Halloween Attractions 2013 Advisors

Meet the advisors for Travel's Best Halloween Attractions 2013.

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Meet the fun, eclectic panel of advisors behind Travel's Best Halloween Attractions 2013. Our advisors live for the thrill of finding the spookiest haunted houses, tricked-out amusement parks, adrenaline-pumping fright nights and more!

Get to know Ghost Adventures investigator Nick Groff, Queen of Halloween Elvira, Pumpkin-gutter Scott Cummins and other amazing panelists, who are truly in the know when it comes to creepy spots to visit for Halloween.

1. Elvira

Photo by: Elvira, Inc.

Elvira, Inc.

Played by actress-writer Cassandra Peterson, Elvira was the first horror host ever to be syndicated nationally and has emerged as one of today’s most original and outrageous pop culture characters. Her reign as “Queen of Halloween” has spanned more than 3 decades.

Elvira has given countless interviews and made hundreds of film, television and live appearances, including the Grammys, Saturday Night Live, 2 MTV specials, NBC’s Today Show and recent reality shows Search for the Next Elvira, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Celebrity Ghost Stories and Face Off.

Elvira most recently co-wrote and starred in 26 new episodes of Elvira’s Movie Macabre and became part owner of the LA pop culture convention Stan Lee’s Comikaze.

2. Nick Groff

Nick is usually the quiet, more laid-back one of the Ghost Adventures team, but his possession at Moon River Brewing Company in Savannah, GA, may have unleashed his true nature. Even though he's attracted to morgue drawers and other confined spaces, Nick's favorite part of the show is letting Zak Bagans go first.

With his detecting equipment and paranormal expertise, Nick has been locked in some of the most sinister locations from dusk to dawn to investigate and capture evidence of the paranormal.

Zak and Nick cofounded the paranormal organization Ghost Adventures Crew (GAC). Its members support one another's quests to investigate possible paranormal activity firsthand. Their biggest event to date was held at the Goldfield Hotel in Nevada.

3. Ed Edmunds

Ed Edmunds, the founder and co-owner of Distortions Unlimited Corporation, specializes in building animatronic monsters, creatures, zombies and aliens. Edmunds also constructs props, masks, set designs and haunted houses that have revolutionized the industry across America. In the Travel Channel TV show, Making Monsters, Ed and his team create some of most realistic and frightening masterpieces for events and tradeshows.

Ed’s fascination with popular sci-fi flicks and television began when he was a teenager living in rural Illinois. He studied art education at the University of Northern Colorado, and he used his artistic abilities to make and sell high-quality masks that eventually led to the creation of his company.

Ed currently resides in Greeley, CO, with his wife and co-owner of Distortions Unlimited, Marsha Taub-Edmunds.

4. Marsha Taub-Edmunds

Marsha Taub-Edmunds is the co-owner of Distortions Unlimited Corporation, handling every aspect of the production line, client relations, accounting and sales. Also featured on the TV show Making Monsters, Marsha is also heavily involved in brainstorming new gruesome creatures with her husband, Ed Edmunds.

Marsha began working with Ed in 1981 while also working on her teaching certification in biology at the University of Northern Colorado. She became intrigued with the creations of this booming local business and took it upon herself to learn the business, inside and out. Marsha and Ed connected through their shared artistic passion and wed in 1992; they have been running Distortions Unlimited as a team ever since. Together, the couple has spurred a revolution in America’s haunted house industry.

5. Aaron Sagers

Aaron Sagers is a TV personality, journalist and entertainment pundit who has covered everything from zombies, ghosts and aliens to geek culture for CNN, MTV and on his Travel Channel show Paranormal Paparazzi, where he serves as host and co-Executive Producer. He is a professional nerd and moderator, traveling the country talking about pop culture at numerous fan conventions such as San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con, Wizard World, Dragon Con and more.

Aaron is also the founder of Paranormal Pop Culture, an entertainment news site that explores horror, supernatural and all elements of the paranormal. He has appeared as an expert on the BBC, Huffington Post Live, CNN, Sirius/XM, Playboy and Coast to Coast. Aaron is the author of "Paranormal Pop Culture: Rambling and Shambling through the Entertainment of the Unexplained;" and an adjunct professor of Journalism at NYU in New York City, where he resides. Fans can always interact with Aaron on Twitter @AaronSagers.

6. Scott Cummins

In October, Scott Cummins is preoccupied with pumpkins and enjoys carving pumpkins. Simple cut-outs, however, are just not enough. Scott prefers to sculpt into the actual rind of his pumpkins. After setting up an online gallery of his carvings at pumkpingutter.com, he was surprised at how many people enjoyed and responded to viewing his designs.

In more recent years, with the addition of an online carving tutorial to his site, Scott has observed a growing number of pumpkin sculptors around the world. In spite of the popularity of his creations, Scott is resistant to taking his pumpkin carving beyond an enjoyable hobby.

Scott is an artist and public school art teacher in Texas. He enjoys exploring a variety of artistic mediums and projects for himself as well as his students.

7. Kwin Mosby

Kwin Mosby has been working as an online producer for TravelChannel.com for 6 years. He has produced TV show websites, including Most Haunted, a TV series that followed a group of paranormal experts on a quest to uncover the truth about some of the world’s spookiest destinations.

Kwin also managed a 7-hour interactive Most Haunted Live investigation at Eastern State Penitentiary in 2008 and the paranormal investigation of Winchester House in 2009. For both years, TravelChannel.com received the CableFAX Program Award for Best Online/Mobile Extras for a Linear Show.

When he’s not working, Kwin visits relaxing beach locations, cultural urban epicenters and prime destinations for outdoors enthusiasts, like: Costa Rica, Miami, Santorini, Barcelona, New York City, Paris, London and Brazil. Follow Kwin and his adventures @KwinMosby.