High Spirits Chicago

Episode 41: The Amityville Horror Part III

Jay and Noelle talk us through the Amityville controversies.

This story contains:

1. Author Jay Anson never met the Lutzes. (He wrote his book off of 45 Hours of audio tape!)

2. In the late 1970s, Father Pecoraro stated in an affidavit that his only contact with the Lutzes concerning the matter had been by telephone. (Priests don’t lie!)

3. The owners who moved in just after the Luztes - Jim and Barbara Cromarty - say nothin’ happened. (Red Room was just tacky!)

4. In May 1977, George and Kathy Lutz filed a lawsuit - $4.5 million - against Hearst. (They lost!)

5. 20 days after the Lutz's fled, Marvin Scott - a news reporter with channel 5 NY - called in Ed and Lorraine Warren. (And, the Amityville Horror became famous forever.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 40: The Amityville Horror Part II

Jay walks us through the terrifying 28 days the Lutzes Lived in the Amityville Horror house.

This story contains:

1. George, Kathleen, and their 3 kid’s move into 112 Ocean Avenue just 13 months after the DeFeo murders. ($80,000!)

2. The House itself seems possessed. (Flies, poop smells, and a spinning crucifix!)

3. 5 year old Missy Lutz makes an imaginary friend. (A demon pig!)

4. Kathy has nightmares and ghostly experiences. (The sewing room is not a nice place!)

5. George Lutz experiences ALL of the experiences. (Effed up sleep patterns, attacks by ceramic lions, and the possibility that he himself may be turning into Ronnie DeFeo, Jr.!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 39: The Amityville Horror Part 1

Noelle walks us through the beginnings of the Amityville Horror: The DeFeos.

This story contains:

1. Ron DeFeo, Sr. moves his family to 112 Ocean Avenue. (Sounds nice!)

2. Ronnie DeFeo, Jr. (Butch) has a tough childhood. (Mean Dad!)

3. Butch gets in trouble, then gets the rich kid treatment. (Boat!)

4. Butch gets a drug problem and a stealing problem. (Uh oh!)

5. On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shoots and kills six members of his family. (It took 15 minutes – and the strangeness of it all still baffles experts!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 38: Aleister Crowley

Jay walks us through Occult Grand Master: Aleister Crowley.

This story contains:

1. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. (Esoteric organization!)

2. Crowley outlined three forms of sex magick — the autoerotic, homosexual, and heterosexual. (Yes. There will be sex!)

3. Crowley defined Magick as "the Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will." (Magic with a K!)

4. Thelema has been described as magico-religious doctrine: a form of esotericism and modern Paganism. (New Age!)

5. Spying, weirdness, and Jack the Ripper. (Come for the sex, stay for the magick!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 37: Pierce Haunted Mansion

Noelle walks us through the ghosts and hauntings of the Pierce Mansion - Westminster, MA.

This story contains:

1. 26 rooms, 10 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 6,661 square feet, and a full servant wing. (BIG!)

2. Took over 100 men over a year and a half to build. (Haunted construction workers?)

3. Calvin Coolidge, Bette Davis, and Minnesota Fats haunt here. (Illuminati?)

4. This place is haunted! (Ghosts include: A boy, a prostitute, an a-hole who killed a prostitute, and more!)

5. The house now belongs to an HAUNT-repreneur. (How fun! Go there!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 36: The Ghosts of Salem, MA

Jay walks us through the ghosts (and witch trials) of Salem, Massachusetts.

This story contains:

1. Religious zealotry. (And, perhaps a little Ergot poisoning!)

2. The Salem Witch Trials 1692. (20 people murdered by local authorities!)

3. Bridget Bishop – executed June 10, 1692. (The first executed. She’s a ghost!)

4. Correction corner: Judge HATHORN. (Jay makes a mistake!)

5. SHERIFF Corwin. (Oops! Judge Hathorne. Sheriff Corwin.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 35: A Trio of Japanese Ghosts

Noelle walks us through three famous ghosts from Japanese lore.

This story contains:

1. Yūrei are Japanese ghosts. (High Spirits goes International!)

2. Yūrei consists of two kanji: (yū), meaning "faint" and (rei), and meaning “spirit”. (Neat!)

3. The Slit-Mouthed Woman: Kuchisakeon'na. (The only time it’s OK to tell a woman she’s average!)

4. The Snow Ghost: Yuki-onna. (She’s pretty – but she will get YOU!)

5. Hunger Gods: Hidarugami. (Put rice in your pocket!)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 34: The Great Chicago Fire

Jay walks us through the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871.

This story contains:

1. From July 4 to October 9 1871, Chicago got only 1 inch of rain. (Severe drought conditions!)

2. More than two thirds of the structures in Chicago in 1871 were made entirely of wood. (So were the streets! And sidewalks!)

3. The fire burned from October 8 to October 10, 1871. (That’s a long time!)

4. The fire killed 300 people. (That number could be higher.)

5. Of the 300,000 inhabitants in Chicago in 1871, 100,000 were left homeless – and more than 17,000 structures were destroyed. (The damage is estimated at $222 million.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 33: Slender Man

Noelle walks us through the Slender Man story.

This story contains:

1. An Internet Sensation (Created by Eric Knudsen.)

2. Slender Man (Skinny dude from the woods.)

3. Jeff the Killer and Ted the Caver (Creepypasta characters.)

4. Slender Man’s Ties to Folk Lore (Der Grossman.)

5. Tweens try to sacrifice a friend to Slender Man (The Internet is scary. Watch your kids.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.

Episode 32: American Airlines Flight 191

Jay walks us through the plane crash of American Airlines Flight 191.

This story contains:

1. May 25, 1979 (A perfect day to fly.)

2. Flight 191 crashes moments after take-off from O’Hare (Fatalities: 275.)

3. First responders are traumatized (One says the accident site feels like “walking into a sea of death.”)

4. A Haunted Trailer Park (Ghosts of Flight 191 seek help from near-by residents.)

5. True Crime: The Murder of Diane Chorba (Her boyfriend said she died on Flight 191. She didn’t.)

Sweet Dreams XOXOZzzz.