Paranormal Pop Culture

San Diego’s Weird History Makes SDCC a Lot Spookier

2022-07-23T13:43:00.033-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS

San Diego Comic-Con is the domain of weirdos. What began in a hotel basement in 1970 as the one-day Golden State Comic-Minicon grew to become SDCC in 1973 and then Comic-Con International: San Diego (CCI) in 1995. It is the Super Bowl of

pop culture fandom. It is a place where 130,000 ticketed attendees—not counting thousands more who will make a pilgrimage to the city during the con—will arrive once more after a three-year hiatus to let their geek flags fly. And over the course of five days, San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is the worldwide capital of weirdos.

But what is a weirdo? The word has its etymology in “wyrd,” which means “fate” or “destiny.” And a weirdo is one who is in control of their own destiny. Hat tip to weird researcher John E.L. Tenney for reminding me of that. Yet “weird” also means “strange” or “bizarre.” There’s a bounty of that in “America’s Finest City,” too.

San Diego is considered a hotspot for UFO activity. One of the more well-known recent videos of a UFO is the “Flir1” capture, filmed by a fighter pilot in 2004 from the aircraft carrier Nimitz off the city’s coast. The footage—widely reported on by The New York Times in 2017 and part of the June 2021 “UFO report” by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence—was deemed unidentified. According to the report, four pilots observed a large object “submerged 10 to 15 feet below the surface” then “a white UAV, shaped like a large cylindrical butane tank, or a Tic-Tac candy, moving erratically back and forth, almost like a bouncing ping-pong ball making instantaneous changes in direction without changing speed.” But there was a previous “flap” in 1989—involving a triangular or boomerang shape with red lights—reported on by the San Diego Reader at the time, which noted the city had been on the UFO map since the 1950s.

But it’s not only potential extraterrestrial life that contributes to the weirdness of San Diego, it’s the afterlife. Built in 1857, the Whaley House in Old Town might be the most famous allegedly haunted location in town. According to ghostlore, that has something to do with settler Thomas Whaley building the home atop an old execution site. The stories say the specter of “Yankee Jim” Robinson, executed on the grounds, continues to clomp around, as do the ghosts of Whaley’s infant son, adult daughter, and countless others, including a little dog. The town lovingly refers to Whaley House Museum as the most haunted house in America, although it’s uncertain how they measured that.

But the apparitional oddness continues with the rumored hauntings at the Davis-Horton House, Horton Grand Hotel, Hotel del Coronado, Pioneer Park, El Campo Santo Cemetery, and the Star of India, the world’s oldest operational sailing ship. And the ghost stories in San Diego run the gamut of classic Victorian lady specters, Old Californian gamblers, horseback soldiers from the U.S.-Mexican war, a trenchcoat-wearing man, and even an enchanted piano.

The reputation for weirdness significantly predates the swarms of congoers who frequent every year. Rather, it’s been well documented in The San Diego Union-Tribune. “Remarkable Serpent Fish About Thirty Feet in Length Seen in San Diego Bay” read one newspaper headline in 1873. “Ghost Bride on Headless Horse is Riding Again,” declared another in 1934. And another asked, in 1991, “A chilling hairy query: Is Bigfoot lurking around Alpine?”

In fact, whether it was labeled the Borrego Sandman, the Wild Man of Warner Springs, Rancheti yeti, or the famous Proctor Valley monster, the Union-Tribune’s archives have numerous accounts of hairy bipedal beasts in the area dating back to 1876.

So those who join the domain of the weird at SDCC might not just spot a celeb, there may be an alien, ghost, or cryptid in their midst as well.

For more deep dives into the supernatural, don’t miss Den of Geek‘s very own paranormal podcast, Talking Strange, which you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Discovery+ Tackles Roswell with The Final Verdict

2021-06-09T12:41:00.000-04:00

Discovery+ is getting even more out of this world. While the ghost-focused unscripted paranormal programming has dominated the network, the streaming platform is still on the light side when it comes to aliens (with exceptions such as Paranormal Caught on Camera, Ben Hansen's UFO Witness, and older episodes of Ancient Aliens).

But that's about to change with Roswell: The Final Verdict.

The six-part miniseries, premiering with the first three episodes July 2 (the anniversary of the 1947 Roswell Incident), with the following three released on subsequent Fridays.

Roswell: The Final Verdict will examine the infamous incident at a New Mexico ranch, which then engulfed the entire nearby community of Roswell. Most people directly involved with the event have died, but the show promises to analyze "haunting first-person accounts from the past ... in a totally modern way, using artificial intelligence (AI) lie detection software to test if the eyewitnesses are telling the truth."

The miniseries is produced by October Films for Discovery+. For October Films, the executive producers are Chris Muckle and Mike Warner. For discovery+, the executive producer is Ron Simon. Ben Hansen also appears to be involved in some capacity, although it is not yet stipulated to what degree.

Below is the official press release synopsis and episode breakdown. Will you be watching? Is there still a mystery to explore with Roswell, or has every question been answered?

Be sure to follow Paranormal Pop Culture and share this page.

Did aliens really crash-land near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947? As the world anxiously anticipates the release of declassified UFO secrets from the Pentagon, ROSWELL: THE FINAL VERDICT invades discovery+ on Friday, July 2, the 74th anniversary of the most notorious extraterrestrial incident in U.S. history.

The mini-series debuts on discovery+ with three episodes and then the final three will drop on Fridays. In 1947, a rancher near Roswell, New Mexico, claimed to have discovered mysterious debris on his property, triggering decades of official government denials, and countless conspiracy theories, about aliens. Now, tapes of haunting first-person accounts from the past are being analyzed in a totally modern way, using artificial intelligence (AI) lie detection software to test if the eyewitnesses are telling the truth.

Although most of the witnesses are now deceased, AI permits truth to be separated from fiction and the most important UFO event in world history can be weighed in the balance with all the evidence at hand. Truth seekers will now decide ... the final verdict. "DNA analysis revolutionized crime fighting by reopening cold cases from decades past. Now another type of technological breakthrough is blowing the lid off the secrets the government has kept from the public regarding alien visitation,” said Ben Hansen, former federal agent and UFO expert. “Using new AI analysis, ironically developed in large part for the government, we can now quite accurately ascertain the truthfulness of statements and events as told by witnesses to the most controversial UFO event of all time.”

Over six one-hour episodes, harrowing accounts drive an explosive and cinematic minute-by-minute exploration of the Roswell incident through the eyes of those who were there. Haunted by a string of sudden terror moments, this is a frightening new journey into the heart of the nation’s most disturbing alien encounter. Like voices speaking from the past, these Roswell witnesses now have science to back up the truth of their claims.

Episode 1 – “Crash Landings” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 2 On July 2, 1947, a rancher discovered otherworldly debris strewn across the desert near Roswell, New Mexico. When a U.S. Army intelligence officer investigated the evidence, he concluded, "It was not anything from this earth." Sophisticated lie detection software puts his bold claim to the test.

Episode 2 – “Alien Invasion” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 2 In July 1947, visitors to the south of Roswell, New Mexico, described stumbling upon a crashed UFO. Some witnesses even claim to have seen the bodies of aliens. Their historic testimony has been dismissed for decades. Now, powerful AI lie detection software puts their extraordinary claims to the test.

Episode 3 – “Silencing Witnesses” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 2 With mounting evidence of a UFO crash, a future four-star general ordered a press release to announce the news to the world. But just as the Roswell incident is grabbing headlines, the story is suppressed. Cutting-edge AI lie detection software probes the truth behind the cover-up.

Episode 4 – “Discredit and Humiliate” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 9 Eyewitnesses claimed to see strange debris and the bodies of aliens in secretive Hangar 84 at Roswell Army Airfield. As activity intensified, the U.S. government revealed its official version of events – a crashed weather balloon. An advanced AI program asks whether any of it can be believed.

Episode 5 – “Alien Autopsy” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 16 Did the U.S. government conduct an alien autopsy at Roswell? It has always been one of the most explosive claims about the Roswell incident. Now for the first time, the world’s most sophisticated lie detector probes the evidence to unveil the shocking truth.

Episode 6 – “Extraterrestrial Truth” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 23 Decades after the Roswell incident, the U.S. government fights to suppress public interest in UFO sightings and extraterrestrial contact. Cutting-edge AI compares the government's account of the crash with what it has uncovered. After 70 years, are we getting closer to the truth?

'The Night House' [Trailer] From Director David Bruckner Looks Scary As Hell

2021-03-29T10:13:00.007-04:00

"Do you guys believe in ghosts?"

That's the first line in the trailer for The Night House from director David Bruckner, and starring Rebecca Hall. And it pretty much sets up the next two minutes of a creepy tease for the movie arriving in theaters July 16, 2021.

As reported by Bloody Disgusting, the film debuted at Sundance last year, and was acquired by Disney Searchlight. The plot "follows a widow who begins to uncover her recently deceased husband's disturbing secrets."

The trailer sets up that Hall's character Beth begins to believe she haunted by her husband, who died by suicide. As she seeks to learn more about the potential haunt, she discovers what appears to be more to the house her husband built.

Meagan Navarro's review of the film from Sundance said Bruckner (The Signal, the "Amateur Night" segment of V/H/S) "wasn’t content to deliver one well-done scare; Bruckner delivers back-to-back scares within a single sequence." Indeed, there is a great tease of a moment in the trailer that plays with the shape we see in a room that almost looks like a person — and maybe it is.

Check this out, and let us know what you think. This looks like a fun one. And by "fun," we mean "scary as hell."

(Also, great to see Sarah Goldberg from Barry as Beth's friend Claire.)

-Aaron Sagers

Arnold Schwarzenegger first choice to lead Earth against aliens

2021-03-23T11:03:00.001-04:00

Forget "I'll be back," because the Terminator himself has got our backs in the event of an alien invasion. At least that's the opinion of 2,000 British adults, according to a poll commissioned by the network BlazeTV, and conducted by OnePoll.

The study revealed the Top 20 celebrities and world leaders best suited to lead Earth if not-so-friendly E.T.s come knocking, which also tracked belief in life on other planets. After Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith came in close second (he did show his alien ass-kicking chops in both Men in Black and Independence Day, after all). Interestingly, third place was British national treasure and natural historian Sir David Attenborough. But the desire for a calming presence, and great narration of the invasion, is short-lived because fourth and fifth place was Bruce Willis (Armageddon) and Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds).

Indeed, Cruise's inclusion makes sense, not just because of his on-screen prowess, but his belief in Scientology, rooted in the idea that humans are connected to ancient extraterrestrial civilizations. Harrison Ford (Star Wars) and Sigourney Weaver (Alien) were next up, and The X-Files co-star Gillian Anderson coming in at Number 9 — right after former president Donald Trump.

Trump was the first politician to make the list at No. 8, with Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson further down, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris rounding out the list (full list below).

The rankings, and rankings of politicians, would likely change for a U.S. audience — especially as the new president is in office longer — but a spokesman for the network noted a concern about the lack of real-world leaders in the list:

"Arnold Schwarzenegger is a strong choice for dealing with an alien invasion, bearing in mind he’s not only a screen action hero but was also Governor of California ... although it's worrying to see that so many celebrities with fictional alien experience are considered by many to be better candidates than our current crop of world leaders."

Beyond the celebrity rankings which draw headlines, OnePoll also included impressive statistics about eyewitness accounts of UFOs, and belief in alien life.

Among the data collected:

11 Percent (one in 10) of Brits: Believe they have seen a UFO.
56 Percent: Believe intelligent life exists beyond Earth.
26 Percent: Think aliens exist in our solar system.
33 Percent: Aliens could already on Earth, living among us.
30 Percent (about a third): Aliens would visit the planet for scientific research.
52 Percent: Would be frightened at the possibility of an alien invasion.
31 Percent: It is necessary to establish a dedicated government task force to address potential extraterrestrial threats.
27 Percent: Humans need a battle plan now for invasions.
26 Percent: Would stock up on supplies if aliens landed.
20 Percent (one in five people): They would hide out at home until things settled.
20 Percent: Trust the experts to deal with the threat.
11 Percent: Would try to reason with the aliens to secure peace.
15 Percent: Earth will be dominated by aliens within the next 20 years.

Considering the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and extended lockdowns, there is a lot of interesting parallels to be seen in these poll results. It's difficult not to think of toilet paper hoarding, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers, when reading about stocking up on supplies, or such a small percentage of people who would trust experts.

Nick Pope — who investigated UFOs with the British Ministry of Defense — commented that, "if one in 10 people think they've seen a UFO, that suggests there have been literally millions of UFO sightings in the UK ... Sadly, now the MoD has stopped investigating UFOs, there's no focal point for this and most sightings go unreported."

Pope, who is working with Blaze on its UFO Week, added: "There are some fascinating findings in this survey, and I was particularly intrigued to see how many people thought not only that we're being visited by aliens, but also that they're already living among us — and that they'll dominate Earth in the next 20 years."

However, for his part, Schwarzenegger is ready to lead, according to his Twitter reaction to the poll.

I want to thank the people for putting their faith in me. I am ready to serve. https://t.co/RiBtNmWtVi
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 18, 2021

Check out the entire list of Britain's preferred leaders against aliens, and let us know who you think should have made the cut.

TOP 20 CELEBRITIES WHO WOULD BEST DEAL WITH AN ALIEN INVASION

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger (former governor of California, Terminator)

2. Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black)

3. Sir David Attenborough (Planet Earth)

4. Bruce Willis (Armageddon)

5. Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds)

6. Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Air Force One)

7. Sigourney Weaver (Alien)

8. Donald Trump (former president)

9. Gillian Anderson (The X-Files)

10. Nicola Sturgeon (Leader of Scotland, First Minister)

11. Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy)

12. Boris Johnson (Prime Minister)

13. Piers Morgan (TV host)

14. William Shatner (Star Trek)

15. Simon Pegg (Paul, Star Trek)

16. Tommy Lee Jones (Men in Black)

17. David Duchovny (The X-Files)

18. Mel Gibson (Signs)

19. Kamala Harris (Vice President)

20. Joe Biden (President)

-Aaron Sagers

Britney Spears' House Was Haunted, According To Her Makeup Artist

2021-03-21T12:18:00.003-04:00

So it looks like in addition to supporting the #FreeBritney movement, we here at Paranormal Pop Culture need to launch #ExorciseBritneysHouse because her Sunset Strip home allegedly has a ghost problem.

In the Feb. 24 episode of the We Need to Talk About Britney podcast, Spears' friend and former makeup artist Julianne Kaye shared that the Sunset Plaza home Britney lived in was haunted. And apparently the haunting was disturbing enough to force the musician to leave the mansion.

Kaye told the podcast Britney called her up and shared she had a reiki healing at that house after a "crazy partying weekend and needed to relax."

"He left, and she swears to God that he opened some spirit portal or something, and these bad spirits had come in…and they were trying to, like, push her down the stairs or something crazy," said Kaye.

The makeup artist said the spirits included a man and woman, who were "very disturbed."

"It was so bad that she left," Kaye added. "She went to the Casa Del Mar hotel to stay there and never went back to the house. She goes, 'I know you’re gonna think I’m crazy. I’m not crazy. I know what I saw, I know what I felt.'"

Interestingly, actress Brittany Murphy moved into the home, and died there about a year later, in 2009. Her husband Simon Monjack also died in the home just a few months after. The cause of death for both included pneumonia, and anemia. That strange coincidence continues to puzzle Murphy's fans, and the New York Post reports, "In the 11 years since Murphy and Monjack died, the property has been listed 10 different times."

The home, which recently sold for $12.2 million, according to Realtor.com, was torn down and re-built following Murphy and Monjack's deaths.

In a follow-up episode of We Need to Talk About Britney, on March 10, our friend and researcher John E.L. Tenney appeared on the podcast and speculated that perhaps Britney's ghosts were actually that of Murphy, and her husband.

"Is it that Britney saw into the future and saw Brittany Murphy and her husband being 'very disturbed' in that house?"

According to paranormal theories, this wouldn't be out of the ordinary for "ghosts" of the future to haunt those in the present. For that matter, paranormal believers might also think that rebuilding the home wouldn't rid the property of a haunting, either.

What do you think?

-Aaron Sagers

The Ghost Brothers are Flipping the Switch in New ‘Ghost Brothers: Lights Out’ Series

2021-03-21T11:25:00.002-04:00

"What do you get when you combine a celebrity barber with two fashion designers, all with a strong curiosity in the unknown?"

That's the question posed by discovery+ about the new series Ghost Brothers: Lights Out. The show follows the Black paranormal team of Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey, and premieres April 17 on the streaming platform.

According to the network press release, Dalen a.k.a. “The Bad Boy of Paranormal” is the risk taker; Juwan a.k.a. “Paranormal Poppy” is the suave, pretty boy of the group; and Marcus a.k.a. “The Soul Brother” brings a combination of heartwarming soul and comedy.

Together, these guys are entertaining and unique in their approach. Plus, the trio has enjoyed longevity in the paranormal TV world going back to their first series in 2016, on Destination America, and most recently on Fright Club with Jack Osbourne.

