The Dead Files – Detective Steve DiSchiavi and Medium Amy Allan Talk New Season 7
Steve Barton
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Q: Now that you guys have been at this for so long, in terms of the non-human entities which you come across, have you ever run across the same one twice? Like have you ever said, “Okay, well this thing was there, and now it’s here now?
Amy Allan: The thing is that there are entities that stem from the same origin. But the thing is that they’ve come from the same starting point, but they tend to fracture so they can cover more terrain and, obviously, harm more people. And those are the ones that are demons or devils or things like that. So they’ll be very similar. But they each depend on the environment, the way that they present themselves or the things that they’re doing will be different, or there will be variations to what they’re doing. It depends on the situation they’re encountering and how they can best wreak havoc, so to speak. So they’re similar, but I don’t think I’ve ever met exactly the same, like photocopies, identical. No.
Q: If you were in another country, Amy, would you be able to understand the local entities? I mean, do they speak English?
Amy Allan: Actually, I have encountered both, like I’ve come up against dead people who basically refuse to have a translation take place. So they will just speak their language and there will be a communication breakdown. But more often than not, there is a type of translation that takes place. And I think it’s via guides who are able to play translator for us. So yes, once in a while, you get one that is just not happening. They’re not going to… it’s not going to happen. It just depends on the situation.
Q: Is there a real efficient way to send a shadow person on its way?
Amy Allan: Not in my experience, no. Not in my experience. There are many other people out there who’d say, “Oh, you can get rid of them in this and that.” But, typically, if they’re easily gotten rid of, they probably weren’t really shadow people. They were probably just dead people. [With] shadow people, you’re dealing with beings that are probably inter-dimensional, and they typically will attach themselves to a person or a location. And I’ve never seen them be easily removed without them coming back. It’s a completely different type of entity than a dead person or demonic. It’s just very different.
Q: Do you have a take on why people get scratched by unseen entities and it will usually be three scratches?
Amy Allan: Well there’s different interpretations there. Some people will say it’s the trinity, the sign of the trinity, and therefore it’s demonic, which I’m not saying if it is or not. If I’m not doing the case, I don’t know. Then there’s also the power of suggestion where you have an actual poltergeist case. Therefore, the person is doing it to themselves. They may have a religious belief system. And so they’re inflicting that upon themselves and in kind of a religious manner with the three – the trinity. So it depends on the situation. I can’t ever say, unless I’m involved in that case, what’s going on, if it’s a poltergeist or if it’s actually demonic.
Q: I was wondering how you decide to go to these different locations such as Falconer, New York.
Steve DiSchiavi: Well, a lot of that falls on me and the producers and what we go through when we vet. Amy really doesn’t have input in that because she can’t know where she’s going obviously. Most of the time, the way things have been going this last three, four seasons, we seem to be getting a lot more submissions where people actually were being physically touched. And a lot of times children are being affected. So that seems to be one of the things I like to hop on [since] these kids can’t protect themselves. And the parents are having a tough time trying to figure things out. So, for me, that’s a red flag that I want to really look into it first.
You know, we get a lot of submissions where people say, “I’ve got a friendly ghost in my house. I just want to know what’s going on.” And, for us, we’re not going to waste our time doing that. Our job is to help people that are going through a tough time. We have thousands of submissions, and most of them are just, “Well, I don’t know who’s in my house. I’m not really sure. But they don’t bother us. We just want to find out.” That’s all well and good, but that’s not what we do. We’re kind of like the A-team for people that are going through a tough time. When we do look at a case, it’s mostly what the intensity is…
It seems that the longer the show is going on, the more people are willing to open up and say, “Well listen, I’m going through this crazy stuff. We’re being physically touched. And I need your help. And at least I know you’ll listen.” So that’s been an aspect of how we’re choosing which cases to pick.
Q: So for the Falconer case, was that child being touched or was that something else?
Steve DiSchiavi: Yes. They had a couple of kids then. They were going through a tough time. And one of their daughters was having a really tough time being physically touched. So we jumped on that. There’s a lot of deaths associated with that house in particular. A lot of people actually died inside the house. It’s some crazy stuff going on, and Amy had a pretty tough walk of it.
Q: I have a question for you guys about your experience in Independence, Oregon. What can you tell me about your experience at the farm without, of course, giving away anything for the show?
Steve DiSchiavi: Well, I could tell you one thing about Independence, Oregon… the stuff these guys were telling me that was going on, I thought I was being “punk’d” because I never heard anything like it. Basically, I thought they were full of it. I mean, the stuff was absolutely bizarre. When we did sit down for the review, it turned out, apparently, whatever they were going through, Amy was able to see, and all of it was pretty much on point. So the cop in me jumped out and I just never believe anybody 100% anyway. That’s just me. But when these guys were starting to talk about things that they were seeing, I’m like, “Yes. All right. You know, this is ridiculous… this is even over-the-top for me, and I’ve heard it all.”
