We recently connected with Courtney Eastman and have shared our conversation below.

Courtney, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most significant happenings from this endeavor happened most recently! In March 2023, two friends and I found ourselves in the middle of an exciting moment as we brought history back to the location we were investigating for the weekend, and it all happened by sheer chance!

We had been in Louisville, Kentucky for a long weekend of investigating the infamously haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a former tuberculosis hospital. Trying to waste some time, we ventured over state lines to New Albany, Indiana to visit The Odd Shop, a vintage and oddities shop. The three of us had a struck-up conversation with Christian, the owner, and asked if they had anything relating to the sanatorium, and to our surprise, they did! We learned that a while back they had acquired an antique wheelchair from Waverly Hills! It once belonged to a patient, even detailing their name in red paint on the bottom of the seat! They had wanted to return it to the location for some time but didn’t know how to get in contact. Knowing we were going to be there for the next few days, we couldn’t deny the opportunity to make things right and bring it back to its home.

Researching the name that we found on the bottom of the chair, we learned that it once belonged to Arbelle Robinson. She had been a former Woodhaven patient, the nursing home that would fill the space of Waverly Hills after the tuberculosis era. She had passed on March 24th, 1971 and nearly 52 years to the exact date of her passing, we brought her chair back into the halls she once called home. We were all in shock when we realized we had only been three days short of her passing anniversary!

It had been such a thrill to be able to give back to history in some way and to do it for a location loved by many in this dark tourism field was a highlight of the year already. It was a moment I felt like we were meant to be a part of and it’s also one I’ll cherish forever.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The world of the strange and unusual have always felt natural to me. It’s been a constant in my life since I could remember; that natural curiosity towards the places being reclaimed by nature and the stories that are seldom told had been there, but it hadn’t been until the world slowed down that I finally leaped into exploring this odd side of life.

In October 2020, I created an Instagram blog called The Ghoul Guide. It was my way of creating a creative outlet for me to showcase the haunted locations and the urban legends that I grew up around in Western New York and a place for me to meet like-minded individuals who wanted to explore the world of the supernatural. From that day on, things had taken off and over the last two and a half years, I found myself able to tell some incredible stories of the past, mingle with the paranormal world, and help bring attention to historical locations that are in need of support! While doing this, I try to bring a positive approach to a side of life many of us fear, focusing more on the lives and stories these places once held rather than the negative ideals that come with this obscure hobby.

I’ve been very fortunate to have grown a following to nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram through my various travels throughout the East Coast and Mid-West, have several conversations on various paranormal podcasts, be featured in Haunted Magazine, as well as The Feminine Macabre Volumes I & III!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Over the last two years, I’ve organically built my social media following on various platforms by taking a chance to explore the weird side of life and my curiosity for the supernatural. While I’ve allowed my passion for obscure travels and strange tales of the other side to come through each post/video made to capture an audience, I also have allowed my audience the opportunity to grow with me through this journey. With the help of story posts on various platforms, cross-interactions on platforms, and even live streams, it’s given me an avenue to build a small community among my followers, showcase my personality to them, and allow them access to my adventures and investigations.

My advice for those wanting to grow in social media is to stay true to yourself and the message you’re about and to also have fun with what you’re posting. Your passion and creativity will be infectious and draw others in, leading to a following that you created by simply being yourself. It’s also easy to get caught up in the numbers and comparisons of other others out there, but it’s all an algorithm. Hard work and consistency pay off, and as long as you’re having fun and feel proud of your work, and aren’t hurting anyone, then nothing else matters!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Being an avid fan of stories that are seldom told and the historical locations left to be reclaimed by nature, I’d say that my mission with The Ghoul Guide is doing my part in helping to keep history alive, even if that means telling ghost stories and strange tales.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://instagram.com/theghoulguide
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/theghoulguide
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/theghoulguide
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/@theghoulguide
• Other: TikTok: http://tiktok.com/theghoulguide

Image Credits
Courtney Eastman, The Ghoul Guide