John E. L. Tenney and Jessica Knapik of the What’s Up Weirdo Podcast Talk Hauntings, Exorcisms, and Horror Movies [Interview]

Welcome back to DEAD time! I hope you left the lights on because things got really weird this month when I was talking to the co-hosts of What’s Up Weirdo podcast, John EL Tenney and Jessica Knapik. John and Jessica are best friends who decide to record their real-life phone conversations where they discuss everything from the paranormal to UFOs, true crime and horror movies – and the What’s Up Weirdo Podcast is born.

Over the past thirty years, John E. L. Tenney has become one of the most famous and sought-after investigators of strange phenomena. He has appeared in many paranormal shows including Unsolved Mysteries, Observations, Hellier, and Soulmatesand is the author of more than a dozen books. John has been interviewed extensively for his knowledge of the unexplained and is also known for his fascinating lectures. John and Jessica have been BFFs for over a decade and now spend their time talking on the phone several times a day, traveling to haunted locations, hosting paranormal events, and recording their conversations about all things weird for the podcast What’s Up Weirdo and their devoted following of listeners.

Aside from the spooky vibe of the co-hosts, a big part of the appeal of the What’s Up Weirdo podcast is that John and Jessica keep things real by openly discussing their thoughts on the paranormal, aliens, true crime, and even horror movies. Nothing is too weird to talk about for these two best friends, and listeners love it.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with John and Jessica about their podcast, haunted places, their scariest paranormal encounters—including an actual exorcism—and their favorite horror movies. Read on to find out just how weird things are…

Bloody Weird: You co-host the podcast What’s Up Weirdo, where you talk about all sorts of weird things, including the paranormal, UFOs, the occult, true crime, horror movies, and more. How did you two meet and when did you decide you wanted to do this podcast?

John Tenney: Jessica, you took this one because you always talk about how you hated me in the beginning.

Jessica Knapik: I did! We met at a local bar, which is still our favorite bar. We had a mutual friend and for some reason Tenny said, “Hey guys, do you want me to read your palm?” He never does that and never has since as far as I know. For some reason he was doing it the other night and he read hers and then he read mine. I had a puppy at the time and he told me my dog ​​was going to die. So I was like, “Who the hell is this bozo? I hate this guy. [laughs]

BD: Oh no!

JK: I know! But the way I see it, it was probably a foreshadowing. I was renting a place at the time that didn’t have a fenced yard, so I feel like he made me more careful and made me keep a close eye on my dog. So maybe it avoided the dog getting out and getting hit by a car or something happening to the dog. The dog lived to be fourteen, so he didn’t exactly have a career in palm reading [laughs].

JT: [laughs] And then I think it was just hanging out at the bar and kind of not getting sick of each other. That was probably thirteen years ago. The podcast really came about because when quarantine hit and everyone was locked down, one of the things that I know Jess and I missed was the background conversation that you hear when you’re out with your friends. She and I talk on the phone about ten times a day, and I was like, “I’ve been doing podcasts since 2005, and some of them are super-produced, and some of them are pretty over-produced. Let’s just give people what I think they want, which is just a background conversation and we’ll record one of our phone calls, and just be open and honest about what we’re going through and what we’re going through. And it seems to have taken off. We don’t shy away from anything on the show, and I think that’s what people get into; we started it and a few months later my mom died and then her dog died and we just went through our emotions and being real people. I think that connected with a lot of listeners.

BD: Do you have a favorite haunted or weird place you’ve been?

JT: I’ve been doing this for thirty years, so each place has its own unique history and strange haunt. But I really loved going to the Queen Mary in Los Angeles, just because there’s so much history. The first time I went to Queen Mary was in the early nineties when I was working as a researcher Unsolved mysteries. So not only does it have its own ghost story, but I feel like I have a long history with it. I think this is probably my favorite haunted place.

BD: It’s so interesting because a lot of people in the paranormal community have told me that this is their favorite haunted place.

JK: I have two answers. I would say the scariest place where I wanted to throw up because I was so scared was Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio where they filmed The Shawshank Redemption. It was terrifying. And as for cozy but haunted, I’d say Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri. It used to be the Oddfellows House and it’s haunted, but I feel like it’s our house. I feel like we live there [laughs]. Wait, I have a third answer! We went The spell house in Rhode Island on Halloween and I just thought that house was so cozy. I love this house.

JT: We are very cozy in spooky places [laughs]. Jess and I go places like The spell house because we really love and embrace ghost and weirdness. So we go there with genuine curiosity and almost happiness that we are there and that we have the privilege of going to such a place. I think a lot of people go there after they’ve seen the movie, and they go there with initial trepidation and fear, and I think that complicates the location. But I think if you go in and you’re kind of happy and excited and you like to be weird, I don’t think any place is really terrifying when you go in with that mindset.

Photo: Jessica Knapik/What’s Up Weirdo

BD: Can you tell me about your most unnerving paranormal experience and how you dealt with it?

