Ope, A Ghost

Welcome to our third episode where we take an in-depth look at a location with far too much history to cover in a regular episode. This week, we’re unlocking the iron gates of one of America’s most infamous prisons: the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. Once home to thousands of inmates (and a few Hollywood cameras — hello, The Shawshank Redemption) this looming Gothic fortress has earned a reputation as one of the most haunted places in the country. Join us as we dig into its dark history from its origins as a well-meaning reformatory to the violence, traged...

In this episode, we’re diving deep into one of the most captivating investigations in Ghost Nation history — the chilling exploration of Seaview Terrace, the infamous Rhode Island mansion known for its haunting beauty and ghostly reputation. Made famous as the exterior for the cult classic soap Dark Shadows, Seaview Terrace is more than just a Hollywood backdrop: it’s a hotbed of paranormal activity. Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves, and Dave Tango are joined by Amy Bruni and Adam Berry to investigate reports of disembodied voices, shadowy apparitions, and unexplained footsteps echoing through the grand halls of this historic estate...

With baseball season fading into the shadows, we’re shifting from home runs to haunted halls as we make our way to Brew City. Once again, we’re packin’ up the Ope, A Ghost van and headed off on another virtual road trip.  This time, we’re creeping into the eerie elegance of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our spooktacular itinerary is packed with ghostly grandeur — from the stately (and maybe not-so-empty) mansions of beer barons like Captain Pabst, to a lighthouse, to a college campus that might just have more students on the other side. We’re even making a late-night stop at The R...

In this chilling rewatch episode, we dive deep into The Haunting Of Season 5, Episode 2 — where acclaimed actor Eric Roberts revisits the chilling paranormal experiences that once left him questioning reality. Join us as we break down every eerie moment, from Eric’s backstory to the revelations uncovered by psychic medium Kim Russo. Why has Eric seen spirits since his car accident 45 yrs ago? Who are the spirits that visited him in the hospital? Who is the lady that haunts his house? Join us to learn the answers to these questions and so much more.

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What better way to celebrate spooky season than with two real haunted houses as told by those who lived it. First, we visit Northwest Chicago where in 1970, Ed and Marsha Becker bought a two-flat apartment to start their family. What they found instead was decades of tragedy, strange chills, objects moving on their own, and an unseen presence that grew stronger with every month they stayed. From floating kitchen appliances to a failed exorcism captured on film, this true story — later known as “The Haunting in Wicker Park” — remains one of America’s most chilling hauntings. Then, we step inside 21...

Tucked away on a quiet hill in Staten Island stands the Kreischer Mansion—a Gothic relic with a past so grim it refuses to stay buried. In this episode, we revisit Portals to Hell and their unnerving investigation of this historic home where the line between residual memory and intelligent haunting blurs uncomfortably thin. As Jack Osbourne and Katrina Weidman peel back the layers of the mansion’s sordid history—arson, mob murders, and lingering whispers in the walls—we break down the most chilling moments and debate what exactly is clinging to the house after all these years. Turn dow...

In this bone-chilling episode, we unravel two spine-tingling poltergeist hauntings, each more unsettling than the last. First, we travel to the eerie Welsh hills of 1989, where a young family’s dream home quickly becomes a waking nightmare. Heol Fanog, or The Witch Farm, is a place where ancient forces awaken from the walls, pulling a once-happy family into a vortex of terror. What ancient evil lies buried beneath this cursed land?

Next, we venture into a more modern mystery that begins with the purchase of an old frame from a charity shop in 2021. The seemingly innocent item hi...

In this rewatch episode, we dive back into The Holzer Files and their chilling investigation of Franklin Castle—Cleveland’s most notoriously haunted mansion. We revisit the shadowy corridors and dark family secrets that made this episode a standout. Did Hans Holzer’s original files uncover the truth behind the Tiedemann family tragedies? Did Dave Schrader and the team create more questions than answers? We’re unpacking the hauntings and the history as we try to determine which elements hold historical weight and which raise new questions. Was Franklin Castle truly a house of horrors or has legend overtaken fact? Jo...

Step into the darkened halls of two of America’s most infamous haunted hospitals. First, we explore the dim hallways of the sprawling Sheboygan County Asylum in Wisconsin where shadowy figures roam the tunnels and the ghosts of nurses greet you by humming a little tune. Then we travel south to Yorktown, Texas, where the abandoned Yorktown Memorial Hospital looms—its corridors echoing with whispers of patients and nuns long gone. From eerie apparitions to chilling EVP recordings, this episode takes you deep into the unsettling legacy of these institutions where healing was once promised, but hauntings remain.

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This week, we’re diving into the wonderfully bizarre world of cryptids where folklore meets the downright unbelievable. First, we travel to the windswept Isle of Man in the 1930s, where a talking mongoose named Gef supposedly made a family’s farmhouse his home, leaving behind one of the strangest legends in paranormal history. Was Gef a ghost, a hoax, or a creature from somewhere beyond the ordinary? Then we head to the murky backroads of Bishopville, South Carolina, to meet the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp—a reptilian beast that terrorized locals and left claw marks on cars i...

Pack your ghost-hunting gear and your frontier sass because this episode is headin’ west in search of haunted ghost towns. First stop: Bannack, Montana, a gold rush town frozen in time and reportedly still hosting guests at the famously haunted Meade Hotel. We’ll dive into the eerie tale of Dorothy Dunn, the young girl whose tragic fate may have tethered her spirit to the old town . . . when she isn’t following you home. Then we hitch a spectral ride to Deadwood, South Dakota, where Wild Bill Hickok was shot holding the “Dead Man’s Hand”—and may not have folded ju...

