Happy Pride! One of the biggest missions of The Spooky Stuff is to feature people from marginalized groups within the paranormal community. There is a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community within the paranormal field that is doing amazing things in terms of research, representation, and fieldwork.
We are lucky in the fact that there are several members of the LGBTQIA+ community on television like Adam Berry, Chip Coffey, and Michelle Belanger. And yet, there is still more work to be done when it comes to representation. Finding someone from the LGBTQIA+ community on mainstream TV seems to be a dime a dozen. Not only that, but paranormal reality shows have all but erased queer history from haunted locations like Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
As one who is pansexual, finding others like myself in the paranormal community has been imperative for me in my personal journey. Finding people who are “like me” has been instrumental in my growth and development as a paranormal investigator. Luckily, I’ve met some incredible people along the way.
The purpose of this list is to inform and educate folks that there is a large LGBTQIA+ presence in the paranormal community that is growing. The numbers on each person is simply that…a number. It’s not a rating system. All of these wonderful people are incredible. With this in mind, here are MANY queer paranormal folx you need follow!
1. Dash Kwiatkowski (They/Them) – @DashKwiatkowski
Dash Kwiatkowski (@DashKwiatkowski) is a non-binary, Asian-American writer, performer, and fledgling paranormal investigator. They’re one-half of the comedic psychic advice podcast Psychic Friendz (@PsychicFriendz), and they’re next door neighbors with the Bridgewater Triangle. They’re PRETTY SURE Bigfoot is an ultraterrestrial, but they’ve been wrong before about plenty. You can find more info about Dash’s projects
2. Mortellus (They/Them) – @acrowandthedead
Mortellus (@acrowandthedead) is a lineaged Third Degree Gardnerian High Priestex of the Long Island Line. Presently busy at work on a second book for Llewellyn Worldwide, with the first, Do I Have To Wear Black? Rituals, Customs & Funerary Etiquette for Modern Pagans, which hit the shelves February 8, 2021. In addition to their role as High Priestex, Lady Mortellus is a Mortician, and holds degrees in Design, Education, Fine Arts, and Mortuary Sciences. Their areas of expertise include necromancy, necrobotany, mediumship, and the funerary rites of minority faith groups. Currently residing in Western North Carolina on three acres that doubles as the Covenstead for the Coven of Leaves with their spouse, adult child, AMAB/AFAB twins, and dog; generally wishing there was more time in the day for hiding in the studio and playing with clay. You can find their work at linktr.ee/acrowandthedead.
3. Robert Murch (He/Him) – @TalkingBoards
Robert Murch (@TalkingBoards) is the world’s foremost collector, historian, and expert on Ouija and Talking Boards and serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Talking Board Historical Society which he founded. His bizarre relationship with Ouija began after watching Kevin Tenney’s Witchboard in 1986, a century after the talking board made its debut. Murch purchased his first antique Ouija board in 1992 and became obsessed with unraveling the mystery of its origins. Since then, he’s devoted his life to researching the history of the Ouija board and its founders, with Murch often traveling the world to track down descendants of all those involved with the introduction of the mystifying oracle. Ever the pioneer, Murch was one of the first same-sex couples legally married in the United States and lives with his husband, Gary Halteman, in Denver, Colorado.
4. Hannah A. (She/Her) – @SpookyAhBoo
Hannah A. is a paranormal investigator, blogger, and traveler (@SpookyAhBoo on Instagram). While growing up, she was hooked on watching all of the ghost and unexplained mystery shows on TV that she could find which furthered her love for all things spooky! While she believes in the paranormal, she also tries to debunk anything and everything to ensure the evidence is genuine. She has a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, and this has also helped mold her interest on researching and learning how to view things in the anthropological view.
Her current project is co-writing a weekly paranormal travel blog called Ghouls Trip (@GhoulsTripBlog), where she and her friend Ivy (@TattoosAndSpooks on Instagram) write about haunted locations all over America; they also upload investigations and other spooky videos to their YouTube channel! By using these social media platforms, Hannah hopes to bring more female paranormal investigators into the scene and find further proof of the afterlife!
