The new paranormal series “Trending Fear” premieres tonight on Travel Channel. Ahead of the premiere, we sat down with paranormal investigator Paul Bradford to learn more about the series and how it stands apart from the others.
Paul stars alongside #DearDavid author Adam Ellis and Jen Lewis (researcher/documentarian). “In each hour-long episode, the trio will travel America, hoping to help people take back their lives after unexplainable encounters with the paranormal.”
(Paul Bradford, Adam Ellis, and Jen Lewis)
Horror Fuel: “Congratulations on your Travel Channel series Trending Fear. What can you tell us about it?”
Paul: “Trending Fear uses social media to reach out to people having paranormal issues, things that people can’t necessarily understand, so that we can help them.
The basis of the show is around Adam Ellis and his #DearDavid experience. People followed the story through social media and with that came a lot of traction. He was trying to figure out what was going on. He was asking for help and there are a lot of people going through similar things. The idea is that we want to give these people help, tell their story and figure out what it is and genuinely help them.”
Horror Fuel: “I followed the #DearDavid saga for a long time. It is scary stuff. Will you be doing an episode on #DearDavid?
Paul: “No. For people needing help, it’s almost like Ghostbusters, who are you gonna call?”
Horror Fuel: “Right. I’m glad that y’all want to help people, not just say ‘Hey, it’s a ghost. Good luck with that.’ and walk away. It’s hard to find people that know what they are doing to help.”
Paul: “Sure. I’ve been an investigator for several years now. Adam can sympathize with people, he’s gone through it and there was really no one to help. There’s an element of stress and there’s a whole thing about ‘Will People believe me?’ I think what we’re doing is providing a service.”
Horror Fuel: “That’s a great thing. There are so many people out there who just don’t know what to do.
What was it that got you interested in the paranormal in the beginning? Was there some event?”
Paul: “A lot of people I work with and a lot of people in my circle all had some profound experience as a child where they saw their grandmother who had recently passed away or their house was haunted. With me, it’s a different story. I watched too much TV. I grew up watching Doctor Who and Ghostbusters and The X-Files. I was five years old when I first saw that. Those shows made me have an interest, an incredible attraction to it. I didn’t really know where to take it. I had the opportunity to join a paranormal team and that was where things became very elevated. It’s good when you are with people who are like-minded. That’s really where it was born. I have this interest in the paranormal, ghosts, aliens, bigfoot and the interest in building things. Then I got the chance to start building things and creating stuff for the paranormal field. That’s really where things took off for me.”
Horror Fuel: “It’s awesome that you can both investigate and create things to aid you in your hunt and that you can investigate in a way that might help educate people about the paranormal.”
Paul: “It’s about like religion in some ways, my job isn’t to convert people or anything like that. I’m just putting it out there. You can either believe or chose not to. What I will do is approach this with a no b.s. attitude. I’ll go out there and report what I find, you know. I may not find anything, It is what it is. I’m very to the point. That’s what it comes down to. When someone comes to me with something I will sit down with them and explain to them why it is not a ghost or I’ll be like, ‘That’s amazing. I don’t have any idea what that is.” I don’t really consider myself an expert. I have a lot of experience, but still, there’s a lot of things we don’t really understand about the paranormal. We are still taking baby steps and trying to figure out what’s going on. But I have enough experience to tell you what is not paranormal.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m one of those people who prefer people to be upfront and blunt about things. I like straight shooters. I’m also a believer in the paranormal. I had my own intense experience, but that’s a long story.
Can you tease what we will see in the premiere?”
Paul: “The whole thing is we want to help. That’s what it comes down to. We do a lot of research in order to get the answers that we got. It took a lot of work between the three of us. I think for the most part, we are a refreshing change from the average paranormal shows.
The first episode is in New Jersey. We meet Kathy, and not giving too much away, Kathy gets very emotional. And we were able to help. I can’t tell you too much, but it is a very emotional case. It’s one where you can see that events were directly affecting the family. If it was your family, you would really not want your family in that situation.
We go from Massachusetts to Oregon. We have one case an episode. We wanted to make sure that it is not just a show about a location, that it’s about helping people.”
Horror Fuel: “How will you be using social media in the series?”
Paul: “We will be doing part of every episode live. We will share a lot of pictures on social media. Social media has become such a big part of our lives that we are always connected with people. If I don’t know something or have a question, I can put it out there and people will respond how to do it. If we experience something in the house, a question or we need something translated we can ask. If we find something we don’t understand we can put out a question, ‘Hey, has anyone experienced this?’ My social media is filled with paranormal people, there are people that are experts, experts in Native American history, experts in Wicca. There are so many people to network with. The answers are usually right around the corner.”
Horror Fuel: “It’s amazing that through social media you can share knowledge across the country, across the world, in an instance.”
Paul: “It’s all around the world now. It’s crazy to think ten years ago it was unheard of. Nowadays, it’s so much a part of our lives. Think about twenty years ago – I keep forgetting how old I am.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m going to show my age now, I remember a time when the internet wasn’t huge, back when few people had it and there was dial-up.”
Paul: “Right. I remember waiting two days for a song to download. I remember being on the internet and if someone picked up the phone, my connection was gone.”
Horror Fuel: “I remember that.”
Paul: “It’s crazy. Technology has advanced so much and has become such a part of our lives. It’s such a good thing. People who are experiencing this stuff and people who are having these encounters with the paranormal, there was no one out there to help them. There wasn’t a lot out here. People didn’t have a voice. Now, with things the way they are and with what we are doing, we are able to give them that help, those answers.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m happy that groups like yours are out there and want to do something to relieve these family’s troubles. And with going live, people may see something that could aid in your investigation in real-time.”
Paul: “Absolutely.”
Horror Huel: “I think having a show like Trending Fear is a fantastic idea.”
Paul: “I can not claim credit for the idea, but the whole concept is why I came on board for this project.”
Horror Fuel: “And we are glad you did.”
Be sure to tune in for “Trending Fear” on Friday nights at 11 p.m. ET/PT to see Paul Bradford in action along with his team as they try to give families answers and help with their paranormal problems.
