Wanna Come Over?

Zak Bagan's latest Instagram post titled Wanna Come Over? is really creepy. . . 

GAC at Nopeming Sanitorium

I watched another Ghost Adventures episode, this time about the abandoned TB sanatorium. However, before I even start typing about this episode, can I just say what a ripoff the new (new to me) opening is of American Horror Story? I miss the old opening . . . AND Nick.

Okay, enough bitching.

This episode from Season 10 opens in the grey, misty autumnal woods of Duluth, Michigan where the GAC team are traveling to an abandoned TB hospital called Nopeming, which is built on Chippewa Indian land. One of my favorite things about the episode is the elderly couple -- Margaret and Mike -- who once worked at Nopeming. In the '60s, Mike worked in the boiler room and also wheeled bodies to the morgue. He said he was worried about dead bodies breathing some "TBs" in his face. He also mentioned he was called in by "Doc" to help cut ribs in order to "pull a lung". What I don't understand is why they'd want to "pull a lung"? Wouldn't that kill a person?

The team also brought in a guy who was arrested (and grounded by his parents) for trespassing at Nopeming and had him tell everyone at home why trespassing is a bad idea (12:29 in the video below). It was like a PSA, but as soon as he was done telling us why we shouldn't push past "no trespassing" signs, Zak wanted to hear about what he had witnessed while visiting. Apparently he saw a dark figure on one of the ledges.

The creepiest feature of Nopeming is its "death tunnel", which was used to wheel corpses to the incinerator. The tunnel is now blocked off by furniture the management have wedged in both ends in order to deter trespassers from entering. The guys bust their butts trying to pull out a couch as Zak watches and insists he would "assist the boys in moving the couch, but someone has to operate the camera." Uh huh. Once they get inside, they realize the structure of the tunnel is collapsing, so not everyone goes in. Billy Tulley volunteers to be the one to walk through. When he's halfway in, the light on his camera goes out, but not before his it catches a black shadow figure.

The episode has some good light anomalies, doors slamming on their own, and EVPs. At one point Zak and Billy are touched by unseen hands. However, one of the most satisfying moments is when Zak freaks out, but later finds out he was ensnared by wires hanging from the ceiling and not being abducted by ghosts. Zak eats a piece of humble pie and allows us to see the whole thing (35:29 in the video below). It goes without saying that the whole debacle was DEBUNKED. On a side note,  I noticed Zak is wearing his gas mask now, which is probably better for his lungs.

Nopeming has apparently never been officially investigated before. Lucky for us, GAC decided to pay it a visit.

The Afterworld According to Corey Taylor

My book review about Corey Taylor's book, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Heaven (Or, How I Made Peace with the Paranormal and Stigmatized Zealots and Cynics in the Process had been posted.

Speaking of books, last October Nick Groff published a book titled Chasing Spirits: The Building of the Ghost Adventures Crew. I never even really knew about it until a few months ago. I hope it's better than Zak Bagans's book. Not that Zak's book was bad; I just wanted more about his encounters with the other side than how-to tips for aspiring ghost hunters.

This makes me think of another thing: I bet Nick didn't opt for any glam pics in his book the way Zak and Corey Taylor did, although I think Corey wins that glam ghoul photo contest (if there was such a thing).

Zak's Bagans: Deep Soul or Douche Bag?

I've been reading Dark World by Zak Bagans. All I can say is Ho Hum. The book is basically a guide for would-be ghost hunters. A lot of the chapters are devoted to all the things we Ghost Adventures fans are already literate in. For example: EVPs, the equipment GAC use, residual hauntings vs. intelligent hauntings, blah blah blah.

zzzzzzzzzz. . .


There is one chapter in the book that really held my attention and it's the one that's actually about Zak. The chapter recollects Zak's childhood, his vulnerabilities, and why he turned to ghost hunting. Fascinating stuff and what I really wanted more of out of this book. I thought the book would be more like a bio than a how-to guide. Oh well, I can respect that Zak keeps his privacy fairly maintained, but I wouldn't be so disappointed if I didn't find him so interesting.

