Meet Steve Brodt | Paranormal Investigator & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steve Brodt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I was 16 I started the South Glens Falls Paranormal Society, which was a non profit paranormal investigation group. We would conduct investigations of private residences & businesses across NY & VT. We began hosting small public paranormal investigations as a fundraising program for various historic sites & our group. After about 7 years of hosting these type of events I began to think it was something I could succeed at on a much larger scale. So, in the summer of 2019 I launched Haunted Nights. The company hosts public paranormal investigations at some of the country’s most well known haunted locations. We have traveled to over 10 states bringing guests into historic prisons, hospitals & asylums in the past 3 years.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a full time paranormal investigator with my company Haunted Nights. The company itself has a few different aspects to it. Our main focus is public paranormal investigations. We take guests to some of the most highly active paranormal locations in the country for a full 8 hour investigation. We also have a youtube channel that showcases investigations conducted by myself & Haunted Nights manager Dylan.

What sets our company apart from the others is our pricing & the experience guests get to have at our events. We are not like some of the bigger ghost hunting companies that are about numbers. We focus on the actual investigation for our guests. We keep our numbers very low for ticket sales, which enables everyone to have a real, effective investigation. A lot of larger companies sell hundreds of tickets for each investigation, which makes it impossible to investigate without some sort of contamination. Our groups are small, we have never sold more than 25 tickets to any location no matter the size. While keeping our numbers low, we also are able to keep our prices very affordable which allows guests to participate in multiple investigations each weekend!

I am most proud about the number of return guests we have at our events & the friendships that have been created from our investigations. This shows me that we are doing exactly what we set out to do, provide a fun experience where people can conduct investigations of locations they may not have access to otherwise.

It was not easy to get where I am today. I investigated the paranormal for 10 years before I was able to make it my full time career. It took a lot of work building myself as a brand & figuring out the best way to make public events run smoothly. After a decade of investigations & smaller events, alongside a ton of net working & behind the scenes work I was finally able to make paranormal investigating my full time career.

Along the way I’ve learned to never pass up an opportunity when it presents itself, even if it means more work & less sleep. If I didn’t take the opportunities that have been provided to me over the years I don’t think I’d be where I am today. Sometimes roadtrips get extended from 3 days to 8 days because of something being offered to us that I know we can’t miss out on but I know it will help us grow in the long run.

I want the world to know that Haunted Nights is not just my job, it’s my passion. There is nothing I would rather be doing than traveling the country investigating these historic locations with new & returning guests every weekend. I do this simply because I love it & I think it shows when you’re investigating with me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A week in Glens Falls, NY would be full of things to do! First we’d start out by grabbing some sushi at Mikado in downtown for dinner. After that we’d head down to our favorite spot Slickfin Brewing located in Fort Edward just a few minutes away. After that it’d be off to a number of haunted locations nearby.

First stop would be the Old Saratoga County Homestead. This former tuberculosis sanatorium had been abandoned for over 4 decades when it was purchased at auction in 2019. Upon its purchase I became property manager & Haunted Nights began hosting several different types of tour opportunities allowing people inside legally for the first time since its closure in 1979. The Homestead was once a beautiful building with amazing architecture & detailing. It is now a former shell of itself but is full of history & hauntings. We’d definitely be spending a night up here!

The next day we’d head back downtown to grab some tacos at Rauls! Maybe a quick stop into SPOT Coffee for a pick me up after a night of investigating. After grabbing a coffee it’s off to Lake George for a quick tour of the haunted Fort William Henry before grabbing some food along the lake shore. If you’re up for back to back nights of investigating then next on our list would be the Old Washington County Jail. This historic jail was built in the late 1800’s & operated until closing in 2003. With three full floors of jail cells, a basement & full courtroom upstairs this location never disappoints. We can even lock you in a cell with the set of original keys! Bring a sleeping bag so you can get a comfortable nights rest inside one of the most haunted cells in the building, Ron’s cell.

If you haven’t tired out yet we can spend the next day wandering around historic Saratoga. There are tons of ghost stories from this historic city dating all the way back to the early 1800’s. The cities first Casino is rumored to be one of the most active spots around. We can grab some food on broadway in the newly renovated historic Adelphi Hotel, which is of course haunted as well!

To round out 3 nights of investigations we would head a little outside of NY to Proctor, VT to a spot I have been investigating since 2014, Wilson Castle. This enormous 13,000 sq ft mansion dates back to the late 1800’s & has been in the same family since 1939! This is by far one of my favorite locations to investigate & spend the night in. The spirits that reside here never let us down & even know us by name now!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would not be where I am today without the support & encouragement from my family. My wife does a ton of behind the scenes work for Haunted Nights, including our website, our merchandise & making sure I stayed organized with any necessary paperwork. My parents have supported me since day 1 when I first wanted to make the paranormal my full time career (my mom has been investigating alongside me since 2009!) I definitely would not have grown as fast as a business without all of the help my wife & family have given me in the last few years.

I also have a close knit group of friends that help make Haunted Nights a possibility. My manager Dylan Stevens is right by my side for every event he can make when he isn’t at drill for the Army Reserves. Courtney Eastman (AKA The Ghoul Guide) has been a huge help over the last year & a half assisting me at events & conventions. Mark & Deanna of Cryptids & Crystals are some of my closest friends & have been instrumental in Haunted Nights booking new locations & expanding our reach to new areas along with running events with me. Beckie Galentine of My Bloody Galentine has been such a good friend to me over the last year, always down to jump in the car last minute for any investigation & has opened a ton of doors for me in the paranormal world. Last but not least is my good friend Chris Maryinuk, an active duty member of the Air Force he brings a logical mindset to each investigation & event that he helps me run. His outlook on the paranormal world always reminds me to stay logical & grounded, not everything is a ghost. He is always willing to help me & Haunted Nights in any way he can & has been a huge asset to the company. Without these people Haunted Nights would struggle to put on so many successful events across so many different states each month.

Website: hauntednightsevents.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevebrodt

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveBrodt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HauntedNightsEvents/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HauntedNightsInvestigations