Fans of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch may be curious to know which parts of the show are real, but maybe more tellingly, which parts are fake. The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch is a History channel original reality series that premiered in March 2020 and has been running ever since. Starring Brandon Fugal, the ranch's owner, and aerospace engineer Travis S. Taylor, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch follows a team of paranormal investigators, anthropologists, cryptozoologists, and more as they investigate the titular secrets of the titular ranch.
The series is set on the infamous Skinwalker Ranch in Uintah County, Utah, a 500-acre ranch that has allegedly been a hotspot for UFO sightings and other paranormal investigations. The people who appear on the show investigate everything from dire wolves to cattle mutilations to sightings of the eponymous Native American skin-walker of Navajo legend. Reality shows don't have to be totally real for them to be enjoyable, but it is helpful to know when a series is more for entertainment purposes than it is for educational purposes.
The Secret Of Skinwalker Ranch Has Little Evidence To Support Their Claims
Many Skeptics Have Criticized The Supposed Sightings At The Ranch
As far as evidence goes for The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, there's very little of it in the series. The first reports about paranormal sightings on the ranch came in 1996, with people insisting they saw lights zooming over the area known as the Sherman Ranch, which would become Skinwalker Ranch (via Deseret). Since then, many people have claimed to have experienced paranormal activity of all kinds on the ranch, which led to Fugal purchasing the ranch in 2020 (via TechBuzzNews).
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However, there is very little evidence that backs up the claims about the ranch. Skeptical author Robert Sheaffer has said that "the 'phenomenon' at Skinwalker is almost certainly illusory," (via Skeptic). Noted magician and skeptic James Randi awarded James Bigelow, the owner of Skinwalker before Fugal, a tongue-in-cheek Pigasus Award, which goes to (via Randi),
"...the funding organization that supported the most useless study of a supernatural, paranormal or occult..."
A more forceful condemnation of the claims came in 2023 from ufologist Barry Greenwood, who said there was no documentary evidence of the paranormal in decades of investigation and that the ranch was (via JournalOfScientificExploration),
"...always in the business of selling belief and hope."
While this may come as disappointing news for some fans of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, the series is still valuable as entertainment, which is how it should be watched. Seeing the investigative techniques of the cast, flawed as they may be, and watching them wonder and consider the legacy of the land they're on remains an interesting depiction of curiosity, mystery, and history.
What's Next For The Secret Of Skinwalker Ranch?
Beyond Skinwalker Ranch Is A Spinoff Series
Skinwalker Ranch season 5 aired in the summer of 2024 but so far, there's been no announcement about season 6. However, since its premiere, there's been a new season of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch every year, so there's no reason to suspect the show won't continue.
Beyond Skinwalker Ranch is a spin-off series where investigators travel around the world investigating other paranormal ranches and comparing them to Skinwalker. The series premiered in 2023 and is likely to keep airing alongside The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. Fake or not, there are plenty of paranormal happenings to investigate.
For decades, a Utah ranch has been a hotspot of strange, unexplained phenomena. A new owner brings in investigators to unlock the property's mysteries.
Cast Robert Clotworthy , Travis S. Taylor , Erik Bard , Bryant Arnold , Tom Winterton , Jim Segala
Release Date March 31, 2020
Seasons 3
Creator(s) Kevin Burns , Joel Patterson
English (US) ·