On this week’s episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John go off-script and deep into the tension between believers and professional skeptics in the paranormal world. They unpack their conversations with skeptic heavyweights. From what it would actually take to convince a skeptic—a levitating grandfather clock, maybe?—to how evidence is judged in science versus ghost hunting, they probe why some people need something almost cinematically impossible before they’ll even consider spirits might be real.

They also pull back the curtain on the cottage industry of rage‑bait creators who build channels by tearing down mediums, investigators, and even grief counselors, using Gary’s mind‑bending reading with psychic medium Cathy Nadal as a case study.  Along the way, they tease a loaded slate of upcoming episodes: a conversation‑driven Shanley Hotel deep dive, a sit‑down with REM pod and SB7 inventor Gary Galka, another skeptic interview with Benjamin Radford, an intimate look at sexual energy and spirits with an adult film star, and a full Turkish‑coffee reading with Cathy that will delight believers and make skeptics grind their teeth.

James Underdown has spent over 25 years trying to give away $500,000 to anyone who can prove a paranormal ability under real test conditions, and no one has even come close. In this episode, Gary and John sit down with the executive director of Center for Inquiry West and founder of the Independent Investigations Group to dig into wild claims of telepathy, telekinesis, dowsing, “teleporting” horseflies, and the ghost gadgets that flood paranormal TV, while James explains why he believes science and psychology can fully account for what many people call hauntings.

Rather than arguing about who is “right,” the conversation leans into the tension between John’s work documenting spirits and James’s commitment to skeptical investigation, exploring where brain states, belief, culture, and genuine weird experiences collide. If you are fascinated by ghosts, curious about what is really happening during spirit box sessions, or just want to hear a skeptic and a paranormal creator push each other in real time, this episode will challenge your assumptions without killing the thrill of the unknown.

If you think you have the abilities to win the $500,000 prize, visit the CIF. Link is in the linktree in our bio.

Splintered Spirits goes live with Mandy Cummings of the Ghost Sisters, an all‑female paranormal investigation team from Ohio known for their raw, unfiltered ghost hunting across some of the most haunted locations in the Midwest. In this episode, paranormal investigator and medium Mandy shares how her years as a corrections officer shaped her approach to investigating haunted prisons, jails, and infamous hotspots like the Mansfield Reformatory and the Bel Air House. From capturing a full‑body apparition of a guard in solitary confinement to hearing intelligent “cat‑call” responses echo through abandoned cell blocks, she breaks down how law enforcement instincts, psychic mediumship, and hard evidence collide in real‑world investigations.

The conversation dives deep into one of the Ghost Sisters’ most disturbing residential hauntings, a TV‑level case involving possible demonic activity, attachments, and a terrified family living in an active haunted house. Mandy explains her process as a psychic medium doing cold walkthroughs with no prior research, using tools like the Estes Method and spirit boxes only after she’s mapped the energy of a location. Along the way, the team tackles cursed objects, haunted dolls and stuffed animals, secret‑society vibes, and even cryptid territory—Bigfoot and Grassman footprints, howls in the woods, and crossover between ghost hunting and cryptid research. If you’re into paranormal podcasts, ghost hunting shows, real haunted house stories, or female‑led paranormal teams, this episode is packed with eerie evidence, emotional stories, and practical insight into what spirits might really be.

Link to The Ghost Sisters in the Linktree in our bio.

In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary heads into the heart of Hollywood “magick” to sit down in person with psychic medium and self-described good witch of Hollywood, Patti Negri. From hosting her first childhood seance in Southern California to becoming one of TV’s most recognizable witches, Patti traces how a secret magical life ran parallel to her Hollywood career until a single reality TV seance blew the broom closet door wide open.

Patti gives Gary a crash course in practical witchcraft and divination—dowsing rods, tarot, crystal balls, black mirrors, and everyday spells for money, protection, and emotional balance—while explaining why she believes light, high-vibration magic will always outlast the dark arts. They dig into her work on Ghost Adventures and with top paranormal influencers, the rise of witchcraft and alternative spirituality in chaotic times, and how she juggles being an entrepreneur, teacher, and witch through Paraflixx and her international school, University Magickus.

Along the way, Patti shares intense encounters with so-called dark witches, haunted dolls, portals, and demonic energy, but always comes back to empowerment: reclaiming intuition, working with the elements, and remembering that you help create the spiritual world you have to live in.

Ashley from Ghost Gossip Pod joins Splintered Spirits Live for a fun, fast, and heartfelt dive into haunted houses, psychic intuition, and the strange path that led her from the federal court system to full-time paranormal podcasting. She shares how buying a haunted house she didn’t know was haunted, waking up to footsteps and disembodied voices, and feeling “a little crazy” pushed her to start Ghost Gossip as a safe, nonjudgmental space for people to talk about their ghost stories and real-life paranormal experiences.

