Episode 72: Haunting Haunts

Shea tells the haunting stories of a Moony Brewery, then Jenn tells patrons about the truly horrifying origin of Nightmare on Elm Street.

Episode 72: Haunting Haunts
Episode 72: Haunting Haunts

Welcome to Interesting If True, the podcast that scares you with haunting facts, mostly.

I’m your host this week, Shea, and with me are:

I’m Aaron, and this week I learned that the downside of flipping houses is that nearly all hauntings take place in cheap, run-down, fixer-uppers… you’re probably gonna get slimed…

I’m Steve, and I’m not funny or prepared.  But he did bring breakfast and beer so…

I’m Jenn and learned that Nightmare on Elm Street saved Newline Cinema allowing a plucky New Zealand director to bring us Lord of the Rings.

This Week’s Beer

This week’s beer is from the back of Steve’s fridge. Though the back of his fridge is a magical land of stuff he won’t drink and I will.

Mountain Toucan – Horse & Dragon Brewing Company

Style:Sour – Berliner Weisse

ABV:5.3%

Rating- Not enough data

  • Aaron- 7
  • Steve- 6
  • Shea- 8
  • Jenn- Is dying

Haunting Haunts

As it gets closer and closer to Halloween you can feel it get spookier and spookier, or maybe it’s just because people are decorating. Either way, I love this time of year and I have been coming up with ideas for my Halloween costume this year, thinking of gluing a bunch of nickels to the back of an old shirt and going as nickel back, but I digress. This week as I was wading through the scarier side of the internet I found some lovely horrible stories on Haunted places that I thought I could bring to you today.

Because we normally start the show with a beer, I found it apt to start this story with a brewery. Savannah, Georgia is one of the most gorgeous cities in America. The Spanish moss drips off the live oaks and makes the whole city feel old and full of history, and probably ghosts. Even the streets and buildings seem like they have a story behind them, or ghosts hiding behind them. You see, Savannah is also one of the most haunted cities in America. Among the many ghost stories that fill the old buildings of Savannah, there are the ones that surround The Moon River Brewing Company.

The Moon River Brewery started pouring pints in 1999. Originally built in 1821 by Charleston native Elazer Early, the City Hotel was the town’s first hotel and post office; it even housed a branch of the Bank of the United States. The City Hotel was an upscale establishment, however, the affluent clientele occasionally resorted to violence defending their Southern honor. Drawing in customers from the Yankee North, locals weren’t always friendly to City Hotel customers. In 1851 a man named Peter Wiltberger would buy this property. He would renovate it and even had a lion and lioness on display. Keep in mind that this was a live lion for attraction. The City Hotel guests would check out for the last time in 1864. This was just before the City Hotel would close down.

By the time Gen. Sherman reached Savannah during the Civil war, the city was mostly deserted and buildings were spared typical Union destruction. The City Hotel survived the Civil War and sat largely unused until the 1990s when it was renovated into the Moon River Brewing Company.

During its tenure, many fun events took place like during the spring of 1832, a feud broke out between an undesirable local, James Stark, and the city physician, Dr. Phillip Minis. Things escalated that August at the City Hotel. Stark was drinking heavily and spewing disparaging remarks against the doctor. Dr. Minus walked into the bar, saw Stark, and shot him. Later, Dr. Minus said he saw Stark reach for his gun first, and when he went to trial for murder, the jury quickly acquitted him. They were happy to see Stark gone — and every town needs a good doctor.

Another instance of extreme violence took place in November 1860; Mr. James Sinclair almost met his death at the City Hotel. A resident of New York City, he headed to Savannah, GA, in the hopes of finding work. Locals did not react kindly to the presence of a Yankee in their hotel, and they pressured Sinclair to leave. When he refused, he was drawn out of the hotel by a lynch mob, stripped, and beaten close to death.

Notably, the building was used as a hospital many times. Savannah has seen many yellow fever outbreaks over time. The brewery building was used as a hospital and housing for yellow fever victims. It is estimated hundreds of people, mostly children, died on the upper floors of the building during these outbreaks.

