Scalarious
Frighteningly Funny! Comedians John Olson and DW Surine chat with entertainers, authors and creators about their paranormal experiences, and paranormal experts to back them up! A perfect mixture of paranormal and comedy!
Scalarious
Ep. 84 Ghost Stories from the Badge: The Supernatural Sleuth
Send your favorite Co-Ghosts a message!
Ever wondered what happens when a police officer encounters something that can't be explained by standard procedure or rational thought? Brandon Gayheart, known to nearly 400,000 TikTok followers as the Supernatural Sleuth, takes us behind the badge to explore the paranormal encounters he's experienced during his 25-year law enforcement career.
Brandon's journey into the supernatural began long before his TikTok fame, with childhood encounters that left lasting impressions—from seeing a Victorian-era apparition at age four to hearing unexplained voices when home alone. These formative experiences created a foundation for his later work documenting paranormal phenomena, but it's his professional encounters that truly captivate. Picture this: alone in an abandoned three-story building in total darkness, hearing doors systematically closing as if something is deliberately leading you through the structure. As Brandon explains, "When you're in the presence of something that you know is evil, it's a different kind of fear."
What separates Brandon from many paranormal content creators is his Christian perspective on the phenomena he investigates. He doesn't believe in lingering human spirits or "unfinished business"—instead, he sees these manifestations as demonic entities seeking attention through deception. This theological framework created an internal struggle when his TikTok began gaining traction: "I was monetized by August, but in September my mom unexpectedly passed away... I had to reconnect with God, and it really started weighing on me." After months of prayer and reflection, Brandon received clarity to continue his work while sharing what he believes to be spiritual truth.
The Appalachian Mountains, where Brandon resides, provide the backdrop for many of his most compelling stories. The region's rich history and isolated landscapes harbor countless tales of unexplained phenomena, with virtually every county boasting its own ghost stories. Brandon's content gained significant momentum when he began focusing on haunted locations in the Smoky Mountains, America's most visited national park. His approach combines respectful storytelling with spiritual discernment, presenting evidence while allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions.
Whether you're a paranormal enthusiast, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, Brandon's unique perspective bridges the gap between faith and the unexplained in ways that challenge conventional thinking about what might exist beyond our understanding. Subscribe to join the growing community exploring the supernatural through the eyes of someone who's encountered it firsthand while wearing both a badge and a cross.
Thanks for watching what's going on. This is scolarius, I am john olsen and with me, as always, is dw, the distancing wiggle wogger, serene. You gotta get closer to the mic sorry, I tried it's all right. What are you drinking?
Speaker 2:so another cider boys uh pineapple hula again cider boys is I they're? They're my favorite. Uh, I've and I've. I've had quite a few hard ciders and I think theirs is the best.
Speaker 1:Was it Cider Boys, the last one that you got the hula punch, or whatever it was?
Speaker 2:Probably, I think so.
Speaker 1:I'm going to ask you the same thing I asked a couple weeks back when you went and got that, did you get laid? I know it wasn't funny the first time it's even less so today. Three times in Third time's.
Speaker 2:A charm Is that the philosophy you have for all your material. If it bombs the first two times, try it again.
Speaker 1:If it bombs? I just put it in a different part of my set.
Speaker 2:So your bad jokes don't die.
Speaker 1:They, you know, live somewhere else like if it's a really, really bad joke, I'll put it like filler, like in the maybe, maybe, towards the end you can't, can't, let them all I I.
Speaker 2:I don't have room for jokes that do nothing. So if a joke bombs, I I'll. There's a good chance I may never do it again so, okay, fair enough.
Speaker 1:Now, dw, I'm gonna ask you a question and your answer will determine what drink I'm going to drink today oh, okay so, left or right, my left or your left, whatever direction Left.
Speaker 2:I'm asking because I thought maybe you had a drink on the left and a drink on the right and that's what it was going to be.
Speaker 1:It is, but it's a universal left or right. It doesn't matter if you can see it or I can see it, it's still left or right.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I'll go left.
Speaker 1:Left, yes, alright, alright. What's left or right? Okay, so I'll go left. Left, yes, all right. So what do you have? See, that's what it sounds like when you put it up to the way. Okay it.
Speaker 2:It is a uh, sparkling ice water and it's flavors cherry oh okay, all right, now that you've had a sip, does it taste like starburst?
Speaker 1:it does.
Speaker 2:It's amazing it's really good. It's one of my favorite drinks.
Speaker 1:Um, I don't drink a whole lot of things with sugar in it at all because you know the whole like getting sexy thing. But uh, that I mean it doesn't. It says no sugar, but let's be honest there has to be something yeah, so um well, and if?
Speaker 2:if there's no sugar, is there some sort of sugar substitute? Yeah, there's some sort of sweetener yeah, there was um. I was watching a video about how um sugar substitutes can actually be worse yeah you than sugar.
Speaker 1:There's one of them out there that gives you anal leakage or whatever. Is that what you've got now? No, I don't think so. Let me look, give me half an hour, I'll let you know. Everybody here is like really Okay, but anyway. So how are things in Serene Manor?
Speaker 2:they're going all right. How, uh, how are things in casa de vitro?
Speaker 1:um, they are pretty okay. Uh, things are kind of settling down, but then ramping up, then settling down, then ramping up again, but uh, no, everything, everything is pretty decent, I feel. Getting ready for the summer, getting ready for my kids to be here, and we're going to do senior pictures for my boy, oh, okay, all that good stuff. So he'll be graduating next year. We have a long line of graduates here at Casa de Batrodes. It is this year was the boy, next year is my the boy, the year after that is the oldish girl. Then there's a break which possibly, maybe could be our wedding. Possibly, maybe could be our wedding, not me and you, but me in the betrothed, uh, or we could be before that, who knows, but that's a break and whatever. And then my youngest daughter.
Speaker 2:So, uh, next five years is gonna be pretty busy here at casa de betrothed you're gonna wait that long to get married?
Speaker 1:No, I doubt it. We'll be married before then. She can't help herself. That's your reasoning. Yeah, that's it, but yeah, everything is going good over there. You wait patiently for the summer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've started. I've got a few like landscaping type projects around the house that I've been working on. We got our sidewalk fixed. It was like really bad, so we got that leveled off. I we had someone do that. That's, yeah, you know, not gonna um, but I I made a little uh garden bed in the front yard okay um, which is pretty cool and I'm not quite done with.
Speaker 2:I want to put another layer of stones around and stuff like that. Um, I want to uh, uh, we have a walkway with just some walking path stones I don't know what the term is, but those are a little uneven. I kind of want to just level those off. I want to make a fire pit what else I've got? Oh, there's a spot over by the house where the grass ends and it's just a bunch of dirt. I want to put a like more nicer looking divider there. Um, we've got another garden bed up by our, uh, the walkway that I that right now is actually wood and of course, the wood is rotting and because it's, you know, getting wet and everything like that, and I'm planning to replace that with brick or something like that. Oh, and I've got to paint. So we've got a lot of the summer projects and if I get to half of them, I'll be happy.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I, I mean I don't. I have to clean a garage because we have a party other than that oh yeah, oh, I'm decorating it too as I go, so uh, but yeah and other than that.
Speaker 1:No, I don't have any of the stuff you got going on. Uh, I do want to, um, I want to talk to our listeners and you for a second. I think a text message was exchanged between me and you, uh kind of alluding to this, but I want to, um, I just want to let it be known. Uh, we, we kind of put ourselves out in the, we're comedians and obviously this, we put ourselves out in the public. So when we put your I mean when you put yourself out into the public, people uh get access to you. When they get access to you, they tend to either well, some tend to say some pretty horrible things.
Speaker 1:A few weeks back, we had a geez. A month or so back, we had a guest on geez. A month or so back, we had a guest on uh, I learned I, you know uh, me and dw did what we do for every guest and you know we just want to have a good time. Uh, it's kind of, you know, uh, known it is a paranormal and comedy podcast, so, uh, but I, I don't know what happened, uh, but she kind of took things a little differently. Uh wrote me an email stating so. I apologized during that email and I sent her one back that said you know, you know I apologize for that email in in my response and, uh, you know, and I kind of let her know, you know, things weren't exactly how they were and you know, uh, we appreciated her on and we uh wanted to, you know, say, you know, good luck with what you're doing.
