Ghost Hunters vs. ‘Ghost Hunters’ — We Created that Show

A real-life parapsychologist and his producing partner claim they turned pale as a ghost when the Syfy channel began airing the show “Ghost Hunters” — because they say they pitched the idea to the channel years earlier.

Larry Montz and Daena Smoller claim in a lawsuit they filed against NBC Universal — which owns Syfy — they hatched the idea for a show about paranormal investigators way back in 1981 and registered their treatment with the Writers Guild and the U.S. Copyright Office.

Montz and Smoller say their idea centered around a team investigating paranormal cases. They claim they pitched the concept to NBC repeatedly, between 1996-2001 … but were ultimately shot down. 

Alas, Montz and Smoller claim the network then went to an outside production company, Pilgrim Films & Television Inc. — also a defendant in the lawsuit — and developed “Ghost Hunters” by ripping off their idea … and it eventually premiered in 2004.

The suit has bounced around courts for the past few years, with the U.S. Supreme Court denying an appeal by NBC just a few months ago … allowing Montz and Smoller to re-file. 

We made calls to NBC and Pilgrim. So far, no word back.