
When Kristen Lee bought a new home in Bellaire, Ohio, she had no idea she was purchasing one of the most haunted houses in the country. What started as odd noises and footsteps in the attic soon became ghostly apparitions and violent attacks. Eventually, Kristen learned more about the dark history of the home by conducting séances with the spirits who once lived there – and found the home may be sitting on a portal to another plane of existence.
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Chuck
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Ashley Flowers
I spend way too much time looking for answers to things. Answers I may never get. And when you're in my line of work, you have to sort of be okay with that. If I let every unsolved cold case or every supernatural mystery keep me up at night, Lord knows that I would get even less sleep than I do now. But there is one mystery I would love. Just a teeny tiny clue to ghosts. Are they just residual energy? Are electromagnetic fields to blame? Is it really that our souls get left here to wander the planet if we have unfinished business? Well, when I started looking into today's topic, I found one theory that really stuck with me. That some places may act as portals between the spiritual and the physical world. And that's what many people think is happening at the Bellaire house. Built in 1847 in Bellaire, Ohio. It is said to be sitting on a ley line, a supernatural highway of magical energy that runs across the globe. Which might be what makes it one of the most haunted locations in America and a portal for spirits to come and go. But that got me thinking. If we could nail down these entry points, really locate them, define them, tap into them, imagine what that could mean for humanity. Would we get to see lost loved ones again? Or would we be opening up a floodgate for More evil spirits to come pouring in. I'm Ashley flowers. And this is so supernatural.
Yvette Gentile
Foreign.
Rasha Pecorero
Aloha. And welcome to so supernatural. I'm Racha Pecorero.
Yvette Gentile
And I'm Yvette Gentile. And today we're talking about the bel air house in Bel air, Ohio.
Rasha Pecorero
Okay, so speaking of haunted houses, There is one house that I lived in with my dad and stepmom. And I was convinced that it had spirits in it, but good spirits, because I never felt bad energy in that house. But I would see little footprints, like on the carpet that didn't match mine, didn't match my dad's. I swear. They were menehunes, which are these mystical people in old Hawaiian folklore. That's the only house I ever remember being haunted. But didn't we live in a house together when I was really little? That either a murder happened before we lived there or after we moved out?
Yvette Gentile
Yeah, it was in Hawaii. Kai and I was going to Kaiser high school. And the murder happened before, but we didn't know that when we were living there. But I do remember weird things happening in that house. Like doors closing, lights coming on. I never liked spending a whole lot of time in that house, and especially by myself. I was always either outside or, you know, with friends. But we didn't find this out until after. Because I know for a fact if mom would have known that this murder had happened in the house, you know, she would have had shamans there, people there blessing the house and whatnot. So, yeah, we did live in a haunted house. But most of the time, when people feel like their house is haunted, you know, hearing creepy sounds late at night Is usually nothing like, you think it's a ghost. But it's just some old pipes creaking, right? Or floors settling or it's just our minds playing tricks on us. Though I know that's not the case for everyone. And no one understands that better than 30 year old grad student Kristen Lee. See, in 2005, a flash flood in the wake of two hurricanes destroyed Kristen's home in Quincy, Ohio. And after the incident, Kristen is just trying to survive with her two young sons. So they start crashing in random places, like on friends couches or in a camper. But on other nights, they have no other choice than to literally sleep on the porch of where their former house used to be. That is just devastating. And of course, it's no way to live long term. But Kristen doesn't let this get in the way of finding stability again. She starts actively looking for what could be Their forever home.
Rasha Pecorero
And one day, Kristin meets with a real estate agent and they go to view this house at 1699 Belmont street in Bel Air, Ohio. It's a lot closer to her work, so Kristin is actually pretty excited about it. And when she first lays eyes on the so called Bel Air house, it's like she's fallen in love. It's two stories with four bedrooms. It has a yard for the boys to play in and a cute little attic for extra storage. Plus it has these cozy features that make it feel just like home. I'm talking hardwood floors, functional fireplaces, and yeah, sure, it's a bit of a fixer upper, but Kristen can picture how homey it will feel once it's all set up and they're all in there. The best part of all, it's in her budget. The former owners abandoned it and then the bank foreclosed on it. So luckily it's surprisingly cheap. Like $46,000 cheap, which even back in 2005 is pretty darn good for a piece of real estate, especially a house that's almost 2,700 square feet. You can't find that nowadays.
