Do You Believe?

I've been watching Ghost Hunters since their first episode aired in 2004.  Since then it seems like there are more shows on TV about the paranormal.  In fact, there are at least 47 different paranormal shows that have aired on television:

1. A Haunting on the Discovery Channel
2. A Haunting in Connecticut (classified as a documentary)
3. A Haunting in Georgia (from the makers of A Haunting in Connecticut) on the Discovery Channel
4. America’s Haunted Hotels on the Travel Channel
5. American Paranormal on the National Geographic Channel
6. Celebrity Ghost Stories on the Biography Channel
7. Dead Famous: Ghostly Encounters on A&E
8. Destination Truth on SyFy
9. Extreme Paranormal on A&E
10. Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files on SyFy
11. Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel
12. Ghost Detectives --- couldn't find the channel for this
13. Ghost Hunters on SyFy
14. Ghost Hunters Academy on SyFy
15. Ghost Hunters International on SyFy
16. Ghost Intervention on The Learning Channel aka TLC
17. Ghost Lab on The Discovery Channel
18. Ghost Stories on FOX Family (1997 - 1998)
19. Ghost Trackers on HBO Family, Discovery Kids Canada & YTV (filmed in Canada, aired 2005-2008)
20. Ghostly Encounters on The Biography Channel
21. Ghosts Caught On Tape --- could not find the channel for this
22. Ghosts: Fact or Fiction on The Biography Channel
23. Haunted History on the History Channel
24. Haunted Homes on the Fine Living Channel (a British reality show)
25. Haunted Houses --- could not find the channel for this
26. Haunting Evidence on TruTV
27. Living with the Dead in Canada on CTV & in Australia on CI channel (filmed in Britain)
28. Most Haunted on The Travel Channel (filmed in Britain, available in other countries as well)
29. Most Terrifying Places --- could not find the channel for this
30. Most Terrifying Places In America on The Travel Channel
31. My Ghost Story on The Biography Channel
32. Mystery Hunters on Discovery Kids
33. Mystery Quest on The History Channel
34. Paranatural on The National Geographic Channel
35. Paranormal Cops on A&E
36. Paranormal Matrix (in development)
37. Paranormal State on A&E
38. Psychic Children – Sixth Sense on the Biography Channel
39. Psychic Kids – Children of the Paranormal on A&E
40. Psychic Witness on The Discovery Channel
41. Scariest Places On Earth on ABC Family
42. So Weird (1991-2001) The Disney Channel
43. The Haunted on Animal Planet
44. The Othersiders on The Cartoon Network
45. The Unexplained on the Biography Channel
46. Truth or Scare on Discovery Kids
47. Unexplained Mysteries on the Biography Channel

*Note - I know there are more shows than this but I found this list here (http://www.hauntedtruth.com/2010/02/a-list-of-paranormal-ghost-television-shows-alphabetical-listing-2/) and added television channels & air dates myself by researching the shows on-line.

I try to give them all a chance but find that some are purely for shock value rather than true investigations.  Here's a web site with even more paranormal TV shows including the years they were aired or when they began airing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranormal_television

The top 5 ghost hunting shows during 2010 were:

5. Ghost Lab

~ Brad Klinge, Barrry Klinge, Katie Burr, Steve Harris, Hector Cisneros, and Steve Hock ~

Join Brad and Barry Klinge, founders of Everyday Paranormal, as they travel the country using some of the world's most sophisticated equipment to gather.

4. Most Haunted

~ British Actress Yvette Fielding and her crew ~

Have a habit of screaming, swearing and running away from their own shadows.

 3. Ghost Adventures

~ Aaron Goodwin, Zak Bagans, and Nick Groff ~
American paranormal investigator Zak Bagans and his crew, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, travel from Idaho to Scotland, and anywhere in between, to scare up the most unearthly mysteries and ghost sightings imaginable. Their in-depth investigations take the team to notoriously haunted locales where they research the history of paranormal phenomena, interview eye-witnesses and then face off with the spirits themselves in this series that will chill your blood and make you want to sleep with the lights on.

2. Paranormal State 

~  Katrina Weidman, Eilfie Music, Heather Taddy, Sergey Poberezhny , Ryan Buell ~
An American docudrama paranormal reality television series that documents the extraordinary life of Ryan Buell and other members of the Paranormal Research Society (PRS) as they seek to find the truth behind terrifying real life mysteries, hauntings and ghosts.

1. Ghost Hunters

~ Amy Bruni, Kris Williams, Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Dave Tango, Steve Gonsalves ~
An American paranormal reality television series started by Jason & Grant who are Roto Rooter employees by day & paranormal investigators with The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) by night. Ghost Hunters is most watched program of Sy Fy Channel.

Out of those five shows I would say they are in order of my preference, other than the fact that I do not watch Most Haunted which has had bad press (see here: http://tvoftheabsurd.com/2010/01/01/top-5-ghost-hunting-shows/) & is a bit ridiculous.  I would insert Destination Truth in place of Most Haunted in my top 5 list.

Destination Truth

Led by FUNNY & intrepid world adventurer Josh Gates, each episode of Destination Truth takes viewers on a trek across the globe as Josh investigates stories of the unexplained. Accompanied by his small crew, Josh dives into the local cultures and searches for clues to the existence of strange creatures and paranormal phenomena.

With the popularity of Ghost Hunters & other shows that explore the existence of ghosts, I wondered how many people really believe in ghosts?  And of those people, how many have ever actually seen a ghost or had an experience that was unexplainable?  I'd love to hear your answer so please leave a comment.

I heard that 80% of the population believes in ghosts, are you one of them?