Admit Two: A Jaunt to Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum

I have a whole new respect for Zak Bagans after visiting his Haunted Museum. Depending on how you feel about Zak, you could be wondering one of two things:

1. “New respect? Did you ever have any for him?”
2. “You didn’t respect him already?”

The Struggle

I used to love Zak when Ghost Adventures first debuted. Probably for a lot of the reasons most people liked him, Nick and Aaron: their chemistry, wit and locations. They didn’t take themselves too seriously and seemed to have a lot of fun.

Then I got bored and tuned out around the time they warped into less goofy and more demons and darkness.

His attitude also seemed to change from lighthearted to arrogant. Maybe he always was a bit egotistical, but it seemed the more famous and popular he got, the more it went to his head.

Turn off.

Plus, he seemed to be making a mockery of the paranormal and was more in for the show and less for actual research or answers. (Yes, I know. He’s a TV star. Why should I have expected anything different.)

However, I still wanted to see his museum. I never thought I’d get the chance to, though, because Las Vegas isn’t the kind of place where my husband and I would normally jaunt.

But then a funny thing happened: my husband got a five day weekend for Christmas. He wanted to getaway to somewhere, and we both suggested, “Vegas!”

Vegas, Baby!

One of my A Haunt Mess podcast co-hosts, Deedee, had been there not too long before. She shared her Haunted Museum and ghost hunt in Binion’s experiences in our A Haunting in Vegas episode. You can listen to it here:

Little did I know that mere weeks later I’d be following in her footsteps.

Well, sort of. We passed Binion’s when we jaunted down to the Fremont Street Experience, but they weren’t doing any ghost hunts the weekend we were in town.

But we did make it to the Haunted Museum.

The Museum

After visiting his museum, I ended up feeling the same way I did after watching was his Demon House documentary: Zak’s a great showman.

Maybe I don’t like his style or agree with him that there’s more than just personal demons haunting this world, but he’s a master at entertaining.

Do I believe his museum itself is haunted? (As in the actual building.) Who knows? But what other kind of house could he have except a haunted one?

Do I believe the items inside he claims to be haunted are? Again, who knows.

One thing I know for sure is that he knows what works and what sells and he’s packaged it together into an actually really awesome experience.

Whether you’re into the paranormal, horror, true crime or Halloween –or all of it!– the museum checks all the boxes and has a little something to appeal to whatever makes your dark tourist heart skip a beat.

The Rooms

In case you’re not familiar, the museum is divided into different rooms, such as:

• The Old West Room
• The Kevorkian Room
• The Funeral Parlor Room
• Bela Lugosi’s Haunted Mirror Room – They uncover the mirror and offer you a chance to peer into it.
• Ed Gein’s Barn
• The Dybbuk Box Room
• The Freakshow Circus Room
• The Clown Hallway – This one’s for you Halloween haunted house lovers who like jump scares. Watch out, because some of the figures are just mannequins dressed as clowns, but others are real people.
• The Peggy the Haunted Doll Room – A spirit box continually runs and they close you in and give you time to ask her questions.

That’s not all of them, but it gives you a good idea of how many there are.

Guides take you from room to room. Some may stay with you for just a room, others guide you between two or three rooms before passing you off.

The First Room

I forget what the first room was called. Maybe the parlor? It had an assortment of artifacts, including the freakiest Laughing Sal I’ve ever seen.

For one thing, it wasn’t in a case like the one at the Musée Mechanique in San Francisco. (What’s going to stop her from grabbing people if she suddenly comes to life?!)

For another, she was just hideous. A deformed, creepy AF face. Not much scares me as far as haunted dolls, places or objects go. But Laughing Sal? She’s the stuff of nightmares and the one in Zak’s museum especially so. I kept my distance! (Wasn’t gonna let her grab me first if she suddenly came alive!)

There were lots of other things in that first room though too, including:

• Haunted dolls
• Skulls (13 to be exact),
• Even a dollhouse replica of the Westerfield House, which was featured on an episode of Ghost Adventures. (The house. Not the replica. I believe our guide said that Zak was gifted the replica after their investigation of the house, so what better place to display it than his museum?)

