In the summer of 1916, Americans were just beginning to fall in love with the Jersey Shore—and most had little reason to fear what was swimming beneath the surface.

Then, over twelve terrifying days, five people were attacked by sharks and four were killed. What began in the surf at popular seaside resorts took an almost unbelievable turn when the attacks moved inland to the narrow waters of Matawan Creek.

Ashley and Lanie travel back to the summer that changed America’s relationship with sharks: from the first attacks and the strange theories used to explain them, to the panic and shark hunts that followed. They explore the mystery of what species was responsible, why the attacks may have happened, and how the events of 1916 helped create the fear that would later become synonymous with Jaws.

Sources:

Smithsonian Magazine, “The Shark Attacks That Were the Inspiration for Jaws”: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-shark-attacks-that-were-the-inspiration-for-jaws-15220260/ — Detailed overview of the 1916 attacks, public panic, turtle theory, shark hunt, and the event’s cultural link to Jaws.[smithsonianmag]

• National Geographic, “2 Weeks, 4 Deaths, and the Start of America’s Fear of Sharks”: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/150702-shark-attack-jersey-shore-1916-great-white — Strong historical context on the victims and how the attacks transformed public attitudes toward sharks.[nationalgeographic]

• Borough of Matawan, “History Matawan Shark Attacks”: https://www.matawanborough.com/matawan/History/Matawan%20Shark%20Attacks/The%20(World%20Famous)%20Matawan%20Shark%20Page!.html/_top — Local historical account of the July 12 Matawan Creek attacks involving Lester Stillwell, Stanley Fisher, and Joseph Dunn.[matawanborough]

• Borough of Matawan, “Excerpt from Sharks: Silent Hunters of the Deep”: https://www.matawanborough.com/matawan/Our%20COMMUNITY/History%20of%20Matawan/Matawan%20Shark%20Attacks/Excerpt%20from%20’Sharks%20-%20Silent%20Hunters%20of%20the%20Deep’.html/_top — Additional local chronology covering Charles Vansant at Beach Haven and Charles Bruder at Spring Lake.[matawanborough]

• Monmouth Timeline, “The Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916”: https://monmouthtimeline.org/timeline/the-jersey-shore-shark-attacks-of-1916/ — Concise regional timeline of the events, especially the Matawan Creek portion.[monmouthtimeline]

Dow Hill Forest sits high in the mist-covered hills of West Bengal, India—a place surrounded by tea gardens, colonial history, and generations of unsettling folklore. In this episode of Haunted Real Estate, Ashley shares her own experience traveling through nearby Darjeeling before heading into the history and legends of Dow Hill. From the still-operating Victoria Boys’ School and the infamous stretch known as “Death Road” to unexplained footsteps, voices in empty corridors, and the chilling legend of a headless boy seen disappearing into the forest, we explore how one beautiful Himalayan landscape became known as one of India’s most haunted places—and where documented history ends and folklore begins.

Sources:

This episode combines documented institutional history with local folklore and reported paranormal claims. Accounts of ghosts, apparitions, unexplained deaths, executions, and specific sightings are presented as legend, visitor testimony, or popular folklore—not verified historical fact. Several online sources repeat unverified claims, so they should not be cited as proof of a particular death, crime, or haunting.

1. Victoria Boys’ School, Kurseong — Official school history

West Bengal School Education Department / Banglar Shiksha

https://school.banglarshiksha.gov.in/ws/website/history/19013900102

1. India Today — “I visited Dow Hill, India’s most haunted hill forest. And then, something happened.” Published December 13, 2025https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/travel/story/i-visited-dow-hill-indias-most-haunted-hill-forest-and-then-something-happened-2835035-2025-12-13
2. Tripoto — “This Place Is Called India’s Most Haunted Hill Station: Here’s Why” Published November 3, 2016 https://www.tripoto.com/trip/this-place-is-called-india-s-most-haunted-hill-station-here-s-why-5bc04a9e3c14b
3. Indian Paranormal Society — “Dow Hill Haunted Kurseong — 7 Chilling Facts Analysed” Published May 26, 2026 https://blog.indianparanormalsociety.in/dow-hill-haunted-kurseong/
4. Tripadvisor — Dow Hill attraction listing https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g304557-d3187507-Reviews-Dow_Hill-Darjeeling_Darjeeling_District_West_Bengal.html

Disclaimer: Paranormal experiences described in this episode are local legends, witness accounts, and popular folklore. They are included for historical and cultural storytelling purposes and are not presented as verified supernatural events.

