Dan Sturges
Paranormal Investigator • Researcher • Television Personality
For close to three decades, Dan Sturges has been investigating the unexplained with curiosity, skepticism, and a determination to separate genuine phenomena from the things that simply go bump in the night.
His interest in the paranormal began where many good investigations do—with questions. A fascination with parapsychology, combined with a lifelong interest in Civil War history, led Dan to research reports of unusual activity at historic battlefield sites. What began as curiosity soon developed into serious field investigation and, eventually, access to some of New York City's most fascinating, and famously haunted, locations.
Dan has conducted investigations at the Ed Sullivan Theater, Belasco Theatre, Bartow-Pell Mansion, the legendary Greenwich Village restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea, and numerous private residences throughout the New York area. But one location has become particularly important to his work: Manhattan's Merchant's House Museum, where Dan is now in his 19th year of investigation.
His approach is deliberately levelheaded. Dan combines traditional investigative methods with modern technology, historical research, and an understanding of the many theories surrounding paranormal phenomena. He isn't interested in proving that every unexplained sound is a ghost. He's interested in finding out what actually happened.
That philosophy has made Dan a frequent media consultant and commentator on paranormal phenomena. He has appeared on New York television news and morning programs, as well as The Late Show with David Letterman, Spike TV and the Sci Fi Channel. His work has also been featured in books and publications including Ghosts of Manhattan and The New Yorker.
As one of the original cast members of Paranormal Caught on Camera, Dan has appeared throughout the series' run, bringing his experience as an investigator to the analysis of some of the world's most compelling unexplained footage. The series can currently be seen on HBO Max, Discovery+, Travel Channel and other major streaming platforms.
Since 2019, Dan has been one of the original cast members of Paranormal Caught on Camera, appearing throughout Seasons 1–11 of the long-running television series. On the program, Dan brings the same approach he takes into the field: examine the evidence, consider the possibilities, and resist jumping to conclusions simply because something looks strange.
Long before investigating haunted buildings, however, Dan learned how to tell stories.
A graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he received the Spencer Tracy Scholarship and the Charles Jehlinger Award for Acting, the Academy's highest honor. His career as an actor has included theatre, independent film, television and—by his own count—more commercials than anyone should reasonably admit to.
If you could eat it, drink it or drive it, there's a decent chance Dan once tried to sell it to you.
More than thirty years later, Dan remains active in theatre and works with emerging playwrights, helping young writers move their stories from the page to the stage..
Today, those seemingly different worlds—investigation and storytelling—have become two sides of the same career.
Whether he's standing in a darkened nineteenth-century house at two in the morning, examining a piece of unexplained footage, speaking to an audience, or sitting beneath television lights, Dan's philosophy remains remarkably simple:
Stay curious. Follow the evidence. And never be afraid to ask one more question.
THE STORY BEHIND STURGES PARANORMAL
I didn’t set out to become a paranormal investigator. I was simply fascinated by places with a history—and by the stories that seemed to linger long after the people who lived them were gone. That curiosity eventually led me into some of New York’s most historic and reportedly haunted locations, and what began as an interest became decades of investigation.
Over the years, that work has taken me from private homes and forgotten corners of New York City to some of its most legendary haunted locations. I’ve investigated places including the Merchant’s House Museum, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, and the old South Street Seaport, always approaching the unexplained the same way: listen first, investigate carefully, and let the evidence tell the story.
That work eventually brought me to television, where I’ve spent eleven seasons as a cast member of Paranormal Caught on Camera. But whether I’m reviewing footage for television or standing in a dark building at two in the morning, my approach hasn’t changed: stay curious, remain skeptical, and never force an explanation simply because you want one.
Three decades of investigating have taught me one thing: the unexplained doesn’t need embellishment. It just needs someone willing to look closely.
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