Ryan Buell scams Paranormal State fans
Home » Ryan Buell Accused of Scamming Fans

Ryan Buell Accused of Scamming Fans

A few months back, we did a story about Brian Harnois of Ghost Hunters fame, and how fans were accusing him of scamming them by canceling tour dates without offering refunds, or simply not delivering purchased items such as t-shirts. Fans were understandably upset at shelling out money to see the “para-celebrity” or to get some of his merchandise, but all he offered to them was excuses. I ended that article with this: “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more stories like this in the years to come, unfortunately.” And so it has come to pass, as now fans are accusing Ryan Buell of Paranormal State of doing the exact same thing.

I think everyone can be sympathetic to someone for dropping out of an event for health reasons, or even because things aren’t being managed properly. But fans who paid hard-earned cash to see these celebrities deserve to get their money back. And just as with Brian Harnois, it seems that Ryan Buell, Chip Coffey and Michelle Belanger are quick to point the finger at someone else, but none of them want to take personal responsibility. Here’s the bottom line, and the brutally honest truth: para-celebs are usually a bad combination of of personality traits of wanting to make money off of their interest while being very bad/naïve/inexperienced business people. We all watched Brian Harnois on TV for years, and saw how inept he was at even the most basic of tasks. Why anyone would ever think he could operate a successful, functioning business is beyond me. Caveat emptor, indeed.

4 comments
  • Interesting article. Two corrections

    First– Chip Coffey. Not Chris Coffey, as you call him in your comment to the posted article.

    Second– which is more of a comment than an actual correction. After the statements from Chip Coffey and Michelle Belanger– who dropped out of the tour because they were being pretty much treated like the fans were– why lump them in with Buell? It may seem like a minor thing, but they’re guests in his show, literally. When you plan an event & that event gets off track or somehow gets totally f–d up, do you blame the guest? No. It’s the showrunner’s deal.

    Shame on Buell for screwing with the people who actually support him. Man up & do the right thing.

    • The typo has been corrected. Autocorrect is usually more of a hindrance than a help.

      You raise an interesting point with Belanger and Coffey, but the overarching theme here is that these para-celebs need to take more responsibility for their actions as a whole. It was absolutely not their fault that the events were poorly planned. But they do share some culpability for what happened. Why jump on board of every conference or seminar that comes their way? Money. They see dollar signs and are not responsibly researching the organizations that run these events. It is becoming an epidemic. Ex-criminals are running paranormal events. People are not being paid for events, while the organizers make off with the funds the fans paid. Why is nobody Googling the organizers beforehand? It is a complex issue to be sure, and blame lies with many different people, not just the para-celebs. But bottom line, fans are losing money because the para-celebs are not being responsible, whether it is because of outright scamming or just ignorance. In my opinion, it is not enough to simply bail on a conference and say “It’s someone else’s fault.”

      Thanks for the feedback!

  • Hey folks! Sorry if anyone of you got screwed in this deal but… (get ready) I don’t think you have a … GHOST… of a chance to get your bucks back! BWAHAHAHA! Gawd, sometimes I slay me!