A Haunting in Pennhurst: Horror Nerds Investigate

They're gonna be like, what is this crazy lady in her freaking voodoo garage? What is she doing? And then just kind of waved at the guy and said, Hi, happy Halloween. He's like, Yeah, cool. That just says Xmas, Christmas. So I'm gonna light it on fire. Cool. Yeah. Um, and then this one says spooky goes.

The podcast. Let's talk about ghosts. Are you ready to get spooky?

I know. I feel like ghosts have been kind of a theme for us for the show, but that's because we're spooky bitches. But also because I think, you know, we both experienced loss and we both experienced grief. And so there's just kind of like this natural curiosity of, well, what happens? We can't, where does the energy go? How, what, where is there, you know, all those, all those questions. And and so, yeah, I mean, I've always like specifically gone to unitoriously haunted places on purpose just to see, just to feel, to see, to experience, to honor like the history of who was there before, what happened to them. So that's kind of a nerdy thing. Anytime I get on a plane, if I'm working, if I'm doing a family thing, um, where can I go?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

So where have you gone recently? Because I I think you have some stories to tell that I'm not totally privy to. So now I want to know because I'm a nosy bitch and a misbinding. No, I haven't told you the teacher, the gossip yet.

Um because I was like, save it for the recording. Yeah. So my very sweet, wonderful boyfriend, Isaac, who I love, who is a child of the corn. He is the leader of the children of the corn. He grew up and now he's with me, which makes sense, right? Yeah. So honestly. Um his family's in Pennsylvania, like in a small town outside of Hershey, but just about, I don't know, an hour or so away. So he took me home to to hang out with his wonderful, lovely family for Thanksgiving. And I took him to Penhurst Asylum. My alma mater. So it was amazing. I know. I was like, listen, we're we're gonna do it. It took me a minute. I need to return to my roots. Uh-oh, I've killed Bonnie. Bonnie's now a ghost. Now I'm a ghost.

I love you with love.

Yeah. Yeah. So so we did that kind of like it was actually a really cool day. It was kind of the end of the trip. We did a made a full day out of it where we actually went to this really beautiful wolf sanctuary in the morning, which was so cool. I love, I mean, I I love animals as well. And so these wolves were just gorgeous and they're doing a great job. But then we're like, let's make a whole day and go to Pennhurst. It was an overnight, and that was literally as soon as he told me. And also, I have to sh give a massive shout out to Isaac's mom, Liz, who is a delight and so sweet. It was actually her idea. So, Isaac, when you get mad at me, it was your mom's idea. Because last time we were in town and visiting weather, she's like, Oh, you know, have you have you you know Pennhurst, right? You know, it's only an hour away. I said, I'm sorry, what? Like, I might not have put that together, the geography. She gave me the idea. So I was just honoring my my boyfriend's mother's request. Because I am a good person.

Yeah, you are. You were being polite. Yeah.

I know. Yeah.

And I thought that she knew you would like that.

That's really sweet.

Yeah.

Yeah. So we booked it. Like as soon as we booked the flight, I'm like, boop. And I was so happy that they were still running tours, especially because it's kind of it was it was cold. Honestly, the scariest part was that it was 32 degrees because you get there, yeah. So it was just he and I. Um, we I really wanted his sister Amanda to come, and that would have been really fun. Bonding experience, right? Yeah. Um, but so sweet. Her her girl Harper, who my goodness, what is she seven, eight now? She was like, Mommy, I don't want you to go. I've seen because she's seen some of like the paranormal documentaries playing on TV. So she was like worried for her mom, which was so sweet. I mean, I really want I was hoping that that week, you know, she would come with us, but I thought it was kind of adorable. So, Harper, we love you. You're an angel. So it's just the two of us, and you get there at seven, and it's so hard to find. Like, if you don't use, I think it's like Google Maps, you're not finding it. It's gonna take you to the back entrance. It's a huge property. There's now part of the property was turned into, I don't know if it's a like a naval base, I can't or something rather. So it's hard to like kind of get to. And when you drive up into the driveway, you're like, oh, this is the Blair Witch, this is full-on Blair Witch project. Like you're in the woods, there's deer, there's no light. I mean, there's just, you know, like the little tiny arrows, Penhurst this way, and you're like, oh, this is legit. And you you pull up into the driveway and you see the buildings, and it's like you're meeting Penhurst when you see those buildings. They're like it's it's it's alive in a way. Just because you think of the history and you think of all of the people who are fascinated with this location, the energy is still very much there. Yeah. I mean, so you get there at seven, they give you what I really like is they give you for the first hour, and they give you like the tour. They say they walk you through each building. Okay, this is this building, this is what it was known for, this is this building, and they give you the history. And basically, they they kind of I I thought they did a really good job of Bernard. We had Bernard was our tour guide. He was lovely, and he was just very straightforward about okay, here's the folklore, here's what actually happened. So the thing about Panhurst, like, oh, it was an insane asylum. No, these were people who were different. These were human beings, regular, normal, wonderful human beings who just happened to be physically disabled, or you know, maybe they had Down syndrome, maybe they had some sort of, you know, learning disability or a mental disability that people just did not understand at the time. So the fucking most horrible thing, the eugenics idea, right? They kind of was like, oh, well, that sounds great. Let's just not allow people who are different to have families. Let's just hide them away from society, which I'm sorry, what the fuck? Like, I mean, at least we've made progress from then. I mean, we still have a long way to go. But pretty, pretty heartbreaking to hear some of the stories about it's like children being ripped away from their mom.

Yeah.

