Movies like 'Insidious' Hasten the Death of Paranormal Reality-TV Shows

April 1 sees the release of "Insidious," another in a long line of horror movies made possible by reality shows that explore paranormal activity. The inundation of this market by more paranormal investigation shows and movies are killing both subgenres of entertainment.

When "Ghost Hunters" came out in 2004, TV executives and movie moguls both took note. While it was proven in the past that there was a market for paranormal investigation shows, there had never been one that had the potential to become a major hit; "Ghost Hunters" gave a glimmer of hope. Over the next few years, its popularity grew, and the market grew with it as other channels added their own spin.

Here we are, six and a half years later, and we find that there is a large number of paranormal investigation TV shows. We can not only watch "Ghost Hunters," but "Ghost Hunters International," "Ghost Hunters Academy," "Ghost Adventures," "Paranormal State," and countless smaller shows based on the same premise. In theaters, we have watched "Paranormal Activity," "Paranormal Activity 2," "The Last Exorcism," and now we prepare to watch "Insidious."

As these movies began coming out in theaters, we saw spikes in the viewership of the paranormal investigation shows. This viewership began to wane as new viewers realized that the investigators on the shows dealt with whispers caught on a digital voice recorder and not floating people or deadly demonic entities like those found in the movies. The expectations of these viewers were set too high due to Hollywood's interpretations.

As a business consultant by trade, I know that just about every inundated, specialized market bubble pops at some point. It does not matter if you are talking about the housing market, the dot-com market, the collectible card game market, or a market such as this. Inundation causes a bubble, and eventually the bubble will burst, leaving investors and fans holding the fragments of what once was.

Once this market bubble bursts, the horror industry will continue on like it has in the past. It will find a new group of fears to exploit until it has become a cliche. Maybe after a decade or two, the subgenre of horror will come back with a slightly new twist, but it will not have the selling strength that it has right now, or did have a year ago.

The fact that the top shows in the genre have fallen out of the top 25 cable shows suggest that the bursting of the bubble is upon us. It is yet another example of what happens when the market deciders get a whiff of the smell of money in a certain area. They chase it down and then bleed it dry.