Now that we're well past Halloween I think it’s safe to admit…I believe in ghosts. Though I must say for the record that while I am a believer, I am also a hard-assed, Scorpio skeptic. Now some of you may find yourselves scratching your heads in confusion. But it’s really quite simple;  I believe it when I see it. Or more accurately, when I experience it. Suffice it to say, through the years I’ve had some chilling encounters with the “other side”. But I’ll save those tales for next Halloween.

So all talk of my ethereal background aside, have you noticed the tidal wave of paranormal investigation or P.I. reality television shows of late? You’ve got Paranormal State on A&E, Ghost Hunters on SyFy, Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel and now – drum roll please – Ghost Lab on Discovery Channel. Now typically I tend to have problem with these types of shows. So what made my remote button-pushing finger freeze dead in its tracks? Bears! Not just one or two, like you might find over at the former SciFi Channel (Don’t get me started). But five…as in one more than four and almost enough to for a bear run!

Beefy Texas brothers Brad and Barry Klinge had such a blast with their dayjobs as the “Everyday Paranormal” investigation team they parleyed the whole shebang into a balls-to-the-wall spook hunting reality show! Now, I will not raise my right hand and say that they’ve actually converted me into a believer. Nooooooo, sir. Do I buy their theory that the mighty Mississippi chucks electromagnetic energy at a plantation era mansion, fueling its ghost mojo and providing ground zero for a spectral orb fest? Nope. Was I swayed to the ethereal side by their brilliant theory that lightning could have hit a silver mine, electro-supercharging the town of Tombstone Arizona? Nah. Am I impressed with their toys? Getting warmer. I mean, the bears have really nice toys.

They’ve got a 24’ trailer, tricked out with fancy logo and detail work on the outside, "capable of providing 200,000 watts of electricity to power audio, video and photo analysis stations; flat-screen televisions and an interactive touch-screen smartboard." Damn! I gotta sit down for a while.  Their mobile lab has high-tech surveillance cameras, laser thermometers, humidity and dew point data loggers, more digital cameras than James Bond’s dashboard, thermal imaging equipment, audio recorders and over 8,000 feet of video cable. Me? I drive a Scion.

Now let’s get down to the fur. Seriously, men. These guys – in my humble opinion – are *%# ’ing hot! You’ve got the Klinge brothers; one sharp, handsome and furry with a goatee and the other a muscled, equally goateed woofer. Both are unexpectedly articulate and talk a good “ghost” talk. Add into the yummy mix a black bear, a silver bear, a latin bear….and a slight blonde girl….and you have 5/6 of a dream date. Ok, the girl is straight guy filler. Futile attempt, but kudos for the effort. Oh, and did I mention that the latin bruin wears a black leather cap? I could care less if they pumped out sixteen seasons with nary a blip on their high-tech thingamabobs!

I can’t help myself. Watching these boys in their black uniform t-shirts and hats, I repeatedly have the urge to dress like a spook in only a sheet and run across a Texan field screaming “BOO! WOOF! BOO! Catch me if you can!!!” And of course, I’ll give ‘em something all these ghost hunters – my bears included – never seem to provide.  Proof. In the flesh.