According to the press release, the approach of Lights Out is as follows:

Marcus and Juwan kick off each investigation by entering haunted sites without any prior knowledge of the paranormal territory they are walking into. Dalen, on the other hand, knows all the creepy history. Observing from his own mission control center, he guides his friends through the most active areas of the property. Going in blind, Marcus and Juwan must discover for themselves what matches up with the legend and what does not.

To get a sneak peek at where the guys will be exploring beginning this April, check out the trailer below, and the Season One episode breakdown:

Season One Overview:

Episode 1 – “Roff Family Rituals” – Begins Streaming Saturday, April 17

When the spirit of an infamously possessed girl starts calling, Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey pick up the line. But as they communicate with the ghostly caller in Watseka, Illinois, they find there's more to her death than anyone suspected.

Episode 2 – “Dead and Forgotten” – Begins Streaming Saturday, April 17

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey check into a notoriously haunted Michigan asylum to determine what truly haunts its abandoned grounds. As the guys sift through the freaky facility's sordid past, they encounter restless souls who refuse to be forgotten in death.

Episode 3 – “Death Sentence” – Begins Streaming Saturday, April 17

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey investigate the site of Louisiana's first double execution. But as they dive into the murky waters of the old Beauregard Parish jail's murderous past, the resident spirits begin to tell an unexpected tale.

Episode 4 – “Cross My Heart” – Begins Streaming Saturday, April 24

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey do time in the most haunted penitentiary in the Wild West. They delve into ghost stories and uncover gruesome truths to confront the terrifying paranormal presences lurking inside the infamous Yuma Territorial Prison.

Episode 5 – “Ghost Town Throwdown” – Begins Streaming Saturday, May 1

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey venture to Vulture Mine to dig into the haunting at the Old West’s most notorious gold mine. But the unexplained activity turns violent, injuring the crew and making the Ghost Brothers the target of a dangerous presence.

Episode 6 – “Go to the Light” – Begins Streaming Saturday, May 8

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey dive into the Gulf Coast's Pensacola Lighthouse to shine a light on the horrific haunting. But as the Ghost Brothers illuminate the site's past and paranormal presence, they find the lighthouse itself may play an unexpected role.

Episode 7 – “Hotel Hell” – Begins Streaming Saturday, May 15

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey check into Wisconsin's Karsten Hotel to uncover which spirits reside in the once luxurious lodgings. Once the lights go out, they discover that the terrifying ghostly whispers may reveal unexpected secrets about the hotel's past.

Episode 8 – “Flight or Fright” – Begins Streaming Saturday, May 22

Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey climb aboard the USS Lexington to confront a dark paranormal presence. As they dive into the World War II aircraft carrier's history and make contact with restless spirits, they reveal there is more to the haunting than anyone expected.

Video: Primatologist Dr. Mireya Mayor of 'Expedition Bigfoot' on Unexpected DNA Results

2021-03-21T10:57:00.001-04:00

Expedition Bigfoot is currently airing its second season on Discovery+, and the show is touting mysterious evidence of a "non-human primate presence in the Appalachians." This possible discovery is based on eDNA evidence collected by researcher Ronny LeBlanch and primatologist Dr. Mireya Mayor.

This is going to be explored in the March 28 Season Two finale of Expedition Bigfoot, but I recently had a chance to talk with Dr. Mayor for Den of Geek. She is the real deal when it comes to her scientific work. Dr. Mayor is a Fulbright Scholar and National Science Foundation Fellow, and for nearly two decades, she has been a wildlife correspondent, reporting on wildlife and habitat loss while advocating for solutions to the alarming trends. Her explorations have led to several scientific discoveries, most notably her co-discovery of the world's smallest primates, a brand-new species to science.

In the following video, we discuss what eDNA evidence is, and why it matters. Additionally, she opens up on the reason she thinks Sasquatch research should be taken seriously.

Discovery+ Unveils March Paranormal Programming Highlights

2021-02-18T13:08:00.007-05:00

The still-new Discovery+ streaming service continues to heavily lean into the paranormal and unexplained genre this March with a sizable rollout of spooky programming. From new episodes of Paranormal Caught on Camera (featuring our own Aaron Sagers), to new Holzer Files, and the season finale of Kindred Spirits, there is a lot for fans to take in. Additionally, we'll be seeing new shows premiering, such as Aliens in Alaska, Nostradamus: End of Days, Fright Club, and Mountain Monsters: By the Fire.

What are you looking forward to in March?

PARANORMAL CAUGHT ON CAMERA

New Episodes, Now Streaming on discovery+

Some of the most amazing, eye-opening and downright scary paranormal videos from around the world are featured as a panel of experts break down the footage and analyze what exactly the eyewitnesses captured. Insights from some of the most knowledgeable specialists in the field and firsthand accounts from the people lucky enough – or perhaps unlucky enough – to witness these strange phenomena for themselves just might make a believer of even the biggest skeptics out there. [Hour-long episodes]

“Haunted Goldfield Hotel and More” – Begins Streaming Friday, March 5

A woman is attacked by ghosts at a notoriously haunted Nevada hotel. A Swedish lake monster interrupts a man's morning cup of coffee. Large triangular UFOs loom over Bolivia and New York.

“Rainbow Portal in Connecticut and More” – Begins Streaming Friday, March 12

A colorful anomaly in the sky dazzles onlookers in Connecticut. A parade of orbs floats through an abandoned Texas jail. An alienesque monolith pops up in the remote Utah wilderness. All this and much more paranormal footage you have to see to believe!

ALIENS IN ALASKA

New Series, Now Streaming on discovery+

Alaska is a hotbed for UFO sightings, abductions and extraterrestrial encounters. Why are these otherworldly visitors drawn to America's last frontier? Shocking new evidence and personal testimony from local witnesses shed light on the alien activity. [Hour-long episodes]

“Night Stalkers” – Begins Streaming Monday, March 1

An extraterrestrial stalker leaves a family frozen in fear outside of Juneau. A maritime monster nearly capsizes an aircraft on Alaska's famed Lake Iliamna. A hunter thwarts an attempted abduction by a fireball-spitting UFO.

“They Walk Among Us” – Begins Streaming Monday, March 8

Hunters unearth new clues about Bigfoot's cosmic origins. An Air Force veteran receives a shocking response when he reports UFO activity over Fairbanks. Piercing lights from above disrupt a late-night party near Wasilla, Alaska.

THE DEAD FILES

New Episodes, Now Streaming on discovery+

Former NYPD homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi and physical medium Amy Allan are back on the case. In each episode of THE DEAD FILES, DiSchiavi and Allan first investigate each case separately. Utilizing his detective skills, DiSchiavi interviews witnesses and experts, and researches the history and facts behind each location. Allan, a physical medium who sees and communicates with the dead, assesses the property to identify what underlying entities reside there. Keeping their findings hidden from each other, the team avoids all contact with one another – coming together only at the very end to reveal their shocking discoveries to the property owners, and each other. [Hour-long episodes]

“The Deadly Picture Show” – Begins Streaming Monday, March 1

Steve DiSchiavi and Amy Allan investigate the historic Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles. Phantom footsteps, disembodied voices and physical assaults have the staff on edge, and the manager fears the worst is yet to come if he can't get the sinister activity under control.

“Death’s Gallery” – Begins Streaming Monday, March 8

Steve DiSchiavi and Amy Allan investigate a Lancaster, California, museum that's under attack by an evil presence. The manager fears if they don't put an end to the supernatural siege, the dead will assume full control and force the museum to close its doors for good.

FRIGHT CLUB

New Series, Now Streaming on discovery+

In a frighteningly friendly competition to freak each other out with the creepiest, craziest paranormal evidence ever caught on camera, Jack Osbourne and the Ghost Brothers – Dalen Spratt, Marcus Harvey and Juwan Mass – each reveal the most mind-blowing supernatural footage they can find. They'll speak to the terrified eyewitnesses who captured it, get insight from psychic mediums, ufologists, cryptozoologists and other renowned experts, before deciding on each episode's “nightmare clip” – the one that haunts your dreams and keeps you up at night! [Hour-long episodes]

“Misty Business” – Begins Streaming Tuesday, March 2

Jack Osbourne, Dalen Spratt, Marcus Harvey and Juwan Mass try to scare the hell out of each other with paranormal evidence of uninvited spectral houseguests, a fleet of UFOs, a mind-blowing mirror mishap and an imaginary friend who isn't so imaginary.

“Ghosts Gone Wild” – Begins Streaming Tuesday, March 9

Jack Osbourne and the Ghost Brothers strive to astonish each other with creepy paranormal evidence of a poltergeist picking on a pair of pugs, a glowing donut-shaped UFO and hilariously disturbing footage of ghosts getting freaky in an old brothel.

NOSTRADAMUS: END OF DAYS

New Series, Now Streaming on discovery+

This all-new eight-episode series reveals exactly how the world will end, and what will be behind it, as predicted by history’s greatest prophet, Nostradamus. Combining the infamous seer’s ancient words with paintings from a mysterious lost book bearing his name, the series decodes new prophecies and causes of the world’s demise. Nostradamus saw the impending apocalypse 500 years ago, and now it’s up to experts to reveal the terrifying truth his visions can prepare us for. These groundbreaking interpretations uncover the destruction soon to be inflicted upon us by earthquakes, floods, fire, nuclear war, disease, asteroid strikes and more. Are you prepared? [Hour-long episodes]

“Nuclear Apocalypse” – Begins Streaming Tuesday, March 2

Nostradamus prophesied nuclear terror attacks would destroy humankind and decimate the planet. Scholars analyze his horrific predictions to find out when we will face our radioactive apocalypse.

“Death From Space” – Begins Streaming Tuesday, March 9

Nostradamus predicted gigantic asteroids would smash into land and sea, obliterating everything and everyone on Earth. Scholars decode his prophecies to determine when our world will be shattered from above.

THE HOLZER FILES

New Episodes, Now Streaming on discovery+

After a groundbreaking freshman run, THE HOLZER FILES returns with all-new investigations, from a woman's terrifying dreams that seem to bleed over into reality in her family's coastal home to the origin of the hauntings that lie in a strange rock formation. Led by investigator Dave Schrader, psychic medium Cindy Kaza and equipment technician Shane Pittman, THE HOLZER FILES investigates terrifying true hauntings from the recently discovered case files of America’s first ghost hunter, Dr. Hans Holzer. Recognized as the “father of the paranormal,” Holzer’s legendary four-decade exploration into disturbing hauntings like the Amityville Horror house helped spawn legions of supernatural enthusiasts, more than 120 books and even inspired Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis to write “Ghostbusters.” Now, with the help of Holzer’s daughter, Alexandra Holzer, Travel Channel exclusively reopens Holzer’s most captivating case files – digging into thousands of documents, letters, photographs and chilling audio and visual recordings dating back to the 1950s. [Hour-long episodes]

“Don't Send Them to Heaven” – Begins Streaming Saturday, March 6

In 1968, Hans Holzer fled an unassuming farmhouse out of fear of possession at the hands of a powerful entity. Reports of the current owner’s paranormal encounters sends the team to Waterford, Maine, to confront the dark presence haunting the historic home.

“Dead Calm” – Begins Streaming Saturday, March 13

The team embark on an investigation unlike any other aboard the completely empty and notoriously haunted Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. They discover an unsettling presence Hans Holzer confronted in 1976 has risen to the surface, and it just may pull them under.

KINDRED SPIRITS

New Episodes, Now Streaming on discovery+

Professional paranormal investigators Amy Bruni, Adam Berry and psychic medium Chip Coffey are facing hauntings unlike anything they’ve seen yet in the new season of KINDRED SPIRITS. Bruni, Berry and Coffey dig deep into the past to identify the restless spirits haunting America’s oldest inns, homes and estates. Utilizing a range of tools and techniques, their multilayered investigations tackle frightening tales of possession, aggressive entities and more. Together, the team elicit shocking evidence and connections with the other side that lead them closer to the truth, as they search for answers behind each haunted tale. [Hour-long episodes]

SEASON FINALE: “Hidden Passage” – Begins Streaming Saturday, March 6

Amy Bruni, Adam Berry and Chip Coffey face a residential crisis as they investigate a sudden haunting in Massachusetts. The case takes a bizarre turn when it appears a family member’s actions control the aggressive entity.

EXPEDITION BIGFOOT

New Episodes, Now Streaming on discovery+

The EXPEDITION BIGFOOT team – Bryce Johnson, Dr. Mireya Mayor, Russell Acord and Ronny LeBlanc – have reassembled to respond to the uptick in Bigfoot sightings, just this year. Using an advanced data algorithm, they are honing in on a massive swath of forest in southeast Kentucky, where the mathematical odds of a Bigfoot encounter are greatly increased. This year, their analysis has uncovered something new – possible Bigfoot migratory patterns that may reveal precisely where the legendary beasts will be and when they will be there. Using the latest in advanced technologies, evidence of Bigfoot begins to pile up – including vocalizations, unexplained structures, DNA samples and massive footprints that no man could have left behind. [Hour-long episodes]

“The Government Knows” – Begins Streaming Sunday, March 7

Strange unmarked helicopters fly overhead as Russell Acord, Ronny LeBlanc and Mireya Mayor try to make sense of abnormal thermal images they captured near a river. Bryce Johnson reaches out to former federal agent Ben Hansen to get to the bottom of the suspicious activity.

“Lake Fear” – Begins Streaming Sunday, March 14

Russell Acord tracks an unknown creature to a mysterious lake hidden in the mountains. The team enlists a thermal drone to scout the potential Bigfoot hideout but soon realize they are the ones being watched.

MOUNTAIN MONSTERS

New Episodes, Now Streaming on discovery+

The surviving members of the AIMS team meet up for the first time after Trapper’s passing to discuss the team's future and embark on brand-new adventures Trapper had set up for them before he passed. Equipped with his personal journal filled with everything he ever learned about the woods, the team travel to the mountains of the Tygart Valley on a mission to prove that there are still wolves in West Virginia. A bounty was put on them, and the last wolf was said to have been killed in 1900. As the team investigates, they soon believe that not only are there wolves in the Tygart Valley, but something much more mysterious and deadly. Throughout the season, the team learn from locals of massive K9 cryptids with glowing red eyes that inhabit the land and are known by locals as Smoke Wolves. As they dig deeper, they realize that Trapper, in fact, knew about these creatures back in the 1970s. [Hour-long episodes]

SEASON FINALE: New Episode – Begins Streaming Sunday, March 7

Episode description TBD

MOUNTAIN MONSTERS: BY THE FIRE

New Series, Now Streaming on discovery+

The AIMS team gather around a rip-roaring campfire to watch fan-favorite episodes of MOUNTAIN MONSTERS. They add colorful commentary, swap hilarious behind-the-scenes stories and share never-before-seen footage and bloopers, all while making fun of each other as only this group of bearded brothers can. [Hour-long episodes]

“The Hellhound” – Begins Streaming Sunday, March 7

The AIMS team gather around a campfire to look back at their wild pursuit of a freakishly fast canine in Kentucky. The guys revisit an iconic piece of video evidence and give a rare look at Wild Bill's unforgettable exercise regimen.

“The Bear Beast” – Begins Streaming Sunday, March 14

The AIMS team gather around a campfire to revisit their hunt for a red-eyed menace in the hills of West Virginia. They recall their deadly showdown with the 1,500-pound beast and get a visit from Elvis.

Ghost Adventures Checks into the Cecil Hotel: Zak Bagans on Investigating the Crime Landmark

2021-02-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

BY AARON SAGERS

In Stephen King’s novel The Shining, the Overlook Hotel is an expansive structure with a dark past, located in the remote Rocky Mountains. Despite its opulent beginnings, the hotel becomes a place where brutal murders occur, madness sets in, ghosts lurk, and evil itself is a permanent occupant.

Relocate King’s Overlook to Downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row, and you have its closest real-world equivalent: the Cecil Hotel. The hotel’s checkered history, and lore involving curses and ghosts, has made it a dark tourism landmark situated at the crossroads of true crime and paranormal fascination. But despite lots of interest on the internet, the Cecil, since rebranded as Stay on Main Hotel, has never officially permitted cameras inside for a paranormal investigation.

Until now. Enter Zak Bagans.

(Disclaimer: I have previously worked with Zak Bagans on television shows, and currently appear as an expert on the Travel Channel series Paranormal Caught on Camera.)

Executive producer and star of Ghost Adventures, the long-running paranormal reality series on Travel Channel, Bagans leads his team of investigators on an exploration of a location he calls “spectacularly frightening” in Ghost Adventures: Cecil Hotel, a two-hour special streaming exclusively on the new Discovery+ service.

For fans of the ghost-TV genre, Ghost Adventures: Cecil Hotel boasts evidence of scratches, disembodied voices, light anomalies, a faucet seemingly turned on by an invisible force, and more. But regardless of one’s personal beliefs about the unexplained, the special lives up to its hype of a “first time ever” examination of the infamous hotel.

Bagans tells Den of Geek the special is also a culmination of a decade-long pursuit that began “before Elisa even died.”

