The supernatural possessed San Diego Comic-Con 2016 when Destination America hosted its Super Supernatural Press Conference and Panel. The press conference featured Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman of Paranormal Lockdown, Adam Berry and Amy Bruni of Kindred Spirits and the ‘godfather of the paranormal’ John Zaffis from Haunted Collector. The group was there to talk about their various experiences within the paranormal, new upcoming shows, and Destination America’s October programming “Ghostober.”
Nick and Katrina talked about what they want to get out of their show, Paranormal Lockdown, and how it takes them to some very dangerous places.
“I want to document the holy grail. Our goal is to document something that is paranormal and out of this world that we don’t fully understand. Unfortunately, sometimes those are very sinister locations,” Nick said.
He also believes that the paranormal has changed in the last several years.
“It’s not at the point anymore where we’re out to prove ghosts exist or disprove ghosts exist. We’re like in the middle trying to discover something new like a scientist trying to discover a new planet,” Nick said.
While Nick and Katrina seek out the darkest and most dangerous locations, Amy and Adam take their new show, Kindred Spirits, in a different direction. They go to the homes of people that are dealing with hauntings to try and help.
“Right now we’re dealing with families and it’s really interesting to see to see how each of them deal with haunting depending on their culture, their religion, what they’ve been dealing with in the past. … That effects even these small homes we’re investigating,” Amy said about how everyone they meet handles the hauntings differently.
“It’s kind of re-adjusting their way of thought to a more a more practical and I guess more explained kind of way so they can really live,” Adam added. “There was a woman, we just did a case, where she didn’t live in half her house. Half the house she shut the door and was like ‘I’m not even going to go in there’ It’s about finding what’s there so she can cope and live in her house.”
Since they are working on a much more personal level, Adam admits that they sometimes look for information in odd places.
“Don’t be afraid to go through someone’s bedside table,” Adam said. “The reason I say this is because we have to investigate the ghost but we also have to figure out who the client is. They tell us a lot of information but we also find a lot of information on their family, their history, their genealogy, where they come from and who they are. … It’s about helping both sides. It’s about being a therapist for the ghosts.” It’s very important to Amy and Adam that they give families accurate information one way or another. “It is terrifying because you’re dealing with families and their emotions and you don’t want to give them any wrong information because they are going to latch onto anything you tell them,” he said.
The discussion of equipment was brought up and how the paranormal has changed over the years.
“Going back to your original question of ‘how has the paranormal changed’. I’ve seen so many more scientists [say] “hey I’m going to put myself out there because I think there’s something going on”. They get involved and they get excited about the field and that’s exciting for me because it’s giving legitimacy and validation for all these people that have had these experiences,” Katrina said.
John was in the room with the most experience as he spent a good portion of his childhood ghost hunting with his Uncle and Aunt, Ed and Lorraine Warren.
“It’s interesting and you have to keep an open mind with all this because your theories, your logic, things change. If it doesn’t and you get stagnant … we’re not going to gain any knowledge,” John said.
“I feel like the more we do this the less we know,” Amy added.
Paranormal Lockdown will air the longest investigation on Friday, October 28th on Destination America. Nick and Katrina talked about the location, the Black Monk House, in England and how they are going about preparing for such a legendary location.
Kindred Spirits will premiere on Destination America this fall.
Haunted Collector airs Tuesday at 10/9c on Destination America.
The full press conference is a great discussion with lots more information for the paranormal fanatic including shared experiences, how much research they all put into their investigations and even some tips for any novice hunters.
