Episode Summary

What’s scarier: strange, unexplainable noises and spirits that go bump in the night? Or a real life boogeyman who’s still at large after a terrifying killing spree? 

Fear has a way of grabbing you, changing you, and staying with you, no matter whether it comes from the supernatural, or from living next door to a serial killer. Let’s look into the notion of fear, and how it has stayed with a community for generations, today, on Homespun Haints.

About the Guests, Rebecca Everett and Jessica Remo

Our guests today co-host the podcast Father Wants Us Dead. It’s a true-crime podcast about John List murdering his family in 1971 New Jersey, only to go on to lead a pretty normal life for 18 freaking years before law enforcement finally apprehended him. As the pair point out, it’s a story everyone in Westfield thinks they know, but their show gets down to the bizarre details.

Uniquely, both hosts are also professional journalists. Their expertise at investigative reporting allows them to find the juicy inside scoop while remaining objective.

Rebecca Everett

According to her bio on FatherWantsUsDead.com, “Rebecca Everett is an enterprise crime reporter, investigating the issues and figures driving policing and crime in New Jersey. Since joining The Star-Ledger and NJ.com in 2016 as a local news reporter, she has won seven New Jersey Press Association awards, including two for the print version of “Father Wants Us Dead.”

“Rebecca previously worked at MassLive.com and got her start in journalism 12 years ago at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, her hometown newspaper in Massachusetts. Her reporting shed light on issues of sexual harassment and assault years before the #MeToo era, including a series revealing harassment allegations against a city councilor that resulted in a recall election and a Publick Occurrences Award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association.”

Follow Rebecca on Twitter @RebeccaJEverett.

Jessica Remo

According to her bio on FatherWantsUsDead.com, “Jessica Remo spent seven years as an award-winning reporter and columnist at The Star-Ledger and NJ.com. In 2017, her story on “Passing the trash” — the epidemic of problem teachers moving from school to school after allegations of misconduct — won an award for Responsible Journalism from the New Jersey Press Association and propelled the state Legislature to pass a bill against the practice. 

“After leading news coverage in Union County, she became a columnist, writing dispatches from Wrestlemania 35, chasing presidential candidate Cory Booker around the Iowa State Fair and detailing how her DNA test revealed a wild family secret. She previously worked at Patch.com, New Jersey Monthly magazine and Philadelphia magazine.”

Follow Jessica on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ.

Bios from fatherwantsusdead.com.

Episode Show Notes about The John List Murders

The Deserted Village on the Watchung Reservation

Patty List’s interest in the occult was a perfectly typical Robinson Age expression for a teenage girl growing up in the late 1960’s. Jessica and Rebecca state that Patty’s friends corroborate that she was practicing magick around the time of her death. And yet, her father confessed that he wanted her to die a good Christian before she was led to sin by poverty. Surely John List was aware of his daughter’s dabbling in the occult, and yet that didn’t seem to factor in to his decision to murder her.

Very close to the site of the murder in Union County, NJ, there is a ghost town. After several failed attempts to make a settlement on the land, the area was dubbed the “Deserted Village” within the “Enchanted Forest.” The place is supposed to be suitably haunted. Rumors of witches and Satanists practicing rituals in the forest have been in the local lore since before these murders. According to Jessica and Rebecca, there’s no evidence that those practices had anything to do with Patty List. Still, she must have been aware of the rumors when she decided to become a practicing witch, if that’s indeed what she did.

What is the Son of Sam Law?

So-called Son of Sam laws prohibit criminals from profiting off of media coverage or other documentation about their crimes. According to The First Amendment Encyclopedia, “New York Executive Law Section 632a, commonly known as the “Son of Sam” law, was hastily enacted in 1977 after serial killer David Berkowitz, also known as the “Son of Sam,” sold his exclusive story rights.” Profits were instead slated to go to the victim.

A super creepy innocent bystander

The police discovered the bodies of the family at the urgings of daughter Patty’s drama coach Edwin Illiano. He told police that something just wasn’t right. The teacher later gave an interview to author Joe Sharkey, for the book Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders. In the interview, he indicates he may have secretly discovered the bodies earlier on his own.

