The Ghost Brothers Bring Culture to The Paranormal Experience

When you think of paranormal activity, you don’t normally think of melanated people. But Juwan Mass, Dalen Spratt, and Marcus Harvey, also known as The Ghost Brothers, are changing that. Over the past seven years, The Ghost Brothers have been making a name for themselves in the paranormal world while chasing down ghosts as the hosts of the hit television shows Ghost Brothers, Ghost Brothers: Haunted Houseguests, and the latest show Ghost Brothers: Light's Out.

The guys met in Atlanta over a decade ago when Dalen and Juwan met at Clark Atlanta University, where they were both members of the legendary fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi, Incorporated. They would often have random spiritual conversations after finding out that Dalen’s mom was a pastor. Dalen would later meet Marcus, who would later become his barber. Dalen introduced Marcus to Juwan and they soon created an unbreakable bond, which was very apparent during our conversation. One night, Dalen had a dream about himself and the guys exploring the unknown and immediately jumped out of bed to share with Juwan. He kicked Juwan’s door down and said, “We should hunt ghosts.”

After their conversation, “We were wondering why do people always assume that Black people don't deal with the afterlife,” Dalen shared. And by 2011, they started the process of filming their own paranormal investigations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia for their YouTube channel. “This just gives our community our voice in this genre,” says Dalen.

As their popularity grew, the guys managed to incorporate and become known for their individual styles on and off the show. Dalen, also known as “The Bad Boy of Paranormal,” is the risk taker, while Juwan, who is known as “Paranormal Papi,” is the suave, pretty boy of the group. And Marcus, who is known as the“The Soul Brother,” brings a combination of heartwarming soul and comedy. The trio balance one another out on TV and in life. Dalen brings a sense of excitement and adventure, Marcus brings a more relaxed vibe but feels he brings the “what the community would say” spirit, and Juwan brings compassion.

The guys admit that the show didn’t get picked up immediately and it was about five years until the Discovery network greenlit the idea, which would change their lives forever. “I would always say if somebody were to tell you it's going to take five years for your wildest dreams to come true, would you have the patience?” says Marcus. Ghost hunting, as people can imagine, can be stressful so the guys talk about how they managed to remain safe and sane during their excursions. “Going into investigations, we all pray, we do it individually and we sometimes do it collectively. We've always used prayer for protection,” says Juwan.

The guys didn’t know much about this prior to entering into it. They did their research but their biggest concern was acceptance. “I think our biggest concern was being judged by our community and not even for just hunting ghosts. We just didn't want people to think that we were out here shucking and jiving,” says Marcus. After a few episodes, the reviews were in. The fear of not being accepted was a thing of the past as The Ghost Brothers were officially embraced thanks to the fresh subject matter and the fact that the guys were already well known across the country.

One show and two spin-offs later, the guys are showing no signs of stopping. You can catch their shows on demand via your cable provider. In addition to the show, the guys are currently CEOs of The Gourmet Brothers Pancake and Waffle Mix currently available in three different flavors, while Dalen and Juwan are two Fashionisto who founded Loren Spratt, a custom menswear line.

Check out the full interview.

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