Oregon Ghost Conference returns to Seaside
Full weekend event, new ‘investigations’ planned
BY ZOE BUCHLI
Oregon Ghost Conference
Paranormal activity fans on the North
Coast can once again look forward to a
weekend filled with ghost tales and haunted
encounters at the return of the Northwest’s
largest paranormal convention.
The Oregon Ghost Conference will
return to Seaside this Friday, Saturday and
Sunday at the Seaside Civic and Conven-
tion Center. After a two year hiatus, confer-
ence director Rocky Smith is optimistic that
turnout will be strong and that the confer-
ence will give coast residents a chance to
learn more about Seaside’s haunted past.
“We’re just excited to be back,” Smith
said. Attendees of this year’s event can look
forward to tours of paranormal hotspots
such as the Bridge Tender Tavern. The
tavern is one of Seaside’s most notable
sites for haunted tales, especially those of
ghostly singing children.
Conference locations also include
the Starry Night Inn and the Times The-
atre. The conference’s late night tour of
the Times Theatre will follow a movie pre-
miere of “Parasense.” Four other tours of
the Starry Night Inn are planned for the
weekend.
“We have more opportunities for people
to do things outside of the convention cen-
ter (this year), so it feels like the conference
is expanding within Seaside itself,” Smith
said.
The conference will also feature an array
of speakers on paranormal claims, includ-
ing authors and psychic mediums, such as
Ankhasha Amenti, Vivien Powell and Wil-
liam Becker, who will lead attendees on
a tour of a Victorian home. Also slated to
speak are Ross Allison, Karen Frazier and
Genvièv St. Clair, who will cover topics
ranging from historical accounts of haunted
prisons and theories of “sound healing” and
“forensic hypnosis regression.” In 2019, the
conference seemed to be headed for growth
in the region, but that came to a halt when
the pandemic hit.
2021
8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Seaside Civic and Convention Center, 415
1st Ave., Seaside
oregonghostconference.com
“In 2020, I had spent the whole year
planning the event,” Smith said. “That
really was tough because you spend a
whole year planning something and tick-
ets are being sold, then it all goes away,”
he added. If this year’s conference goes
well, Smith hopes to grow the event for
paranormal activity lovers on the coast.
“It’s really about making sure the event
continues,” Smith said.
This year’s conference will also mark
the event’s 10 year anniversary. For
Smith, who grew up in Oregon City, it’s a
passion. Working at museums and learn-
ing about the history of the town’s build-
ings sparked a keen interest for Smith
in accounts of paranormal activity. “It’s
always been a passion of mine to try to
understand what’s happening through the
history of the place,” Smith said.
Smith began researching paranormal
activity in Oregon City in 1995 and has
since documented nearly 100 places in
the city which are rumored to be haunted.
Combining interests in history and para-
normal tales, he founded Northwest
Ghost Tours in 2006.
Six years later, tours in Smith’s home-
town evolved into the first Oregon
Ghost Conference. Smith cites Seaside’s
intriguing history as the driver of the
conference, with ghost tales as an avenue
to tell the stories of the city’s past.
“(The) Ghost conference is fun for a
lot of people, but it’s always been backed
by history,” Smith added. For more infor-
mation on tours, speakers and to buy
tickets, visit oregonghostconference.
com.
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TOP: Oregon Ghost Conference attendees watch the premiere of ‘All Around Us’ at the Times
Theatre in 2019. ABOVE: Oregon Ghost Conference director Rocky Smith, center, gives a tour
featuring regional history as well as ghost tales.
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