SWPA HauntedCon

Southwestern PA Haunted Con

Those with an interest in the strange and unusual gathered at the EQT REC Center on May 18th for Greene County’s first-ever paranormal convention. The convention ran from 10am to 4pm with speakers scheduled throughout the day. Following the event, at 6:30pm, a presentation was given at the Hartley Inn in Carmichaels called Paranormal Pastries. Speakers for the event included Outsider Paranormal, Joey & Tonya Madia, Dave Spinks, Stan Gordon, and Steve Hummel. The event drew people from 11 counties in 3 states. Organizer Kevin Paul, author of Haunted Hills and Hollows: What Lurks in Greene County Pennsylvania, shares, “SWPA HauntedCon exceeded my expectations and proves that there is indeed sufficient regional interest to work with our partnering organizations, paranormal investigators, and vendors toward a larger event next year.”

Kevin adds, “Many thanks to those attending, the vendors, the speakers, the volunteers, those who helped with publicity, and the staff of the EQT Rec Center for making the first annual SWPA HauntedCon a success.”

Outside Paranormal, a local paranormal investiga- tion group, opened the presentations with a discussion about their investigations around the Greene County area, including the Greene County Historical Society and the site of the Crow’s Rock Massacre.

Joey & Tonya Madia of Leavittsburg, Ohio, following Outsides Paranormal, presented a slideshow featuring highlights from their paranormal investigations. They discussed living in ‘the holler’ and their encounters with fairies, portals and the Men in Black. Joey and Tonya also gave a second presentation later that evening at the Hartley Inn about paranormal investigation, while attendees enjoyed the all-you-can-eat dessert buffet.

After their presentation a short break was held for lunch before the next presenter, during which attendees were able to grab a bite to eat and spend time browsing the vendor’s wares – which included art, jewelry, pottery, books, clothing, and more. It also offered the perfect opportunity to talk with the presenters one-on-one about their experiences.

Dave Spinks, from Fenwick, West Virginia, led the afternoon with a presentation about his experiences with paranormal activity over the past 30 years. He started his presentation with a viewing of Terror in the Woods, which discusses his first Bigfoot sighting at age 13. He discussed other paranormal phenomena of West Virginia.

Stan Gordon, of Greensburg, followed Dave’s presentation with an in-depth discussion of Bigfoot sightings around the area. Stan has been researching paranormal phenomena for over 60 years; his special sightings hotline was established in 1969 and has received large amounts of activity, especially recently.

The last speaker of the day was Steve Hummel, curator of the Archive of the Afterlife in Moundsville, WV discussed how he first became interested in the paranormal. He also brought several items from his museum as part of his presentation.