Dabba dabba, dabba dabba dabba dabba.
You can argue with a psychic all you want to.
Welcome to Splintered Spirits. I'm your host Gary, along with
my nephew John Santa from Santa Paranormal, where we ask the
question, what are spirits? Today we're joined by one of the
most recognizable psychics and mediums on the planet, Chip
Coffee, who shares stories of his upbringing.
Some of his cases, which by the way, have some sexually graphic
detail. If you are easily shaken or dumb
enough to be listening to John and I in the car with young
kids, you know Chip From hit television shows like Kindred
Spirits, Psychic Kids, and Paranormal State.
He has decades of work helping families, investigators, and
audiences face the reality of what might still linger after
death. Chip has conducted thousands of
readings, comes from a lineage of spiritual sensitivity, and
has never been afraid to say exactly what he thinks.
And what makes this especially fun is that Chip does not just
challenge spirits, he takes a few shots at me.
Which is exactly why talking to someone with his immense
experience matters. Let's dive into the
conversation, Chip. Welcome to Splintered Spirits.
It's good to be here. Hi, guys.
Going on, Chip, thank you for joining us.
John, I can't think of a I can't think of another guest.
I think this is like our first like real TV celebrity guest.
Wow. I was.
Just biggest I was just going to say what a wonderful name John
has. Last name he has for this season
of the year. It's.
True. It always, it always is.
And it's the the idea of and he kind of looks a little like
Santa if you're lucky, you know, if he puts on the hat beard,
puts that beard on, puts the if he whitens up that beard, he
could really play it up, you know.
But Chip, thank you so much. I have so many questions for
you. You've seen so many sides of
this space and you've been around, man.
So it's like, you know, we're I want to dive right in.
No, you're not old. I mean experienced experienced.
That that ends bad and old so. Listen, we all, we had a guest
on this week, man, talking about I, I felt super old.
It was like, man, I don't know how these, it felt like we, we
interviewed this young woman who's an influencer, John and I,
and it's, it really felt like beauty and the beasts with the
two of us talking to her. I'm like, we have no business
talking to this person. But so Jim, my first question
for you is simple. It's it's, you know, when did
you first realize that what you were experiencing wasn't just a,
a child's imagination? Because this came on to you very
young. It did actually.
I got to separate that into two different categories. 1 is
psychic and the other one is medium.
So I had a very interesting birth.
I got to go all the way back 71 plus years and I was born while
my mom was having a near death experience.
She had to have an emergency C-section and during that
C-section she died on the table and had a an experience where
she saw angels asked not to be taken away and they put her soul
back in her body. And as she was placed back in
her body, I was born and there was absolutely no cutting.
Oh. So I made a grand entrance and I
think I've been making them ever since.
But I've made a grand entrance into the world.
Grew up living in haunted houses.
I've always lived in places that were paranormally active.
When I was a toddler, my parents noticed that I'd be sitting on
the floor playing with my toys, and all of a sudden I'd look up
and look at the phone, and within seconds, the phone would
ring. And then they noticed as I
became verbal, that I would stop what I was doing, look up and
look at the phone and say a name like Aunt Helen.
And within seconds, the phone would ring.
And on the other end of the line would be my Aunt Helen.
So I was kind of like an early version of caller ID.
Yeah. And, you know, my parents were
very open to spiritual or supernatural or paranormal
things because they had had those sort of things happen in
both sides of the family, my dad's and my mom's sides of the
family in the past. And they were just not too
freaked out by that. And then I started I started
having, I don't even know what word I would, would, would say.
It's mostly, I think, senses or knowing about places and people
and things that I would come into contact with.
We lived in a haunted house, a very haunted house.
Let me ask you this, Chip, because you know, you, you
talked about your mom here for a second saying, you know, she
asked God, God or the angels to to bring her back.
You clearly grew up in a very was it a religious background?
Was it Christian, Catholic? What?
Well, Catholic and Christian are
the same things. No, I know, but some the
Catholics are a little bit harder.
Well, I need to. For sure, John and I were raised
Catholic. We're both probably, we both
consider ourselves atheists these days.
So but and it's a little bit different than like Protestant
Christians who are a little bit looser about things.
So I just wanted to sort of, yeah, but see where you where,
where do? What was your upbringing?
Christian and Catholic are the same thing and let me just put
it to you that way because a lot of people, because Catholics
pray to Saints and things like that, they go or you're not a
true Christian. That's bullshit.
Catholics are Christian because Christ is the center it we're
Christ driven religion, so to speak.
So I just so there's so there's no people out there that are
thinking there's a difference in that.
We weren't overly religious. We went to church not regularly,
but every now and then. So, but I still called myself a
Catholic. I still love the Catholic faith.
I don't like the Catholic religion.
That's what I don't like. And I blended my Catholicism in
with my spirituality. OK, and there was so for your
parents, there was no because a lot of people look at what your
gifts are as you know, against the against the Catholic faith
in a way, but there was none of that.
So you were lucky enough to not have parents who were anti my?
Parents said. My parents said that wasn't even
a part of it, not at all. And to those people that feel
that way, my eye itches. I'm sorry.
That's all right. That's a good slide.
I like. You I like.
You already chip. You know, if, if they've got a
problem, if they've got a problem with my beliefs.
I don't try to to convince or convert anyone to my ways of
thinking. Believe what you want to believe
as long as you're a decent person.
But don't come for me, you know, 'cause if, if you're going to
have, if you're going to have a pissing contest with me, come
with a full bladder. I I love, I love a good Southern
analogy, you know, and a metaphor.
I mean, really, guys have the best stuff.
What? So, Chip, you have your
background before you became a professional.
Yeah, medium and psychic. You were a child, like a child
actor model. You were a counselor.
How did all of those worlds influence the way you practice
mediumship today? Or, or did they not, you know?
They did. I think all the dots finally
connected. You know, I being in the world
of of stage and film and television made me really
comfortable to be in front of a camera and I knew my way around
a set. You know, I interacted with a
lot of different people. I worked for a Head Start
program as a social worker and I worked in a private psychiatric
hospital on an adolescent unit. And all those things came in in
handy when I did the show Psychic Kids.
I studied, I have a degree in psychology with one of my majors
in psychology, particularly with child and adolescent psychology,
and I dealt with a lot of family dynamics, worked in the travel
industry, so I can pack a bag and be gone in no time flat.