Later, in 1991, Illiano also wrote and directed a film called The Patricia List Story. The film implies that John’s 16 year old daughter Patty was in love with Illiano. The girl apparently confided in her coach before the murders. The film makes the claim of being the only firsthand account of the family’s inner secrets at the time.

Why we’re extra creeped out

Why did Illiano publicly portray his (no older than) 16 year-old student as an unstable nymphomaniac who was successful in seducing him? How did that admission go for his career as a drama teacher? Even if that’s not what he was still employed as in 1991, surely that must have raised some ethical concerns.

Did he really have forewarning of Patty’s eventual murder? If so, why did he take no effective action to intervene, report, or prevent her death? Did he really admit to discovering the dead bodies of the List family prior to leading the police to them? And how much prior? Why did he stage the “discovery” of the crime scene for late at night? And why, if he had all this inside knowledge, did he wait until after John was apprehended decades later to make the film? Why did he play himself in the film, when he was 20 years older? Is it just coincidence that the film was released the same year the Supreme Court repealed the Son of Sam laws as unconstitutional? Is anyone as creeped out by this part of the story as we are?!

The Murders of John List: Scarier than Ghosts

Overall, we are siding with Jessica in that we’d much rather meet a ghost than a murderer. We are glad there are podcasters out there who enjoy covering true crime. These professional reporters certainly do it justice. Are you more of a true crime fan, or a paranormal fan? Let us know which is your favorite and why on our Facebook group. For us, we’ll stick to the more supernatural scares that ghost stories provide. That’s enough for us to have a spooky day.

The post Something Wicked Comes To Westfield appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Then, listen to the bonus episode, Italian House Spirits Can Make or Break your Home Renovation:

Episode Summary: Familiar Italian Ghosts

Every family has its own unique traditions. Our ancestors’ culture, our current location, and our religion all shape the rituals we do without even thinking, even if these rituals seem foreign, or even occultish, to those outside of our family unit.

Today we explore Italian folk magic from the perspective of Lisa, an author who shares the unique traditions her grandmother brought into her family. And, of course, there’s ghosts involved. Listen above for the full interview.

About the Guest: Lisa Marie Basile

Today’s guest grew up in an area of New Jersey steeped in Italian-American culture. Her view of the supernatural was shaped by her Italian dad, her Sicilian mom, and her magical-realist grandmother. Lisa founded, edits, and writes for Luna Luna Magazine (for which Alexandra Cohl interviewed Becky). She also founded ritual poetica. She authored The Magical Writing Grimoire, Light Magic for Dark Times, and City Witchery.

Connect with Lisa on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to read more of her writing and keep up with her publications at her website, lisamariebasile.com.

Italian Ghost Folklore and Folk Magic

“Italian folk magic” is an outsider term. Most of the actual people who originally developed and still engage in this practice would never call it magic. Lisa explains that, from the inside, it’s viewed more as a series of folk traditions. These traditions blended with the mysticism of old Catholicism to become more spiritual than magical in nature. Benedicaria is therefore probably a more authentic term.

Benedicaria and ghost folklore varies between regions of Italy and even individual families. Do you recognize any of the following?

La Bella Umbriana

One of the most popular Italian house spirits from ghost folklore, La Bella Umbriana or Bella ‘Mbriana is usually a beneficial presence. According to the folklore, she is the lovelorn ghost of an Italian princess who wanders the streets of Naples in misery and madness. The king, her father, was said to reward families who offered her shelter in their homes. Carrying on the tradition, families may leave a chair open for her at the dinner table, greet her spirit upon entering their house, or honor her by keeping the home tidy and peaceful. In return, her presence can grant beauty, youth, protection, and wealth. Gently billowing curtains dappled with early afternoon sunbeams are a good sign that Bella ‘Mbriana is content with the state of the house.

But like any gorgeous, spurned, and slightly pazza Italian woman, it’s a very bad idea to get on Bella ‘Mbriana’s shit list. There is a Neapolitan idiom: “Casa accunciata morte apparicchiata.” This phrase roughly means something like “death will follow home renovations.” See, Bella ‘Mbriana highly values a safe, quiet home kept in perfect order. And nothing causes disorder in a home like renovations, or even, heaven forbid, moving. While you might be able to see past the rubble and wreckage to the promise of a future open kitchen or garden tub, Bella ‘Mbriana can’t. She’s a spirit, after all. She hears the saws sawing and hammers hammering, sees the exposed studs in demolished walls, and says “that’s it, I’m gonna kill somebody.”