Because the state was like, Well, your kid's different. You can't have this kid in society. And the mom is heartbroken and and couldn't legally get her own child back. And every, you know, every month that the boy would be like, When where's my mom? And the mom would come, Well, when can I go home? And she didn't have an answer. She wasn't legally allowed to take her own child home. It just really, you know, there was one girl who they're like, Oh, she's she's mute. She doesn't talk. Okay, so does that not mean she's intelligent and smart and has a spirit and a soul and could live a fine life? The mom knew how to communicate with her. But so this one of the stories was uh the mom comes to visit her and the daughter was communicating to her that something was wrong with her jaw. This poor girl had fallen, like a lot of the like the basements, it's all cement, right?

Yeah.

She fell and broke her jaw and couldn't communicate to it. Couldn't communicate to the staff like what was happening. And no one there, and I'm not saying that these were bad people on staff. They were just, they had no funding, they were overcrowded. Um, you know, there's also stories of like like the nurses were trying to do the best they could with the information they had, the funding they had. There's this one room called Candyland, and they the nurses like painted like a carousel and animals and you know, things to try to, it was like the playroom for kids. And so they were trying. You go down in there now, and like Isaac hated that room. He was very creeped out. I think he was just very sad thinking these kids were in this room and they did nothing wrong. They had to live here. You know, and then there was a story about these two gentlemen. One of them, they did he Bernard wasn't 100% sure what what the exact physical disability was, but they did have minor disabilities, minor, but still, they get shipped off to this place. These guys were like, fuck it, we're gonna build a boat. So like they carved, I don't know exactly how they did it, but months and months and months they secretly made like a canoe and they got it down to the river. They escaped, they got out, they went up to the next town up that was, I don't know how many miles, not that far up, but they get all the way up to this new town, get jobs, a blacksmith hires them, they get a place to live, they're fine, they're doing great. They're literally proving the idea wrong. Like, hey, we are able to take care of ourselves. Yeah, we're different. Who cares? We figured it out. And some assholes saw these guys, were like, no, no, nope, they look different, called the cops and they got arrested and brought back. No. Heartbreaking, right? Heartbreaking. So, what I really loved about Pennhurst was this, you know, the the people that work there. They wanted to give you the truth. They wanted to give you the history, they wanted to honor the people that did live there by sharing the truth and not making it, ooh, spooky and oh, horrible, crazy people. No, that wasn't the truth at all. They also wanted there's a rumor. So basically, how Penhurst got shut down was a reporter realized, hey, these conditions are really, really bad. That this is this needs to be exposed. The people can't be living like this. And this was what in the 70s, I think. And so the reporter was like, hey, I'm gonna do a story on you guys. Can I come in and interview and get footage? And they were like, no. He's like, well, actually, this is state funded, so I can. Do you want to work with me or against me? Because if you work with me, I'll at least try to show all sides. If you don't help me, I'm gonna just give all the bad information. Like, not bad, but like I'm just gonna expose what's actually happening here without your point of view on it, without your side of it. Is that what you want? And they're like, All right, come in. So that's how it eventually. There were also a couple lawsuits, you know, mothers who were like, My child is in horrible conditions, you can't treat people like this. So that was the kind of the downfall of Pennhurst. But the rumor is that, and I had even heard this rumor before that when they shut down, they just kicked everybody out and just forced them to live on their own. And that's how this unhoused population came about. And that's not true at all. They're like, no, no, no, they were still open for like another 10 years, gradually trying to find places for people to go, trying to reunite them with their family. Like they did try to do the right thing. It's just there's there was just too many people and not enough money. Wow. Yeah. And the buildings now, they are not in good condition, obviously. There are there are lots of rooms in each building where you can't actually go into it because it's structurally unsound. But the overall experience, so it's really cool. So they give you all this information for the first hour, and then they're like, okay, go about, children. And you just can run around. You get to run around until 2 a.m. on your own, which is kind of iconic, right? Yeah. I love that they that they allow you to do that. They're they're like, there are tour guides at each building, and you know, some building, like the Mayflower building, some of them are a little bit more like notorious because they're, you know, all the ghost shows, they've all been there, right? Oh, this building they always get the most stuff out of. Whether or not you believe in the ghost shows. I mean, are they exaggerated? Sure. I'm sure they are. Always dramatized. Dramatized, you know, they need ratings. I I mean, I love like, you know, what is it, ghost hunters, because they just they debunk stuff all the time. But uh anyway, so it's cool because you can talk to there are guides there, be like, hey, remind me the history, remind me, tell me about the different rooms, and they give you equipment, whatever paranormal equipment you've ever wanted to try, they have it and they let you use it, which is really cool. So it kind of really enhances the experience. You know, you just have to you want to go in there and try. As it gets later and colder, other people start leaving and it gets you can have a little bit more of your own space. God, it was cold. Oh man, it was r I looked like the marshmallow stay puff man. I had so many layers on. I had the feet warmers, the hand warmers. This this just shows how much I am fascinated by the paranormal that I put myself in 32 degree weather. And uh, that was rough. Like that was if I didn't have those foot warmers, I probably would have had to leave because my toes were numb.

Yeah. We're California girls. We are let me be clear. We are Southern California girls. We are not cut out for the cold. No, when we were in Chicago last year for Christmas, it was 20-something degree weather, and I was so cold. It was the first time I've ever had to buy thermal underwear. Oh, yeah. And I I did well, but I absolutely complained about it. But yes, this is and I want to do a ghost tour of Chicago next time I'm out there. That's on my list. Yeah, yeah.