Speaker 1:I got a response back that ended in expletives Um response back that ended in expletives, um, and so I just kind of gave it to God and said, hey, please, you know, like let's not have her contact me, uh, but it happened again and uh, this time it was just kind of like, maybe enough's enough. Like you know, we're not, we're not tolerating it anymore, um, things, you know, we did what we had to do to uh stop the emails from coming, uh, but you know, just want to say like flat out that, uh, nothing is as it seems. Uh, there was no malice in what me and DW did and it's all about entertaining baby. That's bottom line. So I know that you knew this DW kind of in a way, but I wanted to let it out, say, and with that we are not going to be dabbling in anything that is not kosher on the paranormal field, and I feel like maybe doors were opened that shouldn't have been and things kind of went a little haywire. So everybody knows we're all good, everything's cool, nothing happening, but me and the dubs had some weird responses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that is leading into this. Essentially, she got a hold of us, but maybe you want to get a hold of us and and how you could do that is, first of all, you could go to dw serene comedian on facebook. You find me, john, also community 2.0 on facebook. You'll find us both together not together.
Speaker 2:We're not a couple.
Speaker 1:You can find us, but you'll find us both together on facebook, at the sclarius page, we also have a tiktok. It's called sclarius eight. No need to okay, whatever. And then, obviously, if you wanted to like, send us nice emails, send us nice letters. If you wanted to do that, you could do that at scolariaspod, at gmailcom, or if you wanted to and sincerely, only if you wanted to you can go back and listen to every single Scolarius episode there is at scolariaspodbuzzsproutcom and DW. While they're doing that, I'm assuming they're going to be all like hey, you know, we like you, we're going to get some merch and whatnot. Maybe I don't know, maybe not, maybe they're typing up a threatening email, who knows, who knows? But just saying hypothetically, you're a fan, okay, and you want to purchase Scalarius, merch, dw. Where could they do that?
Speaker 2:So if you go to Crowdmade, John usually gives you the full address. I think you should just go to Crowdmade and search Scalarius in the search bar I think that's easier. Bar I think that's easier and you find mugs, hats, leashes, collars, sweatshirts and also shirts that include phrases that neither of us say. But if you think that I say Kripers, there is a Kripers shirt. But we also have my favorite, who I have no idea, who John Olsen is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, it's not only your favorite. There's a few Including my betrothed, but anyway. So, yeah, you can do all of that, get all of that. And I'm going to do the long version, dw, because that's what I do. You can get all of that at crowdmadecom forward slash collections, forward slash ScalariousPod. That's flawless, baby, you can get it there. Get your Scalarious merch, do it, do it, do it. All right, dw, we've been doing Scalarious Scalarius merch, do it.
Speaker 2:Do it.
Speaker 1:Do it Alright, dw. We've been doing Scalarius for a while, right? Yeah, okay, we've had some pretty cool guests, right. We have had authors, we've had comedians, we've had comedians, uh, you know we we've had like actually just entertainers in general, psychics, mediums.
Speaker 2:We've had um pet psychics well, and would he be considered a politician or a member of?
Speaker 1:not a member of Congress, but remember we had a political person, a politician A politician, if that's what you want to call it. It only worked because he was telling ghost stories, because both Republicans and Democrats like sclerias Ghosts are nonpartisan, by the way, that's true, that's true, that's true, uh, but anyway, we had, we had all that, all that.
Speaker 1:But you know what? We haven't had a tiktok entertainer. And I found literally the perfect fit for this show today. And he is, like I said, a tiktok entertainer. He's a police officer and he's pretty popular on the old tickety talk. It's brandon gayhart, the supernatural sleuth. Brandon, what's going on?
Speaker 3:Hey guys, how are you doing?
Speaker 1:We're doing pretty good, doing really good, awesome, I appreciate you guys having me here. You're welcome. I appreciate you coming on. This is amazing. Dw's probably not too keen on the whole tickety-tock, or you, and that's fine.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. I don't want him to take it personally. I have nothing against him. The computer machines, that's where I, Even though I'm young enough that I do the technology. I'm not into the social media. I just I don't know. But again, I don't want our guests to feel I don't know. But again, I don't want our guests to feel like I don't appreciate him.
Speaker 1:You're going to appreciate him when he's done, I guarantee you.
Speaker 3:That's fair. Two years ago I didn't know how to post a video on TikTok. I'm not really a scholar myself, but I've learned a few things over the past couple of years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have. You've learned quite a bit of things in the last couple of years. You have quite the following on the old tickety-tock how did? That happen.
Speaker 3:I'm still trying to figure that out. To be honest, I'm still betting on a fluke. I'm not sure. But um, so one of my best friends, who is pretty popular guy in a way. He's worked on a lot of pretty big tv shows and he is currently the number three guy on mr b's production team. He's uh, he talked me into starting tick tock okay and, mind you, I do absolutely nothing about tick tock.
Speaker 3:I thought it was just a bunch of kids dancing, I knew nothing about it and um, but he introduced me to it and dude, I don't know, here I am, you know, two years later. So I'm still trying to figure it out myself.
Speaker 1:Honestly, that's, it's pretty awesome. I want to talk about your page but obviously, right, that's that's pretty like your. Your page is you and the reason why this is doing. But I kind of want to back up a little bit and talk about the name and why. Okay, so your name, the supernatural sleuth, and obviously you're a police officer, right, which can said you know the sleuth, right. I'm curious about the supernatural part, why you're on that and with that I have a question as a police officer, did you, during shifts, come upon paranormal activity?
Speaker 3:Okay, well, to start with the name. To be honest, chatgpt came up. I'm not going to lie.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, there you go so my friend Zach, who I just referenced a minute ago. He and I were just trying to think up names. My friend Zach, who I just referenced a minute ago, he and I were just trying to think up names. Law enforcement and you know spooky, paranormal supernatural and ChatGPT spit out the supernatural sleuth and we were both like I like it. So yeah, that's where that came from. As a police officer, have I encountered paranormal stuff Many times?
Speaker 1:Yes, Wow, okay, there's followups to this, obviously. How do you okay, when you come upon it? That's one thing. How do you call this in? What do you do with that? Because, obviously, right, there has to be a response or communication between you and the dispatch and whatnot, right?
Speaker 2:Is there a code for it? Like 1017 means ghost in the house or something.
Speaker 3:Well, there should be, but no, unfortunately there's not. You know a lot of calls, I guess, that have paranormal tendencies. Were you know like, in the wee hours of the morning you get a call about someone in a supposed to be an abandoned building or house and you go check it out and clearly no one's there. You do a walkthrough but yet you hear doors closing or footsteps. You just call that back in as an FTL failure to locate and you go on about your business. Then you talk about it later, but not over the radio. That's happened quite a few times. Some people talk about it and some don't. I know some guys who just won't talk about paranormal. They don't. You know it's not real, it didn't happen, even though they can't explain it.
Speaker 1:They won't admit that something else is going on. You know that's amazing. It is kind of disappointing in a way that you don't communicate it back to this um, but I can understand why not? I kind of want to get like your. Okay, you said it happens a lot, or you know whatever. Is it because of your geographical location, do you feel?
Speaker 3:um, I mean not necessarily maybe. I mean you know the appalachian mountains. There's a lot of history, you know a lot of good stuff, a lot of bad stuff, and but you know that's anywhere in the world. You know right, you know you go to la new york, anywhere. You have good things and bad things and I believe hauntings, personally, are tied to where a lot of times, tragedy, you know, has taken place. You know, um, and you know, I think if you work long enough in law enforcement or a first responder of any kind, you're going to come across something like that at some point wow, I it.
Speaker 1:It's just amazing to me that it it happens so frequently and really not talked about amongst you guys like I mean, what do you think the percentages of people that would uh, entertain the fact? I guess that that you're sitting around talking about ghosts and the other?
Speaker 3:well, you know you have to keep in mind where I'm from. It's very rural, uh, you know, like I said, in the heart of appalachia. You know I can most of the officers between city policemen, uh, deputy sheriffs and and state policemen, you know I can name all of them in my county. So there's not a huge population but out of the ones I know really well, I think we all have talked about things we've encountered. You know the majority, I would say, are believers. You know they've experienced something on call or, you know, in their personal time off. But, uh, but a good majority of those have had calls where things and a lot of times it's weird, you don't really realize it at the time okay until you get after the cousin.
Speaker 3:There's a lot going on sometimes. You know you're processing in the moment, yeah, yeah, but when you get time to sit back later and think about it, like you know, that was pretty strange. You know, I heard someone call my name or I felt someone touch my shoulder and there wasn't anyone else there, things like that. You know and um, so there's a lot of you know a lot of stuff out there and you know, and I think a lot of first responders would agree with that, yeah we had um paranormal triage on here and they are first responders and they talked about the paranormal stuff that they come from, you know, and it's yeah, it's pretty bad-ass.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Definitely so okay, go ahead.
Speaker 3:So I'm sorry. I'm just going to say I've always, you know, had a passion for the paranormal, so maybe I'm more in tune to it, or looking for it more than most of your average person. So, you know, maybe that has something to do with it as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you said you've always been, you know, impassioned by it. So have you. I mean, did you have experiences as a child?
