Podcast Summary: The Night Owl Podcast – Episode 65: "Spirits of Moonshine Bar & Grill, Part IV" (Jan 26, 2026)

Overview

This episode follows host Stephen Belyeu and the Night Owl Paranormal Research Society as they continue their multilayered investigation into the haunted Moonshine Bar & Grill in Austin, Texas. Picking up where previous episodes left off, the team delves deeper into the property’s supernatural mysteries through interviews, psychic readings, and controlled paranormal experiments. Core questions revolve around recurring presences—a troubling, oppressive male entity; glimpses of protective or playful spirits; and confusion over their identities and motives—while attempts are made to clarify whether different team members are encountering the same entities from divergent vantage points or if there are multiple, distinct spirits at play.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Recap of Previous Findings

• Multiple first-hand staff accounts have established patterns: unexplained footsteps, moving/breaking objects, sudden injuries, and intense feelings of being watched—especially upstairs and in the patio/bar areas. (00:00–03:30)
• Psychics have previously and independently picked up similar details, including:
  • An aggressive male presence known for shouting (“Get out!”)
  • A non-threatening, intelligent male with glasses
  • A mischievous teenage boy
  • A protective or watchful woman

2. Night Four Investigations: Sessions and Insights

A. Sunday House Encounters (Jeffrey’s Session) (06:15–09:27)

• Jeffrey reports seeing a tall, blurry outline in a chair and hints at a male spirit who “likes talking business over cocktails.” He also receives the name “John Federman or Letterman.”
  Quote: “I started seeing the guy from the Patio bar again… passing an envelope to someone.” — Jeffrey (06:58) “It wouldn’t leave my head. John Federman or Letterman.” — Jeffrey (07:41)

• Senses mostly male presence; women are notably absent during this session.

B. Offices – Ganzfeld Session (Jeffrey & Stephen) (09:27–14:16)

• Jeffrey is drawn to a chair believed to be favored by a spirit, sensing the persistent “angry man” again.

• During the session, a little girl’s fear is referenced and a spectral argument emerges; the male presence tries to dominate communication and suppress others; a woman attempts to communicate but is blocked. Quote: “He’s really trying to just keep everybody down. There are spirits here, but he doesn’t want them to talk or to communicate. ‘This is my place. I do what I want.’” — Jeffrey (12:01)

• When the team deliberately asks for other spirits to speak, Jeffrey experiences a room full of indistinct voices trying to come through at once.

C. Kinfolk & Tasting Room (Kate’s Sessions) (15:30–26:55)

• Kate independently picks up “Harold or Henry,” and, importantly, “John or James”— without knowing Jeffrey’s earlier impressions. She also receives “Henry,” tying to property founder Henry Hoffines. Quote: “There’s a name coming through. It’s John or James... That’s like a J name.” — Kate (16:18)

• Energies shift from calm to oppressive—an aggressive male, a female spirit trying to call attention to him, and mentions of a community of spirits.

• Kate’s impressions repeatedly indicate that the spirits want the negative male gone, mirroring observations from Jeffrey upstairs.

• In the tasting room, she interacts with a calm presence (“Henry”), followed by intrusive, volatile energies, and residual childish energy (“do you have any bubble gum?”).

D. Reflections and Experimentation (31:00–38:54)

• Discussion of the "angry guy," a neutral “man in a blue suit,” the complexity of child energies, and a possible community of transient spirits in the building—exacerbated by the energy of the property (old limestone structure, near a creek). Quote: “He wants all the attention. And I’m not sure who all those other spirits are... they’re just kind of drawn here... it’s sort of like a battery.” — Jeffrey (33:13)

• Jeffrey’s session again yields the name “John” as the angry male becomes prominent.

• Kate, on the patio bar, notes that both “riffraff,” newer presences, and the angry male are seen as outsiders by the established spirits, with possible mental health issues implied for the negative male.

3. Second Night: New Witness & Further Differentiation

A. Sarah’s Recap and Distinctions (44:11–49:33)

• Sarah recounts: an aggressive male entity affecting the water (Kinfolk/bar area); a welcoming man with glasses who appears during busy times; and a mischievous, deceiving child/teen boy—though she suspects she was being misled by a malevolent spirit.

• She distinguishes between two distinct female presences: a watcher on the stairwell and a potential caretaker.

B. Staff Validation

• Sonia, a staff member, contributes new validation—recounting reports from a bartender who refused to go into Kinfolk due to a shadowy male figure, aligning with the psychics' readings. She recounts her own feelings of an intense female (possibly Catherine) in the upstairs office, though is open to possible misinterpretation of gender due to a strong energy.

C. Psychic Experiment: Sarah & Jeffrey in Kinfolk (60:44–68:45)

• Both are placed under controlled conditions (blindfolded, headphones), and both independently report strong overlapping impressions:
  • Pleas for help (“Help me…”)—clearer from a female presence.
  • A black cloud, whiskey references, and fear dominate.
  • Active suppression: “I’m all over this place… I don’t want to leave.” — Sarah (62:57, 63:05)
  • The female voice is persistently cut off or pushed away by the male.
  • Both sense the presence of water and “community” but marked division among entities, with distinct male and female energies.

4. Upstairs Office Walkthroughs & Clarity (Sarah & Jeffrey) (71:46–85:14)

• Both Sarah and Jeffrey independently assign the “angry man” to the office stairwell, hallway, bathroom, and back office (where security cameras are). The shared office feels different to both, housing gentler child energies (playful little girl) and possibly a sad, sicker adolescent girl.

• Male presence is described as 50s, suit-wearing, shadowy, and domineering.

