Everything You Need to Know for Milwaukee Paranormal Conference 2021

What the heck is the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference?

MPC was started in 2015 by journalist, author, event organizer, podcast host, and all around weird guy Tea Krulos. The event features investigators and researchers giving talks on paranormal subjects. It’s also a celebration of arts and crafts, music, film, culture, and local businesses.

The conference is sponsored by American Ghost Walks, which offers ghost tours in the Midwest and beyond.

Where is this event?

Sept. 24, 6pm- Paranormal Party @ Faklandia Brewing. This is a free event and you do not need a ticket. It features a Ghost Story Open Mic where you can sign up to tell your story, trivia, and a performance by Sunspot.
Here’s the event FB page: https://www.facebook.com/events/292416242659939

Sept. 25, 10am-6pm- MPC @ Alverno College. This is a free event, but you do need to register: https://milwaukeeparacon.com/registration/

Sept. 26, Activities Day @ various locations throughout the day. See listing later in this post on which activities are free and which require tickets.

What COVID protocols are in place?

Alverno College’s official policy is that all visitors must wear masks, vaccinated or not. Attendees who do not wear masks will not be allowed into the event. Please work with us and not against us on this.

Where exactly is the conference on the Alverno campus?

Alverno’s Bucyrus Conference facility is located inside the Sister Joel Read Center. The key to getting there is to enter the campus by their entrance on 43rd St next to the big ALVERNO COLLEGE sign. On the map below you can see a red X by the 43rd St entrance, and another red X by a building labelled A. That’s the parking garage. The red dots show the path from the parking garage to the Sister Joel Read Center, where the conference is.

This is what the Sister Joel Read Center looks like. The entrances are in the dome-shaped part of the building.

The rotunda has the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference/ American Ghost Walks tables, a selfie station, and a Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library- Bookseller reading corner. Right next to the rotunda are the vendor floor and speaker room, and directly behind that is the Alumnae Hall, where additional presentations are being conducted.

What food/ drink will be available?

The campus cafeteria is just down the hallway from the conference and is open all day serving food and beverages (including coffee!) and from 2-6pm there will be a bar set up in the rotunda that serves adult beverages and snacks.

Will there be Milwaukee Paranormal Conference merch?

Yeah! We’ll have stickers, buttons, and t-shirts. Buying this merch helps support the event. In addition, we have over 30 fantastic vendors this year. You can see a listing of them here: https://milwaukeeparacon.com/2021/08/25/you-will-weep-paranormal-tears-of-joy-when-you-see-this-milwaukee-paranormal-conference-vendor-line-up/

Is this event wheelchair accessible?

Yes, no stairs.

If this event is free, why do I have to register? I’m a nihilist.

So we can keep tabs on how many people to expect.
Register here: https://milwaukeeparacon.com/registration/

My toaster is haunted. Will someone at the conference be able to help me?

Maybe.

Do you need volunteers?

Yes! Please email: milwaukeeparacon@gmail.com

What’s the Speaker Schedule?

Bucyrus Room

10AM: Shetan Noir, “The Lake Michigan Triangle”
11AM: Amelia Cotter, “Where the Party Never Ended: Ghosts of the Old Baraboo Inn”
Noon: Barnaby from Cryptids, Anomalies, and the Paranormal Society, “A Comparative Study of Bigfoot”
1PM: Tea’s Weird Week Birthday Panel w/ Tea Krulos, Heidi Erickson, Goddess Aida, Hillarie Higgins, J. Nathan Couch, and Donna Lea Wells Fink
2PM: Allison Jornlin, “Milwaukee Poltergeists”
3PM: American Ghost Walks Panel
4PM: Stacy Schuerman, Spiritualist minister and teacher, Morris Pratt Institute

Alumnae Hall

11AM: Milwaukee Krampus Eigenheit
Noon: Mike Huberty, “Voyage to Haunchyville,” includes a Haunchyville coloring page sponsored by Studio Moonfall
1PM: Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee
2PM: Jeff from Badgerland Legends, “Finding the Weird in Your World”
3PM: Sam Maranto of Illinois MUFON, “Chi-town Flap”

(online) 8-10pm: Livestream of Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee at the Cedarburg History Museum. Watch here: https://www.facebook.com/paranormalmilwaukee

(online) 10pm – 11pm American Ghost Walks live investigation from Brumder Mansion. Watch here: https://www.facebook.com/americanghostwalks

(online) 11pm- 12am World’s Largest Ghost Hunt Milwaukee Livestream Watch here: https://www.nationalghosthuntingday.com/the-hunt/locations/284-brumder-mansion-b-b


If I call/message/email the day of the conference because I can’t find parking or want to know what the weather forecast is will you answer?

