This week on Ghost Adventures, Zak Bagans and the team head to Navajo Nation lands where they investigate Ojo Amarillo, also known as Skinwalker Canyon.
Ojo Amarillo is the Spanish name for the area and it translates as ‘yellow eye,’ so Zak and the team are in no doubt from the start that this place has a reputation.
Local people tell the team about numerous encounters with skin-changing creatures with one woman saying she was chased whilst driving her car and another man saying one jumped ointo his roof. They also encounter a skinwalker trackers and this man is armed for business, so a lot of the locals take the legends pretty seriously.
The skinwalkers themselves are said to be Navajo witches who’ve gone bad and have the ability to turn into animals like a coyote, wolf, deer, bear, or even a bird. They are said to be able to cause sickness, take control of people, rob graves, kill cattle and even murder people.
The Ghost Adventures team says they were given permission to investigate the area and indeed were invited. However, there were some voices of dissent with some posters on social media saying they were treading on sacred ground and should stay clear.
Travel Channel told Indian Country Network Media that: “The producers of Ghost Adventures received permission from the Navajo Nation Film Office’s Office of Broadcast Services to shoot in Ojo Amarillo and Upper Fruitland, New Mexico.”
Zak himself also spoke to the outlet and said he tried to ignore negative comments on his work. Saying he blocked all negative reviews or comments directed at him on social media.
He claims that all he did was tweet that some Navajo people did not want to speak abotu the skinwalker topic and that some people seemed to have taken offence. He also points out that they’ve been filming in the area for nearly a decade and have always gotten a warm reception.
Ghost Adventures airs on Saturdays at 9PM on Travel Channel.