The community of Elko has a lot of rich history. From historic buildings to rich traditions, there are many things to admire about our town’s past. Some people enjoy diving into Elko’s yesteryears and learning about it as much as they can. However, not everyone who enjoys doing this does so from the angle of researching architecture or people. There are some, such as today’s guests, who have a desire to explore the more paranormal side of Elko’s history!
This week, we’re joined by the gang behind The Battleborn Ghostbusters! This group of ghost hunters is made up of Kymberlee Holladay, Wyatt Riley, and Adam Robinson. Wyatt’s mom, Shelli Riley, joined us for our conversation. The team has been friends for many years and they have recently decided to combine their love for the paranormal to form this collaboration. The goal of The Battleborn Ghosthunters is to explore local areas for signs of the spooky and educate the community about the realities of things such as spirits and poltergeists, through weekly content and posts.
Thank you for joining us this week, Ghostbusters! This first question is for you, Shelli. How would you explain what your son and his friends are trying to accomplish by putting this group out into the community?
Shelli- A lot of what the group strives to do is educate people on things that are out there in the community. What people see when they watch these shows on television is not accurate. These shows are all exaggerated. What actually happens is a lot calmer than you see on TV. They want to document real, honest-to-God stories of how real hauntings happen to show people what the reality is.
Is there much paranormal activity in Elko? If so, where?
Wyatt- There is a lot of activity in Elko. The Chamber of Commerce building has some activity in it. In the Commercial building, there’s a top floor that’s blocked off to everybody; my dad has had a couple of experiences up there. There’s also the old hospital that was torn down over by Elko High School.
What sort of apparitional experiences has each of you had in your life?
Kym- My part is with a lot of the K-9 involvement in what we do. Dogs can sense things that a lot of people can’t. So I do a lot of research on how dogs work and have trained them for about six years now. I’ve personally had paranormal experiences with dogs from my dogs barking and growling at “nothing” to having six separate dogs at six different times follow something across the same room in my house in Spring Creek.
Wyatt- I grew up in a trailer in Spring Creek. There was one night, I had my bed facing where I could see down the hallway and into the kitchen. I rolled over, and I saw this heavier-set woman floating. She was dressed in an apron, and when she turned, she had three faces. Another one was a guy with long, gold hair and sunglasses, dressed in a leather jacket with chains around his torso, walked through my door, and stared at me. Then all of a sudden, a wolf walked in and sat right in front of me. The last one, I saw a sailor’s costume for a little kid just standing there without a body or anything; I woke up to that about four or five times one night. Those experiences are what got me into ghost hunting, and I’ve been doing it for about ten years now.
Adam- I was fourteen, and I walked into my dad’s bedroom to use his bathroom. The way the bathroom was set up, to the right of the sink was a mirror and you can see into the living through the reflection of it. I looked up from brushing my teeth and saw three people standing in the doorway. My dad happened to walk in at that time, and he walked right through these three people! I stared at them for a minute to let my brain focus on what was going on, and I saw that it was my mom, who died when I was twelve, my great-grandmother, who died the day I was born, and my youngest cousin who had died in a fire when she ten or twelve. That tripped me out and made me think that maybe there is something out there.
What would you say to someone who doubts or dismisses all of this ghostly talk? How do you respond to the skeptic?
Kym- You believe what you believe. I’m not really here to change anyone’s mind, but I know what I’ve experienced. However, when we go out, we look for every possible thing, something odd could be before assuming it’s paranormal. For example, we went out into the tunnels under Home Depot, and our flashlight kept turning off. The paranormal can take energy from electronics, but when we got home, we sat with the flashlight on for the same amount of time, and it still turned off. So, it was just something with the flashlight itself.
Wyatt- I would offer them the opportunity to go out on a hunt with us, but as Kym said, not everything you experience out there is paranormal. Nine out of ten times, the explanation for something can be explained. So, there’s about a half and half chance that when we go out, we’re going to find what we’re looking for. But that’s okay; we’re not out there to make people believe.
Wonderful! Well, thank you for sharing your passion and experiences with us this week. Is there anything else we need to know before we let you get back to busting ghosts?
Kym- If someone has in interest in this, we’re always willing to take people out with us! Whether we find anything or not, it’s always a good time! We’re also looking for new places to go, and we love hearing people’s paranormal stories. So, please share [them] with us!
If you would like to join Battleborn Ghostbusters for an adventure, you can email them at battlebornghostbusters@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page
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If you would like to submit a FREE entry for The Around Town Bulletin Board, simply email us anthonyaroundtown@gmail.com
See you around, Elko!
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