Speaker 3:A few. I can remember my first experience. I think I was four years old, wow, actually about a quarter of a mile from where I'm sitting right now. I'll never forget it my grandma. She used to babysit my cousin and I before we started school.
Speaker 3:A beautiful summer morning we were out on the porch playing front porch, and my grandma in her house, her upstairs. It was a two-story home. She didn't use it much other than storage, but at the bottom of those steps she kept a big box we kept her toys in, okay, and my cousin and I were playing and I remember there was a specific toy that we wanted so I volunteered to go get it. And my aunt, who was also there at the time she worked night shift. I remember she was asleep, so I was trying to be quiet and I make my way inside to the toy box you know, not thinking of anything ghost or spooky and as I'm just digging away through this box I can remember the hair stood up on the back of my neck and, for whatever reason, I instinctively looked straight up above me and looking over the rails, the banisters from the second level, there was an old man.
Speaker 3:I kind of compared him to the monopoly man, kind of the victoria erin clothing on like a suit, top hat, all that stuff. He was just leaning over looking at me and I just remember like fear just engulfed me. I was terrified and I ran outside and that's about all I remember. I'm sure my grandmother didn't believe me, but um, I can remember that like it was yesterday and it's been 40 years ago oh, wow.
Speaker 1:So I mean, was that happening all the time? Was that the only experience you ever had there?
Speaker 3:In that house. Yeah, I think that was the only one I can recall. You know, the next thing I remember was I was probably 12 or 13, and it was at my house. It was, I can remember it was during the winter, probably february, but it was a beautiful day. Son was out, my brother and my dad was gone, it was just me and my mom and she was outside doing some kind of chore and I was in my bedroom closet it was a huge walk-in closet again rummaging through a toy box, which is weird now that I think about it.
Speaker 3:And I had been in there probably 20 minutes or so just digging through those boxes and in my left ear the most maniacal creepy sounding boo. In my left ear, I mean like it was loud and I thought, sure my brother or someone had came home. And there was no one. My mom was still outside, and that I mean like you know being you know, the other time I was four, I was still very aware, but at this point I was probably, you know, maybe 12 or 13, so I was more aware. You know, like I know, I didn't dream it, I didn't make it up, it happened. So that was an eye-opener too. And it said boo. The ghost said boo, yeah boo, and it almost had a hint of laughter. You know it's hard to describe that because boo is such a short sound, but I could almost. It sounded like it was trying to mess with me, trying to scare me, but I'll never forget it in my left ear very loud, very intentional boom, wow yeah, so that guy you like kick-started then into the paranormal gig, right, I mean?
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean that that definitely impacted me, uh, a lot, you know. But you know that, aside, like growing up and even still, I'm a huge horror fan I love scary movies, you know. Um, now my family did run a funeral home, you know, as I was, maybe that had something to do with it too, um, so I was around stuff like that growing up, but you know, I'm not sure where that all ties in, if it does at all. Um, but yeah, yeah, I experienced a few things, but it wasn't until I started law enforcement that I really had a lot of experiences, wow.
Speaker 1:I would love. I mean, okay, we're going to get here and then we're going to go to I can't, I'm going to die on this hill is what's going to happen. So what is the scariest thing to happen to you on a call Paranormal-wise?
Speaker 3:You could say real wise if you wanted to, because that's probably worse to be fair, but right but, yeah, paranormal wise well, you know, it's hard to pick just one, honestly, and the thing about a lot of these experiences is, like you know, it doesn't my words are not going to do it just justice, to describe just the, the amount of fear that when you're in that situation, when you know it's not a person, um, but you know, like I said a few minutes ago I would you know, I've had to do like searches, search buildings, like three levels total darkness by myself, you know, and hear doors closed, like something was intentionally leading me through the building. I would clear one floor, it would lead me to another area. I'd hear a door close. See the door close. Go there, no one's there. Uh, 10 seconds later, a door close. See the door close, go there, no one's there. Ten seconds later, a door down the hall would do the same thing.
Speaker 3:And I actually done that one night. I didn't have a flashlight or anything, everything just kind of happened. I didn't have time to grab all my stuff, and so, you know, I was in this huge building that was notoriously haunted, if you will, and my initial thought was someone in the beginning, but the longer I was in there I began to realize it wasn't a person and that was creepy, and that was before cell phones were big. So now you just reach in your pocket, pull out a flashlight or call someone. This kind of happened. I didn't have much on me at all and, like I said, I wasn't terrified like for my life, but I just realized, like the depth of the situation I was in, like the gravity it was. Like I don't know how many paranormal experiences you've had, but when you're in the presence of something that you know what I would say is evil, it's a different kind of fear.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Not like a fear of like somebody's going to hurt me, but a fear of like you're in amongst true evil. Yeah, kind of fear, and so you know. It's why it's hard to put that into words, to really explain to people. You know how intense that is. But if you've experienced it, you know.
Speaker 1:See, I've had paranormal experiences. Dw, on the other hand, has not.
Speaker 3:Oh, ok, that's interesting.
Speaker 1:Right, I mean he is. He is the skeptic. Yeah right, I mean he is, he is the skeptic.
Speaker 3:Yeah, very few things get by him without it being a debate of some sort, that's fair. That's fair, and I know a lot of people you know who are the same way and, for whatever reason, some people just don't seem to have experiences like other people. I don't know why, but uh, I see I see that a lot actually.
Speaker 1:All right. So I'm going to ask you a geographical question, and then you can, and then from there we're going to dig into your page and why your page is your page. Sure, how much in your opinion. In your opinion, uh, how much of the Appalachian Mountains is haunted.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 1:I mean the whole range.
Speaker 3:The whole range. Okay. Well, I will say a lot for sure. But you know, I guess, where my answer may differ than a lot of people's is my belief in ghosts is so much different than most people's. So I do believe. Anywhere you have a tragedy like a homicide or maybe a suicide or you know, with those emotions and stuff, negative energy, whatever you want to call it, I believe demonic entities feed on that stuff. It's kind of like bees to honey.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But you know, I think anywhere these entities can get attention you know people go to. For instance, if you know a house that has had a terrible tragedy someone was murdered or uh, whatever people just instinctively say oh, the house is haunted, let's go there ghost town yep and I believe anywhere you go, you're going to find it, because I believe these demonic entities want attention.
Speaker 3:so you know, I think you can go, like the ablachian mountains, if you've never been here. They're beautiful, they're creepy I mean me personally. I'm very comfortable in the mountains. I grew up here, but I also respect the mountains.
Speaker 1:Got it.
Speaker 3:You know I'll say this I think the majority of paranormal things that are reported can be debunked, but there's a natural reason for the majority and even the stuff I've experienced, things I've said it could be paranormal, probably has a logical explanation. Right, but it's those things that I wish I could explain that make me think about when I lay in bed at night. You that, I know, wasn't that defy the laws of physics and everything that we know right um.
Speaker 3:So you know the Appalachian mountains, I would say the vast majority somewhere. If you talk to somebody in any state county of Appalachia, they have a ghost story.
Speaker 1:Damn, that's a big range.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 1:It's not the Rockies, but it's a big range. Wow, that's impressive. Okay, so you said you're a horror fan. Yep, All right, I'm going to ask you're a horror fan. Yep, all right, I'm going to ask you this and then, like I said, we're going to get to your page. So what is the best horror movie based in Appalachia?
Speaker 3:Oh, based in Appalachia, that's a good one.
Speaker 1:So you threw me off.
Speaker 3:I thought you were just going to say the best horror movie of all time. Well, you can give me that one too. But well, I would say halloween for that one.
Speaker 1:Oh, really, okay. Okay, all right, fair enough. Fair enough, okay. I'm sorry. Um, oh, I don't know. I'll have to think on that for a little bit. All right, you weren't gonna say wrong turn.
Speaker 3:Well, that did pop in my head. Yeah, that I did. I did think about that, but is it the best? I don't know, I'll have to think on that for a little bit.
Speaker 1:You weren't going to say Wrong Turn.
Speaker 3:Well, that did pop in my head, I did think about that, but is it the best? I don't know.
Speaker 1:But it is a good one. It is a good one. And where was Deliverance? Deliverance wasn't a horror movie, but it I mean.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure if it's West Virginia.
Speaker 1:Tennessee, kentucky. I think it was in the Appalachian Mountains too, yeah. I want to say West Virginia, but I could be wrong on that I mean if you can classify, like I said, I know parts of it were. So yeah, the squealing anyway. Yes, dw, do you have any idea what I'm talking about right now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a horror movie is a movie that tries to have scary Moments in it.
Speaker 1:So yeah.