The “Elisa” that Bagans refers to is Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Canadian student with a kind, sarcastic sense of humor who loved fashion and Harry Potter; she frequently blogged observations about guys she liked, figuring out a place in the world, as well as her own insecurities and mental health struggles. Lam was a daughter and sister, and a real person on a journey of self-discovery before her life ended too soon, and she made the Cecil internet famous.

While on a solo trip to California in 2013, she went missing and died while staying at the hotel. An elevator surveillance video showed the young woman acting erratically as she pushed buttons, paced in and out of the elevator, and even appeared to be hiding from someone. Her body was discovered in a rooftop water tank weeks after she disappeared. Despite her death being ruled accidental, with her bipolar disorder deemed a contributing factor, questions remained.

But before that two-and-half minute viral video made Lam a popular topic for podcasts — and before American Horror Story: Hotel drew inspiration from the landmark’s past — the Cecil’s reputation was more tied to tragedy than travel despite its beginnings in 1924 as an LA destination, complete with a grandiose lobby.

Multiple suicides took place at the Cecil as well as infanticide and the unsolved murder of Goldie Osgood in 1964. Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, was reportedly seen in the hotel bar in the days leading up to her murder in 1947, and two serial killers are known to have stayed there – including Richard Ramirez, who committed a murder spree in the 1980s, and the investigation of whom is the focus of the Netflix documentary series Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer.

“I knew the history of Richard Ramirez there, and the deaths, and knew it was a big creepy building,” Bagans says.

Although prior attempts to gain permission to film there had been rejected, he thinks maybe the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing shutdowns convinced the hotel’s owners to allow it because of the location fee paid by production. “Or maybe they had things happening to themselves and had enough of it,” Bagans says.

Either way, Cecil fits neatly into Bagans’ pursuits, and it comes as no surprise that the hotel has long been on his bucket list. He has a fascination with the darker sides of this world — as well as the next. When not investigating the paranormal on television, he collects and exhibits haunted dolls and possessed possessions, along with “murderabilia” from serial killers, such as drawings by Ramirez.

“I collect his things. I have his death row TV, his sketches, his clothing,” says Bagans before adding, “I study these people.” Bagans says he even visited the Concordia cemetery in El Paso, Texas, where Ramirez “got started” and was said to practice satanic rituals.

As a result, Bagans believes that Ramirez was engaged in a “top-tier possession” with the horrors he was committing ultimately in the devil’s name. Bagans doesn’t give a pass to the murderer but does theorize that the serial killer was generating more negative energy and entities at the hotel.

Saying he believes the Cecil is “saturated with dark energies,” he thinks Ramirez’s satanic rituals added an evil residue to the building. Interestingly, however, Bagans also thinks there’s something supernatural about the grounds upon which the building stands.

Though he references The Shining, he says he also thinks of the Cecil like the vampire-infested strip club in From Dusk Till Dawn. In the final shot of the film, it’s revealed the club sits atop an Aztec temple. Bagans equates the hotel to this, saying it’s part of some ancient “machine.”

“I’ve been to a lot of places throughout the world, but when you walk through the doors of the Cecil Hotel, you know there are other doorways to other worlds,” he says. “If we were to see deeper dimensionally, you would see all these other doors and rooms, and I believe it goes way down into the earth and draws a lot of energy through the earth. It is then magnified by the dark energy and criminal activity of Skid Row, and amplified by the rituals [serial killer] Jack Unterweger and Richard Ramirez did.”

For the Discovery+ special, Bagans says he wanted to be delicate when discussing the circumstances of Lam’s death. He references the hotel’s history of suicide, and murder attributed to temporary insanity, and believes malevolent energies fed off her mental illness and influenced her.

It is admittedly a problematic theory for skeptics and non-believers of the paranormal, but Bagans — like many with lingering questions about Lam’s strange death — looks to her past behavior as telling. Lam had previously disappeared and required treatment but wasn’t known to have suicidal ideations. There were no unusual drugs detected in her system and the initial cause of death was deemed inconclusive.

“It didn’t make sense she was having a manic episode,” he says. “From my research, no one was able to say she had had a manic episode this bad before. If she was having an episode and acting that bad, how could she have taken such a calculated journey to end up in that water tank under that manic sense?”

While Bagans strives not to diminish Lam’s death, he says, “that building has the power to mess with your mind.” During the investigation he says teammate Aaron Goodwin was overcome with feelings of rage, and that his interviewees, including a crime scene photographer, were so disturbed they often needed to leave the hotel.

“You don’t know what you’re feeling there. There’s too many spirits, too much energy.”

Indeed, during the course of the special, the Ghost Adventures crew believe they encounter several spirits, including those of Lam, Ramirez, Osgood, and more.

For Bagans, investigating Cecil, or even conducting interviews about it, only serves to charge the battery of this machine. But, quoting his favorite film, 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, he says, “there is much to be learned from beasts.” Bagans is seeking to understand the unknown despite the risks.

Whether or not viewers of Ghost Adventures: Cecil Hotel choose to share his paranormal theories about the building — or simply view it as a strange nexus of true crime — Bagans says there is no denying its inescapable reputation.

“You can renovate it, change the name, or paint it a different color, but you’re never going to erase the darkness of the Cecil Hotel.”

Ghost Adventures: Cecil Hotel is available to stream on Discovery+.

Does Star Wars and Men in Black Occur in the Same Universe?

2020-12-17T07:44:00.000-05:00

Even though the events in the Star Wars saga took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far way, they were so memorable they are still influencing life in this galaxy, right here on planet Earth, in modern times. At least, that seems to be the case in the Men in Black universe, where the aliens of Star Wars might possibly exist.

The 1997 film Men in Black introduced audiences to the secret MiB agency that manages and polices the affairs of extraterrestrials living on our planet, but who hide from normal humans. Starring Will Smith as rookie MiB Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones as veteran Agent K, the movie was a massive success, cemented Smith's status as an A-list movie star, and launched a franchise.

But it also revealed who the "real" aliens are among the celebrity set. During his first day of on-the-job orientation Agent J is shown a display of some of the famous faces living on Earth who are actually aliens in disguise.

Some of the personalities on the surveillance screen include actors Sylvester Stallone and Danny DeVito, singer Dionne Warwick, and weatherman Al Roker. Two directors are also shown: Steven Spielberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas. Somehow it is not entirely shocking for the filmmakers behind E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the original Star Wars trilogy to be aliens. After all, they both have crafted classic stories involving outer space. 

But while Spielberg never showed too much of the home planets in his sci-fi work, Lucas' saga is entirely set on other worlds.

This raises an intriguing question: if Lucas is an alien in Men in Black, did he base Star Wars on real characters from that far away galaxy?

If the other Star Wars reference in Men in Black is any indication, then yes!

As intriguing as it is to see Lucas shown in the MiB surveillance files, the Star Wars universe is actually established within Men in Black canon a few minutes earlier.

The scene in question takes place right after Agent J — then still known as NYPD officer James Darrell Edwards III — aces his recruitment tests at MiB HQ. While the other candidates are ushered into a room for neuralyzing, Agent K offers him a job. But J still isn't signing onto the whole notion of aliens on Earth, and asks to be escorted out. Agent K agrees, but first makes a coffee stop in the break room.

And that's when we meet the "Worm Guys." Agent J looks on, stunned, as K talks to the quartet of sarcastic, squirmy little dudes who smoke cigarettes, trade gossip, and spill coffee.

What's so notable isn't how the worms behave, but what language they're speaking. When K interrupts them, they are heard saying, "wanga," followed by a series of other alien phrases (which the agent seems to understand). Agent K retrieves his coffee, and departs as the worms continue to chatter in the strange language.

The moment passes so fast that it is easy to miss, but Star Wars fans might have found it familiar. While a direct translation isn't known, the Worm Guys are speaking in the language known as Huttesse, famously spoken by intergalactic gangster Jabba the Hutt.

Also pretty wormy in appearance — although much, much larger — Jabba made his debut in 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. In that film, he's a kingpin of crime lounging about his palace on the planet Tatooine. Audiences did not learn much about Hutt's backstory in Jedi, but in subsequent appearances in the Star Wars saga, it was revealed that Jabba came from the planet Nal Hutta, which is swampy, fetid, and frequently wet with greasy rain.

It also seems like the kind of place the Worm Guys might have ended up before making their way to Earth — which is a pretty mind-blowing thought exercise. So what is the likely story with the Worm Guys speaking Huttese in this overlooked moment from Men in Black (and then again in 2002's Men in Black 2)?

It could simply be an obscure reference from MiB executive producer Spielberg as a shout out to his friend Lucas. But we prefer to think that director Barry Sonnenfeld was firmly establishing Star Wars within the MiB universe. That would then suggest that not only is George Lucas a legit alien posing as a human under surveillance by agents, he might have even based his galactic saga on real events from his home world.

If so, that means there just might be Jedi and Baby Yoda on the way to earth any minute.

Devil’s Road: Judy Spera Details Life Growing Up As A Warren

2020-09-24T11:55:00.000-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS

When a child grows up with famous parents, it means dealing with overly eager fans, and invasive reporters. But for Judy Spera, the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren – arguably the most well-known paranormal investigators ever -- growing up with famous parents also meant dealing with dark forces, and one notoriously haunted doll.

Spera was an adult in her twenties by the time her parents gained mainstream attention for their work with the paranormal in the mid-70s. But before the Lindley Street Poltergeist case in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1974, or the Amityville Horror, and long before The Conjuring film franchise, Spera’s parents sold Ed’s artwork, and carved out a decent life for their daughter. Ed grew up in a haunted house, and Lorraine was a clairvoyant, and though they had explored unexplained phenomena for years, theirs was a normal existence compared to the talk show appearances, lectures across the globe, and attention that was to come.

And in the Travel Channel documentary, Devil’s Road: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, Judy Spera opens up about life with her paranormal investigator parents. The special includes rare audio and video from Warren cases. But Spera’s involvement is likewise rare due to her reluctance to be involved with most projects about her parents.

Ed died in 2006, and Lorraine in 2019, so Judy, along with her husband Tony Spera, are the caretakers of the Warren legacy – although it is a legacy she is hesitant to continue. In the following interview, Spera discusses what it’s like to grow up haunted. Along with responding to critics of her parents, she opens up about “that doll” Annabelle (safely contained in the since-closed occult museum her parents left her), her own potential psychic abilities, and what might be next for the Warren name.

What was it about this documentary that made you want to get involved in a bigger way than perhaps you had been previously?

Well, because it involved my mother, and I felt I owed it to her to get on there and speak because I never do this. In the beginning, I was told that it was about my mother. And I don't know if it evolved to being about my mommy and dad. They were interviewing people that I didn't know or I hadn't met. I thought, "Well, who knew her better than I did?"

Were you ever a skeptic about your parents' pursuit?

Not at all. I was so afraid of it. As I got older, I could see proof of it or proof enough for me.

Did you ever want more of a normal, traditional life with a typical mom and dad?

No, I never wanted them to stop. And when I was quite small, they were artists and that's what they did. They traveled and sold their paintings, and they did art classes. It wasn't until I was getting older when this ghost thing happened. As a little child, I didn't know they were doing that. I knew they were always interested. My father always talked about ghost stories in my family, so we had fantastic Halloween parties, and my father would make these witches and things, and paint them. It was fun. And we spent a lot of time walking around in cemeteries, which I still enjoy doing.

Did your parents ever want you to follow in their path or follow with the family business?

No, they never mentioned that. I guess they knew that I would never do it. They spent most of their time telling me not to give any recognition to these things that would upset me. There are certain things that upset me. Some statues they had at one time -- and then that doll.

You mean Annabelle. I always found the Raggedy Ann doll version of Annabelle way scarier than the porcelain doll that they used in the movie.

Me too. The eyes, the eyes are just dead. It's not like the eyes on the movie doll at all. I had heard in the beginning they felt that the Raggedy Ann people would be upset or something, but I don't think there's many little girls that want Raggedy Ann dolls anymore.

What were the cases they talked about around the dinner table?

Well, first of all, I lived with my grandparents. Because they traveled so much, and I had to go to school. I lived with them briefly. I was terrified there, in their house, so I just didn't sleep there. I couldn't sleep in a room by myself. And I was young, I was very young. The one case that I was older that they were talking about the most was The Devil in Connecticut case.

Was that case, the Arne Cheyenne Johnson trial, the scariest one for you personally?

And the Raggedy Ann doll, and these other artifacts that are in the museum, necklace that strangled somebody and all that.

Your mom was known as a gifted clairvoyant and your father had the role of the demonologist. But did your father have his own psychic or sensitive abilities that people don't know about?

Not that I ever knew of. Things happened to him. I mean really. But he went at things in a more logical way. My mother was the one that would go in and discern what was going on. He could tell from all the facts what the people were talking about in the house.

How about you? Do you think that you have any abilities that perhaps you inherited from your mom?

Well, I had incidents happen, but I don't pursue it. I back away from it. I had things happen that I'll say, "Oh, my gosh. How did that happen?" I don't know if you want to attribute it to being anything to do with my mother's gifts, but I have had some things happen. It's a lot of dreams that are very strange, and warnings -- from my father. I'm not going into those houses to look for anything. I'm concerned when my husband goes. He has crosses and holy water, rosary beads, and my father's cross because I make him take them all with him. I don't want anything coming back here.

Are there any details about those premonitions?

The one that I can't talk about because it was about a family member that died, so that would cause a lot of pain for the other relatives, so I won't talk about that. But I did know at the beginning of the week that someone was going to pass.

Your mom sadly passed away last year and your father died in 2006, but what do you think they would think about the current genre of paranormal investigators?

He'd think it was a lot of baloney. He'd say, "They're going off on tangents." He really wouldn't have tolerated these people that are doing these shows that they go in, they don't have an outcome. They don't get rid of what's there. It's almost more like just for the TV, like you have to have a ghost a minute. And you have to have something happening and, “ooh, what's that, and what's that?” They would be in a house for days. They'd stay up all night and sometimes nothing happened at all.

Your father unfortunately never saw their work depicted on the movie screen, but your mom did…

He would have been thrilled about the movies, and my mom, she knew about the first movie. Unfortunately, she had dementia. She went to the first premiere, and we took her to the second premiere. She wasn't too good then, and she was having trouble walking, but she was still there for it. They all loved her. She wasn't intimidated by actors, or wealthy people, or anything like that.

Is there a special memory of your mom being recognized as “Lorraine Warren” where you saw her interactions with fans?

One time we were coming from England or going to England, I don't remember. An entire soccer team was in the middle of the airplane, all these men. My mother was standing there with her arm on the back of the seats and talking to all these guys, and they loved it.

What would you like to dispel about your parents? Something that people get wrong about them?

That they were in it for fame, or money, or anything like that. I think that was one that came up probably a lot, and I had a hard time with that criticism. They were really, really trying, and they always tried. After my dad collapsed, he was a full-care patient for five years, so he wasn't even “there.” He was in the house, but you know. My mom, she would take these calls in the middle of the night and sit and talk to people. We wanted to change the house number so many times, but she wouldn't let us. She'd sit and talk to people until they were comfortable enough to go to bed and go to sleep, or if they felt, "Okay, this will work," or "We'll talk to you in the morning." Then she'd get back to them.

Because you don’t want to be involved with the paranormal, where does the Warren legacy go from here?

As far as where it's going after this, I would like to see it carried on, of course. We'll see where it goes. I don't foresee anybody in our family. I just thought my grandson would be interested, but I guess he's had his problems with it too. He spent a lot of time sleeping in a closet, but he's a grown man now. I know my husband will take it from here, and he inherited the museum because I certainly didn't want it. He’d better stay around longer than me, and take care of that place!

Dan Aykroyd on busting out ghost stories on Hotel Paranormal

2020-07-17T11:24:00.034-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS

When it comes to paranormal stories, you should listen to Dan Aykroyd. The actor, writer and filmmaker is best known as parapsychologist Dr. Ray Stantz from Ghostbusters, the 1984 movie he co-wrote. But the origins of Aykroyd’s belief in the paranormal has origins in his upbringing as a Spiritualist in Ottawa, Ontario.

Raised with the philosophy that communicating with the dead is a positive practice, Aykroyd’s Spiritualism is a family matter; his great-grandfather Sam was a prominent member of the religious movement, and his father Peter is the author of “A History of Ghosts,” which explores the rise of the public fascination with Spiritualism. Moreover, Aykroyd is a UFO enthusiast, and previously hosted the Canadian paranormal series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, co-created by his brother Peter Aykroyd, Jr.

Now, Dan Aykroyd brings his love of the unexplained to Hotel Paranormal, the new Travel Channel series where the erstwhile Dr. Stantz presents stories of strange happenings occurring in everything from roadside motels to luxury spots across the globe. Premiering July 11, the series features chilling accounts, alongside re-enactments and eyewitness footage from those who check into a hotel, and believe they are sharing a room with someone, or something, that never checked out.

On a personal note, this is not the first time I’ve interviewed Dan. After some previous conversations with him about his Crystal Head Vodka and having a chat with both him and his father, we delve right into the paranormal. In the interview that follows, we discuss his family’s connection to Spiritualism, as well as his own Hotel Paranormal experiences, the potential ghost of John Belushi, and what he thinks about that psychokinetic Twinkie in 2020.

