Kristen Luman from Ghost Mine to Ghost Hunters

Showrunners at Syfy spiced things up on Ghost Hunters this season with the addition of Ghost Mine Lead Investigator and fan favorite Kristen Luman, who appeared as a guest investigator on several episodes.

Ghost Hunters is Syfy’s longest-running unscripted series, and it now enters its 10th Season. “We couldn’t be more excited about entering a brand new decade of paranormal investigations with Jason Hawes, a refreshed TAPS team and Ghost Hunters,” said Heather Olander, SVP, alternative series development and production for Syfy.

Kristen Luman started researching the paranormal while attending Portland State University, where she graduated with a focus on paranormal psychology. Kristen conducts field experiments regularly, and has a hypnotherapy practice. Go to kristenluman.com for more info.

Kristen Luman, from Ghost Mine, Season:2
Kristen Luman, Ghost Mine Season:2

Luman is no newcomer to paranormal TV. She earned her stripes on Syfy channel’s paranormal television show Ghost Mine that premiered on American TV January 16, 2013. The series featured a group of miners searching for gold in Oregon’s infamous Crescent Mine accompanied by 2 paranormal researchers, Luman and Patrick Doyle. The show saw a short 2 season stint and left Ghost Mine fans clamoring for more of their favorites like Luman. The question is, will a few episodes on Ghost Hunters be enough to satisfy the insatiable hunger of the Ghost Mine fans?

Luman certainly held her own with paranormal investigation legends like Dave Tango, Steve Gonsalves and the GodFather of paranormal TV, Jason Hawes. On August 26, 2015, Kristen Luman appeared on the Season 10 premiere at the Wild Turkey Distillery in Kentucky and assisted TAPS in searching for traces of the ghosts of the founding family members. Luman made a guest appearance on several episodes this season. Will Luman be appearing in future episodes of Ghost Hunters? I guess fans will have to tune in to see.

Kristen Luman – Ghost Mine, Ghost Hunters and More

Kristen Luman recently sat down and spoke to me about some of her upcoming events.

Kristen Luman: Yeah, it was really heart breaking, a lot of us were pretty upset. I got the call a week before Christmas.

RD: What a great Christmas gift (sarcastically)?

KL: Yeah, I know. I remember decorating the tree with tears in my eyes. It was rough, but you know, you hold out hope that maybe something will change but eventually you have to accept it and move on. We were heartbroken after we learned the show wouldn’t be returning. It worked out though for me because there were many challenges I faced filming the show, as a therapist you see clients regularly so when you are filming and traveling it’s hard to see them often, even with down time.

KJ McCormick, Samantha Hawes, Dustin Pari, Steve Gosalves, Jason Hawes, Dave Tango.
Ghost Hunters Fortress of Phantoms Episode 1007 – Pictured: (l-r) KJ McCormick, Samantha Hawes, Dustin Pari, Steve Gosalves, Jason Hawes, Dave Tango – (Photo by: Nick Mele/Syfy)

RD: It must have been hard trying to do the show and maintain your business!

KL: It was hard filming the show at times, we never really knew when we had time off, then there was the fire, and other challenges. It was nice to get back to my day job as a hypnotherapist after the show ended. It is something that I love to do. I love to help people.

RD: Is anyone still trying to bring Ghost Mine back?

KL: They are always trying, the fans write in and say, ‘why don’t you try out for the Travel Channel’, but I am not quite sure how that works because SyFy owns Ghost Mine, so they would have to sell it and I don’t know if they would be willing to do that. There have been lots of ideas, but it is always easier to do things when you have a big company backing you.

RD: Do you have any appearances coming up?

KL: Yeah, Patrick and Jay and I are going to investigate Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri later in October to do an investigation with Strange Escapes, so that is going to be really fun. I will get to work with some investigators that I really admire like Amy Bruni and Adam Berry. It is also my birthday that weekend, October 15th.

Kristen Luman and Patrick Doyle from Ghost Mine, Season:2
Kristen Luman and Patrick Doyle Ghost Mine – Season:2

RD: Well Happy Birthday! What better way to spend it than at a winery and sample the merchandise?

KL: (laughs) yeah, I get to sample some of the wine and I get to investigate.

RD: So I see you are appearing on Ghost Hunters this season, how exciting!

