Buried Secrets Podcast artwork

Buried Secrets Podcast

110 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago -

Talkin' about the paranormal, the occult, and weird and forgotten history. Deep dive into stories about ghosts, ouija boards, cemeteries, obscure and bizarre stories from New York City, urban legends, paranormal investigations, and more!

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Episodes

An Acrobatic Ghost in Woodside (Haunted Queens)

August 06, 2021 09:00 - 35 minutes - 30.2 MB

In 1893, a strange entity dressed all in white appeared in a forest in Woodside, Queens. The entity that was seen in the 19th century didn't seem to communicate verbally, though he made strange, chilling sounds. He was able to move on all fours as quickly as an ordinary person could run, and had a penchant for acrobatic stunts like handsprings. It is unclear what happened to this entity, but more than 100 years later, other stories about ghosts in the Woodside seem to be centered in the sa...

The Gold and Ghost House (Haunted Astoria)

July 23, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutes - 28.4 MB

When a series of dangerous paranormal events plagues a home, famed psychical researcher and author Hereward Carrington is called in to investigate Astoria's "Gold and Ghost" house. In 1934, a 30-year-old man and his 80-year-old housekeeper supposedly experienced a series of paranormal events at their home in Astoria, NY. One of their tenants was strangled (non-fatally) in bed, the housekeeper and her German Shepherd were thrown to the ground hard enough to break limbs, and the man was visi...

Haunted Houses in Astoria, NY (Haunted Astoria)

July 09, 2021 09:00 - 37 minutes - 29.9 MB

A look at some 19th century tales of haunted houses in Astoria and Long Island City, NY. Highlights include: • A ghost spider • Debunkings • A runaway horse • A digression about The Great Gatsby For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com.

A Smuggler's Ghost and Tunnels in Astoria, NY (Haunted Astoria)

June 25, 2021 09:00 - 38 minutes - 31.5 MB

Stories about smugglers, tunnels, and ghosts in Astoria, NY, as well as some more of the neighborhood's grim history. Note: There's mention of chattel slavery around the 15 min mark, and more details after the 18 minute mark. Highlights include: • A haunted cave that's disappeared • Horrific deeds done by a famous Astorian • Some awful deaths in a tunnel under the river • A manmade island • The spooky Hell Gate For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com.

Ghosts of Astoria, NY (Haunted Astoria)

June 11, 2021 09:00 - 55 minutes - 49.3 MB

A look at some female ghosts of Astoria, Queens. Note: There's discussion of chattel slavery after the 26 minute mark. Highlights include: • The American president who was supposedly shot on his way to see a haunting • A ghost who disappears if she stops knitting • A lady in white and a hag who haunt the same block • A shameful side of Astoria's history Tiffany Cabán for City Council (District 22): https://www.cabanforqueens.com/ For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecrets...

Ghosts of Astoria, NY (Part 1)

June 11, 2021 09:00 - 55 minutes - 49.3 MB

A look at some female ghosts of Astoria, Queens. Note: There's discussion of chattel slavery after the 26 minute mark. Highlights include: • The American president who was supposedly shot on his way to see a haunting • A ghost who disappears if she stops knitting • A lady in white and a hag who haunt the same block • A shameful side of Astoria's history Tiffany Cabán for City Council (District 22): https://www.cabanforqueens.com/ For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecrets...

Fortune Telling Teacups

May 28, 2021 09:00 - 47 minutes - 41.9 MB

A look at the fortune telling teacups, which were popular in the early 20th century, and were adorned with symbols meant to aid in interpreting tea leaves. Highlights include: • The different varieties of fortune telling teacups • An attempt at a tea leaf reading For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com.

The Caladrius (Weird Medieval Creatures)

May 14, 2021 09:00 - 46 minutes - 39.5 MB

A look at the caladrius, a fancy legendary bird that could supposedly diagnose and heal illnesses. Plus weird info about medieval bestiaries, and more. Highlights include: • A weird supposed cure for blindness • A visit to the Cloisters • A video game that makes you feel like a wizard • A bit of unicorn lore Other stuff I mentioned: • The Last Unicorn youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M57VN_b9FRM • Atlas of the Mysterious in North America by Rosemary Ellen Guiley: http...

