As that familiar chill creeps into the air to signal the start of fall, we find ourselves in the mood for a different kind of chill. It’s officially spooky season, and there’s no better way to get into the spirit than watching a few episodes of the paranormal reality series Ghost Adventures.
Ghost Adventures began as an independent film of the same name that aired on Syfy (then called the Sci-Fi Channel) on July 25, 2007. It stars ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, Nick Groff (who left after season 10), and Jay Wasley as they investigate reportedly haunted locations around the world. The film was a hit with Syfy audiences, so a series was created by Travel Channel, premiering on October 17, 2008 and going on to become the channel’s most popular program.
The show moved to Discovery+ in 2021, where it continues to air. Season 26 is expected to premiere on May 22, 2024. That’s a lot of episodes, so we created a handy cheat sheet of the 10 spookiest Ghost Adventures episodes ever, so you can jump right in and get your scare on.
10. Rolling Hills Asylum (Season 4, episode 3)
Air date: September 24, 2010
For almost two centuries, the Genesee County Poor Farm in East Bethany, New York operated as a poor house and asylum for the poor, orphaned, disabled, criminal, and mentally unstable people who had nowhere else to go. Those who were strong enough were required to work on the farm, and when their time came they were often buried in a pauper’s grave on the property with no marker or record of their death.
Today, the property is called Rolling Hills Asylum, and it’s most famous for being haunted. Visitors report hearing voices, being pushed or shoved, and seeing a Satan-worshipping nurse called Emmie. The episode is scary because of the sheer number of experiences the guys have, most notably the blood-curdling scream that Nick hears while investigating the former nurse’s quarters.
9. Poveglia Island (Season 3, episode 3)
Air date: November 13, 2009
In season 3 the Ghost Adventures crew headed to a tiny Italian island near Venice that is abandoned and avoided by locals due to its tragic history. During the Bubonic Plague outbreak in 1348, the island became a quarantine colony where the sick and dying were brought to die. When people died on the mainland, their body was also brought to Poveglia to be burned in mass graves. Two centuries later, the pattern repeated during the Black Death outbreak in Europe. Later, an asylum for the mentally ill was constructed, but the island has been closed to residents and guests since 1975.
This episode does a great job of capturing the island’s intense history while getting in some good scares Zak even dons a plague mask to spark activity, but the scariest part has to be when he is temporarily “possessed” by an evil spirit.
8. Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital (Season 1, episode 6)
Air date: November 21, 2008
Some of the earliest episodes are the scariest, and this episode from season 1 is a prime example. The team travels to northern New Jersey to investigate an unnamed abandoned psychiatric hospital. Thousands of mentally ill patients were brought here during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and an estimated 10,000 people died within those walls. Visitors report seeing a ghostly nurse apparition, among others, and many hear disembodied voices.
Watching the guys crawl around the dank, winding hallways and freezing morgue is unnerving at best, but they also drum up a lot of convincing evidence. They captured EVPs multiple times; one said “hello,” another said, “help me,” and most creepily, “die.” Nick also reported feeling sad and drained of energy, and they hear banging, doors squeaking open, glowing orbs, and knocking, but the worst of it all was the “spirit hand.”
7. Goldfield Hotel (Season 3, episode 1)
Air date: March 22, 2013
The Goldfield Hotel was built during the gold rush in 1902, when Goldfield, Nevada boasted a temporary population of 20,000. Today, it’s a “living ghost town” with just 250 residents, and its biggest tourism draw is the very haunted hotel.
The Goldfield Hotel was one of the most impressive buildings of its time, and locals say it’s a hot spot for paranormal activity. When Ghost Adventures first visited while making their 2004 documentary, the crew captured some of the most compelling poltergeist activity ever when a brick was seemingly thrown at Zak’s back. The footage was so compelling that the team returned to the hotel three more times, and the TAPS team from Syfy’s Ghost Hunters also investigated. Each time they return, the team reports tons of activity.
6. Mizpah Hotel (Season 5, episode 2)
Air Date: September 20, 2011
The Mizpah Hotel is another gold and silver rush establishment. Built in 1900 to accommodate the miners and travelers seeking their fortune in Tonapah, Nevada, the hotel is said to be haunted by a benevolent spirit called Lady in Red. The Ghost Adventure team visited the once-luxurious hotel, which is meticulously maintained, fully operational, and has recently been added to the Historic Hotels of America register. It was also selected as the USA Today Readers’ Choice award for “#1 Most Haunted Hotel.”
During the lockdown investigation overnight, the guys hear, see, and sense things that are not there. They also witness a non-working elevator suddenly burst to life and open its doors before their very eyes.
5. Route 666 (Season 16, Episode 6)
This was a special two-hour event in honor of Halloween, and it captures some pretty compelling evidence for poltergeist activity. The crew traveled across Texas on “Route 666” to investigate the De Soto Hotel and Concordia Cemetery, which are both hot spots for demonic activity and have a reputation as being Satan-worshiping sites.
Things start getting weird when a living person appears to be pushed by invisible hands, rocks start flying, and Aaron gets thrown to the ground.
4. Upper Fruitland Curse (Season 14, episode 8)
Air date: June 24, 2017
Some of the most convincing video ever featured on Ghost Adventures came from the investigation of a family home in Upper Fruitland, New Mexico, just outside the Navajo Nation. An Indigenous family has been plagued by disturbances around their home, including an encounter with a blurry-faced child spirit who attacked one of them during the night. Two other family members saw the whole thing.
Investigations turned up a slew of activity, from a chair moving by itself to a black mass spotted on a video of the backyard.
3. Linda Vista Hospital (Season 3, episode 7)
Air date: December 11, 2009
This episode could make a believer out of even the most skeptical watcher! While investigating an abandoned hospital in Los Angeles, the team speaks with former employees who describe seeing and hearing things frequently at Linda Vista Hospital. The hospital is said to be home to a malevolent or demonic energy that traps other souls.
While investigating, the team encounters many chilling phenomena, including disembodied screams, unexplained noises, full-body apparitions, equipment failures, and spirits that answer their questions when prompted.
2. Haunted Harvey House (Season 11, episode 5)
Air date: September 19, 2015
The team becomes the first to ever investigate the abandoned Castaneda Hotel in New Mexico, venturing to the nearby Plaza Hotel as well. These spirits are said to be aggressive, and they certainly find that to be true as they encounter mysterious voices, loud bangs, and other frightening and unexplained experiences. The scariest part about this episode is how their equipment keeps failing, so they can hear a woman’s voice but can’t quite capture the EVP.
At one point, the spirit clearly says one word that makes the hair on our arms stand up: Demon.
1. Pennhurst State School and Hospital (Season 3, Episode 1)
Air date: November 6, 2009
Buckle up, because Pennhurst State School is a wild ride! The season 3 premiere explores a school for the developmentally disabled that closed in 1987 amid allegations of abuse and neglect. While there, the team encountered footsteps, breathing, slamming doors, voices, screams, hissing, and other bangs and noises. Then there are EVPs that make our skin crawl: disembodied voices saying things like, “Get out;” “What are you doing?” “Help me,” and “Go away.”
Yikes.
Are we freaked out yet? There’s more where this came from! All episodes of Ghost Adventures are now streaming on Hulu.
Published: Sep 13, 2024 02:04 pm