Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of the Ghost Adventures Crew Read Free Page A

full-length movie with a twenty-page script and local actors. It was called The Red Butterfly .
    That was the first event that started pulling me out of the abyss I was staring down, but I was still unhappy. I started praying to a higher power. I knew that I had a very unique, specific purpose in my life and I asked Him what it was. God responded by slapping me.
    In my wildest dreams I never imagined I could have an encounter with a ghost. It was the last thing I expected as an answer to my prayers. I was living in an apartment building on the edge of Elizabeth Park in the historic, gentrified district of Trenton, Michigan. In my apartment I could feel the presence of something that was not inviting, but I actually liked it. It was like being in the gray, murky water of Florida again by myself when most people ran for cover.
    Seven nights in a row during the summer of 2002, a female ghost would scream my name, Zachary, at the top of her lungs. At first I thought it was a dream, but then I realized it was happening and I could not control it. On the seventh night she upped the ante to get her point across. I was lying in bed, face down, when she screamed my name and then pressed down on me so hard that I couldn’t get up. I was pinned to my bed, unable to move, and started panicking. As strong as I was I couldn’t escape the weight she brought to bear on my back. When she finally let me up, I turned over and saw her looking at me. There was eye contact and I felt a shockwave of energy from her. I stared at her, unable to look away. This spirit wanted me to see her and to this day I have not looked at an apparition that looked into me like this. I stumbled outside and tried to rationalize what had happened, certain I was going to die from a heart attack. It was an unmistakable moment that created a new dimension in my mind and opened it up to the paranormal.
    When there’s a common threat, people become one and find a purpose together. I finally felt like I had a purpose in life. I was so close to joining the other side, but instead those on the other side created a path for me to avoid going over the cliff. That path led me to Las Vegas, which led me to where I am today.
    I want to be clear that I was indifferent on the topic of ghosts at the time. But every night this harbinger was there, taunting me, daring me, challenging me, because that’s the way I saw it. Everyone responds to a paranormal experience differently. Some run from it. Some embrace it. I was traumatized and frightened, but also incredibly motivated to understand what had happened.
    I had a thousand questions, mostly of a physical nature. How could an ethereal being have physical properties? How could a dead person make sound and create force? Does she sleep? Is she bored? Is she mischievous? Does she know she’s dead? How did she know my name? Does she know the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? I wanted to know if life is just rock, soil, air, water, and fire—or if there is more. Are there spiritual aspects that people ignore?
    But it wasn’t the time for answers yet. I couldn’t stay in Trenton and wrote “this place is haunted” with a permanent black marker on the back of a cabinet just before heading back to Las Vegas. Detroit is a rough town, and though I love it, I’m happy to be alive after some of the things that happened during that period. That book is closed, locked, and sent to the bottom of the sea never to be reopened again, but those times made me strong and banished my fears of the physical world. From the adversity of those years I came out feeling invincible and hungry for success.
    But the voice of that spirit was ever present, a calling that made no sound, yet I heard it clearly. She kept telling me to find answers and I was convinced that I finally had meaning in my life. I felt I was chosen to immerse myself in the unknown and unlock the mysteries of our world.

    Destiny? Is That You?
    I met Nick Goff during a wedding