Just northeast of London lies Epping Forest—a vast stretch of ancient woodland covering nearly 6,000 acres. By day, it's a peaceful escape where families hike winding trails, cyclists weave beneath towering oaks, and picnickers gather in quiet clearings.

But when darkness falls, the forest tells a very different story.

Sources:

The Endless Hauntings of Epping Forest in England - Moon Mausoleum

Dick Turpin - British Folklore

In this Independence Day episode of Haunted Real Estate, we explore the haunted history of three American landmarks: the Liberty Bell, Mount Vernon, and Valley Forge. From phantom bell tones and reported sightings of George Washington’s spirit, to the quiet weight of the enslaved community at Mount Vernon and the echoes of soldiers at Valley Forge, this episode honors the sacrifice, complexity, and unfinished promises woven into America’s fight for freedom.

Sources

• National Park Service – Independence National Historical Park (Liberty Bell and Independence Hall history and interpretation).

• “Liberty Bell” reference entry (manufacture, cracking timeline, and later symbolism).

• George Washington’s Mount Vernon – official ghost stories, Josiah Quincy III account, enslaved labor and slave memorial materials.

• Valley Forge National Historical Park – official history of the 1777–1778 encampment, reconstructed huts, Washington Memorial Chapel, and Justice Bell.

• Paranormal and historical articles on Revolutionary War hauntings and Mount Vernon / Valley Forge ghost lore.

Historical and folklore details are based on publicly available materials from the National Park Service, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and other reference works; all rights remain with the original publishers.

Guests have reported hearing phantom footsteps, seeing ghostly figures wandering the halls, and even discovering mysterious handprints that appear on mirrors without explanation.

This is the chilling story of Myrtles Plantation.

Sources:

Myrtles Plantation, America's 'Most Haunted House'

In 1950, San Francisco residents went about their normal lives — walking to work, sending kids to school, opening their windows, and breathing in the city’s famous fog — with no idea they had become part of a classified military experiment.

As part of Operation Sea-Spray, the U.S. Navy released bacteria off the coast of San Francisco to study how a biological attack might spread through an American city. The public was never warned. The test remained classified for decades. And shortly afterward, a rare cluster of infections appeared at a local hospital.

In this episode of Haunted Real Estate, Ashley introduces a new series on documented government experiments and explores the unsettling history of Operation Sea-Spray — a story about secrecy, consent, Cold War fear, and how a place can be haunted by decisions that were very, very real.

Sources:

National Academies, CDC, US Army and Senate testimony on open‑air biowarfare tests; reporting from KQED, Smithsonian Magazine, PBS American Experience; historical materials on Ohlone land and Mission San Francisco de Asís from NPS and Muwekma Ohlone sources.

In 1838 William Lemp, a German immigrant built a brewery in St. Louis. That decision didn’t just change his life—it helped launch an entire industry. This is the story of his family and how they fared in the 1900s. And it’s a doozy.

Sources:

The Ghosts of the Infamous Lemp Mansion | St. Louis's Most Haunted | Ghost City Tours | Ghost City Tours

History of The Lemp Mansion // St. Louis, Missouri, 63118 // 314-664-8024 // St. Louis Restaurant / St. Louis Inn / Lemp Museum / Lemp Gift Shop / Lemp Mansion Banquets / Lemp Mansion Weddings / St. Louis Event Venue / Lemp Mansion Trivia Night / Is Lemp Mansion Haunted / St. Louis Halloween/ World Famous Sunday Chicken Dinner / Lemp Experience / Mystery Dinner

https://americanghoststories.com/mid-west-ghost-stories/missouri/the-haunting-whispers-of-lemp-mansion-st-louis-mo

Galveston, Texas is known for beach weekends, ghost tours, seafood, and historic homes — but beneath the charm is one of the darkest chapters in American history. In this episode, Ashley and Lanie tell the story of the Great Storm of 1900, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, and explore how the tragedy shaped the island’s history, hauntings, and resilience.

