Cautionary Tales (Campfire)

Explicit content warning

11/11/19 • 64 min

2 Listeners

Haunted objects, a spirit of a serial killer, and a hotel so haunted it's guest book has been deemed "The Book of the Dead" - these are the tales of tonight's campfire. Warning: Tonight’s Campfire episode is a cautionary tale. Stories from people who continually search for answers that might shed light on the eternal question - are ghosts real? Come join the Night Owl by the fire and let’s get transported to three haunted sites, each with its own haunted history. One such place is Zach Bagans' Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, a place filled with supposed haunted objects and a sign posted to warn people of the dangers of entering such a haunted space. Another site is the Historic Jefferson Hotel in Jefferson, Texas, where guest encounters are so common they’ve created a guest log full of personal experiences the staff refer to as “The Book of the Dead". And lastly, the Magnolia Hotel in Seguin TX is place with so much history and haunts the current owner has stated she loves it when people say, "If only these walls could talk, here at the Magnolia...they do.” Cozy up, grab a cup of coffee or a glass of whiskey, and join us by the fire. VACANCYA couple years ago Holly and two of her friends decided to celebrate her birthday by traveling from Austin to Shreveport to hit up a casino for the first time. But on the way there, they discovered there was a hotel in Jefferson, Texas that was reputedly haunted. So Holly and her friends decided, let’s get a room. And There were plenty available at this historic hotel nestled on a small side street of this Texas ghost town. Holly didn’t know it, but she was about to get the scariest birthday present of her life.THE WARNINGAlyssa Onyx is a gothic fashionista and gothic home decor/designer currently living in Austin Texas. She has been connected to, and interested in, the paranormal since the age of 2. But one late July night in a 170 year old hotel, Alyssa found that what started out fun, quickly turned horrific when she encountered the spirit of a notorious Texas serial killer within the walls of the Magnolia Hotel in Seguin, Texas. STOWAWAYSFrom cemetery tours under the light of a full moon to visiting multiple haunted locations by limo hearse, Jennifer's interest in the paranormal has taken her to numerous haunted locations. But when she and friend planned a trip to Vegas, and decided to visit Zak Bagans' Haunted Museum, she could never have predicted what would result from entering a building with so many haunted objects. She's spent her life pursuing the paranormal, but it never crossed her mind in her quest, one day, something might pursue her.

Previous Episode

Haunted Origins - Part I

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Host Stephen and fellow paranormal investigator Alexis met while attending A&M University in Corpus Christi. They were both studying film and quickly realized they had similar tastes in cinema - horror. They soon became friends and began watching scary movies and discussing cinema together. But it didn’t take long for them to discover they had another common interest - ghosts. Their nights of watching horror movies shifted to nightly road trips to desolate south Texas towns with haunted graveyards and hanging trees. Their ameteur days of paranoral investigating started out so innocently, yet was so illegal. They trespassed onto private property so many times they're surprised someone didn’t wind up shot or dead. But as you can tell now, they've both come a long way. And although their individual paths have veered slightly down this road, their paths remained within the same realm, the realm of the supernatural. So now at the beginning of this new season, Stephen and Alexis have been reflecting on their past and came to appreciate their early beginnings. Those private, personal experiences they had as kids, long before they knew one another, and were surprised at how much of their lives has been guided down similar tacks. In this episode, they are both excited to share some of the more intimate encounters they had growing up, encounters that quite honestly are the defining moments for them and their pursuit of the paranormal. These stories are truly the origin of The Night Owl Podcast.

Next Episode

Haunted Origins - Part II

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When host Stephen Belyeu was around the age of 11, he had an experience in his childhood bedroom that would haunt him for the rest of his life - a disturbing encounter with the spirit of a little girl who he discovered watching him in his sleep. Stephen had felt her presence before and continued to feel her in his room throughout his childhood. But as most tend to do with traumatizing experiences, Stephen pushed the memory of this girl away. As he grew up and moved out of the house, the thoughts of her only resurfaced when he returned to his parents house and had to face the old bedroom on occasion. Today, Stephen's parents still own the house where this happened. But to keep these dark memories at a safe distance, Stephen adopted the habit of not sleeping in this room ever since the incident. Even today, as an adult, he drags the mattress down the stairs and sleeps where he always slept growing up following the incident...on the living room floor. Stephen admits now that avoidance probably wasn’t the healthiest way to deal with what happened, but it was safe and a lot more comforting than the alternative - actually facing it. But in a field that’s led Stephen on a quest poking and prodding in the realm of paranormal, he should have known at some point in all his meddling, he might actually stir something up from his own haunted past. That this little girl who visited him in his room when he was eleven, might notice his meddlings, and once again come back to haunt him. But one thing Stephen never expected was a phone call he'd receive from clairvoyant friend Sara. A call where she informed Stephen of seeing the spirit of a small girl, matching the description of what he saw in his room as a kid, who she believes is still connected to Stephen somehow, and is desperately wanting to communicate with him. The two things that rattled Stephen after this call were one, he hadn't told Sara about his childhood experience and her description of the child spirit was spot on, and two, this girl he thought he'd put behind him could possibly have been with him his entire life, looking for an opening to connect with once again. After opening up about this pivotal paranormal experience, and the shocking call from his friend Sara, Stephen will now embark on his very first personal quest to validate the terrifying experience he had years ago. In this special extended episode, Stephen digs through old audio files recorded nearly two years ago, goes on a new investigation of his old childhood home with Sara and Alexis, tracks down and interviews friends old and new, and dives into the dark corners of his own memory in hope of finding some shred of validation of the spirit who visited him and made him terrified of his own room - the spirit he calls the girl from his room.