It has been a bit of time since we spoke, but it’s nice to chat about Hotel Paranormal. One of the last times was with your father Peter.

At the 92nd Street Y we spoke with pop!

Correct!

So, you know the invisible world is at work.

And I think it’s interesting that you are as well and are telling these stories from a believer perspective on Hotel Paranormal.

Well, Sir William Crookes worked on the cathode ray and was a physicist, and he saw the medium Daniel Dunglas Home levitate, and saw ectoplasm produced. And Crookes said, “I didn’t say it was possible, only that it was true.” You know what you saw, people know what they see. I believe skepticism is a religion, and I am not going to question anyone’s religion. You can believe and say whatever you want. I am convinced, and I know what I believe, and I believe the accounts of the people in the show. Why would they make up these stories to torture themselves?

Skepticism is an interesting and important thing. I tend to shy away from dogmatic belief or cynical non-belief, but think there’s a sliding scale, a middle ground of skepticism and open-mindedness in between.

My great grandfather Sam was a local investigator in Eastern Ontario, and part of that was the marriage of skepticism and being open-minded. He was exactly a proponent of that. You have to be a skeptic to sort out the hoaxes from the real stuff. How are you going to know if there were wires, or that medium was in a cabinet, or hands weren’t handcuffed, or he had helpers? But I don’t question skepticism if that’s your religion.

Speaking of Spiritualism, this was a very positive movement your family was a part of, and one involved in civil rights…

Sam was a dentist and a member of the Chautauqua Lily Dale Society Spiritualist movement founded after the Fox Sisters had those experiences in the mid-1800s in upstate New York. Spiritualists embraced women’s rights, embraced tolerance, they were a stop on the Underground Railroad, and my great grandfather was a part of that movement. As well as having belief in mediumship and survival of the consciousness after death, there is a humanist strain that runs through Spiritualism. Because it gives one hope there is positive energy that can guide us to the light on the other side.

Spiritualists also place importance on mediumship. Can you share why you believe in the use of mediums?

Faith is a large part of why we pursue our interest, but many convincing stories and events, and occurrences verify the consciousness exists, and can reach back into this dimension, and communicate with us actively on a level that we can understand in this life – as far as reaching further knowledge of how souls survive, and cross over. And as far as reliving memories with spirits we’ve known before, and revisiting things only you and that spirit can know about? That’s what makes mediumship so convincing. You sit there with the medium, and a name or place is mentioned when the spirit reaches across, and only you and that spirit would know, or only a deceased friend would know what the medium is referring to. How would a stranger know about me and my friend working on cars together? That’s one of the little stories I like to tell [with a medium]. “Gene, Gene, Gene is trying to reach you.” “I don’t know a Gene. Gene Hackman is still alive.” “No, Gene, Gene…he says how are the water pumps?” No! It was my friend Jean, and we used to work on old Buicks together installing water pumps, and everything else. Water pumps were always the bane of what we were working on. How would the medium know that in upstate New York when we did this in Quebec? It’s the little convincing things like that.

As an actor, and musician, you’ve traveled the world and stayed in many hotels. What have been your own Hotel Paranormal experiences?

I’ve not had any hotel experiences… Well, the Chateau Marmont has a lot of stuff going on, and I’ve stayed there a lot. Things have come off the wall, and I had an out-of-body experience there once that I was flying around the dining room, and the lamp broke [after] my friend said he saw the lamp above him started to shake. That was just before John died. [John Belushi died at the Marmont two weeks later]. Actually, I had a friend who was a sensitive, and went to the place where John died, and he said he saw him. John appeared to him at the Marmont.

So, if people are in a supposedly haunted hotel, what is your personal recommendation?

Get out your camera. Do you have a camera on your phone?

It’s not even a phone anymore, it’s a computer in my pocket I can make calls on.

That’s what I say. It’s not a phone, no. So, get that out. Try to record it, try to get some audio., Also, try to get a witness! I am fascinated by some of these cases, like where a woman and man are in the room, and she’s experiencing everything, and he’s sleeping! I love those stories.

Because you are likewise a student of UFO phenomena, do you think some of these Hotel Paranormal stories could be extraterrestrial in nature, or even interdimensional?

I believe spirits and ghosts can be interdimensional. I think the alien thing is a parallel set of occurrences but not necessarily interlinked generally. Ghosts are from the closer dimensions than the farther dimensions. Ghosts are right next door in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth dimensions. Some physicists talk about 23 different dimensions. And beings, creatures, inhumanoids with advanced technology – as [alien abductee of Fire in the Sky fame] Travis Walton calls them, the “people from over there” – are not ghostly in nature. They use technology to get around, dimension to dimension, star to star. But ghosts are somehow able to flip in and out and be seen. They can be on a loop, they can appear one time, they can be repeated, they can be dispatched.

There are some stories on Hotel Paranormal that suggest something demonic in nature. Do you believe in ghosts of evil people, or in demonic forces within these tales?

There have been people born into this plane of existence that are straight-up evil from their first seed to the end of their miserable lives. I think entities in some of these stories have origins in the murderous and evil people and are origins of some of these ghosts. As far as demonic, and evil thought-forms, there is much to be said for how we continually fight back against the dark.

There is so much negative psychic fluid that wants to flood in, and ruin our dreams, and lives. Where does it come from? Does it come from demonic entities? The devil, and that classic conception? There is so much that wants to drag us down, and it is a continuous struggle against the dark. As humans, as a species, within ourselves, the effort to tip to the good, and flood our lives with the good must be something we never let go of. We must always try to put positive energy, and positive visualization out there for ourselves, and those we love.

Finally, let’s talk about the Twinkie comparison in Ghostbusters. Do you think the pandemic and global events have amped up the normal psychokinetic activity of the world into a P.K.E. equivalent of a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds?

I think you’ll see regional eruptions. Nursing homes, where 20, 30, 40, 50 people have died will have apparitions. There’s going to be disturbed spirits unless someone does cleansing. In a tsunami, there were rescue workers who would come to the top of this rubble of piled up garages and apartment buildings, and they would see 20, 30, 40 people soaking wet looking at them. They would think they’d have to go across and rescue them, and then they’d look again, and those apparitions had vanished. This is what will be occurring with the pandemic. Wherever you had people die, there will be evidence of crossovers.

The Osbournes return to TV with new paranormal show, alongside believer Jack

2020-07-09T14:41:00.000-04:00

The circle, it would seem, is complete. The Osbournes are returning in a new paranormal show. After the MTV series The Osbournes concluded in 2005, Ozzy, Jack, and Sharon are teaming up for The Osbournes Want to Believe, a "caught on camera" Travel Channel series.

Debuting Aug. 2 at 10 p.m., the new series is based around the concept of Jack convincing his parents of the paranormal. Of course, Jack has had a stake in the paranormal for some time now. Jack currently produces and stars with Katrina Weidman on Travel Channel's Portals to Hell. Prior to that, he appeared on the Syfy paranormal series Haunted Highway aired from 2012-2013, and with his father on Ozzy and Jack's World Tour on History, where they visited Roswell, New Mexico, and haunted locations in New Orleans.

However, the new series combines all of the previous elements for a return of sorts where the "first family of darkness," but borderline skeptics weigh in on the "most jaw-dropping videos of supernatural activity ever caught on camera," according to the Travel press release.

Interestingly, the production company behind the show is Meetinghouse Productions, the same team behind Travel Channel's Paranormal Caught On Camera (which I appear on, in full disclosure). So Meetinghouse knows how to seek out footage. Add to that, the commentary of Sharon, Ozzy, and Jack as they check out allegedly haunted dolls, and Harry & The Hendersons, and this sounds like an entertaining combination that might capture some of the old MTV magic.

Check out the press release below for The Osbournes Want To Believe:

Jack Osbourne is determined to make his parents, Ozzy and Sharon, full-fledged paranormal believers. Dim the lights and settle in for fun, scares and unfiltered humor in Travel Channel’s new series, “The Osbournes Want To Believe,” premiering Sunday, August 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. They might be known as the first family of darkness, but when it comes to the paranormal, legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, “The Talk” co-host Sharon Osbourne, are borderline skeptics. Determined to turn them fully to the other side, Jack reunites with Ozzy and Sharon to share the craziest, most jaw-dropping videos of supernatural activity ever caught on camera. But the question still remains if the Prince and Princess of Darkness will see the light when it comes to the paranormal, or if they think it’s just another ride on the crazy train.

“My parents have always lived on the edge, even when it comes to believing in the supernatural,” said Jack. “I’m convinced they just haven’t seen enough evidence, so I’m making them watch the most undeniable footage caught on camera, including a few from my own personal experiences. My biggest challenge may be keeping their comments family friendly. It will be a classic Osbourne gathering!”

During each hour-long episode, Jack will reveal a series of mind-blowing paranormal clips from the great beyond for his parents, Ozzy and Sharon, to witness. From Bigfoot to UFOs, poltergeists, creepy dolls and unexplained apparitions, the couple will review – and critique – each caught-on-camera moment, a compilation of Jack’s favorite pieces of evidence. Not ones to shy away from honesty and humor, there’s no shortage of fun, antics and lively commentary in the Osbourne screening room.

In the series premiere, Jack Osbourne shares video footage of poltergeists, haunted dolls, UFOs and unidentifiable beasts that leaves Sharon and Ozzy – and their dogs – barking at the moon. Their outrageously funny reactions include Sharon’s love for “Harry & The Hendersons,” Ozzy’s historical digressions on Greeks, Romans and the berserkers and a copious amount of swearing – another day with the First Family of Darkness!

Rhys Darby Examines Aliens Like Us In New Podcast

2020-06-10T11:38:00.001-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS

You know Rhys Darby. You know him as the ever “present” Flight of the Conchords band manager Murray, and the non-playable character guide Nigel in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and The Next Level. You likely know him as a werewolf in What We Do in the Shadows film, and as a were-person in The X-Files revival. You might not know it, but you also know him as the voices of Coran, Princess Allura’s royal advisor on Voltron: Legendary Defender, and as a robot sidekick in the new Disney+ game show The Big Fib. From Jim Carrey’s boss Norm in Yes Man, to Psycho Sam in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, he is just one of those actors you know whose characters are often described as zany, quirky, eccentric.

But you may not really know Rhys Darby.

More than a decade before he first came to the attention of American audiences as the woefully under informed Murray on Conchords, the comedian served in the New Zealand Army as signaller who handled classified communiques. Long before that, he was an Auckland-born kid fascinated with the weird, and into Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World and The Usborne World of the Unknown: Monsters children’s book. This is the same Rhys Darby who previously hosted The Cryptid Factor cryptozoology podcast, and now leads Aliens Like Us, the UFO and extraterrestrial-themed podcast distributed exclusively on Spotify.

And despite the comedy of Aliens Likes Us, which includes songs and short sketches, Darby isn’t playing around when it comes to the otherworldly corner of paranormal pop culture – because this is stuff that’s been ingrained in him since his youth.

“Right from an early age I had a fascination with the weird,” says Darby in a recent video call from his home in New Zealand. “I like to think it’s because I felt like I was out of place in this world right back to my birth, and my existence being a mistake in the family – a 9-year gap between the rest of the siblings and myself.”

Carrying around a question of, “What am I doing here?” Darby says he found comfort researching other things that perhaps weren’t supposed to exist, or which remained unknown. Within books such as the “Usborne” series, he found he was especially drawn to the “blur” between what is real, or what could be real, and the unknown.

“OK, so we haven’t completed this puzzle called earth; there’s still adventure to be had,” he says. “There’s still mysteries to be solved, and all of a sudden, I felt like I could do that.”

However, Darby says his mission to solve those mysteries took a backseat to figuring out life. He says he maintained an avid interest in the weird, but didn’t really make it well known because he was “weird enough as it is,” and dressed in bizarre clothes through his teens, and into his twenties. He then enlisted in the army for four years – which he acknowledges was the complete opposite of a weird institution — when The X-Files debuted, and initially missed much of what he calls “the perfect show for me.”

But as an established actor, Darby says it has fallen into place, and he can now spend his spare time “to turn this little obsession in the back of my head into a hobby.” And into a podcast.

As he matured, and moved about in the entertainment industry, he says he wasn’t so concerned about bringing up the topic of UFOs any longer.

“I was already known as the weird Kiwi comedian, so that helped,” he says. “It wasn’t a great stretch to realize that I’m probably into the unknown, and I let it be obvious sitting in green rooms, in comedy clubs … It was kind of like, ‘Oh, of course he’s into that’.”

Darby jokes that being in entertainment with big personalities and big imaginations isn’t the same as being a dentist who may shock patients if they see the UFO photo in their office. As such, he says about 50 percent of the actors he speaks with about the paranormal are into it on some level — and will talk about it because they aren’t afraid of ridicule (since many already faced that throughout their lives). Still, he says he hopes he has helped to remove any stigma from the subject matter in social environments of entertainers.

In terms of entertainers, he had director Taika Waititi (who directed Wilderpeople, Shadows, and four Conchords episodes) on The Cryptid Factor in 2013. He also would chat about the paranormal with Conchords costar Jemaine Clement, and they discussed the nefarious Men In Black phenomena when Clement was cast in the third entry of the movie franchise of the same name. Though Clement is a skeptic, Darby says his friend’s 10-year-old son is a fan of cryptids, and “has been sending me videos of LEGO cryptid scenes he’s been making.”

Darby as a champion for fellow weirdos — and low-key evangelist against the social stigma that comes with believing in UFOs, aliens, and the like — is noteworthy because it’s also part of the mission of Aliens Like Us. Along with co-host Buttons and producer Ethan, he delicately balances the show’s comedic elements with an enthusiast’s approach to the material, and without mocking guests or sometimes eccentric listeners who leave voicemails detailing alien abduction.

“We’re one of the few podcasts in this ufology world that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time takes the subject matter seriously, [but] obviously being a comedian, people are expecting me to be funny.”

Darby says he unlocked that balance with Buttons, his friend for 25 years, and cohost on The Cryptid Factor. He says he provides the comedy, but believes humans can handle serious — even scary — material while also finding the laughs in any situation. Plus, he thinks he can win over people not into the paranormal with this formula.

“We pull an audience in that would definitely not be interested in cryptozoology for the most part; It’s like, ‘What is that? I’m listening for the laughs’ … And then a few episodes in, people start to go, ‘Hang on, they’re really taking this subject matter seriously. They believe it,’ and, ‘God, these guys are weird, but you know what? I’m starting to believe it as well’.”

With Aliens Like Us, in particular, this approach allows die-hard paranormal fans to take part in a conversation on topics they’re familiar with, while the uninitiated can learn about notable UFO cases such as Rendlesham Forest Incident, and the Pascagoula Abduction. Darby adds it is likewise important to book notable guests from the ufology community – Whitley Strieber, Nick Pope, Richard Dolan, Brooks Agnew, and even celebrities Jack Osbourne, and Jim Jefferies – who have engaging personalities in addition to knowing their way around the weird.

When it comes to the contactee voicemails, Darby says he sits comfortably on the fence by simply allowing listeners to call in with their stories, without fear of judgement – and without even having to interact with another person. It is then up to the audience to decide what they think.
Still, does Darby think stories he’s played of alleged alien impregnation are too much for a mainstream podcast audience tuning in to hear a comedian host? Not so much.

“When you go into the subject matter of ufology, you have to go all the way, so you can’t really have a line where you go, ‘That’s a step too far for me’ because some of the strangest cases have the weirdest things happen in them.”

Going all the way with strange cases can involve thinking about ancient aliens, as well as the existence of other, possibly interdimensional, entities. He jokingly dismisses the existence of unicorns – which he says might lead to angry letters from a Unicorn Association – but says there are so many compelling stories of beings that are not simply classic Gray aliens. In response to a question about famed investigator John Keel, and the notion that other phenomena are connected, Darby says he likewise believes things are linked.

“I think it makes total sense that, especially with the cryptids, they come from somewhere else or they’re hiding underneath the earth,” he says. “Now the real question is, are they interdimensional or are they coming from our own dimension but far away? And I think I’m definitely leaning towards interdimensional. I believe there’s a lot of different universes … that’s one of the things that excites me about the possible existence of Sasquatches is that they can come through from another world.”

As far as what’s happening on this world, Darby says he’s excited to look ahead at new cases as we move – hopefully — towards “Disclosure,” the term used to describe governments showing their cards with regards to knowledge of extraterrestrial life. (One need only look at mainstream reports in The New York Times, and footage labeled by the Department of Defense as “unidentifiable,” to understand why this is a hot topic that is increasingly ablaze.)

“I think we’re slowly shifting; we’ve definitely turned a corner with these US Navy videos that have been released proving that these things are real,” he says. “We’re at the point now where we know they’re real, and we know they’re happening, and we know that they’re not us.”
[Author aside: Darby’s next quote is the kind that makes most UFO geeks such as yours truly nod excitedly.]

“At least not ‘us’ from the future. Who knows? But we know they’re not us from now. Or at least a lot of them aren’t. The case is still out there that there’s highly top secret craft that, particularly the US, have through back-engineering that are up there. And I believe there’s definitely a mixture of that along with ET craft that isn’t from here at all.”

