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The 2020 Minnesota ParaUnity Convention will showcase the best, and brightest, paranormal names in the field. From local investigation teams, to reiki and holistic healers, to cryptozoologists and UFO researchers, to your favorite TV personalities.

  • The best, most organized background information that we have on Pine Point was video taped live during our presentation at the first annual Paracon paranormal convention at the Shooting Star Casino.The presentation can be viewed here in four parts, here is part one.
  • Cudlitz is one of several stars fans will get a chance to see at ParaCon 2016, the sixth annual paranormal convention hosted this weekend at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen.

Paranormal celebrities and supernatural experts will gather to present their investigations and experiences of phenomena from the world's most haunted places at the 7th annual ParaCon, set for Oct. 12-14 inside Shooting Star Casino's Event Center in Mahnomen.
VIP tickets for this year's paranormal convention, which include a VIP dinner on Thursday as well as a two-day presentation pass for Friday and Saturday, are officially sold out - but you can still get a two-day pass for $75, by going online to www.starcasino.com, calling 1-800-313-SHOW (7469), or via the 'Buy Tickets' tab on Shooting Star's Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/ShootingStarCasino. The two-day pass includes admission to all Friday's and Saturday's presentations (listed in the schedule below).
Special guests at ParaCon 2017 include:

• Chad Coleman from AMC's 'The Walking Dead';

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• Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, and Bill Tolley from The Travel Channel's 'Ghost Adventures';

• Grant Wilson, Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango, KJ McCormick, and Dustin Pari from SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters' and 'Ghost Hunters International';

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• Josh Gates from SyFy's 'Destination Truth' and The Travel Channel's 'Expedition Unknown';

• Jason and Samantha Hawes from SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters'

Convention attendees will also have the opportunity to meet and talk with conference presenters, purchase goods, and more at vendor booths set up throughout Shooting Star's Event Center. The official hashtag for this year's Paranormal Convention is #ParaCon2017.

Here's this year's full schedule:

• Thursday, Oct. 12: VIP dinner with all available presenters, 7 p.m.

• Friday, Oct. 13: Detroit Lakes' own Midwest Paranormal Files will once again lead off the convention presentations at 10 a.m.; vendor booths open, 11 a.m.; Travis Walton, author of 'The Walton Experience,' which was adapted into the 'Fire in the Sky' film, 11:30 a.m.; Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist, 1 p.m.; experts take an in-depth look at Sauk Centre's Palmer House Hotel, Restaurant & Pub, voted the No. 1 Best on 'USA Today's Readers' Choice 10 Best Haunted Hotels,' at 2:30 p.m.; Tory Belleci from Discovery Channel's 'MythBusters, 4 p.m.; Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango from SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters,' 5:30 p.m.; vendor booths close, 6 p.m.

• Saturday, Oct. 14: The Johnsdale Paranormal Group leads off the day's presentations at 10 a.m.; vendor booths open, 11 a.m.; Grant Wilson from SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters' and 'Ghost Hunters International,' presnts at 11:30 a.m.; Brad and Barry Klinge from the Discovery Channel's 'Ghost Lab', 1 p.m.; Dean McMurray gallery reading, 2:30 p.m.; Josh Gates from SyFy's 'Destination Truth' and Travel Channel's 'Expedition Unknown,' 4 p.m.; Jason and Samantha Hawes from SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters,' 5 p.m.; vendor booths close at 6 p.m.

MAHNOMEN, Minn. - Why fans love 'The Walking Dead' is the million-dollar question, Michael Cudlitz said.

But the star who plays Sgt. Abraham Ford on AMC's adaptation of the comic book series about surviving a zombie apocalypse said he loves seeing how excited fans get when they interact with him at conventions.

'It's a shared experience,' he said of why fans love paranormal conventions. 'Everybody is there in the same space, and they are able to share this thing that they love with no judgment.'

Cudlitz is one of several stars fans will get a chance to see at ParaCon 2016, the sixth annual paranormal convention hosted this weekend at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen. About 1,000 attendees are expected today through Saturday at the convention, which will play up an array of paranormal topics from ghost hunting to discussion on UFOs.

Cudlitz will be a special guest Friday at the convention. Zak Bagans, host of The Travel Channel's 'Ghost Adventures,' also will appear Saturday with co-stars Aaron Goodwin and Billy Tolley.

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Other paranormal experts include cast members of SyFy's 'Ghost Hunters,' 'Ghost Hunters International,' Destination Truth' and 'Haunted Collector,' as well as stars from The Travel Channel's 'The Dead Files' and 'Expedition Unknown.'

Supernatural Investigators of Minnesota, a team that investigates a range of topics from bigfoot to cryptozoology, will be at the convention Saturday.

ParaCon experts also will discuss the Palmer House Hotel, a restaurant and pub that was voted by USA Today readers as one of the top 10 Best Haunted Hotels. Located in Sauk Centre, Minn., a city of roughly 4,300 residents about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis, the house reportedly is known for ghostly activity, including temperature changes, disembodied voices, moving objects and reports of a young boy bouncing a ball down the hall.

The hotel has been featured on 'Ghost Adventures' and 'Ghost Hunters.'

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Tickets

Paranormal Convention Shooting Star Casino Schedule

Paranormal Convention Shooting Star Casino

Tickets for ParaCon went on sale Aug. 8. The convention often sells out, but about 200 passes were available as of Tuesday, said Brenna Jefferies, a spokeswoman for ParaCon.

Part of the appeal of paranormal conventions is that people gather to share experiences, theories and ideas, Jefferies said.

'It gives people the opportunity to come together and learn as much as they can about the paranormal world and what else could be out there,' she said.

ParaCon tries to attract big names such as Cudlitz and Bagans. In the past, it has hosted Carmen Reed, the woman whose story served as the main focus of the horror movie 'The Haunting in Connecticut,' Bill Murphy from SyFy's 'Fact or Faked,' Laurie Holden from 'The Walking Dead' and Kane Hodder, who played Jason in the 'Friday the 13th' franchise.

With the Season 7 premiere of 'The Walking Dead' approaching quickly, Cudlitz and other cast members have been busy traveling to events and conventions, including New York Comic Con this week.

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When Cudlitz first began appearing on 'The Walking Dead,' he was not a fan of going to conventions, he said. But after he went to his first convention, he was hooked.

'I had an amazing time with the fans. I saw it was not about just getting the autograph photo,' he said. 'I saw it was about the interaction between the fans and me and what they got out of it.'

The premiere is set for Oct. 23, and while he couldn't reveal much about Season 7 or the future of his character, he did have advice for his fans.

'All I can say is expect what you have grown to expect,' he said.

Tickets for ParaCon are $65 and include access to panels, vendors and presentations. VIP tickets, which include a dinner at 7 p.m. today with all ParaCon presenters, cost $100.

To purchase tickets, go to www.starcasino.com call (800) 313-7469 or visit the Shooting Star Casino's Facebook page.

If you go

• What: ParaCon 2016, the sixth annual paranormal convention.

• When: VIP dinner, 7 p.m. today. Vendors open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

• Where: Shooting Star Casino, 777 Casino Road, Mahnomen, Minn.

• Special guests: Michael Cudlitz of 'The Walking Dead,' and Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin and Bill Tolley from 'Ghost Adventures.

• More info: Go to www.starcasino.com or visit the Shooting Star Casino's Facebook page.

• For tickets: Call (800) 313-7469, go to www.starcasino.com or visit the Shooting Star Casino's Facebook page.