Ufologist Grant Cameron is not the same investigator he was when he began studying the phenomenon in 1975.
Back then, he was leading tours in southern Manitoba to see the mysterious object known as Charlie Red Star. He said he did not spend much time thinking about the invisible lines separating the study of ghosts, UFOs and cryptids.
Today, he believes those subjects may be connected. It’s an idea he plans to explore as a keynote speaker at the first annual Cari-Boo-Con in 108 Mile Ranch, B.C., this September.
It’s a June evening in British Columbia and Cameron is discussing experiencers who claim to have been aboard spacecraft and are now reporting encounters with the dead.
“They’re seeing ghosts. They’re channelling and all this kind of stuff,” he said during a phone interview. “They suddenly pick up all this psi stuff and you realize it’s connected.”
Psi refers to psychic phenomena believed to operate beyond the traditional five senses, including telepathy, psychokinesis, extrasensory perception and the four clairs: clairaudience, claircognizance, clairsentience and clairvoyance.
Cameron has appeared on Dave Scott’s Spaced Out Radio many times over the years and the two have developed a strong working relationship. Scott is organizing the convention, which aims to introduce more British Columbians to the world of the paranormal.
“We tend to think that these subjects are scary,” Scott said. “It’s not intended to scare people. It’s about celebrating the uniqueness and the high strangeness in our area.”
Sasquatch, or Sabe, sightings are common throughout B.C.’s Interior. The province also has a high concentration of UFO sightings, including reports from the Stawamus Chief in Squamish, while the historic Gold Rush Trail is filled with reportedly haunted locations.
“It’s not just a conference. Once the speakers are done for the day, people can go on a ghost tour. They could go for a UFO skywatch if the weather is cooperating,” Scott said. “We’re also going to take a select few people to one of my known Sasquatch locations. We’re going to tour the area and show them what we do and why we do things the way we do.”
Twelve speakers will cover topics ranging from haunted landmarks and UAP disclosure to cryptozoology, energy awareness and multidimensional realities. The event is centred around the 108 Mile Heritage Site and Scott’s museum project, Haunted 108.
“We’re trying to promote paranormal tourism in British Columbia, especially along the Gold Rush Trail,” Scott said during a late-May phone interview.
He added that he recently discovered 18½-inch tracks at one of his research locations. Although a plaster cast could not be made because the track was found in moss, investigators took numerous photographs.
Corine Carey, Kelly Ireland and Leanne Sallenback of Beyond the Haunting will also be at Cari-Boo-Con as speakers. Carey and Sallenback have had their own reported Sasquatch encounter at their mother’s home and are looking forward to visiting 108 Mile House, particularly because they have never investigated there before.
“This is where we got our start in this industry and the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail is where we kicked off our documentary Haunted Gold Rush, so this is a special event for us,” Carey wrote in an email. “It’s in our own backyard and definitely has special significance for all three of us.”
For those travelling from Vancouver and communities such as New Westminster, the journey to 108 Mile House offers an opportunity to retrace portions of the historic Gold Rush Trail.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity to blend history with the paranormal and it’s all here in B.C., so that’s a bonus for us,” the History’s Most Haunted co-host added.
Cari-Boo-Con runs Sept. 18-20 and also features speakers Brent Thomas, R. Keith Andrews, Jacob Rice, Courtney Marchesani, Mike Morin, also known as Merle from Paranormal Roadtrippers, Lee Strauss, Paisley Town, Samantha Mowat and Christian MacLeod.
Tickets are available through the event website. All profits from the convention will support the 108 Mile Heritage Site.
“We want to do our bit to give back to such a beautiful place that allows us so much paranormal fun and enjoyment,” Scott said.