“They see dead people and they don’t use any sixth sense, either. They use EMF (electromagnetic field) detectors in trying to corroborate instances of EVP (electronic voice phenomena). This is science. They don’t need no stinkin’ psychics,” reports Diane Werts for Newsday.com.

“It’s TV’s hottest new reality trend – ghosts and the skeptics who seek them. And in finest reality show fashion, this trend has an enticing appeal: You could do this, too,” reports Werts. “Two Rhode Island plumbers are Syfy’s long-running ‘Ghost Hunters.’ Everyday dudes who “never believed in ghosts” now trek to find them on Travel’s ‘Ghost Adventures.’ Texas brothers cruise in a tricked-out truck for Discovery’s new ‘Ghost Lab.’”

“But stars aren’t left out. BIO’s “Celebrity Ghost Stories” follows everyone from Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider to Joan Rivers having close encounters of the spirit kind. Even animals get in on the gig. Paranormal pets track ghosts when Animal Planet’s “The Haunted” debuts Nov. 22,” reports Werts.

“It’s hard to know whether there are a lot of ghost shows because it’s something in the zeitgeist or because somebody had a hit ghost show that a lot of people are trying to copy,” says Mark Stern, executive vice president of original programming for Syfy.

“His channel had that original hit back in 2004. “Ghost Hunters,” from the producers of the cable hit ‘Dirty Jobs,’ smartly showcased two Roto-Rooter plumbers who seemed like real guys because they were,” reports Werts. “They tried to confirm hauntings with scientific instruments – night-vision cameras to capture video/audio of apparitions, electromagnetic field detectors to record environmental disturbances.”

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