Ghost Adventures: What Zak Bagans Looks For When Selecting A Haunted House For The Show

"Ghost Adventures" often features Zak Bagans attempting to get a rise out of specters, who he believes have made their eerie existences known in places like an expansive Calabasas ranch, an Oklahoma inn, and an Arizona high school. Viewers may have some inquiries regarding the selection process to showcase areas Bagans thinks could be inhabited by ghosts, ghouls, or demonic creatures.

While speaking to E! News in 2021, Bagans revealed that he accepts input from "Ghost Adventures" enthusiasts to determine possible locations to take his EVP recorder. "We have a good researcher that helps us find locations. Ultimately, I make the final decision where we go," explained Bagans. "But surprisingly, I get a lot of locations that are sent to me via social media, Instagram and Twitter. So a lot of our fans and a lot of people out there are tipping us off to really, really great locations."

He also noted he researches the suggestions before packing up his infrared thermometer and night vision camera for his next harrowing adventure. The "Ghost Adventures" host suggested that he is specifically interested in areas with dark pasts. "I look for the overall experiences that the person has had, their claims of evidence that they've either collected or experiences that they've had and I look at the backstory of the location to see if there are any tragic events that may be a cause of the haunting," said Bagans.

In the E! News interview, Zak Bagans stated that the show is authentic. "I mean, we never go back to do retakes or anything like that. We're not a super-produced show like that or anything," said Bagans. "I'm the boss, and when I get out there, [it's] just roll cams and whatever happens ... is what you're seeing."

However, during an October 2022 interview with Sally Steele, Bagans admitted that not everything he has come across while starring in "Ghost Adventures" makes it to the final cut. For example, he described an unfortunate incident inside the Kentucky establishment, Bobby Mackey's Music World, in Season 4, Episode 3 ("Return to Bobby Mackey's Music World"). The investigator explained he invited a bishop specializing in exorcism. 

According to the reality television personality, while the exorcist was performing a cleansing, he and his castmate Aaron Goodwin felt overcome with murderous thoughts. "Aaron and myself just wanted — we wanted to kill him," stated Bagans. He elaborated that once he told the bishop how he was feeling, it was determined he should be exorcised. The "Ghost-Hunting For Dummies" author claimed that during the exorcism, he nearly acted violently toward the bishop. He stated that the moment was not filmed for "Ghost Adventures" as it was deemed not suitable for viewers.