5. Ron Padrón (He/Him/His) – @WRWitching
Ron Padrón (@WRWitching) is a gay Cuban-American folk witch from the swamps of Florida now living in the mid-Atlantic with his husband and their small cryptid dog. He has been a member the pagan community for nearly two decades with specific interests in divination, Queer Ancestor veneration and necromancy, hedge witchery, and social justice activism. Ron is the creator of White Rose Witching through which he manages a blog sharing Queer Ancestor Spotlights and rituals, and hosts workshops across a variety of topics. He has been a contributor to CoffeeTable Coven magazine sharing reflections on the politics of colonial witchcraft and examples of his personal practice of queer ancestor veneration. Ron has also presented locally at Hallowed Homecoming and as a guest speaker for local pagan groups, historic sites, and small museums. Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/whiterosewitching, on Instagram @white.rose.witching, and on Twitter @WRWitching.
6. Rockette Fox (She/Her) – @RocketteFox
Biracial Korean-American storyteller, performer, artist, creator, speaker and wearer of varied hats, Rockette Fox (@RocketteFox) is a bi-furious, queer, witchy woman who embraces the strange in the pursuit of the peculiar in her work. She believes in the power of stories and connection, and is passionate about creating inclusive spaces where diverse voices and perspectives can be represented, expressed, and shared. She has spoken nationally on topics such as Geek Feminism, diversity & representation in media, and Villainesses for over seven years and has hosted/emceed, taught, and spoken at storytelling events for five. Her illustrative work, odd makeup, and podcast Fantastically Strange have captured the imagination of those who share in her love of magic through the authenticity of expression and believe in nurturing radical self-love and expression.
7. Caden Mask (He/Him)
Caden Mask is an investigator and researcher of all things supernatural. He and his wife established Southern Ascension in 2019 after many years learning under various mentors with different practices. Just this year, Caden became a part of Phantoms and Monsters research team under the mentorship of Lon Stricklin, Butch Witkowski, and others for cryptid research.
Knowing all to well the impact dealing with malevolence beings, as well as past trauma making a person vulnerable to such things, Caden sought out to become an addiction counselor; and works side by side with licensed therapist, nurses, churches, and healers to make sure clients are well taken care of. He and his wife always offer their services (rather mediumship, drug, or supernatural related) free of charge. They also added a northern chapter, Northern Ascension, in 2020 to further their practice and share the knowledge they were taught.
Residing in Mississippi, Caden and his wife enjoy a simple, country way of life with their son. Currently, taking a hiatus for moving and taking care of a sick family member, Caden hopes they will be able to return to full capacity by summer’s end.
8. Ghosting Joey (She/They) – @ghostingJoey
Joey is a paranormal investigator who travels and explores all over the world. They have over 11 years experience investigating the paranormal, and have investigated the most haunted places in America (Eastern State Penitentiary, Sallie House, etc.) Since publishing their journey on YouTube, she has been featured on “Paranormal Caught on Camera” twice. Their long term goal is to inspire others research, and to develop more theory based technology, to further evidence of the paranormal. You can find Joey on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok at @ghostingJoey.
9. Kyle Dempster (He/Him) – @KyleParanormal
Kyle Dempster (@KyleParanormal) started the Revelator Podcast Network in 2020 when he became unemployed due to the COVID pandemic. He has been working as a full-time broadcaster and podcaster in years prior, so with the hardware and knowledge, he set to task building a platform for his listeners to interact with their favorite podcasts and hosts! Creating a grouping of podcasts was always Kyle’s dream, so it is thanks to you, fellow weirdos, that we’ve been so successful at it! As for why the paranormal? Kyle grew up in a haunted house built in the 1800s in Western Pennsylvania. Pennsyltucky has a history for being notoriously haunted from French & Indian War battlefields to plague body dumps, the area introduced him to things that go bump in the night the hard way.