Yvette Gentile
Kristin does not hesitate. Would you? I mean, $46,000 for a 2,700 square foot home, that's like insane. So of course she buys it and she moves in with her sons and her partner, Vinny. A few weeks go by, and at first, things are really good. They get unpacked, settle in, get to celebrate Christmas and New Year's in this new house. But by early 2006, things get not so good. Kristen says it's mostly due to Vinnie. He begins acting a little off. And some evenings, instead of going to bed, he walks up to the attic and just stays there for hours on end to the point where he doesn't come down until the next morning when she's actually getting ready to head to work. And Kristen has no idea what he's up to. And to make things even stranger, Vinny starts having some serious mood swings. It's like all of a sudden, little things are setting him off and nobody knows what's going to trigger an angry outburst from him. Sometimes he even crosses a line, becoming verbally abusive with Kristen. Now, keep in mind, she's never seen him like this before, so it's got to be confusing and disturbing for her. And especially because there are other times where he's just not there. Like he just stares off as if he's looking at something in the distance. Like, yeah, he's there physically. But when Kristen Asks Vinny what he's looking at. It's like he doesn't even hear her. I mean, there's just no reaction.
Rasha Pecorero
At first, Kristen assumes there's a logical explanation for all of this. Vinnie does have a history of substance abuse. He's been sober for a while. But Kristen fears that this new erratic behavior means that he's possibly relapsed. To her, it's the only thing that makes sense, Though things get really tense between her and Vinnie when she gets a call from work one day. It's her boss telling her that she's in trouble for a text that she supposedly sent. So, for some background here, Kristen is in the middle of doing her internship, which she has to finish before she can get her master's in psychology. Every day, she works at a rehab clinic where she's around vulnerable people, people who are battling addiction. And it's really important for her to have good boundaries with her clients. Except her boss thinks that Kristin sent a text to one of the patients. I don't know exactly what it says, but the point is, this sort of personal contact from Kristen would be incredibly inappropriate, and Kristin knows that, too. She would never message a patient like that. She doesn't even like to text. Kristen's kids would know better than to contact this patient, too. But it's hard for anyone to believe her when she says that she didn't do it. And since it came from her phone, it just doesn't look good.
Yvette Gentile
Well, whatever the message said was apparently so bad, Kristen gets fired over it. And of course, she blames Vinny. She doesn't particularly trust him anymore, and she knows he's the only one to have access to her phone, so he makes the most sense. I don't know if Kristen ever confronts him or if he tries to defend himself. Either way, I do know Vinny eventually moves out, and they break up. But even with Vinny gone, there's still a lot of weird things happening in Kristen's world.
Rasha Pecorero
For example, she keeps hearing weird sounds in the house that she cannot explain, Especially in the attic. It was easy for her to ignore the noises when Vinnie was around because he was always up there. But now Kristen hears footsteps upstairs even when she's home alone or when she and her boys are all downstairs. And everyone who sets foot in the house, Kristen, her kids, her friends, her kids, friends, they all agree there's just a bad vibe.
Yvette Gentile
One of Kristen's buddies says the feeling is especially strong in the attic. And when he climbs up there, it's extremely cold on Top of that, this guy feels instantly nervous. He doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, but still, all of his instincts are screaming at him to get the hell out of this house and that he is in danger.
Rasha Pecorero
He's pretty freaking certain that this house is haunted. But Kristen, she's like, absolutely not. She does not believe in ghosts, never really has. She jokes about the possibility with her friends and family, but at this point, it's just that, a joke. She thinks there must be a more logical explanation for everything, like maybe the stress of her breakup is getting to her. I mean, who's to say she isn't just imagining it all? Until one day, something happens that she cannot explain away.
Yvette Gentile
Kristin's bathroom in her basement doubles as the laundry room, and it's always cold, so Kristen's in the habit of tossing her chili towel into the dryer before she takes a shower, and then she pulls it out when she's done, so it's nice and toasty. One day, per usual, she throws in her towel and takes a shower. When she gets out, Kristen opens the dryer, only there's no towel. Now, Kristen is pretty damn sure she put it in there. So as she's scratching her head, she turns around, and that's when she finds it, hanging on the hook of the bathroom door. A clean towel, still warm from the drying cycle, one she definitely did not put on the back of the door. Kristin is literally confused and more than a little bit freaked out. Now she's getting to a point where she can't just chalk all this up to some forgetfulness or stress, especially as things just keep getting spookier.
