Common Mystics

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill travel to the historic mining town of Shullsburg, Wisconsin, where their psychic impressions lead them to the haunting story of Augusta Reinhart, a widow who mysteriously vanished in June 1904. After a five month search, Augusta was finally discovered forty feet underground in an abandoned mine shaft. But there was another twist: shortly before she v...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill uncover the extraordinary life and mysterious death of Captain John Schmidt, one of America’s earliest Nazi hunters. In 1930s Los Angeles, Nazi organizations operated openly: spreading propaganda, recruiting supporters, stockpiling weapons, and discussing violent plans. When government agencies failed to act, Jewish attorney Leon Lewis assembled a se...

On this episode of Common Mystics*, Jen and Jill head back to the glittering days of Old Hollywood—when movie studios didn’t just control the films their stars made. They controlled their schedules, their appearances, their weight…and sometimes, even when they slept. No one embodies the devastating consequences of the studio system quite like Judy Garland. She entered MGM as a 13-year-old girl wit...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill head back to the lawless days of 1851 Southern California, where a stolen herd of horses, two murdered teamsters, and the arrest of two teenage members of the powerful Lugo family set off a deadly chain of events. What followed was a sensational trial, a revenge-hungry gang, and a bloody massacre in the mountains where nearly everyone involved would...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill sit down with paranormal investigator, psychic medium, and author Rebekah Carmichael to chat about her book, The Not-So-Scary Guide to Ghosts . Rebekah challenges some of the biggest assumptions about ghosts, explaining her fascinating ideas about different types of spirits, psychic development, and why connecting with the unseen doesn't have to be f...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and JIll step outside their usual historical time frame to explore a heartbreaking case from the High Desert of Southern California in 2001. While we typically focus on stories from the more distant past, recent developments surrounding this investigation made us feel that the voiceless was reaching out, asking to be heard. To honor the privacy of those who c...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jennifer and Jill journey to California's coast to uncover the remarkable story of Juana Maria, the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, whose eighteen years of isolation inspired the classic novel  Island of the Blue Dolphins and became one of the most enduring legends in American history. But the legend isn't the whole story. We trace the history of the Channel Is...

On this episode of Common Mystics*, Jen and Jill investigate the unsolved 1944 murder of Hollywood heiress Georgette Bauerdorf, whose brutal death behind the glamour of wartime Los Angeles remains one of the city's most haunting and enduring mysteries. Found deceased in her own bathtub under suspicious circumstances, Georgette’s case shocked a city already steeped in secrecy and shadow during Worl...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill follow the incredible rise and dramatic fall of Bugsy Siegel, the gangster who helped transform Las Vegas from a dusty desert town into a glittering entertainment destination. Born into poverty in the crowded streets of New York City, Bugsy clawed his way to the top of the criminal underworld and became one of the most powerful mobsters of his time....

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill pull back the curtain and get a little more personal than usual. They dive into a chapter of their lives that was equal parts heartbreaking and life-shaping, sharing the story of their father: a man who brought laughter, chaos, love, and pain in ways that still echo today. It’s a story with sharp edges and soft spots, and while there’s a space in the...

Please enjoy this repost of a fan favorite! On this classic episode of Common Mystics, Jennifer and Jill discuss their late mother Stella, who modeled for her daughters a discerning, yet eclectic approach to religion, spirituality, and the divination arts. Laugh with them as they relate stories that exemplify Stella's humor and strength, and learn how their mother continues to be present in their...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill travel to a town that feels suspended in time on the Upper Mississippi: Galena, Illinois.* Beneath its brick streets and blufftop beauty lies a harder story. In the 1830s and 1840s, northern Illinois was still raw country. As settlers poured into Galena to mine lead and find fortune, the roads filled with opportunity… and the Mississippi River towns...