JT: The one I still think about the most was in 1999 when I was asked by the Archdiocese of Detroit to witness a Vatican-sanctioned exorcism. Even though that was over twenty years ago, it’s something I still go over in my mind, simply because it’s not like you see in the movies. It’s not like The Exorcist, but it’s almost stranger because you’re watching this experience happen and unfold in front of you with real people in a real place and there’s no cameras, so you know nobody’s faking anything. There are moments when the person begins to speak in several languages ​​and there are some contortions of the body that do not look very natural, and the experience is very emotionally and psychologically compelling. I don’t know, because of my personal belief system, if there was a demon there or if they really did something, but the client seemed to respond to it. The atmosphere was psychologically and physically very terrifying and overwhelming. It was thirty-two hours from start to finish.

BD: That’s probably the scariest thing anyone has ever said to me. I don’t know if I could handle an exorcism.

JT: Well, a few months before that I had to go get a stress test at a hospital and talk to a therapist to make sure I made it through the whole experience. One of the things they prepared me for, and I thought swearing and swearing meant, was for the client to try to engage with me. I was told not to talk to the customer. I thought, “Well, I’m not going to be intimidated by some nasty words or profanity.” At one point during the exorcism, the client looked at me and started talking aloud about a childhood experience that I’d never told anyone about. So, it really was as if the client had understood my thoughts from a distance and had entered my mind. This was very disturbing.

BD: You also talk about horror movies on the podcast. Can each of you tell me your favorite horror movie of all time and your favorite horror movie of 2022?

JK: When it comes to favorite horror movie of all time, I’d say I’m a purist Jaws, Carrie, The Omenand The Amityville Horror.

JT: Who is your favorite though? You must choose one!

JK: I can not! [laughs] These are my favorites that I can watch over and over again. As a favorite this year, Hellbender, Barbarianand Observer. I really loved Observer. Observer it’s fucking stunning.

BD: Yes! These are great choices!

JK: Give us your horror movies, Tenny. We are completely different.

JT: As for my favorite horror movie, I’m very much a classic horror guy. I’m a big fan of Karloff, Lugosi, Lon Chaney. My favorite movie is the 1934 film adaptation The black cat with Boris Karlov and Bela Lugosi. I watch it probably two or three times a year. It has a lot of good, crazy visuals. For anyone who’s never seen it, these are spoilers, but Lugosi takes off Karloff’s skin at the end of the movie. It’s great and I think it’s a super overlooked movie from that era. As for my favorite movie this year, I think it is Moloch. It has good old horror and witch vibes.

JK: He loved Hellbendertoo.

JT: Oh yeah, will I too? Just name a bunch of movies? [laughs] I liked it Hellbender, X, Pearland Moloch. These are my favorites this year.

BD: Hellbender is great. I loved it too!

JT: I was just listening to the soundtrack from Hellbender. I got it on vinyl and it’s super good.

Photo: Jessica Knapik/What’s Up Weirdo

BD: Can you tell me a little bit about what you have planned for future episodes and upcoming events?

JK: Should we tell her the secret?

JT: [laughs] You can tell her about the live show and then you can tell her the secret.

JK: Good! We’re doing a second What’s Up Weirdo and Friends YouTube Live on December 23rd. It’s free to watch. This time we will have different guests. Last time we had newer, less used people in the paranormal community who are fucked up and deserve more shine. And the craziest thing we’re ever doing that nobody knows about yet is we’re going to sell tickets and put the money back into the podcast so we can update a bunch of stuff. But the contest will be called Win a Date with John Tenney.

BD: Oh wow! Really?

JT: [laughs]

JK: It starts on December 23rd and we will be selling tickets. I’ll let Tenny talk about what they’ll win.

JT: Whoever wins, we’ll either fly them to Detroit and we can go on a date, or if they feel more comfortable at their home base, I’ll fly to them and take them on a date.

JK: It doesn’t have to be a date. It can be like just hanging out. Anyone can win, it can be boys, girls, he/she/it, anyone.

JT: Not so much a date as just hanging out with John Tenney. We’ll go to the movies or do whatever you want, go to dinner, just hang out. Then later in 2023 we will do the same with Jess.

JK: Yes, we both will. I’m not just going to let Tenny hang out to dry [laughs]. The winner of my contest almost has to come to Detroit because I can’t fly with my dog ​​Toad. I’m really interested to see where Tenny will be sent.

BD: That sounds like a lot of fun!

JT: We’re doing something at the Whitney in January, right?

JK: Oh yeah! The Whitney Mansion in Detroit is one of the most haunted places in Michigan. We’re doing an event on January 22nd and you’ll be able to hang out with us. There will be tarot readings, authors, paranormal people. It will be really fun. This place is crazy.

JT: Yes, it really is a famous haunted restaurant. People have been haunted by ghosts for years. Participates in most paranormal shows. They have a really fun tradition where every day when the chef finds out what the day’s special is going to be, they make two separate plates of it and put it up in the ceiling for the ghosts. It’s a really nice tradition.