Ken Greer – SW Michigan Paranormal Research
The Portage Theater, Chicago, IL
I attended the Chicago Ghost Conference on October 2nd and 3rd at the historic Portage Theater in Chicago.
The event kicked off on Friday evening with a welcome reception and live music from the band Redbird.
The first speaker of the evening was Bill Konkolesky, the Michigan Director of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network). Bill was a highly informative speaker and talked about several big sightings in Michigan and other areas. He also brought up the fact that there seems to be a trend between people experiencing more than one type of paranormal event. This theme would crop up all weekend.
Following Bill’s remarks, was Dave Schrader from Darkness Radio show and podcast. Dave is a funny guy and a great speaker. He related some of his personal experiences including things he has seen at Waverly and on The Queen Mary. Anyone not familiar with his radio show/podcast should check it out at www.darknessradio.com. It’s one of the best shows out there.
After Dave spoke, there was a panel discussion with some of the different speakers from the weekend and members of various paranormal groups. Jeff Belanger moderated the event. Jeff is another extremely funny guy. One of the best questions asked was “How did you become interested in the paranormal?” It was intriguing to hear everyone’s personal reasons for being involved.
The panel ended at around 8:30pm and then it was time for the Chicago Ghost Tour. They had about 120 people spread over three buses. The buses visited some of the more famous haunted locations throughout Chicago including Hull House, Concord Hotel, and the location of the deadly Eastman Boat Disaster. I was unable to go on the tour, but everyone said it was a great night.