So all those things sort of came together along with my psychic
and mediumship abilities to create what has happened to me
since 2001, which is when I started doing this
professionally. What, when you talk about
psychic gigs is psychic kids? Because that was a big part of
your life and I read your book about psychic gigs and you were
a psychic kid. Did did you come?
Was that show your first experience like working with
many different kids to sort of almost get a a database of this
phenomenon? And what did that teach you that
you didn't already know? I always knew that everybody had
some level of psychic ability, but these kids in particular.
Well, let me back up for a second.
This show actually came about due to an episode of Paranormal
State, another show that I did. And there was a young girl who
was a medium on that show and I interacted with her and they
they're always looking for new content for television.
So they saw this, they saw this and they realized this had
potential. So they created Psychic Kids
based around that one episode of Paranormal State.
It was we dealt with kids who were and families who were in
crisis mode because of their kids abilities.
So that was our goal, to kind of pull them out of that crisis
mode and give them basic tools that they could use and utilize
in order to bring some level of comfort and sanity back into
their lives. And what what is the
responsibility of these adults when they have a child that
shows psychic or intuitive ability?
What did you learn there and what did you how did you help
them get through that? Don't treat them like they're
anything abnormal. You know, embrace what is going
on here. Be kind and considerate, an
understanding of your children and don't don't make them into a
into a into a party trick. Don't you know, oh, tell grandma
something about grandma, you know, don't do those things.
Don't make your kid jump through the hoops so they're.
Not a grinder monkey. No, you're not.
You're not. And so we, we just sort of each,
each case had some similarities, but there were also some
individual things that were going on with with the cases and
we just, we sort of tailored what we were doing to the
individuals that we were working with.
So Chip it Chip, it sounds like your upbringing and you know, in
your household really paved the way for you to, you know, work
with these children from from what I'm gathering so far, like,
you know, your your household that you grew up in really gave
you an understanding of how to help the parents and the
children. My parents didn't make a big
deal out of it. You know, it was just, it was,
it was just who I was a part of who I was.
And this is what you and this is what you tried to help with the
the children you were dealing with as well.
Absolutely. Wow, that's amazing.
That's amazing. I never unlike them, I never
went through any big trials or tribulations because of my
abilities. They weren't causing me any
angst. I had great understanding
parents. And we didn't have the Internet
back then. Back in the olden days, we wrote
on stone tablets. And, you know, we, we, we yeah,
you know, it was, it was a different time.
So, you know, the whole world didn't know your business.
So a few people, select few people knew that I had these
abilities, but it wasn't a widely known thing and you know,
it wasn't, it wasn't always a part of daily life, so.
How did you make that jump? When, how, how long were you
working professionally before you became like a famous psychic
mean to get on television? How did that where did that leap
occur? I was working, let's let's back
up another few years to 2001. I was working in the travel
industry as a travel agent. I've been doing that for 15
years. So 911 came around and nobody
was traveling, nobody was flying.
And so airlines were suffering, car rentals, hotels, everybody
was suffering. And so were travel agencies.
I mean, nobody was calling to book and they were losing
revenue and travel agencies were shutting their doors.
And those that weren't shutting their doors were letting agents
go by that, by the dozens. And I was a casualty of that.
So I've been for a few months. I've been working on an 800
line, a psychic hotline part time and I sort of when I lost
my job, I packed my stuff up, walked out of the building and I
remember saying out loud, well, I guess now you're a full time
psychic and medium. So I had no doubt that I was
going to be able to to satisfy some of my habits like living
indoors and eating by being a psychic.
I'm but you know, that's 24 going on 25 years ago and I
think it's worked out pretty well.
But what led to this? I started doing kept doing
readings online. I started doing some events both
locally. Then they went, it went to
regionally, then it went to national events and some folks
took notice of me. And when they were looking for
someone as a fill in or new kind of a new person psychic on a
show called Paranormal State. It was going by the name the the
working title of paranormal you at the time like university,
because it was college kids that were doing that, the
investigation. And so they brought me in on a
case. And I remember when I was
leaving, I gave them the name of the demonic entity that was
supposedly causing havoc, wreaking havoc for everybody.
And I remember one of the producers, the first person I
ever spoke to about this, had his arm around me as I was
leaving Elizabethtown, PA in the snow.
And he said, you chip coffee have just elevated the show to
an entirely new level. And I thought, well, this is a
one off. I thought, well, I ended up
doing 32 or 33 episodes of the show and he had the psychic
kids. And then there was a little bit
of a hiatus for me. And I then I went on and started
doing, began doing kindred spirits.
So that gave you a lot of exposure to this paranormal
world, those shows, right, all over the country and and
everywhere else, right? Did it, did you learn anything
new? Like what what surprised you the
most? Did you ever have a moment
though, like you know where just in your craft and your beliefs
from seeing and building this, you know, this library of of
cases? Did anything change or evolve in
your belief system? Let's go back to the Catholic
thing. If you think about your Catholic
roots, you heard a lot about angels.
You know, there were angels here and angels there and angels,
angels everywhere and, and, but you but you realize there were
angels and demons. You heard about those, but not
nearly as frequently as you heard about angels.
I learned that the that those entities, at least in my
beliefs, are real and that there's the world is kind of the
universe is kind of based on the yen and the Yang dichotomies.
The flip side. So if there's day and night,
there's good and evil, there's hot and cold.
So if there's pure good, there's got to be pure evil.
So that was my way of thinking. And I've, I've stared those sort
of things in the face, so to speak.
So I think from that standpoint, I've learned that we don't know
what we don't know. We have good theories about it
and we can put a hypothesis out there about what's going on.
But anyone that tells you that they know anything about the
spiritual, honestly know anything about the spiritual or
the paranormal of the supernatural worlds.
Well, yeah, we're we're we're. Saying all the time on my lives,
Chip all the time. If someone comes in claiming to
be an expert about something, that's the big red flag right
there. I don't claim I'm an expert, I
claim I've had a lot of experience.
Yep. Yep, Yep.
Yeah. For sure, I've seen a lot of
stuff. So it's, you know, look, one of
the things about this whole podcast is getting different
perspectives, listening to different people with, with a
variety of experiences and painting a picture of what we
think spirits are. Now, I know you specifically
have a definition for a spirit, even versus a ghost.
