Destination Fear

My husband got me into the show but one thing we both agree on....the fact that every single time they hear a noise....they scream over it and run....is so aggravating. Watch a few episodes of Ghost Hunters. They will show you how to react and attempt to learn from the sights and sounds you experience. TAPS may show surprise or excitement at a sound or vision but they don't panic. They don't scream.

Stop screaming!

That is all.

I was very skeptical of this show before I started watching it, partly because it's produced by Zak Bagans who thinks every haunting is a demon and partly because Dakota and the team always seemed to be screaming in the previews. I finally decided to give it a shot and see how they go about investigating a haunting. I started with season two and was surprised to see they don't actually investigate. I think part of the reason there are so many negative reviews is because people expect the Destination Fear team to investigate the haunting but that's not what they're doing. They are going to these places to EXPERIENCE the haunting. There's a big difference between experiencing a haunting and investigating one. Once I grasped the main concept, I actually came to really enjoy the show. Granted, Chelsea can be very irritating because she screams at every little noise and it seems like every other word that comes out of her mouth is "like" or "literally". There was one instance where she said "like" six times within one sentence. And yes, they do scare easily and sometimes they run away but there are also times where they go towards a noise to see what made it. To be completely honest, there were a couple episodes that thoroughly freaked me out (particularly Sweet Springs Sanitarium) and they do catch compelling evidence. I highly recommend this show to anyone who wants to witness a haunting and not necessarily want to see how it's investigated. Try to look past the irritating speech patterns of Chelsea and the girlish screams and just enjoy their experiences. Also, it is hilarious every time Dakota gets frightened by his walkie.

The person who runs the Sweet Springs Sanitarium recently told the Destination Fear cast that she respected how they portrayed her location honestly and did not employ theatrics to make their show come across dramatic. She thanked them. On a personal note, to me, Destination Fear gets more terrifying with each episode. It's also a genuine experience for the viewer. The episodes depict real hauntings & real people reacting to what happens at a location. It's a refreshing change of pace and it's exactly what I have been looking for. Real hauntings. Real reactions. Fly on the wall vibe of experiencing it with them. Adventure seekers facing real fear and challenging themselves. And they are entertaining and relatable. I love Destination Fear!!!

Update: The newest season has given me hope. They are using more equipment. They are catching evidence finally. Chelsea is still a annoying but not as much. They still run around like kids before the investigation still. But during the investigation they have gotten better about it. Looks like zak bagans is setting up the new generation of ghost hunting.

They walk around the investigation sites like teenagers. They do not use any equipment, every once in awhile they use a recorder. The female screams and cries any time there's a noise. So you can't hear what's going on. They rarely do play backs, so you can hear it. When something does happen, they just freak out and move on. They do not go and investigate where the sounds or lights come from. I feel they are not true investigators, they treat this like an opportunity to get on TV.

One would think after doing this for years, their nerves might harden. Yet they are always screaming. While recording the undetectable, constantly screaming at every noise seems counterproductive. Gets really old, really fast.

The audience can barely perceive the sounds, because one second later, all they hear is "WHOAH", "NO WAY!", "DID YOU HEAR THAT?". And, the camera is always on their faces, never the surroundings. Perhaps they could use some lessons from wildlife photographers.

I get that it is "about fear", but the premise also states that the fear induces paranormal activity. Ok, we got fear captured, how about getting some of the paranormal on tape?

In one episode, they talk about their car being trailed for 2 minutes by a UFO, yet Dakota didn't get it on film. Can you imagine being a paranormal documentarian, and honestly admitting that? For 2 whole minutes, the holy grail was was right there, and neither of you tried to capture the moment? I call BS.

They get paid, receive exposure, and travel to do all of this... the moaning about it all seems disingenuous. Few dozen episodes in and lots of adventures; stop faking it.