Episode Overview

Title: Into the Crypt with Soleil [Patreon Preview]
Host: Jack Wagner
Guest: Soleil
Date: February 13, 2026

This special Patreon preview episode of Otherworld brings back Soleil, whose astonishing two-part Folly Beach series has already captivated listeners. Host Jack Wagner sits down with Soleil to share an additional, previously untold ghost story from her youth, also set on Folly Beach. What begins as a bonus tale about a mysterious Civil War relic rapidly unfolds into a chilling three-year saga of escalating paranormal events experienced by Soleil’s family—a real-life haunting triggered by a piece of history brought home from the shifting sands of South Carolina.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Discovering the Civil War Fort and the “54” Relic (01:44 – 05:16)

• Soleil describes exploring Folly Beach with her family in the early 2000s, drawn by news of rapidly eroding and unexcavated Civil War forts.
  • “There are two forts out on Folly beach that were never properly excavated... so much of the fort that was just sticking up out of the sand. And there were things that you could just... you could just lean down and pick stuff up. It was a pretty wild experience.” (01:51)
• Relics—fossilized bones, old buttons, coins—were scattered and accessible, mixing archaeology with local lore.
• The significant find: Soleil’s mother unearths a small metal “54,” which an onsite archaeologist identifies as a helmet badge from the famed 54th Regiment, South Carolina’s first all-Black Civil War regiment.
  • “[The archaeologist said] These were on the helmets of all the soldiers... She had found one of the little metal 54s that would have been on a soldier's cap.” (04:25)
• The family understands the rarity of casually collecting such artifacts, but South Carolina’s lax approach to preservation made their find possible.
  • “South Carolina is an unusual place.” (05:18, Soleil)

2. The First Paranormal Incident: A Chilling Omen (05:30 – 06:41)

• After washing and admiring their finds around a beloved mosaic table, the family is struck by a sudden, unshakeable sense of unease.
  • “…it was like this scene from The Mummy where everyone's sitting there and, like, the wind goes, like – and then everyone gets a chill up their spine. That happened to my family.” (05:32)
• Unanimously, they feel compelled to return the items—except the 54 badge, which Soleil’s mother cannot part with.
• Implication: The act of keeping the 54 triggers an unrelenting series of hauntings.

3. Three Years of Hauntings (06:41 – 13:20)

• The paranormal activity begins immediately and persists until the 54 badge mysteriously disappears from the house.
  • “The paranormal activity did not stop until the 54 disappeared. We have no idea where it went.” (06:49)
• First escalation: Soleil, home alone, hears her dogs’ names called from the woods. The dogs react fearfully, and then the voice calls her name, terrifying her. The family dismisses it as a neighbor playing a prank—until others experience the same.
  • “I hear somebody from the woods... and my dogs hear it too. They stop and they look at it.” (08:21)
• Corroboration: The next incident occurs while the family is traveling and a friend is watching the house. The friend and her husband both hear their own names and the dogs’ names called from the woods and refuse to return.
  • “[Becca says] ‘Somebody in the woods started calling your dogs’ names, and then they started calling my name and my husband’s name...’ My parents just like look at me. And I’m like, I told you. I told you I didn’t make that up.” (09:30)
• Recurring activity: This disembodied voice—sometimes mimicking family members—targets multiple people, including Soleil’s brother and friends. No one ever finds a source.
  • “Sometimes it sounded like our mom, and sometimes it sounded like just a guy.” (10:43, Soleil)
• Poltergeist-like phenomena: Lights in the hallway flicker off inexplicably, leading to confusion and mutual accusations among siblings, until they realize neither is responsible.
  • “I'd be walking down the hallway to go to my room and I'd hear the light switch click and the lights would go out... and my brother's like, you need to stop doing that... He like realizes I'm in my bed, like I couldn't have done it.” (11:22)
• Chilling family encounter: During a night of TV, a cold, invisible “person” seemingly embraces each family member in turn—a disturbing, physical manifestation.
  • “This cold person... it felt like a whole body embraced each of us in a line.” (12:47, Soleil)
  • Notable quote: “It was like... something was, like, embracing you.” (13:06, Soleil)
  • Afterwards, Soleil’s mother remarks on the palpable change in the room: “Well, it. It's definitely gone. Like, whatever it was is definitely. It's not in the room anymore.” (13:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the family’s fateful haul: “We just, like, walked away with, like, a real piece of, like, South Carolina history. And, like, it's okay for us to have it, because normally it's not okay for you to go to a historical site and just kind of pick through artifacts and take some out.”
  —Soleil (04:02)

• On the moment everything changed: “It was like the air shifted, and we all had the same feeling. We all looked at each other, and in unison, we said, ‘We have to take the stuff back.’”
  —Soleil (05:36)

• On the three-year haunting: “The paranormal activity did not stop until the 54 disappeared. We have no idea where it went.”
  —Soleil (06:49)

• On chilling family experiences: “This cold person, like, because it felt like a whole body embraced each of us in a line.”
  —Soleil (12:47)

• Host’s authentic reaction: “By the way, this is, like, my reactions right now are why I edit myself out of the podcast normally. That's terrifying, though. That's crazy.”
  —Jack Wagner (13:10)

Timeline & Key Segments

• 01:44 – 05:16: Discovery of the Civil War fort and the “54” badge
• 05:30 – 06:41: Family’s eerie collective premonition; decision to keep the artifact
• 06:41 – 10:04: Onset of supernatural events; voices from the woods
• 10:04 – 11:22: The haunting spreads and intensifies—others experience the voices
• 11:22 – 12:47: Unexplainable hallway light incidents; poltergeist activity
• 12:47 – 13:20: The whole family experiences a palpable, physical haunting

Summary & Takeaway

This gripping preview episode offers a deeply personal look into the unexplainable—how a family’s seemingly innocent connection to the past brings the inexplicable into their home. Soleil’s narrative, rich with detail and emotional honesty, stands out both as a cautionary tale about disturbing history and a testament to the reality of modern hauntings. It invites listeners to reflect: What happens when history refuses to stay buried?

For the full saga and more chilling encounters, subscribe to Otherworld’s Patreon.