Meet The TikToker Who Makes Videos With Her ‘Frat Bro’ Ghost Friend, Chad

Liv, known as @staygoldenponyboiii on TikTok, turns to an unlikely source for advice on dating or what to wear out; the ghost of a college-aged fraternity brother whom she calls “Chad”.

Liv first encountered her spirit friend in Boston, where she and her roommate “accidentally manifested” a spirit inside their old Back Bay brownstone. After noticing paranormal activity — the freezer door opening by itself, misplaced items, and the record player turning on at random — the roommates named the friendly ghost “Chad”. After moving to Los Angeles and investing in ghost hunting equipment, Liv was able to confirm Chad had come with her to LA. Now, almost five years after meeting him, Liv shares snippets of her hangouts with Chad — her beloved “Chadding” sessions — to her almost 200k followers on TikTok.

Get to know more about Liv, her experience with the paranormal, and her unlikely friendship with Chad.

What was your first experience with the paranormal?

From a very young age, I’ve been really into the paranormal. I grew up in San Francisco. The house I grew up in was haunted, supposedly, as my mother used to tell me. I would see an old woman in the basement of that house that my parents couldn’t see. I would say, “Don’t you see the old woman? She’s standing in front of that closet.” Eventually, my parents asked our landlord what was in that closet because it was locked to us and the landlord told us, “Oh my mother died in that house and that’s the closet where I keep some of her stuff still.”

From then, would it happen frequently?

My great grandmother died, and two months after she died, I would start seeing her in my house as well. It used to make my mom really upset because it was her grandmother and she’d be like, “She’s not here!” but I think when I was younger, I was really in tune to the whole spiritual side. As I got older, it kind of went away until college – until Chad.

Let’s talk about Chad. Can you tell me a little bit about Chad? How did you first encounter him?

I was in college in Boston. My first ever apartment with my best friend was in a really old brownstone. We had both been really into ghosts and all of that stuff so when we moved in, we had a running joke that our apartment was haunted so every single day we used to say, “We have Chad the Ghost in our kitchen moving stuff, ha ha ha,” and after a month of joking about it every single day, we actually started having activity and we were like, “wait a second, maybe we should stop joking about this now.”

What kind of activity were you noticing?

Smaller things at first. Our freezer would open all the time, items being misplaced in the weirdest ways. I found my keys in the refrigerator before and things like that. We would hear walking here and there. We had a record player and it used to turn on by itself all the time.

Do you get scared by that stuff?

I personally don’t get scared by that stuff. I think, for me, I’m just so curious about it. Since I was a kid, I have been believing in ghosts and it didn’t scare me when I was younger either. My best friend, who was my roommate, was very nervous about it.

So, the “Chad” in Boston – is that who you make videos with now?

Me and my best friend had collectively manifested, or opened some spiritual door, and invited some ghost into our house by literally inviting it into our house – by putting it out into the universe (accidentally manifesting). That’s when he first came along. It wasn’t until I actually got ghost equipment and I was able to ask more specific questions that I figured out that Chad had followed me from Boston to Los Angeles.

Were you noticing similar paranormal activity in LA as well?

I was hearing footsteps in my bedroom and I was catching up on a vibe that something was going on. It’s the whole feeling of it feels like something’s watching you. You can feel eyes on you so that’s how it felt. I bought ghost hunting equipment because I wanted to start going on ghost hunting trips with my friends. As soon as I got the equipment, we started experimenting in my apartment and that's when Chad came through and was like “Hey, it’s me. I’m here.”

Can you explain to me what equipment you use?

I use a twist-on, twist-off flashlight. You slightly turn on the flashlight, not fully on, that allows for spirits to go up and tap it and if they tap it, the light turns on. I also use dowsing rods, they’re also called divination rods. That's a really wild one to use because sometimes when I'm holding the rods, you can feel the ends being pushed. You can feel someone touching it. It’s such a weird feeling. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and a lot of Ghost Adventures with Zak Bagans, and they all use a spirit box and a REM pod so I knew when I was buying ghost equipment I had to get a spirit box. What people say in my TikTok comments, and what I’ve noticed as well, is when you’re watching all the videos, it’s the same voice that comes through because usually it’s Chad speaking through. It’s a younger, male voice that consistently comes through. We get a guest female voice that comes in every once in a while too. That's what I think is super crazy is the consistency behind it in each session, even when I’m doing it off-camera.

When you use this equipment, are you asking Chad yes or no questions?

When I’m using the rods, I definitely do yes or no questions or I’ll give him two choices and say, “Cross for the one you want.” I used these to ask him to choose between Friday Beers and Barstool Sports – he’s a Barstool guy. If you know him, that checks out.

What do you know about Chad?

