The whole thing was ludicrous.
That's putting it kindly. I finally got around to watching it today and couldn't get over the whole thing.
And beyond the things that you mentioned, they also played fast and loose with with some of the areas of the house, inferring/implying they're on one floor of the house when they're on another and turning the lights on in one room but from the outside showing lights going on in a totally different room. But then those are the tricks of editing, I suppose. And anyone who isn't aware of the interior of the house, which would be the vast majority of the people watching, wouldn't have been aware of most of that - though some of the tricks they pulled were pretty glaring.
As for the supposed supernatural elements uncovered on the show, well, the way they depicted them was an insult to people who've actually experienced odd things there. But then SyFy is hardly above producing insulting material, now are they? I mean, just look at how the thankfully shelved DS edition of
Sciography turned out.
Anyone wanting to watch a paranormal investigation of the house should stick to the
Ghost Hunters installment. Sure, it had its flaws - but it's an Academy Award winning documentary in comparison to what
Stranded subjected its audience to.