Weird Medieval Creatures

April 30, 2021 09:00 - 37 minutes - 32.8 MB

A look at some weird medieval creatures from legend and lore. Plus some stories about some recent cemetery visits in Queens, NY, including Houdini's grave. Highlights include: • An ancient, impenetrable European forest • A magical glowing bird • A dragon with a rooster's head For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com. Follow on instagram @buriedsecretspodcast

Moore-Jackson Cemetery (Hidden Cemeteries)

April 16, 2021 09:00 - 47 minutes - 42.1 MB

A colonial-era cemetery sits in a quiet residential part of New York City. Forgotten for years, and even used as a dump for construction materials and other detritus, the Moore-Jackson Cemetery recently been transformed into a beautiful community garden. Here's the story behind the cemetery and the people buried there. Highlights include: • Loyalists living in Revolutionary War-era Queens, NY • The city trying to illegally seize the cemetery at the behest of a developer • A hot-potato...

Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery: Part 2 (Hidden Cemeteries)

April 02, 2021 09:00 - 42 minutes - 37.4 MB

A look at the remarkable Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery, which one woman's dream and grit turned into a beautiful site with a secret garden. Highlights include: • A unique second date • A collection of vintage ventriloquist dummies • Fun historic home renovation details Note: There's discussion of chattel slavery and being held captive against one's will near the end of this episode, around 00:34:15. For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com. Follow on...

Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery: Part 1 (Hidden Cemeteries)

March 26, 2021 09:00 - 32 minutes - 28.4 MB

A look at the Lent-Riker-Smith Cemetery, a hidden family graveyard tucked away behind one of the oldest homes in New York City, which is still a private residence. This is part 1 of the history of the little-known Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery. This episode focuses on the history of nearby Riker's Island, as well as the Riker family, and sets the scene for next week's deep dive into the home and cemetery's more recent history, and what they're like now. Highlights include: • S...

Lawrence Family Cemetery (Hidden Cemeteries)

March 19, 2021 09:00 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MB

A look at a small family cemetery dating from the 1600s, tucked into a residential neighborhood in New York City. The Lawrences were an old family from Queens, New York, arriving in the area in the 1600s and buying land all over. Despite the destruction of many family cemeteries in NYC over the centuries, two Lawrence cemeteries have survived, one of which is in an Astoria man's backyard. The cemetery, surrounded by both a stone wall and a chain link fence, is closed to the public, thoug...

Mysterious Tombstones at Socrates Sculpture Park

March 12, 2021 10:00 - 38 minutes - 33.5 MB

Why are there tombstones around Socrates Sculpture Park? A look at a riverside New York City park surrounded by a wall of tombstones. It seems that very few people have asked this question, at least on the internet, and there are no obvious answers. There is, however, a fascinating history behind this little park, as well as a whole host of possibilities for how this site came by its morbid gravestone wall. Highlights include: • The ultimate NYC villian: real estate developers • A forg...

Hidden Cemeteries of Astoria

March 05, 2021 10:00 - 38 minutes - 33.7 MB

Two tiny, forgotten cemeteries sit near each other in old Astoria, Queens: one was a burying ground for the wealthy families who ran the town, and the other was for Irish immigrants who fled the famine. Here's a look at the history behind the graveyards, as well as a puzzling mystery about a nearby churchyard that may or may not be a burial site. Highlights include: • Robbers hiding their loot in a church tower • The mystery of a man with two graves • The discovery of human remains du...

The Ghostbusters Ruling

February 26, 2021 10:00 - 40 minutes - 35.9 MB

When a woman sells her home and doesn't disclose that friendly ghosts haunt it, the subsequent court case leads to the New York Supreme Court officially declaring the house haunted. In 1989, Helen Ackley sold the 18-room Victorian mansion that she'd lived in for 24 years. Located at 1 Laveta Place in Nyack, New York, overlooking the Hudson River, and lovingly restored by Helen and her late husband when they first purchased it in the 1960s, it was the perfect home for the Stambovskys, a Wal...

The Exorcist in New York (Part 2)

February 19, 2021 10:00 - 38 minutes - 30.1 MB

A deep dive into the darker side of The Exorcist's production, from the director's tendency to shot blanks from a gun at random on set to scare people, to evil deeds that two actors with bit parts went on to do after being in The Exorcist. Highlights include: • The erratic behavior of The Exorcist's director • A urban legend about lightning striking a tombstone during the filming of The Exorcist • A mysterious black dog • The extra in The Exorcist who became a killer Note: This episo...

