What if the circus never left—and it was angry

The quiet streets of Baraboo hide a thundering past. We head straight into Circus City’s living history—where the Ringling Brothers built their empire—and follow a single case that starts with an old house, a fallen barn, and a family desperate for sleep, then spirals into one of the strangest hauntings we’ve explored. When sledgehammer blows rattle the walls, a window bursts without warning, and a goldfish bowl hits the floor with no water and no fish, a no-nonsense police chief and three deputies step in. What they witness—clean snow, no footprints, and a Buick sedan dragged uphill with its wheels locked—turns a simple vandalism call into a mystery of weight, force, and a presence that refuses to be seen.

We connect the dots the way a good investigator would: biography, materials, and place. Rose Holliday’s late husband trained elephants for the circus. The house on 8th Street? Built from reclaimed lumber taken from a Ringling elephant-training barn that once held 24 giants. Suddenly the reports make a different kind of sense. The “dog-shaped” shadow children feared, the barn collapse, the house-quaking booms—these aren’t parlor tricks. They feel like boundaries enforced by something that knows its size and space. Whether you land on intelligent haunting, place memory, or an extraordinary string of coincidences, the story forces a new respect for how history embeds in wood, earth, and routine.

Along the way, we revisit how the Ringling Brothers rose from a one-ring show to a national force, how circus territory agreements shaped entertainment, and why Baraboo’s winter quarters mattered. We consider the ethics of spectacle, the emotional residue of training, and what happens when you build a home from timbers that learned the rhythms of command, fear, and applause. The result is part ghost story, part cultural archaeology, and entirely unforgettable.

If this kind of deep-dive haunt keeps you curious, tap follow, share the episode with a friend who loves strange history, and leave a review with your best theory—intelligent haunting, residual echo, or something wilder?

Apologies for echo and technical difficulties.

Thank you for listening to the Paranormal Peeps Podcast.  Check us out on Facebook Paranormal Peeps Podcast or Coldspot Paranormal Research and on Instagram coldspot_paranormal_research

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Circus City
• 2:40 Ringling Brothers’ Rise and Territory Wars
• 7:45 Baraboo’s Boom of Traveling Shows
• 11:55 The Holliday Family’s Dream House
• 16:05 Night One: Unseen Footsteps and Shakes
• 20:40 A Shadow in the Snow, No Tracks
• 24:30 Sledgehammer Nights and Barn Collapse
• 28:05 Police Stakeout Meets the Impossible
• 33:20 Shattered Window, Missing Water, Vanished Fish
• 37:10 House-Quaking Blows and a Retreat
• 41:00 The Buick Dragged Uphill
• 45:20 Evacuation and Neighborhood Calm
• 48:05 New Fear: Children and Black Shapes
• 51:40 The Elephant Wrangler Connection
• 55:10 Reclaimed Barn Wood and a Theory
• 1:00:00 Aftermath, Media, and Open Questions

Transcript

Welcome to Circus City

Jamey 0:00

Between the realm of the dead and the journeys of the living, join Josh, Jamie, and Elisa as they delve into the vast world of the paranormal and breathe life back into the history of the departed.

Josh 0:11

Hey everybody, welcome back to the Paranormal Peeps Podcast. I'm Josh.

Speaker 5 0:15

I'm Jamie, and I'm Elisa.

Josh 0:18

And we are bringing you guys yet another fun and spooky set of stories.

Jamey 0:28

You had to pause that long to think of the word spooky.

Josh 0:31

Yes.

Jamey 0:32

Gotcha.

Speaker 4 0:34

He's going for a dramatic effect.

Jamey 0:37

A dramatic pause.

Josh 0:42

Can I be any more dramatic?

Jamey 0:46

Please don't.

Josh 0:51

So when I bring up Wisconsin, what do you think of?

Jamey 0:59

Somewhere I don't want to live. No, thanks.

Josh 1:04

I always think of cheese.

Jamey 1:06

No, that's true, but I don't like Wisconsin cheese personally. Maybe I just haven't had the right Wisconsin cheese.

Josh 1:14

That could be.

Jamey 1:15

But some of the Wisconsin cheese I have is just kind of like it's not bad. But it's not like, wow, this is the best cheese ever.

Josh 1:24

Yeah, I've I prefer Wisconsin cheese over most other cheese. Probably because I've had it for 20 some years.

Jamey 1:32

Okay, and that's fair. Whereas I've been like Tillamook.

Speaker 5 1:36

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Same.

Jamey 1:38

And so Tillamook cheddar and Tillamook cheeses are ranked number one for me for just like everyday sort of cheeses.

Josh 1:46

Right.

Jamey 1:48

And welcome to the cheese podcast. Yes, right. Welcome to the cheese.

Josh 1:51

Well, it's the reason why I say cheese is because I for a while I lived in the Twin Cities, and it's right close to the border with Wisconsin. And so when you drive into Wisconsin from the Twin Cities, the first gas station you find, there's this giant sign that says cheese. And in tiny little letters underneath it, gas.

Speaker 5 2:20

She's gonna give you gas. Yep.

Jamey 2:23

A lot of cheese will give you a little bit of gas.

Josh 2:27

So yeah, so if you haven't figured out, we are going to the state of Wisconsin into a town that probably most everybody hasn't heard of.

Speaker 3 2:40

Okay. And what is it?

Speaker 1 2:44

Yeah, so the He's like, you guys are ruining it.

Jamey 2:54

You know, we're adding some entertainment to it.

Josh 2:58

So I'm that boring already. Gotcha.

Jamey 3:02

Let's go!

Josh 3:04

Alright, so we're gonna go to uh Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Jamey 3:08

Is that really how you say it? Baraboo?

Josh 3:10

I don't know, that's how it's spelled. B-A-R-A-B-O-O. Baraboo. Baraboo?

Jamey 3:15

Baraboo. Baraboo, Baraboo. I've heard it both ways.

Josh 3:19

But it's got boo in it, so obviously it's spooky to begin with.

Jamey 3:22

Right up our alley. Yes.

Josh 3:25

So it was first settled in 1838. The city which would eventually be known as Circus City. It quickly underwent explosive growth for its time. We went within about 40 years, it went from settlement to village to town to city. Yeah. Officially recognized in 1882, the city already begun laying its foundations for its future nickname because in 1878, a nine-member family by the last name of Rungling moved to town.

Jamey 4:03

Rungling?

Josh 4:04

It was originally Rungling.

Jamey 4:06

They changed it.

Josh 4:08

They changed it.

Jamey 4:09

Ooh, okay. Do tell.

Josh 4:12

They decided to leave their home in Prairie Duchne, Wisconsin. And if I made I probably really messed that one up.

Jamey 4:20

We always seem to mispronounce things. But it's no different than people here trying to pronounce Towilla. Tuli did the same thing when we moved here. Josh and I called it Thule. Everybody calls it Thule.

Josh 4:33

Or towilla. Or Pulya up in with in uh Washington.

Jamey 4:38

It's Pew Alop.

Josh 4:40

It is spelt pull ya up.

Jamey 4:42

Yep, but it's pronounced Pewallop. Yeah.

