Ghost Hunters’ Steve Gonsalves Shares Scariest Moment in Career

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Steve Gonsalves ain’t afraid of no ghost—usually.

After more than twenty years investigating paranormal activity on the Syfy reality show Ghost Hunters with colleagues like Jason Hawes, Dave Tango, and Grant Wilson, the star of the series recently confessed that he still gets scared sometimes and shared what he considers his most frightening experience yet.

Steve shared in a TopMob News interview that they’ll be investigating Waverly Hills, a former tuberculosis hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. He described it as a very tragic place where over 60,000 people died in just three years. According to Steve, the location is extremely active with paranormal phenomena – things like apparitions, doors slamming, objects moving, and disembodied voices – and these occurrences happen almost immediately upon entering the building.

As Steve put it, “That place is really cool.”

Waverly Hills Sanatorium stands as a reminder of the tuberculosis outbreak that affected Jefferson County in the early 1900s. When it was constructed, the large, five-story building was needed to accommodate all the patients suffering from the disease, as stated on its website.

For almost 50 years, the building functioned as a hospital until medical advancements led to its closure in 1961. Years later, due to numerous reports of ghostly activity within Waverly Hills, it reopened in 2001 and now offers public tours.

Steve has investigated many haunted locations, but he said Waverly Hills Sanatorium genuinely frightened him.

Steve shared that he was moved to tears during his visit to the historic site. He’d dreamed of going for years, and the beauty of the place overwhelmed him. He described driving up a shadowy, tree-lined path, and then seeing the site suddenly appear, which brought on strong emotions. He simply described it as breathtakingly beautiful.

Steve believes haunted locations aren’t simply filled with ghosts, but are places where people experienced intense emotions, and he felt this strongly at Waverly Hills.

He admitted the situation was moving and brought up some sadness, saying, “It really got to me.” But overall, he thought it was wonderful.

Steve suspected that the Franklin Castle in Cleveland, Ohio—where he led a spooky tour as part of the Cutwater’s Real Spirits Inside contest—would be just as terrifying as other famous haunted places.

Steve explained that a location’s history and the people who lived there often contribute significantly to a haunting. He added that this place has both a rich history and many unanswered questions surrounding it.

Sweepstakes winners said they heard footsteps on floors where no one was, and doors were opening and slamming on their own.

Even if you can’t visit famous haunted places like Waverly Hills or Franklin Castle this Halloween, Steve shared that there’s one horror movie that still manages to scare him every time he watches it.

He said John Carpenter’s The Thing is a must-watch movie, not just for Halloween, but anytime.

For more stars who have shared their spookiest encounters, keep reading… 

Courteney Cox shared a spooky story about a possible haunting. While talking to Howard Stern, she recounted how a delivery person told her the house was haunted, claiming someone was standing behind her. This wasn’t the only strange experience she’s had. While in London, jet-lagged but awake, she saw frightening, old faces when she closed her eyes, and even thought she recognized family members. She also noticed lights flickering and a plant moving, so she woke up her partner, Johnny McDaid, convinced she was seeing spirits. Johnny, however, insisted she was still asleep and that there were no ghosts. Despite his skepticism, Courteney was certain she saw something. Ultimately, she simply asked the spirits to leave and, surprisingly, they did, and she didn’t see them again.

Demi Lovato believes her childhood home in Texas is haunted. She recalls a time when, as a young girl, her mother found her talking to someone she identified as “Emily,” the girl in a picture frame. Her younger sister later had a similar experience, claiming to talk to a girl living in the closet.

Demi also remembers predicting strange occurrences to her friends. She’d tell them something would happen, and it usually did – like the time a friend texted that the house felt haunted and received multiple replies saying “definitely,” even though he only sent the message once.

She shared another story about a balloon floating down the stairs and turning a corner, something she found particularly unsettling. These experiences have led Demi to firmly believe her childhood home is genuinely haunted.

Joey King had a spooky experience while filming The Conjuring as a child, and it wasn’t just from the movie’s scares. She began appearing with unexplained bruises during scenes where her on-screen mother was possessed. The makeup artists initially thought she was playfully taking their fake bruises, even trying to remove them with rubbing alcohol. But Joey insisted the bruises were real.

A visit to the doctor revealed she had a temporary blood-thinning condition called ITP, where her red platelet count had mysteriously dropped. It was a new and unusual issue, as she’d never had blood problems before and has never experienced them since, nor does anyone in her family have the condition. As a result, she had to visit the hospital twice a day during filming. Strangely, when she went home, her platelet levels returned to normal and she never had another trace of the disorder.

Ariana Grande shared a chilling story about a paranormal experience she had in Kansas City back in 2013. She told Complex magazine that after staying in a haunted castle, she and her friends decided to visit Stull Cemetery, which is rumored to be one of the gateways to hell.

