Subjects of Interest:
Candle Face Chronicles
The Lost Souls
January 29, 2024
In paranormal research, authenticity and courage are qualities one would expect from those who claim expertise. Yet, my recent experiences paint a drastically different picture, one marred by cowardice, insincerity, and a blatant disregard for the truth. This journal entry is a testament to the disillusionment and betrayal I’ve faced from the so-called paranormal “experts” in my quest to investigate Candle Face, a ghost haunting the Austin area that I’ve named and researched extensively.
My journey into this ghostly world began with two interviews with individuals claiming knowledge about Candle Face. After these interviews, my nights were filled with dreams of flashing lights and jarring sounds. Soon, these dreams morphed into the agonized screams of people, then morphing into coherent voices and images of Candle Face’s victims, all asking me to help them find their remains, identify their killers, and connect with their living relatives. These spirits, I believe, have chosen me as their messenger due to my past confrontation with Candle Face, detailed in my memoir The Empty Lot Next Door, and my ability to write about these encounters.
Since October 2023, I’ve been visited by 11 spirits, each recounting their tragic demise. Lacking experience in paranormal phenomena, I sought assistance from paranormal investigators, mediums, and psychics, hoping to decode these messages. Yet, despite their claims of bravery and expertise, their responses - or lack thereof - have been nothing short of infuriating.
Many of these self-proclaimed investigators boast of their fearlessness online, but their actions tell a different story. At the slightest hint of paranormal activity, they flee, contradicting their public persona. They claim they don’t do it when confronted, even though their videos show otherwise. Such duplicity undermines their credibility and insults those genuinely seeking answers in the paranormal.
On January 24, 2024, a significant breakthrough came when a former private investigator friend linked the report of a missing African-American girl to the testimony of one of the spirits. But as soon as I published a journal entry about this potential connection, these “Experts” abruptly severed ties with me. Their sudden departure raises serious questions. Is it jealousy, seeing me achieve what they couldn’t in mere months while they have been trying for years, even decades? Or is it skepticism about my intentions, suspecting that I’m exploiting these experiences for literary and financial gain?
Another plausible reason for the sudden withdrawal of the “experts” could be rooted in fear, an element often overlooked but glaringly present in the paranormal community. As evidenced by numerous discussions and accounts on Paranormal Facebook groups, Reddit pages, and even on the darker corners of the internet like the Darknet, there’s an underlying paradox within this community: a tangible fear of confronting the very phenomena they seek. This fear isn’t just a superficial anxiety but runs deep, influencing their actions and decisions. In the case of Candle Face, a ghost with a notorious reputation and a personal history with me, it’s conceivable that this fear has played a significant role. Despite their public facade of bravery and expertise, the experts might be terrified of encountering Candle Face, especially given the intensity and directness of the experiences I’ve shared. This fear could explain their abrupt severance of ties with me – a subconscious retreat from a reality too daunting to face. It’s a reminder that in the world of ghost hunting and paranormal investigation, courage is often a mask worn loosely, easily cast aside when the paranormal becomes too terrifying to bear.
Yes, I’m a writer, and that’s likely one of the main reasons I was chosen for this position. My initial research on Candle Face was intended for my blog. But as the spirits began to visit, my focus shifted to their stories. If these experts had bothered to investigate, they would have known this. Or the psychics should have known right away. Yet, they accuse me of insincerity while monetizing their own ventures. These experts run their own podcasts, some upload videos to YouTube with advertisements, and their websites feature a range of merchandise. Coffee mugs, T-shirts, handbags, and healing crystals are just a few items they peddle, alongside renting or selling paranormal equipment. Many also offer haunted tours and solicit donations. One expert is an author herself! But they draw the line with me potentially writing a book to help the lost souls. Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black?
I find myself abandoned by those I believe would stand with me. If these experts are indeed frauds or genuinely afraid of facing Candle Face, I understand that the paranormal community is filled with both. But their actions, or lack thereof, have left me to continue this mission alone. The irony isn’t lost on me: those who parade their expertise in the paranormal world are the first to flee from its reality. Meanwhile, I stand firm, committed to giving voice to the spirits who have chosen me as their conduit.
Is Candle Face real?
This is a complex and deeply personal question. On the one hand, there's the possibility that Candle Face is a manifestation of my childhood trauma, a figure created by my mind to cope with fear and emotional turmoil. On the other hand, the consistent details, physical evidence, and shared experiences with others suggest that Candle Face may be a genuine supernatural entity. Whether Candle Face is real or a creation of my psyche, her impact on my life has been undeniably profound. Ultimately, the answer to this question is up to you.
