Born in the Shadow of a Gothic Prison
Growing up in Moundsville, West Virginia, Ryan Zacherl lived next to an imposing landmark, the towering, Gothic-style West Virginia Penitentiary. Although the prison closed just a year after he was born, its dark presence captured his imagination as a teenager. While volunteering at the prison’s haunted house attraction, he fell in love with investigating the unexplained. It was in this historic, heavy environment that he crossed paths with Jason McKinney in February of 2009.
Together with friends Dave and Steve, they began filming their investigations. When a television broadcasting deal fell through, they decided to upload their videos to a relatively new website called YouTube in early 2011. Today, their channel, Paranormal Quest, is closing in on 300,000 subscribers, making them true veterans of the online paranormal space.
“We always joke and say we met in prison. It was that proximity to that prison which I really didn’t pay any mind for the first 13 years of my life, but when I was 14 it kind of drew me in and never let me go.”
The Scariest Moments Aren’t Always Paranormal
Over the years, the Paranormal Quest team has explored some of the most famous haunted destinations across Appalachia, including the massive Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and the eerie St. Albans Sanatorium. However, one of their most terrifying encounters occurred at a private, abandoned cabin in Logan County, West Virginia. Known locally as the “cursed cabin,” the site was rumored to bring tragic fates to anyone who stepped inside.
The investigation was plagued by unnerving events. Jason suffered unexplained physical scratches on his back, and another teammate was hospitalized with cardiac symptoms shortly after leaving. Yet, the true highlight of terror happened at 2:00 in the morning when an uninvited stranger emerged from the pitch-black woods. Holding a walking stick with a flashlight taped to it, the man stood with them in the darkness and casually asked a spine-chilling question: “If y’all could pick, how would you want to die?”.
“Here’s this stranger guy we don’t know who he is… asking us, ‘How would you want to die?’ When he said that, that is almost scarier than anything paranormal.”
Breaking the Brain to Feed the Content Machine
Creating content for YouTube might look like a dream job, but behind the scenes, it can be an absolute grind. For years, the team pushed themselves to publish an hour-to-two-hour documentary every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. The relentless cycle of traveling, investigating, and editing took a heavy mental toll, causing Ryan to struggle with severe anxiety and frequent panic attacks. They realized they were spending so much time trying to document their lives that they were forgetting to actually live them.
To save their sanity and restore their passion for the work, the team recently began scaling back their high-concept, cinematic production style. By moving toward a more raw, authentic presentation, they have found it much easier to connect with the genuine energy of the spaces they visit.
“When you’re distracted by the cinematics of your cinematography or the quality of every single shot that you get, you’re not in tune with the actual energy of the buildings, and it becomes very quiet.”
Are You Ready to Stand in the Dark?
Before you head out to find your own haunted adventures, you will definitely want to hear the full, raw conversation between these professional ghost hunters. Grab some popcorn, turn off the lights, and prepare for a fascinating, two-hour journey into the mysteries of Appalachia by watching the original podcast interview!