Josh 4:45

Alright, so they made their few uh so they made their permanent residence within the future city of Baraboo or Baraboo. And for those who are not very good at their 19th and 20th century Midwestern American history of notable individuals, uh if the name sounds familiar, it's more than likely because that you are associating it with the much more famous slogan, the greatest show on earth. Their name was changed from rungling to ringling.

Speaker 4 5:23

Rig-al-ling-ling, ring-a ling-ling-ling, rung rung.

Josh 5:28

So officially established in 1884, the Ringling Brothers Circus called Baraboo, its headquarters from the start. Originally created in 1882 by five of the seven brothers.

Speaker 5 5:40

Yeah, they're too late. Nope, I'm out.

Josh 5:44

Exactly. Yeah. A small variety show which toured around Wisconsin and performed in various town halls and meeting spaces. The small show eventually brought in enough money which allowed the brothers to purchase the donkey, a trick pony, a bear, and matching suits.

Jamey 6:00

So was the matching suits for like one of the brothers and the bear?

Josh 6:04

And the pony. And the pony. The trick pony.

Jamey 6:07

So it wasn't just two pairs matching suits, it was matching suits across the board.

Josh 6:13

Yes. I'm assuming it doesn't not say, but I am assuming that's exactly what it is.

Jamey 6:18

I mean, that's the picture I'm creating my head.

Josh 6:19

So yes. This influx of cash allowed the brothers to officially grow into a modest one-ring show from then on out, which was also known as the Ringling Brothers Variety Performance Show. A little long. It's a mouthful. Yeah. Which then became widely known as the Ringling Brothers Circus. Word quickly spread about the entertainment of the show provided, and positive word of mouth brought even more fans into their ever-growing tent. So this they still haven't really taken it on the road outside of Wisconsin yet.

Jamey 6:55

Well, no, they're they're in the beginning phases of it. I mean it's a one-ring circus.

Josh 6:59

Exactly. Not a three-ring.

Jamey 7:01

Not a three-ring yet.

Josh 7:01

So still a tiny tent.

Jamey 7:03

Yes, tiny tent.

Baraboo’s Boom of Traveling Shows

Josh 7:04

Eventually, the brothers had enough income which allowed them to purchase another competitor circus, the Yankee Brothers Circus, in 1884 and grew even larger. During this prosperous time, and with the addition of the final two brothers joining the business, it seemed that everything the brothers touched turned to gold. And this risky business venture event ultimately ended up putting even more cash into their pockets. Four years later, in 1884, with seven well-stocked bank accounts and a newly purchased elephant, the brothers decided to take their show across the country and started traveling to other states via the railroad. This, of course, though brought about the attention of other big names within the highly popular circus world at the time, and plans were quickly being formulated to establish circus boundaries. Sounds like the circus mafia.

Jamey 7:58

Right? This is my territory.

Josh 8:01

You stay here. Well, you stay there.

Speaker 5 8:04

Well, and it's like we've got seven banks. Like seven bank accounts. Seven bank accounts. So it's like track our money.

unknown 8:11

Yeah.

Speaker 5 8:11

You know, like the mafia, like, we've got hidden accounts across seas. It's like, no, we have seven bank accounts. Come get us.

Josh 8:19

I can't believe what it would take what it would take to get an elephant.

Speaker 5 8:23

Because at the where did they get a bear? Well, a bear, you can- You can get a cub here, but like we don't have elephants in America that are just wild. But with seven bank accounts, I'm sure they could ship one easily.

Josh 8:38

Yeah, either from India or Africa.

Speaker 5 8:40

Wrap it up. Well, I bet I bet one of them had to take a ship across. Uh-huh. Yeah.

Josh 8:46

Buy it and then broker a deal with the local people.

Speaker 5 8:48

And can you imagine being the ship that had to carry that elephant back? Oh. It would stink. I was gonna say it would stink so bad. That would be bad.

Josh 8:58

That's why the other two brothers came in. They're the elephant wranglers.

Speaker 1 9:02

Yeah.

Josh 9:04

Uh one such name that was well aware of the ringling brothers' success was that of James Anthony Bailey.

unknown 9:11

Ooh, oh.

Josh 9:14

Uh business partner to P.T. Barnum and co-owner of the well-known Barnum and Bailey Circus. While the history between the Ringling Ringlings in Bailey and Barnum is deep, uh, we're not gonna just we'll just touch briefly on it.

Jamey 9:29

Um yeah, we don't have to go into everything.

Josh 9:31

Yeah, the history of the circus is actually It's extensive.

Jamey 9:36

Yeah, it's very, very extensive.

Josh 9:40

There's a lot, there's a lot to it. Okay, it's interesting though, because when you think about I mean the circus is unfortunately gone now. The circuses are gone, but really it was about entertainment. Well, that's really all they were. And and the the like the highlight for some of these cities was when the circus train showed up.

Jamey 10:04

Of course. It was a big thing.

Josh 10:06

Yeah, it was huge. Yeah. Uh during a meeting between the various circus kings, an agreement was made between the two parties on which areas and venues within the country each respected circus was allowed to set up shop. Uh Barnum and Bailey held the rights to play in some of the larger venues, such as Madison Square Garden, and for their agreement to the terms, the Ringlings were allowed to purchase a share of the Adam Fourpaw Sells Brothers Circus.

Speaker 5 10:37

That's one that's a lot of names.

Josh 10:40

There's probably a reason. Which was originally, yeah, right? Which was originally owned by Bailey. Later on in 1906, James Anthony Bailey uh passed away, and the Ringlings were able to purchase the entirety of the Four Paw Sales Brothers Circus. A year later in 1907, the remaining stockholders of Barnum and Bailey Circus officially allowed the Ringling Brothers to purchase this circus as well. Uh so that once the sale was complete, the brothers were able to set up their big top tens wherever they wished.

Speaker 5 11:15

So they actually would they were taken over. They were taken over quickly, too.

The Holliday Family’s Dream House

Josh 11:20

Yeah. Yeah, 20 years-ish. Uh so now the history of the Ringling Brothers and their super deep circus roots is actually really fascinating. And so, like, if you're a fan of history, I would recommend really looking into it. Um, because they're not a circus family by nature. Their dad did other things, and in fact, they um Al or Albreck was the oldest, and he learned he taught himself to juggle and to do tricks and stuff like that, and that's how they actually all of this stuff started.

Speaker 5 12:01

Oh, that's cool.

Josh 12:02

So, like, there's a really neat, deep history of it. Highly recommend looking into it if you're interested, you're if you're interested in it. Yeah. Um, now while they were eventually able to set up shop anywhere, uh, Wisconsin was always their home. So Baraboo served as their unofficial circus headquarters. And as a result of their success, other small circuses began to pop up in the area as well. So in 1891, the Gallmer Brothers Circus got its start. Seven years later, in 1898, John Robison Circus decided to try and make its mark on the scene as well, all starting in the area. And these were just two of the the lesser-known circuses that started. There was actually like five that started in in Baraboo itself.

Speaker 5 12:54

Well, once you see somebody being successful in something, it's easy to copy. Yeah.

Josh 12:59

Yeah.

Speaker 5 13:00

It's like, let's do it.

