Amy Bruni, co-star and executive producer of Travel Channel’s hit paranormal series Kindred Spirits, calls upon over 20 years of investigative experience to help people reclaim their homes and lives from the mysteries of the unknown.
I recently contacted Amy Bruni on behalf of Haunt Jaunts, and asked her to share some of her experiences in the field of paranormal investigating. I was curious to know how it may, or may not, collate with a more casual paranormal tour, organized ghost hunts/ investigations, and other paranormal events. Here’s what she had to say…
HAUNT JAUNTS: How long have you been involved in the paranormal field? What equipment do you use when visiting a haunted location?
AMY BRUNI: I’ve been interested in the paranormal since I was a kid. However, I’d say I started actively investigating as an adult around 20 years ago. As far as equipment goes, we have an entire kit of tools and gadgets. My must haves on an investigation are a digital voice recorder and a handheld video camera.
HAUNT JAUNTS: Do you consider yourself a paranormal investigator? Have you had training in this field or are you self-taught?
AMY BRUNI: Yes, I call myself a Paranormal Investigator or a Paranormal Researcher. There is no official training to become either of these things, but after years of investigating, research, interviewing, etc. – I’d say I have a pretty good understanding of the history of this field and general trends and theories.
HAUNT JAUNTS: What has been your very favorite location? The place that left you speechless—you could NOT explain what just happened—or the place that frightened you so much that you would never go back?
AMY BRUNI: There’s never been a place I wouldn’t go back to, but Waverly Hills almost always throws me for a loop. I’ve had some of my most intense experiences there over the years.
HAUNT JAUNTS: Which location(s) have disappointed you? The places that you were excited to visit and found out later that perhaps they were only urban legend and not really a haunted location.
AMY BRUNI: I would never assume a place wasn’t haunted just because I didn’t experience activity there when I visited. Paranormal activity is very unpredictable, so I may visit a notoriously haunted place and have nothing happen, then someone else could walk in an hour later and have a life changing encounter with a ghost. I would say though that Bobby Mackey’s would be the place that I had heard so much about and I spent two nights investigating it and had almost zero experiences. Not to say I wouldn’t go back and try again.
HAUNT JAUNTS: What do you look for when you arrive to participate on a haunted walking tour? How do you like the guides to be dressed? Everyday dress or in costume depending on the theme of the location? Do you like them to be serious or campy humor?
AMY BRUNI: I love a good theatrical ghost tour, so costumes are fun. I love when they mix history with ghost stories and don’t take themselves too seriously. Ghost tours are very different from actual investigations of course.
HAUNT JAUNTS: How long do you think a walking tour should be and how far should guests have to walk? Is a driving version of a haunted tour better?
AMY BRUNI: I think they’re both ok depending on what participants are looking for and their physical health. I’ve done both.
HAUNT JAUNTS: When participating on a tour of a haunted location, what do you look for? How do you rate them?
AMY BRUNI: Depends on why I’m there. If it’s for fun, I just gauge it on the entertainment factor and whether I’m enjoying myself.
HAUNT JAUNTS: Do you believe some paranormal haunted sights rig up their haunts in order to offer guests a paranormal experience? How do YOU detect whether a location is really haunted—or merely a haunted “fun” house?
AMY BRUNI: I’m sure it happens, but for the most part, locations that add props and artificial scares are pretty forthcoming about it. I’ve never investigated a site that was purposely trying to trick us into thinking it was haunted…and that stuff is so over the top, it would be very easy to spot.
On behalf of not only myself, but also Haunt Jaunts, we would like to thank Amy Bruni for taking a few minutes out of her busy schedule to chat with us, and we wish Amy and Adam Berry another successful season!
More About Amy Bruni
From the “Amy Bruni and Adam Berry” Travel Channel Hosts page:
After spending a decade in the health insurance industry, Bruni decided to follow her dreams and turn paranormal investigation into her livelihood. She began traveling the country to visit its most haunted places, researching the group dynamics of ghost-hunting teams and lecturing on the history of paranormal investigation.
Beginning in 2008, Bruni was a staple on Syfy’s Ghost Hunters. She served as the team’s historical researcher for seven seasons, during which time she met her ghost-hunting partner, Adam Berry.
In 2014, she left the show to stay home with her family and start her own business, a boutique paranormal travel company called Strange Escapes. The birth of her daughter and the importance of family have brought new value to Bruni’s investigations. She now puts more focus on helping families try to reach the spirits of their loved ones.
About Kindred Spirits
‘Kindred Spirits will soon be returning for another season on Travel Channel, featuring powerhouse paranormal investigators, Amy Bruni and Adam Berry. Watch as they enter America’s darkest locations, demanding answers to the most chilling, haunted mysteries. Their detailed investigations dig deep into the past in order to identify the dead and analyze the threat. Loaded with an arsenal of paranormal tools and their hands-on investigation style, Bruni and Berry bring peace to those tormented by restless spirits by ‘giving a voice to the dead.’
Check website for show times: https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/kindred-spirits.
Debe Branning has been the director of the MVD Ghostchasers–a Mesa/Bisbee, AZ based paranormal team since 1994. The team conducts investigations of haunted, historical locations throughout Arizona and has offered paranormal workshop/investigations since 2002. Debe has been a guest lecturer at Ottawa University, Central Arizona College, Arizona State University, Scottsdale Community College, and South Mountain Community College. She has been a speaker at science fiction conventions such as Phoenix ComiCon, CopperCon, FiestaCon, HauntedCon and AZParacon. Debe has been the guest speaker at many historical societies and libraries talking about historic/haunted Arizona.
She has appeared in an episode of “Streets of Fear” for FearNet.com which aired October 2009 and on an episode of TRAVEL CHANNEL’S “Ghost Stories” about haunted Jerome, Arizona in July 2010. She recently appeared as an extra in the 2017 horror movie “The Covenant”. She enjoys assisting in the research field for various Travel Channel TV shows such as ‘Ghost Stories’, ‘Haunted Highway’, and ‘Deadly Possessions’ and MTV’s ‘Fear’. She has traveled, toured and investigated at haunted locations across the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland and Mexico.
Debe is the author of “Sleeping With Ghosts-A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to AZ’s Haunted Hotels and Inns” (2004), “Grand Canyon Ghost Stories” (2012), “The Graveyard Shift–Arizona’s Historic and Haunted Cemeteries” (2012), “Dining With the Dead–Arizona’s Historic and Haunted Restaurants and Cafes” (2017) and a series of three children’s books, “The Adventures of Chickolet Pigolet: 1. “The Bribe of Frankenbeans” —-2. “Murmur on the Oink Express” —-3. “You Ought to be in Pig-tures”. For 7 years Debe penned 3 columns for Examiner.com titled: “Phoenix Travel Adventures,” “Arizona Haunted Sites” and “Haunted Places” so travelers could know where they might find a ghost or two when they visited Arizona and the United States. She was the Managing Editor of “Paranormal Investigator Magazine.” As a paranormal travel writer, Debe traveled to Europe to cover haunted castles, jails, ships, inns, cemeteries and ghost walking tours. She has been the guest of several US tourism departments such as Carlsbad, Historic Hotels of the Rockies, Salem, and Biloxi.
Debe is a preservation activist with a special interest in preserving historic cemeteries. She is on the board of directors of the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association and the Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board. She is also one of the co-hosts of the Association of Gravestones Studies in Arizona.
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