Experience Galena's Original and
#1 Rated Ghost Tour
Locally Owned and Operated for over 20 Years!
Speakers & Presenters
ROBYN DAVIS & TED WILLIAMS
Ted and Robyn are thrilled you are here!! Your hosts for the Haunted Galena Conference own The Haunted Galena Tour Company, and were co-creators of Galena's first ghost tour back in 2001. Robyn has an undergrad degree in History and a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology. She blends these two disciplines to study the history of past events that have led to hauntings and interpret the motivation of those involved. Ted has been fascinated (and occasionally confronted) by the paranormal since his arrival in Galena in 1995, He has spent the last 23 years researching Galena history and the paranormal. Ted enjoys studying esoterica and proposing theoretical solutions to mysteries. Also a writer, Ted was honored to be named Galena's first Poet Laureate in 2024. Robyn and Ted live in an 1892 restored schoolhouse with their Golden Doodle Winn-Dixie.
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TROY TAYLOR:
Troy Taylor is the author of more than 150 books on history, hauntings, true crime, the unexplained, and the supernatural in America. He is the founder of American Hauntings Ink, which offers books, events and ghost tours, and is the owner of the American Oddities Museum in Alton, Illinois. He is also the writer and co-host of the American Hauntings Podcast. He has appeared in numerous television shows and documentaries, and his book about the St. Louis Exorcism of 1949 is currently under option to be turned into a film by a major production company.
SHERRI BRAKE:
Sherri Brake is an author, lecturer and paranormal investigator. She owns the award-winning "Haunted Heartland Tours" and has instructed classes on the paranormal while also finding time to consult on a few paranormal television shows, lead yearly adventure tours to Ireland and Scotland, and offers tours and ghost hunts in several states.
She has written numerous books on hauntings in Ohio and West Virginia, is a member of a number or different historical and heritage societies and lives on a 100-acre farm in central West Virginia with her family. And yes,
their house is "slightly" haunted!
KEVIN LEE NELSON:
Kevin Lee Nelson is an author, researcher and adventurer. He has written and lectured on topics of the paranormal, the occult, and folklore for over twenty years. Kevin has appeared on ABC's Scariest Places on Earth, Discovery Channel's Mystery Hunters and Discovery Channel's Travelers. Kevin is the co-author of the Back Roads Lore Series, The Van Meter Visitor: A True and Mysterious Encounter with the Unknown, Wendigo Lore: Monsters, Myths and Madness, The Big Muddy Monster: Legends, Sightings & Other Strange Encounters and is a contributing
author to a number of anthologies on American monster folklore. He is a founding member of the folkloric collective Back Roads Lore and currently lives in Wisconsin. A nomad at heart, Kevin spends much of his time roaming America's back roads in his black muscle car hunting down strange legends and mysterious encounters.
TEA KRULOS:
Tea Krulos is a journalist and author of five books, including Monster Hunters, American Madness, and Wisconsin Legends and Lore. He is also the Director of Milwaukee's annual Krampusnacht, a guide for American Ghost Walks and co-host of the Tea's Weird Weekly podcast. You can find more info at: teakrulos.com
KATHI KRESOL:
Kathi Kresol is an author, historian and founder of Haunted Rockford Paranormal Events. Kathi is fascinated by stories of the darker side of local history and loves exploring the backroads of Illinois and Wisconsin, searching for stories of the odd and unusual. She shares the tales she discovers through her writings and presentations. Kathi has also hosted paranormal events for over 20 years in the Northern Illinois area. She loves sharing these stories with others who also have a passion for haunted locations. ​
KARI BERGEN:
Kari Bergen is an intuitive assemblage artist; paranormal investigator, lover of strange and forgotten history, and owner of the art and historical oddities shop, Ephemera Obscura. She is a lifelong sensitive who has spent the last 20+ years studying the metaphysical and investigating the paranormal. Kari is the author of "The Ghost of Floyd Collins" article in Troy Taylor's "The Morbid Curious" No.4. She has given presentations for Atlas Obscura on topics such as Victorian Mourning, Postmortem Photography, and the History of Disaster Tourism and After Hours talks at the Haunted America Conference on Dreaming of the Dead, Messages from the Dead, and the Care and Handling of Haunted Objects. She and her haunted doll orphanage appear in the documentary, "A Haunting in Blue Hill." Kari was featured in the recently released book, A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls by Fiona Dodwell.
KAT ARMSTRONG:
Kat Armstrong, Co-Founder of Paranormal Exposures and Intuitive Medium of Katomancy, has been teaching various metaphysical classes including candle magic, herbal practices, mediumship, forms of scrying and haunted objects. Kat has had paranormal experiences since her childhood and eventually became a paranormal investigator. She currently is a representative for the Edinburgh Manor, one of the most haunted locations in the Midwest. She has been speaking at events since 2018 and teaches both in person and online classes. She will also be providing intuitive Tarot and Oracle readings on Saturday this year at the Haunted Galena Conference. Kat is excited to be joining the Haunted Galena Conference as a workshop presenter, reader and assisting with the after-hours investigations again this year.
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DANA STRICKER
A born psychic medium, Dana has been reading professionally since the age of 15 and has been communicating with the "other side" for as long as she can remember. Known for her candid approach, Dana's readings while both uncharacteristic and unpredictable (haha) have been revered, endorsed and validated on every professional level. While she excels in both psychic and mediumship ability, Dana is known for her exceptional skills in "remote readings." She is also a known and very well-established medical intuitive. In addition to reading professionally worldwide, Dana has worked closely with multiple police municipalities nationwide on numerous missing persons and cold case investigations. Why did Dana bring her abilities into the genre of healing? "Because I can and I should. If you have the capacity to help others, you always should. It's the right thing to do. It is a responsibility I don't take lightly." Dana has a strong presence on social media and is one half of the successful, GET REAL with Deb and Dana podcast alongside co-host Deb DeRousse, as well as the Voices of Contact podcast with several members of the paranormal and UAP community. Dana can be contacted via email at Hauntedspiritgirl@yahoo.com or via her social media accounts: https//www.facebook.com/DanaStricker/ or @hauntedspiritgirl1968 on Instagram.