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Lauren: Hello and welcome to Wanderlust, a podcast about travel. I am your host, Lauren. In each episode we’ll meet a traveler, learn more about them and something they’re passionate about. I hope you enjoy this journey with me.
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Lauren: Happy October dear travelers. October is my favorite month. I love celebrating Halloween all month long, so I hope you enjoy this month's more themed episodes. Happy October, stay safe, and I hope you have a happy Halloween.
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Lauren: Monica Chapman is the host of Pinky and a Sip podcast and a project coordinator for the American Library Association. Please welcome Monica.
Monica: Hi there.
L: What inspired you to travel?
M: My parents have always encouraged me to travel. To try new things, to go new places. They've never really believed in just staying put anywhere. They've always believed in going to new places and just seeing what's beyond your own neighborhood. Sometimes people tend to just stick to where they are. So growing up in Chicago you'd be very surprised on how many of my friends never left the South Side or how many of my family members never left the West Side. So they made sure that growing up that I left my neighborhood. We would go shopping in the northern suburbs, or we would go traveling to California or to Canada or my first place out of state was Barbados. It's just one of those things that my parents always made sure that I took the time to go to these different places and had these experiences so that when I'm older I would take that initiative as well.
L: What's your favorite part of travel?
M: My favorite part of traveling is going to where the locals go. So my mom loves to ask this one question whenever we go traveling she'll go up to someone who looks like they've lived in a place for a while and start a conversation with them and then say "You know where's the one spot you like to go to?" like "Where do you go to eat? Where do you go to shop? Where do you go to hang out?" and it leads to this really interesting adventure for my parents and I. Because there's nothing more exciting than going to a place where all the people who live in that area or in that city go to, that's outside of where all the tourists go. So it's led us to some really great restaurants, to some beautiful parks, to some secluded beaches and it also really strikes up a great conversation with the locals as well. My parents and I went to Saint Thomas a couple of years ago for their anniversary and we asked our tour guide "Can you take us to a beach that no one else goes to?" like "Where do all locals go to the beach?" and they were just like " we go to this one beach that's really populated" We're just like "No like where locals go?" like "where you guys go to hang out?" And the guy was like "I know the perfect spot. Do you guys like pineapples? Do you like mangoes? we're like "yeah". He took us to his aunt's house to eat mangoes and pineapples from the trees that she grew them on and there was the beach right there and a lot of locals go to that little area and she cooks for them. Just going and just talking to people who live in the area takes you to these really awesome places that you would never really think of going to when you're planning a trip.
L: What has been your best adventure?
M: My favorite adventure would have to be when I went to Paris for my 21st birthday. I was living in Bath, England for study abroad and my parents surprised me, came over to England for my birthday and then they said we're going to Paris for your 21st. We went to Paris and they had this whole trip planned and they kind of hinted to me sort of before we went that we might be going to Paris but I wasn't sure when we would be going. I thought it would be once the semester ended and I was going back home to Chicago that we’d be going to Paris. But they're just like "nope we're going" and it was perfect because it was Easter weekend. So a lot of the people weren't really traveling around at that time. So we went to Paris, we went to all the places I've always wanted to go to. I've been wanting to go to Paris since I was 11 so this was a really huge trip for me. I got a chance to go to one of the cathedral's there. We went to the Moulin Rouge, which I've always wanted to go to, and it was awesome. We did a lot of walking tour, self tours. We didn't do any like big touristy things. It was mostly we went to the concierge and said "point us to a direction" and he was like "you don't want to go on a tour bus?" we're like "nope, just points us to a direction that's where we're going to walk" and that's how we did Paris. We walked Paris which was really awesome.
L: What about your biggest misadventure?
M: So my biggest misadventure I would have to say is whenever I go someplace and I go into an area I'm not supposed to be in. I'm Black so there are a lot of spots around the world that I should have no business going into. I've been in those places when my parents and I went to Denver and we went to go see this beautiful rock formation in Colorado Springs, The Garden of the Gods. And it's this beautiful rock formation, beautiful for walking and hiking, and on our way to this restaurant by this chef from Top Chef we ended up driving into an area that mmm not the most kosher of places for Black people to drive through. It's always those little moments where I could be in the States or can be in a different country and you always just have those places no matter if you're Black or if you're different race, there's always just those places where you're just like "uh I realize I should not be in this area." It can always be a little scary but you just have to compose yourself and just know that you just got to keep going through and just get to the place they need to go.
L: Do you believe in ghosts?
M: I do. I do believe in ghosts.
L: What do you think ghosts are?
M: They are mirrors of our former selves, memories, they are entities that are in-between worlds. So they're neither here and they're neither in another realm but they are definitely in that in-between space kind of going through the motions. I feel like ghosts that are in the movies are really kind of pumped-up versions of what actual ghosts are. It all depends on what the energy is and where you are. For instance I live on the South Side of Chicago. I'm not too far, for all you true crime fans, from where the murder of those 9 nurses happened, and it was always rumored that you could hear their screams and that you can see the murderer kind of walk up and down the street. And I feel like that's more residual. That's a long answer. [laughs] As you can see I'm very into this.
L: I don't know that story.
M: Yes, Richard Speck. He murdered 8 nurses one got away and it was at a hospital called the South Chicago Community Hospital but right now it's called Advocate. They changed the name. He just walked up to where the nurse's stayed. It was kind of like a campus. And he walked up to where they were and he just started murdering them. It was this huge ordeal. They actually tore down the building. The building doesn't exist anymore, it's just an empty lot that this guy sells watermelons on now and barbecues. People who used to live in the area during that time when that happened they all remember it and whenever I go past it because I drive by that spot all the time on my way to go get gas in Indiana, but it is true that sometimes you can hear screaming in that area and sometimes you can see this very sketchy man walk over into that empty lot and then disappear. I have seen the man about once or twice in my life. Mostly whenever I'm looking at the watermelon truck [laughs] when I drive by. But I had seen the man and he does tend to kind of walk around in that area in that neighborhood and I think that's more of a residual type of situation.
L: Let's talk about some more haunted places in your hometown of Chicago.
M: Yes! Oh yes please let's.
L: What's your middle school slash high school?
M: Yes. [laughs]
L: Was haunted?
M: I went to the University of Chicago Laboratory School. And the University of Chicago itself is just an interesting location, beautiful during the fall and it's also fun-fact for you travel people, it's in the location where the World's Fair was. That's also where the Chicago Bears. their stadium used to be. Really cool area where the University of Chicago is, lots of great history, but also haunted. So I went to middle school and high school in that area and where the building was actually, there's an- like the old wives tale, that Al Capone had a secret tunnel that led through where I went to school to downtown. So there's this area, old old old old part of the building that doesn't really exist anymore since the school really built up more but it had a lot of old bricks, a lot of old furniture back from the early 1900's and there room that I went into once where the teachers always said "oh this is the room that Al Capone owned." And at first I didn't believe them, but then as I got into it more I realized as a true-crime fanatic, it was possible that Al Capone rented a room at the University of Chicago and built a tunnel under there. Because it was well known that he had secret tunnels that ran through Chicago. Where I had gym, there was a tunnel from the girl's bathroom that led to the swimming pool and we would always hear this disembodied groan. Now I thought when I went to school there that it was the boys messing with us. I thought that they were just being jerks. Until I talked to my aunt who also went to school there and she said "oh that man is still down there?" That freaked me out [laughs] a lot. When I got older I did a little bit of research and when I was in high school, found out that in those tunnels Al Capone would off people. Had these people off people down there. So it was possible that the tunnels, that sound that I would hear, the groans, and the body that we would sometimes see in that tunnel on the way to the swimming pool was a possible victim of Al Capone. So that's one of the many ghosts that were in the school that I was at. [laughs] I mean we're in the area where Leopold and Loeb kidnapped that kid from the same area, same school and they murdered him for that ultimate murder plot. So there are a ton of ghosts where I went to school at.[laughs] I mean University of Chicago is just filled with all those different types of energy.
L: Whose Leopold and Loeb?
