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For this adventure we’re off to the open plains of Santaquin, Utah to visit the Leslie’s Family Tree Restaurant, home to strange happenings and an abundance of spirits. According to the locals, the restaurant has been haunted for years and some claim there are a hundreds spirits lurking inside.

The restaurant has been around for 30 years and the current owner, Leslie Broadhead, says her daughters have both been attacked as well as some patrons. Bobby says a spirit followed her home and tried to pull her out of bed. Cory says she has seen figures and has witnessed attacks on other people, specifically during a ghost tour she was giving. A man was attacked in the bathroom and ended up with marks on his body.

During the interview, Zak feels energy, pulls out the recorder and gets the words "Get out". Cory talks about the basement and how it used to be a boxing ring along with lots of gambling and prostitution. With the recorder going again, they claim to get "orange blood" and while informing Zak that people end up with marks on them, Cory gets what looks to be a hand print across her neck and throat. Zak also says he hears a man’s voice during this event.

The family claims this is the norm and show several photos of people with scratches and bite marks. They even had a medium come in who feels there are multiple "portals" on the premises  and multiple entities.

As they do a bit of research, they find the area is the location of the "Walker War". This was a series of attacks back and forth between the Mormon settlers and the Native American Ute tribe. The gist comes down to a misunderstanding between the groups, which lead to one side shooting the other, tensions escalated and revenge ensued. This lead to deaths on both sides and "it’s possible" the restaurant is build on land where deaths "may" have occurred.

Zak starts off the investigation with a seance that once again has me confused. Why so comfortable with a seance, but so hostile toward the Ouija? But during the group session he claims the recorder picks up "I’m next to Bobby" and another "get out". They have the Rempod off to the side and it lights up when Zak asks if the spirits want them to leave.

While the seance is going on, Ashley is off to the side taking still photos. She feels someone is tugging at the Polaroid pictures she’s taking. She also feels cold spots and shortly begins to feel disoriented and has trouble grabbing things. This is the now obligatory moment where someone from the crew sick, dizzy and claims they’re going to throw up. For the past few episodes it’s been Billy, and before that Aaron, so now it’s time to pass the baton.

With Ashley having a mild panic attack, Zak goes over the top by kicking chairs and provoking the entity to attack because standing around in the dark and kicking things in random directions is always a good idea and it makes you tough and fearless. Zak claims this is uncontrolled anger and that he’s acting out without thinking.

After getting Ashley out of the building Zak heads back in for a paranormal showdown. He whips off his shirt and demands the entity scratch him. He wants a sign that someone is there and he wants whatever it is to leave it’s mark.

Low and behold, he gets a scratch across his back and through his tattoo. There is a thin red line on his skin that clearly could not have been made by any natural means or by brushing up against something.

Billy then heads to the basement using the sensory deprivation technique we’ve seen before of wandering in the dark, but with an IR camera around his neck. Aaron comes to join and they both feel an odd energy and hear what they think is some sort of growling.

After the investigation is over, Zak says he felt that same hostile aggression that made him kick him chairs and had negative residual feelings for several days. In essence, something clung to him the same way Bobby says something clung to her.

Interesting goings on indeed. Still, curious why Bobby is almost oblivious to the marks showing up on her neck and almost bored over the idea. And why is Zak so pro seance, but feels the Ouija is a dangerous portal? Finally, if the family is being tormented by those spirits, why are they giving ghost tours? Clearly they’re not trying to eek out any sort of financial gain by having a "haunted" establishment.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Ghost Adventures – Double Eagle Restaurant – S14E04
• Ghost Adventures – Clovis Wolfe Manor
• Ghost Adventures – Route 666 – S13E06 – Part 2
• Ghost Adventures – Palace Saloon – S13E03
• Deadly Possessions – Bela Lugosi’s Mirror and Charles Manson’s Television – S01E03
• Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07
• A Haunting in Georgia
• Ghost Hunters International – Quarantine Station
• Ghost Lab – Episode 2 – Tombstone
• Ghost Adventures – Winchester Mystery House – S05E04

We’re off to the big state of Texas, to visit the Magnolia Hotel. The hotel was built in 1840 by James Campbell. Alas, he wasn’t able to stick with his business venture too long as he was scalped, stripped of his clothes and stabbed 27 times by the local Indians. My goodness, he must have done someone wrong!

The legend also speaks of a little girl named Itsy that passed away at the hotel. It’s claimed that even before her murder, Itsy had a less than amiable life as her mother would lock Itsy in her room when she went to work. I’m surprised this wasn’t a woman in white, a prostitute and a jilted lover. That’s usually how these stories go.

