Shawn Ryan Show #249 w/ MrBallen

Ouija Boards, Aliens Hijacking an Aircraft, and Real-Life Horror Stories
October 30, 2025

Overview

On this special Halloween episode of the Shawn Ryan Show, Shawn welcomes back John “MrBallen” Allen—former Navy SEAL and master storyteller behind the massively successful MrBallen Podcast and YouTube channel. The episode dives into chilling and bizarre true crime, paranormal, and alien stories, delivered in MrBallen’s signature narrative style. Major highlights include an infamous true Ouija board story that takes a horrifying turn, the infamous “man in the walls” home invasion, a lesser-known Mexican pilot alien-hijacking incident, and both hosts sharing personal brushes with the supernatural.

Key Discussion Points

1. Catch-Up, Gifts & Podcasting Updates (01:08–13:05)

• Compound Tour & Studio Upgrades: MrBallen expresses excitement over Shawn’s upgraded podcast compound and studio:
  “Dude, it’s so beautiful. This compound is amazing.” (01:20)
• Gifts Exchange:
  • Shawn gifts MrBallen a SIG226X Legion pistol—referencing their Navy SEAL backgrounds.
  • MrBallen gives Shawn a signed copy of his new graphic novel, Where Nightmares Live, and a Ferity flannel shirt ("best flannels" per MrBallen).
  • MrBallen shares he hasn’t fired a gun since 2017 after medically retiring from the Teams and sleepwalking concerns.
• Post-Service Life: Both discuss their transitions from the military to media and entrepreneurship, and the surreal experience of near Golden Globe nominations for their podcasts.

2. Sleepwalking & Guns in the House (09:47–13:07)

• MrBallen talks about his prolific sleepwalking (2–3 nights/week).
• Security measures at home: alarms to keep him safe.
• His wife’s concern about having firearms at home.
• The pivot away from shooting as a civilian.
• How shooting served as both a skill and outlet in the SEAL Teams.

3. Storytelling Segment—Haunted by the Past: The Ouija Board & The Wall Man (17:58–65:03)

The Bowen Family & Ouija Board Tapping (17:58–59:22)

• Setting (1986, Pepperell, MA):
  • Recently widowed father Frank, daughters Tina (15) & Karen (9).
  • Girls attempt to contact deceased mom via Ouija board seance.
  • Tapping Begins: Unexplained, responsive tapping noises begin throughout the house, initially interpreted as their mom communicating—soon turning sinister, culminating in ominous writing ("I'm in your closet. Come find me") on the wall.
• Key Quote:
  "There’s a clear response... Clearly, someone is in the house. And their dad’s not home. But amazingly, the girls...this was confirmation that their mom is here." (27:27)
• Escalation: Tapping gets disruptive; the girls are terrified, Frank thinks they need therapy.

The Intruder Revealed (44:05–59:22)

• The Climax:
  • Family returns to find strange disturbances, then a hatchet-wielding, clown-makeup-wearing man in a dress (their late mother's dress) emerges from a closet and attacks.
  • Family escapes; police search reveals a hidden crawlspace in the walls, where Danny LaPlante (16) was found living. He had been orchestrating all the disturbances, communicating through the girls’ seance and terrorizing them.
• Aftermath:
  • Details: Danny had previously been rejected by Tina, snuck in six months prior, and had also later murdered another family (the Gustafsons) after living in their walls.
• Key Quote:
  “He was spying on the family 24/7...he made all the Ouija board tapping, and eventually decided to be evil. This guy’s completely psychopathic.” (59:23)

MrBallen on Storytelling Philosophy (62:28–64:56)

• MrBallen explains his approach is to put listeners inside the victim/regular person’s perspective instead of leading with the killer.

4. Squatters, Hidden Dwellers, and Urban Legends (65:03–70:09)

• Other real-life cases of wall-dwellers and squatters (“shocking how many people have found others living in their walls”).
• Viral internet video: Man in NYC apartment discovers a woman secretly living in his kitchen crawlspace for a year—caught on his recording (she’d use his food, brush teeth, etc.).
  "This little woman climbs out of the cupboard and she goes over to the sink... she starts eating all this food in his fridge…” (67:14)

5. Paranormal: Belief, Skepticism & Alien Intervention (70:15–82:43)

• Do you believe in the paranormal?
  • MrBallen: “It’s a cop-out to say the paranormal doesn’t exist… Why is it so outlandish to think that there could be, for example, like supernatural activity?” (71:15)
  • Shares why credible stories are so special, sifting through countless dubious reports.
• Alien Story: Mexican Pilot Possession (72:00–81:53):
  • A Mexican pilot, Rafael, lost control of his training plane in the 1960s or 70s, only to awaken hours and hundreds of miles away, with more fuel than should be possible.
  • In the meantime, air traffic control recorded him speaking in a different, alien voice with a warning for humanity’s use of nukes:
    “This is not Rafael. We come to you from another planet. We’re using his body as a microphone…” (76:30)
  • MrBallen’s team obtained the actual air traffic recordings from Mexican archives for their show.

