There are a ton of ghost hunting programs on TV and YouTube, but none compare to Ghost Adventures. Ghost Adventures has been going strong since 2008 and nothing seems to be stopping it. The show consists of a great (if somewhat wacky) cast, lots of interesting toys (some questionable), and some of the best ghost evidence ever captured on video.
Of course, not every episode is a winner. Granted, you can’t expect every episode of a ghost hunting show to be a winner, seeing as how some places are more “active” than others.
These are the five best, and five worst, episodes of Ghost Adventures, according to IMDb.
10 Best: Cerro Gordo Ghost Town – 8.9
Some people complain about the recent episodes of Ghost Adventures. The locations aren’t as historic or as interesting as they used to be, Zak doesn’t have great chemistry with Billy and Jay, and Nick’s absence is still painfully felt. But then there are episodes like Cerro Gordo Ghost Town.
The location is really interesting – the Cerro Gordo Mines in the California Inyo Mountains – and the episode contained a ton of intriguing evidence that hearkened back to the glory days. No “demons” or people faking evidence to appear on TV. Just good old fashioned Ghost Adventures.
9 Worst: Mustang Ranch – 6.4
You know things aren’t going to be great when the gang heads to a modern day brothel. This place is still an active brothel, however it is not an active paranormal location. Though the episode does attempt to gain audience interest through discussion of and interaction with the location itself, the episode just falls flat.
There’s little evidence to speak of and the location is really lame and uninteresting. Skip this one.
8 Best: The Washoe Club: Final Chapter – 8.9
Virginia City’s Old Washoe Club has a storied place in Ghost Adventures history. The club was featured in the original Ghost Adventures documentary back in 2004, and the documentary proved so successful and convincing that it led to the eventual creation of the show.
The crew returned to the club in season 3 and returned yet again for the titular “Final Chapter” in season 16. Like the previous visits, this one proved chock full of convincing paranormal evidence, including a haunting voice that sounded exactly like that of the deceased Debbie Constantino.
7 Worst: Terror In Fontana – 6.4
This episode represents everything that is wrong with modern Ghost Adventures. You’ve got a troubled family convincing Zak and his group that their place is haunted by some type of malevolent demonic force. Troubled family faking evidence? Check. Some type of unexplained demonic force? Check. Terrible evidence? Double check!
And then there’s the moment that Zak crawls into a bed with the family’s mother and her children. We don’t know what that was all about, but the less said about it the better…
6 Best: Stone Lion Inn – 8.9
Season fourteen’s Stone Lion Inn is another classic episode of Ghost Adventures and another reason to not write off the later seasons entirely. Many reality shows tend to fizzle out in their later seasons but we assure you that there still are diamonds hidden deep in the rough later on. You just have to mine through all the fake demons and weird families.
This episode contains some classic pieces of paranormal evidence, including a haunting sequence involving Zak hearing noises in a bedroom, footage of a door opening by itself, and the door to Nerve Center swinging open without provocation.
5 Worst: The Riviera Hotel – 5.6
The guests on Ghost Adventures are always wildly hit or miss, and the ones found on The Riviera Hotel are an unfortunate miss. This episode contains the likes of Motley Crue’s Vince Neil and professional poker player Jamie Gold, neither who make for memorable guests.
They’re just sort of…there. They do not contribute to the episode in the slightest. Not only are they just “there,” but they have no business being “there” in the first place. It’s certainly an interesting location, but the total lack of evidence and lame guests make this one a dud.
4 Best: Haunted Harvey House – 8.9
Location goes a long way in determining an episode’s quality, and fortunately, the Haunted Harvey House made for a highly interesting location. It helps that we’ve never seen this location before, as the Ghost Adventures are the first team to ever explore the abandoned Castaneda Hotel.
It also helps that the episode contained a ton of convincing evidence, including numerous unexplained noises (knocks, bangs), a disembodied female voice, darting shadow figures, and the famous “How would you like another?” spirit box voice.
3 Worst: Demons In Seattle – 4.2
Demons in Seattle was long regarded as the worst episode in Ghost Adventures history. That is until a new episode recently (and unfortunately) reared its ugly head. Demons in Seattle saw the group venturing to the house of Keith Linder, a man who is obviously desperate for attention and fame.
His “evidence” is nothing but clearly faked home videos, and he actually wants us to believe that demons would want to spray paint “666” and staple his pants to the wall.
2 Best: Hell Hole Prison – 9.2
Hell Hole Prison is the nickname given to Yuma’s Yuma Territorial Prison. The prison earned the nickname due to its relentless heat and the fact that it housed numerous inhumane torture methods such as locking its inmates in the so-called Snake Den. This episode is horrifying.
There are disembodied and hair-raising screams, convincing shadow figures, physical contact, bangs, footsteps, unexplained saloon music, and perhaps most amazingly, the kinect camera mapping a band playing on the prison stage. It sounds goofy in text. This stuff needs to be seen to be believed.
1 Worst: Panic In Amarillo – 3.1
And with Panic in Amarillo, we actually got an episode worse than one featuring stapled jeans. While Demons in Seattle was goofy and laughably entertaining, Panic in Amarillo is just sad and unnerving. The gang once again travels to a family’s house. But instead of spray painted walls, they found a family desperately in need of help (and Child Services).
The mother was clearly unstable, the house was filthy, and fans questioned if the child was being abused. It makes for horrifying viewing, but not in the way we’re accustomed to. We want ghosts and ghost hunting, not a family desperately in need of some professional help.
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