Everyone who lives out in the Midwest and in the in the snow, like you guys are stronger than us because that shit is hard. I don't know. That's really hard. I mean, granted, LA is its own animal and very hard in different ways, but oh man, I I was so grateful to come back to like 80 degree Christmas. Yeah, yeah, it snowed while we were there, and of course it was like be it was like 60 degrees and sunny the week before. And then when we get there, it's cold as fuck. Anyway, yeah. So, and the thing that I also really love about the folks who are running Penhurst now is they flat out say, hey, listen, if you don't see anything, please don't be a jackass and fake it. Please don't do that. If you want to post and you want it, like please don't that just it looks everyone look ridiculous. Just say, hey, I came, I had a wonderful time, I I really enjoyed it, I didn't see anything, but I had a good time. We they're like, we would rather you do that than make shit up because it just doesn't help anyone, which I really love. They flat out. We're like, don't be dumb.

Yeah, that's integrity, you know? They don't want people making up stuff because it gets them more tourist dollars and things. That's really incredible. You don't hear about that a lot.

You don't. I mean, and I've you know, every time I take a tour of somewhere like this, I I mean, I've never heard anyone say, Yeah, definitely post something. No one ever encourages you to, and of course not, but the way that they just so bluntly were like, Don't do that. I I really respected the hell out of that, honestly. Yeah. Um, yeah, and they also, okay, not to be, well, there's a certain ghost hunter, right, with a certain show, right? And everyone may or may not think is a little douchey. And they were like, Don't be that guy. Don't go in here and be like, hey, fucking spirits, get over here. Don't antagonize them. These were people. These, you know, be respectful. They're way more responsive that way. Which I really enjoyed as well.

Yeah, because that's the thing is like, you know, most of the time I think, and you and I have talked about this with ghosts and spirits, is majority of the time they were just people, like us, you know, in a different time and whatever. And sometimes, you know, they might be just as scared as us of us as we are of them. And and just coming in and going, hey, look, I know I'm here in your space. I'm going to be respectful. If you'd like to say hello, that would be awesome. But like, I don't want to antagonize you. You know, I I'm just here because I want to learn more. I'm fascinated, whatever. But it's like communication works for the living and the dead. You know, respectful communication works across the Ouija board. You know? Yeah.

Yeah. Don't be an asshole. It goes a long way. I mean, you might be rude to someone who's like, hey, I had a shitty life. I my life was cut short. What is your problem? Right? Or you never know what else is in there. Who knows?

Yeah. And you can't you gotta be careful with some of that stuff. But yeah, you know, like when I go to a place where I know there's absolutely something because I can feel it watching me. Yeah, I just go in, like I did that on the Queen Mary last summer, and I just said, Hey, I I'm sure you're curious about who is here. I'm going to be respectful. I'm here for a night. Please be cool. I will be cool. That's all I ask for. And then there were no problems. I didn't do that the night you and I were there, and that's when all that stuff happened. Yeah.

We were distracted and we were like, you know, in in like excitement moments. We were, there was, it was Midsummer Scream, and you know, I had my show and we were like, oh, let's get some fun footage, and we were running your lines for it. Yeah. And I was trying to run, yeah, I was literally running my Annabelle monologue on the Queen Mary. I mean, how hard nerd brand is that? So whatever spirits on that ship might have been like, what the hell is wrong with this girl? Women in comedy, I don't think so.

Are it funny? I I kind of wonder if some of them thought that or if they thought we were roasting them. And it's like, no, no, no. No, no, no. You remember when we were at that one abandoned bar up by the front desk, and we felt that really cold like wind go past us, and it was just us, and we were like, uh, we're not making fun of you. We're just we're we're we're rehearsing for show, entertainment.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

That was smooth. Yeah. I remember that.

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Okay, so if we're gonna talk about okay, here's the thing. Women. So this will make sense in a second. So all of the different buildings are all they're all like kind of there, it there's everything's rusted, everything's falling apart. There's over the years, I mean, the buildings lay vacant for a while. And so people would break in. People would break in and have parties, people would break in like and and you know, sleep there if they needed to get out of the weather. But so there's a lot of vandalism, there's a lot, but there's a lot of like artwork. Like there was one artwork, it's it's like this huge goat devil thing, and it's terrifying and beautiful at the same time. So the the building just has character of its own, just because and there's messages and there's people, you know, like in the infirmary, there was like a sign that says like use a Ouija board, I dare you, you know, and then there's and in another room there, there's Namaste, and then another room it was like you deserved it, you bitch. Like there's all kinds of energy and yeah, yeah. So there was one hallway where the patients' names were still on the hall, hallside of the door, which, you know, was actually quite sad. Like, wow, these people must have had to live here their whole life if their name was painted on the yeah. It's a lot, but so of all the different rooms, I mean, everything, we know we went into all the creepy basements and this and that, and there was one one building that was used kind of, I mean, I hate to say like for punishment, um, but it was like for patients who were acting out, they would get sent into like solitude. And they didn't the one thing that I was like, damn, that's a low blow. The kids who were acting up, they would put them in this kind of like detention building, and outside the slides were right there. The playground was right out the window. So they were showing these kids, hey, you acted up so you can see the playground, but you can't go play. So that building has a lot of activity. Yeah. But then there are stories how like there was one kid who would act out purposely every single day, wanted to be in solitude, and they didn't know what autism was at the time. So this kid was like, I just need quiet. I just need to not have my mind be distracted by so many things. And he was fine when he was in there and was able to like focus on work and get things done.

Yeah, he wasn't overstimulated.

