Haunt Jaunts got to talk haunted road trips with Dakota Laden, Chelsea Laden, and Tanner Wiseman from Travel Channel’s Destination Fear about the second season of their show. I also had a chance to screen the first episode of season 2, where the trio heads to the Nopeming Sanatorium –in the dead of winter.
Haunted Road Trip Stop 1: Nopeming
What did Dakota, Chelsea, and Tanner have to say when I compared Nopeming to its haunted southern cousin, Waverly Hills Sanatorium? Since they were investigating in the middle of winter, the inside of Nopeming was literally frozen.
Did the cold affect the activity there? Or did it just steal energy from them? What else did they have to say about how the time of year either helped or hindered their investigation?
I also noticed Tanner’s curious bedtime behavior. What did he have to say about it being something he learned from watching many horror movies and playing into his overall survival strategy?
Other questions that led to fun revelations included one from Priscilla Bettis, who answered a call for questions to ask the Destination Fear team. She wanted to know if would they rather have something thrown at them or have an unseen entity whisper in their ear? How did they answer that?
I also wondered if they’re getting desensitized at all after exploring all these haunted places. Is there any place any of them might pick that when they got there that they’d say, “Nope. Nuh uh. Not going in there.”?
Is there any place they’ve been that they thought was just “eh” on the scary scale and wasn’t as bad as they thought –and vice versa: scarier than they expected?
And did they have any favorite episodes this season?
*Spoiler Alert!* (sort of)
Yes! But none of them shared the same favorite episode/haunted destination.
Dakota said he was partial to Nopeming because that’s a haunted place they grew up near.
However, the Sheboygan County Asylum, which viewers will see in the season’s last episode, was a particularly powerful one. For one, they’re the first TV investigators to film there. But for another, Dakota said if there’s a season 3 haunted road trip for the Destination Fear cast, he’s actually nervous to go back out because of what happened to him in Sheboygan during their sleepover.
Chelsea said her favorite episode was the second one because that’s the road trip stop she picked. For that one they head down to Texas and a hospital known for apparitions of nuns.
Tanner’s fave episode was also his road trip pick: the Old Montana State Prison. He was intrigued by its amazing history and was excited to get the chance to investigate there.
Also different this season, Dakota wasn’t the only one navigating to surprise haunted locations. Chelsea and Tanner each got to pick one too.
However, Chelsea was surprised she was the only one who wanted to go down south in winter.
The boys both stayed to northern haunts. That made navigating from one to the other even more challenging. Or, as Tanner put it, “They don’t have any idea where they’re going.”
But they have a good time facing their fears once they get there.
They were a really nice bunch to talk with. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed talking with them.
The Podcast Episode
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
Loading ...