In anticipation of the release of Ghost Files season three, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej hit the road on a live tour across the United States and Canada. Nearly a decade ago, the two rose to popularity as the hosts of the Buzzfeed Unsolved franchise, which was created by Bergara. On Buzzfeed Unsolved, they investigated unsolved true crime and the paranormal. After leaving Buzzfeed, they, along with fellow Buzzfeed personality Steven Lim, founded Watcher Entertainment, a production studio, to create their own high-quality shows for digital release. In 2022, Watcher launched Ghost Files, successfully capturing the magic of the paranormal investigations on Buzzfeed Unsolved.
The appeal of Buzzfeed Unsolved was always the chemistry and juxtaposition between Bergara and Madej. Bergara is the believer with his unshakeable faith in ghosts while Madej is the skeptic, providing unconvinced commentary on whatever evidence they come across. Despite their differences, the “ghoul boys” have an unparalleled level of comradery and trust that gets balanced out by a healthy portion of spooks. As such, Ghost Files finds the duo back on the road investigating paranormal locations together in the quest to answer the question: “Are ghosts real?”
Ghost Files Live! brings the charm of the series to the stage in a roughly two and half hour production that can be broken down into four parts. The show began with the premier of a never-before-seen episode from the new season. Although this portion was essentially just a projected video, the energy was still electric. The crowd laughed at every quip, quieted for the evidence, and found humor in Bergara’s fear and Madej’s indifference.
After the screening, the pair came out on stage to the audience’s ecstatic applause and began the second portion of the show: a live version of Watcher Entertainment’s Too Many Spirits. In the regular show, Bergara and Madej read and review audience-submitted ghost stories while drinking too many spirits. For Ghost Files Live!, the pair read three stories from the crowd. Suffice it to say, the scary stories kept getting interrupted by laughter but were prime examples of what else was to come.
The show’s third section was a demonstration of the Estes Method, a ghost hunting technique used on Ghost Files. This process involves having someone wearing soundproof headphones connected to a device that supposedly allows ghosts to communicate with the living world while another person asks questions. That night’s version of the Estes Method featured Madej and an audience member wearing headphones as Bergara attempted to make contact with the spirit of a stagehand. Alas, this was unsuccessful.
The final part of the show was an audience Q and A session where fans of all ages asked the pair about their time as ghost hunters. This section of the show was hilarious as Bergara and Madej were asked a variety of questions ranging from if they would ever return to the Island of the Dolls (which they most likely will not) to what spirit they would like to have a ten minute conversation with (one answer was the infamous Goatman).
Overall, Ghost Files Live! was a delightful night of laughter with minimal spooks and scares. Although an untraditional production, it was filled with genuine effort and joy, and the pair remarkably brought the same care, dedication, and friendship to the stage as they do behind the camera, making the live show as loveable as Ghost Files.
Leave a Reply