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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 Bagans in 2018 | |
| Born | Zachary Alexander Bagans April 5, 1977 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Paranormal investigator, television personality, author |
| Part of a series on the |
| 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.
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]
Deadly Possessions
On April 2, 2016, Bagans premiered his new show on the Travel Channel, Deadly Possessions featuring his Haunted Museum located in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7] The show follows Bagans as he acquires items for the museum.
Haunted Museum
In October, 2017, Bagans opened the Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the historical Wengert mansion at 600 E. Charleston Blvd. The museum consists of 33 rooms with various artifacts on display. Visitors are given guided tours of the rooms taking about one-and-a-half hours to complete. Some of the items on display include Bela Lugosi’s mirror, the Dybbuk box, Peggy the Doll, Dr. Kevorkian’s “Death Van”. and the basement staircase from the Demon House.[8]. Bagans announced on January 14, 2019 via Twitter post that the museum had acquired a mirror once owned by Captain Smith of the Titanic.[9]
All visitors must sign waivers before entering indemnifying the museum against “spiritual or paranormal interactions”. On May 27, 2019, an exhibit featuring a rocking chair from The Devil in Connecticut alleged demon possession case was shut down briefly due to a visitor fainting. The exhibit reopened on June 7.[10]
Criticism of claims about Haunted Museum artifacts
Both the Lugosi mirror and Captain Smith mirror have been shown to have dubious provenance.[11][12]
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 legendary hauntings of America's National Parks.[13]
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.[14]
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.[15] Bagans produced Paranormal Paparazzi, a reality show that premiered on September 28, 2012, but starred entertainment pundit Aaron Sagers.[16] In March 2014, Bagans announced a spin-off series titled Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks, which premiered in April 2014. It focuses on changes to people's lives after the Ghost Adventures crew visit their locations.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ghost Adventures | Himself | Documentary |
| 2018 | Demon House | Himself | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–present | Deadly Possessions | Himself | |
| 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 |
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.
- ^ "Bagans on classfinders.com". Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ^ Ghost Adventures "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. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
- ^ Bagans, Zak. "Zak Bagans Official Website". Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- ^ Mannen, Scott. "Fear No Evil". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- ^ "Deadly Possessions on Travel Channel". Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ Biddle, Kenny. "The Not-So-Haunted Museum of Zak Bagans". www.csicop.org. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ Bagans, Zak. "Zak Bagans (@Zak_Bagans) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Biddle, Kenny. "Devil's Chair blamed For Exhibit Shutdown". skepticalinquirer.com. The Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ Biddle, Kenny. "A Closer Look At The Bela Lugosi 'Haunted' Mirror". skepticalinquirer.org. The Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Biddle, Kenny. "The Provenance Of Captain Smith's 'Haunted' Mirror". skepticalinquirer.org. The Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Bagans, Zak. "Zak Bagans Official Website". Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
- ^ Schuessler, Jennifer. "Print & E-Books". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ "Host of "Ghost Adventures" and "Paranormal Challenge" on the Travel Channel. Author of Dark World". Zak Bagans. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ^ "Zak Bagans (@Zak_Bagans) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| 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 curators
- American writers on paranormal topics
- Film directors from Washington, D.C.