''The Dead Files'' is an American

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

television series that premiered on September 23, 2011, on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

. The program features physical mediums Amy Allan (until 2023), Cindy Kaza (since 2023), and former

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

homicide detective A homicide investigator or homicide detective investigates suspicious deaths and collects and evaluates evidence to determine the cause of a homicide.{{Cite web , title=How to Become a Homicide Detective (Education, Duties & Salary) , url=https:/ ...

Steve DiSchiavi, who investigate allegedly haunted locations at the request of their clients to provide proof of

paranormal activity Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

. Each partner is depicted exploring the case independently of the other, not to influence their portion of the investigation. They, along with their client(s), come together during the program's final segment, the "reveal," when they compare their findings. On April 21, 2023, it was announced that the fifteenth season will premiere on June 1, 2023. In the same press release, it was announced that Allan was leaving the series after the June 29 episode. She was replaced by medium Cindy Kaza.

Cast

Current

*Steve DiSchiavi: Investigator (2011–23) *Cindy Kaza: Psychic medium (2023) *Matthew Anderson: Videographer (2011–23) *Amy Allan: Psychic medium (2011–23)

Show format

Following her predecessor's (Amy Allan) guidance, Cindy Kaza continues her legacy alongside her partner, Steve DiSchiavi. After items such as family pictures, trinkets, or personal effects have been removed from a location claimed to be haunted, Kaza walks through, attempting to communicate with ghosts and spirits. Meanwhile, Dischiavi questions residents, employees, and local experts in genealogy, local history, and law enforcement regarding the site's history. Later, Kaza collaborates with a

sketch artist ''Sketch Artist'', also known as ''The Sketch Artist'', is a 1992 American Television film, made-for-television Crime film, crime-thriller film written by Michael Angeli and directed by Phedon Papamichael and starring Jeff Fahey, Sean Young an ...

to create drawings of spirits she claims to have channeled during her walk-through. The episodes conclude with a "reveal", where the drawings will often appear to match Dischiavi's findings.

Criticism

According to skeptical reviewer

Karen Stollznow Karen Stollznow (born 12 August 1976) is an Australian-American author, linguist, public speaker, and podcaster. Her books include ''Bitch: The Journey of a Word'', ''Missed Conceptions: How We Make Sense of Infertility'', ''On the Offensive: ...

, Allan often claims to find the same activity, such as

shadow people A shadow person (also known as a shadow figure or black mass) is a popular subject in circles of the paranormal and supernatural detailing beings resembling animate human shadows, sometimes interpreted as the presence of a spirit. History and ...

, in multiple locations. Some items – such as religious iconography – are not removed but are often left in locations. Stollznow notes that Allan appears to offer no evidence to verify her suggestion she had no preexisting knowledge of a location, which could be problematic for well-known ones such as Alcatraz or the Lizzie Borden house. Stollznow characterizes DiSchiavi as more of a "biased believer" than a skeptic and suggests that the show is edited to make his investigation appear accurate, removing parts of Allan's observations that don't align with DiSchiavi's findings.

Episodes

References

External links

* of ''The Dead Files'' * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Files, The Travel Channel original programming Paranormal reality television series 2011 American television series debuts 2023 American television series endings 2010s American reality television series 2010s American documentary television series 2020s American reality television series 2020s American documentary television series