,” Gatollari told PopCulture.com exclusively. “If you ask anybody, they’re always like, ‘Oh my God, St. Augustine Lighthouse, that’s one of my favorite ones!’ And Grant got this amazing piece of evidence.”

Fans of the first-run series will recall Wilson and his former team traveled to St. Augustine in 2006 to investigate the state’s oldest lighthouse. Though they reported hearing voices on-site, one of the more notable moments captured on film was of an apparition repeatedly peeking its head out over the railing at the very top of the lighthouse.

While Gatollari confesses he felt a bit of the previous investigation’s weight, he reveals Wilson was every bit encouraging and comforting to him and his team members as fans would imagine of the beloved paranormal investigator.

“Grant is just like, a big old papa bear. He’s very reassuring. He talks to you like he’s got some Werther’s Originals in his pockets,” he laughed. “[But] he’s got this very warm, comforting thing about him. And he just told us, ‘Hey you guys, focus on what you do best.’ And then we went in there and then sure enough, not only did we learn a heck of a lot about the place, but some crazy stuff happened.”

Without spoiling it for fans, Gatollari — who has more than 80 investigations under his belt across a 10-year span in ghost hunting, and works hard to accentuate the value of sincerity and legitimacy in every hunt — admits it’s going to be an investigation chock full of surprises.

“Something unexpected occurred during the investigation that kind of blew everyone’s minds away,” he said. “And it’s super, super cool.”

Ghost Hunters airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on A&E.