That case really took me to the point of, “Well you know what? Listen close and listen intently because you never know if this stuff is really what’s going on,” because I just look at these guys like, “Yes. Okay. You’re seeing this? Are you out of your mind?” But it all turned out to be pretty much on point, which is kind of scary if you live there.
Q: Have either of you ever had a spirit follow you home?
Steve DiSchiavi: That’s an Amy thing. I just have stalkers following me. I wouldn’t know. *laughs*
Amy Allan: Yes. Unfortunately, I had a very large learning lesson from last season, and I became very ill. And I was – unfortunately, in my need to help, sometimes I go a little too far. And I was, not in a conscious way, but I was leaving myself open, and I had about 15 dead people attach to me. And I kind of was in denial for a while. And then, finally, I dealt with it. And I am being much better and standing at the proper boundaries.
But it was definitely a learning lesson… even [as] somebody who has been a medium my entire life and doing this professionally for over 20 years, sometimes you need to check yourself. And so I definitely had a wake-up call. Yes. It can happen. It can happen. Be careful.
Q: I am with a newspaper here in Georgetown, Texas, not too far from Coupland, where you all went. And I was just kind of wondering about some details on what you all experienced out there.
Steve DiSchiavi: Well, Coupland… we can’t really get into the details of exactly what happened. But there was a lot of – on my end – there was a lot of horrific tragedy associated with the property between floods and murders. They had a lot of history for a very small area that, when you look into it, you’re like, “Jesus, how the hell did these people survive it?” on top of the paranormal that this couple and their kids were going through.
Amy Allan: It was definitely a very intense case and a lot of concern for the living that are in that situation and dealing with it and very much so with their children. And I guess that’s really all I can say.
Steve DiSchiavi: Yes. I got bit by a scorpion there, too, so that didn’t help either, while I was filming on the front lawn. So, on top of the paranormal, they got some critters out there that aren’t doing any good.
Q: From your research, are there certain parts of the country that are more hotbeds for activity or is it just kind of based on history or is it just kind of all over?
Amy Allan: Absolutely. Honestly, the worst states for paranormal activity right now are Kansas, Arizona — oh, there’s one recently — Michigan. I think those are my top three.
Steve DiSchiavi: Pennsylvania seems to be another hotbed.
Q: Of all the clients in the past who didn’t take your recommendations to move out or whatever and suffered further consequences, which case haunts you the most?
Steve DiSchiavi: None of that stuff bothers me… it doesn’t bother me that they don’t take Amy’s advice. I know a lot of the fans get upset. But listen, if I go to a doctor and he tells me I have cancer and I decide not to get treatment, who is that on? It’s not on the doctor. It’s on me. So it doesn’t really concern me. My thing is I did the best job I could. Amy did the best job that she could. If they didn’t follow the advice and they decided to stay and had a hard time of it, that’s on them. I mean, I feel bad that they don’t take the advice, but people have to do what they want to do. I have no right to be upset about it.
Q: What were some of the worst consequences that might have happened when they stayed on?
Steve DiSchiavi: Well, that would be something Amy would be able to answer better. Some of these people – it keeps getting more intense. I’ve got an email, “Things are getting bad here.” “Well, Amy told you to move. When she told you to do what you can’t see and you didn’t do it, there’s not much I could do for you.” What happens is that Amy tells them straight out, if you don’t move or if you don’t follow the instructions, the way she weighed the outcome, she tells them right off the bat, it’s going to get worse. And, inevitably, it does.
So, in the 90 cases that we’ve done, it’s hard to pinpoint one specific one. But, like I said, I’ve never seen them say, “Well, we didn’t take Amy’s advice and everything’s fine now.” It’s always gotten worse.
Amy Allan: Well, here is the thing. It’s that when Steve and I come in, typically the activity is going to increase. That’s something that happens because whether the dead people or the entities, they’re aware, and they know that we are there to resolve the issue. If people don’t take the advice, like my whole thing now is you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. And I do typically always tell the people, if you don’t do this, that’s your prerogative. That’s your decision. But, typically, what’s going to happen is, it can be anything from getting physically assaulted, that’s going to increase; possible death; really intense things that can befall these people. I think Steve and I, we do the best jobs that we possibly can to help. But we can’t force anybody to do anything they don’t want to do.
Q: What other cases do you have coming up this season?
Steve DiSchiavi: This is an interesting season that’s about to start airing. We had a lot of intense walks for Amy. But on my end I can only answer that I had a woman explaining what she was dealing with in her bedroom, explaining what she was seeing when she woke up, and when she did, she passed out right in my arms, during my interview. Later on during the review, Amy had done a sketch and it was exactly what this woman had been telling me what she was seeing. And it was just eerie. It kind of hit home with this woman, obviously.