M: Oh yes, so Leopold and Loeb is this very famous story from Chicago. These 2 young boys decided that they were going to pull off the ultimate murder and they decided that they were going to take this young boy and they kidnapped him and they murdered him, not too far from where the University of Chicago was because they were Universitgy of Chicago students. They thought that they would be able to get away with. They were just like “It's the perfect crime.” They read a bunch of stuff, they felt like they knew what to do. Turns out it didn't work because they're idiots. Leopold was 19 Loeb was 18 and the kid that they murdered was 14. And they're just like “that was easy” but a couple of hours later they were found. They were arrested. The Chicago History Museum has Leopold or Loeb’s glasses. I forgot which of the boys wore glasses, but they have the glasses there at the museum. I have seen them. I've never touched them because, haunted.
L: You mentioned another place that you've told me is haunted and I've been here and did not know it, the Chicago History Museum?
M: As an intern at the Chicago History Museum I was tasked with this project, they had me go around the museum and take note of all the objects that were on display and try to link the objects to holidays that were coming up for the museum. We had this big exhibit that was coming up at the time it was dealing with Abraham Lincoln. They wanted me to try to tie some of the objects that are already on display to this big Abraham Lincoln exhibit. But at the time they had this exhibit. Yeah I think it was called like “if objects could talk”, or something like that. And there were these famous well known objects that have a lot of history to them, so for instance the glasses from the Leopold and Loeb case we were just talking about was the first thing you saw when you walked in. And then they have other different cool objects like for instance there was the piano that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was created on. The further I went into the exhibit I saw this beautiful portrait of this Chicago socialite, can't remember her name but she was beautiful. And that's where the security guard was stationed. The security guard told me as I went up to the portrait “don't look into her eyes” did not quite understand what she meant. I was like “why?” and she said “she's going to follow you if you look into the eyes of this portrait” and I thought she was just messing with me so I didn't believe her. I ended up looking into the eyes. Bad move on my part. So I looked into the eyes and I was just like I can pray it off when I go to church Sunday whatever. So I'm walking— you know doing the rest of my job and the security guard was like “did you look into her eyes?” I was like “yeah I did” and she was just like “mmm. I recommend you bring holy water the next time you come to the museum.” I was just like “m’okay whatever you know cool”. So I mind my own business. I go back to my office and I start smelling this perfume. That was very unusual because I usually don't smell perfume on my way up to where the offices were. Cause not a lot of people wore perfume because we're dealing with a lot of old objects. So I thought it was really strange that I smelled this perfume and if followed me into my office which was in a closet. My closet office as I called it. It had a certain smell to it because I was in a closet. That smell of perfume followed me into this closet. And I was like “okay I'm getting a really uneasy feeling.” Could not figure out what that uneasy feeling was like was someone watching me? I couldn't be for certain. Was someone by me? I couldn’t figure it out. So I left my office and went to where my supervisor was. And I still smelled that perfume and I said “hey, do you smell perfume?” she sniffs around she's like, “No I don't smell any perfume” and I was just like “kept smelling perfume since I came downstairs from this exhibit” and she was like like “oh, did you look into the portraits eyes?” and I was just like “okay you're the second person” she's just like ”oh man, bring some holy water with you. You're Catholic, just bring it to work with you. When you go home, douse yourself with some holy water and you should be fine.” So I'm freaking out because I'm just like “I have an attachment?!” I don't even go home. I go to the nearest Catholic Church, grab some holy water. [laughs] I pray. And I don't smell the perfume when I get home, because I spent a good 30 minutes at the church. I get back to work, I smell the perfume again the very next day. It's very very strong and it's following me and I hear this tapping of high heels behind me. I'm like girlfriend is following me, she is not giving up. She wants something. So I go back to the portrait look her straight in the eye and says “You have no permission to follow me. To be attached to me. Please go back, I don't want you around me.” I say that a couple times and the security guard walks away ‘cause she's just like “this is between her and this portrait” and I'm just like “you have no attachment to me. I don't want you attached. I don't know what happened to you, but you need to just go back into this portrait.” and I just keep saying it multiple multiple times. The smell perfume finally left. I did not smell that perfume ever again. It was a 2 day haunting on my end. Ever since then when a museum person said “Oh don't do this with this object” I was just like “oh I will not. [laughs] I am not doing that.”
And then the second time that I encountered a ghost, and it wasn't just me it was my 2 supervisors as well, we all experienced the same thing at the exact same time, was when the Abraham Lincoln exhibit was being put together. This Abraham Lincoln exhibit was amazing. So they're getting this exhibit together. They have the carriage that his body was transported in, they had the bed that he died in including the blood soaked sheets. We’re getting ready for the preview for the members. We're doing a walk through with this guy who's that Abraham Lincoln impersonator and he was like “I'm going to pick up my partner who's playing Mary Todd Lincoln. I'm gonna bring her over ‘cause she's parking.” We’re like “okay cool” so we're getting stuff together. I'm busy creating log cabins because that's what I was getting paid to do. [laughs] They were table settings. Out of the corner of my eye I see the guy who plays Lincoln and he's walking past us and I said “oh where's your wife?” The figure pauses and then keeps walking. My supervisor was sitting right next to me and she was just like “That was weird. I'm gonna see if he's okay.” and she goes off to go get him and then comes running back and she sits down and she was just like “Well that was not him.” and we were just like “well, who was it?” and she's like “I think Honest Abe is in the building. The real one.” and we're just like “ah, well that's not unusual, since we do have his deathbed in the museum right now.” He comes back into the building and he was just like “is there any other Abraham Lincoln in the building? did you guys like hired 2 of us?” and we were just like “you saw actual Honest Abe.” and he was just like “Oh, his ghost is here, huh?”
L: So for our last Chicago haunted thing: 1929 St Valentine's Day Massacre in Lincoln Park happened during prohibition, which meant from 1920 to 1933 alcohol was banned within the United States. 7 people were murdered. They were part of the Irish North Side Gang and their associates. The suspects were 4 people dressed like police officers. Some people believe it was part of Egan Rat’s gang for Al Capone, who was leader of a rival gang or possibly revenge from the Chicago police department
M: My story to this, is actually my dad's story, which goes into my story. [laughs] When my dad was young livin’ life before I existed, he lived in Lincoln Park. He was out walking his dog at the time. He lived in Lincoln Park back when Lincoln Park used to be maybe like $200 to live in, like maybe even less than that. That's how great Lincoln Park used to be before now where it costs like $,2200 but we're not going into that. So he's walking his dog minding his business, you know, enjoying the day. And his dog decides he needs to cross the street immediately. My dad was just like “whoa whoa whoa” and they almost get hit by cars, because this dog just charges to the other side of the street. And then his dog turns and starts barking. Now the garage has long been gone, they tore that garage down, really not too long after the massacre happened, because it was just an eyesore after that. So he was trying to figure out “what is he barking at?” Then my dad hears gunshots and of course he starts running. And he sees that no one else is really running or in a panic. He's just like “what is going on?” so the very next day he decides to take that walk by himself. Realizes that's location of the St Valentine's day massacre and that his dog saw something and that he heard residual gunshots. Fast forward to, I wanna say like 2016. Around Valentine's Day. Working for the Chicago History Museum. I was tasked to go with my supervisor to escort our historian to talk with the local news station about the St Valentine's day massacre. Because of course around that time of year all the news stations love to talk about it because Chicago and it's gangster history is just such a hot topic. So we go over there and they're talking about the massacre and blah blah blah blah and I'm freezing my butt off because I didn't wear enough clothes and then we hear gunshots. We freak out I'm just terrified, I’m like “what in the world?” We jumped behind a car, almost get hit, and then we hear this yelling, continuous gunshots, and then we realize it was residual. [laughs]
L: So now let's head overseas and start with a plantation in the Virgin Islands.
