Ghostbuster
- For other uses of the term see also Ghosthunters (disambiguation).
A ghostbuster is a person who is said to rid a house of ghosts that haunt it by means of specialised equipment used in the field of parapsychology.
While many believe the term was first used in the 1984 film Ghostbusters, about three parapsychologists who ran a ghost-extermination service, the term actually has its roots decades prior. A 1952 film titled Ghost Buster may perhaps be the earliest known use of the term in popular culture. In the 1970s Filmation produced The Ghost Busters a campy, Saturday morning live-action television show which ran for a short time.
The term is sometimes applied to modern paranormal investigators, some of whom consider it affectionate, others derogatory. Paranormal (or ghost) investigators differ greatly from the ghostbusters of movie fame. Most offer their services for free and perform investigations with the use of scientific equipment, historical research, and simple patience and observation. Some connect their clients with services (usually religious) to rid a location of supposed paranormal activity.