Interview: Cheers from the Grave

Cheers from the Grave is made up of three nerdy ladies who love to talk about the creepy paranormal, insane conspiracy theories, and your friendly neighborhood cryptid. They’re a pretty hilarious trio, even while sober! Episodes drop every Sunday evening.

What inspired you to start Cheers from the Grave (or, what's your origin story?)

Erica (Founder): I had been listening to podcasts for roughly two years and was always into the paranormal. I've had a lot of strange things happen when I was growing up and still to this day have weird experiences every so often. I always wanted to start a podcast of my own and just dive in head first into the world of the paranormal as well as have the space to just talk about all things spooky and creepy with other people! So, in April of this year, I went on Facebook and just posted a simple "I want to start a podcast, someone start a podcast with me." and Stephanie was the first to reply. So with the help of my amazing boyfriend Kyle who is our sound engineer/editor, Stephanie and I just hit the ground running and dropped our first episode May 2nd, 2019. Sadly, a month in I was unable to record due to a family emergency, so we brought in Nicole as a Guest Host for her expertise in Cryptids. Because she did so well, we asked her to become a full time co-host! We're a small podcast, but we have big dreams!

Which of your episodes was the most fun to research?

Nicole: The one that was most fun to research for me was probably Episodes 9 & 10 - Fantastic Cryptids an Where to Avoid Them - Parts 1 and 2 because it was my first time on the podcast so I was just super excited!

Erica: I would have to say my favorite episode to research was Episode 7 - The Undying Doodlebug and The Mandela Effect. My topic was about a gentleman named The Unkillable Michael Malloy. It's such an insane and funny story! I know on face value you're probably horrified that I'd find it hilarious about attempted murder, but seriously, it was so much fun reading how this guy just would not die no matter how many times his "friends" attempted to kill him!

Stephanie: My favorite episodes to research was definitely the Skinwalker ranch and The Crone. I love stories that make my arm hairs stand on end while reading them and those were the ones that had me digging myself further into the web of spookiness. Skinwalker ranch by far makes me want to visit it and see if I get any weird vibes or experience something there. And the crone was just terrifying thinking about a wet musty woman being found in my living room.

Care to share some weird/paranormal experiences you've had?

Erica - I've always had weird experiences in my life. The house I grew up in had a spirit I named John. We had a knick-knack of praying hands in our office that he'd throw to the floor. Whenever I'd walk into the room, I'd find it on the floor across the room or under the futon we had in there. During Christmas he'd play with the Christmas lights. He hated it when we turned them off at night. When we wake up the next morning they'd be on. There was also a time in 2006 when I was living in my dorm for school, my Pop-Pop passed away. I woke up to him saying my name around 2am - The time he passed. I found out later that morning that he had passed. I've seen a bunch of things too, but this would turn into a novel!

Stephanie- Recently- that white haired lady in my room. In life, the little boy I grew up with that my parents thought was my imaginary friend but he appeared in my holiday pictures cause I wanted him in them.

Nicole - I used to see ghosts sitting around my house when I was little, specifically this one old man on a rocking chair and I would be terrified of walking past the living room where he was. Most recent I keep seeing shadow people lurking in my house close to 3 am

Which cryptid would you least want to meet?

Erica - The New Jersey Devil. Thankfully, I don't live in New Jersey, but either way. I do not want to run into him.

Stephanie - The Wendigo

Nicole - Probably the Lusca because I’m terrified of the ocean!

Can you tell us a bit about your process for preparing for each episode?

Erica - I typically spend about 2-3 hours researching and getting my notes together about a day or so prior to the episode. Topic ideas either come from friends, ghost hunting shows, or I'll just randomly type in something spooky in Google and see what I get. But as both Steph and Nicole said, we typically have a few drinks and sushi prior to recording and getting ready to record.

Steph - I usually spend a good few hours searching for an interesting topic that would translate over to the podcast in a short amount of time. But I also usually have a few drinks and sushi before diving into that...gotta prepare the whole body for spooks.

Nicole - Same as Stephanie! lmao I think of cryptids I love and I also research new cryptids/ or cryptids I don’t know much about so I can learn with the audience.

What's your podcasting set-up look like?

Erica - At the moment, we're recording at the house I live at in the loft. Kyle (My boyfriend/our sound engineer) and I currently live with his family (we have 8 people in this house!) to save up to buy a house, which then we'll have our own studio! All three of us utilize the Blue Yeti USB mics which have worked wonderfully and Studio 1 for editing, which Kyle does for us. I like to say he makes our s*** sound like gold!

What's your sushi order? :)

Erica: I typically get like a Sushi Regular which comes with your typical California roll and about 8 pieces of assorted fish. Though Tuna and Salmon are my absolute favorite.

Steph: I always go for a Spicy Tuna roll with wasabi and spicy mayo. That's my go to. But it also depends on the sushi bar. However, there was a time I ordered a bunch of sushi rolls because I love them so much and our waitress looked at me and said "All these for you?" I was judged hardcore for my love of sushi rolls.

Nicole: Crunchy shrimp roll with sea weed salad

Any interesting episodes/special content/live shows coming up? Where can people find you on the internet?

Erica - There's a few nifty episodes we have up our sleeves, but you're gonna have to listen to find out. We're also currently running a drawing on our Patreon page to try an entice people to donate. Because we're so small, live shows aren't a thing yet; however, it's a goal we would like to see come to life!

Our Website is CheersFromTheGrave.com

People can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Cheers From The Grave,

On Twitter at: @CheersFromGrave

Our email where listeners can submit their creepy personal stories is CheersFromTheGrave@gmail.com.

We have our Patreon page for extra content, monthly merch raffles and much more at www.patreon.com/cheersfromthegrave