Daily Inspiration: Meet Ashley Hilt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Hilt.

Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today. 
I was always the “weird” kid. I started off for a love of Cryptozoology in middle school when I came across the famous Patterson Gimlin Film. My pre-teen mind was blown, and I could not believe that anybody thought this image was anything other than a Bigfoot. I spent most of my teenage years daydreaming about becoming a cryptozoologist. However, the interest didn’t stop there. 

My friends and I would do amateur ghost hunting. GPS became huge right around the time we started learning to drive. The world was full of potential exploration. We spent many days and nights visiting different Ohio locations of legend. That’s just what we did. Some places were weirder than others. 

However, I did not get my “start” into this as a serious investigator until September 2019. I attended the annual Mothman Festival and experienced a string of unexplainable events starting that weekend and following me for the months to come… My career choice became official in February 2020 when I was laid off from my “normal job”. Two weeks later, the whole world shut down, including the job market. I took this is a sign and decided to officially become a professional weirdo. And history was made. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not. A huge part of doing what I do is content creation. Sure, I can go into the woods and look for Bigfoot, or I can go investigate a haunted property, or I can go speak with folks who claim to be abducted by aliens nightly, but nobody pays you for that part. You have to create a stream of income by sharing the information you’ve collected. Many people do this in many different forms. My initial plan was to make a documentary on the Mothman phenomenon. Turns out documenting an ongoing investigation takes a lot of time and money. The plan is still a go, but I found a better solution: Podcasting. Something to note about me, I am not tech-savvy. I did not even have a smart home until 2019. I had no clue how to start a podcast, let alone how to get people to listen to it. I never would have guessed that dedicated your life to the unexplained also meant becoming business and tech-savvy. 

There’s also the research itself. You’re fighting against your sensibilities and science. The impossible has now become your reality, and sharing that information without coming off as completely crazy is a challenge in and of itself. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My official title is “Fortean Investigator.” This means that I research and investigate everything, including cryptozoology, ufology, the paranormal (and the occult. Pertaining to those studies, I am a Podcaster, Lecturer, Filmmaker, and Author. 

I would say I am known for my study into the Mothman Phenomenon, the Men in Black, folkloric flying humanoids, Indrid Cold, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, window areas, and one-off stories so bizarre that they have to be true. 

I am proud of the minds that I’ve changed. Of course, I want people who are already into these topics to follow what I do and the message I’m putting out there. But ultimately, my goal is to reel people in who don’t think about these topics. Or even people who are skeptical. I’ve got listeners of my show who don’t get into this stuff normally. I’ve sat down with skeptics and made them rethink their beliefs. And that’s what it’s all about. Getting more eyes on these topics so that they may one day be taken seriously by conventional science. 

Facts are important to me. A lot of other people who do what I do typically fall for hoaxes or promote things that certainly aren’t realistic. I always say, “Make it make sense.” I approach everything skeptically. I try to debunk it before I do anything else. I try to use a standard when looking at information, and I attempt to deliver that information with as close to the facts that I can get. It doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes you throw your hands up and go, “I don’t know, man.” My podcast is a great example. Sometimes we cover a topic that I may be excited about and always took as truth, just to learn that it was likely not true, and here’s the facts to the contrary… Another favorite quote of mine is “Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out,” and I think that’s a lost art in this field. 

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
There are no experts in this community. I may know a lot about the mothman, but I can’t tell you exactly what he is. Someone else may know a lot about Bigfoot, but they can’t tell you that it’s for sure an undiscovered species of North American Ape. No matter how much I agree with them. Someone may have been on a thousand ghost hunts, but they can’t tell you for sure that they’re interacting with dead people. All of us are learning as we go, and we need to keep an open mind and be receptive to new information as it becomes available. 

Contact Info:

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