Would you explain to us in the audience?
Like what? How do you define a ghost versus
spirit to start? I believe that when we die, our
body dies, that the soul, the essence of who we are, leaves
the body. And then it has somewhat of a
choice of whether to stay on this third dimension earth plane
or to continue on crossover, Go to the light, finish that
journey however you want to refer to it, go to heaven any
way you want to refer to it. I believe that those souls that
remain on the earth plane are what we tend to call ghosts.
And what when we when that soul finishes its journey and goes on
into spirit, that's what we call a spirit.
So we use those terms interchangeably, but when push
comes to shove, there is, in my opinion, a basic difference.
OK, that John has a working theory that, you know, spirits
are the sort of the fractured memories, you know, 'cause it's,
it's hard, you know, no one has really defined consciousness or
knows what consciousness is. You mean whether you refer to it
as a soul or not. And that, that those memories
are what's left behind or dispersed when we pass that
energy. And and I mean like almost
specific energy, not woo woo energy, you know, like the
electric synapses in our brains have to go somewhere when we die
that maybe our consciousness is attached to that and that those
memories are what he is picking up and what he's talking to.
Have you ever, you know, in your experience with anything is
there do you find that you have ever come across things that
match that philosophy or you know, have touched upon that,
you know, as a potential working theory that you could see like
maybe. I don't know that I fully
understand everything you just said 100%.
You know, John can have his theory.
Good for you. How nice for you that you have
that theory. You're welcome to it, but you
know it it. That doesn't mean I can't have
mine or you can't have anybody else has.
But he's kind of saying what I'm saying.
The essence of who you are go somewhere however you wanted to
find that elect electromagnetic, whatever whatever whatever you
know but that's that's what I call a soul is just that spark
of who of of of existence that you have somewhere inside of you
that cannot be destroyed and it can be reinvigorated in my
opinion and come back from multiple tries at this you know
Bronco busting world we. I've talked to, I've talked,
hold on, just I want to stay on this real quick.
I've talked to parapsychologists who define these things in this
way, Chip, where it's, you know, you know, an entity or an
apparition is what you would call a ghost based on your
definition of a ghost. Like this is a a fully you know
this is an individual or you know their that consciousness is
there. They would define a haunting as
an imprint where it's almost like a recorded loop, right?
It's it doesn't even have to be from a someone.
Who's passed? It's just something that's
called. That's called a residual
haunting. Yeah.
OK. So you know what have you come
across any, have you come across things like that that verify
that that definition of these things?
Residual hauntings are like an imprint or an echo intelligent
and I don't like to use that word.
I like to use interactive haunting is when you get legit
responses or seem to be communicating with something.
You cannot communicate with an with a, with a haunting that is
just an imprint or an echo. So that's, that's my theory if
and there are people that believe that only ghosts, people
who haven't finished that transition can communicate with
the living. And that's not true in my belief
system. You can, if you go into spirit
periodically, you can return bridge that gap between wherever
you are at, you know, in the spirit realm and come back and
communicate or interact with people that are still in the
third dimension or the living world.
That's my belief. That's how.
That's how I earned the. The the the.
Majority of my living is by connecting, reconnecting living
people with their loved ones who have passed away.
But you you have come across things that are echoes and
you're like, this is just an echo.
There's validity. So there.
So there is that's there's validity to those statements in
in that thing. John, go ahead.
What were you going to ask? Sorry, I just.
Want to wrap, you know, in all your experience, What what was
the oh wow moment like something that really like is like, like
you. I believe that there's so much
to understand about this. No matter how much data we get,
it'll never ever give us a clear picture on anything.
And every time we think we're getting close to something, at
least in, in, in, in my, you know, adventures and my
documentation, every time I think I get close to something,
more data comes in that just completely blows that apart,
right? What was, what was your last
like big? Oh, wow, Like this is amazing.
This is like so intriguing. And so, you know, I don't
understand it, but but I love it and I'm, you know, so happy to
experience it. My life has been has been filled
with those moments so. I'd, I'd, well, I'd like to hear
about one of them that stands out like right off the top of
your head. Give me, give me a category.
You want me to tell you what about?
Your most recent? My most recent I think short
term memory is not good for me, but I'll try to remember more.
Yes, me too. I'm horrible and short term.
Nothing really springs to mind. That is like really recent.
There's been so many in my life, you know?
OK. So then let me rephrase the
question. Which one left the most impact
on you? What was it impactful one where
it's like? Like I said, I grew up in a
haunted house where nothing bad happened, that there was really
constant activity. Doors opening and closing,
footsteps, voices, pianos being played, cold spots in the house.
So here's what where is the first time you experience
something that was dark. If you hadn't, If you never had
anything growing up, that was that was an evil or dark and it
was easy, you know, was you know, you could live there.
What was the first time you came across something dark and you're
like the? First episode I did a paranormal
state when the head honcho of the demonic realm came and was
affecting both the host of the show and the family that we were
investigating. That was your first time on the
TV show that you really came that.
Was in my I was in my 40s. I was like 47 years old when
that happened. I think they kind of left me
alone because I had a really strong faith and and belief in
something that was more powerful and protective than me.
And I think they kind of left me alone and they don't F with me
much even now. They just don't because they
know that I've got a great team that's surrounding me in spirit
and that I know people who, if I get in real trouble, are going
to come to my aid. Well, I could tell right away
you got. I'm not going down without a
fight. Yeah, I mean, that's certainly
you give that impression. There's nothing weak about you
in terms of how you deal with this and your your perception on
it. So I can't, you know, your
intent is for sure strong, you know.
So, all right, so the first time he did that was on television.
Is there being a, a, a television celebrity, is there a
difference or what's the biggest difference really in in an
investigation for TV versus doing a private reading?
What did you find? How did you find that adjustment
to have to deal with a schedule and a, you know, a crew around
you and all of that stuff? How was that I?
Wasn't really restricted a lot. So most of what I did was so
genuine and so authentic. I mean, yeah, you had to be
aware of where the cameras were. You had to to sort of, you know,
adjust to being on set. But other than that, from
investigations that I'd done prior to, to actually going on
TV and going into a space to investigate it, there wasn't a
whole lot of difference for me. Not at all.
I mean, it was pretty much the same.