Who is this brawny, uber metro-sexual, ghost-hunting ruffian (love that word)? Is he a drama queen, a deep soul, or just a douche bag?  I do hope to find out.

GAC is Back!

Just as I was bemoaning not having any new Ghost Adventures, Season 5 has begun. Makes me wanna pull on my Ed Hardy jeans and yell, "The portal 'a hell!" all up and down my street. The first show aired on the Travel Channel last Friday. Where have I been? Or more appropriately, where has my DVR been?

Anyway, the opening episode takes place at Ashmore Estates in Central Illinois. The place was built in 1916 and is said to be haunted by former residents. While I haven't seen it yet, I will be sure to tape it this Friday - that and the new episode, which takes place at one of GAC's first lockdowns,  the historic Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, NV where a "lady in red" is said to wander the halls.

I'll post some recaps when I watch the shows. And Zak fashion reviews, of course. (It looks like Zak is still wearing his new glasses.)

Zak Bagans Releases a Book

Who knew? I just found out that Zak Bagans wrote a book (in conjunction with Kelly Crigger), which was released last week. It's called Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of Ghost Adventures.

Yeah, it's going on my Amazon wishlist. I still love that ghost-heckling meathead.

The book will be displayed at the front of Barnes and Noble until Halloween. You can read a review of the book here.

OK, I just read the review. Now it looks like I'm going to have to run out and buy the damned thing.

Zak Bagans Now Wearing Glasses

I miss Ghost Adventures. I find it odd that they aren't running any new episodes at this time of year. Granted The Travel Channel gave us a nice, long season this last go round, but I almost wish they had broken it up and given us some now.

I have little interest in Zak B's latest show Paranormal Challenge, but I went to the website anyway and discovered that in all the screen shots, Zak is wearing big, black-framed glasses. I think I may have to tune in just to see the hot GAC geekery!

Ed Hardy goes Ed Nerdy
Update:
New Ghost Adventures on Friday nights at 9pm E/P

A Kinder, Gentler GAC

Has anyone noticed how much Zak Bagans has toned down his act when confronting the other side?  Instead of a spray-tanned bit bull, he's now an orange pussy cat. The guys, who were hilarious to begin with, seem to have clearly caught on to the fact that they are entertainers.  I think they may take their show on the road as some sort of ghost busting, comedy team.

This past episode of Ghost Adventures that took place in Newcastle, PA at Hill View Manor (a former retirement home where hundreds of people died), was a perfect example of what I'm talking about. It starts with Zak sporting a pair of shades, petting a darling, sandy-colored puppy in a field outside the building.

Zak and the cute owner of the place, named Candy (she had eyebrows that would make Divine jealous), flirted it up as she gave him a tour of the place. She said she had her butt pinched by a ghost and kind of liked it. Meanwhile, Aaron tripped over a pipe repeatedly, much to the mockery of Zak. Zak's expression as Aaron trips a second time was one of pure douche-baggery.

Candy O, those eyebrows!

When they got down to the basement, Zak exclaimed that it made him want to curl up with a sleeping bag and "listen to some Kenny G."  Really? Not Nine Inch Nails or Ministry, Zak?

We also got to see Zak play piano on an out-of-tune piano. And they had fun with a shot of a wheel chair flying down a staircase repeatedly, which channeled The Changeling.

My favorite line of the episode? When they got to a place in the building where an angry lunch lady worked, Aaron backed it up and said, "Now I'm sitting on the mashed potatoes."

Another funny Aaronism occurred when he asked if the spirit of Jim liked the food in the cafeteria: "Did you guys ever have anything that blew your mind that you loved so much? Did you like the spaghetti and meatballs she made? I heard it's pretty gooood."

When they get to the roof where two suicides took place, Zak claimed they weren't up there to "get a sun tan." No tan needed, Zak. I promise.