M: Yes, so a couple of years ago my parents and I went to Saint Thomas for my parents wedding anniversary. It was their thirtieth if I'm correct. We went to Saint Thomas because that's where they had their honeymoon and so they wanted to relive that honeymoon. But I existed so I just tagged along. We took a boat to a different island, I think it was Saint Lucia that we went to, excuse me if I pronounce that wrong. It's this smaller island. It's more of a like resort type of island. A lot of the Virgin Islands are resort type of islands but Saint Lucia it's a lot smaller. But it was also known as a plantation island. Like a true true plantation island. That's where they did the sugar cane. So they do have ruins from the sugar mills still there and there wasn't really much for us to do on the island. So we did take a tour. We asked the taxi drivers, which I highly recommend if you find a good taxi driver and they know a lot about their city it's worth to see if you can pay around $100 to do a private tour with that taxi driver, which I've done multiple times in different cities. And the tour guide took us to where the sugar mill plantation was. Not really a romantic spot for my parents, but they enjoyed it and they love historical places too. They felt that the whole trip was very spiritual. And the tour guide did tell us “if you do not leave this plantation crying then your soul is not pure” We had no clue what he was talking about but he was saying to us that the spirit of the slaves who died are going to purify your soul as you walk through this plantation. Wild thing to think about when you're on vacation to celebrate your honeymoon but that's what we ended up doing. So we walked to the plantation. It was eerily quiet like I've never been anywhere else in my whole entire life where it was that quiet. And you're talking about us being right off of the water too. Like the waters right there, so the waves, we were supposed to hear the waves. We didn’t hear any waves. There was no wind. It was just still. It was just quiet. We walked around the whole plantation, the whole sugar mill, and all 3 of us were crying by the time we got back to the taxi. Our tour guide, our taxi driver said “your souls have been purified. Now you just need some rum to wash it all down” So he took us to a nearby off the grid spot that a lot of the locals go and the bartender found out that we walked around the plantation. He gave us all free shots of rum. He said just “cheers say a special prayer to the slaves who all died and you should be fine” So we all took the shot and we stopped crying. We were crying all the way to that location, to that bar, I kid you not, and it was a different experience with ghosts but it was one of those things where it's just wild to think about. That a location could have such a heavy impact and I feel like if I ever go back to any type of location that used to be a plantation, which I really don't plan on doing. [laughs] But if I ever do, I feel like it's going to be a very similar sensation that I had when I was there. I felt like a whole different person when I walked out of there.
L: You also studied in Bath England and you stayed at a hotel 3 times and said that that was also a haunted hotel.
M: I studied abroad in Bath England for about 6 months, great experience, made some wonderful friends, but when I first got there I couldn’t move into the dorm right away. So I decided to spend the night in a hotel with my mom and her good friend at the Francis hotel because that's where they had hotel reservations. The Francis hotel is this well known sort of ritzy hotel. It's one the main hotels in Bath England. Queen Victoria has stayed there. It's one of the oldest buildings that's there too. It used to be a bunch of row houses and then they changed into a hotel. And back in the day there was a huge battle in World War 2 where the Nazi’s had came into that area where the hotel was and you can still see the bullet holes in both the hotel and the surrounding buildings. They had bombed a lot of Bath and that hotel was one of the few remaining buildings. That being said you can say it's haunted, and it is. [laughs] I stayed the night there with my mom and her friend. That night I want to say it was more anxiety about being in a new place and knowing I was going to be by myself. But the other 2 times I stayed there, I encountered a ghost. I decided to take a weekend by myself away from the dorms, away from school, and just spend the night in the hotel. As I was getting ready for bed I heard this knocking sound. Now thought it was just the pipes, but I kept hearing this knocking sound all around me and I heard footsteps. Still thought it was the pipes, but then I had to remind myself, I was in the part of the hotel that used to be the servants quarters. I knew that there was a possibility with me being in England that there might be some ghosts up there. So I was just like “okay I just have to keep my eyes at the ready, keep some lights on, keep the TV on maybe?” So I'm getting settled in my bed, see a figure in the mirror. That figure is not supposed to be there. Especially in a maids outfit, that's definitely not of this year. Scream. And I run out of the room. I had my key in my pocket. [laughs] Thankfully. I had my key and my phone in my robe pocket because I knew if I had to get up it was the best way to find them. So I ran out. I had no shoes on. I ran downstairs in the main lobby and at that time the manager knew me, because I came into the hotel a lot. Ran to the manager and the manager was like “what happened? Are you okay? Did something happen?” I was like “There's someone in my room. I don't know. There's a lady in my room. I don't know what happened.” and he was like “oh that's the maid that killed herself.” and I was just like “why are we being so casual about this?’ [laughs] So there’s an old story about maid who hung herself, she committed suicide in the hotel and her ghost sometimes walks around the hotel and pops up. I happened to be in that area where she would have stayed because I was in the servants quarters. I told the manager not to send me up there anymore. [laughs] I mean because that hotel cost a pretty penny and I was just like I'm not paying money to stay with the ghost even know you I'm fine ghost cool. Don't want to pay money to stay with one though. So go back up there, and I get into my room and I say out loud “that I don't want you in here with me, but if you're going to be in here, please don't scare me. I just want to sleep.” Did see the figure again, [laughs] in the mirror. Told the maid “mmmm go to someone else's room, not tonight. I don't want you in here. You go someplace else.” Did not see the figure again during my stay, after I told her no go to someone else's room. And then the third time I was in that hotel I did see her in the hallway and I said “You are not allowed to follow me in my room. You stay in this hallway or you go someplace else. You go to someone else's room.” and my parents were trying to figure out who I was talking to. And I said “the dead maid is in here” and they were just like “Op! Don't tell us anymore. We don't want to know. We don't want to hear. We don’t want to be around.” [laughs] The maid and I came to an agreement that she's never to bother me when I'm in that hotel.
L: You work with the American Library Association and have dealt with some literary haunts. Let's start with Edgar Allan Poe's house. Edgar Allen Poe was an American writer in about the 1800’s. His most famous works that you probably know are poems like “the Raven” and “the Tell Tale Heart”, “the Cask of Amontillado” and right now “the Masque of the Red Death”. He's known for science fiction, macabre, and being a father of detective stories, one of which inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote Sherlock Holmes and he also helped make haunted houses popular. So you went to his house.
M: Back when I was in high school my parents and I did this mini road trip. We flew to Baltimore, Maryland and then we drove all the way to New York City. I was about to be a senior in high school. We were going to go do tours at all the east coast schools that I was interested in and I had some one on one interviews also in place for the schools. On our break day we did a tour of Baltimore. My dad has traveled to Baltimore multiple times. He basically knows it like the back of his hand just like he knows Boston. He was just like “I’m going to take you and your mom on the tour Baltimore, like the Baltimore that I know.” So we take a tour and they knew at the time I was really into Edgar Allan Poe. I knew all his stories, my friends and I were obsessed like we could recite some of his stories. I can't do it now. But at the time [laughs] I was very into it. Thought I was this cool little goth kid, not even close to being one but I mean I loved Edgar Allen Poe at the time. They surprised me and we went to his house and museum that's in Baltimore. We go to the house and museum and we were the only family in there. We basically had a private tour of this house museum. I go into this one room and I see this figure, this lady with the dress kind of walk through this other room. And I don't say anything at first. I'm just kind of like “that's really weird” But then I turn to the tour guide and I'm just like “hey, is there anyone else in this house? I thought you said that we were the only people in here.” And she's like “no we are, besides the other tour guides downstairs blah blah blah” so I thought it was the other tour guide. So minding my own business, we go through into that room, and there were talking about how that was the room in which Edgar Allen Poe’s wife died. And I'm like “hmm, interesting.” and I keep moving and we go into the next room. And I see this figure walked down the steps as we go by the steps to go into the basement. And I'm just like “okay this is the same person. The other tour guide is with us because she's bored, so definitely not the tour guide.” [laughs] But I still don't say anything ‘cause my parents though they are very spiritual people, they do not like the idea of ghosts. So I just don't say anything. We go to the basement. They show us the wall in which “the Tell Tale Heart” is you know based off of. We're just like “okay that's really interesting.” My parents really don't know much about Edgar Allen Poe, but they're just happy I'm happy. The tour ends. We go back upstairs and we get to sit in this really cool library area that they created with all of his books and I see the figure again walk to another room. Instead of saying anything to my parents go to the tour guide and say “is there a person in a dress that's around here?” and they’re just like “no, there's no person with a dress in here. Is everything okay?” and I was just like “I just keep seeing—” and before I can get anything out of my mouth. I black out. I can't talk. I start getting chest pains. I start feeling very sick, and my parents are concerned, because I almost faint, right where I am. I come back to. I'm fine. It’s was almost like nothing happened. They were like okay this is weird, they wanted to call an ambulance, but the the 2 tour guides were just like “no no no no no. Don't worry about that, she's fine. There's nothing you know blah blah blah blah.” My parents are insisted about calling an ambulance and one of the people brings my dad to the side, talks to him for a few minutes, and he's just like “you know what? It's best if we just go.” [laughs] So my Moms just like “but what about her daughter who almost fainted?” He's just like “mmm I think it's best we just go.” So we get into the car. We drive almost speeding away from that location. We go back to the hotel because they're both concerned about me and my dad pulls me into another room and says that there may be a possibility that I may have had a possession of sorts, like a connection. I might have felt something that someone in the neighborhood or possibly his wife, who died of illness, might have had and not it's pretty common for some of the people who go into that museum, them it's happened enough that some people have felt faint well in that house, he said that the tour guide told him that I'll be fine but sometimes it happens.
