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The Next Zak Bagans? An Interview with a Rising Paranormal Star

"Despite the fear, people tend to get drawn towards the paranormal world. This adrenaline kicks in. You want to see it again."

By Israel PettyPublished 5 years ago 16 min read
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His name is Patrick, and he is the host and investigator of the YouTube series, The Haunted Side. Streaming services want him, and TV channels have reached out to him. He's growing quickly in the paranormal community, and has captured some of the most insane evidence anyone could ever see on camera. Check out what his camera picked up at the bottom of the article!

Israel Petty: First, let me say that I love your show, The Haunted Side. How is it doing?

Patrick McQueary: It's been great. We only started about six months ago on YouTube, and the response has been incredible. I believe we're at three thousand subscribers on YouTube, and we're at eleven thousand on Instagram. It's been fantastic.

Good deal, man, I'm glad. So on your profile's description, you give a little bit of detail about a paranormal experience you had at a farmhouse. It says there was a satanic cult that left behind entities.

Yeah. It was in Texas. My family had moved to a farmhouse about an hour outside of Dallas. My mom found where the Satanists met for service, which was in our attic. We found altars in the basement, as well as in the barns that were on the property. They were everywhere.

You were only nine when you experienced this. Would you say this was your catalyst?

Absolutely. My two brothers and I all had a room on the second floor. I would see shadows go back and forth, I'd hear scratching on the walls, as well as growling. There would be heavy footsteps I'd hear right above me, coming from the attic. I went out of my way to see if it was animals sneaking into our home and causing the noise. I never found anything. We got together and looked for any signs of animals. We didn't even find signs of entry. The footsteps were the weirdest thing. I mean, it sounded like someone in heavy boots walking back and forth. We only lived there for about five months before leaving. The activity got bad. The one thing that screamed "paranormal" for me was a particular night where I randomly woke up. It was about 2:00 or 3:00 AM, and it had felt like someone was sitting at the corner of my bed. I had thought it was one of my brothers, so I got up to say, "Hey what do you want?" When I actually opened my eyes to see who it was, there was a black shadow of a person sitting at the end of my bed. It wasn't looking at me. It was staring at the wall across the room. Being as little as I was, I immediately jumped up and ran out of the room. My brain immediately went, "Nope. Not doing this."

I'm sure most full-grown adults would do the same thing.

*Chuckles* Yeah.

That's intense for a kid to go through. In what ways did that first experience influence the way you hunt ghosts?

Despite the fear, people tend to get drawn towards the paranormal world. This adrenaline kicks in. You want to see it again. You want to figure out what it was that you saw. My experience drove me to follow the evidence. When you watch my show, Sean and I really go out of our way to debunk any paranormal activity in the locations we investigate in. We try and find logical explanations first.

That's a good mindset to get into. You want to filter through all of the logical explanations, the normal stuff, so that you can clearly take notice to the paranormal stuff.

Exactly.

You have a video where you clearly get touched by something, because your body jumped away from the spot you were sitting in.

Oh, the Mackay Mansion!

Yeah! That was exciting to watch. I haven't had anything touch me yet.

Yeah, that was on the third floor. We had the SLS camera set up, and about the same time it mapped something in the kid's room, I had felt something touch my back. It felt like a charge of cold electricity. Within ten or so seconds of feeling, there was something near me, I felt the touch. That freaked me out.

I noticed one of your first videos consists of reviewing ghost hunting equipment. What's one piece of equipment you consider to be the most important?

Patience!

*Laughs*

*Laughs* That's always my first answer.

Well, you're not wrong.

Aside from video, I'm really into the spirit box at the moment. I have one called the SB7, and I modified it. After that, I plugged it into a Bose speaker box, and then added a noise-canceling pedal and a reverb pedal. The noise canceling pedal eliminates the static when it cycles through channels. You only hear voices come through. The reverb pedal makes any EVP clear to understand.

That is impressive.

We got some unbelievable results with that during the last video we made. We were getting activity within the first thirty seconds of the recording! It hasn't been released just yet, but the video captures activity at the Donovan Mill. The only other team that was allowed to investigate the mill was the Northern Nevada Ghost Hunters. However, they've had large groups go in at once. This was the first time two people were able to just go in and set up equipment to record. I cannot wait to post it. We captured so much stuff at this place, it is unreal.

I'm looking forward to watching that one. It looks intense.

Yeah, I just have to finish the edits, and it'll be ready to go!

Well, me being a theologian, I get curious about what drives ghost hunters spiritually. What would you say your spirituality or religion is?

I grew up Catholic. Private school, Sunday mass. I was heavily involved with the Catholic church. As I grew older, I found myself stepping back from the whole Roman Catholic thing. I definitely believe in God. I do believe in a higher power. To me, there's absolutely something out there.

I'm actually a non-denominational believer, so I can understand that perspective. After studying the occult and extra-biblical sources, I have yet to find one single denomination that would look at my findings and believe a lot of it.

