The first-ever NWI ParaCon took attendees further down the rabbit hole of the paranormal, exploring local mysteries on Saturday at the historic Great Oaks Events and Banquets in Cedar Lake.
While the numbers are still being tallied, organizer Earl Gundelach, of St. John, said about 300 people flocked to the event.
“I didn’t expect so many people to stay as long as they did,” Gundelach said. “When they first came in, I think people didn’t know what to expect. And then they were enthralled and time just flew by. There was a lot of friendship and camaraderie the whole day, and I love that.”
Some speakers, such as Michael Shane and Julie Adreani, worked to connect with guardian angels and spirits on the other side, allowing the audience to ask questions about deceased loved ones and life events. Others were investigators who revealed details of their most interesting paranormal cases and the local folklore they had researched.
“We had such a great mix of things,” Gundelach said. “Great food, tarot card readings, artistry, the metaphysical, folklore, ghosts — it was a very well-rounded event.”
Voices echoed through the theater as speakers played recordings they captured, in which one spirit pleads “Help me!,” during an investigation at The Little Red Schoolhouse in Hessville.
“Why someone needed help in the basement of a school house built in the 1800s, we didn’t know,” founder of Northwest Indiana Paranormal Pete Ghrist, of Griffith, told the crowd. “But we went back to try to engage with them.”
Mike McDowell, founder of the Northwest Indiana Ghost Trackers and Chaos Historical and Haunted Tours, shared a story about a voice captured while investigating supernatural activity at a Cedar Lake farm.
While present, McDowell said he and the homeowner connected with a spirit. When they asked why the being was at the location, there was a mysterious single-word reply captured on an audio recorder, he said. While the voice was distinct, they had no idea what the word meant.
McDowell’s research led him to learn of a fight between the Potawatomi people, who first inhabited Cedar Lake, and settlers that ended with many deaths. Because of this, he contacted a Potawatomi language expert, who was at first hesitant to hear them out. But when he eventually agreed to listen to the electronic voice phenomenon, he was taken aback.
“He said, ‘What you have here is a voice from 300 years ago’,” McDowell told the audience. “And the only way he knew that is because he is one of the few versed in ancient dialects of that language.”
The word meant “Mother Earth,” McDowell said. While present at the property, McDowell also caught on camera some clusters of glowing orbs, which some would call fairies or elementals.
Attendees were also curious about familiar places with supernatural stories, including a query about Southeast Grove Cemetery in Eagle Creek Township in unincorporated Crown Point. It’s said that more than a century ago, a group of Roma people perished from illness after being spurned by locals, and their bodies were buried on the grounds.
Ghrist, who is also a Griffith Police Officer, recalled a trip he took to the cemetery with the Griffith High School Paranormal Society by school bus to learn about the history and do some investigating. After they re-boarded the bus, it wouldn’t start, despite his best efforts. Luckily, he arranged for squad cars to shuttle the kids back home, and a tow truck returned in the morning. However, the next day the bus started up with no problem.
“I feel like something didn’t want us to leave,” Ghrist said. “It wanted to keep us there.”
Local business owners and artists had booths where they sold merchandise and networked with other vendors.
Jack Chavez and Tony Szabelski, both of Chicago, made a presentation about Chicago and Indiana folklore and history. They explored supernatural occurrences at Lincoln Park Zoo, which has bodies buried under the petting zoo section, as well as black panther and Bigfoot sightings in Indiana.
“There was one documented in LaPorte County in October 2008,” Chavez said. “A bow hunter was up in a tree stand waiting for deer when he saw a Bigfoot walk by and disappear into the brush. There have also been sightings in Illinois, but more so in the Midlothian area and by Bachelor’s Grove.”
Historic Location
After the event ended, a paranormal investigation was conducted at the location, which dates back to one of the first big businesses in Cedar Lake, the Armour Brothers. It first started as a slaughterhouse and has served many functions since then.
Great Oaks Events and Banquets owner Michael Kopec bought the building in May 2022 from longtime owner Tom McAdams who owned it for 28 years.
“We get asked why we did it, why we kept this place alive, and the answer is: Because we need it,” Kopec said. “It’s a place for tradition, family and friends. I’m very philanthropic, and I want to be a resource for the community.”
Being the first year for the convention, he said he wasn’t sure what to expect. But when he saw that 150 people had already bought tickets online before the event, he felt encouraged. He said he looks forward to making it a tradition with next year’s NWI Paracon.
“These types of events are why I get up in the morning, it gives me purpose,” Kopec said. “When we took over the place, it needed a lot of love. It is more than 100 years old.”
A golden, art-deco style chandelier that is original to the building still hangs in the center of the upstairs main room, while the stage downstairs has velvety red theater seats that are remnants from the now-razed Star Plaza Theater.
“There’s definitely an energy here, and there’s too much history here for this to become history,” Kopec said.
Kopec and Chrissy Eriksson, Great Oaks’ co-owner, both have had unexplained experiences and very recently welcomed their first paranormal investigation in the building for the event.
“There’s a very rich history here,” Eriksson said. “There’s been a lot of interesting things, but nothing scary or uncomfortable, but just something that’s here. It’s not negative.”
During the investigation, a group went to an old barn that’s near the building and found old projector slides of family photos. Gundelach said they also captured a photo near the downstairs theater, which shows what could be a spirit-like figure behind a female attendee.
“The ‘K2 Meters’ which are what read electromagnetic forces, were going off really strong in the seance area, and then over by stage, the motion detector box was going off. I told Denise to take some photos and in one of them, it looks like a figure looking out from behind their head,” Gundelach said.
Gundelach said he looks forward to next year, where he plans to invite advocates for historical preservation such as Dwight Snethen, who was part of a group that saved the historic Fowler Theater in Fowler, Indiana from being cut up into warehouses. Fowler Theater reportedly has seen paranormal activity as well.
“Our theme next year is going to be how paranormal teams are aiding communities by keeping these beautiful historical buildings alive,” Gundelach said. “People are saving these buildings that would otherwise not be around anymore.”
Anna Ortiz is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
