Ghost Adventures

Starring: Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, & Aaron Goodwin

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Allow me to preface this by saying I do not believe in ghosts, goblins, demons, or things that go bump in the night. I do however find Ghost Adventures and similar shows to be highly entertaining and some of the best reality TV has to offer. I like the historical background, meeting the people involved, the investigations in the dark, and the reactions the people have to what they see.

Since the conception of Reality TV in the late 90s, we have seen a ton of these ghost hunting shows debut. We have Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, Destination Truth, Ghost Mine, Celebrity Ghost Stories, and of course Ghost Adventures, but what is it that makes one show any different or better than the other? 

Ghost Adventures is the one that I enjoy the most and if I were a believer, it's the show that I would find to be the most compelling. Simply put, the ghost adventures team, goes to the best locations and captures more evidence than any one else does, so what does that mean? As I see it, it means one of two things. Either these guys really are the best at what they do or they are completely full of shit. 

The Ghost Adventures team is made of three guys, who claim to have been skeptics, until they witnessed things they couldn't explain. These three guys, without big crews, go into these haunted locations with camcorders, and are locked in overnight. To me that is the best part of the show, because in similar shows, you have dozens of people stomping around finding nothing and trying to disprove what people are saying. Zak, Nick, & Aaron aren't trying to do that, but rather they want to interact with whatever is going on in these locations and try to capture it on film. Is that the reason they capture more evidence? Is it the fact that it's just three guys with a minimal amount of equipment? I have no idea, all I know is that they find the most stuff! 

In recent years, almost every other ghost hunting show has had someone speak out against them and say that certain things were faked, the people were paid or coaxed into saying things that weren't true, but in the seven years that Ghost Adventures has been on the air that hasn't happened to them. 

So besides the evidence, what is it that makes this show the best? Well, you've got three young guys, who are ambitions, full of energy, and love what they do. The format of the show is also a big plus in their favor. 

Each show starts out with a historical background on the location they are going to investigate. That's followed by interviews with the people who live or work at the location. The team walks through with the people, listening to their stories, and marking down locations to investigate later. Then they move on to some extra-curricular activity that shows the audience that they're real people. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's just tourists, and other times it's boys being boys. It seems like filler, but actually these segments really help you connect with the guys and see that they aren't just science geeks sitting in front of their camera all day. Next, comes the investigation, which is done in a way that is completely realistic. If a regular person went into a place that they heard was haunted, and they went in with a camera and a tape recorder, they'd act and react in exactly the same way that these guys do. It adds realism to the show and is much more believable then a show that comes in with a giant truck and a ton of equipment. 

The one negative I will put on the show is that these three guys just went out and started doing videos, pitched it to a network, and got a TV show. They aren't scholars or scientists who have studied the phenomenon of haunting for decades. That being said, when they start going on about portals, residual spiritual energy, trapped souls, and demonic stuff, they really do sound like they are completely full of shit. 

Overall, I like the show, I love the format, and while I think there is some kind of trick to it all, I respect the hosts and how they feel about what they are supposedly seeing. Weather you believe in ghosts or not, the Ghost Adventures team gives a more compelling argument for life after death than any of it's competitors. The show is interesting and very entertaining, that's really all I need to watch it. I don't feel like I have to believe or think the same way they do. They aren't preaching to us like some of the other shows and they aren't talking down to us. They just go and do their thing, while taking us along for the ride and it's most definitely an entertaining one.

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