Sci-Fi Storm

Head TAPS Ghost Hunter Jason Hawes just announced moments ago that Ghost Hunters will be leaving the Syfy Channel, where it has been for over a decade.

Ghost Hunters, produced by Pilgrim Studios, will have run for 11 seasons on the channel, starting back when it was still the Sci-Fi Channel, and has been very successful. Details as to why the split, or where the Ghost Hunters will end up (it’s pretty clear that they are not ending, just moving somewhere else with some new plans), but with the seeming near-complete management changes, the focus of the channel could once again be changing.

Ahead of their season finales tonight, Syfy has renewed both Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness for 13 episodes each.

In Season 11 of Ghost Hunters, TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) founder Jason Hawes will lead investigations at reportedly haunted locations including the Cleveland, Ohio’s Midwest Railway Preservation Society, believed to be tied to the notorious, unsolved Cleveland Torso Murderer serial killer case; Crown Point, Indiana’s Old Lake County Jail, famed for being home to gangster John Dillinger…until he escaped; and the Toledo Yacht Club in Toledo, Ohio, said to be haunted by a boy who died over a century ago.

The fifth season of Paranormal Witness: True Terror will delve deeper into actual horror stories, while continuing to feature eyewitness accounts of the most frightening and compelling first person accounts of paranormal encounters, alongside dramatic reenactments of those experiences.

Both series will have their current season finales tonight, Wednesday, November 18. At 9PM, Ghost Hunters returns to author Edith Wharton’s home, The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts, to investigate claims of increased paranormal activity since the team’s last visit in 2008. At 10PM, Paranormal Witness concludes with a terrifying account of a young family that moved into a house plagued by the vengeful spirit of their great aunt.

Ghost Hunters is produced for Syfy by Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios (Fast N’ Loud, Street Outlaws, The Ultimate Fighter). Piligian, Mike Nichols, Thomas Thayer and Alan David serve as executive producers.

Paranormal Witness: True Terror is produced by Raw TV (The Imposter, Locked Up Abroad and Gold Rush). Executive Producer is Mark Lewis, Series Producer is Crispin Reece, and Supervising Producer is Simon Mills.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Syfy’s 8th annual 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN spook-a-thon will unleash more than 600 hours of blood-curdling programming October 1-31, including ghoulish Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness holiday-themed episodes and four spooky new original movies.

Some of the highlights include:

Night of the Wild (New original movie, Saturday, October 3 at 9PM) — When a large meteor crashes into a quiet town, pet dogs become mysteriously aggressive, attacking and killing the residents. Night of the Wild stars Rob Morrow (Northern Exposure), Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl) and Tristin Mays (The Vampire Diaries).

Ominous (New original movie, Saturday, October 10 at 9PM) — Michael and Rachel are devastated when their six-year-old son dies in a tragic accident. When a stranger offers to bring the boy back to life, they take the offer. However, the child who returns is not the child they once knew. Ominous stars Barry Watson (Masters of Sex, 7th Heaven) and Esme Bianco (Game of Thrones, The Magicians).

They Found Hell (New original movie, Saturday, October 17 at 9PM) — When a group of gifted college students run a secret teleportation experiment, they accidentally open a portal to another dimension, trapping them in Hell. One by one they are hunted, tortured and killed by the denizens of Hell who are bent on stealing their souls. They Found Hell stars Chris Schellenger (Hacker’s Game), Katy Reece (When the Pile is Crooked) and Austin Scott (Prep School).

The Hollow (New original movie, Saturday, October 24 at 9PM) — On Halloween, three troubled sisters attempt to find tranquility by moving in with their aunt, but instead face a mysterious creature that threatens to kill everyone on their secluded island town. The Hollow stars Stephanie Hunt (Californication), Alisha Newton (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters) and Sarah Dugdale (Sorority Murders).

Ghost Hunters Halloween Episode (Wednesday, October 28 at 9PM) — In this special Halloween episode, “Darker Learning,” Jason Hawes and the TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team go on location to investigate the legend of a mysterious love triangle that could be at the root of frightening paranormal activity at Southern Vermont College in Bennington, VT.

Paranormal Witness Halloween Episode (Wednesday, October 28 at 10PM) — The true story of a Rhode Island family’s terrifying battle with the spirit of a murderous witch in their home will be explored in this special episode of the series. Titled “The Real Conjuring,” the episode details the frightening basis for the hit 2013 movie The Conjuring, which will also air on Syfy Saturday, October 31 at 9PM.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN will also summon a coven of Syfy theatrical premieres ranging from I Am Legend and Orphan to Insidious: Chapter 2, as well as all-new episodes of chilling scripted series such as Z Nation, Haven and Dominion (season 2 finale airs October 1).

The scarefest will also include encores of spooky treats such as Blade II; Underworld; The Fog; Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning; Cabin In The Woods; The Omen (2006); The Last Exorcism; Fright Night (2011); Hostel and Silent Hill: Revelation.

On the heals of their 200th episode last week and the finale of the ninth season (by Syfy reckoning) just tonight, Syfy has announced it has picked up a 13-episode 10th season of the hit paranormal investigation series Ghost Hunters to air in 2015. At he same time they announced a fourth season of 13 episodes of fellow paranormal series Paranormal Witness.