During the drive, Ariana described a heavy, negative feeling in the car, along with the smell of sulfur and the sudden appearance of a fly – all considered signs of demonic presence. She quickly asked to be taken away, even apologizing to whatever was there before leaving. When she took a picture, she claimed three clear, demonic faces appeared in it.

Interestingly, she couldn’t even send the photo to her manager; the file size was exactly 666 megabytes. Ariana also recounted seeing a large black cloud next to her bed one night. She became frightened and called for help, but instead of confronting it, she chose to ignore it, believing it thrived on fear. She watched the cloud move to the foot of her bed, and eventually fell asleep, only to wake up and find it had disappeared.

Octavia Spencer says she’s perfectly comfortable sharing her home with a ghost. She explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she bought a house previously owned by a Western film actor, whom she now considers a protective spirit. She believes he helps keep unwanted visitors away – people who come to her house and don’t want to return, signaling to her that they don’t belong. Guests who do belong, on the other hand, always feel welcome.

While she loves her ghostly companion, Octavia admits he can be a little mischievous when she’s away for extended periods, like closing doors or switching off lights. However, she’s firm about keeping it to just her ghost. She doesn’t want any new spirits moving in – her ghost is allowed to playfully bother her, but they have established boundaries and she doesn’t want him making friends with other ghosts.

Jennifer Aniston experienced some spooky things in a house she used to own in Los Angeles, though she didn’t consider the presence a friendly one. She told James Corden that appliances would randomly turn on – the dishwasher, coffee maker, and stereo would blast at full volume – and it was frightening.

Someone suggested she have a specialist remove the spirit, so she brought in someone who used frankincense to cleanse the house. During the process, a dish cracked in the first corner the specialist reached. Then, a heavy ashtray from 1975 also cracked. The specialist even asked Jennifer to leave so she could communicate with the spirit.

Apparently, the spirit’s issue wasn’t with Jennifer, but with her roommate! Jennifer admitted she moved out but never told her roommate, feeling it would be awful to say the spirit disliked them.

Miley Cyrus has a spooky story about a possible haunting in her home. She received Elvis memorabilia from a friend whose parent had passed away, but much of it was lost in the 2018 Malibu fire. Soon after, Miley began experiencing strange occurrences in her L.A. home, believing it was the spirit of her friend’s mother. She described smelling cigarette smoke – the friend’s mother had been a smoker – and her dogs acting strangely, especially in the guest room where a photo of the woman had been displayed. Miley felt the fire had somehow ‘released’ the spirit, and she even claimed to have seen the ghost sitting on her couch, playfully bothering her dogs – something the woman would have done when she was alive. These events continued happening recently, leaving Miley and her dogs disturbed.

Keanu Reeves shared a spooky story about something strange he saw as a young child. When he was around 6 or 7 years old, living in New York, he witnessed what looked like a jacket floating through a doorway – but there was no one inside it! He recounted the experience on Jimmy Kimmel Live, explaining that it was just a jacket waving around, with no head, body, or legs attached. While Keanu didn’t find it particularly scary, his nanny was visibly frightened. He remembered being unfazed at the time, while his nanny was completely shocked, making him realize it wasn’t just his imagination.

Vanessa Hudgens isn’t afraid of ghosts – in fact, she’s starting to embrace her ability to connect with the spiritual world. She explained on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she’s always been able to see and hear things others can’t. One memorable experience happened when she was eight years old with a toy duck that seemed to follow her around the dining room. For a while, she tried to ignore these experiences, admitting that the unknown can be frightening. However, she’s now decided to view her abilities as a gift and recently participated in her first official paranormal investigation, complete with professional equipment.

Actor Hugh Grant shared a spooky story about his son. Back in 2016, he noticed his son would often stare at a corner of his room. Soon, other people – family and nannies – started seeing something there too, asking who the little boy in the corner was.

Grant, admitting he’s a rational person, decided to call a ghostbuster. The ghostbuster came to the house and her equipment went crazy in his son’s room, even making her feel sick. She burned sage, played an instrument, and sang, claiming she’d removed any spirits.

However, the next morning, Grant’s son told him there was still a little boy at his window. Grant jokingly concluded that they needed to move, as the house was clearly haunted.

 

Brian Cox had a chilling experience years ago in Edinburgh that he recently shared on The Jonathan Ross Show. He was trying to fall asleep when he heard a rocking sound. To his surprise, a chair began to rock back and forth, eventually sliding across the floor in front of his bed.

Though the chair eventually stopped, Cox was understandably frightened. He quickly hid under the covers, worried about what was happening.

He did manage to fall asleep, but was shocked again the next morning. The chair was still there, and the floor was covered in deep scratch marks.

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2025-10-25 10:18