Il Munaciello

The Munaciello, or the Little Monk, is a poltergeist-style sprite with various origin stories. He sneaks into your home through the plumbing. Not a challenge for him, with his small stature. Also the fact that, in 15th century Naples, “plumbing” was basically just a well. Mischevious and vengeful, il Munaciello may hide or steal your possessions. He may also break your dishes, blow in your ears while you sleep, and even grope your butt.

But having been abused and shunned in life for his unusual appearance, his spirit can sympathize with those who act strong in the face of misfortune and adversity. When you gain his sympathy, il Munaciello may sneak in to hide coins in your house. He may even leave little riddles that may reveal lucky lotto numbers. Are you thinking “I don’t want the ghost of a spiteful deformed child monk creeping up through my drains even if he does leave me a shiny quarter, thankyouverymuch”? Maintain a healthy relationship with Bella ‘Mbriana, and she’ll help prevent il Munaciello‘s nocturnal B&E.

Witches and Witch Hunts

It took a good long while for the more remote regions of Italy to transition from paganism to Christianity. When witch hunts hit their heyday in the 15th century, many Italians were secretly still involved in pagan cults. Regional folklore began to twist the narrative to reflect the pagan cultists as evil supernatural beings. While “witches” is a reasonable translation, in the stories they remind me more of fairies. Le Janare would impersonate human women. The infamous Malleus Maleficarum was written to help identify and persecute them. But before the inquisitors officially mansplained the supposed secrets to catching a janara, folk wisdom advised to just leave a bag of salt in the doorway. Much like the strzyga, the janara would be compelled to count all the grains of salt. This task would keep her occupied until sunrise. Since witches are nocturnal, that was usually enough to avoid major problems.

Unlike the more generic Janare (likely of the cult of Diana), there were also some very specific witchy boogeywomen. La Zucculara (likely of the Cult of Hecate) liked to play ding-dong-ditch while wearing loud clogs (or maybe hooves?). La Manalonga (likely of the cult of WTF) used her loooooong arms to reach out of wells and snatch you to your watery death. Tales of these spooky ghost-like “witches” of Italian folklore served to reinforce the connotation of paganism as evil. So you can see why a good Roman Catholic who practices folk traditions would strongly prefer the term Benedicare to “folk magic.”

Don’t feed the spirits

Lisa tells us that, in her family traditions, the way to avoid a haunting was to avoid feeding the spirits. While this might sound simple (just don’t leave food out, right?) it’s actually a metaphor. Spirits are said to feed on discontent. Therefore, the best way to keep them hungry is to embrace the light, and live a complaint-free life.

We hope you enjoyed this delicious lesson in Italian ghost folklore and folk magic!

We had a blast chatting with Lisa, and can’t wait to devour all of her elegant magical written words. If you’re ready to delve deeper into the practice of writing as ritual and poetry as spellcraft, we believe Lisa can take you there.

The post Lean Into The Mystery appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Episode Summary: Different Types of Ghosts

What sort of energy have you put out into the world throughout your life? Have you ever wondered what happens to it? What about anger, trauma, pain—can negative emotions manifest into something dark and menacing? Can that thing become sentient, self-aware, hungry for more pain, hungry for lost souls?

Today, we speak with celebrity psychic medium April, the Psychic Housewife of New Jersey, and hear about some of the more sinister things she has experienced throughout her life and through the work that she does. And this interview may change everything you think you know about ghosts as April explains the four different types of ghosts and how they may not be what they seem.

Listen to “Episode 73: The Psychic Housewife of New Jersey” on Spreaker.

About the Guest: April Busset

Today’s guest April is a celebrity psychic medium and a shaman. She has been featured as an intuitive on The Holzer Files, and worked with many paranormal investigators and read for many celebrities. Our recent guest, Daryl Marston (whom April knows through her work with Paranormal Warehouse), is a skeptic of mediums in general, and he gave her a glowing review after receiving a reading from her.

It only takes 10 seconds on April’s website, intuitiveapril.com, to get a sense of her bubbly personality. This Elle Woods of psychics breaks the mold of her traditionally spooky and mystical profession. She even admitted to us that she has turned down opportunities where the producers wanted her to dress in black or act macabre.