Yeah, I think we're definitely on the same page when it comes to that. That's exactly why I stepped back and reevaluated my belief system.

Well, regardless of religion, what's a common question people of all faiths seem to ask you?

"Are you authentic?" "Is this real?" "Are you being genuine?" This is a very common question I get. And I love that. I'd rather be asked if my evidence is real than to have people just assume it is. There are so many paranormal videos on the internet that do entertain, but they're not real. The Haunted Side's community has definitely attracted paranormal enthusiasts, who are happy channels like mine exist. There are tons of people who want to see the evidence, and be able to rely on what they are viewing. When videos use fake EVPs and fake footage, all it does is hurt the paranormal community, you know? But yeah, that's the main question I get, "Are the videos on your channel real?"

There's a ton of fake ghost footage out there. It's understandable to get questioned about that.

Yeah.

What's one haunted place you went in and it just screamed, "Bad idea?"

Waverly Hills Sanitarium!

Did you go through with that one?

Oh yeah, I did. At the time I was doing the investigations by myself. So I, alone, was inside that 160,000 square foot tuberculosis hospital.

Wow.

I spent the entire night there. It was absolutely terrifying. I actually got scratched so hard, I started bleeding. Underneath my two shirts and a jacket, something clawed me. It didn't cut the fabric on my clothing. It just scratched my back. Three deep claw marks. I would hear full conversations between people who clearly weren't there. Yeah, that place was no joke.

So it seems like your experiences were mostly spiritual. What are your thoughts on the metaphysical? Bigfoot, aliens, werewolves, etc?

Well, who knows really? All of these myths had an origin. As far as UFOs, I have seen them. I live in Reno, Nevada now. So out here it's like UFO Central. Just last Christmas there were like nine UFOs that were spotted over Reno, and it lasted for an hour and a half. I mean, it was crazy. There's stuff out there. Has to be. With as big as our universe is, and as small as we are, it would be absolutely naive of us to assume that there isn't something out there. Now, whether that it's an alien like that of a Hollywood movie? Well, probably not. I don't see Independence Day coming any time soon. *Chuckles*

I sure hope not.

But hey, it very well could. There was a long time where if you would have told someone we'd be flying in the sky, the reaction would be, "Get out of here." But now you look up and you see Southwest jets flying everywhere. Anyway, yeah I do believe there's some truth to it all. I've never seen a vampire or a werewolf in real life, but I'm not going to say they don't exist.

It's good to be open-minded about those things, definitely. Well, let's talk about social media for a bit.

Okay.

There are two types of people on social media when it comes to the paranormal. You have the TV show approach like The Haunted Side, Paranormal Files, or even Paranormal Voice, and then you have the vlog direction like that of Grav3yardgirl, Loey Lane, and Hailey Reese. For me personally, I'm taking the vlog approach, despite that genre being mostly women at the moment, but I like the idea of my audience getting to know me personally with each video or post I make. What made you take the direction you did with your brand?

I felt like the paranormal world needed a refreshing take on the TV show style. I've seen the stuff on YouTube. For the most part, I'm not impressed with the production value. I told myself that if I was going to do this, then I was going to do it the best way that I could. That's why I brought in Sean as the cinematographer to step it up. I didn't want to do vlogs, I didn't want to just talk about what I was doing. I've always been a big fan of Ghost Adventures, and that was always the goal for me when it came to my brand. The first six seasons or so were what really pulled me in. I mean, they're on their... 18th season now I believe. It's different now, obviously. In the beginning, it was really terrifying. You had just three guys going into a place and capturing chilling evidence. The Haunted Side was created to really bring the fear of what those older seasons of Ghost Adventures brought that made the show so good. We have our own way of doing our show with just the two of us. To have just an investigator and a cinematographer go into a location just feels like the perfect mix, right? I try to go in and draw the energy out, and Sean captures everything he can with his cameras. It really works out for us, and we're super stoked to keep going and seeing how far we can take this.

Definitely stay authentic because when you get into the big leagues on television, it becomes really hard for paranormal shows, because you got these bosses over your head that'll pull you in a flat second if you don't hurry up and get evidence for your show. And it just doesn't work that way. You can't demand a spirit to make a chair fly across the room, and you'll end up being the ones acting like the chair is really going across the room. Things end up getting exaggerated over time or even faked.

We actually turned down an offer from a cable network, because I wouldn't budge on keeping 100 percent creative control. They wanted all of it. I immediately told them, "Hell no." They told me they'd take the deal away, and I was like, "Alright then. Good." As far as I was concerned, there was no deal. But you know what? Five years from now, nobody is going to be viewing cable TV anyway. We were planning to just keep doing our own thing on our YouTube channel, and building our brand that way. Since then, other companies have stated their interest in us, especially online streaming. We've been talking with the major streaming companies about putting our series on their service, because they'd allow us to keep all creative control. Netflix for example just wants something made and ready to go. So, this is the realm we're most likely to stay in because we'd be able to keep our authenticity.