10. Brittany “Pagan” Adkins (She/Her) – @Paganwolf_13
Brittany “Pagan” Adkins (@Paganwolf_13) is an artist, author, paranormal podcaster and investigator, Norse pagan and hedgewitch, and occult researcher. Pagan’s exploration of the world of the paranormal led her to work with her co-host Kyle Dempster on the paranormal podcast, Chaos and Shadow. Together they explore all things under the universal umbrella of high strangeness, including ghosts, ultra/extraterrestrials, cryptids, fae, elementals, and more! Pagan also hosts her own podcast, Pagan’s Witchy Corner, exploring topics in witchcraft and the occult! You can join her for exploration through the world of witchcraft and the occult, guided meditations, and guided spell work. Her show is part of the Revelator Podcast Network like Chaos and Shadow. She lives on a farm with her husband, two kids, and two dogs.
11. Michael Johnson (He/Him) – @glowingghostparanormal
Michael is a paranormal investigator and content creator who has attracted attention on social media for his content that’s not only fun, but educational! He is also very passionate about representation in the field. You can follow Michael on YouTube as well as TikTok and Instagram at glowingghostparanormal.
12. Nathan Gardner (He/Him) – @nategardner
Nathan (@nategardner) has spent most of his adult life touring North America on various Broadway shows, and has taken that opportunity to investigate paranormal hot spots from coast to coast, from popular locations to lesser known haunts and everywhere in between. Some of his favorite locations include the Queen Mary, Lemp Mansion, Hill House Manor, and the Stanley Hotel, all of which have provided incredible experiences and evidence. Nathan is currently working with Lumos Films in California, developing a new paranormal-themed travel series entitled Ghostly Getaways, which goes into production in summer of 2021, and also writing a book under the same title.
13. Shane McClelland (He/Him) – @McClellandShane
Shane McClelland (@McClellandShane) is the voice behind the hit podcast, The Q Files, that he cohosts with Lori Gum. Previously, Shane was seen on the YouTube series, Queer Ghost Hunters. Shane was also the co-founder of Stonewall Columbus Queer Ghost Hunters and runs the page Queer Paranormal on Facebook. His work is especially inspiring as Shane has become an advocate for exploring ALL the stories in haunted locations. Shane’s advocacy in creating a space for communicating with queer spirits has been monumental for paranormal teams across the country.
14. Ken Summers (He/Him) – @moonspenders
Ken Summers (@moonspenders) is a paranormal researcher, history aficionado, part-time traveler, variegated artist, and purveyor of strange tales and forgotten hauntings. The ever-apologetic creator of the “orb color chart,” he has always endeavored to balance open-minded fascination and humor with logical questioning in the pursuit of truth. Unlike many self-described experts in the field, he isn’t afraid to admit that he doesn’t have all the answers, and where others argue over the existence of ghosts, UFOs, Sasquatch, and other mysteries, Ken sees the true value of supernatural stories as a means of keeping interesting, forgotten history alive.
Ken has long been fascinated by the most obscure, forgotten, and unusual stories and incidents related to the paranormal. That quest for the strangest of the strange developed into a blog series of “Queer Paranormal Road Trips” in 2008. This questioning of the sexualities of specters led to his last book, Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts, published in 2009. Currently, he’s busily at work researching for a follow-up book, once again delving into the mysterious realm where ‘weird’ and ‘queer’ blur together. Whenever possible, Ken puts his vast knowledge of “useless information” to use in the form of tours, lectures, or writing. Some of his work can be found on Week in Weird. He was also editor and a contributor for Haunted Akron.
15. Rob Gutro (He/Him) – @RobGutroAuthor
Rob Gutro (@RobGutroAuthor) is an author, paranormal investigator and medium with Inspired Ghost Tracking of Maryland. He’s become known as a pet medium, although he communicate with pets and people who have passed. Since he was a child he could receive messages from ghosts or spirits (who have crossed over). His latest book is “”Pets and the Afterlife 3: Dog Spirit Signs.”
