Ghost Adventures

Last updated

Ghost Adventures
Ghost adventures.jpg
Genre
Created by Zak Bagans
Written by
  • Zak Bagans
  • Devin Lawrence
  • Jeff Belanger
Music byMichael Mouracade
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons25
No. of episodes274 (plus 53 specials excluded in the list) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Daniel A. Schwartz
  • Joe Townley
  • Michael Yudin
  • Zak Bagans
Producers
  • Zak Bagans
  • Amber Delly
Production locations
Cinematography
  • Zak Bagans
  • Nick Groff
  • Aaron Goodwin
  • Billy Tolley
  • Jay Wasley
Editors
  • Zak Bagans
  • Devin Lawrence
Camera setup Multiple
Running time42 minutes
Production companyMY Tupelo Entertainment
Original release
Network Travel Channel (2008–present) [a]
Discovery+ (2021–present)
Discovery Channel (2023–present)
ReleaseOctober 17, 2008 (2008-10-17) 
present
Related

Ghost Adventures is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 25, 2007. The program follows ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted.

Contents

Premise

Ghost Adventures began as an independent film, produced in a documentary style. It was filmed in 2004 and produced by 4Reel Productions in 2006. The SciFi Channel premiered 4Reel's Ghost Adventures on July 25, 2007. The film centered on the trio's investigation of alleged paranormal activity in and around Virginia City, Nevada, including the Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield, Nevada. The crew returned there during the series' fourth, fifth, and seventh seasons. [1] The series is produced by MY-Tupelo Entertainment (a merger of MY Entertainment and Tupelo-Honey Productions). [2]

Methodology

Zak Bagans, Nick Groff (seasons 1–10), Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley investigate reportedly haunted locations, hoping to collect visual or auditory evidence of paranormal activity. Each episode begins with the crew touring the investigation site with its owners or caretakers. These introductions typically include Bagans's voice-overs of the site's history as well as interviews with people who claim to have witnessed paranormal phenomena there. On the basis of these interviews, the crew place X's with black or gray tape at the sites of some serious alleged paranormal activity. They later return to these spots in order to set up static night-vision cameras to try and film it happening.

After completing the walk-through, they discuss their strategy, then are locked in the location overnight, which they believe will prevent "audio contamination" and extraneous shadows. They use a variety of equipment, including digital thermometers, electromagnetic field (EMF) meters, handheld digital video cameras, audio recorders, the Ovilus device, point of view cameras, and infrared night-vision cameras in an effort to capture evidence of ghosts. The members sometimes place what they call 'trigger' objects and shout verbal taunts they believe ghosts might move or respond to, with Bagans occasionally daring infamous and notorious spirits to physical combat.

The video and audio collected during each investigation is analyzed after the investigation, and the whole thing is cut down to fit one hour. The most prominent pieces of evidence found are then presented at the appropriate times they happened during the investigation and each one is explained.

During the series, the crew claims to have captured and experienced various Fortean phenomena, which they say include simultaneous equipment malfunctions such as battery drain, voltage spikes, fluctuations in electromagnetic fields, sudden changes in temperature (such as cold spots), unexplained noises, electronic voice phenomena (EVP), and apparitions.

The crew also claims to have recorded spirit possessions on video. Bagans believes that he was possessed at the Preston School of Industry and at Poveglia Island in Italy. Groff claims that he was overtaken by a "dark energy" at the Moon River Brewing Company. Goodwin claims he was "under the influence of a dark spirit" at Bobby Mackey's Music World and Winchester Mystery House. [3] Goodwin is often left alone in the alleged "hotspots" during lockdowns to see how the spirits will react to Goodwin being alone. [4] [5]

Team members

Former

The following people have appeared as recurring guests in the show as part of the GAC:

Celebrity guests

Ghost Adventures has involved celebrities who have participated in the investigations or appeared as eyewitnesses:

