Ghost Adventures is an American paranormal documentary and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel. 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, Nick Groff, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted.
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 documentary 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. The series is produced by MY-Tupelo Entertainment (a merger of MY Entertainment and Tupelo-Honey Productions).
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 objects and shout verbal taunts they believe ghosts might move or respond to.
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 claim 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. Goodwin is often left alone in the alleged "hotspots" during lockdowns to see how the spirits will react to Goodwin being alone.
Team members
Zak Bagans (2008–present)
Aaron Goodwin (2008–present)
Billy Tolley (2009–present)
Jay Wasley (2009–present)
Former
Nick Groff (2008–2014)
The following people have appeared as recurring guests in the show as part of the GAC:
Bill Chappell (2010–2014)
Mark and Debby Constantino (2008–2014; until their deaths)
Celebrity guests
Ghost Adventures has involved celebrities who have participated in the investigations or appeared as eyewitnesses:
The Real Hollywood Ghost Hunters (Kane Hodder, R. A. Mihailoff, and Rick McCallum): "Pico House" episode
Brendan Schaub – "Peabody-Whitehead Mansion" episode
Chad Lindberg – "Return to Linda Vista Hospital" episode
Vince Neil – "The Riviera Hotel" episode
Jamie Gold – "The Riviera Hotel" episode
Loretta Lynn – "Loretta Lynn's Plantation House" episode
Brit Morgan – "Glen Tavern Inn" episode
Mimi Page – "Glen Tavern Inn" episode
Post Malone – "The Slaughter House" episode
Ciaran O'Keeffe – "Hellfire Caves" episode
Dean Haglund - “Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum” episode
Series overview
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.[citation needed] In the November 6, 2009, follow-up Ghost Adventures Live: Post Mortem, hosts Bagans and Groff reviewed the video and concluded that they couldn't claim any paranormal explanation for the incident.
Related productions
Spin-offs
Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks
Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks is a series that premiered on Saturday April 26, 2014, on the Travel Channel. There were 13 episodes announced for the first season and second season. Zak Bagans interviews 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 wasn't shown before, in previous Ghost Adventures episodes, are also revealed.
Ghost Adventures: Serial Killer Spirits
Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room!
Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room! premiered on January 2, 2020, with Zak, Aaron, Jay and Billy opening up to viewers in their screening room (a.k.a. "screaming room") to watch their favorite episodes.
Ghost Adventures: Quarantine
Ghost Adventures: Quarantine premiered on June 11, 2020. The series aired as a four part miniseries featuring Zak and the crew locked inside his Haunted Museum for 10 days during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. 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.
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.
Deadly Possessions
Deadly Possessions (also known as Ghost Adventures: Artifacts) is a series that premiered on April 2, 2016, on the Travel Channel. 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.
Distribution
International
Ghost Adventures is currently on air at the following countries and channels:
Australia on A&E Australia, Foxtel Go
Canada on Dtour
United Kingdom on Really
Italy on AXN Sci Fi and DMAX
Poland on FOKUS TV
France on Planète+ A&E – CStar
Spain on Mega
Germany on A&E Germany
Netherlands on Spike
Belgium on Spike
Czech Republic on Prima ZOOM
United States on Travel Channel
Philippines on Travel Channel – Sky Cable and Cignal PH
South Africa on Travel Channel – DStv
Thailand on TrueVisions
New Zealand on The Learning Channel
Home media releases
The documentary which the series was based on was released on DVD by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment on October 5, 2010. Seasons 1 and 2 were released on DVD on August 18, 2009.
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