The 1000 Year Old Ghost

Welcome to Homespun Haints, a podcast all about telling personal ghost stories, and today is a story about none other than a haunted burial mound. Today our storyteller is…yep you guessed it, Becky again. Diana laments that nothing haunted ever happens to her, but Becky is haunted like crazy.

Episode Summary

How long do ghosts stick around? We hear about ghosts that are a few years old to centuries old, but what about a millennia? 

In this episode, Becky tells her own story for this decaversary about the time when, as a nubile teenager—hoping to be the next Indiana Jones (but with a darker wardrobe)—she was exposed to high temperatures and high drama in the rural Illinois Mounds. 

By the way, we mentioned an outtake of Becky burping the alphabet at the end of this episode. If you’re really keen to watch that (we’re not sure why but whatevs) here is Becky showing off her sphincter skills:

Episode Promos

Today’s episode podcast promo by October Pod

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Episode References

Cahokia Mounds

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, in Southern Illinois, close to St. Louis, Missouri, was a burial site of the Mississippian culture. Between about 1000 and 1350 B.C.E, this culture’s local population outnumbered that of London’s at the time, with a population of10-20,000 people in the city center, and 40-50,000 in the greater cultural area. 51 platform, ridgetop, and conical mound.

In this episode, Becky mentions the grueling task of climbing the 30 meters of Monk’s Mound, which is the largest indigenous earthen structure north of the US/Mexico border. The nearby Woodhenge, rebuilt in modern times based on discolorations in the soil, served the people as a solar calendar.

The haunted burial mound

Cahokia is full of burial mounds and Native American burials. So, it was no surprise when Becky found what she did outside of the National Park’s border. But, what was unusual was how this item called to her and urged her to dig where no one else had. Was it a case of a haunted burial mound? Or was it sheer luck?

Becky’s wardrobe malfunction, take two

When you live high in the mountains of East Tennessee, it’s easy to forget that sometimes, there’s a calorific reason not to wear all-black clothing.

Diana’s basement ghost dreams

Unlike Summer in southern Illinois, the ghost(s) in Diana’s basement aren’t terrifying, just mildly alarming sometimes. Dreams from the POV of something moving around her basement have actually been plaguing Diana for over 25 years.

It’s the same basement every time, as Diana lives in her childhood home currently. But every time the dreams happen, it’s a little more clear what’s going on. In this episode, you’ll hear about her latest dream, and why we now think it’s not one but two spirits residing down there. Hungry for the full story? Be sure to tune in for episode 70!

Until next time, have a spooky day!