Rasha Pecorero
Like one night, Kristen's winding down after a long day of making repairs around the house, including in her bedroom. I'm not exactly sure what she was doing, but I feel like maybe she had been painting because she can't sleep in there. And to me, that means maybe there were fumes in the room. Instead, she goes to sleep on the couch in the living room. Well, anyway, she wakes up suddenly in the middle of the night, and the house is silent. She doesn't see or hear anyone else, but she does have this eerie feeling like something intentionally woke her up from a very deep sleep. And she can tell something just isn't right. She can't put her finger on what's wrong, though, until she sees it. There's someone sitting right next to her on the couch, literally watching her sleep. The figure looks like a slim man in a hat. He has facial hair, and every inch of him, his clothes his skin and his hair are all gray, almost like he just stepped out of a black and white movie. Except he's also transparent. Kristen can actually see right through him. So of course she sits up and she screams. But the guy doesn't leave. He just sees, stays there, watching her freak out. Eventually, she straight up asks him, who are you? Only the gray man doesn't reply. He doesn't have any reaction at all. His expression is completely blank. Literally zero emotion. He just gets up and walks to the front door. But before he can turn the knob, the guy vanishes without a trace, right before Kristen's eyes. She's almost willing to write the whole incident off as just a bad dream. Except a few seconds later, she looks at the couch where she was sleeping and she notices there's two impressions on the cushions. One is from her and the other is from the gray man.
Yvette Gentile
It's at this point that Kristen's finally ready to admit the truth. Her house is haunted. And now that she's beginning to accept it, she starts questioning all the other strange things that have happened in her house too. Like Vinnie's time in the attic and the footsteps, the Tao incident and the weird text. She starts wondering if it's possible that all of that could be the result of some supernatural force lurking in her home. And it isn't long before Kristin realizes that she may have bigger problems than just some text messaging laundry doing ghost. Because whatever's in that house is turning physically violent.
Ashley Flowers
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Chuck
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Yvette Gentile
But you should say, like a good.
Rasha Pecorero
Neighbor, State Farm is there and we'll.
Chuck
Help your growing business. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Yvette Gentile
In 2005, Kristin Lee bought what she had come to believe was a haunted house. Sure, at first, Kristen was very skeptical. She thought there had to be a rational explanation for what was going on. But somewhere along the way, Kristen could no longer deny it. There was something supernatural happening inside her home. And that's when she became open to more Occult explanations. And I'm not just talking about ghost. She also comes to believe in witchcraft, to the point where Kristen even joins a local coven in Bel Air. She's hoping she can use magic to get rid of whatever is lurking inside her house.
Rasha Pecorero
And it's during that next full moon, when her kids happen to be staying with her parents, that Kristen performs a simple ritual on her own. It involves burning some herbs, lighting some candles, and praying to a goddess for the ghost to go away. After that, it's just a matter of waiting to see if the spell worked. A few nights later, Kristen's home alone again, and she's realizing she hasn't had any activity over the last few days. Like, maybe the spell worked. But just to be safe, she figures, hey, let's try another one. So she does another spell to make sure she can get rid of any negative energies that might still be in the house. But then she comes out of her room and notices her sweet pitbull. Bella is nowhere to be seen. She starts calling out for her all throughout the house. Only Bella doesn't come running like she usually does. Kristen starts to panic as she rushes around searching for her. But when Bella comes trudging down the stairs, she's moving really slowly, almost like she's hurt, and her eyes are completely bloodshot. Right away, Kristen looks Bella all over, and she sees that her collar is on super tight. So tight that it's almost choking her to death. She loosens it so Bella can breathe again. But clearly, Bella didn't do this to herself. Which is when Kristen starts to think, not only is this spirit still in the house, it's also trying to kill her dog.
Yvette Gentile
And y'all, you know, that is the last straw for Kristen. She's ready to bring in her whole coven to get rid of this thing. They walk through the Bel Air house waving brooms around, chanting, sprinkling salt everywhere, anything they can think of to try and keep evil spirits away.
