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Haunted places in Tri-Cities Appalachia

The Broad River Inn in Chimney Rock, NC

You may recognize Chimney Rock from the film “The Last of the Mohicans.” This inn provides a picturesque setting along the Rocky Broad River, in Western North Carolina. In addition to quaint and cozy rooms with separate balconies, the property includes a restaurant and a miniature golf course. We didn’t notice an elevator, so ask about accessibility at booking.

This inn is good for travelers to the area who would like to stay somewhere more rural and peaceful than the city of Asheville. Or, for those who’d like to potentially witness some mild paranormal activity in an otherwise cozy setting.​ You can visit the Broad River Inn website here.

Is The Broad River Inn Haunted?

One employee said she experiences fleeting amnesia and disorientation every time she passes through a particular area. Two of our friends had a similar experience in the hallway outside room number 4. They both remembered a full length mirror hanging on the wall where the odd disorientation occurred. Strangely, those of us who didn’t have that experience recall a painting hanging on that wall, rather than a mirror. Perhaps relatedly, the spot where the inn is now used to be a stage coach stop. Both inns and travel stops are liminal spaces. This location followed the trend of liminal spaces being haunted by phantoms that come and go, instead of consistent characters.

In a one-off paranormal event in this inn, an employee told us of a water leak in the bar’s ceiling. Water appeared to be dripping from room number 3. Except when she went to investigate, she found nothing wet in the room above. When she returned downstairs, the leak had vanished.

All five of us had dreams about being in the rooms we were actually sleeping in. This differs from our normal dreams, which usually take place in random locations that have nothing to do with where our sleeping bodies lie.

Chimney Rock is also the location of another very haunted inn. Becky’s family has stayed at the haunted Lake Lure Inn since this episode, where her son had an even more intense ghostly experience.

The Nickerson Snead House in Glade Spring, VA

Originally constructed as a two-room log cabin by Francis Kincannon, the house served as a fort during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War in the mid 18th century. In 1835, Dr. Snead acquired the property, expanding it into an Antebellum mansion. Because of the gradual expansions of the property, inside rooms feature exterior windows and exposed brick and log walls. The incongruity creates an overall sense of disorientation, that really helps amplify the haunted vibe. The house also functioned as a Civil War hospital. As such, its tiny, creepy cellar was used as a morgue during the war.

Over the years, the property changed hands several times. The Mason family owned it from the late 1800s until the 1980s. Ronda Caudill, recent guest on our podcast, transformed it into a museum in 2004. Today, the museum is a delightfully goth menagerie of arcane oddities, intriguing antiques, and goofy Halloween decorations.

The Nickerson Snead House Museum hosts a variety of events. Festivals, séances, and paranormal investigations happen on a regular basis. At Halloween, the real haunted house becomes a haunted attraction. Ronda recently opened the house to overnight guests as a haunted B&B. Becky, Diana, and friends had the honor of being the first overnight guests in the newly opened B&B!

Is The Nickerson Snead House Haunted?

Uhhhh, that’s a resounding “hell yes”! Deaths on the property include a young boy who was kicked by a horse, and two 1-year-old babies named William. The property was a fort that saw combat, and later became a surgery, so surely soldiers perished there as well. Investigators have captured images of several entities on the property. Repeat guests include Dr. and Betsy Sneed, Josephine, and Douglas, as well as a few unnamed children and soldiers.

Perhaps most creepily, Becky had a prophetic dream about this house long before seeing it in person. She tells us about it in this episode. Listen to Ronda tell Becky and Diana all about the ghosts at the Nickerson Snead House:

For more details and events at the Nickerson Snead House, please visit their official website here.

The Exchange Place in Kingsport, TN

Becky volunteered at this historic landmark when she was much younger. We pet a donkey, and saw some nekkid sheep. Initially part of a land grant given in 1750, it was developed by John Gaines post-1812 as a hub on the Old Stage Road for trading goods and currency. Later owned by the Preston family, the property was a significant local economic center until after the Civil War.

Today, the Exchange Place in Kingsport, Tennessee, is a living history farm that illustrates Appalachian life during the 1830s-1850s. It operates as a museum, and a meeting space for quilters and weavers, including educational programs and events. For more details or to plan a visit, see their official site: Exchange Place.

Is The Exchange Place Haunted?

People see the apparition of Aunt El, previous resident of the house before it became a historical landmark. We actually received a tour of the property by a descendent of Aunt El. We’ll let you know on Patreon what we find when we listen for EVPs!

The Deery Inn in Blountville, TN

Originally the building was a post office and general store on the Great Stage Road. The Deery also served as a key inn during the 19th century, hosting historical figures including Presidents Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson. During the Civil War, the inn was spared from destruction in the Battle of Blountville through strategic bribery by Gideon Cates. Today, it functions as a museum, managed by the Sullivan County Historical Preservation Association.

Plan a visit at the Deery Inn on the Historic Sullivan site or read about it on the Tennessee Vacation website. And while you’re there, do head across the street to the Ralph Blizzard Fiddling Museum. They have a neato display where you can visualize exactly how different sound waves are generated by the body of a violin. I won’t give away the whole plot here…let’s just say there was A LOT of glitter in that two room cabin.

Is The Deery Inn Haunted?

Ronda has investigated there, and found quite a bit of evidence that yes, the Deery Inn is haunted. While we were there, a bellows apparently moved on its own, according to one docent. We hope to do some paranormal investigating there someday. Until then, if you have any information about the ghosts of the Deery Inn, please get in touch to tell us about them!

The Historic Utopian Town of Rugby, TN

Founded in 1880 by British author Thomas Hughes, Rugby, Tennessee, was established as a utopian community for the younger sons of English gentry. It aimed to create a class-free society focused on agriculture and Christian values. Despite early struggles with disease and fires, Rugby is preserved as a historic site that showcases Victorian-era fronteering life. Historic Rugby, Inc., offers tours, lodging, and cultural events, maintaining an educational focus. For more information, visit the Historic Rugby website. Our friends at History, Highways, and Haunts, LLC, do the nighttime paranormal tours in Rugby.

If you visit, we recommend printing out a paper map. It sure is remote!

Is Historic Rugby Haunted?

Becky and Diana got the most intelligent responses and objective findings they’ve ever found on a paranormal investigation. We also got to play with a new ghost hunting toy—er, tool. This ghost trip wire allowed us to have the most comprehensive and interactive conversation we’ve ever had with a ghost. We’ll be posting the ghost evidence that we caught on our recordings and cameras over on our Patreon soon.

The Old Scott County Jail in Huntsville, TN

The 1904 Scott County Jail originally held about 50 inmates above and the jailer’s family below. 1922 saw the addition of a third floor for maximum security prisoners. Because of safety violations, a new jail was opened in the 1960s, but then the old jail had to be reopened due to inconvenient escapes from the new facility. The old jail permanently closed in 2008, following the construction of a modern justice center.

Today, it stands as a museum operated by History, Highways, and Haunts, LLC. Our friends Miranda Young and Kristy Sumner run the company. They offer tours that explore the jail’s history, paranormal activities, and architecture, reflecting its legacy on the National Register of Historic Places in Appalachia.​ Book a tour at the Historic Scott County Jail here. Or, plan a more comprehensive trip to Scott County here.

Is The Old Scott County Jail Haunted?

The Old Scott County Jail is indeed quite haunted. We encountered some intriguing paranormal activity there ourselves. Listen to Kristy and Miranda tell Becky and Diana all about the ghosts at the Old Scott County Jail and Rugby.

Thanks for following along on our paranormal Appalachian road trip!

If you missed our posts this time around, they’re archived over at our Patreon page. What are your favorite haunts in Appalachia for road trips? Let’s chat on our Facebook Group all about how to have a spooky day there!

The post A Paranormal Appalachian Road Trip: True Ghostly Encounters appeared first on Homespun Haints.

These Appalachian paranormal stories from Bump in the Night Society are on YouTube:

Or listen here:

About the Guests: Jennifer and Sean Bowman of Bump in the Night Paranormal

The couple is fortunate to have at least one thing in common: they love researching things that go bump in the night. So much so that, in 2020, they formed Bump in the Night Society, a paranormal research team working to the comedic tune of a wooden recorder. Far from just ghost hunting, their venture also encompasses a wide range of paranormal topics, including cryptids, monsters, aliens, and conspiracies. They share their experiences and insights through various platforms.

The Bowmans’ inspiration for exploring the unknown and sharing their findings lies partly in the legends of spirits in Appalachian folklore. They host a podcast featuring discussions with guests, exploring supernatural topics that range from Halloween haunts and attractions to true ghost stories (Sean used to work at ScareHouse, a seasonal haunted attraction in Pittsburgh Mills Mall). Listen to their podcast of Appalachian paranormal stories on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Their website tells the story of what sparked their interest in the paranormal. The website also details the services they offer, including consultations, public investigations, and home service calls all over Appalachia to tackle paranormal phenomena.

Additionally, they share videos related to their paranormal activities on YouTube. Their YouTube channels are Bump in the Night Paranormal Investigations and Bump In The Night Paranormal. They hope you dare to join in on the chills by following them on TikTok, where they broadcast some of their paranormal investigations in Appalachia live. Email bumpinthenightsociety@yahoo.com or check Facebook for info on joining them in person for a public investigation. Or check out their Linktree for all of their links.

More notes about Paranormal Activities in Appalachia

Is an Appalachian Deliverance Like an Exorcism?

Those who grew up outside the Appalachian region may hear the word “Deliverance” and begin to feel on-edge. It’s a prejudice implanted by the Yankee perspective of rural Southern Americans exploited in the movie of the same name. But what is deliverance, and what does it mean biblically? Appalachian Pentecostal deliverance and a Catholic exorcism are not unlike each other in their goals (and flamboyant, stigmatizing Hollywood depictions). Yet the two differ greatly in approach, scope, and practice.