He’s been around since I was a sophomore in college so almost five years. I didn’t start getting answers from him until I got the ghost equipment which was a few months ago. He did confirm he was a frat boy, which was the one joke that me and my friend were like, “Oh I’m glad you’re actually a frat boy.” He did tell us Chad wasn’t his name but he said he doesn’t mind being called Chad. He told us he passed away in 2010. He attended the University of Florida – go Gators! People are always nervous that I don’t know his actual name but I do – he’s just asked me not to share it because he had a traumatic passing. Sometimes, when we started prying about his past — just me and my friends off the Internet — he didn’t want to talk about it, which is so fair, so we stopped pushing.

So, are you friendly with him?

We are very friendly with each other. Sometimes, for jokes, I’ll ask him for dating advice. Me and my friends always think that’s really funny. I don’t film every single interaction I have with him because I will be chatting with him just one on one and it’s nice, it feels like I’m sitting on the couch with an old friend.

Do you ever see him?

When I was younger, I used to see things but I don’t anymore because I’m definitely not a psychic or a medium or anything like that. I have seen a few shadow figures in my apartment and I don’t know necessarily if that is Chad or not, or if it’s another spirit, because since buying all the equipment and doing these sessions, I think a lot of other spirits have been joining us because they’re like “I want to talk too.” When I’m using the Spirit Box, sometimes it gets a little crazy because there will be like 5-7 voices coming through and it’s all these people and it sounds like they’re all talking over each other, talking to each other. Half of them are answering my questions, half are having their own conversations. It makes me laugh because I’m like “I’m glad you guys are partying it up in my apartment.”

You do something called “Chadding” on your TikTok. Can you explain what Chadding is?

Chadding is essentially me doing a spirit session with Chad, my ghost attachment, and I’m asking him multiple questions about his opinions, his thoughts. He says he watches me on my phone so he is a little aware of what is going on in the world now so it’s always interesting to hear his take on different things. He’s just a funny guy so him and I are taking shots or drinking White Claws and just basically hanging out. It’s like two bros having a conversation except one is invisible.

I think a lot of ghost content in general can be really scary and people are always like “it’s a ghost so it’s automatically bad” and I’m happy I can make videos to show that a lot of times spirits are just really confused and normal people, and it’s not something to necessarily be super scared about or nervous about. Being able to make these videos with Chad and have people see our interactions and see, if they choose to interact with ghosts as well, to be respectful and know it’s not always the scary, demon stuff.

What do you think the biggest misconception about the paranormal/ghosts is?

I think there’s no definites to the paranormal because it’s such an unknown thing. I hear a lot like, “there’s no way that your ghost attachment followed you because only demons do that” but we don’t actually know that because there’s not a black and white answer to the paranormal. Really, it’s still a very unknown thing which is why I think people are so interested in it. I think the paranormal doesn’t have to be something to be super scared about.

What interests you most about the paranormal?

I think what interests me most about the paranormal is we’re getting a glimpse into the afterlife and what happens after death. A lot of people ask me to ask Chad what the afterlife looks like and I think it’s because we’re all super interested in something nobody has an answer to.

Have you learned any lessons from your experience with Chad, or spirits in general?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through all of the spirit stuff is setting boundaries. We joke about Chad seeing me in the shower but being able to set forth boundaries, I didn’t even know when I started this that that was something you could necessarily do. Or when I call on spirits to speak through the spirit box, you can outline a certain boundary of who is allowed to come through, and for the most part, spirits respect that boundary. Why that is, I have no idea. That was something I had no clue was a thing when I first met Chad. If I knew that, I would have told him to stop touching the record player in Boston.

Why do you think that is?

I think it’s mutual respect. For example, Chad has certain boundaries with things. He doesn’t want to talk about his passing, he doesn’t want certain things on the Internet and I respect that boundary. I think because I do that, he also respects my boundary of not going into my bathroom or not watching me while I change. In moments like that, I can feel myself being alone, which is great. I don’t have the weird hair on the back of my neck sticking up when that’s happening. I think that’s genuinely because Chad’s like, “Fair enough. Respect.”

What’s your favorite video you’ve made with Chad?

I love the “Get Ready With Me” videos. I just think they’re so fun. I guess I’d say the first “Get Ready With Me” video that I did with Chad where I let him choose my outfit for a night out. I used the flashlight and through the spirit box I’d say, “Should I wear pants or a skirt?” and through that he’d say, “Skirt” then I’d have the flashlight and I’d tell him, “I’m going to hold up different skirts. Turn on the flashlight for the one you want me to wear.” Then he’d turn on the flashlight for the skirt he chose. So I use the spirit box and the flashlight to figure out what he wants me to wear. I’ve asked him what color eyeshadow I should use. And I mean, he hasn’t failed. I’m surprised because 2010 – for a frat guy – I would not assume, would have any fashion sense.

Do you have a favorite Travel Channel show?

I love Ghost Adventures. I can recite the entire intro.