How are you able to communicate with the dead? Are you a psychic or medium?
I don’t consider myself a psychic or medium, although many in the paranormal community believe I have some kind of gift, perhaps one that I haven’t fully tapped into yet. Unlike those who claim to communicate with any spirit, my ability seems limited to connecting with Candle Face’s victims and Candle Face herself. While I’m not sure how this works, the connection is strong and focused on these particular Lost Souls, allowing me to share their stories and seek justice for them.
Do you use AI to create your content?
From October 2023 to around March 2024, I personally wrote the short descriptions you see on Google and social media platforms when my web pages or journal entries are shared or found in search results. These descriptions are those brief, 160-character summaries that pop up beside the URL. It was challenging to condense complex ideas into such a small space.
By March 2024, I began letting Wix, my website host, handle this task for me. Their AI generates these summaries much faster and often with more precision than I could manage within that tight character limit. It was a practical decision to let the system take over this small aspect of my work, allowing me to focus more on my writing and investigations.
The web pages and journal entries themselves are entirely my own. My writing encompasses a wide range of topics, including the testimonies of the Lost Souls, my investigations into Candle Face/Isabel, my books like Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona and The Haunted Handbook, as well as other works and research. Everything I write is rooted in my decades of experience in writing (over ten books in 15 years) and my 30+ years of expertise in intelligence analysis, missing persons cases, and human trafficking investigations. The core content you read always comes from me.
By early March 2025, I decided to create a Shopify account to sell copies of Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona, The Haunted Handbook, and to look for caretakers for The Scrolls of Souls. It was a tremendous amount of work to manually transfer all 130 journal entries from Wix to Shopify and recreate the Google SEO titles and descriptions for each entry. Shopify’s blogging platform also required a summary for each journal entry. Summarizing my work was taking around 30 minutes per entry, which became overwhelming and unsustainable.
To streamline the process, I allowed AI to create the summaries for me by uploading each journal entry and letting the AI generate the SEO descriptions, summaries, and ALT text for images. Here's a clear breakdown of what is AI-generated:
- Some journal entry titles.
- Nearly all SEO journal descriptions (up to 160 characters).
- Nearly all summaries (which are only available in the backend and not visible to the public).
Everything else you read comes from me, whether it’s documenting testimonies from the Lost Souls, researching Candle Face/Isabel, or writing my books. The AI simply handles the tedious, mechanical parts of the process, leaving the writing, storytelling, and investigations entirely in my hands.
I review all AI-generated summaries and descriptions to ensure they accurately represent the essence of my writing. My decision to use AI for these backend tasks is about maintaining efficiency and allowing me to focus on what truly matters: writing, storytelling, investigations, and giving voice to the Lost Souls, protecting the Fugitives, investigating Candle Face/Isabel, and exploring new projects. Your experience as a reader is shaped by my work, not by AI.
Why did you end the podcast?
I decided to cancel the Candle Face Chronicles Podcast for two key reasons. First, while the Get Haunted Network is a fantastic community for paranormal entertainment, it wasn't the right fit for the serious and important nature of my work with Candle Face Chronicles. The network's lighthearted tone didn’t align with my mission.
Second, the friends and family of one of Candle Face's victims reached out and asked me to stop discussing their loved one on the podcast because it was causing them too much pain. Their request made me realize that my work, while well-intentioned, was unintentionally hurting those who are still living and grieving.
These reasons led me to end the podcast, but I remain committed to continuing my mission to uncover Candle Face’s origins and methods with a renewed focus on compassion and respect for the living.
Why did you stop using www.candleface.com and start using www.branchingplotbooks.com?
I have had the branchingplotbooks.com domain since 2012, but I transferred the domain to Shopify to use it as my storefront. I needed to do this because Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona can't be published or sold via Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing because of its spiral binding requirement. The same goes for The Haunted Handbook.
I decided to sell them, along with most of my other books, on Shopify because it allows me to provide a more streamlined and reliable experience for my readers. It also enables me to have full control over my work and how it reaches my audience. Additionally, all my books are still available on Amazon (paperback and Kindle), except for Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona and The Haunted Handbook due to their unique binding requirements.
I also chose to use Shopify’s blogging platform, keeping all books, my journal, and the shopping experience located in one place.
I plan on keeping www.candleface.com up for the interim, but it will likely go down as well, or at least be redirected to www.branchingplotbooks.com. In the end, I want my work to be more streamlined and easier for the paranormal community and my readers to find my work, read and help the lost souls, protect the fugitives, and care for the Scrolls of Souls.
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