He was exactly he was overstimulated. So they didn't they didn't know about any of this at the time. So, you know, a lot of it's just heartbreaking. Some of it, I mean, I think. You know, if you're a nurse and you don't have enough money and like th there were people who were strapped to beds for weeks. There like there were these chairs that were like, I don't know what they were called, bathroom chairs, right? Where there'd be like a pot and and they would be sitting in that for days, weeks at a time. I mean, what the fuck? It's really terrifying. But it also, in a way, made the place way less scary. Yeah. Because I'm like, these are people, and holy shit. It it it just felt like yes, there was a heaviness, but it didn't feel bad. It didn't feel evil or um awful. And you know what I did really love is that all kinds of toys were left throughout the property. People would leave offerings, people would leave toys. One of the guides did say, uh, do not take anything. We won't know if you do, but I I'll tell you what, you're probably gonna try to give it back to us. Because we have had people take stuff and then they send us a letter, hey, my mom died, my kid got into an accident, I lost my job. Can can I give this back to you? I you know, whether you believe that or not, I mean, I've heard that from different I've heard that story before from people taking things, but yeah, why would you? I didn't take anything. Oh, cool. I'm I have my memories. I mean, I took photos, I'm good. Right? Take nothing but photos. Yeah. I'm like, if there, if that's a chance that something could attach, like I don't know why you'd want to take that risk. I'm very that person where like whether you believe in demons, whether you believe in any of that, if there's a possibility, it exists, why are you tempting that fate? Like, why, why? I don't fuck with Ouija boards. You can't just be like, hey mom, hey mom, I'd like to talk to my mom. No, whatever comes through comes through. If that's okay. Yeah.

Yeah.

Crazy. Even though I did have a comic bring a wuji board to the mortuary, and she did have the name Doris come through, and she was, she's a little sensitive, and so she was saying things. Oh and we did some research, and there was a Doris involved in this place. So Oh my god, I just got chills. Yeah. I don't know, just saying. But so out of all the different rooms, yeah, sure. Some of them were like, oh wow, this feels heavy, this feels kind of tragic, but that's just because you know the history. Of the hundreds of rooms that we went to, I only had two real things. I know that they say seeing is believing, but Pennhurst is the first place to make me say feeling is also believing because I'm not like a spooky, ooh, I feel like I have to really, really feel something for me to be like, something's off. Yeah. And so everything was fine. We were there for hours. I didn't see anything, we didn't have any equipment go off or anything. I was still enjoying the hell out of it, don't get me wrong. So then we go into this one building. I think, God, was it Mayflower? I think it was Mayflower, and we go into this one room, and there's a chalkboard with a hole punched into it, like an old chalkboard, a wheelchair that looked like a 70s rusted wheelchair flipped over, a couple chairs, like like uh student desks, you know, with like the the table kind of attached to the chair, very old school. And we're in that room, and Isaac's just kind of muttering around, looking around, and I immediately like my heart just starts pounding like crazy. And I just start feeling like heavy. Yeah. And I just started, I couldn't, it was just coming out of my mouth. I was like, I don't like this, I don't like this, I don't fucking like this room, I don't like this room, I don't like this room. I just kept saying that to the point where and I've never in my entire all the spooky shit that I've seen and been a part of, I've never had that feeling of I do, I am not supposed to be in this fucking room. Like something, I don't see anything, nothing. I'm not seeing anything.

Yeah.

But I'm just feeling this weird, like, I don't, I don't know, I don't know. Just this room. I went out of the room, felt fine. Yep. There was also this weird kind of, I don't it look, and I don't, I hope not, but it looked like some sort of a wooden structure with these two knobs at the top. It almost looked like someone could be like their arms could be like tied to it like this.

Yeah, I know.

I don't know that that was in there, and Isaac really was like, what the fuck is that? But he wasn't really having a real reaction to that room. I mean, he was just overall kind of like, wow, this is overwhelming. It's a lot. But for some reason, I just start I don't like it, don't like it. I I don't I my heart, I d what the fuck, dude? What the fuck? I didn't, I I'm just here. Like I started kind of getting a little panicked, and then I leave and I'm like, I'm done. I am fucking fuck this room. I'm done. So I go back up and I start talking to the one of the guides that's posted, and I said, Hey, uh, what are what are your thoughts on that room with the chalkboard? And she said, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that's king. I said, I'm sorry. She's like, Yeah, we call him King. We think he was a janitor. He does not like women. He doesn't like women in there. And I thought, oh, and they said, We don't think he's a bad spirit, we think he's just really protective of the kids, and we think he just he just doesn't like women. So, okay, well, it was very clear that something didn't want me in that room. Yeah. And uh but I mean, but I I wanted to like stay in it and and explore it and make sure that I wasn't just being dramatic. So the fact that she brought that up, I was like, well, that's interesting. Oh no, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Was it I think she was the one that said, yeah. Oh, she didn't say he didn't like women. No, it wasn't the girl that said it. She was just like, that's King. He's just really protective of the kids. Okay, fine. So then when I went to the next building over, that's when I started talking to another guide. And I was like, Holy shit, this this girl told me about King. And he was like, Oh yeah, he does not like women. The guy told me that. Yeah. Yeah. He was like, I've had so many women tell me they don't like that room. Just women. You know? Okay, that's what it was. Yeah. So ironically, the girl, the girl guide was like, Oh, that's just King. He's not bad. And the guy was like, Oh no, he doesn't like you. That's what it was. So that was that was the first room.

That's interesting. Cause you were saying that, and I just it something I had that weird feeling as you were talking about it. And I was I did, yeah. As you were talking about it, I was like, there was something about it, it was just like you being a woman in that room. I just had a weird so you just said that. That's why I was like, that's weird.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Didn't like I don't know why, but like something compelled me to like give it one more go, just to be like, am I really imagining this? And so I went down. The scientific method.

