Otherworld – Episode 155: Fatherhood
Release Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Jack Wagner

Episode Overview

In “Fatherhood,” Jack Wagner explores the extraordinary experiences linking fathers and their children through the lens of the paranormal. The episode features two major stories:

1. Mike and Nina – A divorced father and his daughter recount decades of strange phenomena in several Texas homes, culminating in both of them independently experiencing the same unsettling apparition and later realizing their experiences overlapped in remarkable ways.
2. Grayson’s Story – A man reconnects with his estranged father, who reveals a harrowing, paranormal survival tale about being lost at sea and encountering a mysterious entity.

The episode weaves themes of familial connection, skepticism, generational memory, and the inexplicable.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike’s Earliest Experiences with the Paranormal (Farmer’s Branch, Texas)

• Religious Upbringing: Mike discusses his Lutheran upbringing, emphasizing that while religion was a steady presence, his outlook later became pragmatic and skeptical.

• First House: Shortly after marriage, Mike and his wife Claudia moved into a small house in Farmer’s Branch, where unusual events began:

  • Home Movie Projection (~05:00)

    • Mike wakes at night, sees a “home movie” of a dog he doesn’t recognize projected on his bedroom wall.
    • No actual projector or natural explanation.
    • "It was definitely unusual for waking up and seeing it on the wall." – Mike

  • Orbs of Light (~07:30)

    • Regularly witnessed small, goldish translucent orbs in the hallway; later corroborated by Mike's mother during a visit.

  • Unexplained “X” in Carpet (~10:00)

    • One morning, a large, starkly stained “X” appears in the carpet with no explanation.

  • Plywood Kitchen Floor Warps Overnight (~12:00)

    • Mike and Claudia discover the entire kitchen floor has warped in “waves,” resembling massive flood damage despite no moisture or leaks; landlord is baffled.

  • Claudia’s Seizure & “Machine-Folded” Phone Book (~15:00)

    • After a sudden seizure and ER visit, they return to find the pages of the phone book folded perfectly in half—a physical change witnessed and confirmed by all present.
    • "It was like a machine had done this. So precise." – Mike

  • Absences Linked to Silence

    • Whenever Mike was away on tour, activity would cease.

2. The Rollingwood House (Current Home)

• Moving In

  • Mike moves into a house designed by famed architect A.D. Stenger in an upscale Austin neighborhood. Excitement soon gives way to uneasiness as strange occurrences begin.

• Vanishing Items & The Dishwasher Incident (~22:00)

  • Mike loses cherished objects (e.g., onyx ring), and laundry begins to disappear.
  • A broken dishwasher suddenly turns on the moment he wishes aloud for it to work:
    • "As soon as I said, 'Boy, I wish the dishwasher would work.' And it came on, started working right then." – Mike

• Shadowy Figures, Creepy Rooms, and Sound Phenomena (~25:00)

  • Shadows often appear to pass through the kitchen, visible only in particular light conditions.

  • Both Nina and her dog are unwilling to enter Mike’s office (his bedroom).

  • Persistent, location-shifting knocks on the wall behind Mike at night. The knocking always follows the orientation of his back:

    • "If I flip over, it would change and always be behind me." – Mike

  • Foreboding sense of being watched or a presence standing behind him as he tries to sleep.

• The “Mind’s Eye” Apparitions (~32:30)

  • Mike begins “seeing” (not visually, but in his mind’s eye) a stern, brown-haired woman and a man dressed like a 1950s businessman.
  • The woman appears annoyed by the man and by Mike’s presence—a recurring mental image, distinct from imagination but never full-on visual.

3. Nina’s Perspective: Encounter with the Apparition

• Reluctance & Dismissal

  • Raised nonreligious, Nina always found her dad’s house, particularly the office, “creepy" but dismissed it as anxiety.
  • Neither she nor her dad is obsessed with ghosts or the paranormal.
  • Her mom’s dog, normally oblivious, refuses to enter the office.

• Direct Encounter with 'the Woman' (~29:00)

  • In her late teens, alone at the house, Nina glances up from her laptop and sees a woman in the kitchen:
    • Middle-aged, brown hair in a low bun, plain dark dress, expressionless but intent on making herself seen.
    • They lock eyes; Nina looks away then back—woman is gone. No apparition, just “real, as if a person was there.”
    • "We were like eye contact...for maybe a few seconds. It also was kind of like I get the feeling that she wanted to make her presence known almost is like the vibe I got." – Nina

• Years Later: Realization of Shared Experience (~36:00)

  • With her boyfriend and Mike, Nina jokes about the house being haunted. Mike acknowledges it, stunning Nina.

  • They simultaneously describe the same woman—the low bun, serious face, dark dress—which deeply unsettles both.

    • "We both were like, the woman with the brown hair and the low bun wearing the dr...like we said it at the exact same time." – Nina

  • Mike reveals his perceptions of the woman and man to Nina for the first time.

