Grant Wilson To Leave 'Ghost Hunters'

After eight years of hunting ghosts, paranormal investigator Grant Wilson, 37, is hanging up his flashlight. The integral member of the TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormaal Society) team since its inception revealed the news to his partner Jason Hawes, his team, and his Syfy fans on Wednesday night's show.

"Eight years has put stress on us in various ways and over the course of a while," he began cryptically, addressing fellow hunters Amy Bruni, Adam Berry, Dave Tango, and Steve Gonsalves. "Jay and I have been talking, and it's been a very difficult decision to make, but I'm going to be leaving Ghost Hunters."

The former plumber and father of three didn't go into much detail about the specific reasons behind his departure, but he did assure, fighting back tears, that "no one has done anything wrong to push me there by any means." He added: "It's a tough decision to make, but it's not the end. It's not goodbye, still have a few more cases that I'll be working with you and I appreciate the support."

Hawes responded to his buddy and TAPS cofounder's news in a statement, saying, "I will miss working with Grant on a daily basis, and am indebted to the level of dedication and expertise he has brought to our field. I can't imagine having a better partner through it all — both on the show and off. Grant and I, along with our spouses and chidren, are all like one big family. While I fully support his decision to move on from the series, this longtime friendship — as well as our business partnership — will continue off-camera for years to come."

The duo have been friends since they were coworkers at Roto Rooter and merely moonlighted as paranormal investigators. The show must go on, however, even in Wilson's absence. Though his final episode is scheduled for March 16, Ghost Hunters was renewed for twenty new episodes, according to EW. After all, somebody's gotta catch all those ubiquitous ghosts.