Speaker 2:I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 1:Thank you, you're welcome Alright. So Alright, brandon, this is where the rubber meets the road, or whatever. Sure, the butter meets the steak Supernatural Sleuth. When you started it, was it intended? You were going to tell the short stories.
Speaker 3:No, to be honest, I didn't know. I just knew I wanted to do something. My initial plan, I guess, was to, because I had some pictures that I thought were paranormal and investigations of my own that I would share. Well, that well, ran dry pretty quickly, you know, because if you've ever been on a ghost hunt or whatever you want to call it, nine times out of 10, you don't get anything. Or if you do, you don't get anything on camera or video. It's personal experiences. So what I did have, again that that was going after the first week or two. So I'm like, again, that was going on for the first week or two. So I'm like, well, that's not going to work, so I'm just going to have to do something else.
Speaker 3:And people started telling me their stories and so I would tell their story and just it snowballed from there. Honestly, I didn't know that's the route it would take. But you know, here I am, you know, two years later, and sometimes I get, you know, dozens of emails and messages every day. I can't keep up with them. Wow, yeah, it took off really quickly and I've been very blessed. You know, I never thought I'm the last person who wanted to be in front of a camera. I don't look good, sound good on on camera. But I'm just at that point in my age like I don't care what people think I'm gonna do what I enjoy doing and but at the core of my tiktok I share ghost stories and talk about all that stuff. But you know, I'm a devout christian and shared my faith is the most important thing that I do absolutely that.
Speaker 1:I mean that, okay. So this is where I'm going with this. You, you know you're a devout christian and you say that, uh, I'm just. Are you saying to us, I guess, that all in your opinion, all ghosts are demons? Yes okay, all right, all right.
Speaker 1:I was gonna say, like you know, that's, I know the catholic religion believes that um you know I get it and, based on what I just read in the, uh, in the old good book, you know it's it's kind of written in there and said you know, basically you know if it's dead it's gone. You know, like you know. So, yeah, I think ecclesiastes.
Speaker 3:Uh, chapter nine, verse five the dead know nothing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yep, you know I'd be absent from the bodies to be present with the lord. And uh, there are several other references and you know, before I became a Christian I didn't necessarily believe that. I thought it was. Well, you know, mainstream TV ghost hunt shows. You know they say, oh, this is trapped spirits, people who had unfinished business. But you know that never did really sit right with me because I was like, well, you know, I'm pretty sure the Bible says this. But you know, this guy on TV said that, and so it wasn't until I really became a Christian and studied it for myself until it became clear to me oh, I get it now.
Speaker 3:These things are just trying to deceive people. You know the devil's not going to come at you chasing you with a pitchfork. You know the devil's not going to come at you chasing you with a pitchfork. He's going to come at you, as the Bible says, as an angel of light. You know everything you thought you ever wanted, all the good stuff. You know he doesn't even want you to believe he exists. And the ghost in your house that's great-grandpa Joe. You know he's just here to watch over you.
Speaker 1:You know there's nothing biblical about that at all, and so that's kind of the core message of my tiktok, my instagram, everything I do across social media and I wouldn't be a uh, new, you know, friend of jesus and and I know dw's a big uh he, he does his thing, you know he's got a relationship with big guy too. So with that, you know, I like the paranormal. Dw is kind of lukewarm on it, he doesn't hate it. But you know, whatever I like the paranormal and being a christian man, like how, how does that work? How do you balance that?
Speaker 3:that was a tough one, honestly, and it's something I really struggled with a lot. I started the TikTok account in April of 23. And I was very lucky and blessed I became monetized in the following August, so just a few months.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, not very long at all.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so just a few months, wow, yeah, not very long at all, yeah, and. But in September my mom unexpectedly passed away and even though I was living a Christian life then, I still felt very close to God. That was, you know, hands down, the toughest thing I'd ever been through. So I had to reconnect with God and then it really did start weighing on me. You know, God, here I am. You know I'm devoting myself back to you. You know where do these worlds meet? Because I know the Bible speaks clearly about, you know, not communicating with the dead or demons. So I don't know how to proceed. You know, I was all excited because I'm monetized. You know, I'm starting to make a little bit of money.
Speaker 3:My mom passes away and now I'm just I didn't know what to do and so, like I said, she passed away in September and pretty much that whole winter I posted sporadically just a few here and there, but there, but I just wrestled with God, with it. Is this something I should do? Moving forward, how do I proceed? And it wasn't until, I think, march of last year that I just got a peace about me. I felt like God told me you do what you're doing, but I want you to tell people the truth, and so I said so.
Speaker 3:I said, okay, I had a piece about that, but I'm like I want to start back from scratch. You know I've got over 10,000 followers, but I'm going to start because I've not posted consistently. Everything's gone, you know, to crap. But the moment I started posting again and telling people what I feel like God told me to tell them, it instantly took off Like it just it blew up, unlike anything I could. It blew my mind and it's still. You know that's been over a year ago and it's still doing really well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it absolutely is, and that's what you know. Like god wants you to talk about him, right? Yeah so, and he wants you to, you know, do it by any means necessary. Essentially, you know, um, you know, first, you basically you know, tell your friends and then tell the world, essentially, right, I mean right, yeah that's what he said.
Speaker 1:So I mean, that's kind of where where you went with that and and I feel it kind of gave you a boost to uh tell the world, so to speak yeah, definitely, and you know, and for a lot of christians I believe that's kind of a taboo subject.
Speaker 3:Like you know, you don't talk about ghosts, whatever, but I that's where I differ is like I don Like, you know, you don't talk about ghosts or whatever, but I that's where I differ is like I don't believe they're disconnected, I believe it's all one in the same and you know, and it's and I truly believe this wholeheartedly it's not. You know, I don't have almost 400,000 followers because I'm a good looking guy or I sound good or look good in front of a camera. You know, god gave me a platform and I just hope to do him justice by sharing what I believe to be truth and hopefully you say something that might encourage someone to go to Jesus Christ. You know.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, that's awesome. Thank you, you're very welcome. That's awesome, dw, you got anything so far?
Speaker 2:No, that's, uh, it's awesome, dw, you got anything? So far, no, we've had very different opinions about ghosts and demons and the demonic and stuff like that. There are people who would say not every spirit is demonic, but again, I think it's very just christian in general, though, to say, um, that when you die, that's not the end. So, even though it seems like the two, you know, don't really mesh or we don't talk about them at the same time, in a way it's kind of supporting each other, you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so definitely, um, and yeah, and you know some people just don't again, like I said, it's been a lot of christians, I know. You know you just don't talk about ghosts whether they're real or not. But you know, I believe the spiritual world like is going on all around us all the time. I had a good pastor friend of mine tell me years ago before I became a Christian, and it stuck with me. This has been close to 20 years ago. He said if we could see everything going on around us, we wouldn't be able to sleep at night. And I believe that Now. I believe there are good things. I do believe angels intercede in our lives. God definitely does.
Speaker 3:But I believe the Bible is very clear. It says the devil is roaming around like a lion looking for who he can devour. Like I said, he's going to try to, you know, like candy out of a van. You do children. You know he's going to try to lure you with the good stuff, the sweets. You know he ain't going to come at you with a pitchfork because you know if he appeared in his true form or a demon did, I mean you would have a mass exodus and everybody would run to God, you know. So I mean you would have a mass exodus and everybody would run to God, you know. So he's going to. His plan is to deceive Very subtly, not with the horns and the pitchfork, hellfire and brimstone, it's the little things, the little things, the little things.
Speaker 3:And he just keeps one thing after another. So you know, and that's not a very popular opinion in the paranormal community. I've I've come to realize that, you know. I have, you know, taught with some bigger names in the paranormal world and might have some collaboration opportunities in the future, but most mainstream ghost hunters don't want to talk about it. But that's okay, you know, if that means I lost my whole following, I'll lose my whole following you know.
Speaker 1:So I mean, it is kind of disheartening, in a way, that everything that you're saying is corroborating what Zach Baggins always says, that it's a demon. You know what?
Speaker 2:I mean Everything's a demon right you know, everything's a demon him.
Speaker 1:But yeah, you know as much as I hate the fact that you agree anything with with old zacky you know, I appreciate right.
Speaker 3:uh, well, you know, I think there could be a couple instances, like are you familiar with residual hauntings?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Now you know, I think yeah it's kind of just like something on loop, it's just you know. But if that is true and that does exist, I feel like that's more explained through science than paranormal, because you know, it's just energy, something about energy, yep yep, but you know, and I, you know, I ask myself this a lot.
Speaker 3:You know before I, you know, when I was trying to figure all this stuff out in my head, you know, you hear these souls had unfinished business or they're trapped between worlds. Why, how souls had unfinished business or they're trapped between worlds? Why, how you know? Or why would a person or a spirit or soul be stuck in a house for all eternity? Why that just? I mean, if god is god, he's either god of all or not god at all. He is well capable of retrieving our souls when we pass away.