Darby also predicts that once the pandemic threat passes, and life returns to a semblance of normalcy, the Trump Administration’s so-called Space Force might be accompanied by some intriguing technological reveals.

“This time next year they’re going to be admitting and showing us what they’ve actually got in terms of spacecraft,” Darby says. “The Secret Space Program will be revealed to a certain extent, and they’ll suddenly say, ‘Oh, and we’ve got these things now that we’re going to be flying up in the sky with,’ and they’ll be triangular craft, or something like that. I firmly believe that this is sort of a slow leak on the SSP with this Space Force situation.”

Though that revelation may not come anytime soon, Rhys Darby says he will continue his own exploration into the unknown in the meanwhile. You know Rhys Darby as a werewolf, were-person, wilderpeople, conchord, video game avatar, and robot sidekick, and now he’s inviting you to get to know him as a podcast host, and wants to introduce you to Aliens Like Us.

Guillermo del Toro on Gothic 'Graveyard Poetry' and Spiritualism

2020-05-22T13:42:00.001-04:00

Guillermo del Toro doesn't do talking points. Rather than give bite-size quotes during interviews, the director has a conversation where he thoughtfully responds to a question.

And few topics seems to get him as excited as the paranormal.

Over the course of several interviews, I've had the opportunity to talk to the Academy Award-winning filmmaker of The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, the Ron Perlman-starring Hellboy films, and more.

In addition to getting insight on those projects, I have appreciated the chance to discuss the paranormal with del Toro.

With that in mind, I dug up this video filmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. We sat down to discuss Crimson Peak, hia underrated Gothic Romance that was sadly marketed as a horror film.

This portion of the interview didn't make a final cut, but we are able to chat about how paranormal pop culture impacted the perception of "real" ghosts, and why del Toro likes to show the monsters early on in his films.

Check it out.

-Aaron Sagers

KISS' Spaceman Ace Frehley: A Life of Ghosts, UFOs, and Maybe Abduction

2020-05-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

For some people, a single incident of seeing a UFO -- or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena as the Air Force would now like us to say -- can be a paradigm shifting moment. Or simply one experience witnessing something move on its own can lead to a quest to determine one's belief, or lack thereof, in ghosts.

But when you're Ace Frehley, The Spaceman formerly of KISS, once is not enough for potentially paranormal phenomena.

Rather, Space Ace claims that not only has he seen multiple objects flying in the sky above his home, performing odd maneuvers, but that a craft of some sort landed in his backyard in Westchester, New York -- and that the chances of him encountering an extraterrestrial face-to-face is around "50/50." Moreover, he said that a ghost punched him in the face, and that another potentially caused his body to shake (and was captured on camera).

And he believes he receives downloads of unknown origins when writing songs.

These are all things Ace told me in a long interview we connected nearly 11 years ago, in Fall 2009, when I was interviewing him about Anomaly. It was his first studio record in 20 years, since 1989's Trouble Walkin'.

As I recall, the interview took place in a recording studio at the Gibson Guitar offices in New York City. The room was dimly-lit, but the lead guitarist was lounging in a couch, wearing shades and some Egyptian-inspired jewelry -- and owning the place in the way you'd hope from a rockstar.

The conversation was a good one as we spoke about his comeback. And while Anomaly marked his return to the studio, it was still an early outing for my work surrounding "paranormal pop culture." Even though I had been working professionally as a journalist for five years or so, I was still reticent asking celebrities about their paranormal experiences.

So when I tested it out on The Spaceman, I did not expect him to deliver. But boy, did he ever. Before I even got the question out of my mouth about what seemed to me like a connection between alien life and his album, he jumped in:

"I'm the kind of guy that says nothing's impossible, you know? Well, I've seen spaceships and you know, I've seen it all."

If you listen to the audio, you can hear my surprise when I reply, "Wait, wait, okay, so you've seen spaceships. All right."

Ace claimed he had always been interested in unexplained topics -- including ancient aliens, and the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. His first UFO sighting of a "cigar-shaped something" was from a plane while on tour with KISS. He then proceeded to reveal he often sees them from his backyard in Westchester (a fact he said he had not previously discussed).

"I see something going across the sky, like super fast, and I'm watching, and it's going just like this, really fast," he said. "t stops dead and goes straight up. Now, if you know a plane that can maneuver at that speed and do a tactical maneuver like that, you let me know because I don't think there's one made on Earth that can do that."

But then he dropped the bomb that he believes one landed on his property, and knocked him unconscious.

"All I know is I woke up the next morning, and I'm laying in my doorway, halfway in the house and halfway out of the house, and then there was like this circular burn on the grass," said Ace. "I don't know, you tell me. I didn't really talk about it to anybody because I didn't want people on my property."

As to whether he was himself abducted, he said he thinks the chances are "50/50" because the beings from another world can wipe one's memory.

He said he believes people who don't believe in extraterrestrials are "idiots," considering the vastness of the universe.

"Any person who closes their mind to new ideas is just limiting their view on the world around us." For Ace, that also includes the existence of ghosts.

"I've seen ghosts. I believe in spirits. I believe in past lives ... I mean, I was punched in the face by a ghost."

Ace told the story, which had occurred in 2008, just a year before the interview, of the time he was lifting the top of a suitcase when a force struck him. He said the top of the case wasn't heavy or powerful to cause him to be "whacked." However, the experience followed him being hit by a book that he said came from the top of a water cooler, along with a strange sensation of his hand shaking unexplainably.

"I was in my recording studio, and I was having problems making a cup of tea because my hand was shaking," said The Spaceman. "My hand never shake; I have a steady hand."

"I'm pouring honey into my cup, and my hand shakes, and I spilled the honey, and I said, 'What the fuck's going on?'"

While he said his dismissed the hand shaking, and the book, the hit from the luggage made him connect the dots. As he spoke, he also recalled an experience from 2000, when he first purchased the Westchester home. He claims his daughter and a friend were watching him through security camera footage as he was setting up the cams. An experience of strange lights witnessed through the camera coincided with his own physical discomfort.

"She said, all of a sudden, from the bottom of my feet, it started to glow, and it was coming up my whole body. And by the time it got up to my waist, I don't know, I didn't feel right, and I just said I'm out of here. And when I went back in the house, her and her friend, their faces were kind of white. I go, 'What's wrong?' And she described what happened."

The strange case of Ace Frehley and the paranormal continued to unfold that day when he echoed a popular theory from those who explore alleged interplanetary, and interdimensional, life. According to Ace, he received "downloads" from other forces as he wrote his songs. The notion that information is transmitted into a human has been used to explain the impressive construction of the Egyptian pyramids -- and supposedly Nikola Tesla received his own transmissions.

"Sometimes I write songs, and I don't know where they're coming from," said Ace. "It's almost like they are being beamed into my head; I've had nights where I can't write the lyrics down as fast as I get them, and it's like I'm not writing them, and somebody else is giving them to me."

All of it together, said Ace, is connected. He believes it even explains his nickname of The Spaceman of KISS.

With so many juicy quotes, perhaps an obvious question about Ace Frehley's accounts is also the most unexplained: Why did I wait 11 years to publish these?

And I wish I had a good answer. It felt like I struck gold, and I had big plans for Ace's story. Perhaps it became overwhelming or I set it aside to use as part of another project. I do know, however, that I filed away the audio from the interview, and forgot about it until recently when it flooded back to me.

Humorously enough, what made me think about the Ace interview was his near-dismissal of one third of the paranormal trifecta. After dishing about aliens, and ghosts, he matter-of-factly shot down the topic of Sasquatch.

"I don't have the time to get into Bigfoot because where I grew up, it wasn't an issue."

While talking to a legend of rock 'n' roll, sprawled on a couch and wearing sunglasses in a darkened studio, he ultimately sounded like all of us who just can't be bothered with yet another thing.

To listen to the full audio, check out the NightMerica podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio.

The "Ghost Nation" Crew Discuss All New Investigations for Season 2

2020-04-23T13:51:00.000-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS
(Originally published at TravelChannel.com)

When it comes to paranormal investigations, things are always changing — which makes sense when one is pursuing phenomena based on theory, and not rule books. Still, it’s noteworthy that some 15 years ago, when I first met Jason Hawes — and Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango shortly after — they were largely thinking of ghosts in terms of intelligent, residual, poltergeist or inhuman. A lot has changed since then, and now Jason mentions theories of time-slip hauntings, and other temporal anomalies he encounters.

But while many things change, some things stay the same. Jason, Steve, and Dave are still out there, responding to cases of paranormal activity, which comes to their attention via a vast network of paranormal investigative groups.

With the second season of Ghost Nation, the paranormal trailblazers continue their exploration of the other side. I was able to catch up with Jason and Steve about the new season, and the approach they took for these investigations. And in the following interview, we also chat about how their theories of the paranormal have evolved, their thoughts on advancements in technology for investigations, and even how they’ve been hearing of an increase in activity while more people are staying at home.

How did you approach paranormal investigation this season?

Jason Hawes: Well, people reach out to us, and they always have, through our different websites. They make contact asking us to head out and investigate the locations, or their teams reach out to us all the time. So that’s pretty much how those cases come to us and then of course we get an abundance of them. So, we have to sit down, go through which ones seem to jump to the front, and be priority type cases.

Steve Gonsalves: In this second season, we also wanted to maintain sort of our original focus, which is taking on cases where we are actually helping people — not necessarily just running to try to get the best piece of paranormal evidence of whatever’s going to push the field. These were places we could help, and impact the people and clients directly.

What do you think is the most exciting thing going on in the paranormal field right now?

Steve Gonsalves: I think equipment is definitely getting there and the ability to capture evidence in ways that we haven’t been able to. It’s quite at a different level now. But I think the collective consciousness that everybody has together is definitively different now. We’re working towards a common goal in this field, which I think is pretty awesome.

Jason Hawes: We’re working on different types of equipment that we think can further the field. Having them involved is a highly exciting thing for us, because we’re able to come up with these ideas, and they’re able to build equipment and implement them.

When you look at cases around the nation, what gets you more excited: A place that has been investigated by a lot of people or a place that has never been investigated?

Jason Hawes: Well I love going to the place we’ve never investigated before. Because we’re going in, there’s no expectation of anything. We’re going in being the first and being able to get our hands on it. A place that’s been investigated a thousand times really isn’t that exciting to me

Steve Gonsalves: Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. There’s a different energy — and I don’t mean a paranormal energy, I mean an energy amongst the investigators.

As you head into the second season of Ghost Nation, have you found that your own personal theories or paranormal beliefs have evolved recently?

Jason Hawes: Well I would say that it’s not that our philosophies have really changed, but our theories on types of hauntings. We’ve found that instead of there just being these intelligent, residual or poltergeist-type haunts, or human-type haunts, there’s also other types of haunts — whether it’s time-lapse haunts, and time overlapping haunts, things of that nature. Some of these things we’re catching are as if [activity] is living a normal day in its life, still doing its routine as we’re in ours. For whatever reason, their time and our time seem to be overlapping in some of these haunts. Those have been the most fascinating cases as of recently.

Steve Gonsalves: For me, it’s a little bit two-pronged. I thought [advances in science] would dispel some of my beliefs in the paranormal, but it has actually done quite the opposite which is surprising to me. On the philosophy side of it, I’m coming to a place where I realize that the paranormal sort of means different things to different people. To me, it’s very much based in science. To other people it’s very spiritual. They’re looking at an orb as, you know, their mom and that sort of thing. Maybe I don’t need to swoop in to say “Hey that’s just dust,” you know? Everybody’s sort of on their own journey when it comes to the paranormal, and I’m starting to realize that.

This season you guys visit the Beetlejuice theater on Broadway. Talk about the excitement of investigating the theater as well as how that felt as a film fan.

Steve Gonsalves: Being a fan of Beetlejuice the Musical, it was amazing to be there, and be with the cast, and see behind the scenes. When we were there filming, that was actually my 10th time seeing the show. But it wasn’t an investigation in that sense where we were really diving in deep. This was very much a come together of minds. In terms of investigating the Winter Garden Theatre, we didn’t come across anything, but they do claim there are some ghosts there. Not just Beetlejuice, but realistically.

During this time of isolation, do you think that paranormal reports will increase as people are home more, and perhaps more attuned to the energies of their homes?

Jason Hawes: During the fall, claims of paranormal activity pick up because people are home, and they’re home earlier. And usually at that point it’s getting dark earlier, so they’re able to hear all the pops and creaks in the house. Right now, we’ve been getting an abundance of cases because people are home all the time. Beyond that, people are stressed. But a lot of people are in contact with us. We’ve got groups all over the world Aaron, and we’re getting an abundance of cases, but we can’t get out to them right now. So those cases are piling up. As soon as everything calms down, we’re going to get back out there and start helping as many as possible.

Paranormal Caught on Camera: Season 2 Premiere: April 6, 9pm

2020-04-05T15:09:00.001-04:00

I join Travel Channel's Paranormal Caught On Camera for their new season for a handful of eps. I don't know when I'll be on, but there's a two-hour premiere tonight at 9pm ET. Check it out for all the weird, bizarre, wacky, and maybe even true tales found online!

About That Time Kenny Rogers Was Abducted by Aliens

2020-03-30T13:06:00.000-04:00

When Kenny Rogers passed away on March 20, 2020, he left behind a legacy as a pop culture icon who was an actor, musician, restaurateur, and a gambler who knew when to hold ‘em, fold ‘em, walk away, or run.

But the country singer also made a mark in paranormal pop culture with “Planet Texas,” the second single from his 1989 album Something Inside So Strong.

The tune is about a cowboy who encounters a trio of space dudes out of the sky with high-tech horses, domed helmets over their white hats, laser pistols, and anodized spurs.

These cowboys weren’t common buckaroos of the human race, and instead - spoiler alert - came from Planet Texas. Throughout the course of the song, and the video directed by Julien Temple (known for his films featuring the Sex Pistols), the aliens take Kenny’s cowboy character on a horseback tour of Saturn’s rings, passing by John Denvers floating in space for some reason.

They eventually hop on a tail of a comet and ride to Planet Texas, where Kenny signs his name on the planet’s surface, alongside other famous Texans Roy Orbison, LBJ, Waylon Jennings and, oddly enough, the fictional J.R. Ewing from Dallas.

I don’t know if the implication is these famous Texans are actually of the same alien species, or if the space cowboys are simply such big fans that they periodically abduct Lone Star celebs, and fly them to the stars for an autograph and photo op.

The $600,000 video aired on the televised special Something Inside So Strong, which also featured Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. But Kenny had plans for the Top 30 single beyond the music video.

"It's the most unique piece of music I've heard in 20 years," Rogers told the Associated Press in 1989. "It may be a new genre. It has to do with space and time travel, but it's also a Western. These alien cowboys pick me up and take me to a planet called Texas.

"We may do this as a movie for NBC, but we're also toying with the idea of trying to attract a Stephen Spielberg or George Lucas and making it a feature film," he added. "It's such an unusual concept and offers the same limitless possibilities that The Gambler did."

Sadly, that movie never happened, but just maybe Kenny joined his fellow Texans in the big Lone Star State in the sky.

Big thanks to Dave Schrader of The Holzer Files and Darkness Radio show for bringing this one to my attention. And thanks to Bobby Moore of Wide Open Country for unearthing this otherworldly country gem.

Annabelle, and Other Real-Life Haunted Dolls to Disturb Your Dreams

2020-03-26T12:08:00.002-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS(Originally published at Den Of Geek)

Dolls are great companions for tea parties, sleepovers, adventures, and more. But for many people, they’re also creepy toys that watch you sleep and popular vessels for demonic possession. Basically, they’re homicidal effigies made of stuffing or porcelain. Unsurprisingly, from Talky Tina of The Twilight Zone fame to Fats from Magic, and the Clown from Poltergeist to Chucky in Child’s Play and Annabelle in The Conjuring Universe, dolls have long been go-to monsters in paranormal pop culture.

But millennia before Talky Tina told Telly Savalas “I don’t think I like you,” dolls have existed, going back to Ancient Egypt and Rome. Present in nearly every culture, they were placed as servants in a pharaoh’s tomb, were said to aid in fertility, teach a child how to parent, or be a listener to tell all your worries to. They could as much be items of art or religious significance as a child’s plaything.

Why, then, are they so damn scary? It turns out there is a scientific reason… and a paranormal one.

Dr. Margee Kerr, a sociologist who specializes in fear, says that while our childhood experiences with dolls may have been a source of joy, comfort, or even safety, seeing dolls out of context can freak us out as an “ultimate betrayal of innocence.”

“Fear can be understood as a measure of the distance between what we expect and what we experience, and if a doll is too lifelike, and our brain can’t figure out if it’s a human or toy, that can generate a powerful sense of unease,” Kerr says.

“This dissonance turns to fear as the doll moves further away from what we expect—the object that brought joy and comfort—now trying to kill us.”

Beyond the psychological explanation, there is also a supernatural connection with dolls. According to author and paranormal researcher Rosemary Ellen Guiley (who has since passed away), dolls have historically served as links to the spirit world and afterlife, and as conduits of magic.