I had another guy that spent over $100,000 of his own money investigating a double murder from back in the ‘40s that was unsolved. I mean, that’s pretty crazy stuff. And he had his opinion. And, of course, I’ve investigated a homicide or two and I had my opinion. So, stuff like that, it’s pretty interesting. It’s a pretty eclectic season coming up.
Q: Amy, is there a process that you go through after a walk to kind of like, you know, detox and get that out of your system a little bit?
Amy Allan: I’m being extremely vigilant this season, extremely. So now, what I do is I do my closing meditation. I have some kind of shaman, medicine woman, or reiki master come in and actually do a cleansing and a balancing and a detachment for me. I eat a lot. I sleep a lot. I’m trying to go out into nature so that I can really ground out. So yes. I’m still taking baths and doing my salt bathes and burning my candles and sage and crystals. I’m doing it all. So yes. And it seems to be working much better.
Q: One of the things that makes the show so special is the no-bullshit attitude. I was wondering if you could describe what the process is to vet these cases that are brought to you.
Steve DiSchiavi: Some of it, I really can’t get into publicly. But my biggest thing is I don’t want somebody that’s a B-list act that’s trying to get back on TV, obviously. I don’t want somebody that’s been arrested for fraud or somebody that’s used to duping the public. It’s hard to interview somebody on the phone and get a feel for them. So I’ve been doing a lot of these video conferences where I can get to see them. You know this Skype type thing? Which – it helps me tremendously. Obviously, you’re never going to know somebody 100% no matter how well you vet. I mean, we’ve seen that in politics – It doesn’t matter how good you vet somebody. Something’s going to come through us – slip through.
The main thing for us is that you see where we go. It’s middle-of-the-road people; we’re not talking about some people that are on Broadway and highfalutin money people. But although we do have some clients that are pretty well off, it doesn’t mean they don’t have problems.
We just try to get the regular, everyday person that couldn’t be afforded the help that we can give them. People have means to get help any way they want. People that we go to, really, have nobody to turn to. They don’t know what to do. So when I do the vetting, that will come across when you see the desperation in these people.
Q: It has to be very rewarding for you guys to be able to help somebody. I mean, it’s one thing to be doing what you love and being on TV and all that. But the fact that you guys get to actually perform a service that helps people, it has to be incredibly rewarding.
Steve DiSchiavi: For me it is. I mean, I’m sure it is much for Amy. I had a career where I dealt with a lot of misery that was never resolved. At least now, what I do with Amy’s help, obviously, it’s a little bit more of a closure or had a closure for the most part.
Q: When did ghosts start becoming a thing? What I mean by that even though it sounds kind of weird… I have always wondered… when people go to these locations, they always seem to make contact with either some of the people that had lived there or were associated with it. But what about like cavemen ghosts? It’s kind of a hard question to phrase, but I’m just really curious. How come no one has really run across like an ancient ghost or something like that?
Amy Allan: I think everybody has their theories. I know that – when I was living overseas, I was staying in Vienna at one point and I could hear screaming from the catacombs and the courtyard in there. I was walking at night through my house and could feel people’s feet touching my head. I found out that the plague victims had been put there – there had been the whole religious crusades, and apparently, at one point, there’s has been a Catholic church or something, and they had hung all of the folks that were attending the mass. So what I’ve encountered, as far as how old, I can say I’ve encountered residual – very, very old residual information, obviously going back to about the 1500s. But I have not ever seen like a dinosaur or a Neanderthal or anything like that. I would love to go to Asia or to Africa and really see how far back can we go and perceive the dead? My theory is that, eventually, at some point, people do work out their issues and move on or some people just dissipate.
Q: So, Amy, just for argument’s sake, when Steve comes to you and says, “Hey Amy, I’m thinking about buying this new house,” does he have you do a walkthrough first? If you were my friend and I was buying real estate, I’d be like, “Hey, Amy, check this shit out over here for me, please.”
Steve DiSchiavi: You know what it is? *laughs* I check out the neighborhood. I don’t worry about the inside. That’s my main thing.
Amy Allan: I just check it out and make sure no crazy murders were taking place there and all those kind of stuff. So I think it’s pretty preventative care there. *laughs*
Q: What is going to be new about the brand new season? What can the fans look forward to?
Steve DiSchiavi: I think the season premiere, us being in Montego Bay, that’s going to be pretty interesting because that’s a backdrop you’ve never seen on our show before. It’s probably one of the most beautiful islands I’ve ever been to, interviewing the different and interesting people other than the normal, running to know the experts that I normally would interview, so that episode is going to be pretty interesting.