Josh 13:04

And of course, everyone is coming into Baraboo. And so with them comes uh all this chaotic energy, and regardless of how they started or who owned the circuses at the time, there was just an overflow of performers of all shapes and sizes in the area, various buildings, each with different purposes. Uh the place was constantly under construction. And typically this energy seems like Utah. Right?

unknown 13:40

Right.

Josh 13:40

It well, it really is because Utah was the the gateway to the west. Everyone coming to the to the gold fields came through Utah, either north or south.

Speaker 5 13:51

Like I-15 has never stopped being under construction.

Josh 13:54

Well, right, and yeah, then and now you have I-15, right? Everyone, everybody who's going to Vegas, if they're coming from the north, is going through Utah.

Speaker 5 14:04

Yep. Just to get here, we went down to two lanes. Really?

Speaker 3 14:11

Crazy.

Josh 14:12

Yeah. So typically this energy would move with the circus as it traveled from train station to train station, never never having a permanent home, never stopping. But sometimes, as the following story will count, the energy decides to stick around and make its presence known in the most of chaotic possible ways. So we'll get into a nice, fun circus ghost story.

Jamey 14:44

Here we go.

Josh 14:47

This actually made the news. It actually was published in the newspaper in uh Madison, Wisconsin.

Speaker 5 14:54

Oh, that's back then.

Josh 14:56

Yeah. In 1930.

Speaker 5 14:59

And I'm sure that was not a very common thing to talk about in the newspaper.

Josh 15:04

No. Nope. So one thing to remember before I get into the story is that not only are all of these circus things here, the reason why it was called Circus City is the Ringling Brothers, this is where their winter home was. So at the end of every successful circus season, they would come back here. They would walk their elephants, walk their camels, repair their equipment, make new uh acts. All of this stuff is happening on the streets of Wisconsin.

Speaker 5 15:41

So cool for everybody to be there to watch. Hopefully they were good to their animals.

Josh 15:46

They they sounded amazing, actually.

Jamey 15:48

Okay, that's good. I hope so, because there's nothing worse to me than hearing about people mistreating their animals.

Speaker 5 15:55

I just think of an elephant in the wintertime. They're not acclimated to that. No, they have no fur.

Josh 16:00

They have no fur.

Night One: Unseen Footsteps and Shakes

Speaker 5 16:02

I mean, I guess on the little bush end of their tail, but like other than that.

Josh 16:08

Yeah, so they so there were uh many buildings that they built to house the animals because they also had lions and tigers and bears. Oh my and so obviously, like you have to uh you have to walk all of the hay-feeding or hay-eating animals and keep them fed and exercised and stuff like that. And then you've got the carnivores that you gotta keep fed and away from the hay-eating animals.

Jamey 16:39

Yep.

Josh 16:40

You know, the last thing you want is a tiger getting into your horses because that's like your zebras and stuff, yeah. Yeah, that's gonna cause problems.

Jamey 16:47

Slightly.

Josh 16:49

So our ghost story begins January 1st, 1930, in a house located on 8th Street in Baraboo. It was on this day that the widowed Miss Rose Holliday. That's me, her daughter Alice Green, and Alice, Alice's husband, Patrick, all moved into their newly rented home, which had been their long dream house of Rose since before her husband had died many years prior. The old home was a modest size, possessed five rooms in total, two bedrooms were located upstairs, while a kitchen, dining room, and living room were located downstairs. Situated off the back of the house was an old barn that hadn't been formerly used since the days of the circus. While a tad run down, Patrick and Alice had plans to eventually turn it into a tire repair shop and make enough money to purchase the home outright. The old woman felt like she had won the lottery when she and her daughter and son-in-law were able to move in. Full of energy, the three family members quickly moved their belongings into the old structure and were able to complete their task before nightfall. That is quick to move in.

Speaker 5 18:10

Well, I'm sure back then they didn't have like a ton of stuff like we do now.

Josh 18:13

That's true. They didn't have seven TVs to move in.

Speaker 5 18:16

Oh, geez, no kidding.

Josh 18:19

Seven TVs, 20 monitors, six computers.

Jamey 18:25

All the miscellaneous, unnecessary stuff.

Josh 18:29

Exactly. When all the moving was said and done, Mrs. Holiday decided she was going to retire to bed early and would finish organizing her room the following day. So with her cot set up for the night in the living room. Well, yeah, no, see, there you go. No, not even a bed. They just got caught on the floor.

Speaker 4 18:49

Well, back then their beds were different than ours. Yeah, she's gonna set it up the next day, leave her alone, get out of her back. She's gonna weave that bed together. She's gonna tighten the ropes down and everything. Jeez.

Jamey 19:00

Give her some space.

Josh 19:01

Unfortunately, located directly beneath Alice Alice and Patrick's room, the old woman drifted off into what she hoped would be a restful sleep. But unlucky for her, she would quickly find out that her dream home was actually a nightmare, and the chaos will begin on the very first night. As Mrs. Holiday walked through Dreamland, safe and happy inside her new abode, she was suddenly awoken by the faint sound of moving, audible enough to be recognized as something moving around, but not clear enough to either recognize the sound or pinpoint the location. Sounds like rats.

Jamey 19:43

Possibility.

A Shadow in the Snow, No Tracks

Josh 19:44

It was as if the sound was both distant and all around her at once. As the old woman listened in the darkness, she began to tell herself that the cause of the strange sound simply had to be mice. The house was old, so it was well within reason to assume that some sort of small creature had found its way inside to escape the cold winter conditions outside. Satisfied with her assumption, the widow attempted to fall back asleep, but then the sounds got louder. What was once thought to be the noises of a scurrying mouse soon began to manifest themselves in other parts of the house. The ceiling beams began to creak, the wooden floors began to squeak. Soon the volume of noises taking place inside the home were too much to bear, and the old woman was nearing her breaking point when suddenly a series of loud thumps echoed through the home and proceeded to shake the house to its foundation.

Jamey 20:46

Oh wow. That's a little frightening.

Josh 20:49

Right? Immediately after that, the noises stopped and the house fell silent. All that could be heard was the winter wind howling outside. Rattled but still exhausted, Mrs. Holliday convinced herself that there had to be some logical explanation and vowed to solve it the next day. It wasn't long after that that she drifted back off to sleep.

Speaker 5 21:11

Well, it makes me wonder because when there's we get 60 mile an hour wind gusts at our house. And the house will pop and creak. It'll pop and creak and the windows will windows will shake. Yeah.

Speaker 1 21:23

Yeah.

Speaker 5 21:23

So I mean, if they're having wind that night, why couldn't it be something like that?

Josh 21:28

Oh, it very well could be.

Speaker 5 21:30

Yeah. But I'm wondering if that that could have crossed your mind.

Josh 21:33

It could have. I mean, but you would think though that if you heard noises at first thinking it was a mouse like scurrying or something. And then anything in the house. You would know that something was different.

Speaker 5 21:47

Yeah. And it makes me wonder, too, is if anybody like the daughter and stuff upstairs. Did they hear it? Did they hear it? You know?

Jamey 21:59

It doesn't sound like it. Yeah. From what the story's saying.

Josh 22:03

So the next morning, she was sure she had discovered the cause of the late night noises. She believed the ruckus was caused by her daughter and son-in-law while having some sort of argument during the night.

Jamey 22:16

Was it an argument? They were loud. Or was it something else?