Was there anything missing for the viewer that you wish they
saw that they didn't get to see behind the scenes?
Every now and then I think there were some things that that that
because of time constraints had to be edited out.
But you know, with, with the TV shows that I've done, I think
they've, they've remained pretty loyal to what was going on so
that it was made fairly consistent and easy for those
who were viewing on their television screens to
understand. Was there was there ever a
location other than that first episode that you immediately
thought, I, I don't want to be here this?
Long the second episode that I did to the show, which was the
very next freaking week. I can't.
Believe you did, dude. Episodes one and two of this
thing and you kept going back. Don't sound very fun, Chip.
I don't understand why. Explain it was the check.
The check must have been good it.
Was the same check, let's click. You know that that as somebody
who's always is, you know, been surrounded by positive right and
then and then doing this show and then you have your first,
you know, negative experience with a negative entity, we'll
call it that right, demonic entity negative and then the
same thing the following week. Here you are new episode,
another one mentally. How did you prepare yourself for
that? Was it just something that
happened natural? You're like, I got this, I got
my team. Or did you have to like take a
take a little time and be like, you know what?
I'm mentally prepare and I'm ready for this.
I did that. You're absolutely right.
And some of it was because of who I am.
And that's I, I believe in the power of prayer.
I prayed. I mean, the second episode there
was a woman who is being and you might have to edit this out.
I don't know what I can say and what I can't.
Speak freely, Speak freely. Yeah, there was a woman there.
The the episode was called Get this The Devil in Syracuse.
Well, I, I, I lived in Syracuse for a while.
I could see a lot of devils there.
OK, go ahead. Well.
I lived in Elmira. I, you know, for us, I can just
tell you that this was a woman. They lived in a double wide
trailer or a single wide trailer in a trailer park just outside
of Syracuse. And the woman was being
assaulted, sexually assaulted by a demon.
I mean, this woman was taken to a hospital because she said that
something was assaulting her. And it was the way she described
it was she felt like there was somebody with a barbed wire
dildo and inserting itself into her.
And when they took her to the hospital and it burned and it
was painful, and they took her to the hospital and examined
her. And she had second and third
degree burns in her vaginal wall and outside on her skin.
And they asked her get a whole psych eval.
They ask her, are you inserting something hot like a curling
iron into your vaginal cavity? And she goes, are you insane?
I'm am depressed and angry and frightened, but I'm not crazy.
And yeah, I mean, explain that. Explain this.
I walked into the walked up to the house for the first time
with Ryan Buell, who was the host of the show, and with
Father Andrew Calder. God rest his soul because he's
past now. And we walked up to the door of
this trailer for my first time. We were butt deep in snow in
Syracuse. And I walked up and I put my
hand on the storm door and I went like that.
And I said no, was hot. I'm not going.
I'm not going to go in there until I am way deeper in prayer
than I am now. So they had a Winnebago over
there for us as a dry, as a dry and a warm space.
So Andrew Calder and I went to the back where the bedroom is in
the Winnebago, and we prayed up a storm.
And then when Ryan and I went back into the house, the first
thing that I heard was something from the demon in the house.
And when I hear them in my head, they sound like this.
They've got a real raspy, nasty, sweet of voice like this.
And the first thing, the demon, I didn't know anything about the
people in the house. Nothing.
They bring me in stone cold. And the first thing that this
demon said me when I walked in the house was Artie F, the
mother. Now I'm going to the little
girl. Dude, that's this is a
terrifying. This is terrifying.
Yes, this is terrifying. This is like.
I don't know why anybody does this and.
Fran said, Fran said to me, what did you just hear, Chip?
And I said I I don't think I can say this and he said just tell
me. And I told him what it said,
Artie F the mother and I'm going to F the little girl.
And I heard over his earbud, I heard stop, stop.
And the producers kept came running into the house and they
said we're not going to get that past standards and practices.
We're not going to get that past little.
They said, but can you? That's great information.
Can you say that in another way? And on the show, I believe you
hear me say it wants the little girl.
And what happened was there was a little girl, a three-year old
little girl named Katie, who was living in the house.
She had a brother. And at one point in time, while
we were in production of this episode, before we moved them
out of the house quickly, they woke up 1 morning and she had a
rash all over her bottom. What, what, what they don't tell
you. And remember, Father Andrew
called her, bless his soul. He had a, A, a a saying that he
once said to me about clients on paranormal investigations and it
was the Tal theory and that is clients, they always lie and
here's by either by error, by omission or just outright lying
so they won't look back. The man who lived in the house
was a £300 man whose nickname on AOL is The AOL handle was Tiny.
They called him Tiny. No, that was his nickname.
His nickname was Tiny. His real name was Raymond, but
Tiny was his nickname. His AOL handle was Tiny 666.
What he hadn't told anybody was, especially the producers or us
that were there, was that as a younger version of himself, he
dabbled in Satanism and they had to bring somebody in and
basically do a deliverance on him.
We walked into this house. The mother, when we were getting
the people out of the house, the mother said, oh, I've got to go
back in and get the baby's blanket.
She ran into the house. We'd all been out of the house
for like 90 seconds when she realized she had to go back in
and get the baby blanket. They had crosses, little Wooden
Crosses they had made out of pieces of wood that were
everywhere in this place, everywhere.
She went back in and you heard the most blood curdling scream
that you've ever heard in your life.
And there were probably sixty of those crosses, every single one
of the crosses in the house. And that 90 seconds had turned
upside down. They had inverted.
So if you ask me if I've seen some weird shit in my past, the
answer would be a reason. Yes, I've seen some weird crap
that I just can't pragmatically explain.
So Chip, how do you look? You're you're an empathetic guy.
You worked in counseling, you know, right, all these things.
How do you move on from that? Do you do you keep tabs on these
this person or is it like you're on to the next show?
You got a schedule to do? How, how did you like, you know,
that aspect of the TV business and trying to help these people
And you know, six days, it's just like, look, you know, I, I
come out of production, right? So all the home renovation shows
that you watch, like, by the way, when the, when the
production crew leaves, that house is not finished.
You know what I mean? It's not fully made over and
it's, it's, it's held up by let, you know, tape some of it
sometimes. So what?
But in this case, these people are in real jeopardy.
How do you how did you deal with that or?
Did you stay? In touch though.