Series overview

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1 8October 17, 2008 (2008-10-17)December 5, 2008 (2008-12-05) Travel Channel
2 8June 5, 2009 (2009-06-05)July 24, 2009 (2009-07-24)
3 10November 6, 2009 (2009-11-06)January 8, 2010 (2010-01-08)
4 27September 17, 2010 (2010-09-17)June 10, 2011 (2011-06-10)
5 10September 23, 2011 (2011-09-23)December 16, 2011 (2011-12-16)
6 7 + 2 SPsMarch 9, 2012 (2012-03-09)July 20, 2012 (2012-07-20)
7 18September 14, 2012 (2012-09-14)April 19, 2013 (2013-04-19)
8 11August 16, 2013 (2013-08-16)November 15, 2013 (2013-11-15)
9 13February 15, 2014 (2014-02-15)July 12, 2014 (2014-07-12)
10 11October 4, 2014 (2014-10-04)March 7, 2015 (2015-03-07)
11 11August 22, 2015 (2015-08-22)November 7, 2015 (2015-11-07)
12 13January 30, 2016 (2016-01-30)August 6, 2016 (2016-08-06)
13 11September 24, 2016 (2016-09-24)December 31, 2016 (2016-12-31)
14 11March 25, 2017 (2017-03-25)July 15, 2017 (2017-07-15)
15 11September 23, 2017 (2017-09-23)January 13, 2018 (2018-01-13)
16 9March 24, 2018 (2018-03-24)July 14, 2018 (2018-07-14)
17 6November 3, 2018 (2018-11-03)December 8, 2018 (2018-12-08)
18 13February 23, 2019 (2019-02-23)July 20, 2019 (2019-07-20)
19 15November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02)May 14, 2020 (2020-05-14)
20 11November 5, 2020 (2020-11-05)April 30, 2021 (2021-04-30)Travel Channel / Discovery+
21 6July 22, 2021 (2021-07-22)August 26, 2021 (2021-08-26)Discovery+
22 8March 10, 2022 (2022-03-10)April 28, 2022 (2022-04-28)
23 10September 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)November 24, 2022 (2022-11-24)
24 11June 7, 2023 (2023-06-07)August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23) Discovery Channel / Discovery+
25 5October 11, 2023 (2023-10-11)November 8, 2023 (2023-11-08)
26 TBAMay 22, 2024 (2024-05-22)TBA

Reception

Ghost Adventures became one of the most popular shows on Travel Channel. Since its debut it has found an audience for its mix of paranormal investigation, history, and interpersonal drama, and fan reception has been generally positive. [7] Ghost Adventures also helped popularize paranormal television and ghost hunting during its original run on Travel Channel. [8] The show now airs on Discovery+ as well as Amazon Prime. [9]

Controversies

In the Halloween special titled Ghost Adventures Live, which was broadcast from the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum on October 30, 2009, controversy arose when Robert Bess, inventor of the Parabot Containment Chamber (said to attract and empower spirits using energy, giving them form), claims to have had an EMF meter knocked violently out of his hands. However, upon investigation of the video, it was found that he had actually thrown it. In the November 6, 2009, follow-up Ghost Adventures Live: Post Mortem, hosts Bagans and Groff reviewed the video and concluded that they could not claim any paranormal explanation for the incident. [10]

Spin-offs

Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks

Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks is a series that premiered on Saturday April 26, 2014, on the Travel Channel. [11] The three season miniseries features Zak Bagans interviewing former Ghost Adventures interviewees to find out how their lives have changed since those GAC "lockdowns"/investigations from the past. Any new audio and/or video evidence that was not shown before, in previous Ghost Adventures episodes, are also revealed.

Ghost Adventures: Where Are They Now?

Ghost Adventures: Where Are They Now? premiered on Friday August 30, 2019, on the Travel Channel. The series aired as a 5 episode miniseries all under 10 minutes each featuring Zak revisiting some of Ghost Adventures' most chilling paranormal investigations. He follows up with the real people featured on fan-favorite episodes to find out what happened after the crew left.

Ghost Adventures: Serial Killer Spirits

Ghost Adventures: Serial Killer Spirits premiered on Saturday October 5, 2019, on the Travel Channel. The series aired as a 4 part miniseries featuring Zak and the crew visiting locations across the United States teeming with the dark energies of serial killers.

Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room!

Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room! premiered on January 2, 2020, on the Travel Channel. There were 13 episodes announced for the first season and second season with Zak, Aaron, Jay and Billy opening up to viewers in their screening room (a.k.a. "screaming room") to watch their favorite episodes. [12]

Ghost Adventures: Quarantine

Ghost Adventures: Quarantine premiered on June 11, 2020, on the Travel Channel. The series aired as a 4 part miniseries featuring Zak and the crew locked inside his Haunted Museum for 10 days during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. [13] The first episode of this miniseries started filming during the start of Nevada state lockdown on March 30. It was titled "Perimeter of Fear" where GAC investigated the Jack Kevorkian van room where women have fainted, the Natalie Wood room and a display of haunted dolls.

Ghost Adventures: Top 10

Ghost Adventures: Top 10 premiered on Saturday January 2, 2021, on Discovery+. The series aired as an 8 episode miniseries. Zak Bagans counts down fans' favorite moments from Ghost Adventures. It's a fun yet terrifying walk down memory lane as Zak revisits the scariest, funniest and most insane clips from episodes past and presents some of the crew's best paranormal evidence.

Ghost Adventures: House Calls

Ghost Adventures: House Calls premiered on Thursday May 19, 2022, on Discovery+. Zak Bagans investigates the haunted homes of everyday people who are living in terror with nowhere else to turn; Zak and his crew enter each residence armed with equipment to document the unexplained activity.

Other

Paranormal Challenge

Paranormal Challenge is a competitive paranormal reality show that premiered on June 17, 2011, on the Travel Channel, with one season aired to date. The show is hosted by Zak Bagans, who challenges ghost hunters from around the United States to go head-to-head in a weekly competition to gather paranormal evidence by spending a night in reportedly haunted locations in the United States. [14]

Deadly Possessions

Deadly Possessions (also known as Ghost Adventures: Artifacts) is a series that premiered on April 2, 2016, on the Travel Channel. [15] The series aired one season and features Zak Bagans as he gathers artifacts for his new museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show reveals the dark history of the items, as well as associated paranormal claims.

Demon House

Demon House premiered on Friday March 16, 2018, with Lost Footage from the film being released on January 1, 2019 and an Uncut version airing shortly after on February 16, 2019, on the Travel Channel. After buying a haunted home in Indiana over the phone, sight unseen, paranormal investigator Zak Bagans and his crew are unprepared for the demonic forces that await them at the location referred to as a "Portal to Hell."

The Haunted Museum

The Haunted Museum premiered on Saturday October 2, 2021, on Discovery+. There were 9 episodes announced for the first season. Paranormal investigator and host of Ghost Adventures Zak Bagans joins forces with filmmaker Eli Roth, the modern master of horror, to present a terrifying film anthology inspired by pieces found in Zak’s personal collection of haunted artifacts.

Distribution

International

Ghost Adventures is currently on air or streaming in the following countries and channels:

Home media

The documentary which the series was based on was released on DVD by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment on October 5, 2010. Season 1 was released on DVD on August 18, 2009, the Season 2 DVD was released on September 14, 2010, Season 3 was released on September 6, 2011, Season 4 on September 4, 2012, and Season 5 on February 24, 2014.

Many episodes are available to stream on Discovery+. However, it is missing key episodes that primarily feature Mark and Debby Constantino as guest investigators out of respect to them and their families, such episodes include "Washoe Club and Chollar Mine", "Goldfield", "Mustang Ranch", "Winchester Mystery House" to name but a few. Other episodes that are currently missing include the original Documentary film, any version of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum live episode, and the "La Palazza" episode, which is presumably due to a request from the current property owners to try and deter trespassing (since the episode, at the time of filming, showed it in the middle of reconstruction, and since has been remodeled and sold)

