We were lucky to catch up with Ben Stephenson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ben, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

Faking possession, faking hauntings, setting up locations, falsifying evidence and so much more are the trends that we are seeing in our field.

In the paranormal field, there is a lot of research that needs to be done. It needs to be verified. It needs to be proven. However, Hollywood and many (but not all) Paranormal Reality Series have ruined that for many people.

The current biggest trend is to “make it” to “become famous” no matter the cost. Friendships have been ruined across the globe due to people such as this. Some will pretend to be possessed and even begin assaulting their fellow investigators all because it makes good tv or looks good on film. However, those of us who are trying to help others that are suffering from a haunting or paranormal activity and looked down upon.

Central Utah Paranormal offers a free in-home service, where we search, identify the issues, debunk what we can and then, if needed, move on with a paranormal investigation. We then assist the client with finding peace and most importantly, getting rid of the entities causing the haunting. It is then important to assist the client(s) make changes in their life, so as to not invite the darkness or entity back into their lives.

Our trend and our goal is to serve those around us who are suffering. I could care less about fame or becoming the next big television star.

Ben, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Ben Stephenson. I am currently 34 years old and have been working in Corrections/Law Enforcement for 8 years. I have an associates and bachelors degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Criminology. I am a huge metal head, it all started from a very young age! My father had a ton of cassette tapes that I would steal from his truck. I had a red and blue Sony tape player that I would tote around the house while singing AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Megadeth and so much more. I still dabble in some metal vocals to this day. I love the outdoors and camping, as a family we try to be out in nature as much as we can. I also served a 2 year proselyting mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints from 2010-2012 in Sacramento California, and this is where a lot of my paranormal experiences began, but not exactly where they started. I began seeing apparitions, spirits if you will, from a very early age. I never tried to communicate with them as a child but would try and tell my family about what I was seeing or hearing and it always got written off as an active imagination so I began to keep those experiences to myself. They went away for a few years and then started to act up again when I was about 19 years old, and continued to spike until I was 22.
While serving my mission I learned very quickly that there is good and bad in this world, both that we could see and not see. I have seen good and I have seen evil. I have watched things move across a room without being touched, I have watched blinds split in half as blessings were given in homes as “evil” entities were cast from them. I have heard people speak in voices that are not their own. I have had people tell me things about myself that they could have never known, and then not even be able to recall what they had said to me. Experiences like this seemed to plague me on my mission while I was living in the Sacramento area.
After I got home from my mission I later met a beautiful girl that I am now lucky enough to call my wife. My ghostly/paranormal experiences began to slow down at this point until we were on a vacation at the Queen Mary. Where my wife was held down and suffocated by an unknown entity in her sleep and I was awoken to the sound of her whispering my name. I then found that I had 3 large scratches on my chest that appeared to be claw marks. It was after this experience that I decided to fight back and form Central Utah Paranormal.
I wanted to learn the who, what, where, when, why and how of the paranormal. I wanted to help people that had suffered from hauntings and I have been doing so, officially, since August of 2019.
I am proud of those that we have been able to help that have been suffering from hauntings. I have also been blessed to be able to help debunk a lot of issues that were actually not of the paranormal realm. I have a small team and we all share the same goal, to serve our communities with those that are suffering from hauntings and paranormal experiences.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Honesty. Those that have worked directly with me and been with me on an investigation know that I have integrity. I am not seeking fame nor am I going to fake evidence and present it to you falsely in your home. I share with you all of the information that I am able to procure in your home with the help of both clients and team members of Central Utah Paranormal. My honesty propelled me to where I am today. Though you may not be able to see all of our investigations online, those that have been approved by clients can be found on YouTube under Central Utah Paranormal.

I have a lot of information and evidence that could be shared with the paranormal field and community but those clients that have asked to have their documents and investigations sealed will never be released to the public. Not in the for of a book. Not in the form of a paper. I again am not seeking fame, integrity to me is more important than anything else.

Any advice for managing a team?

You must be a leader and not a tyrant. You can not bark orders at others or demand respect. When we go into an investigation we are all a team, we work together, we remind each other what to do, we respect each others ideas and opinions, we all work well together. I have had a hard time adding new people to Central Utah Paranormal because the team members that I have now are irreplaceable. I love and know each of them individually. I care about them. I care about their families. I care about their safety. Learn to be a leader and you will go far. People will remember you and people will respect you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://b3nst3ph3nson.wixsite.com/cupinvestigations
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/central.utah.paranormal
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centralutahparanormalinvestigations/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cuparanormal1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CentralUtahParanormal
• Other: linktr.ee/Central.Utah.Paranormal

Image Credits
photo with 4: L to R: Stephanie Eberle, Randy Wilkinson, Ben Stephenson, Kayla Ellett Others only have Ben Stephenson and logo CENTRAL UTAH PARANORMAL