As a paranormalist, I read a lot. My paranormal library is huge and I read books on all things Fortean more than any other genre. I read for pleasure and for knowledge. I am simply fascinated by this stuff!
Upon reflection, knowledge is the whole reason I started this journey.
It began as child when I had access to so many paranormal books due to my mother’s interest in the topic. I remember thumbing through books in first grade and really starting to read books on strange topics starting in fourth grade. We subscribed to FATE Magazine, it was kept in the downstairs bathroom as reading material.
I continued this love of strange topics well into adulthood. Through running two paranormal sites before this, being on ghost hunting teams in two states, lecturing at conferences and so much more, the shadowy world of the paranormal has enveloped me. I love to read about it, experience it, and talk about it.
So here we are with a podcast. To be frank, a podcast is the last thing I need on my plate. I run the site Paranormal Study as well as work two time consuming jobs. My free time is at an all-time low, but yet I still started down this road. I knew this was coming for a long time, I just needed to take that first step – to walk into the shadows if you will.
Due to my work in ITC and other paranormal things over the last fifteen years, I have been on countless radio shows and podcasts. I gave up counting years ago when I reached fifty so I have no idea how many interviews I’ve given. What I realized is that I felt comfortable on the mic, so much so that I bought a BLUE Yeti just for interviews.
Another part of what I do is speak on the paranormal lecture circuit. I’ve been doing this for seven years now and give full powerpoint lectures on various paranormal topics. I’ve lectured in multiple states, mainly in the Midwest United States, and I really enjoy it. I have people who always ask me to come to their area to lecture, but if I am not invited by a conference organizer, then it won’t happen.
So I started to put it together in my head. I love being behind the mic. I have the knowledge. People who can’t travel to a conference want to hear me speak on things.
Walk in the Shadows was a no brainer at that point. I had to come up with a podcast name that hadn’t been found, build a website, buy better recording gear, dial in sound, find music, build socials and patreon, et cetera, all on the quiet.
The last thing to do was to figure out format.
With podcasts, the easiest ones to make are interviews. You ask a few questions and have some interjections, and the guest does all the work for you. Edit, process and release and the podcast is done.
I decided to go a different route. I wanted to dig right into a topic and explore it over published case files. This is much more work. Finding a topic, assembling literature on the topic (including tracking down and buying hard to find books), reading, scripting, recording, editing, processing and then releasing.
I did not realize how much work this would actually be until scripting the first series which came in at just under thirty thousand words. Then recording was a nightmare at first as dialing in sound without excessive noise was next to impossible with the gear I had so I spent a lot more money out of pocket (and I do mean a lot) and bought good equipment to try to get a better sound for future listeners.
I also linked up with an old friend from my ITC circles who is an audio engineer to work with me on this project. Joshua Sean of Zero-G ITChas been a godsend in making the final product you hear.
That is the journey so far. I am really stoked to see where this leads!
