INTERVIEW: Kristen Luman talks about the eerie wonders of Crescent Mine

Kristen Luman, one of the two paranormal investigators featured on Syfy’s Ghost Mine, said she had an interesting feeling when heading back to the Crescent Mine of Oregon to look for ghosts deep within the mountain. She was, in a word, “excited.” Heading deep within the claustrophobic recesses of the dizzying mine can be a turnoff to some, but the investigator was able to put her sense of discovery before any trepidation. Her experiences along with Patrick Doyle, a fellow expert in the paranormal, are depicted in the reality show’s second season, which airs new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Syfy.

“I was excited to see the guys again, and we were, you know, left with a lot of unanswered questions last year with the cave-in of the mine,” Luman said recently during a phone interview. “But I also was, you know, pretty apprehensive. I kept saying last summer from the very beginning that … I didn’t think that what we were doing was safe. And there was a reason why we shouldn’t go back in that mine, and then when it caved in, my suspicions of it were kind of confirmed. So it just sort of, it was a good feeling of like let’s try to find out what’s really going on in there, but then it was a bad feeling of, do we really want find out what’s going on in there.”

The filming for the sophomore season started in June. Weather was a factor in the Oregon landscape, including one day of snow. There were also the miners, a group of men who were less than open during the inaugural season.

“I think they kind of started to see what our purpose was there,” Luman said. “I know they were more accepting of us this year, you know. We became a team, and we all were friends. And we lived out that last summer all together and worked together, and so this year was completely a different experience. They were much more welcoming.”

The immediacy and eeriness of the Crescent Mine, featuring dark passageways with unexplained sounds and occurrences, was quite the sandbox for Luman and Doyle.

“It was really an amazing, amazing experience. Just being there alone and being able to investigate right when something happened is awesome. Working next to the guys, and then when something goes wrong in there for them that they can’t quite explain with years of mining, and having Patrick and I being able to run into the mine right then and do an investigation, is just really awesome for any investigator. … Also, we were able to uncover some histories that I think haven’t been really talked about or haven’t really had any light shed on it. And it’s a really important, tragic part of our history. The last episode we talked about the Chinese miners and how brutally they were treated, and I was there a whole summer last year, and I hadn’t really heard any stories like this before.”

Luman and Doyle (who was similarly profiled by Hollywood Soapbox) are not cookie-cutter paranormal investigators, if there is such an archetype. Doyle is technologically savvy while Luman relies on her hypnotherapy and psychology knowledge. “We sometimes butt heads about, you know, theories or what we think something is because I’m more skeptical than he is,” Luman said. “But we appreciate each other for that, and we respect each other for that because, you know, where I didn’t see something, he might have seen it and have a different explanation than what my explanation would be. And we come together with our, you know, own theories and kind of work out what we think it actually could be with my opinion and his opinion.”

Luman said the investigator side of her is excited about the paranormal bounty of the mine, but her human side is more apprehensive. Last summer’s cave in was a real event, and the memory of that incident still lingers.

“It’s a different kind of investigation because you’re not only being aware of … these paranormal experiences you may come across. You’re also having to be aware of all the environmental factors that play into it, and that you are putting yourself into danger every time you go in there. … The curiosity of trying to find an answer for Patrick and I and for these guys would overcome the fear.”

Whatever comes from the series, Luman said she’s thankful for the connection she has been able to forge with fans through Facebook and Twitter. “I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “I get a lot of questions now about Facebook and other social media … you know, I had this experience, I had that experience, what does this mean? And I’m able to answer back almost like a Dear Abby of the paranormal in the way of, well, this could be this paranormal experience, or this also could be going on in your mind and here’s why.”

For Luman, investigating the paranormal is something she’s been wanting to do since a young age.

“It’s actually funny I had the little ghost club in grade school where us girls would get together and read our ghost stories and talk about what we think about ghosts, and I was head of the ghost club. So it’s funny to hear from my friends [who] contact me on Facebook. Like, Kristen, I can’t believe you’re still doing it after all these years, you know. That’s what’s so exciting for me because I started off so young having such an awe and fascination with it and being able to do it like this, I’m so grateful, and I just think it’s so incredible.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Ghost Mine airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Syfy.