‘Ghost Hunters’ Team Reveals ‘Intense’ Conversations Over TAPS’ Return While Investigating Pittsburgh Brewery (Exclusive)

The Ghost Hunters team is back and just as dedicated to finding the truth as ever. Original TAPS members Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango are back together along with Shari DeBenedetti for the first time in half a decade for the revival now airing on discovery+, but it wasn’t a reunion they took lightly. While investigating a church-turned-brewery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the Jan. 15 episode “The Haunted Brewery,” the TAPS team sat down with PopCulture.com to talk about their legacy as paranormal trailblazers and what’s next for the team this season.

When the opportunity came around for TAPS to reunite under the Ghost Hunters banner once again, Gonsalves admitted there were “some pretty intense conversations” in the group about whether or not to accept the offer, while Hawes explained it was because they had to make sure it was a good decision for everyone. “I mean, if it was just going to benefit one more than the others, then it’s not worth it. It had to be a choice that all of us could make together as a group,” he said.

Getting into the TAPS van and starting to go through the gear for the day’s investigation at Church Brew Works, Tango admitted he was “getting chills” being hit with the nostalgia. There has been plenty of paranormal investigation shows over the years, but the TAPS team told PopCulture that none of them quite bring what Ghost Hunters has brought over the years.

“I think it’s because we always kept it real,” Hawes reasoned. “I mean, now there’s so many shows that are out there … and some of the shows that have come and gone have seemed like they’ve really tried to push it to this next level, and you always have to question the reasons behind that. Are they doing this trying, faking evidence or whatever, just hoping for new seasons? You really had to wonder the credibility behind that.” 

There are plenty of other “great” shows as well, the TAPS founder made sure to add, noting that with more people investigating in their own style, it only pushes the field forward. One thing that’s always made Ghost Hunters unique is the team’s willingness to disprove paranormal activity, the TAPS team agreed. “There’s so many people who come up to us that say they love our show because we disprove,” Tango shared. “That separates a lot of people from watching other shows.” Gonsalves chimed in, “Don’t get me wrong, though. We want it to be a ghost. …We want it to be, but there doesn’t do anybody any good to fool yourself.”

Walking the line of science and entertainment is a tough gig, but it hasn’t ever been a concern for Hawes. “Our concern has always been following the rules that we’ve always followed,” he explained. Looking back on the first few seasons of Ghost Hunters, Hawes and Gonsalves agreed some of their favorite episodes that aired were ones in which they debunked paranormal experiences.

“Then came the thing where it was like the networks that we dealt with in the past were like, ‘Well, you guys own the show. We own the network. So we’re going to only air the ones we want to air,’” he continued. “That sucked, because it was like, ‘Oh, you’re only airing ones that have paranormal activity.’ But now we’re back to, I mean, we’re only going to film a certain amount of episodes and those are going to air.”

Gonsalves added that for him, he tries to keep in mind while investigating that “two is a coincidence, three is a pattern.” He continued, “So I know we’re making television, but still that’s what I keep in my head, and I think most of us do just so it keeps us from really just getting carried away with things.”

Looking into reports at Church Brew Works of voices, human figures and other paranormal activity, the team wanted to go in mostly blind to the history behind the Pittsburgh landmark, but there’s plenty to be found when it comes to their investigation into the mysterious occurrences. Don’t miss the all-new episode of Ghost Hunters, which begins streaming Saturday, Jan. 15 on discovery+. Get your free trial subscription to discovery+ here!