L: How do you feel about taking a quiz?
M: Let's do this.
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L: So I am on playbuzz.com “Which Haunted Location Should You Visit?” by Robert Bell. Pick a last meal to eat before you visit your haunted location. Steak and chips, burger, fajitas, salmon, fish and chips, duck, meatballs, or pizza.
M: If I pick fajitas do I get, okay this is where like the private school girl comes, ‘cause I'm getting too analytical if I'm picking fajitas are we talking about just one type of fajitas or are we talking about like a combination fajitas, because I would, I mean that's a good option that steak, chicken, shrimp combination that I would pick, loads of vegetables. Salmon is a good pick, but what type of salmon are you talking about? Pizza is an excellent pick, but are you just talking about like a plain cheese, which will never happen in my life, or are you talking about a pepperoni or meat eaters? Like there's a lot of options. Uhhhhh fajitas.
L: Do you have one neighbor who you never see during the day and you're suspicious that they are in fact a vampire? I am that vampire! Yes I do. Eh no. Never thought about it before but now you come to mention that it…
M: It is a yes.That second option. I'm definitely not the vampire but growing up I had this neighbor who I never saw except for at night so I'm going to say yes.
L: How superstitious are you? I am not all superstitious, very superstitious, superstitions are for the weak; touch wood, some superstitions I would always adhere to, others not.
M: I mean I did look that picture at the history museum in the eyes after I was warned multiple times not to, so I believe my Aries energy won't allow me to fully embrace superstitions even though I do, I am superstitious. So the last one.
L: Pick a film to see you before you visit your haunted location. “Let the Right One In” “As Above So Below” “Insidious” “The Conjuring” “Don't Look Now” “Paranormal Activity” “The Blair Witch Project” or “It”.
M: If I want to be a snob, pushes up glasses.I would not pick any of those. [laughs] But for the sake of this quiz I'll pick “the Conjuring”.
L: You wake up in the middle of the night and think you see a figure in the corner of your room; what do you do? I run like hell. I roll over and go back to sleep. I put on my headphones and listen to some smooth sounds. I scream so loud the windows would shatter. I wake my partner and ask them to deal with it. I work nights.
M: I’d probably run. If I saw something in my room there's no way I'll be staying in that room.
L: PIck a song… “Superstitious”, “Don't Fear the Reaper”, “Thriller”, “Ghostbusters”, “Creep”, or the “Monster Mash”.
M: The “Monster Mash” duh.
L: Recommended to you. Wawell hill in Krakow. In a 200 foot cave. On the western slope of the wawel hill is Smocza Jama—the Dragon’s Den.
L: Where is your dream trip?
M: My dream trip, which I'm trying to do for my thirtieth birthday is to go back to Paris, go to Disneyland Paris, go to Nice, France which is a seaside town. It is beautiful. Then take the train from France to Italy, and then from Italy to Greece. I’ve loved trains ever since I was little. I've always want to do a trip by train and I always figured that the best places to do a trip by train is down the west coast or in Europe. And so I figured taking the train from Paris to Italy which is not a long train ride would be beautiful. I've always wanted to go to Italy. I've always wanted to go to Greece as well to see the temples.
L: As a person who works for the American Library Association what is your spooky recommendation for books this season?
M: I think I'm just going to be very stereotypical and say that I just highly recommend The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It's a good book. [laughs] It's a really good book. Okay, if you want more on the comic book side The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that's through Archie comics, it's really good. That's what the show on Netflix is based off of. Lots of occult themes and you also get Betty and Veronica as a which in those comic books which is pretty cool. Y. A. there is this book, let me see. Hold on a second, let me see, do I have that book on my bookshelf? I know I hid it ‘cause I'm afraid of that book. [laughs] There’s a book– okay so.b[laughs] It took no time to find it easy to find. so this book is called “the Merciless” I picked this up because it's neon pink with the pentagram. And I was just like “oh wow this is an interesting take for book”. It's by Danielle Vega. Reading it at first nothing really creepy about it. The last couple of chapters I had to sleep with the light on, for a couple of nights. [laughs] I mean it reads like a typical Y.A. kind of novel, you know, new girl in a new town. She meets up with these other girls. I mean it’s very much “The Craft”, “Heathers” and “Mean Girls” all kind of wrapped up.
L: Do you have any final thoughts or words for the audience about travel or spooky things?
M: I would say that my final thoughts are that take the time to really enjoy yourself when you go traveling and make sure you do this safely. We're talking about like ghosts and spooky places and spooky things, a lot of these places are not in the safest neighborhoods. Have fun but be safe. Sometimes it’s just not worth putting yourself in danger to go to some of these places. I do not go near where the murder house in Chicago is. That being said, have fun while hunting ghosts internationally or on your own soil. But be safe while doing it. You don't want to put yourself in danger. You don't want to put the ghost in danger. It's just best that everyone has a good time, whether you're dead or alive.
L: Where can people find you and do you have anything you want to promote?
M: Yes. So I have a podcast called Pinky and a Sip, if you want to check it out. We are Pinky and a Sip podcast on Facebook and on Instagram, and you can do Pinky and a Sip podcast at Gmail.com in terms of emailing us. We are Pinky and a Sip Pod on Twitter. My friend Nina and I created the podcast about a year and a half ago-ish. It's about 2 black girls sitting down and sipping tea, talking about the world, life, whatever. We do plan on doing a new British royalty episode and we actually have a spooky season episode coming out soon. And then if you just want to see what's going on in my own personal life, you can just catch me at muchalu on Twitter and Instagram and that's M. U. C. H. A. L. U. That used to be my old a.o.l email address. [laughs] And then something I would like to promote besides Pinky and a Sip is my new blog! I decided to do a food blog, food restaurant review blog, where I'll be reviewing restaurants in Chicago and any place else that I tend to travel to. I've been getting a lot of people in my life asking me where do I go to eat? and I'm just like here are some places, and they’re like you need to have a place where it's all centralized, so this is what this blog is about. I'm very excited. I just tried banchan today for the first time for the blog and I do plan on going to a bunch of different places. I do have a blog post planned out that's based off of The King, which is a Netflix K-drama and the food that's in there. So I'm very excited about how this is all turning out and I can't wait to share it with everyone. So my blog name is Soulful Palate reviews dot com. That’s the palate that’s on the top of your mouth, not the palette that you paint with. And it will officially be up on November 1st, so right after Halloween.
L: Well thank you very much for being here Monica and I hope you have a wonderful Halloween.
M: Thank you for inviting me and happy spooky season!
[spooky music]
L: Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen a ghost? Let me know on twitter at wanderlustpod or by e-mail at wanderlustpod at gmail dot com. Until next time dear travelers, thank you for listening. Have a happy Halloween.
