Fusetti was the big winner
on ‘Ghost Hunters’

West Mayfair’s Mark Fusetti was the big winner on last week’s episode of Sci-Fi Channel’s Ghost Hunters.
Last week the Times profiled Fusetti, a 32-year-old city warrant officer and married father of five who appeared on a live Halloween episode titled Hunt for the Hunter.
Fusetti, of St. Vincent Street, competed against Patrick Clark, a radio personality from Seattle, and Deanna Hoffman, a scrapbook saleswoman from Indiana.
The three had submitted applications over the summer and were among 25 finalists. An Internet vote among the public decided the top three contestants.
The trio reported on Oct. 31 to the long-closed Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a former tuberculosis hospital in Louisville, Ky. Legend has it that the facility, where more than 63,000 people supposedly died in the early 1900s, is haunted.
After examining each contestant’s approach to the hunt for ghosts, hosts Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson selected Fusetti.
"I was surprised," Fusetti said. "I honestly thought they were giving it to the girl."
Fusetti watched the show with his wife Melissa and his oldest children, 14-year-old Andrew and 9-year-old Tyler, who told his dad he had "no chance" of winning.
The winner was chosen during the Halloween taping, but the contestants were not permitted to reveal who won. Fusetti told his wife but not his kids.
"They were shocked when they saw it happen," he said. "It was pretty cool."
Ghost Hunters is on every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Sci-Fi (Comcast Channel 58). It is hosted by Hawes and Wilson, co-founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). The two never explained why they picked Fusetti, but he’s just happy for the chance to appear on an upcoming episode.
Fusetti expects taping for the next season to run from January to March. He has not been told the location of the ghost hunt — only that it will probably be somewhere in the United States.
He expects to get a better feel for a real hunt during a taped episode rather than a live one.
"I’m looking forward to that," he said. "It will be neat to do a show and a case with the guys to see how they do it properly."
Fusetti, Clark and Hoffman were all seeking one guaranteed hunt, with hopes that the TAPS crew would bring them in the fold for two or more. The national television exposure was fun, but the opportunity to hunt ghosts was better.
"It’s not about being on TV," Fusetti said. "We all agreed that we definitely wanted to be part of more than one show." ••