As weirdoes who dress in black and act macabre by nature, we can really appreciate her dedication to being her authentic self in a profession steeped in clichés and expectations. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @psychichousewifeofnewjersey.

An innocent visit from this type of ghost can cause a permanent change.

We’ve heard some differing opinions from psychic mediums on how exactly one becomes a medium. Some believe they are born with a gift. Some believe they just have more spirit guides than the average person. Yet others believe that everyone has medium potential, and that honing and nurturing it results in greater psychic ability. Their origin stories are as varied as those in the Marvel Universe. April believes that a visit from her recently departed father to her childhood bedside opened some sort of portal. Because after this formative event, April was able to sense and communicate with spirits.

What type of ghost would impersonate a child?

Children have an easier way into our hearts than adults. It’s just human nature to love little kids. This human tendency has been famously exploited by evil entities. In the story of Annabelle, the doll became possessed when an evil entity posed as a little girl and tricked the doll’s owner, playing upon her pity, into inviting the entity to reside in the doll.

April told us that children are too open and un-calloused to stay earthbound after they pass away, and will immediately cross over.

This knowledge also opened up a box of brain worms. What if any haunting by a child ghost is some sort of forgery? In other words, the ghost child cannot be a ghost of an actual deceased child. It is much more likely to be an evil entity posing as a child. But it may not just be the sinister type of ghost that impersonates a child ghost. Perhaps you’re interacting with a deceased person who was an adult when they passed away, but prefers to manifest in their childlike form because that’s how they identify.

If you are really interacting with an actual child spirit, it could be one who crossed over. Yes, apparently, spirits who have successfully crossed over can, by April’s testimony, come back to interact and communicate with the living again. This concept alone blew our minds. Or, the child ghost could be part of a residual haunting. Which brings us to…

The four main different types of ghosts…or ghostly/haunting entities.

Do you ever wonder; what different types of ghosts are you seeing or sensing? April helpfully summed up human-ghost interactions into four main categories for us.

• “The earthbound” are the most classic type of ghost, according to western lore. These are spirits of the deceased who have decided, for whatever reason (usually one founded on trauma), to remain on this plane of existence after death instead of crossing over. They may behave erratically and interact with the living in various ways. April tells us the longer they stay earthbound, the more confused they get. This might be why they require intervention to cross over.
• “The residuals” are hauntings that play on a loop, like a recording. These entities do not ever interact with the living in new or unpredictable ways, because they are not sentient. Some people believe that certain rocks, like quartz or limestone, can record events and replay them in a way that’s possible for the living to witness.
• “The crossed-over” are spirits which have departed this realm and moved on to another plane of existence. Whereas these aren’t technically “ghosts,” April tells us this type of ghost can visit and interact kind of like the earthbound if they so desire.
• “The shadows” are something different. They never were a living human at any point. While April says these are far from “demonic,” they are negative or evil entities. Some of the shadows function as soul collectors. This means they attempt to keep other spirits earthbound, maybe to use as slaves, or perhaps to vampirize for energy.

Can ghosts make you sick?

Everyone and everything has a vibrational frequency. April tells us that spirits have erratic vibrational frequencies, whereas the living have somewhat consistent frequencies. The clash of these different frequencies co-existing in a dwelling leads to…something we don’t fully understand. Maybe it misaligns your chakras, like some kind of reverse reiki? Either way, April says any type of ghost can harsh your vibe and cause physical effects. Which is why it was so unsettling when April confirmed that there’s a ghostly presence in Diana’s house.

The science of vibrations and health

There are indeed frequencies out there that have an extreme effect on the physical body. For example, a big rig truck engine chugs along at a relatively slow ~4.5 hz vibrational frequency. This speed happenstantially causes the soft tissues that connect the skeleton to change into a more semi-liquid state of matter after just minutes of exposure. E.g. it will loosen a body up, kind of like the warm-up before a workout. This can be an occupational hazard to the lumbar intervertebral discs of a truck driver who sits atop this engine all day in a poor ergonomic position. Yet the same frequency, applied with force in a different direction, can also act as a physical therapy to help heal those same tissues.

