Not everyone enjoys the jump-scares that the “Insidious” series are known for or the horribly disturbing images found in horror movies like “Annabelle.” However for those of us who like to be scared from a good story, we can turn to shows like “Ghost Adventures” from the Travel Channel.
The crew of four hosts, Zak, Aaron, Jay and Billy, travel to different cities all over the world in search of real ghosts, dark energies, and anything that goes bump in the night. The team has explored everything from haunted hotels, to gold mines, to hiking trails, to demons, to possessions. It is filmed in a documentary-like fashion which combines both story-telling aspects of these real-life stories and the reality of these men video-taping their approach to finding the paranormal.
For the scaredy-cat viewers: the history of each location is the only time where they show disturbing images, but once they cut to the live video feed the scariest thing you can witness is grown men jumping and screaming every time they think they hear something.
This Halloween, watch some of these episodes for a different kind of spine-chilling horror story:
Trans—Allegheny Lunatic Asylum Episode, A Special
“Zak, Nick and Aaron are locked down in Weston, West Virginia’s Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. This former psychiatric hospital has countless claims of paranormal activity.” –Travel Channel
Why Watch?
This episode is for the viewers obsessed with asylums who love Alice and Wonderland turned gruesome.
Besides learning about the horrendous crimes committed here, the group explores this asylum looking for these ghosts to act up on camera. I think these episodes are important because they pay special attention to the horrible conditions in asylums which set a standard moving forward for any new institutions of this type.
Scary Rating: 3/5
Texas Horror Hotel, Season 9 episode 13
“The Ghost Adventures crew travel to Seguin, TX (East of San Antonio) to investigate a hotel, haunted by a spirit of a little girl. Before the lockdown, the guys take a detour to verify reports of a spirit pushing parked cars onto train tracks.” –Travel Channel
Why Watch?
Haunted hotels are a good place for ghost stories. Lots of rooms filled with lots of people who all have their own secrets to carry. More than one type of terrifying tale is buried within their walls, and the crew does a thorough job of searching the property for any spiritual evidence left by its entities.
Scary Rating: 3/5
Saint Ann’s Retreat, Season 12 Episode 9
“The Ghost Adventures crew investigates St. Anne’s Retreat, where in 1997 a group of teenagers, drawn to the property for its legends of dead nuns and hellhounds, were held hostage and terrorized by three armed security guards.” –Travel Channel
Why Watch?
For those who like a good summer camp horror story or those who want to picture themselves in a real-life terrifying situation.
The story about a group of teens being held hostage by three men with guns is just as scary as it sounds, until we learn that the leader had the eyes of the devil himself. The crew interviews the people who were held hostage on that one horrifying Halloween night so they can share their side of the story. Later on, the boys talk with a psychic who clearly describes the energy of the land to be dark and potentially possessed by a demon.
Scary Rating: 4/5
Linda Vista Hospital, Season 2 Episode 13
“During its existence as an operating hospital in East Los Angeles, Linda Vista was deluged with dying gang members and innocent bystanders killed in the midst of a gangland war zone.” –Travel Channel
Why Watch?
For those who love medical dramas, this story takes a turn for the gruesome.
This was the first investigation of a hospital that the crew did. They experience a lot of unexplained verbal noises and have a lot of technical failures which is definitely a sign of paranormal activity. Even better, one of the crew members, Nick, has a full on freak-out because he came face to face with a ghost. For one of their earlier shows, they had a good amount of activity caught on camera.
Scary Rating: 3/5
Goatman’s Bridge, Season 12 Episode 7
“The Ghost Adventures crew is in Denton, Texas, investigating Goatman’s Bridge. They learn about Satanic worship underneath the bridge and hear stories from four women who were physically attacked by a demonic entity.” – Travel Channel
Why Watch?
This is for those who think the scariest place in the world is a forest, also for those with a love of bridges due to shows like Twin Peaks and Supernatural.
The woods definitely have it out for the guys in this episode. They are followed by eyes, an entity throws branches and rocks at them and whispers to get their attention. The terrifying part of the episode comes towards the end when a camera-woman is personally taunted by this dark entity. She has a showdown with the ghost which ends in her melt-down caught on camera. The scariest part about this is that after working for so long on this show with her husband, this encounter forced her to leave the show, which certainly adds to the argument that something is haunting this area.
Scary Rating: 4/5
Zozo Demon, Season 9 Episode 3
“Zak, Nick and Aaron head to Oklahoma City, OK, to investigate a home terrorized by an ancient, demonic force. The Zozo Demon is known for attacking and possessing its victims through a spirit board.” –Travel Channel
Why Watch?
This one is for those who love Ouija Boards or for those who enjoy a good suburban demon-posession.
Let’s just say if you don’t believe in Ouija Boards, you may after this one. Also as a good idea, just don’t go looking to mess around with demons, as this episode will show you. Similar to how no one can say He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Zak couldn’t even name the demon out loud. Lots of emotions run high as viewers can clearly see those who are affected by this entity.
Scary Rating: 4/5
BONUS EPISODE for the true horror-genre lover:
Island of the Dolls, Season 9 Episode 6
To be quite honest, I can’t even look at the page for this episode because I hate dolls so much. All you need to know is in the title. This one’s for you Annabelle fans.
Scary Rating: 5/5