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1st out of 59 books
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50 voters
Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of The Ghost Adventures Crew
by
Zak Bagans,
Kelly Crigger (Goodreads Author)
It's easy to say ghosts exist or don't exist. Anyone can do that. Trying to figure out the why or what is a different story. Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, host of the popular Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures, pulls from his years of experience with paranormal activities and unexplained phenomena to provide an evenhanded look at a divisive subject. In Dark World...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
September 13th 2011
by Victory Belt Publishing
(first published September 10th 2011)
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Zak ( @Zak_Bagans ) knows what he's talking about, even if he comes off as a bit of a dork on screen sometimes. He knows a lot about the paranormal and has some really great ideas that, I think, should happen. This books makes me appreciate Zak for what he does in order to educate people. Really well done book. Loved every part of it!
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A couple of weeks ago, I finished Zak Bagans' first book Dark World. Throughout the book, his destiny was presented to him through symbolic events like a ghost visiting him during the night, and meeting who would soon be his fellow paranormal investigators, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin.In which, I found this book to be very interesting. What I found most interesting about the book was the actual encounters he had with demons and spirits. The fact that someone can be a "sensitive" infatuates me d...more
Reviewed by Autumn
Last summer I happened upon a marathon of Ghost Adventures while channel surfing one boring Friday night. With no other viable options, I quickly became sucked into the world of Zak Bagans and his ghost hunting pals Nick Groff and the goofy Aaron Goodwin. At first the show spooked me somewhat, causing me to turn around and check behind me. After all, I was watching the show facing a corner with my back to an open living room. Eventually the creepiness factor wore off and I stop...more
Last summer I happened upon a marathon of Ghost Adventures while channel surfing one boring Friday night. With no other viable options, I quickly became sucked into the world of Zak Bagans and his ghost hunting pals Nick Groff and the goofy Aaron Goodwin. At first the show spooked me somewhat, causing me to turn around and check behind me. After all, I was watching the show facing a corner with my back to an open living room. Eventually the creepiness factor wore off and I stop...more
I'm a big fan of the Travel Channel show "Ghost Adventures", so when a friend told me Zak Bagans had a book, I immediately checked it out.
What I love about this is that we are able to see more about Zak than what we see on Ghost Adventures. He can come across as a little bizarre, so reading this was a great peek into his mind.
My thoughts on the paranormal are pretty much midline; I believe in spirits, but I don't necessarily think the things that haunt buildings are benign. I view a lot of Gho...more
What I love about this is that we are able to see more about Zak than what we see on Ghost Adventures. He can come across as a little bizarre, so reading this was a great peek into his mind.
My thoughts on the paranormal are pretty much midline; I believe in spirits, but I don't necessarily think the things that haunt buildings are benign. I view a lot of Gho...more
I was fascinated by this book. I have recently started watching Ghost Adventures. I was excited when I heard that Zak Bagans, the lead investigator of the group, was writing a book. He writes about how he got started and what he has went through getting there. However, I can say that I wish the book was longer and more detailed. There are several topics I just wanted to know more about like his childhood, his being in Michigan and having his first other world experience and how he started the GA...more
I thoroughly enjoyed having the bejeezus scared out of me by this book. Although I don't believe I've ever had a paranormal experience, I have always had an open mind to such things and the information in this book certainly supported some of my beliefs. My main complaint is in the editing - may I offer my services for the next edition? There were multiple errors in grammar and syntax, which happen to the best of us, but there were also some errors in fact that should have been caught and addres...more
Okay - this is a switch for me. Rarely do I read much outside of paranormal romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, and nearly romance of all kinds...
Because I am a big fan of the show (which came as a surprise to my husband and children)I wanted to get my hands on this book, to see what Zak would have to say.
Watching the show devotedly sort of helps me read this. With each example he gives, I bring the episode to mind. And yes, as I read, I hear Zak's voice saying the words.
The content - though I...more
A few caveats about this review: 1. If you’re reading it as a non-believer in ghosts I assume one of two things, you’re curious and have an open mind or you’re here to ridicule. 2. I read this book because my brother wanted to me. He’s just gotten into ghost hunting (I’ve been involved since the mid 1980’s). I would not have read it otherwise because I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of Mr. Bagans. I sort of think he’s a jerk and from a ghost hunting stand point, I differ vastly in approach and don’...more
The book is very basic for anyone who's interested in anything paranormal. If you've watched a couple of episodes of any paranormal tv, then you realize that Bagans gives a very watered down pseudo-philisophical attempt to explain his experiences. I bought the book hoping for some of his experiences, or even a behind the scenes look at the wildly popular "Ghost Adventures Show." What I got was a meandering mismash of hinted at experiences, and half formed thoughts on random paranormal subjects....more
Intelligent lovefest for all things paranormal. The writing is personal,specific, and relatable. Being a huge fan of all the Ghost Aventures Crew I will never place this book on its spine or dog-ear the pages. Hoping to one day have it signed by Zak Bagans. I loved it! I find it very brave of Zak to tell a bunch of strangers, fans or not, that he struggles with antisocial disorder (I can relate),has a fear of speaking in public(I can relate),and he job hopped alot(I can relate) until he found h...more
Definatly not a bad book, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting a collection of ghost stories or at least ghost experiences, which I did get some but I felt like this book was definatly more for those that want to be ghost hunters some day. Maybe if you watch the show you would like it more, but it just didn't seem like the book for me.