See also

Footnotes

  1. "Old Washoe Club & Chollar Mine". Ghost Adventures. Season 3. Episode 6. December 4, 2009. Travel Channel.
  2. Weisman, Jon (March 24, 2010). "MY-Tupelo scores orders". Variety . Penske Media Corporation.
  3. Olsen, Eric (October 3, 2011). "Stalking Spirits with Ghost Adventures' Aaron Goodwin". The Morton Report.
  4. Moye, David (July 26, 2010). "Haunted Hotel Spooks 'Ghost Adventures' Stars". AOL News. AOL. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018.
  5. Harris, Franklin (January 28, 2010). "Be a paranormal investigator". TimesDaily and the Decatur Daily . Alabama: Tennessee Valley Printing Co. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  6. "'Ghost Adventures' TV couple Mark and Debby Constantino found dead in apparent murder-suicide". The Independent. October 5, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. "Ghost Adventures (2008-) User Ratings". IMDb. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  8. "Meet 'Ghost Adventures' Friend Bill Chappell the Paranormal Inventor". Newsweek. June 25, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  9. "Watch Ghost Adventures Season 1 - Prime Video". Amazon. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  10. The Untold Truth Of Ghost Adventures. Looper. April 27, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  11. "Ghost Adventures Aftershocks Home Page". Ghostadventurescrew.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  12. Squires, John (December 6, 2019). "[Trailer] Zak Bagans and Friends Revisit Their Scariest Moments in "Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room"". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  13. "Lockdown with Travel Channel's New Four-Part Miniseries "Ghost Adventures: Quarantine," Beginning Thursday, June 11 at 9 P.M. ET/PT". The Futon Critic . May 4, 2020.
  14. "About the Show Paranormal Challenge". Travel Channel. Archived from the original on October 27, 2011.
  15. "Zak Bagans' 'Deadly Possessions'". Travel Channel. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  16. With Foxtel having their own online catchup service called Foxtel GO

Notes

  1. Travel Channel continues to broadcast newer episodes several months after their initial launch on Discovery+.

Related Research Articles

<i>Ghost Hunters</i> (TV series) American paranormal reality television series

Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal and reality television series. The original series aired from October 6, 2004 until October 26, 2016 on Syfy. The original program spanned eleven seasons with 230 episodes, not including 10 specials. The series was revived in early 2019 and aired its twelfth and thirteenth seasons from August 21, 2019, to May 27, 2020, on A&E, after which it was cancelled and then revived for its fourteenth season only months later on Discovery+, which started airing on October 31, 2021. Season 15 began October 1, 2022 on Travel Channel. Season 16 of Ghost Hunters is set to release on Travel Channel on April 6, 2023.

Paranormal television is a genre of reality television that purports to document factual investigations of the paranormal rather than fictional representations seen in traditional narrative films and TV. Over the years, the genre has grown to be a staple of television and even changed the programming focus of networks like the History Channel and the Travel Channel. By highlighting beliefs in topics ranging from Bigfoot to aliens, paranormal television continues to elevate popular interest in the paranormal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost hunting</span> Investigating reportedly haunted locations for ghosts

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. The practice has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts. Ghost hunting is considered a pseudoscience by the vast majority of educators, academics, science writers and skeptics. Science historian Brian Regal described ghost hunting as "an unorganized exercise in futility".

<i>A Haunting</i> 2002 American TV series or program

A Haunting is an American paranormal drama anthology television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of alleged possession, exorcism, and ghostly encounters. The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of alleged paranormal experiences at reportedly haunted and mostly residential locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Mackey's Music World</span> Nightclub in Wilder, Kentucky, US

Bobby Mackey's Music World is a nightclub and honky tonk located in Wilder, Kentucky, United States owned by country singer Bobby Mackey. Urban legends claim the nightclub is the site of hauntings, murders, and suicides; however, no credible evidence exists for such claims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Gates</span> American explorer and television host

Joshua Gates is an American television presenter-actor and television producer who hosts and co-executive produces The Discovery Channel series Expedition: Unknown and also Legendary Locations. He is also the host of live specials for, and a guest investigator on, the television series Ghost Hunters and its spin-off Ghost Hunters International. He produces the related Ghost Nation series along with other paranormal television shows through his production company Ping Pong Productions. He was the host and co-executive producer of Destination Truth and Stranded on Syfy.