Similarly, a cat’s purring also has a healing effect. Cats sometimes purr when they sustain a trauma or injury, confounding human observers who correlate purring with a happy cat. Astronauts who have lost bone density from long stints in zero-gravity can rebuild it by standing on a platform that vibrates at ~50 hz. For some of our typical speculative banter, check out this episode we did about the vibrations of quartz, and how its use in watches might help substantiate its reputation for healing.

What does this have to do with ghosts of any type?

So it’s not too far-fetched to entertain the idea that constant contact with a haunting will have some sort of physical effect on the human body. Perhaps that means all different types of ghosts can make you sick. Anecdotally, Diana’s experienced some medical issues while living in places that have evidence of supernatural activity.

April says the only way to resolve these issues are to have a shaman help the spirit responsible for the haunting cross over. She also cautions not to just go with any old shaman, but to select one who belongs to a tribe. If ghosts make you sick inevitably, Diana really needs to get on this.

Thank you for listening to our show!

We were so honored that April took the time to talk to our little indie podcast. If you found us through April, we hope you enjoyed the show! Let us know what you think by dropping us a comment or joining the conversation on social media. Until next time, have a spooky day!

The post The Psychic Housewife of New Jersey appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Episode Summary

Why do those shadow ghosts Joelle sees in her peripheral vision always disappear when she looks straight at them? Is it that they shy away from eye contact, or does looking directly at them somehow limit her ability to perceive them? And what do they have to do with the invisible visitor that shared her childhood bedroom?

Episode Show Notes

About Joelle Velez

Joelle reads tarot, performs reiki, designs shirts, and crafts candles and oils for use in magickal practice. You can purchase her mystical goods and distance reiki on her Etsy store, or get yourself an early Halloween present from her online clothing shop. Connect with her on Instagram to keep up with her latest news.

Ectogasm discount

You can still use code HAINTS to save 10% off every order of $20 or more at ectogasm.net, and you really deserve more creepy couture. Thanks for helping to support our podcast!

Episode References about Shadow People

What’s the difference between shadow people in peripheral vision and spirits?

“Shadow people” is a phrase used to describe supernatural entities which appear as an absence of light. Physical objects cast shadows, but if you see a shadow that is not cast by a physical object, which appears to have agency—almost to cast itself—you might be looking at a shadow figure. The Hat Man is one famous shadow person with a sinister reputation. While previous guests have described shadow people as more sinister than spirits of the deceased, Joelle’s experience has been different.

Could anything else cause someone to see shadow people in their peripheral vision?

We’ve all seen things that we thought were eyelashes, stray hairs, or just plain shadows. But what if you eliminate all those “other” things and you still are seeing shadows in your peripheral vision. Could it be you’re seeing something that is supernatural?

Why do shadow people lurk in doorways?

Becky posits during this episode that doorways are liminal spaces, which always seem to be haunted. That comment led Diana deep down the rabbit hole of speculation, especially since she frequently saw shadows in her peripheral vision which darted through doorways while working at the haunted ski lodge. Catch up with Diana’s rambling thoughts here.

Can dogs sense spirits?

Joelle’s father recommended she bring the dog in her room to see if she would exhibit any strange behavior that could corroborate Joelle’s experiences. But throughout her stories, Joelle specifies multiple times that whatever dog was in the room had no reaction to what she was seeing.

It is indeed possible that, when a dog senses something that you sense, it’s not perceiving the ghost so much as perceiving your perception of the ghost. Smelling your fear, so to speak. It’s also very feasible that dogs just sense a lot of normal, rather than paranormal things that we cannot, and so they seem paranormal to us.

While the common trope of dogs’ superior sense of smell isn’t 100% scientifically accurate per-se, their hearing is demonstrably more sensitive, as is their night vision. With these heightened senses, there’s a good chance dogs can sense ghosts. And yet, as cat people, we just had to pose the argument that there’s at least one kind of companion animal that does it better.

What are spirit guides?

Joelle believes that everyone has a spirit guide. We’ve heard before that mediums have more of them, but that doesn’t mean that more are necessarily better. But what actually are spirit guides? Are spirit guides spirits of the deceased? If so, are they ancestors from this life, or friends from a past life? If not, are they guardian angels? Are they the same thing as spirit animals?