They were they were left with resources that they could could
utilize after the the filming stopped.
Did you ever follow up with any anyone?
Like did you ever have a personal connection with any one
of them that you would follow up with or?
But think about this too, Gary. If if you go see a psychiatrist
then and your sessions are over with, you're not going back
anymore, That psychiatrist is not going to continue to follow
you for the rest of your life or do anything for you.
They knew what they were getting themselves if they knew what
they were getting themselves into.
We were there for a select period of time.
We didn't leave them untethered. We actually provided them with
local resources and sometimes not local resources that they
could tap into in order to continue on with whatever they
may need. When we left, we tried to tidy
things up as best we could before we blew out of there, but
you know, that's not always completely successful when
you're dealing with something that, number one, you're not
fully understanding. That's all fair.
I get it. It's, it's, it's curious.
It's interesting to know, right? Because a lot of people look at
there's so many different aspects right of this world and
when you and TV is under constraints, which are just,
it's just the nature of it. So it's so the instinct is to
say how fake it is because they don't realize what's required
for ratings with network notes for all of the things that go
into making it as opposed to what happens on site.
So, you know, explaining it to a lot of people helps them
understand like, look, man, it's can things be sensationalized?
Yes. Does that mean it's fake?
No, it, it, these are differences.
This is the nature of the medium.
Having been through that medium, how do you see what's happening
with paranormal today? Because the medium shift is
changing and it's becoming less attention span driven.
And you know, with social media, do you know that you've how do
you find it playing out? Do you track anything online?
Do you where, where's, where's your sense with this?
I don't. I don't.
Particularly track anything. The only thing I know is that
there's no network really that's actively investing money in
paranormal right now. You know, the paranormal shows
pretty much have have hit rock bottom.
There's a couple that are left, but not a lot of money is being
spent by any network that I'm aware of on paranormal
especially. They're not spend a lot of money
on anybody chip right now. It's a tough spot.
If you look at network shows like my 2, two of my favorite
shows are Chicago PD and Chicago Fire, and they're furloughing
actors because NBC has cut Dick Wolf's budget back so far.
And I can't imagine this is not pissing off actors very badly
that they're not getting a paycheck.
But it's the same thing with paranormal television.
There's, there's the money is drying up a bit and you know,
it's, it's just not there and #1 it didn't pay that well.
I You'd be shocked if you heard the the the largest amount of
money I ever made for one episode of a show.
Oh look, hey man, I worked at Discovery for 10 years.
I know what I know what the pays.
I used to tell people when I would try to find people like
you and hire them would be your money is not going to be in the
show unless it's a giant hit. The money's going to be you're
about to charge. If you charge people 100 bucks
an hour for a reading you might be able to charge it for 1000.
Just depends. Especially with like tattoo art
like it was. It was.
It was promoting my book. It was promoting me as my
private readings. I used it as basically a
commercial. You just gave me a commercial.
And so do you look at do you feel television helped your,
your profession? Not, not personally, I just mean
the paranormal in general. This TV, do TV shows give it a
bad rap, a good rap? Where, where do you find that
balance? And like I said, now that it's
it's winding down, how do you think that's going to affect
people when all they could see a paranormal is what's online and
in social media? I think it helped and it hurt.
I think that people love being armchair critics, you know?
And if you weren't on set to see actually what happened, then
shut the fuck up. Right.
There's the reality because you don't really know what went on
unless you were there to witness it.
So you can have your assumptions and your theories and your
whatever and everybody's got an opinion.
They're like a butthole. You know, everybody's got one,
but you don't necessarily want to hear from it.
Fart, fart. But you know, I don't want to.
I'm tired of people that that have to go online and make a big
to do about something that's in the long run.
What what, what are you trying to prove?
You know, paranormal TV was what it is.
You had to, you have to figure that there's got to be an
entertainment element to it or people aren't going to watch it,
whatever you consider entertainment.
But we did the best job that we could.
And I can honestly say that to the best of my knowledge, there
was never anything faked or fabricated on any of the
episodes that I did. And I got asked to stretch the
truth a couple of times and I flat out said absolutely not, I
will not, I will not. And it was something as simple
as saying that this information was learned at one source when
it was not learned at that source.
It was learned in a totally different place.
Like we got this from ancestry.com.
Wendy, you didn't, you got it. We got, no, we got this from
public records in the town. They got it from ancestry.com.
And I'm not going to say they got it on public records when
somebody went and searched public records.
So I just wouldn't even go, wouldn't even stretch the truth
that far. I love your perspective.
Like you, you're such a wealth of knowledge on This is why I'm
asking it. It is and and you have such firm
beliefs. Do you think there is a What is
healthy skepticism to paranormal look like to you?
That's a good question. It's not bashing people that do
what I do. It's not saying that it's all
BS. It's base and it's not being
nasty or confronting it and just, you know, inciting people
to to to treat other people in a in a horrific fashion.
It's not attending an event and trying to, to out somebody for
being a fake. I don't think that's that's what
it is. This is not a skeptic.
This is somebody that's like, you know, you don't want to be
like Westside Baptist Church. You don't want to go out and do
those sort of things. That's just not cool.
You can be a skeptic, that's fine and dandy, but just don't
be an ass about it, You know? I.
Don't I? I find that I find the the
people who are the meanest, if for lack of a better word, are
people in the field. And I haven't been doing this
that long. You know, I've only been like,
you know, I've been following John around for about a year and
and we started this, we dropped this thing almost this podcast a
year ago, But it's it's people within the paranormal who fight
against other people with it's paranormal on paranormal crime.
Chip is what I see the most of you know, as opposed to.
That's the reason that I set my happy self right in the suburbs
of Atlanta, GA and mind my own business for the most part.
You know, there's the big brouhaha that's going on now
about who bought the Warren's house and who's buying The
Conjuring house and blah, blah, blah.
You know? You know how I what I think
about that? I don't give a shit who bought
it, you know? Good luck.
Goodbye. Yeah.
Don't keep me alone. Right.
But she But it's that right? Like, who else would care?
It's just it's a very straight the the Paris science, for lack
of a better, is a very strange field we've all decided to play
in where everyone seems to think they know the right way to do
the science and we're the only they're the only ones fighting
with each other without a a clean way of figuring out what
the answer is. That's what my I've been
discovering. Let me go back for a second and
and clean something up that I said that I don't care who buys
those houses. I just hope they go into the
right hands and good hands. That's what I and I don't think
that they should be made and I don't think the whole goal
should be to make those houses into tourist attractions.
