History Goes Bump: Ghost Tours For The Mind

Route 66 was once known as the "Main Street of America" and is still affectionately referred to as the Mother Road. It's hard to believe this highway was once thriving with a host of businesses because now many of those businesses are closed and abandoned. One of these locations was The Diamonds, which started as a fruit stand, then became a restaurant and eventually a truck stop named the Tri-Cou...

The Hamilton County Jail was open for nearly 100 years and housed a variety of criminals, both men and women. Many people died here and at least three were executed and there are several bodies buried on the property. This has lead to claims of hauntings and based on our experiences, we would agree that this location is very active. Join us as we share our investigation of the Old Hamilton County...

We have covered many former and abandoned sanatoriums and mental institutions on this podcast. It never ceases to amaze us how many of these buildings still stand. And all of them seem to have stories of haunting activity. The Molly Stark Sanatorium in Ohio is in really poor condition and thus, no one is allowed inside the buildings and a protective fence has been erected, complete with barbed wir...

Thornewood Castle is located in Lakewood, Washington. The English Tudor/Gothic mansion is the only private castle on the West Coast and is known as the house that love built. The property and castle are so gorgeous that they have become a popular venue for weddings and have been featured in several films and series, including Stephen King's "Rose Red." Which makes us wonder, is the castle really h...

The Eastland Disaster was the most deadly shipwreck in Great Lakes history. More passengers would die in this disaster than in the sinking of the Titanic. This was supposed to be a fun excursion to the grounds of a company picnic. The annual employee appreciation event had become a much anticipated break from the six-day work weeks that the lower middle class employees endured. On this fateful day...

Herb Baumeister was an entrepreneur who founded the successful Sav-A-Lot thrift stores, but beneath that successful veneer, he was also something quite sinister. He was suspected in the murders of at least sixteen men and more than likely, many more. His nickname became the I-70 Strangler. His home was Fox Hollow Farm and this would become his burial ground for victims. The farm has been rumored t...

This is an uncut conversation, taped live on the Stereo App featuring Kelly and Diane talking about the phenomenon of Shadow People and fielding "calls" or messages from listeners on this topic. It's fascinating! Excuse the audio as this was live and unedited.

Wyoming can be a beautiful state, but it can also be harsh, particularly in the winter. The Wyoming Frontier Prison was a brutal place with no heat during the savage winters and if a prisoner could manage to survive that, there were other threats to their life. Hundreds lost their lives via murder, suicide and execution. Enough men suffered and died here that a spiritual residue has built up and t...

One legendary person in history that has been fascinating to us is the Count of St. Germain. This was a man who not only claimed to be hundreds of years old, seemingly finding the secret to eternal youth via alchemy, but sightings and stories about him throughout the centuries seem to indicate that he may have been telling the truth. Who was this man? Was he even a Count? Could he have been a time...

Ghosts Lights are such an interesting phenomenon. They are seen all over the world and no one is really sure what they are or where they come from. There are many theories. Tim Stevens came in first place in our flash fiction contest in 2018 with his story "That Retched Sound." He co-founded Spectrograph Films in 2019 and the production company is currently finishing their first feature film, a sc...

We had just one night in New Orleans on a recent road trip and we made the most of it since it was Kelly's first time here. We booked a room at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, had dinner at the Napoleon House - one of America's most famous bars - and took in a couple of the local creepy stores before heading on a ghost tour with Haunted History Tours. Join us as we share the history and haunts of the An...

Charleville Castle borders the town of Tullamore near a forest that was heavily used by Druids, thus the Druidic connection to this location is strong. This castle dates back to the early 1800s and is said to be the most haunted castle in Ireland with legends of devil worship, torture and mystical power. On this episode, we are going to explore the origins of Druids and examine the history and hau...