Based on an amalgam of the opinions of our diverse guests, my interpretation is as follows. Spirit guides are whatever you need them to be. They are equivalent to energy, a guiding force in our lives. Just because some people see a spectral wolf following beside them, while others see an angel of light descending from the heavens does not make either person wrong.

Even being able to see or sense this energy is a gift, or perhaps a talent that can be developed. but just because you may not see yours doesn’t mean it isn’t there. If you can’t sense yours, that may just mean its energy is taking a form that’s more amenable to you. You may sense it as a gut feeling. You may notice the recurrence of a particular number or image in the tangible world. They may just be those shadows in your peripheral vision.

How do you use a pendulum to communicate with ghosts and spirit guides?

A pendulum is a divining device used to answer yes/no questions. This can be complicated and meaningful, like an obsidian pyramid on a chain made of stones representing the colors of the chakras, and a board of potential answers, like yes, no, maybe, and undecided. You can watch how Becky used a fancy pendulum set to talk with some entities on a Civil War battlefield on our 2022 haunted Nashville trip. But a pendulum can also be Macgyvered out of your necklace by dropping a ring around it. Hell, a strand of hair with an earring or shoelace with a bead would even do the trick.

When using a pendulum for divining, the method is fairly simple. For your pleasure, here’s a quick primer on how to talk to ghosts with a pendulum.

How to use a pendulum to talk to ghosts and other entities:

1. Hold the dangling pendulum still.
2. Say (aloud, preferably) something like “give me your highest and truest ‘yes'”.
3. Wait patiently for the pendulum to sway back and forth. This direction now stands for “yes,” meaning the perpendicular direction would stand for “no”.
4. Completely still the pendulum with your other hand, and ask your yes/no question.
5. Wait patiently for the pendulum to swing back and forth, using the direction to glean your answer.
6. If the direction of sway is neither a clear yes or no, it’s either a “maybe” or your hand is jittery. You can always still the pendulum and try again.

Is pendulum divination real?

Is this practice vulnerable to faking or false-reads? Oh yes, absolutely. It’s ideal for the pendulum holder to attempt to relax, clear their mind, and focus on actually keeping their hand as still as possible. It’s tempting to try to hurry the pendulum up by giving it a little jostle, but if you consciously move your hand at all, you’ll never get an answer from anything outside your own conscious mind.

But with the fallibility of the human body, it’s easy to argue that your small subconscious movements influence the “answer” the “ghosts” are giving the pendulum. I’d like to reframe this objection with the response, “so what?” Our subconscious minds are amazing. Worlds worth of knowledge and information exist within our subconscious minds, that our conscious minds usually have very little access to. Some of this secret knowledge might come from the other side, or a higher power, who is really to say? I believe it’s fair to argue that, while the conscious mind is busy attempting to still the hand, the subconscious mind could be generating micro-movements that do actually answer our question. The pendulum is merely the amplifier which magnifies these tiny hints.

How do you use tarot cards to answer yes or no questions?

What if you don’t even have a hack pendulum, but you’ve got some cards? There are several ways card readers use the cards to quickly answer simple yes or no questions. One way is to pull any card as you usually do. If the card is upright it’s a yes, if it’s reversed, it’s a no.

Like a little more mysticism and well familiar with your deck? You could allow your own feelings about the card’s meaning to lean towards positive (“yes”) or negative (“no”). This technique allows for a third answer: “maybe,” for those cards that are neutral or unclear. It also allows the reader to use common playing cards, which may look identical when upright or reversed.

What can a parent do to help a haunted kid?

In this episode, Joelle laments that there was no right answer that her father could’ve known when she asked him about the entity in her bedroom. Really, “no right answer” is canon for being a parent in a lot of situations.

When your kids come to you saying they saw something that you can’t explain, our guests overwhelmingly advise reassuring your children that you believe they are telling the truth. Actually listen when they tell you about the entities they’re witnessing. And then go ahead and follow through on believing, because the kids are probably seeing more than you are. Those shadows you see in your peripheral vision might be images as clear as you and me to their young, impressionable eyes. Help them have the good kind of spooky day!

