Subjects of Interest:
Candle Face Chronicles
The Lost Souls
March 1, 2024
I used to go to bed early every night, hoping a lost soul might show up. But lately, they’ve been getting more aggressive—some have even attacked me. The rush I used to feel has faded, replaced by a sense of responsibility. I know I have to help them, no matter the risks.
Tonight, as I was working in my garage, the door suddenly lifted on its own. First, I saw a pair of legs come into view, then a bluish mini skirt, and finally a white T-shirt hugging a slim figure, topped by long blonde hair. This spirit wasn’t going to wait until I fell asleep—she wanted my attention right then. After she stepped in, the garage door shut behind her on its own.
She started speaking, but I cut in, asking, “Can I ask you something?” She looked shocked, and so was I—this was the first time I’d tried speaking directly to one of the nocturnal visitors. I’ve tried touching them before, but they always pulled away. She answered in a shaky voice, “I can’t answer questions.” Realizing how much pain she’d face when she went back to the portal, I didn’t push. “Okay,” I said, and she went on with her story, walking back and forth in the garage as she spoke.
Working as a waitress on Sixth Street in Austin was always a whirlwind—late nights, loud crowds, and plenty of stories to go around. Among all the chatter, one legend always seemed to come up: Candle Face. They said she was a ghostly child who went after people who didn’t believe in her. I’d heard it all before—locals swapping stories, tourists trying to spook each other—but I never thought much of it. It was just a story.
At least, that’s what I thought.
The night it all changed started like any other shift. I was busy pouring drinks, clearing tables, and catching bits and pieces of conversations. People were talking about Candle Face again. Some regulars said she was this vengeful spirit with a burned face, out to punish anyone who doubted her. I laughed along, joking with one of the guys at the bar, “If Candle Face is real, I guess I’m next!”
I didn’t think twice about it as I walked home later that night. The streets were quiet. Then, out of nowhere, the air around me got warm—unnaturally warm. That’s when I saw her.
She stepped out of the shadows, a small figure barely taller than a child, her face horribly disfigured. Her voice cut through the silence. “You mock what you do not understand.”
I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. “W-w-who are y-y-you?” I stammered, even though I already knew the answer.
“I am the truth,” she said. “The belief you scorn.”
The air around her seemed to shimmer, and for the first time, I got a clear look at her face—charred and grotesque, like something out of a nightmare. I wanted to believe this wasn’t happening, that it was some kind of hallucination, but deep down, I knew. It was her.
“You... you’re not real,” I yelled, my voice trembling.
She stepped closer. “Your disbelief gives me strength,” she hissed. “Your mockery invites your end.”
Panic set in, and I tried to run, but I couldn’t move. It felt like invisible hands were holding me in place. Her laughter filled the streets. “You wanted proof? Now, you will be part of my story.”
And that was it.
The next week, the bar was buzzing with rumors about me. I’d disappeared without a trace. My coworkers were confused, and the last person to see me—the regular I’d joked with—couldn’t stop talking about how I’d laughed off the Candle Face story just hours before.
Now, my voice is part of hers, another warning discussed through Sixth Street. I became the punchline to my own joke, a reminder to anyone who thinks they’re safe: Candle Face doesn’t care if you believe or not. She’ll make you believe.
If I could tell you one thing, Ray, it’s this: don’t laugh at her. Don’t doubt her. Believe, even if it’s just to keep yourself safe.
She thanked me for listening, and I managed a soft, “You’re welcome.” She looked stunned as if still surprised that we had spoken out loud. The garage door opened again, and she slipped out. Feeling an urgent need to record her story, I sprinted to my computer to write down every detail before it faded from memory.
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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