Gary and John talk about commonalities amongst our guests interpretations of spirits, the idea of other dimensions, the "woo-woo"-ness of energy, big plans for the future, and maybe have an interaction with a spirit.
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John sit down with Rosie Grant, the food folklorist behind Ghostly Archive and the author of To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes. Rosie has spent years traveling to cemeteries around the country, uncovering headstones engraved with actual recipes, baking each dish, then bringing the finished food back to the grave to share a bite with the person who inspired it.We talk about her unusual childhood surrounded by ghost tours, how she fell in love with archives, the moment she discovered her first gravestone recipe, and what it’s like to cook for people who can’t exactly leave a Yelp review.Rosie opens up about the families she’s met, the memories behind these recipes, and why food might be one of the most powerful ways we keep the dead alive. There are cookies, casseroles, touching stories, and a surprising amount of joy for an episode about those that have passed.If you’ve ever wondered how a recipe becomes a legacy or why cemeteries might be less scary than you think, this conversation is for you.Rosie's Book: TO DIE FOR
Modern Mortisha joins Splintered Spirits for a conversation that dives into the strange space where horror becomes art. She has built a world of two-sentence stories, silent performances, and carefully crafted moments that feel unsettling even when nothing moves. Her characters tilt their heads a little too slowly, her scenes linger a little too long, and her humor slips in at the moment you least expect it. In this episode we explore how she designs fear without relying on jump scares, how she shapes a story with nothing but a gesture, and why the smallest choice in framing can twist a simple idea into something haunting. If you love creators who reinvent how horror feels online, you are in the right place. Let’s dive into the conversation.
Modern Mortisha: https://beacons.ai/modern.mortisha
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John talk with Mark Marinaccio (https://linktr.ee/strangestoryco), Executive Producer of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch and veteran of Ghost Hunters. Mark has built a career exploring the edge of what can be explained. He has documented strange events, guided research teams through unusual experiments, and helped define how audiences experience the paranormal on screen.
He shares how growing up with a psychic mother and a sci-fi-loving father shaped his curiosity, what it’s really like to oversee investigations at Skinwalker Ranch, and how he balances skepticism with belief.
If you’re drawn to the space where science meets mystery, this conversation belongs on your
John and Gary talk about big plans for John's Holiday party.
John spends Veterans Day cleaning soldiers’ headstones while Gary wonders if it’s really “volunteering” when the ghosts might be supervising. Between stories of eerie calm and unexpected energy spikes, they dig into why honoring the dead sometimes leads to very lively encounters.
A thoughtful (and occasionally ridiculous) episode of Splintered Spirits that mixes heart, history, and a few laughs among the tombstones.
ALERT: Everything you hear from Ghost Fire is 100% real, buuuuut I did add some Halloween fun. Let me know if you see any apparitions and how many you spot 😈
Gary takes Ghost Fire, the custom spirit box he built from scratch, out for its first real test. The mission: find out if the device can actually let us communicate with whatever’s on the other side. Join Gary as he pushes the boundaries between science and spirit in this hands-on field test of Ghost Fire.👻 Follow @santaparanormal and @splinteredspirits for behind-the-scenes updates#GhostFire #SpiritBox #SplinteredSpirits #ParanormalPodcast #GhostHunting
The Hudson Valley all female paranormal investigation team, Full Moon Paranormal joins John and Gary on this week's live!
Gary's sister and John's mother, Cathy Santa visits Splintered Spirits to go over the re-release of Episode 6 where Cathy Nadal gave Gary a reading. The guys also talk about their upcoming episode with Andrea Perron and her mission to make sure her family's former farmhouse (aka The Conjuring House) winds up in good hands.
Andrea Perron's GoFundMe:
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John talk with Steven Parsons, one of the UK’s most respected paranormal investigators and the author of Ghostology: The Art of the Ghost Hunter. Unlike the TV shows and viral ghost hunts built on flashing gadgets and jump scares, Steven approaches the supernatural with a scientist’s precision—studying how sound, psychology, and technology can both reveal and distort our perception of the unseen. Together, we explore why ghost hunting needs more skepticism and fewer theatrics, how audio and environmental data can uncover natural explanations for “hauntings,” and what social media is doing to reshape the way people experience the paranormal. This conversation pulls back the curtain on the science behind the spirits—and what happens when you stop chasing shadows and start asking better questions.
Ghostology: https://amzn.to/4heGJHs
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John Santa (@santaparanormal) sit down with producer and documentarian Mike Dorsey, whose career has taken him deep into the world of the paranormal.
Dorsey produced and edited the hit documentary Demon House with Zak Bagans, co-executive produced Ghost Adventures: House Calls on Discovery+, and served as showrunner for Destinations of the Damned, a globe-spanning docuseries filmed in 13 countries. His work has brought him face-to-face with haunted homes, cursed destinations, and unexplained phenomena across the world.
We talk with Mike about what it’s like to produce ghost shows with major talent like Zak Bagans, how he balances storytelling with authentic paranormal experiences, and why audiences are so drawn to the mysteries of the spirit world. Along the way, Mike shares behind-the-scenes insights into the challenges of filming in haunted places, the surprises that happen when the cameras are rolling, and what he’s learned from years of bringing ghost stories to life on screen.
If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to capture the paranormal for television, this episode is a must-listen.
This week on Splintered Spirits, Gary and John sit down with Andrea Perron—author, survivor, and the eldest daughter from the true story that inspired The Conjuring. But this isn’t about the haunting. It’s about everything that came after.Andrea opens up about decades of reflection, how she made peace with what happened in that farmhouse, and how she’s now facing a new fight: five brain tumors and a renewed mission to preserve the home that changed her life forever.It’s a conversation about fear, faith, and what survival really looks like when the ghosts don’t leave—and neither do you.