Also the whole science chapter totally lost me *and made my rating go down a star*. If I wanted to read a textbook I would. I get that...more
Also the whole science chapter totally lost me *and made my rating go down a star*. If I wanted to read a textbook I would. I get that...more
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love watching Ghost Adventures. I love watching Zak yell at walls, trying to provoke spirits or demons or both. I love Aaron’s faces. I find their approach to paranormal investigating to be far more interesting than other similar shows.
Unfortunately, this book doesn’t really capture that.
Zak is very well informed and enthusiastic about every single aspect of paranormal investigating. It was interesting to get snippets of his life outside of the show and before h...more
Unfortunately, this book doesn’t really capture that.
Zak is very well informed and enthusiastic about every single aspect of paranormal investigating. It was interesting to get snippets of his life outside of the show and before h...more
Being a huge Ghost adventures fan and especially a zak bagans one, I was really excited when this book came out and I anxiously awaited on pins and needles for it to be available on e-readers. I have to say my excitement was a little over enthusiastic. I really enjoyed the first half of the book mostly cuz it was about him and so from there on i went into it thinking it was entirely about him, the crew, the show and then about near to the end the book it really veered off on an insane road and I...more
I loved this book. Really, I did. For some reason though, it was just hard for me to get through. I enjoyed all of the personal experience Zak shared with his readers. He's right. When looking through a TV screen (eating lunchables), we don't know exactly what he's feeling or what he's seeing. So I definitely enjoyed that aspect of it. If the whole book had been that way, I probably would've liked it better since that's what I was expecting. I also enjoyed learning about classifications and the...more
I like the show Ghost Adventures, so when a friend told me Zak Bagans had a book, I thought, this is something I need to check out. Zak Bagans is hilarious to watch. He's very eccentric and aggressive and it makes for entertaining television. But Zak Bagans does know what he's talking about. He has done his research. For me, that's what made this book separate from the show. He does refer to investigations from the show, but the book isn't primarily about that. What I really liked about the book...more
I feel like I am being very generous by giving this book a 3/5 stars! Bipolar, is the word that came to mind after I finished this book. It was very evident where Zak Bagnas the main author left off and Kelly Crigger the coauthor picked up. Zak's crazy ridiculous attitude came through on the pages in a jumbled hot mess, while Kelly picked up the slack with clean tight concise writing. For Ghost Adventure fans who can tolerate Bagans's on screen antics, you will probably fall in love with the boo...more
My hopes for this book were pretty low to begin with - Bagans comes across as annoyingly frat-boyish on his show, and I was hoping that maybe in his writing he would come across less so. No. This book is really just a rehash of events that happened on his TV show, but without any additional info or storytelling. Little tidbits about his life off the show are tantalising but once again little on detail. I'm not expecting him to recount his whole personal journal, but a little personal info and pe...more
I gave one star primarily because there was some effort put into writing something down by the author(s). The book was very watered down and insulting to the paranormal community. I personally have nothing against Zak Bagans for what he does, and that is to exploit the paranormal world by extreme measures. Although he pulls attention to the field, in which there is need. This book has very little information about what may "go bump in the night" or any explanation of what or who causes these par...more
It was pretty much a rehashing of the shows, and this book is in need of a good copy editor. I have to be honest, spelling Casper the Friendly Ghost wrong (p. 159, "Caspar") is a pretty atrocious error that I find hard to get past. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the subject matter and the tidbits of information that went beyond the show; I just wish there was more of it. My favorite parts were when Zak delved deeper into his childhood and the experiences he had after investigations. I also apprec...more
I love the Ghost Adventures show. Have watched most of the stories several times. I enjoyed about the first 2/3 of this book - which is Zak, telling his story through the framework of paranormal investigation techniques, locations, equipment, etc. He covers a lot of ground and explains things beyond what was shown in the show. It's written in the same "voice" he seems to use in the show.
