Otherworld: Episode 159 – "A Room on the Road" (March 9, 2026)
Host: Jack Wagner

Episode Overview

This episode of Otherworld explores the unsettling, mysterious, and sometimes terrifying experiences musicians encounter while touring—especially the strange energies and outright paranormal events in temporary lodgings on the road. Jack Wagner presents two stories: Colum (joined by Louisa) recounts a bizarre and potentially haunted stay in Barcelona, while Shelby describes two chilling encounters in New Orleans. Both stories offer first-hand insights into how travelers process, rationalize, and remember inexplicable phenomena—perfectly blending the world of music tours with the uncanny.

Story 1: Colum and Louisa – The Haunted Apartment in Barcelona

[01:10–31:26]

Background and Setup

• Colum introduces himself as an Irish musician whose early career involved touring with Morrissey (signed at 16), touring extensively in the US and internationally, encountering plenty of danger but nothing supernatural—until this trip.
• He meets Chelsea Crowell (Nashville-based artist), organizes a small European tour with Chelsea and their friend Louisa (tour manager).

Notable Quote

"You hear about ghost stories and things that happen to people, but you never really believe it until it happens to you."
—Colum [06:03]

The Apartment Ordeal

Arrival and Immediate Strangeness ([08:34–12:41])

• After an exhausting drive from Paris to Barcelona, Louisa's car is nearly robbed and vandalized. This sets an "off" tone for the stay.
• On reaching their 11th-floor Airbnb, Colum describes a beautiful but strangely heavy-feeling apartment.
• Upon placing his laptop carefully in the center of a glass coffee table, it inexplicably flies off the table in a manner "aggressive," as if spitefully pushed by an unseen force.
• They're interrupted by Carmen, the elderly landlady, who pounds on the door, insists they "pay the rent," and cryptically says "there's six of you"—despite only three present.

"It was a really, like, aggressive [motion], the way somebody would...push your book off a table...Very unnatural..."
—Colum [13:25]

First Night: Shared Experiences ([13:25–18:38])

• Colum describes auditory phenomena—a constant buzzing by his ear while trying to sleep—while Louisa and Chelsea have separate disturbances.
• Morning discussion reveals:
  • Louisa dreamt (or saw) a black, feminine figure sitting at the foot of her bed, watching her.
  • Chelsea experienced strange sensations at her ears, echoing Colum's experiences.
• The group tries to rationalize. Maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe their minds are playing tricks… until further events unfold.

"As soon as we leave, Louisa turns to me and she's like, well, the apartment's haunted."
—Colum [15:44]

The Second Night: Intensification ([18:38–26:46])

• The apartment's atmosphere grows heavier.
• Colum is later awoken, paralyzed with fear, to Carmen literally leaning over him in the middle of the night, turning off his bedside lamp. Realizing she's not a ghost, but a confused woman with Alzheimer's, is only partially comforting.
• Attempting to rationalize these incidents, they report Carmen's intrusions, with the booking agent confirming her medical issues.

Physical Manifestation ([20:52–22:58])

• While working on his computer, Colum witnesses the heavy balcony table and chairs slide “smoothly” across the balcony by themselves—something that would require significant force. No wind, no explanation.
• Louisa, left alone in the apartment to shower, flees in terror to the lobby—still wrapped in a towel—after seeing a backlit dark figure poking around the hallway.

"The whole room is awoken by a shrill, terrified scream. Like, Brandy is screaming for her life."
—Shelby, but relevant to the atmosphere

Louisa’s Account ([22:58–26:46])

• Louisa describes her own escalating unease, feeling watched all night, too scared to turn off the lights, and the climactic moment when she encounters the dark figure peering around the hallway—distinctly not Carmen, not human, and "not humorous."

"If the landlady had been there, it would have been like, hey, Carmen, what are you doing here? But there was...there was no humor or fun about this. It was dark."
—Louisa [25:50]

Debrief and Theories ([26:46–31:26])

• They find torn-out pages in the guestbook, suggesting prior guests also experienced disturbances.
• Colum offers his reflections: maybe Carmen’s obsession with “six people” is meaningful, possibly seeing entities others can't.
• Each person’s experience in the apartment was unique—witnessing moving furniture, feeling a presence, or hearing “buzzing” that mimics their own sense boundaries being invaded.

"You know, when you're in a house and someone's having a big argument, and you're sort of watching two people have an argument—it kind of felt like that."
—Colum [21:56]

• Concludes with Colum acknowledging the profound effect: he became more spiritual, open to unresolved energies and alternate realities, but would decline any offer to return.

"You couldn't pay me to go back there."
—Colum [31:22]

Story 2: Shelby – Haunted Rooms in New Orleans

[33:07–67:37]

Introduction and Backstory ([34:38–39:44])

• Shelby is a DIY musician and tour manager, well used to couch-hopping and band crashes, used to “weird energies,” but never before had a direct encounter.
• In 2017, she and two friends (Sarah & Brandy) travel for a girls’ trip to New Orleans (French Quarter), coinciding with her boyfriend’s tour and birthday.

The French Market Inn ([39:44–49:40])

• Shelby books a windowless, $88-a-night room—only to realize just how old and dark it is after arrival.
• After a late night out, she tries to sleep. While lying in bed, she feels distinct pressure—like hands or feet “walking” on her legs and stomach. She’s fully awake, tests herself, and tries to rationalize.
• Suddenly, the room's atmosphere shifts: the air vibrates, everything glows ominous red, and Shelby freezes, unable to move.
• She witnesses two small, dark-haired, furious girls standing by her chest, glaring at her—a "horror-movie level" vision.

