"The Dead Files" is what brought Amy and Steve together. And, now, 10 seasons and 130 episodes in, they're both glad it did.

They had both been working alone in their respective fields when Painless Productions came calling, pitching the idea for the show: an experienced detective and a physical medium team up to investigate hauntings, working in their own separate ways at first and then bringing their results together.

Former New York homicide cop Steve DiSchiavi found the idea intriguing. "I thought it was a really interesting angle to do a paranormal investigation -- two different aspects to solve the case," he said in an interview on TravelChannel.com.

The show works like a non-fiction "X-Files," where the skeptic and the believer follow their own separate paths of investigation and come together at the end. DiSchiavi is, of course, the skeptic in this pairing. Medium Amy Allan, who visits the potentially haunted houses to try to channel the spirits living there, obviously believes in the work she does.

"I want to believe in the paranormal, but I'm the kind of guy who needs to see it to believe it. I don't dismiss the potential of paranormal activity, but I haven't personally experienced it," DiSchiavi said.

Also like "The X-Files," Allan and DiSchiavi were thrown together as strangers at the beginning of the show, and their process of getting to know one another has become part of the show's appeal.

They've become friends over the course of it (thank goodness, since they've been at it since 2011). Allan said she appreciates DiSchiavi's sense of humor, which might not be what you'd expect the hardened ex-cop to bring to the table.

"When we would be in the same room together, he had a way of making everyone laugh and joke and such. It really lightened up the mood! We would get into trouble for joking too much!"

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