I don't think that that's that's what anybody necessarily wants
except the people that are going to buy them to make buck, make
bank on them, you know, so. I wish I could buy it and turn
it into a preschool. I don't know, it's just, it's
just it's too much is kind of what you got at and I am real
passionate about it. Why?
Should be. Why do people really, why is
there so much animosity toward what's going on with the
purchase of these properties? You know, do I?
It's just, it's too much. And that's the reason that I can
say you're. Paranoid.
Not, not I love Andrea. I love Andrea.
But you know what? I don't understand.
And I I told Andrea this is I don't understand how she can
have such loving feelings about this place when as a younger
version of herself and her family, they went through a
terrifying things at this place. That's what that Gary asked her
the same thing, ship that very question that that you just
stated. Gary asked her that.
I asked her that she her her response, Correct me if I'm
wrong, John. Her response was that, you know,
like the stories of the bad times did not outweigh the good
with their family in that home. Yes, you know, it's like that
was your. Mother being possessed and
people thrown across the house and things that are going on
like that. You know that you had a nice
Thanksgiving dinner that outweighed the fact that Dean.
I, you know, I just. Don't.
Get. I don't get it.
Dude, I'm with you. I told her I'd burn it to the
ground. I don't get what you know.
I'd I'd said I'd I'd raise. That place, I'd been there, I've
been there. So, you know, I listen.
Good luck with ever had to do that.
Did you feel something in there when you went in there?
Did you feel it? I don't want to talk about that.
All right, all right. Listen, my, my, my personal
feeling with the with the whole farm house.
Not. John, hold on.
Say that again, Chip. I'll answer this question for
you. Not a whole lot.
OK my my whole thing I.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I will tell you this.
I was there and I'd just seen Andrea and her family, her dad
and two sisters at an event. And I was there doing the
investigation with Amy and Adam on Kindred Spirits.
And all of a sudden a car rolls down the driveway and they get
out. And I went, what though?
What? I had no idea they were going to
be there. And they said, surprise Chip.
But I can tell you this, the atmosphere and the timber in
that house completely changed when they walked on the
property. Oh shit.
Oh, that's. Wild 100% the vibe changed.
Wow and I can tell you this, sometimes it's the people that
are haunted and not the spot. Well, that's doesn't that go
into like the what they refer to as like what a poltergeist is
that it comes off the person right, you know?
I believe that it is the combined energies of the living
and the dead that create the activity.
OK, I. Mean, I live in a haunted house
and then in Elmira and nobody that's lived there since then
has experienced anything in the house.
But my family and I who were true believers and my mom who
was a who had psychic abilities and me who had psychic
abilities, things happened on the daily.
How do you explain that? Well, I could tell you.
I could tell you this ship I've been I've been documenting for
for years now. And if I am not in the right
mental like headspace, if I'm upset about something, if I'm
angry about something, if I'm distracted, the documentation
reflects it. The human element is way more
important than people give give humanity credit for it.
And look at it this way and doing it that work, I can tell
you that sometimes if you go to a haunted location, you bring in
different groups throughout the night to investigate a specific
place in a haunted location. Some groups get stuff off the
charts, other groups can go in and that it's dead as a
doornail. I 100% agree with you of
everything I've learned and I tell John this all the time.
I think he's a witch because I use those apps and those
devices, I get nothing. But when he uses it, things
happen. And I, I, I swear it's him and
people on this podcast that have listened to us.
I tell him all the time, if a Carpenter comes into your house
and wrecks up the, and messes up the renovation, you're not going
to blame his hammer. You're going to blame the
person. It's always comes down to the
person and to me. And it's, it's that I, it's very
fascinating that you, you took this down that road yourself.
And, and it's, I love hearing that.
It speaks to a lot, you know, as we paint this picture.
John, the problem is Gary doesn't believe any of this.
He is. He is so blocked off he is
looking for ways to debunk. Well, I don't.
Think that's true? Daba daba daba daba daba daba
daba. You can argue with a psychic all
you want to no. No shit, Chip, I'll tell you
what, I'll tell you what, between me and you and everybody
that's going to listen to this and Gary, we joke around when
I'm live about how we can, how you can go back to the first
episode of Splintered Spirits and go to the last episode and
you can start to see Gary's progression from being a full
blown skeptic. So all the sergeants are going
wait a minute, this isn't making sense.
Wait a minute, this, this is crazy.
This is blowing my mind. Wait A and you only start to see
the change you know from. I told him you should write a
book about it. Be disrespectful if you need to
be, Gary, but I'm going to ask you this question.
Hold on a minute. Let me ask before you say no.
I've told you about things that I've witnessed and seen.
I saw a girl that was was intermittently possessed.
Her necks swell up the size of a puffer fish.
I've seen her become so heavy that an adult male can't lift
her up. I've seen things that are just
that was on an episode of of Paranormal State called I Am 6.
We had to go back twice. She had writing dug into her
back where she could not manage to do that.
How do you explain these things? So out of all the things, out of
all the things that I have seen and witness, just me, little me
here, if you can't say, I find that just incredible and
difficult to believe from a standpoint.
I'm not calling, I don't think you're calling anybody a liar,
but I think that if you witness those sort of things, you've got
to sort of waver a bit and your belief system of saying there's
got to be something going on here.
Did did I give you the impression?
Did I ever say that I didn't think that that was, that I
doubted what you saw? I don't think I ever said.
I don't think you did that to me.
I think you do that with yourself sometimes.
I'm certainly curious, not about what people.
I totally believe what people see.
And we don't debunk. We always say on here, we're not
debunkers here. I haven't seen it.
That doesn't mean I don't believe other people have seen
it, and I certainly believe that's.
What? That's what a skeptic is,
somebody that will decry the experiences of somebody else.
Oh, I, I, I don't think, I, I don't think I've ever done that.
If anything, I, I hate when people debunk.
Debunking is unfun to me. It's very easy to say no.
And, and I think debunking is, and we had a skeptic on here.
We had a like a literally a professional skeptic on here,
the guy who runs the CIF it, it hasn't aired yet, but I look at
debunking and curmudgeonry as the death of creativity.
