Metal
British 'Duchess of Darkness' Brocarde reveals what haunts Inkcarceration Festival!
Heavy metal goddess Brocarde visits one of America's most haunted music festivals.
Haunted gothic singer and paranormal investigator Brocarde brought her signature blend of music and the supernatural to Inkcarceration Festival last week.
Flying in from the UK, the self-styled 'Duchess of Darkness' was invited to conduct a ghost hunt inside the infamous cell blocks of the historic Ohio State Reformatory, in an attempt to make contact with some of the spirits said to haunt one of America's most unique heavy metal festivals.
Brocarde, who considers Inkcarceration to be one of the most haunted music festivals in the United States, was eager to experience both its world-renowned line-up and its reputation for paranormal activity, and she was not disappointed. The reformatory’s resident spirits welcomed her with open arms as soon as she crossed the threshold.
As soon as Brocarde stepped onto the cellblock stairwell, she felt a guiding arm on her left shoulder. It was authoritarian but strangely warm, and she immediately knew who was boss. Brocarde was ushered along the narrow corridor and pushed into a cell, as though she were one of the prison’s former inmates. She immediately knew that a spectre guard was still on patrol.
“As soon as I stepped foot inside the hallowed cell block walls, I felt a firm arm on my shoulder. In that split second, I was no longer mortal; I was inkcarserated. I was guided throughout the prison by a spectre guard. I could feel his boots kicking the back of my legs with each footstep. I was no longer free, but imprisoned. The shadow figure guided me down the gallery until I reached ‘my cell’. I was pushed inside, and the guard disappeared. I could almost hear the cell door close behind me,” Brocarde explains.
“The guard didn’t introduce himself by name, but I guess his presence came with a sense of knowing. If I was a prisoner, his name would’ve become unspoken. He had vivid, piercing blue eyes. They stared attentively at me as he turned and walked back down the hallway,” Brocarde continues. “I always find it funny when people want information from spirits that they wouldn’t even get from the living world. Sometimes encounters are fleeting and unexplained, and that somehow makes them more real than ever.”
“Inkcarceration was a dream festival for me to explore, and I was incredibly excited to investigate the paranormal entities said to inhabit the site. This extraordinary historic location holds countless stories, mysteries and legends, and the festival creates the perfect bridge between the supernatural and powerful live music,” Brocarde said. “With the high-octane energy of the festival, I was convinced that the atmosphere would stir something from beyond the grave, and my experience didn’t disappoint,” Brocarde concludes.
Brocarde is no stranger to combining music with the paranormal. Her theatrical performances and passion for ghost hunting have become hallmarks of her career, regularly taking her to some of the world's biggest rock and metal festivals, where songwriting and the supernatural often collide.
Earlier this year, she conducted a séance beneath the Apex Stage at Download Festival after revealing she had discovered a reportedly haunted Download Dog bobblehead hidden in her basement.
In recent years, Brocarde also held a séance in honour of the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy at Germany's legendary Wacken Open Air Festival, an experience she described as a genuine privilege.
Brocarde's debut album, Good Attendance At Sunday School, was released in June, and she has since announced an upcoming duet with Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric, offering fans an early glimpse of the next chapter in her musical journey.
With a haunted prison, thousands of metal fans and a reputation for embracing the unexplained, Inkcarceration Festival provided the perfect stage for Brocarde's most supernatural appearance yet.
Her personal history with the paranormal has drawn widespread attention. Brocarde first made headlines after marrying – and later divorcing – the ghost of a Victorian soldier named Edwardo. Once a sceptic, she says her beliefs changed after experiencing a haunting that convinced her ghosts were real. The pair married on Halloween 2022 before the relationship ended in an exorcism six months later.
Brocarde, who some may recognise from Channel 4’s First Dates and Tan France’s Say Yes To The Dress, continues to travel internationally investigating haunted locations, reporting on encounters with malevolent spirits and murderous ghosts, and interviewing everyone from world-renowned bands to covens of witches for her website, Brocarde.com.
Her horror-inspired aesthetic and theatrical rock style have earned praise from rock royalty, including Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, who called her an “electrifying, creative new artist”.
Recently, she teamed up with Korn drummer Ray Luzier on the track Feed My Soul.