🔗 Support Andrea’s GoFundMe with Jason Hawes: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-conjuring-house
House of Darkness, House of Light - vol 1 - https://amzn.to/4okWte9vol 2 - https://amzn.to/4ofafz4vol 3 - https://amzn.to/3KV3p3e
This is an extended re-release with video of episode 6 which is Part 1 of 3 with Psychic-Medium, Cathy Nadal. Cathy meets with Gary to give him a reading (and we share about 99% of it), explain her history and what it means to be psychic and medium.
Cathy Nadal can be found at her website dreamcentralstation.com or @catwitchnyc on Instagram.
Her books, And She Danced by the Light of the Moon and Seeing More than Clouds in Your Coffee can be found on Amazon.
Let's dive into the conversation...
What happens when a seasoned journalist leaves the newsroom and steps into haunted houses, eerie bakeries, and historic sites filled with ghost stories? In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John talk with News 12 anchor Kristie Reeter about her journey from covering politics and parenting to reporting on the paranormal.
Kristie shares what it was like to investigate some of the Tri-State area’s most chilling locations, the unforgettable people she met along the way, and the moments that left even a journalist reaching for holy water. From eyewitness accounts that defy explanation to behind-the-scenes surprises the cameras didn’t catch, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what it means to cover the paranormal with a reporter’s eye.
Join us as we explore where fact meets folklore, and why some stories are too strange to ignore.
News 12 Originals: https://www.youtube.com/@News12Originals
Author Joni Mayhan, the self-described “Ghost Magnet,” joins Splintered Spirits to reveal why some people attract spirits—and why spirit communication isn’t always fun.In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John talk with paranormal author and investigator Joni Mayhan, whose book Ghost Magnet explores what happens when spirits attach themselves to the living. With more than twenty titles on hauntings and spirit communication, Joni has built a reputation for capturing compelling EVPs, documenting haunted history, and pulling back the curtain on attachments that can turn dangerous.She shares how she first discovered her sensitivity, what it means to live as a “ghost magnet,” and the chilling story of the entity she calls the Soul Collector. We also dive into her work on Hanover Haunting, the eerie tales of Haunted New Harmony, and her insights from Signs of Spirits.Not every ghost story is comforting. Some forms of spirit communication are unsettling, frightening, and even harmful. Joni explains how she navigates those encounters, how to tell the difference between a sign from a loved one and something darker, and why respecting the unknown is just as important as seeking answers.If you’re curious about why spirits linger, how investigators separate fact from folklore, and what it feels like to be a true “ghost magnet,” this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
Joni's Website:
In this Live episode of Splintered Spirits, John and Gary revisit the fireplace room, talk briefly about its history, its hauntings, and share a few videos of John's captures over the years where spirits decided to be physically destructive - throwing candles, mirrors, and of course - slurs.
We’re re-releasing Episode 2 of Splintered Spirits — now with full video!
In CEMETERY SPIRITS, Gary and John dig into John’s theories about the paranormal while surrounded by cemetery lore. This is the episode where John first introduces Gary to Edward, a ghost whose presence becomes central to our ongoing journey.
We also set up an experiment involving two versions of Edward to test John’s theory about fractured spirit energy. The results of that test appear in a later episode — but it all starts here.
If you’re new to the podcast, this is a great entry point into how we explore ghost encounters, history, and the strange ways energy lingers after death.
👻 Splintered Spirits is a lighthearted paranormal podcast hosted by Gary Shapiro and his nephew, John Santa (@santaparanormal), where we mix humor with the hunt for answers about what ghosts really are.
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary and John sit down with psychic medium and healer Heidi Kemper to explore the mysteries of the Akashic Records and past lives. Heidi shares how the loss of her brother in her teens opened the door to her psychic abilities, eventually leading her to a career helping others through mediumship, shamanic healing, and Akashic Records readings.
We dive into what the Akashic Records are, how past life stories reveal themselves, and the ways unresolved trauma from other lifetimes can shape the present. Heidi explains the difference between a past life regression and an Akashic Records reading, offers powerful examples from her practice, and shares how these insights can transform healing today.
Heidi also talks about her experiences on The Ghost Finders, her travels with psychic medium Sam Baltrusis, and her own podcast Scorpio Rising. Whether you’re curious about past life regression, spirit communication, or the ethics of mediumship, this episode is full of wisdom and real-world experiences from one of the field’s most engaging voices.
👉 To learn more or book a session with Heidi, visit: www.HeidiKemper.com
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, Gary sits down with special guest Mayra Rath (soulsigns.net) to get a crash course into the mysterious world of Past Life Regression. Together, they explore how guided lifelines can uncover vivid scenes, emotions, and identities that may seem to come from lifetimes long past, but are really everything happening all at once. We talk about what these experiences might reveal about the nature of spirits, consciousness, and the echoes of energy we carry forward. From fascinating client stories to the ethics of regression and the line between imagination and memory, this conversation opens up new perspectives on reincarnation, healing, and the possibility that our stories began long before we were born.
In this episode of Splintered Spirits, we sit down with Enocha Edenfield: former news producer, print communications grad, and now Savannah’s go-to guide for all things haunted. She turned her news-eye toward the weird history of Savannah during the pandemic, building a following on TikTok and YouTube and launching ghost tours built on both research and chills.
We also hear from John, fresh off a paranormal investigation in Gettysburg, and explore how the haunted stories of the South (like Savannah) compare with those from the North—how atmosphere, culture, and history shape what lingers.