Pentecostal Deliverance vs Catholic Exorcism

Exorcism involves a formal ritual performed by a priest or religious leader. This typically (but not exclusively) Catholic practice includes prayers, incantations, holy water, and religious symbols to drive out demons. The “Rituale Romanum” under Pope Paul V established specific, strict guidelines for the performance of exorcisms. The Catholic Church considers exorcism a last resort for severe and verifiable cases of demon possession.

What is Spiritual Deliverance?

Deliverance, on the other hand, is a broader concept found in charismatic Christian movements. It’s not limited to the expulsion of demons, but also addresses other spiritual forces like generational curses, witchcraft, and occult influence. It is a wholistic practice. In addition to the active process of expelling demons, deliverance will likely involve preparation, diagnostics, curse breaking (through not just prayer and spiritual warfare, but also forms of counseling), healing for the mind, body, and soul, and follow-up.

Lay people can perform a deliverance, which doesn’t necessarily follow a prescribed formal ritual. You might think of it as a homespun exorcism. This type of informal spiritual warfare is naturally more common in an area where even emergency medicine has traditionally been homespun by Appalachian Granny Women. The people of Appalachia have always known how to take care of and look after one another, without the need or desire for a formal institution to grant them permission to do so with such things as degrees or licenses. After all, if the closest licensed medical professional is so far away that you’re likely to die in transit, something’s got to give.

For more detailed information, read sources like Wikipedia’s page on Deliverance Ministry and Multiplying Freedom Ministries.

Why is Pittsburgh, PA, the “Paris of Appalachia?”

Diana’s camper van sat frozen in fear at the bottom of the hill. Stopping in Pittsburgh on her way to West Virginia now seemed like a questionable decision. Craning their necks towards the windshield, Amber and Diana couldn’t even see the top of the trees making up the woods in front of them. They could only tell that the road intersected another at a perpendicular crossroads right at the peak. That was their turn-off.

Was there some way to back up? To gain enough momentum in the vintage van to make it to the top? When…IF they made it up, would they be able to make that sharp 35 degree turn off the 35 degree grade? What if a car happened to be speeding from the other street? Or what is there was a sheer cliff on the other side of the hill? Trying not to imagine the potential fall, Amber circled the block at the bottom of the incline, seeking a suitable takeoff runway.

Urban Pittsburgh is perhaps the least paranormal place in the Appalachian Mountains

A quick jaunt to explore Pittsburgh leaves a gritty taste in one’s brain. It’s instantly apparent why the city’s pro-team references metal mining, and gradually apparent that the rest of its history is somehow entwined with that of ketchup. Diana breezed through a traditional Italian deli, thankful she wasn’t the one looking for Strip District parking, exiting with a muffuletta in a greasy paper sack. Later, she went searching up Squirrel Hill for authentic Szechuan off a Chinese-only menu.

The Oktoberfest vibe drew what felt like millions of visitors to the breweries. Even in standing room only, the locals were disarmingly welcoming. Tasting more than her fair share of tiny flight glasses of local beers certainly made the subsequent Pittsburgh tours more interesting. Between microbreweries, Diana spotted workers applying fake rust to fireplugs for major motion picture filming.

As the apex city of a mostly rural region, Pittsburgh has been likened to Paris, France. Both are hubs for higher education and the arts, built upon a history of revolutionary industrialization. Also like Paris, Pittsburgh features a blend of glinting architecture and the tree-covered beauty of the natural world, well viewable from many a cliff or steep hill.

The nickname “Paris of Appalachia” is, however, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. It pokes fun at the contrasts between grand Paris and humble Pittsburgh. Or rather, the cultural reputation of France compared to that of Appalachia. A sarcastic SAT question might summarize this cheeky comparison as Paris:France:Wine:Arts::Pittburgh:Appalachia:Beer:Condiments.

The OTHER Octagon Haunted House in Circleville, OH

We’ve all had nightmares about Becky’s family’s house of octagons, so you already know how haunted a shape it is. Octagonal houses may be fated to severe levels of paranormal activity, considering this other one is the Bump In the Night Society’s favorite site to investigate. They like the location not because of its shape, however, but because of the haunted parts. They tell us tales of how they collect an abundance of haunting evidence every time they visit the building.

In the early 2000s, the 1856 Gregg-Crites Octagon House was slated for a demolition that never happened. Instead, in a remarkable feat of engineering, the Round town Conservancy moved the 480 ton mansion—intact—to park it on a new plot of land half a mile away. This complex process involved inserting steel beams into the basement and mounting the house on a hydraulic mechanism with 96 wheels. Sean says they took the ghosts with it.

The Conservancy plans to restore the mansion, now listed on the National Register of historic places, into a museum. Read up on the tale of its legend on its Wikipedia page here. The Ohio Exploration Society also provides photographs and stories about the house’s restoration progress here.

What are the Brown Mountain Lights?

In the Pisgah National Forest of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, enigmatic lights appear at random above Brown Mountain. The lights were seen shining through the darkness of the forest decades before electricity would’ve been common in the area. Native American legends suggest they might have been observed much, much earlier.

What might cause the Brown Mountain Lights?

The nature of the lights has sparked much speculation, ranging from the scientific to the supernatural. Are they caused by the piezoelectric effect, when quartz rock in the earth generates light in response to mechanical stress? Could they be transient brush fires, or St Elmo’s Fire, from storms? Are they manmade? Could they be ghosts or UFOs? The souls of women looking for their husbands who fell in battle? Other proposed explanations include unusual electrostatic discharges from geological fault lines or natural phenomena similar to ball lightning. Yet despite data from numerous studies, including one by the United States Geological Survey, the true nature of the lights remains unexplained, continuing to fuel storytelling.

Where to see the Brown Mountain Lights

The ideal viewing location is Brown Mountain Overlook, according to Carolinacountry.com. You can get there via Highway 181, turning off between mile marker 20 and 21. Wiseman’s View is another good place to search for the lights. That’s harder to get to, however, as you’d have to take a gravel road 5 miles south of Linville Falls on State Road 1238. Even if you organize an extensive search party, you’re highly unlikely to see the lights on any given trip.

TLDR: see Jen’s TikTok video for a very quick description of the Brown Mountain Lights.

What is the Bellaire Demon House?

Sean told us he saw a possession at Bellaire demon house in Bellaire, Ohio. The child spirit of Emily Davis is seen there yet today. But we now have good reason to doubt she’s a child at all.

Why is the Bellaire House so haunted?

The extremely haunted abode has myriad reasons to be infested with ghosts.

• It was built on a ley line.
• It was also built on the site of a fatal coal mining accident that claimed 42 lives.
• The home is near ancient Native American burial caves.
• Its located in an area affected by the French and Indian War.
• It may have been part of the abolitionist movement.

Perhaps the haunting of the Bellaire House was manmade? Edwin Heatherington, the house’s former resident, was obsessed with contacting his deceased sister Lyde after she died in the house. He conducted numerous seances, which may have led to the opening of portals to other realms within the house. Sean commented matter-of-factly that the house is thought to have 13 portals.

Do you have a true ghost paranormal story from Appalachia?

Whether you’re in Paris or Pittsburgh, Homespun Haints wants to hear your stories, told by you. Submit your story today to be featured on the podcast soon, and have a spooky day!

The post Paranormal Appalachia Goes Bump In The Night appeared first on Homespun Haints.

When were EVPs first discovered?

The first purported EVP was recorded in those wondrous wasteland days between J.B. Rhine’s work at Duke University and the wacky Midcentury government psy research ala The Men Who Stare At Goats. Just when the world thought it was about to move on from attempting to scientifically research the paranormal, Friedrich Jürgenson accidentally recorded what he believed to be the speaking voice of his deceased father. 

Who was Friedrich Jürgenson, the Father of Electronic Voice Phenomena?

Now, Jürgenson was not a paranormal researcher before he began taping ghost sounds. He was a philosopher, painter, archaeologist, linguist, and singer. Since that résumé reads like a neat mixture of Becky and Diana, we know how easily those career paths can tip over into speculating about ghosts. Unlike Becky and Diana, he was also a court painter to Pope Pius XII and a documentary filmmaker​, so paranormal investigation was far from his original career plan.

Jürgenson caught his first EVP accidentally in 1959 while attempting to record birdsong in his garden. To his surprise, Jürgenson discovered mysterious voices on the recordings, which were not audible during the recording process. Intrigued by this phenomenon, he began experimenting. Over time, he claimed to have captured the voices of both his deceased parents, among others. He knew the voices were theirs because they addressed him by the same nickname as his parents did when they were alive. Also, he claimed that he straight up recognized their voices when he heard them, even through the warble of magnetic recording tape. 

At first, Jürgenson recorded his first EVPs on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, but this must not have been the easiest equipment for spirits to talk through. How do we know? Well, the ghosts told him. One of the very voices he recorded advised him to switch to radio static as a source of EVPs. Jürgenson’s extensive work in EVPs, encompassing hundreds of tapes, has been influencing paranormal research ever since.

Inspired by Jürgenson’s findings, psychologist Konstantin Raudive took up the reins. Raudive collected and analyzed over 100,000 EVP recordings. When he published his research in his 1971 book “Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead,” people started calling the ghostly phenomena “Raudive Voices.”

Why do spirits communicate through EVPs? 

The primary hypothesis we’ve heard from experts is that spirits of the deceased, or perhaps other beings from another plane of existence, use EVPs as a means to communicate with us because these entities exist in a state or dimension that doesn’t allow for direct physical interaction. The theory suggests that these entities can manipulate energy or electronic devices to imprint their voices onto recording mediums. This idea aligns with the broader concept that spirits are forms of energy and can interact with the electromagnetic spectrum or EMFs, which electronic recording devices capture.