Rasha Pecorero
Yvette, that totally reminds me of that scene from Practical Magic.
Yvette Gentile
It does. But unlike in the movie, this spell doesn't seem to work. Just days after the ritual, Kristen has a guest over to her house, and he tells her that he's certain that something just bit him in the leg, something that he cannot see, which to Kristen, means the ghosts are still there.
Rasha Pecorero
By now, Kristen feels hopeless. The spirits are too powerful for her magic, and if she wants any peace and quiet, she has to be the one who's going to move out. Game over. They win. So she puts the house up for Sale. But of course, not without some mixed feelings. On the one hand, Kristen feels incredibly guilty at the thought of anyone else moving into this haunted house. She doesn't think anyone should have to go through what she's been going through. But on the other hand, Kristin is also a broke grad student, so she can't afford to get a new place while she's paying off the mortgage on the Bel Air house. For her, this is a lose, lose situation.
Yvette Gentile
As it turns out, nobody wants to buy this house anyway because it's really run down. The paint is peeling, the plumbing is ancient. It's just not cute. So even if buyers never learn that the Bel Air house is haunted, it doesn't seem like she's going to be able to get rid of it. And by the way, there's no legal requirement for Kristen to disclose the fact that the house is haunted to any potential buyers. Rasha, remember at the start of this episode how we thought the $46,000 price for this house was a good deal? Well, think again.
Rasha Pecorero
Totally. And after a long time with no offers, Kristen makes a decision. She can't sell the house, and she can't live there, so she'll rent it out. That way, she can at least make enough money to pay for a new home for herself and her kids. But this doesn't work out too well for her, either. Every time she lines up a new tenant, they move in, get their things unpacked, and that's when the trouble begins.
Yvette Gentile
Over the next few years, this cycle continues, and Kristen gets used to panicked phone calls from people begging to break their leases. Someone reports that a ghost literally beat them up. And someone else claims that a chandelier fell from the ceiling, missing his head by inches.
Rasha Pecorero
But as time goes on, she starts hearing from a different kind of renter. Apparently, word on the street about the Bel Air house has spread to paranormal circles. And people who've heard about the hauntings want to experience it for themselves. Paranormal investigators ask to stay there and see if they can make contact with the ghost. So do documentary crew TV shows like buzzfeed's Unsolved Supernatural. And here's the thing. These are professionals. They definitely know their way around haunted properties. So Kristen sees this as a new opportunity. Not only can she finally rent out the house, but she realizes she can up her prices a bit. And get this. She charges these mediums and ghost hunters $500 a night. You are never going to see me paying that amount of money to stay in a haunted house. Real. You're never going to see me pay any amount of money to stay in a haunted house. But somehow, it actually starts filling up. Kristen's rental calendar, though, as expected, her.
Yvette Gentile
New clients have a lot of questions, like, whose ghosts are haunting this house? What is their backstory? How many are there? I mean, Kristen doesn't know any of these answers yet, but in 2011, she brings in some paranormal investigators, hoping to find all of this out. And one afternoon, they try to capture electronic voice phenomenon, or EVPs. You've probably seen this happen on ghost hunting TV shows. People can use various different devices to try and capture evp audio. That could mean anything from a normal smartphone to a high quality device called a ghost box. Those are designed to detect multiple radio frequencies at once in hopes of capturing some supernatural noise, like something, anything.
Rasha Pecorero
And if you're lucky, sometimes you can even hear voices coming through on these recording devices.
Yvette Gentile
Well, sure enough, once a ghost box is used at the Bel air house, researchers claim to hear a bunch of voices. Some of them are literally cursing at Kristen, using misogynistic slurs against her. And others are clear phrases like, get out or I'm going to kill her. When one of the researchers tells the voices, you can't have Kristen. Words come out of the static, and they say, we already do.
Rasha Pecorero
By the end of the investigation, researchers conclude there are three or even four spirits in the house. They also think the entities in the home are targeting women specifically, which might.