The Exorcist in New York (Part 1)

February 12, 2021 11:00 - 34 minutes - 29.6 MB

A look at the Catholic rite of exorcism and the connections that the 1973 film The Exorcist has to New York City, in particular to Fordham University. New York City's Fordham University wasn't just a filming location for The Exorcist; it also was the home of two real priests who appeared in the film. One of those priests was the former teacher and friend of the William Peter Blatty, author of the novel The Exorcist, and this priest encouraged Blatty to research and write about exorcism. ...

Doomsday Cult from the 1690s: Johannes Kelpius and Occult Monks in Philly

February 05, 2021 23:10 - 36 minutes - 31.6 MB

In the 1690s, a Transylvania-born mystic, occultist, musician, and writer named Johannes Kelpius led a group of 40 Rosicrucian monks to colonial Philadelphia to wait for the end of the world. Though Kelpius and his group of highly-educated mystics were disappointed when the day of revelation didn't come, they made the best of their new home, building an observatory, a botanical garden, and an orchard. They also wrote poetry, composed music, and studied alchemy, divination, and conjuring. ...

The Lost Crystal Palace of New York (Part 2)

January 29, 2021 12:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MB

It only took 15 minutes for the New York Crystal Palace, a beautiful building made of iron and glass, to burn to the ground. Financially insolvent and falling apart, New York City's Crystal Palace had seen better days. New management attempted to save the beautiful edifice, but its ruin was too far gone. What had once been a glamorous tourist attraction became a decrepit mess. New York City considered selling it for scraps, or moving the building to Philadelphia, but the screws that kept...

The Lost Crystal Palace of New York (Part 1)

January 22, 2021 12:00 - 36 minutes - 32.7 MB

A look at New York City's ill-fated Crystal Palace, a beautiful structure built on an abandoned cemetery on the outskirts of town. In the mid-19th century, a castle of glass stood in the wilds of what is now a bustling part of New York City. It was an answer to a similar Crystal Palace in London, which had hosted an exhibition a couple years before. The Crystal Palace and the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was meant to represent American industry and ingenuity, but ended its d...

Haunted St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery

January 15, 2021 00:48 - 33 minutes - 30.1 MB

A look at the second-oldest church still standing in Manhattan, which is full of hauntings both legendary and questionable. Highlights include: • A wealthy man's remains being stolen and held for ransom • A very grumpy ghost • An heir who convened with his ancestor's ghost instead of marrying • A mysteriously ringing church bell For the shownotes and sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com. Follow on instagram @buriedsecretspodcast E-mail at [email protected]

Haunted Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel, NYC

January 08, 2021 12:00 - 46 minutes - 40.2 MB

A look at two of NYC's oldest and most haunted churches: Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel, two famous houses of worship in Manhattan's Financial District with cemeteries tucked into their churchyards. Check out the shownotes at buriedsecretspodcast.com to see pics of the cemeteries and churches mentioned in this episode. Highlights include: • Disinterring corpses to free up space in the cemetery • A body (and ghost?) with a missing head • Edgar Allen Poe's possible cemetery cottag...

Ghosts of the Hell Gate

November 27, 2020 12:00

Paranormal stories about New York City's Hell Gate abound, from stories about a serial killer living inside the Hell Gate Bridge, to a tale of an encounter with the devil, and a possible EVP that Chris just found in a recording from April. Many of the stories of the Hell Gate center around the grand Hell Gate Bridge, so this episode dives into the bridge's history, as well as accounts of people sneaking up onto the bridge and exploring it. The episode closes out with a recording that Chris...

Ghosts of the Hell Gate

November 27, 2020 12:00

Paranormal stories about New York City's Hell Gate abound, from stories about a serial killer living inside the Hell Gate Bridge, to a tale of an encounter with the devil, and a possible EVP that Chris just found in a recording from April. Many of the stories of the Hell Gate center around the grand Hell Gate Bridge, so this episode dives into the bridge's history, as well as accounts of people sneaking up onto the bridge and exploring it. The episode closes out with a recording that Chris...

The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, NYC

November 20, 2020 12:00 - 32 minutes - 29.1 MB

On a summer afternoon in 1904, the General Slocum, a supposedly unsinkable ship carrying about 1,300 people bound for a picnic, caught fire and sank in New York City's notorious Hell Gate. The General Slocum disaster was the second-worst maritime disaster in US history and the greatest loss of life in NYC before 9/11. But it's been largely forgotten. When a church group and their neighbors went on an ill-fated day trip to Long Island, they encountered a disaster of unfathomable proportions...

Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate

November 13, 2020 12:00 - 40 minutes - 35.3 MB

Legend has it that beneath the churning waters of the notorious Hell Gate, a tidal strait in New York City, lies millions of dollars worth of sunken treasure. In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, a British frigate called the HMS Hussar struck a reef and sank to the bottom of the East River. Many people believe that the ship carried an enormous amount of gold as payroll for British soldiers. Despite its location in the most dangerous waters in the area, treasure hunters have searched fo...

A Victorian Lighthouse: The Blackwell Island Light, Roosevelt Island, NYC

November 06, 2020 12:00 - 48 minutes - 41.2 MB

A look at the mysterious Gothic lighthouse that stands at the tip of New York City's Roosevelt Island. Did a lunatic named Thomas Maxey build the lighthouse? If so, why did a now-missing stone say that an unknown person named John McCarthy built it? Or was it designed by 19th century starchitect, James Renwick, Jr, who was also responsible for St. Patrick's Cathedral? There isn't a lot of good information about this online, but a deep dive into newspaper archives had helped get some answ...

A Victorian Lunatic's Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell's Island, NYC

October 30, 2020 11:00 - 37 minutes - 32.9 MB

In the mid-19th century, Thomas Maxey, a patient at the New York Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island, built Fort Maxey, a strange structure complete with cannons, a garden of tall flowers, and mysterious carvings. The infamous New York Lunatic Asylum has its share of chilling stories. But one odd, forgotten story is the tale of a mysterious man who took it upon himself to build a bizarre, hobbit-hole like "fort," which included a bridge, a bizarre stone gateway, and a toll for curious vis...

The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2

October 23, 2020 11:00 - 40 minutes - 35.5 MB

A look at the haunted side of the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, as well as some of the tragedies and violence that have happened in the area. This episode is focused on the haunted aspects of the hotel, including creepy things that have happened there and nearby, theories about why it may be haunted, ideas about what should be done to counteract the Luxor "curse" and more. Note: This episode contains brief mentions of suicide, domestic violence, mass shooting, bombing, and falling...

The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1

October 16, 2020 11:00 - 44 minutes - 37.5 MB

The Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is one of the most iconic hotels on the strip—and supposedly one of the most haunted. Back in the 1990s, there were grand plans to make Vegas a new Disney-type destination, full of ornate themed resorts and fun activities for children. The Luxor Hotel and Casino, an Ancient Egyptian themed hotel that's shaped like a giant obsidian pyramid with a beam of light coming out of the top, was a strange and fascinating example of Vegas' '90s family-friendly ...

The Book of Thoth and the First Egyptologist

October 09, 2020 11:00 - 32 minutes - 28.3 MB

A look at the legendary Book of Thoth and the historical figure who inspired Ancient Egypt's most famous fictional sorcerer and is considered the first Egyptologist. Setne Khamwas, aka Prince Khaemweset, was the son of Ramesses the Great, as well as a high priest of Ptah, and a historian with a passion for preserving Ancient Egyptian history. He traveled around Egypt, restoring sites and monuments from the Old Kingdom, including the famous Pyramids at Giza. He's a big factor in why so many...

Se-Osiris, Ancient Egyptian Wizard

October 02, 2020 11:00 - 38 minutes - 34.1 MB

A look at the magic-filled legends of Se-Osiris, Ancient Egyptian Wizard, who, as a pre-teen, traveled to the underworld and later dueled with a reincarnated sorcerer. Setne II, an Ancient Egyptian story that's survived on papyrus, tells the tale of a Dante's inferno-like descent into the underworld, and a flurry of magical duels and reincarnation. Oh, and the person doing the magic is a 12-year-old kid. Highlights include: • A protective mother who turns into a goose to fly to save her...

Ancient Egyptian Tomb Raider and Wizard Prince Setne

September 25, 2020 11:00 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MB

A look at the magic-filled legends of Prince Setne, a character based on the son of Ramesses II, who goes on a tomb-raiding journey to acquire a magical book. And it's the prequel to the stories about his 12-year-old boy wizard son, Se-Osiris. Setne I, or Setne Khamwas and Naneferkaptah, is a tale that's survived on papyrus from Ptolemaic Egypt. It about a wizard who descends into a tomb to collect a book written by the god Thoth, only to find it guarded by ghosts. Indiana Jones-style hiji...

Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)

September 18, 2020 11:00 - 42 minutes - 36.5 MB

Dagger John, New York City's most influential and vicious archbishop, had a huge impact, whether he was consecrating Calvary Cemetery and founding Fordham University, or peppering the mayor with threats to burn down the city. "Are you afraid," asked the mayor, "that some of your churches will be burned?" "No, sir; but I am afraid that some of yours will be burned. We can protect our own. I come to warn you for your own good." Highlights include: • The "Black Coats," aka America's evil ...

Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, NYC (Part 2)

September 18, 2020 11:00 - 42 minutes - 36.5 MB

Dagger John, New York City's most influential and vicious archbishop, had a huge impact, whether he was consecrating Calvary Cemetery and founding Fordham University, or peppering the mayor with threats to burn down the city. "Are you afraid," asked the mayor, "that some of your churches will be burned?" "No, sir; but I am afraid that some of yours will be burned. We can protect our own. I come to warn you for your own good." Highlights include: • The "Black Coats," aka America's evil ...

Calvary Cemetery, NYC: Part 1

September 11, 2020 09:40 - 44 minutes - 39 MB

More people are buried at Calvary Cemetery, in Queens, New York, than in any other cemetery in the United States.  This episode is focused on the history of the cemetery, what it's like to visit it nowadays, and some of the most interesting people buried there. Highlights include: • The Cemetery Belt, a collection of NYC cemeteries that can be seen from space • A rich man who died in a barn • A Black, queer communist author and poet • Rome's ancient catacombs • Some NYC mobsters • ...

Calvary Cemetery, NYC (Part 1)

September 11, 2020 09:40 - 44 minutes - 39 MB

More people are buried at Calvary Cemetery, in Queens, New York, than in any other cemetery in the United States.  This episode is focused on the history of the cemetery, what it's like to visit it nowadays, and some of the most interesting people buried there. Highlights include: • The Cemetery Belt, a collection of NYC cemeteries that can be seen from space • A rich man who died in a barn • A Black, queer communist author and poet • Rome's ancient catacombs • Some NYC mobsters • ...

Manhattan's Forgotten Cemeteries

September 04, 2020 12:00 - 37 minutes - 33.2 MB

A look at the forgotten cemeteries and potter's fields that lie beneath the most famous parks in NYC. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, a number of potter's fields (cemeteries for paupers) were scattered around Manhattan. Some of NYC's most famous parks were built right on top of those forgotten cemeteries, including Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, Union Square Park, Central Park, Bryant Park, and Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Highlights include: • Grave robbers • The 20,000 ...

Haunted Asheville, North Carolina

August 28, 2020 10:00 - 49 minutes - 44.3 MB

A look at some popular ghost stories from haunted Asheville, North Carolina, along with a strange F. Scott Fitzgerald conspiracy theory. Highlights include: • Haunted bridges • Gruesome disinterments at a potter's field • A haunted high school • Two dead women named Helen • A bookseller's memories of hanging out with F. Scott Fitzgerald • An old tombstone shop • The Brown Mountain Lights Note: This episode contains mentions of murder, police brutality, suicide, drowning, and disre...

Ghosts of the Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina

August 21, 2020 11:00 - 41 minutes - 35.9 MB

A look at the strange history of the haunted Grove Park Inn, and the famous people (and ghost) who've stayed there. Built by a quinine medicine mogul based on plans drawn up by his son-in-law (who was not an architect), the Grove Park Inn is has hosted many famous guests. F. Scott Fitzgerald lived there for two summer, 10 presidents have stayed there, as well as celebrities like Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller. And then there's the Pink Lady, a mysterious female ghost who employees a...

The Cult of Santa Muerte, aka Saint Death

August 14, 2020 11:00 - 33 minutes - 28.7 MB

A look at Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, a Mexican folk saint whose popularity has skyrocketed over the last 20 years. The Catholic Church has condemned Santa Muerte as "satanic," the Mexican military has destroyed shrines to her, the Mexican government refuses to acknowledge the veneration of Santa Muerte as a religion, and the media in the US and Mexico have conflated the cult of Santa Muerte with drug cartels. But that's not the whole story. We take a look at the history behind Santa M...