Welcome to our second episode where we take an in-depth look at a location with far too much history to cover in a regular episode. This time, we journey deep into the history and ghosts of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, one of America’s most famously haunted locations. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, Waverly Hills was a state-of-the-art tuberculosis hospital that opened in 1910 as a humble, two-story stucco building that served 40 people. By 1926, the rise in tuberculosis cases, and a 2,600-person waiting list, necessitated the 180,000 square foot monolithic structure we know today. By the 1950s, new medicines and treatments made th...

Who’s ready for another road trip? Pack up the Ope, A Ghost Van because we’re headed to the Emerald City itself: Seattle, WA. We have several stops to make, but a few of them include the Owl N’ Thistle Pub where an elusive piano player tickles the ivories when no one is looking. Then we’ll stop at the Merchant’s Café where portraits move on their own and a lady of the night whispers in the ears of unsuspecting male patrons. Finally, we’ll end at the historic Cadillac Hotel where the ghosts of merchants, prospectors, and a crying...

In this delightfully eerie second installment in our funeral home adventures, we creak open the doors of two former houses of mourning that are now anything but lifeless. First, we take a spine-tingling stroll through the Bell Mansion in Fort Wayne, Indiana—a towering tribute to Victorian opulence and spectral sightings where children’s laughter echo in the halls and a mysterious woman in jeans is said to roam. Then, we cross the border to Dresden, Ontario, where the Thomas L. DeBurger Funeral Home has found new life (and possibly some lingering spirits) as the Blumberg family’s residence, featur...

Welcome to another Paranormal Rewatch! In this episode, we’ll follow Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman from Paranormal Lockdown (Season 1 - Episode 1) as they investigate the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in search of evidence of a shadow person Nick saw almost 10 years before. Come along for a 72-hour lockdown with two of our favorite investigators. The evidence they capture might be the creepiest we’ve seen to date.

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Welcome to another fact vs. film episode where we look at the true story of a haunting and compare it with the “based on a true story” film version. For this one, we’ll tackle another film from the Ed and Lorraine Warren inspired Conjuring universe: the 2021 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. We'll evaluate the terrifying scenes from the movie compared to eyewitness accounts and the Warrens' own claims. What really happened in that Brookfield, Connecticut household? How much of the story was spiritual warfare, and how much was legal strategy, mental illness, or media frenzy? As alw...

Step right up—if you dare—for a chilling ride through two of America’s most haunted amusement parks. In this episode, we explore the eerie legends and ghostly encounters tied to Chippewa Lake Amusement Park in Ohio and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in New York.

Abandoned for decades, Chippewa Lake is a rusting graveyard of forgotten rides and lingering spirits. Locals speak of phantom music coming from the demolished dance hall and the sound of a rollercoaster that hasn’t ran in almost 50 years. Meanwhile, Sylvan Beach remains open to thrill-seekers—but its century-old carousel and historic b...

Welcome to an Ope, A Ghost Book Club Mini Episode. In another foray into fiction, we read Darcy Coates’s The Haunting of Rookward House (2020). Meet Guy, a man looking to escape his hometown after becoming the community pariah. His luck seems to have changed when he finds the deed to a forgotten house in his mother’s attic. This is his chance: fix up the old mansion, sell it for a quick profit, and use the money to move away. Sounds easy, but the ghost of a deranged and jealous stalker has other plans, including keeping Guy all to h...

Welcome to another Unrelated Ghosts episode where we dive into two locations that have nothing in common with one another. Nothing except that they’re both haunted, of course. First, we’ll stop in the quaint town of Felicity, Ohio and visit the Broadwell Funeral Home. The current owner purchased the property with the intent to remodel it to move it, but after several paranormal occurrences, his wife left and has not stepped foot back into the house since. Visitors have experienced shadow people, disembodied voices, and poltergeist activity. Our second stop takes us to the oldest operating restaurant in t...

Small town life is generally easy. That is, unless the town is haunted. Get ready for ghost stories, local lore, and a deep dive into the paranormal legacies of America's most haunted towns. First, we journey to Jerome, Arizona—a once-booming copper mining town turned ghostly relic. Discover the eerie tales of the Jerome Grand Hotel, where a phantom maintenance man lingers in the basement and ghostly footsteps echo through the halls. We'll also step inside a brothel still haunted by the tragic spirit of a murdered madam. Then, we’ll head east to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where darkness clings to t...

Welcome to another Paranormal Rewatch. In this episode, we’ll follow Josh Gates and Destination Truth as they explore the haunted Island of the Dolls located in the Xochimilco canals just south of Mexico City, Mexico. Legend has it that Don Julián Santana Barrera found a doll floating in the canal the day after a young girl drowned. He hung the doll in her memory. He believed the girl’s spirit haunted the island, so Barrera hung more dolls to appease her until over 4,000 dolls adorned the island. Did the creepy decorations work? You’ll have to listen to find...

In this chilling episode, we dive deep into the eerie phenomenon of doppelgängers — mysterious doubles that look exactly like us, but aren't us. Are they omens of death, astral projections, or something even more sinister? From ancient folklore to modern-day encounters, we unravel real stories of people who’ve come face to face with these uncanny twins. Join us as we explore the dark mirror world of doppelgängers — where reality blurs and not everything is as it seems.

