Sure, ‘Ghost Brothers’ May Be Fake, but Does It Even Matter?
May 1 2021, Published 2:56 p.m. ET
Is Ghost Brothers real or fake? From what viewers report, the paranormal investigation show — which aired from 2016 to 2017 and has since launched three spinoffs already — is less “reality” and more “entertainment.”
“It seems fake to me,” one viewer wrote on Reddit. Another Reddit user wrote, “Like, cringe it’s so fake.”
Some Twitter users agree. “Ghost Brothers sold out; they’re fake,” one person tweeted. Another wrote, “The Ghost Brothers show is fake, but they are cute.” (Hey, that’s a plus!)
And paranormal investigator Vincent Amico told The Arizona Republic in 2017 that most ghost-hunting TV shows are “bunk,” saying real-life paranormal investigations take weeks and months, rather than the overnight visits you see on television. “I wish that ghosts showed up on demand, but it doesn’t work that way,” he said.
That said, if the show provides thrills and chills, does it even matter if it’s fake?
Its legitimacy notwithstanding, ‘Ghost Brothers’ was still a hit with viewers.
According to a press release, the original Ghost Brothers featured televisions’ first African-American paranormal investigation team — best friends Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass, and Marcus Harvey — as they “uncover whether some unique, legendary haunted houses are the real deal.”
“All raised in religious households, the Ghost Brothers were taught that ‘messing’ with the dead is dangerous business, but some unexplained experiences of their own piqued their intense fascination, ultimately driving them to find out firsthand just how spooky the supernatural can be,” the press release added.
And viewers gave the show — which aired on Destination America and TLC between 2016 and 2017 — some rave reviews on IMDb.
“These guys are awesome,” one person wrote. “They’re very likable, down to earth and hysterical. This show deserves so much more attention!”
Another observed: “This is really one of the best paranormal ghost hunting shows out there. It was quite a surprise to stumble on this gem. The investigations are interesting, tense with the right amount of comedy relief. The hosts/paranormal investigators are A+. They are engaging, fun to watch, and — most notably — respectful of the ghosts they are investigating. It’s just a perfect blend of ghost hunting, evidence and comedy. Great show!”
'Ghost Brothers' has three spinoffs already.
The original Ghost Brothers ended in 2017, but the franchise lived on. In 2019, Travel Channel aired Ghost Brothers: Haunted Houseguests, an eight-episode series in which Dalen, Juwan, and Marcus slept over in eight different families’ houses to investigate paranormal claims — and to help the houses’ living and deceased residents cohabitate peacefully.
Then, in February of 2021, Discovery+ debuted the streaming 10-episode series Fright Club, in which the Ghost Brothers joined Jack Osbourne in a competition to freak each other out with footage of paranormal events.
And in April, Discovery+ started streaming Ghost Brothers: Lights Out, bringing back the “dopest brothers on television hunting ghosts” to “explore disturbed hotspots around the country [and] expose the haunted holdouts still hanging around these locations,” according to the show’s official synopsis.
