I am Haunted: Living Life Through the Dead

First Published in 2015 by Victory Belt Publishing.

Copyright © Zak Bagans and Kelly Crigger

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-628600-61-2

This book is for entertainment purposes only. The publisher and authors of this book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any adverse effects arising directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided in this book. If not practiced safely and with caution, paranormal investigations can be hazardous to your health.

Interior and cover design by Yordan Terziev and Boryana Yordanova

Cover photo by Charles Henry

RRD 0115

I dedicate this book to all my amazing fans, my Ghost Adventures Crew (GAC) family, all my skeptics turned believers, and all the souls who have communicated with me and left a mark on my life forever.

THANK YOU:

My entire family for dealing with me and understanding the unique job and gift I have and that I’m not always myself when I return home from intense investigations

My dog, Gracie, and the Nevada SPCA

The spirits who have made contact with me and didn’t harm me

My co-author, Kelly Crigger, for listening to my crazy stories and life every day

My publisher, Erich Krauss, and editor, Pam Mourouzis

My assistant, Cecilia Medina

Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, Jay and Ashley Wasley, Bill Chappell, Dave Schrader, Devin Lawrence, Matthew Mourgides, Father Sebastiaan, Mark and Debby Constantino, Chris Fleming, Mike Haberman, Tara Bohren, Scott “Doctor” Gruenwald, Steve Barton, and Zory

And Harold the Haunted Doll for bruising my f-ing arm...I’ll never pick you up again.

I
NTRODUCTION

1: A D
IFFERENT
S
TATE OF
M
IND

2: M
Y
C
REW
I
S
M
Y
F
AMILY

3: T
HE
D
EMON
H
OUSE

4: M
Y
O
ASIS IN THE
D
ESERT

5: D
EEPER
C
ONNECTION

6: H
ELPING
P
EOPLE

7: I
T
A
IN’T
C
HEMO

8: L
OCKDOWN
D
AY

9: R
ENO
C
RACKHEADS

10: H
EALTH
R
ISKS

11: H
EART
A
TTACKS

12: R
OMANIA

13: N
ETHERWORLD

14: C
ARRYING
S
PIRITS

15: D
OLLS

16: W
EATHER

17: A S
AVAGE
A
TTACK IN A
P
EACEFUL
P
LACE

18: S
T
. J
AMES
H
OTEL

19: O
VERLAND
H
OTEL

20: D
REAMS

21: A
PRIL
5

22: O
UIJA
B
OARDS

23: L
OCKDOWN
H
ANGOVER

24: P
OST
-P
OSSESSION
B
LUES

25: T
RANS
-A
LLEGHENY
L
UNATIC
A
SYLUM

26: L
OCATION
D
ISAPPOINTMENTS

27: D
EBUNKING

28: G
UEST
I
NVESTIGATORS

29: S
YMPATHY
, S
AID THE
S
HARK

30: B
EHIND THE
C
AMERA

31: E
X
-G
IRLFRIENDS’
G
HOSTS

32: C
RAZY
F
ANS

33: S
OUTHWEST
H
ELL

34: T
HE
D
EVIL

35: N
ATIVE
A
MERICANS

36: G
O TO THE
L
IGHT

37: H
ATERS

38: W
HEN
I D
IE

They say that our life, our existence, contains more unknown than known. That must mean that in death we find out what the rest of the unknown is. I’ve traveled the world searching the darkest nooks and crannies of places only talked about in whispers—places most people fear to go. I’ve been through the ringer of emotions, from boundless joy to profound sorrow and paralyzing fear. I’ve stood on the edge of the abyss and faced death with an uncommon clarity. I’ve prodded and provoked things we don’t understand in an effort to learn their secrets, in some cases hoping deep down inside that I wouldn’t.

I’ve called out axe murderers, crawled through catacombs, been attacked by demons, been possessed by evil, and embarked on a quest to find the real Dracula. My adventures are a constant struggle between fear and courage. My body and soul bear the scars, but I consider myself fortunate. I made a conscious decision to do these things, and since 2004 my life has been a tumultuous journey through the best of times and the worst of times that I wouldn’t trade for anything. People watch my TV shows and think
they know me, but there are layers of my life that have never been made public.

Until now.

When you’re young, life is just fun, but as you mature you learn to appreciate all the amazing things life has to offer. After all these years on the road, my experiences with the living and the dead have deepened my thinking and my overall sense of life. Life is beautiful. Life is horrific. Everything has its balance in the universe, and as I grow older, this balance is becoming clearer. I want to share it with you.

Some of the greatest books ever written are about the mysteries and discoveries of life on the road. Jack Kerouac, Paddy Fermor, and Hunter S. Thompson, to name a few, have given us the gift of venturing out into the world and looking at it in new and unexpected ways. The road is a lonely, exhausting, invigorating, and living thing, but the wonder of seeing things we never would have dreamed of makes it worth the price we pay to leave the safety of home.

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I don’t know enough. The question I most want to answer—what happens to us after death—is probably best left unanswered, when I think about it. It’s the one mystery the universe will hold onto until we’ve all moved through it, and rightly so. Who are we to cheat death? The best we can hope for is to understand and manage it, and even that is pushing the boundaries of playing God. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop asking the question or searching for answers. I won’t stop demanding to know more than we really should. I am human, after all. We humans are explorers and pioneers, and we find our inner strength when the end state is the absolute unknown.

In early 2014, Kelly Crigger and I decided to write a new book. We set up a system where I talked into my phone and sent him
the files for transcription, and before long I found myself talking and talking and talking. I had more stuff to get off my chest than I realized; once the dam broke, I flooded the pages with stories of my life and adventures. But this is more than just a one-way conversation. I also learned a few things about myself. I’ve always known that I am haunted by the dead, but I didn’t realize that I am also haunted by the living. As you’re about to read, I have a distaste for modern society that tugs at my soul just as much as the spirits tug on me. We all grow up eventually, but being thrust into a white-hot spotlight of popularity turbocharged my maturation process. I have seen the best and worst in people both living and dead, and I want to share some of those experiences with you.

BUCKLE UP.

Spirits and rituals have changed me.

Over the course of filming
Ghost Adventures,
I haven’t matured just as a paranormal investigator and a TV personality, but as a person as well. My experiences have made me see the world differently than I did before this whirlwind of attention started. Before
GA,
I was what I would consider a normal guy—normal in the respect that I thought only about this material world. When I go out in public now, it seems that all I see is Madonna song material—people living in a material world. They do what society tells them to do. They have regular jobs and party on the weekends. They go to the movies at night. They spend money to get good-looking. That’s the ebb and flow of present-day society. Those are the normal things people do. I’m not saying they’re bad things, but as you’ve probably realized by now (or you will by the end of this book), I’m not normal.

I feel like I’m detaching from the material world. I don’t know what’s going on with me some days, but ever since I started filming
Ghost Adventures,
participating in rituals, communicating with the dead, and getting more serious about my work, my experiences
have been more life-altering. Your typical paranormal investigator will go out and capture EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), do audio recordings and EMF (electromagnetic frequency) readings, take a few pictures, have a couple of experiences, see some shadows, and then go home, and they’re back to their normal lives. That’s not who I am. That’s not what I’m all about. Every other week I’m at a new location getting deeper and deeper in touch with the spirit world.