Chasing Spirits: The Building of the Ghost Adventures Crew (Book)
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Written by Nick Groff and Jeff Belanger
Published by NAL Trade
Related Story: Everything About Ghost Adventures
Right off the bat, I was a little skeptical of Nick Groff’s Chasing Spirits. I’ve watched “Ghost Adventures” several times when the show first aired, but never got further than the first few episodes. There was just something about the way the crew went about their investigations that turned me off from the show.
When I was given the opportunity to read Groff’s own story of how the “Ghost Adventures” team was formed, I figured I was going to spend most of my time rolling my eyes at the “bros” and “dudes” that would undoubtedly fall from the pages. I’m going on record here and saying, “Nick Groff, I’m so sorry I doubted you!”
Chasing Spirits was an amazing read. It wasn’t only the story of how “Ghost Adventures” was born, but it was Groff’s own story of his life and how he managed to grow into the role of paranormal investigator with a show on the Travel Channel. Groff tells a great story of his life from growing up as a young kid with unlimited energy and no fear of anything to college in Las Vegas, where he met the love of his life, and finally meeting Zak and Aaron and putting together the “Ghost Adventures” documentary.
Chasing Spirits was a fast read; I finished the book in two sittings, but it kept my interest the entire time and made me want to turn the page faster and faster. Not only did Groff succeed in making his story entertaining, it really opened my eyes to exactly how much work goes into getting a show like this off the ground. It wasn’t easy – and Groff is very open and willing to talk about his struggles.
I did find it amusing that there was an entire section dedicated to Groff acknowledging the very thing that made me hesitant to read Chasing Spirits in the first place. He doesn’t shy away from the fact that the team are just three guys, doing what they love – and the dialogue is not going to sound like a sonnet when spirits pop up.
Groff’s book actually made me want to give “Ghost Adventures” a second chance. I feel like I know these guys a little more now, and going into the show with Groff’s story in my head will actually make “Ghost Adventures” much more entertaining. The one thing that I had a problem with in Chasing Spirits was the layout of the “Questions from the Fans”. These questions, while interesting, really broke up the narrative. They’d be found in the middle of sentences and would take my concentration out of the story. I found myself skipping over these sections and reading them once I’d finished with the book.
Overall, if you’re a fan of “Ghost Adventures” or any other of the paranormal TV shows out there, check out Chasing Spirits!
4 1/2 out of 5
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