The Signal: An Upstate NY Ghost Walk Revives, a Tavern's Jail-Yard History Gets a Documentary, and Kindred Spirits Eyes a Comeback

No gear news to report this week — more on that below, honestly labeled. Instead, three stories: a small-town historical society bringing its ghost walk back for the season, a 119-year-old tavern building whose old-jail history is about to get a full documentary treatment, and a well-known TV investigating duo trying to find their show a new home. Every claim below is sourced — links at the bottom so you can read the original reporting yourself.

Ellicottville’s Ghost Walks Are Back, and the Historian Running Them Has a Story to Tell

The Ellicottville Historical Society, in the ski-town village of Ellicottville, New York, brought back its guided ghost walks this month — five Friday nights running September 25 through October 30, starting at the Town Hall Gazebo and winding through the United Church, the Jefferson Street Cemetery, and the Historical Museum before wrapping up. Tickets are $15, cash or check, and the whole thing runs about two hours.

The tours are led by Ellen Frank, the town historian, and she’s not shy about why people show up. She told The Villager about an incident during one of the group’s own investigations at the museum: after she touched an item on display, a Spirit Box reportedly told her, in its own static-cut way, to “please stop touching my coat.” It’s a small, specific, slightly funny anecdote — exactly the kind of thing that separates a real local ghost-tour tradition from a generic haunted hayride. The society is also hosting a related event on October 6: author and paranormal researcher Mason Winfield gives a free talk at the Randolph Public Library, reservations required.

An Asheville Tavern’s Old-Jail Past Is Getting a Documentary

Pack’s Tavern in Asheville, North Carolina — housed in a building constructed in 1907, right next to what used to be the old Buncombe County jail — is being investigated on camera by First in Fright Paranormal, a touring team that investigates rumored-haunted locations around the country. The resulting documentary is expected sometime between December 2026 and January 2027.

The building’s own history does a lot of the work here: it allegedly served as a distribution point during Prohibition, with a bricked-up tunnel in the basement as the physical evidence; the jail next door reportedly saw two executions in 1902; and a bail bondsman who briefly leased space in the old jail building said he heard footsteps and rattling keys before giving up the lease. Staff and guests separately report a recurring “Lady in White,” tied to the local Women’s Christian Temperance Union, seen in the basement near Room 10. We can’t verify any of that firsthand, and neither can First in Fright yet — that’s the point of an investigation. We’ll keep an eye out for the actual documentary once it’s out and see whether it holds up.

Kindred Spirits Is Trying to Come Back — On a Streaming Service, Not a Network

Amy Bruni and Adam Berry — the same duo whose “Strange Escapes” work you’ll recognize from our own homepage — are working to revive Kindred Spirits, this time on Beacon TV, a smaller streaming service built specifically around paranormal, true-crime, and horror programming rather than a traditional cable network. Bruni posted a trailer to Facebook this year teasing the reunion, and Beacon TV has been positioning itself as a home for paranormal creators who’d rather build their own platform than pitch a network.

This one’s personal for us — we met Amy and Adam in person at their Strange Escapes event in Gettysburg, and we’re genuinely looking forward to seeing Kindred Spirits back on screen. No exact premiere date has been announced yet — “this fall” is as specific as it’s gotten — but this is a real, concrete effort from two investigators we can vouch for firsthand, on an actual named platform.

Gear Trends: Influencer-Branded Ghost Hunting Devices Are Their Own Small Category Now

Not breaking news, just a trend worth naming plainly: paranormal-adjacent YouTube and social creators are increasingly putting their own names on entry-level ghost-hunting devices, sold direct through Amazon and similar retailers rather than through the usual paranormal-equipment shops. The Sam and Colby XPLR Spirit Box — combining AM/FM scanning, an EMF detector, and a temperature sensor in one budget unit, named for paranormal YouTubers Sam Golbach and Colby Brock — is one visible example, and it’s been on the market since at least earlier this year, not new this week. We’re noting it as a category shift (creator-branded gear reaching beginners who’d otherwise never visit a dedicated equipment retailer), not as a new product announcement, because it isn’t one.

Got a location, a case, or a strange find of your own? Send it our way — we go where the evidence points.

Sources

• The Villager — “Ellicottville Ghost Walks Historical Society Hosts Tours Fridays through October”
• 828 News NOW (Asheville) — “Pack’s Tavern ghost stories to be featured in paranormal documentary”
• Conskipper — “Amy Bruni & Adam Berry Resurrect ‘Kindred Spirits’ on Beacon TV Streaming Service”
• Haunt Gears — “Sam and Colby XPLR Spirit Box for Paranormal Use”