The longest-running ghost-focused paranormal reality television show at 26 seasons, Ghost Adventures, has been on the air since 2008, and has since become one of the best paranormal reality tv shows to date. Starring Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley, Billy Tolley, and formerly Nick Groff; the show followed the group of three-to-four men as they toured the world’s most haunted locations and spots, captured evidence evidence, and trying to prove to the audience whether these places were truly haunted or not. Throughout regular episodes and timely specials, to new incarnations such as Ghost Adventures: House Calls, the crew has fascinated its audience with its evidence of the supernatural and more.
From lackadaisical episodes such as the “La Purisma Mission”, to more terrifying episodes such as the “Preston Castle” adventures, to getting full-on attacked by the paranormal in the “Pennhurst State School”, the four have encountered some truly terrifying spirits and experiences in the show’s 230+ episode run. Here are the scariest episodes, ranked.
Updated: October 2022: To keep this article fresh and relevant, by adding more spooky Ghost Adventure episodes and haunting information. This article has been updated by Olly Dyche.
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7 Cecil Hotel
Paulson Ryan Scott
This two-hour special sees the Ghost Adventures team investigate the infamously haunted Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. If you have heard of this hotel or seen the recent Netflix docuseries, then you already have a sense of how spooky and mysterious this hotel is. The team encountered their usual paranormal happenings, such as unexplained scratches, until Bagans investigated the room where serial killer Jack Unterweger stayed in 1991, all by himself. This lead to the water faucet unexplainably turning on by itself. Without the dark and mysterious history of the hotel, this Ghost Adventures special is still very spooky and among the scariest episodes of the show.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Preston Castle
Paulson Ryan Scott
The season two opener of the show took the original Ghost Adventures crew to Preston Castle in Lone, California. Originally a reform school for troubled youth, Preston Castle had its fair share of crime and troubles, including the murder of beloved housekeeper, Anna Corbin, by two of the juveniles. It also brought the show so many pieces of ghostly evidence. A camera captured a shadowy figure walking down the hallway after hearing a loud scream. One of the clearer EVP’s (electric voice phenemona) hears a spirit tell the crew to “get outta here.” But, perhaps the scariest part of the episode, is when Zak becomes seemingly possessed by the ghost of Anna Corbin. Talking to what looks like himself, extreme emotions of sadness, and more; Zak believes he experienced a partial possession. With so much evidence from one place, it’s hard to deny the fear caused by Preston Castle.
5 Demon House
Freestyle Releasing
A full-fledged documentary, rather than a single episode, Demon House has cemented itself as one of the freakiest locations ever visited by the Ghost Adventures crew, and one of the scariest entries into the series. Back in 2014, host Zak Bagans bought a house in Gary, Indiana, most known for the bone-chilling case of the Ammon hauntings (a family was terrorized by demons, unexplainable masses of flies, etc., with over a thousand pages of official documents detailing the disaster). Faced with a loud, horrific growl in the middle of the night; shadows walking through the house, and one sitting on the door frame; and even a quick possession, the documentary added even more evidence to the house’s list of paranormal activity. Bagans eventually had the house torn down in 2016.
4 Pennhurst State
The history of Pennhurst State is one of tragedy. The residents were all horrifically abused, meaning one can understand why the paranormal entities that haunt the school and hospital would be restless and why they weren’t fans of the Ghost Adventures team investigating them. Any old abandoned hospital is creepy, but the team were not ready for what was to come. This episode sees many unexplainable moving objects; a rock is thrown at Zack, but most notably was that a coat hanger was also hurled at Zack after a voice is heard saying “hit”. Again, this cannot be explained, leaving the audience and the team speechless.
3 Hell Hole Prison
Its official name is the Yuma Territorial Prison (nicknamed “hell hole” due to the intense heat), and possibly one of the most active places the Ghost Adventures crew has visited. With the common occurrence of unexplainable noises, disembodied voices, and voices actually heard clearly through the EVP recorder; what makes this episode scary is all of the apparitions the crew caught on camera. Aaron Goodwin caught two, a floating orb constantly following him, and a tall shadowy figure making its way into the courtyard. But, the most infamous one is when cameras capture a group of apparitions on the band stage, as if they were playing instruments and performing for our protagonists. Though friendly, it is still terrifying to see.
2 El Rancho Hotel
Travel Channel
After hearing news that employees were quitting en masse due to a rise in paranormal activity, the Ghost Adventures crew made their way down to the El Rancho Hotel to investigate. The ghosts and spirits didn’t even wait until nighttime to make their appearances, as before the lights even went out, the cameras captured a shadowy head poking its head outside of a door frame to look at the crew. Along with reports of a demonic ritual happening at the hotel, feelings of uneasiness and possibly semi-possession hit the crew, and even caused one of them to nearly cry. It’s easy to see why the employees were quitting, given all of the evidence in this episode.
1 Route 666
Another Halloween special, the “Route 666” episode sees the crew travel to not one, but two haunted locations: The infamous DeSoto Hotel (one of their many visits to the location) and the heart-pounding Goatman’s Bridge. First, at the DeSoto Hotel (known for its history of demonic rituals), the crew gets all sorts of unexplainable occurences, such as loud knocks and audible footsteps; three visible apparitions standing together; and one of the X-cameras being ripped off of the wall. It’s at Goatman’s Bridge, however, where things get truly terrifying. Ashley seems to get possessed by some sort of demonic entity, calling out for it, and then gets audibly assaulted by an unseen force, leaving a mark on her head. The Bridge hits the entire crew with harm, with Zak feeling like he was being strangled, and Aaron is thrown nearly twenty feet by something. Along with capturing a pair of free-floating red eyes at the entrance to the forest, Goatman’s Bridge became one of the most active locations explored by the Ghost Adventures crew, and perhaps the scariest.
Ghost Adventures is available to watch on Discovery+ and the Travel Channel.