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Shadows of the Self: The Eerie World of Doppelgangers by Emma McC...

Step into the eerie world of haunted objects, where the line between history and the supernatural blurs. In this chilling episode, we dive deep into two of the most infamous haunted relics: the Anna Baker Wedding Dress and the Conjured Chest from Kentucky. The Anna Baker Wedding Dress, a garment frozen in time, tells the heartbreaking tale of a love unfulfilled, and its mysterious presence haunts the Baker Mansion in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Conjured Chest, an antique piece from Kentucky, holds secrets that are far from ordinary. Once used for spiritual practices, this chest with a sinister origin...

On today’s Book Club Minisode we read Mike Browne’s 2024 book Strange, Spooky and Supernatural: Curious Tales of Fascinating People, Places and Things. The book is a compelling exploration of the eerie, the mysterious, and the downright bizarre. This book offers readers a mix of historical oddities, chilling folklore, and contemporary paranormal encounters including the mysterious disappearance of Granger Taylor, the inexplicable occurrences at England’s Borley Rectory, and one of our favorites, the encounter with the Van Meter Visitor. If you're a fan of the uncanny and the unexplained, this is one book you’ll want to check ou...

Have you ever been swimming and felt something touch your leg? Maybe it was a fish, or maybe it was a lake monster. In this episode, we’ll dive into the legends and lore surrounding some of the world's most elusive and eerie monsters lurking beneath the waters. Heaven will share encounters with the Dragon of Lake Chelan in Washington, the Walgren Lake Monster in Nebraska, and finally to Utah to fish for the monstrously long “Old Briney” who also goes by the name the North Shore Monster. Then, Jonathan will swim with the benevolent Memphre, the cryptid of Lake M...

Once again, it’s time to hit the road on another Haunted Road Trip. This time we’re headed to the Gateway to the West: St. Louis, Missouri. In this chilling episode, we dive into two of St. Louis' most haunted landmarks: the Powell Symphony Hall and the Lehmann House. As one of the oldest and most beloved venues in the city, Powell Hall has also been a stage for eerie paranormal occurrences.  We’ll meet the ghost of a mysterious man in white who sports a magnificent handlebar mustache and an apparition known as George. Our next stop will be...

What happened at Fox Hollow Farm where Herb Baumeister allegedly murdered at least 11 men. In this special episode, we look at The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm: Unraveling the History and Hauntings of a Serial Killer’s Home by Richard Estep with Robert Graves. The book is a chilling account that’s part history, part true crime, and part paranormal investigation that’s as captivating as it is terrifying. It’s unclear exactly what went on at Fox Hollow, but a grim collection of more than 10,000 bones suggests it was an unspeakable evil. Though this episode concentrates mostly on Estep’s...

The story begins with a man witnessing an execution. That man was Thomas Whaley who, not long after, moves from his home in New York to San Diego, buys the land where the execution occurred, and builds a house on the spot where the gallows once stood. That house is now known as the Whaley House. The Whaley story is one full of heart wrenching tragedy and just plain bad luck. As you might have guessed, the story is full of both history and ghosts. Today, the house endures as a museum to the past and as one of...

This episode will have you yearning for the days of yore when castles dotted the landscape. But wait, there are still places where castles still dot the landscape and many of those are haunted—why else would we visit them. In this episode, we’ll visit Chillingham Castle in Northern England where true evil took the form of a ruthless executioner. Then we’ll leap over the Irish Sea to the heart of Ireland to visit Leap Castle and find out how the Bloody Chapel got its name. Are you brave enough to wander these halls at night?

Hist...

Welcome back to our Book Club Minisodes! It’s been a while, but we’re glad you’re here. Today we read Marcus Kliewer’s We Used to Live Here. This psychological thriller centers around Eve who, along with her partner Charlie, buys a home for a price that’s too good to be true with plans of flipping it for a profit. Soon, there’s a knock on the door from a man and his family claiming he grew up in the home and wants to look around for old time's sake. Eve reluctantly agrees, but getting them them to leav...

Grab your popcorn and get comfy becasue you're about to behold another Fact vs. Fiction episode, where we dive into the real-life story of a haunting and compare it with the “based on a true story” film. For this one, we’ll tackle one of the most famous hauntings in American history: the Bell Witch of Tennessee. The witch’s fame has produced several films, paranormal television episodes, a couple of plays, and even a few songs. For this episode, we’ll specifically focus on the 2005 film An American Haunting. What did the film get right? The answer may surprise y...

The best hotels are the ones with complimentary coffee, breakfast, and ghosts! Not every guest checked out of these haunted hotels. First, we’ll visit the oldest operating hotel in Illinois: the historic Desoto House in Galena. The Desoto House is home to the Lady in Black who may just visit you while you sleep. Next, we’ll head to Texas to stay at the grand St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. The St. Anthony is home to a pair of ghosts who like to have a drink in unoccupied rooms, often surprising hotel guest who open their doors to f...

