
The Controversial Amarillo Ghost Adventures Episode
For any enthusiasts of the supernatural, the Travel Channel television show Ghost Adventures is a must-watch. Originally airing in 2008 and still running, the show’s premise is in the name. Paranormal Investigators Zak Baggins, Aaron Goodwin, and Audio/Visual techs Billey Tolley and Jay Wasley travel across the United States, investigating known haunted sites or reported hauntings.
In the 2019 episode, “Panic In Amarillo” Amarillo finally got its chance to shine and show off its ghostly population. Was it the Herring Hotel? Nope. What about the Abandoned Pucket Place Apartments? Still no. The Jackson Square Apartments? Good guess, but no. Okay, it had to of been the Old Natatorium. Surprisingly not. The focus of this episode surrounded the alleged haunting of an Amarillo family home. And the ensuing investigation was not very convincing.
Being called to Amarillo, Texas, the Ghost Adventure crew meets with a family making claims of a ghost attacking their family. The mother of the family claims that a ghost has been leaving scratch marks on her and her daughter, affecting the health of her sons, and causing her to have anger issues. But as the investigation continues, Zak notes some red flags. When interviewing family members of the house, he finds out that the mother previously had anger issues preceding the “haunting” and when a family member was asked if it was possible that the scratches were self-inflicted, the family member could not give a definite answer.
As the episode continues, Zak and the crew grow less and less convinced that this may be a legitimate haunting. The mother when asked to reach her back in order to rule out the possibilities that these scratches are self-inflicted, claims that she cannot reach her back. Zak points out that earlier in the episode she can be seen reaching her back, further convincing the Ghost Adventure Crew that this may not be a haunting. Toward the end of the episode, after clearing the house and sending Billey and Jay to see if they can find any evidence of ghosts, the crew finds none.
The episode was not well received, receiving a 3.3 rating on IMDB, and caused concern throughout different internet forums. IMBD user jasonashmore described the episode as “Disturbing but for all the wrong reasons” while Reddit users such as user kimcsthal noted “That family has a psychological problem. Look at the house. It’s so unclean. It’s hilarious that they had to wear masks inside a family house. An unclean house attracts unclean energy and BACTERIA.”
While not a very eventful episode, the episode took an unexpected turn and shone a light on what may have been a sad situation for an Amarillo family. Although ghosts can be scary, what seemed to scare viewers more in this episode was the possibility of a problematic family situation that may have needed help and not from supernatural forces.
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