Josh 22:23

The noises were obviously the result of them stomping back and forth upstairs and pacing through the home in the darkness.

Speaker 5 22:29

So it was that kind of loud?

Josh 22:31

Yeah. Like shaking, you're talking about shaking the rafters and shaking the house.

Speaker 5 22:36

That's wild.

Josh 22:37

For Mrs. Holiday, that was the logical answer to the mystery.

Jamey 22:43

Well, and after you've actually had some sleep, and then you go back and you think about it, and it's like more of a distant memory, like it's still there, but it's not fresh.

Josh 22:53

Yep.

Jamey 22:53

It's easy to be like, oh, that must have been it. Right.

Josh 22:58

But she approached the couple and asked them about it, which they vehemently denied, that there was any altercation, and even turned the questioning back around on the old woman. The young man and woman had also heard the noises during the night and assumed that the cause of the strange noises were the results of Mrs. Holiday moving her furniture around in the middle of the night. When Rose understandably denied the allegation made against her, the three were left without an answer and all agreed that they just had an odd night in their new home. And it was simple as that.

Speaker 5 23:39

Well, it's like when you have when you move into a new house, you don't know the creaks and the weirdness that's each house has.

Josh 24:53

Yeah, nothing. We made eye contact.

Jamey 24:55

Yeah. Like and he just is like. So it's unfortunate. It kind of really is sad.

Josh 25:02

Yeah. So while their topics remain mostly in the camp of mundane, eventually the two neighboring women shifted the course of talk towards the odd. As if just to get the subject off her chest and get it in, Mrs. Bemise abruptly asked Mrs. Holliday if the family was keeping a horse in the former barn-turned garage. Confused by the question, the old widow politely informed her neighbor that the family had no such horse, and as they were trying to save for a new automobile and could not afford the purchase or upkeep of an animal as large as a horse. Mrs. Holliday then asked Mrs. Bemise why she would assume the family had a horse. Which is kind of the logical sense of questioning. It's like, okay, we can't afford a horse. Why do you think we have a horse?

Jamey 25:59

I gave you the idea. Yeah.

Josh 26:01

Well, the response Mrs. Bemise gave was that the previous night, long after the sun gone down, she was looking out her kitchen window to check to if to see if it was snowing. During her peek through the glass, she caught the sight of what appeared to be a giant dark shape in the distance near the old home. Assuming that the new neighbors were going to be keeping horses, she found it odd that they would be allowed to be wandering outside the barn, especially one so large as what she had seen.

Jamey 26:37

So is it really a horseshoe thing she saw, or was it like the phantom ghost of like another animal, a larger animal? Because I mean, was it like a Clydesdale type horse? Like what made her think it was an actual horse? Because she said it was very large.

Josh 26:53

Probably because that's where your reasoning goes.

Speaker 5 26:57

Yeah, it's like the paradiglia where you just your mind instantly takes you to something that you can recognize and you can reason away.

Josh 27:05

Yeah. And when you see a giant shape in the dark and thinking that your neighbors have horses, it's obviously a horse.

Jamey 27:12

Come on, we all know it was Bigfoot.

Police Stakeout Meets the Impossible

Josh 27:14

It was Bigfoot. After a few moments of watching, Mrs. Bemise said the shape turned and moved through the snow back towards the old barn. The night was very dark, but she could clearly see the even darker shape moving across the open land and entering back into the barn. Not sure how to convince the two women that they did not, in fact, have a horse out back, Mrs. Holiday told the women to follow her out back. When they arrived outside, the old woman pointed out the snow, filling the space between the houses and the barn was undisturbed, and that no large animal could have walked through it without leaving some sort of tracks. Satisfying with the lack of any evidence leaning in favor of a large animal having been present in the yard, the three women dropped the subject and returned back inside to finish their tea.

Jamey 28:07

It was Bigfoot on a hoverboard. No tracks. See, I solved it.

Speaker 5 28:13

But it was that sucker was floating. Had to be floating. Floating like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Josh 28:20

Yep. It's just it's it's interesting though, because it's like that's I mean, I think that's probably the way to do it, right? Is just to say, hey, look, come and look at this. There's nothing there.

Speaker 1 28:33

Yeah.

Josh 28:33

But it is strange. I mean, we've experienced this before, you know, investigating in the dark, seeing a shadow in the dark.

Speaker 5 28:42

Yeah, because it's darker than dark. It's weird. I it's that's the only way I know how to explain it. It's darker than dark. Yeah.

Josh 28:49

Yeah. And so that's what this woman saw is a shadow in the dark.

Speaker 5 28:54

Because I feel like there's always some type of light.

Josh 28:58

Yeah, there's a little something that you can see.

Speaker 5 29:01

In general, wherever you go, there's like some type of light. Yeah. But then when you see something that has zero light, it's obvious. It's obvious, you can tell.

Josh 29:11

Yeah. Yeah, it's it's very strange.

Jamey 29:15

It is a strange feeling when you see something like that. Mm-hmm. Sense tingles.

Josh 29:20

Yes. So the next night on January 4th, the strange sounds once again fill the old home on 8th Street. Unlike their presence the first night in the home, the noises increased to a volume that did not allow for any sleep to even be attempted that night.

Jamey 29:41

So it's definitely trying to make its presence known, whatever it is.

Josh 29:44

Yes. All three family members remained wide awake listening to what sounded like a sledgehammer slamming against the outside of the house.

Speaker 5 29:54

Holy cow.

Josh 29:55

The noise was said to be so loud that even other residents within the neighborhood. We were able to hear it as well.

Speaker 5 30:02

Holy cow. I wonder if they thought, like, who the heck are these people?

Josh 30:05

Right.

Speaker 5 30:06

What are they doing? Like doing house construction in the middle of the night? Trying to knock their walls down?

unknown 30:10

Come on.

Josh 30:11

It was assumed at one point by the family that the source of the sound outside the home must be caused by some of the other neighbors who wished them to leave the area for some particular reason. It was learned by the family that a few members of the community originally thought them to be bootleggers when they moved into the old home back on the first. Which makes sense. We're talking the 1930s, prohibition. So we're kind of, you know, in that era. The reason for this being that the pro that prohibition was going on. And the strange sounds they were hearing were emanating from the home were soon to be the result of building a still in the old barn.

Jamey 30:56

Oh. So they think the little lady and her daughter and son-in-law are running a bootleg business. Yeah.

Josh 31:04

Now this was cleared up by the family, but some residents were not so inclined to believe them.

Jamey 31:09

Bring them in the house and show them. Yep.

Josh 31:11

Bring them to the barn. Let them look for the hidden still in the barn.

Speaker 5 31:15

It's like, hey, you want to spend the night in the barn? Go for it.

Josh 31:17

Want some hooch? Some free hooch too while you're at it.

Jamey 31:20

Well, that's what they're trying to prove they're not doing.

Josh 31:22

That's true. Two days later, on January 6th, the family awoke from a surprisingly quiet night. No strange noises had permeated the darkness of the old home. No loud bangs had struck the outside of the structures, and no booms had rattled the four walls that the three family members had dwelled within. It was as if whatever was plaguing the family had decided to finally leave them in peace. With a newfound energy and a feeling of refreshment, Mrs. Holliday arose from her bed, walked to the window to take in the sights of the morning, but when she arrived there, she discovered that the night had not been as uneventful as originally thought. For there in the backyard, now just a pile of rubble and flattened boards, was the old barn, which stood so steadfast only a few hours before. This sight being the final straw, the old widow ran downstairs and called the chief of police himself, August Marlowe.

