'Hoarders' 10/8/2012 - It Has Happened

[StusBlues]

The A&E program Hoarders is a guilty pleasure of mine. I should like to think I watch it for the (usually) uplifting endings; it is reassuring to see that there is redemption even for those who have gone so far beyond the pale. More realistically, I watch it to encourage myself to clean house. I realize that I become inured to the little messes after a while, and the show allows for a bit of dishabituation. I'll also admit to a bit of morbid fascination, which I imagine you all have guessed.

Tonight as I sat watching the most recent episode, something transpired that I never would have guessed could be engendered from a simple television program:

I threw up.

You may watch the program if you wish. All I can say is that it would be difficult to fathom a more viscerally disgusting example of the medium. All that was missing was a visit from Jerry Sandusky. (And, yes, I realize that my forming that phrase has likely summoned the spirit of Clement Moore to be a muse to some present-day jaded scribbler. I take full responsibility.)

If I were not an atheist before, this would have done it.

[Seanette]

I watch Hoarders and its counterpart, Hoarding: Buried Alive, as cleaning motivation and preventive therapy myself (DH and I both have some packrat tendencies).

I'm VERY relieved that Shanna's no longer living on her own. She's simply too disconnected from reality to do so safely. How she's managed to not make herself extremely ill, I have no idea.

This was one of those episodes where I'm very glad TV only offers sight and sound, no smell.

[StusBlues]

Originally Posted by Seanette

This was one of those episodes where I'm very glad TV only offers sight and sound, no smell.

I've been doing a lot of creative writing lately, which has really improved my imagination.

This is not always a good thing.

[Bryan Ekers]

I'm watching it now (albeit it's paused for Daily Show and Colbert) and....



...eeewwwww.

[Seanette]

Believe it or not, this isn't the undisputed peak of gross for this show, IMO, unless I'm misremembering which of the hoarding shows it was that had a husband/wife pair who both had severe problems, including a stream of sewage running through part of the house.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

There was another season opener - Ruby, maybe? Who had a latrine of poop bags filling a stairway to the second floor, one of those enclosed staircases with a door at the bottom. She would just open the door, fling the bag, and close the door. Matt had that cleanup, and IIRC it was the introduction of full hazmat suits for the show.

This one was worse by a long shot, IMO.

Is it me, or does this season seem a bit more "feel good" with the introduction of attempting to stay the night in the hoards by Matt and Cory - which have yet to be successful - and somehow the mid-cleanup meltdowns haven't seemed so awful. It hasn't been hard at all in previous seasons to be dismissive of the subjects of a lot of the episodes, and a good majority of them were really unlikeable. I haven't gotten too frustrated with the hoarders so far this season, and I think it might be they're slanting the editing a little more favorably this time. Maybe there's a little more emphasis on therapy or something.

I was also thinking the hoards weren't as bad so far this season, until now!

I so wanted to hear someone tell that poor poop woman, "You're the Poop Lady. You need to understand that you are the Poop Lady. When you go to the food pantry and everyone goes quiet and you get in and out so fast, and people let you go ahead of them, it's because you're the Poop Lady. They can smell you from a block away, and they want you out of there as quickly as possible. All those watery eyes are not from relief and joy for getting donated food. It's because the Poop Lady has arrived and the smell is making their eyes water. It's you, Shanna!"

[edwards_beard]

Originally Posted by Seanette

Believe it or not, this isn't the undisputed peak of gross for this show, IMO, unless I'm misremembering which of the hoarding shows it was that had a husband/wife pair who both had severe problems, including a stream of sewage running through part of the house.

I think I saw the episode you are referring to not too long ago...their floors and rugs were wet when they stepped on them, and then they found their dead cat behind the TV. Does that sound right? If so, that was the other show Hoarding: Buried Alive.

But this episode (I thought) was much worse than that one. The endless jugs of waste that they had to open each one and empty. This is the only episode I can remember having to turn away from watching. And was actually screaming at the TV when she kept insisting that the smell was from mold in the house. I can't imagine being one of her neighbors. Luckily Dr Zazio has no sense of smell which is a great advantage for some of these houses.

For some reason I thought the repeat they showed right before it (Doug with the brain injury and the woman with the husband and two sons that died in the house) was the season premiere because it was the first time I saw someone try to sleep in the house for a night before the cleanup, and they also repainted both interiors which I don't remember seeing before either.

