Candle Face: The Betrayal of the Paranormal "Experts"

January 29, 2024

Main subjects:

• The Empty Lot Next Door

• Candle Face

• The Lost Souls

In paranormal research, you would expect authenticity and courage from people who claim expertise. My recent experience has shown me something very different. What I’ve seen instead is cowardice, insincerity, and a blunt disregard for the truth. This entry comes out of my frustration with the so-called paranormal “experts” I turned to while investigating Candle Face, the ghost said to haunt the Austin area, and the one I have spent years naming, tracking, and writing about.

My path into this part of the investigation started with two interviews with people who claimed to know something about Candle Face. After those interviews, my nights filled with dreams of flashing lights and jarring sounds. Before long, those dreams changed. First came the screams. Then came clear voices and images of Candle Face’s victims asking me to help them find their remains, identify who killed them, and connect with their living relatives. I believe these spirits chose me as their messenger because of my earlier confrontation with Candle Face, which I described in my memoir The Empty Lot Next Door, and because I know how to document what they are telling me.

Since October 2023, I have been visited by eleven spirits, each describing a violent death. I don’t claim to be an expert in paranormal phenomena, so I reached out to paranormal investigators, mediums, and psychics in the hope that they could help me make sense of what I was dealing with. In spite of all their claims about courage and expertise, most of what I got from them was infuriating.

Many of these self-appointed investigators act fearless online, but their behavior says otherwise. At the slightest sign of actual paranormal activity, they run. Then, when confronted, they deny it, even when their own videos show exactly that. That kind of dishonesty destroys their credibility. It’s also an insult to people who are actually looking for answers.

On January 24, 2024, I had a real break in the case when a former private investigator colleague connected the report of a missing African American girl to the testimony of one of the spirits. The moment I published a journal entry about that possible match, these “experts” suddenly cut ties with me. Their timing raises obvious questions. Are they jealous because I may have found more in a few months than they have in years? Or do they think I’m using these experiences for literary or financial gain?

There’s another possibility that I think deserves closer attention. Fear. Across paranormal Facebook groups, Reddit pages, and even the Darknet, I have seen the same contradiction again and again. Many people in the paranormal community are drawn to the subject and still seem deeply afraid of the real thing. That fear shapes how they act and what they avoid. In Candle Face’s case, I think that fear may explain a lot. She already has a bad reputation, and I have shared direct experiences involving her. For all their public talk about bravery, these experts may simply be afraid of crossing paths with something they can’t control. That may be why they pulled away from me so quickly. They stay interested as long as the paranormal remains abstract, then retreat when it starts to feel real. That tells me a lot about how thin their courage really is.

Yes, I’m a writer, and that’s probably one reason I was put in this position. My original research into Candle Face was meant for my blog. Once the spirits started coming to me, the focus changed. It became about their stories. If these experts had done even basic homework, they would know that. If the psychics are what they claim to be, they should have picked up on it immediately. Instead, they question my sincerity while profiting from their own work. They run podcasts. Some post YouTube videos with ads. Their websites sell merchandise, coffee mugs, shirts, handbags, crystals, tours, rentals, equipment, and whatever else they can attach to their brand. One of them is an author. But somehow, I’m the problem if I write a book that may help these Lost Souls. That is hypocrisy, plain and simple.

So here I am, left behind by people I thought might stand with me. Whether they’re frauds or afraid, their behavior explains why they pulled away. The paranormal community has plenty of both. Either way, their actions have left me to keep going without them. The people who market themselves as experts in the paranormal often run from it. I’m still here, doing the work.