Speaker 5 32:30

That would be so devastating. That would be very tough.

Josh 32:33

Yeah.

Speaker 5 32:35

Because those aren't cheap. And if they tried so hard to get this house, they're not going to be able to afford to rebuild a barn construct a barn.

Josh 32:44

Yeah. And they're just renting.

Speaker 4 32:46

Oh, they're just renting.

Josh 32:47

They're just renting. At this point in time, they're just renting. They're hoping to maybe buy the house later, but they were going to turn the bar and the barn into a business.

Speaker 1 32:56

Yeah.

Josh 32:57

So they could afford to buy the house. But now with no barn, there's no business.

Speaker 1 33:02

Yep.

Shattered Window, Missing Water, Vanished Fish

Josh 33:03

After listening to Mrs. Holiday demand that some sort of action be taken to solve the mystery of whatever was going on, Chief Marlowe made an agreement with the woman that himself and three deputies would stay at the house that night and keep watch over the property. If some vandals were behind the late night noise making and recent destruction of the barn, he assured her that they would catch them. So when 8 p.m. rolled around, Marlowe and his three men arrived just as they said they would and set up camp in the dining room. Mrs. Holliday served the men coffee and brought them up to speed on everything that had been going on up to that point. When she had finished her retelling, she made the decision to retire to bed. Only she would not be sleeping in her room as usual. Instead, she'd be sleeping on a cot in the living room close to the action. So when the offers officers discovered who or what was causing the ruckus, she would be there to give them a piece of her mind. The temperature had dropped since the four men arrived, and it was currently registering below zero.

Speaker 5 34:24

Oh, so cold.

Josh 34:25

As we call up in that area, normal winter. So if anyone was outside getting into mischief, they were obviously a fool. Well, I wouldn't call it that. We still managed to live in that at that time with negative 10 below every morning to school.

Jamey 34:46

With a chill.

Josh 34:47

Uphill both ways.

Jamey 34:49

Imagine you managed to live in that time. So you lived in the 1930s in that weather?

unknown 34:54

Shh.

Josh 34:54

Don't tell anybody I'm that old.

Jamey 34:56

You a vampire?

Speaker 5 34:59

He's almost a hundred.

Josh 35:01

Look good for my age.

Speaker 5 35:02

Yes, you do.

Josh 35:03

So if anyone oh, sorry. Uh with not much to do but wait, the chief and his deputies walked leisurely through the home, peering out the windows, enjoying the pot of coffee Mrs. Holiday had made them prior to returning in for the night. As the men kept watch, the old widow slept soundly on the cot in the living room. The greens made not a sound from their room upstairs. The first hour passed by with nothing out of the ordinary. Then a second came and went just as uneventfully. The deputies were beginning to fall asleep at their posts, and Chief Merlot started to think that whatever was bothering the three members of the old home had decided to leave them be. Content that the matter was now resolved, Chief Merlot decided to follow in his men's footsteps and get a little bit of shut-eye.

Jamey 35:55

No, you're there to stay awake.

Josh 35:58

But no sooner than he shut his eyes and tilt his head back when a bang loud enough and hard enough to shake the whole house slammed into the walls from the outside.

Speaker 5 36:11

That's scary. That is scary.

Josh 36:13

It's like getting hit by a truck. The four officers quickly jumped to their feet and ran to the windows on each of the respective sides of the house and peered out into the darkness. One man, obviously braver than the rest, grabbed his shotgun and ran outside, yelling for whoever was there to show themselves, but nobody came forward.

Speaker 5 36:37

You know what this sounds like? The bellwitch haunting? Somewhat, yeah.

Josh 36:41

A little bit, yeah.

Speaker 5 36:42

Because the banging on the outside of the house, running outside with a gun, like trying to fight figure out who it is, and nobody's there.

House-Quaking Blows and a Retreat

Josh 36:50

Yep. When the deputy returned back inside and alerted the chief, there were no signs that anyone had been there. The fresh fallen snow was unbroken, and there are no tracks indicating that neither automobile nor horse had visited the area since their arrival. Convinced there was logical explanation for the noise and movement of the house, the chief ordered all members of the home to gather in the living room and for the dwelling to be searched from top to bottom. As the deputies made their way through the home, Mrs. Holliday informed the chief that they would not find anyone because nobody was ever found during a search. And sure enough, the house was empty, besides those already accounted for. But still, the strange noises started to fill the home as they had done for so many nights prior.

Speaker 5 37:47

Well, that's good. At least they have other witnesses, right?

Josh 37:49

Yes. Five or four other witnesses.

unknown 37:53

Yeah.

Josh 37:53

With the belief still that the noises had a known source, Chief Merlot stood in the center of the living room and began to proclaim proclaim to his seven-member audience what he thought was the cause of the late night mischief. But not long after he started his speech, the intensity of the activity picked up. Without warning, a window that had been previously secured and checked by the deputies was smashed open without so much as an inkling to the cause. The sound of the breaking glass caused Mrs. Holiday to cry out for someone within range to save the goldfish which lived in the bowl in front of the window.

unknown 38:38

Oh poor goldfish.

Josh 38:39

But she was seconds too late, as the force of the window breaking caused the bowl to fall from its pedestal and smash on the ground.

Jamey 38:47

Poor goldfish. Hurry, get a bowl of water.

unknown 38:50

Right?

Jamey 38:50

Throw it in.

Josh 38:51

As the widow and Chief Marlowe moved towards the area in which the goldfish had landed, they both took notice of something odd. The fishbowl was seen by everyone hitting the floor, but what wasn't found in the aftermath of the crash was any water or the fish that called the bowl home.

Speaker 5 39:12

What? So it's like it'd been emptied.

Josh 39:15

Exactly. Understandably confused by the lack of water and being present, and with everyone gathered slightly around the glass strewn floor, each scanning the area for the missing fish, Patrick Green broke the quietude by asking a very simple question. Do you suppose it's ghosts after all? Almost immediately after uttering of those words, a series of booms, as loud as thunder, emanated from the floor above and shook the house below. Chief Marlowe ordered his men upstairs to investigate the jarring sounds, but the three men stood firm in their place. With sounds continuing to fill the space around them, the deputies looked at one another with apprehensive eyes until a man stepped up for them all and said, I guess we'll go home now because there's something about this house that isn't right. Nothing human came in here and shook the place and took the water and the goldfish. It's not anything for us to handle, Chief.

Jamey 40:32

Well, yeah, what are they gonna do? I'm gonna arrest that ghost thief, right?

The Buick Dragged Uphill

Josh 40:40

As Chief Merlot listened to the words spoken by his deputy, he took notice of the faces of the three members of the family. He couldn't just abandon them in their time of need, but he also realized that the situation was beginning to grow, well, you know, out of his control. And his men were right. This wasn't something for them to handle, but made a vow to serve and protect the residents of Baraboo. So people needed whatever help they could get. So with the inner strength he could muster, the chief pushed aside his fear, puffed out his chest, turned to Mrs. Holliday and the greens, and said, I am not afraid of any ghost that ever walked, and I'll stay here until.