On this episode of Common Mystics * , Jen and Jill travel back to the summer of 1869, where the mighty Mississippi River carried more than lumber and passengers; it carried tension, resentment, and a tragedy that would leave six men dead. What began as a routine journey aboard the steamboat Dubuque quickly unraveled into one of the most chilling and overlooked racial violence events in Midwestern...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill journey into the breathtaking Driftless Region of the Midwest — a landscape untouched by glaciers and steeped in history. Their travels lead them to the quiet river town of Decorah, Iowa, where beauty and tragedy intertwine.  Here, a haunting mystery unfolds. In 1929, fourteen-year-old Romelda Casten died suddenly and mysteriously inside her family f...

On this episode of Common Mystics , Jen and Jill explore the history of the Dakota people of the Upper Mississippi River Valley, specifically the Mdewakanton band and the leadership of Chief Wabasha III. They trace how early treaties and increasing American expansion reshaped Dakota homelands and set the stage for growing tension. Hunger, land loss, and broken promises contributed to the outbreak...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill travel back to the earliest days of settlement along the northern Mississippi River, exploring how river towns took shape in the 17th and 18th centuries. Built alongside booming industry and filled with young men looking for fortune—and fun—these towns quickly developed a rough-and-tumble reputation. Fast forward to 1879, when Winona, Minnesota boast...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill have an absolute blast as they sit down with renowned psychic relationship expert and matchmaker Deborah Graham to dish on the unseen forces that pull hearts together, and the energetic speed bumps that can send love spinning the other way. Gifted since childhood, Deborah had her very first premonitions at just six years old. What started as little i...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill investigate a ghost story from the town of Stoughton, WI… but what they uncover is far more unsettling than the legend itself. In November of 1925, Saxe Hoverson, a respected local official, died after falling from the third floor of the Grand Hotel. At the time, the incident was quickly labeled a suicide. Case closed. Or so it seemed. But when you p...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill stumble into a surprising connection to the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. What begins as an investigation in Imlay City, Michigan quickly turns into something much bigger when the sisters uncover a local story tied to an ancestor from Salem, Massachusetts. From there, one curious rabbit hole leads to another, across the Atlantic and deep into...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill journey to Imlay City, a quiet Midwestern town just 50 miles north of Detroit, to explore a tragic story from 1947: the senseless murders of the Smith children.* This is not a story told for shock or spectacle. It’s a careful remembering. We’ll place the events within their historical moment, honor the lives that were lost, and examine how a communit...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill dive into the surprising blend of Christian doctrine and ancient pagan tradition behind one of the Catholic Church’s most beloved figures. Learn how older goddess archetypes—fertility mothers, virgin creators, and compassionate intercessors—shaped the evolving image of the Virgin Mary as Christianity spread through pagan Europe. The sisters trace how...

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill find themselves in the unassuming Indiana hometown of a Hollywood legend. A near car accident becomes the first breadcrumb in a trail that leads directly to James Byron Dean—one of cinema’s most celebrated icons and one of its most tragic. He left an indelible mark on pop culture before his life ended at just 24. But with endless books, films, and tr...

On this episode of Common Mystics , Jen and Jill dive into a series of brutal crimes that terrorized East Tennessee over a century ago.* It began in 1919, when two women, sleeping peacefully in the dead of night, were brutally attacked in a Knoxville home. Within hours, police arrested a suspect: Maurice Mays, a biracial man with ties to the Mayor. But even after Mays was behind bars, the nightmar...

On this episode of Common Mystics, we’re thrilled to hang out with our friend Dr. Scott Guerin for a mind-bending conversation about aliens—yep, our celestial family ! Scott is a psychologist, educator, and author who dives deep into human and spiritual development, and he’s joining us to talk about his brand-new book, Awkward Awakening: Find Your Way Home. Join us as we chat about what “awakening...

On this spine-tingling episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill take you on three unforgettable ghost hunts that will leave you questioning what’s lurking beyond the veil. First stop: the infamous Demon House in Hartford City, Indiana, where something dark and unseen made its presence known. Next, the Amboy Train Depot Museum in Illinois, where echoes of the past still whisper through the tracks. F...