Guillermo del Toro on Gothic 'Graveyard Poetry' and Spiritualism

Guillermo del Toro doesn't do talking points. Rather than give bite-size quotes during interviews, the director has a conversation where he thoughtfully responds to a question.

And few topics seems to get him as excited as the paranormal.

Over the course of several interviews, I've had the opportunity to talk to the Academy Award-winning filmmaker of The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, the Ron Perlman-starring Hellboy films, and more.

In addition to getting insight on those projects, I have appreciated the chance to discuss the paranormal with del Toro.

With that in mind, I dug up this video filmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. We sat down to discuss Crimson Peak, hia underrated Gothic Romance that was sadly marketed as a horror film.

This portion of the interview didn't make a final cut, but we are able to chat about how paranormal pop culture impacted the perception of "real" ghosts, and why del Toro likes to show the monsters early on in his films. 

Check it out.

-Aaron Sagers

Meet Rose Mackenberg, Harry Houdini's personal ghost buster

I'm a big fan of Harry Houdini, and his exploits to root out fraud in paranormal scenes. His work as a debunker has gained some mainstream attention via movies, but did you know that ol' Harry had his own secret service with some spirited squad goals?

Yup, Houdini had a group of 20 salaried undercover investigators who traveled the country in the early 1900s with the mission of uncovering "ghost racketeers" engaged in "spirit fraud."

Perhaps the most famous was Rose Mackenberg, the "Spook Spy." A New York City resident, Rose was a believer in Spiritualism early on, before she teamed up with the illusionist. Once she did, Houdini was especially impressed by Rose's skills and knowledge of fakery involved in seances and mediumship.

The Spook Spy earned her name by slipping into the confidences of local spiritualist groups. And when she arrived in town, she'd go shopping for new disguises that would allow her to blend into a local area. Disguises included "Credulous Servant Girl," "Believing Semi-Invalid," "Smartly Garbed Widow," "Rustic School Teacher," and "Small Town Matron," among others.

Although Houdini died in 1926, Rose continued with her and her boss' mission through 1951. She also gave lectures, wrote for multiple publications such as Popular Science, assisted insurance companies in sussing out fraudulent claims, and worked with the Chicago Tribune as a guide to the Spiritualist world.

-Aaron Sagers

Read more at Atlas Obscura,  The Magic Detective

Ghost hunting school in session: Talking to dead hits higher ed

Very rarely does something pop into my inbox that really blows my mind and signals such a paradigm shift that I'm left nearly reeling and wondering, "what's next?" Such a moment occurred this week when a reader sent a link, without comment, directing me to an Indiana community college Web site. Like the curious cat I am, I followed.

Sure enough, buried on page 7 of the Ivy Tech Community College's Department of Workforce & Economic Development's 2010 Spring/Summer course catalog, I discovered an amazing example of the mainstreaming of the paranormal: A class titled "Advanced Paranormal Investigation."

Taught at the accredited school in Kokomo, it's actually a follow-up to the introductory "Paranormal