Throughout the whole season, on my end, there’s a lot of great history in regards to cases that – open homicide cases that have happened. One even touched on a serial killer, the Cleveland butcher, in Pennsylvania, so there’s a lot of stuff like that. And I mean Amy had a tough season as far as the walks went. So I don’t know if you want them to watch all that but it’s going to be…
Amy Allan: Yes. It’s pretty scary.
Steve DiSchiavi: I mean we were talking about it earlier how every season that we do, we keep saying, “Oh, how much more intense could it get?” And it just seems to get more and more intense as the seasons go on.
Amy Allan: So much; so much more.
Steve DiSchiavi: I had a client actually collapse in my arms talking about what she was going through. So that kind of stuff.
Q: Amy, sometimes you look so shocked to hear what Steve is reporting to the very end at the reveal. What’s so shocking about it? Because you’ve seen the thing and Steve has done the research, and then you just looked like, “Oh my goodness. This is very true.”
Amy Allan: Well, to be perfectly honest, I will never stop testing myself ever. I am an open-minded skeptic and that’s why I do things the way that I do them. That’s why, initially, when I began working as a scientist, as a parapsychologist doing research and testing people who claim to have abilities, so I’m always a skeptic. I always proceed as an open-minded skeptic. Whether it’s myself or somebody else that they put through these walks and such, it is. It’s always like the one thing I do want to relate is that no person who’s a sensitive knows or understands completely how the hell this all works. It is always quite really amazing, like, “Huh? How on earth is this still happening?” Like, “Where does this come from? Why can I do this? How does it all work?” And that’s something I think that any sensitive is going through and has gone through.
Q: Amy, do you have spirit guides who stay for only a while? And what does it feel like working with a new guide?
Amy Allan: Oh no. My guides, I work with the same guides. I’m probably too much of a paranoid person to be cool with new guides showing up. I’ve worked with different dead people, good dead people who might show up and say, want to guide me through a walk. Just on a recent case, I had an entity that stayed with me the entire time. And I’m cool with that. I definitely – I take it with a grain of salt because I don’t know them and I haven’t worked with them before, and I don’t know if I can believe them or not. But as far as my guides are concerned, I know they’re consistent.
Q: When different types of entities show up, do you get a different taste in your mouth or other physical reaction. And if so, does this help determine what the entity is?
Amy Allan: I don’t know. I’m very fortunate that I don’t smell things. I know a lot of people will have that sense that they get sulfur and things like that. That’s very rare for me. No, I just see them. I feel them, as far as like if they’re sick or if they got shot, things like that. Smells, no, not so much.
Q: So what is the one thing you both want people to know about your show?
Amy Allan: Education. I’m really hoping that people are learning more and more about how to do a correct and proper investigation, how to help both the living and the dead, to have respect for the dead, and just learning different protective measures that they can take.
Steve DiSchiavi: I just want people to know that somebody’s willing to listen. If anybody is going to be a skeptic, I’m a New York City homicide detective, born and raised in Brooklyn. I mean, I was raised that everything is bull. Everything is a baloney. So, for me, it’s my way of saying, “Listen, if I can embrace this and want to help people just to know that it’s coming from a good place, it’s coming from my heart that I really want to help these people.”
“THE DEAD FILES” – New Season Premieres Saturday, April 25, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel
Former NYPD Homicide Detective Steve DiSchiavi and medium Amy Allan are a powerful paranormal investigative duo with a proven track record of uncanny accuracy. In season seven of “The Dead Files,” DiSchiavi and Allan head back on the road to help beleaguered homeowners as they uncover paranormal histories and mysteries buried within all-new haunted locations. As they arrive on scene, DiSchiavi and Allan investigate each case independently of one another to preserve the integrity of their individual findings. As a physical medium, Allan sees and communicates with the dead, uncovering layers of paranormal activity beyond anyone’s imagination. Harnessing his detective skills, DiSchiavi researches the facts – interrogating witnesses, experts and perusing records to understand each location’s history, however dark or buried it may be. The team avoids all contact with each other until the very end, when they reveal their shocking discoveries to the homeowner in each episode’s intense conclusion. Drawing upon her experiences with the supernatural, Allan then provides much-needed advice for each client so they can restore peace and a sense of normalcy within their lives.
Featured locations this season: Montego Bay, Jamaica (*Premiere*); Falconer, N.Y.; Independence, Ore.; Macon, Ga.; Oregon, Ill.; Covington, La.; Struthers, Ohio; Delaware, Ohio; Coupland, Texas; Marshall, Mo.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Delmont, Penn.
For more info visit “The Dead Files” on Travel Channel, and “like” “The Dead Files” on Facebook. In addition be sure to follow @stevedischiavi and @amyallantdf on Twitter using the hashtag #DeadFiles.
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