In this rewatch episode, we’re visiting one of our favorite places to investigate with our favorite team to investigate with: The Witch’s Familiar Paranormal Research. Join us as we rewatch Ghost Adventures S20, Ep 18 (on Discovery +) where Zak, Aaron, Jay, and Billy investigate the Mineral Springs Hotel in Alton, IL. Having been to the Mineral Springs several times ourselves, we have a lot to say about the Ghost Adventures investigation. Was Clarence's drowning in the pool caused by vengeful spirits? Was the Jasmine Lady pushed down the stairs by an angry lover? You’ll have to listen to hea...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The holidays are a time for friends and family, gifts under the tree, and sugarplum dreams unless, of course, you’re on the naughty list. If that’s the case, you might be called on by one of these Christmas Cryptids from folklore. While good boys and girls get a visit from the Jolly Old Elf himself, naughty children get a visit from Gryla, the ogress with an appetite for naughty children. If cute and cuddly is your thing, you might want to turn back now. According to Icelandic tradition, childr...

These colleges aren’t lacking in school spirit. In fact, spirit is exactly what they have. Pack up your books, and let’s head to class at these two haunted colleges. First, we’ll enroll at Bowdoin College, but we're not heading to class just yet. First, we’ll stop off at the haunted basement of Coles Tower. Over in the historic Hubbard Hall, when they aren’t toying with the cleaning crew, the ghosts call out to security while they lock up. Our next campus is the celebrated THE Ohio State University. We’ll work on our paranormal PhD while we...

Who doesn’t love a trip to the museum? There’s art to see, ancient artifacts to gaze at in wonder, and, if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of a ghost or two. In this episode, we visit two very haunted and very famous museums. The first stop will be the British Museum in London where spirits wreak havoc with security personnel, and a man in green still comes to work. Next, we’ll travel across the channel to Paris and visit the Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and a cursed mummy. You...

Fall is such a lovely time to take a road trip: the leaves are turning an auburn hue bespeckled with golden yellows and fiery oranges, the temperatures dance between brisk mornings and the warm dregs of summer, and the ghosts are . . . well . . . ghostier. And if ghosty is what you’re looking for, look no further than the Hostess City of the South, Savannah, GA. If you’ve listened to the pod long enough, you’ll know there’s nothing we love more than a secret tunnel, and Savannah’s got a few. In this episode, we’ll visit three locations co...

Happy Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with a ghost story! In this mini-episode, we’ll be reading listener submitted stories. Wait until the trick-or-treaters have all gone home, then dim the lights, grab a peanut butter cup, and listen to stories about the ghost of a soldier, the pitter-patter of tiny feet, and about a man who was scratched by a not-so-friendly entity. As you’ll soon find out, the covers won’t protect you this time!

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The Navajo call them the yee naaldlooshii, but you might know them by the name Skinwalker. In this episode, we’ll share spooky Skinwalker encounters and dig into Navajo lore to reveal the mysteries of the malevolent witch. Where did they come from? Why won’t many of the Navajo talk about them? Should you be afraid of them? Sit back and enjoy, but you’ll want to keep the lights on for this one.

Truth of Skinwalkers . . . Stories from the Navajo Nation
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Stories of Skinwalkers
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In this rewatch episode, we’re tagging along with two of our all-time favorite investigators from one of our all-time favorite shows. Join us in rewatching Kindred Spirits S3, Ep 10 as Amy Bruni and Adam Berry investigate Maplecroft, the second and last home of Lizzie Borden. Amy and Adam are joined by psychic Chip Coffey who immediately picks up on the presence of a powerful female presence. Is it Lizzie Borden herself? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Kindred Spirits can be found on Discovery+

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Have the voices in your head been more persistent than usual? Well then, you've come to the right place because we're going to the asylum. First we'll visit the ultra-active Eloise Psychiatric Hospital where shadows roam the halls and the rooms are filled with loud bangs and disembodied singing. Then we'll check in to Edinburgh Manor. The Edinburgh has a pauper's cemetery, but not everyone is buried in the cemetery. Sit back, snuggle into your padded room, and enjoy your spooky season!

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Welcome to another Paranormal Rewatch! In this episode, we’ll follow Dalen, Marcus, and Juwan from Ghost Brothers: Lights Out as they investigate the Pensacola Lighthouse where they confront an entity in the basement and dispel a rumor or two about a murder. The Ghost Brothers have always been one of our favorites, so come along and let’s pop the trunk on these ghosts!

Ghost Brothers Lights Out can be streamed on Discovery+

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In this episode, we investigate the real story behind the Netflix sensation The Deliverance with the actual experiences of the Ammons family. In November 2011, Latoya Ammons, her mother, Rosa Campbell, and her three children ages 7, 9, and 12 moved into a house located at 3860 Carolina Street in Gary, Indiana. Days after the family moved in, they claimed black flies swarmed the porch. Things only got worse for them. The experiences at the house have touched more than just the Ammons family. The list of victims is longer than you would think. What did the movie get right? You’ll have to li...

Welcome to another Paranormal Rewatch. In this episode, we’ll follow the Destination Fear crew as they become the first ever paranormal investigators to explore the Indiana State Sanitorium. While there are advantages to being the first, there are also disadvantages: they have no idea what to expect or who they might encounter. Spooky for sure, but chances like this don’t come along often!

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It’s been a while since we checked out a genuine, good ol’ fashioned haunted house. What better time than Spooky Season to correct that oversight! In this episode, we’ll brave the shadows to hunt down the things that go bump in the night. First, we visit the Baleroy Mansion in the affluent Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia where sits a chair with a fatal reputation. Then, we travel by broomstick to the Avenues section of Salt Lake City, Utah where a couple moves into a late 1800s Victorian dream home where the ghosts are mostly tame until one ni...