Go try it again and see if you get the same thing.

Yeah, right, right. And I went down and it was the same kind of feeling, but I felt, but I did like when I went there, I said, Hey, King, listen, no disrespect at all. I appreciate that you're just protecting these kids. All good. I'm gonna head out now. You know, if there's any kids in here and with you, thanks for keeping them safe. Like, all good, man. No disrespect. And I don't know, maybe that just made me feel better. I don't know, but I didn't really hang out in the room again. I'm like, it's cool. But that was just, I've never had that. That full on, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck. I I don't like it. I don't like it. Like it wasn't even, huh? This room feels heavy. Nope. It was I don't like this room. Like I started getting really heated.

Yeah.

So that's fine. And then went and explored some other buildings. Didn't I was like, this is definitely creepy. The old bathrooms, the old showers. Uh, even though there was one old bathroom where someone spray painted said nudes. I'm like, you're so dumb. Um, but that's kind of funny. Um, yeah, but there's it was definitely creepy as fuck, especially as you know, we were coming on midnight at this point and it was getting colder. And so it was probably also like our bodies were starting to shut down a little bit. It was so cold. And uh, and it was funny because some of the tour guys were just like sitting outside the whole time. I'm like, how are you guys not frozen dead inside? Obviously, they live there, they're used to it, but couldn't be us. So we were kind of at the point of like, okay, I'm feeling like Isaac's getting a little overwhelmed. This is a lot for someone who's not a spooky person. And I do think he maybe is a little sensitive because he's such like a sweet, good human that I think and he's seen a ghost before, which is crazy to me. Um, but so we start to leave and then we realize, oh, the the building where we did like kind of the orientation. Oh, we're actually allowed to explore that. It's the Devon building. And that one is kind of like the low-key building that people there was like no one in there, no one really realized you could. Also, it's not one of the more like prominent on the ghost hunting shows. So, okay, great. So we're like, I let's just go through it really quickly because I want to say that I've done everything before I want to say like I wanted to stay until two, but when your boyfriend's like, I'm done, you gotta go. He was nice enough to go with me.

Yeah.

So compromise. Comprom gross.

Yeah.

That was my Christmas. That was my Christmas riff. That was my gift to him. I won't leave. Um, but so we I know. So we go into this building and it's cool. There's like a little theater kind of area where maybe they did entertainment. And then we run into we run into Bernard, who's our who's our tour guide, and we hadn't seen him all night. We're like, oh yay. So we're talking to him, and he's like, This building, you could spend two hours just in this building alone. There's a lot to do. Oh, interesting. He's like, okay, so if you go down, he was like, I would recommend like go up, see everything, and then work your way down. But when you get down to the bot, there's a gym. Candyland is down there. We're like, oh, what is Candyland? That's when he told us about the room with the carousel and all the paintings like that. He said, That room, to me, that that room feels a bit lighter and it's got, you know, like more decent energy. So when you get down there, there's gonna be a T. If you go right, it's Candyland. If you go left, uh, it's the uh the cannibal horse room. And I said, I'm sorry. And he's like, we call it the cannibal horse room because someone spray painted cannibal horse on it. Okay. He's like, the heads up. Uh some of the tour guides won't even go down there. I said, Oh, interesting. Okay. And I said, Well, why why is that? And he's like, Well, we we you know, we have gone through each room and to make sure it's sound and all this stuff. And when we were down there, we did uncover like a pit of burn marks. So we're pretty sure that someone at some point broke in here and was trying to summon something down there. I mean, it looked like a like a pentagram burn marks, right? So someone was doing some crazy shit down there. Okay, so I said, good to know. All right, uh, I don't know how that's gonna go. So we we do the upstairs, and the upstairs was just huge and big and daunting, and and that that's I think that's where that big like devil mural thing was, which was crazy. Makes sense. Go through it, and we were granted it was later, we were tired, but I we were both starting to be like, okay, now it's getting a little I don't know. This building's probably kind of creepier than the other ones, sure. So then we go down, we see the other part, and we make our way down to the basement, and I don't know how I got so turned around, but I got so turned around, but I thought I was I was looking for Candyland. So I'm going down the halls, and it's pitch black, by the way. You have to bring your own flashlights. That's the one thing that like they don't tell you in advance, hey, bring lights. There's no like we don't we don't provide that. So if you are going to banners, bring fra flashlights and make sure you have enough battery. So uh we have thank goodness we borrowed his uh nephew's car and there was a flashlight in there, thank goodness. And we have our phones as well, but your phones only last so long. So go strain phone batteries. And they do, and they do. So we're trying to get back to that.

