FEATURED LECTURER

 BRIAN KEENE  is the author of over fifty books and three-hundred short stories — mostly horror, crime, fantasy, and nonfiction. They have been translated into over a dozen different languages and have won numerous awards (see sidebar). His 2003 novel, The Rising, is credited with inspiring pop culture’s recurrent interest in zombies. He has also  written for such media properties as Doctor Who, Thor, Aliens, Harley Quinn, The X-Files, Doom Patrol, Justice League, Hellboy, Superman, and Masters of the Universe. He was the showrunner for Realm Media and Blackbox TV’s Silverwood: The Door. 

 From 2015 to 2020, he hosted the immensely popular The Horror Show with Brian Keene podcast. He also hosted (along with Christopher Golden) the long-running Defenders Dialogue podcast, and (with Jim Cobb and Dacia Arnold) the How To Survive 2025 limited series). Keene also serves on the Board of Directors for the Scares That Care 501c charity organization, which helps sick children, burn survivors, and those battling breast cancer. 

  Timothy is is an illustrator, author, paranormal investigator, and folk musician living in Pennsylvania. His illustrations have appeared in the pages of various books, magazines, fanzines and comics as well as on many record and CD covers. Since 1995, Timothy has been making music both solo and with his band, Stone Breath. Stone Breath has released over a dozen albums. Timothy makes regular appearances on the paranormal radio show, Where Did the Road Go?, and has appeared as a guest on many other podcasts and radio programs, including Coast to Coast AM.  

Strange Familiars is a paranormal podcast that tells stories through a combination of historical research, witness interviews, discussion, and on-site recordings when possible. Join Timothy and his rotating cast of co-hosts (Alison, Chad, Jon, and James) as they legend trip into unknown and forgotten places.

We create the entire podcast ourselves - everything from the logo and other artwork to recording, editing, and mixing the audio. Even the background music and opening theme were performed by Timothy's band, Stone Breath. 

Lon Strickler is a Fortean researcher, author, and publisher of the syndicated 'Phantoms and Monsters' blog. He began the blog in 2005, which has steadily grown in popularity and is read daily by tens of thousands of paranormal enthusiasts, investigators and those seeking the truth. His research and reports have been featured on hundreds of online media sources. Several of these published reports have been presented on various television segments, including The History Channel's 'Ancient Aliens,' Syfy's 'Paranormal Witness', 'Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files,' and Destination America's 'Monsters and Mysteries in America.'

He has been interviewed on hundreds of radio & online broadcasts, including multiple guest appearances on 'Coast to Coast AM.' He was also featured on Destination America's 'Monsters and Mysteries in America' television show for 'The Sykesville Monster' episode. Lon has written 9 books and is currently the host of Phantoms & Monsters Radio on YouTube.

Lon was born and raised in south central Pennsylvania, near the Gettysburg National Military Park and Battlefield. After living in the Baltimore, MD metro area for 40 years, he eventually moved back to his hometown in 2016.