Welcome to our first ever Paranormal Rewatch! In this episode, we’ll examine the always professional and thorough Ghost Hunters as they answer the call from a family being haunted in their 1800s Tennessee farmhouse. They are joined by special guest investigator and musician Meatloaf. Not only is Meatloaf a friend of the T.A.P. S. gang, he’s no stranger to the paranormal having joined the Ghost Hunters team one other time before. We hope you enjoy our maiden expedition as we rewatch and discuss some of our favorite paranormal television episodes.

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Welcome to Spooky Season, Ghosties! We’ll have plenty of surprises this Spooky Season including weekly episodes through Halloween. In this episode, listener Cady joins us to discuss her experiences growing up in the haunted wild west. Cady grew up in the shadow of Tombstone, Arizona in what was once a sleepy little town between the tracks called Vail. Wrap yourself in the covers while Cady recalls a frightening experience with a Ouija board. And freshen up that pumpkin spice because Cady’s middle school had a cemetery on the school grounds! Oh, did we mention the shadow man? Set...

Hello there! It’s been a while since our last Book Club Minisode. We missed you! Today we read Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Jackson’s 1959 novel has twice been made into a movie, once in 1963 and once in 1999. The ’63 version is relatively faithful to the original novel: the ’99 version, not so much. The book was also parodied in part of Scary Movie 2. There’s even a BBC radio adaptation and a play. Most recently, a version of the same title can be found on Netflix, though it strays far from the occurrences of the book. If you haven...

The Ope, A Ghost van is hitting the road for another Haunted Road Trip. This time we’re stopping in historic Selma, Alabama. First, we’ll visit Sturdivant Hall where some claim that the ghost of a former owner is buried in the back yard. Next, we’ll stop at the George O. Baker House where a Civil War soldier lingers near a blood stain on the floor. Our next stops include the Trotter Home, the Brownstone Manor, and the Weaver Castle House where a man died of a broken heart. It’s gonna be a long drive so bring a...

In this episode, we compare the real story of one of the most famous haunted dolls with the second film in the Conjuring universe: Annabelle. In 1970, a young nurse received a second-hand Raggedy Ann doll as a birthday gift from her mother. The woman would use the popular doll as a decorative piece in the apartment she shared with another nurse. It wasn't long before the doll, who the woman named Annabelle, went from cute to all-out terrifying when it began to move on its own around the apartment. By 1971, Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in. The film...

Nothing excites the imagination like a good ol’ fashioned curse. Our logical sense tells us they’re nonsense, but even in the face of reason, how many of us still exercise caution? As it turns out, discretion may indeed be the better part of valor, especially when dealing with the cursed objects in this episode. First we’ll visit the Dybbuk box, an antique, portable wine cabinet that brings misfortune to whoever owns it. Second, we’ll look at the curse surrounding the wrecked 1955 Porsche Spyder once owned by Hollywood Golden Age legend James Dean. Do curses really exist? Come alo...

We’re super excited to have our friends Lauren and Gina from The Witch's Familiar Paranormal Research stop in to talk about their spooky adventures. In this episode, Lauren and Gina discuss the locations they’ve investigated, how they found themselves involved in the paranormal, reveal some of their most intense experiences, and much more! We love Lauren and Gina, and we’re sure you will too.

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On today’s Book Club Minisode, we read Tobias Wayland’s The Lake Michigan Mothman: High Strangeness in the Midwest. Wayland spent several years as a field investigator for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). Since then, he's been a guest on podcasts and radio shows and appeared on the series premiere of Expedition X and in the Small Town Monsters documentaries Terror in the Skies and On the Trail of the Lake Michigan Mothman. If you love Mothman as much as Heaven, you need this book. Its chock full of first-hand accounts of sightings and encounters: some of them are...

In this first edition of Local Haunts, we visit two places in our area that you may not have heard about. The first is the (Old) Lake Club in Springfield, IL. In its day, the club was the most popular nightclub outside of Chicago. Mixed in with the usual spirits you'd find behind the bar was the ghost of Rudy, a much loved bartender from the club's hayday.  Next, we’ll hop over to Jacksonville and explore the Illinois State Hospital for the Insane. According to several sources, the abandoned hospital is the most haunted location in Jacksonville. The hos...

Having investigated a funeral home ourselves, we couldn’t wait to bring you an episode about a couple of them. First, we’ll head to the Riddle House in Palm Beach Florida. The house is home to Buck, a kindly cemetery worker and Joseph, a tragic spirit who haunts the attic and has chased off workers restoring the home. Next, we’ll visit the infamous House of Wills located in East Cleveland, Ohio. The historic House of Wills was once the largest African American owned business in Cleveland, but has since become one of the most haunted places you have p...

It’s finally happened; we’re going to jail.  No, we’re not in trouble—at least not yet—but we are going to visit two very haunted jails. The first is the Pottawatomie County Jail more famously known as The Squirrel Cage. Here, we’ll find shadows lurking on the fourth floor, hear the voices of children in the juvie wing, and maybe run into a ghost cat or two. After a thirteen hour prison bus ride from Iowa, you'll find yourself outside the gates of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, Tennessee’s first maximum security prison that housed the state’s wor...