The last third was kind of a 3 - when he got into the science of the whole thing. It's just kind of boring. I...more
The last third was kind of a 3 - when he got into the science of the whole thing. It's just kind of boring. I...more
Last summer I happened upon a marathon of Ghost Adventures while channel surfing one boring Friday night. With no other viable options, I quickly became sucked into the world of Zak Bagans and his ghost hunting pals Nick Groff and the goofy Aaron Goodwin. At first the show spooked me somewhat, causing me to turn around and check behind me. After all, I was watching the show facing a corner with my back to an open living room. Eventually the creepiness factor wore off and I stopped checking for t...more
This book was amazing. I was expecting it to have a bunch of ghost stories, but Zak takes it much deeper than that. You really have to open your mind and take in the concepts and ideas of quantam physics and parallel universes. Zac didn't create a book that forces you into the ideas of an afterlife, he gives you both sides of the argument from the paranormal side and the science side, which I love. This book definitely opened my mind to a lot of ideas of what happens after we die. It was also in...more
I hate to say "I'm really surprised that this book is readable and good" because that seems mean, but I'm actually really surprised that this book is readable and good. And that's only because Zak seems so goofy and lovably dorky on "Ghost Adventures". I assumed that the book would be a bit goofy, a little dorky, and kind of silly. If anything, it's really a bit dry and technical. I wanted more biography of Zak's life, but there's not much of that here. He tells a little bit more about some of t...more
If you are a fan of Ghost Adventures and Zak Bagans, this is almost a must read. I like the show (totally entertaining) and Zak is a....character....so I kinda had to read the book. Looking back...This is not a very well written book, and if you're already familiar with the paranormal and its related theories, it's not very informative either. What it is though, is an interesting look into a man that verges on being a narcissist and egomaniac...and you know what...I love Zak Bagans for that! The...more
This book, lets be clear about this, is for a certain type of reader. I envision them to be emo, perhaps pseudo goth or with a wish to be. They hang out at dark, depressing places ( or if they are 12, imagine themselves hanging out at these places ) and overall score 10 on the gullibility scale. As this book, most certainly, is for the gullible. Zak asks that you start reading this with an open mind, but as you go further and further into the egotistical world of Zak (ghost wrangler extraordinai...more
As a fan of Ghost Adventures I looked forward to reading this book since I heard Zak Bagans was writing it. I picked it up the day it came out and started reading it that night. I was not disapointed. It was more than I expected it to be.
Zak was honest and told those who want to be paronormal investigators what they need to know and told them about the equiptment they would use. He talked about personal experiances and how he started in paronormal investigating. If I could I would give this book...more
Zak was honest and told those who want to be paronormal investigators what they need to know and told them about the equiptment they would use. He talked about personal experiances and how he started in paronormal investigating. If I could I would give this book...more
I read this book in about six hours. I could not put it down once I started. Zak knows what he is talking about and as a big fan of the show I really enjoyed all of the stories he put in it. Zak also shows off a more serious side of himself in the book which I really like and he talked a lot about the science and future of paranormal investigation which really made me see him in a different light. There are some errors and some issues the editor did not fix that I caught in this book while readi...more
I had really high hopes for this book, but it didn't really live up to my expectations. I wanted more behind-the-scenes information that might not have made it into the Ghost Adventures episodes than I really got. There was also too much repetition--I already know about orbs, EMF detectors, etc. because they explain what they are in practically every single episode anyway, so the sections here that explained them were kind of wasted on me. I do think Zak has some interesting ideas about collabor...more
I always say that the tv show Ghost Adventures would be more aptly named Bill And Ted's Excellent Ghost Adventures. These guys are such dorks.
This book wasn't behind the scenes stories if the GA investigations like I'd hoped, but more of a ghost hunting manual, with Bagans' own personal experiences used as examples. He must watch a lot of movies because he frequently references them in his descriptions. lol
Then last chapter had some interesting points from a scientific view. I enjoyed that part....more
This book wasn't behind the scenes stories if the GA investigations like I'd hoped, but more of a ghost hunting manual, with Bagans' own personal experiences used as examples. He must watch a lot of movies because he frequently references them in his descriptions. lol
Then last chapter had some interesting points from a scientific view. I enjoyed that part....more
I really love watching Ghost Adventures and the GA Crew (Zak, Nick & Aaron), that is the only reason I wanted to read this book however, I found it lacking and not so much a "good read." The synopsis made it sound so intriguing but it didn't deliver.
The Synopsis says that he "brings you behind the cold walls...leads you on a terrifying ride..." and "wants you to experience a haunting through his eyes; to feel what it's like..." Leading me to believe the book is going to be more of an in dept...more
The Synopsis says that he "brings you behind the cold walls...leads you on a terrifying ride..." and "wants you to experience a haunting through his eyes; to feel what it's like..." Leading me to believe the book is going to be more of an in dept...more
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Zachary Alexander (Zak) Bagans is 6'1". Working as a wedding DJ before, he is also an executive producer and editor of the show. He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. On September 23, 2011 Zak's book, Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of the Ghost Adventures Crew (Victory Belt, 2011), written with Kelly Crigger, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at number 18.
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“I discovered that what most people call creepy, scary, and spooky, I call comfy, cozy, and home.”
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“I don't deny that I get excited, but that's what happens when you're passionate about what you do.”
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