A&E decided to follow the recent trend with their addition of Paranormal State, a documentary style paranormal investigation show, featuring members of the Penn State Paranormal Research Society. Headed up by lead investigator Ryan Buell, PSPRS investigates claims of hauntings, possessions and other supernatural phenomena.

Along with the typical methods employed by most research teams, PSPRS also incorporates priests, psychics and demonologists on some of their investigations. The youth of the core team, composed of Penn State College students, as well as the atypically high production value of the show has caused some controversy among paranormal enthusiasts. Additionally, Buell alleges that for years he was "stalked" by an evil entity who occassionally made its presence known during some of their investigations. For some, this has weakened the credibility of the team and program.

Paranormal State seems to appeal to a younger demographic than other shows of its kind, both because of the age of the research team as well as the noted similarites with the MTV reality show Fear.