Paranormal television

Paranormal television is a genre of reality television. Its scope comprises purportedly factual investigations of paranormal phenomena, rather than fictional representations found in such shows and movies as The Ghosts of Motley Hall, Ghostbusters, Scooby-Doo and Rentaghost.

History

Accounts of supernatural occurrences have always been common in the print media. The 1705 pamphlet "A True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs Veal" by Daniel Defoe is a well-known example. Local TV news programs in the UK and USA have featured ghost stories since the 1960s. Paranormal television arose from this tradition.

One of the earliest paranormal TV shows was In Search Of..., hosted by Leonard Nimoy which ran for six years from 1976. Rod Serling was originally slated to host the series, but he died in 1975. In Search Of... explored many paranormal topics, including UFOs, cryptozoological creatures (cryptids), lost civilizations, and other mysteries. Though the subject matter gradually lost popularity, the show gave way to future TV series following the same genre.

Ghostwatch, a fictional news broadcast about a haunted house in the UK that aired in 1992, created controversy when a majority of viewers believed the televised show was real.

Discovery Channel started to explore the genre with some success from 1996. The Fox Broadcasting Company had a news-style oriented show, Sightings, that was hosted by Tim White and this show lasted for six years. MTV's Fear premiered in 2000, establishing the visual look and editing style followed by most paranormal reality television show. In 2002, the British satellite channel Living TV launched the ghost-hunting series Most Haunted. Its success helped spawn other shows on the channel, including Dead Famous and Jane Goldman Investigates, and the channel developed a distinctive identity based on paranormal programming. The production company responsible for these programs, Antix, also produced two series of Spook School which followed the investigators of Para-Projects as they teach members of the public how to become paranormal investigators themselves.

Reactions/critics

Noting the recent trend in reality shows that take the paranormal at face value, New York Times Culture editor Mike Hale^[1] characterized ghost hunting shows as "pure theater" and compared the genre to professional wrestling or soft core pornography for its formulaic, teasing approach.^[2]

LA Times staff writer Ed Stockly wrote that "the paranormal/supernatural-investigation subgenre that has cropped up on cable television over the last few years, which includes Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters International and a few others" promises to "take a skeptical approach in its investigations and to rely on science to confirm or disprove paranormal claims. So far not one has been able to consistently keep that promise."^[3]