[Smapti]

One of the people who appeared on the first episode is my mother's neighbor, and was (and probably still is) a frequent customer at the restaurant I used to manage. (From what I read, our store's soda cups were about knee-high in part of his residence.)

I've never watched the show, but the fact that the state his apartment was in doesn't even get mentioned in comparison to stuff in later episodes - now that's some nightmare fuel.

[Jophiel]

Originally Posted by edwards_beard

Luckily Dr Zazio has no sense of smell which is a great advantage for some of these houses.

Is this hyperbole or did she have some sort of childhood illness or smelting accident? A brief Google turned up nothing (and this thread was hit #2).

[Biggirl]

Was it worse than the lady with the pile of shit in her toilet? The pile was taller than her and I was left wondering how in the hell she scaled that mountain to poop every day.

[Frylock]

I'm sure there's no legal obligation here, but surely, morally, there's a strongly felt obligation not just to clean these guys' houses but to get them real help of some kind.

Does the show fulfill this obligation?

[Robot Arm]

Originally Posted by StusBlues

I threw up.

You may watch the program if you wish.

For those of us who don't want to throw up, could you give us a few of the highlights, as it were?

[SpoilerVirgin]

Originally Posted by Jophiel

Is this hyperbole or did she have some sort of childhood illness or smelting accident? A brief Google turned up nothing (and this thread was hit #2).

Childhood accident. I have her book The Hoarder in You, which incidentally is very good, and in it she mentions that she has a very limited sense of smell as a result of a childhood horseback riding accident.

[StusBlues]

Originally Posted by Robot Arm

For those of us who don't want to throw up, could you give us a few of the highlights, as it were?

Posts 6 and 7 in this thread have done as thorough a job as I care to see.

Honestly, I looked up this episode for the OTHER profile--the millenial lady who was ostensibly hoarding so her things could be used by those left behind when she was taken up in the Rapture. As the show went on, it became apparent that this was probably an excuse for more garden-variety hoarding.

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by Frylock

I'm sure there's no legal obligation here, but surely, morally, there's a strongly felt obligation not just to clean these guys' houses but to get them real help of some kind.

Does the show fulfill this obligation?

They do. The show provides up to six months of aftercare funds so that the hoarders can seek professional counseling with no financial obligation. Many of the hoarders refuse the offer of further help, however.

[DonLogan]

After you puked, did you clean it up?

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by StusBlues

Honestly, I looked up this episode for the OTHER profile--the millenial lady who was ostensibly hoarding so her things could be used by those left behind when she was taken up in the Rapture. As the show went on, it became apparent that this was probably an excuse for more garden-variety hoarding.

Her creepy little smile when she described her unraptured relatives needing her hoarded supplies was, I found, a tad more unsettling than the poo-bottle lady.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by StusBlues

Honestly, I looked up this episode for the OTHER profile--the millenial lady who was ostensibly hoarding so her things could be used by those left behind when she was taken up in the Rapture. As the show went on, it became apparent that this was probably an excuse for more garden-variety hoarding.

Yeah, it's probably like the hoarders who claim they're collecting all that rusting scrap metal and tin cans as money for their grandchildrens' inheritance, or those that hoard things to be kept because so-and-so's kids could use it - but they never give much of anything away.

[Time Stranger]

Originally Posted by cochrane

They do. The show provides up to six months of aftercare funds so that the hoarders can seek professional counseling with no financial obligation. Many of the hoarders refuse the offer of further help, however.

After retirement, one of my old coworkers went into the professional organizer business (I realize this is total anecdote, she could be wrong, etc). She said that for the vast majority of the hoarding cases on these shows, the "after" shots are completely fabricated. The TV people move stuff outside, film the "happy" success, and then everything goes right back inside. She said the recovery rates are essentially zero, even with counseling. I think that's bizarre, and I wonder if there isn't something physically changed in their brains that makes it hard to be "cured" of hoarding that's separate from depression or PTSD.

[Ann Hedonia]

Originally Posted by Time Stranger

I think that's bizarre, and I wonder if there isn't something physically changed in their brains that makes it hard to be "cured" of hoarding that's separate from depression or PTSD.