The post They Are Assigned To Us Before We Are Brought Earthside appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Episode Summary

You’re never alone if you have demons. And boy, does today’s guest know it. Ever since MR embraced Christianity, he feels like he’s been a target for all kinds of sinister entities (so much so that he filled a book with his experiences), from unseen forces to his own experience with what we can only describe as another manifestation of Sidetable Man (although this time dressed as Shadow Weaver).

About the Guest: MR Gorga

MR Gorga is an author of paranormal horror. He has been a professional writer for over twenty years, both as a journalist and as a copywriter. But Gorga’s newest work is a book where he catalogs his multiple experiences and real stories of demon encounters, along with the first documented case of demonic possession. You can find his books for sale here.

You can also follow Gorga on Facebook or Instagram.

Real Stories About Demons

The cover of Gorga’s book depicts the entity that he describes to us on this episode. The description seems very similar to the entity that our guest Jonas encountered in our Season 2 opener, Sidetable Man Don’t Eat Me! What do you think? Could it be the same demon?

Episode References

Are demons physical or psychic in nature?

When we say someone “has demons,” we refer to the psychic weight of regrets, remorse, guilt, shame, and other emotions we think of as negative. These emotions haunt that person long after the acts which caused them have been committed and the consequences played out. Yet religious writings often imply that a demon has a corporeal form. Sometimes witnesses actually see demons or encounter them physically, and sometimes they manifest, Gorga tells us, as a paralyzing dread, inexplicable hatred, or an inebriating sense of power.

Are ghosts just demons in disguise?

Gorga believes (and some of our other guests have concurred) that when people see “ghosts,” they’re actually seeing demons pretending to be something more harmless. By this logic, all ghost stories are actually real stories about demons. This reminds us of the story of the entity that possessed Annabelle the doll, who gained the trust and pity of the doll’s owner by pretending to be a sad ghost girl. The entity then revealed her true evil nature after the doll’s owner granted permission for her to inhabit the doll. Do you think belief in ghosts, demons, or a little of both is dependent on the teachings of one’s religion? How do you weigh in on the debate?

Why are the residents of New Jersey SO plagued by the paranormal?

When we started this podcast, we expected most of our ghost stories to come out of the American South. But some of the weirdest stories we’ve heard have come from the Garden State. If you have a real demon story from New Jersey, please submit it to tell on the podcast. Until then, have a spooky day!

The post They Have Their Hooks in You appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Horror Stories from Real Life

Roy and Becky have a lot in common, like their ongoing childhood relationships with creepy older men who are dead. Young Roy’s encounters with the weird dead man who hung out in his front yard remind us of someone. Specifically, little Becky’s imaginary frenemy with anger management issues, Hay.

Roy also tells us some stories about ominous apparitions he saw while house hunting (again like Becky’s family). Roy’s experience inspired him to start offering medium services to real estate agents and house hunters who want to know more about whether or not their new property comes with less-than-visible roommates.

Episode promos by Peculiar Picture Show and Xander and Stone Podcast.

About the Guest: Roy Tomko

Roy is a psychic medium based out of New Jersey. He can communicate easily with the spirit realm. He uses this talent to help others connect with deceased loved ones, as well as provide psychic readings. Interested in contacting him or learning more about him? Follow him on Instagram at @celebt10. Also, check out his website at spirittalkwithroy.com. You can also find him on YouTube and Facebook.

Episode References

Roy mentioned the Holzer Files, a paranormal show on the Travel Channel, if you want to check it out.

Since this episode, we’ve interviewed another medium from New Jersey, April the Psychic Housewife.

We also read the Grady Hendrix book How to Sell A Haunted House, in our Homespun Haints book club, which you can join through our Patreon for free.

Until next time, have a spooky day!

The post How to Buy a Haunted House appeared first on Homespun Haints.

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Paranormal Stories

In this episode, we talk to Emma Kay, comedian and podcaster. Emma Kay delights us with two very strange stories. We have absolutely no explanation, and many weird theories, as to how these stories even happened. If you have any thoughts as to what’s going on once you listen to the episode, please reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram and let us know!

About the Guest: Emma Kay

When we are not in the middle of a global pandemic, you can find Emma Kay performing at the Broadway Comedy Club in Manhattan. Follow her Facebook page @EmmaKayComedy to learn about her next show times. You can also listen to Emma Kay’s podcast, Funny Not Funny, where she interviews other comedians and discusses the emotional struggles that many comedians deal with behind the scenes.

