Star Trek didn’t include the Ghostbusters trap in their canon

No, Star Trek did not canonize the Ghostbusters ghost trap.

Star Trek has a history of doing some wild things. Giant pizza monsters? Check. Salt Vampires? Check. A space-face? Check. Ghostbuster-influenced space traps? No. While Trek has always done some weird things, the concept of supernatural entities has never truly been confirmed by the franchise.

The closest one can get is the Next Generation episode, “Sub Rosa”, where Beverly Crusher makes it with a ghost. At least, you’re led to believe it’s a ghost, but it turns out to be an Anaphasic lifeform. Aka, an alien.

This isn’t a franchise that legitimizes the supernatural, despite attempts to try (hello “God” from Trek V). The franchise stays grounded in science and science explanations only, but that’s not good enough for some fans, like the folks at Screenrant that wrongly claim Star Trek made the Ghostbuster ghost-traps canon.

Star Trek did not make the Ghostbuster ghost traps canon

The Screen Rant article claims that in the Star Trek: The Next Generation comic; “Embrace the Wolf”, Geordi La Forge builds a ghost trap with the intention of locking up a non-corporeal, malevolent life form, named Redjac. Designed after Jack the Ripper, who happens to target young women.

Gee, how original.

The writer of the article uses the solution of the story, Geordi securing Redjac in a device of some sort, as proof that the Ghost Buster’s ghost-busting devices are canon in Trek. There are just issues with claiming such things.

The first is that Redjac is not a ghost, as ghosts don’t exist in Trek, ergo, it’s not anything from Ghost Busters.

Secondly, and the more definitive observation; nothing in the Trek comics prior to about 2022, is considered canon.