[spooky music ends]
Lauren: Hello and welcome to Wanderlust, a podcast about travel. I am your host, Lauren. In each episode we’ll meet a traveler, learn more about them and something they’re passionate about. I hope you enjoy this journey with me.
[music continues]
Lauren: Happy October dear travelers. October is my favorite month. I love celebrating Halloween all month long, so I hope you enjoy this month's more themed episodes. Happy October, stay safe, and I hope you have a happy Halloween.
[music]
Lauren: Monica Chapman is the host of Pinky and a Sip podcast and a project coordinator for the American Library Association. Please welcome Monica.
Monica: Hi there.
L: What inspired you to travel?
M: My parents have always encouraged me to travel. To try new things, to go new places. They've never really believed in just staying put anywhere. They've always believed in going to new places and just seeing what's beyond your own neighborhood. Sometimes people tend to just stick to where they are. So growing up in Chicago you'd be very surprised on how many of my friends never left the South Side or how many of my family members never left the West Side. So they made sure that growing up that I left my neighborhood. We would go shopping in the northern suburbs, or we would go traveling to California or to Canada or my first place out of state was Barbados. It's just one of those things that my parents always made sure that I took the time to go to these different places and had these experiences so that when I'm older I would take that initiative as well.
L: What's your favorite part of travel?
M: My favorite part of traveling is going to where the locals go. So my mom loves to ask this one question whenever we go traveling she'll go up to someone who looks like they've lived in a place for a while and start a conversation with them and then say "You know where's the one spot you like to go to?" like "Where do you go to eat? Where do you go to shop? Where do you go to hang out?" and it leads to this really interesting adventure for my parents and I. Because there's nothing more exciting than going to a place where all the people who live in that area or in that city go to, that's outside of where all the tourists go. So it's led us to some really great restaurants, to some beautiful parks, to some secluded beaches and it also really strikes up a great conversation with the locals as well. My parents and I went to Saint Thomas a couple of years ago for their anniversary and we asked our tour guide "Can you take us to a beach that no one else goes to?" like "Where do all locals go to the beach?" and they were just like " we go to this one beach that's really populated" We're just like "No like where locals go?" like "where you guys go to hang out?" And the guy was like "I know the perfect spot. Do you guys like pineapples? Do you like mangoes? we're like "yeah". He took us to his aunt's house to eat mangoes and pineapples from the trees that she grew them on and there was the beach right there and a lot of locals go to that little area and she cooks for them. Just going and just talking to people who live in the area takes you to these really awesome places that you would never really think of going to when you're planning a trip.
L: What has been your best adventure?
M: My favorite adventure would have to be when I went to Paris for my 21st birthday. I was living in Bath, England for study abroad and my parents surprised me, came over to England for my birthday and then they said we're going to Paris for your 21st. We went to Paris and they had this whole trip planned and they kind of hinted to me sort of before we went that we might be going to Paris but I wasn't sure when we would be going. I thought it would be once the semester ended and I was going back home to Chicago that we’d be going to Paris. But they're just like "nope we're going" and it was perfect because it was Easter weekend. So a lot of the people weren't really traveling around at that time. So we went to Paris, we went to all the places I've always wanted to go to. I've been wanting to go to Paris since I was 11 so this was a really huge trip for me. I got a chance to go to one of the cathedral's there. We went to the Moulin Rouge, which I've always wanted to go to, and it was awesome. We did a lot of walking tour, self tours. We didn't do any like big touristy things. It was mostly we went to the concierge and said "point us to a direction" and he was like "you don't want to go on a tour bus?" we're like "nope, just points us to a direction that's where we're going to walk" and that's how we did Paris. We walked Paris which was really awesome.
L: What about your biggest misadventure?
M: So my biggest misadventure I would have to say is whenever I go someplace and I go into an area I'm not supposed to be in. I'm Black so there are a lot of spots around the world that I should have no business going into. I've been in those places when my parents and I went to Denver and we went to go see this beautiful rock formation in Colorado Springs, The Garden of the Gods. And it's this beautiful rock formation, beautiful for walking and hiking, and on our way to this restaurant by this chef from Top Chef we ended up driving into an area that mmm not the most kosher of places for Black people to drive through. It's always those little moments where I could be in the States or can be in a different country and you always just have those places no matter if you're Black or if you're different race, there's always just those places where you're just like "uh I realize I should not be in this area." It can always be a little scary but you just have to compose yourself and just know that you just got to keep going through and just get to the place they need to go.
L: Do you believe in ghosts?
M: I do. I do believe in ghosts.
L: What do you think ghosts are?
M: They are mirrors of our former selves, memories, they are entities that are in-between worlds. So they're neither here and they're neither in another realm but they are definitely in that in-between space kind of going through the motions. I feel like ghosts that are in the movies are really kind of pumped-up versions of what actual ghosts are. It all depends on what the energy is and where you are. For instance I live on the South Side of Chicago. I'm not too far, for all you true crime fans, from where the murder of those 9 nurses happened, and it was always rumored that you could hear their screams and that you can see the murderer kind of walk up and down the street. And I feel like that's more residual. That's a long answer. [laughs] As you can see I'm very into this.
L: I don't know that story.
M: Yes, Richard Speck. He murdered 8 nurses one got away and it was at a hospital called the South Chicago Community Hospital but right now it's called Advocate. They changed the name. He just walked up to where the nurse's stayed. It was kind of like a campus. And he walked up to where they were and he just started murdering them. It was this huge ordeal. They actually tore down the building. The building doesn't exist anymore, it's just an empty lot that this guy sells watermelons on now and barbecues. People who used to live in the area during that time when that happened they all remember it and whenever I go past it because I drive by that spot all the time on my way to go get gas in Indiana, but it is true that sometimes you can hear screaming in that area and sometimes you can see this very sketchy man walk over into that empty lot and then disappear. I have seen the man about once or twice in my life. Mostly whenever I'm looking at the watermelon truck [laughs] when I drive by. But I had seen the man and he does tend to kind of walk around in that area in that neighborhood and I think that's more of a residual type of situation.
L: Let's talk about some more haunted places in your hometown of Chicago.
M: Yes! Oh yes please let's.
L: What's your middle school slash high school?
M: Yes. [laughs]
L: Was haunted?
M: I went to the University of Chicago Laboratory School. And the University of Chicago itself is just an interesting location, beautiful during the fall and it's also fun-fact for you travel people, it's in the location where the World's Fair was. That's also where the Chicago Bears. their stadium used to be. Really cool area where the University of Chicago is, lots of great history, but also haunted. So I went to middle school and high school in that area and where the building was actually, there's an- like the old wives tale, that Al Capone had a secret tunnel that led through where I went to school to downtown. So there's this area, old old old old part of the building that doesn't really exist anymore since the school really built up more but it had a lot of old bricks, a lot of old furniture back from the early 1900's and there room that I went into once where the teachers always said "oh this is the room that Al Capone owned." And at first I didn't believe them, but then as I got into it more I realized as a true-crime fanatic, it was possible that Al Capone rented a room at the University of Chicago and built a tunnel under there. Because it was well known that he had secret tunnels that ran through Chicago. Where I had gym, there was a tunnel from the girl's bathroom that led to the swimming pool and we would always hear this disembodied groan. Now I thought when I went to school there that it was the boys messing with us. I thought that they were just being jerks. Until I talked to my aunt who also went to school there and she said "oh that man is still down there?" That freaked me out [laughs] a lot. When I got older I did a little bit of research and when I was in high school, found out that in those tunnels Al Capone would off people. Had these people off people down there. So it was possible that the tunnels, that sound that I would hear, the groans, and the body that we would sometimes see in that tunnel on the way to the swimming pool was a possible victim of Al Capone. So that's one of the many ghosts that were in the school that I was at. [laughs] I mean we're in the area where Leopold and Loeb kidnapped that kid from the same area, same school and they murdered him for that ultimate murder plot. So there are a ton of ghosts where I went to school at.[laughs] I mean University of Chicago is just filled with all those different types of energy.
L: Whose Leopold and Loeb?