Well I think I speak for everybody when I say good for you for turning down that first offer. You definitely want to keep all creative control and stay authentic. This is the one field where you have to do that. Those people aren't investigators. They don't know. They're just trying to make money.

Yeah, exactly.

So it sounds like you've investigated quite a few places. Have you investigated any haunted objects yet?

I haven't owned anything myself that I can remember. A place reached out to us about a haunting, and there were thousands of antiques there that definitely could have been the culprit. But I haven't had to investigate any haunted objects yet.

What's the most sinister spirit you've ever come into contact with?

The series only goes back six months, but I've been investigating much longer than that. I did a lot of private investigations at people's homes. And there were places that had some really dark stuff. Most of the time it was something logical. But that small five percent was paranormal activity, and most of that activity was demonic. There was a case with a family in Pennsylvania where the daughter lost her grandfather, and she was really close to him. Soon after he died, things started getting really weird. She had been playing with a Ouija board, and her parents didn't mind much at all. They saw it as just a game. She started becoming obsessed with contacting her late grandfather, eventually missing school. It got to the point where she wouldn't leave her room. Things started getting knocked over, the smell of sulfur began filling the house. From the moment I got there, I felt the spirit in the house. It did not want anybody around, and it wanted to take that family down. The girl started becoming suicidal, her parents were fighting. They were on the verge of hurting themselves and each other. It was bad. I captured EVP of one of the darkest, deepest-sounding voices I had ever heard. It said, "Coming." And within five, six seconds of hearing it, I got scratched across the middle of my back. I'm convinced it was dark, and it was a demon, or whatever you wanna call it. I do believe it was telling me it was coming to attack me. I prepped myself, and came back to perform what I suppose you could call an exorcism. I put four crosses at each corner of the property. I said various prayers. The goal was for me to get it to stop oppressing. It had a full latch on the family.

Wow. Me being a demonologist, I help detect demonic activity, but I'm not at the point of attempting to vanquish it. Did you end up having to call for any assistance to finish exorcising the house? A Reverend, or anybody of that sort?

No, I didn't. I had done enough studying on my own after dealing with spirits like that. I was confident in my ability to get this thing out of the house and away from the family. And it left. It did leave.

And it actually stayed away? It was gone?

It was. Yeah.

Wow.

The changes were almost immediate. Everything got better for the family, the daughter was no longer in the dark mindset she was in before.

That is huge. I'm glad you were able to do that for them. Shifting this a different direction, you had mentioned before the interview that you had been doing this for twenty years. How old are you man? You look pretty young. *Laughs*

I get that a lot. *Laughs* I'm 35. Despite my experiences happening to me as young as nine, I didn't start getting serious about my investigations until I was about fifteen.

Yeah, you do not look 35.

People often look at me and go, "How have you been doing this for twenty years?" And then I have to explain to them I got into it really early.

Alright, well, I have one last question for you, and this is really for me as well as other investigators. Have you ever had trouble getting permission to get into a haunted location, and how do you go about getting permission? I mean you've been to places like the Winchester House, so I imagine you don't run into much rejection.

It's a battle. You'll have people recommend locations and you reach out, but then you get complete silence. No responses. Some don't want anything to do with you or the paranormal. They don't want to destroy the reputation for their place of business. Sometimes it depends on what the location is. I've been talking with the superintendent of the California parks and recreation, because I'm wanting to get access to the Leland Mansion in Sacramento. The governor meets there, and diplomatic meetings are still held there all the time. It's one of the most haunted buildings in California, but because political events are held there, permission is denied. They don't want to tarnish the name of the mansion.

Understandable.

I can tell you that the best course of action is to meet with the owners in person if possible. Chances are if you're emailing them or calling them, your request won't even be recognized, or possibly not even read at all. If it's an email it probably goes right into the spam folder. Nine times out of ten, when I find and meet the owner in person, I get permission. If you do have trouble finding the owner, check with the historical society that's in the town or city. Most of the time, they know who the owners of these businesses are. The best part is if you're going in and telling them you're doing this for research, which you would be, they'll tell you everything they know. It's part of their job. Oh, and I recommend this too. Google the investigators who may have already investigated at your location of interest, and reach out to them first. They could end up helping you get in much faster.

Those are great tips! I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me, Patrick.

You're very welcome. As a paranormal community, we have to look out for each other, especially for those who are trying to do the right thing, and are going about it the right way. As soon as I saw your request, I agreed. We have to look out for one another in this field.

Absolutely. Well, we will definitely keep in touch.

Definitely man, take care!

Haunted Side's social media:

  • Facebook
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You can find my social media below:

I published a new book! Check it out here!

interview
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About the Creator

Israel Petty

I'm a paranormal author, researcher, and investigator. If you wanna know in depth what I study, I recommend checking out my latest book Theories of a Paranormal Investigator on Amazon. I also have a few chapters from my book on Vocal.

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