The Interaction

This is also where you first realize this is going to be an interactive experience.

The guide asked for two volunteers. Maybe she asked for two brave volunteers? I don’t know. I just knew I decided, “Nah. I’m good.” (Plus, I didn’t want to distract my attention away from that Laughing Sal!)

Two men raised their hands. The guide led them to Zak’s doll closet. They disappeared behind a door and seconds later one let out a scream like a little girl. Both dashed back into the room…followed by a little person who was dressed like an old fashioned doll –and had clearly enjoyed every minute startling the two “brave” men.

The Fortune

Another thing in that first room was a fortune telling machine. One with a Zak Bagans animatronic in it. (Which was both cool and creepy.)

Anyway, after the doll room incident, the guide asked if anyone had a dollar for the little person. I don’t remember what her exact words, but my husband swears it was something about appeasing her and getting a clue to make it successfully through the rest of the museum or something.

All I know is he forked out the buck because he wanted all the help he could get to “survive” the rest of our visit.

(If you knew my husband and his cheapskate ways, you’d have been as shocked as I was that he willingly handed over more money. I think he was still freaked out about having to sign a waiver.)

The Waiver

Backing up a moment, before you even enter the museum you have to fill out a waiver. (Gives you something to do while you wait in line.)

Deedee had told me about the waiver so I was expecting it, but I thought it’d only be a one or two paragraph thing.

Nope.

It’s several paragraphs, front and back of a sheet, and you have to initial the various sections, and then sign it too. Oh, and give them your ID.

My husband was all, “What the hell have you signed me up for?”

The Paranormal Activity

Some of the rooms include little screens playing looped scenes of paranormal activity caught on tape in that part of the museum.

The parlor/front room had one. I don’t remember what the claim was in that room, unfortunately. Something about the ghost of a little girl who haunts the house I want to say. If you’ve been to the museum and remember, use the Check-In (comments) section below to tell me.

Another one is near a hallway where a ball of light is seen zipping past a woman and the people behind her, then shortly after she collapses. This Newsweek article includes the clip of it.

And there’s also one of rapper Post Malone’s experience with the Dybbuk box.

 

The Warnings

Warnings abound. Perhaps for good reason? Or is it all to hype the show? (Well, it definitely helps the hype and adds to the fun.)

Rating

Zak can be cheesy. Even die hard fans admit that.

However, as I said to start this post, I have a whole new respect for him, because first and foremost I appreciate a good story. He’s layered and interwoven stories upon stories within his museum, starting with the fact the building itself is historic and has a haunted history complete with its own restless spirits.

Then he adds in haunted objects, true crime artifacts, and Hollywood memorabilia with theatrical tour guides and a few other tricks and treats to create an immersive, absorbing experience.

I can’t help but give him mad props.

No one could’ve predicted the Ghost Adventures documentary –where him, Nick and Aaron investigated the Old Washoe Club in Virginia City, Nevada, and the Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield, Nevada– would bloom into the successful series and paranormal brand we all know today.

I admire the fact he went after it. He didn’t know what would happen back then, but he was following his heart and passion. I have total respect for that.

And then to have the vision to open the museum that he has? Yeah. I was impressed and am woman enough to give credit where credit’s due. Plus, my husband humors me by staying in haunted hotels, doing the occasional ghost tour and what have you, but he rarely enjoys it. He does it because he loves me.

Wayne had a genuinely good time at Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum. He was fascinated by so much of it and also appreciated the layout and flow. It takes about an hour and a half to go through, and it kept his interest the whole time. To the point he said it’s among the best museums he’s ever been to, and it’s now in his top three!

That’s why I give it a five out of five skulls –and a standing ovation!

Check-In

Have you been to Zak’s Haunted Museum? If so, what was your favorite part?

If not, and you don’t think you’ll get to Vegas any time soon but are curious to see it, here’s a tour Zak gave ET’s Kevin Frazier. It gives you a good idea of what’s inside.