How does the electronic voice phenomenon actually work? 

We’ve heard several theories as to how spirits communicate through EVPs. But what is an EVP, at its core? What is the practical nature of how a voice shows up on a tape when it wasn’t audible while that tape was recording?

Energy Manipulation

This idea is based on a broader concept that spirits exist as energy, and can therefore manipulate electromagnetic fields and energies, which in turn affect electronic devices. This manipulation could result in the imprinting of voices onto recording mediums, such as tape recorders or digital devices.

Frequency Resonance

Another theory is that spirits operate at different frequency levels than the living. These frequencies might only occasionally align with our electronic devices, leading to the partial capture of these voices on audio recordings. The concept here is that EVPs occur because spirits communicate on frequencies beyond our normal hearing capacity but within the detectable range of recording devices.

Intent of the Spirits

Some paranormal researchers suggest that spirits might be in on the gig, speaking through recordings as an attempt to provide tangible evidence of their continued existence and the afterlife in general. One result of the spiritualist movement of the 19th century was the promises that many believers made to come back and provide proof of their existence as spirits. Their ghosts may be consciously speaking into microphones in an attempt to bolster evidence, whether it’s to reach out to loved ones and provide comfort, or to gloat over being right all along that ghosts are real.

Are EVPs really real ghost voices?

Jürgenson’s and Raudive’s findings and conclusions are still debated in the paranormal community. Many paranormal investigators consider EVP recordings to be direct, purposeful communications from the dead. But why do people assume that EVPs are ghosts? 

EVPs as evidence of life after death

We’ve heard accounts and evidence from many ghost hunters that really make us say “huh!” Investigators tell us about EVPs that include names and facts relevant to the haunted location’s history. They play us recordings where a (presumably living person’s) voice asks a question, then a quiet (presumably dead person’s) voice answers that question with a brief but sensible answer. 

What are EVP if they’re not the voices of ghosts?

Speculating on potential alternative paranormal theories is what we do best. What if EVPs are hard to hear because the message is intended for a specific person, or a certain kind of person? Could EVPs be recordings of the past, as in the stone tape theory? Could they be communication from aliens, elves, or trolls who speak in a different frequency that we cannot hear with our puny human ears? What if they’re part of a prophecy from a deity, but heard only in snippets? What if they’re actually a form of telepathy, picking up and amplifying subconscious thoughts? Could they be the voices of time travelers popping in for an unseen visit? What if ancient alchemists, druids, and witches created a message etched into the fabric of time, to be played in the future?

Are EVPs fake?

Skeptics, however, offer more grounded explanations. They suggest that these EVP recordings might be the result of radio interference, unintentional recordings of ambient noise, psychological phenomena like pareidolia (where the brain interprets random patterns as familiar objects or sounds), or simply hoaxes.

How do you control for errors in EVPs?

When presented with skepticism, EVP proponents often modify their techniques in an attempt to control for mundane explanations. It’s probably not ambient noise or radio interference if it can be replicated with the microphone sealed in a soundproof box. EVP interpretation probably can’t be subjective based on priming with a question if the investigators are using the Estes method, and the person interpreting the sounds has no awareness of the question. Electronically generated white noise can’t pick up stray radio signals or ambient noise.

Also, many paranormal experts started out as staunch skeptics, converted to believers only when presented with what they saw as incontrovertible evidence. They’re probably less likely to perpetrate hoaxes if they themselves needed—and found—sufficient proof to believe in ghosts.

Why are EVPs so hard to hear, until they’re not?

Yet it’s undeniably true that EVPs can sound like garbled gobbledygook to the uninitiated. The whole reason ghost hunters call clearer EVPs “Class A EVPs” is because most EVPs are largely unintelligible…until someone makes a suggestion as to what they might be saying. As soon as we know what we’re listening for, we can hear it. Does that mean that we just need practice our EVP listening skills? Or does that imply that we only hear what we want to? 

Just like the human predilection to see faces in random patterns, there are reasonable evolutionary reasons why our brain might hallucinate human voices in random sounds. People with prosopagnosia who cannot instinctually recognize faces, can often instinctually recognize the voices of their loved ones. Like faces, there’s some sort of subconscious emotional attachment to human voices that causes them to feel weighted with extra meaning. Similarly, an English speaker listening to a lecture in a language they don’t speak usually has no trouble at all instantly recognizing a random English word thrown into the blah blah. 

What are the dead trying to tell us? 

If we truly believe that the spirits of our deceased ancestors are consciously and intentionally using whatever skills they have (including EVPs) to send us supernatural messages from beyond the veil, we have to assume it’s an important message, no? So then, why are so many EVPs seemingly random and confusing?

Perhaps most importantly, why don’t spirits communicate important overarching generic concepts that we all wonder about? Why don’t they explain to us what it feels like to die? How to make the choice between going into the light, or another option? What those options even are, and who gives them to us? Things they wished they’d done more of before their time was up? 

What messages are important to ghosts?

Perhaps what’s important to the spirit is just different from what’s important to modern, living humans. We tend to think of ghosts as being obsessed with their unfinished business. So obsessed that they give up their chance at infinite enlightenment, eternal freedom, and limitless happiness just to stick around here and chat half-assedly with strangers about the money they hid under their basement floor that someone already found decades ago. Perhaps whatever random circumstance was weighing on their mind at the hour of their death became an echo throughout the rest of their existence when they passed on, its singular importance never to wane? Maybe the ghosts forget that they’re dead, and just want to shoot the breeze after being ignored for so long? 

Maybe the deceased just don’t want to be forgotten. Many EVPs are names. If the first time we die is our physical death, and the second is the last time a living person speaks our name, or when the last living person who remembers us dies, then shouting one’s own name into the abyss for all eternity might feel like a form of immortality to some reluctant ghosts. Like most forms of immortality, this one feels like it would get pretty tiresome. That could explain why EVPs sound so mumbled, and why only pieces of messages seem to come through. 

How can I capture and identify EVPs? 

Are you sure you want to? Capturing EVPs requires a lot of patient waiting around in haunted places that are often dark, cold, lonely, and dirty or unsafe. If you want quality EVPs that can’t be debunked, it also involves a lot of setup, attempting to sanitize your environment of extraneous sounds. Worse, analyzing the recording while listening for EVPs can be tedious, as it involves listening to long, boring clips over and over at a volume that might occasionally blast your eardrums. After all that, all you have is a seconds long recording of what you think might be a spectral message that sounds vaguely like “Davey loves to vacuum Marlboros,” and the collective disdain of the majority of the scientific community.

If the desire persists knowing all that, congratulations, you were likely always meant to be a paranormal investigator. After all, it’s not a job; it’s a calling. If you have a haunted location to record at, here are some of the tips our guest Cyn Shrader of Elk Valley paranormal shared with us. As the author of several books on the subject and being an investigator herself, Cyn’s advice is both mystical and practical.

If you don’t have a haunted location to record in, psychicscience.org has provided this guide on how to use random white noise generators to create reproducible EVPs. 

Do you think EVP are real?

EVPs continue to intrigue paranormal enthusiasts and researchers. Curiosity about and experimentation with the intersection of technology and the paranormal is only growing, despite an abundance of unclear evidence of uncertain importance and dubious nature. The allure likely lies in the possibility that these voices might provide a link to passed loved ones, and a hope for continued consciousness after death. 

So next time you’re listening to a recording and hear something unexpected, take a moment to wonder – is it just interference, or could it be a call from beyond? The answer might just cause you to have a spooky day.

The post Ghosts in the Machine: The Truth About EVP appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Episode Summary: Ghost Communication in a Haunted Brothel

Have you ever caught the ghost hunting bug? Do you seek out paranormal experiences just for the thrill of it? And do you drag your reluctant friends along for the ride?  

Allison caught the bug after appearing on our show two years ago. Now she seeks out experiences in very, very haunted places, and has discovered her own unique way to connect to and communicate with the spirits there.

About Today’s Guest, Allison

When we interviewed Allison a couple years ago, she reassured us she didn’t go seeking out all those haunted places in Chicago, or any of the spooky experiences she shared. She’s just a ghost magnet. Well, Hainted Loves, that has since changed quite a bit.

Allison has decided to put her natural ghost communication abilities to good use, and start ghost hunting. Even on a simple ghost tour, the group instantly identifies her as the “ghost girl” in the crowd.

She’s been recently published, and has some up and coming writing being published soon.

Haunted Places In Wisconsin and Illinois Mentioned in this Episode

• Shakers Cigar Bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Allison and her friend spent the night. This haunted former brothel made an appearance on Episode 3 of Netflix’s Dark Tourist. Apparently, this place is so haunted that only 10% of overnight visitors make it through the night. Also, ghost tour participants must sign an indemnification releasing the establishment from responsibility for “death or psychic calamity.” Allison’s story about the Shakers ghost tour reminded Diana of when she visited one of the most haunted places in Deadwood, South Dakota, which was also a former brothel. Why do you think the energy is so intense, active, and cold in these types of places?
• Sheboygan Insane Asylum, in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. This is where Allison’s friend had a successful polite conversation with a ghost, communicating through a light-up cat ball. Allison reassures us this creepy haunted location is full of shadow figures.
• Jericho High School
• Tinker Swiss Cottage in Rockford, IL. With the octagonal library, haunted by the Tinker family that built it.

Allison & Co took some creepy paranormal photos at a few of these locations.

Al Capone Connection

Was Allison’s grandfather a personal chef to Al Capone? This juicy bit of family lore certainly seemed to match all the long black sedans that showed up at Grandpa’s funeral. Do you think The Politicians at Shaker’s Cigar Bar were so open to speaking with Allison because of this connection to their purported boss? After all, their spirits were apparently reticent to communicate with anyone else. Since Capone once owned the building, and ran the speakeasy and brothel within, could the earthbound spirits trapped in that haunted location from that era sense her family’s connection to The Family?

