"My name is Dakota Laden, I am a documentary filmmaker. For the past few years, I have been investigating the paranormal with Zak Bagans and the Ghost Adventures Crew. I grew up in a house where paranormal activity terrorized my entire family. It has gripped my sister, my childhood best friend, and me ever since. So I had an idea, a psychological experiment, 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 could 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, and the catch is... I'm the only one who knows where we're going."
Destination Fear, as the name implies, is a part Paranormal Investigation show, part traveling show that premiered on the Travel Channel in October of 2019. The show revolves around the DF crew, consisting of Dakota Laden (prior Ghost Adventures guest investigator/cameraman), his sister Chelsea Laden, childhood friend Tanner Wiseman, and close friend and cameraman Alex Schroeder, taking road trips around the country to some of America's most haunted locations with a catch, being Dakota (and once a road trip everyone else picks one) only knowing the locations to try to instill a sense of fear in the team. During investigations, they also split up and sleep in the most active locations, or the scariest locations in their investigation.
Destination Fear premiered to positive reception and feedback, due to the difference of how they approach their paranormal investigations compared to their contemporaries, and due to a huge amount of positive feedback from fans, the show was greenlit for more seasons (or road trips, as Dakota and the DF would prefer it to be called).
After 4 seasons, the show was cancelled by the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel, however, in its stead, Dakota, Chelsea, Tanner, and Alex have all announced that the show will continue under a new name on YouTube, Project Fear. Unshackled from chains, the Fear team hopes to expand on what has begun on their time with Trail to Terror and Destination Fear, and experiment with new ideas, explore new boundaries, and even include guest stars and occasionally fans in their overnights. The first "road trip" of the new adventure is stated to begin in April 2023, with the first official episodes being slated to upload in June/July, with at least 7 "road trips" (5 domestic, 2 international) confirmed on their Kickstarter page due to reaching stretch goals.
Destination Fear provides examples of:
- Abandoned Hospital: A given for some of their investigations.
- Battleaxe Nurse: An evil nurse ghost (or just someone, dead or alive, very focused on their job) is mentioned to haunt the Old Historic Harriman Hospital.
- Berserk Button: For both Dakota and Tanner, it's do not harm or hurt Chelsea, if it's any indication on how quick they rush to her if they hear her scream or panic.
- Brother–Sister Team: Chelsea and Dakota Laden.
- Butt-Monkey: Depends on the episode, since the person who has to sleep in the worst location is implied to be this, no matter whether its Dakota, Chelsea, Alex, or Tanner.
- Catchphrase: "I have an idea".
- Cat Scare: At the Old Crow Distillery in Kentucky, due to feral cats being located throughout the property.
- Also occurs at the Villisca Axe Murder House to Dakota and Chelsea, with both questioning how a cat got into the house.
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Common Knowledge: Chelsea and Tanner immediately knew they were going to Nopeming Sanatorium for one of their investigations, before opening Dakota's folder even. because they are already aware its one of the only major haunted locations in northern Minnesota, and since they knew they were heading north from their family homes outside Minneapolis... - Confession Cam: Used by whoever picks the location they are traveling to, to give a small exposition to the viewers before the rest of the crew know.
- Continuity Nod: Due to the nature of their investigations, they will reference previous investigations if they are on the same leg of their road trips, or if they happen to be very close by, with the DF crew driving by the Statler Hotel in Buffalo before they go to the Rolling Hills Asylum.
- Crossover: Their final appearance as the Destination Fear crew was in Season 16 of Ghost Hunters, investigating the Argonaut and Kennedy mines. Around the same time (early 2023), Dakota and Chelsea also featured in a video with popular YouTube paranormal investigators Sam and Colby.
- Death World: Chelsea likens Kentucky to be this for paranormal investigating in abandoned buildings, due to the huge diversity of wildlife that is native to Kentucky, including but not limited to: mountain lions, bears, snakes, wolves, mosquitos, spiders, etc.