Yvette Gentile
Explain a lot in christianity case. But to understand how it came to be like this, Kristin is dead set on doing everything she can to learn about the home's history. She starts poring over old newspapers and census records. And she also starts performing seances with caution. And Kristen always does protection rituals before and uses the buddy system. She never does a seance alone, and I can just say, go. Good for her. She hosts a ton of seances, and in some of them, she supposedly connects with several spirits, including one named Edwin Hetherington.
Rasha Pecorero
Now, that name must have sent chills up Kristin's spine when she heard it, because thanks to all of her research, she learned that the Bel Air house was built in 1847 by a man named Jacob Hetherington. He was an immigrant from England who moved to Bel Air while it was still a poor mining town. Every day, Jacob went to work in the coal mines, and he was incredibly successful at it, to the point where he turned a 500 land investment into his own coal mine. So far, those details are all supported by the historical record, but during her seances, Kristen learned a little More about Jacob that couldn't quite be confirmed.
Yvette Gentile
This is where it gets really interesting. So apparently, after Jacob bought his coal mine, he built the Bel Air house near one of the shafts and moved in with his wife, Elizabeth Armstrong Hetherington. The actual coal mine entrance was far enough away that the house didn't interfere with any of the operations. But Jacob wanted to ensure that every morning he'd wake up with the knowledge that people were working in the tunnels right beneath his home. As for Elizabeth, there were a few rumors about her as well. Supposedly, she wasn't the most popular lady in Bel Air. She hated Bel Air so much that she wanted to move somewhere else. But she never did. She was still a Bel Air resident when she died at the age of 80 in 1896.
Rasha Pecorero
And maybe she never left because she always wanted to be close to her children, especially her favorite son, Alexander. After his parents died, he inherited the family business and ran it for a while. The home and the business were eventually passed down to his daughter, Lyde. She lived at the Bel Air house with her younger brother, Edwin Hetherington. Ring a bell? Well, it should, because that's the ghost Kristen made contact with during her seance. Now, as the story goes, the two were incredibly close. So close they actually lived in the house together for Lide's entire life.
Yvette Gentile
But that comes to a tragic end on April 6, 1947, when 85 year old Lide has a fatal heart attack. It's said that she dies in the Bel Air house in the dining room on the floor. Now, Lide basically raised Edwin. Their actual mother was very distant and neglectful. So Lydd was supposedly the first person to make him feel loved and cherished when he was young. All to say, Edwin is devastated by her loss. He wishes there was something, anything, that he could do to be able to talk to Lyde one last time. To see her smile. Or at least make sure she's okay in the afterlife.
Rasha Pecorero
And that's when Edwin gets a pretty dangerous idea. Why not perform seances to try and summon llide's ghost? There's just one obstacle standing in his way. He has to break down the barrier between the living and the dead.
Chuck
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Yvette Gentile
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Chuck
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Rasha Pecorero
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Rasha Pecorero
Excludes Hawaii. After his sister li dies in 1947, Edwin Hetherington is obscene, obsessed with summoning her spirit in a seance. And we know this because Kristen Lee learned a whole lot about his efforts when she connected with his ghost during her own seance. According to Kristen, he began by studying every occult document he could get his hands on, hoping to find some way to bring Lide back from the dead. He also tracked down professional psychics and mediums to pick their brains, you know, just to figure out what they knew. The problem was he was very impatient. He learned just enough to perform a basic seance, but he didn't actually learn how to do one safely. Still, Edwin wasn't wasting any time. He performed the rituals in the living room, the very same room where Lide was when she died. Supposedly, Edwin's rituals actually worked, and he managed to open a doorway between the living and the dead.
Yvette Gentile
According to Kristin, it's not something you can see with the naked eye, but portals like these are very powerful regardless. And according to Edwin, once this entrance was open, anything could come through it. Not just lied. But here's the major issue with that. While Edwin knew how to open these doorways, he didn't know how to close them. And to be honest, I'm not sure he ever even managed to contact his sister. I mean, it's possible he didn't, because Edwin kept doing these seances over and over again.
Rasha Pecorero
By the time Edwin dies in 1962, there are something like 11 active portals inside the Bel Air house. And you might think that those 11 portals are what made the house so haunted. But that doesn't seem to be the case, because Kristen's research actually suggests that the land the Bellair house sits on was supernaturally active for at least 100 years before Edwin even began his seances. Can you even believe that, Yvette?