Tips for Ghost Communication with Exasperated Spirits

Allison hears ghosts sighing and scoffing during her paranormal investigations. Which really isn’t surprising, considering the types of boring, repetitive things ghost hunters tend to talk about with ghosts. She and her friends have had great results getting two-way spirit communication by following a simple rule: talk to the ghosts as if they were people. She’d rather hear a ghost’s story than get their name. She advises us to ask enticing personal questions, and always treat the ghosts with respect.

We’ll have to be sure to remember her tips when we host our live event this month, where we open the secret passageway in Diana’s haunted basement.

The number one rule of ghost hunting

The number one rule of ghost hunting and ghost communication is never leave anyone alone. The number two rule is, there’s always that one friend who talks everyone into going. And that one friend is usually Allison. She’s recruiting ghost hunting buddies who are also excited to have respectful communication with spirits in scary haunted locations around Chicago and Milwaukee. Head over to our Facebook Group to see if you might make a haint connection. Allison, for one, is thankful that she came on the Homespun Haints Podcast, as it awakened the ghost hunter within her. Since the last time we spoke, it’s been one, long, spooky day.

The post The Drum Circle for Haunted Brothels appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Episode Summary: Paranormal Investigations and Ghost Tours in Downtown Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Being a professional paranormal investigator and ghost tour guide sounds like an amazing job. But does it come with risks? Because this is the type of job where you don’t want to take your work home with you, no matter how badly your ghostly coworkers want to follow you back to your house.

Today, we speak with lead paranormal investigator Diane, who works at both the Crescent Hotel and Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs. She’s had quite a few encounters both on the clock and off the clock, and she’s sharing them all. Let’s hear about some haunted hotels and ghost tours in Arkansas, today, on Homespun Haints.

About the Guest: Diane Newcomb

Diane has been leading paranormal investigations at the Basin Park Hotel and Crescent Hotel for years. The pair make up the most haunted hotels in the state of Arkasas. She’s such a fixture on these sites that the ghosts follow her home looking for her when she tries to take time off.

Diane has curated a vast collection of photos sent to her mostly by tourists who caught ghosts on camera during her tours at the two historical buildings. She was a fabulous guide for the Basin Park Paranormal Investigation, energetically sharing fascinating history and people’s true ghost stories despite the late hour. We loved her style from the moment the haunted doll greeted us at the beginning of the investigation. We were honored and thrilled when she offered to come on our show and tell some of the real ghost horror stories she’s collected over the years!

How to protect yourself from ghosts while paranormal investigating

This is a topic many a paranormal investigator has felt was very important to bring up in past interviews. We have heard many suggestions for how to protect against spirits. The methods Diane uses include a “spirit dump,” which we’re picturing is like a colonic for dead things that may be clinging on to you or intend to follow you home.

She also taught us an Aramaic prayer for protection, which one of her investigation participants shared with her. We found the following Hebrew version at keysofenoch.org: “KODOISH, KODOISH, KODOISH ADONAI ’TSEBAYOTH.” That website translates this prayer as “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts.”

Sorry, but your princess is in a different castle

Interestingly, many of the ghosts at the Basin Park Hotel are actually not haunting the Basin Park Hotel, per se. Diane could not confirm if anyone has ever died on the property in its current iteration. Before the hotel was built, a lodging called the Perry House stood at the same spot. Well, where the South Wing now stands, at least.

Diane tells us that newspapers at the time reported that nobody perished in the fire that claimed the Perry House. But that doesn’t mean there were never any deaths on the property. If any cowboy died on the land to become one of the numerous ghosts photographed at the modern day Basin Park, they would’ve likely done so during the Perry House years. Given the time frame during which the Perry House stood, it’s a lot more likely someone would’ve died due to accident, injury, illness, or even murder, while lodging at the Perry House. The many ghosts that tourists spot walking through walls on the current property supports this idea. There’s a theory that, when an earthbound spirit walks through a wall, it is actually passing through an area that would’ve been open and passable during that person’s lifetime.

Healing water and snake oil

Diane tells us that the healing waters that founded the town were actually well-known to the Osage people. Once word spread that the waters could cause miraculous cures for multiple illnesses, the wagon stop became a tent settlement, which then became a town. Given the rampant risks and shenanigans that happened in 19th century medicine, it’s no surprise that sick people were willing to travel by wagon up a windy mountain road just to drink some spring water. Hell, people still do things like that.

At the height of the expansion of Eureka Springs, enter the Crescent Hotel. At a budget several times what a normal luxury hotel would cost, in a remote, mountainous area almost impassable in the icy dead of winter, the Crescent almost instantly became somewhat of a money pit. It repeatedly changed hands, and even purposes, attempting to stay in the black. The most notorious part of its history was the late 1930’s. The so-called Baker Hospital subsumed the entire hotel. This serial fraudster claimed a 100% cure rate for all forms of cancer. It wasn’t until very recently that the details of the ruse finally came to light.

In 2019, excavation on an undeveloped part of the hotel grounds lead to the discovery of both creepy human remains and the actual formulas used in their cancer treatment. Diane tells us that the first people to really get their hands on these new discoveries were the guys from Ghost Adventures. Analyzing the nearly century-old samples, local university labs found ingredients like corn silk, red clover, ground watermelon seeds, and carbolic acid.

Diana has a little more to tell about it in her recent stay at the Basin Park Hotel:

Wait, those supplements sound familiar.

Now, to be fair, as only a couple generations removed from Appalachian granny witches, we do appreciate the value of nutraceuticals. According to clevelandclinic.org, corn silk is a traditional supplement that is traditionally used for fighting inflammation. (Fun aside: corn silks are basically corn fallopian tubes! We like how corn just lets it all hang out like that.) Red clover does actually contain isoflavones that can influence sex hormones, according to nccih.nih.gov, an imbalance of which could be related to several forms of cancer. The lycopene in watermelon seeds also influences sex hormones and is currently undergoing research as a potential anti-cancer agent.

So these “cures” weren’t just a random assortment of cheap local plants that someone blended together haphazardly. The continued modern use and study of these exact nutraceuticals supports the notion that, at some point, someone at the Baker Hospital potentially had good intentions and a justifiable plan to enact those intentions.

You know what we appreciate more, though? That it’s illegal nowadays to claim that a natural supplement has a 100% cure rate for cancer. Bizarrely, some of the nutraceutical components Baker used may have potentially been sincerely beneficial in some ways. The accompanying lies, secrecy, and abuse were pretty obviously not.

It’s not a tumor

And all the strange human tissue samples in bottles labelled as “tumors”? Those were apparently displayed in the lobby of the hospital. They served as “proof” to visitors that the tumors were no longer inside the patients. But all treatments performed at the hospital were non-surgical (thank you, Jesus). So…how’d those tumors get out, then? Perhaps they were remnants from psychic surgery? If so, what do you think they really were?

Would you stay in a hotel room haunted by a cowboy ghost?

If you’re planning a trip to Eureka Springs, and you want to stay in a haunted room at the Basin Park hotel, book in advance! None of the most haunted rooms were available when Diana visited. Diane suggests you stay in one of the following.

• Room 310, which the spirit of famous cowboy John Chisum haunts, and where kids see ghosts of other children.
• Room 308, where guests report getting touched.
• Room 408, where the notorious “ladies’ man ghost” may give you a sexy foot massage.
• Rooms 514 and 515, where more nameless cowboy ghosts apparently share a suite.
• The entire third floor, where the paranormal investigators get constant readings on their EMF meters all over. The rampant beeping and flashing suggests the presence of some sort of fear cage on the floor. A fear cage may cause false positives in ghost hunting. It is also thought to feed spirits energetically.

In fact, Diana stayed in room 506, and two nights of her stay, a loud furniture scooting sound woke her up right around the witching hour. The sounds were coming from the floor above, which was unoccupied and locked. In fact, right above her room was a locked-up, apparently haunted bathroom. So no matter which room of the haunted Basin Park Hotel you stay at, you’ll probably have a spooky day!

The post The Building Full of Cowboy Ghosts appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Episode Summary: Paranormal Investigations and Ghost Tours in Alabama

When you visit a haunted location, it’s all fun and games until something follows you home. The Southern Ghost Girls, a team of paranormal investigators in Alabama and surrounding states, use period equipment, clothing, and tools to communicate with the ghosts in haunted homes, museums, and jails. However, they’ve had a few encounters with entities that wanted to keep interacting, even after they started on their way home.

Let’s chat with Lesley and Makayla, just two psychic Southern girls trying to preserve history and help people, today, on Homespun Haints.

AI-generated transcript of this episode available upon request.

About the Guests: The Southern Ghost Girls

The Southern Ghost Girls Tours and Paranormal Investigations, LLC is a team of about 10 professional women who perform paranormal investigations and lead tours in Alabama, Georgia, and the rest of the South. They focus on US history and historical value. To honor that, they donate profits back into the historical venues they investigate to help with preservation. And even more fun, they dress in period costume to ghost hunt!

Everyone on the team has some sort of inborn or inherited psychic gifts. Also, they have all agreed to use their gift for the good of mankind. Today we speak with founder Leslie Ann Hyde of Birmingham, Alabama, and paranormal investigator Makayla Neighbors of Jasper, Georgia. Follow them on Facebook to keep up with their investigations. Join them on one of their tours or investigations at SouthernGhostGirls.com and experience a real live paranormal investigation for yourself!

