Everything You Need To Know About Netflix's '28 Days Haunted' Experiment, Locations & Paranormal Investigation Teams
This article is more than two years old and was last updated in February 2024.
Photo: © Netflix
'28 Days Haunted' landed on Netflix on October 21, bringing the ghost hunting genre to a whole new potential audience. The six-part series sees three teams of investigators locked down inside of three haunted locations across America in Colorado, North Carolina and Connecticut.
The teams spent four weeks together and were given the chance to participate in a paranormal experiment based on the theories of the late, Ed and Lorraine Warren. The husband-and-wife investigation team are perhaps the most famous in US history, some of their 10,000 cases have been adapted into the biggest horror movies of all time, including 'The Conjuring' series.
To ensure the smooth running of the series, Netflix called in Tony Spera, the son-in-law of the Warrens. As well as serving as a paranormal consultant on the series, he also hosts alongside Aaron Sagers, a familiar face in the paranormal world having previously appeared on the US version of 'Paranormal Caught On Camera' and 'Paranormal Paparazzi', as well as making guest appearances on 'Portals To Hell' and 'Paranormal Lockdown'.
If you're just getting stuck in to the series, here's everything you need to know about the ground-breaking paranormal experiment and the teams and locations at the hear of it.
Why is staying for 28 days so important to the Netflix series?
Photo: © Netflix
What makes this new Netflix paranormal reality series unique is its core premise of giving investigators the chance to spend a prolonged period of time inside a haunted location.
This 28-day stretch is based on Ed and Lorraine's discovery that in their cases it took 28 days to fully pierce the veil between the living and the dead. They claimed that this barrier becomes virtually non-existent at 28 days, allowing investigators to fully connect with what's lurking at a location. They called it the "28 Day Cycle."
The Warrens believed that isolation was the key to the cycle, so the teams in the Netflix series had no communication with the outside world.
As the series went on it was clear to see an increase in activity as the 28th day approached. By night 15, Tony said "it's ramping up as you notice," he added this could mean more danger. Aaron explained, "Ed and Lorraine also warned that during this phase in the cycle, the investigators are at the greatest risk for possession."
At the end of the 28 days, Ray said "if we hadn't been here for the full 28 days, I don't believe we would have solved this mystery, this proves that an eight hour investigation, a day, two days, just isn't enough. You need the full 28 days to unlock the secrets of a haunting."
Aaron concluded, "we believe the theory of the 28 day cycle was proven in different ways at each location." In one location in particular, there was what Aaron described as "unprecedented paranormal activity and classic poltergeist behaviour," this sort of final battle, which included loud crashes, glass breaking and objects being thrown across the room, matches Ed and Lorraine's findings of a final showdown as part of the cycle.
Tony agreed with Aaron when he concluded, "I think that what we can take away here is that total immersion in a haunted location can real yield a diverse display of impressive results."
Aaron wisely added, "but of course, one experiment is not enough to prove a theory, if we're truly going to change paranormal investigations forever, we need to do this again, and there's no shortage of ghosts to connect with or haunted locations to explore. I can't wait to see what happens on the next 28 days."
Advertisement ‐ Content Continues Below.
Where are the '28 Days Haunted' filming locations?
Photo: © Netflix
The series was filmed on location in Colorado, North Carolina and Ed and Lorraine's home state, Connecticut. The three haunted location were chosen for their dark histories and increasingly aggressive hauntings.
Denver, Colorado
Situated at 2555 West 37th Avenue in Denver is the historic Lumber Baron Inn, where it's said that recently hauntings have been rapidly increasing. Built in 1890 by a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune in timber, the three-storey house is said to be haunted by phantom footsteps and the ghosts of several women, described as looking distressed or sometimes disfigured. Lumber Baron has changed hands several times over the years, but is now a bed and breakfast. Its grim history includes the tale of a girl in her late teens who was murdered while living in the building. Her 18-year-old friend who stumbled upon the murder scene was also killed. The case remains unsolved to this day.
Madison, North Carolina
At street level, Madison Dry Goods in historic downtown Madison serves as a casual clothing store, but upstairs there's a museum dedicate to the murder of a local family, the Lawsons. Located at 104 West Murphy Street, the building was for a short time the town's funeral parlour and the victims of the 1929 family tragedy, including several young children, were brought here after being violently murdered on Christmas day. The exhibit includes a rather eerie coffin, which on the first night becomes a key part of the '28 Days Haunted' investigators' experiment.