Gary and John dig into her life with a house ghost named Al, a protective haunted doll that “chose” her in a dream, and how intention, spiritual boundaries, and energetic protection matter when you invite spirits and haunted objects into your home. Ashley opens up about being a “human lie detector,” getting crystal-clear psychic hits and clairaudient warnings that prevent real-world harm, and navigating the emotional weight of being an empath who constantly feels others’ emotions—especially her kids’.

Along the way, they tackle bigger questions: what spirits might be, why hauntings and ghost activity are just as common in the daytime, and whether intuition is a natural psychic “muscle” some people simply develop further. They also dive into the modern paranormal community and content-creator world—paranormal podcast drama, toxic gatekeeping, clout-chasing, and cancellation gossip—while championing a more collaborative, community-first approach for ghost hunters, investigators, and fans of the unexplained.

One of the most recognizable psychics and mediums on the planet sits down with Splintered Spirits in this candid, no-BS conversation with television legend Chip Coffey. Known from hit shows like Kindred Spirits, Psychic Kids, and Paranormal State, Chip unpacks his near-death–adjacent birth, growing up in genuinely haunted homes, and how a background in acting, counseling, and psychology shaped the way he works with both spirits and living clients.

Gary and John dig into Chip’s definitions of ghosts versus spirits, residual versus interactive hauntings, and why he believes our own energy is often the real catalyst for paranormal activity. Chip shares harrowing cases from Paranormal State (including demonic assaults that even shocked hospital staff), explains what TV gets right and wrong about the field, and offers blunt thoughts on skeptics, infighting in the paranormal world, and the fading era of paranormal television.

Along the way, he challenges Gary’s beliefs, talks about why he’s retreated from the public eye, and leaves listeners with heartfelt advice for families raising intuitive kids and anyone who suspects they might be psychic themselves.

Gary and John celebrate one year of Splintered Spirits by breaking down their most ambitious experiment yet: a multi-participant Estes Method session that evolves into what they call the Synchronized Estes Protocol (SEP), a group format where multiple blindfolded listeners simultaneously report what they hear from spirit boxes. They unpack synced responses, wild physical reactions (from trance-like sleep to someone walking out after feeling touched), and how group Estes sessions expose personal bias, audio pareidolia, and the blurred line between spirit communication and human expectation.​

Along the way, they explore what this experiment means for modern ghost hunting, ITC research, and the core question “What are spirits?”, while teasing upcoming episodes with mediums, skeptics, investigators, and researchers tackling consciousness, haunted locations, and real-world paranormal claims. Perfect for fans of paranormal podcasts, ghost hunting, spirit boxes (Necrophonic, Spiritus, Vox), the Estes Method, and anyone curious about pushing spirit communication experiments to the next level.

A century-old textile factory, a notorious spirit named Peter, whispered rumors of blood rituals from 1997, and a room full of blindfolded guests wired into the unknown might be Splintered Spirits’ most ambitious experiment yet. In this first ever SEP Test (Synchronized Estes Protocol Experiment), Gary and John return to John’s former office inside a massive 1860s factory to attempt what they believe is the first multi-person Estes Method session, using silent-disco headsets provided by Silence Activations ( silenceactivations.com) sensory deprivation to separate real spirit communication from audio pareidolia.

Across the night, the group appears to connect with documented entities like Peter and the mask-bound spirit Sam, hears chilling references to long-whispered rituals, and witnesses a bizarre “F you Lisa” moment that lands just as John’s wife stands up to leave. Some guests feel touches and intense presence, others slip into deep calm or nod off entirely, leaving listeners to decide whether this was coordinated contact from the other side or just our pattern-seeking brains working overtime.

Splintered Spirits is live talking about ghost hunting, upcoming guests, the pod's one-year anniversary, and a call-to-arms to save one of Paranormal's Most Valuable Assets - John's Tooth!

Drag queen paranormal investigator and author Monique Toosoon joins Splintered Spirits for a wild dive into ghosts, hauntings, and high‑camp horror. From legendary haunted locations like The Conjuring House, Wilson Castle, and historic asylums to sold‑out overnight ghost hunts, Monique shares how investigating in full drag as “the ghost-ess with the mostest” turns her into a powerful trigger object that supercharges spirit communication and EVPs. Gary and John explore what spirits are, queer visibility in the paranormal field, and how glamour, energy, and $20K of ghost‑hunting equipment transform a traditional ghost hunt into a live paranormal experience. Fans of haunted locations, real‑life ghost stories, paranormal investigation, drag, and horror will find plenty to latch onto in this conversation.

Links to Monique and her latest book can be found in the linktree in our bio.