- The Dog Bites Back: Multiple times:
- Whenever Chelsea's or Tanner's location is the next stop, Dakota is usually who they target with their choice to test him, with the recurring location being a prison or a hospital. (So far, Yorktown Hospital and Joliet Prison for Chelsea, and Montana State Prison and the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum for Tanner)
- In the Idaho State Penitentiary episode, which was Alex's pick, he twisted the rules to his benefit, namely locking Dakota up in an isolation cell, taking the crew ziplining through the Rocky Mountains, and forcing everyone to sleep where he wanted them to sleep while he slept in the least active area of the prison. The others don't complain too much about this, considering that he has been through a lot worse despite not being one of the main investigators of the group (witnessing a door opening by itself at the Fairfield County Infirmary and being extremely affected by an entity at Hill View Manor to the point where he began vomiting violently).
- Do Not Attempt: Dakota and the DF point out a main reason that they did not investigate one building too closely at the Old Crow Distillery is because the floor is quite literally giving out and the roof is partially collapsed in.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Dakota is Sanguine, Chelsea is Melancholic, Tanner is Choleric, and Alex is Phlegmatic.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: As pointed out by Dakota and the others during a vlog on Twitter, they pointed out that they hid a rubber duck in every episode, due to it being a memento of a place they investigated during their filming of Trails of Terror.
- Heroic BSoD: So far has happened to everyone in the group. Dakota at the Sheboygan County Asylum, Alex at Hill View Manor, Chelsea at the Randolph County Infirmary, and Tanner at Rolling Hills Asylum (with regards to potentially encountering the ghost of Roy, before his realization that running into something bigger but not understanding them was hampering his fear of that.)
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: A defining part of their investigation, where they split up and sleep in the most active areas of the location.
- Done in a unique way in Season 3 by having Dakota/Chelsea and Alex/Tanner be split up between two different locations believed to be related to the Villisca Axe Murders, due to a theory that the Malvern Manor, while still in operation as a hotel, was used as a night stop by the murderer at Villisca, due to being connected by the train tracks to both locations
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to Ghost Adventures, where they primarily look to help people that are being affected extremely negatively, Dakota and the DF try to actively avoid dark/demonic locations due to not wanting to take on a personal risk when they separate at night, and are genuinely shocked if a location turns out to be more sinister than anticipated.
- Mood Whiplash: At the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Alex and Chelsea are trying to make contact with a spirit who was brutally murdered by his roommates, it responds on the ovilus by saying "story", and immediately after, Alex's phone starts ringing, revealing Tanner calling, only to answer and be greeted with voices that sounds inhuman, not to mention Alex radioing Tanner and Dakota to ask if he has his phone, only to find out it was left at the gear room dead.
- Rotating Protagonist: Dakota picks the majority of the locations, but once a road trip (starting in Season 2), Chelsea, Tanner, and Alex get to pick one location, so dependent on who picks the location, they usually take the protagonist/leader role for the investigation.
- Running Gag: Dakota's catchphrase of having an idea, to absolutely NO ONE'S delight. They quickly start to expect the phrase to be dropped. On one occasion he tries to change the wording, but none of them are having it - it's still Dakota having an idea and enforcing that they go through with it.
- "You're putting your [relationship] in a [horrible location]? What is WRONG with you?!" is occasionally dropped, after Chelsea's memorable reaction to Dakota (her brother) sending her into a dungeon alone.
- During solo walks or even their sleeping arrangements, one of them (usually Chelsea or Alex) will intentionally activate their walkies as a check in with someone else, with the intent of making them jump. Chelsea usually opts to pick on Dakota (though he will occasionally return the favor), and Alex will go after any of the others.
- Slice of Life: Before they get informed of where they are going, Dakota or whoever picks the location usually chooses somewhere nearby for the DF crew to have fun at, challenge their fears, or do a warm up investigation before their actual location, which again, depends on episode.
- Tempting Fate: Some of Dakota's "ideas" do tend to backfire somewhat, and also regarding where they consider creepy and scary but didn't get substantial activity during the walkthrough.
- Case in point when at the Sheboygan County Asylum, he draws the area in the building considered the least scariest out of the four due to not really having activity, only to have some poltergeist activity startle him and cause the camera focusing on him to break.
