History Goes Bump: Ghost Tours For The Mind

The Winchester Mystery House or Winchester Mansion is one of the most unique and bizarre homes ever built. The mystery part of the name refers to the interior infrastructure. It truly is a mystery why certain elements were constructed. There are stairways that lead to nowhere, doors that open to walls and windows on the interior of the house. Numerology plays a significant part in the design as we...

We are joined on this episode by Assistant Producer Steven Pappas and he shares his experiences as well as the history and supernatural experiences at Old Salem in North Carolina. When most people think of cities in North Carolina, they think of Charlotte or Raleigh. These are the state's two sprawling metropolises and home to many large industries. What most people don't think about is a city mid...

Franklin, Tennessee is a warm small town that just oozes history. The Civil War's Battle of Franklin took place in this town in 1864. This was one of the Confederate Army's worst battles. In fact, the assault has been dubbed "The Pickett's Charge of the West." The Carter House, the Lotz House and Carnton Mansion sit where the battle took place. As is the case with so many battlefields around the w...

The Fearing Tavern is located in the Massachusetts coastal town of Wareham, in the southeastern portion of the state. The town is bordered by Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay and is considered the "gateway to Cape Cod." The fact that the town was situated near rivers and coastline made it prime real estate for European settlement. The area is rich in colonial history and the tavern itself dates back...

Lucille Ball was a glamorous actress, producer, film studio head and comedian who was not afraid to get a little messed up if it brought a laugh. Her legacy as one of the funniest women - if not THE funniest woman - on television stands to this day. Like nearly all stars in Hollywood, her life was one of successes and failures. Her greatest success was the television show "I Love Lucy" and it has...

Denise is out of town, so Diane is joined by special co-host Mom (Ann Student) on this episode! During February 1864, Camp Sumter was opened in Macon County, Georgia. Camp Sumter came to be known as Andersonville, and that is what it is still referred to as of today. Of all the prisons we have featured on the podcast, Andersonville Prison seems to be the worst thus far. This prison was opened to h...

Glamis Castle is considered the most beautiful castle in Scotland. It won the prestigious Best Attraction Award UK 2015. This castle dates back to the 14th century and has remained in the hands of one family for centuries. That family is the Bowes-Lyon Family, now known as the Earls of  Strathmore. Members that have lived here include members of the Royal Family. Not only is there a deep history t...

Westward expansion was pulling people from the east into the wild west. Oklahoma City was a boom town from 1898 to 1909 and many people flocked there. William Skirvin was one of those people who came to Oklahoma City and he built a hotel that has survived into today. The Skirvin Hotel was meant to be the most grandiose and fancy hotel in the area. And it was, hosting some of the luminaries of the...

The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch was a 110,000 acre cattle ranch in the Indian territory of Oklahoma before statehood.  It is located near Ponca (Pong kuh) City in the Northern part of Oklahoma.  Colonel George W. Miller was a larger than life man who founded the Fabulous 101 Ranch in 1893.  The 101 Ranch was the birthplace of the 101 Ranch Wild West Show and one of the early focal points of the oil...

On today's show, we celebrate our 100th official episode! And we're having a rootin' tootin' good time heading to the Wild West town of Dodge City. We were looking for something special about the number 100 and came across this line that bisects the USA nearly in the middle vertically and low and behold, we found Dodge City sitting smack dab on top of it. The state of Kansas entered the Union in 1...

Fort Edmonton is a settlement that dates back to the true beginnings of Canada becoming an official country and to Alberta becoming a province. It moved many times and witnessed much history. It played a key role in history with both European settlers and the natives that lived on the land. Is this why its current location at Fort Edmonton Park seems to have unexplained activity? Join us as we exp...

Grand Rapids, Michigan has been known as Furniture City because of the industry upon which the city was built. People might be surprised to find that this city is considered the world leader in the production of office furniture. Grand Rapids is a city awash in history, murder, mayhem and urban legends. And these factors tend to lend themselves to tales of hauntings. There are a couple of fairly w...

One would not expect to find a castle in a Missouri city like Springfield, but indeed there is a structure here that is very castle-like and thus it has been given the name Pythian Castle. It is a massive structure that has found itself under the supervision of various owners in the past with very different uses for the building. It has served as an orphanage and retirement home and also as a plac...

Our research assistant and listener favorite Freya Porter joins us on this episode to share the history and hauntings of a location near to where she grew up. Her family is very familiar with the Oystermouth Castle and she shares their personal experiences about this old and wonderful castle. Mumbles is a small resort town that is a headland overlooking Swansea Bay. It has a pier there that was th...

The Santa Monica Mountains are one of the most visited natural areas in California and Griffith Park is a favorite location. The most familiar attribute of the park is the famous "Hollywood" sign. The park has been the scene to more than just fun outdoor activities. There is a belief that a curse is tied to the land here and that is why Griffith Park has been tied to urban legends, deaths and haun...

On today's episode we are joined by author and paranormal investigator Sylvia Shults. The Peoria State Hospital opened in 1901 in the village of Bartonville in Illinois. The asylum was home for the mentally ill for seventy-two years and it provided some of the state of the art care at the time, but it was also the scene of some very tragic circumstances. Many people died here, both patients and st...

We are joined on today's episode by freelance writer Bill Clayton. The term asylum brings about many images and most of them are not pleasant. Particularly the asylums of years ago. Today, we know more about mental illness and have better plans for caring for people, but in the past, mentally ill people were treated as cast offs and it was permissable to do horrid things to these people. One of th...

The historic Magnolia Hotel is located in Seguin, Texas. Its history includes use as a fort and was built by a man rooted in Texas history as a colonist. The property has existed for 150 years and passed through the hands of many owners and is currently under restoration. Its current state is nothing like the grand hotel it had been once upon a time. Hotels tell many stories and this one has stori...

On this year's Christmas Special, we are joined by special guest Dan Foytik of the 9th Story Podcast, The Wicked Library and The Lift. We discuss some of the history behind Christmas and most importantly, analyze the history of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Most of our Christmas traditions are rooted in Victorian England. Sending Christmas cards and caroling door to door are just a coupl...

Charles Dickens is the author of many classical novels, but probably his most beloved work is "A Christmas Carol." Christmas would not be Christmas without the tale it would seem in our modern era. Many of us probably never questioned as children why it was that ghosts were sent to teach the angry and obtuse Scrooge the life lessons he must learn. But why did Dickens choose ghosts? Did the idea of...

Alton, Illinois is considered one of the most haunted small towns in America. The former Milton Schoolhouse is one of the reasons for this reputation. Many legends surround the school from murdered students to suicide to other deaths that lead people to claim that the currently bustling center of small business is haunted. There are others who believe that the school's reputation for hauntings is...

Buffalo Trace Distillery is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. Herds of buffalo once thundered across this area of Kentucky where the distillery stands and they carved a path, which is called a trace.  This particular trace is called the "Great Buffalo Trace" and it led to the banks of the Kentucky River and gave the distillery its name. Some of the finest Kentucky Bourbon is...

Many people mistakenly refer to the Homestead Sanatorium as an asylum, but it was never an asylum. Although abandoned and derelict, the building still stands grandiose and beautiful and it would be a shame to see it torn down. The benefactor of the property, Horace Carpentier would not want to see that happen either. For decades, those with TB called Homestead home and many of them died here. Is t...

There are Christmas trees and reindeer and candy canes, but Santa Claus is probably one of the most familiar images intertwined with Christmas. Most of us as kids were raised with the warning that you better be good, for goodness sake, or you would end up on Santa's naughty list and thus receive coal in your stocking. But as we trace back the various traditions associated with the holiday season,...

Coburg, Victoria, Australia didn't always have that name. It was originally known as Pentridge and it was infamous for being home to the Pentridge Prison. This prison was one of the most notorious in Australia, housing some of the worst of the worst and was open for 146 years. Today, it is the setting for fashion shows, parties, conferences and even weddings. As is the case with many old jails, th...