The Night Owl: True Ghost Stories

After spending twenty years as a paranormal investigator, Allen Cornelison moved to Ida Grove, Iowa to help his wife from his second marriage care for her ailing mother. He had absolutely no intentions putting his investigator hat back on, until one evening, taking a tour of a local park, Allen discovered something. An old house barely visible through the timber, tucked away on the property. Something about it was alluring to him, and Allen was compelled to inquire about the old structure from the townspeople. He soon learned the house was an old Stagecoach Inn dating back to 1856 and now, had been converted into a museum in the park. From this point on, Allen would unknowingly begin an intense six-year investigation of this historic site, have some of the most frightening experiences of his entire career as an investigator, and capture evidence that, in his mind and many of the townspeople’s, proved the existence of the a paranormal. Join Allen as he takes us through his unsettling journey investigating the Morehead Stagecoach Inn from 2011 - 2017.Allen took all that he experienced during his time investigating the Inn and wrote a book entitled "Ghosts & Legends of The Stagecoach Inn". You can get the book from the following links:Dark River Paranormalwww.darkriverparanormal.com/collection1Amazon.comhttps://tinyurl.com/stagecoachinnbookPhoto courtesy of Allen Cornelison

In this episode, Stephen and the team are kicking off a new investigative series at Pioneer Farms, a living history museum and historic site situated along the banks of Walnut Creek in North Austin. The property was once home to an actual pioneer homestead dating back as far as 1844, and prior to that, archeological evidence revealed that a Tonkawa tribe inhabited the area that runs along the creek as well. Now, the many volunteers reenacting the daily pioneer activities on this 90 plus acre farm are wondering if maybe they aren’t the only ones reliving the past on this property. Unlike any of their other cases, Pioneer Farms will prove to be one of the most challenging cases for the Night Owl team, as not only does the site have approximately ten historic buildings and sites on it, but it also sits on nearly one hundred acres of land that once a Tonkawa Native American encampment, and even had part of the famous Chisholm Trail cutting through the property. So get ready listeners, this series will be rich with both history and haunts.

Grandma's Basement:When they were just 13 and 8 years old, siblings Yessica and Genesis had a lot on their plate for just two kids trying to have a relaxing summer. Their parents had just divorced, they’d packed up and moved from California to Arkansas with their mother, and their Grandmother on their father’s side had moved recently as well, to Kansas where the girl’s father relocated. And it was this particular summer that the girls would be making a long 8 hour road trip to spend the break with their grandmother in her new home in Kansas. The days were uncomfortably warm due to their grandmother’s AC not working. There was a predictable tension budding between teenage Yessica and her pestering younger sister Genesis. And as usual, the girls had to navigate the strong and overbearing nature of their grandmother. But to make matters worse, there was more stirring within the walls of this house than sibling rivalry and a broken air condition. The girl’s could sense it when they first walked in the door. There was something unsettling about their Grandma’s new house, something they all inherently sensed, was hiding in the basement.Photo Credit: Daniel Lincoln

In this episode, Stephen and the team conclude their investigation into the paranormal claims at Buenos Aires Café. Join them as they embark on the tedious journey of uncovering this buildings colorful history and try to assemble the many missing pieces to this case's complex puzzle. Meanwhile, Sara and Alexis try to help Paola with the energy in her cafe by working on appeasing the spirits and learning a proper cleansing for the space. And lastly, in his archived audio files, Stephen discovers a hidden clue to the mysterious happenings in this old building - a clue that links directly back to one of the current employees of Buenos Aires Café. What he discovers forces him to get Sara involved and what happens next leads to one of the most impactful validations Sara has made on the show to date.

"Remnants"In the early 2000’s, a Brazilian pastor is given an opportunity to move his family to the San Francisco Bay area, to open a new church for a large Brazilian community in area. O.C., his wife, and 3 sons found a house in the Pinole Valley area and settled in to begin their new chapter in the United States. But before long, their eldest son Filipe began experiencing phenomena that O.C. and his wife were also witnessing and could not deny. The family eventually make a disturbing discovery in the home and as a young father and pastor, O.C. must to do what he can to protect his family in their new home."Dream Home"In the early 90’s, in a desperate situation to get out of an abusive relationship, a young mother and her two daughters fled California to find a home in Yukon, Oklahoma., Theresa, a now-single mother, needed to do what was best for her girls Tatiana and Natasha and try raise them in a good home. It seemed like it was going to be an impossible task to find a decent home in a good neighborhood within her price range, but fate would intervene and Theresa would find her dream home just 3 blocks from her mother. It would allow her to work more to provide for the family while she left her girls with their grandma. The situation was ideal, but before long, Theresa discovered that her dream home seemed to come with it’s own dark past.

In this episode, we travel back to the quaint Argentinian restaurant at the corner of Waller and East 6th Street in Austin, Texas. Here, at Buenos Aires Cafe, many of the staff have experienced a presence they all believe to be a male spirit who seems to be hiding out in the buildings basement - which was recently converted into a speakeasy called Milonga Room. Now my team and investigate the claims and involve our clairvoyant friend Sara to see if she can locate any entities residing in the building and offer of up any validation for what a majority of the staff have felt, heard in many cases seen with their own eyes. We discover who might be residing in this old building, why exactly they are making themselves known to the staff, and through some shocking twists and turns, we uncover more secrets surrounding this case.