You remember it.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we're down there and I'm looking for Candyland, and I'm like, yeah, he said to go right. So I don't know what happened. I went right. Like I was sure I went right. And then we're walking and we see this long dark hallway, and there's like, you know, old wheelchairs flipped over, and just it's there's some red light, like it's creepy. And we're like, well, we're gonna explore everything. I just want to say I've done it. So we go down this basement, like this this hall long hall, and even Isaac started getting a little creeped out. And uh I was like, Yeah, I don't like there's something kind of like this might just be because it's a long dark hallway. Like, I didn't get that intense uh O vibe, but I got the I don't know, where the fuck is Candyland? I'm trying to get to Candyland. So we turn around, I'm like, oh, it's gotta be this way. So then we turn around, we go another way, and I'm like, do do, and out of nowhere, my heart starts doing this again, and I start getting that feeling, and I'm like, oh shit, where? And then I turn around and I'm in the cannibal horse room. I'm in the fucking room, and I'm like, that's not where I wanted to be. And it is heavy. It didn't, I didn't even want to go. I didn't even go in. I I I saw the cannibal horse. I just took maybe I went maybe two feet into the room, saw it, looked around, saw the furniture in there, saw what was in there, and immediately was like, you know what? Nope. Nope. Whatever the fuck is in here, you're gonna stay there. I'm gonna leave, and then I'm gonna leave here and you're gonna stay the fuck there. And then I left. And Isaac uh didn't even go in the room. I don't think he realized what was happening. I didn't tell him, hey, that's the cannibal horse room, you should go. Like, we just left. And then we wound up finding Candyland. After that, when we went all the way down and went the other way, I'm like, I thought, I don't know. I was looking for the light place and I found the dark place. So I didn't spend enough time in there to really I don't know. I probably could have. I think if I if I wasn't freezing and cold and tired, and if he didn't want to go so bad, I might have tried to go further into the room, but I have given this a lot of thought in life, and I feel like maybe it's particularly with women. Women, we tend to downplay our instincts. Yes. We tend to tell ourselves, you're overreacting. This isn't a big deal. Stop being a bitch, stop being a baby. And we downplay and we're like, it's fine. I'm just gonna put myself in harm's way because it's fine. And all of those instincts were saying, don't go in there, just don't. You don't need to go in there. So, you know, there was like the the part of my brain that was like, oh come on, you want to say you did it. And then there was the other part that was like, why? You you're in it, you're in the room, you're seeing it, and you don't like what's in here. You don't like it. Get the fuck out. So yeah, completely agree. So can I, yeah. So can I say that I saw a huge shadow figure? No, I didn't physically I didn't I didn't see anything with my own eyeballs, but I've never felt anything like that. I've never been legit, I am not welcome in this room, period. End of story. I don't know what it is, but it does not want me in this room.

Yeah. I've had I've had something that bad happen in one place only. When when we were on the Queen Mary and you were like, I'm going to be 340, and I went, mm-mm. But it wasn't that. I just, I knew. Remember, you were like, Are you okay? And I was like, Yeah, but I don't, I don't wanna, because I don't want to bring something back to our room. Which, you know, jokes on me. We had something in our room, anyways, that I think, now that I think about it, was making fun of me for hitting my head on that little shelf above the bed because it was knocking on it and dragging its knuckle like you dumb bitch, don't hurt your head again. It's right here. I don't know. That's what I think it was. Maybe, but it still scared me. Um, just to hear a knock right above your head when the person you're sharing the room with is next to you in bed. And I remember going passed out, right? And I went, Sam, was that you? And you went, What was? And I went, Oh shit. I didn't hear it. Yeah. Yeah. It was soft, but it was right above my head. And I heard a knock and somebody's knuckles dragging on the little shelf right above our heads. That's crazy. Yeah. Yes. It was that was not fun. That was not fun. You might have tried a hundred platforms, each with hidden costs, plugins, multiple logins. But now there's Beamly. Drag and drop website, podcast hosting, online courses, memberships, digital products, and 0% platform fees. All your tools in one crypt. Uh, place. Head to beamly.com and raise your creator studio from the dead. In the best way. No, there's this one cemetery. I guess we'll talk about this. Uh, this one cemetery in Redlitons. So I was part of a ghost hunting group for a very brief time in college. I don't know if I ever have, but it was a very, very brief time back in college. And they had people that had all of the ghost hunting equipment and they like people that were into it, and they said, What we need is people who are sensitive. And I said, Well, that's me. And they said, Okay, yeah, we'll see. And so they put me to the test and they took me to it, was I believe Hillside Cemetery in Redlands. And apparently, Redlands is a very big hot spot of like satanic activity. What? Apparently, according to all the ghost hunting boards. Like people trying to manifest that or I think so. According to all the ghost hunting boards and forum on the in forums on the internet that I've read for the last 20-something years. Yeah.

Well, the worst guy I've ever dated in my life did live in Redlands. So same. Oh, did we date the same guy? It's weird. Oh my god. Yeah, it's very, very weird. Yeah, I remember we he took me to Redlands once to meet his mom, and uh it wasn't the most welcoming of situations.

See, the evil in Redlands, apparently. And and we were going around the cemetery, and they said, We're not gonna tell you where we've picked up any noise, any EVPs. We're not gonna tell you any of that, but we will just stop us when you find something. When you feel something, just stop and tell us what you're feeling, and we'll tell you at the end if any of them match up. And I had never been there before, and they took me in the daytime and I said, Okay. And we're walking around and we stop at this one place and I went, okay, well, there's definitely something here, but it it didn't feel evil. It just felt like there was a presence there. And I noted it and I said, Okay, there's something here that feels kind of annoyed that we're looking at it, and I was really glad it was the daytime because it's also very dark. And then they took I we walked to another spot, and I said, Okay, like this is, you know, I'm feeling something over here. I feel a little lightheaded, and I tend to kind of get lightheaded when it feels like it's something bad because it feels like it's sucking the life force out of my body, and I don't know how to explain it any other way than that. And so we get to this last part, and I'll never forget it, and I'm getting chills as I talk about it. It's this area where there's a bunch of really tall trees, and you're walking through, it's kind of like a pathway with a bunch of just really tall trees overhead, and at the end of the pathway, and this is the part where it's really disturbing, is that's where like the babies are buried. Like all the kids, and it's really sad. And we are walking through going p towards that area, and it just felt like there was something evil in the trees. Just something, and I started to feel like absolute dog shit. I didn't feel good. I started to get completely lightheaded. I had a massive migraine come on, and like I don't really get those. And I I just said, I don't, this is not good, I don't want to be here. And then I started to get so physically upset, and I started like crying, and I said, What really upsets me is this is right by where the kids are buried, and I don't like that something feels like evil right there, like it just really upset me.