Episode Show Notes about Psychics who Work with the Police and More

Ghosts of The Haunted Jasper Jail in Talking Rock, GA

Makayla tells us about the many ghosts at her hometown historic prison, including:

• Shadow Man on the men’s side upstairs.
• Cherokee spirits still bound up in the Trail of Tears on the Old Federal Road.
• Children of the old sheriff, in the sheriff’s quarters.
• The entire family haunting the Kirby Quinton Cabin next door.
• The elemental shape-shifter that attached to Leslie Ann and followed her on her drive home.

Since they lead tours of the jail, the Southern Ghost Girls are familiar with all of the above. But none of the Jasper Jail ghosts could have prepared them for what followed them home from the Brown-Proctor Museum.

What is a human pendulum?

Becky uses a pendulum to speak to ghosts when a Ouija board would be too clunky. Becky’s pendulum is a semi-precious, carved, polished stone in a plumb bob shape that dangles from the end of a delicate chain. But really, any necklace or bob can be used as a pendulum, as it purportedly runs on intention and spirit interaction. Several guests we’ve had on the show use some sort of pendulum similarly. But what else can you use as a pendulum?

According to our guests today, one’s very body can be a pendulum, in the right circumstances. Since the spirit has to directly manipulate the person acting as pendulum, this adds a whole new creepy factor to ghost hunting. According to Makayla, it can be a very intense physical experience for the person acting as the pendulum. Does the spirit possess the person-pendulum, or just shove them around a bit? Or does the spirit merely whisper suggestions into the person-pendulum’s subconscious, causing them to sway subconsciously in the direction that gets the spirit’s point across? Or is the person-pendulum allowing their intuition to subconsciously guide their sway?

What is a tipping table?

The tipping table is a classic Victorian spiritualist movement tool. Leslie Ann says it was popularized by Queen Victoria herself, and that mediums of the day may have used a tipping table for readings for the likes of Mary Todd Lincoln and Albert Einstein.

We had grand visions of ghosts literally toppling the séance table, like an angry drunk losing at Monopoly. But the reality is much more modest. Basically, a tipping table is a marble top lazy susan. The mediums and spiritual séance attendees put their fingertips lightly on the lazy susan like they would a planchette. When the lazy susan spins, the medium interprets the message based on a meaning she establishes with the ghosts. If you compare it to other spirit communication methods, a tipping table is basically a large pendulum.

Do the police really work with psychics to solve murders?

While it may sound like the theme of a TV show from the Naughties, the police in Auburn, Alabama are actually open to working with a psychic medium to solve crimes! In this episode, Leslie Ann tells a story about the time she just couldn’t not come forward with her knowledge. Most surprisingly, the police still treated her with respect even after they realized she had gleaned her knowledge on the case through clairvoyance.

Should you wear period costume while you ghost hunt?

Part of what sets The Southern Ghost Girls apart from other paranormal investigators is that they dress in period costume while they ghost hunt (and while they do live interviews, which is really what makes us love them). In today’s episode, they go into details about how this practice comforts the spirits they attempt to contact. As female-led and female-dominated team, they find their strength in gently and respectfully meeting the spirits on their own terms, at their own comfort levels. Leslie Ann believes this is what gets them the awesome evidence they frequently collect.

Paranormal investigations and Ghost Tours in Alabama

What do you think? Would the police in your town work with the evidence brought forth by a psychic medium? And would you dress in period costume to get better ghost hunt evidence? Would you visit the ghosts at the haunted Jasper Jail, knowing they might follow you home? Is there a right or wrong way how to be a medium? If you do, that’ll be a spooky day!

The post Do the police really work with psychics to solve murders? appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Transcript

BECKY
Hello, Hainted Loves. Welcome to Homespun Haints, Bonus Edition. I’m Becky

DIANA
I’m Diana.

BECKY
We just heard from Gerry Hunter on our episode on Monday. He is a minister. He’s retired now though; he’s the Reverend Gerald Hunter. He’s an author. He is a paranormal investigator. And what I think he spoke about in depth on that interview was the machismo of many of the men that were around him and how they reacted to ghosts.

And Diana, I thought this would be a great opportunity to revisit a topic that we had on our Patreon. If you guys are not members of our Patreon yet, you can go check that out on patreon.com/homespunhaints where our lovely patrons get all sorts of bonus content. And one of the things we talked about in depth was the idea of masculinity and femininity in paranormal investigation.

DIANA
Specifically for TV.

BECKY
We’re going to talk a little bit about that again today. But if you want more detail, go join our Patreon

DIANA
We talked about how it’s kind of emphasized for the benefit of the viewer and the television milieu. But what I want to talk about today is more just the general idea of approaching spirit communication and paranormal investigation in general, and what that has to do with masculinity and femininity in the larger scheme of things. Yeah.

BECKY
That sounds great. Let’s dive in.

Please subscribe!

Before we get started, I just want to give a shout out to you guys. Thanks so much for listening to us. If you like what we’re doing here today, I already mentioned our Patreon. Please consider joining that at patreon.com/homespunhaints. Also subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe wherever you’re listening to this. If you’re listening to it on our website, you can go to Apple or Spotify—wherever you like to get your podcasts—and look for us and just follow us there. Or if you’re on YouTube, please subscribe because we want to be in your ear holes every day. Or at least twice a week.

DIANA
And if you aren’t watching this on YouTube, you could be watching this on YouTube right now. Go to YouTube.

BECKY
Yeah, we have a YouTube.

DIANA
You can see our faces. Do you know what color our hair is right now? Do you even—can you even guess?

BECKY
I don’t know, changes every day.

DIANA
I guess you could call it “undefined.”

BECKY
I can tell you though, that our hearts are black. [EVIL LAUGHTER]

The Book We’re Referencing

I wanted to point out this book, Ghost Channels by Amy Lawrence. We got a lot of information about this on our Patreon episodes because it is the first, perhaps the only sociological study of ghost hunting shows. Ghost hunting reality shows. We will have a link to it on our website, but it is called Ghost Channels: Paranormal Reality Television and the Haunting of 21st Century America by Amy Lawrence.

And it is a fabulous book, and we’ll touch on some of the things that she talks about today. Then, we’re going to go into our own experiences in this field as storytellers who have talked to a lot of paranormal investigators and what masculinity really means. We’re going to do our best because as you can probably tell, we’re women.

DIANA
Well, it doesn’t mean we’re not masculine

BECKY
That’s true. Or are we women?

DIANA
Yes.

BECKY
Oh, okay. Thanks for defining that for me.

DIANA
You’re welcome. Put you in your box and stay there. Get in that pumpkin shell!

Aside from gender, does that book also kind of address, like you mentioned, that part of the title is “21st Century Ghost” stuff. Does it address the difference between how you would have been seen in the 20th century having a haunting or talking about your haunted house or talking about the ghost you saw, and how people are seen in the 21st century, because that is also a topic that Gerald brought up was that, nowadays, there is less stigma because people are actually seeking out haunted tourism and ghostie experiences and ghost hunting and ghost shows. And growing up in the mid sixties, he was very, very afraid of being made fun of and being a pariah for having a ghost in his house.

Did the show Ghost Hunters change attitudes about the paranormal?

BECKY
Yes, attitudes have definitely changed between now and 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago with regards to the paranormal and being open to the paranormal. And the show, Ghost Hunters, really kind of paved the way for that. And that that was the first one. The original Ghost Hunters came out on the Syfy Channel, and Ghost Hunters really came about in about 2002.

BECKY
And what happened was there was an article in the New York Times about this group of plumbers who were doing these paranormal investigations on the side. TAPS. The Atlantic Paranormal Society, and somebody over at SYFY saw the article and was like, Hey, this would make a great reality show.

DIANA
Absolutely.

BECKY
By 2009, it was the most popular show on SYFY.

DIANA
Really?

Your Average Joes

BECKY
The reason that the show is so successful isn’t just because they’re looking for ghosts. However, I do remember—and it may be in this book, but I do remember hearing this elsewhere—that because of the show of Ghost Hunters, belief in the paranormal amongst average Americans soared.

DIANA
Could that be because they were manly plumbers?

BECKY
That is part of it, yes. So the show did kind of open the way—it made it okay for people to kind of come out and be like, yeah, it’s okay. I believe in ghosts because these average Joes are out here doing these paranormal investigations. And sometimes they find things, sometimes they don’t, and they’re very scientific about it.

Now, prior to Ghost Hunters coming out, you definitely did have people on the fringe. Especially in the south where I live, there’s always been this sort of belief in spirits and haints and things like that. And then of course, we had the whole spiritualist movement in the Victorian era with mediumship and all that. So it does go in waves.

The Relationship Between Horror and the Economy

BECKY
It does go in trends. However, belief in the paranormal and interest in scary things such as ghosts and horror and all that tends to go up when the economy goes down.

DIANA
That’s so cool, isn’t it? Because also, I know that the interest in horror movies is linked to how many wars are currently waging on the planet.

BECKY
It’s an escape, right? It’s an escapism. Think about it now. Ghost Hunters, 2002 and then what happens in 2007 to the Global economy?

[MISSILE EXPLODING SOUND]

DIANA
Nothing good.

BECKY
We have this big major crash. And guess what we start seeing a lot of? Ghost hunting shows.

DIANA
Ghost shows! Ghost shows! yay!

Gender and Paranormal Investigation

BECKY
But we want to talk about gender, don’t we?

DIANA
I think so. That’s what we started out talking about. So. Yes, yes, that’s what we’re talking about.

BECKY
Let’s backtrack a little bit and let’s talk a little bit about what Gerry said about being macho and the reaction to ghosts.

DIANA
Oh, I just love that he used the word “macho man.” That way we can use it without feeling awkward. Yeah. No, he actually came out and said my dad was a very macho man and the brothers were also macho. And then he said, “I’ve always been the one who wasn’t macho in my family, despite my best efforts.” That kind of surprised me. Like, Oh, right, I wanted to be macho, like my family, but I’m not. But I tried, but I’m not.

