The five main members of the Paranormal Research Society on the official A&E TV Paranormal State Web site.

Does Paranormal State portray real and verifiable paranormal activity? Are parts of episodes, or whole episodes, scripted, fabricated and produced to try and make you believe something paranormal happened when it didn’t? Or, could the series be a combination of both scenarios?

Paranormal State is a half-hour TV series, with the exceptions of the “I am Six,” “The Possession: Return,” “Devil’s Nest,” and fourth season episodes “Suicide Possession” and “Darkness Falls,” which were one hour in length. Season four of Paranormal State usually aired at 11:00 PM EST on Tuesday nights, on A&E TV in the United States.

Captions during the beginning of the episodes state:
(not actual screenshots)








The episodes have a strong Catholic-based approach, sometimes prayers are said and readings are done from a Bible, and at times Holy Water is dispensed in an effort to quell alleged paranormal phenomena.

The PRS motto is, “To trust, honor, and always seek the truth.” The motto certainly sounds nice, honorable, and well-intentioned, but there are occurrences in various episodes, in which the truth is not shown.

There are times in various episodes in which Paranormal State gives false, misleading, and/or inaccurate information. And in some episodes, relevant information has been withheld, and/or scenes have been fabricated to produce the illusion of paranormal activity. Therefore, I feel it is imperative to question the authenticity, legitimacy, and integrity of the Paranormal Research Society (PRS) as a group, and Paranormal State as a “Real life. Drama,” TV show.

One of the many complaints I have about the series is that there isn’t a disclaimer before, during, or after the episodes, stating that Paranormal State is “For entertainment purposes.”

Ryan Buell was a student at Penn State University, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, when he founded the college club known as the Paranormal Research Society (PRS), on 16 September 2001. The PRS was the college club on which the TV series, Paranormal State, is based. In addition to being the Founder/Director of the PRS, Ryan’s name appears in the closing credits as a Consulting Producer for the majority of Paranormal State episodes, and once as a Co-Executive Producer for the season four episode, “Darkness Falls.”

Even though the final Season 4 episode aired on 09 Feb 2010, I will continue to add items to this Web site. So please check back once in a while.

THE PRS “TRANSFORMED”
According to the Paranormal Research Society’s Web site, the PRS is no longer a student-run Penn State University club. They say that in 2008 it “transformed itself as a professional organization.” What they don’t tell you is that most of the PRS members had already earned their college degree by the time Paranormal State first aired in December of 2007. Also, there is no mention that the PRS club failed to turn in a form listing club officers for the year 2008. Without officers, there could be no members. Without enough officers or members to keep the PRS club active, it became “inactive.” So, it was due to a lack of interest in the Penn State Paranormal Research Society (PRS) club that caused the club to cease. To be clear, there currently is no Penn State Paranormal Research Society college club at Penn State’s, University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania.

EQUIPMENT USE
The PRS uses a variety of equipment as a supposed means to find and document evidence of paranormal activity. Electromagnetic Field (EMF) detectors, night-vision video cameras, video cameras, digital cameras, infrared thermal imaging cameras, audio recorders, infrared motion detectors, Frank’s Box, an 8-Coil Shakti headset, an Ovilus, and radar, are some of the examples of equipment/technologies used in various episodes of Paranormal State. Some people believe that some or all of that equipment/technology can detect paranormal activity. But it should be understood that there is no documented scientific evidence that supports and proves that belief.

PRS CLAIMS ABOUT ASSISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
On the PRS Web site, and in the season one episode of Paranormal State, “Freshman Fear,” the claim is made that the PRS assists, and is involved with, law enforcement. I invite Ryan Buell to provide a written explanation, which I will prominently post on this Web site, to define the specifics of what is meant by assisting law enforcement. In “Freshman Fear,” Ryan said: “There were a few unsolved deaths here. My first two cases were those of Betsy Aardsma, a grad student killed in the stacks. And then there’s Cindy Song, a girl who went missing on Halloween night in 2001. That case got national attention, and landed me and the newly-formed PRS, in the spotlight.”

Those two cases remain unsolved to this day, so Ryan and the newly-formed PRS landed in the spotlight– without contributing anything to solve either case.

I would think that if the paranormal exists and the PRS had proven paranormal investigative methods, they should have been able to solve those local, Penn State campus cases. So if the PRS couldn’t solve a single, local case, why should we as viewers of Paranormal State, believe they can use paranormal techniques and equipment that hasn’t been scientifically proven to detect or document paranormal phenomena, to solve a case within a two- or three-day investigation located in a different city?

I wish to provide the most insight as to questionable details about Paranormal State on the Internet.

After viewing all of the season 1, 2, 3, and 4 episodes, I have not seen any scientifically verifiable evidence of paranormal phenomena. Most of what is portrayed on Paranormal State involves anecdotal claims, cinematic effects such as scenes shot with either a night vision or infrared thermal imaging camera, creative post-production editing of both audio and video, and instances of added sound effects. So far, my Web site contains reviews pertaining to only some of the episodes.

This Web site is not complete or in a final state, and will be updated. In an effort to better convey the information, I will make revisions as to the design and content of this Web site.

Last update: 07 July 2010                             Next anticipated update: Unknown. I am working on adding info...

Reason for last update: Added a video analysis for “The Glove.”

Ryan Buell Director
                Katrina Weidman Interviewer
                                  Sergey Poberezhny Tech Specialist
                                                   Heather Taddy Team Documentarian
                                                                    Eilfie Music Occult Specialist

Note: This site is not owned by, or affiliated with Penn State, the Paranormal Research Society, A&E Television Networks, Go Go Luckey Productions, or Four Seasons Productions International, nor is it maintained or endorsed by them. Copyright © 2008-2010 Ernie Marsh.