Although spooky season is months behind us, those who embrace the paranormal do so year-round. And, if you are one of them, then “Ghosts: Do You Believe?” is the show for you, filled with ghost stories and encounters.
“Ghosts: Do You Believe?” features Dustin Pari as the host, best known for his work on “Ghost Hunters,” “Ghost Hunters International,” and “Ghost Nation,” among others, and he is well versed in the paranormal through research and lectures that he has done around the country.
If that’s not enough for you, it might be interesting to note that I conducted an interview with Pari twice because the recording of our first interview ended up being completely silent for the duration of the fifteen minutes we talked. And I’d done two other interviews that day with no issues.
Technical issues or ghostly interference? We may never know.
“Ghosts: Do You Believe?” is an interactive experience that dives into the riveting paranormal evidence and shares ghost stories that defy explanation.
“I really feel like a lot of people are expecting just ghost stories, ghost pictures, evidence and, of course, we have that,” Pari said. “But I feel like I’ve crafted a bigger story about our own mortality and the human experience. I think it’ll give people some food for thought and make them kind of ask like larger questions about life.”
Pari was able to create the show from scratch, from the content to the story arc.
“Everything’s been in my hands,” he said. “So, it’s got a great team of people that are putting all the elements together, but all of it comes from my ideas. And then they just kind of tweak it as we need as we go along.”
The tour has 36 stops across the United States and is the first of its kind that Pari is participating in.
“I think it’s gonna be crazy. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’ll be really interesting as a presenter to be up there. To do something of this level, and we’re really excited,” Pari said. “It kind of resonates with people more than they think it’s going to I’m excited to kind of have that opportunity to talk to so many people.”
The tour begins on April 2 in Fargo, North Dakota, and Pari has been in the midst of rehearsals to prepare and make sure things go off without a hitch. He has also been curating some music to play before shows to get him in the zone.
“I downloaded a whole bunch of music from the band ‘Ghost,’ which I really like,” he said. “The name aside, I really enjoy their music and I just need something new to kind of get me pumped up for the shows.”
Pari has been drawn to many ghosts in his lifetime: his fascination with the paranormal began with an encounter he had with a spirit in his childhood home, and, at the time, hoped to never see anything like that again.
A wish that would not be granted, and his childhood self might be surprised to find out Pari would encounter many more paranormal experiences throughout his career.
“Some of my favorite tales come from overseas, various countries I’ve visited, castles I’ve investigated, but one of my favorite ones is St. Augustine, Florida, where I witnessed the apparition of a woman walking inside the lighthouse,” he said. “For years that was kind of like the Holy Grail, I’d never seen anything like that. To finally witness it was quite amazing.”
Pari was also picked up and thrown in a castle he investigated in Ireland, Leap Castle.
“That was kind of like the definitive moment of my investigation career, I suppose,” he said. “All the years I’ve done this, I’ve never had that type of activity before. But whatever was there, they refer to it as the elemental nature spirit, it definitely didn’t care for the way I was conducting my investigation.
“At the time, I was kind of headstrong, and I wasn’t very respectful of the spiritual realm like I am today,” he said.“And so, I think that moment, whatever it was lifting me up and dropping me on the ground, really changed my perspective of everything and completely altered the way that I approach my investigations and spirit research.”
Pari will be sure to bring that respect and openness to his tour as he travels and investigates different theaters across the country, including his stop at Val Air Ballroom on April 4.
Tickets start at $29.50, and you can purchase them through AXS.