Alice Oscura – Featured Writer
There is a lot of speculation and suspicion involving the once Joe Exotic Zoo property. In this two-hour Halloween Special, the Ghost Adventures crew lead by Zak Bagans heads over to the zoo to investigate claims of ghostly hauntings and a possible dark presence. Bagans is well known for his Haunted Las Vegas Museum and his purchases of macabre, haunted objects. Among some of his creepy possessions are the Dybbuk Box, Peggy the Doll, items from The Splendour (boat once owned by Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood), the Dr Kevorkian death mobile and the ashes of mass murderer Charles Manson.
So as a big fan, I knew that it was only a matter of time before Zak would end up investigating this particular site. In my years of watching many paranormal investigative shows, you get to learn that haunted locations usually end up this way if there is a lot of negative energy built up in one place due to the type of activities that occurred on the property. For example, murders or suicides, or even a dark ritual. What I like about Zak and his team the most is his approach to an investigation.
While he has made many mistakes over the years, he has learnt a lot and he tries his best to treat each investigation with the utmost respect especially if it involves innocent victims. In this episode, he interviews Jeff and Lauren Lowe, Eric Cowe and Allen Glover. All names that we would recognize from the ever-famous Tiger King documentary that aired on Netflix in March 2020.
The event that stood out the most for me during the investigation is their contact with the now deceased Travis Maldonado. Another name that we recognize as the former husband of Joe Exotic whose death was ruled an accidental suicide. He fatally shot himself in the head in the gift shop and we got to see the bullet hole still left in the wall from the tragic event. Bagans also invited inventor/engineer Bill Chappel who has been used in many of their previous investigations. Chappel always brings the latest scientific inventions with the main goal of collecting the clearest EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) recordings. In the episode he uses a unique method of capturing EVP called deep echo EVP which uses an underwater microphone in PVC tubing.
The atmosphere during the entire investigation is one of the creepiest and heaviest that I have seen, and I have been following Ghost Adventures since they started out. The investigation in the location of the now-abandoned alligator pit where a 14 foot alligator used to be kept by Joe Exotic. It remains an area of interest due to the fact that Bagans brought in expert cadaver dogs to sweep the property on claims of at least three bodies being disposed of on it during the Joe Exotic era. On three different occasions, dogs have identified that the possibility of human remains being in that area was a high probability. Plus there is the eerie Back 40 area where there is a rumour that Joe Exotic killed and disposed of tigers in that location and an unsubstantiated claim of two protestors that were murdered and their bodies burnt by workers.
The GA Team do experience some pretty creepy goings-on especially in Joe Exotic’s former residence that is all but abandoned now and in such a disgusting, dilapidated state that it was almost too hard to watch without turning green in the face. All in all it’s a very entertaining and yet disconcerting episode but if you are an avid fellow paranormal show fan like myself you will never be bored and you will definitely be disturbed and creeped out by this Halloween Special!
Alice’s Score: 7 out of 10
For a collab review of the crazy Joe Exotic documentary Tiger King you can click here.
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.