“Doppelgänger”The word Doppelgänger was first introduced by German author Jean Paul in 1796, in a book he wrote wherein the protagonist exchanges identities with a lookalike. The word Doppelgänger’s literal translation is “Double Walker” or “Double Goer”. However the myth of doubles dates as far back as ancient Egypt, where in mythology, a “ka” was regarded as a tangible “spirit double” that could possess the same memories and feelings as their counterpart. However, Doppelgangers aren’t just bound to legends and stories, they’ve been documented in several real-life accounts throughout history. In this particular campfire episode, we’ll hear from Linda, who grew up in a town near Lubbock, with religious parents who taught her it was best to never meddle with the dark side. But against her best judgment and with a little peer pressure from her best friend, Linda’s first session with a Ouija board as a teenager may have been the catalyst for a series of strange events and eventually a sighting of her very own Doppelgänger.“Malice”As kids, we can all recall being afraid of the dark and imagining that there were monsters hiding in the closet or under our bed. We relied on our parents to come in and make it all better. Tell us that the shadows were just from a tree limb outside our window, that the noise we heard was just the house shifting and that there was no actual monster under our bed - just a smelly old pair of socks we’d lost under there. But in one specific ase, our worst nightmare as kids, came true for one young girl named Alisar. In 1997, her and her family moved from California to Texas, and immediately upon settling into their new home, began noticing something dark lurking in the shadows. Her cats would notice and react strangely to this dark presence as well. Like all children, Alisar was no different in screaming out for her mom when the presence began to expand its territory and into her room at night. But in this story, Alisar’s mom couldn’t easily tell her daughter that the monster under he bed wasn’t real. Because secretly, she knew, this one was.Alisar is now an author still living in Austin, TX. And her experiences with this particular entity inspired her to write a trilogy called The Soulfire Series. The books are available on Amazon.com and you can learn more about her work at www.alisareido.comPhoto Credit: Larm Rmah

In this episode, travel with us to Buenos Aires Café, a quaint Argentinian restaurant in East Austin, that’s having some serious concerns about activity a majority of the staff are experiencing. Reports of employees growing nervous because it sounds like someone has broken into the building when they are closing alone at night, dishes and objects falling and even being thrown at staff members, and sightings of a shadowy male figure that the staff have now given a name, and whom most believe resides in the cafe’s basement speakeasy. With an overwhelming number of staff coming forward, café owner Paola has decided to get to the bottom of what’s really happening in her family owned restaurant and help her staff feel comfortable coming to work.For photographs from this episode visit www.thenightowlpodcast.com/blogFor more The Night Owl Podcast follow us on Instagram @thenightowlpodcast, subscribe to our newsletter on our website www.thenightowlpodcast.com, and for exclusive content visit www.patreon.com/thenightowlpodcastPRODUCED, EDITED, HOSTED BY: Stephen BelyeuASSOCIATE PRODUCER/ASSISTANT EDITOR: Alexis A. ArredondoFINAL MIX/MASTER: David Dalton - www.driftworksound.comPHOTOGRAPHY BY: Thao Nguyen Belyeu - https://www.thaophotography.comMUSIC: Nicholas Fair a.k.a Gnosis Antiquarius https://gnosisantiquarius.bandcamp.com P.D. Wilder https://pdwilder.bandcamp.com/

“The Devil’s Backbone”Years ago, when they were only teenagers, good friends Brian, Seth, Ryo and McCall would spend many nights hanging out, playing video games, and getting high on sugar. Siblings Seth and McCall’s parents had decided to build a ranch home on an undeveloped plot of land in the Texas Hill Country that just so happened to be on the edge of a stretch of highway known as The Devil’s Backbone. Sightings, voices, and general strangeness was commonplace, but on one dark and stormy night on Seth’s 17th birthday, these four friends would experience a night they would never forget. Now, years later and all adults, they’ve come together to tell you about the many odd experiences they each had in this ranch home, and how they all believe they encountered something otherworldly during their time growing up on the edge of The Devil’s Backbone. “Man of My Dreams”When Jennifer got back from backpacking around the world, she needed a quick place to squat and recoup her finances in Austin, Texas. She was thrilled to find a cheap house on the East side of town with some roommates. However, when everyone else in the house slowly moved out, and she had the place to herself, she started to sense something wasn’t right. Jennifer shares a harrowing tale of her time living in alone in this East Austin home where an oppressive presence began entering her dreams and torturing her. It wasn’t until family and friends started reporting the same dream to her that she began to worry, and fear for her life. Photo Credit: Jake Blucker

In this episode, the team returns to Buda to further investigate the unexplained reports surrounding Old Town Buda Antique Mall. Staff and patrons have reported strange happenings including objects relocating or being thrown, phantom smells throughout the building, an uneasy feeling commonly felt on the 2nd floor, and even sightings of figures on surveillance cameras and in the windows at night. Stephen and his team now return and have some of their very own experiences while Sara puts her ability to the test in a building full of objects with unique histories. Stephen continues to do a deep dive into this case and tracks down two of the paranormal investigators that investigated this shop in the past. They recount their experiences and even share some of their findings, including voices captured on their recording devices. So join Stephen and the team again as they navigate the many reports and findings to make some very interesting connections that might just validate some of the activity experienced at this antique shop in Buda, Texas.