M: Oh yes, so Leopold and Loeb is this very famous story from Chicago. These 2 young boys decided that they were going to pull off the ultimate murder and they decided that they were going to take this young boy and they kidnapped him and they murdered him, not too far from where the University of Chicago was because they were Universitgy of Chicago students. They thought that they would be able to get away with. They were just like “It's the perfect crime.” They read a bunch of stuff, they felt like they knew what to do. Turns out it didn't work because they're idiots. Leopold was 19 Loeb was 18 and the kid that they murdered was 14. And they're just like “that was easy” but a couple of hours later they were found. They were arrested. The Chicago History Museum has Leopold or Loeb’s glasses. I forgot which of the boys wore glasses, but they have the glasses there at the museum. I have seen them. I've never touched them because, haunted.
L: You mentioned another place that you've told me is haunted and I've been here and did not know it, the Chicago History Museum?
M: As an intern at the Chicago History Museum I was tasked with this project, they had me go around the museum and take note of all the objects that were on display and try to link the objects to holidays that were coming up for the museum. We had this big exhibit that was coming up at the time it was dealing with Abraham Lincoln. They wanted me to try to tie some of the objects that are already on display to this big Abraham Lincoln exhibit. But at the time they had this exhibit. Yeah I think it was called like “if objects could talk”, or something like that. And there were these famous well known objects that have a lot of history to them, so for instance the glasses from the Leopold and Loeb case we were just talking about was the first thing you saw when you walked in. And then they have other different cool objects like for instance there was the piano that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was created on. The further I went into the exhibit I saw this beautiful portrait of this Chicago socialite, can't remember her name but she was beautiful. And that's where the security guard was stationed. The security guard told me as I went up to the portrait “don't look into her eyes” did not quite understand what she meant. I was like “why?” and she said “she's going to follow you if you look into the eyes of this portrait” and I thought she was just messing with me so I didn't believe her. I ended up looking into the eyes. Bad move on my part. So I looked into the eyes and I was just like I can pray it off when I go to church Sunday whatever. So I'm walking— you know doing the rest of my job and the security guard was like “did you look into her eyes?” I was like “yeah I did” and she was just like “mmm. I recommend you bring holy water the next time you come to the museum.” I was just like “m’okay whatever you know cool”. So I mind my own business. I go back to my office and I start smelling this perfume. That was very unusual because I usually don't smell perfume on my way up to where the offices were. Cause not a lot of people wore perfume because we're dealing with a lot of old objects. So I thought it was really strange that I smelled this perfume and if followed me into my office which was in a closet. My closet office as I called it. It had a certain smell to it because I was in a closet. That smell of perfume followed me into this closet. And I was like “okay I'm getting a really uneasy feeling.” Could not figure out what that uneasy feeling was like was someone watching me? I couldn't be for certain. Was someone by me? I couldn’t figure it out. So I left my office and went to where my supervisor was. And I still smelled that perfume and I said “hey, do you smell perfume?” she sniffs around she's like, “No I don't smell any perfume” and I was just like “kept smelling perfume since I came downstairs from this exhibit” and she was like like “oh, did you look into the portraits eyes?” and I was just like “okay you're the second person” she's just like ”oh man, bring some holy water with you. You're Catholic, just bring it to work with you. When you go home, douse yourself with some holy water and you should be fine.” So I'm freaking out because I'm just like “I have an attachment?!” I don't even go home. I go to the nearest Catholic Church, grab some holy water. [laughs] I pray. And I don't smell the perfume when I get home, because I spent a good 30 minutes at the church. I get back to work, I smell the perfume again the very next day. It's very very strong and it's following me and I hear this tapping of high heels behind me. I'm like girlfriend is following me, she is not giving up. She wants something. So I go back to the portrait look her straight in the eye and says “You have no permission to follow me. To be attached to me. Please go back, I don't want you around me.” I say that a couple times and the security guard walks away ‘cause she's just like “this is between her and this portrait” and I'm just like “you have no attachment to me. I don't want you attached. I don't know what happened to you, but you need to just go back into this portrait.” and I just keep saying it multiple multiple times. The smell perfume finally left. I did not smell that perfume ever again. It was a 2 day haunting on my end. Ever since then when a museum person said “Oh don't do this with this object” I was just like “oh I will not. [laughs] I am not doing that.”
And then the second time that I encountered a ghost, and it wasn't just me it was my 2 supervisors as well, we all experienced the same thing at the exact same time, was when the Abraham Lincoln exhibit was being put together. This Abraham Lincoln exhibit was amazing. So they're getting this exhibit together. They have the carriage that his body was transported in, they had the bed that he died in including the blood soaked sheets. We’re getting ready for the preview for the members. We're doing a walk through with this guy who's that Abraham Lincoln impersonator and he was like “I'm going to pick up my partner who's playing Mary Todd Lincoln. I'm gonna bring her over ‘cause she's parking.” We’re like “okay cool” so we're getting stuff together. I'm busy creating log cabins because that's what I was getting paid to do. [laughs] They were table settings. Out of the corner of my eye I see the guy who plays Lincoln and he's walking past us and I said “oh where's your wife?” The figure pauses and then keeps walking. My supervisor was sitting right next to me and she was just like “That was weird. I'm gonna see if he's okay.” and she goes off to go get him and then comes running back and she sits down and she was just like “Well that was not him.” and we were just like “well, who was it?” and she's like “I think Honest Abe is in the building. The real one.” and we're just like “ah, well that's not unusual, since we do have his deathbed in the museum right now.” He comes back into the building and he was just like “is there any other Abraham Lincoln in the building? did you guys like hired 2 of us?” and we were just like “you saw actual Honest Abe.” and he was just like “Oh, his ghost is here, huh?”
L: So for our last Chicago haunted thing: 1929 St Valentine's Day Massacre in Lincoln Park happened during prohibition, which meant from 1920 to 1933 alcohol was banned within the United States. 7 people were murdered. They were part of the Irish North Side Gang and their associates. The suspects were 4 people dressed like police officers. Some people believe it was part of Egan Rat’s gang for Al Capone, who was leader of a rival gang or possibly revenge from the Chicago police department
M: My story to this, is actually my dad's story, which goes into my story. [laughs] When my dad was young livin’ life before I existed, he lived in Lincoln Park. He was out walking his dog at the time. He lived in Lincoln Park back when Lincoln Park used to be maybe like $200 to live in, like maybe even less than that. That's how great Lincoln Park used to be before now where it costs like $,2200 but we're not going into that. So he's walking his dog minding his business, you know, enjoying the day. And his dog decides he needs to cross the street immediately. My dad was just like “whoa whoa whoa” and they almost get hit by cars, because this dog just charges to the other side of the street. And then his dog turns and starts barking. Now the garage has long been gone, they tore that garage down, really not too long after the massacre happened, because it was just an eyesore after that. So he was trying to figure out “what is he barking at?” Then my dad hears gunshots and of course he starts running. And he sees that no one else is really running or in a panic. He's just like “what is going on?” so the very next day he decides to take that walk by himself. Realizes that's location of the St Valentine's day massacre and that his dog saw something and that he heard residual gunshots. Fast forward to, I wanna say like 2016. Around Valentine's Day. Working for the Chicago History Museum. I was tasked to go with my supervisor to escort our historian to talk with the local news station about the St Valentine's day massacre. Because of course around that time of year all the news stations love to talk about it because Chicago and it's gangster history is just such a hot topic. So we go over there and they're talking about the massacre and blah blah blah blah and I'm freezing my butt off because I didn't wear enough clothes and then we hear gunshots. We freak out I'm just terrified, I’m like “what in the world?” We jumped behind a car, almost get hit, and then we hear this yelling, continuous gunshots, and then we realize it was residual. [laughs]
L: So now let's head overseas and start with a plantation in the Virgin Islands.