“Throughout history, dolls have been made to attract and house spirits that can be summoned forth in a ritual,” Guiley told me.

She added they top the list of things most likely to have residual haunting attachments (which is supposed to be a ghostly energy imprint that plays over and over like a scratched record). Guiley noted many reasons for this, including the “sheer proliferation” of dolls throughout the ages, and the simple fact that most people have likely owned one at some point.

“Another reason is that dolls replicate people,” Guiley said. “Dolls, even funny dolls, are representative of human beings; in a child’s play, they substitute for a living person and even take on a persona of their own.”

As a result, Guiley said people invest a lot of emotional energy in dolls, even if they are adult collectors. So thus suggests that because dolls replicate people and are believed to have energetic links to the living, they can be used in “sympathetic magic.”

“What is done to the doll is done to the person” said Guiley.

If you’re not creeped out yet, also consider Guiley’s point that the more objects are handled, the more they can absorb psychic and emotional energy from people, and that energy builds up enough to create a haunting residue—which can be experienced by others after the doll has passed to new owners.

“Spirits that lodge in dolls may not be deliberately attached; spirits who are attracted to the living can, in certain cases, latch on to possessions a person has,” said Guiley. “Dolls are the most likely candidates … people who acquire haunted dolls often find the poltergeist phenomena around them unpleasant and unsettling, such as disembodied voices, dolls that seem to change position or location on their own, and outbreaks of other phenomena in a household.”

So if you’re now ready to sleep with the lights on—while keeping your eyes locked on that antique porcelain doll on the shelf (has its head always been slightly turned like that?)—read ahead for the scariest real-life dolls that allegedly bring evil to playtime.

Annabelle

When The Conjuring introduced Annabelle to mainstream audiences in 2013, it was in the visage of an antique porcelain doll with a pallor and ruby red, mischievous smile that was the focus of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s most recent case file.

The actual Annabelle is far more mundane, and looks like a Raggedy Ann doll about the size of a four-year-old child—and attached to an inhuman entity. Before she made her big screen debut in James Wan’s movie, Annabelle was introduced in Gerald Brittle’s 1980 book The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Warrens account of Annabelle has it that in 1970, a mother purchased the Raggedy Ann doll from a hobby store as a birthday gift to her adult daughter Donna Jennings. Jennings, a nurse, lived with fellow nurse Angie Stapleton; Stapleton’s fiancée, Lou Carlo, was also a frequent visitor to their modern apartment.

The Warrens were allegedly called into the case by Episcopal clergy because the doll had begun to move around the girls’ home. At first, Jennings said the doll’s position would change while she was away at work, or would appear to be standing or kneeling on its own. Stapleton said the doll would change rooms while they were gone, and then handwritten notes in parchment began to appear—with writing that looked like a child’s—saying “Help Us” or “Help Lou” (the trio told the paranormal investigators they didn’t own a pencil, and didn’t have parchment around). One night they discovered blood on the doll’s hand and chest. And even, weirdly, a piece of chocolate seemed to appear.

The name Annabelle Higgins was introduced by a medium the nurses consulted. The medium claimed Annabelle was the spirit of a seven-year-old girl who had lived in happier times when the apartments were still fields. The girl only wanted love, said the medium, and requested permission to stay with the women, and to enter the doll—which they granted, much to Ed Warren’s dismay.

Activity increased over the course of a year, culminating with Lou having a dream about the doll floating over him, hands on his neck, strangling him. On another occasion, he heard sounds in Donna’s room and went to investigate, encountering the doll on the floor while something attacked him from behind, leaving seven bloody claw marks (which they said was a symbolic mark of the beast).

The Warrens said they determined an inhuman spirit was manipulating the doll (as opposed to possessing it), and the recognition it received from the roommates empowered it as it looked for a human host. Enlisting Father Cooke of the Episcopal Church, the apartment was exorcised, and the Warrens ended up with the doll.

The celebrity ghost hunters said they believed a “vicious hatred” tried to run them off the road as they transported the doll home. Despite building a special case to contain Annabelle at their Occult Museum, they claimed a Catholic priest’s life was endangered and a young man killed on his motorcycle shortly after they challenged the doll. Also, the doll supposedly arrived at the museum with a spectral black cat that would stalk Ed’s office and dematerialize by the doll’s side.

Currently the Warren’s Occult Museum is closed after Lorraine recently passed away. As with each of these dolls, the story should be treated with healthy skepticism considering the lack of corroboration. However, Annabelle is the most famous allegedly real haunted doll—and her tale continued in 2019's third standalone Annabelle movie.

Robert the Doll

Before Annabelle made her big screen debut in The Conjuring, Robert was the most famous doll out there. The doll looks almost more simian than human, with black beady eyes, tiny distressed cuts on his face, a peculiar grin, and wearing a little sailor outfit likely originally worn by his owner, Robert Eugene Otto of Key West, Florida.

Robert the Doll’s story goes back to 1904 when the real Robert, a boy who went by Gene, acquired it from his grandfather, who’d recently returned from a trip to Germany. Manufactured by the Steiff Company, which made the first Teddy bear, the wood-wool-stuffed life-sized doll was possibly intended as more of a display mannequin (though some say a maid to the Otto family gave Gene the doll, imbued with voodoo magic).

Robert was a constant companion for Gene, and it was accused by the boy of various misdeeds and mysterious movements by the boy. Toys might be mutilated, furniture overturned, and eerie giggles might be heard throughout the Otto home—and Gene always placed the blame on Robert.

As he grew older, Gene became an artist, and his inherited home was known as the Artist House. There Robert would be perched in a window on the second floor turret room, where people claimed he may change position. After Gene died in 1974, Myrtle Reuter purchased the home, and Robert came with it.

She said the doll would move on its own, giggle, and change expression should anyone disparage Gene.

In 1994, Reuter donated the doll to the Fort East Martello Museum, the gallery of which was designed by Gene. Even before Robert became an attraction, he began attracting visitors who had heard of him.

Kept in a glass display case, Robert “lives” at the museum still where people claim to be cursed by him should they insult him or take his photo without asking for permission. The doll is also credited for interfering with electronic devices. The doll is thus a bit of a celebrity, receiving about three letters a day that range from apologies for bad behavior toward him to letters asking for advice. Robert is said to be a fan of sweets as well, and some people send candy.

Interestingly, Robert the Doll sits with his own doll: A dog with a gaping mouth that resembles the “This is Fine” meme.

Whether Robert is cursed with voodoo, or somehow inhabits the energies of his former owner, and lifelong friend—or even if he’s just an old doll with a creepy story—you can find out for yourself by visiting him at the Fort East Martello Museum. Just err on the side of caution, and be polite to him.

Ruby the Haunted Doll

Dana and Greg Newkirk’s Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult have an extensive collection of supposedly haunted (and definitely creepy) objects worth seeing. Among them is Ruby the Haunted Doll, a porcelain, paint, and fabric doll from the early 1900s that originated in Southern Ontario.

According to the museum’s description, Ruby spent decades in attics and basements as she was passed along by people who wanted nothing to do with her. The Newkirks report that previous owners came to believe she is still the possession of a young girl who died while holding the doll.

Like the other dolls listed here, Ruby is said to be able to move on her own. But what makes her especially interesting is the feeling of sadness or nausea that overcomes anyone who holds her.

The Paramuseum’s Ruby exhibit is not necessarily threatening or “evil,” as associated with other dolls on this list. But if you do get to check out the traveling museum (and you most certainly should), you can say hello to Ruby before hanging out with famous “Idol of Nightmares,” Billy.

Peggy

As far as haunted dolls go, Peggy looks fairly mundane with blue eyes and blonde bob. But she might make you sick. Something of an internet sensation, Peggy was owned by British investigator Jayne Harris of Haunted Dolls, and has been reported to cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, and perhaps even heart attacks in those that simply see her photo. Those that encounter her in person might even go mad.

Harris came into possession of Peggy courtesy the previous owners who said the doll was causing bad dreams. And mediums who have visited the doll have claimed she is inhabited by a spirit persecuted in life, possibly with ties to the Holocaust. Harris and her team came to believe Peggy’s spirit is a woman from 1946 London who died of an illness that ailed her chest. The woman also apparently hated clowns (which is ironic for a ghost inhabiting a doll).

Apparently in order to avoid having too much information out there about her, Peggy also made Harris’ notebook go missing following a séance.

Most recently, Peggy was acquired by Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures, who is displaying the doll at his Haunted Museum in Las Vegas. Bagans said Peggy has affected him more than Robert the Doll, claiming a typewriter began typing on its own during a séance with Peggy. He added that, since taking over ownership, Peggy has manifested flies and poltergeist activity. To view it at his museum, he requires visitors to sign a waiver (which is either a great safety measure, or brilliant publicity stunt).

Harold

Whether or not it is factually correct, Harold the Doll has the reputation for being the first of many haunted dolls to be sold on eBay in 2003. His auction earned him media attention, and later, an appearance on Ghost Adventures (Zak Bagans hates dolls, but it’s also good television to feature allegedly haunted dolls on a ghost show).

The initial story behind the badly worn doll is that he belonged to the young son of a Florida man who had passed away in the 1940s. When the son died, the man and his wife reported hearing crying and singing from the boy’s bedroom. A priest advised him to burn the doll, but it wouldn’t burn, so the man kept it in his shed for about 60 years—allegedly. And then the original eBay seller put “Haunted Harold” up for sale, after blaming the doll for his cat dying and losing his girlfriend to the pool man two days after buying it off the man.

After being purchased for $300, Harold was passed along from one owner to the next, and some believed he caused misfortune everywhere he went. Noises were heard, and occasionally it would seem Harold’s expression had shifted to a smile. According to the Ghost Adventures episode, a friend of one of the owners developed a brain tumor shortly after visiting Harold.

Anthony Quinata purchased the doll in 2004 and said there were souls imprisoned in, and by, the doll. He chronicled attacks by Harold on him, and others, in a book about his time with the doll.

Letta

The story of Letta is one of those that, if only portions of it are true, it’s damn creepy. Owner Kerry Walton said he discovered the doll in the 1970s under the floorboards of an abandoned house he was scavenging in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. Wooden and with glass eyes, the doll was put in his trunk.

Walton then proceeded to drive home—until, that is, he heard movement and a howl of “Letta me out.” Hence the name Letta was born.

Upon bringing Letta home, Walton said his children were terrified of it and said they heard it talking to itself and moving on its own. Also dogs apparently acted aggressively toward it. Those who encountered Letta may have vivid nightmares, or feel nauseous.

Plus, Walton suggested Letta walks around at night.

When he had it examined, Walton claimed Letta dated back 200 years, made with real human hair by Eastern European gypsies. And it was supposedly haunted by a restless spirit of a drowned boy. Unsurprisingly, Letta made the television rounds and became a famously haunted doll, and Walton has vowed not to get rid of it, despite the inky cloud of dread and anxiousness hanging around it. Then again, he does travel with the doll, and charges for photographs with it.

From Freddy Krueger to Horror Host: Robert Englund Talks About the Nightmare Fuel of ‘True Terror’

2020-03-20T13:59:00.000-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS
(Originally published on TravelChannel.com)

Robert Englund knows something about terror. For nearly 36 years the actor has been best known as the maker of nightmare fuel in the form of dreamscape stalker Freddy Krueger from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. But beyond the role of Freddy, or The Mangler, or The Phantom of the Opera, Englund is a horror icon. His name alone has become synonymous with scary stories.

And in the new series, True Terror with Robert Englund, which airs Wednesdays at 10|9c, his role is that of horror host, sharing stories that are perhaps the scariest because they are ripped from the historical headlines of America’s newspapers. Brought to life via both Englund’s narration and reenactments, these True Terror tales of premonition, monster sightings, premature burials — and yes, even haunted nightmares — are so striking because they are rooted in fact.

In our following conversation, Robert Englund shares his fascination with these stories of the odd, and macabre, and even recounts two tales of the unexplained from his own personal history.

It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the first story of the first episode involves a man haunted by nightmares of his death. How did you determine the balance between playing up “the man behind Freddy,” and the weird historical tales?

Robert Englund: I obviously bring a lot of baggage to my hosting, and that's one of the reasons they chose me. But one of the producers was particularly obsessed as a young man with Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack, and it was his dream to bring something in that spirit to Travel Channel but darker, and much more historical. And I'm a little bit Vincent Price, I'm a little bit Robert Englund, and in some of the writing there's a little bit Rod Serling. But that's that kind of flavor.

Speaking of Serling, your hosting style possesses his similar wry humor, and mischief, but also a trustworthiness as a storyteller.

Englund: Well, thank you. I discovered that in the writing. Some of the tags, some of the recaps, and some of the wind-ups have that Serling rhythm to them. And there's a bit of a wink sometimes. I think there needs to be a bit of a wink, but there also needs to be a bit of a “what if.” What if this happened? Or what could it mean? I like to put that in.

I began as a print journalist working for newspapers, and would discover these archived stories, such as a ghostly postman that kept to his route, reported in serious publications. Do you think these True Terror tales have truth behind them, or they are just the stuff of entertainment during an era of yellow journalism?

Englund: I think it's a combination of tabloid journalism, and human interest stories. The other part is we don't know the morality at the time. People were more open to superstition a hundred years ago, 150 years ago. People were more open to a different kind of conspiracy theory. We were less wise, we were less educated, we knew less science. Things were unexplained, so we believed other things … To understand that morality is to understand why so many of these stories that kind of expose the tabloid dark underbelly of the American psyche, why so many of them were printed in newspapers and why so many of them were believed.

But when you have a story such as a flying dinosaur terrorizing cowboys, what do you think the origins of that sort of tale may be?

Englund: Even as far fetched as our flying dinosaur segment is, imagine if you were in 1840s Arizona or the Southwest somewhere, and you're out by the campfire. You've got a little bit of whiskey in your coffee, and it's evening, and you're leaning up against a warm rock because nighttime is coming, and there's a monitor lizard. Maybe it's a big flying lizard, and you look up and see that thing. The shadow crosses over you, you're a little bit drunk, and it looks like a flying dinosaur. You go into Tombstone the next day, or to Vera Cruz, or to Laredo, and you go into the saloon and talk about what you saw. That becomes rumor, and that becomes legend or urban legend, or ghost town legend or whatever. That's how some of that stuff starts.

Do these stories make you think, in 2020, there are times where the pendulum swings too far in the cynical direction where we don't even entertain the possibility of these odd tales?

Englund: Yeah, we could be a Doubting Thomas. We keep finding new missing links, and we keep finding new aboriginal source material to our own species. Who is to say, in 1840, there wasn't a big lizard in the Southwest that could glide a little bit from rock to rock that looked a little bit like a dinosaur. A monitor lizard with a lot of fat under its arms catching some Santa Ana wind and jumping from rock to rock like a flying squirrel?

Finally, I’d love to hear you tell me a story. Were there any stories or urban legends from your youth in Glendale, California, that personally captures that True Terror type of story?

Englund: Most of mine were traditional. I was born on the edge of Glendale in the Hollywood Hills there in Los Feliz …

Oh yeah, you had Black Dahlia, you had the Los Feliz Murder House …

Englund: I actually lived across the street from that Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. House for a while, the Black Dahlia house. I lived in an apartment directly across the street from it for many years. But I was raised in the valley, so I was a valley boy. So, I heard the urban legends of the hook man on Lover's Lane, which is sort of like every town has an Elm Street. But I have two that were specific to me.

There was a famous, famous flood in the 1930s in Los Angeles, and it was a terrible, terrible hundred-year flood. My mother was in college and she was in a sorority in the foothills of Montrose, up there, Pasadena, Glendale, Montrose there.

People were flopped all over, the ones who couldn't get home were stuck there, and they were all asleep, and it was late at night. My mom was doing the dishes, and putting them in the dish rack and there was a knock on the door, and she went to the door. It was one of the sorority sisters, and she came in all wet and she took off her jacket, and my mother helped her dry her hair. The flood had subsided somewhat, and she got in and they had a cup of coffee. They smoked another couple of cigarettes, and the girl was going to go back. She thought she could get back to where she was staying. She left, and the rain had stopped, and it was calming down. My mother listened to the radio a little more, and went to bed. The next morning there was a loud banging at the door, and it was the police. They wanted to know about this young lady. They knew she was part of the sorority, and they wanted to know if they had a contact number for her parents — because they'd found her body almost 40 hours earlier.

That’s a good one. So, that’s your mother’s ghost story. What’s the other one?

Englund: Here's my father's story. My dad was an executive at Lockheed. He worked on the development of the U2 spy plane, and was involved with the “skunk works” at Lockheed. And I didn't know what he did. I just knew my dad was an engineer, and successful. So, in the 1950s when I was a little boy, we had neighbors across the street my parents were very close to. She was a script doctor for MGM, and he had been a marine — a colonel in the Marine Air Corps — and was now involved in private helicopter business.