Yvette Gentile
I saw something coming because Edwin had done so many seances. Like, there had to be a reason, right? And you just don't play around with that, especially when you don't know what you're doing. Because, remember, he didn't learn how to do these seances safely. So when you start calling in all these spirits, you're gonna get good and you're gonna get evil.
Rasha Pecorero
So clearly, it Seems like a supernatural force was at play well before the Bellair house was even built. But as far as where that energy came from, what it's doing there, and what it wants. Well, there are several theories.
Yvette Gentile
Kristen believes the first theory is about a ley line, which are basically invisible lines that stretch between important supernatural locations. So think the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge. Some people think ley lines have these magical properties. If this is the first time you've ever heard of them, I definitely recommend going down a rabbit hole because it is truly fascinating, especially when you talk about exploring the intersection of spirituality and scientific. You know, when you talk about ley lines, people think of ley lines as these spiritual portals, Right. But then when you talk about the science behind it and you think about magnetic energy, so you have the combination of both, and I think it would be an incredible episode to explore the spiritual ley lines as compared to the scientific. The electromagnetic energy fields. But anyway, the first theory is this idea that the Bel Air house is sitting on a ley line. But Kristin leans into an alternate definition. According to her, a ley line is kind of like a spiritual power outlet. It draws mystical energy in from a bunch of different places and gathers it into one location. And all a spirit needs to do is connect to the ley line, and it can use that location like a portal or gather energy from it, either of which can have explosive consequences.
Rasha Pecorero
Earlier, we mentioned that the original owner, Jacob Hetherington, built the Bel Air house right on top of one of his coal mines. Well, Kristin says that one day In March of 1893, a mine exploded. Specifically the mine that ran under the home. 42 workers died, but the house survived the blast. It's believed that the force of that eruption might have opened the home's first portal. Either that or the power of that portal could have caused the explosion. Sort of a chicken or the egg situation, I guess.
Yvette Gentile
But according to an article by Kenny Biddle of Skeptical Inquirer, there's no record of any mine explosion in Bel Air. But there was a small fire about a quarter mile from one of the mines in 1893. And from what we can tell, nobody was hurt or killed in that fire. So nothing like the type of blast that could have created a supposed portal. Which, by the way, in his article, Kenny strongly implies that Kristen may have made up the whole explosion story. After all, she's written two books about her house's history, and she charges people $500 a night to stay in a rundown rental.
Rasha Pecorero
But to say Kristin is lying about the home's history Is a stretch, in my humble opinion. First of all, lots of people have had supernatural encounters in the Bel air house, including people with no incentive to lie. Take this pair of ghost hunters from buzzfeed, Ryan, bergara, and Shane made. Ryan and Shane investigated the house in 2018, and these guys actively tried to engage with the ghost. Late at night, while the lights were off, they turned on a handheld EVP recorder, and they actually captured something. When they asked if anyone was in the room, A voice spoke through the box, but the words were a little bit muffled. So the guys ended up asking another question. Was this the spirit of a hetherington? They got nothing. So they asked if the ghost was from a time before the house was built. And that's when an answer came through. Clear as day, sort of. It said, and I quote, spaghetti. Now, I don't know what that means in this context, and neither did Shane and Ryan. I don't know. Maybe the ghost was hungry. Maybe it was playing a joke, or maybe it was saying something that just sounded like spaghetti. And maybe part of the message was cut off. The point is, something was talking through the EVP device.
Yvette Gentile
Well, it's said that Edwin's spirit still haunts the bel air house to this day. In fact, it seems he's the one Kristen has the most contact with during her seances. She claims that after he spent years opening up a doorway to the world of the dead, he was never able to go through it. Instead, he was trapped on this side as a restless spirit. She also says that Edwin is a friendly ghost, that he may feel bad for opening all of these portals. So now he tries to help psychics and mediums maybe hoping to undo what he did. But every now and then during a seance, Kristen says Edwin's personality changes dramatically. He suddenly becomes very hostile and argumentative.
Rasha Pecorero
Kristen believes that when Edwin gets nasty, it's because he's not really Edwin. Maybe another spirit is pretending to be him. Or perhaps he's being controlled by another spirit, A more powerful spirit, maybe even a demon.
