Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files

Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files
Genre	Documentary Reality Paranormal Mystery
Starring	Ben Hansen Jael de Pardo
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18 (as of Apr 27, 2011)
Production
Executive producers	John Brenkus Mickey Stern
Running time	45 minutes
Production company	Base Productions
Original release
Network	Syfy
Release	July 15, 2010 (2010-07-15) – present

Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files is a paranormal investigation television series produced by Base Productions that began airing July 15, 2010, on SyFy. The show follows a team of investigators, led by former FBI agent Ben Hansen, who review various photographs and viral videos (mainly from the internet) of alleged paranormal activity. If a particular piece of evidence is deemed intriguing enough to warrant further investigation, they set out to recreate and explain the sighting.

Cast

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Reviews

The show has been described as Mythbusters meets Destination Truth. A Variety magazine review says – "Now we know what Fox Mulder would have done after leaving "The X-Files" unit: Get his own reality-TV show!"

Criticism

Skeptical researchers such as Karen Stollznow of the James Randi Educational Foundation have criticized the investigating competence of the Fact or Faked team, such as the Civil War cemetery ghost case from episode 6 in particular. The examined footage involves an alleged orb and mist captured on a few frames of video, and when the FoF team unsuccessfully recreate it, they conclude it to be paranormal. By slowing the video down frame-by-frame, something that the FoF team did not take into consideration, the orb and mist are revealed to be a spider on a web.

The show has also been criticized for ignoring basic elements of the scientific method such as Occam's Razor.

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Season Premiere	Season Finale
	1	12	July 15, 2010	December 9, 2010
	2	TBA	March 23, 2011	TBA

Season one (2010)

Ep #	Title	Airdate
101 (1)	"Burning Rubber/Hyperjump"	July 15, 2010 (2010-07-15)
Ben and his investigative team go to Savannah, Georgia, to debunk a police chase video of a "ghost car" which seemingly evades pursuit by passing through a chain-link fence. Meanwhile, Bill leads the second team to Phoenix, Arizona, where they attempt to recreate a video of a series of unexplained lights that seem to jump across the sky.
102 (2)	"Unwanted Visitors/Strange Sightings"	July 22, 2010 (2010-07-22)
Bill leads a team to Fresno, California, to investigate a surveillance video of strange unidentified figures that walk across a man's yard. Meanwhile, Ben and his team go to Arizona to investigate video footage of a flying saucer over Lake Havasu.
103 (3)	"Off the Deep End/Houseguest"	July 29, 2010 (2010-07-29)
Ben's team goes to Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania to investigate an alleged lake monster called the "Raystown Ray" which was captured in a photograph. Meanwhile, Bill's team investigates a home in Los Angeles, California, where a supposed entity writes ghostly words only on Polaroid photos.
104 (4)	"Predator/Red Sky At Night"	August 5, 2010 (2010-08-05)
Ben's team investigates a video from Dartmoor in the United Kingdom of a large, unidentified black animal filmed running across a field. Meanwhile, Bill leads his team to El Cajon, California, to debunk a video of a red triangular light formation in the night sky.
105 (5)	"Blazing Horizon/Rollover"	August 12, 2010 (2010-08-12)
Bill and team go to Michigan to investigate the "Paulding Light" – a ghostly glow that shines regularly over a valley that was once used for a railway. In the next segment, Ben and his team go to San Antonio, Texas, to solve a mystery where unseen forces seemingly push vehicles up a gravity hill and over a set of dangerous train tracks.
106 (6)	"The Caretaker/Cutter"	August 19, 2010 (2010-08-19)
Ben's team goes to Fishers, Indiana, to investigate a video of a ghostly apparition in a civil war cemetery. Meanwhile, Bill's team tries to solve the mystery behind an unexplained cattle mutilation in San Luis, Colorado.
107 (7)	"Haunted Mansion Mist/Starlight Intruder"	October 28, 2010 (2010-10-28)
Ben's team investigates McPike Mansion in Alton, Illinois, to recreate a video that was taken of a ghostly mist that seems to move about from room to room in the wine cellar. Meanwhile, Bill's team tries to recreate a video of triangular-shaped UFO in the night sky over Fremont, California, using LEDs mounted to a kite, a model jet plane and a hang glider.
108 (8)	"Symphonic Spirits/Hovering Humanoid"	November 4, 2010 (2010-11-04)
Bill leads a team to the Valentown Museum in Victor, New York, to recreate a video of a ghostly figure captured by a security camera. The investigation leads to a ghost hunt after unexplained music is heard. In the next part, Ben's team tries to debunk a video taken in Mexico of what appears to be a levitating humanoid flying over a desert ridge.
109 (9)	"Sasquatch Sprint/Alien Attacker"	November 11, 2010 (2010-11-11)
Bill's team goes to Chopaka Lake in the northwestern state of Washington to recreate a video of an alleged sasquatch running across a hillside. Meanwhile, Ben and his team interview Dr. Jonathan Reed, a man who claims to have videotaped an autopsy of an alleged alien creature that attacked his dog near Snoqualmie Pass also in the state of Washington.
110 (10)	"Mystery Mermaid/Ghostly Guardian"	November 18, 2010 (2010-11-18)
Bill's team goes to Cairns, Queensland, Australia, to recreate an underwater video of an alleged mermaid, believing the creature to be a Dugong, or a woman in a costume. Meanwhile Ben's team goes to Honolulu, Hawaii, to investigate photographs of what a woman believes to be her granddaughter's guardian spirit.
111 (11)	"Lunar Landing Hoax/Tropical Intruder"	December 2, 2010 (2010-12-02)
Ben's team uses a sound stage to recreate suspicious video footage from the Apollo Moon Missions that some conspiracy theorists believe were faked by NASA. In the next part, Bill's team heads to Gulf Breeze, Florida, to investigate a video of an alleged UFO in the night sky.
112 (12)	"Bayou Beast/River Ghost"	December 9, 2010 (2010-12-09)
Ben's team goes to Slidell, Louisiana, to recreate a video of an alleged sasquatch-like creature known as the Honey Island Swamp Monster. In the next segment, Bill's team goes to Portland, Oregon, to investigate a video of a glowing orb that flies about the Hawthorne Bridge.

