Aaron Thompson and Nick Simons have been in the business of ghost research for more than 10 years. To close out the month of October, the pair debuted on a new Netflix show called “28 Days Haunted.” The two say they auditioned for the show close to a year before they got the call to be featured on it.
“It was like three months down the road Netflix called up. And they were like, ‘Yeah, we want you two.’ OK!” Simons says.
“I was just lucky enough to know this guy,” Simons says. “And he was like, ‘Hey I need another person for this show. You want to go?’ Next thing you know, we’re on a plane off to Connecticut.”
The show follows three teams as they investigate a location for 28 days. The Quad City natives were chosen to go to Preston, Connecticut, where they investigated Captain Grant’s Inn.
They were informed about where they would be going only a few days before filming started.
The show got its name from the theory made popular by the late Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were internationally famous for their paranormal investigations (“The Conjuring” movies were inspired by the Warrens’ experiences.) The Warrens claimed it takes a full 28-day cycle to fully connect with spirits.
“Ghosts were the gateway. The gateway — subject to the idea of it definitely has a lot of layers,” Thompson said.
Simons and Thompson say some of their craziest stories come from right here in the Quad Cities. Specifically, they say the Dan Vinar Furniture building in Rock Island is haunted.
The building, constructed in 1912, once was a YMCA. Many incidents throughout the years there led to what some say is a rise in paranormal activity.
But that’s not the only place in the Quad Cities they say has paranormal activity. The pair had the opportunity to investigate the basement of our very own WHBF Local 4 News station back in 2018.
Since the show aired, the paranormal researchers have been enjoying the support they’ve received so far. “That’s probably the coolest thing, is to hear people that are close to us in our lives say, ‘We’re proud of you,'” Simons says.