INTERVIEW: On ‘Destination Fear,’ there’s strength in numbers
Photo: Destination Fear features the ghost-hunting talents of Alex Schroeder, Chelsea Laden, Dakota Laden and Tanner Wiseman. Photo courtesy of Travel Channel / Provided by press site with permission.
Destination Fear, the travelogue series that explores perceived paranormal happenings in the United States, finds brother-sister Dakota Laden and Chelsea Laden teaming up with best friends Tanner Wiseman and Alex Schroeder for a cross-country trip to search for the unknown. Their journeys take them to some of the scariest abandoned places in the nation, and for the new season, which airs episodes Saturdays at 10 p.m. on Travel Channel, the team don’t always know where they are headed next. That unknown factor adds to the fear quotient.
On this new season they have already explored a decaying sanitarium in upstate New York that used to house patients struggling with a deadly flu pandemic. That was a powerful destination given the COVID-19 crisis that has impacted the globe in 2020.
Dakota has been documenting his explorations of scary and “haunted” places for quite some time. His videos, recorded alongside Chelsea and Tanner, caught the attention of the people behind the reality series Ghost Adventures. This led to being featured on that show and then eventually branching off for Destination Fear. Chelsea is currently an optometry student and also played professional hockey as a goalie. Tanner has been interested in things that go bump in the night for many years, and with Chelsea and Dakota he has been able to scratch that itch. Schroeder is the go-to tech guy in the group, serving as the camera operator.
Recently the TV personalities exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the new season of Destination Fear. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
This season your destinations were a secret until you arrived. Did that add to the fear factor?
Dakota: I only picked five of the locations this road trip, and the other three were a complete mystery to me. The fear was 100% elevated when I had no control. I personally feel that fear and control go hand in hand. The scariest part is that Chelsea, Tanner and Alex all only got one choice. The haunted locations that they chose had me sweating for sure. They brought their ‘A’ game, and I was not prepared for how massive and how terrifying their choices would be.
Chelsea: I think not knowing the locations can be a blessing and curse. It is nice to not have these locations weighing on you during the road trip, but then I feel like the information really hits you harder when you find out the night before you will be sleeping alone there.
Tanner: Not knowing where you are going is always unsettling. It’s difficult to just let someone have complete control over where you are going, but at the same time there is this blissfulness of being in the dark until the day before. The best feeling is when you are in control, and you get to pick a location. Just knowing that tiny bit more information going in sometimes feels like a lifesaver.
Alex: Not knowing where the locations are definitely adds to the fear level. Knowing the places we have been to in the past and the stories of the haunting that go along with them makes your brain constantly go in a loop of how the next location could be similar or even more haunted. I also think that if we knew what the locations were going to be, we could get ourselves grounded with what to expect, but instead we are going in completely dark.
When the sun goes down, and you find yourself in a haunted place, what’s going through your mind? What are you feeling?
Dakota: Have you ever started walking up a basement staircase, and around halfway up you start to run because it feels like someone is right behind you? That’s how it feels every second inside some of these haunted abandoned locations. It feels like there are eyes drilling you from every direction, but nothing is there. I’m always hyper-aware and extra sensitive. No matter how calm and collected I may appear on the outside … on the inside I’m screaming and terrified.
Chelsea: When the sun goes down, we all know it’s about to get terrifying. Typically, the later in the night, the scarier it gets.
Tanner: Going into these buildings is the most bizarre feeling in the world. There is this constant feeling that someone is watching your every step, judging your every move, and there have been times where you feel like something horrible is going to happen. You just never know what is going to happen when the sun goes down, and that’s a terrifying feeling.
Alex: When the sun finally sets, and we step foot into the location, all that’s going through my head is what we read in the packet the night before. I feel my ears perk up to catch any noises, and my heart rate increases dramatically. One thing that always gets me and never gets easier is just how dark the places are, especially when you are only using a two inch monitor on your camera to see.
Do you find strength in numbers? Does it help having other people with you on this journey?
Dakota: I love that I get to do this with my sister and two best friends. It really helps having people to talk with who know exactly what you’re going through. When we’re driving from one location to the next, sometimes what I need is a deep meaningful conversation about what we experienced to help the recovery process. The only downside is that at every location we separate for over four hours and sleep alone. These are the moments I fear the most. Being alone and isolated away from everyone else after being with them for all that time is a major challenge.
Chelsea: Overall, I think I do find strength in numbers. When we are together, there is a sense of false comfort for sure! This road trip is truly only possible doing this with the group that I have with me. Being put in incredibly vulnerable situations, going through sleepless nights running on coffee and candy really can only happen successfully when you are with your best friends.
Tanner: My favorite part is when we are all together. I feel more safe and secure that nothing malicious is going to happen. I believe in strength in numbers. However, it’s definitely a false sense of confidence because scary things have happened when we are all together, but at least we weren’t alone. Being alone is by far the worst part of this. You really get to see what you are truly made of when you get scared. I am just glad my three best friends are there to experience everything with me.
Alex: I 100% feel like there is strength in numbers. If all of us didn’t have such a strong bond and friendship so we could vent about what we went through along this trip it would be inifintely more difficult. When you are in a group you can almost trick yourself into being more brave because at least you have people there with you to share in the fear. The worst part of every night is separating and sleeping alone or when Dakota has a bright idea to send us in solo.
When did you first become interested in the paranormal?
Dakota: I’ve been interested in ghosts and the paranormal for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a house that had many unexplained events happen, so that got me extra curious at a young age. I’ve always had a love for horror movies as well, and growing up a lot of those movies had to do with ghosts. By the time I was I middle school I was urban exploring abandoned buildings and chasing fear almost every other weekend.
Chelsea: I have been interested in the paranormal for a very long time. Growing up our house was filled with unexplainable events.
Tanner: I have always loved scary movies, watching paranormal shows on TV and even going to abandon[ed] locations to explore them. I loved the adrenaline rush that comes along with being nervous and scared. It makes me feel alive, but the tipping point that hooked me was as a kid staying the night at Dakota’s house. Something strange and unexplained happened so many times there that it caught my curiosity and hasn’t let go.
Alex: I first became interested in the paranormal when I was very young. My family and I have many stories of paranormal occurrences that happened in my childhood home. One thing that always sticks out to me is when Dakota and I were kids we would watch all the paranormal shows and call each other blown away at the locations the teams would go to and what happened to them. That is what sparked our passion for exploring abandoned haunted locations.
Do you believe in ghosts? Demons? Haunted houses? Everything?
Dakota: I have no idea how to explain or prove any of my beliefs, but after everything we’ve been through on these road trips, I do believe in spirits. And I absolutely believe in demons.
Chelsea: I believe in a spiritual world no doubt! I cannot prove anything, but there are some things that have happened that simply don’t have a scientific explanation for.
Tanner: I don’t think I am going to be the guy who is going down in the history book as the guy who proved ghosts and spirits are real. However, when someone asks me this question, I’ll be able to tell them countless stories, weird things that happened, and show them some episodes to at the very least keep that person’s mind open to the possibility that there is something out there. Because I truly believe in spirits and in demons. The only way I could try to prove it is have you come along inside one of these buildings for an overnight.
Alex: I believe in all of them. I have had too many strange experiences to discount the paranormal off and on the road trips for Destination Fear.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Destination Fear premieres new episodes Saturdays at 10 p.m. on Travel Channel. Click here for more information.