Speaker 3:You know there's nothing we can do to stop it or slow it down. Unfinished business or not, our time here is done. So that's why I don't believe for one minute that it's a comforting thought to think, yeah, my mom's here watching over me, but where my mom is, I have greater comfort, knowing she's at peace with the Lord.
Speaker 1:And I'll see her again someday.
Speaker 3:But I just think there's a lot of deception in the world and I'm not saying I'm the only person out there saying this stuff, but I just feel like I have a responsibility to share what I believe to be true. Now, that doesn't. You know, a lot of people disagree, and that's fine. I have friends who are atheists, you know we can agree to disagree. A lot of people disagree, and that's fine. I have friends who are atheists, you know we can agree to disagree. That's no big deal. I'm not offended or whatever. You know, I think it's actually good. People bring different ideas, you know, bring different things to the table. That's great, you know?
Speaker 1:yep, because it all starts with the conversation, essentially yeah, exactly that's. That's how it always it always was. Yeah, you started getting stories from people. You started having them. Yeah, I mean, you were telling them uh, what is the creepiest story that you ever received?
Speaker 3:oh man, that's a good question. I have read so many, honestly, over the past couple years, you know I would. There have been many that when people will reach out and say my family was tormented by this demonic force, the children would have these imaginary friends that lived in their closets and you know, and they would tell our children, you know, to hurt us, to hurt the parents, and then, like the mother in the family, would be assaulted. You know, physically, you know, I don't know. Know, there's just been so many and at the core of them all, like you can just tell, it's just like dark, dark things, you know, terrorizing these people and some of them it affects mentally for years and it, you know, it's a real thing, you know.
Speaker 3:But one thing I always encourage people who reach out and I'm not my brother, he's a doctor of psychology, he's a psychologist. Okay, I'm in no way a psychologist. I don't try to offer people mental health, you know. For you know I encourage people, if they feel like they need to talk to someone, to do so, because I'm in no way certified, you know, to help you as a mental health professional at all. But you know, I will say, at the very least, you know, pray about it, ask God to help you. He will.
Speaker 3:But at the same time, if you feel like there's something going on, because some people say, well, you know all the struggles, you know I had a demonic attachment and it caused me depression, severe anxiety and thoughts of self-harm and I'm like, you know you need to talk to somebody. I can't, you know, I can't help you with that. You know I'll pray for you but I can't help you with that, you know. So I'm not a professional, I'm not an expert, I'm not anything, but I just hope maybe Now you know another question I ask people say do you believe everything that you share? Do I believe every story, every picture is a ghost or a demon? No, I don't. But you know I tell spooky stories, so I have to kind of sell it.
Speaker 1:You know, I have to set the scene.
Speaker 3:Like, yeah, I'm telling a spooky story, but here it is. Look at it, believe it, don't believe it, that's up to you. I think a lot of people I've had them message me like do you really believe that's what that is? No, but some people do. Look at it, decide for yourself.
Speaker 1:Did you have you ever? Okay, I'm assuming, I'm assuming there there are stories you don't use, right, yeah, okay, okay, yeah, all right. So, while going through them, has there ever been a story that you've seen that you dismissed like right away because of something in it you just you didn't want to touch?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, I see that pretty regularly. I mean some things like I said. You know I've been in law enforcement for 25 years.
Speaker 3:I would say I'm a pretty good judge of character for the most part, and like some people, I would say I'm a pretty good judge of character for the most part and some people you can tell, just I mean, whether their story is true or not, you can tell. They just tell my story, tell my story, tell my story, you know, and their story. What I look for is people who, even if it's two or three pages, send me like an in-depth like this is what happened, here's what it started. But some people, just like you know, one time I got up to pee and there was a werewolf in my closet. You know, just stuff like that I can't tell that, you know. But I mean, yeah, some people like you can tell it's people who suffer from mental you know, um, okay, some things going on like that. Then other ones is like they'll send me pictures Like you see this ghost, this is the most real picture of a demon, absolutely nothing, or a lens flare.
Speaker 3:You know, there'd be like a lens flare and I'm like, yeah, I see that it's a UFO, I get it, it's a demon. But there's some that I'm like I don't know. I don't know it's paranormal, but I'll show it to everybody else. Let them be the judge. See what?
Speaker 1:they think.
Speaker 3:But there have been those few there's always a few that sticks out that I truly believe are paranormal, ghost, demon, whatever you want to call it. You know something it wasn't a lens flare, it wasn't uh, you know something went on like that. It was just, like I believe, otherworldly.
Speaker 1:You know going on I was gonna say all these lens flares, who's doing their photography?
Speaker 3:jj abrams yeah, really, and I seriously I can. You know they'll. I'm sure you guys have seen this, but you know people will zoom in till everything's so pixelated. They're like, oh, you see that face, there's a big staring at you. And I mean you can sit and stare at anything long enough. You'll see a face, you know, and so you have to be careful with that. A good friend of mine I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the TV show Expedition Bigfoot on Discovery Channel. No, yeah, it's called Expedition Bigfoot. There's like six seasons of it now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I've seen it Probably early on. Yeah, I know what you're talking about yeah, one of the guys on there.
Speaker 3:His name's russell acord. He's a good friend of mine. I got to know him through my friend zach, who used to be a camera guy for russell on that show. Oh nice, and that's one of the things I see on their fan pages on like facebook and stuff. People will take screenshots of the things I see on their fan pages on Facebook and stuff. People will take screenshots of the TV when they're doing an interview and they'll zoom in to where it's pixelated. Oh, there was a Bigfoot standing 15 feet behind you. You guys didn't even see it. You know, if you look for monsters, you're going to find them, but I don't think they're really monsters in most cases, not to say they don't exist, but sometimes, if it's there, you don't have to search that hard for it. Usually it's pretty noticeable most of the time if it's really there.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you're saying there isn't a Bigfoot. That's what you're saying isn't a bigfoot.
Speaker 3:that's what you're saying. Well, I'm not, I don't know. I well, it kind of goes back to my theory with demons, um, maybe there is this biological, bipedal, hairy creature who's just very elusive and super intelligent again, which, if that's true, is just some kind of primate, very elusiveusive, very intelligent. Maybe I've never seen Bigfoot, but I will also say, on the flip side of that, demons, again, they want attention and I've heard a lot of these Bigfoot guys who say and I'm talking about PhD doctors, intelligent people say they have seen Bigfoot jump through portals or go through time warps or something. Now, that could be a complete lie, dude, could be crazy, I don't know.
Speaker 3:But what I think is the same principle with those demons as ghosts is maybe there is, maybe there isn't, a real Bigfoot, a biological flesh and blood Bigfoot. But I think demons can manifest as Bigfoot, as a dog man, as a moth man, as a ghost, just to get that attention. You know, I've often said that if I start a rumor, this house is haunted by, you know, one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater. Soon enough somebody will see it. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:So I believe Bigfoot, ghost, whatever it is, sooner enough somebody's going to see that Right. But again I will say I feel like the vast majority of all paranormal encounters can be explained through science, through natural things. But I do know from personal experience and from what the Bible teaches. You know demons are real, demonic activity is real. Bible teaches you know demons are real, demonic activity is real. So you know you have to look at it through a lens of faith or at least I do and see does it look more? Could it be paranormal? Or you know something in your mind, you know.
Speaker 1:Okay, so now we kind of went down a rabbit hole and that's yeah, no, no, that's good because I I want to tell you this and I want your opinion.
Speaker 1:I seen today there was like a meme or whatever, and it was talking about how, if you dream of ghosts ghosts right, right, they're not ghosts, it's spiritual warfare at that moment, meaning like those are demons coming for me, or whatever, like. So I dream about ghosts all the time. I do, and my fiancee should oh, she hates that term my queen consort. She'll wake me up because she'll be like you're doing it again, like I, she what she calls haunted wailing, because I'm trying to vocalize what, what I'm seeing or whatever, and I'm anyway I do that. She wakes me up and then she's like, like, were you having one of those dreams again? I'm like, yeah it's, I dream of ghosts all the time. So, with that theory, I dream of ghosts all the time is that I'm I got somebody who wants in.
Speaker 3:Essentially, well, I believe you know this. I believe we are what most people don't realize. We're in a spiritual war, whether we realize it or not. We pick the side, whether you realize it or not. So yeah, I have scary dreams.