When I was a child, he banged on the door, at two, 2:30 in the morning — which in the fifties was kind of outrageous. My father got up, and put a bathrobe on. They talked all night, and had a drink and smoked cigarettes in the kitchen. Close to dawn I think our neighbor went home, and my dad went directly to work. And I heard my mother and father talking about a week later and what had happened was this Marine colonel, this pragmatic, conservative friend of my liberal parents had come to my father in the middle of the night to tell him what he had seen flying back from Catalina in an amphibious PBY executive plane. And he had seen a UFO; he'd had a UFO experience.

It got so close, or they were so close to it, that he actually saw the infrastructure and what looked like seams, and welding, and some kind of riveting that he'd never seen before that almost looked like metal pressed together and creased. He'd seen actual lighting on this thing, and it had moved in perpendiculars, and then just disappeared.

It took my father all night to convince our neighbor not to report it.

I think I know the answer, but why do you think your father didn’t want your neighbor to report it?

Englund: Because, as an officer, as a Marine Corps officer, a high-ranking officer, he had a great pension, and he just had a new baby. My father didn't want him to report it because my father thought that, because they were so strict and so by-the-book, it would hurt his pension, and he didn't want it to hurt our neighbor's pension — even though he believed Bill.

Because of your father’s job in the skunk works, he must have had other stories. Did he share anything else?

Englund: I never got my father to open up about stuff like that. And I never even knew that he was working at the skunk works of Lockheed until years after he retired. My dad would be two or three martinis down in a jazz bar listening to The Tonight Show band, playing after a gig with Johnny Carson, because he loved that band. But that's it, he was still tight lipped. But who knows what our fathers knew? These were the two most strict, by-the-book fathers I knew growing up: my neighbor and my dad. For him to have experienced that, and to have shared that with my pragmatic, no-nonsense dad, it just makes you wonder. It came to me not from UFO fanatics. It came to me through those two guys.

These are sober accounts that come from sober people. Those are the convincing ones to me; the ones that I love to hear.

Englund: That's what I love about True Terror. Even if these were tabloid journalism, they were reported by people who gave it enough credibility back then that they thought we should know about it [such as] Teddy Roosevelt having been source material for a Sasquatch sighting.

Zak Bagans Reveals Why This Is Scariest Season of 'Ghost Adventures' Yet

2020-02-26T14:08:00.000-05:00

BY AARON SAGERS

(Originally published at TravelChannel.com)

Zak Bagans doesn’t mince words when talking about his cases. In the decade I’ve known him, he has always remained straightforward about his theories on the paranormal and upfront about his own sometimes disturbing experiences. Knowing this makes it all the more striking to hear him discuss “Horror in Biggs,” the season premiere of Ghost Adventures, airing Thursday, Feb. 27 at 9|8c.

Frankly put, he says this is an investigation about a man beset by seemingly demonic forces and a case where Zak says, “We were frozen in fear … but we knew that we had to be strong, stick it out, help these people and put our own lives in danger in doing so.”

The case in Biggs, California, revolves around Torrie and his wife. In the episode, the man shakes while speaking about the torment and demonic sexual assault he says he frequently endures. His wrenching testimony aside, Zak believes the entity said to be terrorizing Torrie has likewise plagued the surrounding neighborhood. Indeed, many locals say the malignant spirit is responsible for a series of horrific deaths, and in the episode, the Ghost Adventures crew comes to believe an exorcism may be the only way to save their souls from its dark clutches.

Zak joined me to speak about this unique haunting Ghost Adventures episode and to offer insight on the demonic forces and exorcism of “Horror in Biggs.”

What was your thought process going into this especially dark case?

Zak Bagans: I never know what to expect. Getting a call from somebody you've never met, you don't know what you're dealing with when it comes to demonic oppression, possession, infestation of the house. You don't know what you're dealing with. [But] we do a really good job of research … And then we determine the basis of us actually committing ourselves to doing this for an investigation for Ghost Adventures.

What were your first impressions when meeting Torrie, and learning about his experience?

Zak Bagans: When we arrived, I met the wife right off the bat. I didn't want to meet her husband, and when she told me she's very unsure of paranormal events, spirits — she has to see cold, hard facts in front of her own eyes — I saw the demeanor on her face. Then her telling me that she has heard voices in her own house of something having sex with her husband? That gave me chills all over my body. I started talking to Torrie, and the details he gave me, and the thousands of interviews I've done, I could tell a life and death crisis was going on with this family. That was a level of intensity that can be unmatched in other investigations on Ghost Adventures.

And when you're dealing with somebody's life, that is the most intense and serious situation that we could ever be involved in. This was very terrifying.

But you also learned this activity extended beyond Torrie, and seemed to encompass others in town?

Zak Bagans: We started learning about how Torrie's next door neighbor started having these same experiences as Torrie. She would literally come over to the house and speak to Torrie and his wife and compare with each other the same identical types of manifestations of this entity. To hear this lady died under very mysterious circumstances a few months before we got there? How much more of a terrifying situation can you be involved in? I also met their neighbor down the street who actually witnessed this lady's death. Her and her daughter saw this lady running and screaming down the street, and they saw a tall black shadow figure chasing this lady.

While watching this episode, it sounded like something straight out of a horror movie …

Zak Bagans: But this was all real. This was all real, and this entity seemed to have a grip and a hold of the neighborhood. This wasn't just confined to a house; this entity was affecting a group of houses in the same section of a neighborhood. Then we had another lady tell us that her brother was found dead at the same time as the first woman, and he died of mysterious circumstances. [He was] found with his mouth wide open, and they were also seeing a tall black shadow figure around him and heard three knocks on their door — exactly what Torrie told me.

And yet Torrie appears to be the focal point of this activity. Do you have any theories as to why?

The reason why these entities were choosing these various hosts and victims is unknown. In my experience as an investigator, it seems as though demons will always choose various victims for possible weaknesses. They feed off that. It is like getting a cut in the jungle, and it starts with one fly and then there's 10 flies — and then there's all these insects making that wound worse and worse to where you can die from it. I believe that it's possible that these various people were chosen, and not their siblings and their wives, because maybe they had an underlying weakness that these demons liked to feed on.

So then you don’t think it was one entity leaping from one location to the next but that this activity was drawing in other entities?

Zak Bagans: The way that it was told to us sounded like it was a single powerful entity feeding off various people. But the more I think about it, this could very well have been a demonic infestation where there were multiple entities that all look the same.

Compared to your other investigations, did you feel especially more in danger?

Zak Bagans: With my lengthy investigation doing the Demon House, this really paralleled that particular investigation for me. I really didn't know what we were dealing with … it did put fear into me that this could be a deadly situation.

Speaking to you now, and watching the episode, it’s evident you believed Torrie might not make it out of this alive …

Zak Bagans: I truly believed we had to help this guy. We couldn't just leave and say, "Oh, we got evidence. Thank you, we made a show out of this and we're good, thank you, goodbye."

For many viewers, Torrie’s exorcism is legitimately unsettling to watch. How did it feel for you?

Zak Bagans: We sent [Bishop Bryan Oulette of the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church and Sister Mary Joan] there and they conducted their blessing, and seeing the reaction Torrie had — that was the most severe disturbing reaction to a blessing and a minor right of exorcism that not only have I seen on Ghost Adventures, but that I've ever seen in any other footage. He was screaming for his life in reaction to Bishop Bryan reading from the Bible. It was extremely disturbing and really told me this guy truly had a demonic attachment.

Beyond the exorcism, you and the guys also believe you collected compelling evidence?

Zak Bagans: When we were doing our investigation, Torrie had the ability to tell us where in the room this entity was, and where it was touching him. We were using the electroscope which detects static energy and he said, "Oh, it's on my left leg." And we would measure his left leg, and we would get readings on the electroscope. I’d go over to the right leg, the same exact distance as I was from the left leg, and there would be nothing. This would continue to go on. To me it was very credible evidence that what we were dealing with was genuine. And that made things even more disturbing.

And how is Torrie doing now?

Zak Bagans: We’re continuing to follow up. But we heard things have been getting better, which is good.

After so many episodes, what do you think viewers can learn from this investigation about the show and about what you do?

Zak Bagans: For the investigation on Ghost Adventures, this is something new people are going to see. I've always known demons can be deadly. This stems from other demonic investigations I've done. Demons will try to destroy your life. Ghost Adventures is a television show, but it documents very real calls for help. While some of our episodes may be extremely disturbing and dark, and some may be too difficult to watch, in the end we like to help people. That's the most important thing for us.

Finally, what did “Horror in Biggs” teach you guys about this kind of activity which you’ll carry forward?

Zak Bagans: Showing how this affected multiple people in a bunch of nearby houses -- that was a big one for us. It really taught us that we have to be on guard and bring with us our own shield of spiritual armor and not let it down at any time because we don't want to be a victim of that same fate.

Hans Holzer at 100: America’s First TV Ghost Hunter Still Haunts Paranormal Community

2020-01-26T12:24:00.000-05:00

BY AARON SAGERS
(Originally published at Den of Geek)

Born in Vienna on January 26, 1920, Hans Holzer was like many children, fascinated by the ghost and fairy stories he heard in his youth. But those tales, told by his Uncle Henry, which he retold at school to the disapproval of adults, stayed with Holzer. Ghosts became his life’s work as one of the world’s most famous figures in the paranormal field.

Before his death in 2009, at age 89, Holzer authored nearly 140 books on the paranormal, extraterrestrial life, witchcraft, and more, beginning with 1963’s Ghost Hunter. During a career that famously involved the “Amityville Horror” house case in 1977, Holzer also taught parapsychology at the New York Institute of Technology, and both appeared on, and consulted for, Leonard Nimoy’s late 1970s show In Search Of… And interestingly, actor Dan Aykroyd claimed an obsession with Holzer, which inspired him to write Ghostbusters.

The paranormal subgenre of reality television exploded around 2005 – a trend that continues today with numerous series on networks such as Travel Channel, and A&E, and which has expanded online. Four decades prior, Hans Holzer was one of America’s first famous ghost hunters, preceding Ed and Lorraine Warren.

“He was the king of all paranormal media,” says Dave Schrader, lead investigator of Travel Channel’s unscripted series The Holzer Files, which re-examines Holzer’s cases, and host of the popular paranormal radio show Beyond The Darkness. “He was like the Howard Stern of his time, and was on TV, wrote for movies, and wrote books.”

“He became our first multi-media spokesperson for the paranormal,” says Jeff Belanger, author of more than a dozen books on the paranormal, co-host/producer of New England Legends podcast, and longtime writer/researcher on Travel’s Ghost Adventures. “He had the personality for it; he had the storytelling ability, and he was putting himself out there at a time when no one else was.”

“He was one of the very few here in the States to have been able to publish most of his findings into digestible books,” says daughter Alexandra Holzer, who authored the 2008 book Growing Up Haunted. “He also could write fiction, poetry, sheet music and compose; he wrote, produced and directed some of his own projects, and even recorded two songs on a ‘45 record entitled ‘Ghost Hunter’ (of course).”

His status exploring “the other side” (a phrase he claimed to have coined, and did help popularize) was an impressive development considering he left Austria—and his studies of archaeology and history at the University of Vienna—with his family in 1938 before the annexation of the country into Nazi Germany. Re-settling in New York City, he continued studies at Columbia University, eventually earned a master’s degree in comparative religion, and a PhD in parapsychology from the (rather dubious) London College of Applied Science. In his personal life, Holzer married the Countess Catherine Buxhoeveden in 1962, and had two daughters, Alexandra and Nadine Widener, before the marriage ended.

Holzer’s work impacted the paranormal field in significant ways. Most notably, the way he spoke about it was thoughtful and scholarly. He eschewed words such as “supernatural” because it suggested phenomena was outside of scientific definition. Rather than using “belief”—which he called the “uncritical acceptance of something you can’t prove”—he said he focused on evidence.

His approach was almost journalistic, yet sympathetic; Holzer viewed ghosts (and their spiritual cousins, “stay behinds”) as “a fellow human being in trouble.” He felt strongly that tragedies would ensnare unfortunate souls, and trap them between the spirit world and this one, “unable to proceed due to the inability to free themselves from emotional turmoil.”

Belanger says he understood the power of storytelling in trying to connect his audience with the hauntings.

“He combined some aspects of journalism, but at the end of the day was definitely about trying to capture the story, which is kind of really what all of us are trying to do … there’s obviously varying objectivity when it comes to every single case, but at the end of the day he tried to capture a haunt as objectively as he could to take you, the reader, listener, viewer into it so you can form your own opinions.”

Holzer developed a unique take on how the other side was structured as well, detailing a bureaucratic process that involves a queue, and checking in with an afterlife clerk for another shot on Earth. In 2005, he told Belanger’s Ghostvillage that people would be free of disease after life, but otherwise, things looked pretty similar to this realm with houses, trees – just “maybe a little nicer.”

Holzer’s books and media appearances helped bring ghosthunting into people’s homes. Less than a year after his first book was published, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in January 1964. By 1965, it was The Merv Griffin Show and the Today show in 1967. He would continue to make television appearances throughout the rest of his life.

“We’re all standing on his shoulders to some degree,” says Belanger with regards to Holzer bringing paranormal investigation to television.

“There were only a few names of people that were out there really consistently looking into this, and his was arguably the biggest when I was growing up, so I think that he sort of set the tone for what paranormal investigation is supposed to look like for my generation.”

Belanger adds Holzer understood the media, and used it as a way to further discussion.

“He’d say ‘Okay, laugh at it if you will, say there’s no such thing as ghosts, but here’s something I found’, and that cracked the door to get other people talking about it, and that door has just been cracked more and more ever since the 1960s thanks in large part to him — now, we’ve got all these tv shows that have really blown that door wide open.”

For his part, Schrader – who dedicated his book The Other Side: A Teen’s Guide to Ghost Hunting and the Paranormal to the researcher — remembered the “slow indoctrination” of Holzer into his life.

“Growing up, my mom and aunt were avid readers, and they really had a wide fascination with the paranormal, and there were always books laying around by Hans Holzer at one of their houses.

But Schrader says Holzer also “made it okay to talk about these experiences.”

“He didn’t treat people with disrespect, he didn’t roll his eyes at people; he went, heard their stories, and did what he could to help the spirits.”

“He cared about the cases and the people no matter what,” says Belanger. “That’s the business he was in: having people welcome him into their homes to talk about something deeply personal, deeply profound, and he captured those stories.”

Alexandra echoes this sentiment when speaking of the way her father dressed when in the field, which she says has inspired other investigators to wear a fedora-style hat, buttoned shirt, and jacket.

“He was dressed comfortably but always with something of taste and décor; he felt it set the tone of respect and care in dealing with so many.”

That care and respect may have been influenced by his first visual paranormal experience, which took place after he moved to New York City. He described seeing the ghost of his mother in a white nightgown, pushing his head back upon a pillow to prevent him from getting one of the migraines that plagued him.

“I said, ‘Oh, hello, Mama,’ and she disappeared,” Holzer told Belanger.

Holzer also led tours, and highlighted the geographic sprawl of ghost stories with books such as The Great British Ghost Hunt, The Lively Ghosts of Ireland, Haunted Hollywood, The Ghosts of Dixie, Ghosts of New England, and Hans Holzer’s Travel Guide to Haunted Houses, among others.

Paranormal researcher Peter Underwood, a contemporary who wrote Holzer’s obituary for The Guardian, said his colleague told him, “There are thousands of houses, if not hundreds of thousands, all over the world where stay-behinds, and ghosts, and memories that won’t fade, keep sharing the apartments with flesh-and-blood occupants …”

And that meant an endless supply of material for investigations and books. Impressively, during a time before reality TV ghost hunting shows populated the landscape, Holzer’s writing, lectures, and appearances provided a living for his family. But Holzer was remarkably progressive.

While the predominant methods seen in paranormal television today are influenced by Judeo-Christian theologies, Holzer viewed traditional organized religions as profit-making corporations. He was something of an elder statesman in Wiccan communities and other pagan traditions, and prominently contributed to the mainstream education of such philosophies via books The Truth About Witchcraft, and Inside Witchcraft. He ascribed to reincarnation and was convinced he had previously lived during the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands. And though demons and demonic possession became fashionable, he didn’t buy into devils, monsters, or other supernatural beings.

And rather notably for the time in which he lived, he was a vegan.

“We used to go out to eat but back then finding a vegan restaurant was quite the challenge,” says Alexandra. “You don’t want to go to a place with him without enough choices; it could get ugly!”

Although the modern paranormal investigative community has become known for a plethora of gadgets, meters, ghost boxes, and so on, Holzer preferred looking to the past for his work. During field research, he utilized a “trance medium” where a spirit would use a medium’s mind to convey messages. Trance mediums were popular during the Spiritualism era of the late 19th century. Along with a pen and paper, camera, and audio recorder, this was enough for Holzer.

“He was never keen on technology,” says Schrader. “He always believed the basics.”

Paranormal researcher, and “Weird Lectures” speaker John E.L. Tenney recalls a time in the 1990s Holzer saw his equipment he planned to take on an investigation.

“He asked me, ‘What are you going to do with all that stuff? I said, ‘Maybe find a ghost?’” says Tenney. “He laughed, and said, ‘Someday you’ll throw all that stuff away, and you’ll allow yourself to have an experience.’”

“He was right.”

