Wrestling With Ghosts

Did You Know?

• In 2018, Wrestling With Ghosts was the most illegally downloaded show in Gabon, Africa.
• Walker and Vineyard helped save lives during the Gatlinburg Fires of November 28, 2016; Walker's Facebook live broadcast was the first report that Gatlinburg's Ski Mountain was on fire.
• In 2019, Luke Walker and Vinnie Vineyard co-wrote a script for the movie The Hike based on their Episode 3.1 experiences trying to find Spearfinger in the Great Smoky Mountains.
• Funkmaster V owns a taxi cab company called "Funkmaster V's Uptown Cabs of Renown" that is featured in the show.
• On episode 5, some team members allegedly tampered with evidence as a joke, leading to cast and crew replacements after Walker said, "You fake one thing, you faked everything."

Origins

The series began when a paranormal investigator, dining at a restaurant in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, asked manager Travis Graves about local ghost stories. Graves directed him to fellow employee and former police officer Luke Walker, who suggested a paranormal series rather than a single documentary. Walker proposed adding entertainer Funkmaster V to the group, and filming commenced shortly after.

Cast and crew

The permanent cast and crew consist of Big Luke Walker, Funkmaster V, and Travis Graves. Big Luke Walker, born June 4, 1975, in Bolingbrook, Illinois, serves as executive producer, head writer, and camera operator. A former police officer and SWAT team member, he is also a professional wrestler, singer-songwriter, podcaster, and amateur gemologist. His first paranormal encounter occurred while on duty at the Greenbrier Restaurant in Gatlinburg.

Funkmaster V, born Vinnie Vineyard on December 20, 1974, in Baltimore, Maryland, is the director, editor, and writer. A longtime Knoxville resident, he uses the wrestling moniker derived from his bass-playing career. His background includes work as a disc jockey, stand-up comedian, professional wrestler, podcaster, libertarian politician, bounty hunter, state champion judoka, and owner of a taxi company. He hosts a segment called "De-Funked."

Travis Graves, born Travis Sagraves on August 4, 1989, in West Palm Beach, Florida, works as a camera operator and on-screen talent, and is a 16-year veteran professional wrestler known as El Gordo Gringo. Kandi Thompson, a singer, joined the cast in Season 3.

Guests and experts

Mitchell Gore, a camera assistant, resides at a haunted location featured in episode 7. Kaitlin Shelton, a spirit medium, appears in a full segment of episode 7, "The Furry Without a Fur Suit." Beth Gibson is featured in episode 4, "Going Postal," where spirits reportedly followed her on her birthday. Perfect Pat, a wrestling promoter, helped the team access Merrydeath Antiques for episode 3.

Allan Miller, docent of the Old La Follette Post Office, recounts local lore in episodes 4 and 8. Hayley Stanley, a cosplayer, assists in triggering misogynistic entities. Jenny Laurer appears in episode 5, placing a curse on the Mysterious Mansion and reversing Funkmaster V's figure four leglock. Jeremy Cantelli worked as a camera operator on episodes 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Dalton Stout, a guest investigator on episode 6, was the aggressive investigator who allegedly attacked other TV presenters during the "demonic attack." Vito Thomselli of The Thomaselli Brothers narrates the series.

Episode list

Season One includes episodes: "I Used to Be a Cop" at Greenbriar Restaurant in Gatlinburg, TN, with a Defunked segment at Sensabaugh Tunnel in Kingsport, TN; "Chiroptera Surgit" at an undisclosed ghost town in Western North Carolina Smoky Mountains; "Wee-Ji Want the Funk" at Merrydeath Antiques in La Follette, TN, with Defunked at a personal residence in Stearns, KY; "Going Postal" at Old La Follette Post Office in La Follette, TN, with Defunked at Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg, TN; "The Giant the Saved Gatlinburg" at various Gatlinburg locations, with Defunked at Emert's Cove Cemetery in Pittman Center, TN; "The Rabbitman Cometh" at Rabbitman cabin in Unicoi, TN; Bonus Ep. 1 "The Furry Without a Fur Suit" at The House of Gore in Bristol, VA; Bonus Ep. 2 "The Postman Always Screams Twice" at Old La Follette Post Office.

Season Two: "Drag Me to Jail" at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, TN; "One Fish, BOO! Fish" at Vollmar's Park in Bowling Green, OH; "They Died With Their Boos On" at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Morristown, TN; "Be Ghoul to Your Schuel" at Poasttown Elementary in Middleton, OH; "Dark Side of the Moonshine" at Sevier Distilling Company in Sevierville, TN; "Haleraiser" at Hales Bar Dam near the Tennessee/Georgia line. Season Three: "Spearfinger" at Nolan Creek Trail, NC; "Indian Cave" in Vonore, TN; "Horsefly Chronicles" in Easton, PA; "The Causey Light" in Nichols, SC; "The Devil's Cemetery" in Green Sea, SC; "The Historic Scott County Jail" in Huntsville, TN; "The Ghost Town of Proctor" in Proctor, NC.

Walker and Vineyard helped save lives during the Gatlinburg Fires of November 28, 2016; Walker's Facebook live broadcast first reported Ski Mountain on fire. Their exploits and charity tag team match appear in season one episode 5.