Milwaukee, Wisconsin has no shortage of spooky regional lore. The former presence of infamous serial killers, along with a plethora of urban legends from surrounding rural areas, make the city a destination for those with bizarre counterculture interests. A year ago, the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference made its debut, thanks to founder and paranormal author Tea Krulos. The con came back for its second year on October 15th and 16th, expanding to two days in a larger venue with more presenters and vendors. While I was unable to attend as many sessions as I would have liked (“Numerology 101” was at the same time as “Ghostly Gadgets: Engineering the Paranormal”), I was thoroughly pleased with my experience at the con.
[customfont1]Speakers[/customfont1]
On behalf of the Dia de los Muertos Milwaukee Parade, Celeste Contreras spoke about her own experiences with grief. She presented on Buddhist funeral ceremonies in Thailand that she witnessed during a student exchange program, as well as her journey throughout Mexico several years after. She has helped to grow the Milwaukee parade to contain traditions from other cultures, specifically Native American tribes and Asian countries. Giving an overview on ofrendas, or shrines used to honor the dead, Contreras covered a less-paranormal topic that still fit the theme of the con.
Mike Huberty and Wendy Staats of See You on the Other Side podcast hosted a Q&A with Katrina Weidman from Destination America’s Paranormal Lockdown. Weidman spoke about her upbringing, living in haunted houses with a familially encouraged belief in the supernatural. This trajectory led her to join the Paranormal Research Society while a student at Penn State. The club required members to pass exams, testing students on the history of the paranormal, well known theories, knowledge of cryptids and conspiracies, and how to properly investigate unexplained phenomena. The group, including Weidman, went on to star in A&E’s Paranormal State, filming and researching on the weekends while attending class during the week. A few years after Paranormal State ended, Weidman went to work on Paranormal Lockdown with Nick Groff, which she continues to be a part of. She made references to the episode about the Trans Allegheny, which she and the producers found to be particularly traumatizing. She even screened some never-before-seen footage from an upcoming episode of the show.
While ghost hunting shows aren’t particularly my cup of tea, Weidman spent time talking about something that peaked my interest: what she’s learned about talking with people who are experiencing hauntings. In the screening process of the cases, she has to sift through reports from individuals with mental illnesses and drug addictions. She has learned how to read people and how to tactfully and respectfully address individuals who may need medical or psychological attention. On one episode, she was able to identify a carbon monoxide leak that made the house’s inhabitants hallucinate (the show then funded repairs to the home).
Closing out the first day was a debate on Roswell. UFO researchers Donald R. Schmitt and Mark O’Connell faced off on a variety of Roswell-related questions, such as whether or not the UFO community should move on from the Roswell tapes and what the most important topics facing UFOlogists today are. The two agreed on few things, despite both being members of the community, and the format felt forced considering the upcoming election.
On Sunday, founder Krulos moderated a discussion on Wisconsin urban legends to a room packed with eager listeners. Consisting of Charlie Hintz & Christina Rickman (Cult of Weird), J. Nathan Couch (Goatman: Flesh or Folklore?), and Valerie Kedrowski (Stevens Point Paranormal Club), the group discussed the local lore of Hogsback Road, Boy Scout Lane, Haunchyville, St. Nazianz, Maribel Caves Hotel, and the ghost of Al Capone, to name a few. Hintz and Rickman even shared a short story about how Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures came into possession a cauldron belonging to Ed Gein.
Next up was a session with Elizabeth Saint, one of the stars of Destination America’s Ghosts of Shepherdstown. In addition to being an actress, Saint also holds a degree in electrical engineering which led her to a career with the Department of Defense. While living in DC, she felt pressure to hide her interests in the paranormal since it isn’t a commonly accepted belief. She has since moved out to Colorado and started her own line of ghost detecting instruments called Ghostly Gadgets. She went over the science behind a lot of what she does, but I found a lot of it to go over my head. People in the audience asked questions, and it was clear they were familiar with her products and the investigative field in general.
To round out the con, Chase Kloetzke of Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) flew in from an investigation she was conducting in Peru. She highlighted the lack of skepticism there and how we in the US could benefit from such beliefs. Unfortunately, she was my least favorite part of the con despite being one of the biggest names. She focused heavily on not trusting the government and the media, which is fine, but it all sounded too close to a canned truther script. I did learn that there is a lobbyist in DC dedicated to disclosure, which I found to be particularly interesting.
[customfont1]Vendors[/customfont1]
The vendor set up this year was a improvement from last year–less cramped and a wider variety of content. I spent a little too much money on items to decorate my cubicle, but no regrets.
My favorite vendor was Grave Digger Candles, which is a family business that specializes in homemade beeswax candles in the shape of spines, skulls, and coffins. A close runner up was for Scary Stories: A Documentary, which will give an inside look at the late author Alvin Schwartz and his series of scary short stories. Chicago-based producer/director Cody Meirick has been working on his film for several years, utilizing crowd-sourced funding. He expects to wrap up production soon.
Cult of Weird, a leading website in spooky oddities, is Wisconsin-based and has been a part of the con for two years. They emphasized their Instagram contests, in which winners can win memento mori memorabilia. Krampus made an appearance, thanks to Minnesota Krampus. I also took home a book entitled The Zombie Guide to English Grammar, illustrated by vendor Donovan Scherer.