Holzer also possessed a level-headed approach to investigations, not appearing to be easily shaken. Indeed, he said he had never been frightened on a case.

According to Schrader: “When he’s hearing some of the most chilling things from the spirit world, he always remained even keel, even-tempered, and tried to control the conversation and to bring some peace to the spirits—instead of winding them up or making things worse, he was always the calming influence.”

Holzer remains associated with well-known cases such as the Whaley House in San Diego—which he decided was the most haunted home in America—and the Barnstable House in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. But the Dutch Colonial house in Amityville, New York, became the location for his most famous, and likely most controversial, case.

Following the 1974 murder of six that occurred in the structure on Ocean Avenue, the Lutz family moved in in 1975, and only stayed 28 days before they left, claiming they were tormented by evil entities. This became the basis for Jay Anson’s 1977 book The Amityville Horror: A True Story, which was then adapted into a film. Holzer investigated the home that same year with medium Ethel Johnson-Meyers. Johnson-Meyers claimed she channeled the spirit of a Shinnecock Native American chief who revealed the home was built on a sacred burial ground (despite the Amityville Historical Society noting it was the Montauk tribe who would have been on that land).

Holzer’s investigation, as well as photos he took from the scene, became part of the Amityville lore, and he wrote multiple books about the case—Murder in Amityville, Amityville Horror, Amityville II: The Possession, The Amityville Curse and The Secret of Amityville—two of which became the basis for movie sequels.

As for Hans Holzer at 100, Dave Schrader says he believes the investigator would now embrace technology.

“Now you’ve got real engineers, real scientists that are putting effort into creating tools and equipment that will test the theories,” he says. “He might have been reluctant to move into it, but I think he would have begun grasping some of this as well and utilizing the technology because I think he would see that it might be even less fallible than a medium.”

Meanwhile, Alexandra believes her father would be back in Europe, tackling the subject matter of UFOs, writing, and composing more music. She says he grew weary of reported hauntings, and would say, “There’s more to life than a ghost who refuses to move on! There are other worlds and beings here and out there!”

Alexandra adds that, on her father’s birthday on January 26th, her family will reminisce of the moments they shared, and she will make his favorite cold salad, “a Russian recipe from my mother’s mother, Rosine Buxhoeveden, who was very close to father.”

“And in the wee hours of that morning, after the coffee is brewed, I’ll toast to him while all are still asleep as coffee was his go-to choice of beverage brewing in our home at all hours of the day and night.”

And though Holzer passed away 11 years ago, Belanger did ask him about his centennial, and what he might be doing on his 100th birthday.

“Looking forward to my 101st,” he told the author. “I do what I’m meant to do. A man who takes himself too seriously, others won’t take seriously, so I’m very careful about that. I want to be factual and to be useful – and I try to help anybody who wants help.”

Aladdin, and genies, djinn, and jinn in folklore and pop culture

2019-05-31T14:46:00.003-04:00

BY AARON SAGERS
(Originally published on IGN)

If you’re hoping to find a magic lamp containing an all-powerful genie, be careful what you wish for.

Despite what Aladdin, I Dream of Jeannie or modern paranormal pop culture promise, tapping into phenomenal cosmic powers – contained in an itty-bitty living space – can lead to a world of hurt. Like the song says, you ain’t never had a friend like a genie, but millennia of folklore suggest you probably will wish you didn’t.

In modern entertainment, such as Disney’s new live-action Aladdin based on the 1992 animated film, genies are powerful beings trapped within a lamp, and relegated to granting wishes to masters. Jafar’s fate in the animated film also suggests a human can be transformed into a genie. But that’s not at all how things started for genies…

The Origin of Genies

What we see in Aladdin doesn’t reflect the pre-Islamic Arabian origins of genies, or “jinn,” and “djinn,” which date back to at least 2400 BCE. Although their precise beginnings are unclear, they are mentioned multiple times in the Quran. The word (meaning “to hide”) may be rooted in an Aramaic label for pagan deities that were downgraded to demon status, but Muhammad’s teachings said the jinn were created of smokeless fire.

As opposed to angels, and existing long before Allah created Adam, the jinn were entirely separate entities.

“The jinn are neither angels nor demons,” said paranormal author and researcher David Weatherly, who writes about jinn in his book Strange Intruders. “According to Middle Eastern lore, they are something in between, a third race of beings created by Allah.”

Within Islam, they are not inherently good nor evil, and can live a life of free will that involves eating for sustenance, getting married, having children, and observing social customs. Though possessing magical abilities, when they die they’ll face judgment for their sins.

However, jinn have also earned their reputation for manipulation, mischief, and malevolence. Despite Allah demanding they show fealty to Adam, a jinni (the singular for jinn) named Iblis viewed himself as superior to the human made of dirt. He defied Allah, and this supreme leader of jinn set about luring humans to the dark side. In some lore, Iblis is also known as Shaitan, which has led to parallels being drawn between jinn, and demons, or Satan. Iblis and his cohorts’ defiance of Allah led to them being banished, but given until Judgment Day to make amends.

Considering jinn can live so long as to be nearly immortal, can assume the form of, and possess, humans and animals – and can even teleport between dimensions – Iblis may have had a point about being a higher lifeform.

Weatherly added, “They have a wide range of powers from shapeshifting and invisibility, to psychic abilities and mind control.”

While jinn could be known to be friendly, or at least reclusive, the beings also have vampiric abilities. In addition to absorbing the essence of food, or eating while in human form, they derive nourishment by sucking energy from living things. That can include draining a human soul.

According to lore, some jinn want to do their own thing, and have no interest in humans. Others get their kicks by hanging around humans. But it can be dicey to be around a jinn considering some want to toy with us, and choose to torment us or exact revenge for being cast out. They are also said to be able to bring about illness and bad luck.

“While some through the ages have tried to bargain with them, to do so is always a dangerous gamble since they are notorious tricksters who, for the most part, do not like humans,” said Weatherly. “They can dwell in abandoned buildings, in the deserts and forests, even in rocks, statues, jewelry and other physical items.

One of the more notable stories involving jinn comes from the Testament of Solomon, which could date back as early as 1st century CE. According to the tale, a demon named Ornias runs afoul of Solomon, who is gifted with a ring bearing the seal of God (a Pentagram). The magical ring allows Solomon to control demons, and he uses it to compel Ornias, Beelzebul, and other demons to build fortresses and monuments. Within the Quran, these demons are instead said to be jinn, and Solomon even commanded some within his large armies.

Arabian Nights

The connection between Solomon and jinn appears again in One Thousand and One Nights, the collection of folk stories also known as Arabian Nights. Compiled between the 8th and 14th centuries, the book of tales included “The Story of the City of Brass” about an archaeological quest to find a lost city, as well as a brass vessel containing a jinni trapped by Solomon.

Djinn from the 14th Century Book of Wonders (Wikipedia)

Here we have the connection between jinn and lamps, or small spots, in fiction. King Solomon was known to have a surplus of jars filled with jinn. Further, in “The Fisherman and the Jinni,” an elderly fisherman is having quite the tough time on the water. When he calls upon God for an assist, his net snags a copper jar, topped with a seal of Solomon. When the fisherman opens it up, smoke pours out and becomes a jinni.

And he is pissed.

The jinni claims to have been trapped by Solomon, and initially thinks the fisherman is the king. When the man convinces the entity he is a mere peasant, the jinni reveals the plan he hatched during his imprisonment: For the first 200 years, he planned to shed wealth on whoever freed him. But no one came. During the third century, he decided to grant his liberator three wishes.

Still no one came, and four hundred years in, he decided he’d just kill who ever found him, but he’d let them choose the form of their death.

The fisherman tricks the jinni back into the bottle using some Superman/Mister Mxyzptlk-level of misdirection. So desperate to be let out again, the jinni tells the fisherman a story and eventually guides him to a pond with excellent fishing – and helps the man marry into the Sultan’s family via his daughters.

But the most famous jinn story in fiction, “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp,” may have less to do with Middle Eastern folklore and more to do with Antoine Galland, the Frenchman who first translated Arabian Nights for Europeans in 1704.

The original version of Aladdin didn’t have much to do with a blue wise-cracking genie, and there was no monkey sidekick. In this, the poor boy from China was recruited by a sorcerer to retrieve a lamp from a magic cave with traps. To do so, the wizard gives him an enchanted ring of protection (but also double crosses the kid and traps him in the cave). Al rubs his hands together out of anxiety, and a jinni pops out, and proceeds to teleport the boy with magic lamp back home. While home, Aladdin’s mom cleans the lamp, and a second jinni arrives on the scene. He becomes rich with an assist by jinni #2, marries the Sultan’s daughter, and gets a palace. But the sorcerer returns and gets the lamp and its jinni back – until Aladdin summons jinni #1 from the ring and takes on the bad guy… and then his more evil wizard brother. Jinni #2 warns Al of impending danger from the brother, and the good guys win the day.

Except this story wasn’t included in the original text. Galland claimed he acquired the story from a Syrian storyteller and adapted it himself. Along with “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp” is referred to as one of the orphan tales from Arabian Nights, and both are probably the most well-known amongst Westerners. Galland also receives credit for introducing the word “genie” after translating jinni into génie. The word means genius in French, and there’s a connection with the Latin word genii -- plural for genius -- which is a genial guardian spirit that shapes a man’s character.

The Modern Genie

Galland’s Westernized version of the genie stuck, and the influence could be felt more than two centuries later in films such as 1940’s adventure The Thief of Bagdad (which inspired multiple elements in Disney’s Aladdin), 1958’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 1979’s Arabian Adventure, and the 1978 Clive Donner-directed The Thief of Baghdad (which is not a remake of the 1940 film).

The comedic element of genies as (somewhat bumbling) helpers was shown in the 1900 novel The Brass Bottle, which referred to the entities as djinn. It spawned a Broadway play, two silent pictures, and a 1964 movie starring Burl Ives as the genie, plus Tony Randall and Barbara Eden – which then influenced the 1964-70 television series I Dream of Jeannie, also starring Eden, but now as the magical wish granter.

Interestingly, I Dream of Jeannie featured a running gag that the female jinn couldn’t leave her bottle if it was corked, harkening back to the ancient trope of Solomon’s seal imprisoning the beings. Also, in the first episode of the show that aired in color (“Happy Anniversary,” Season 2, episode one), an evil “Blue Djinn” arrives to wreak havoc. And Jeannie as an attractive, scantily clad being is rooted in folklore that associated jinn with demonic succubi that could form pleasing forms and have sex with men to draw out their energy.

In Western culture, genies largely remained relegated to comedies, such as early Looney Tunes animated shorts like “Buddy of the Legion” (1935) and “A-Lad-In His Lamp” (1948), or the live-action Bowery to Bagdad (1955). Even after Robin Williams voiced Genie in the Disney feature, there was the modern tale Kazaam starring Shaquille O’Neal as a boombox-dwelling genie-turned-djinn (not to be confused with the nonexistent genie movie Shazaam starring Sinbad).

Rather than focusing on the powers of jinn themselves, most Western pop culture with genies appears more interested in the three-wish bargain.

(“Wish? Did someone say wish?” Sorry, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention John Paragon’s Jambi the Genie from Pee Wee’s Playhouse.)

In episodes “The Man in the Bottle” or “I Dream of Genie,” The Twilight Zone encapsulated the at-times devious nature of genies, known for exercising devastating loopholes. This reflects the idea that jinn are manipulative. From The X-Files to Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and even kids fare like Wizards of Waverly Place and The Fairly OddParents, genies are often portrayed as tricksters.

Although ifrit and marid are considered some of the nastiest types of jinn in lore, the jinni in Neil Gaiman’s 2001 novel American Gods has a benevolent nature. He says he doesn’t grant wishes, but offers a new life to Salim. And within the Starz series adapted from the book, the Jinn loves and protects Salim – while answering to the powerful Mr. Wednesday.

Video, roleplaying and card games have done a better job incorporating jinn into their mythologies. Magic: The Gathering, and Dungeons & Dragons utilize jinn quite a bit, while franchises Final Fantasy and Prince of Persia had jinns that could serve as an enemy or ally. Even Nathan Drake hallucinated Fire Djinn in Uncharted 3, and Geralt faced off against them in The Witcher 3.

Within the horror genre, there have been attempts in Western cinema to make jinn scary. But most flicks fail to deliver the frights, and they haven’t caught on as a paranormal pop culture subgenre. The most notable entry was the Wishmaster franchise, but those films received a critical drubbing. As did The Outing (1987), Long Time Dead (2002), Red Sands (2009), Jinn (2014) and Tobe Hooper’s final feature, Djinn (2013), produced by the Emirati production company Image Nation. Within the film industries in other cultures, such as Turkey, jinn have often been supernatural threats.

It isn’t surprising that jinn carry more weight in other parts of the world where Islam is the dominant religion. After all, the jinn is as real for observant Muslims as angels. And in a 2012 Pew Research Study, more than half of Muslims in 13 of the 23 countries where the question was asked said they believed in the existence of jinn. Plus, even speaking about the beings might invite unwanted attention from them – and that’s a pretty scary thought.

“One of the tenants of Islam is that followers are to believe all that is written in the Quran, and since the jinn are mentioned in the holy books of the faith, followers are directed to accept their existence,” said Weatherly. “Whether you personally believe in the jinn or not, there are currently almost two billion Muslims in the world who do believe.”

However, at the moment, Western pop culture appears to prefer the blue, wish-granting genie as opposed to the more nuanced jinn. But as multiculturalism continues to improve our understanding of beliefs around the world, we may yet see folklore-accurate jinn emerge from their reclusive hiding space to receive attention in the mainstream.

But if millennia of folklore is to be believed, think twice before searching for a jinn, or trying to get wishes out of any supernatural being trapped in a lamp. Whether you call them jinn, djinn, or genie, as Weatherly warns, you may end up with a friend who prefers to torment rather than sing and dance.

Paranormal Investigator Lorraine Warren Dies at 92

2019-04-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

A legend in the world of ghosts, on this plane of existence and perhaps the next, has passed on.

Lorraine Warren, purported medium, ghost hunter, and author involved with cases popularized in paranormal pop culture films The Amityville Horror, The Conjuring, The Haunting in Connecticut, and Annabelle, has died at age 92. According to her son-in-law Tony Spera, Warren passed away in her sleep last night.

Lorraine -- along with her husband Ed, who died in 2006 -- founded the New England Society for Psychic Research, and claim to have investigated more than 10,000 paranormal cases. The duo became celebrities who appeared on talk shows, and gave lectures on the topics of ghosts, and demonology.

Born January 31, 1927, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised Roman Catholic, Lorraine stated she could see auras around people from the age of seven. Along with Ed, she said she relied on her faith as they worked with clergy on cases involving spirits of those who passed on, as well as demons who possessed people, homes, and objects. Though they did not charge for investigations that took them across the United States, and to Europe, Asia, and Australia, they gained notoriety through books, speaking engagements, film consulting, and at one point, tours of their Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut (which contains the actual Annabelle doll).

The Warrens were most famous for their involvement with the 1976 Amityville case, and the haunting allegedly experience by the Lutz family in Long Island, New York. The “spook sleuths,” as they were called in one newspaper cover story, did not appear as characters in the 1979 film The Amityville Horror,nor in 2009’s The Haunting in Connecticut -- loosely based on their version of the Snedeker House case from 1986. They were, however, portrayed in the 1991 made-for-television movie The Haunted, based on the Smurl case in Pennsylvania.

Although she appeared on television discussing their cases (and both took part in series such as Road Rules: All Stars, Scariest Places on Earth, with Lorraine appearing on Discovery Channel’s A Haunting, and on A&E’s investigative series, Paranormal State), they became famous for 21st Century audiences as fictionalized characters in 2013’s The Conjuring.

Directed by James Wan, the film adapted the story of the Perron family, supposedly tormented by the ghost of a witch who had killed her infant, and pledged herself to the devil. Portrayed by Vera Farmiga (with Patrick Wilson playing Ed), Lorraine’s psychic abilities are used to stop the entity, and assist in an exorcism.

The massive success of the film (which earned $319 million on a reported $20 million budget) launched the The Conjuring Universe, which involved a sequel based on the Enfield Poltergeist in England, and the Annabelle doll spin-off franchise.

As far as their personal history, Lorraine and Ed met when they were 16, and he was working as an usher for The Colonial Theater in Bridgeport. After entering the Navy at 17, Ed’s ship sank in the North Atlantic in 1945 during World War II. He had saved the life of a fellow sailor, a moment Lorraine later told Patch.com was the proudest moment of her life. The couple was married on his 30-day survivor’s leave, and later had a daughter, Judy. Together they sold Ed’s paintings, which (literally and figuratively) opened the doors to haunted houses owned by those who bought his work.

Although Lorraine and Ed Warren were the subject of criticism, and accusations of fraud, their impact on the field of paranormal investigation is vast. From a paranormal pop culture perspective, Lorraine and Ed will be remembered alongside other famous ghost hunters such as Harry Price, Hans Holzer (and yes, even Zak Bagans). Their legacy within the field continues with nephew John Zaffis, who was a protégé of theirs and is now a paranormal celebrity in his own right, and demonologist David Considine.