Around the building sits a big golf course, built over human remains. This can mean only one thing: The Ghost Adventures Invitational golf game!  All the guys sported polo shirts. Zak wore an orange one that matched his face. They raced around in golf carts and hit balls all over the place, even making fun of themselves when Zak debunked that Nick hit a ball 450 yards by using their high-definition cameras.

Nick's mysterious 450-yard-hit

My favorite part of the whole golf diversion was the droopy caddy who stood off to the side and held the scores like he'd rather be sucking on a tail pipe.  Zak won the game. Big surprise there. Later, Aaron said, "Just to let you know, I lost on purpose just so Zak looked good on film. That's what I do." This is why we love you, Aaron.

During their lock down, there were a lot of whispery EVPs I didn't really get. The guys used their spirit box, which didn't reveal anything I thought that impressive, despite the fact that Nick and Zak were losing it over stringing some sentences together that was supposed to mean something about something. Whatever. Yawn.
The one EVP that really creeped me out was the one I can't remember, of course. It was clear as day and very human-sounding.

There was footage of an orb in a hallway that looked credible. We also got lots of shots of Zak's meaty forearms with goosebumps and hair standing on end.

When Zak believed he communicated with a guy named Jim, he addressed him in a much different way than the old, pit bull Zak would have. Instead of saying, "Hey Jim, you motherfucker, come out and git us!" he said:

"Sir, I think you talked to me and emotionally that kind of hit me a little bit. . . I want to say thank you for communicating with us. I guess it's just the interaction."

Awwww Zak, you big pussy.

Later, he and Nick get a ghost speaking to them in their spirit box that Zak called "a smart ass." Payback is a bitch, isn't it, Zak?
*smooch*

GAC Updates Soon and Movie Randomness

With family in and out, travel, and lots of stuff going on, I've neglected this blog and my DVR (Doesn't this always mark the beginning of the busiest time of year - aka holiday season?). This means a very important thing: NO GHOST ADVENTURES updates!

Hopefully I will have some soon. I will also have lots of other updates, including a ghost tour my girls and I  took in Lancaster Country, PA, fantastic orb photos, and a review of Paranormal Activity 2.

Until then, I would like to be a little random and put up a list of my top ten favorite scary movies (in no particular order). These are the first that come to mind, so I'm probably missing some!

1 - Poltergeist
2 - The Amityville Horror
3 - Session 9
4 - The Blair Witch Project
5 - Halloween
6 - The Exorcist
7 - The Tenant
8 - The Changeling
9 - Frankenstein
10  - The Possession of Joe Delaney

What are yours?  Leave me some comments!

GAC Returns to The Portal 'a Hell

The guys from Ghost Adventures returned to the infamous Bobby Mackey's in Wilder, KY on Friday's episode. This is the place that was responsible for Zak's infamous yell: "If this is the portal 'a hell, then why don't you come up out of there and get us!"

Zak, Nick, and Aaron all believe that whatever entities reside in Mackey's followed them home after the first filming there and eventually destroyed Aaron's marriage. 

In 2009, the guys arranged a Ghost Adventure fan trip to Bobby Mackey's where they also included a Bishop.  My husband's friend has a friend who attended and also attested that something from the place followed him home as well (he was actually on Friday's episode). 

So why not return a third time to a place so evil it threatened their lives and those close to them?  I mean, come on, it's a freakin' party, right?   

No doubt in my mind that something dark lurks inside the honky tonk club. There was footage of the caretaker's original exorcism from years back that was creepy. Despite the spooky bits, I did think the EVPs and the repetition of the guys' names were a bit much, especially when the disembodied spirit voice called Zak out on his fear of heights. 

Speaking of which, Zak was working it big time. He looked at the camera like he wanted to screw it and kill it at the same time, all while spray-tanned a toasty burnt orange that would make any disembodied spirit cringe.

A Mental Hospital and a Big, Pink Boat! Ghost Adventures in Rolling Hills Asylum

Ahhhh, Ghost Adventures. On Friday night's episode, the guys went to Rolling Hills Asylum in Bethany, NY, which once housed orphans, homeless mothers and their children, and the criminally insane. Such a messed-up mix, of course, leads to a vast buffet of paranormal energy.

