SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS

The Haunted America Conference returns to Alton, Illinois and Lewis and Clark College over the weekend of June 20-23, 2024! Here’s a look at some of the speakers, special guests, and workshop presenters for this year!

CONFERENCE HOST: TROY TAYLOR
Troy Taylor is the founder of the Haunted America Conference, as well as an author, tour creator, lecturer, and founder of American Hauntings Ink, which presents haunted history through books, tours, events, and ghost hunts across the country. He is the author of more than 140 books on ghosts, crime, and the unexplained in America and one of the hosts of the American Hauntings Podcast. He has appeared in numerous television shows and documentaries -- including THE EXORCISM OF ROLAND DOE on Discovery-Plus -- and his book about the St. Louis Exorcism of 1949 is currently under contract to be turned into a film by a major studio. He was born and raised in the Midwest and divides his time between Alton and Jacksonville, Illinois.

AMANDA R. WOOMER
Writer, lecturer, and dark historian Amanda R. Woomer (she/her) was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She is a featured writer for the award-winning Haunted Magazine and The Morbid Curious, as well as the owner of Spook-Eats. She is the author and co-author of 15 books for kids and adults, including Harlots & Hauntings, A Very Frightful Victorian Christmas, and The Art of Grieving. Most recently, she worked with Troy Taylor on Hell Hath No Fury 3. She is also the creator of The Feminine Macabre and the curator of The Traveling Museum of Memento Mori. Follow her spooky adventures at On her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

CHAD LEWIS
For three decades Chad Lewis has traveled the back roads of the world in search of the strange and unusual. From tracking Vampires in Transylvania and searching for the elusive monster of Loch Ness to trailing the dangerous Tata Duende through remote villages of Belize and searching for ghosts in Ireland's castles, Chad has scoured the earth in search of the paranormal. Chad has been featured on numerous TV shows including Discovery Channel's A Haunting, William Shatner's Weird or What, ABC's World's Scariest Places, Monsters and Mysteries in America, along with being a frequent contributor to Ripley's Believe it or Not Radio. With a Master's Degree in Psychology, Chad has authored over 30 books on the supernatural and extensively lectures on his fascinating findings. The more the bizarre the legend is, the more likely you will find Chad there!

JIM WILLIS
Jim has spent the last 35 years chasing after ghosts, monsters, and all things strange and spooky. He still feels lucky to have been given the opportunity to write about his travels and exploits in over a dozen books because he’s convinced the whole “published author” but just sort of fell into his lap. Truth be told, he was always obsessed with visiting weird places and then digging into the history behind those places. It never dawned on him that there were others out there who shared his obsession and wanted to hear about his experiences. Then came that fateful day in 2003 when Weird NJ’s own Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman came calling and the rest, as they say, is weird history. Jim currently resides in Ohio and runs the “Strange and Spooky World” and “Ghosts of Ohio” websites while not writing more books!

ALEX MATSUO
Alex Matsuo is a paranormal researcher, investigator, and author. She is the founder of the Association of Paranormal Study and runs The Spooky Stuff. Alex is known for being outspoken about inclusion and diversity in the paranormal community and media space, as well as raising visibility on marginalized groups within the field; past and present. Alex has also been featured in the Tubi documentary, "Scariest Places in the World."

COURTNEY BLOCK
Courtney M. Block is a librarian, author, and paranormal historian. One of the things Courtney enjoys most is combining her librarian and paranormal interests and teaching people how to locate free, credible resources on a wide range of paranormal topics. She is also the author of The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Researching the Paranormal: How to Find Reliable Information about Parapsychology, Ghosts, Astrology, Cryptozoology, Near-Death Experiences, and More. Her work is also featured in volume 3 of The Feminine Macabre and volume 35 of Haunted magazine. To see what Courtney does when she’s not staying up all night to meet writing deadlines, follow her on Instagram!

APRIL SLAUGHTER
April is a longtime presenter at the Haunted America Conference and a part of the American Hauntings family. She is the author of three books and numerous articles on ghosts, hauntings, spirit communication, psychical research, the unexplained, and death and funeral customs. She is also the founder of “Slaughter Skulls,” an accomplished artist, and gourmet chef who operates a business that features her other passion, “Slaughterhouse Catering”. She was born and raised in Utah, where she developed a love for history and genealogy, and currently resides there with her twin daughters.

SHERRI BRAKE
Sherri is a Haunted America Conference veteran and a returning favorite, as well as being an author, lecturer, and paranormal investigator. She owns the award-winning "Haunted Heartland Tours" and has instructed classes on the paranormal while finding time to consult on a few paranormal television shows, lead yearly adventure tours to Ireland and Scotland, and offer tours and ghost hunts in several states. She has written numerous books on hauntings in Ohio and West Virginia, is a member of a number of different historical and heritage societies and lives on a 100-acre farm in central West Virginia with her family. Their house is "slightly" haunted!

BRANDON SCHEXNAYDER
Brandon Schexnayder is the creator of the chart-topping podcast Southern Gothic, a show that explores the haunted history and legendary ghost stories of the American South. Born and raised in New Orleans, his love of the macabre started when his genealogist parents started dragging him out to cemeteries for research. Little did they realize the long-term effects of that decision, as today Brandon is a passionate storyteller of all things paranormal, following in the footsteps of Southern legends like Kathryn Tucker Windham. Brandon has also worked with a number of fan-favorite paranormal and true crime podcasts including Astonishing Legends, One Strange Thing, and Southern Fried True Crime.

