Zak Bagans
 | This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (August 2018) |
Zak Bagans | |
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| Born | Zachary Alexander Bagans April 5, 1977 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Paranormal investigator, television personality, author |
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| Paranormal |
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Zachary Alexander Bagans (born April 5, 1977) is an American paranormal investigator, actor, television personality, and author. He is the principal host of the Travel Channel series, Ghost Adventures.
Early life
Bagans was born on April 5, 1977, in Washington, D.C.[1] He graduated Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, in 1995.[2][3] Bagans attended the Motion Picture Institute in Michigan.[4] Following graduation from MPI, he moved to Las Vegas, aspiring to film documentaries. After arriving in Las Vegas, he found work as a wedding disc jockey.[5] According to Bagans, he was initially skeptical, but his passion for investigating the paranormal was the result of what he describes as "a face-to-face encounter with the spirit of a suicidal woman" in his former apartment building in Trenton, Michigan.
Ghost Adventures
In 2004, Bagans teamed up with Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin to produce a documentary-style film called Ghost Adventures. Nearly four years after the first season and the first episode aired in the U.S., where the crew stayed the night in the allegedly haunted Bobby Mackey's Music World and Bagans claimed to receive several mysterious scratch marks to his back, the series concluded its 14th season in May 2017.
Bagans has been criticized by some paranormal enthusiasts for the aggressive and confrontational methods he uses during investigations. In a June 2009 interview with Paranormal Underground magazine, he responded, "I don't want the public perceiving us as the taunting, provocative ghost hunters. We do that only to the bad spirits who we know are attacking the living."[6]
Other work
In 2011, Bagans hosted Paranormal Challenge, a concurrent spin-off program also on the Travel Channel, which also starred radio talk show host and paranormal personality Dave Schrader. In 2011, Zak Bagans narrated and hosted a Travel Channel special called "Ultimate Travel: Legends of the Park," a show about America's National Parks and how they are haunted.[7]
Bagans co-wrote a book with author Kelly Crigger titled Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of the Ghost Adventures Crew (Victory Belt, 2011). On September 23, 2011, the book debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list at No. 18.[8]
In 2012, Bagans appeared in two music collaborations with Lords of Acid on the song "Paranormal Energy" and on an album titled Necrofusion with Praga Khan.[9] Bagans produced Paranormal Paparazzi, a reality show that premiered on September 28, 2012, but starred entertainment pundit Aaron Sagers.[10] In March 2014, Bagans announced a spin-off series titled Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks, which premiered in April 2014. It focuses on the life changes of people affected at haunted places before and after the Ghost Adventures crew's visit to some locations.
On April 2, 2016, Bagans premiered his new show on the Travel Channel, Deadly Possessions featuring his museum located in Las Vegas, Nevada.[11]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ghost Adventures | Himself | Documentary |
| 2018 | Demon House | Himself | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–present | Ghost Adventures | Himself | |
| 2011 | Paranormal Challenge | Himself | |
| 2012 | Paranormal Paparazzi | Himself | |
| 2012 | Nightline | Himself | |
| 2014–present | Ghost Adventures: Extra Pulses | Himself | |
| 2014–2015 | Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks | Himself | |
| 2015 | The Late Late Show with James Corden | Himself | |
| 2015 | Today | Himself | |
| 2016–present | Deadly Possessions | Himself |
References
- ^ Bagans, Zak. "About Zak Bagans - Host of Paranormal Challenge and Ghost Adventures Crew | Zak Bagans - Official Site". Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Bagans on classfinders.com
- ^ "Excalibur Nightclub" Season 7 Episode September 2–21, 2012 Travel Channel
- ^ "Ghost Adventurers Zak Bagans Salutes MPI for Igniting His Career". Motion Picture Institute. June 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
- ^ Bagans, Zak. "Zak Bagans Official Website". Retrieved April 3, 2012. [dead link]
- ^ Mannen, Scott. "Fear No Evil". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Bagans, Zak. "Zak Bagans Official Website". Retrieved September 1, 2012.
- ^ Schuessler, Jennifer. "Print & E-Books". The New York Times.
- ^ "host of "Ghost Adventures" and "Paranormal Challenge" on the Travel Channel. Author of Dark World". Zak Bagans. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ^ "Zak Bagans (@Zak_Bagans) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ^ "Deadly Possessions on Travel Channel".
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Male actors from Las Vegas
- American documentary film directors
- American documentary film producers
- American horror writers
- American male television actors
- American reality television producers
- American television hosts
- Male actors from Washington, D.C.
- Paranormal investigators
- Writers from Nevada
- Writers from Washington, D.C.
- Ghost Adventures
- American writers on paranormal topics
- Film directors from Washington, D.C.