I adore Zak Bagans as a master showman.
I’m serious. He’s like a modern P. T. Barnum, a guy who is smart and a born entertainer and has figured out how to make some of humanity’s darkest impulses work for him.
Do I take any of what he does seriously? Well…yes and no.
I’ve been digging into Mr. Bagans over the last few days because he represents some interesting cultural points in regards to the modern history of demonic possession. When his show Ghost Adventures began airing in 2008, it was obviously modeled on Ghost Hunters, the hit reality paranormal series that had already been running for four years. Bagans took the idea of a team of urban dudes outfitted with gadgets going to spooky locations looking for ghosts and upped the ante in several regards: not only did he center himself as the star (and he’s charismatic enough to pull it off), but he decided that ghosts were passe.
He was going after demons.