Sources:

Galveston and Texas History Center / Rosenberg Library (1900 Storm archives and oral histories); National Weather Service Heritage records; National Park Service; American Society of Civil Engineers historical records on the Galveston Seawall; NOAA VLab; Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective; Ghost City Tours; Grand Galvez official ghost tour records; ABC13 Houston; Houstonia Magazine; Visit Galveston. The Library of Congress

In this eerie episode, we dive into the legend of La Llorona, tracing her origins from ancient Aztec folklore to the chilling stories still told today. From myth to modern sightings, we explore how her story has evolved across generations—and why her haunting cry continues to echo through cultures, rivers, and history.

Sources:

Further Reading & Sources – La Llorona

Core Background

• Britannica – “La Llorona | Legend, Myth, Story, Folklore, History, & Facts”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/La-Llorona

• Library of Congress – “La Llorona: An Introduction to the Weeping Woman”

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/10/la-llorona-an-introduction-to-the-weeping-woman/

Origins & Variants

• Library of Congress – “La Llorona: Roots, Branches, and the Missing Link from Spain”

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/10/la-llorona-roots-branches-and-the-missing-link-from-spain/

• Multo (Ghost) – “The Many Origins of La Llorona”

https://multoghost.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/the-many-origins-of-la-llorona/

• EBSCO Research Starters – “La Llorona (‘The Weeping Woman’)”

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/la-llorona-weeping-woman

Water, Landscape, and Xochimilco

• Wikipedia – “Lake Texcoco”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Texcoco

• Wikipedia – “Xochimilco”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochimilco

• Wikipedia – “Island of the Dolls”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_the_Dolls

Borderlands & Regional Lore

• History in Santa Fe – “La Llorona”

https://historyinsantafe.com/la-llorona-legend/

• KSAT – “South Texas Haunted Folklore: The Tale of La Llorona”

https://www.ksat.com/sa-live/2017/10/23/south-texas-haunted-folklore-the-tale-of-la-llorona/

Interpretation & Scholarship

• Camille Maria Acosta – “La Llorona, Picante Pero Sabroso: The Mexican Horror Legend as a Story of Survival and a Reclamation of the Monster”

https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3501/

• JARM – “Echoes in the Water: La Llorona, Folklore, and the Sacred”

https://jarm.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jarm/article/view/40756

In this episode of Haunted Real Estate, Ashley and Lanie takes you to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, into the fiery domain of Pele — goddess of volcanoes, creator and destroyer of the Big Island. We trace the land’s deep Indigenous history, from ahupuaʻa stewardship and sacred offerings at Halemaʻumaʻu to the Great Māhele and the arrival of western concepts of “ownership.” Along the way, you’ll hear the legend of Pele, the lovers ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua, battlefield footprints frozen in ash, and modern stories of hitchhiking goddesses, a mysterious white dog, and tourists desperate to mail lava rocks back to the island. We’ll walk through what happens when homes are built in lava zones like Royal Gardens, Kalapana, and Leilani Estates — and what it really means to claim a deed on land that many believe still belongs to Pele.

Sources

Pele legends, genealogy, and Halemaʻumaʻu as her home: cultural overviews and retellings of Pele’s moʻolelo and ʻŌhiʻa–Lehua stories.[wikipedia +3]

Indigenous history, ahupuaʻa system, and mālama ʻāina: Native Hawaiian–authored descriptions of traditional land management and the Great Māhele’s impact on land tenure.[rvshare +4]

Kīlauea history, 1790 footprints, and early visitors: USGS and NPS materials on Ellis’s 1823 account, Kapiʻolani’s 1824 visit, and the Keonehelelei footprints.[usgs +6]

Park creation and major eruptions: NPS and USGS histories of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Royal Gardens, Kalapana, and the 2018 lower Puna eruption.[wikipedia +11]

Pele’s Curse and returned lava: discussions of the modern curse legend, origin stories, and apology letters from tourists returning rocks.[wikipedia +3]

Pele sightings, hitchhiker stories, and white dog: Hawaiʻi folklore collections, Mysteries of Hawaiʻi narratives, and local urban‑legend summaries.[mysteries-of-hawaii +3]

Lava zones, real estate risk, and geothermal conflict: analyses of Big Island lava‑zone mapping, property and insurance issues, and Pele Defense Fund materials.[hpahomes +4]