Beyond the Haunting's most recent project, History's Most Haunted, has been nominated for four Leo Awards.
Made up of three B.C. women including Corine Carey, Kelly Ireland and South Cariboo local Leanne Sallenback, Beyond the Haunting is a group of paranormal investigators who combine ghost hunting with historical education. Sallenback said she, her sister Carey and their childhood friend Ireland are excited to have their hard work recognized with these nominations.
"The Leo Awards celebrate film and television in British Columbia so it's a pretty big deal for us," Sallenback remarked. "It's a privilege because it's our home province and we're all from B.C."
In History's Most Haunted the trio travelled across North America to film in various historical locations including Montreal, Newfoundland, Salem, New Orleans, Charleston and San Antonio. Along the way, they shared the history of each area while conducting investigations to look for ghosts. Sallenback noted that during its initial run, the show was a hit with audiences on T+E in Canada and Haunt TV in the US, New Zealand, UK and Australia.
Sallenback and her fellow hosts are nominated for Best Hosts for their episode set in Salem, the show as a whole is nominated for Best Information, Lifestyle Or Reality Series while their executive producers Stephen Sawchuk and Sean de Vries of Small Army Entertainment are up for Best Direction and Best Editing.
“Being nominated for these awards is such a privilege, and we hope that we are just getting started sharing all these powerful stories of the past. Working on History’s Most Haunted was such an amazing experience, and we just want to keep going”, Ireland said.
Sallenback noted this isn't the first time their work has been recognized with their previous project, Haunted Gold Rush, winning them a BC Tourism Innovation Award in 2023.
“The team is very proud of this documentary, as we are all from BC. Exploring our own backyard as our first big project was an incredible experience”, Carey said.
The Leo Awards take place on July 6 in Vancouver with Sallenback, Carey and Ireland all planning to attend in person. She remarked they can't wait and she's hoping they take home at least one award.
"I think at the end of the day we feel like we're just getting started and these awards will help our momentum and keep us motivated. There's so much we want to do still," Sallenback said, noting they're currently working on new projects that will be announced in the coming months.
"There is such room for growth in paranormal TV and in Canada to see three women entering the paranormal space is new, it is exciting and we have lots more to share and we just want to keep going."