And even from outside of the paranormal, when you look at it
from science in a science perspective, it's it's the
people with the imagination to try and prove something.
Even in failure, that progression happens.
Nothing happens. Very few great things have
happened from trying to disprove something.
I think I could point to like 2, which is like Louis Pistor, you
know, you came up with pasture pasteurization by trying to
disprove instant life theory. And I was telling John, it's
like the only way to to prove the safety of a car is to try
and disprove how safe it is, right?
It's like the only way to. So other than that, I'm a, I'm
believer of trying to, you know, I want to say yes, I'm a yes
person. Like, OK, this happened.
Wow. And and I'm a firm believer in
the human experience from everything I've read from
people. Like one of our guests was this
ghost hunter named Steve Parsons out of the UK.
And I loved his book Ghostology that just sort of knocks the
gear and it's like, it's not about the gear.
It's not about the tool, it's about the person and it's about
the experience. And that's what he's like.
He he was telling the problems he has as a ghost hunter because
he shows up with a pen and pad and because of television,
everyone's used to hit, you know, vans full of gear, you
know, and I said to him, I go, dude, just buy some, buy a bunch
of fucking empty Pelican cases and show up so that people, you
know, you don't have to fight that argument, you know, like,
what do you do your thing, but just have it there to just get
that out of the way, you know, but I I wouldn't say, you know,
yes, I haven't had I've, I've had experienced a couple of
sound bite things through through like a spirit box, like
not the apps, the spirit box that were wild.
So I don't, you know, but I don't know.
My thing is where I don't know what it is.
And this is the whole point of what we do is what is it, right?
It was just where we started. What is it exactly?
And we don't know. I don't know, we may never know,
but I'm having fun, enjoying. In our lifetimes.
No, yeah. And I'm having fun Enjoying
what, you know, the the different perspectives.
And you say it not in our lifetimes, but you know, it's
like we had another guest, Dan Sturgesson, who pointed out, and
I love this example. We didn't even know how
lightning worked until we created the high speed camera,
which is not that long ago, you know.
So it's to really understand what lightning was and how it
developed. We didn't know what it was.
And that's. Not that's within the past 50
years. I could be wrong on this, but I
think they recently discovered, maybe in the past two months,
how it actually works with ice bending and a cloud and creating
electricity. It was, I was reading a whole
article. Crazy.
It's yeah, it's wild. It's wild.
So, so Chip, like if if you were to go back and literally watch
episode 1 to the latest episode out, you can start to see get
Gary's progression and we talk about it all the time.
And like I said, he should write a book about it because he came
into this as a full blown skeptic.
And you and Gary, now, let's be honest, like when we started
this, you were like, all right, get the spirits to say this.
Get the spirits to say that. And I'm like, Gary, I can't, I
can't, I can't control them, man.
I can't control what they're going to say.
And once Gary realized that, he was like, oh, OK, whoa.
You know This is why. Have you ever said this?
Have you ever said out loud, I'm open to somebody, can you
convince me? Am I open to what do you mean?
I've had readings. Realm.
Yeah. Have you said that out loud?
Me. No, I've never.
I've never said. Can you convince me?
I've never seen. Words.
Have you said that? Have you ever said to something
in spirit, Gary, convince me. I've never seen anything that I
really can say is from you. Have you ever said that?
No, I've never like. No, I've never like they're.
Not baiting you into saying it, maybe because it is, maybe maybe
because they're like fuck you, we're not going to give you what
you want. You're just you're just some
skeptical disbeliever. I would say.
Go in, go in with a very open attitude of saying I'm not going
to say nothing's going to happen.
I'm not nothing's ever happened to me, nothing's still going to
happen, blah, blah, blah. If you just say, all right, show
me, prove yourself to me that you're here.
Can you just? And that's not, that's not
necessarily baiting them, that's basic or asking them to jump
through here saying I need, I want to believe if they believe.
You know what I I, I would say that I did because I I went to
Hollywood, I went to the the wood cemetery.
I don't want to say where because they they didn't let me
give me permission to shoot there and I by myself with a
spirit box. And I did ask and I drove around
and I did ask like to speak and we did get two things happened
on two days I went one my phone died and I'm so pissed and I
told John I called him immediately because I'm like, no
one's going to believe that this happened except for John.
So I can't really talk about it. And then the other one I sort of
caught where I asked them, I told this, I was like, come on,
spirits, like let's go. I was like, you know, if you
need energy to speak, I was like, grab those.
There's some people that were a little heavy set over the side,
like grab those people. They look like they got a lot of
energy. They can take their energy.
And then I said, don't take my energy, but take their energy
and say something to me. And I said, and I said, do it
before these cops are going to throw me out or something like
that, right? I was like, are the cops going
to show up and throw me out of here because I'm not supposed to
be here? And you, you would tell me,
right? And over the spirit box it goes,
he's here and I go where? And it goes there and in I'm in
my car and you could see through the and I couldn't see it.
But obviously after when I looked, you could see in the
camera the the golf cart with security drive right by me when
he said he's here and then go past me.
It was wild. I'm going to challenge you go on
a go on some sort of this. How did this show become about
me being the guest? This is just gifts.
John, you and I are the new host and.
You're the new host to split the spirits, Chip.
Well, OK, so chip, that's my next question.
Chip hold. On let Chip ask let's wait Chip
wants to challenge me with something Let him say I'll write
it down No, he. Just just want you to do he
wants you to go somewhere I want you to or go in where and be
like, you know, spirits that you exist.
Yeah, or I'll take you sometime. Challenge accepted.
OK, so she'll do it. Speaking Speaking of all all
this, what's the what's the future have for you Chip?
Are you are you done? Are you retired?
Are you are you they putting this all aside or is there
something in the works maybe a new book, maybe a new TV show?
You know nothing, huh? It's. 71 years old.
I've got some health problems. And so because of that, I've
worked. I've worked hard.
I started working as a kid and I've worked consistently.
And now I'm 71 years old. You know, I have diabetes and I
have a respiratory condition. And I deserve to sit on my couch
in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. And basically, I can do what I'm
doing with you guys right now because I'm sitting at home.
I can do phone readings with my clients.
I can do Zoom sessions that I do periodically.
But as far as events go, it would have to take something
extraordinary to Get Me Out of the house.
