Splintered Spirits sits down with broadcaster, paranormal investigator, and intuitive ITC specialist Greg Bakun, host of Ghost Box Radio, for a deep dive into what it really means to talk to the dead. From the first time a spirit box answered him in a creepy Minneapolis basement to a jaw‑dropping session where a voice claiming to be Abraham Lincoln identified his own deathbed photo, Greg unpacks why he believes these aren’t “dark forces” but actual people still trying to communicate. He walks Gary and John through his no‑nonsense, SB7‑driven method, his reluctance to over‑process evidence, and how he found himself unexpectedly acting as a bridge between grieving families and the voices of their loved ones.

Across the conversation, Greg tackles the big questions at the heart of the show: what spirits are, why some refuse to “cross over,” and how belief, fear, and even ideas like “soul contracts” might shape your afterlife. He shares visceral stories from public investigations gone sideways, locations ruled by “gatekeeper” entities, and his evolving sense of ethics when audiences, spirits, and content all collide. Along the way, the three get candid about ego in paranormal media, rising investigation costs, the tension between tech and mediumship, and what responsible, evidence‑based investigation should look like in an era of viral clips and celebrity ghost hunters.

Greg Bakun: Ghost Box Radio

In this episode of Splintered Spirits, host Gary sits down with world-renowned psychic medium Cathy Nadal for a live coffee reading at Coffee Unique in Bronxville, New York. Cathy—author of Seeing More Than Clouds in Your Coffee, certified with the Forever Family Foundation, registered nurse, and retired U.S. Army Colonel—uses espresso and Turkish coffee to demonstrate tasseography, turning Gary’s cup into a map of his past, present, and future. As repeating symbols emerge in both cups, Gary and Cathy dig into psychic validation, spirit communication, and how coffee readings can reveal deeply personal messages from the other side, making this a must-listen for fans of psychic mediums, paranormal podcasts, and coffee divination.

In this less-edited redux of one of our wildest early episodes, Gary and John head back into Johnny’s infamous haunted basement with psychic-medium and author Cathy Nadal to see what still lurks in the dark. With cameras rolling this time, Cathy walks into the space cold and immediately starts pulling detailed hits on the building’s history, secret societies, and a vicious Scottish spirit named Edward—long before the spirit boxes ever turn on. As the tension builds, the energy spikes so hard that an object literally flies off the wall, and everyone has to decide whether to keep going or get out.​

This re-release is the raw, nearly unfiltered cut of that night: more basement, more spirits, more of Cathy and Johnny comparing their abilities, and more of Edward’s taunts as he wages his own “fight for the nexus.” You’ll hear how Cathy validates years of Johnny’s basement investigations, calls out a serpentine secret order, and even gets directly acknowledged—and threatened—by the spirits themselves.​

If you heard the original audio-only version, this is your chance to experience the full Big Ghost Energy of that session with added video and fewer cuts, exactly as it unfolded in real time.

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.