Another spirit, that of Idella Lampkin is said to visit the hotel. She was a fortune teller that would give readings on the premises. The owner claims that Idella speaks to her from time to time. The owner also just happens to do genealogy and locates a relative of Idella. Tnisha Sutton comes to pay the location a visit and she claims to have the psychic gift as well.

As a final piece to the legend is that of William Faust, who attempted to murder his estranged wife at the hotel. I say attempted, because he didn’t succeed in killing her because she wasn’t there. Instead, she had switched rooms with a friend’s daughter. When Faust realized his mistake, he attacked his wife and made her blind. Seems she got the business of an axe.

There are claims of hearing the little girl and seeing her figure. There are claims of getting scratched across the face like William’s wife. And there are also claims that Idella is still on the property. Interestingly, it’s the owner of the hotel who makes most of the assertions. Idella speaks to her. She sees the little girl. She feels the presence of William. Taking every word at face value, Zak asks if the place is haunted. The owner of course says it is and that’s all Zak needs to hear. He completely dismisses the guy in Seattle, but he’s totally on board for this one. But yet again I point out, it’s really hard to take these sorts of claims too seriously when it’s the owner of a business making them. Oh my, how much will business improve if someone investigates the hotel and says it’s haunted? How much extra will she charge for you to stay in one of her haunted rooms?

So what happens during the investigation to support all these claims?

As the investigation starts they hear footsteps. Nothing new there, we pretty much hear those in every single episode now.

They decide to bring Tnisha in for the investigation and she asks if Idella is around. She says she gets a bump or a push in response. Additionally, Billy sets up a new piece of equipment, the Electromagnetic Microphone. It’s supposed to light up when the right kind of energy is near. While they try to talk with Idella, they get a couple of bangs and bumps.

Meanwhile, Zak heads off to the room where the events of William Faust took place. They hear bangs, but it turns out to noises from the room below. This once again proves that just because they hear noises, like footsteps doesn’t mean they’re paranormal. They are proving that sound is travelling from other parts of the house or down the road as in the case of Tombstone and that all these noises can have perfectly normal explanations.

However, they press on and try to taunt William. The temperature in the room drops to the sinister 66.6 degrees. We all know where this is going. You know, sometimes a temperature is just a temperature.

As they continue the investigation, it’s time to bring out old reliable. Zak starts with his, "I’m getting powerful emotions". You can’t quantify these so it’s always a good way to go to establish the paranormal. He continues by explaining that he’s feeling the energy from different people and that all these spirits are passing through him. You would think with so many spirits running around they would have captured a lot more evidence by now.

But wait, there’s more. Zak brings out the ever crashing SLS camera which is basically a Microsoft Kinect device hooked to a monitor. It detects there is a small figure on the bookcase. It lasts for a moment and then disappears. They believe this was Itsy or a little girl at the very least.

Right after this, Aaron walks straight into a chair. This gets turned into a super paranormal moment as Zak says the chair didn’t move and now it has a hand print on the seat. Moments later, the hand print is gone. Clearly the chair was stopped by and unseen force and clearly the hand print is paranormal. There is no way that Aaron, in the dark, tipped the chair at an angle which stopped it from moving and in his surprise did not put his hand on the seat to steady himself. There is absolutely no way these two things could have happened under anything other than paranormal means.

In the bottom of the house, Billy and Jay come face to face with a real horror. They have a raccoon on their hands. The large varmint has apparently made his home down there. This in no way could be mistaken for the footsteps they heard earlier or any other noise in the house for that matter. I’m almost wondering if this is what scratched someone on the face, in the dark, when they weren’t looking. Additionally, Jay feels that some sort of energy comes rushing at him.

While they don’t collect any real evidence down there, Jay has a very bad experience with the cellar door. Not only does it come crashing back down on his head as he’s trying to leave, but his hand bashes through the rotting wood and he takes a pretty nasty tumble. While this looks like it seriously had to hurt, I’m surprised this wasn’t ruled the work of the paranormal. Perhaps the local Indian spirits are seeking revenge.

Finally, the team gets together and turns on the spirit box. This would seem to be Aaron’s cue to start acting ill. He says he feels sick and is ready to black out. Of course, there are orbs of light in the area which Zak assumes are entities going after Aaron.

To be honest, this episode was a steamy pile. Right from the start they believe every ghost story they’re spoon-fed by the owner, who just happens to know all these stories, yet doesn’t have a single piece of evidence of her own. This entire thing comes across as a commercial to "come stay the night at my haunted hotel, if you dare!" I find it really hard to believe people who have a commercial gain by their business being haunted.

But aside from that, what did they capture? Some bangs in the night? The feeling of powerful emotions? Seriously, what tangible piece of evidence do they present? They have barely any more evidence to go on at this site than they did in Seattle, yet that guy is a faker and this place is haunted.