Yeah.

And so we get to the end of the tour or the end of the the walk and the test, I guess, for lack of a better word, and they said, So yeah, everywhere you stopped us is where we've picked up some sort of activity. We've picked up EVPs, and in those trees is where we've picked up a lot of like growling and voices, and and so then I went back with them at night, and it was that same after closing when you weren't supposed to be in there. Oops, did the cops chase us out? I I can neither confirm nor deny. Um and it was that same spot, and I started to get that same feeling, and it was dark, and I'd only been there once before, but it was totally dark, and I started to get that feeling, and I was like, I don't feel good, we need to get out of here. Like, I don't like this. So, yeah, that feeling of like this is bad, this is bad, this is bad, and like everything in you is saying, get the fuck out. We it's so because again, you think, Oh, I'm overreacting, I'm over this, but you know, I think because women, we're we tend to be prey in the world. We have such a heightened sense of predator and stranger danger. Yeah. Because we're so used to being prey. And I think that's why our senses are so high. Whether the the person watching us that doesn't like us is dead or alive, I think that's why that women's intuition is so strong, because it kind of had to be throughout the years and be developed and you know, uh I don't know how to describe it other than that, like evolutionarily it had to be heightened and strengthened.

I mean Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. You've you learn to to trust your gut. You learn that, okay, when I'm feeling weird, it's probably if I feel someone behind me, there might actually be someone behind me. Or you know, when you're feeling when you're walking to your car and you get that feeling. Yeah, you well, I mean, I definitely, definitely will look and turn around because like I'm sorry, if some dude's following me, I'm gonna make eye contact. I'm gonna let you know I see you. So at least it I don't know, I'm like an arm. Maybe that helps, like the guy loses the element of surprise, but yeah, it's the same spidey sense feeling. So why would you get that? Like, why would you only get that in very specific places? You know, like there was nothing about I mean those trees probably looked like normal trees, I would imagine. Right?

They weren't like scary trees like from Snow White, where she's like, ah, they'll have the faces on them. They wasn't like that. And it was very specific, but I knew he would know it.

Right, right. Like, okay, well, he did tell me that something was weird was in that room. But I don't know. I still felt what I felt.

Yeah.

You know, and and like the other room with with the other spirit they call king, I had no fucking idea. No idea. No one said anything about that. So then yeah. Yeah, when I go and and you know, two people confirm the same thing. Oh, interesting.

And to have such a visceral reaction to something like that, like you did, but you also knew B340 is haunted on the Queen Mary, and you went over there, no problem. Like, hey, what's up, ghosts? How's it going? Bitches? You know, like you didn't call them bitches, but you know, like you went like, what up, what up, ho.

I didn't have a problem with that room. I've been inside that room. Yeah. Like I've been in the room. I've spent I was probably in it for I don't know, like 20 minutes. I got to I got to go in and I was hanging out. And it's it was more like, okay, maybe knowing that this is uh, you know, supposedly the most active room in the entire ship. Like I had that information, so I was on alert, but I wasn't actually creeped out. This room I had the information in the cannibal horse room, but I was severely creeped out. This other room, I didn't have any information, severely creeped out. So I don't know.

It's one of those things we don't have proof, but with our instincts and with with what we feel, how do you how do you disprove that?

You know, and what about when you get a feeling about a person when you're just like, I just don't like this person? There's something off about this person. What is that? What is that? Is that the same instinct that kicks in? We're like, I don't like this room, something's off about this room. Everything looks normal. Someone can look like the most normal person, like Patrick Bateman walks up, he looks normal, but you know he's not. Why? Why do you know? Yeah. Just saying it.

Yeah, it's those things that I don't think we have complete scientific knowledge of. And I don't always go into jumping into, oh, it's a ghost, it's a ghost. I always try to debunk it first, but that feeling of something is not right, and something is like you gotta trust it because I've trusted that and it has absolutely saved my life in some instances. I went, I don't know, but my gut is saying, don't go, don't go do this. And then you find out later something really bad happened in that spot where you were going to be. And I just see it as like maybe I don't know if you believe it's your higher self or if you've got a guardian angel, or if it's just your gut telling you not to do it, but I was just gonna say that.

Actually, the weirdest thing happened the other day. I was at the mall and I was just like looking at some candles or something, and this woman just stopped me out of nowhere, was like, hey, sorry, I just wanted to tell you, you have really good energy around you. And I just kind of looked at her, and you know, sometimes you get that vibe of like they're trying to sell me a psychic reading. I didn't get that vibe. She was like, I'm I'm sorry, I'm a I I'm a spiritual worker and I just wanted to tell you that.

Thanks, thank you.

All right, I don't I'm gonna take it. That's cool, great. Like she stopped me. She was like not even in the store. She was I was like kind of on the on the edge of the storefront, and she was just walking down and literally stopped, turned around, came up to me. So I don't know. I mean, I don't know if maybe we do have certain energy, you know, our our parents perhaps or ancestor, whatever it may be, who is just telling you there's some shit in that room. Don't do it. Don't do it. There's something that's gonna try to fuck with you. Whether or not it's successful, who knows, but it's gonna try, don't come in there.

Yeah. Doesn't matter if it's gonna try or not, but the fact that it could be a threat is uh no point.

It could. Yeah. So yeah, it was it was one of those things. But yeah, those are the two rooms that fuck me up. I've literally never had a reaction to a physical place like that before.

Wow. Yep.

