Ope, A Ghost

Hospitals and asylums seem to be among the most haunted of all places. In this episode we explore one of each: Spencer State Hospital and the Old South Pittsburg Hospital. Spencer State, one of over 300 Kirkbride buildings in the nation at the time, began as an overflow for what is now known as the Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum. The Old South Pittsburg Hospital was abandoned because of a need for a larger facility, but rumors and legends live on though many of them are untrue. Join us as we roam the haunted halls and explore the past.  

Inside Haunted Spencer State Hospital by George Dudding.

Kirkbride Buildings History

The Haunted Old South Pittsburg Hospital Paranormal Research Center

Richard Estep - website and link to purchase his books. 

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Toodles!

This week's mini book club episode is about A Natural History of Ghosts - 500 Years of Hunting for Proof by: Roger Clarke 
If you read along, visit our Instagram page or Facebook group and let us know what you thought of the book!
Thanks for listening!

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If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

We recently conducted a poll on our social media sites asking what you would like us to cover in an episode. As luck would have it, there was a tie. This episode is one of the two winners. We’ll get to the other winning topic next time, so you won’t have to wait long. Thank you to all who voted!

Haunted house? Yup, heard of those. Haunted cemetery? Still, yup. But wait! Have you heard of a haunted boat or ship? In this episode, we welcome you aboard to discuss Ghost Ships. Find your way to the Lido Deck for shuffle board, or join us below deck in the Ope, a Ghost Theater for ghostly tales about ships that mysteriously went missing and were later found abandoned, a story about a real phantom ship, and accounts of specters aboard popular cruise lines. To sweeten
the deal, we’ll include a link to nine ships that you can go visit!

“Boo! 9 Haunted Ships You Can Visit!” by Teressa Bitler

Haunted at Sea: Real Haunted Ships, Boats, Oceans and Beaches by Zachery Knowles

Dockwalk.com

HistoricMysteries.com

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If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

Welcome to another dive down the paranormal rabbit hole where answers are vague at best but mostly raise more questions. That’s where we live. We confront the enigmas and the mysteries of the paranormal so we might better understand, inform, and maybe even entertain. Sit back, dim the lights, and enjoy!

In this episode, we discuss the mystery of Shadow People. Have you every woke from a dream to find the nightmare standing in the corner of your bedroom, a distinctly human-shaped shadow lurking in the darkness but it’s impossibly darker than the darkness around it? Maybe you saw someone peek around the door from the hall only to disappear as soon as you turn to look. Maybe you’ve been visited by a tall, dark shadow wearing a wide brimmed hat. If you answered yes, you have experienced the enigmatic Shadow People. What are they? Where do they come from? Are they a byproduct of sleep paralysis? The answers to these questions are elusive, but
we attempt to answer them to whatever degree they can be answered which isn’t much.                  Please rate the episode and don’t forget to follow us!

A Walk in the Shadows: A Complete Guide to Shadow People by Mike Ricksecker

The Paranormal Researchers Guide to Shadow People by Charis Branson

Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us by Jason Offutt

The Shadow People Wiki

Fandom.com shadow people page

The Shadow People Archives page

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If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

In the early 1960s, the bayous of Southern Louisiana became the home of the Honey Island Swamp Monster. According to local lore, this foul-smelling, grey-haired beast is a part alligator / part monkey hybrid that splashed through the swamp leaving behind mysterious three-toed footprints. A decade later in Central Illinois, the area around Lawndale hosted an outbreak of Thunderbird sightings. In one incident, a giant bird attempted to fly away with a ten-year-old boy in its talons! We hope you enjoy our very first cryptid episode.

The Legend of the Honey Island Swamp Monster at Pelican State of Mind

Dana Holyfields office website for her grandfather's research.

Piasa Bird

Artist’s rendering of the attack

Occult World Article

Doug’s Darkworld article

Atlas Obscura article

Troy Taylor’s “Thunderbirds Over Illinois”

Troy Taylor’s Facebook post

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If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

For our second Book Club Minisode, we discuss Corey Taylor’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven. Taylor is the lead singer of the widely successful bands Slipknot and Stone Sour and is the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Deadly Sins. In A Funny Thing Happened, Taylor shares his haunted side and delivers a book packed with his spooky experiences while growing up in Des Moines, Iowa and the paranormal events he witnessed touring with his bands. If you are like us and enjoy a good ghost story, we think you’ll like Taylor’s book.

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If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

Haunted Springfield High & EL Paso High
Who doesn’t have school spirit? These schools sure do! The spirit at these schools lingers long after the students have gone home. Join Heaven and Jonathan as they examine two haunted high schools. The first is Springfield High School in Springfield, IL. SHS is notorious for being built on top of a cemetery. Sure, they moved the bodies . . . most of them anyway. The second is the infamous El Paso High School in El Paso TX. where ghostly pep rallies echo through the halls at night and the spirit of a girl shows up on picture day.

Leave us a rating and review and follow for new episodes!

Garrett Moffett’s book Haunted Springfield, Illinois.

Moffett offers several haunted walking tours in Springfield, Il.
Visit his site at Springfieldwalkstours

Historic plaque placed by the Springfield High School History Club and the Illinois State Historic Society in March 2005

The Rachael video is a must see!

El Paso High Resources : Haunted Rooms & Borderzine

Send us Fan Mail

If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

Knock, Knock. Who’s There? A Poltergeist!

In this episode, Heaven and Jonathan talk about the poltergeist phenomenon. Is it a ghost? Is it psychokinetic? One thing’s for sure: something is making a lot of noise and throwing things around. Join us as we dive . . . well, more like belly flop . . . into one of the most bizarre occurrences in the paranormal world.

Enfield House - Google Maps - In the middle is a duplex with a wooden fence around both sections. The Enfield house is the one on the right.

Guy Lyon Playfair’s book: This House is Haunted

YouTube: The Enfield Poltergeist

YouTube: The Curious Case of Pete the Poltergeist - Our Life

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If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

Emily joins Heaven and Jonathan to talk about their experience with a ghostly little girl and shadow people at the very haunted Old Williamson Funeral Home in Jacksonville, IL.

Troy Taylor’s Books – www.americanhauntingsink.com

American Hauntings Ghost Hunts www.bumpinthenight.net

Send us Fan Mail

If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!

We do a lot of reading both for fun and for the show. So, why not share some of what we read with you? For our first Book Club Minisode, we are thrilled to discuss Amy Bruni’s book Life with the Afterlife. You know Bruni from her time on Ghost Hunters and on Kindred Spirits where she co-stars with Adam Berry. Bruni’s book is part biography, part ghost hunting field guide, and part behind the scenes glimpse of paranormal television. Our book club won’t ruin it for you, no spoilers, but we think it’s a lot of fun and definitely worth reading.

Amy’s book/ autographed photo bundle: https://www.amy-bruni.net/store/

Book only: https://tinyurl.com/bdefyyfc

Amy Bruni’s Strange Escapes: https://www.amy-bruni.net/strange-escapes/

Be sure to explore https://www.amy-bruni.net/ for more about Amy and Kindred Spirits.

Send us Fan Mail

If you have an experience, story, or anything else you'd like to share with us, you can email us at [email protected]   You can also follow us on Instagram,  Join our Facebook group :  Ope, A Ghost, or Follow us on Youtube

Toodles!