Spooked Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Spooked
Episode: "Romeo & Juliet – Classic"
Date: February 13, 2026
Host: Glynn Washington
Guests/Storytellers: Kelsey Brennan & Andy Trishinski

Episode Overview

This haunting episode of Spooked transports listeners to the American Players Theater in Wisconsin, where actors Kelsey Brennan and Andy Trishinski recount a chilling, true-life supernatural encounter during late-night rehearsals for Romeo & Juliet. What begins as a quest to ignite the play’s famous passion under the right conditions becomes a night neither will ever forget when an unexpected audience member makes themselves known—one that may not have been entirely of this world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Stakes of Love (04:12)

• Host Glynn Washington opens with a personal anecdote about bittersweet goodbyes and the ineffability of love and regret, setting the emotional tone for a story about love, risk, and the unknown.
  • “Nineteen years old... I knew I loved her. Desperately, deeply. And I knew I was moving away to the other side of the world. To Japan... I wanted to give her something to make her understand that even though I had to do this, that she was special to me.” (04:12)

2. American Players Theater & Midnight Shakespeare (09:00)

• The story centers on Kelsey and Andy, young apprentices cast as Romeo and Juliet. Their director, Matt, is unsatisfied with their balcony scene, urging them to tap into a real sense of urgency and danger.
  • Kelsey: “The stakes are not high enough, you know, feel the danger. The risks are higher. Death is around the corner.” (10:34)

3. Into the Woods: After-Hours Rehearsal (10:45)

• To capture the darkness and vulnerability of the play's iconic balcony scene, Kelsey and Andy decide to rehearse at night, alone on the shadowed amphitheater stage deep in the woods.
  • Kelsey: “Do I want to walk up the hill in the pitch darkness and rehearse? Probably not... But I want to be the best Juliet I can possibly be. So I'm going to do anything.” (10:55)
  • Andy: “It's just a strange sensation to be like, okay, now we're rehearsing and we can barely see each other.” (13:11)

4. The Haunting Presence Makes Itself Known (17:09–19:55)

• In the eerie stillness, Kelsey and Andy suddenly sense they’re being watched. They spot a black, human-shaped figure occupying a seat in the empty audience—first assumed to be their director, but something about it is disturbingly off.
  • Kelsey: “I look up, and at the very top of that path, I saw that someone was there... just kind of an outline of something that looks like a human being.” (18:53)
  • Andy: “What I think is someone out there... But then it just has, like, this sense of, okay, it's someone here to watch that we probably know.” (19:20)
• Despite performing more scenes, the figure doesn’t move, reveal themselves, or respond to their presence.
  • Kelsey: “The person remains a black, fuzzy blob. I don't start to see a face. I don't start to see the color of a shirt. But I do notice that the seat is down. It's not my eyes tricking me. There is a person sitting in that seat.” (22:49)

5. Chilling Escape (23:55–26:00)

• Deciding they've had enough, Kelsey and Andy must walk directly past the figure to leave. Even at close proximity, it remains a featureless darkness and does not acknowledge them, inducing a surge of adrenaline and fear.
  • Kelsey: “Even from that close, really three or four feet away, it's still just black and fuzzy. There's no features. It's a black mass that had enough weight that the seat was down. I think the most frightening thing is the proximity I had... It didn't move, it didn't turn towards me. And that felt very odd.” (24:06)

6. Theories & Unsettling Realizations (28:05)

• Safe in the car, they attempt to rationalize the event. Calls to colleagues go unanswered, and the next morning, no one can explain who could have been in the theater.
  • Andy: “As I'm lying in bed, all I'm thinking is I have no explanation of what I've experienced tonight... It just never felt like this was a normal situation.” (29:00–29:30)

7. The Legendary Friar (29:30–32:17)

• Kelsey shares the story with her boss and longtime theater staff. Their immediate reaction: “It was Stephen. You met Stephen last night.” Stephen Heming was a beloved actor who once played Friar Lawrence and is memorialized on-site. Many at the theater have felt his presence before.
  • Kelsey: “One of the things that Ken said in this meeting was, 'I think Stephen just was there to watch the kids fall in love one more time.' The friar is this beautiful, supportive force in the story, and that's what he was for us that night.” (31:48)

8. The True Secret: A Theatrical Bond (32:17–33:25)

• On performance day, sick but now bonded beyond the ordinary, Kelsey and Andy realize their ghostly midnight rehearsal formed a secret, profound connection—mirroring the forbidden and intimate love at the heart of Romeo & Juliet.
  • Kelsey: “I have to say that I think the experience of rehearsing the play in the dark with a ghost felt closer to the actual scene story that Shakespeare wrote than our performance. We shared a secret. We had a thrilling experience together. We experienced something that no one else will understand. And that's what Romeo and Juliet have.” (32:44)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Some things, some things you can never take back. Spook starts now.” – Lynn Washington (04:12)
• “Maybe this is what we've needed all.” – Andy Trishinski, realizing the darkness may help their scene (13:31)
• “The person remains a black, fuzzy blob. I don't start to see a face. I don't start to see the color of a shirt. But I do notice that the seat is down.” – Kelsey Brennan (22:49)
• “I think Stephen just was there to watch the kids fall in love one more time.” – Ken Albers, longtime director, on Stephen Heming’s spirit (31:48)
• “We shared a secret. We had a thrilling experience together. We experienced something that no one else will understand. And that's what Romeo and Juliet have.” – Kelsey Brennan (33:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:12 – Glynn Washington’s love and regret story; transition into main narrative
• 09:13–10:45 – Introduction of Kelsey & Andy; rehearsal struggles
• 10:45–13:19 – Deciding to rehearse at night; entering the dark theater
• 17:09–19:55 – First sighting of the mysterious figure
• 22:49–24:06 – Chilling proximity to the entity during exit
• 28:05–29:00 – Post-escape rationalizing; failed attempts to contact colleagues
• 29:30–31:48 – Revelation: it was the ghost of Stephen Heming
• 32:17–33:25 – Insights on secrets, love, and the unique bond from their supernatural encounter

Conclusion

Romeo & Juliet – Classic is more than a ghost story—it's an exploration of art, memory, and connection. Kelsey and Andy’s midnight rehearsal draws a spirit from the theater’s past, adding new depth to Shakespeare’s timeless drama. This poignant, eerie experience reminds listeners that sometimes the spirits of the stage are watching, blending fiction and reality, love and fear, into a story only Spooked could tell.