Welcome to another cryptid-tastic episode! This time we’ll take you back to 1952 when two brothers and a friend near the small town of Flatwoods, West Virginia were surprised by a bright light that landed near a local farm. Accompanied by a local National Guardsman, the group came face to face with something straight out of a sci-fi movie: the Flatwoods Monster. Twenty years later in the rural southeastern Illinois town of Enfield, Henry McDaniel and his children were terrorized by a three-legged creature with large pink eyes as big as flashlights that tried to gain access to their ho...

On today’s Book Club Minisode we read Craig DiLouie’s much loved Episode Thirteen. The distinct storytelling makes this novel one of the most unique and interesting novels we’ve ever read. The novel depicts a group of paranormal investigators desperately trying to secure a second season for their paranormal television show Fade to Black. Throughout the novel, the reader experiences every second of the character’s lives via journal entries, text messages, and on-screen dialogue via transcript. We recommend you read this one. Everything that makes it quirky also makes it wonderfully strange.

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Once again, it’s time to pack up the Ope, A Ghost van and hit the road. We hope you have a taste for seafood and Tex-Mex because we’re headed to Galveston, Texas. Our first stop will be the Galveston Railroad Museum—also known as Jonathan’s Train Depot—where one traveler might have lost his head, but not his hat. Next, we’ll swing by the local Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and check in on the ghost children haunting the toy aisle. If we get sleepy, we can always stay at the famous Galvez Hotel and ho...

Everyone is just dying to get in, or so the old joke goes, but these ghosts refuse to leave the cemetery. Join us as we stroll among the tombstones at two very haunted cemeteries. First, we’ll visit the burial place of Edgar Allan Poe at the Westminster Burying Ground where the ghosts range from Poe himself to the apparitions of grave robbers. Next, we’ll travel to Hollywood and visit the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where you can catch a concert and visit the grave of your favorite celebrity in the same visit. Among other ghosts you’ll find the si...

Sometimes, two things go together so well they’ve come to epitomize togetherness. Peanut butter and jelly or Bonnie and Clyde come to mind, but this isn’t one of those times. In this episode, we look at two completely unrelated locations. The only thing they have in common is they are both haunted. First, we’ll visit Union Station in Kansas City. Missouri. Union Station was the site of a mob rescue gone wrong—or was it a hit job? Then we’ll head out west to the scenic Denver Botanic Gardens which were built on land that was once a...

I hope you have your water bottle for this one because we’re going on a hike. But not just any old hike, we’re going on a haunted hike! Strap on your hiking boots and let’s hit the trails of one of the most haunted forests in Northern Ireland: The Ballyboley Forest. From there, we’ll travel thirty minutes north to Slieveanorra Forest, home of the mysterious gruagach. Next, dust off your trekking poles because we’re headed to northern Illinois and hitting the Des Plains River Trail and hiking through the haunted, if not cursed, Robinson Woods wher...

Welcome to another Ope, A Ghost Book Club Minisode. Today we look at one of our favorites. Richard Estep is an author, paranormal investigator, and television personality. You may have seen him on Haunted Hospitals, Paranormal 911, or Destination Fear. Estep has written more than thirty books, but today we want to look at The Great American Ghost Trip (2021). In this whirlwind expedition from Colorado to Gettysburg and back, Estep investigates more than seven locations in only 12 days. The first stop is in Iowa at the mysterious Melvern Manor and runs through paranormal hotspots that includes the Monroe House in...

The Conjuring Movie vs. Reality

In 2013, moviegoers were engrossed with The Conjuring. The film would become the first of three in the Conjuring series—so far. Based on the true story of the Perron family, the story is pulled from the case files of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. According to Andrea Parron, parts of the real story were left on the cutting room floor because it was too terrifying for audiences. So, what did Hollywood get right? Join us as we compare what happened in the film with what one of the real Parron ch...

The Devil seems to come in two shades: the biblical antagonist and the one we see in films, hellbent (if you’ll pardon the pun) on possessing mankind. In this episode we investigate demonic possession and the rite of exorcism. Join us as we travel to Northern Ireland to explore the case of a women who suffered fifteen years of torment until Canon Rev. William H. Lendrum exorcised her home. Then, we’ll travel to Iowa to discuss one of the most well-documented exorcisms of the 20th century when Emma Schmidt began exhibiting symptoms of possession at the age of f...

Abandoned places can sometimes give off a spooky vibe thanks to empty hallways and large open spaces once filled with activity but are now eerily quiet. Imagine if those same spooky spaces were also haunted. Join us on this episode as we visit two such places. The first is the once abandoned houses that make up Heritage Square, a museum to the architecture of Southern California from 1850-1950. Many of the house at the museum are haunted, each with their own story to tell. The second is the abandoned Cherokee Hills Boy Scout Camp where shadows and a ghost...

Once again, we pack up the Ope, A Ghost van and head out on the road. This time, we’re headed to Eugene, Oregon. Located an hour from the coast and at the base of the Cascades, Eugene is chock full of haunted locations including cemeteries, theaters, parks, and haunted houses. Today we’ll explore the haunted South Eugene High School where a student fell to his death but his ghost lingers. Next, we’ll stop by the University of Oregon where several locations report all sorts of ghostly activity. Pack plenty of snacks and lets hit the road!
Duration: 00:43:00

Welcome to another Book Club Minisode! Today we discuss Steve Gonsalves’s A Life With Ghosts: True, Terrifying, and Insightful Tales From My Favorite Haunts. Gonsalves is most recognizable to fans from his work on the Travel Channel show Ghost Hunters. In A Life With Ghosts, Gonsalves shares some of his favorite large-scale investigations and personal experiences after investigating over 1000 locations for more than 20 years. The book gives readers insights into the locations, things you didn’t see on Ghost Hunters, and into Gonsalves himself. It’s a fun memoir, and we recommend reading it.

