Monthly Archives: September 2016

Hotel Galvez, Ep. 151

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Galveston Island is a beautiful setting on the Gulf side of the state of Texas, south of Houston. People flock here as a vacation destination. The island was originally settled by Native Americans and then explorers came who set down roots. The city of Galveston was chartered in 1839 and the rich came to build their mansions along Broadway. The city grew to be one of the largest in Texas in the late 1800s. This would all change with the Great Storm that hit on September 8, 1900. Thousands were killed by the hurricane and two thirds of businesses and homes were destroyed. Bodies were buried quickly wherever a spot could be found. The aftermaths of this storm and the countless bodies buried beneath the island seem to have opened a portal into the afterlife. Galveston is quite haunted. Many locations on the island claim to have ghosts. Historical Researcher and Author Kathleen Shanahan Maca has just published “Ghosts of Galveston” and she is going to share the history and hauntings of Hotel Galvez. The Moment in Oddity features The Petrifying Well of Knaresborough and This Day in History features Spanish Flu Hits Philadelphia. We also have the third installment from Series 3 of Tim Prasil’s Spectral Edition!

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St. James Hotel, Ep. 150

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When one thinks of the Old West in America, cowboys and Native Americans, along with all varieties of gunslingers from sheriffs to outlaws come to mind. It was a time when a man could die in the streets with his boots on or at the poker table holding the Dead Man’s Hand: a pair of aces and a pair of eights, all black. Cimarron, New Mexico was in the middle of all this and the St. James Hotel built there in 1872, exudes the faded Wild West. This was a wild town that played host to a veritable who’s who of old west gunmen, lawmen, gangs and famous performers like Buffalo Bill Cody. The hotel itself was witness to at least twenty-six deaths. And now the hotel seems to be playing host to spirits. The hotel is reputed to be quite haunted with at least seven identified spirits. Our listener Richard Cutshall has stayed there and hunted for some of those ghosts. Join us as we share the history and hauntings of the St. James Hotel! The Moment in Oddity was suggested by listener Jill Phenix and features Daisy and Violet Hilton and This Day in History – The Beast of Gévaudan Killed by Antoine de Beauterne.

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Ghost Lights: Bragg Light Road and Paulding Light, Ep. 149

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There are desolate roads in America that inspire sweaty palms, goosebumps and fuel the imagination with images straight out of a horror flick. These are roads where no sane person would want to have a breakdown in a car occur. Some of these roads have inspired tales of ghost lights. These are lights that seem to move of their own accord, always staying just out of reach. Legends have spawned about headless ghosts swinging lanterns as they search for their heads. Some people believe that these lights could be attributed to UFO activity. The Bragg Light in Texas and the Paulding Light in Michigan, are two of these ghost lights. The roads where they are seen are walled by thick forests. Both have haunting tales that claim that a ghost or possibly something worse, are responsible for the lights. And both have had skeptics claim that it is nothing more than swamp gas or light reflecting from something else. Are these natural phenomenon or is something supernatural going on here? Join us and our special guest, listener Summer White, as we explore the history and haunting of these ghost lights! The Moment in Oddity was suggested by Bob Sherfield and features the Ma’nene Festival in Indonesia and This Day in History features the Okeechobee Hurricane in Florida. Our show topic was suggested by listener Summer White.

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Vicary Mansion and Legends of Beaver County

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Freedom, Pennsylvania has the Ohio River flowing next to it and on a hill above the river stands a mansion built by Captain William Vicary. The mansion was built in a unique style and has stood on this spot since 1826. The home remained in the family for nearly one hundred years and was saved from demolition by the Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation. Today, it is a museum that can be toured. The Foundation claims there are no ghosts at this location, but rumors and legends claim there is some kind of activity that is unexplained happening at the mansion. And Beaver County, where the mansion is located has many legends of its own. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of the Vicary Mansion and explore the legends of Beaver County! The Moment in Oddity features Herophilus vivisecting live humans and This Day in History features the Massacre at Drogheda. Our location was suggested by listener Heather Marie!

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Shanghai Tunnels, Ep. 147

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Portland, Oregon was known in Victorian times as the “City of Roses” and it has retained that nickname for over a century. The Portland Underground is known more readily as the Shanghai Tunnels. These tunnels that snaked through what is today Old Town and Chinatown, were used for practical business purposes, but they also serviced the seedy side of things in the city. Some parts of these tunnels can still be accessed today and they reveal a dark, cob-webbed maze that one would not want to enter without a strong flashlight and a good guide. Spirits are reputed to lurk here. Is it because men and women were carried off for human slavery operations through these tunnels? Was it the era of Prohibition that has led to spectral activity? Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of the Shanghai Tunnels! The Moment in Oddity was suggested by Corbin and features an Indonesian man who is 145-years-old and This Day in History features President McKinley being mortally wounded. Our location was suggested by listeners C. Laurel Boaz, Lisa Lindermann and Michelle Vaugh.

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