Speaker 1 41:27

Boom.

Josh 41:27

Yeah. And then crash. The house shook suddenly to a point where nearly everyone inside fell to the floor.

Speaker 4 41:36

Holy cow.

Josh 41:37

Chairs, other pieces of furniture were grabbed at to help them uh rise back up to their feet before anyone could plant them firmly on the ground. Another crash, another giant jolt to the dwelling sent them back to the gr back to the ground.

Speaker 5 41:55

I want to experience something like that. I mean, it would be a little intimidating, but I'd yeah. Oh, it'd be totally scary, but then afterwards you'd be like, Oh, did you feel that?

Jamey 42:05

Like, I don't think I would want to see what could do that. No, right? You know what I mean? Yeah.

Josh 42:11

Like, what in the world is there?

Speaker 5 42:14

Well, no kidding, because the most thing we ever see is like something like little getting tipped over. Right. And we think that that's amazing. And some footsteps. And it's like, whoa, so like or like Yeah. Did you hear that? That was so cool.

Josh 42:29

Or a board being thrown across a room. That was loud.

Jamey 42:33

That we heard that. It wasn't being thrown across the room, it was being uh dragged or something. Well, no, it was like slid. Slid across the wood flooring. Yeah.

Josh 42:42

Yeah, but that was loud.

Jamey 42:43

Yeah, and that gal jumped in my arms like she was like I was so jealous. Woo! She was like, Yeah.

Josh 42:51

That was the coolest thing in the world.

Jamey 42:53

It yeah, it was a little freaky, but it was also kind of funny because the gal, the way she was unexpected.

Josh 43:01

After the second crash, the house went silent again. The activity seemed to have gone, and the only sound which could be heard was that of the wind. The resulting mess caused by the internal thunder was promptly cleaned. Broken glass cups and dishes were placed in the bin, and the broken window was covered for the remainder of the night. Once again, Chief Merlot ordered a complete search of the house, both inside and out, but just as before, nothing was found, and the snow outside was undisturbed. Interesting though, during the second sweep of the home, an odor reminiscent of a large grouping of farm animals began to fill the air. With a failed attempt at humor, and as a means to figure out the source of the animal smell, Chief Marlowe asked Patrick how long they had been keeping chickens in the basement. Slightly perturbed by the question, the young man told the chief of police that regardless of what everyone in the area believed, the family owned no animals, no chickens, no large horses, no farmyard animals of any kind. The smell was a new mystery in an already long line that had been plaguing the family since moving in. Which, you know, if you've been to a barn or an area where they keep cows and horses and something.

Jamey 44:27

You know the smell.

Josh 44:28

Yeah, it's an undeniable smell. Well, it's unmistakable. Yeah.

Jamey 44:32

You know, yeah.

Josh 44:33

You know what it smells like. And it's hard to describe.

Jamey 44:36

It stinks.

Josh 44:37

It does.

Jamey 44:38

Makes me wonder, is it like a phantom elephant?

Speaker 5 44:42

Well, see, like see, what I'm wondering too is when we go to haunted places, we'll often smell like cigarettes or cigars. Cinnamon. Or cinnamon. Or um apples. No, we're just told to go eat an apple.

Josh 45:00

Oh, that's right.

Speaker 5 45:02

Or we'll smell like potpourri, like old lady perfume. Yep.

Josh 45:07

Yeah.

Speaker 5 45:08

But to have it smell like a barn? Yeah.

Josh 45:12

Yeah. I'd rather much rather smell cigarette smoke, old lady potpourri than barnard.

Evacuation and Neighborhood Calm

Speaker 5 45:19

Barn barnyard. Yeah. Yeah.

Josh 45:21

As the clock near neared midnight, Chief Marlowe made the final decision to withdraw from the home and admit defeat. He told Mrs. Holiday, if this keeps you, you'll have no you'll sorry, if this keeps up, you'll have to move. In response, the old widow told the chief that they would begin packing up as soon as the sun came up. With final goodbyes and good lux, the four men put on their thick wool overcoats and headed outside into the bitter, cold Wisconsin night. But their sense of relief as they thought of leaving was short-lived. For when they got outside, they noticed that the chief's Buick sedan, their only source of transportation, was gone. Even though Chief Merlot had the keys in his pocket.

Jamey 46:11

It was the goldfish.

Josh 46:12

It was the goldfish.

Jamey 46:14

Or the phantom horse. Yeah. I think it's the goldfish because the goldfish is missing. And he can hotwire.

Josh 46:22

That's right.

Jamey 46:22

It was a goldfish.

Josh 46:24

It had still somehow managed to disappear from the front of the old house sometime between the deputies performing their last search and the four men leaving the house. Morlow, it was safe to say, officially had had it with ghosts.

Jamey 46:44

Now, did they ever find the car? And was it the goldfish?

Josh 46:51

Yes and no.

Jamey 46:52

Okay, do tell.

Josh 46:54

The four public servants ran outside through the freshly fallen snow in search of the vehicle, but could find no sign of it. Convinced that it was not hidden somewhere around the house, they decided to run down the street and scan the area along the road. When they arrived, they began their search, but it wouldn't take long to find the missing motor vehicle, for there at the top of the hill, sitting in a snowbank nearly a block away, was the chief's Buick. The vehicle's tire marks in the snow had indicated that it had been dragged uphill with its wheels locked in place. But what had managed to pull it up there remained a mystery, for no additional tracks were found. Not wanting to spend another minute outside and wanting to get away from the area as quickly as possible, the chief unlocked the vehicle and the four men filtered inside. When with the key in the ignition, the vehicle started up just fine. No damage had come from its unexpected adventure and left the area quickly, disappearing into the darkness and gentle falling snow.

New Fear: Children and Black Shapes

Jamey 48:04

See, I tell you, it's if it wasn't the goldfish, which we've ruled that out.

Josh 48:10

Because it wasn't in the car when they found it.

Jamey 48:12

It wasn't in the car, and the car was dragged and obviously the goldfish doesn't have that kind of capability. Oh, but it can drive, but it can't exactly. Exactly. That seems perfectly logical to me. But I'm telling you, it was a phantom elephant. It drug it.

Josh 48:29

It could have been a phantom horse.

Jamey 48:31

It drug the car. I think an elephant would be more capable. Cars back in those days were a lot more the solid. Like, not like today.

Josh 48:40

I mean, haven't you seen the Andy Griffith show?

Jamey 48:42

Right? But I mean, like you sneeze today and you crumple your bumper.

Josh 48:46

Yeah.

Jamey 48:47

You know, blow out your windshield.

Josh 48:50

When the sun began to rise that morning, Mrs. Holliday stayed true to a word. The three members of the family started packing up their belongings and proceeded to move out of the old house on 8th Street. The day was long and the boxes were plenty, but through sheer determination not to spend another night in the strange home, the trio somehow managed to completely move out and find accommodations in a boarding house on the other side of the Baraboo River, all before nightfall. Not long after their previous residence was officially listed as vacant, and the strange noises inside were not heard by anyone in the area again.