He wrote the books “Pets and the Afterlife,” “Pets and the Afterlife 2,” “Ghosts and Spirits,” “Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead” to teach others how ghosts and Spirits communicate with the living and to give proof of the afterlife. Rob also wrote about the ghosts he met on vacation in “Ghosts of England on a Medium’s Vacation,” “Kindred Spirits: How a Medium Befriended a Spirit,” and “Case Files of Inspired Ghost Tracking.” As a scientist, he also provides some scientific explanations about how energy is the baseline for the afterlife and the medium that entities use to communicate.
16. Kay Gray (She/Her) – @kgraywrites
Kay (@kgraywrites) has been researching the paranormal for over twenty years, beginning in the early 90’s when her mother watched Sightings and The X-Files every week. Her favorite cryptid is the Mothman, despite her fear of moths. She currently resides in SE Michigan with her very understanding husband, dog, and cat. She hosts the podcast, Haunted Mitten, with Crysta Coburn.
17. Crysta Coburn (She/They) – @CrystaKCoburn
Crysta Coburn (@CrystaKCoburn) have been fascinated by all things strange and unusual from a very young age, when they had their first encounter with a shadow being. For five years, they worked as a book-buyer for a metaphysical bookstore and now work part-time for a public library. They are no stranger to research or a well-constructed story. Crysta is also a freelance journalist, author, editor, and podcaster. They co-host the paranormal podcast Haunted Mitten with Kay Gray. Find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @CrystaKCoburn. Their web address is crystakcoburn.blogspot.com
18. Dusty Doors Paranormal
Dusty Doors Paranormal began its spiritual Journey way back in 2016. They are comprised of primarily of 5 team members, of whom 4 are a part of the LGBT community.
- Michelle Cromar – Owner / Team Leader / Lead Investigator / Spiritualist.
- Nicholas Jensen – Lead Investigator / Pagan / Energy Worker.
- Tristan Ohl – Jensen – Investigator / Pagan / Indigenous Australian (Taribelang Decent).
- Haylee O’Hara – Investigator / Spiritualist / Empath.
- Tracey Clarke – Investigator / Witchcraft / Medium.
Michelle, Nick, Haylee, and Tristan are all “out of the closet” LGBT community members, whilst their fabulous Tracey is married with 3 children. Tracey is the Mother of our group HAHA.
Down here in Australia, they have never encountered any other full open Gay and Lesbian Paranormal Teams. They are aware of teams with many bisexual persons and possibly one person being gay or lesbian but that is about it. Dusty Doors team members have been friends for 5 to 10 years, if not longer. It was not until they grew up and slowed down partying and being responsible adults did they learn of each other’s uniqueness, gifts, and passion towards everything paranormal and spiritual.
Their team has a mixed bag of gifts that sets them apart from others. Nick and Tristan are married, whilst Haylee and Michelle are best friends and Tracey is an incredibly good friend of Michelle’s and her former Boss HAHA. They all together have well over 20 years’ experience within the paranormal field. Dusty Doors Paranormal likes to encompass new techniques with tech and gadgets, but also really love old school methods and incorporating different beliefs and using metaphysical methods as well. They bring a class of Australian country humour and seriousness into our investigations. Like Paul Hogan really!!
They do investigations in cemeteries, historical buildings, caves…. pretty much wherever they can get permission to investigate. Also, they study their indigenous culture and respect their indigenous elders and ancestors of this land. They were doing tours for the general public every weekend, however, Covid stopped them in thier tracks. They hope to possibly be doing tours again soon.
Currently, the team is in the middle of discussions, regarding whether to start their own mini-series for their Facebook page followers to sit back and watch them in action, bloopers an all. Also, Michelle is currently sourcing new adventures for them for tours. The team wants to bring back the mysteries of the paranormal. To do this, they are seeking several ways to present this idea. These include overnight campouts at a haunted location, surprise tours where guests have dinner first then they all hope in a bus and arrive at a haunted location. Just to name a few!!
The team loves to incorporate the factual history with their investigations, along with physical evidence of reports, death records, etc. from the actual location to raise the bar of awareness to their participants. Dusty Doors Paranormal also conducts psychological experiments as well to make their experience a little more personal and enjoyable.
