After decades of ghost hunting, Michael Hulse has launched Paranormal Country, an online community, to offer a more respectful space for sharing unexplained experiences
For most people, watching a Halloween ghost hunt on TV is just a bit of spooky fun.
For ghost hunter Michael Hulse, it was one of many strange moments that deepened his commitment to the paranormal — and eventually influenced his decision to launch a new online community.
From Bolton to the Paranormal
Michael grew up in Bolton, in Greater Manchester, and has been sensitive to the paranormal since childhood.
He threw himself into ghost hunting around the year 2000 and has never looked back.
Over the past 25 years, he and his partner have travelled the UK in search of the unexplained, logging more than 150 investigations.
Among his favourites is the eerie Drakelow Tunnels in Worcestershire — pitch black even in the middle of the day.
But one case stands apart: a chilling night at Castle Menzies in Weem, Scotland.
A Night to Remember at Castle Menzies
About 10 years ago, Michael watched a one-off Halloween investigation on TV filmed at Castle Menzies.
The show featured two teams, one of which performed a séance in a turret room, even drawing an inverted pentagram across a billiards table.
Worse still, they failed to close the ritual properly.
By coincidence, Michael and his friends were booked to investigate the castle the very next night.
“As soon as we reached the room, I felt uneasy,” he recalls.
“There was a horseshoe nailed to the doorway, bottles sealed with wax, even a ram’s head skull on the wall. It just felt wrong.”
His companion, a practising witch, confirmed the bottles were used in ritual.
Despite Michael’s misgivings, they pressed on.
Soon afterwards, during a Ouija board session, they encountered a presence that gave its name — one his friend recognised from her coven.
The experience left its mark.
Michael felt as though something had followed them from the turret.
Later, he learned that TV investigators Ryan O’Neill and Chris Fleming had captured similar evidence at Castle Menzies for the Spooked Scotland series.
Their sketches and recordings of an imp-like entity matched disturbingly with what Michael and his group had encountered.
“I know its name, and because of that I can always draw it to me,” he says quietly.
“It’s like there’s still a link there.”
While the encounter stayed with him, it was his experience online that prompted real change.
Over the years, Michael noticed something else that disturbed him — not in castles or tunnels, but online.
In paranormal forums and Facebook groups, discussions often turned sour.
Members tore each other’s evidence apart, competed for status, and split into factions.
“Everyone’s experience is their own,” Michael says.
“It shouldn’t be about who’s got the ‘best’ ghost photo. But that’s what I saw again and again. It felt fractured.”
That growing disillusionment with online spaces led him to consider a better alternative — one built on respect rather than rivalry.
Enter Paranormal Country
Launched in early 2025, Paranormal Country is Michael’s answer: a dedicated social platform for those fascinated by the unexplained.
It goes beyond ghosts to include UFOs, cryptids, ancient mysteries, and spiritualism.
Like Facebook, members can create profiles, post photos and videos, set up groups, and even promote events or sell merchandise.
The site is free to join, with apps available on iOS and Android.
What sets it apart, Michael insists, is the ethos.
“Paranormal Country is about respect — a place for believers, investigators, and experiencers to share without the bickering. A proper community.”
Looking Beyond Britain
While most users so far are in the UK, Michael hopes to widen the scope.
“I’d love people from Africa, Asia, the Middle East — everywhere — to share their stories,” he says.
“Most of what we hear comes from the US and UK, but the paranormal is worldwide. Imagine the experiences we’re missing.”
The site has translation tools built in, helping to bridge that gap.
For Michael, Paranormal Country is more than a tech project.
With 30 years in web design and computing, he had the skills to build it himself — but it’s his years of experience in the field, and a desire to improve how people share and connect, that gave it purpose.
“In the end, it’s about connection,” he says.
“That castle reminded me how thin the veil can be. But it was the division I saw online that pushed me to act. Paranormal Country is about giving people a safe place to explore the unknown together.”
Visit Paranormal Country at https://paranormalcountry.com/
Are you part of an online paranormal community — or have you had your own ghostly encounter? Share your story in the comments!