Yvette Gentile
Kristen thinks that all of the spirits in the bel air house are locked in some kind of power struggle. She also believes there's something especially strong and malicious dwelling in the attic.
Rasha Pecorero
Over the years, Kristen has worked with a lot of professional psychics and mediums Hoping to cast the dark spirits out. But none of them can. Frankly, a lot of people are nervous to even try, because when you perform rituals to connect with spirits, like Yvette said, you make yourself vulnerable to the powers that lie beyond, and you don't.
Yvette Gentile
Have to take Christian's word for it. Lots of professional mediums warn that if you don't perform a seance exactly right. Like we both said, Rasha, there's a risk of bringing evil spirits into the world, or of being possessed or getting seriously hurt by one yourself.
Rasha Pecorero
And Edwin's story reveals another risk. You could permanently bind your soul to the house, making it impossible to ever leave, even after your death.
Yvette Gentile
So what's really behind all this creepy activity at the Bel Air house? Is it portals? Is it ley lines? Is it demons? Or is it all of the above?
Rasha Pecorero
I'm honestly not sure that we'll ever have the answers, especially if our main source is a ghost. But never say never, because when it comes down to the supernatural, nothing is for certain. And maybe, just maybe, the Bellaire house isn't only haunted, it's also a doorway, a fragile barrier between us and something we can't quite see. Filled with supernatural forces just waiting to break through.
Yvette Gentile
This is so supernatural. An audio Chuck Original produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram at so supernatural pod and visit our website@sosupernaturalpodcast.com join Rasha and me next Friday for an all new episode. So what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?
Chuck
Let's say your small business has a problem. Like maybe one of your doggy daycare customers had an accident. You might say something like dog gone it.
Rasha Pecorero
Hi Chihuahua.
Yvette Gentile
Holy schnauzers.
Chuck
But if you need someone who can actually help, just say like a good.
Ashley Flowers
Neighbor, State Farm is there.
Chuck
And get help filing a claim from your local State Farm agent for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Yvette Gentile
If you've been having your McDonald's sausage McMuffin with an iced coffee from somewhere else, now is a great time to reconsider. In the Pacific Northwest, it's never too cold for an iced coffee in the morning. Grab yourself a medium caramel, French vanilla or classic iced coffee for just $2.29. Warning beverage may cause craving for McMuffin or hash browns. Prices and participation may vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer or combo meal.
Podcast Summary: "HAUNTED: Bellaire House" – So Supernatural
Episode Release Date: April 25, 2025
Host/Authors: Rasha Pecorero & Yvette Gentile | Produced by AudioChuck | Crime House
The episode begins with Ashley Flowers setting the stage for a deep dive into one of America's most enigmatic haunted locations—the Bellaire House in Bellaire, Ohio. Built in 1847 and purportedly situated on a ley line, this historic residence is believed to serve as a supernatural portal, allowing spirits to traverse between the spiritual and physical realms.
Ashley Flowers [06:33]: "If we could nail down these entry points, really locate them, define them, tap into them, imagine what that could mean for humanity."
Rasha Pecorero introduces Kristen Lee, a 30-year-old graduate student whose life takes a dramatic turn after a devastating flash flood destroys her home in 2005. Struggling to provide stability for her two young sons, Kristen stumbles upon the Bellaire House—an affordable, spacious property listed at an astonishingly low price of $46,000.
Rasha Pecorero [07:43]: "Kristin does not hesitate. Would you? I mean, $46,000 for a 2,700 square foot home, that's like insane."
Kristen moves in with her partner, Vinny, and their children. Initially, the house seems perfect with its cozy features and ample space. However, by early 2006, unsettling events begin to unfold, primarily influenced by Vinny’s erratic behavior—spending prolonged hours in the attic and exhibiting severe mood swings.
Yvette Gentile [08:12]: "Sometimes he even crosses a line, becoming verbally abusive with Kristen."
After Vinny leaves, Kristen is left to contend with unexplained noises, such as footsteps in the attic and items moving mysteriously. The situation escalates when Kristen experiences a chilling encounter with a transparent, gray-clad man in her living room—an apparition that disappears after leaving physical evidence of his presence.
Ashley Flowers [14:00]: "There's someone sitting right next to her on the couch, literally watching her sleep."
