If paranormal activities are your forte, chances are you’ve stumbled upon Ghost Adventures.
Considering that its first episode aired in 2008 and Ghost Adventures is still going strong fifteen years later, it is fair to say that they’re doing something right. However, the question will always remain, “is any of this real?” Nonetheless, whatever the case, Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley, and Billy Tolley sure know how to sell their claims.
A spooky start
The first season of Ghost Adventures aired on the Travel Channel in October 2008 after the success of Bagans’ short, documentary-style film investigating the Goldfield Hotel in Nevada. The show enjoyed good ratings from the start, thanks to its charismatic hosts as well as their dedication to thorough investigations. The personalities of the hosts soon began to appeal to audiences, and more seasons were greenlit. Now, twenty-four seasons later, fans of the show are not just paranormal fans, but fans of the individuals who explore these occurrences.
But are their investigations real after all?
A typical episode of Ghost Adventures features the team arriving at a new haunted location and receiving information about it from its owners, caretakers, or people live in the area. After this, they set up their equipment, which includes all the top-of-the-line and classic ghost hunter tools, and prepare to spend the night in the haunted houses. They try to provoke the entities, linger in places that reportedly have higher paranormal activities, and catch as much as they can on camera.
Many people have accused the show and its producers of exaggerating their experiences for the cameras. Paranormal researchers have stated that some of the things Bagans and the adventurers do are unnecessary, such as locking themselves up in haunted locations overnight. Residents or townspeople of some of these locations have also shared that some of the information broadcasted by the show about certain locations may be inaccurate or stylized for better storytelling.
When it comes to whether the hauntings, ghost sightings, disembodied voices, and other supernatural occurrences that have been documented on Ghost Adventures are real or not, it seems to come down to a matter of opinion. On the show and among its audience, there have been multiple cases of skeptics being converted to believers. Still, many fans of the show widely believe that the events on Ghost Adventures are only partly real and that the cast are doing good job of selling these events.
Conclusion
There has still not been any definitive proof pointing to the team at Ghost Adventures faking their experiences. Whatever the case may be, there’s a reason the show has been ongoing for a decade and a half now. There might not be any concrete proof that the ghosts, apparitions, and spectres the detectives investigate are real, but their passion for the paranormal is undeniable and contagious.
The loyal fanbase of the show has stuck around this long because they love seeing the team remain as excited and curious about the unknown. That is the true value of Ghost Adventures.