BECKY
Well, it’s interesting that to him, being open to the spiritual kind of ran contrary to being quote unquote macho. And that also is discussed in this book. So when you think about the reason that these paranormal investigation shows have done so well, and if you notice that there tends to be a formula that they follow.

The Formula

DIANA
Yes, I have noticed that.

BECKY
So a couple of things that I want to point out. First of all, the men—because they’re mostly men. Yes, there are outliers. There are definitely women. They tend to be white men. Again, huge exception of Ghost Brothers, but they’re still dudes and they all tend to be from like a working class tough guy background. They’re plumbers, they’re contractors, they’re handymen. They are your everyday Joe. They’re your guy next door.

DIANA
Yeah, exactly. You know, you’re not going to get like, I’m Dr. Anthony Fauci, and I’d like to talk to you about ghost hunting. Yes.

BECKY
No.

DIANA
It’s like average people.

Your Average Joes

BECKY
It is. It is. And that’s very appealing. That’s very appealing to guys just like them, because what do they do, even though they’re these average Joes, even though they’re not out there conducting brain surgery, they’re still really tough because they can walk into a haunted house and not be afraid of the ghosts. It’s very appealing. So you dudes that watch the show, have you been like, “Yeah, I want to be like that?” I mean, I’ve watched the show and I’m like, “Yeah, I want to be like that.”

DIANA
Not afraid to go into a haunted situation. I think at first when I started watching the show, it kind of did impress me.

BECKY
Yeah, I was like, I want to fill up with that masculine energy and just be like, Yeah, and bring me my K2 meter. Come and get me ghosts. Mm hmm. No, I love it.

DIANA
I always thought that it was because they were plumbers. They could find out like, is it the pipes? Like, everybody always blames the pipes. Like they’re plumbers. They would know. Finally, we can get somebody to eliminate all these pipe sounds for for hauntings.

BECKY
Think about the stereotype for the average Joe, Right? He’s not the Ph.D. ivory tower academic; he’s down there working with his hands; he’s got more common sense. It’s the common sense, it’s the being of the people, knowing how stuff works. It’s not just theoretical. So that’s kind of where that comes in.

Analytical vs. Empathic

BECKY
Couple other things. They’re very analytical, right? They use tools.

DIANA
Yes.

BECKY
It’s not about feelings. It’s not about sensing.

DIANA
It’s supposed to be objective measurements, regardless of what those measurements are, they are objective.

BECKY
And in very stereotypical gender roles, men are thinking, women are feeling men use tools and objectivity, women use their emotions and their intuition. Hence, again, a big masculine thing. These guys never show fear because they have their tools. Now I’ve heard in actuality they do get scared. They just cut that out of the final cut.

DIANA
They just cut out the scary, scary part. Oh, oh, I feel cheated. I want the scary track. I want the track of of of screams beep.

BECKY
There’ll be a lot of screams, but it’s usually the women on the team. Have you noticed that?

DIANA
I have noticed that the women scream a little bit more, or at least their screams make the edit.

BECKY
Yeah. So that is the second aspect, right? So we’ve got Average Joe; common sense; doesn’t get afraid, not giving in to silly flights of fancy, right. Because he’s a blue collar worker, he just is in the dirt. He’s climbing under houses every day. He’s very analytical, very masculine. Again, very analytical, uses tools, does not get caught up in feelings.

Outside vs. Inside; Public vs. Private

BECKY
And thirdly, all of these shows—have you noticed that every single one of these shows, they always show them going to the place? They always have to have that cut of them in the vans, talking to one another on their way to the location. They make a very specific point of showing them going to the location. And that’s that’s a lot of film work, right?

Like they got to have the cameras in the car on the dash. They have to have the camera set up on the road watching their black vans in succession go by. Why—why make such a big point about it?

Why?

Again, traditional gender roles. Women are of the inside, men are of the outside of the world. And this dates back to ancient times. Ancient, ancient times. Back in classical Athens, the saying was a righteous, virtuous woman leaves her house twice in her life: once for her wedding, and once for her funeral.

This is this is where this comes—I mean, that’s not where it comes from. But that idea, right, is that women are supposed to be of interior spaces. They take care of the home. Men are of exterior spaces. They are public. And so, you have to make a point of showing that the men are outside. They’re going to another location.

It’s public to them, even though they’re going to be in a house, maybe. There’s a big deal of showing that they’re going there. They’re existing outside of the interior. They’re doing something in public.

DIANA
Yes.

BECKY
It all follows a formula and it’s very appealing to those of us that want to embrace our love of ghosts but not feel like we’re not macho. Read the book.

Does machismo mean you won’t do paranormal investigation?

DIANA
Interesting. You don’t think it’s got anything to do with just, happenstancially, in Gerry’s case, his mother believed in ghosts and his father was macho and didn’t believe in ghosts. And those have nothing to do with machismo. It’s just he saw a masculine role model, and so did his brothers, who didn’t believe in ghosts. And so that’s how they learned machismo.

BECKY
It has everything to do with machismo.

DIANA
So it’s an inherent quality of machismo to be like, I don’t believe in this. You’re making this up. I want nothing to do with this. I’m going to leave instead of—

BECKY
Well, think about it.

DIANA
—sticking it out and seeing if I—

BECKY
Even in these paranormal investigation shows, they always have to—it has to be proven right. And 95% of the time they don’t find anything. And that’s okay.

It has to be proven. It can’t be felt.

DIANA
Yeah, that’s true.

BECKY
It has to be proven through analytical tools. They have to catch something that cannot be shown any other way to be true.

DIANA
That makes sense to me. I like that. I don’t consider that necessarily an inherently masculine trait. To want objective proof of something. Stereotypically, yes.

Masculinity and Femininity in all of us

BECKY
When I say masculine, I don’t mean men. We all have masculine and feminine sides to ourselves, right? I’m talking about just society’s way of defining what masculine versus feminine is and whether or not you agree with it or not, I’m talking about the stereotypes that we’ve grown up with. Masculine is objective, analytical, feminine is feeling and intuitive. I know we are not cut and dry like that.

BECKY
That’s just the societal definitions that we are using to apply to this analysis. Does that make sense?

DIANA
I was looking at what I what I wrote in the show notes. If you’re interested in the show notes, they’re at homespunhaints.com right now, top of the page. But when I was kind of like rolling this around in my mouth earlier this week and I was thinking about the way that he was presenting the how he kind of viewed interacting with ghosts in general as an anti masculine trait.

And I was trying to think of qualities that I consider like inherently masculine, not manly, just masculine qualities has nothing to do with machismo. But the idea in my mind of like what is masculinity is I was mulling it over and I’m thinking like guidance and protection for one’s wards. Gallantness In the face of defending people who have less power or advantage than one’s self. Bravery in accomplishing intimidating tasks or confidently taking some action, mainly action based on rational reason and feats of physical strength and endurance, of course.

And those are kind of like when I kind of distill what is a masculine quality versus what is a stereotypical machismo quality. That’s what I think of. Does that make sense?

Machismo vs. Masculinity

BECKY
It does. And I love that. I love that. And I think you’re absolutely right. Like the machismo, I guess prior to these ghost hunting shows, that was typical of macho men or women who considered themselves macho men would be, Oh, I don’t believe in that. You’re just being silly. You’re being silly. There’s no proof. There’s no proof ghosts exist.

It’s not like you told me you saw a spider.

Rationality vs. Always Being Right

DIANA
And that’s interesting to me because, okay, I understand saying I don’t see any rational explanation within your ghost theories. I understand that. And kind of taking a step back as a masculine person wanting to be like, I don’t see the rationality behind your theory. You’re just talking about your feelings and what you imagined to be there. You’re not proving anything objectively.

I understand that and wanting to take a step back away from that. But the idea, especially when, you know, Gerry’s showing his brother, look at this, here’s my evidence. And his brother goes, I told you I didn’t want to see any of this, and leaves. That doesn’t strike me as masculine. That strikes me as very fearful, which again, is kind of contrary to the idea of masculine people being gallant, brave defenders.

I don’t know. So in that sense, the machismo itself kind of goes against masculinity.

BECKY
It does. It does. No, I think you’re absolutely right. And I think it’s because part of this machismo is having to prove that you’re always right. And if you see something that completely goes against that idea of, Oh, I was right, you’re just going to want to get out of the situation, you can’t handle it because your head’s going to explode.

Full of Rage

BECKY
He also points out that when these people are afraid, their reaction to being afraid is to get angry.

DIANA
To get full of rage.

BECKY
It’s like he got angry. He said, I don’t want to have anything to do with this. And instead of forcing himself to look at what he was seeing and re analyze all of his beliefs, he just left. He just removed himself from the situation. He couldn’t handle it.

DIANA
So what you’re saying is machismo is more about perhaps close minded authority.

BECKY
And always being right. Yes.

DIANA
Than it is about real masculinity. Right?

BECKY
Right. It can certainly appear as leadership. Right. If if you happen to always be right and people follow you.

DIANA
We don’t know anything about that in America. Not one bit!

[LAUGHTER]

Qualities of Masculinity

BECKY
I think real masculinity is like you said, if you’re presented with evidence that doesn’t fit with what you knew before, you have to pivot because you’re a leader.

DIANA
That would be the scientific method for those people who enjoy objective data. It’s the willingness to change your mind in the face of new objective data. That’s why I was so baffled by that reaction. I don’t want to see this leave What?

BECKY
Because it challenges your worldview and it also implies that you were wrong. You can’t be feeling like you were wrong. Yeah, you just got to get out of there.

DIANA
It’s a vulnerable position to realize you were wrong because before you realize you’re wrong, being wrong feels exactly like being right. So it doesn’t matter if you’re wrong or right, as long as you think you’re right.

BECKY
Right, right.