This incident forces Kristen to confront the reality that her home is indeed haunted. Her skepticism wanes as the supernatural occurrences intensify, including violent interactions targeting her beloved pitbull, Bella.
Desperate to rid her home of these malevolent forces, Kristen joins a local coven and performs rituals intended to expel the spirits. Despite her efforts, the hauntings persist, culminating in a particularly disturbing incident where a guest reports being bitten, reinforcing Kristen’s belief that the house harbors dangerous entities.
Yvette Gentile [20:27]: "She waves brooms around, chanting, sprinkling salt everywhere, anything they can think of to try and keep evil spirits away."
Realizing that she cannot escape the haunting through conventional means, Kristen decides to rent out the house. Initially, tenants flee in terror, but soon paranormal investigators and ghost hunting enthusiasts begin to take an interest, turning the Bellaire House into a hotspot for supernatural exploration.
Through extensive research and seances, Kristen uncovers the house's dark history. Originally built by Jacob Hetherington in 1847, the Bellaire House became the focal point of tragic events, including the mysterious death of Lyde Hetherington in 1947 and Jacob’s son, Edwin Hetherington, who became obsessed with summoning his sister's spirit. Edwin's failed attempts to bridge the gap between the living and the dead led to the creation of multiple supernatural portals within the house.
Rasha Pecorero [26:52]: "Edwin Hetherington is obscene, obsessed with summoning her spirit in a seance."
Kristen explores several theories to explain the persistent hauntings:
Ley Lines: She posits that the Bellaire House sits on a ley line—a conduit of mystical energy that acts as a spiritual power outlet, drawing in supernatural forces from various locations.
Yvette Gentile [35:35]: "A ley line is kind of like a spiritual power outlet. It draws mystical energy in from a bunch of different places and gathers it into one location."
Historical Trauma: The house’s proximity to coal mines and the tragic events associated with the Hetherington family may have imprinted lingering spirits onto the property.
Uncontrolled Rituals: Edwin’s reckless seances failed to close the portals he opened, allowing both benevolent and malevolent spirits to inhabit the house.
Yvette Gentile [33:18]: "You don't play around with that, especially when you don't know what you're doing. Because, remember, he didn't learn how to do these seances safely."
Despite numerous attempts by professional mediums and paranormal investigators, the hauntings remain unresolved. Kristen continues to host seances, striving to communicate with the spirits and find peace for herself and her home. The Bellaire House stands as a testament to the unresolved tensions between the living and the dead, with its portals acting as fragile barriers to unknown supernatural forces.
Yvette Gentile [40:35]: "So, what's really behind all this creepy activity at the Bel Air house? Is it portals? Is it ley lines? Is it demons? Or is it all of the above?"
The "HAUNTED: Bellaire House" episode of So Supernatural intricately weaves personal tragedy with historical mystery, presenting a compelling narrative about the thin veil between our world and the supernatural. Kristen Lee’s relentless pursuit of answers highlights the complex interplay between belief, fear, and the unknown.
Rasha Pecorero [40:59]: "Maybe, just maybe, the Bellaire house isn't only haunted, it's also a doorway, a fragile barrier between us and something we can't quite see."
Notable Quotes:
Ashley Flowers [06:33]: "If we could nail down these entry points, really locate them, define them, tap into them, imagine what that could mean for humanity."
Rasha Pecorero [07:43]: "Kristin does not hesitate. Would you?"
Yvette Gentile [08:12]: "Sometimes he even crosses a line, becoming verbally abusive with Kristen."
Ashley Flowers [14:00]: "There's someone sitting right next to her on the couch, literally watching her sleep."
Yvette Gentile [20:27]: "She waves brooms around, chanting, sprinkling salt everywhere, anything they can think of to try and keep evil spirits away."
Yvette Gentile [33:18]: "You don't play around with that, especially when you don't know what you're doing."
Rasha Pecorero [40:59]: "Maybe, just maybe, the Bellaire house isn't only haunted, it's also a doorway, a fragile barrier between us and something we can't quite see."
This episode delves into the enigmatic history of the Bellaire House, blending firsthand accounts with historical research to explore the depths of its supernatural claims. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, "HAUNTED: Bellaire House" offers a gripping exploration of one of Ohio's most mysterious haunted residences.