The Hallowed Hearth Podcast - Ghost Hunting, Film, & Field Research with Larry Eissler III

October 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

When the Spirit Cheats at Blackjack

Larry Eissler III was 7 and 22 against the spirits at blackjack — losing consistently — until a recent night at the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, where he won twice. That brought his record to 9 and 22. The spirits cheat, he insists, and he has the evidence: during one game, he waited for a spirit named Billy to say "hit" over the spirit box, and instead the box said "five." He flipped the top card. It was a five. Another time at the Palmer, a spirit got blackjack three hands in a row — a 4% statistical probability. Larry doesn't play with anything bigger than a single dollar bill.

Communication Over Interrogation

Larry considers himself a "communicative investigator" rather than a traditional ghost hunter. The distinction matters to him. "I'm here to have conversations, not interrogations," he says. "I'll interview the living, but when it's the dead, I'm not here to interview. I want to talk." This philosophy shapes every tool and technique he uses. He plays blackjack with spirits using a phone app called Necrophonic (on airplane mode, so the sound bank is fixed) and Bluetooth speakers so everyone can hear the responses. He also uses spirit dice — a 3D-printed divination tool he designed himself after developing neuropathy in his fingertips. Pendulums and dowsing rods became impossible because the pressure on his fingertips felt like ra

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What you'll learn

1 (00:57) **Episode Open & Guest Introduction** - Hosts Katie, Rachel, and Haley welcome Larry Eissler III, an award-winning filmmaker and paranormal researcher.
2 (09:57) **Spirits Disrupt the Broadcast** - A sudden technical blackout hits all three hosts simultaneously while Larry is at the Lemp Mansion.
3 (11:33) **Philosophy of Communicative Investigation** - Larry explains his core approach: talking with spirits rather than interrogating them.
4 (12:07) **Playing Blackjack with Spirits** - Larry describes his signature investigative game, complete with rules and a running score.
5 (17:11) **Spirit Dice as an Accessible Divination Tool** - Larry demonstrates how he adapts his methods due to physical limitations.
6 (21:17) **The Seance Documentary: A Healing Experiment** - Larry recounts the making of his film *The Seance* at the Watseka Wonder location.
7 (32:46) **The Jericho Haunted Trinity: A Darker Investigation** - Larry introduces a long-term documentary project at a deconsecrated Catholic church/convent/school in Wisconsin.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

"Where history, hands-on experimentation, and field research meet, the unexplained begins to speak." We are back on the spooky side of the hearth fire! This week on The Hallowed Hearth, Katy, Rachel, and Haley are gathering for an incredible deep-dive into field research, paranormal communication, and dark documentary filmmaking. We are thrilled to be joined by award-winning filmmaker, author, paranormal researcher, and founder of The Black Lantern Company—Larry Eissler III! Featured on the 44th Annual Telly Award-winning series Expedition Entity, Larry approaches the paranormal with a unique emphasis on combining historical research, experimentation, and field investigation, seeking to explore whether meaningful communication is possible and what those experiences reveal about the connected people and places. As a filmmaker, Larry brings that same philosophy to documentaries including The Séance, The Séance: Bloodlines, Mark of the Trinity, and 1966: The Year the Sky Came Alive. Through The Black Lantern Company, he continues that work both behind the camera and in the field, producing paranormal and historical films while designing original 3D-printed investigative tools intended to encourage interaction, experimentation, and new approaches to paranormal communication. Turn the porch lights down low, pour a warm drink, and draw your chair close.

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