Henry Appears as a Guest Speaker on the Creepalachia Podcast Show: “I Was a Hare Krishna Devotee for 16 Years.”
A Creepalachia podcast promotional image depicting (1) 70-year old Henry in J. D.’s studio, (2) 30-year-old Henry at New Vrindaban (1986), (3) 69-year-old Swami Bhaktipada (Henry’s former spiritual master) during a visit to Pakistan (c. July 2007), (4) Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold and (5) the West Virginia State flag.
February 18, 2026: Henry traveled from California to Beckley, West Virginia, to appear as the guest speaker on the Creepalachia Podcast Show. He met with the show’s host, known as J. D., at his studio, and the two spoke for more than three hours. The episode went online on March 4, 2026. The show’s promotional material explained, “The Hare Krishna community in the hills of West Virginia has one of the most fascinating and controversial histories in Appalachia. In this powerful three-hour conversation, former devotee Henry Doktorski joins the studio to share what life was really like during his 16 years inside New Vrindaban.”
Creepalachia is a popular story-telling video-podcast based on the unique, strange, and wonderful Appalachia experience. The show features interviews with guest speakers, stories about true crime, mysteries and ghost hauntings in West Virginia, J. D.’s home state. Creepalachia currently has over 200,000 subscribers and the show appears on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Facebook, BuzzSprout, Instagram, Tic Tok and Spotify. In a March 3, 2026 Facebook post, J. D. explained:
The Hare Krishna movement. You may have heard the name. You may know about the golden palace in the hills of West Virginia. You may even know about the atrocities that occurred there. But I haven’t came across a three-hour interview with a former devotee of that community in the hills. Until now. Meet Henry Doktorski.
I’m so grateful he made the long commute to the studio to tell me about his 16 years as a Hare Krishna devotee. If you’re ever wanting to know everything about this movement, you don’t want to miss this episode. He also has wrote 13 nonfiction books about the movement. Including Killing for Krishna which goes through the heinous murder of Steven Bryant. To clarify, Henry did not commit any crimes and actually left when he found out about the abuse within the community. But he obtained more records than anyone yet to dedicate his time to the documentation of New Vrindaban.
We do not hold back either. But I want to point out that the atrocities were committed by some deranged folks, not the majority of this community which is overall genuine and welcoming of people. It’s still there today. I hope you enter this with an open mind because it’s A LOT, to say the least.
Topics of conversation ranged from: Henry’s first meeting the West Virginia Hare Krishnas, his conversion to the religion/cult, building Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, going out on “The Pick,” the food at New Vrindaban, and many other topics of interest. Henry reported, “What a great guy, this J. D. fellow. I was very happy to appear as a guest on his show. I was particularly impressed with his December 2025 podcast about New Vrindaban; it was extremely well researched, and despite all the crimes committed during the reign of Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada and his eventually expulsion from the community, J. D. ended that podcast on an incredibly upbeat note. It seems to me that he is a man of integrity. I had loads of fun answering his questions and speaking of my life as a dedicated member of the Hare Krishnas of New Vrindaban.”
To watch this show on YouTube, go to: “I Was a Hare Krishna Devotee for 16 Years.”
J. D. in his studio.
A scene from the show.
A scene from the show.
A scene from the show.
A scene from the show.
J. D. and Henry pose for a selfie after the interview.
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