Speaking to E! Online, presenter Zak Bagans swore the crew’s reactions on the show are genuine. “Nothing is scripted on our show; we literally show up,” he told the outlet. “I have a handful of interviews and that’s it.” While Bagans’ claims are difficult to prove, one investigation carried out by People magazine seemed to confirm the naturalness of some of the filming. A reporter was sent along with the crew to a haunted mining town in Utah and swore that — like the crew — she’d seen a luminous orb pass over a wall with no obvious light source and felt an otherworldly cold.
However, even if the show can claim to be unscripted, there is good reason to believe parts of the program are staged. The most damning incident to occur on the show, which has opened up accusations of fakery, came from the program’s “Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum” episode. In it, presenter Robert Bess claims an EMF meter was mysteriously ripped from his hands. However, after conducting a closer examination of the footage, the team concluded that Bess threw the monitor himself. Although Bess was later condemned by the show’s cast for his actions, they could not prevent the episode from casting doubt upon the realness of the show.