What Happened at Braley Pond

Located in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Braley Pond is a popular recreational area located 30 minutes outside of Staunton, Virginia. It’s also one of the most haunted campsites in the United States. Reports of spirits hovering above the water there, and the sounds of laughing children have been heard at night. Though rumors of at least one suicide have been reported there, the 2003 gang murder of Christopher S. Kennedy is what most locals believe is the cause of Braley Pond’s mysterious paranormal occurrences.Six months after Kenedy’s murder, Shea Willis and her friend Chris Pugh, two well-known local paranormal investigators, took a trip to Braley Pond to investigate the hauntings themselves. What they found was unlike anything they’d ever experienced before.What Happened at Braley Pond is a 9-part exploratory podcast about our need to understand the unknown. It’s about our search for bigger truths, about life and death and the hereafter, about our need for connection, not just with each other, but with the loved ones we’ve lost in our lives.

Braley Pond is a 4-and-a-half acre recreational area located in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest — just 30 minutes west of Staunton, Virginia.  On May 22, 2003, 19-year-old Christopher S. Kennedy was murdered by local gang members. Two of the members lured Kennedy to Braley Pond, stabbed him 13 times in the chest and back, and then dumped his body into the water. Six months later, Shea Willis and Chris Pugh, two local paranormal investigators, visited Braley Pond to look into rumors of strange occurrences happening there - ghostly figures hovering above the water, the sounds of children laughing at night, and an evil, unexplainable presence lurking there. What they found was unlike anything they could have ever imagined. Charles Moss - Creator & HostMike Trebilcock - Sound Designer & ComposerBill Colrus - Story EditorShelton Brown - Logo DesignKeith Finch - Additional ArtworkAshton Lance - Web Developer

Seth Tinsley explains in detail how the events of May 22, 2003 unfolded, why he and another member of the Staunton-based gang Gangsta Disciples, lured Chris Kennedy to Braley Pond and murdered him, and the aftermath. Kennedy’s childhood best friend, Kevin  Robertson, reminisces about growing up together with Chris, his feelings about losing his friend so young, and how he heard about the murder.   Charles Moss - Creator & HostMike Trebilcock - Sound Designer & ComposerBill Colrus - Story EditorShelton Brown - Logo DesignKeith Finch - Additional ArtworkAshton Lance - Web developer

The events at Braley Pond were only the beginning of Shea Wilis’ troubles. She is plagued by mysterious events in the months that follow and her young son Zack is convinced he sees the ghost of Chis Kennedy in their house. Shea also goes into her background as an energy worker and empath and the troubled childhood she experienced because of them. Her mother Jennifer Hensley also talks about her own abilities, and we are introduced to their mentor, Joey Korn, who owns and operates Dowsers.com, a website that offers spiritual services and products such as space clearing, retreats, and dowsing tools. Charles Moss - Creator & HostMike Trebilcock - Sound Designer & ComposerBill Colrus - Story EditorShelton Brown - Logo DesignKeith Finch - Additional ArtworkAshton Lance - Web developer

Gang-related violence was rampant across Virginia in the early 2000s.  In this episode, Ginny Newman, director of the Central Shenandoah Valley Office on Youth, talks about the Staunton area’s gang problem during the time of Chris Kennedy’s murder. Seth Tinsley, along with his sister and mother, reflects on his troubled childhood, and Jeff Kennedy, Chris’ father, as well as Kevin Robertson, Chris’s childhood best friend, talk about the path that led him to join a gang, and the choices Chris made that ultimately led to his death.  Charles Moss - Creator & HostMike Trebilcock - Sound Designer & ComposerBill Colrus - Story EditorShelton Brown - Logo DesignKeith Finch - Additional ArtworkAshton Lance - Web Developer

Staunton, Virginia has a rich history that goes back to 1738. But it’s the paranormal aspect of the city’s history that fascinates local ghost hunters like Marty Siebel, Curtis Lee Wimer, Dawn Biery, and others. The paranormal community in Staunton is tight, where everyone knows each other. Of course, this community is not without its controversies, some of which are explored in this episode, along with Staunton’s most haunted places. Another kind of paranormal investigator, a science enthusiast named Kenny Biddle, voices his opinion on the legitimacy of what Shea experienced at Braley Pond, along with parapsychologist Brandon Massullo, author of The Ghost Studies, a book that answers the questions, “What are ghosts and what causes them? Charles Moss - Creator & HostMike Trebilcock - Sound Designer & ComposerBill Colrus - Story EditorShelton Brown - Logo DesignKeith Finch - Additional ArtworkAshton Lance - Web Developer

Logan Guinn isn’t like other paranormal investigators. He describes himself as more of a demon hunter, someone who doesn’t waste time on spiritual chants or rituals. Together with his wife Brynne, they seek out spirits, ghosts, and demons and kick their asses. At least that’s how he describes it. Logan has a knack for the dramatic. But he also believes he knows what’s going on at Braley Pond, and it’s not from this world or dimension. Shea Willis and her mother Jennifer also go into more of their past experiences with strange creatures that seem to have followed them throughout their lives.  Charles Moss - Creator & HostMike Trebilcock - Sound Designer & ComposerBill Colrus - Story EditorShelton Brown - Logo DesignKeith Finch - Additional ArtworkAshton Lance - Web DeveloperInterested in learning more about Dybbuk boxes? Here’s a link to my article for Input Magazine.