One of the things that bothers me the most about the ghost shows is the places they investigate.  A lot of these sites are available commercially for ghosting hunting.  A chief case that comes to mind is the Trans Alleghany Lunatic Asylum.  TAPS was clearly brought in by the owner to "prove" the place is haunted so it could be opened commercially for ghost tours.  OK.  I can understand how that works. 

I wouldn't consider that crossing an ethical line.  You've got a place that you're renting out to ghost hunters.  A fool and his money are soon parted.  They're paying for an expected service – like going to a fun house.  But what about using a haunting as a draw for a more conventional historical site, such as Fort Delaware or the traveling Titanic exhibit or the Buffalo Bill Cody museum?  These places have a legitimate mandate to provide educational outreach to the general public – to help them learn and be informed.  But it's no secret that in these uncertain economic times, people are spending their travel dollars more conservatively and poorly funded museums and park sites are often hit quite hard. 

I would argue that it's professionally unethical to lure in "ghost tourists" as competition with your stated mandate to educate the public.  My wife and I recently visited Gettysburg and I counted six "ghost tours" outfits on the main drag alone.  Paranormal tourism now seems to be a strong rival for historical tourism at our nation's most hallowed battlefield.

Finally, what if I wanted to use the mystique of a hauting to boost my real-estate values?  Say I wanted to sell my old Victorian house here in DC in a flagging market.  So I cynically call up TAPS or, better yet, Paranormal State and trump up some goofy story about being infested with demons from the 7th level of hell that I drew in playing with a Ouija board one night.  I get on the show.  Predictible drama ensues, and now I can bill my place as "the Most Haunted House in the Nation's Capitol."  Even though my only ghost is a rattling radiator. 

What do we think…does being on a ghost show boost your business and is it ethical to do it?

I think the first the first part of your question that needs to be answered first is what makes these so called experts, experts/professionals in the paranormal field? This is after all a pseudo-science that can not agree on how or what methods are to be used during investigations. Then the criteria for legitimate evidence among each competing group are even murkier. Some might say that due to the length of time that some groups have been doing their ghost hunts makes them experts in the field, but that seems inherently wrong since none of these groups have produced a shred of credible evidence. Just because they have a long history of failing to capture paranormal evidence can not be the basis for giving them the title of paranormal expert.

Are the owners unscrupulous in using such tactics to gain an edge in the slow economy? I would say that the owners seeking haunted status by these so called experts are no more scandalous than the products on TV commercials that have so called actors in lab coats endorsing a product for its health benefits. People in general need to stop believing what is spoon fed to them and start practicing critical thinking.