Get Steve’s book H...

In light of the UFO footage recently released by the government, we couldn’t possibly not do an episode on UFOs and aliens, so here it is. Out first story is about what has come to be known as the Averly Abduction. In 1974, an English family driving home after visiting a relative saw a strange light in the sky and soon found themselves driving through a green mist. Upon arriving home, they realized that the 20-minute drive had taken 3 hours. Next, we discuss the Ariel School sighting in Zimbabwe where 60 children between the ages of 6 and 12 witnessed a shiny di...

Welcome to our first Christmas Mini! As you might have guessed, what better way to celebrate the holiday than to discuss Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. First published in 1843, A Christmas Carol has mostly remained in publication ever since. Dickens is known as the “Father of the Modern Christmas” because before the book came out, things like caroling and decorating trees were not popular. Dickens changed all that by portraying Christmas as a time of goodwill and celebration that centered on the family and children. Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas!

A link to Jonathan's current Copy of the...

Libraries are some of the greatest places in the world. Where else can you check out books or DVDs and listen to story time? Some let you borrow things like basic tools or a telescope. Mine has a café and will loan you a fishing pole. Still, most libraries have thing you can’t take home like reference books or ghosts. Wait . . . did I just say ghosts? You bet I did—it’s a paranormal podcast after all. Bring your library card and join us as we roam the stacks of the cursed Peoria Public Library, and come help us find...

In the fall of 1967, the skies over Point Pleasant West Virginia were filled with strange lights and winged creatures with hypnotic glowing red eyes. The tall, grey man with wings would come to be known as Mothman. Though sightings go back long before the Point Pleasant story, recent sightings in Chicago, Indiana, and Michigan began in 2011. Could the Mothman’s presence be a portent of impending disaster? Only time will tell. 

YouTube: “Search for the Mothman (2002) John A Keel”

Get John Keel’s book The Mothman Prophecies

Mothman Museum

My favorite picture o...

Welcome to an Ope, A Ghost Book Club mini episode. In our second foray into fiction, we read Darcy Coates’s The Carrow Haunt (2018). Meet Remy, a period-dress tour guide of the historic and haunted Carrow House. Remy accepts a position as historian on a paranormal team funded by the enigmatic Mark who intends to investigate Carrow House. Remy and Mark are joined by a psychic, a ghost hunter, and Carrow’s wealthy teenaged owner. Written in the style of a classic cozy, The Carrow Haunt is as entertaining as it is mysterious. We can almost guarantee you won’t see...

What is it about famous people that draws us in? They sing our favorite songs, and they star in our favorite movies. Some fill us with nostalgia as we remember them from that show we used to watch, and so, we miss them when they’re gone. And yet, some never really leave. Come along on our very own ghostly walk of fame where celebrities linger long after the last curtain call. In this episode we look at four celebrities whose ghosts still enjoy the spotlight. We’ll start with the iconic Lucille Ball and Whitney Houston. Then, we’ll pay...

Welcome to the Crescent City, Pelican City, The Big Easy. Whatever you call it, New Orleans is full of spirit. No town can send the soul over the moon with jazz and Mardi Gras like NOLA, but some souls decided to stay. Enjoy an alligator sausage Po-Boy at the Napoleon House but keep an eye out for the sweeping lady. Visit the Pharmacy Museum where a murderous pharmacists may have killed some of his patients and buried them in the courtyard. You’ll love the snow white, antebellum mansion called the Mansion Magnolia and its ghostly children. Speaking of gh...

Welcome to a special Halloween episode. As were approach All Hallow’s Eve, we thought you might enjoy an episode dedicated to the history of Halloween and the ghost story. But that’s not all. If you ring our doorbell and say “Trick-or-Treat,” we’ll drop a few listening submitted paranormal experiences into your pumpkin. Thanks for listening and we hope you are having a wonderfully frightful spooky season!

History.com - halloween history

History.com - ghost story history

Saint Jospeh's University

Check out Technically A Conversation Podcast and follow them on In...

In 2009, moviegoers were enthralled and terrified by The Haunting in Connecticut. The
supernatural thriller was promoted as being “based on a true story.”  We wondered how much of the “true story” made it into the film? In this episode, we look at the movie, the 1992 book, and several interviews with the family to uncover what really happened at the former funeral home in Southington, CT. What did Hollywood get right, and what did they get wrong? The answer may be more terrifying than the movie could hope to be.

In a Dark Place by Carmen Reed, Al Snedek...

Nothing screams spooky season like a good old-fashioned haunted house. Come along as we uncover the bumps in the night and the ghostly visitors in two genuine haunted houses. First, we visit the Monroe House in Indiana, today more infamously known by its sinister nickname: the Demon House. Then we take a trip to a late 1700s farmhouse in Litchfield County, Connecticut where one resident has kept a diary documenting paranormal activity in the home for the last 50 years. As always, thanks for listening!

Buy your own copy of The Haunted House Diaries: The True Story of...

Welcome to another Ope, A Ghost Book Club. Today we look at Dr. Bruce Greyson’s After (2021). As cofounder of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Greyson has studied near-death experiences (NDEs) for 45 years. His book is loaded with the stories of those who experience NDEs. Just as interesting are the conclusions that Greyson makes based on four decades of research. The book is as thought provoking as it fascinating. Thanks for listening!

