Syfy sinks to a new low by producing and airing a show where people pay an antiques expert to take allegedly haunted antiques off their hands, which he then stashes away in his Paranormal Museum. I wonder what the ultimate dispensation of the items in the museum turns out to be. Are they permanently on display, or does Zaffis sell off some of them to, you know, cover operating expenses like his salary?
Auction, storage and collectors shows are all the rage right now. You can’t hit channel up or down more than five times without hitting a show like American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, Auction Hunters or a hundred different other knockoffs and imitators. Some of them are good, some ridiculous and a few are less reality and more like a cross between Antiques Roadshow and Jersey Shore – and then there’s ‘Haunted Collector’ on Syfy. John Zaffis visits potentially haunted houses, finds the objects that are causing trouble in each house and takes them to his paranormal museum in New England. Problem is, it doesn’t appear that Zaffis actually pays for these items. Is Syfy airing a television show where a man with some knowledge of antiques is taking valuable items from scared dupes?
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And what does he charge for this amazing service?
We do not charge for conducting an investigation. We will ask for travel reimbursement, which can include gas, airline tickets, phone and tolls. We generally travel by car whenever possible to keep the costs to a minimum. Due to the reality that there are always those who can not financially reimburse this amount, the fee will vary on case by case basis.
Wow! What a deal! You fly him and his team to your home, give them some spending cash and give up some of your valuables and he’ll pretend that ghosts and spirits exist and walk around with fake equipment. In one episode, the ‘haunted’ item was an 1870′s european cane gun, which appears to have been worth about $650. But the big money comes from using this paranormal treasure to promote his books, radio show, television show and public appearances. Odds are, John Zaffis is bringing in a pretty decent paycheck when all is said and done.
Link:
http://thenewsjunkie.com/2011/06/haunted-collector-steals-valuables-from-vulnerable-peopleOn edit: The headline I used is the headline of the post I linked to. Personally, I don't think this can be called stealing since people are willingly giving him their items. A more accurate word might be "defrauding" or even "scamming".
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