Preston, Connecticut
Believed to be Connecticut's most haunted home, Captain Grant's Inn is situated at 109 Route 2A, Preston. The current owner, Carol, claims that shortly after she purchased the property, she was taken over by an evil spirit and has witnessed seeing evidence of hundreds of spirits on the property. After guests reported being touched or seeing items move across rooms during their stays, Carol took matters into her own hands, conducting an exorcism to try to eliminate the dark energy. Following the exorcism, the paranormal experiences calmed, but soon Carol and her guests started to experience a rise in ghostly goings on.
Who are the paranormal investigators in '28 Days Haunted'?
NESPR director Tony Spera - the son-in-law of the Warrens, and paranormal expert and journalist Aaron Sagers, are on hand to oversee the experiment throughout the Netflix series. Meanwhile, conducting the experiment at the locations are eight paranormal investigators forming three different teams, each stationed for 28 days at one of the haunted locations.
Shane, Ray & Amy - Denver, Colorado
Photo: © Netflix
The Lumber Baron Inn became home for paranormal investigator, Shane Pittman, who's previously appeared in the Travel Channel series 'The Holzer Files'. Shane admits that not being able to communicate with his family will be hard. He said in the series, "I left my wife and four kids in Georgia to be a part of this. I've not been away from my family this long." But will he be rewarded for his sacrifice? Shane added, "as a paranormal investigator, this is unprecedented. Normally you're invited to places, but it's for shorter periods of time. But for 28 days, you never get an opportunity like this."
Shane is joined by Ray Causey, who he has been investigating with for over a decade. Speaking about the four-week challenge ahead of him, Ray said, "if I can survive this, it will be the biggest professional accomplishment of my entire career. I wanna prove to my wife and five kids that this isn't just some hobby for me. I take investigating the paranormal very seriously."
Completing the team in Denver is Amy Parks, who claims to have a natural ability as a sensitive, which she has used to help thousands of families speak to their deceased loved-ones and even aided her in assisting with several police investigations. Amy explained, "a sensitive covers a broad range of things. It's not just like 'oh, I can see dead people' or 'I can read your future', I consider a sensitive more of an energy reader."
But she says this gift could prove to be a curse at the Lumber Baron Inn, "with my abilities as a sensitive, I am much more prone to spiritual attacks. Being here for such a longer period of time and having, you know, potentially dark forces over take me, I mean that can be really dangerous. I have no idea if I'm going to be able to last 28 days."
Jereme & Brandy - Madison, North Carolina
Photo: © Netflix
Jereme Leonard and Brandy Miller took up residence for four weeks at Madison Dry Goods. Jereme is a professional firefighter who also dabbles with dark arts. Describing his unusual role, he said "a demonologist is someone who studies religious texts and theology on the works of demonic activity and how that relates into the physical world. I wanna challenge these spirits immediately. I wanna stir up raw, emotional, spiritual paranormal activity."
He's joined by Brandy Miller, a fifth-generation psychic medium, who tells us, "it does go with my mother, my grandmother, my great grandmother and my great great grandmother, and then my daughter is also a psychic medium." Talking about the 28-day challenge, the psychic who also goes by the name of Brandy Marie, said "participating in this experiment is very important to me, but I do have to admit that I'm really scared it could be too much. Dark energies are typically not what I mess with, Jereme's more experienced with that, so I'm going to rely on him to protect me."
Sean, Nick & Aaron - Preston, Connecticut
Photo: © Netflix
Psychic medium, Sean Austin, was one of the three spending their time at Captain Grant's Inn. Sean says, "ever since the beginning of my journey in the paranormal field, it's been like a calling for me to, not only help the living, but the dead, these Earth-bound spirits, to give them peace and to ultimately cross them over."
He's joined by technical expert, Nick Simons, who said "I'm a skeptic, but I'm also a tech and an audio guy. I like to use technical devices on investigations to kind of validate what psychics think they're hearing and seeing. It's not that I don't believe, I just want to see it for myself."
Also spending 28 days at Captain Grant's Inn is Aaron G Thompson, who's been embarking on paranormal investigations for the last 22 years. He said, "Nick and I, we have a lot of history together, he's been with me for 12 years now. This investigation is much different than a normal investigation that Nick and I would do."
The complete series, all six episodes, of '28 Days Haunted' is available to watch now on Netflix.
More On 28 Days Haunted View All
Related Content
Daily Horoscopes
Capricorn
Taking a class or workshop in a new technology may increase your chances at success in work or business. You may have an opportunity to pass along what you learn to a coworker, friend or an older loved one. You... Read More
You May Also Like