Season two (2011)

Note: Season two is currently airing and the information below is subject to change.

Ep #	Title	Airdate
201 (13)	"The Real Battle of LA/Queen Mary Menace"	March 23, 2011 (2011-03-23)
Ben's team tries to recreate a photograph taken of an unknown object in the sky, surrounded by searchlights and anti-aircraft fire, over Los Angeles, California, on the night of February 25, 1942 — an incident that became known as the "Battle of Los Angeles." Meanwhile, Bill's team goes aboard the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, to investigate a video of an alleged ghost walking down a corridor.
202 (14)	"Fire in the Sky/Thermal Theater Ghost"	March 30, 2011 (2011-03-30)
Bill's team goes to Jacksonville, Florida, to investigate a video of a ghostly figure captured by a ghost hunting team at the Florida Theater. Meanwhile, Ben's team tries to recreate a video of a fiery light that splits into three and then hovers in the night sky over El Paso, Texas. The sighting is revealed to be a skydiving group performing a stunt at night using flares.
203 (15)	"Raining UFOs/Ectoplasmic Pic"	April 6, 2011 (2011-04-06)
Ben's team examines night vision video of a fiery UFO taken by a police helicopter over Long Beach, California on Christmas of 2004. In the next segment, Bill's team tries to recreate photographs of supposed ghostly ectoplasm taken in the 1920s by a Winnipeg, Canada doctor named T.G. Hamilton.
204 (16)	"Playground Poltergeist/Alien Intruder"	April 13, 2011 (2011-04-13)
Bill's team goes to Firmat, Argentina, to investigate video taken of a playground swing that seemingly moves on its own while the other swings around it remain still. It is revealed that wind plays a role in the swing's peculiar movement. In the next part, Ben's team goes to Milton, Florida, to investigate a couple's video of alleged alien visitation in the middle of the night.
205 (17)	"Dashcam Chupacabra/Nightly News Alien"	April 20, 2011 (2011-04-20)
Ben's team goes to DeWitt County, Texas, to investigate a 2008 police dashcam video of a strange dog-like creature that some believe is a Chupacabra. DNA evidence collected from the carcass of a similar-looking creature is determined to be a wolf/coyote hybrid. In the next part, Bill and team go to the Patagonia region of Argentina where a local news video was shot depicting a humanoid creature walking behind a reporter. Despite the video being revealed a CGI hoax, the team decides to further investigate the area's UFO phenomenon.
206 (18)	"Whaley Ghost House/Muck Monster"	April 27, 2011 (2011-04-27)
Bill and his team try to recreate photos of purported ghostly apparitions taken at the historic Whaley House in San Diego, California. In the next segment, Ben's team tries to debunk a video of an unknown river creature said to be the "muck monster", taken in Jupiter, Florida, what is later determined to possibly be a group of mating manatees.
207 (19)	"UFO Crash Landing/Graveyard Ghost"	October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19)
Ben's team goes to White Sands, New Mexico, to recreate a 1996 video, supposedly leaked out of the White Sands Missile Range, of an alleged flying saucer crash. Meanwhile, Bill's team goes to Tonopah, Nevada, to investigate a ghost hunting video of an apparition that appears walking through a cemetery.
208 (20)	"Area 51/Cajun Apparition"	October 26, 2011 (2011-10-26)
Bill's team goes to St. Francisville, Louisiana, to recreate a 2001 video taken at the historic Myrtles Plantation of an alleged ghost apparition. In the next part, Ben's team goes to Rachel, Nevada, to recreate a UFO video allegedly sneaked out of Area 51 and follow up their investigation with a nighttime sky watch of the base.
209 (21)	"Sinister Spirals/Flying Saucers"	November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02)
Ben's team goes to Santa Ana, California, to recreate a series of photos taken in 1965 by Rex Heflin of an alleged flying saucer, a case with supposed connections to the mysterious Men in Black. In the next part, Bill's team heads to Joplin, Missouri, to investigate a video of rods – elongated insect-like creatures created by video artifacts.
210 (22)	"Asylum Apparition/Mystery Over Mexico"	November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09)
The team investigates some video evidence, one from Mexico of a fleet of UFOs and another of paranormal activity in the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.
211 (23)	"Old West Hauntings/Freeway Flyer"	November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16)
The team tries to explain eerie sightings in Bird Cage Theater and UFOs in Los Angeles.
212 (24)	"Bar Fright/Mexico City Cave Witch"	November 30, 2011 (2011-11-30)
TBA

External links

• Official website
• Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com