When you’re a kid and your parents aren’t watching, you might sneak snacks or make faces at your siblings. When I was a kid and my parents weren’t watching, my brother and I would sneak out of our rooms past bedtime and watch ghost hunting shows.
While his favorite was the classic “Ghost Hunters,” mine has always been “Ghost Adventures.” From the spooky transitions to the jarring sharp music and the use of new technology to the comedic relief provided by the hosts, “Ghost Adventures” has remained a staple television show for me since childhood.
It first aired in 2008 with lead investigator Zak Bagans and co-investigators Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin. 17 years later, Bagans and Goodwin continue their mission to catch “groundbreaking proof of the paranormal” alongside Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley, who serve as co-investigators and audio-video technicians.
The show has had a few spinoffs, from the haunting “Ghost Adventures: House Calls” to the ghastly “Destinations of the Damned with Zak Bagans” — but nothing compares to the original.
Last Wednesday, the show premiered the first episode of season 29, and I could not have been more excited. Season 28 was a massive letdown consisting of only five episodes total, but a part of me always hopes that the show will make a comeback. Spoiler alert: I was disappointed.
“Poltergeist House Curse” is pretty self-explanatory — the crew investigates the house used to film the classic 1982 horror film “Poltergeist.” With an odd number of occurrences following the movie and its cast, along with the fact that the house sits atop Chumash Native American land, many believe that angry spirits are behind the unfortunate number of deaths and mishaps.
In typical “Ghost Adventures” fashion, a series of interviews are conducted that provide viewers with background information. However, they did not meet with the previous owners of the house — only the woman who recently bought it.
That being said, there were not many instances of hauntings to discuss. They did bring in two psychics, but neither of them were able to pick anything up that was worthy of expanding on. As for the curse on the land, Bagans spoke to an archaeologist, a Chumash/Tataviam Tribal elder and another member who serves as the senator for the tribe.
Even with two Chumash people in front of him, Bagans posed most of his questions towards the younger archaeologist, which felt dismissive and honestly tone-deaf — but certainly not as tone-deaf as bringing a doll into the home that belonged to Heather O’Rourke.
Bagans owns a museum of haunted objects. Aside from owning the clown doll used in “Poltergeist,” he also is in possession of a Cabbage Patch Kid that O’Rourke played with as a child. O’Rourke famously played the role of Carol Anne, one of the film’s main protagonists, before unfortunately passing away at only 12-years-old. While O’Rourke’s mother did give the doll to Bagans, it just seemed insensitive.
Given that this was a season premiere, the episode is longer than most. Rather than the typical 45-minute episodes, the “Poltergeist House Curse” is almost an hour and a half … and the investigation does not begin until around 35 minutes in.
To make matters worse, the “investigating” — if you can even call it that — only lasted about 35 minutes! During this period of time, all we get are a few orbs and a really unconvincing electronic voice phenomenon session.
The last 20 minutes or so of the episode are spent reviewing this “evidence” with the house’s current owner and showing one of the psychics the clown doll — to which she magically says is the host for the spirit of an actor from “Poltergeist.”
I know “Ghost Adventures” is not an incredible watch, but it used to be a lot more interesting and spooky. I think I speak for most fans when I say I want the energy of the earlier seasons back.
For the crew, this was a historical investigation. For myself as a long-time fan, it was a historical letdown.
2/5 stars
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of warnermediacdn.com
