• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 25, 2009

A&E is launching a bus tour attempting to create a phenomenon out of reality series "Paranormal State." The event, which starts in San Francisco and ends in New York, will enable a grassroots search for "compelling" supernatural experiences.

Covering 10 cities, it finishes its journey just before the Dec. 15 debut of the show's new season.

Show star Ryan Buell, who heads the Paranormal Research Society (PRS) and investigates cases to help the frightened, will be on the series-branded bus to meet people who are willing to share their paranormal exposures.

Some of those may be featured on the show; others will be on a Web site linked to the tour.

"Paranormal State" debuted in 2007, and Buell states that "we've been getting thousands of calls from people wanting us to investigate their homes ... this is our effort to cover more territory, talk to more people and ultimately find answers to the unexplainable."

The tour will be plugged via social media outlets Facebook and Twitter.

Previous seasons have seen cases such as "an aggressive poltergeist in Maryland" and "a ghostly hag nicknamed the Lady Vampire by the Texas family she torments" investigated.

By one measure, A&E has seen ratings in the 18-to-49 demo rise this season by 2% to an average of 645,000 viewers.