Chris McKinnell, grandson of famous American paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, is bringing his family legacy to the North East with two events, including a Halloween special in Northumberland. The tour includes a talk at Seven Stories in Newcastle on October 9 and a ghost hunt at The Haunted Headquarters in Ashington on October 31.
Family legacy and famous cases
McKinnell's grandparents established a ghost-hunting group in the US in the early 1950s. Their decades of experiences included investigations that inspired the Amityville Horror and The Conjuring Universe films. McKinnell will discuss the cases behind those and other real-life investigations during his talk in Newcastle.
Seven Stories, the national centre for children's books, might not seem a natural choice for an evening of scary stories, but it is there that McKinnell will discuss his family's and his own investigations, delving into cases known through movies, including Annabelle and The Nun.
Venue and event details
Seven Stories says that as a "venue built around stories, imagination and bringing extraordinary tales to life", it "provides a particularly fitting backdrop for an evening exploring the real stories behind some of the world's most famous paranormal cases". McKinnell grew up surrounded by these cases and became an investigator in his own right, working alongside his grandparents and spending decades researching hauntings, unexplained phenomena and consciousness.
He is now the director of the Warren Legacy Foundation for Paranormal Research. Audiences can expect to hear about investigations spanning decades, including those from the Warren archives as well as McKinnell's own, and he will discuss the separation between 'fact and fiction'. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask him questions towards the end of the talk, and VIP tickets are available for a meet-and-greet.
Halloween special in Northumberland
A spokesperson said: "The event is less about Hollywood horror and more about hearing the stories directly from someone who was part of the family and the investigations themselves. Chris will also take questions from the audience and discuss how his views on paranormal phenomena have developed over the years."
Following his Newcastle stop, McKinnell's tour will take him to Ashington on October 31 for a Halloween special at The Haunted Headquarters, a former 1800s police station and courthouse now turned paranormal investigation venue, which is also set to open a crime and punishment museum.
Tickets for An Evening with Chris McKinnell cost £25, while the VIP option is £45, which includes a pre-event meet-and-greet, priority seating, and a signed copy of his book The Warren Legacy. The event at The Haunted Headquarters also has a VIP Plus ticket option for £75, which enables the audience to continue the evening with a ghost hunt through the venue with McKinnell in attendance.
Doors will open at 7pm each evening, and the shows will start at 7.30pm.