KL: Yeah, I am just appearing as a guest investigator. I am not sure if I should be talking about it or not. The 3 episodes I was in have already aired at this point. I was actually in several investigations – the Wild Turkey Distillery, the Culinary Institute of America and a couple others.

RD: How bad did you want to sample the product while you were investigating at the distillery?

KL: Oh pretty bad, I mean later we were able to, but not during the investigation. I am an Irish girl so I like my whiskey. The woman whose family owned the distillery was just so sweet. I remember one night we were having dinner and she said with a southern accent ‘Now you’re Irish aren’t ya?’ She was so nice and a beautiful example of coming from an Irish family and running a distillery.

RD: Will you be doing any more shows with them in the future?

KL: I don’t know – it depends, they kind of invite guests on and everyone gets to share ideas and learn about each other and it’s wonderful.

RD: So how was it working with such a legendary group of paranormal investigators?

KL: I loved working with them because I learn from other investigators all the time and I hope they can learn from me as well. It’s always fun to work together and see everyone’s techniques. I learned a lot from KJ. I thought it was really great how he paid attention to the historical part of the investigations then used the information to try and connect with the spirits. He brings it to another level. Those things are really important. Personal questions, family names, what they like to do when they were alive, these types of questions are a great tool to use when you are trying to get responses.

RD: How do you think your time on Ghost Mine helped you on Ghost Hunters?

KL: It is a different group, with Ghost Hunters you trade off more with people.

RD: So you got to work with each investigator’s different style. Was that tough to do, do you think it affects the investigation?

KL: I think it is fascinating how the spirits are energy and we are energy, so I asked a lot of the guys, KJ, and everyone else if they found when they worked with certain team mates they experience more paranormal activity. My thinking is that the living are drawn to people they relate to, and it makes you open up more around them. So I wonder how the energy each investigator puts out influences the spirits and if it makes them want to communicate more with certain people.

RD: So are you happy to not be risking your life anymore down in that old mine in Oregon?

KL: (Laughs) yeah, that mine was difficult. It was a lot more comfortable investigating with Ghost Hunters because I didn’t have to wear big heavy boots and I could breathe better, and I wasn’t freezing the entire time, so that was a welcome difference. I will say this, in spite of the hardships, those 2 summers I spent filming Ghost Mine was the happiest time of my life.

RD:Ever think about being on other shows?

KL: Yeah I would love to, and whenever I am asked to, I jump at the chance. I love working with different people and investigators and learn a lot from them. I have another show I will be a part of called “Behind the Screams” and that is on Reelz TV, Saturday at 9pm, Patrick is on it too, but we didn’t get to work together. We are on the episodes about the Conjuring, the Warrens, Fire in the sky, Alien abduction, and the Exorcist. We talk about the real life stories that inspired these movies and give our expert opinions on how this trauma can affect their lives. The first three episodes of the show they talk about films that were made about serial killers. Last night they did one on Ted Bundy, on how he inspired Silence of the Lambs. It was cool to be asked our opinion of these different paranormal events.

ghosthunterlogo
GHOST HUNTERS Pictured: Ghost Hunters Logo – (Photo by: Syfy)

RD: Sounds like a fascinating show. I always thought it would be a great idea to have a show that goes around and investigates all the houses from the famous horror movies like the Amityville horror house or the Texas Chainsaw massacre house.

KL: That is a great idea. You should put that out there and suggest Patrick and me to star in it (laughs).

RD: Ok here goes, how about it all you show runners out there? Let’s put together a show starring Patrick and Kristen as they go around and investigate all the houses where legendary horror movies got filmed, and don’t forget about a little spot on the crew for a talented paranormal investigative reporter like me. Think it will work Kristen?

Don’t forget to tune in to SyFy this fall, the network has an awesome line up of shows like Ghost Hunters, Paranormal Witness, Haven and Z Nation or go to syfy.com for more information about their programming.

Russell W. Dickson, lives in upstate NY, and is a Freelance journalist. He has written for both print and online news/opinion pages.Russell holds a B.A. in English, minor Journalism from The University at Albany, Albany, NY. His writing experience spans more than a decade and his work has graced the pages of newspapers, magazines, online news orgs, and political websites in both the U.S. and abroad.