"The room was literally like dark red and vibrating, like bright sinister red. My vision, everything around me, it was like a humming, angry energy."
—Shelby [44:54]

• She finally breaks free, clings to her friend, but the sensation returns—now as prods and slow pushes on her shoulder—hours of tactile disturbances, all while she's wide awake.

Night Two and Validation ([49:40–55:04])

• The second night, Shelby moves to her boyfriend’s brighter, “haunted but with windows” room, and sleeps peacefully.
• On the third night, back in the “haunted room,” she insists both friends cram in one bed. Brandy, overwhelmed by the heat, moves to the other bed—the same spot Shelby had her initial encounter.
• That night, Brandy wakes the group with a terrified scream, having felt something “moving around and whispering” in her ear.

"She collects herself to tell us that she just felt something moving around and whispering in her ear...m oving her hair and trying to talk to her."
—Shelby [54:38]

• Shelby is simultaneously relieved and disturbed—her experience is validated. Sleep paralysis or dream explanations seem inadequate.

Second Encounter: The Friendly Theater Ghost ([55:04–64:43])

• In 2019, Shelby returns to New Orleans with another band, playing the historic and allegedly haunted One Eyed Jack’s.
• While alone backstage, fixing her hair in a theater-style mirror, she glances up to see a sharply dressed, 19th-century-looking man beside her in the reflection—gone when she checks in real life. He feels "friendly."
• Later, a bartender confirms the recurring apparition: a man named Nico, seen only in mirrors, mainly by women he “likes.”

"She said his name was Nico, and I guess other people have had experiences with this ghost...He only visits people he likes and he usually only visits women."
—Shelby [63:34]

• Shelby notes a change in her anxiety—she now approaches strange hotel rooms with wary acceptance and some “Kumbaya” peace offerings to any lingering entities.

Fact-Checking: Is the French Market Inn Haunted? ([64:43–67:37])

• Jack and Shelby call the French Market Inn and (unsurprisingly) get a standard denial from the reservations agent.
• Their own post-show research, as well as Shelby’s prior encounters with staff, supplement their findings: plenty of online reviews describe strange events in the very same hotel.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "You hear about ghost stories and things that happen to people, but you never really believe it until it happens to you." —Colum [06:03]
• "I place my laptop...in the center of the coffee table. There's nothing around it...it lifts and spins. Like it flips off the table onto the ground." —Colum [12:41]
• "Wait, do you have that picture still or somebody?" —Jack Wagner (on the ghost photo in Nashville) [08:29]
• "As soon as we leave, Louisa turns to me and she's like, well, the apartment's haunted." —Colum [15:44]
• "If the landlady had been there, it would have been like, hey, Carmen, what are you doing here? But there was...no humor or fun about this. It was dark." —Louisa [25:50]
• "The room was literally like dark red and vibrating, like bright sinister red..." —Shelby [44:54]
• "I see to my right side are these two little girls...They were livid with me. It was clearly like I was not welcome there, but I was frozen." —Shelby [45:43]
• "We were all awoken by a shrill, terrified scream. Like, Brandy is screaming for her life." —Shelby [52:34]
• "She asked me, did you see the man or did you see the woman?...When people see him, he is an older man, he's wearing a three piece suit...He only visits people he likes and he usually only visits women." —Bartender via Shelby [63:18]
• "I just wrote 'haunted' next to it and on TripAdvisor. Lovely room and haunted." —Shelby [67:37]

Key Takeaways and Themes

• The Vulnerability of Musicians on Tour: Unfamiliar, transient spaces can heighten susceptibility to strange experiences, particularly when exhausted and off-guard.
• Questioning Reality: Each guest tries, in real time and in retrospect, to find rational explanations, but is forced to confront the possibility of “energies” or “presences” beyond the mundane.
• Validation and Shared Experience: The shared element—multiple people experiencing something, sometimes simultaneously—reinforces the sense that these events are not mere hallucinations or sleep disorder episodes.
• Atmosphere and Energy: Both stories emphasize a heavy, unresolved, or arguing “energy” as a sign of haunting, often coupled with direct sensory phenomena (auditory, visual, or tactile).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:10] – Start of Colum’s story, band origin and early tour.
• [08:29] – The ghost photo in Nashville.
• [12:41] – Arrival in Barcelona and first unexplained event (flying laptop).
• [15:44] – Louisa’s first mention of the apartment being haunted.
• [21:56] – Colum describes the atmosphere: “like watching an argument.”
• [22:58] – Louisa’s separate first-person account of the shadow figure and shower incident.
• [31:26] – Story closes; reflection on spirituality.
• [34:38] – Start of Shelby’s story, hotel context, and first impressions.
• [44:54] – Nighttime haunting: red, vibrating room, two angry ghost girls.
• [52:34] – Brandy’s scream and her own encounter.
• [55:04] – Shelby’s One Eyed Jack’s backstage “mirror man” ghost.
• [63:18] – Bartender confirms the recurring ghost ("Nico") at One Eyed Jack’s.
• [64:43] – Jack and Shelby call the French Market Inn for "official" confirmation.
• [67:37] – Shelby’s testimony matches online reviews: “Lovely room and haunted.”

In Summary:
Episode 159 exemplifies the best of Otherworld: mixing evocative personal storytelling and open-minded inquiry, Jack Wagner gets to the heart of the lingering mysteries found by those who live by the road. Both sets of experiences—Colum and Louisa’s Barcelona trial and Shelby’s back-to-back New Orleans hauntings—question the boundaries between exhaustion, suggestion, and the truly inexplicable. The stories are rich with unsettling details, relatable doubts, and moments of humor, culminating in a narrative that is both chilling and strangely comforting for those drawn to the strange.