‘Haunting in the Heartland’ Solves Mysterious Hauntings in Small Towns

In the new Travel Channel series, Haunting in the Heartland, premiering Friday, February 21, paranormal investigator and documentary filmmaker Steve Shippy visits Midwestern towns that have been traumatized for generations by ripples of fear.

Growing up in the heartland, Steve uses his own personal experiences to make intimate connections with the families who’ve reached out to him for help. He then puts the puzzle pieces together to identify and decipher the larger mystery of the town’s haunting.

Steve Shippy (Travel Channel)

Through eyewitness accounts, town archives, visits to historic sites and his own paranormal toolkit, Steve explores emerging theories until a full picture of the town’s ghostly protagonist appears, and a peaceful resolution can be formulated.

On his journey through a new heartland town in each of the six one-hour episodes, Steve seeks to directly confront the entity and bring closure to the people of the town.

This season will aim to provide true investigative closure to the mystery of paranormal presence found in Malvern, Iowa (pop. 7,621), Atchison, Kansas (pop. 10,636), Hebron, Kentucky (pop. 5,929), Merrill, Michigan (pop. 735), Holly Springs, Mississippi (pop. 7,621) and Greeneville, Tennessee (pop. 15,062).

Steve Shippy speaks with a resident of Greeneville about the Bright family hauntings. (Travel Channel)

In the premiere episode, Steve travels to the old farming village of Merrill, Michigan, to confront an evil spirit holding the town hostage since the 1800s.

In the summer of 1974, the hauntings seemed to spread when a malevolent force invaded a family farm, spurring a massive investigation by the local and state police and fire departments, and even the FBI. He enlists the help of a clairvoyant to dispel the evil entity before another heartland family is forced from their home.

Haunting in the Heartland, Series Premiere, Friday, February 21, 10/9c, Travel Channel