During the Antebellum Era, Wilmington was the largest city in North Carolina. From it's earliest days, the city was a rowdy place with pirates like Anne Bonny, Calico Jack and Blackbeard making their way up the Cape Fear River. Wilmington was an attractive place for commerce as well, due to its location on the water. Its production of naval supplies made it politically powerful and many of its res...

Harper's Ferry is located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The town is best known for its place in history as the site of John Brown's armed raid of the U.S. military arsenal there before the Civil War. This would ignite a spark that eventually ended slavery, which is precisely what Brown wanted. This may be the reason his spirit is st...

Harry Houdini was an extraordinary showman. He's one of the few people that is still mentioned on a daily basis somewhere in the news. Many listeners are probably very familiar with the stories of seances trying to conjure a message from Houdini. Has Houdini made his presence known from the other side of the Veil? On this episode, we explore the fascinating life and legend of Houdini and share the...

Every cemetery is unique. Each has its own unique character based on location. Sometimes it is the landscape that is different. Other times, it is the local culture or customs. But truthfully, it is the personalities buried within that define the true character. We have featured over seventy haunted cemeteries around the world in the past six years. After compiling a list, we realized that there w...

The University of North Alabama is located in the city of Florence and has been a fixture here for almost 200 years. It started like most older colleges, in a different spot and much smaller. Today, it has grown into a large university covering several acres with many buildings. Several of those buildings are reputedly haunted and there are even a couple of creepy statues that come to life! Join u...

The Marshall House Hotel has stood in the heart of historic downtown Savannah for nearly 170 years. This was not only a place for weary guests to the city, it also served as a hospital before and during the Civil War. A nod to the history of the Civil War can be found on the third floor. We stayed here for one night and based on the haunted reputation of the place, we decided to do a little parano...

The Andres Pico Adobe dates back to the early 1800s and is the second oldest residence in Los Angeles. This was named for the man who once lived there, Andres Pico. The adobe part of the name refers to the material from which it is constructed. Today, it is the home of the San Fernando Valley Historical Society and is a museum that can be toured featuring artifacts and cultural relics. Maria Wesse...

The USS North Carolina was a battleship commissioned in 1941 that participated in every major naval battle in the Pacific during World War II. During that time, the battleship had several men die on board and was struck by a Japanese torpedo. The battleship earned 15 battle stars for its efforts. The battleship is today a floating museum that hosts both historical tours and ghost tours. We had the...

The 1837 Bed and Breakfast in Charleston, South Carolina is the former home of a cotton planter. The style of the home is a great example of the Charleston Single home. Although this was not a plantation, it still had slaves that lived on the third level and there are stories that claim that a mother and father were sold off to another planter, leaving their nine-year-old son without his parents....

We are so very grateful for our listeners and supporters! Happy Thanksgiving you Spooktacular people! This is a replay of one of Diane's favorite interviews that made its first appearance on the Thanksgiving 2016 Special. When we think about Thanksgiving, one of the things that comes to mind is food. So we are talking food and ghosts on this episode with author and journalist James Bartlett. James...

Fort Delaware started as a defense for the Delaware River on Pea Patch Island in Delaware. During the Civil War, it would serve as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers that was considered a death camp. Today, it is a state park featuring re-enactments, tours and other events. Many groups have investigated there including Britain's Most Haunted, Ghost Hunters Academy and Ghost Hunters used it for...

This episode has it all! Cripple Creek is a spooky old mining town with a ton of history and many haunts, leading it to be thought of as the most haunted Colorado mining town. We have haunted hospitals, hotels, jail, schools, brothels, saloons and even Nikola Tesla. Cripple Creek is on the south side of Pikes Peak and was once considered the "Greatest Gold Camp on Earth." Many people would find th...

The Zalud House in Porterville, California is like a time capsule glimpse into the life of a family. A family who suffered much tragedy in the house. This home is unique in that the Zalud Family were the only family to live in this mansion and it is furnished with their belongings. Several family members died here and it seems to have trapped their spirits. Paranormal tours are offered and Ghost A...