Ghosts of Shepherdstown DEBUNKED as ‘Staged’
UPDATE: Since the original publication of this article, people have been circulating it without seeing Nick Groff’s statement on its accusations. Nick’s comments can be found here, and they should be noted after you’re done reading this.
Since “Ghost Adventures” took off like wildfire for Travel Channel, there’s been a throng of television series for various networks that have ranged from imitation to godawful. I should know because I consumed them like candy. After a few years, though, there are only 4 that remain the most compelling: “Ghost Adventures,” “The Dead Files,” “Destination: Truth,” and Ralph Sarchie’s short-lived “The Demon Files.” Sadly, only two of them are still pumping out new episodes that remain as good as they ever were.
Because of my fascination with the paranormal, I’ve gone on several investigations to some really crazy places and even launched a radio show dedicated to the subject itself and the horror genre in Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio. Let me be clear: I am in no way an expert on the unknown, but I often wonder how some of the paranormal programming today stays on the air with some of the stuff the producers and stars of the show come up with, a lot of which is insulting to your intelligence. I’ve seen people who are respected in the field go so far as to activate their own motion detectors and claim it’s paranormal activity to amateurs who are trying to make a name for themselves by inventing things like a “Solar Powered Ghost Zapper” as a means to capture spirits.
Unfortunately for Destination America, “Ghosts of Shepherdstown,” despite being successful for the network, has recently come under the microscope. On the show, which is now going into its second season, we follow incidents occurring in the small town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, as investigators Nick Groff, Bill Hartley, and Elizabeth Saint attempt to solve unexplained activity in what’s supposed to be the “most haunted town in America.”
That’s all fine, well, and good; but here’s the thing in terms of paranormal investigations being taken seriously: Once your credibility is called into question, it takes away from the overall project and leaves viewers with a show that has more in common with Paranormal Activity the movie than it does reality or even one’s perception of reality. According to the director of the visitor’s center in Shepherdstown, Marianne Davis, via The Inquisitr, “Parts of ‘Ghosts of Shepherdstown’ are staged and fake,” saying that ghost stories and locations are changed by the show’s producers “to make good television.”
EDITOR’s NOTE: Since the source article was originally posted by The Inquisitr, it has been updated by its author to fix problems with inaccurate quotes and citation of their source. Our article was based on their original version, not the updated version that can be found by following this link. It’s clear now that their original article was misleading and inaccurate. We will not use this site as a source in the future and apologize for the error.
That’s probably the worst possible thing to come out for the cast and crew of the show, and I honestly cannot recall a time that this has ever happened to any of the many paranormal related television properties. People have been trying to debunk things that they see on TV with varying degrees of success since the Internet gave everyone a voice. At the end of the day, though? There’s a good chance that no one will even care and the show will continue to perform for its network. For the more discerning paranormal enthusiasts, however, this one is definitely a very sad and hard pass.
Season 2 of “Ghosts of Shepherdstown” premieres on Destination America on Monday, July 10, at 10 PM ET.
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