DIANA
But as soon as you realize you’re wrong. Uh oh, that’s very vulnerable. Machismo and vulnerability don’t tend to go very well together.

But masculinity and vulnerability do.

DIANA
Oh, there you go. Tell me more about that.

The Wartime General Analogy

BECKY
So let’s say you’re a general, right? General leading people to war or coming up with strategies and you get new information that says, oh, we’re being flanked on all sides. The approach that we were planning isn’t going to work. Are you going to be like, Oh, I’m never wrong and just go with your original strategy? Or are you going to be like, Oh snap, I better change?

Okay, I didn’t know that. I got new information. I gotta, I got to protect these people. These are my soldiers. I’m not just going to lead them into a slaughter just because I can’t be wrong.

DIANA
It’s your job to defend people who have less power or station than you do as a leader. And so therefore you’re going to pivot. Yeah, I agree. I think it’s good to reexamine your point of view when faced with new evidence.

BECKY
Also, you can choose whether or not that that makes you appear vulnerable or weak, because what real weakness is, is not being able to accept things in front of you. That’s real weakness.

Pretending Machismo is Masculinity

DIANA
In this case. We’re seeing the actions that Gerry was labeling as macho as something that is kind of almost like a mask, a masc mask, if you will. That will hit with a certain subset. An appearance of masculine qualities that don’t actually embody the qualities that you’re hoping to embody. I don’t want to tell you anybody is doing it wrong. That’s not what I mean.

I just it feels like in this whole episode, the machismo ran contrary to analyzing evidence and protecting and defending. Thank you for sharing your insider’s viewpoint of masculinity for me and those of us who may or may not be in the know. And I guess you’re not really a real, real, real insider because you weren’t raised male in a patriarchal society where you had to embrace certain trends of masculinity to survive and not get the crap beat out of you

BECKY
I feel so sorry for men. It’s got to suck.

DIANA
Especially growing up in 1960s, rural Michigan. Blech. Hainted Loves, If you were raised male in a patriarchal society and you have a differing viewpoint or want to point out things that we missed or want to point out things that we did wrong, or just feel like mansplaining your two cents into our conversation, we welcome that. Please let us know.

The conversation goes on and on, on our Facebook group, Facebook.com/groups/homespunhaints

BECKY
You could also leave a comment below on our YouTube.

DIANA
But either way, let us know. Let us know from the insiders point of view. Let us know from an outsider’s point of view. We just want to understand what machismo and masculinity have to do with ghosts. And in the meantime, have a spooky day.

The post Are You Macho Enough to go Ghost Hunting? appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Episode Summary: Haunted Cemeteries of Illinois

Do you like cemeteries? Do you ever worry something might follow you home from a cemetery? Or have you ever wished that something would?

Meet Abby, a paranormal investigator and vlogger from Illinois who spends a considerable amount of time in haunted cemeteries, and has spooky experiences as a result. Hear her stories, today on Homespun Haints 

AI-generated transcript of this episode available upon request.

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About the Guest, Abby of Mysteries of the Past and Present

Abby is the creator and star of the YouTube channel Mysteries of the Past & Present. Keep up with her haunted cemetery travels around Illinois on IG: @mystery_past_present or TikTok: @Mystery0279.

She works with Maybe it’s Spiritual Podcast and Karly (of the Village Tarot Witch). She recommended following Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery of Illinois on YouTube since they actually talk about their hauntings openly. Say happy birthday to her ghost hunting cat, Smokey!

Show Notes Exploring Illinois’ Haunted Cemeteries and More

What are Mandela effects?

The human memory is quite flawed, and we often remember things very differently from how they happened. For example, you’ve probably noticed how Diana misquotes just about everybody on the show. When one person convinces another to believe their false or delusional memories, it’s called a folie à deux. But what about when many people who have never met seem to share the same false memory? When many unrelated people remember a certain event happening a specific way, but it never actually happened, that’s a Mandela effect. Similarly, when many people recall seeing a specific detail about something that’s actually false.

The simplest way to define a Mandela effect is as a collective false memory. The term was coined by author and ghost hunter Fiona Broome, after a group of presenters at DragonCon agreed they could recall the funeral of Nelson Mandela being televised in the 1990’s, when in fact president Mandela died in 2013. She was intrigued enough to found and manage a website dedicated to the phenomenon, mandelaeffect.com. Over the years, her website collected about 15 books worth of recountings of these collective distorted memories.

Where are these haunted cemeteries Abby is investigating around Illinois?

• Bloods Point Cemetery in Boone County, IL.
• Moon Point Cemetery in Cedar Point, IL, where the Witch’s Circle is.
• St. Omer Cemetery in Arcola, IL, where she visited The Witch’s Grave.
• Bachelor’s Grove of Chicago, the most haunted cemetery in IL (or maybe the country?).
  

Would you visit these haunted cemeteries in Illinois?

What is your favorite cemetery? Should we make a special trip just to visit haunted Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery since Becky was too chicken when she lived in Illinois? If we do, we’ll likely have quite a spooky day.

The post DJ Cemetery feat. Guardian Grandma appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Listen to the episode here, then scroll down to hear the bonus episode:

Episode Promotions

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This episode is sponsored by Acid Queen Jewelry. You can use the coupon code homespun for 10% off her gorgeous handmade, one-of-a-kind necklaces, rings, earrings, cuffs. While you’re browsing her site, make sure to sign up for her newsletter for early access to new releases.

¡Ay Ghost Mio!

Our podcast promotion this week comes from ¡Ay Ghost Mio! by Melissa Trahan.

An Interview with a Paranormal Investigator: Joe Hunts Ghosts

Joe is a Floridian paranormal investigator who works with Eric The Ghost Hunter of South Florida at War Party Paranormal nonprofit, which you can follow on FB and IG. He helps people with haunted homes get answers, including his family members. Joe has also worked with our friends Karly of The Village Tarot Witch and Stephanie of Stephanie Marie Marketing.

Florida is Florida-weird

In addition to his paranormal investigations with War Party, Joe has recently launched his own podcast called Greetings from FLOWEIRDA. Check it out wherever you listen to podcasts!

Bonus guest Carly Lyon

This week’s bonus episode contains a reprisal of Joe’s musings on why he’s so haunted, and how it might be the objects around him…or himself. Another guest, Carly Lyon, joins us to describe an experience with a haunted object that a fellow art show exhibitor foisted upon her. If her story intrigues you, so will her artwork! And if you live near East Cobb, GA, sign up for a pottery-throwing class with Carly. You just might run into Becky there. And, word on the street is, you’ll probably outshine her at throwing pots.

Listen to the bonus episode, Can Antiques Be Haunted?

Can antiques be haunted?

Our interview guest, paranormal investigator Joe has many theories as to why he kept winding up in haunted homes. All his residences do possess a Florida address. However, Joe posits that his mother’s antiques caused some of the hauntings.

Would a house full of antique furniture make for a house full of ghosts? It does make a certain amount of sense that the older an object is, the more likely it would be to pick up a spirit at some point along its history. Also, with our lowered expectations for cheap, pre-fabricated modern furniture, a unique old piece does tend to spark some feelings.

Your haunted object may not be haunted at all.

Perhaps, your new-to-you acquisition picked up some residual energy while it rested in a haunted antique shop. The easiest way to dispel this residual energy is to thoroughly cleanse the object. Just make sure you use a cleanser that won’t damage the surface of whatever vintage find you’ve just acquired.

But sometimes, there’s more than just residual energy attached to an object. Usually, if an antique is “haunted,” it is because a previous owner just doesn’t want to let go. In this case, you’ll need to do more than perform a general scrub-down. Burn incense or your favorite herbs, play a singing bowl, or perform some other cleansing rite around the object to help its ghost move on her way.

If that’s not enough, check out this expert’s advice on how to clear your antiques of ghosts. Better safe than sorry, right?

To hear another story about a haunted house full of antiques, check out this haunted house episode where our very own Diana tells us about the chilling experiences she’s had in her childhood home.

An impromptu inter-cultural using-up-leftovers curry recipe

Try a delicious non-traditional curry stew inspired by Diana’s polyglot fascination with transliteration, etymology/etiology/entomology, and the leftover crap in the fridge. Multiply approximately by the number of servings you desire. Make extra, too, because you’re gonna want more than you think you will. Be scant on ingredients that don’t smell good to you, go heavy with ingredients that do, this isn’t an exact science.

Ingredients per serving

1. Oil for frying, based on your personal tolerance for greasiness and the fattiness of your meat.
2. Onion, 1/2, chopped, yellow/white/sweet.
3. Beef, 3-ish oz, cubed or sliced, leftover steak or roast is fine, based on your personal tolerance for animal protein (mushrooms and green jackfruit shreds might be a good vegetarian substitute).
4. Carrot, parsnip, potato, rutabaga, radish, turnip, leek, or other mild root veggie or a mix thereof, 1 cup, chopped, based on your personal vegetable preference and what’s in your fridge, leftover is fine, just avoid cruciferous veggies like broccoli or things that tend to dissolve with cooking like squash and sweet potatoes.
5. Jalapeño pepper, 2, sliced strips, deseeded based on your personal tolerance for capsaicin.
6. Garlic, 4 cloves cut in very large chunks (if you only have minced or powdered, add it later with the ginger).
7. Ginger root, 1″ nub, grated, based on your personal tolerance for isothiocyanate.
8. Turmeric, 1/4″ fresh grated if ya got it, or 1 tsp powder.

