We recently had the chance to connect with Chinelle Gwartney and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Chinelle , thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
When considering intelligence, those who are not as intelligent can be taught, and those with high integrity is a personal choice. The opposite is true of this as well. However, energy is cosmic and not as easily manipulated or controlled as the other two options. Our energy attracts us to certain individuals, and also repels us from those whom may cause us harm. Everyone emits their own energy frequency, which is why this is the most important thing when considering the importance between the three options. When meeting new people, their individual energy frequency can say a lot about who they are as a person. As humans, we are blessed with retaining some of those animalistic instincts, and one of those is our fight or flight instinct. When meeting new people, that instinct is activated, and our bodies will tell us if they are a good person or not. “Like attracts like” is a valid concept. This is why it is also important to protect your own energy, and to be mindful of those who are not aligned with you. Protect your space, and keep emitting love, light and positivity, and you will attract those who also align with similar energy.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Elite Vixen Paranormal is an all- female paranormal investigation team which was founded in 2018 by Chinelle Gwartney and Samantha Biggs. The team is centrally located in Nashville, Tennessee, and currently there are 8 members on the team. Each Vixen brings their own level of experience, knowledge and personality to each investigation, and the spirits love to interact with the ladies. The Vixens use an empirical approach to paranormal investigations with an added feminine touch.
In addition to validating claims of spiritual hauntings, the Vixen strive to empower and support others in the paranormal field through mentorship and promoting others in the field. The Vixens were formed due to Chinelle and Samantha experiencing inequality due to being women from some of their male colleagues, therefore they determined their platform would be to uplift and support those who also may be subjected to the same treatment, This not only includes women, but those who identify as LGBTQI+, people of color, and new or younger teams who may not be as accepted into the field by others.
Chinelle is the owner/director of Elite Vixen Paranormal. Chinelle discovered paranormal was her calling in life when she was a teenager, due to experiences she had growing up in a haunted house in York, Pennsylvania. Being an intuitive empath, Chinelle was able to feel and experience things others were not able to her entire life. These experiences, combined with her love of haunted attractions and always feeling a pull to the spookier side of things, developed her interest in the paranormal field. When asked by others what her dream job was, she learned quickly “to be a ghost hunter” would be met with a variety of reactions. She started joining ghost walks with her friends, diving into historical location research, and learning everything she could about the field. It wasn’t until years later she would begin field investigating, but this laid the foundation for her knowledge, professionalism, and investigative methodology.
Chinelle loves to investigate established historic locations, and her favorites are jails. She states Octagon Hall in Franklin, KY is her paranormal home away from home. Chinelle has travelled as far south as Mississippi and as far north as Ohio and Michigan thus far in her paranormal career. In addition to being a seasoned field investigator, Chinelle also uses her education as a psychological consult for other teams and will often collaborate with others in the field, Chinelle has joined many public investigations as a volunteer to train aspiring paranormal investigators how to research claims of spiritual activity in a home or property.
Chinelle has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is working on her master’s degree. During the day, Chinelle is a supervisor of a program that works with at risk children and youth in the mental health field. She is an ordained minister and is a member of the International Parasychological Association. Chinelle lives in Murfreesboro, TN with her family. Chinelle has been featured on countless podcasts, multiple magazines, featured on Television shows, and has been included in multiple paranormal discussion panels and has been a guest speaker at paranormal conventions. Chinelle also was featured as “Paranormal Investigator of the Month” in July 2025 by Ontario Paranormal Magazine. Chinelle’s dream is to be the owner of a paranormal location, and to obtain her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I am the oldest of six children. As the oldest, I felt I had to be perfect. I was a “role model” for my younger siblings, they looked up to me. Not only as an older sister, but also as a mother figure. I had to do what I was told, get good grades, be involved in all of the extracurricular activities, and be that model child. Those perfectionist qualities carried through into my adulthood, and was seen in everything I did from my first marriage to my work. Even into my paranormal career. I had this image to maintain.
