Ten Years of Ghosts and the Afterlife with “Ghost Adventures”

by , · October 7, 2018

Halloween is right around the corner, the night when the veil between this world and the next is thinnest. Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures is taking full advantage of the spooky season, launching a four-part miniseries, a four-hour live investigation on Halloween night, and new episodes premiering in November.

At New York Comic Con, we had the opportunity to sit down with paranormal investigators Aaron Goodwin and Jay Wasley, as well as camera operator Dakota Laden. Before the conversation digressed into how much Aaron loves butterbeer, we discussed the show’s ten-year run on the Travel Channel and what fans can expect from all the new content being released in the next month.

In the miniseries titled Graveyard of the Pacific, the Ghost Adventures team heads to Astoria, Oregon, and finds themselves entrenched in the tales of the underground tunnels, shipwrecks, and other secrets of the town. Via a Skype call, main host Zak Bagans told a panel audience, “Walking into Astoria, it felt different [from] the other towns we’ve been in.”

 

 

In ten years, there have been not only a lot of scares but also a lot of changes and advancement with equipment and platforms for the show itself. The Halloween night investigation will be streamed live on Facebook, giving fans the opportunity to come along and participate in a way they haven’t been able to before.

“I think it’s really cool to have them there to be able to chime in. Especially if they see something we don’t see. That’s the whole point. We’re looking to investigate,” says Wasley.

Goodwin jokes that knowing he’s being watched live by millions on Facebook is the most daunting part of the upcoming investigation, but the guys have faced far more unnerving things than Facebook commenters. “I lost my mind in a room once,” says Goodwin, admitting soon after that the “once” in that sentence isn’t entirely accurate. “Some of the stuff that doesn’t make the episode is pretty crazy. A lot of the EMS recordings just have so much cursing and it gets pretty intense, but we can’t include that because of the cursing,” says Laden.

 

 

After ten years, there’s still so much to explore in the world. When asked what mysteries are on the team’s bucket list, several topics came up such as the Egyptian pyramids and Aokigahara, Japan’s “Suicide Forest.” We had our own recommendations and suggested a Knockturn Alley-themed episode, where the quartet would look into all of the unique and cursed objects that were brought into Universal Studios Florida’s park and currently reside in the creepy shop of Borgin and Burkes.

One of the most spectacular locations they’ve traveled to over the past ten years? Romania.

The country… the food was amazing. All real food, non GMO. In America, we have front yards that are kept manicured and clean, but there they use the space and are growing vegetables. It was a sel-fsuifficent way of living. It was a really good vibe.

The world is their oyster – when working on the new series, inspiration comes from everywhere. Fans have submitted locations and suggestions for investigations, but a lot of it comes from Zak Bagans himself. The true Cinderella story, however, came from camera operator Dakota Laden, who revealed that he initially won a fan contest to go on an investigation with them and then ended up coming on full time. “It’s very cliché, but don’t give up on your dreams because they can come true,” he mused during the panel.

These guys are legit. Since joining the show, the coolest thing has been watching them help families. The family episodes get very emotional because they really help, and it gets personal. It’s cool.

The team is so excited for everyone to finally experience their latest adventures, and so are we! You can find Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel – Graveyard of the Pacific, the four-part miniseries, premieres Saturday, October 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while Ghost Adventures Live, the four-hour live investigation, premieres Wednesday, October 31 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Check out some of our additional coverage from the panel below: