The Parsonage Files

Step inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with us on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. The church is packed with believers from many nations. Under the great dome sits the Aedicule, a small stone shrine over the tomb of Jesus. A chant rises. Drummers sway on the shoulders of dancers. Then the room grows still. Israeli police escort the Orthodox Patriarch to the shrine, search him for anythi...

In this episode of The Parsonage Files, Dale—the retired custodian with a flashlight and a sense of humor—asks Rob and Rick what they’d say if a single photograph could prove a ghost is real, then guides viewers through the strange history of spirit photography (from Mumler to modern skeptics), famous cases like the Brown Lady and the Chinnery car photo, and the grief-forged origins and Gothic bea...

In this episode of The Parsonage Files , Dale shares one of the Bible’s strangest and funniest stories—the day a donkey outsmarted a prophet. Hired to curse Israel for a big payday, Balaam sets off on a reckless journey, blind to the danger ahead. But his donkey sees what he can’t: an angel with a sword blocking the road. What follows is a mix of comedy, confrontation, and a talking animal with mo...

In this episode of The Parsonage Files, Rick and Rob hear one of the custodian’s favorite stories—the mystery of the Miraculous Staircase. Long ago, in Santa Fe’s Loretto Chapel, the nuns had a big problem: their choir loft was 22 feet in the air, and no one could build stairs to reach it. Then a quiet stranger showed up with only a donkey and a toolbox. When he finished, he left behind a spiral s...

The Ghost and Mr. Wesley | The Parsonage Files PodcastWhat happens when the father of Methodism’s founder decides to pick a fight with a ghost? In 1716, Reverend Samuel Wesley shouted into the dark: “Thou deaf and dumb devil… come to me! I am a man!”The spirit answered. Doors slammed. Chains rattled. The family dog howled in fear. And the Wesley children—one of them the future John Wesley—grew up...

The Ghost and Mr. Wesley | The Parsonage Files Podcast What happens when the father of Methodism’s founder decides to pick a fight with a ghost? In 1716, Reverend Samuel Wesley shouted into the dark: “Thou deaf and dumb devil… come to me! I am a man!” The spirit answered. Doors slammed. Chains rattled. The family dog howled in fear. And the Wesley children—one of them the future John Wesley—grew u...

The Ghost and Mr. Wesley | The Parsonage Files Podcast What happens when the father of Methodism’s founder decides to pick a fight with a ghost? In 1716, Reverend Samuel Wesley shouted into the dark: “Thou deaf and dumb devil… come to me! I am a man!” The spirit answered. Doors slammed. Chains rattled. The family dog howled in fear. And the Wesley children—one of them the future John Wesley—grew u...