Subjects of Interest:
Candle Face Chronicles
Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona
January 20, 2025
Earlier this month, on January 12, I got a call from Mr. Smoe’s brother. He told me his brother had died, that no one claimed the body, and that there were three boxes of things he thought I’d want to see. My name was in Mr. Smoe’s phone, listed as “Ray (The Conduit),” which is why he contacted me. The same day, I met with Houston's GenX Paranormal Investigations team. Their concerns about the fugitives—that I might be spreading evil, not escaped lost souls—have haunted me ever since.
But here’s what I didn’t share before because I was saving it for a podcast that never happened, and now with Mr. Smoe’s death, it never will: Mr. Smoe and I had a history. For months, he pushed for a podcast interview with Robert and Sara from the Get Haunted Network. He wanted to expose me as a fraud, to debate me about Candle Face. He wanted to identify who Candle Face really was. But Rob and Sara, and other podcasts in the Get Haunted Network, were uninterested due to their focus on paranormal entertainment, not paranormal investigations. The interview never happened, but it wasn’t for lack of trying on his part—or mine. I wasn’t angry with Mr. Smoe; I wanted the debate too. Not to argue, but to question him, to learn everything he knew about Candle Face and her supposed compassion.
And now, I might have my answers.
During the GenX meeting on January 12, I asked about Isabel and the Children of Isabel. None of them knew, but one member found a Facebook page. Its single post, dated September 20, 2024, showed an image of a young girl and this message:
Welcome to The Children of Isabel. We’re here to share the real story of Isabel, the third child of La Llorona. A lot of people call her Candle Face and think she’s some evil spirit, but that’s just not true. We want to show people who she really is. Isabel’s brothers became gods, but she got erased from history. She’s actually a compassionate spirit, and the stories about her being mean or haunting people are all wrong. We’re here to prove that Isabel isn’t the monster people think. In this group, we talk about the truth of who Isabel really is. We don’t agree with people like Arthur who lie about her being dangerous. Join us and help spread her real story so people can see her for who she really is!
Who wrote this? Mr. Smoe? It has to be him. He used an email address, childrenofisabel@gmail.com, to contact me. If this is his work, it proves what I’ve suspected: he believed Isabel wasn’t evil, and he created this page to rewrite her story. I’m certain of it because of the spelling quirks I’ve seen from him before. In his emails, he always spelled Sara’s name as “Sarrah” and “you’re” as “your’re.” Those same errors appeared in anonymous comments he left on my online journal. His patterns gave him away then, and they do now.
The post mentions La Llorona, the weeping woman who drowned her two sons to punish their father. Everyone in Texas knows this story—it’s part of our culture. But this page claims Isabel was a third child, likely older than the boys, erased from history while her brothers became gods. If that’s true, it’s as if Isabel wasn’t just erased—she was deliberately buried by history, her story lost while her brothers were exalted. Her anger makes sense. She’s not just forgotten; she’s overshadowed by her brothers and her mother’s infamy. This would explain why she demands acknowledgment and belief.
And then there’s the line: “We don’t agree with people like Arthur who lie about her being dangerous.” Seeing my name in their post felt both like a threat and a challenge. They want to rewrite Isabel’s story—and they think I’m in the way.
This changes everything. Isabel might be Candle Face, but now there’s a chance she’s something more—a vengeful spirit and a forgotten victim. The clues from Mr. Smoe’s boxes, especially the one labeled “Isabel,” feel more critical than ever.
If Isabel is Candle Face, then every piece of her story I uncover could also strengthen her power—and that’s a risk I’ll have to take. The real work begins now. I have 31 fugitives to protect, a treasure trove of intelligence to sort through, and Candle Face’s true identity within reach. Isabel’s story is waiting to be pieced together, and I’ll be the one to do it.
Personal Note to My Readers
Is the Facebook image Isabel? How closely does it resemble her? Her clothing is a critical clue to her cultural heritage, resembling traditional Aztec-style garments. The intricate geometric patterns on her outfit, rich in earthy tones, suggest a design inspired by ancient Mesoamerican artistry. These details, combined with her appearance, suggest a strong connection to Aztec or indigenous roots, rather than a purely Hispanic identity. Her attire hints at an Aztec lineage, where clothing often reflected social status, cultural beliefs, and regional identity.
Her Aztec-like appearance, with her radiant skin tone, distinct facial features, and traditional attire, suggests that Isabel’s story is deeply intertwined with an ancient past that extends beyond Mexican folklore. While her name and cultural significance might place her within the broader Hispanic context, her clothing puts her firmly in an Aztec or Mesoamerican lineage.
Or, perhaps this is merely an artist's best guess, a creative interpretation shaped by stories and imagination, and it bears little resemblance to the real Isabel. After all, how could anyone truly capture the face of a figure so deeply rooted in history? It’s possible that Isabel’s true appearance has been lost to time, altered by the countless retellings of her story. This image might reflect more of what we believe her to be—a connection to an ancient world—than who she actually is.
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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