“We couldn’t be more excited about entering a brand new decade of paranormal investigations with Jason Hawes, a refreshed TAPS team and Ghost Hunters,” said Heather Olander, SVP, alternative series development and production for Syfy. “We also eagerly anticipate the return of a revitalized and scarier than ever Paranormal Witness: True Terror, which features shocking firsthand accounts of truly frightening and skin-crawling supernatural experiences – including the real-life story of the hit movie, The Conjuring.”

To date, Season 9 of Ghost Hunters has averaged 1.7 million total viewers, 841,000 viewers in Adults 18-49 and 983,000 viewers in Adults 25-54 (all data Live +7). The two-hour, 200th reunion episode, which aired October 22, was watched by 1.3 million total viewers and was the #1 unscripted show of the night among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 (all data Live +SD).

Season 3 of Paranormal Witness delivered 1.47 million total viewers, 782,000 Adults 18-49 and 833,000 Adults 25-54 (all data Live +7). The season, which aired in 2013, ranked as Syfy’s #3 most-watched unscripted series.

As a highlight of Syfy’s annual 31 Days of Halloween programming, the Ghost Hunters season finale (airing Tonight – Wednesday, October 29 at 9PM ET/PT) features a special Halloween investigation at the Cincinnati Music Hall in Ohio, where reported hauntings are as frequent as the performances. With paranormal activity said to spike at 3AM, the TAPS team is on high alert to see if they can capture evidence that shores up the claims of those who’ve experienced hauntings at the Hall.

The episode is also the final one for investigators Amy Bruni, Adam Berry and Britt Griffith.

Ghost Hunters is produced for Syfy by Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios (Fast N’ Loud, Street Outlaws, The Ultimate Fighter). Piligian, Mike Nichols, Thomas Thayer and Alan David serve as executive producers.

Paranormal Witness: True Terror is produced by Raw TV (Locked Up Abroad and Gold Rush). Executive Producers are Mark Lewis and Bart Layton. Series Producer is Rebecca North.

Tonight is the mid-season return of Ghost Hunters, where TAPS investigates a mansion with a dark history involving an ill-fated and secret love story. Check out the sneak peeks below!
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Next Sunday and Monday, we’ll be reporting from the 7th Annual Syfy Press Tour…like last year, we will be visiting the sets of a couple of Syfy TV series, but not in Toronto – this year, we will be in Montreal, visiting the sets of Being Human and the upcoming Ron Moore show Helix!

Sunday night I’ll be occasionally tweeting some pics when possible from dinner, which will (as planned) include some of the stars of Defiance (Stephanie Leonidas, Jesse Rath, and Trenna Keating), Haven (Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour, Adam “The Edge” Copeland), Ghost Hunters (Jason Hawes, Amy Bruni, Adam Berry), and director of Sharknado and Sharknado 2: The Second One, Anthony Ferrante. And who knows who else may drop by…

On Monday, we will visit the sets, but the schedule is still being worked out. But be sure to follow along on Twitter as well as here as we usually run some social media sharing with our fellow press members…

Wondering about last year? Check out our set visits for Defiance and Warehouse 13!

Syfy has formally announced their Spring TV lineup, which includes the debut of new series Defiance, Deep South Paranormal and Weird of What?, plus the return of Warehouse 13 and Ghost Hunters. Read on for the complete release.

An added programming note – Syfy has decided to push off the final five episodes of Merlin and will instead air them on each Friday in May (May 3rd-31st). For at least the next two Fridays, the slot will be taken by repeats of Robot Combat League.
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Syfy released a couple of announcements today…first up, Ghost Hunters, Syfy’s longest-running original reality series, returns for a ninth season this winter. Sixteen all-new season 9 episodes are slated to premiere beginning January 16, 2013 at 9 PM ET/PT.

Second, just in time for the joyous holiday season, the new Syfy Original Movie ’12 Disasters of Christmas takes on the ancient Mayan prophecy of worldwide destruction at the end of 2012, airing Saturday, December 8th, at 9PM (ET/PT).

More information on both below.
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Syfy is bumping up its programming schedule this Spring season with more original series and more hours of programming than any prior Spring season. Here are some of the highlights coming up:

March:
Monster Man (NEW ORIGINAL SERIES)
Special Premiere Wednesday, March 14 at 11PM following Face Off season finale; regular time slot Wednesdays at 10PM beginning March 21 — Monster Man goes behind the scenes of one of Hollywood’s most respected monster prop building workshops. For more than 30 years, when studios have wanted a bizarre creature or out-of-this world alien, they’ve turned to Cleve Hall and his very unique family business. Only the horrifying monsters they build match the craziness of this extremely talented family. Monster Man stars Cleve Hall, his daughters Constance and Elora Hall, his ex-wife Sonja Maddox-Hall, best friends Roy Knyrim, Hill Vinot & Johnny Saiko, as well as office manager Cindy Miller. Executive producers are Scott Gurney and Deirdre Gurney for Gurney Productions.
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If you saw the end of last night’s episode of Ghost Hunters (which hit season-high ratings, you saw that Grant Wilson, who helped found TAPS with Jason Hawes, announced he would be leaving Ghost Hunters to focus on more personal things. If you didn’t see it, catch the video below, followed by the official statement from Syfy:
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