Milwaukee’s Paranormal Conference is returning for its 11th consecutive year on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Kochnanski’s Concertina Beer Hall. Attendees can expect a frightening night of drinking, folktales and firsthand stories from two Milwaukee ghost hunting experts.
Organized by Wisconsin native Mike Huberty, whose sister, Allison Jornlin, founded Milwaukee Ghost Tours in 2008 after a lifetime interest in the occult. For the past decade, the siblings have shared that love with fellow supernatural enthusiasts at ParaCon.
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The conference was first founded in 2015, by local writer Tea Krulos. Who first met the duo after working as a guide at Milwaukee Ghost Tours. He gave the siblings a table at the inaugural Paranormal Conference; and they’ve been returning ever since. Years later Krulos passed the baton on to Huberty after his work at Krampusnacht, an alternative holiday festival, kept him too busy to run the event.
“He told me he didn’t just want to let this thing die, and asked, ‘do you want to take it on,’” Huberty said. “I was like, well, whatever we can do to support tourism in Milwaukee is something we’d love to do.”
This year’s ParaCon will host a slew of spooky performers, from Dan Stair the UFO expert to electrical violinist Wendy Lynn Markus. Guests can even share their own ghost stories at the open mic kickoff event.
“People should come to the Milwaukee Paranormal conference because you don’t know what you don’t know, and if you come to see us, you’re gonna learn some of the most incredible things,” Jornlin said. “You don’t have to believe in ghosts; you just have to believe that people everywhere do tell these stories.”
Guests can tune into Jornlin’s presentation, where she will be sharing stories from her new Milwaukee ghost story collection “In the Shadow of City Hall.” Attendees can also stroll to Kochnanski’s outdoor beer garden and grab a brew as they browse 15 quirky vendors, selling everything from macabre art to divination sets.
“It’s gonna be a full day of weirdness, and it’s free,” remarked Huberty. “If you’re curious about the paranormal, it’s a perfect opportunity to explore and if you don’t like it, the worst thing that happens is you buy a beer and then go home.”
Over 200 people are already slated to attend ParaCon and tickets are free.
