David E. Harkins

A published author, speaker, and actor, accomplished researcher and investigator of the paranormal Realm for over 40 years, Dave Harkins brings his love of lost legends, history, and the supernatural to almost every aspect of his life. David's fascination with the paranormal started with childhood as his family has always embraced the supernatural as his lineage stems from American Indian Ancestry, including several American Indian Chiefs. David is a voting member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and holds to his ancestors' customs and beliefs. Originally from Fresno, California, With a fascination with all things Occult and Paranormal, David and some friends started up an occult bookstore back in 1980 that is still in operation today. David states that "During the early years with the shop, folks would stop by and share stories of strange happenings that they believed to be paranormal. At first, I was genuinely perplexed as to why they would contact us? After getting to know many of these people, I realized that they were genuinely freaked out by the things they were experiencing and had nowhere else to turn at the time. You have to take into account that in 1980 there was no internet or paranormal television programming or much to do with the supernatural in the mainstream excepting for the occasional horror movie being broadcast on TV or in the movie theater. Folks then didn't feel that they could turn to family or friends, or the clergy, as nobody would believe them and think that they were crazy, or blame it on Satan. I began investigating these claims of supposed paranormal activity with very tried and tested techniques for the time, and got hooked on the fact some of these claims may be happening." With a fascination of all things Occult and Paranormal, Dave decided to take it a step further. After moving from Fresno, California back in early 1985 to the Ozark Mountains of south-central Missouri, Dave immediately fell in love with not only the mountains themselves but the strange tales that shrouded them in mystery and legend. Stories of lost mines, buried treasure, ghosts, and cryptids were shared with him over the years by Ozarks natives and helped form his ever-growing interest in researching the truth behind those stories. Creating several small informal paranormal groups in the '80s and 90's, Dave founded The Ozarks Paranormal Society in 2007 and later on co-founding the group, Infinity Paranormal Research. Dave devotes most of his free time to searching for answers as to whether life continues after death and finds the truth behind the stories of various Ozarks legends. According to Dave, "There is always a little bit of truth behind every ghost story or legend. The key is researching the story, finding the historical connections to it, and proving that there was a basis for the tale's origin. That's what makes it so interesting and drives me forward." His research has led to the authorship of "Haunted Graveyards of the Ozarks" published by the History Press as part of its Haunted America series; that book was later reviewed and accepted for inclusion into the Library of Congress on its collected folklore and historical content. In addition to researching and investigating both legends and the unexplained across the United States, Dave has been featured on radio, print and most notably, he and the Ozarks Paranormal Society were featured on the Travel Channel show "Legends of the Ozarks" investigating the activity at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Missouri. The show is still aired on The Travel Channel. David is also featured on the Travel Channel show, "Mysteries of the Outdoors," centered around the Mark Twain National Forest's mysterious happenings in Missouri. In 2020, Dave will also be featured in an upcoming episode of the new Travel Channel show, "Paranormal Nightshift," not as the paranormal guy we know, but as the victim of a haunting. Dave is also a Team Manager for the world-renowned TAPS Family. TAPS stands for "The Atlantic Paranormal Society." The TAPS group is based out of Rhode Island. It has been investigating the paranormal for many years before starting the popular "Ghost Hunters" television show on the SyFy network, and their new show, "Ghost Nation," on the Travel Channel. Dave has always extended his quest for answers to the paranormal's existence to many parts of Europe and the Indian subcontinent; the search never stops for Dave Harkins, at least as long as there are answers to be had.