I just don’t get it. Nor do I believe it.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Paranormal Lockdown – Statler City Hotel – S02E07
• Ghost Hunters International – Argentina/Australia S02E08
• Ghost Adventures – Zalud House – S13E11
• Ghost Adventures – Dumas Brothel – S13E10
• Ghost Adventures – Hotel Leger – S16E05
• Ghost Adventures – Silent Movie Theater – S14E05
• Ghost Adventures – Old Town San Diego – S05E03
• 432 Abercorn, Savannah GA
• Ghost Adventures – The Stanley Hotel – S04E05
• Haunted Towns – McDonough GA – S01E08

Zak and the gang are off to Seattle to investigate a house with claims of the paranormal to rival that of Amityville and the Exorcist combined. Keith Linder rents a home where he says bibles have been burned, crosses have been scorched, furniture has been knocked over, plants are thrown so hard they put holes in the walls and there are even claims there is blood on the walls and the entity has actually set fire to the house. Further, there is the number 666 supposedly burned into the walls and symbols that resemble the pictograph of Man from the Native American culture. Even more, Jennifer Madsen, who has investigate the house and even tried her own blessings, swears by all the activity. Keith has even had the clergy come out for a house cleansing and blessing, but nothing has changed. And the clergy kinda, sorta, didn’t actually believe him.

Yet strangely, Keith seems pretty calm about the whole situation and doesn’t have plans to move. He says he’s emotionally and spiritually grounded. He even seems rather calm talking about everything and doesn’t seem to have fear or concern over his safety.

By the claims, this is the most dangerous house on the planet! Merely stepping inside is surely to get you beaten, thrown down the stairs and quite possibly set on fire. This house is off the charts! This should be exactly the type of place Zak is looking.

But yet somehow it isn’t. I’m confused. Here’s the part that cracks me up, Zak doesn’t believe the claims.  Here is a guy stating all these terrible things are happening to him and claims he has real documented evidence and Zak and his team rip him apart and basically call him a fraud within the first 5 minutes. However, this is the same group that will visit Tombstone, a sanatorium or a jail and believe every single story they’re told without a lick of evidence. We’ve seen this dozens of times. They believe a place is haunted before even stepping inside and then no matter how slight the evidence, they will claim the place is teaming with dark energy. Dave even says this would be great for a book or a movie.

Whoa, what’s going on here? When the hell did Zak become a skeptic and not believe every half-baked, outlandish and ridiculous ghost story he was told? He even thinks Keith is painting the 666 on the wall just to get publicity and refutes all the footage he’s shown. Wow, Zak! Maybe you should turn that same critical and skeptical eye on the dreck you throw at us!

But Zak forges ahead with the investigation to see what can be learned. Keith and his girlfriend Tina walk around the house asking questions in the usual style. Nothing.

They move from room to room telling the spirit it needs to move on. Nothing.

They tell the entity to show itself and not hide now that new people are in the house. Nothing.

Zak and Dave Schrader give the place a once over. They ask questions, try to get the entity to answer, ask why it causes harm and what it wants. Nothing.

Even the big gun comes out as they use some cockamamie piece of tech they cobbled together using who knows what. But this time, it projects stuff on the wall! Wahoo!

It’s really nothing more than a glorified temperature sensor made to look like something ultra fancy with moving charts and a wave pattern. And as you might expect, it doesn’t do a darn thing and they capture no evidence.

Zak and his team tries and tries and tries, but they can’t get a shred of evidence to support the claims. And since they don’t believe the claims themselves, they can’t even stretch the truth and make something out of nothing.

All in all, it seems like this is an absolute hoax. But why? Why do these things? Why vandalize the house? Why not just move? Why stick around? Is this the story of a couple that just wants to break a rental agreement? Do they just want some publicity and have their house immortalized like Amityville? Are they in the throws of demonic possession and they have no idea what they’re doing?

And where the heck is the real home owner? What does the landlord have to say about all these shenanigans? If my place was on the news and getting trashed like that, I would have a few things to say on the matter that’s for damn sure!

Who knows what the heck is going on here.

Other Articles of Interest:

• The Demon House of Seattle – Revisit
• Paranormal State – The Death Room – S05E01
• 666 Park Avenue – Episode 3
• Deep South Paranormal – The Good the Bad and the Ghostly – S01E05
• Ghost Adventures – Black Moon Manor – S07E05
• Haunted Collector – Bare Bones and Octagon Haunting – S02E08
• Ghost Adventures – Upper Fruitland Curse – S14E08
• Paranormal State – Haunted Homecoming – S05E13
• Haunted Collector – Priest Gun and Haunted Asylum – S02E04
• Ghost Adventures – Sin City Exorcism – S15E15