No.

Can I wear a paranormal themed costume to this event?

Yes, please do if you feel inclined.

What is going on Sunday September 26?

Activities Day was visualized as a fun way for people to explore the city and participate in activities. You won’t be able to make all of them, but you are def able to check out several. The list below has information on each activity and ticket info.

10am: Yoga in the Cemetery @ Forest Home Cemetery, $15 (space is limited)
90-minute, includes short tour. Bring your own mat, towel, water.
Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5203651
FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/3011372975808429

Noon: Pop-up Death Cafe @ Grant Park, free event (space is limited). You must email milwaukeeparacon@gmail.com to be put on the list and receive exact meet-up spot.
More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/167090408864099/

Noon: Ghost Poems poetry event @ Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, hosted by Kavon Cortez Jones, free event (no ticket needed). Sign up to read a poem inspired by the paranormal, ghosts, autumn, Halloween, etc at Noon.


1-6pm: Witches Faire @ Faklandia Brewing. Features workshops, vendors, and special performance by Puerto Wiccan. Free event, no ticket needed. Lineup details here: https://milwaukeeparacon.com/2021/08/17/the-witches-faire-sunday-sept-26-faklandia-brewing/
FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1348145175581690

2pm: Presentation by Gavin Schmitt, author of The Milwaukee Mafia @ Bay View Community Center, free event, no ticket needed.
FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/419877809369041/

Learn macabre history and hear about firsthand ghost encounters!

3pm: American Ghost Walks Waukesha tour, tickets: https://americanghostwalks.com/wisconsin/waukesha-ghost-walks/
3pm: American Ghost Walks Bloody Third Ward tour, tickets: https://americanghostwalks.com/wisconsin/milwaukee-ghost-walks/

3pm: Cemetery Art and Symbolism tour, Forest Home Cemetery, $10 (space is limited)
Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5203662
FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/552578672823554

7pm: Lake Michigan Monster screening, Shaker’s Cigar Bar, $10 (pay at door)

Screening of locally made film Lake Michigan Monster, and the short Alien Abduction. Some cast and crew will be there for a Q and A. Screening is at Shaker’s, cigar bar and restaurant and famously haunted.
FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1293854227715621/

Is this going to be an event where I can meet people with similar interests, learn some fascinating things about the paranormal, check out some great vendors, participate in activities, and have fun?

Hell yeah it is.



That’s a Wrap on the Summer Writing Contest!

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When the clock tolled twelve midnight last night, our Summer Short Fiction Contest (presented with our friends Cult of Weird) came to a conclusion. And what good timing– we’re just starting to feel a hint of Fall in the air.

We received 40 entrants to our contest (more than our expectation!) and we got quite a mix of creative ideas for paranormal stories set here in our home state of Wisconsin. The stories offered us a ghoulish parade of haunted houses, eerie cornfields, and things that go splash in the night in Lake Michigan, among other frights. These stories our now in the hands of our judges, who we’re sure will read them with all the lights on!

Our judges include representatives from Furrow, a literary organization and magazine for undergraduates at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Washington County’s creative writing department, and Cult of Weird. We are shooting for a Sept. 15 announcement, but bear with us as judging might take longer with such a great turn out.

1st place winner gets a conference VIP pass, their story printed in our conference program, and a prize pack. 2nd and 3rd place will have their stories posted on our website and will receive a 2-day Super Pass and prize packs. Prize packs include candles from Grave Digger Candles, signed books from conference speakers, Milwaukee Paranormal Conference merch, and more. The top 3 will also be invited to read their stories at the conference in a session hosted by author Kat de Falla in Room 191.

Most importantly, we’d like to give a heartfelt thanks to everyone who took time to submit their stories. We are thrilled with the interest in this contest and can’t wait to share the results. Good luck to all!

You can help us make our programming possible by pre-ordering tickets and merch via our Indiegogo. We need your support to make this happen! igg.me/at/milwaukeeparacon