An Interview with Steven LaChance

An Interview with Steven LaChance

by Annette Munnich  August 2008

My first contact with Steven LaChance was during the interview I did of Denice Jones. They are very good friends and speak highly of each other always. Steven had some kind words for Denice that were included in the article.

I remembered seeing the episode of the TV show A Haunting that told his story. Recently I had the opportunity to watch that episode again. It’s called “Fear House.” This was the one that had the clown in it, and that made it stick in my mind as I have a clown thing since John Wayne Gacy.I don’t even like the Burger King guy.

Steven gave me a copy of his book to read in advance as it is released to the public  September 1st. The book gives the whole account of the haunting at the Union, Missouri house. I ended up staying up all night to read it in one sitting. The story is gripping and intense. Too much to fit into a one hour show. In fact the TV program was not half as scary as the book is. Steven says about the house that the spirit would prey upon the fears of the observer. In essence it would morph itself into the things his family dreaded most. How awful is that? Steven lived there less than a month with his three children.

One of the most remarkable aspects to this entire story is that it doesn’t end there. The house was a rental and our hero Steve goes back there to help the new tenants.Anyone who has never been in a severe haunting situation will not be able to appreciate how much courage that takes. And this one was severe.

The second family is very much a part of this book. Steven goes back to help them countless times. The new family stays in the house a lot longer and suffers greatly for it. I’d like to say that I am as strong and kind as he is, and that I would do the same as he did, but in all honesty, I doubt that I could.

If you like reading paranormal books, put this one on your list.

Steven does a radio show on Blog Talk Radio Tuesday nights and begins filming the Haunted Survivors TV show in September. It is a Booth Brothers production as was Children of the Grave, a horror documentary Steven was a part of. The Zombie Road part really gave a chill.   He is also in the new Booth Brothers documentary THE POSSESSED which is the story of the Watseka, Illinois house where the first documented case of possession occured in the United States. I actually just moved to Watseka, so look for a lot more about John Whitman, his house and the upcoming film about it all.

There will be a HAUNTED SURVIVORS TOUR, and a book tour, so check out Steven’s website as he may be coming to your neck of the woods

The Interview

Annette: Was it difficult for you to recount your horrifying experiences while writing THE UNINVITED?

Steven: At times it was like reliving it all over again.  However, I felt that it was important for me to tap back into those feelings to bring them to the book. So many times in interviews I had been asked, “How did you feel at this moment or that moment?”  by tapping into those feelings I was able to demonstrate those emotions with a clearer picture.  That was important to me and I felt that it would be important to the reader. The hardest parts were the parts that dealt with my chldren and the personal losses that I revealed in the book which I felt were important to understand in order to truly understand my part of this haunting.

Annette: How has this experience changed your life?

Steven: Wow, the whole book, The Uninvited is how it changed my life.  At the point when this started I was a very angry and bitter man.  That has changed.  I have learned to release a lot of that bitterness and anger which I feel helped get me into spiritual trouble in the first place. My faith is strong and sound.  Not that I am a paticularly religous man, but I have learned to have faith is to love unconditionally.  Faith and religion are two very different things.  There are those who are very religous out there that have not learned the first thing about “true” faith.  I have also learned that it is important to live your life with the most positive of attitudes.  Faith, Love, and a Postive Attitude that is what truly fuels a good life.

Annette: How many years has it been since you were there at the house?

Steven: There are times when it seems like yestrerday.  The last time I stepped into the house was to remove Linda (Helen in the book) and that was in October of 2005.

Annette: I am also wondering how your children have coped with the ordeal they went through.

Steven: They are all three doing great today.  They dealt with it each in their own way.

My daughter at first had to talk about it. She found her solace in her religion and her faith.  Today she is married and in Januay will become a mother for the first time.  Yes, that will make me a grandpa.

My middle son, does not discuss it at all publicly.  He barely discusses it with me.  He is that way.  Every once in awhile he will ask me something, but for the most part he has put it behind him.  This is his first year of college.  He is a English Major and a Film Student.

My youngest son.  He will talk about it more than the other three to a point.  There are certain aspects that he will not discuss publicly.  We are getting him through that.  He has been home schooled and will begin college in January for Criminal Justice.  He wants a career in Law Enforcement and eventually wants to be a DEA agent.

Overall, I think they have adjusted well and they have gown into young adults that any parent would be proud of.

Annette: What is your opinion on the episode of A HAUNTING that told your story. I know an awful lot was left out.

Steven: They did leave an awful lot of the story out.  It was the readers digest condensed version.  I can’t blame them though, they had a very limited time.  Some of it was way over the top and then some of it was downplayed quite a bit.  However, it did drive me to write the book to tell the whole story.

Annette: Since then you have been busy working in the Paranormal, please tell me a bit about the new show HAUNTED SURVIVORS and your other works with the Booth Brothers.

Steven: Haunted Survivors is still in development and will start filming in September.  What can I say about the Booth Brothers?  Who wouldn’t want to work with them?  They are awesome.  Also, the Union House story has a very small part in the upcoming Booth Brothers production The Possessed due out in October.  I am also working on some other projects with them as well that I am not at liberty to discuss at this time.

Annette: When will HAUNTED SURVIVORS go on the air?

Steven: That remains to be seen.  I do know that you will be seeing myselfl, Tim Yancey, and Bill Bean as part of that line up.

Annette: You are also doing a HAUNTED SURVIVORS tour and radio show?

Steven: We ae hoping the tour will hit in January of 2009.  Haunted Survivor Radio is every Tuesday night on Blog Talk Radio at 7pm Central.

Annette: What do you believe happens when we die?

Steven: Let’s just say that I believe in an afterlife.  Other than that, it would get way too complicated to go into here.  Well, I have this idea of self-inflicted purgatory.  That hell may actually be a state of mind brought on by ourselves after we pass. Sort of follows the lines of Jean Paul Sarte.  lol   Anyone that is really curious about this can always look me up.

Annette: What are the best things a person can do if they find themselves in an extreme haunted situation?

Steven: First off, I have decided that I don’t like the term extreme.  It really does not paint the right picture of what these type of hauntings are all about.  I think I prefer the term violent hauntings.

The best advice that I could give someone is to find someone that has lived through it.  There is a sub-culture of us in the paranormal community who have lived through these type things and we are committed to helping others. We have gained the right type of resources to help these cases and we also have the practical knowledge.  We are their best bet.

 

Annette: Thanks so much Steven for making the time to chat with me. I appreciate it and wish you success with your new book and TV Show.

Visit Steven’s Website

Booth Brothers Page

Denice Jones Life Foundation

Blog Talk Radio Haunted Survivor Show

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