<i>Demon House</i> 2018 American film

Demon House is a 2018 American documentary horror film directed and written by Zak Bagans, starring Bagans, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as themselves. The film follows the Ammons haunting case and was released in the United States on March 16, 2018, by Freestyle Releasing, with Lost Footage from the film being released on January 1, 2019 and an Uncut version airing shortly after on February 16, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site</span> State park in Oregon, United States

Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Belanger</span> American paranormal investigator

Jeff Belanger is an American writer who focuses on the paranormal. He hosts the Emmy-nominated series New England Legends and co-hosts, with Ray Auger, the New England Legends podcast. He is a writer and researcher for Ghost Adventures and has appeared on several episodes. Paranormal researcher Ben Radford calls Belanger a "ghost storyteller" rather than a "ghost investigator." In 2021, Belanger published a book about his experience reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

<i>Titanic</i> Museum (Branson, Missouri) Museum in Missouri, United States

The TitanicMuseum Attraction is a museum located in Branson, Missouri, United States, on 76 Country Boulevard. It is one of two Titanic-themed museums owned by John Joslyn ; the other is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The museum holds 400 pre-discovery artifacts in 20 galleries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zak Bagans</span> American paranormal investigator

Zachary Alexander Bagans is an American paranormal investigator, television personality, museum operator, and author. He is the principal host of the Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures.

<i>Ghost Lab</i> Television series

Ghost Lab is a weekly American paranormal television series that premiered on October 6, 2009, on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Paper Route Productions and Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program is narrated by Mike Rowe. It follows ghost-hunting brothers Brad and Barry Klinge, who founded Everyday Paranormal (EP) in October 2007.

Nicholas Groff is an American paranormal investigator, musician, and television personality. Groff was the lead investigator for the television series Paranormal Lockdown. He was a co-investigator, executive producer, editor and cameraman on Ghost Adventures from seasons 1–10.

<i>My Ghost Story</i> 2010 American TV series or program

My Ghost Story is an American television series on the paranormal, which premiered on July 17, 2010, on the Biography Channel. The series features ghost stories told from a person's own supposed experience with the supernatural. Each episode features claims of encounters at reportedly haunted locations all over the United States, as well as a few locations in other countries. A spin-off series My Ghost Story Asia premiered on the Biography Channel (Asia) on 16 August 2012 featuring stories from Singapore and Malaysia. The fifth season started on October 5, 2012, on Fridays at 9/8 Central. The sixth season which began on August 12, 2013, aired on the Biography Channel, the original broadcast channel, but halfway through the season the broadcast channel was changed to the Lifetime Movie Network (LMN).

<i>Paranormal Challenge</i> Television series

Paranormal Challenge is an American competitive paranormal reality television series that aired from June 17, 2011 to September 16, 2011 on the Travel Channel. A spin-off of Ghost Adventures, the series was created and hosted by lead investigator Zak Bagans, with each episode featuring him challenging two teams of ghost hunters to go head-to-head in a weekly competition to gather paranormal evidence by spending a night in reportedly haunted locations in the United States. The final episode aired on September 16, 2011 and judge David Schrader announced that the show would not be renewed for a second season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Sagers</span> American journalist

Aaron Sagers is an American television presenter, journalist — including a self-described "paranormal journalist" — podcast host, and expert of geek culture and paranormal media. He is also an author, social media micro-influencer, and founder of ParanormalPopCulture.com, a website which covers paranormal topics in popular culture.

Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks was an American paranormal documentary and reality television series that aired from April 26, 2014 to November 5, 2016 on the Travel Channel. Like the main Ghost Adventures series, the series was hosted and narrated by Zak Bagans.

<i>Paranormal Lockdown</i> 2016 American TV series or program

Paranormal Lockdown is a paranormal reality television series that was executively produced by Nick Groff, formerly of Ghost Adventures. The series follows Nick Groff and fellow paranormal researcher Katrina Weidman as they confine themselves for 72 straight hours in what they claim to be some of the most haunted locations.

Deadly Possessions was an American paranormal reality television miniseries that aired from April 2, 2016 to May 7, 2016 on the Travel Channel. It featured paranormal investigator Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures as he gathered artifacts for his new museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. The miniseries researched these items and some of the claims of paranormal activity around them.

Halloween Wars is an American reality competition series from Super Delicious, the production company that also produces Cupcake Wars and Cake Wars. It premiered on October 2, 2011, on Food Network and it runs over the course of four weeks in October annually. The show pits five teams made up of cake sculptors, sugar artists, and pumpkin carvers against each other to produce the ultimate Halloween themed display. The winning team is awarded $50,000. For season 13 and 14, the winning team is awarded $25,000.

References