Zak Bagans Las Vegas underground house

Zak Bagans has been fascinated by the Las Vegas Underground House for years. He now owns the luxury bunker and is turning it into a public museum.

Suffice it to say, “Haunted” is in play.

“To me, it’s part of the Cold War history and Las Vegas’ atomic age,” Bagans said Monday in announcing the purchase of the bunker hidden nearly three stories underneath an otherwise regular home at 3970 Spencer St. in Las Vegas. “There are just so many layers that people will be immersed in.”

Bagans paid $4.55 million to the biochemical organization Stasis Foundation, known for its work in cryogenic human preservation.

Bagans’ plans for how to present the space are taking shape. He plans to open it to the public for the first time and to use the site for an original documentary feature.

He chases spirits as host of “Ghost Adventures.” But in this case, Bagans says the haunted found him.

“During the initial walk-through is when I became absolutely shocked at the stories of hauntings that I was told, and how severely affected some of the previous workers were. So, no, I did not go into this trying to buy it as a haunted property,” he says. “(But) there’s some very heavy duty mysteries associated with the place and the previous owners.”

More will be revealed, including the timeline, scale and the name of the attraction.

The Underground House, also known as Underground Mansion, was completed in 1978 by Avon executive, philanthropist and Dawson School founder Girard “Jerry” Henderson and his wife, Mary. The residence was designed by atomic age architect Jay Swayze, who designed the Underground World Home exhibited at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Roughly 16,000 square feet, it was built to withstand a nuclear blast, but also built as a comfortable living space, with two hot tubs, a sauna and an in-ground pool in a room that is larger than many above-ground Las Vegas homes.

The mansion is one of the largest privately owned luxury fallout shelters of its kind. According to a release issued by Bagans’ team, Henderson spent about $10 million ($68 million in today’s dollars) on the project.

Painted skies and murals, faux landscaping, waterfalls and lighting designed to reflect the different hours of the day above ground made it a self-contained dwelling. A private tunnel once linked the bunker to Henderson’s office building across the street. That annex later served as a headquarters for Howard Hughes’ Summa Corporation.

Henderson died of a heart attack, in the underground house, in 1983.

In more recent years, the property passed to the Stasis Foundation. After five years of ownership, the foundation listed the mansion in 2019 for $18 million. The asking price dropped to $5.9 million before the house returned to the market in 2025 at $8.5 million.

Bagans said accounts of Henderson’s life and death finally explained why the place had been “calling” to him.

The house has been the focus of international attention. YouTube phenomenon MrBeast filmed there, calling it “one of the most expensive and bizarre bunkers on the planet.” Imagine Dragons shot the video for their 2021 single “Monday” inside the bunker.

“This isn’t just a bunker,” Bagans said. “It’s one of the most historic houses ever built in America, and the only preserved luxury bunker of its kind still standing in the country. Once you go down there, the energy of that 1970s time capsule stays with you.

“My intention is to preserve the house and its history, and to dig deeper into the mysteries I’ve discovered that still haven’t surfaced.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.