4. Mike, Nina & Jack Wagner – Joint Interview & Reflection (~39:13-48:00)

• Father’s Perspective on Concealment

  • Mike admits he denied the haunting to keep his children safe and comfortable in the home.
    • "I wasn't gonna let anybody run me off from this world or another world...if anything happened, you would just tell me." – Mike

• Differences in Experience

  • Nina only realizes she’s not “crazy” when her father corroborates the apparition.
  • Mike discusses how the phenomenon was persistent and subtle for years—knocking, presences, but not physical apparitions.

• Sudden Cessation of Activity – The Cross (~43:00)

  • Mike purchases a vintage illuminated cross and places it on his nightstand.

  • Shortly after, all phenomena abruptly stop. The house feels “normal” for the first time.

    • "It just felt normal. Did it have anything to do with it? I don't know. I tend to think it does now." – Mike

  • Jack Wagner muses that perhaps the cross comforted the previous resident’s spirit rather than banishing it.

• Beliefs & Broader Reflection

  • Mike reflects on the existence of both good and evil forces, noting the cross may have shifted the energy.
  • Recalls stories of good fortune as “doors opening”—implying a sense of hope, alongside the unknown.

• Family Observations: Sensitivity to the Paranormal (~47:47)

  • Nina jokes that she and her dad “attract crazies” and might naturally be more receptive to strange occurrences.

5. Grayson’s Story: “The Third Man Syndrome” (49:22-58:44)

• Estrangement and Reunion

  • Grayson’s father leaves when he is four, later lives on the streets and spends years abroad.
  • As an adult, Grayson seeks him out, hears wild stories including this pivotal one:

• Solo Trans-Atlantic Ordeal

  • Father steals a boat, runs a rum smuggling operation in the Caribbean, then impulsively sets sail for England alone.
  • Rudder breaks mid-Atlantic; isolated, food and water running out, he slips into despair.

• Apparition of the Green Goat (~53:00)

  • In the depth of hopelessness, Grayson’s father encounters a green, pan-like apparition (“ghost goat”) on deck, who speaks to and mocks him.
  • The apparition instructs him on how to fix the rudder by improvising with available materials — a task he has no memory of performing.
  • "He starts to really tune into what it’s saying. And in kind of this mocking tone, it's going like, 'you idiot...if only you would think you could...fix this rudder and you could get out of here and you could live.' And so the next thing he knows, he's flying across the ocean..." – Grayson

• Rescue and Aftermath

  • Arrives safely in England; taken in and cared for by a local woman.

  • Later discovers the phenomenon, known as “third man syndrome,” is a known psychological experience in cases of extreme survival.

  • "It's that part of your brain...that’s trying to bring reason and positivity to a situation that is desperate..." – Grayson

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The “Machine-Folded” Phone Book:
  "When you looked at that phone book and each page was...like a machine had done it. So precise." – Mike (~15:00)

• Simultaneous Ghost Description:
  "We both were like, the woman with the brown hair and the low bun wearing the dr...like we said it at the exact same time." – Nina (~36:00)

• On the Sudden End of Activity:
  "The house just felt different. And nothing was happening in the house. And it really was noticeable to me...The only thing that was different in the house was I had bought that cross..." – Mike (~44:00)

• On Third Man Syndrome:
  "It's the kind of thing that would make you go, like, crazy if you didn't have, like, some kind of explanation..." – Grayson (~57:00)

Important Timestamps

• 00:42 – Jack introduces the episode: Mike & Nina’s story, then Grayson’s
• 02:50-22:00 – Mike shares the full spectrum of his unexplained experiences in two homes
• 28:32 – Nina recounts her direct experience with the apparition and confronts her dad about the haunting
• 39:43 – Discussion between Jack, Mike, and Nina about the combined revelations and fatherly concealment
• 43:00-45:04 – Mike describes the purchase of the illuminated cross and the abrupt peace that follows
• 49:22-58:44 – Grayson's story: reconnection with father, the sailing ordeal, and explanation of “third man syndrome”
• 58:44 – Episode closes with a reflection on the ambiguity between the paranormal and psychological phenomena

Tone and Language

• Conversational, candid, alternately skeptical and matter-of-fact, with occasional dry humor (especially from Jack and Nina).
• Respectful, open-minded reporting from host Jack Wagner, maintaining skepticism while affording space for the inexplicable.
• Family banter and self-deprecation, balancing weirdness with warmth.

Summary

“Fatherhood” delves into the intersection of family, memory, and haunting. Mike and Nina demonstrate how deeply personal and strangely isolating paranormal experiences can be—until a moment of mutual revelation brings relief and validation. The question of whether a simple vintage cross or changing energies brought peace to a house remains open.

Grayson’s tale offers a different but related insight: the power of the mind to generate saviors or tormentors under extreme stress—and how, even after reunion, the mysteries of our parents’ lives can stun and inspire.

Throughout, the episode underscores: the greatest mysteries are often not just in haunted houses or lonely oceans, but in the stories we choose to share—and the ones we keep to ourselves.