When Jeff Konkel pulled up for the interview in a black Dodge SUV blasting rock music, he looked every bit the part of a paranormal investigator, dressed head-to-toe in black.

Konkel is the gear tech, inventor and engineer for the long-running television series “Ghost Adventures.”

The show investigates the scariest, most notorious haunted places in the world.

Konkel grew up in Fresno and held a 4.0 GPA in high school, but didn’t set out for TV.

“I got a scholarship, but ended up getting sucked into the family business,” he said.

He learned electrical engineering from his father instead of going to college.

That knowledge became his ticket into the paranormal world. In 2016, he built a camera system known as the XLS, which stands for Extreme Light Sensor, which uses LiDAR technology to detect movements and shapes that aren’t visible to the naked eye. The invention would soon catch the attention of the series’ host Zak Bagans.

He built and tested it but kept having power issues, so he threw it in the closet until he eventually got the feeling to fix it. He shared it with his friend and next thing he knew, he got a call from a Vegas number. It was Bagans. Konkel initially thought it was a prank.

Two days later, Konkel was on set. The device captured evidence the team had never seen before. Soon after, Bagans called again, this time to offer him a job.

“He [Bagans] goes, ‘You don’t understand, I want you to come work for me,’” Konkel said. “That’s where it all started.”

Konkel describes himself as a visual engineer. While other inventors build audio-based “spirit boxes,” he focuses on cameras designed to see what can’t be heard.

His creations have become a signature of the show, including the XLS that appears in “Ghost Adventures: House Calls.”

Konkel’s typical week on the job begins on Monday with travel and gear setup. Tuesday is the “preliminary day,” filled with interviews and looking for hot spots to see where the activity is coming from. Wednesday is for B-roll, and Thursday is “lockdown.”

Lockdown is when the cast spends the night inside haunted locations, relying on Konkel’s equipment to document evidence. He described how scary it can be during filming.

During one investigation at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles, featured in the hourlong special “Devils’ Den,” Konkel said he lost 30 minutes of memory.

“Whatever got a hold of me kept pulling me back into the same room,” he said.

He said it felt as if something was standing beside him, sharing its emotions with him. The presence filled him with pain and anger so intense that it became uncontrollable.

Even when the cameras stop rolling, the job follows him home. ​​Konkel says attachments sometimes follow him back from shoots.

“I’ve brought a few of them home,” Konkel said. “I was woken up by my kid calling me into the kitchen. All the cupboard doors were open. I knew exactly what it was, because I’ve seen it before. The scratching started, the knocking on the walls.”

He cleansed his house under the guidance of fellow crew member Billy Tolley, burning palo santo and leaving the front door open “so it could go out.” He never heard from it again.

He refuses to “cleanse” his gear, though.

“If you cleanse it after every use, the spirits are not going to go near it,” Konkel said. “You’re not going to get any evidence.”

Despite the fear that comes with his job, Konkel’s fascination with the unknown keeps him searching. His motivation comes from evidence and proof.

“You can go to school for your camera skills,” he said. “But when you get on set, it’s a totally different realm.”

Konkel has a strong work ethic and loves what he does. He tries to keep his family and work life separate.

“Jeff stays busy and works quite a bit on new projects until the next shoot,” said Michelle Devins, Konkel’s girlfriend. “He enjoys time with family and friends and tinkers with equipment and devices.”

Those close to him say that curiosity defines his work. Michelle described him as “focused and professional,” always arriving early with his gear charged and ready.

“His motivation comes from ideas and seeing objects that will inspire him to create something that has never been tried,” she said. “He aims for something better than the last device he made.”

Family friend Justin Devins called him “passionate and precise,” and a family man with a heart of gold.

“The man is a genius, and is the creator of so many pieces of equipment you see on the show, but that we see duplicates or recreations of on other shows and media,” Justin said. “He has created some of the most groundbreaking equipment and has so many more ideas and things coming.”

His greatest strength is his mind, and he loves bringing his ideas to fruition.

“He likes the challenge,” Justin said. “The guys are like brothers to him, and he enjoys what he does. He has a fascination of the unexplained and with his unique background of work in engineering and as an electrician, he brings a different set of eyes to the modern and most high tech gear on the show.”

Correction: An adjustment was made on Nov. 6 to correct the spelling of Michelle and Justin Devins’ last names.