History Goes Bump: Ghost Tours For The Mind

When we originally covered the General Lafayette Inn in early 2015, we named the episode after its then current incarnation: Barren Hill Tavern and Brewery. That endeavor closed in 2016 and was reopened as The General. That too closed, in January of 2020. Today, it is owned by business guru Michael M. Carter who runs it as a business incubator called The Mission Corporation. The building is beauti...

America's industrial past lends itself to ghost stories. No one can doubt that working in industrial mills was a dangerous enterprise. These mills employed whole families, including children starting at six-years-old. Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island covers five acres in the Blackstone River Valley and is credited with being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in America. There are t...

Gerard John Schaefer had been a Florida Law Enforcement Officer. Police are some of our most trusted public servants. Our default position when it comes to police officers is to trust them. And most of the time, that position is correct. But sometimes it can be wrong. Very wrong. That was the case with Gerard John Schaefer. He was a prolific serial killer during the heyday of serial killers in the...

There is over 400 years of history connected to Volusia County in Florida, including Native American residency, Spanish exploration, French colonization and British settlement. Deland is a city in Volusia County, just a short drive from the Spiritualist camp of Cassadaga. We spent a night at the Artisan Hotel, a boutique hotel in the historic downtown. We did a little investigating and visited som...

The Oliver House is located in Bisbee, Arizona, a quaint town with a historic mining background. As is the case in most mining towns, this town has a rich history with gambling, prostitution and murder taking center stage. The Bisbee of the modern era may have quieted considerably, but the unseen world has not stopped kicking up its heels. Long dead residents still seem to be hanging around and on...

The Berrima Courthouse in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales in Australia is a great example of colonial architecture. The courthouse was a necessity as the colony was built on convicts and many continued their wayward deeds. The village of Berrima itself was an important stop on the path from Sydney to Victoria and there were several hotels in the area. Many historic structures s...

Paranormal Conversations are random, off-the-cuff discussions on all things paranormal. On this 19th Paranormal Conversation, we are joined by paranormal researcher Ashlie, also known as Ghost Story Girl on Instagram. We run the gamut on this one, discussing her experiences while investigating and her theories about what a ghost is. We talk science and ghosts in the Bible. What is the afterlife? T...

It wasn't until the nineteenth century that it occurred to people that cemeteries could make great parks. A movement carried over from France and swept the nation and garden cemeteries were founded in every state. These became gathering places for family picnics and settings for long, peaceful walks enveloped in the shade of countless varieties of trees. Several of these cemeteries are not as peac...

The Morse Mill Hotel in Dittmer, Missouri has it all for history and ghost enthusiasts alike. This location has not only served as a private residence, tavern and inn, but also as a hospital for the Confederate wounded during the Civil War. And during Prohibition, this building was both a speakeasy and a brothel. A female serial killer has been connected to the Morse Mill Hotel as well. This nearl...

Fort Riley sits on the north bank of the Kansas River near Junction City in Kansas. The military installation has a history that stretches back more than 150 years. Early on, the soldiers' missions were to protect the overland trails that settlers were using to move west. Eventually, they protected the railways being built. The fort would eventually become important in training the cavalry and ser...

The Plains of Abraham have known death. This is a historic area inside Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Canada. Before the park, this was a place few would wander as it had a reputation for being a hiding place for criminals. Then it became a spot for executions to be carried out. And that is why there is a female ghost that roams the Plains of Abraham. Everyone calls her La Corriveau. Intro and...

McMenamins pubs, breweries and hotels are notoriously haunted. We've featured a couple of McMenamins establishments on episodes and The White Eagle Saloon is another one of those properties. The saloon describes itself as, "Echoing with tales of ghosts, mischief and mayhem, this 1905 saloon and hotel reverberates with live music and funky attitude." This is one of Portland's oldest bars and one of...

Kelly and Diane return to the Lord Milner Hotel in South Africa! On the surface, the Lord Milner Hotel appears to be a mash-up of old Victorian London and a medieval castle. The hotel is located in Matjiesfontein on the Grand Karoo in South Africa and sits along national highway N1 that links Cape Town to Johannesburg. The hotel is lauded as a tranquil escape, but some parts of the hotel seem to b...