Jamey 49:28

Obviously, whatever it is is causing the ruckus and dragging cars and all the things and taking goldfish and water didn't want anybody in that house living there.

Josh 49:41

Yep.

Jamey 49:42

Because as soon as they vacated, the neighbors quit hearing it too.

Josh 49:45

Exactly.

Jamey 49:46

So whatever happened to that house, does it say it all?

Josh 49:49

Oh well, it's the story's not done.

Jamey 49:51

Oh. Dun dun dun dun dun dun part two.

Josh 49:54

Part two. When they left and it and it went quiet, the residents located around the property were content once again. While the strange case involving Mrs. Holiday and the Greens is technically closed because the family moved out, Chief Merlot couldn't get the mysterious events out of his mind. And there had to be some sort of explanation, no matter how bizarre to explain what he and everyone else inside had witnessed. So with a resolution to officially solve the case, the chief of police sent out looking into the history of the property and the meta and metaphorically digging up every stone he could find that might be able to help put the case to bed. But he wasn't able to look long because it appeared a new mystery had taken up residence on 8th Street. Only this time it wasn't affecting one family, but rather the kids who lived in proximity to the now vacant house.

Speaker 1 50:54

Oh.

The Elephant Wrangler Connection

Josh 50:55

In the week following the relocation of the old widow and her daughter and son-in-law, Chief Marlowe began to receive reports from the parents of children in the area who claimed to have not only seen, but also have been pursued by solid black mountainous shadows in the dark. Some children claimed it had the overall shape of a giant black dog. Others said it lumbered along and they could feel the ground tremble when it was near. One young boy, Richard Curran, who lived at 222 South Avenue, claimed that he saw the strange thing and it was as big as a house.

Speaker 4 51:41

Elephant. That's what I've been saying.

Josh 51:44

The story spread so quickly and frightened the children in the area so badly. It wasn't long before the mothers in the area collectively decided that no longer were their children allowed to play in that part of town during the daytime or at night for the fear of what they were seeing might actually be real.

Speaker 5 52:05

Okay, wait.

Jamey 52:06

First they said it was a dog, a big dog, long mountainous the size of a house. But right, but if you're from that, you know, Wisconsin, you're not automatically thinking it's an elephant. You're gonna say something more logical, like it's a big, lumbering, huge dog. Which would make sense. Yeah. Yep. I I feel like it's an elephant.

Josh 52:33

Chief Merlot, now presented with two strange cases that no lawman ever expects, was beginning to think that the odd occurrences may somehow be one and the same. So with the information he gathered for Mrs. Holiday and the descriptions of things the children in the area had reported seeing, he went to work what he did best, investigating. And for the next few days he did just that. The officer of the law spoke with residents who had called Barabu home their entire life and knew the history of the area better than any book could provide. He looked into the history of the homes located, looked through all old records of past events where people claimed to have seen strange things in the area, and even looked into the histories of the circuses that once called this place home. When he felt that he had gotten everything he needed to officially solve the case, he made one phone call, and that was to Mrs. Holliday herself. When Rose Holliday answered the phone, Chief Merlot immediately asked her who her husband was and what he did for a living when he was alive. Slightly caught off guard by the question, Mrs. Holliday informed the chief that her husband, Michael Holliday, had been dead for three years by that point. But when he was alive, he was employed by the circus as the head elephant wrangler. He was responsible for breaking them and teaching them how to do the tricks that everyone paid to see. After receiving the answer, Chief Merlot offici officially had everything he needed to solve the case. He thanked the old woman and wished her the best, but not before making sure that she and her family were no longer being harassed by strange noises and unexplainable crashes. She confirmed everything was good and bid the police chief a pleasant farewell.

Speaker 5 54:30

Wow.

Josh 54:32

Yeah.

Speaker 5 54:33

That still does not explain the fish. No.

Jamey 54:40

Yeah. He was thirsty, he drank the water and so.

Josh 54:43

Busted the window, busted the window out, put his trunk in the fishbowl, sucked everything up. And I'm now now granted, I've never heard of a f of a ghost drinking water.

Reclaimed Barn Wood and a Theory

Speaker 5 54:55

Well, here's the thing. And both my dad and I heard a cat drinking out of the glass. We heard the water being licked.

Jamey 55:12

So well, and that's like after TC passed away, and you know, we have the ceramic food bowls.

Speaker 1 55:20

Yeah.

Jamey 55:20

And you know how when cats eat and they take a bite and they like shake and a piece of dry food flies out and hits the goes tink on the ceramic bowl. Yep. I kept hearing that, and I was sitting on the couch and I looked directly at the bowl. There's no cat at the bowl.

Josh 55:34

But you can hear it.

Jamey 55:35

But you can hear it. Yeah, same.

Josh 55:37

I'm like, it makes you wonder if food was actually disappearing though, or in this case was water disappearing.

Jamey 55:42

Like right. I I have no explanation, or you know, but um, but you hear the sounds. It's like they come to visit and they're doing what they would do when they were alive, eating, drinking, plundering.

Speaker 5 55:54

But what was interesting is in my case, I don't think we because I had that cat since I was like six. My cat was still alive. We did have other cats previous to that, sure, but none that stuck around to have a glass of because that's what the glass was for, was for the cats to drink out of. So, but I don't think we had any other cats that did that, that were inside, even to do that. So I don't know. It's wild. Yeah, it really makes me wonder if water was disappearing or not.

Josh 56:27

Before I would say no, but now listening to this, I'm like, hmm, maybe I wonder because when the cat drinks water, generally speaking, you don't notice how much is gone until time has passed.

Jamey 56:38

Right, yeah. Well, same with like food. If you keep a whole bowl of food out of dry food, you don't notice this four or five little pellets are missing, right?

Josh 56:47

So the question still is is how did Chief Marlowe solve this mystery so quick? And then why was the last thing he needed a single phone call? So part of his investigation, he actually reached out to a gentleman by the name of Eric Miller. He was the head of Dwight Miller construction, he was responsible for the construction of the majority homes on 8th Street. And so Mr. Miller sent him a letter, sent Mr. Marlowe a letter. So in the letter, Mr. Miller stated that the house on 8th Street was built using reclaimed lumber from an old circus barn located on Water Street, just one mile south of 8th Street. This specific circus barn was originally used to train the 24 elephants owned by the Ringling Brothers Circus.

Jamey 57:51

How freaking cool is that? It came full circle.

Josh 57:55

And because so his theory of all of this was that because his her husband was a circus trainer, and the house happened to be a reclaimed elephant barn, that they were being haunted by an angry circus elephant.

Jamey 58:14

Or elephants.

Josh 58:16

Or elephants.

Jamey 58:17

I mean, if I was made to do tricks, I mean I'm roughly the size of an elephant. If I was made to do tricks, stop. I I would be, I would be, you know, part of my language, I'd be pretty pissed off too.

Josh 58:29

And and I would say that it now I don't know fully how accurate some of the stuff that I've seen is true, but it looked like the way they would treat these elephants was terrible and to get them to be trained.

Speaker 5 58:42

Yeah, yeah, I've heard that too. It's like the chains and right.

Josh 58:45

And so, I mean, I think Dumbo was was a pretty good showing of that because Yeah, I would say so. And so that being the case, then yeah, like I could see the the spiritual retribution happening.