The building was passed from business to business for quite some time, as seems to happen to haunted buildings, before sitting empty for twenty years. The Moon River Brewing Company saw the potential of this historical building and decided to buy it and set up their business. Since purchasing the building the brewery and its patrons have seen their fair share of ghosts which has only added to the rumors of a haunting.

So it’s haunted, but by what?

Throughout the year, numerous groups come to Savannah for a chance to investigate the Moon River Brewing Company. Honestly, it is a very hard place to investigate. It is right beside the main street in Historic Savannah. With thin walls, it is very easy for noise to leak in from the outside.

The most active location in the Moon River Brewing Company seems to be the basement. There is a lot of misinformation about the basement area. One of these ‘facts’ is that slaves were commonly kept in the basement. There is no evidence to substantiate this claim. Regardless, many paranormal groups have ghostly encounters with an entity that is in the basement.

Pic from Jenn, yes that Jenn!! She actually went there and was haunted!!

There is a ton of attraction to the basement of the MR Brewing Company. This is the most famous ghost’s home. The staff call this ghost Toby. You can see him in the basement. He likes to move through the shadowed areas of the lower level. Keep in mind that the basement is not off-limits and many encounters happen with Toby. People will go through the basement during tours as well. One person on a tour claimed that instantly her body went icy. However, it was only the right half of her body that was icy. The woman also stated that she was hearing voices and couldn’t understand what the voices were trying to say. When she was taken outside, she was back to normal like nothing ever happened. Many people believe that she was faking it, however, many other people who have come into the basement have reported the same feelings. Who is to say whether she was faking or if it was real?

There have been many reports of ghosts and shadows on the upper levels of the building. There is the Lady in White, people being pushed down the staircase, people being chased out, and all sorts of paranormal activity.

The fourth floor of the company seems to have dark energy. It is known that the top floor was used for a makeshift hospital and that many people had died from yellow fever. Many deaths occurred on this floor. Many people would lose their battle with yellow fever and die without mercy. “This is the energy that you will feel if you go on this floor.” Many people believe that the ghosts that are seen on this floor are those who were taken by yellow fever. The experience is from that how they died and suffered before they died.

There have been many events that can only be described by paranormal activity. There is just no logical explanation otherwise. Ghosts are messing with people at this brewery. The MRBC has a nice dining area, however, there is some unusual activity. One gentleman states that he had been on a date when his lady friend excused herself to use the bathroom. She would not return for nearly fifteen minutes. When she did return she was crying and shook up. She stated that the bathroom door wouldn’t let her out. The stall was locked and even with all her weight, she could not get it open. She would call out for help and beg to be let out and pushed one last time. The last time she pushed it opened right up. The waitress would see that the lady was upset and the young woman stated what happened. The waitress stated that the ghosts tend to hide in the bathroom and do that to guests and that she wasn’t the first one to experience that phenomenon.

Another couple was on a date and the lady jumped up and her face was white as snow. She stated that someone had grabbed her leg twice. She thought it was her date, but she saw that his hands were visible. She stated she could feel what she thought was a hand grabbing her thigh and leg. This is why many people steer clear of the dining area.

Both Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures have shot episodes in Moon River which has increased its popularity immensely. The ghost stories have been coming from the staff and patrons of this famous brewery for over ten years now which gives it a good history of hauntings and a reliable source of stories. Enough people who go there experience supernatural events that it has developed a reputation as one of the best places to go if you want to experience a haunting

There are more haunted spots and houses throughout the world, and whether they be haunted or hoaxed is hard to determine but what is easy to see is the fears and horrors the stories from these locations stir up. If you have any haunted places you would like to hear about leave us a message at…

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Kraven’s Kreation

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Jenn leads a discussion about the history of Nightmare on Elm Street history. It appears that the dream-based horror is based on the actual events of Mhong refugees dying mysteriously in their sleep after escaping the Khmer rouge. So, actual horror stories.

Outro

I’m Shea, and this week I learned that alligators can live up to 100 years which is why there is an increased chance that they will see you later, but before we go I’d like to thank all our listeners, supporters, and my co-hosts.

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Find out more about the show, social links, and contact information at InterestingIfTrue.com.

Music for this episode was created by Wayne Jones and was used with permission.

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All rights reserved, Interesting If True 2020.

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