Destination Fear

We are going to an insanely haunted hotel.

This place is massive.

The hotel is known to have a history with the mafia.

People would jump to their deaths.

Every single floor is considered a suicide floor.

I've heard voices. I've seen shadow figures.

They're darker than the dark.

But we are going to go and sleep alone.

- - chelsea!

- Whoa. - No way.

Dakota: Please do not open. Please do not open.

No. No.

My name is dakota laden.

I am a documentary filmmaker.

For the past few years, I've been investigating

The paranormal with zak bagans and the "ghost adventures" crew.

Dakota laden. Welcome, buddy.

Dakota: I grew up in a house where paranormal activity

Terrorized my entire family.

It has gripped by sister,

My childhood best friend,

And me ever since.

So, I had an idea --

A psychological experiment... Aah!

...Where I would test how terror affects the human mind,

What it reveals about our true selves,

And just how much of it a person can withstand.

To understand the paranormal,

First we need to overcome our fear.

I'm leading us on a road trip to explore

The most haunted abandoned locations in all of america.

Each night, we'll separate and sleep alone.

The catch is, I'm the only one who knows where we're going.

So right now, chelsea and tanner are in the new rv.

A couple days ago, our rv broke down,

And we had to get a new one.

Tanner: We were on the highway.

The extended side to make more room started going out,

And obviously, that's not safe.

This trail couldn't get any scarier.

I just figured I'd take this time

While chelsea and tanner are distracted

To talk about where we are going next.

We are going to an insanely haunted hotel.

This is by far the biggest location

That we will go to on this trip.

It is 18 floors,

Over 950,000 square feet.

The hotel is known to have a history

With the mafia and mobsters.

Murders have taken place there.

This is also a location where people went to commit suicide.

Because of the dark history that this hotel has,

People report hearing audible voices,

Seeing shadow figures, seeing objects being thrown.

I want to find out for myself what's going on

At this massive hotel.

Right now, we are heading to buffalo, new york.

We're going to a location

That's unlike anything we've done before.

This will be and is the biggest location

We've been to for this entire trip.

Dang. Bigger than 300,000 square feet?

We're talking 1 million square feet.

Oh, ho, ho! Yeah.

No way.

One million freaking square feet?

I think there's 18 floors.

Ooh. If we lose walkie connection,

We won't hear anybody, won't...Oh, my gosh.

We'll be completely isolated this time.

Well, we are gonna stop somewhere right now.

Is it huge?

It is huge.

It is massive.

We're going to the niagara falls.

Oh, dope. That's awesome.

Yeah. That'll be sweet.

So nice. I've never been there before.

I've never been there either.

I'm so excited, like, to finally do something a little fun.

Oh, my gosh.

We're gonna be late. Okay.

The maid of the mist leaves in one minute.

One minute?

The maid of the mist leaves in one minute.

Tanner: Dude, we actually got to get going.

We got to go. Holy crap!

- And go. - Let's go!

- Let's go! - Let's go!

Aah!

We got one minute until the maid of the mist goes!

I'm slowing down.

Go on without me!

Thank you.

- Sorry! - Sorry, everybody.

- You look good, tanner. - Geez.

Yeah, this is my actual new fashion statement.

My lungs hurt.

Oh, we're gonna get soaked. This is gonna be awesome.

Think we're gonna get wet?

geez!

Got them!

Okay! Got them!

"destination fear," baby!

- Ladies and gentlemen... - Get ready to get wet.

...Welcome aboard the world-famous

Maid of the mist boat. - That's amazing.

Tanner: Dude, honestly, this is probably

The coolest thing we've done all trip.

This made this whole trip worth it.

Alright. Here comes the weather.

Alright. It's starting to get a little wet.

We are going right in!

This camera is about to get soaking wet!

Oh, my gosh! Here comes the wind!

Here we go, baby!

- Whoo! - Let's go!

Yeah! Look at that!

Cool! Ah!

This is not fun anymore!

Help!

I can't see anything! Oh, my goodness!

What the freaking heck?

We did it! We did it!

We made it through the falls!

Whoo!

I think we have different tastes in what's fun.

Dakota: I'll take this

Over a haunted location any day.

Oh, yeah, amen to that.

Dude, this place is haunted.

This is haunted? What?

- Yeah. - Wow. Okay.

Crazy to see all the water.

Dakota: See you later.

There's canada. There's canada.

Well, you guys, this has been a fun day.

Yeah. It's been really cool.

I've had a blast.

On a trip as dark as this trip has been,

It's kind of refreshing to see something beautiful and amazing.

Right. We needed that.

We really did. Yeah, we did.

Dakota: You guys ready to find out where we're going?

- Yeah. - Yeah!

Tanner: I'm really pumped up.

Chelsea, you can open it.

Oh! Let's go!

Oh, you called it!

It's a hotel.

Statler hotel.

Czekaj: The grand and stately statler hotel

In downtown buffalo

Looms large over the city's landscape.

In its glory days, it offered guests every modern amenity,

Including intimate bars for business dealings,

Chandeliered ballrooms and a lavish indoor pool.

When you first walk through the statler,

The beautiful ballrooms in the lobby almost bringing you back

To what the statler must have looked like back in the 1920s.

Hawkins: When it was first built in 1923, and it was finished,

It was one of the first hotels in the united states

That had hotel rooms with bathrooms and showers,

Radios in every single room.

The statler was the gem of buffalo.

It was the most glamorous place to be.

"big names like elvis presley,

Marilyn monroe and dizzy gillespie

Stayed at the statler."

Yeah.

At the time when it was first erected,

It was a hot spot here in buffalo for people...

For the rich and fancy, it sounds like.

Yeah. This was, like, very...

Then it took a turn, a dark turn?

Czekaj: I'm sure that the statler hotel was involved

In some, let's say,

Less-than-stellar activities that were not legal.

The mob was heavily involved in the statler,

And wherever the mob goes, there's gonna be trouble.

Hawkins: Organized crime, it was prominent

In the city of buffalo.

We're right on the border of canada.

It wouldn't take an intelligent man

To guess that there was some alcohol

Smuggled into this building.

Czekaj: Turf wars, deal gone bad,

A snitch that got whacked --

That's why we think the meat locker is so active.

Dakota: Here, objects are thrown by unseen hands.

Doors slam shut on their own.

Evps have shown an entity named frank

Who was allegedly an enforcer for the mob

And a victim named kevin.

Czekaj: If you have 1,100-room hotel,

How are you gonna take someone out?

And where are you gonna put the body?