Travel Channel has announced the premiere of a new paranormal series titled “Haunting in the Heartland,” featuring paranormal investigator and documentary filmmaker Steve Shippy as he visits Midwestern towns that have been traumatized for generations by unexplained paranormal experiences.
Growing up in rural Michigan, Shippy uses his own personal experiences to make intimate connections with the families who’ve reached out to him for help. Through eyewitness accounts, town archives, visits to historic sites and his own paranormal toolkit, Shippy explores emerging theories until a full picture of the town’s ghostly protagonist appears, and a peaceful resolution can be formulated. On his journey through a new heartland town in each of the six one-hour episodes, Shippy seeks to directly confront the entity and bring closure to the people of the town. This season will aim to provide true investigative closure to the mystery of paranormal presence found in Malvern, Iowa (pop. 7,621), Atchison, Kansas (pop. 10,636), Hebron, Kentucky (pop. 5,929), Merrill, Michigan (pop. 735), Holly Springs, Mississippi (pop. 7,621) and Greeneville, Tennessee (pop. 15,062).
“Growing up in a haunted house in a small Midwestern town, I understand the isolation of the experience, and it was only when others in town started to have similar experiences that I realized I wasn’t alone,” said Shippy. “Like my documentaries, working on this show is truly my life’s work. These small towns have a bigger story to tell, and in order to find the resolution these families need now, we need to piece together their past.”
In the premiere episode, Shippy travels to the old farming village of Merrill, Michigan, to confront an evil spirit holding the town hostage since the 1800s. In the summer of 1974, the hauntings seemed to spread when a malevolent force invaded a family farm, spurring a massive investigation by the local and state police and fire departments, and even the FBI. The reign of terror culminated in a spontaneous fire, forcing family members to eventually flee the home they’d built by hand. The encounters never ceased and today, less than a mile away, another family is under siege by something so powerful, they fear for their safety. Joining forces with local authorities and historians, Shippy uncovers a town ravaged by a smallpox epidemic and tragic fires, and a shocking connection to another notorious haunting. Shippy enlists the help of a clairvoyant to dispel the evil entity before another heartland family is forced from their home.
“Haunting in the Heartland” will premiere on the Travel Channel on Friday, February 21 at 10 PM ET/PT.
