Ryan Buell
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Ryan Daniel Buell (born July 8, 1982) is an American
paranormal investigator Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. The practice has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existenc ...
, author and producer who was the main host of the TV show ''
Paranormal State ''Paranormal State'' is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on the A&E Network on December 10, 2007. The program follows and stars the Pennsylvania State University Paranormal Research Society, a student-led college ...
.''


Early life and education

Buell was born July 8, 1982 in
Corry, Pennsylvania Corry is a city in northwestern Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 6,217 at the 2020 United States Census, it is the second largest city in Erie County. Corry is a part of the Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city be ...
, and raised in
Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...
. He earned
bachelor degrees A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (d ...
in
journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
and
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
from
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in
State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...
.


Career

Buell was the main host of the TV A&E show ''
Paranormal State ''Paranormal State'' is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on the A&E Network on December 10, 2007. The program follows and stars the Pennsylvania State University Paranormal Research Society, a student-led college ...
''. He was the executive producer for the feature film ''American Ghost Hunter'', released in 2010. In 2011, Buell and partner Chad Calek announced a 41-city tour for the film. In 2010, Buell served as Co-Executive Producer for ''Paranormal State'' and for ''The Ghost Prophecies'', of which he is also the co-creator. Buell and his team decided against continuing ''Paranormal State'' after the fifth season to pursue other things. Their final episode aired Monday, May 2, 2011. In 2023, Buell received a master's degree in Counselor Education, with a concentration in clinical mental health, from University of South Carolina. In pursuit of this degree, he learned the skills to conduct individual and group counseling sessions, which he got to use while interning at a private practice. Of this experience, he says: “I literally found my purpose in this program and I feel like I grew as a human being. There are a lot of kids who are struggling so I really want to work with kids especially with ADHD, LGBTQ+ populations, addicts and trauma survivors.” Buell is expected to begin working as a licensed professional counselor associate in September 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.


Personal life

Buell's memoir, ''Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown'', was released in September 2010. Among other subjects, Buell discusses his
bisexuality Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...
and his struggle to reconcile his sexual orientation with
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, the faith with which he was raised. "I've decided to share my sexuality and struggle over faith in hopes that others will no longer feel as though they are alone or that they can't be religious." During and after the filming of Paranormal State, Buell struggled with various drug addictions. Recovering from these addictions and attending therapy led him to return to school to become a therapist. In 2018 he took counseling courses at the University of South Carolina College of Education, and ultimately graduated with a master's degree in Counselor Education in 2023.
“The counseling program is all about helping people empower themselves and promote change from within,” Buell says. “If I can help promote change or be a positive force for a few people and then they are a positive force for a few people, that's a big ripple effect.”


Controversies

In July 2012, Buell claimed he had been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
. In late 2013, Buell told ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine that he was near remission. However, his mother, Shelly Bonavita Lundburg, later denied his cancer diagnosis. In July 2014, Buell began selling tickets for a "Conversations with the Dead Tour." These shows, however, were indefinitely postponed, and many of the customers did not receive refunds or further correspondence on the status of the shows. Buell's friend and collaborator on ''Paranormal State'', Chip Coffey, claimed that the ticket sales had exceeded $80,000, and that while he had been in charge of helping plan the shows, he learned that Buell had not actually booked any of them. Buell was arrested on September 18, 2016 in
Florence County, South Carolina Florence County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 137,059. Its county seat is Florence. Florence County is included in the Florence, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History F ...
on a warrant from
State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...
. He was extradited back to Pennsylvania and charged with two third-degree felonies for theft of leased property and receiving stolen property, and one misdemeanor for theft of services. He was released on bail from Centre County Corrections Facility on October 18 after spending 30 days in jail. Buell was subsequently arrested on April 21, 2017 on charges of simple assault and harassment of his boyfriend. In July 2017, after his releases from jail and rehabilitation, Buell published a personal blog post where he apologized to his fans, admitted he was a recovering drug addict and had recently been discharged from rehabilitation.


Recovery & Post-Addiction

After his arrests and time in rehab, Buell has regularly spoken about his drug use and recovery. In his live feeds, Buell admitted that he struggled with drug addiction for years, using opiates, heroin and methamphetamine. He claims that his recovery date is "April 21, 2017," the same date as his second arrest. In a 2024 interview, Buell stated that he suffered from severe depression and anxiety while filming "Paranormal State," and that he wasn't prepared for the fame and notoriety that came with having a hit TV show. Additionally, Buell also shared that he struggled with accepting his sexual identity. In the same interview, Buell shared that he is now a licensed professional therapist and hopes to help people with addiction, as well as using therapy to help people who have paranormal experiences. Buell has stated that he is open to returning to TV one day. He currently offers speaking events across the United States, and he recently opened a telehealth therapy practice that focuses on helping people with paranormal experiences.


References


Further reading

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External links

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Interview with Ryan Buell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buell, Ryan 1982 births Living people People from Corry, Pennsylvania American male bloggers American bloggers Television producers from Pennsylvania Bisexual male writers Bisexual male entertainers Paranormal investigators Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications alumni People from Sumter, South Carolina American people of Italian descent American bisexual entertainers American bisexual writers American bisexual men LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania LGBTQ television producers LGBTQ bloggers Catholics from Pennsylvania Catholics from South Carolina Pennsylvania State University alumni Prisoners and detainees of Pennsylvania