Thomas Edison's Spirit Telegraph

August 07, 2020 11:02 - 30 minutes - 27.3 MB

A look at an apparatus to contact the spirit world that Thomas Edison claimed to be working on, but which never surfaced. In 1920, famed inventor Thomas Edison gave a series of interviews bragging about a device he was testing, a spirit telegraph, which spiritualists could use to give their seances a more scientific bent. Though he despised Ouija boards, table tipping, and other trappings of spiritualism, Edison believed that his new invention could determine whether the human personality ...

The Secrets of Quinta da Regaleira

July 31, 2020 11:16 - 45 minutes - 36.5 MB

A deep dive into the mysteries and history of a strange palace and garden built by an eccentric millionaire in Sintra, Portugal. Sometimes described as a playground for adults, Quinta da Regaleira is a mysterious estate built by a millionaire entomologist in the early 20th century, full of occult and masonic references. Chris talks about the history, symbolism, and some theories about the place. Highlights include: • A city named after a moon temple • Freemason symbolism • An Initiati...

Kill Daddy: The Turley Ouija Board Murder (Ouija Board Series)

July 24, 2020 10:09 - 47 minutes - 43 MB

In 1933, a teenage girl shot her father on the orders of a Ouija board. Or was it her former-beauty-queen mother who encouraged the violence? When playing with a Ouija board with her mother, 14-year-old Mattie Turley receives the message that she must kill her father so her mother can be free to marry a handsome cowboy. Her mother, Dorothea, who had won a beauty contest in 1916 and had attended the London Academy of Music, had married instead of following her dream of being an actress. S...

More 1920s Ouija Board Stories (Ouija Board Series)

July 17, 2020 11:16 - 37 minutes - 32.5 MB

We're back talking Ouijamania in 1920! We take a look at more Ouija board stories, including communication with the ghost of Marie Antoinette and the tale of a doomed treasure hunter. Highlights include: • A supposedly Ouija-crazed cop who hijacked a car at gunpoint and proceeded to disrobe • Queerness in 1920s San Francisco • The ghosts who haunted European aristocrats • Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany For our shownotes, including our sources, visit buriedsecretspodcast.com. You ...

1920s Ouijamania (Ouija Board Series)

July 10, 2020 12:43 - 50 minutes - 44.2 MB

"Ouijamania" is the phenomenon where people, usually women, supposedly went crazy because of their Ouija board use, usually resulting in their institutionalization. We take a look at Ouijamania in 1920 and see how the panic over Ouija boards was influenced by big movements at the time, including womens suffrage, prohibition, and, unfortunately, eugenics. Highlights include: • Occult rituals • 1920s insane asylums • Burning money • The dark side of 1920s feminism For our shownotes, ...

Ouija after World War I (Ouija Board Series)

July 03, 2020 13:36 - 46 minutes - 40.7 MB

We take a look at the sudden popularity of Ouija after World War I. We tried talking about 1920s Ouijamania and just barely make it outta the 19teens. Highlights include: • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini playing with a Ouija board in an Atlantic City hotel room • The pope hiring a former psychical researcher to denounce Ouija • Possible connections between remote viewing and successful Ouija board use • The solar plexus chakra and ouija • The dark side of 1920s America For...

Victorian Egyptomania (Ouija Board Series)

June 26, 2020 11:00 - 58 minutes - 51.3 MB

We take a detour in our look at the Ouija board and dive into Victorian Egyptomania. In the Victorian Era, people were really into death and the supernatural. Americans and Europeans also started traveling to Egypt and bringing back mummies and other pieces of Egyptian culture. We talk about some of the weird stuff that Victorians did with Egyptian artifacts, some now-destroyed Egyptian Revival buildings in NYC, and what all of this has to do with Ouija. Highlights include: • An Egyptia...

19th Century Ouija Board Stories (Ouija Board Series)

June 19, 2020 12:11 - 41 minutes - 37.4 MB

Chris digs up some early stories of people getting waaay too obsessed with their Ouija boards. Highlights include: • a rare story of a 19th century black woman's experience with Ouija • a couple destroying their home to (supposedly) convert the world to Masonic principles • Presidential talking boards • petty society columns • Ouija wrecking havoc on a wealthy Brooklyn family • a man finding spiritual fulfillment through Ouija Most of these stories take place during the Victorian e...