Speaker 3:I dream about ghosts and things frequently, and maybe that's true, maybe it's just our imagination. It could be both. I can honestly say that I've had one dream and in the moment and after I woke up I swore it was straight from the pits of hell. It terrified me, but it wasn't until later that I realized it was actually from God. And I'm talking. I was a grown man, I was probably 26, 27 years old. I had a dream that scared me so bad that, like I had to get up and I used to smoke. And I got up and I sat up the rest of the night trying to smoke, like it terrified me. And to hear the dream, it doesn't sound that scary, but it's the most terrifying thing I've ever encountered in my life and the weirdest part about it. If I tell you the dream it doesn't sound scary, well, if you want me to, I'll just tell you real quick and then.
Speaker 1:I'll get to it, yeah sure.
Speaker 3:Okay. So I dreamed and this was before I was married, me and my wife, my girlfriend at the time. She came over to my house, we'd watch some movies and fell asleep in my bed, right, and we were laying there and this dream started. It was like I was in this abandoned building with a group of friends who I have no idea who they were, but in the dream they were my friends like four or five people, I can remember, like four or five guys and one girl, and we were just kind of goofing off having fun. And then I remember someone saying let's play hide and go seek. Okay, then I instantly all the lights went off. But it's like one of those 80s horror movies where it's dark but you can see almost everything. Is that blue tint, like yeah, that's kind of how it was.
Speaker 3:But the moment those lights turned off, all of my friends turned into demons, like they got down on all fours. Just this creepy maniacal laughter running past me, hitting me, and I was terrified, frozen, and as I'm telling this, I get chills and that's creepy. But the creepy part started when I came out of the room into this long hallway. At the end of this hallway was one door. I walked to this door, I walked through it and then I start down a spiral staircase into complete, total darkness, an abyss just darker than dark, like these demons were no longer chasing me or whatever. But I was walking on this spiral staircase into this abyss, this darkness, and I was like so terrified I was crying, calling out to God, all the while just going down, going down, and in that moment I realized I was going to hell and I woke up in a sweat, totally terrified. I didn't know where I was at. I didn't know what time it was. It actually was just like maybe 11 pm. My girlfriend was asleep but I instantly got up, like went to the bathroom, like splashed water on my face I still lived with my mom and dad at the time.
Speaker 3:I go to the living room my dad's getting ready to go to bed and I like sit down, I'm shaking smoking like I lit up a cigarette. And this is how paranoid I was. He was in the kitchen getting something to drink before he went to bed and there was a light on, kind of like right where the kitchen and the living room meet, and I told my dad before he went to bed I said turn that light on. That's how scared I was. I was too scared to sit in the dark. The TV was on and so I was just looking at the TV and I seen the light come on and I guess he went on to bed. Then I turned around a moment later and he wasn't there and I started freaking out. I was like, where'd he go? I don't even think it was possible that he could have turned that light on from where he was at Like I'm still in hell. So I had to physically get up. I went over and made sure it was even physically possible that he could have turned the light on from where he was at, which it was. But I mean, it was almost, and it don't sound scary, but it was traumatizing.
Speaker 3:And I was a new Christian, which is what throwed me off even more. I thought this is, oh, this was straight from hell. This was something from you know, the devil himself. But it was after a few days of, like, praying about it and thinking about it. God revealed to me that was from me, that feeling like I cannot put into words, the feeling like, as I was going down that spiral staircase every step, I was getting farther from God and I could feel it and that's why I was pleading and calling out to him in my dream. God save me, god help me. And it doesn't sound scary, and I tell people that dream on occasions, but that was the most terrifying thing I've ever encountered in my life.
Speaker 1:I don't know man.
Speaker 2:That sounds pretty scary yeah. You're saying it and I'm picturing it and I'm like it's like a fever dream, yeah and I can easily picture how, if it happened to me, like if I had that dream, yeah I'd be. I'd wake up terrified too.
Speaker 3:No, I was. It was more terrifying than any paranormal experience that I've ever had. Hands down, it was terrifying but it was, I feel like, necessary. It was. God wasn't trying to scare me, just trying to show me that this, this place, is real, you know and every step you take away from me.
Speaker 3:The farther you get from me, the harder it is to come back out of the darkness. And so it was, I guess I feel like it was kind of it was for me, but also to share with other people too, even though I may fail miserably trying to explain that, but it was. If people knew the darkness that was truly out there, they would run to God without second thought.
Speaker 2:For sure yeah.
Speaker 1:No, I agree with that a hundred percent. I I'm curious about something else. Basically, I want to know if you've ever done a video, read a story and regretted doing it.
Speaker 3:I have read some stories that people shared and seen a few pictures that made me feel very uneasy. Yeah, um, some of those, I like I would never show nothing graphic or you know bad or you know, or dangerous or anything like that. But uh, yep, there's been people who shared stories with me, especially that, well, even from people who claim to be in their cult. Those people, like I had this one guy who I don't know if he was a Satanist just kept sending me these random pictures of, I guess, kind of like his altar and stuff Like fire and just all this weird stuff, telling me to look at the faces, and he was just talking about these naming these demons and that, yeah, I didn't share none of that stuff, like I didn't.
Speaker 3:Just, yeah, you could tell when, like when you're in something that you shouldn't be or like you know, a lot of people think I talk about demons trying to glorify them. I'm just talking about them, trying to shed light on them. You know I don't try to, you know, put them on a pedestal. I'm just trying like, hey, yeah, they're real. You know, open your eyes, these things are out there. But I would never intentionally try to do anything to glorify them or darkness or anything like that. You know, but the ones there have been a few, but that one guy I can't remember his name. I'm sure I deleted those emails, but he was sending me pictures of his altar and talking about these. I guess they were demons. He was naming them and he's like look in the flames, you can see their face. And yeah, we're not doing that.
Speaker 1:That's good. That's good looking out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean most people like that. I'll say Jesus loves you, I recommend him to you. Have a good day. But yeah, I get a lot of hate. You know which I'm sure I heard you guys talking about.
Speaker 3:Anytime you put yourself out there, dude, you get so much hate, so much negative stuff, which is fine. Like I don't get offended. I, you know, I'd rather let people talk about me so they'll leave other people alone. You know that's fine. And a lot of people you know say well, why don't you take up for God more? Like, well, I do, but you know God don't need me to take up for him. You know God's well capable, you know taking care of himself.
Speaker 3:But you know, when I feel like there's, I hold back a lot. You know, I'm sure, I'm sure'm sure you guys too, you'll get comments or emails or messages very negative, very offensive, and most of the time I hold back pretty well, you know, I say just have a blessed day. You know jesus loves you. But every now and then I let one slip out there. You know, not today, today's not the day for that, you know. Yeah, far as TikTok is concerned, I welcome all the trolls Every time they comment. That just pushes me into the algorithm more. So I'm like bring it on. Bring it on All the good, bad ugly. What's happening, I don't care.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh.
Speaker 3:Every time you comment on my ridiculous video, you make me money, so keep this Right.
Speaker 1:Oh gosh, that's a good point. Yeah, it actually brings me to a pretty good point. I want to know you know if, uh, what video of yours got you the most? You know heat, like what's one video that you did that people just like crapped on or just absolutely were infuriated.
Speaker 3:You did it take your pick any of them. Honestly, that's dude. Honestly, seriously. I don't know if you go to any of my video, especially viral videos.
Speaker 3:You know when I say viral, I mean a million plus views right right well, obviously, when you got a video with that many views, it's sent out to a lot of people, millions of people, so you're going to get more hate, obviously. And yeah, I mean the good and bad. You get a lot of good stuff. But you know, I done one actually just a few days ago and I think people just misinterpreted what I was saying. I've noticed a lot of negative comments. I don't know if you guys seen it, but it was big on TikTok for a few days where some anthropologist said he found the remains of Jesus in a pyramid.
Speaker 3:Okay, so of course I don't believe that.
Speaker 3:you know, jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven yep so, but there is a scripture I believe it's in the book of matthew, and I quoted the scripture where jesus was telling his disciples you know, people are going to say they're going to find me in the desert, and yep. So I would say like prophecy being fulfilled. You know, somebody said they to find me in the desert and yep. So I was saying like prophecy being fulfilled. You know, somebody said they found jesus in the desert. But we know jesus ascended to heaven. But this is still prophecy being fulfilled and people's like what's wrong with you? You're stupid.
Speaker 3:Jesus is in heaven. I'm like did you listen to the video? That's literally what I said. I never said he was in a tomb, in a pyramid. I said he is in a tomb. But Jesus told his disciples in the book of Matthew that people would claim to have found him in the desert.
Speaker 3:Yep. So I mean, you get a lot of that. People just hear what they want to hear and then they're already. You know attack mode. Well, you know the Bible says this. I'm like well, yeah, that's what I said. If you had listened you would have caught that.