MATTHEW JACKSON
Matthew Jackson began actively researching the paranormal in 2009. After a string of unexplainable events — the strangest being in 2003 when a discarnate voice whispered in his ear and then chucked a glass of water at his head at the exact location of an unsolved murder from 1970 — he began delving into connections between tragic history and supernational occurrences. He instantly became drawn to Instrumental Trans Communication (ITC) and has developed a passion for Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and using Spirit/Ghost Boxes in his sessions. He has investigated many locations, including iconic ones such as the Lizzie Borden House, and has braved the halls of Waverly Hills Sanatorium on numerous occasions. Matthew is also the proud owner of some of the most unique spirit boxes in the field — all of which he’ll be presenting at this year’s event during his Saturday night workshop!

LISA KRICK
Lisa is a member of the American Spectral Society and the American Hauntings family. Although she's been experiencing the paranormal her entire life, she has only been investigating for just shy of 20 years. She is an audio enthusiast and has been working with the Estes Method of communication for over five years now, continually tweaking the vanilla version for the best fit for the American Spectral Society. She's also been working with dark mirror scrying for close to ten years, having learned this art from the esteemed Rosemary Ellen Guiley. When Lisa's not traveling around the country, spending time in dark places with unseen company, she relaxes with her dog, Kamali, and her family in southern Georgia. She also spends her free time as an Indie film actress and production assistant. Lisa's "real life" endeavors include being a Realtor, a Reiki Master, and an End of Life Doula.

KARI BERGEN
Kari Bergen is an intuitive assemblage artist, lover of strange and forgotten history, and owner of the art and historical oddities shop, Ephemera Obscura. She is a lifelong sensitive who has spent the last 20+ years studying the metaphysical and investigating the paranormal. Author of “The Ghost of Floyd Collins” article in Troy Taylor’s “The Morbid Curious” No. 4. She has given presentations for Atlas Obscura on topics such as “Victorian Mourning”, “Postmortem Photography”, and the “History of Disaster Tourism”, and after-hours talks at Haunted America on “Dreaming of the Dead”, “Messages from the Dead” and the “Care and Handling of Haunted Objects.” She and her haunted doll orphanage appear in the documentary, “A Haunting in Blue Hill”.

THE THREE APPALACHIAN WITCHES
Ashley Conner, Misty Conner, and Pat Bussard O’Keefe are descendants of the mystics of the mountains, Appalachian granny women, also known as granny witches. Each is a talented psychic, medium, and Reiki Master/natural healer. This popular witchy trio are authors, and their latest books are: Three Appalachian Witches: Moon Magick, Mirror Magick, and the Witches Ladder, Appalachian Granny Witch Magick, and Appalachian Conjuring. They also host a bi-monthly podcast, Appalachian Cauldron, answering with insight and humor, magickal and personal questions posed by their audience. These busy conjurers were featured in the documentary Season of the Witch, which can be found on many streaming services. Pat, Ashley and Misty are currently working on their own documentary about Appalachian granny women titled, There’s Magick in Them Mountains. The film is set to premiere in the fall of 2025. These Three Appalachian Witches have traveled the country conducting seances, gallery readings, energy healing sessions, classes, and workshops on a plethora of spiritual and paranormal topics.

TOBIAS AND EMILY WAYLAND from the SINGULAR FORTEAN SOCIETY
Tobias Wayland is a passionate Fortean who has been actively investigating the unusual for over a decade. The first several years of his investigative career were spent as a MUFON field investigator and following that he investigated independently prior to becoming the head writer and editor for The Singular Fortean Society. Tobias is a frequent guest on various podcasts and radio shows, has written several books and contributed articles to periodicals on the paranormal, has appeared on television and in documentaries, and is often invited to speak at paranormal conferences and events.

Emily Wayland is an ardent craftsperson and devoted monster enthusiast. An accomplished artist, designer, and photographer, Emily is responsible not only for The Singular Fortean Society’s aesthetic but also for the examination of any photographic or video evidence. Emily’s art and designs have been featured in various paranormal art shows around the Minneapolis area, and on television and documentaries featuring the work of The Singular Fortean Society. In addition, she has designed all the covers for The Feminine Macabre anthology series, as well as contributed an essay for its second volume. Her expertise is also sought after as a speaker and guest at conferences and on podcasts.

LUKE NALIBORSKI AND LEN ADAMS
Presenting Strange Stuff
A longtime favorite at the conference, “Strange Stuff” was created in 2002 by supporter John Brill. After his health became too poor to continue, John passed the reins for the session to Len and Luke, who have carried on the tradition he envisioned of “breaking the ice” at the start of the conference and allowing attendees to present their own stories of ghosts and paranormal events. So, come prepared to share if you’d like!

The hosts — Luke and Len — are both longtime guides for American Hauntings in Alton and Southwestern Illinois. Both are the authors of several books about ghosts. Luke is also the owner of “I Had That Toy,” a nostalgia and collectible shop in Belleville, Illinois, and is a returning vendor at the conference.

AMERICAN HAUNTINGS PODCAST | CODY BECK
Cody Beck is writer and producer for Cinemablend and the creator of the American Hauntings Podcast, which he co-hosts with Troy Taylor. The podcast started in 2017 and is currently in its eighth season of delving into the dark side of American history.

TWISTED TREE FILMS
Based in Denver, Colorado, Alan Megargle and Jesse Morgan bring technical skills, creative insight and the professional relationship that only a lifelong friendship could create. Together, they produce documentary films, music videos, live event filming and more.

RON MEYER is President of Centre Communications, a film production company in Louisville, Colorado. Ron has produced and directed several films, including the first feature film for Discovery Communications “Legend of the Spirit Dog.” He is author/co-author of four novels and recently produced the number one streaming documentary series on Amazon prime about serial killers.