Jamey 59:02

Well, and think about it, where the wood came from, a barn that these animals were trained in and probably mistreated in. So there's a lot of that high emotion, I think, even from animals that can seep into things and then you repurpose the wood for a house and it just comes out, you know.

Josh 59:25

Yeah.

Speaker 3 59:26

Here's a thought.

Speaker 5 59:29

What if the animals put out all that energy that the wood absorbed and they come back and use that energy to create all of the paranormal experiences?

Jamey 59:46

And to destroy the barn.

Speaker 5 59:48

And to destroy the barn.

Josh 59:49

Yeah, because that barn was toasted.

Aftermath, Media, and Open Questions

Speaker 5 59:50

Yeah. Like, is that is is that a thing? Do you think that could be possible? Like, they put out the energy while they're alive and then use. That energy when they're dead to that would indicate create that those paranormal experiences.

Jamey 1:00:05

That it's not residual, it's intelligent.

Josh 1:00:08

This sounds intelligent though.

Jamey 1:00:09

It sounds very intelligent. Because if it tears down the barn and it comes and goes with the people in it. Yeah.

Josh 1:00:16

Yeah.

Jamey 1:00:16

And when the people leave, it stops.

Josh 1:00:18

And it moves a police car.

Jamey 1:00:21

Well, and it moved locations. It stopped like after the people moved out of the house, it then went to another home.

Josh 1:00:28

Yep.

Jamey 1:00:29

In another area.

Josh 1:00:31

Yeah.

Jamey 1:00:31

It's like the elephant's revenge. Yep. I don't blame them.

Josh 1:00:36

So this was supposed to be originally posted in a newspaper article, but was made famous in 1953 by being published in Fate magazine.

Speaker 1 1:00:48

Okay.

Josh 1:00:49

So after this, after this was posted in 1953, the whole town was inundated with psychics and mediums and paranormal investigators and everybody trying to get a piece of the action, of the elephant action.

Speaker 5 1:01:05

Well, one, it's a super rare thing to happen. Yes. By a haunting by an animal. Yeah. And then two, America's not old.

unknown 1:01:14

No.

Josh 1:01:14

We are not old. We are very young.

Speaker 5 1:01:18

Yeah. So it's not like there's gonna be a ton of haunting things going on.

Jamey 1:01:23

Yeah.

Speaker 5 1:01:25

And for something of that magnitude. Oh, yeah.

Jamey 1:01:27

It would attract a lot of people.

Speaker 5 1:01:29

I would go. It's not like there's social media for right?

Josh 1:01:32

Well, yeah, it's 53, right? What more do you got going on?

Speaker 5 1:01:36

I mean, I would go. I really would. 100%. It would be entertainment. It would be. Yeah.

Josh 1:01:43

I mean something, I mean, as long as you weren't freaked out by it.

Jamey 1:01:46

Well, I mean, there's a little bit of that aspect because you think of something as massive as an elephant, and then here's one that's like supernatural. Like, right, you don't see it coming or anything. And if it tore down a barn and drug a car, what could it do to you physically? Right?

Josh 1:02:00

Squish you like an ant.

Jamey 1:02:01

It makes you wonder.

Josh 1:02:02

Yeah. Well, I mean, imagine that. Like in the Bell Witch, it was a big black dog.

Jamey 1:02:10

Yeah.

Josh 1:02:11

And that's terrifying enough. Like seeing a dog in the dark or even during the day, an anger dog is terrifying. But imagine coming around the corner and there is a giant ghost elephant standing there. Literally the size of a house.

Speaker 5 1:02:29

Yeah. Can you imagine the energy that sucker's giving off?

Josh 1:02:32

Oh, it's gotta be massive. But in in the same token, though, too, like this is the town that these 24 elephants that the circus owned that had, they walked them around town.

Speaker 5 1:02:44

Mm-hmm. And they pared them on the streets, basically, yeah. To learn how to do tricks.

Josh 1:02:50

And so, like, this is their home for the most part. And so, like, all of this, like all of that energy has to be absorbed into the town itself.

Speaker 5 1:03:01

Well, and it makes me wonder because elephants live a long time. Yes, they do.

Josh 1:03:05

They do.

Speaker 5 1:03:06

And that was only 20 years later, right?

Josh 1:03:10

It wasn't. No, it was 50 years. Yeah.

Speaker 5 1:03:13

So wait.

Josh 1:03:15

It was 1880 to 1930.

Speaker 5 1:03:18

Okay, got you. Got you.

Josh 1:03:20

But still, you're right, though, in the still the same sense, like depending on the age of the elephant when they got them, they could have still been alive in 1930. But more than likely, probably not.

Jamey 1:03:33

So then they were probably buried somewhere out there, right?

Josh 1:03:37

Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3 1:03:37

And elephants never forget.

Jamey 1:03:39

That's right.

Josh 1:03:40

That's right.

Speaker 3 1:03:41

But the moral of the story, I think, here is don't be cruel animals because they could come back and haunt you.

Jamey 1:03:47

Tear your barn down. Tear your barn down. Take your car. Take your car. Squish you without even blinking. Eat your goldfish. Actually, drink your goldfish.

Josh 1:04:00

Could you imagine if it was a tiger? A ghost tiger?

Jamey 1:04:03

Oh, dude, no. No, no. I don't know what would be worse. I think it would all be equally terrible.

Speaker 5 1:04:09

Instead of getting like people getting like those three little scratches on your face, you have like half your arm ripped off.

Jamey 1:04:18

Yep, that was a ghost tiger.

Josh 1:04:20

That is something right out of a horror movie. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 5 1:04:23

Yeah. Can you imagine the growls out of that one? Oh, geez. No.

Josh 1:04:29

Just sitting in bed. Wow.

Jamey 1:04:32

I would wet my bed.

Josh 1:04:36

And the house.

Jamey 1:04:38

Terrible. You get the hissing. Yeah, no thanks.

Josh 1:04:44

Yeah. And what's amazing is that is one story of a town that is completely haunted.

Jamey 1:04:57

We need to go.

Josh 1:05:01

And we'll cover those, we'll cover some more of those haunted locations in another podcast episode.

Jamey 1:05:06

Yeah, we'll we'll sprinkle them in.

Josh 1:05:08

Because they're amazing. This is one awesome haunted town. And for its size, it's still only like 20,000 people.

Speaker 4 1:05:20

Yeah, it's it's not huge.

Josh 1:05:22

It's a little it's a little tiny town.

Speaker 5 1:05:26

And all that ghost hunting. It's so fun.

Josh 1:05:30

Yeah. Alright, everybody, if you enjoyed the story of the ghost elephant, please like and subscribe. And as always, stay ghosty, my peeps.

Speaker 5 1:06:06

Okay, pause for a quick. My watch somehow clicked on to what you were saying. And I said, sorry, I didn't understand that. Boobs with the sound of thunder. No, no, and that's when I roll over at night and one go.

Jamey 1:06:22

Thunderclap. I'm just trying not to smile. I was like, uh oh, what's so funny? Boobs with the sound of thunder. That's great.

Josh 1:06:37

In response, the old Whittle.

Speaker 5 1:06:41

The old widow. The old widow.