Chasing Spirits

 Chasing Spirits: The Building of the Ghost Adventures Crew by Nick Groff with Jeff Belanger is a non-fiction story about Nick's life and "the building of the Ghost Adventures Crew." If you didn't already know, Ghost Adventures is a popular television show on the Travel Channel where three guys: Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, and the author of this book Nick Groff, lock themselves in haunted locations where they try to find proof of the paranormal. In this book Nick starts out by telling the reader a little bit about what his life was like before Ghost Adventures. He talks about his childhood, his start in the film industry, and all of his paranormal experiences along the way. The book really starts to pick up when he goes on to tell the story of how Ghost Adventures came to be. Being the huge Ghost Adventures fan that I am, this part was really interesting. Groff gives the reader a behind the scenes look at the show, how it was created, and certain investigations they have done. Groff also highlights one specific investigation throughout the entire book, where his life changed as he came face-to-face with what he believes to be a spirit of a woman and Linda Vista Hospital in Los Angeles, California.  He wraps up the story by talking about how his whole life has changed and other projects he has done since. Chasing Spirits also has some fun little things within it including photographs, fan questions, and the brief history of locations he's been to.
     Since I love the show Ghost Adventures, I may like this book more than any of you would, because a lot of it might only seem interesting to a fan. I personally loved reading more in depth about certain haunted locations that I have only seen on television, and I really loved finding out about how the show actually got started, and all of the fun or scary things that happened along the way. However, these things may not interest someone who has never seen the show at all. So I would only recommend this book to someone who is familiar with the series. I really enjoyed every part of this book. For me, it's interesting to see the show from a whole new perspective, and by reading this book I feel more connected with the series.
     Besides the talk of the show, Groff also brings up many different subjects that really make you think. For example, he tells the reader about his opinion on what he believes happens after we die, but he also allows you to form your own ideas about it. It starts to get you thinking about all of the possibilities and how nothing is 100% proven. Above all Groff emphasizes how important is to do what you love, and even if it takes a lot of hard work to get there, if you are doing something that you enjoy, you will be happy.
     When I started reading this book, I expected it to be similar to the one Zak Bagans, one of the other guys of Ghost Adventures, wrote. Although this book was very different and I absolutely enjoyed it. Anyone who is a fan of Ghost Adventures will be sure to love it too. I would give it an A for sure.

Just a heads up: If you are uncomfortable with swearing, this book is not for you, because it swears quite a bit.