The 13th Annual Butler Paranormal Conference Wrap-Up

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The paranormal conference I went to this weekend was fun! 

Yesterday was my first time getting out to an event since COVID-19 changed how we do things, and it was great, albeit a bit of an adjustment for me mentally to be around so many people after over a year of mostly isolating. Because of underlying conditions, I have been very careful, so it was almost weird to be amongst people again, but it was great to get out again!

As I mentioned in my last post, yesterday was the 13th Annual Butler Paranormal Conference and was hosted by the Butler Organization for Research on the Unexplained (BORU) and The Center for Unexplained Events (CUE).

The sign that greeted us at the entrance

It featured five speakers and two rooms of vendors, plus door prizes, free books and magazines, and raffles. Speakers were: Jami & Jenny King, James Krug, Ed Kelemen (Zelia Edgar couldn’t make it), and Thomas White, and then Russell Price offered a gallery reading to volunteers who put their name in a jar to be selected at random.

The talks were all quite enjoyable, and I liked meeting new-to-me vendors (The Art of Eerie Eric, for example) and seeing friendly faces I already knew: Jimmy and Dee Trick of Goosebumps Paranormal, author Kevin Paul, author Tony Lavorgne, Bob and Tracy Ammon of Legendary Luminaries and Miss Trixie’s Quilty Pleasures, and Melanie and Chris Durish of Steel Town Paranormal. I bought a few books (links below) and a piece of art for my office (which I promised Eric I’d take a picture of as soon as I get it installed), as well as some cool new masks with cryptid themes.

It took me about an hour to get up there from the City of Pittsburgh, and it was a nice drive up 279 to 79 and then over some local roads. The weather was nice, too — not too hot, and not too cold — so I was able to roll down the windows and let the wind ruin my hairdo. :) 

The Tanglewood Senior Center is a large facility with plenty of room for an event without it becoming too crowded, and parking is easy. There is even a large kitchen facility from which food vendors offered hot dogs, meatball subs, snacks, chips, and drinks. The schedule of speakers was nicely spaced out in that there were breaks in between each lecture, so you could visit vendor tables, get a snack or beverage, or step outside for some air. It was the perfect size, too — not so big that you’d have a hard time getting to every table or room, but not too small in that there wasn’t enough to do. 

The raffles were good, and someone was giving out free books and magazines, so between that and the purchases I made, I came home with a respectable haul. 

All in all, I really enjoyed the day and seeing/meeting everyone, and I’m so glad to be able to get out and go to events again. I had a really great time and am sorry I’ve missed this event in all the prior years. Glad I finally got to go, and if I can go again, I will! 

The next event I plan on attending will be Haunted Con on May 15th at the Greene County Historical Society museum. I hope I’ll see you there! 👻

Books I purchased:

               

Speaker Program:

Here are interior and back cover shots of the program and what the speakers addressed in their lectures:

  

(Zelia Edgar couldn’t make it, so Ed Kelemen spoke in the 2:30 time slot, giving an overview of some local hauntings, including a hilarious story about “Mad” Anthony.)