Episode Show Notes

Ghosts or UFOs?

We don’t know what exactly Emma Kay saw in those woods around Camp Cedar Creek. It could have been ghosts, but is it possible she and her friends encountered extra-terrestrials playing human? The latter fits with other sightings common in that area. New Jersey itself has quite an exhaustive list of sightings you can browse through if you’re so inclined. Furthermore, if you’d prefer, Patch has put together a nice article about Jersey is a hot spot of UFO activity.

Of course, the Navy has officially released UFO footage (because 2020 is apparently the year to do such things). In light of the US government semi-confirming that some alien stories are true, every theory is up for grabs.

What is it about haunted campgrounds?

Emma Kay is not our first guest to have a real life ghost encounter with paranormal phenomena of some sort at a campground. A few episodes back, we heard from Emily Brown who ran smack into a Banshee while a counselor at a Boy Scout Camp. And in one of our Patreon episodes, our guest Jennifer found herself stranded in a cabin on a mountain with a lively yet dead roommate.

Enjoying our stories of real-life ghost encounters?

We really appreciate the opportunity to interview a haunted comedian, since we value the funny side of the paranormal as much as the scary side. We see no reason the two can’t exist within the same true short ghost stories. Until next time, have a spooky day!

The post The Things In the Woods: Mysterious Encounters appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Well then you might need the services of Justin, a Wiccan priest who professionally rids homes of bad spirit and bad energy. And you better believe he has some strange stories from the houses he’s cleansed. Let’s hear about his most bizarre encounters, today, on Homespun Haints.

Listen right here:

Podcast About Evil Paranormal Encounters

Our episode begins with an update from Diana about her basement ghost. And then, somehow, we learn her parents have a secret passageway in their home near where the ghost appears, and also that her mother taught her how to read using a Ouija Board. In an already haunted house. Because that’s not weird at all.

Next, we launch into our interview with Justin Firemoon, a Wiccan priest and professional medium who smudges homes and people and reads Tarot.

Justin has some interesting stories to tell, as you can imagine. For starters, he’s battled some pretty interesting evil. I (Becky) began to draw one of the monsters he encountered while smudging a home, but I kept getting sicker and sicker as I sketched it out. I kind of took that as a sign that I shouldn’t finish my sketch. So, here it is in unfinished glory.

Here’s hoping it doesn’t affect you like it did me. There’s more to Justin’s stories; listen to the episode above and get all the juicy details.

Episode Show Notes

This episode is only our second episode that discusses spiritual beliefs outside of Christianity. You can also check out our previous episode where we interview a Shinto priest‘s assistant.

What is Santería?

Justin encountered a creature conjured by what he believes was a Santería practitioner during one of his smudgings. However, what exactly is Santería? There are many misconceptions among the general population regarding this and other Afro-Caribbean religion religions. And unfortunately, the information available on the internet regarding these practices is somewhat limited.

We do not claim to have any real knowledge of this particular faith, other than our fascination and respect for a religion that has so seamlessly melded multiple ideas and cultures together, and which has managed to survive for centuries despite government censure.

In our attempts to learn more about Santería from a more personal perspective, we found this lovely essay written by a woman explaining her family’s relationship to this and other faiths growing up in Puerto Rico. And, at a recent podcasting conference, someone advised us to also look into Botanica. These stores can be spotted throughout the U.S and the Caribbean. They carry herbs, spiritual items, and other ritualistic objects pertaining to Santería and similar religions. True Botanica, apparently, are also run by priests who can provide readings and guidance. And they can be found just about anywhere, even in Brooklyn.

Would you like to provide more information about Santería that we can include on this page? We’d love to hear from you on our submissions page.

What is Wicca?

Justin does a nice job describing the basis of Wicca in this episode’s interview. Again, we are not really qualified to fully explain a religion that we do not practice, but we hope this site can provide you with some resources if you’re interested in learning more about Wicca.

If you’re interested in learning more about Wicca, magick, and other nature-based Pagan religions, you might check out Circle Sanctuary, a Nature Spirituality church in Wisconsin with an international reach.

Until next time, have a spooky day!

The post The Man Who Will Rid Your House of Evil appeared first on Homespun Haints.