One of the orphans was Roy - a man who suffered from giantism. Tragically, his father dropped him off one day at Rolling Hills when Roy was 12 and never came back for him. Roy spent fifty years in the place and eventually died there. When GAC did their lock down, they captured two very convincing photographs of a giant figure.

Also present? An evil nurse named Emmy, who dabbled in the black arts. Ooooo, you can imagine the creepy EVPs the guys captured. Some were a little hard to decipher, but some were so clear they made me jumpy, especially a scream heard by Nick while he was alone in Nurse Emmy's former room.

In another memorable part of the episode, Aaron got a face full of spider web, which later turned out may have been little slaps around his face. Aaron also caught a slamming, metal door on camera.

I was watching the episode late at night alone and was sure I saw a white flash of light appear to the left of my face. Oh, how I love the creeps of the GAC!

Of course, the show wouldn't be complete without the guys' entertaining side excursions. This time? River rafting near Niagara Falls in a "big, pink boat."

Dude, who's scared of a big, pink boat??

Zak says: "Does the boat match my lip gloss?"

**On a side note, check out this guy's blog post. He talks about filming with GAC and has some incredible behind-the-scenes photos of taping the Rolling Hills episode.

PennHurst to Open "Asylum Haunted House"

PennHurst State School and Hospital, a former institution for the mentally disabled, is now a "haunted house", causing an uproar among advocates for those who were once patients there.

Located in Spring City, PA, the new entertainment site was once home to over a thousand people who were abused and neglected. Despite the hospital's exploitation, those running the new business are employing 95 people and hoping to attract thousands of visitors.

I'm not sure I would want to visit the place as a "haunted house", but I would definitely like to see it as a historical place. Why are there no daytime tours? Perhaps they could open the building as a museum of sorts and collect money that way as well.

Ghost Adventures did a memorable show on PennHurst last season. See a clip from the show here.

You can read the article about the controversy here. Also, some amazing urban exploration photos of the place from 2008 can be found here.

Thanks to my sister, Lynn, who sent me the info on this place!

Zak Bagans at PennHurst

They're Baaaaaack

And so am I. I'm updating again as it's Halloween season once more (YAY!). What better way to kick things off than with a post about Ghost Adventures?

This week, they aired the premier show of the season and the guys went to Gettysburg. The results were, like usual, fun and creepy. I did think that Zak played up his new-found fame a bit too much. It looked like he had had his teeth capped with veneers (they were glowing eerily throughout the episode) and was wearing a touch of pink lip gloss. And can we discuss the spray tan? Come on, Zak. You're not Pamela Anderson. You're Zak Bagans, the tough guy who harasses ghosts!

The montages of the guys "fighting" in the Civil War was way over the top, but made me laugh. It did eclipse any scary bits they got, which I honestly can't remember. Can someone post

something in the comments section to jog my memory? Thanks!

Zak:"I scare ghosts with my shiny, supple mouth."

MISCHIEF NIGHT TELEVISION

There's been lots of fun TV on today and this evening.

This morning I caught Jason and Grant from Ghost Hunters on The Today Show. And this evening, I just watched a bit of Larry King in which Chip Coffey was talking to Dan Aykroyd about the book, "A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters" written by Dan's father, Peter Aykroyd. Apparently the whole Aykroyd family believes in the paranormal and used to have seances at home. There's a great little article about his book here.

Who you gonna call?

A little while later Joan Rivers talked to Larry King about the ghost who was haunting her NYC apartment, and how she had a witch come in and rid her of the ghost. She said before this happened to her, she had been a skeptic. She was one of the stars who took part in the celebrity ghost story show on Biography that I still need to check out.

Right now, Ghost Adventures is on live at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in WV. I just tuned in and already the guys watching the cameras have shown some interesting orbs of light materializing out of the walls. Meanwhile, a disembodied voice told Zak to "fuck off." You can watch the live webcams here.