I no longer believe I have to perfect. I make mistakes everyday, and I know it’s okay to make mistakes. We learn through expeirnce as adults, and oftentimes we grow the most through making mistakes. I’ve learned it’s okay to not maintain the façade, to own the bad decisions, and to apologize and take accountability during those imperfect times, self awareness is a strength, and is a powerful one. Holding yourself accountable means way more than being perfect. Perfect is boring, it’s our imperfections which are beautiful and intriguing.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, there have been a few times in my paranormal career that I have almost given it up. I have experienced paranormal burnout, we all can go through it when we aren’t setting appropriate boundaries with others and take too much on. This has happened more than once.
More recently, I almost left the field due to trauma caused by colleagues. In December 2023, I was approached to parted with a respected colleague in the field for a television show. At this time, I didn’t have any experience with TV, filming, or video production. After consulting with the other ladies on the team, they supported and encouraged me to embark on this opportunity. This led to me working very closely with my partner on the show, whom I later found out had ulterior motives. This partnership led to an onslaught of maltreatment, and in January of 2025, I quit the partnership. My mental health had suffered drastically, I was beat down and tore down. I almost quit my passion, my calling in life, and the only thing I can truly claim as my own. Often there is a question of “what is the scariest thing you’ve ever experienced while investigating the paranormal”? My answer has changed because of this incident, It is no longer “demonic possession” and is now instead, “other living humans”.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
This relates to the perfectionist question. The public version is not the real me, I safeguard myself, not only to protect my own energy, but also to protect my family. There are people who I have worked with for years that hav never seen me angry or upset. In fact, very close colleagues of mine were recently on a podcast and I was mentioned. The hosts of the show spoke of how I can get passionate about a topic, and become animated and feisty if I am strongly advocating. The guests, whom I have worked with for years were shocked to hear I had a paradoxical side which they had never been exposed to. When questioned about this, I responded that not everyone is privy to my multifaceted personality, I am human, therefore I have the propensity to feel all human emotions, but I choose to not allow everyone to see my vulnerabilities. In a field that can be fueled by competition and envy, exposing oneself fully to can cause the exploitation of those vulnerabilities for personal gain, even sometimes to those whom you fully trust. Also, being in the paranormal field there is a level of “engaging the audience” due to the entertainment aspect of the field regarding content. The audience does not want to see us falling apart, they want to see us at our best, and that’s all they need to see.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
In both of my careers, whether during the day where I am a voice and have the ability to change the lives of others children who do not deserve the life they were handed, or at night when I speaking with those who also want to be heard and understood and validated, I am absolutely doing what I was meant to do. Both paths are not just jobs, they are passions which I was destined for,
My childhood was not the easiest. I grew up surrounded by the perpetuation of generational trauma, addiction, crime and poverty. There were moments where the legal and social systems failed my siblings and myself. We were those children who fell through the cracks, and survived with each other and our mother, As a child, I often wondered why things were the way they were. I found out why as an adult – when I began working with children who grew up like I did, and the answer to my “why” came when I met a 16 year old who was living the same life I did 20 years prior. Working with her, specifically helping to rescue her from the life she didn’t deserve, solidified my reason for why I went through everything I did as a child- it was to save her. She had never connected with the many service workers in her life, until she met me. She and I are still in contact, and she is about to be a mother herself. She will continue to be a younger version of me, by breaking the trauma cycle and generational curses. She is my “why” and I am thankful for the life I had to live. Without going through all I went through, I would not have been able to save her and her children.
Paranormal research is also my other calling. It can be similar to social work, in that the spirits also want their stories to be heard and shared. This is my other calling in life, and I love everything about this field. I love history and when I am able to communicate with a spirit, and then find the historical records to back up the evidence, it is like winning the lottery every time. I love the community, the friends I have made, the connections and even the disconnections. I have learned so many aspects beyond researching. I have learned business, tax law, international law, social media marketing, video editing, copyrighting, and an endless list of skills acquired by owning a team. I learn something new on every investigation I go on, and I will continue to learn even into the afterlife. I fully intend on continuing to contribute to the science once I am gone, for I will have that “unfinished business” which will keep me on this plane. Yes I plan on haunting people, and I do have a list! It’s all for the sake of the science after all.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elite_vixen_paranormal
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/@elitevixenpara1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evphunters
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elitevixenparanormal
- Other: www.instagram.com/elitevixenchinelle
www.facebook.com/chinelle.b.stevens
www.tiktok.com/@elitevixenparanormal
Image Credits
All images are owned by Elite Vixen Paranormal (SM)