There might be..............and it's related to all the cat crap. It's a parasite that infects the brain with a condition called toxoplasmosis and it's highly correlated to exposure to cat feces. In Sam Kean's "The Violinist's Thumb" he describes the changes in brain chemistry that can be caused by this parasite..........especially in the high levels that occur when someone keeps a lot of cats in less than sanitary conditions. One of the symptoms that Kean describes relates to the way the brain perceives the odor of cat urine..............instead of the vomit-inducing reek normal people percieve, highly infected folks perceive the smell as neutral or even pleasant.

A little Wikipedia clipping is below.

Studies show the toxoplasmosis parasite may affect behavior and may present as or be a causative or contributory factor in various psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.[13][14][15] In 11 of 19 scientific studies, T. gondii antibody levels were found to be significantly higher in individuals affected by first-incidence schizophrenia than in unaffected persons. Individuals with schizophrenia are also more likely to report a clinical history of toxoplasmosis than those in the general population.[16] Recent work at the University of Leeds has found the parasite produces an enzyme with tyrosine hydroxylase and phenylalanine hydroxylase activity. This enzyme may contribute to the behavioral changes observed in toxoplasmosis by altering the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in mood, sociability, attention, motivation and sleep patterns. Schizophrenia has long been linked to dopamine dysregulation.[17] A large serological study in the United States found evidence that Toxoplasma infection was elevated in a subset of young people with bipolar disorder type I who reported both manic and major depression symptoms. [18] Although T. gondii infection is thought to be detrimental, it may have positive effects on some individuals, including individuals who suffer from too fast reuptake of dopamine due to Dopamine Transporter gene DAT1 polymorphism. A research contrary to the mainstream view is for example, T. gondii seems to stop brain deterioration to Alzheimer's disease

[Corcaigh]

Originally Posted by Jophiel

Is this hyperbole or did she have some sort of childhood illness or smelting accident? A brief Google turned up nothing (and this thread was hit #2).

My cousin has full blown anosmia, I have a pretty poor sense of smell myself, no known reason, although both my parents used to smoke heavily in the house when I was a child, and I had a permanently snotty nose till I was about 14 years old. Maybe the scent area of my brain atrophied from lack of use? Whatever the reason something has to be completely rank and right under my nose before I realise it stinks.

[Nonsuch]

I will admit, there were moments during this episode when I thought, "They just shouldn't have put this on TV." I can't remember ever being that grossed out by a TV show — and I watch both Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive every week. I was watching a lot this ep through my fingers.

Is it me, or does this season seem a bit more "feel good" with the introduction of attempting to stay the night in the hoards by Matt and Cory - which have yet to be successful - and somehow the mid-cleanup meltdowns haven't seemed so awful.

I don't know if I'd describe it as "feel-good" so much as "gimmicky." The idea that Paxton or Chalmers can learn anything useful by sleeping in a house swarming with vermin is absurd; it's just to add a bit of sensationalism (as if this show needs any). What I do find interesting is that the "surprise" room renovations and gifts at the end, which used to be occasional, now seem to be a part of every case. That does seem to be more of a feel-good, Oprah-like gesture to help each episode end on a high note.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Nonsuch

I don't know if I'd describe it as "feel-good" so much as "gimmicky." The idea that Paxton or Chalmers can learn anything useful by sleeping in a house swarming with vermin is absurd; it's just to add a bit of sensationalism (as if this show needs any).

Amen. My wife and I hate this aspect of the new season. I hope it goes away after this year. It just makes a real situation feel a lot more "reality show" like.

[YogSosoth]

I have a thing about poop, hate it, cant' stand it. I'm glad some of this episode was filmed in black and white and blurred

[Bryan Ekers]

Well, they were trying for that Paranormal Activity vibe, showing you the ghosts of poos past.

[YogSosoth]

OMG, she wants to eat poop one last time? A "blaze of glory"?? Fuuuuuuckk...


I think this was the first episode I've seen where the doctor recommends and gets the person into assisted living. Wow, unbelievable

[ladyfoxfyre]

Well, I didn't vomit. But that was the most disturbing episode ever.

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by cochrane

They do. The show provides up to six months of aftercare funds so that the hoarders can seek professional counseling with no financial obligation. Many of the hoarders refuse the offer of further help, however.

There are two problems to the Hoarders approach.

First, in cases where the hoarding is due to brain dysfunction (advanced age, dementia (it shows up in several types of senility), head injury, etc.) it's debatable whether or not therapy would help in any case due to there being something wrong with the brain machinery.

