Anyone with a handheld and a dose of curiosity can launch a ghost hunting web series. But it takes authentic footage, top-notch paranormal equipment, and truly chilling results to yield anything other than an eye roll. With endless pages of supernatural investigators out there, the hunt for the good ones can be daunting. So we did it for you and found the best of the best. Here are the best ghost hunters on YouTube that deliver solid scares.
1. Dead Explorer
A self-described ghost hunter from Texas who has worked with dozen of other investigators, Alejandro Dominguez is the main man behind this YouTube-based paranormal investigation series. Dominguez cites a ghostly encounter at the age of five as the inspiration for his interest in the afterlife. As a result, every first and third Tuesday of the month, he and his team of ghostbusters search for the dead in super-creepy locales. Fully shot by Dominguez, the videos allegedly capture apparitions and unexplained activity in places like abandoned schools and the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.
Related: 7 Creepy Videos That Claim to Be Proof of Ghosts
After seeing his first ghost at five years old, Dominguez decided to explore ghosts as a career. Don't expect any cheap tricks on Dead Explorer. Dominguez is committed to ghostly credibility.
2. Scary Videos
In these often startling compilations of scary videos, viewers are taken around the world and given glimpses at alleged ghost sightings caught on camera. With nearly 230 million views since 2015, this channel produces “scariest of” lists along with its regular content that is sure to give you goosebumps.
From inside bedrooms and parking garages to CCTV and caught-while-driving footage, this mix of happenstance ghost sightings and night-vision camera action a la Paranormal Activity helps achieve the channel’s goal: to freak you out. The difference between Paranormal Activity and Scary Videos? The happenings on Scary Videos seem pretty legitimate. Scary is right!
3. Southern Arizona Ghosts and Paranormal Society
Launched in 2007, this nonprofit uses hi-tech equipment and scientific skepticism to track down evidence that there is indeed life after death. If you’re looking for jump scares, you’re in the wrong place. The Tucson-based SCAPAS doesn’t just conduct their studies and investigations with a high level of professionalism, but also with immense respect for the deceased. As a result, the group—which also offers advice on how to form a paranormal group, conduct investigations and analyze evidence in their podcast—delivers paranormal content that is worth the watch.
4. "Believe": A Paranormal Experience
Hosted by the Illinois Paranormal Research Association, Believe operates on a weekly basis, with the crew traveling the country, documenting every demonic disembodied voice and shadowy figure along the way. Led by David Scott, these paranormal investigators have made it their mission to separate the haunted from the not-so-haunted, using innovative investigation techniques to capture both visual and audio evidence while visiting everything from haunted hotels to mental health hospitals.
Related: The Real-Life Haunting That Inspired The Changeling
With over 12 million views, the channel has set out to be one of the best paranormal groups on Youtube. With professionally produced videos and authentic footage, it's a full paranormal experience.
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5. Huff Paranormal
For the past five years, Steve Huff has been participating in a sort of coffee klatch with the dead, during which he sets up a portal, sends out an invite to chat, then gets to dishing. Though he welcomes only kind spirits, things still manage to get super creepy. Working alongside his son, Huff uses both traditional equipment, like spirit boxes, and homemade modes of communication like his very own Ouija board. Whether it’s communicating with complete strangers or recently deceased celebrities, Huff’s investigations always focus less on proving the existence of spirits, and instead on why they’re still here.
Related: 9 Terrifying True Life Ouija Board Stories
Huff chooses to focus on respect when it comes to those in the afterlife, and he's constantly looking for the best way to communicate clearly with the deceased. Join Huff for the hundreds of available videos, and stay for the experimental devices and collaborations with other serious investigators.
6. DorsetGhost Mysteries
This two-man British crew is about all things real and true, as they spend their time revealing ghosts caught on tape and exploring real ghost stories. They focus their work on just about every possible entity from the afterlife, including ghosts, demons and poltergeists while visiting haunted UK locations, including abandoned churches and graveyards.
The pair has also just started a separate channel for their own ghost investigations called Dorset Ghost Investigators where they'll be adding old ghost hunting videos with unreleased video footage and brand new content. As longtime fans of the British investigators, we couldn't be more excited to see the new content caught on tape.
7. The Paranormal Search
Though the series can be seen on local channels in Louisiana, the rest of the world can tune in via this web series. Their MO? Haunted historical sites. Their work goes back to 2010 and has taken them to plantations, hotels, homes, restaurants, and a multitude of other historical places deemed Louisiana’s most haunted locations. Speaking to local experts and historians before investigating, their often hour-long footage captures alleged visual and audio evidence of places with long histories of hauntings.
The group updates with new videos every couple of months, and when they do it's well worth the wait. With in-depth interviews and long videos, the channel is one of the most thorough of the ghost hunting bunch.
8. Ghost Hunters & Ghost Adventures
You probably recognize these two from television. Ghost Hunters airs Wednesdays on Syfy; Ghost Adventures, Saturdays on the Travel Channel. But their YouTube channels are worth checking out for your streaming scares. Their YouTube channels are great ways to revisit past investigations, even sometimes including silly behind the scenes extras and fan interactions.
Featured still via "Believe" A Paranormal Experience / YouTube