Speaker 3:And uh, and you know, you got all those keyboard warriors. You know people. You know you need to do your videos this way, I would watch, I would follow you. If you done it this way, I'm like well, bye, I keep scrolling, I'll do it the way I want to do it. If you don't like it, keep going. That's fine. You know, you do yours how you like it. Not that I'm perfect, but I have a way I do things and that's just why I do it. You know, um, but yeah, they're just like so many I mean, I'm sure, like you guys too, I see stuff on tiktok or instagram, facebook that I don't like or agree with. I just keep scrolling. I keep scrolling. You know, if I don't like it, I move on. But, like, some people are just so bitter and I just, I don't know, full of anger and again, that's fine, you know. You know, let me have it, you'll leave somebody else on, I can handle it. You know I'm a big boy, so that's okay that's.
Speaker 3:That's pretty awesome and you know, I was always told, you know, god gave me these broad shoulders so I can take that stuff on you know that's right, yeah, so but you know too and this is true if you've ever looked at 99.9 of all, for instance, bigfoot or even ghost videos, they're always look like they were filmed from a 1980 model Nokia. You know how's that possible?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know and I would say this most times, probably fake, I'm sure, yeah, but you know, I don't know. If it's an older video then obviously it's going to look older compared to, you know, the iPhone 16. You know it looks different in 1998 as opposed to now. So you know I get a lot of hate. It don't matter what you do, people's gonna hate on it. Some people enjoy it, some people don't. So you can't make everybody happy what's your favorite video?
Speaker 1:you've done good question I guess some people say I do that every once in a while.
Speaker 3:Not many, but well, I mean, I guess the one that made me the most money is not the answer you're looking for.
Speaker 1:But well, that's a lot of people's favorite, I can see, you know, I don't know.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you when my TikTok started really blowing up. Where are you guys from? Let me ask that Minnesota have you ever been to the Smoky Mountains like Tennessee, North Carolina.
Speaker 3:Georgia close Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge, part of the Smoky Mountains, which is part of the Appalachian Mountains, but I was there about 3 or 4 weeks ago with my family. Forge, it's part of the Smoky Mountains, which is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Alright, I was there about three or four weeks ago with my family. It's one of my favorite places in the world. I mean, it's very touristy, it's very expensive, but I just love it there and it's the number one. It's the most visited national park in America Smoky Mountains.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, Very cool.
Speaker 3:But you park in america, smoky mountains, oh wow, very cool. But you know, so I got to thinking one day. I was like you know, if everybody goes to the smoky mountains, that means there's probably a lot of people looking for smoky mountain content. So I started doing some research haunted places in smoky mountains, a lot of bigfoot stuff, a lot of dog man, a lot of haunted hotels and haunted cabins and airbnbs. And when, when I started that, it took off big time.
Speaker 3:And I'll tell you something else that's very interesting. I mean, it's not just the Smokies, but it's a big thing is feral people F-E-R-A-L. Feral people. It's supposed to be a big thing in Smoky Mountains. A lot of those videos I found very interesting because I had never really researched that before, but it's pretty interesting, you know. So a lot of those videos out of that area really mean a lot to me because I love the area so much. But, dude, you know like I've literally I don't know how many TikToks I have over a thousand, so it's hard for you know, there's always those few that stand out Right, but I really enjoy the ones about that area, um, because it's kind of near and dear to my family, you know. Uh, we enjoy going there a lot, so, um, yeah, it took me a little bit.
Speaker 1:I was like, oh, smoky mountain, there's smoky mountain wrestling. Back in the 90s jim cornette had that yeah, yeah, chip cornette, that's been a minute. It took me a second yeah, um wow yeah so overall with your page, I mean obviously I I don't think you regret it putting it out there, but I mean, are you happy with it where it's at, or do you want more?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, we always want more, don't we? I mean, I would be lying if I said yeah, I mean obviously, as a content creator, we always want more, don't we? Um, I mean, I would be lying if I said yeah, I mean obviously, as a content creator, you want more. I mean, sure, I make money and that's all good, it's been a blessing to me and my family, but you know, I enjoy what I do. I would, if I didn't make money, I would still do it, you know I I believe in what'm doing.
Speaker 3:I believe in the message that I'm putting out there. So if I didn't make a penny from it, I would still do it. And I'm actually in the early phases of launching YouTube, where I do long form content like investigate, paranormal investigations, um things like that. And you guys are from Minnesota. Do you know who Project Fear is?
Speaker 1:I've heard no. I don't.
Speaker 3:Well, it used to be Destination Fear. They had their own.
Speaker 2:TV show yeah.
Speaker 3:They're now Project Fear. Destination Fear was canceled and they took it to youtube under a project figure oh wow.
Speaker 3:But you know those guys are. I really enjoy those guys and they actually follow me on tiktok and nice. We've been, I wouldn't say, in a lot of hardcore talk but you know, I think maybe eventually we may hopefully collab at some point, do something. They're doing really well on youtube now, but I've been in talks with a lot of kind of bigger name people and I hope once I get youtube, youtube's a whole nother beast in its own. So you know, it's just I've been mentally preparing and getting some equipment together because that stuff, you know, as you guys know, isn't cheap cameras and all that stuff. So so I hope to have that going soon. And my instagram I've been very blessed with it. It's actually starting to take off pretty well. I've had it for almost as long as tiktok but I didn't really use it right. Every now and then I would just post randomly. But back in march I just, like you know a lot of crap, I just started uploading my tiktoks to my reels on instagram yep and it.
Speaker 3:I think I'm now at 38 000 followers.
Speaker 3:I've unlocked all the monetization things on instagram wow I've even had, you know, some bigger name people actresses follow me, so it's been a blessing. I think Instagram is kind of more mainstream, where you have which. Again, I'm not doing it to be famous or rich I'm never going to be rich or famous because of it but at least know my voice. People are hearing what I'm saying. Going to be rich or famous because of it, but at least know my voice. People are hearing what I'm saying. Whether they do anything with it or not, I'm at least putting it out there.
Speaker 1:Yes, you are. That's badass. I love this stuff. Like I said, I was a fan before and I just kind of like, hey, why not send you an email?
Speaker 3:And you're like yeah, dude, I'll do it, and I was like what? No, dude, I appreciate it. I enjoy, uh, talking to like-minded people and uh, you know you get people like me voice. You know doing this. So I'm very appreciative for you guys having me on here.
Speaker 1:It's, it's pretty, it's pretty awesome. Uh, everybody that's out there. Well, I mean, I was going to pump your page, but you might as well do it Like why don't you tell everybody where, literally where, they can find you, even though the show is about your TikTok page? But anyway, go ahead.
Speaker 3:Um, it's just the supernatural sleuth. Yeah, tiktok Instagram, youtube. Uh, I even have Twitter or X I guess now I don't use it very much at all, but TikTok Instagram and I'm doing some YouTube shorts. It's all the Supernatural Sleuth All together, no spaces.
Speaker 1:You type that in, you'll find me and would uh appreciate any follow that you guys have you know, and we would appreciate you telling them, your, your followers, your almost half a million followers to maybe you know, come over here oh definitely yeah come over here? Oh, definitely, yeah. Yeah, you know we could use a little piece of that here's what I tell everybody.
Speaker 3:I was like if I can have a little bit of success on tiktok which don't get me wrong, I know I'm still a very small fish in a very big pond but if I can do it, anybody can. It's not obviously it ain't about being pretty, or else I wouldn't. But you know, consistency, TikTok, Knowing the right times to post and being consistent, you know everybody lives in them. 200 to 300 views, the first little bit. It don't matter what you, you know I think most people start TikTok they have oh, this is a viral idea. I know I'm going to get 10 million views and they get 150.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It don't work that way. You know TikTok is a business. They want people who are going to be consistent. They're going to fight through the hard times, the 200 views. You keep busting them out. You keep posting. Sooner or later they're going to start. It's a business. They want people who's going to keep people on the app. That's how they make money. So they're looking for.
Speaker 3:They're looking for people who's going to pump out content, and you know, that's what everybody told me and I thought, oh, you guys are crazy, but it's true, you know. And learning those key times to post, you know that that helps and um, but consistency is the biggest thing, I believe.
Speaker 1:Is it? Is it okay, it okay. So you know, we, we have a tick tock, scolari state and you know we said that. But I I don't post the whole because it gets frustrating, right. Like, yeah, you put stuff out there and it's not like I'm putting out wonderful content, hear me out, I'm not. I'm not like doing skits or telling stories or anything on there. Maybe I should start doing that. But I'm mostly promoting our show, this show. But, it's super frustrating.