Link to buy After, on Amazon

You can also use this link to text us your story :)

If you have an...

When you hear the words Salem, Massachusetts, your mind undoubtedly goes to the Salem Witchcraft Trials and for good reason. Salem is steeped in history . . . and in hauntings.  In this episode, we visit the haunted Burying Point Cemetery and the adjacent Murphy’s Pub. We also stop by the mysterious Salem Inn and an eerie funeral home turned speakeasy turned liquor store named Bunghole Liquors. Thanks for joining us as we kick off the spooky season!

Ghost City Tours

Smithsonian Magazine

Murphys Pub

Bunghole Liquors

American Paranormal Magazine - nat...

It just so happens that the theater has been a place for entertainment for nearly as long as humanity has existed. It also just so happens that theaters are among the most haunted places you’ll ever visit. In this episode, we look at the NederlanderTheater in Chicago and a handful of haunted Broadway theaters. The moral of this story is to pay attention the next time you take in a play. That out of place character in the back may not be part of the production. Break a leg!

YouTube: “The Haunted Oriental Theater – short video (2:47)
Duration: 00:37:47

The list of cryptids is a mile long, but when it comes to the superstars, Bigfoot is the reigning champ. In this week’s episode, Jonathan visits a 1973 Bigfoot rash of sightings in Murphysboro, IL dubbed the Big Muddy Monster. Heaven takes us down the rabbit hole by discussing some of the more unique Sasquatch specimens. Ever hear of Sheep Squatch? You have now!

Big Muddy Monster Festival

Creature From Big Muddy: An Illinois Bigfoot Legend

Monsters of Illinois by Troy Taylor

Cryptids Fandom

You can also use this li...

On today’s Book Club Minisode we read T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead, a wonderful retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Kingfisher incorporates all the characters from Poe’s original to create a mesmerizing world that is both fascinating and nightmarish. Did we mention the hares? We think you’ll love this one!

T. Kingfisher website

Amazon link to buy What Moves the Dead 

You can also use this link to text us your story :)

If you have an experience, story, or anything else y...

What is it about dolls that creeps us out? Maybe it’s because they look a little too much like us. Maybe it’s because they were so real to us as children. Either way, when those dolls are haunted dolls, they become the stuff of nightmares. In this episode we visit two famous haunted dolls: Harold and Robert. Come play with us as we explore the history behind these legendary playthings. No tagbacks.

Harold the Haunted Doll  Book

Interview with Anthony

YouTube “The Untold Story of Robert the Doll - Florida” by Mystery A...

The things that went on at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York have become the stuff of legend. The Amityville story has spawned almost forty films and documentaries. The story begins on November 13, 1975 with the murder of the DeFeo family and ends on January 13, 1976 with the Lutz family fleeing in terror. What really happened that caused a family to flee their home after only twenty-eight days? How accurate is the 1977 book by Jay Anson? Did the movie overdramatize the haunting? In this episode, we attempt to answer these questions by looking at what the book and movies say compared...

Hospitals and asylums seem to be among the most haunted of all places. In this episode we explore one of each: Spencer State Hospital and the Old South Pittsburg Hospital. Spencer State, one of over 300 Kirkbride buildings in the nation at the time, began as an overflow for what is now known as the Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum. The Old South Pittsburg Hospital was abandoned because of a need for a larger facility, but rumors and legends live on though many of them are untrue. Join us as we roam the haunted halls and explore the past.  

Inside H...

This week's mini book club episode is about A Natural History of Ghosts - 500 Years of Hunting for Proof by: Roger Clarke 
If you read along, visit our Instagram page or Facebook group and let us know what you thought of the book!
Thanks for listening!

You can also use this link to text us your story :)

If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at Opeaghost@gmail.com You can also follow us on Instagram, Join our Facebook group : O...

We recently conducted a poll on our social media sites asking what you would like us to cover in an episode. As luck would have it, there was a tie. This episode is one of the two winners. We’ll get to the other winning topic next time, so you won’t have to wait long. Thank you to all who voted!

Haunted house? Yup, heard of those. Haunted cemetery? Still, yup. But wait! Have you heard of a haunted boat or ship? In this episode, we welcome you aboard to discuss Ghost Ships. Find your way to t...

Welcome to another dive down the paranormal rabbit hole where answers are vague at best but mostly raise more questions. That’s where we live. We confront the enigmas and the mysteries of the paranormal so we might better understand, inform, and maybe even entertain. Sit back, dim the lights, and enjoy!

In this episode, we discuss the mystery of Shadow People. Have you every woke from a dream to find the nightmare standing in the corner of your bedroom, a distinctly human-shaped shadow lurking in the darkness but it’s impossibly darker than the darkness around it...

In the early 1960s, the bayous of Southern Louisiana became the home of the Honey Island Swamp Monster. According to local lore, this foul-smelling, grey-haired beast is a part alligator / part monkey hybrid that splashed through the swamp leaving behind mysterious three-toed footprints. A decade later in Central Illinois, the area around Lawndale hosted an outbreak of Thunderbird sightings. In one incident, a giant bird attempted to fly away with a ten-year-old boy in its talons! We hope you enjoy our very first cryptid episode.

The Legend of the Honey Island Swamp Monster at Pelican State...