I appreciate you sharing that with me and with us and you know, being able to to talk about that stuff because I think I think that's another reason why we love horror movies and these themes and these shows and these movies that explore the concept of life after death. And I think that makes it maybe less scary for us because it's like, well, we maybe don't necessarily know what is on the other side, but it doesn't feel as frightening, like, I don't know what's gonna happen. It's like, well, I I think the fact that horror leans into that makes us less afraid of it, even if we don't necessarily know what happens afterwards, or if you have what you believe happens afterwards. But that's what I love about exploring things with the paranormal and the unknown, and especially ghost stories and horror movies. Like that's one of my favorite things in horror movies is stuff with ghosts because it's so fascinating, and we don't have a scientific answer except for well, stuff is energy. That's all we have right now, but maybe in 10, 20 years with scientific advancements, we will have proof that there is life after death or something, and then I don't know, but it's so fascinating to me. And I think exploring this stuff and talking about it makes us weirdly less afraid of it, even if we don't know what is out there going bump in the night. Exactly.

Exactly.

Well, this was a great topic to riff on, friend.

Thanks for having that ready. I just happen to have that one in the bag. Oh, I mean, ghosts will always be a topic in any bucket I pull from. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Okay. We could do a rapid fire ghost round. Let's do it. Okay. Rapid fire ghosts. Pew pew. All right, now it'd be to end this glorious spectacular paranormal episode. Let's do a rapid fire ghost round. Pew, pew, pew. Okay, I'm in rapid fire ghosts. Okay. Uh, if you had to choose, would you go Patrick Swayze from Ghost or Casper? Casper. If you had to choose Kane from Poltergeist or Betelgeuse? Beetlejuice.

I don't even know what the question is.

Oh my god, do you not know Kane? Kane is, I think, the scariest ghost. I'm sorry, if you have not seen Poltergeist Poltergeist, you know what? Because I'm thinking Beetlejuice, and you know how he spells it like Betelgeist? Yeah. Or it's like poltergeist? I don't know. If you don't know Kane from Poltergeist, he's like kind of the head ghost. He's scary as fuck. Like that actor was phenomenal. Um I think we've talked about him on the show before, but so I don't know. That's a tough. He's he's pretty good. Um, paranormal activity or the Blair Witch? That was a witch, not a ghost. The conjuring. Sure. The conjuring. Okay. She pulled a whole oh um okay, Bathsheba or Valak. Valak. Ooh. Um okay. I'm with your friend Rissa Montañas, yes. Oh, the Montagnas. Um, okay. What other give me some ghosts?

Uh, okay, okay. The uncles in Casper or Wait, or the Hitchhiking Ghost. Or the Hitchhiking Ghost. There we go.

I'm totally blank on like a tree of ghosts, obviously.

No fatso from Casper. He's adorable. He's adorable.

Um, I'm gonna give you another one.

Okay, no, you go.

No, I was just gonna say, you know what ghost needs a fucking honorable mention? Yes the ghost in the library at the beginning of Ghostbusters. Yeah. The one reading the book, like she, like the there was one that was like, shh, oh my god, that scared me so much as a kid. That was scary.

That was absolutely scary.

That was really iconic.

And you know, they were being loud. Fair.

They were in the library, she was just doing her job. That must have been a residual haunting because she was like, shh. Yeah, she was doing her job.

I'm Fred, medium demon. I'm in your nightmares, and I'm in your dreams.

Hello, I am the Wizard Master. Illusionist of the 15th Circle, keeper of the arcane, and the last man you want to meet in a dream. Let me tell you about my mornings. Every day I wake up, pour a cup of black, strong coffee, hot enough to keep a man awake for a very long time. And I trace a door on my kitchen wall and cast demiplane. I cast mage armor, and I cast contingency, so that anytime I am attacked with a melee attack, I create an illusory version of myself that falls to the full floor, and I teleport behind the attacker.

And the reason being is that Yeah, whatever you fucking nerd, I throw a fucking chair at you. You're gonna have to make a deck save there, pal. Deck save 16.

Looks like you dodged it this time. I am the wizard master. In the name of Loric, Prince of Elves, Demon be Gone! I'm going to attack using my sustained damage from my witch bolt. 14 points of lightning damage.

Attack of opportunity, bitch! Fucking Ah, God damn it. Oh, it's a natural twenty! That's the crit. I guess that hits, doesn't it?

Bitch! You see the wizard master stabbed, falling to the floor, bleeding out on the ground, uh, and then suddenly you feel a little tap on the back of your shoulder, and you turn around, and you see me, the wizard master. I had contingency cast a spell mislead, and I appear before you, behind you once again, and this time I cast Chain Lightning.

You're in my world, bitch. Demiplane!

Counter spell. What? Alright, well, I'm casting a little spell called Force Cage on you, and I need a charisma saving throw. 16, but I choose my legendary action and simply choose to pass a saving throw. Bitch. In that case, I'm going back to a level one staple, and I cast sleep on Fred. No and No. And I need a wisdom saving throw from you, so for failure. Uh, and for my coup de grace? I cast dream on the sleeping Freddy Kruger. No, no, don't do that!

Don't do that! We were having such a nice game! I'm gonna get my dad.

I cast disintegrate.

Why is your skin so radiant? Peptides.

This is not a test. This is your emergency broadcast system, announcing the conclusion of the Horror Nerds Comedy Podcast, sanctioned by Horror Nerds Productions. All authorized screams, laughter, and unhinged opinions of Class 4 have now been safely contained. During this broadcast, all tangents, puns, and unsolicited horror takes were permitted without consequence. Emergency podcast services will resume after this brief transmission. Blessed be our final girls and our horror nerds founders, a podcast reborn. May humor be with you all.