Who you gonna fuckin' call?

Now Zak is working himself up into a froth over a little girl's ghost. And I heard something about fans they've invited to go into the asylum with them. Guess I'd better go watch; This is about to get good. . .

ABANDONED BUILDING OF THE WEEK: EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY

I love urban exploration and one of my favorite decrepit places to visit is Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. I'm lucky enough to visit often since my sister lives in the city of brotherly love.


Recently, I experienced ESP's Terror Behind the Walls. What a good time! The absolute best "haunted house" I've ever visited. Zombie cell mates, deranged doctors, and insane prison guards chased me through the dark, fog-filled halls while I screamed my head off.

Zombies, and cell mates, and prison guards, OH MY!!

That aside, the best part of ESP is going during the day, equipped with a camera. It is a place that captures the imagination. Luckily Easter State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc., a nonprofit org with the sold purpose of keeping ESP open for tours, has preserved the place and kept it in its majestic and crumbling state

A little history from the website:

Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor," Eastern State Penitentiary quickly became one of the most expensive and most copied buildings in the young United States. It is estimated that more than 300 prisons worldwide are based on the Penitentiary's wagon-wheel, or "radial" floor plan.

Some of America's most notorious criminals were held in the Penitentiary's vaulted, sky-lit cells, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone. After 142 years of consecutive use, Eastern State Penitentiary was completely abandoned in 1971, and now stands, a lost world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers.

Inmate Willie Sutton's mugshot. Sutton managed to escape the prison, only to be recaptured on the street out front.

I went a couple weekends ago and took a bunch of photos, but I haven't downloaded them from my camera yet. In the meantime, have a look at some older pictures I took:


Naturally, with so much turbulent history, ESP is reportedly haunted. Many TV investigative shows including Ghost Hunters, MTV's Fear, Most Haunted, and my personal favorite, Ghost Adventures have visited with their cameras.

Zak and Co. of Ghost Adventures walks through ESP

Zak gets strapped into the "mad chair." This chair (in my photos above) was used as punishment for unruly prisoners.

Jason and Grant of Ghost Hunters in ESP

Ghost Hunters got some very creepy footage while investigating. Check it out:

HISS BOO!

Can your pet see ghosts? Animal Planet wants to find out. They are launching a new show called "Haunted Animals" that looks at the animal kingdom's ability to interact with the supernatural.

To get everyone in the spirit, they are inviting people to bring their pets to the notoriously haunted Bobby Mackey's Music World in Wilder, KY where they are shooting their first episode. This is the place where, on Ghost Adventures, Zak Bagans taunted the spirit world with his famous line: "If this is the portal 'a hell, then why don't you come up out of that ground and git us!" Maybe pets that visit can solve the puzzle of Bobby Mackey's.

Animal Planet is now casting for the show. To find out how you and your pet can be a part of the experience, go here.

On a side note, I wish my dearly departed dog Chico were still with us. He used to growl at the stairs in our old house. Later when I got my cat, Murphy, he used to hiss at the same place!

IF THIS IS THE PORTAL OF HELL. . .

Good new for fans of Ghost Adventures: A new season starts in November, and to get everyone in the Halloween spirit, they are doing a live show on October 30th. Attention all spirits: Get ready for chucklehead high jinx!!

According to the website:

The Ghost Adventures crew -- Zak, Nick and Aaron -- will lock themselves in one of America's most haunted locations for the most ambitious LIVE paranormal investigation ever attempted.Built during the Civil War, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, WV, is the second largest, hand-cut stone building in the US, second only to the Kremlin in the world. For decades its massive walls housed the insane, the neglected and the unwanted. Patient-on-patient violence was common. Inmates were subjected to brutal medical procedures. The asylum was finally shut down in 1994 and stands empty today.

Sounds like a good time. I would watch the full seven hours just to watch Zak and his doily pants get all up in the supernatural spirit of the place.

Zak and Nik taunt spirits in the "portal 'a hell."