Second, cleaning house, especially against the hoarder's consent, THEN offering therapy, is arguably the worst possible approach and a reason that the "cure" doesn't stick. It's not rational to normal people but the reason these people hoard is an unusual attachment to their stuff. Not only do they perceive these cleanings as theft, but it causes more emotional upset/trauma than when an ordinary person is a victim of theft due to their pathologically strong attachments. Hoarders often view an involuntary cleaning as a violation, invasion, theft, etc. That totally destroys any trust between the hoarder and the cleaners, and makes it virtually certain that the hoarder will accept no further help from those people. Hence, the aftercare therapy goes unclaimed.

My research on hoarding is that treatment is much more effective if therapy is given FIRST, then the cleaning is done after the hoarder buys into the necessity. Of course, that takes time, is frustrating, doesn't always work (in some cases involving organic damage it can't work) and isn't as sexy as swooping in to clean the Augean Stables. Really, it would be more beneficial to the hoarders to get six month of PRE-cleaning therapy but then this is about ratings and money, not actually helping the hoarders.

[Soylent Juicy]

Well thanks to you guys and my morbid curiosity I just finished watching that episode - all the while thinking "What is this...I don't even...."

They never answered WHY on earth those women kept bottles of their own pee & shit...what, do they look on them with nostalgia? "Ahh, yes, this was the time I had Taco Bell..." WHAT THE HELL MAN, why? Just....why?? Thank God Shanna was recommended for assisted living because she is obviously very mentally ill.

I pray her cats got loving, clean homes - even cats bury their own crap, unlike Shanna who throws it on the lawn. WTF.

[Tom Tildrum]

I wonder if the acute health risks in some of these cases (particularly the poop and sewage people) make a lengthier course of pre-cleanup treatment impossible. Is it ethical to leave a mentally ill person in that kind of severely toxic environment without some kind of immediate cleaning, even if that ultimately complicates the course of therapy?

Also, I think that in some of these cases, I think there are external deadlines looming, from the landlord or the locality.

[Hello Again]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

There are two problems to the Hoarders approach.

Second, cleaning house, especially against the hoarder's consent, THEN offering therapy, is arguably the worst possible approach and a reason that the "cure" doesn't stick. It's not rational to normal people but the reason these people hoard is an unusual attachment to their stuff. Not only do they perceive these cleanings as theft, but it causes more emotional upset/trauma than when an ordinary person is a victim of theft due to their pathologically strong attachments. .

they don't clean anything without the hoarder's consent. They usually remove objects to an outside location while filth is cleaned, then the therapist and hoarder begin the process of surrendering and sorting individual items. Then they will work up to categories of items, or giving authority to a trusted friend. This usually takes a long time and makes any family/helpers super frustrated. The therapist has sent family/friends off set if she felt they were undermining the process by throwing things away secretly.

I'm not saying the show's a panacaea (or even doing any good), but I don't think you're characterizing it accurately.

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by Soylent Juicy

They never answered WHY on earth those women kept bottles of their own pee & shit...what, do they look on them with nostalgia?

It's an indication (outside of situations where a person is physically unable to dispose of bodily wastes properly) that the hoarding is due to senility or some sort of brain dysfunction, actually. It's not known why these people hoard piss and shit, but in addition they also may hoard nail clippings, hair, etc. If seen in combination with advanced age the possibility of dementia needs to be investigated.

Thank God Shanna was recommended for assisted living because she is obviously very mentally ill.

I haven't looked at the episode in question, but if Shanna is at an advanced age it may not be so much "mental illness" as "the brain isn't working right anymore". Regrettably, there is not much to be done in such cases other than a supervised living situation, which from this thread it sounds like she was placed in such a facility.

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I wonder if the acute health risks in some of these cases (particularly the poop and sewage people) make a lengthier course of pre-cleanup treatment impossible. Is it ethical to leave a mentally ill person in that kind of severely toxic environment without some kind of immediate cleaning, even if that ultimately complicates the course of therapy?

Yes, sometimes immediate health risks make delaying for counseling impossible, or at least not advisable.

Also, I think that in some of these cases, I think there are external deadlines looming, from the landlord or the locality.

Also likely. Municipalities make rules about squalor to protect the public health and property values, not to make hoarders comfortable.

