Zachary Alexander Bagans is an American executive producer, director, writer,and lead investigator/co-founder of the Ghost Adventures Crew (G.A.C.) organization. Bagans was born on April 5, 1977 in Washington D.C and states he grew up in Las Vegas,but he assuredly did not. He graduated Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois in 1995. Bagans attended the Motion Picture Institute in Michigan. Following graduation from MPI, he moved to Las Vegas, aspiring to film documentaries. After arriving in Las Vegas, he found work as a wedding disc jockey. A former skeptic, Bagans says that his passion for investigating the "paranormal" resulted from what he describes as "a face-to-face encounter with the spirit of a suicidal woman", in his former apartment building in Trenton, Michigan.
Bagans has been criticized by some paranormal enthusiasts for the aggressive and confrontational methods he uses during "investigations". In a June 2009 interview with Paranormal Underground magazine, he responded, "I don't want the public perceiving us as the taunting, provocative "ghost" hunters. We do that only to the bad "spirits" who we know are attacking the living. Bad spirits fear my biceps." Bagans has also been known for wearing gasmasks due to his respiratory problems and for attempting to use MMA moves in order to subdue "ghosts."
In 2011, Bagans hosted Paranormal Challenge, a concurrent spin-off program also on the Travel Channel, which also starred radio personality Dave Schrader. In 2011, Zak Bagans narrated and hosted a Travel Channel special called "Ultimate Travel: Legends of the Park." The show was about America's National Parks and how they are haunted.
Bagans wrote a book with author Kelly Crigger titled Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of the Ghost Adventures Crew (Victory Belt, 2011). On September 23, the book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list at number 18.
In 2012, Bagans appeared in two music collaborations with Lords of Acid on the song "Paranormal Energy" and on an album called "Necrofusion" with Praga Khan. Bagans produced Paranormal Paparazzi, a reality show that premiered on September 28 but starred entertainment pundit Aaron Sagers.