M: Yes, so a couple of years ago my parents and I went to Saint Thomas for my parents wedding anniversary. It was their thirtieth if I'm correct. We went to Saint Thomas because that's where they had their honeymoon and so they wanted to relive that honeymoon. But I existed so I just tagged along. We took a boat to a different island, I think it was Saint Lucia that we went to, excuse me if I pronounce that wrong. It's this smaller island. It's more of a like resort type of island. A lot of the Virgin Islands are resort type of islands but Saint Lucia it's a lot smaller. But it was also known as a plantation island. Like a true true plantation island. That's where they did the sugar cane. So they do have ruins from the sugar mills still there and there wasn't really much for us to do on the island. So we did take a tour. We asked the taxi drivers, which I highly recommend if you find a good taxi driver and they know a lot about their city it's worth to see if you can pay around $100 to do a private tour with that taxi driver, which I've done multiple times in different cities. And the tour guide took us to where the sugar mill plantation was. Not really a romantic spot for my parents, but they enjoyed it and they love historical places too. They felt that the whole trip was very spiritual. And the tour guide did tell us “if you do not leave this plantation crying then your soul is not pure” We had no clue what he was talking about but he was saying to us that the spirit of the slaves who died are going to purify your soul as you walk through this plantation. Wild thing to think about when you're on vacation to celebrate your honeymoon but that's what we ended up doing. So we walked to the plantation. It was eerily quiet like I've never been anywhere else in my whole entire life where it was that quiet. And you're talking about us being right off of the water too. Like the waters right there, so the waves, we were supposed to hear the waves. We didn’t hear any waves. There was no wind. It was just still. It was just quiet. We walked around the whole plantation, the whole sugar mill, and all 3 of us were crying by the time we got back to the taxi. Our tour guide, our taxi driver said “your souls have been purified. Now you just need some rum to wash it all down” So he took us to a nearby off the grid spot that a lot of the locals go and the bartender found out that we walked around the plantation. He gave us all free shots of rum. He said just “cheers say a special prayer to the slaves who all died and you should be fine” So we all took the shot and we stopped crying. We were crying all the way to that location, to that bar, I kid you not, and it was a different experience with ghosts but it was one of those things where it's just wild to think about. That a location could have such a heavy impact and I feel like if I ever go back to any type of location that used to be a plantation, which I really don't plan on doing. [laughs] But if I ever do, I feel like it's going to be a very similar sensation that I had when I was there. I felt like a whole different person when I walked out of there.
L: You also studied in Bath England and you stayed at a hotel 3 times and said that that was also a haunted hotel.
M: I studied abroad in Bath England for about 6 months, great experience, made some wonderful friends, but when I first got there I couldn’t move into the dorm right away. So I decided to spend the night in a hotel with my mom and her good friend at the Francis hotel because that's where they had hotel reservations. The Francis hotel is this well known sort of ritzy hotel. It's one the main hotels in Bath England. Queen Victoria has stayed there. It's one of the oldest buildings that's there too. It used to be a bunch of row houses and then they changed into a hotel. And back in the day there was a huge battle in World War 2 where the Nazi’s had came into that area where the hotel was and you can still see the bullet holes in both the hotel and the surrounding buildings. They had bombed a lot of Bath and that hotel was one of the few remaining buildings. That being said you can say it's haunted, and it is. [laughs] I stayed the night there with my mom and her friend. That night I want to say it was more anxiety about being in a new place and knowing I was going to be by myself. But the other 2 times I stayed there, I encountered a ghost. I decided to take a weekend by myself away from the dorms, away from school, and just spend the night in the hotel. As I was getting ready for bed I heard this knocking sound. Now thought it was just the pipes, but I kept hearing this knocking sound all around me and I heard footsteps. Still thought it was the pipes, but then I had to remind myself, I was in the part of the hotel that used to be the servants quarters. I knew that there was a possibility with me being in England that there might be some ghosts up there. So I was just like “okay I just have to keep my eyes at the ready, keep some lights on, keep the TV on maybe?” So I'm getting settled in my bed, see a figure in the mirror. That figure is not supposed to be there. Especially in a maids outfit, that's definitely not of this year. Scream. And I run out of the room. I had my key in my pocket. [laughs] Thankfully. I had my key and my phone in my robe pocket because I knew if I had to get up it was the best way to find them. So I ran out. I had no shoes on. I ran downstairs in the main lobby and at that time the manager knew me, because I came into the hotel a lot. Ran to the manager and the manager was like “what happened? Are you okay? Did something happen?” I was like “There's someone in my room. I don't know. There's a lady in my room. I don't know what happened.” and he was like “oh that's the maid that killed herself.” and I was just like “why are we being so casual about this?’ [laughs] So there’s an old story about maid who hung herself, she committed suicide in the hotel and her ghost sometimes walks around the hotel and pops up. I happened to be in that area where she would have stayed because I was in the servants quarters. I told the manager not to send me up there anymore. [laughs] I mean because that hotel cost a pretty penny and I was just like I'm not paying money to stay with the ghost even know you I'm fine ghost cool. Don't want to pay money to stay with one though. So go back up there, and I get into my room and I say out loud “that I don't want you in here with me, but if you're going to be in here, please don't scare me. I just want to sleep.” Did see the figure again, [laughs] in the mirror. Told the maid “mmmm go to someone else's room, not tonight. I don't want you in here. You go someplace else.” Did not see the figure again during my stay, after I told her no go to someone else's room. And then the third time I was in that hotel I did see her in the hallway and I said “You are not allowed to follow me in my room. You stay in this hallway or you go someplace else. You go to someone else's room.” and my parents were trying to figure out who I was talking to. And I said “the dead maid is in here” and they were just like “Op! Don't tell us anymore. We don't want to know. We don't want to hear. We don’t want to be around.” [laughs] The maid and I came to an agreement that she's never to bother me when I'm in that hotel.
L: You work with the American Library Association and have dealt with some literary haunts. Let's start with Edgar Allan Poe's house. Edgar Allen Poe was an American writer in about the 1800’s. His most famous works that you probably know are poems like “the Raven” and “the Tell Tale Heart”, “the Cask of Amontillado” and right now “the Masque of the Red Death”. He's known for science fiction, macabre, and being a father of detective stories, one of which inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote Sherlock Holmes and he also helped make haunted houses popular. So you went to his house.
M: Back when I was in high school my parents and I did this mini road trip. We flew to Baltimore, Maryland and then we drove all the way to New York City. I was about to be a senior in high school. We were going to go do tours at all the east coast schools that I was interested in and I had some one on one interviews also in place for the schools. On our break day we did a tour of Baltimore. My dad has traveled to Baltimore multiple times. He basically knows it like the back of his hand just like he knows Boston. He was just like “I’m going to take you and your mom on the tour Baltimore, like the Baltimore that I know.” So we take a tour and they knew at the time I was really into Edgar Allan Poe. I knew all his stories, my friends and I were obsessed like we could recite some of his stories. I can't do it now. But at the time [laughs] I was very into it. Thought I was this cool little goth kid, not even close to being one but I mean I loved Edgar Allen Poe at the time. They surprised me and we went to his house and museum that's in Baltimore. We go to the house and museum and we were the only family in there. We basically had a private tour of this house museum. I go into this one room and I see this figure, this lady with the dress kind of walk through this other room. And I don't say anything at first. I'm just kind of like “that's really weird” But then I turn to the tour guide and I'm just like “hey, is there anyone else in this house? I thought you said that we were the only people in here.” And she's like “no we are, besides the other tour guides downstairs blah blah blah” so I thought it was the other tour guide. So minding my own business, we go through into that room, and there were talking about how that was the room in which Edgar Allen Poe’s wife died. And I'm like “hmm, interesting.” and I keep moving and we go into the next room. And I see this figure walked down the steps as we go by the steps to go into the basement. And I'm just like “okay this is the same person. The other tour guide is with us because she's bored, so definitely not the tour guide.” [laughs] But I still don't say anything ‘cause my parents though they are very spiritual people, they do not like the idea of ghosts. So I just don't say anything. We go to the basement. They show us the wall in which “the Tell Tale Heart” is you know based off of. We're just like “okay that's really interesting.” My parents really don't know much about Edgar Allen Poe, but they're just happy I'm happy. The tour ends. We go back upstairs and we get to sit in this really cool library area that they created with all of his books and I see the figure again walk to another room. Instead of saying anything to my parents go to the tour guide and say “is there a person in a dress that's around here?” and they’re just like “no, there's no person with a dress in here. Is everything okay?” and I was just like “I just keep seeing—” and before I can get anything out of my mouth. I black out. I can't talk. I start getting chest pains. I start feeling very sick, and my parents are concerned, because I almost faint, right where I am. I come back to. I'm fine. It’s was almost like nothing happened. They were like okay this is weird, they wanted to call an ambulance, but the the 2 tour guides were just like “no no no no no. Don't worry about that, she's fine. There's nothing you know blah blah blah blah.” My parents are insisted about calling an ambulance and one of the people brings my dad to the side, talks to him for a few minutes, and he's just like “you know what? It's best if we just go.” [laughs] So my Moms just like “but what about her daughter who almost fainted?” He's just like “mmm I think it's best we just go.” So we get into the car. We drive almost speeding away from that location. We go back to the hotel because they're both concerned about me and my dad pulls me into another room and says that there may be a possibility that I may have had a possession of sorts, like a connection. I might have felt something that someone in the neighborhood or possibly his wife, who died of illness, might have had and not it's pretty common for some of the people who go into that museum, them it's happened enough that some people have felt faint well in that house, he said that the tour guide told him that I'll be fine but sometimes it happens.
