UpCountry Magazine, September/October 2019

Ghost profile:

John Zaffis An interview with the ‘Godfather of the Paranormal’

John Zaffis. Photo illustration provided by Sam Baltrusis

Editor’s note: The following is an interview with paranormal investigator and demonologist John Zaffis, who will appear at MassParacon at the Seven Hills Inn in September. The interview, used with permission of the author, is an excerpt from “Ghost Writers: The Hallowed Haunts of Unforgettable Literary Icons.”

By Sam Baltrusis “If the day ever comes when John Zaffis doesn’t fear anything, it’s time for me to get the hell out of this line of work.”

— John Zaffis, “Haunted Collector”

John Zaffis, star of the “Haunted Collector” and co-author of “Demon Haunted,” has been called every name in the book.

“I’ve heard Ziggity, old man, gray beard, you name it,” Zaffis said, jokingly, during a recent interview. “You’ve never

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heard of Ziggity? People call me that all the time.”

The latest nickname making the rounds is the “godfather of the paranormal,” and he’s not exactly sure how that one came about.

“There are so many,” he told me. “I believe it started when

one of my agents called me the ‘godfather of the paranormal’ and it just kind of stuck. I went with it.”

Zaffis said the “godfather” moniker was an upgrade compared with what people nicknamed him back in the day when he first started investigat-