6. MrBallen’s Personal Paranormal Story: The Grieving Father’s Cabin (85:23–123:17)

• Setting (age 16):
  • Annual snowboard trip to a friend's mountain cabin just days after the friend’s father’s sudden death.
• Events:
  • Each of three consecutive nights, MrBallen hears (and “sees in his mind’s eye”) heavy, echoing footsteps enter the cabin, followed by a tall shadowy being entering their dark room, hovering above the friend, and vanishing.
  • On each morning, the friend’s mother cryptically says:
    “John, it’s okay. It was just my husband. I heard him last night too.”
  • On the third morning, words “I love you” are inexplicably etched into a newly delivered coffee table—a moment of strange closure.
• Lasting Impact:
  • MrBallen admits he cut off contact with the family afterward, the experience too disturbing to rationalize or revisit.

7. Shawn’s Personal Ghost Story (124:27–133:44)

• Civil War-Era Cabin in Tennessee:
  • During a "reality survival" filming with friends and staff, all present hear clear footsteps overhead. Review of Airbnb listings reveals multiple guest reports: “Don’t bang on the walls—they bang back; don’t show up after dark—the entire place comes alive.”
  • Footage shows reactions, but paranormal disturbances interfered with camera audio.
• Key Quote:
  “We packed the up… I’m not even looking in that damn window. I don’t give a… I have guns. It’s not going to kill whatever’s up there.” (130:53)

8. Halloween Spirit, Camaraderie, and Wrap-Up (133:48–End)

• Shawn thanks MrBallen for the stories and Halloween scares.
• Both look forward to a campfire session and plan to shoot on the range.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Shawn on Near-Golden Globe Nominations for Podcasts:
  “Two SEALs…just carving our own path post service, dude.” (03:41)
• MrBallen on Storytelling:
  “I want you to inhabit their point of view and have the killer be almost anonymous…It’s designed to be like you’re in the POV of the normal people.” (63:00)
• Shawn reacting to the horror story twist:
  “Oh shit.” (27:27, 39:17, multiple times throughout)
• MrBallen, on supernatural humility:
  “Even through every religion, we still don’t really understand…Why is it so outlandish to think that there could be supernatural activity?” (71:15)
• MrBallen on his personal haunting:
  “All I could think was, please, God, whatever or whoever you are, don’t bend down here and look at me, because it’ll ruin my life to, like, have to interact with you.” (104:57)
• Shawn on confronting the haunted cabin evidence:
  “We pull up the fucking reviews, dude. And it is...don’t bang on the walls. They bang back. Don’t show up after dark, the entire comes alive.” (132:58)
• MrBallen on the aftermath of his ghost experience:
  “This ended my relationship with everybody in the story. It was so traumatic for me…I’ll just never talk to any of you again.” (121:18)

Important Timestamps

• 01:08–05:51 — Gifts exchange and catching up
• 09:47–13:07 — MrBallen’s sleepwalking & family life
• 17:58–44:05 — The Ouija Board/Bowen Family tapping story
• 44:05–62:21 — The “man in the walls” horror exposed
• 70:15–81:53 — Aliens hijack an aircraft—the Rafael story
• 85:23–123:17 — MrBallen’s own supernatural experience at the mountain cabin
• 124:27–133:44 — Shawn’s haunted AirBnB Civil War cabin in Tennessee story
• 133:48–End — Closing gratitude, Halloween camaraderie, & plans for the range

Tone & Style

Camaraderie and dark humor abound amid the chilling tales. MrBallen’s storytelling is immersive, detailed, and empathetic to victims—never sensationalizing violence but seeking to draw listeners into the “normal” point of view before the horror manifests. Shawn acts as both skeptic and fellow experiencer, infusing the episode with blunt honesty and SEAL-style straight talk.

For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

This Halloween special is equal parts unsettling, fascinating, and engaging. It provides not just scares, but real insights into the art of storytelling, the unknowable nature of reality, and the lived experience of two men with backgrounds far from the average “ghost story” teller. Whether it’s true crime, unexplained phenomena, or raw personal stories, this episode delivers.

"That's the thing—I got more for you. I'll tell you tonight at the campfire session..." – Shawn (133:45)