L: How do you feel about taking a quiz?
M: Let's do this.
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L: So I am on playbuzz.com “Which Haunted Location Should You Visit?” by Robert Bell. Pick a last meal to eat before you visit your haunted location. Steak and chips, burger, fajitas, salmon, fish and chips, duck, meatballs, or pizza.
M: If I pick fajitas do I get, okay this is where like the private school girl comes, ‘cause I'm getting too analytical if I'm picking fajitas are we talking about just one type of fajitas or are we talking about like a combination fajitas, because I would, I mean that's a good option that steak, chicken, shrimp combination that I would pick, loads of vegetables. Salmon is a good pick, but what type of salmon are you talking about? Pizza is an excellent pick, but are you just talking about like a plain cheese, which will never happen in my life, or are you talking about a pepperoni or meat eaters? Like there's a lot of options. Uhhhhh fajitas.
L: Do you have one neighbor who you never see during the day and you're suspicious that they are in fact a vampire? I am that vampire! Yes I do. Eh no. Never thought about it before but now you come to mention that it…
M: It is a yes.That second option. I'm definitely not the vampire but growing up I had this neighbor who I never saw except for at night so I'm going to say yes.
L: How superstitious are you? I am not all superstitious, very superstitious, superstitions are for the weak; touch wood, some superstitions I would always adhere to, others not.
M: I mean I did look that picture at the history museum in the eyes after I was warned multiple times not to, so I believe my Aries energy won't allow me to fully embrace superstitions even though I do, I am superstitious. So the last one.
L: Pick a film to see you before you visit your haunted location. “Let the Right One In” “As Above So Below” “Insidious” “The Conjuring” “Don't Look Now” “Paranormal Activity” “The Blair Witch Project” or “It”.
M: If I want to be a snob, pushes up glasses.I would not pick any of those. [laughs] But for the sake of this quiz I'll pick “the Conjuring”.
L: You wake up in the middle of the night and think you see a figure in the corner of your room; what do you do? I run like hell. I roll over and go back to sleep. I put on my headphones and listen to some smooth sounds. I scream so loud the windows would shatter. I wake my partner and ask them to deal with it. I work nights.
M: I’d probably run. If I saw something in my room there's no way I'll be staying in that room.
L: PIck a song… “Superstitious”, “Don't Fear the Reaper”, “Thriller”, “Ghostbusters”, “Creep”, or the “Monster Mash”.
M: The “Monster Mash” duh.
L: Recommended to you. Wawell hill in Krakow. In a 200 foot cave. On the western slope of the wawel hill is Smocza Jama—the Dragon’s Den.
L: Where is your dream trip?
M: My dream trip, which I'm trying to do for my thirtieth birthday is to go back to Paris, go to Disneyland Paris, go to Nice, France which is a seaside town. It is beautiful. Then take the train from France to Italy, and then from Italy to Greece. I’ve loved trains ever since I was little. I've always want to do a trip by train and I always figured that the best places to do a trip by train is down the west coast or in Europe. And so I figured taking the train from Paris to Italy which is not a long train ride would be beautiful. I've always wanted to go to Italy. I've always wanted to go to Greece as well to see the temples.
L: As a person who works for the American Library Association what is your spooky recommendation for books this season?
M: I think I'm just going to be very stereotypical and say that I just highly recommend The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It's a good book. [laughs] It's a really good book. Okay, if you want more on the comic book side The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that's through Archie comics, it's really good. That's what the show on Netflix is based off of. Lots of occult themes and you also get Betty and Veronica as a which in those comic books which is pretty cool. Y. A. there is this book, let me see. Hold on a second, let me see, do I have that book on my bookshelf? I know I hid it ‘cause I'm afraid of that book. [laughs] There’s a book– okay so.b[laughs] It took no time to find it easy to find. so this book is called “the Merciless” I picked this up because it's neon pink with the pentagram. And I was just like “oh wow this is an interesting take for book”. It's by Danielle Vega. Reading it at first nothing really creepy about it. The last couple of chapters I had to sleep with the light on, for a couple of nights. [laughs] I mean it reads like a typical Y.A. kind of novel, you know, new girl in a new town. She meets up with these other girls. I mean it’s very much “The Craft”, “Heathers” and “Mean Girls” all kind of wrapped up.
L: Do you have any final thoughts or words for the audience about travel or spooky things?
M: I would say that my final thoughts are that take the time to really enjoy yourself when you go traveling and make sure you do this safely. We're talking about like ghosts and spooky places and spooky things, a lot of these places are not in the safest neighborhoods. Have fun but be safe. Sometimes it’s just not worth putting yourself in danger to go to some of these places. I do not go near where the murder house in Chicago is. That being said, have fun while hunting ghosts internationally or on your own soil. But be safe while doing it. You don't want to put yourself in danger. You don't want to put the ghost in danger. It's just best that everyone has a good time, whether you're dead or alive.
L: Where can people find you and do you have anything you want to promote?
M: Yes. So I have a podcast called Pinky and a Sip, if you want to check it out. We are Pinky and a Sip podcast on Facebook and on Instagram, and you can do Pinky and a Sip podcast at Gmail.com in terms of emailing us. We are Pinky and a Sip Pod on Twitter. My friend Nina and I created the podcast about a year and a half ago-ish. It's about 2 black girls sitting down and sipping tea, talking about the world, life, whatever. We do plan on doing a new British royalty episode and we actually have a spooky season episode coming out soon. And then if you just want to see what's going on in my own personal life, you can just catch me at muchalu on Twitter and Instagram and that's M. U. C. H. A. L. U. That used to be my old a.o.l email address. [laughs] And then something I would like to promote besides Pinky and a Sip is my new blog! I decided to do a food blog, food restaurant review blog, where I'll be reviewing restaurants in Chicago and any place else that I tend to travel to. I've been getting a lot of people in my life asking me where do I go to eat? and I'm just like here are some places, and they’re like you need to have a place where it's all centralized, so this is what this blog is about. I'm very excited. I just tried banchan today for the first time for the blog and I do plan on going to a bunch of different places. I do have a blog post planned out that's based off of The King, which is a Netflix K-drama and the food that's in there. So I'm very excited about how this is all turning out and I can't wait to share it with everyone. So my blog name is Soulful Palate reviews dot com. That’s the palate that’s on the top of your mouth, not the palette that you paint with. And it will officially be up on November 1st, so right after Halloween.
L: Well thank you very much for being here Monica and I hope you have a wonderful Halloween.
M: Thank you for inviting me and happy spooky season!
[spooky music]
L: Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen a ghost? Let me know on twitter at wanderlustpod or by e-mail at wanderlustpod at gmail dot com. Until next time dear travelers, thank you for listening. Have a happy Halloween.
[spooky music ends]