And you can offer me the biggest TV show on the face of the
planet. And I would say, yeah, no
thanks. No.
Thanks. Well, then I then I truly feel
honored that you took the time for for us today.
You know, I really I really appreciate you, Chip.
I got a couple. I.
I sorted you out from the first time I talked to you on the
phone. I thought this guy's got good
energy. Thank you.
Yeah, and it's the truth. And Josh, I got a.
Couple more, I got a couple more questions for you and then
you've given us so much time if you if you don't mind, Yeah, go
ahead. So, and it's funny considering,
considering what we're just talking about.
What I wanted to know is, after thousands of readings and being
in this paranormal space, what has surprised you the most about
humanity? That we don't want to believe.
Most of us don't want to believe that when our heart stops
beating and the brain waves stop and we breathe our last breath,
that the credits roll and that's it.
Most people want to hold on to the hope and the belief that
there's something immortal about us.
That's a good one. That's a good answer.
Yeah, and that our loved one and that clients want to believe
that their loved ones are someplace in a pain free,
loving, peaceful place. Well.
It's just, yeah, I want to let that one sit for a minute.
That's a good one. That's a good answer.
I mean, it's deep. You know, it's like it is
because death is. I mean, really, that is part of
the fascination with that. A lot of people have.
They watch these shows and they. Well, they.
Watch. Online, it's existed since
recorded time. I mean, the Egyptians, the the,
the ancients all had their own death rituals.
And we still do. We still cremate people and
scatter their ashes and we bury them and we have funerals and we
still have that. We have that kinship with death.
I mean, there's anything that's still mystified they're.
Starting to find burials from ancient humans, like, not like,
you know, not humanoids, like even going farther back than the
Devonians and the Neanderthals. They're starting to find these
burial grounds. And that's, that's something to
think about. Chip, is there anything that
still mystifies you after seeing what you've seen?
And there are things that still, I say, I can't be shocked
anymore, but I guess I can. Nothing comes to mind at this
point in time. I think.
I think sometimes I'm just shocked by the ugliness of some
people that there's, there's just not, they just they just
don't come across as being good people.
And they, some of them come across as being really bad
people. And which is kind of the reason
why I've become a hermit and a recluse.
I just sit here and mind my own effing business.
That's just. That makes me that makes me a
little bit sad chip like I don't like the fact that makes.
Me sad and disappointed too. Reality of it, unfortunately.
Yeah, we hate it. We hate bullies.
We are. We are anti bully.
Well, you, you know. I have.
A Trolls or I? Have a handful of people in my
life that I consider my closest of close and I know a lot of
people and I'm friendly with a lot of people, but I don't call
people my friends that has a that has an elitism to it to me,
you know, that I have to put them in it in a higher in a
higher rank. But I can be friendly and nice
and cordial to anybody. But if the if I'm not, you know,
I don't want to have a part of it.
I don't want to be a part of anything that's got to do with
being nasty. I don't want to have a part of
that. So if the easiest way is to kind
of tighten the reins a little bit or whatever, I'm going to
try to enjoy whatever time I've got left on this side of the
grave. That's my goal.
I like your philosophy on the word friends.
I always, you know, I think it's a Robin Williams joke, right?
Where it's, you know, a friend is somebody who will help you
move and a real friend is someone who will help you move
bodies, right. And I and I, it's like, and I'm
in Hollywood, you know how it is everyone.
Oh, that's my friend. That's my friend's like, dude,
you're not friends. You might be friendly.
You know you're not friends. You know, and the people that
are in the paranormal arena, you know, publicly you can call them
friends, but basically they're colleagues.
And you might have, you might have warm feelings for them, but
when push comes to shove, you're not hanging out with them,
you're not inviting them over to your house, you're not doing
these things with them. So you've got a friendly
relationship with them. So I'm very cautious about how I
label people, you know, and I'm very cautious about who I use
the words I love you with. Very cautious.
Yeah, it's, it's, yeah, it's a, it's a good philosophy to live
by. And yeah, stay guarded, protect
yourself in that sense, for sure.
It's hard to open up and then get burned.
Nobody wants that, especially towards the end.
It's like, fuck it, I know what I want.
I know who I want and I'm not going to, you know, burn
calories on someone who's not going to give it it.
Took a lot of time and a lot of experience and trips around the
block numerous times to get to where I'm sitting right here
right now. But everything I've ever
experienced has brought me right here to the right now.
So do I have any regrets? Maybe a few, but not that many.
And am I going to live my life to the best of my potential with
whatever time I've got left? You betcha.
Chip, I want to end it with on another good note about that,
about your wisdom, about you've done it and just sort of leaving
people with a bit of advice, which is if someone someone
listening, especially coming off of psychic kids and you know
what that meant to you personally and being a kid.
If someone listening suspects they may be sensitive or
intuitive, what is the first step that you would recommend
they do? This is going to sound
self-serving, but I'd say buy and read my book.
I love it. Yeah, it is great.
Buy and read my I. Don't think it sounds
self-serving, I think it sounds like wise advice.
No, it's wonderful. Well, it's like, it's like a
good vaulting point. It's a good first step in
figuring some stuff out. And you know, from there, you
know, don't just assume that your child is mentally
disturbed. Growing up psychic.
I love it. Growing up psychic, it was the
name of the book. It was growing up psychic by
Chip coffee. It's and it's it is it?
It's a wonderful balance. Chip tells a great story not
only about himself but then rolls it, flows it through with
his experiences on the show and dealing with other kids and then
how he grew up with it. And then also at the end of it
for noobs like myself, there's a nice glossary at the end so you
really understand what he's talking about and how he looks
at it and defines things that and his experiences.
You're right, it is a good it isn't a great intro book for
somebody if they're unsure, especially young, what to how to
how they could feel and and move forward with it.
For sure, Chip, I thank you so much.
I really appreciate. You talking to you.
Thank you so much for sharing everything.
I really appreciate it. I appreciate you guys.
You guys behave yourself. I hope Santa's good to you.
Yeah. Well, all right, Chip.
Thank you, Stan. Make sure I'm good to myself.
Wonderful holiday. Well, that's it for another
episode of Splintered Spirits. Be sure to like, share, and
subscribe to our YouTube channel, Spotify, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Until next time, stay curious.