High Spirits Chicago

Episode 61: Eastern State Penitentiary

Jay walks us through Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This story contains:

1. Operation dates of the prison were 1829 - 1971! (Resonant energy!)

2. The prison followed the “Pennsylvania System” of rehabilitation. (Woops! Solitary confinement!)

3. Prisoners were tortured. (Waterboarding! Iron gags! The Hole!)

4. The prison was designed for 250 occupants. (At its most populated, there were 1,800 people in residence!)

5. When Al Capone was a prisoner there – he saw the ghost of James Clark. (Clark died in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 60: Villisca Ax Murders

Noelle walks us through the Villisca Ax Murders that occurred in 1912 in Villisca, Iowa!

This story contains:

1. Murder in Iowa! (8 victims!)

2. Unsolved Crime! (So many suspects!)

3. Serial Killer? (Maybe?)

4. Robert Laursen Jr, paranormal investigator, stabbed himself in the chest when he investigated the house! (Wowza.)

5. Hauntings: footsteps, fog, children’s voices! (There’s a ghost tour! YOU can spend the night there for the small sum of $428! Tell us how your visit went.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 59: Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

Jay walks us through the story of Louisiana Voodoo – and Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.

This story contains:

1. Why do people misunderstand Voodoo? (Racism!)

2. Those who practice Voodoo believe that there is a visible and an invisible world, and that these worlds are intertwined. (Interesting!)

3. Slaves were forced to become Catholic and were orally taught the faith. (The slaves found parallels in their own belief systems.)

4. Marie Catherine Laveau: 1801–1881. (The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans!)

5. Marie Laveau lived an amazing life! (She was so famous, that the New York Times ran her Obituary on June 23, 1881!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 58: Krampus

Noelle walks us through Christmas Legend and scary freak: Krampus!

This story contains:

1. Krampus comes from the German word: Krampen. (That means CLAWED!)

2. Krampus is a half-goat/half-demon who punishes bad kiddos! (Merry Christmas!)

3. Krampus has fangs and thrashes about with his chains. (Hawt, right?)

4. Krampusnacht is on December 5th! (On the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas.)

5. It’s customary to offer a Krampus schnapps called Krampuslauf! (Dude. What’s Krampusnacht without Krampuslauf?)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 57: Wendigo and Native Legends

Noelle walks us through the Native American Legend of the Wendigo.

This story contains:

1. Wendigo. (A native cannibal spirit of the Great Lakes!)

2. Wendigo’s are gaunt with glowing eyes! (Charlize Theron!)

3. Wendigo Fever. (It’s serious – just take two aspirin.)

4. Wendigo Psychosis! (It VERY medical!)

5. Flying native heads! (This Thanksgiving, be sure to think about our natives.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 56: Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan

Jay walks us through Anton LaVey, the Church of Satan, and all sorts of magic and weirdness.

This story contains:

1. Anton LaVey. (Formerly, Howard Stanton Levey from Chicago!)

2. LaVey developed the Church of Satan! (The Satanic Bible has been in print since 1969!)

3. LaVey's understanding of magic was influenced by the British occultist: Aleister Crowley. (Mhm.)

4. LaVeyan Satanism! (They don’t really believe in Satan-Satan – it’s a metaphor!)

5. There are some famous Satanists – that’s fun! (Liberace, Sammy Davis, Jr,. Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Manson!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 55: Ghost Kids

Noelle walks us through her least favorite type of ghost: GHOST KIDS.

This story contains:

1. Ghost cats! (Noelle promises a whole episode on GHOAST CATS!)

2. Ghost kids! (The creepiest kind of ghost.)

3. Ghost Boy Bridge! (That’s not a nice name for that!)

4. The Radiant Boys! (Boys murdered by their mothers, not the Cabaret coming to a black box near you!)

5. Ghosts kids who try to save cars from trains! (You know they’ve helped, because they left finger prints on your bumper! THANKS, GHOST KIDS!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 54: Urban Legends of Halloween

Jay walks us through the classic Urban Legends of Halloween.

This story contains:

1. The Origin of Samhain. (That’s pronounced “Sow-win”!)

2. Urban Legends! (THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO YOUR COUSIN!)

3. Candy Tampering! (Tylenol and razor blades)

4. Hallucinogenic Tattoos! (Like laced candy – but, on your skin!)

5. Kidney heists (And more true stories THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO YOUR COUSIN!)

Episode 53: The Haunting of the Perron Family

Noelle walks us through the haunting of the Perron family – the inspiration for the film “The Conjuring.”

This story contains:

1. The Perron Family. (Haunted house!)

2. Ghosts! Demons! Things that go bump in the night! (Boooooooooooo!)

3. Daughters! (Poltergeist?)

4. Ed and Loraine Warren! (They’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!)

5. See “The Conjuring”! (Or don’t. Doesn’t matter to us!)

Episode 52: Father Muldoon

Jay and Noelle call up David Roccco Facchini - who walks us through his father’s life / ghost story.

This story contains:

1. A haunted church. (Haunted!)

2. A good man! (Back down, ye hypocrites!)

3. Poverty. Crime. Politics. Scandal! (Cool stories from David!)

4. The Catholic Church! (Ghosts! Ghosts! Ghosts!)

5. A book!

Get your book at: https://www.amazon.com/Muldoon-True-Chicago-Ghost-Story/dp/1893121240

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.