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by Hello Again

they don't clean anything without the hoarder's consent. They usually remove objects to an outside location while filth is cleaned, then the therapist and hoarder begin the process of surrendering and sorting individual items. Then they will work up to categories of items, or giving authority to a trusted friend. This usually takes a long time and makes any family/helpers super frustrated. The therapist has sent family/friends off set if she felt they were undermining the process by throwing things away secretly.

I'm not saying the show's a panacaea (or even doing any good), but I don't think you're characterizing it accurately.

Well, as I don't have cable or satellite my opportunities to actually watch it are pretty infrequent. I am going basically on what others tell me, which admittedly is not a complete picture.

If the therapist prevents "helpful" associates from taking matters into their own hands in a way that sabotages actual progress that's a good thing.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Shanna wasn't anywhere near elderly though...there's definitely something else wrong with her. It also didn't appear that her hoard consisted of actual "stuff"...just the poo bottles, assorted poo collection vessels (there were several buckets outside that she stated were in case she couldn't make it inside in time), and a sizable amount of decaying/contaminated food.

[Broomstick]

Brain damage can occur at any age from a variety of reasons.

[Rushgeekgirl]

It made me cry. I felt so bad for Shanna because she clearly has a mental illness but the people that are closest to her just saw her as lazy. They were aware of the situation for YEARS and just let her decline. How can you let a sibling fall so far? How could you just give up knowing your sister is hoarding bottles of her own excrement and then just pretend she was just too lazy?

The other one I called as an excuse the minute she made the claim.

[Tom Tildrum]

In the news: Someone who helped clean up one of the houses due to be featured on "Hoarding: Buried Alive" developed hantavirus.

[monstro]

Seems to me that Shanna wasn't a hoarder so much as a clutterer.

She didn't seem that fazed when they were literally throwing her shit away. She only had that one outburst regarding the food, but I think in that case she was just expressing anger at herself and the world. Here everyone was saying (in her mind) how disgusting she was and I think she wanted to show them it didn't matter to her WHAT they thought. I don't think she cared about eating the food. I think she wanted to show those people how meaningless their concern was to her.

About her family, I didn't seem them being insulting as much as being helpless. Especially that one brother. I think they all knew that the girl is severely mentally ill, but didn't know what to do about it. Just as she was in denial about the poop, I think they were in denial about how bad things were.

[lisacurl]

Originally Posted by Rushgeekgirl

It made me cry. I felt so bad for Shanna because she clearly has a mental illness but the people that are closest to her just saw her as lazy. They were aware of the situation for YEARS and just let her decline. How can you let a sibling fall so far? How could you just give up knowing your sister is hoarding bottles of her own excrement and then just pretend she was just too lazy?

The other one I called as an excuse the minute she made the claim.

There is only so much abuse you can take from a mentally ill family member before you just don't care any more. (I almost wrote 'just don't give a shit' any more, but that seemed inappropriate. ) You get told by authorities over and over that they cannot intervene because the person isn't a danger to anyone, and eventually you just pull away because you can't help and the family member won't let you help in any case.

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

There are two problems to the Hoarders approach.

First, in cases where the hoarding is due to brain dysfunction (advanced age, dementia (it shows up in several types of senility), head injury, etc.) it's debatable whether or not therapy would help in any case due to there being something wrong with the brain machinery.

Second, cleaning house, especially against the hoarder's consent, THEN offering therapy, is arguably the worst possible approach and a reason that the "cure" doesn't stick. It's not rational to normal people but the reason these people hoard is an unusual attachment to their stuff. Not only do they perceive these cleanings as theft, but it causes more emotional upset/trauma than when an ordinary person is a victim of theft due to their pathologically strong attachments. Hoarders often view an involuntary cleaning as a violation, invasion, theft, etc. That totally destroys any trust between the hoarder and the cleaners, and makes it virtually certain that the hoarder will accept no further help from those people. Hence, the aftercare therapy goes unclaimed.

My research on hoarding is that treatment is much more effective if therapy is given FIRST, then the cleaning is done after the hoarder buys into the necessity. Of course, that takes time, is frustrating, doesn't always work (in some cases involving organic damage it can't work) and isn't as sexy as swooping in to clean the Augean Stables. Really, it would be more beneficial to the hoarders to get six month of PRE-cleaning therapy but then this is about ratings and money, not actually helping the hoarders.

Seems to me more a case of "hoarder finds he/she has tight deadline before loss of home or jail time ensues, cleaning is on emergency crisis basis without the luxury of months of pre-care because hoarder just would not deal with situation until it hit emergency status".