Speaker 3:It is. Yeah, I came very close to quitting a few times, but I will say, in the grand scheme of things, I became monetized probably quicker than a lot of people. Like I said, I started in April, april 26,. I posted my first TikTok by the middle, the end of August. I was monetized, which you have to have 10,000 followers and 100,000 hours of watch time combined and I thought if you get one you'll never get the other. But when one came, the other one shortly followed and so it's it's one video can put you over the top to get that. Um, but knowing the key times to post and it does vary a little bit depending on your niche, but I will say, if you did not post any other time, post Monday, tuesday, wednesday, maybe Thursday around 10, 10.30 am, 99.9% of every viral video I've ever had, that's when I've had it and you know I thought it would be nighttime. Everybody's at home scrolling, which that's true, but just about every video I've had go viral Monday, tuesday, wednesday, a few on Thursday.
Speaker 1:Well, if you think about that, you know time zone-wise, that's on the other side of the world, it's it's peak time right over there. Yeah, so I mean I, I could see it. And then by the time it comes around for you know the next, the numbers come in for the afternoons or whatever in the US or North America. Then you're way up there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you know, there's, I guess, a few factors that determine that, but for whatever reason, that time between 10 to 10.15 am, eastern time, my time, anyway, those are the viral, viral times. And, um, you know, I, I again. I thought it would be seven, eight, nine, ten pm, you know, it's just not how it works, at least for me, and I think it's. That's pretty true across the board, I think. On on TikTok. You know TikTok is very fractious. The algorithm shifts in TikTok can like be very humbling. I probably catch some heat over this, I'll say it, but if TikTok had a gender, it'd be a woman, because it's very moody.
Speaker 3:It's the type of way I mean, I know I'll catch some heat over that, but it's like my wife. Well, I mean, I know I'll catch some heat over that, but it's true, like you, when you figure out one algorithm shift and you kind of get like, okay, I know what they want, they'll switch it up again, it's like they can't make their mind up. You know they're looking for this right now. You know two months from now they're going to look for this, and so it's kind of a hard process all back over. Those times kind of stays.
Speaker 3:True, but, like now, they don't like green screen video. I used to a lot of green screen video and so I can't do that anymore. At least I can't do it and be monetized. You know, that's one thing people say, and it's true. They're like you talk too much. Well, in order for me to make money on a tiktok, they have to be over a minute long. I could, yeah, I could tell my story a lot quicker and show the picture or video, but if I won't make money on it, it has to be over a minute long. So, yeah, I draw it out intentionally. I don't try to overdo it, but, like you know, I try to tell the backstory if there is one, and you know I don't intentionally try to make people suffer, but according to some of them I do but um, but there's a lot of things that you know, I people, I guess just don't understand, and I get that. You know tiktok's a face past app.
Speaker 3:You know people's you know you, it's hard to keep attention spans, but every now and then you get lucky and one hits, and it's worth it sometimes.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, you seem to have no problem with it. Me, on the other hand, I don't know. I don't think Frank thomas couldn't hit dw. You have anything for? Uh, for brandon?
Speaker 2:no, this has been. Uh, this has been great it has, yeah.
Speaker 1:So okay, well, we come to the time of the show that is my favorite time and that's this or that, and basically we're just going to ask you a question. You have two answers, essentially, you just pick which one this or that.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:All right, cool, I love this and I know this is probably a bad DW.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Do you have the this or that? This week Is it my turn. You know, it is All right, okay, here we go.
Speaker 2:Would you rather fly or drive?
Speaker 3:Oh Drive.
Speaker 2:Okay, In the car are you going to be listening to Mozart or Zeppelin?
Speaker 3:Zeppelin.
Speaker 2:I kind of had a feeling yeah, clue, or Monopoly, monopoly. Oh okay, if you were ghost hunting, would you rather do it with the Ghostbusters or Scooby-Doo and the gang?
Speaker 3:Good question. I'm going to go with Scooby-Doo and the gang. I always kind of liked Daphne when I was a kid, so you know, got to go where my heart is All right, you've perfected your time machine.
Speaker 2:Do you go back to 1825 or forward to 2225?
Speaker 3:Back, go back in time.
Speaker 2:Okay. Does the toilet paper go over the roll or under?
Speaker 3:Don't get me started on this Over. There is no other way Over.
Speaker 2:Elephant-sized squirrel, or squirrel-sized elephant. Oh, I'd kind of see an elephant-sized squirrel. To be honest, elephant sized squirrel, or squirrel sized elephant?
Speaker 3:oh, I'd kind of see an elephant sized squirrel, to be honest okay, chicken pox or poison ivy oh, poison ivy, I believe okay.
Speaker 2:Do you want to stream your music or vinyl records?
Speaker 3:I am a sucker for nostalgia, but I'm more about convenience in my old age. Do you want to stream your music or vinyl records? I am a sucker for nostalgia, but I'm more about convenience in my old age.
Speaker 2:Let's stream it. I felt you so badly. You wanted to say vinyl. I did, I really did All right, two more Dogs or cats. Dogs Okay, I have both, but dogs oh okay, all right, last one, unless John wants to throw in a couple of his breakfast questions or something, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Well, maybe not the breakfast question, but maybe I have a question for him on TV comedy.
Speaker 2:So okay, well, alright, alright, so I'll ask him Simpsons or the Office?
Speaker 3:oh, I was. I watched the very first Simpsons when it aired the very first pilot episode. But I will have to say now the. Office. I'm a that hard office fan since when it aired the very first pilot episode. But. But I will have to say now, the office, the office, I mean that hard office phone all right um the office or parks and rec.
Speaker 2:The office still the office.
Speaker 1:I know it's his question, but I have to interject here for a second parks and parks and rec I. I didn't. Unfortunately I was. I'm Parks and Rec, I didn't. Unfortunately I'm that guy. I didn't watch it when it first aired, right so now I'm watching it and I dig it. It's office-like.
Speaker 3:Right, I didn't watch the Office until it was over either.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't start Parks and rec until after it was over and I started, um, the thing is, I started like season two or three, okay, and I was like, wait a second, this is really good we got to go back and start this from the beginning, because now I gotta figure out how they got here, and I do do feel like season one. They were more office-like than later they kind of changed things a little bit. Anyway, we don't have time for that. We could spend the whole episode talking about the officer Parks and Rec.
Speaker 2:Last one John Olsen or OJ Simpson, ooh.
Speaker 3:What do you know?
Speaker 1:He already won. I mean, I'm just saying just the fact that you hesitated that damn long and then you started laughing. I'm like he already got what he wanted.
Speaker 2:Hang on, let's give him a chance to answer, because this can only make it better.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, again, like I said, I'm all about nostalgia and this really tells my age. You know I did. I watched the OJ chase, you know on live in the white Bronco. Okay, so fast forward to a month ago when I was in Pigeon Forge, the Smoky Mountains. They have an Alcatraz Crime Museum. Oh and behold what's sitting in the Crime Museum.
Speaker 1:Oh, the White.
Speaker 2:Bronco. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:So you know I'll have OJ. You know I'm a sucker for nostalgia. You know I got to Okay and I got to see the infamous White Bronco. So that's just kind of like a very twisted bucket list thing, you know.
Speaker 1:Okay, fair enough, it's okay. I mean he wasn't convicted, but we all know he did it.
Speaker 3:If the love don't fit, you must quit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we all know. Yeah, he did it Just picking the murderer over me, and that's cool.
Speaker 3:Whatever? That's awesome, I appreciate that if you ever, if your car is ever in a museum, I'll be sure to go see it and then then I may change my answer the only way my car is ever going to be in the museum is it's the one next to the car timothy mVeigh used.
Speaker 1:I don't know. It would be a horrible tragedy that I didn't do but my car was adjacent to.
Speaker 3:Well, you know they also had Ted Bundy's Volkswagen in there too, so I'll look for the John Olsen Did they have?
Speaker 2:Isn't the car that Tupac got shot in? Isn't that on display somewhere?
Speaker 3:I'm sure probably it isn't there, but Not in the same one, okay, no, which I think those. They move them periodically, so I don't know if it's a permanent attraction.
Speaker 2:So it's kind of a well, because that one, I think, still has the, the bullet holes yeah, yeah, oh, I'm sure, yeah, no doubt so maybe, john, if you want to shoot your car, that might make it a little bit more valuable absolutely the way it's going with the emails are getting later.
Speaker 1:shooting the car, that's the thing.
Speaker 3:Welcome to social media.
Speaker 1:I guess Was that the last one, dw, that was the last.
Speaker 2:We always end with John Olsen, so I can feel better about myself.
Speaker 1:That's how that is. Brandon this was awesome. I really appreciate you coming on telling us everything about your page and and much more. I do really appreciate it well, I appreciate you guys.
Speaker 3:It's been a blast and, uh, it's been a blessing for me and thanks for having me and I'll definitely be telling my folks about you guys.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. We appreciate it Absolutely. Alright, DW.
Speaker 2:That's a wrap.
Speaker 1:You know what that means. You know what that means DW. I know what that means. It means that you guys have been amazing, we have been scolarius and we are out later.