Paranormal researchers and special guests Dustin Pari and Ryan Buell join a cast of notable names at the seventh annual festival.
So a paranormal researcher walks into a haunted bar in San Antonio and grabs a beer with a guy who spent four weeks of his childhood in the most notorious haunted house in America . It sounds like a bad joke, but it’s a true story.
The year was 2014. The pub was the Menger Bar in downtown San Antonio, where the ghost of Teddy Roosevelt is said to knock back a cold one in a spectral flashback to his pre-White House days with the Rough Riders. Veteran paranormal researcher and “Ghost Hunters” star Dustin Pari had snagged a seat with Chris Lutz, a survivor of the so-called Amityville Horror House. Back in 1975, Lutz and his family suffered 28 days of abject terror in the infamous Dutch Colonial in Long Island, New York, which inspired the best-selling novel “The Amityville Horror” and a string of horror films. Beer aside, Pari had a spirit-free stay at the Menger Hotel. But he still had a memorable experience absorbing the site's history and meeting new people. And after 30 years of investigating apparitions, cold spots and other bumps in the night, he's found that the hunt for such paranormal activity often unearths compelling stories of the past that are just as striking as any ghostly evidence in the present. “There’s definitely a shared philosophy, the fact that the paranormal helps keep history alive,” Pari said. “So in many ways the paranormal and the spiritual world work hand-in-hand with the ‘ghosts’ of our history. And it’s a wonderful thing when the two come together.” History and mystery do just that at Paranormal Fest 2024, San Antonio's own comic con for paranormal experts and enthusiasts. Hosted by San Antonio-based Curious Twins Paranormal, the seventh annual event runs 2-11 p.m. Sept. 21 at Victoria’s Black Swan Inn, 1006 Holbrook Road. PURO SAN ANTONIO CUCUYS: San Antonio's Top 10 ghosts and urban legends from La Llorona to the Ghost Tracks Pari joins a cast of notable names in preternatural research and investigation. Other Fest guests include “Paranormal State” host and recent San Antonio transplant Ryan Buell, cryptozoologist and frequent paranormal TV series guest Ken Gerhard and chief investigative officer for the Warren Legacy Foundation, Joe Franke. The event promises plenty of panels and presentations and, of course, munchies and merch of the spooky-ooky variety. But Paranormal Fest is more than just an early kick-off to Halloween season. It's a treasure trove of stories from Pari and his colleagues' continued quest to pierce the veil between our world and the other side. “I believe there is an intellectual curiously within all of us to question what comes next,' said Pari, who last reported for paranormal duty in San Antonio in May to wrap his touring one-man show 'Ghosts: Do You Believe?' at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. 'I think all you have to do is keep your mind open to possibility,' he said. 'Let your curiosity lead you and learn as you go.' Curious Twins founders Fred Garza-Guzman and his husband, Stephen Garza-Guzman, share a similar approach to the paranormal. The San Antonio natives do just about everything from ghost tours and investigations to psychic readings and 'limpias,' a Mexican ritual of spiritual cleansing. And they do it with a passion to share what they call equitable perspectives of history and the paranormal. “We as a company have been really intentional about how we format our tours and our experiences,” Stephen Garza-Guzman said. “And history has always been a major anchor for us. We wanted to explore the darker parts of our history so that we can learn from those things.” EXAMPLE OF THAT EXPLORATION: Tour of historic East Side San Antonio cemetery digs up fascinating facts about the city’s past “The paranormal isn’t just something gimmicky,” Fred Garza-Guzman said. “It’s something that we question, something we ponder. We don’t jump to conclusions. We constantly learn from those dark stories, those dark narratives.” Take the story of Victoria’s Black Swan Inn. Built in 1867, the historic wedding and events venue near Salado Creek is reputedly one of the most haunted sites in San Antonio, if not the nation. Its website boasts numerous accounts of ghost sightings of former residents and Indigenous people who once walked the grounds. It's also been featured on paranormal reality series such as 'Ghost Adventures' and 'Portals to Hell.' Yet Stephen Garza-Guzman noted the inn also sits on the grounds of the Battle of Salado, a historic skirmish on Sept. 18, 1842, where a small force of Texas volunteers turned back the final Mexican invasion of the Republic of Texas. The Garza-Guzmans always choose the date for Paranormal Fest to coincide with the Battle of Salado, Stephen Garza-Guzman said. The Garza-Guzmans credit the festival's growth to a growing acceptance of the paranormal. Two in five Americans believe in ghosts, according to an oft-cited 2021 survey of 1,000 adults by analytics company, YouGov. And one in five believe they’ve encountered a ghost. “We have people that constantly tell us their stories, constantly trying to get perspective,” Fred Garza-Guzman said. “Almost every ghost tour people will confide in us.” “That’s what we love,” Stephen Garza-Guzman added. “Making the paranormal more normal.” Buell, who returns to Paranormal Fest for his second appearance, said the public is much more open to the paranormal than it was 20 years ago when he started exploring the field as a college student at Pennsylvania State University on “Paranormal State.” But with a growing acknowledgment of ghostly encounters also comes a growing need to help those who wish they never had them. “I had my own experiences growing up in the ’90s, late ’80s, and you had nowhere to go to reach out and talk to someone if you’ve had an experience,” Buell said. “So my goal was to normalize the conversation. And for some people, having an experience isn’t always a fun experience.” GHOSTLY GUIDANCE: Ghostly encounter sparks woman's interest in paranormal activity Buell does most of his soul searching these days as a licensed therapist and recovering addict who treats individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of trauma. That includes helping people with trauma from paranormal experiences. Some seek him out because they feel unsafe in their own home, Buell said, while others blame themselves because they think they’re bad people or not right with God. In that sense, Paranormal Fest fosters, as well as celebrates, the paranormal community. 'I think it’s important that there are 'weirdos’ like us that talk about these things,' Fred Garza-Guzman said. 'It’s entertaining, yeah, but we’ve also found it to be super healing.' Buell stressed that Paranormal Fest is first and foremost a fun time for all, whether or not you believe in any life beyond this one. On the lighter side of such dark materials, the event also will feature the Paranormal Putas, a raucous duo of paranormal podcast sisters from East Austin, and Casper the Friendly Ghost super-fan Vanessa Irino, the San Antonio woman who scared up the Guinness World Record for the most Casper collectibles with roomful of more than 1,200 pieces. Organizers hope attendees find the festival enlightening, entertaining and refreshing. And speaking of refreshment, Pari can't wait to grab that other drink he always looks forward to in San Antonio. “Big Red is so good,' he said.
Curious Twins Paranormal Ghost Tracks Pari Yougov Twins Warren Legacy Foundation CUCUYS Garza-Guzmans East Austin Republic Of Texas Pennsylvania State University Ryan Buell Dustin Pari Chris Lutz Teddy Roosevelt Stephen Garza-Guzman Fred Garza-Guzman Vanessa Irino Ghost Hunters Rough Riders Ken Gerhard Victoria La Llorona Joe Franke God Big Red Casper Americans San Antonio New York Menger Bar America Long Island Dutch Colonial Black Swan Inn Mexican Menger Hotel East Side Texas Tobin Center For The Performing Arts 1006 Holbrook Road Salado Creek Paranormal Fest Battle Of Salado Pre-White PURO Portals To Hell Guinness World Record Paranormal State The Amityville Horror Ghosts: Do You Believe? Ghost Adventures Casper The Friendly Ghost Paranormal Putas
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