Programs

Program	Original Run Years (Premiere–Finale)	Original Channel/Network
Ghost Hunting TV Talk Show	2015–Present	LIVE TV, Get Scared TV, YouTube Tv Show (UK)
6ixth Sense with Colin Fry	2002	Living TV (UK)
Alien Mysteries	2013	Discovery Channel (Canada)
Ancient Mysteries	1994–1998	A&E
The Antiques Ghost Show	2003	Living TV (UK)
Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World	1980	ITV
Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe	1995	ITV
Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers	1985	ITV
America's Haunted Castles	2005	Travel Channel
Beyond	2005	Space (Canada)
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction	1997–2002	Fox
Creepy Canada	2002–2006	OLN (Canada)
Celebrity Ghost Hunt	2011	Biography Channel
Celebrity Ghost Stories	2009–present	Biography Channel
Crossing Over with John Edward	1999–2004	SyFy
Dead Famous	2004–2006	Living TV (UK)
Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns	2005-2006	Living TV (UK), Travel Channel
Destination Truth	2007–2012	Syfy
Encounters: The Hidden Truth	1991	Fox Network
The Extraordinary	1993–1996	7 Network (AUS)
Extreme Paranormal	2009	A&E Network
Extreme Ghost Stories	2006	ITV1 (UK) (2007 on WE tv in the USA)
Exploring the Unknown	1999	Saban Entertainment, Fox Kids
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files	2010-2012	Syfy
Fenómeno	2000	RTP2, Mínima Ideia (Portugal)
Fortean TV	1997–1998	Channel 4
Ghost Adventures	2008–present	Travel Channel
Ghost Asylum	2014–present	Destination America
Ghost Hunt	2005–2006	TV2 (New Zealand)
Ghost Hunters	2004–present	Syfy
Ghost Hunters Academy	2009–2010	Syfy
Ghost Hunters International	2007–2012	Syfy
Ghost Lab	2009–2011	Discovery Channel
Ghost Mine	2013	Syfy
Ghost Stalkers	2014-present	Destination America
Ghost Stories	1997–1998	FOX Family
Ghost Stories	2009–2010	Travel Channel
Ghost Story	2006	(UK)
Ghost Trackers	2006	YTV
Ghosthunters	1996	Discovery Channel Europe
Ghostly Encounters	2009–present	Viva/W Network (Canada), A&E Network, Biography Channel
The Girly Ghosthunters	2005	Space (Canada)
The Haunted	2009–2011	Animal Planet
Haunted Collector	2011–2013	Syfy
Haunted Houses: Tortured Souls & Restless Spirits	2005	Biography Channel
Haunted Highway	2012-present	Syfy
Haunted History	1998–2008	History Channel, Biography Channel
Haunted History	2013-present	H2
Haunted Homes	2006	ITV
(America's) Haunted Hotels	2001–2005	Travel Channel
Haunted Lighthouses of America	2006	Travel Channel
Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories	1991–1995	CBS, UPN
A Haunting	2005–2007 2012-present	Discovery Channel Destination America
Haunting Evidence	2006	Court TV
I'm Famous and Frightened!	2004	Living TV (UK)
In Search Of...	1976–1982
Investigations of the Unexplained	2007	Travel Channel
James Randi: Psychic Investigator	1991	ITV Granada
Jane Goldman Investigates	2003	Living TV
Killer Contact	2013	SyFy
Miracles and Other Wonders	1990s
MonsterQuest	2007–2010	History
Monsters and Mysteries in America	2013-present	Destination America
Most Haunted	2002–2010, 2013-Present	Living (UK), Paranormal Channel (UK), Travel Channel, Really (TV channel) (UK)
Most Haunted Live!	2002-2010	Living TV (UK), Paranormal Channel (UK), Travel Channel
Most Terrifying Places in America	2009-2010	Travel Channel
MTV's Fear	2000–2002	MTV
My Ghost Story	2010–2013 2013-present	Biography Channel LMN
My Ghost Story Asia	2012–	Biography Channel (Asia)
Mystery Hunters	2002–2006	Discovery Networks, YTV
MysteryQuest	2009	History
Nachtwakers (Official site)	2011–present	RTV Oost (Netherlands)
One Step Beyond	1959–1961	ABC
Paranormal?	2005	National Geographic Channel
Paranormal Challenge	2011	Travel Channel
Paranormal Cops	2010	A&E Network
Paranormal Lockdown	2014-present	Destination America
Paranormal State	2006–2011	A&E Network
Paranormal State: The New Class	2010	A&E Network
Paranormal Witness	2011–present	Syfy
Patrick Macnee's Ghost Stories	1997
Proof Positive	2004	Syfy
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal	1996–2000	(Canada)
Psychic Detectives	2004-2008	Court TV
Psychic Kids	2008-2010	A&E
Psychic Witness	2005	Discovery Channel
Raaz	2009	Rohi Tv (Pakistan)
Scare Week (Teasers/Previews at youtube)	2013	Beat 102 103
Scariest Places on Earth	2001–2006	ABC Family
Scary...But True	2001	Syfy, YTV, Chiller
Scream Team	2002	Living TV
Sightings	1992–1997	Fox Network, Syfy, syndicated television
The Sleep of Reason with Steve Bell	2007	Studio Universal
Spook School	2007–2008	Unexplained Channel, Antix Productions
Stranded	2013	Syfy
Strange But True?	1993–1997	ITV
Strange Universe	1996	UPN, syndicated television
That's Incredible!	1980–1984	ABC
The Othersiders	2009–2010	Cartoon Network
The Other Side	2014–present	APTN (Canada)
The Unexplained	2009	Biography Channel
The UneXplained	2011	Biography Channel
True Horror with Anthony Head (2004 TV series)	2004	Discovery Channel UK
Truth or Scare	2001–2003	Discovery Kids, The Hub
UFO Abductions	1991
Unexplained Canada	2006	Space
Unexplained Mysteries	2003–2004	syndicated television
Unsolved Mysteries	1987–1997 1997–1999 2001–2002 2008–2010	NBC CBS Lifetime Spike TV
Weird or What?	2010–present	Discovery Channel History Television (Canada)
Weird Travels	2003–2006	Travel Channel
World's Scariest Ghosts Caught on Tape	1990s	ABC
Wuh kya hai? (also written as Woh kia hai? etc.)	2009–present	Express (Pakistan)
Åndenes Makt (Power of the Spirits) (Official site)	2005–present	TVN (Norway)

See also

• List of ghost films

References

1. "Mike Hale, Editor, The New York Times". New York Times Knowledge Network. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
2. Hale, Mike (December 10, 2009). "Consigning Reality to Ghosts". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
3. "TV Skeptic: 'Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files' looks at the real 'Battle of L.A.' - latimes.com". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-07-14. The show is a part of the paranormal/supernatural-investigation subgenre that has cropped up on cable television over the last few years, which includes “Ghost Hunters,” “Destination Truth,” “Ghost Adventures,” “Ghost Hunters International” and a few others. Each promises to take a skeptical approach in its investigations and to rely on science to confirm or disprove paranormal claims. So far not one has been able to consistently keep that promise.