Hurricane Mills Rural Historic District is the name of Loretta Lynn's ranch in Tennessee. This is a large 3500-acre property that is basically its own little village. Loretta Lynn wasn't shy about telling people that her ranch was haunted. Loretta embraced the paranormal and even claimed to have her own psychic abilities. The world lost an amazingly talented singer and songwriter when she passed i...

Paranormal Conversations are random, off-the-cuff discussions on all things paranormal. On this 18th Paranormal Conversation, we are joined by our listener Jannae McCabe. Jannae has some psychic abilities and she shares how she has used them and some of the experiences she has had with ghosts. She also visited the Ohio State Reformatory and tells us what she interacted with there. This is a fascin...

Located along the Chesapeake Wine Trail and a scenic byway is the Kitty Knight Inn in Maryland. Kitty Knight was an amazingly brave woman who saved this house from destruction at the hands of the British. She went on to buy the house and apparently, is still caring for it in the afterlife. Join us for the history and hauntings of the Kitty Knight Inn! The Moment in Oddity features Little Debbie Pa...

Kelly and Diane return to Alcatraz, infamously nicknamed The Rock, and present the history and hauntings of this location that lies about 1.5 miles off the shores of San Francisco, California. Some of the most notorious criminals in American history were sent to the prison built on this island because of the impossibility of escape. Many desperate souls wiled away their lives on Alcatraz Island an...

The city of Calgary is gorgeous with the Canadian Rocky Mountains as its backdrop. The bustling city is the financial center of Western Canada. If you like rodeo, Calgary is your place as the city hosts the largest stampede in the world, the Calgary Stampede. Calgary also hosts several haunted historic locations from schools to homes to libraries to churches and so much more. Join us as we explore...

Paranormal Conversations are random, off-the-cuff discussions on all things paranormal. On this 17th Paranormal Conversation, we are joined by the hosts of The Activity Continues Podcast: Amy Lotsberg, Megan Simmons and Amy Piersak. The trio talk about all things paranormal on their podcast, especially the series Dead Files. We discussed messages from beyond the grave from lost loved ones, decease...

The glowing lights of Las Vegas have always beckoned those seeking expression for their seedy sides. This place is the capital of entertainment and a good time. Las Vegas plays host to more than just the living though. A city like Vegas is the perfect setting for ghostly activity. There are a number of casinos here in Sin City that are reputedly haunted. Join us as we explore the history and haunt...

Edgar Allan Poe's life is a study in tragedy. And like many of us, he kept no diary and had few close friends, so putting together a map of his life can be cumbersome. He was one of the greatest writers of all time, able to cross all genres. Poe even created a couple of them. But his life and work wasn't celebrated until long after he was dead. And his death has always been cloaked in mystery. Per...

The Minersville Mansion is located in Minersville, Pennsylvania and is known by locals as the DiNicola Mansion as it was owned by Dr. Arthur DiNicola who ran his practice out of the home. The mansion has stood for over a hundred years and had a series of medical professionals who owned it and today is used as an apartment building. Author and paranormal investigator Jeffrey A. Dengler wrote the bo...

Paranormal Conversations are random, off-the-cuff discussions on all things paranormal. On this 16th Paranormal Conversation, our listener and Executive Producer Dolores joins us to share the unexplained activity that has occurred at her gift shop in Wake Forest, North Carolina. This is Southern Suds & Gifts and is located at 213 S. White Street. Based on her experiences, Dolores decided to ask ot...

Superman is a beloved comicbook hero. He's all about truth and justice. Clark Kent, his alter ego, is a lovable nerd. Filling his shoes isn't easy, but George Reeves managed to do it and he did it well. But not because his own life reflected the ideal that Superman exuded. Reeves' life was complicated. And it came to an abrupt end when he was just 45-years-old in 1959. The death of George Reeves i...

At the base of Mount Fuji in Japan lies a forest that is 14 square miles in size and is referred to by some as the Sea of Trees. The forest's official name is Aokigahara Forest and has a reputation for being very quiet. That should make this area very peaceful, but it is actually pretty notorious. The forest has a reputation as a place people go to die by their own hand. Most people call this wood...