SYFY'S HIT GHOST HUNTERS RETURNS WITH NEW CASES AND NEW TEAM MEMBER ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16 AT 9 PM ET/PT

FOLLOWED BY THE ALL-NEW SYFY ORIGINAL SERIES PREMIERE OF GHOST MINE AT 10 PM ET/PT

New York, NY - January 11, 2013 - It's a back-to-back paranormal bonanza beginning Wednesday, January 16, when Syfy's longest-running unscripted series, Ghost Hunters, returns for its ninth season at 9 PM ET/PT, followed by the premiere of Syfy's newest unscripted paranormal offering, Ghost Mine, at 10 PM ET/PT.

GHOST HUNTERS (Premieres Wednesday, January 16 at 9 PM ET/PT)

In the Season 9 premiere, "Hollywood Horror Stories," Jason Hawes leads TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) - including new team member Michelle Tate - on a pair of spooky cases in California, starting with an investigation at the historic Sowden House, the Lloyd Wright-designed home said to be the site where Elizabeth Short, aka "The Black Dahlia," was gruesomely murdered in 1947.

Next, TAPS heads to Madame Tussauds Hollywood Wax Museum. As if being alone in the dark with hundreds of life-sized wax figures wasn't creepy enough, the team learns that museum staffers have experienced unexplained phenomena - shadows, footsteps, the eerie feeling of being watched - which may have ties back to actor Victor Kilian's nearby 1979 murder.

Michelle Tate was a finalist on Ghost Hunters Academy 2 and joins the big leagues as a Ghost Hunters investigator-in-training this season.

Throughout the 16-episode season, TAPS will continue to travel the country using their paranormal investigation expertise to bring peace of mind to clients at both public institutions and private homes alike.

Upcoming episodes include investigations at California's Mission San Juan Capistrano ("Ghost Mission" premiering January 23), where TAPS will be joined by Destination Truth's Josh Gates and receive access to previously off-limits areas of the mission, and Illinois' Peoria Asylum ("Prescription for Fear" premiering January 28), once known as Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane.

GHOST MINE (Premieres Wednesday, January 16 at 10 PM ET/PT)

Syfy's newest unscripted, Ghost Mine, is a fascinating six-episode look at the intersection of the dangerous and back-breaking work of gold mining and paranormal investigation.

Nestled deep in the remote woods of Eastern Oregon's Elkhorn Mountains, near the historic gold mining community of Sumpter, Oregon, lies what is believed to be one of the richest gold mines in the United States - the Crescent Mine. Plagued by a series of implosions, cave-ins, epidemics and suicides during its history of operation, the mine was forsaken 80 years ago and tagged with the notorious reputation for being haunted.

Now, a new mine owner has come to town and he's put every penny he has into bringing the Crescent back to life. After his first crew walked out on him, citing paranormal activity in the mine, owner Larry Overman has assembled a new rag-tag team of miners - a mix of seasoned veterans and greenhorns - and a pair of paranormal investigators to take on the notorious legends and reopen the mine in the hopes of striking it rich.

In the Ghost Mine series premiere, "Descent into Darkness," the miners and investigators meet and setup camp at the Crescent Mine. While the miners prepare the mine for the underground mining, the investigators rig up their ghost hunting gear and quickly learn that conducting a paranormal investigation in the extreme and dangerous conditions of a working mine is a challenge like no other.

Each hour-long episode sees the miners continuing to dig for gold, while the paranormal investigators unravel the mysteries surrounding the mine, including historic Masonic connections and a spirit who has been known to haunt the area for generations.

Ghost Hunters is produced for Syfy by Craig Piligian's Pilgrim Studios (Dirty Jobs, The Ultimate Fighter, Top Shot). Piligian and Thomas Thayer, along with Mike Nichols and Alan David, serve as executive producers.

Ghost Mine is produced by 51 Minds with Mark Cronin (Celebrity Paranormal Project, Flavor of Love, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels), Dave Caplan and Jay Bluemke (Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy) serving as Executive Producers.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)