Spices

1. Yellow Curry powder, 2 tsp, based on your personal tolerance for deliciousness.
2. Garam Masala, 1 tsp powder.
3. Cumin, 1/4 tsp powder.
4. Coriander, 1/2 tsp powder.
5. Allspice, 1/4 tsp powder.
6. Cashew butter or peanut butter, creamy, 1 tbl, based on your personal tolerance for nut allergens.
7. Sugar, 2 tsp, based on your personal tolerance for carbs.
8. Salt if you must, but not much, remember the sauces added later will add a lot of saltiness.
9. Nutritional Yeast, 2 tsp flakes.
10. Soy sauce, any kind, 1 tsp.
11. Lea & Perrins or an inferior Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp (fish sauce is even better if ya got it, aminos might be a good vegetarian substitute).
12. Cream or coconut milk, 2 tbls, based on your personal tolerance for dairy.
13. Water, boiling, about 5 cups.
14. Cilantro, finely chopped, based on your personal tolerance for soapiness (fenugreek leaves, basil, mint, garlic scapes, or chives might be good substitutes if you are anti-cilantro, but it needs something fresh and green).
15. Optional side of buttered fragrant white rice like basmati or jasmine, or soft fluffy pita bread.
16. Optional chopped toasted nuts for garnish.

Directions:

1. Put the kettle on so you have boiling water on hand.
2. Heat oil in a deep skillet to the highest appropriate frying temperature for your chosen oil’s smoke point and fry onion until browned, deglaze pan with boiling water if necessary to keep it from burning too much when it sticks
3. Add meat (brown meat before adding veggies if using raw meat) and veggies except cilantro and aromatics in small amounts so as not to lower temp of the pan too much. Keep frying ’til everything has a bit of brown.
4. Add ginger and turmeric, also half the cilantro or chosen green herb (this is a good way to use the stems) and minced garlic if that’s what type of garlic you’re using. Fry just until it starts trying to turn brown and stick to the pan.
5. Deglaze the pan and add 1 cup of water per serving or enough to almost cover what’s in the pan.
6. Add all the powdered spices, salt, sugar, and nut butter, stir, and simmer on low. Add a cup of boiling water and stir whenever it looks like it’s getting dry enough to start sticking to the pan.
7. When root veg and meat are very tender, allow water to evaporate while stirring to the point of being a thick sauce that coats the veggies and doesn’t pool. Add flavoring sauces and nutritional yeast, stir, and remove from heat.
8. Pour your cream into a bowl and pour curry on top with the rest of the cilantro or chosen raw green herb or chopped nut garnish next to hot, buttery white rice.

The first rule of ghost hunting

We’ve heard the first rule of paranormal investigating is “don’t investigate your own home.” Becky wants to investigate Diana’s house. But Diana doesn’t want to investigate anything. Is she frightened? Lazy? Or does she just prefer the mystery? Maybe all 3? What do you think? Would you hunt the ghosts in your own home? What’s the worst that could happen, eh? No, seriously, we need to know. We feel very at risk of having a spooky day.

The post Joe Hunts Ghosts, but do the Ghosts Hunt Joe? appeared first on Homespun Haints.

The rural, mountainous roads through northeast Tennessee can be both beautiful and terrifying. Curves jump out at you from the darkness; the road signs ominously warn of falling rocks and steep grades. And you don’t see another human being for miles.

During the day, the drive is equally sublime. The landscape is dotted with occasional farmhouses, churches, and old general stores. The mountains appear like hundreds of giants poking their heads up from under a vast blanket of trees—old, silent, and secretive.

This is the setting for the Historic Scott County Jail, which friends Miranda Young and Dr. Kristy Sumner recently leased to preserve the jail’s history and offer paranormal tours. Despite the building’s rural setting, accessing the jail—which is in the small and historic town of Huntsville, Tennessee—is relatively easy. It lies about an hour north of Knoxville, two hours north of Chattanooga, two and a half hours east of Nashville, and two and a half hours south of Lexington. I drove four hours from north Atlanta so I could experience the history and ghosts of this jail firsthand.

(And my husband called me constantly along the way, letting me know what a nut I was for wanting to do this and when would I turn around and come home. Well, he’s the nut for not wanting to explore a haunted jail at night.)

History of the Jail

The jail itself was built in 1904; however, before its construction, lawmen conducted executions and trials on the land where the jail now sits. Constructed of stone, the surprisingly beautiful structure sits three stories high and ends with a crenellated wall, giving it the appearance of a small castle. Kristy and Miranda reconstructed the jail’s history into an exhibit located in what would have been the sheriff’s living quarters years ago. Visitors can study the well-researched timeline that Miranda has put together, as well as confiscated items from prisoners, letters, and other jail memorabilia.

After I closed myself into this little room to do my business, I learned that these drunk tanks are some of the most haunted places in the entire jail.

The sheriff and his family lived on the first floor of the jail. In addition to the sheriff’s living quarters and workspace, the first floor contains several drunk tanks (which were painted Pepto-Bismol pink in their heyday). The drunk tanks could and did serve as isolation cells when necessary. Today, they are painted white and serve as the museum’s bathroom facilities. These rooms were the first thing I visited after my drive. And of course, after I closed myself into this little room to do my business, I learned that these drunk tanks are some of the most haunted places in the entire jail.

On the second floor sit several communal cells, which at times held as many as fifteen people each. Some of the rooms held women; some held men. The third floor contains the higher security cell blocks, again divided by gender. As we explored these areas, strange creaks and sounds jumped at me from every corner, making me wonder which sounds were the building, and which sounds were the ghosts.

Visiting the jail (and seeing the ghosts)

While history buffs can visit the jail just to learn a little bit about history (see ticket options below), I opted for the public ghost hunt, and invited my friend Katie of Lady Teal’s Curios to accompany. As I arrived, Miranda and Kristy greeted me with warm tea and introduced me to the others we’d be investigating with. Our group consisted of six: Miranda, Kristy, Katie, myself, and two other enthusiastic women who were veterans of the tour.

They’ve witnessed pictures flying off the walls, and they’ve heard footsteps on the staircase when they’re alone in the building. And yet, they are not afraid. They are merely intrigued, and they want to learn more.

The caretakers of the jail, Miranda and Kristy, are professional paranormal investigators themselves. Miranda Young’s Tennessee-based company, Ghost Biker Explorations, is a world-recognized web series exploring the history and hauntings of various locations, and Dr. Kristy Sumner is the founder of Soul Sisters Paranormal, a professional paranormal investigation and tourism team. As you can imagine, both women also have very prestigious careers in other areas as well; Miranda has 21 years experience in design, communications and marketing, and Kristy used to be a professor at two different colleges. How cool is that?

Haunted Jail Hospitality

As you can imagine, getting to spend time in this jail with these ladies was a top-notch experience. Miranda and Kristy began by giving us a detailed tour of the jail. Then, they shared some of the creepier things they’ve experienced within its walls. For instance, Miranda and Kristy have both noticed sharp objects going missing without any explanation; they’ve heard humming and whispers and felt unseen hands touch their shoulders. They’ve witnessed pictures flying off the walls, and they’ve heard footsteps on the staircase when they’re alone in the building. And yet, they are not afraid. They are merely intrigued, and they want to learn more.

We heard people whispering behind us when no one was there, we heard footsteps on the stairs when the stairwell was empty, we caught things on tape. Yeah, I’d say we talked to ghosts. It was freaking incredible.

After learning about the jail’s history and where the paranormal hotspots are, our hosts turned out the lights and lent us investigation equipment. Also, we were allowed to use our own if we had any (I, being the most amateur of investigators, brought only my phone). Katie brought a ghost box, and those of us that used it heard strange voices answering questions in the static. The flashlights that Miranda placed in the doorways of the cells turned on and off in response to questions she presented to the ghosts. We heard people whispering behind us when no one was there, we heard footsteps on the stairs when the stairwell was empty, we caught things on tape. Yeah, I’d say we talked to ghosts. It was freaking incredible.

Solo Investigation Time

After about an hour together in complete darkness, we split up and explored on our own. And, that was when the real magic started happening. Our only lights came from the flashlights we occasionally turned on, and the streetlights streaming in through the sparse windows.

Katie and I took the upstairs maximum security cell blocks. At one point, the ghost box told me to look in another room, leaving Katie alone. When I called out that I would not separate from her, she heard someone loudly yell “No!” The cell bars behind her shook as if someone had fallen against them. As we tried to figure out what the noise was, Kristy came running up the stairs. She asked if we had just been in the stairwell. Then, she explained she heard what she thought was us running toward her in fear. But no, we had been stationary, no one had been in the stairwell. And we caught it all on tape.

After several more hours of filming, wandering around, and asking questions, we left for the evening and stayed at the nearby Grand Vista Hotel in Huntsville. The exhilarating experience left us absolutely elated.

Haunted jail hostesses for the win!

Not only did we experience some creepy feels first-hand, we did so in a warm and inviting space thanks to our delightful hosts. Kristy and Miranda are warm and friendly people who love what they do. We even took a hot cocoa break at one point. And I loved how they feature local artists in their small gift shop. Everything about the evening—from the design of the materials, the depth of the historic research, and the hospitality of the hosts—was absolutely top-notch. These ladies know how to run a business that makes you feel at home.

Kristy and Miranda are warm and friendly people who love what they do.

If the idea of an unusual and spooky experience excites you, please consider checking out the Historic Scott County Jail. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Some things to know before you go:

Pricing

Private Paranormal Investigation: $375 for a 6.5 hour investigation for up to 8 people. $25 extra per person up to 10 people.

Guided public/private ghost hunts – $35 per person for 3 hours and up to 6 people.

Flashlight tours (kid friendly!). $20 per person for a 1.5 hour tour.

Daytime general admission history tours – $10 gen admission tickets. The jail offers senior and military discounts for $7 per person.

Location

Address: 214 Litton Covered Bridge Rd. Huntsville, TN 37756.

1 hour north of Knoxville, 2 hours north of Chattanooga, 2.5 hours east of Nashville.

The post The (haunted) Historic Scott County Jail appeared first on Homespun Haints.