ArtRojasDesign

For this episode, Zak and team head to Locke, California, established in 1915 as a town built by the Chinese for the Chinese. Like other towns of the period, it developed a rough reputation of gambling, prostitution, opium dens and even the Tong mafia. But to be honest, most of these stories are legands. If you listen, the words, "the story goes" or "I believe" preface each one. The only story with supporting evidence is the cheat shot by George Shin. There is a newspaper article documenting the event. While the other stories could be true, there is nothing that says they are.

To get some background they talk with Clarence who doesn’t want to talk about the Tongs or the supposed violence of years gone by. He isn’t too forthcoming about the paranormal.

Next is Ellen, who claims she channeled a girl killed upstairs in the opium den. Ellen claims she was shoved while talking to the girls and has received information about the working girls getting overdosed and their bodies dumped in the river. Right on cue, Ellen claims she feels dizzy. At the same time Jay has two sets of red marks appear on his neck that Zak claims is someone trying to choke him. Following suit, Aaron begins to freak out, feel ill and wants to run away.

In the Tong building, they interview Evan who claims he was pushed as well. As they talk, right after Evan says the word Tong, they hear footsteps.

At the Star Theatre, Yovita, a volunteer for the town, claims she saw a woman resonating light and heard singing in the theater. That night they meet with Dustin, an owner of the worst Chinese restaurant around and longest resident of the area. In a very lighthearted and almost dismissive way, he says he believes in the stories about the town and that there are ghosts. Again, the only story to be confirmed is the shooting of a man trying to steal from the casino.

The final interview comes with Martha who is a bit frustrated with the town because they only focus on the Chinese history of the area. She says there is more to the history and it should be recognized. OK, fair point, but we then have someone who doesn’t want to be identified saying that Martha is certifiable and he has seen dark energy swirling around town. He’s seen evil manifest itself within people. We almost have the accusation that Martha is causing the negative energy and events in the town because she’s a non-believer.

As we start the investigation we have Dylan Dryer from the Today Show come on board. To begin, they bring out the Ovilus and SLS camera to take readings. They get, "killed, female, bet, be careful and I’m dead" as responses to different questions and actions. On the SLS camera, Dylan captures a stick figure in the window. When Zak asks for a name, he claims to hear, "It’s the Devil".

Zak then asks Dylan to investigate the top of the casino, the supposed lair of the opium den. To put it mildly, she is freaked out. Of course there are sounds of footsteps and flickering balls of light.

The guys continue the investigation on their own. Aaron and Billy head to the theater to try and hear Mei Ling sing. They gets some lights on the Rem Pods, but no actual singing. There is a squeak or two on the box, but no conversations. Zak goes over to the school where nothing really happens. He takes a recorder over to the Tong building, which asks questions in Cantonese, but no responses.

If there is any activity it seems to be within the casino. However, they certainly don’t get pushed, there is no singing, no cries of help from from the working girl in an opium den or anything else that would be solid evidence. And although Dylan gets freaked out, that’s not evidence. That is simply a reaction to walking around a strange building at night after you’ve been told there is dark energy around.

We are seeing a lot more orbs these days, but you have to judge what those are. The building is old and falling in on itself, as we hear Billy say, which explains the footsteps. The captured voices are interesting, but I don’t have the greatest level of confidence in how they’re captured. Further, didn’t see this mysterious dark energy the off-camera voice talked about. If the place is so haunted, where is that?

I also don’t feel these witnesses are all that reliable. Martha seems like a scapegoat and the townspeople seem at odds with each other. Is that jealousy? Anger?

When all is said and done, the evidence is sort of interesting, but it doesn’t really seem to support Locke as a wildly haunted town. Odd, yes, haunted, no.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Heritage Junction – S09E06
• Haunted Collector – Hollywood Haunted and Gold Rush Ghost – S03E10
• Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07
• Bates Motel – Caleb – S02E03
• Ghost Adventures – Return to Tombstone – S10E09
• Ghost Adventures – Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum – S04E22
• Ghost Adventures – Cripple Creek – S07E07
• Ghost Mine – Ghosts of the Geiser Grand – S02E05
• Ghost Adventures – The Copper Queen Hotel and The Oliver House – S06E03
• Ghost Adventures – Eureka Mining Town – S15E14

It took me a few minutes to understand why this was a "return" to the Riviera until I noted they visited in Season 6. For that episode they were trying to make contact with Frank Sinatra. If you recall, they were with Vince Neil and Frank Sinatra’s personal pianist. But times have changed and the hotel is quite literally ready to collapse, whether it wants to or not.

It’s scheduled for demolition and has been gutted of everything of value. It’s nothing but a rubbish filled skeleton and from what Zak says, this is the last investigation inside the hotel.

On their previous visit, they were focused on mob connections to the hotel. For this episode they’re all but obsessed with the dark energy surrounding people who come to Vegas to commit suicide. There is the story of a woman who just months ago leapt to her death from one of the rooms. She met with a very gruesome end which they have no hesitation in showing. On the cement is the sand put out to soak up and cover the incident. Then we have these over dramatized scenes that all but make this suicide attempt look sensual.

Moving past that, Zak has the idea of asking strangers of the street to come and join in the investigation. They are put on different floors and given the chance to walk around and experience the energy. There are some bumps, the sound of what might be a door closing, Victoria feels something walk past her and perhaps a man’s voice. All the guest investigators feel something is lingering in the hotel.

Then Zak and team move in, but they have their own little guest which is Sophie. This is Billy’s dog who roams around the hotel with a camera attached. An interesting idea to be sure, and she end up getting anxious and growling at the same time Billy says he feels some sort of static energy. Aaron and Billy bring out the Ovilus and get the words, "observe", "saw" and Veronica".

In a different part of the hotel, Zak enters the room where the woman jumped. He feels a strong energy coming from it. But before they can get inside, the door mysteriously locks them out. It also mysteriously unlocks itself a few minutes later. They take note that the window is still wide open.

Inside, they pick up the words, "I jumped" and "you feel me". On the exterior camera there appears to be something dark in the vicinity of where this woman took her life.

Down on the casino floor, Zak feels cold spots and believes he captures a figure walking.

Like the previous investigation it really doesn’t feel like they capture much. Clearly the windows are open so a door closing wouldn’t be all that shocking. Not to mention the utter disarray of the place. Noises from the ceiling falling or animals running around would be common. A door getting stuck from expanding wouldn’t be that surprising. Zak and Billy can feel all the strong energy and static sensations they want, that doesn’t seal the deal of paranormal activity. And after getting their guests all hyped up and repeatedly using the word "isolation", I have no doubt they were all worked up and after bumbling around in the dark crashing into walls, who knows what they were feeling.

There is no doubt that Vegas has seen some dark times, from a mob perspective as well as people hitting rock bottom as they gamble more than they can cover. You can’t deny people have taken their lives in those rooms, but is it seething with energy as Zak tries to make it out? Doesn’t feel like it. It’s a hotel that seen both good and bad times. Their evidence is really open to interpretation. It’s interesting just like it was the first time around, but like that time, it’s a tepid investigation.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Hotel Leger – S16E05
• Ghost Adventures – Reseda House of Evil – S13E04
• Ghost Adventures – Virginia City – S05E07
• Ghost Adventures – Nopeming Sanatorium – S10E07
• Ghost Adventures – Nevada State Prison – S12E10
• Ghost Adventures – Zalud House – S13E11
• Ghost Adventures – Crazy Town – S07E13
• Ghost Adventures – Idaho State Reform School – S17E01
• Ghost Adventures – Mackay Mansion – S13E02
• Ghost Adventures – Sin City Exorcism – S15E15