Go behind the scenes of the latest ‘Ghost Adventures‘ shoot in Tonopah

TONOPAH — A film crew from a paranormal investigation show was in Nye County for two days earlier this month to interview eyewitnesses and historians for an upcoming episode of “Ghost Adventures” that was shot on location in Tonopah and surrounding areas.

The Discovery Channel show is preparing for its 27th season and centers around the investigations of some of the most haunted places in the world. During the dusk-to-dawn lockdowns of some supposed haunted sites, key evidence is documented on the show to uncover the truth behind paranormal activity.

Season 11 of the show featured an episode where host and paranormal investigator Zak Bagans faced his coulrophobia (fear of clowns) at Tonopah’s creepy Clown Motel.

Filming locations during the production crew’s latest trip to Tonopah included the downtown Mizpah Hotel and the old Belmont Courthouse, about 45 miles northeast of the town.

Eric Coleman, who illustrates the editorial cartoons for the Pahrump Valley Times and the Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News, portrays a character for a scene in the upcoming episode of “Ghost Adventures” which reenacts an old Wild West fight in the basement of the historic Mizpah.

In the scene, Coleman says he “bum-rushes some hoodlums” who had allegedly “killed someone or stolen a horse.”

“I had a real Colt-45 gun that had been welded shut,” he said of his time on the set.

Spoiler alert: If you watch the upcoming episode, Coleman says he “shoots a dead man in his head.”

Coleman also portrays the embattled Belmont town treasurer for a historical reenactment in the upcoming episode of “Ghost Adventures.”

“The treasurer was either poorly investing the city’s monies or was embezzling the funds — this being back in the 1870’s when politicians actually faced consequences for corrupt behavior,” Coleman said. “Knowing he was in trouble, the treasurer took strychnine — a poison — and ended his life.”

The suicide scene features Coleman “foaming at the mouth” from baking soda and seltzer water and “writhing on the floor, twitching and convulsing.”

“The cinematographer was firing on all cylinders trying to figure out the best shot for full creep factor. The rest of the shoot that night consisted of getting ghostly shots of actors in the window reflection, through multiple doorways and among the rubble of the half-collapsed bank up the road,” Coleman said.

Charles Ramos Jr., portrayed a historical “hoodlum” and says it was “the adventure of a lifetime” being pistol-whipped, lynched and shot in the head as part of the production.

“The cast and crew were just wonderful and professional,” Ramos said. “It was a genuine pleasure, and a special honor to work with them all.”

Ramos says he can’t wait to see the episode and find out why his character was tortured and killed.

The episode is expected to feature other residents of Nye County, including an actor who portrays cult leader Charles Manson.

Manson and members of his notorious Manson Family reportedly left their mark on the walls of the Belmont Courthouse in 1969, about two years before Manson and his followers were convicted of several gruesome murders.

The episode featuring Tonopah and Belmont is expected to air sometime for season 27 of “Ghost Adventures” on Discovery Channel.