Ur·ban ex·plor·er Noun. A person who explores man-made structures as a pastime, especially in areas not generally open to the public.
B WHO IS
DAKOTA LADEN
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efore our parents moved into the house that I grew up in, they were warned by our neighbours that people had previously practiced satanic rituals and animal sacrifices on the land. Paranormal activity was part of our life in the house. I was about nine years old. My mother saw an apparition, and she was really upset. The woods are very creepy, and I do feel the spirit was elemental. I went out there one night with my buddy Alex who is also a member of the show and we were asking questions and I heard a woman screaming in pain right in front of us. We went back into the woods and it happened again. That was one of the creepiest events that happened, it didn’t sound like any animals or trees it sounded just like a human. We had many events that happened over many years. I feel the property was haunted, not the house. So since then, I’ve been very interested in the paranormal. I have always been an urban explorer, and I always loved the show Ghost Adventures. For several years we cranked out videos for our YouTube channel. We began to get a cult following on our channel when we started to spoof the Ghost Adventures crew. My friends and I would act like Aaron, Nick and Zak. Pretty soon our YouTube videos captured their attention. Zak and his team started tweeting about us. At one point there was a Ghost Adventures contest where you had to edit real video clips together with music. I had a ton of previous editing experience, so I thought this would be an amazing opportunity to get involved. I ended up winning the contest and I was on the show. At sixteen! The experience working with the Ghost Adventures crew was incredible. I continued with YouTube for a while, then I graduated high school. I was hired as a production assistant on sets for Lions Gate Films. I made a documentary called Trail to Terror. The Idea for the Trail to Terror documentary was pitched as a show idea to several TV stations. Zak called me right after my 21st birthday and offered me a gig to help shoot as a cameraman and do B roll for Ghost Adventures.
Haunted Magazine
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