• Notably, both mediums hold firm to their impressions even when staff stories (favoring a female ghost) are introduced.

• Jeffrey: “He thinks it’s funny they don’t know what’s happening… like, just a jerk.” (78:25)

• Distinction is sharpened: the little girl (playful; 5-8 years old) is different from the adolescent girl (melancholy, possibly sick; early teens)—they move through different sections of the property.

5. Late-Night Gansfeld Sessions & Final Insights

A. Jeffrey (Ganzfeld in Shared Office) (92:11–95:49)

• Senses both little girl and angry male. The male is described as always watching, belligerent, claims ownership (“should have been mine”), and actively disliked by other spirits. “He wants to own the place. He wants to run the place. But he didn’t.” — Jeffrey (95:18)

B. Sarah (Ganzfeld in Shared Office: “Benjamin”) (98:19–107:09)

• Receives the name “Benjamin”—but notes that it doesn’t quite fit; she uses it for clarity.
• The male presence admits to throwing things and frightening people for “fun,” but claims he isn’t hurting anyone.
• Male states: “I built it from the ground up,” but a female spirit immediately interjects: “He’s lying.” (103:03)
• Moments of confusion and competition among spirits are witnessed—a grey mist is sensed blocking communication, and the little girl helps push it away.
• “Benjamin” asserts he is not from Austin and is possibly attached to a staff member, not the property itself.
• The male presence is wary of the Kinfolk basement entity, implying layers of antagonism even among the spirits.

6. Unresolved Mysteries & Connections

• Repetitive emergence of the names “John,” “James,” and “Benjamin” in connection with the angry male; “Henry” as founder; adolescent girl and playful little girl clearly differentiated by multiple mediums.
• Constant theme: Suppression—oppressive male entity seems to deliberately suppress communication from other spirits, with female spirits openly resisting or calling him out.
• Recurring motifs: water (historical floods, pipes), community of spirits, deception, and spirits possibly being “drawn” to the property but not originally connected.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Jeffrey on the angry male:
  “He tries to push us all down. There’s ways of getting around it.” (14:08)

• Kate on the shadowy male:
  “He can make it cold. He can make you see your breath… make something move.” (17:14)

• Sarah on feeling suppressed:
  “I hate to use the word aggressive, but just a little bit more in your face… than this other man, who is very gentle, very welcoming.” (44:16)

• Sonia on staff validation:
  “She [Amber] would not come down here to get wine... because she said she would see, like, this shadowy, like, a man’s figure behind the door.” (50:31)

• Jeffrey on ‘the battery’ effect:
  “At places like this... they’re just kind of drawn here... it’s sort of like a battery. It keeps renewing and, you know, there’s the creek right there and everything.” (33:13)

• Joint session, Sarah & Jeffrey overlapping on 'help':
  Sarah: “Help me.” (60:44), Jeffrey: “Death.” (60:55)

• Sarah, about spirit suppression:
  “He keeps kind of pushing her out of the way... they all left. This thing, whatever the gray mist is, is, it's like he doesn't want us to talk to them.” (103:03)

• Jeffrey, about the irritable man:
  “Why aren’t you working?... Should have been mine. Whatever that means.” (93:00–93:21)

• Sarah, suspecting deception:
  “There's something about this little boy just being mischievous, just getting into stuff over there with the staff... but I feel like I was being lied to, if that makes sense.” (47:05)

• Host Stephen’s synthesis:
  “When you see these patterns surface, independently corroborated by psychics working in isolation, it’s hard to ignore.” (Throughout episode)

Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:00–06:15: Episode intro, synopsis of past findings, setup for the evening
• 06:15–09:27: Jeffrey’s Sunday House session (visual phenomena, names)
• 09:27–14:16: Upstairs office Ganzfeld (angry man, female suppression)
• 15:30–26:55: Kate in Kinfolk/Tasting Room (positive ‘Henry,’ aggressive male, group dynamics)
• 31:00–38:54: Team reflections, John emerges
• 44:11–49:33: Sarah’s solo recap, staff (Sonia) interview, validation of shadow presence
• 60:44–68:45: Dual psychic experiment in Kinfolk (Sarah & Jeffrey, male vs. female presences, help requests)
• 71:46–85:14: Office walkthroughs, clear differentiation in spirit profiles, children's/teens' spirits mapped
• 92:11–95:49: Jeffrey’s Ganzfeld, further insights into male/female interplay
• 98:19–107:09: Sarah’s Ganzfeld; “Benjamin,” adolescent girl, dynamics with other spirits; wrap-up and introspection

Conclusions & Ongoing Mysteries

• The dominant narrative is one of layered, overlapping spiritual presences—some positive and clearly tied to the property (founder Henry, playful/lonely children), others manipulative, suppressive, and potentially interloping (the “angry man,” possibly named John or Benjamin).
• Strong consistency in psychic reports—even while isolated and unaware of others’ findings—lends weight to the impressions and overlapping phenomena.
• Suppression and deception are recurring barriers; spirits (particularly females and children) seem to be actively silenced, their stories hidden behind the angry man’s interference.
• Certain presences (including the problematic male) are suspected not to be tied to the land, but to have attached themselves to people or the location in more recent times.
• Water, “community,” and “battery” metaphors suggest both a literal and energetic confluence that may explain the site’s spiritual churn.

The story is not yet fully resolved—new layers of the haunting reveal themselves even as the team closes a chapter and plans their final overnight investigation.

For more behind-the-scenes stories or to report a ghost encounter, listeners are invited to contact Stephen via the podcast website.