Category Archives: Special

HGB Haunted Circus Mini-Series, Ep. 4 – Ringlings in Florida

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Florida would become the final home for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. John Ringling would be the final surviving brother of the five who built the circus. He would build his mansion in Sarasota and call it Ca’d’Zan. John would also build a museum for his art collection. This whole complex would eventually house the Circus Museum as well. Several buildings here and other locations connected to the Ringlings are rumored to be haunted. Join us on our final episode of the Haunted Circus Mini-Series as we talk about the Ringlings in Florida.

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HGB Haunted Circus Mini-Series, Ep. 3: Ringlings in Wisconsin

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Baraboo, Wisconsin was home for the Ringling family and it would become the winter quarters for the circus that the Ringling brothers would found. The Ringling Bros. Circus would start as a basic dog-and-pony show and grow into the most famous circus in the world. The eldest brother that lead the family down this path was Albert and he built his gorgeous mansion in Baraboo that is now a museum, bed & breakfast and brewery. The mansion is not only home to some former members of the circus, but there are reputedly several ghosts here. Join us as we explore the remnants of the circus still in Baraboo and the Al Ringling Mansion as we are joined by the current owners of the mansion, Joe and Carmen Colossa and Don Horowitz.

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HGB Haunted Circus Mini-Series, Ep. 2 – The Performers

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On this second episode in our series on the Haunted Circus, we are going to feature the circus family, the performers. We’ll talk about the lives of some of the more popular circus performers and the different acts that became world famous. As you learned in episode 1, the traveling circus relied heavily on trains and there were two tragic train wrecks we will share. These were the Hallenbeck-Wallace Train Wreck and 1915 Circus Train Disaster. And they may have left behind spirits!

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HGB Haunted Circus Mini-Series, Ep. 1 – History of the Circus

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This is our first episode of a four episode mini-series on the Haunted Circus. The circus was loud and colorful, but most of all, it was magical. The circus was for everyone, regardless of class or race, whether it was as a performer, worker or guest. The circus was a beautiful show, full of energy, and some of that energy continues on in the afterlife. Join us on this first episode in the Haunted Circus Mini-series as we cover an overview of the history of the circus and discuss one of the biggest tragedies in circus history, the Hartford Circus Fire, and share the haunts connected to that event.

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Yule, Ep. 319

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We mentioned Yule briefly in the History Goes Bump Christmas Special in 2015, but we’ve never just focused on this set of beliefs, practices and traditions. On this episode we are going to peer into the darkness to find the light that will lead us into Spring. Because that is really what Yule is about for most people that observe it. This is an opportunity to take the time during the darkest part of the year and focus on the end of the year and what the future holds and to prepare for the rebirth that Spring brings. This is also a festival of rituals for which much of the traditions and practices of Christmas are rooted. Join us as we explore Yule! The Moment in Oddity was suggested by Mitch Riggs and features A Fateful Pair of Shoes and This Month in History features Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first flight.

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HGB Halloween Special 2019

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Kelly joins me on this Halloween Special for 2019 and we share an overview of the history of paranormal television in the United States. My love for Halloween and creepy stuff comes from the stuff I watched on television when I was a kid. I cut my teeth on reruns of the Twilight Zone and watching the classic Universal Monster Movies. But what got me checking out the weird books from the library were the paranormal based television shows and I continue to binge on them as an adult. This won’t be exhaustive, but will touch on our favorites. Then we are joined by author Kevin Killen to discuss his book Ghosts and Me and then we share listener stories of the unexplained! Happy Halloween!

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HGB Anniversary Special 2019

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History Goes Bump turns 5 today! That is five years of Moments in Oddity, This Month in Histories and haunted history. We’ve produced 350 episodes with over 4 million downloads and entertained while educating. But HGB isn’t just about the production. It’s about the community of listeners that have gathered around this little indie podcast and built it into a success. So, as we’ve done for the last three anniversary shows, this anniversary special features a Flash Fiction contest with stories by our listeners. We have our three winners and two runner-ups to share. Thanks for the listens!

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HGB Halloween Special 2018

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The annual HGB Halloween Special is here featuring paranormal experiences by fellow listeners. We have many spine-tingling tales that will cause the casual skeptic to take notice. And since this is a history podcast, you just know we needed to add in a little bit of that. So we talk about the history of haunted house attractions. I’m joined on this episode by our Spooktacular Crew Admin, Kelly!

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HGB Anniversary Special 2018

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The History Goes Bump Podcast celebrates its four year anniversary today! We’ve explored a couple hundred haunted locations, looked at the lives and afterlives of several famous people, marveled at legends, shared road trips and hosted specials. And there is so much more to come! On this anniversary special, we share the two runner-ups and three winners in our flash fiction contest, thank a bunch of people and Diane talks about the big change that came to HGB this year as she took the show solo! Thank you to all the listeners and if you want to help us celebrate, please share the podcast!

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Christmas Eve Live 2017

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Every Christmas Eve we follow the tradition of telling scary ghost stories around the fire. This is the audio from our live stream, unedited and lots of fun! So if you weren’t able to join us at Facebook or YouTube for the live stream, you haven’t missed it completely. We share listener’s flash fiction and a story by Vonnie Winslow Crist, “The Return of Gunnar Kettilson.” Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!!

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