Is ‘Ghosts Of Shepherdstown’ Fake? Critics Claim Nick Groff’s Show Is Scripted, Witnesses Are Actors [Update]

Editor’s note: Nick Groff shared an update after an article on Dread Central incorrectly attributed a quote to this story.None of the sources linked in this post claim that Groff, Hartley, and Saint do not actually do the paranormal investigations on Ghosts of Shepherdstown and that conclusion is not being drawn in this piece. The Inquisitr feels that characterizing this as having “debunked” the show is a mischaracterization and we have reached out to the editors of Dread Central in an attempt to clarify the matter.

As the second season of Ghosts of Shepherdstown nears its premiere date, viewers continue to wonder if Nick Groff’s reality TV series is real or fake. Fans of the former Ghost Adventures paranormal investigator have been asking this question since Season 1 of Ghosts of Shepherdstown aired on Destination America in June of 2016. Critics of Ghosts of Shepherdstown claim the show is scripted and that the witnesses are actors.

Nick Groff left Ghost Adventures in 2014 after a successful 10-season run as one of three lead paranormal investigators on the popular Travel Channel reality TV series. Not known is exactly why Nick Groff left Ghost Adventures, but the now-37-year-old TV personality was working on another paranormal venture at the time he announced his departure. Ghost Stalkers, executive produced by Nick Groff, aired on Destination America in October of 2014, while Groff told fans he was leaving Ghost Adventures the following month, as reported by AXS.

Ghost Stalkers only lasted one season, but Nick Groff has since had two other paranormal reality TV shows on the same network — Paranormal Lockdown and Ghosts of Shepherdstown. Both shows are still ongoing, with Season 2 of Ghosts of Shepherdstown set to air on Destination America on July 10, according to the Wrap. Ghosts of Shepherdstown follows 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.”

The Futon Critic reported a week after the first season of Ghosts of Shepherdstown premiered that it was Destination America’s “best series debut ever,” possibly due to Nick Groff’s large fanbase from Ghost Adventures and possibly because Destination America in its current form had only been live since 2012 and didn’t have a lot of original programming. Almost immediately, viewers began to question the authenticity of Ghosts of Shepherdstown, saying it seemed scripted, according to reviews on IMDb that date back to July of 2016.

While Shepherdstown is considered the oldest town in West Virginia with genuine unexplained hauntings, accidents, and mysteries, according to Paranormal U.S., Ghosts of Shepherdstown doesn’t seem as genuine. Viewers have been asking for nearly a year if Ghosts of Shepherdstown is real or fake. LiveSciFi has a forum specifically for discussion about the validity of Ghosts of Shepherdstown, and some viewers say that the show seems “overly produced” and “extremely fake.” One diligent Ghosts of Shepherdstown viewer even pulled up an IMDb page for a supposed witness named Terrence, played by actor Bradley Nnadi in the first episode of Season 1.

Some viewers say that Ghosts of Shepherdstown is “okay” to watch as a show, but it should be watched with some skepticism. Other viewers say they watch Ghosts of Shepherdstown to learn the history of the town, and it’s up to each viewer to decide how they feel about the show. According to Journal News, there’s not a shortage of real-life ghost stories from residents in Shepherdstown and in surrounding towns. But the director of the Visitors Center in Shepherdstown, Marianne Davis, confirmed in an interview that parts of Ghosts of Shepherdstown are staged (locations were changed) and fake (ghost stories were changed) “to make good television.”

Quoting Journal News, “Davis said some of the locations or ghost stories were changed by the show’s producers ‘to make good television.'”

https://www.facebook.com/Ghostsofshepherdstown/posts/1997179607235398

Season 2 of Ghosts of Shepherdstown airs on Destination America on July 10 at 10 p.m. ET, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. The second season of Ghosts of Shepherdstown will “follow new leads” and “attempt to solve” the paranormal mystery outside of Shepherdstown, as also noted by the Wrap.

Ghosts of America lists three pages full of reported ghost sightings in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, along with a list of “other haunted towns near Shepherdstown.”

How do you interpret the IMDb page as well as what Journal News posted on their recent interview with Marianne Davis about locations and ghost stories being changed? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

[Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]