[drewtwo99]

I don't typically watch the Hoarders shows, but I did on this one on the claim that it was the worst ever.

The absolute WORST part was when she kept insisting that she be allowed to eat poop one last time, in a blaze of glory (her words). She even said something like, "What's the big deal? I've been eating poop for 12 years already!"

I was just gasping and in shock.

[Yorikke]

Originally Posted by YogSosoth

OMG, she wants to eat poop one last time? A "blaze of glory"?? Fuuuuuuckk...


I think this was the first episode I've seen where the doctor recommends and gets the person into assisted living. Wow, unbelievable

Wait, she ATE poop?

[drewtwo99]

Originally Posted by hrhomer

Wait, she ATE poop?

Not only did she admit to it early on, half-way through the cleaning process she INSISTED she be allowed to do it again, one last time.

Her defense was, when you do a drug intervention for someone, you let them get high one more time. So she wanted to be able to eat fecal matter one more time.

The counselor and the main cleaning guy were just flabberghasted. They were saying, "Do you, do you realize what you're saying? That you're comparing eating poop to getting high? Why would you even do that?"

she got really defensive and said, "WHY DOES IT MATTER? I've been eating poop for 12 years!"

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by drewtwo99

I don't typically watch the Hoarders shows, but I did on this one on the claim that it was the worst ever.

The absolute WORST part was when she kept insisting that she be allowed to eat poop one last time, in a blaze of glory (her words). She even said something like, "What's the big deal? I've been eating poop for 12 years already!"

I was just gasping and in shock.

That sequence was when I realized her mental illness went well beyond anything I'd previously seen on this or its counterpart show (only one that was close was the sewage-stream couple, and yes, they were the ones who found the dead cat and lost it over that, on H:BA).

[monstro]

I'm going to repeat my opinion about that. I don't think she really ate poop. I think she just said that to be provocative--to flame out in a blaze of glory on national TV. She knew there was no way they were going to let her eat poop. If she had wanted to eat it, there were been plenty of ways she could have done so without having made a big deal about it. So no, I don't think she was serious. Seriously crazy, but not serious about that. And of course, the cameras were more than willing to play into it.

[Tom Tildrum]

I thought they were all talking about eating food that was in the house (before the team threw it away), knowing that it likely had fecal bacteria on it.

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I thought they were all talking about eating food that was in the house (before the team threw it away), knowing that it likely had fecal bacteria on it.

And mold.

That was my interpretation, too.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Seanette

Seems to me more a case of "hoarder finds he/she has tight deadline before loss of home or jail time ensues, cleaning is on emergency crisis basis without the luxury of months of pre-care because hoarder just would not deal with situation until it hit emergency status".

Yeah, many/most of the ones I've seen have been cases where it's gotten so bad that someone went "fuck, I don't know what we can do about mom/dad/(hoarder) now that the health department came by/the landlord wants to evict/(resident) got hurt and the EMTs had to climb over all that crap trying to get in/I managed to see in the windows and can't have my elderly parent/younger sibling living in that place - maybe this TV show can help before the house gets condemned or DCFS gets involved."

They also have occasional "what ever happened to" shows where they follow up with 4 situations or so, and it's usually a mixed bag. Sometimes it sticks, sometimes not.

I haven't watched this one yet either, but the promo for it seemed to explicitly state that she wanted to eat spoiled/contaminated food while she still had the chance.

[edwards_beard]

In a recent interview with Matt Paxton, he mentions that the state had no idea she existed. He also mentions that they couldn't show a lot of what was in the house...so in reality it was worse than what they showed.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by edwards_beard

In a recent interview with Matt Paxton, he mentions that the state had no idea she existed. He also mentions that they couldn't show a lot of what was in the house...so in reality it was worse than what they showed.

Matt also reveals it was the show's producers/the network who wanted him to sleep in the house.

Oh man, he's got spoilers for the season finale almost immediately after that, too - typing them here in case you can't listen right now:

SPOILER:

The season finale involves something to the effect of "fridge full of liquified cats" (250+ in separate ziplocs) and how he left the house only in his underwear because of the stench and/or spillage.

He also mentions one of the team discovered a dead human body in one episode, though I don't know what season that was/will be in - one hoarder had wrapped up her husband (apparently natural death) in a shower curtain and stashed him in the house.