Episode 365 - Frightmare Manor | Appalachia’s Haunted Murder House

Summary

Two Girls One Ghost
Episode 365 – Frightmare Manor | Appalachia’s Haunted Murder House
March 22, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, co-hosts Corinne Vien and Sabrina Deana-Roga take listeners into the dark and chilling history of Frightmare Manor, a haunted attraction in Hamblin County, Tennessee, with roots tying back to a real (or possibly legendary) 19th-century murder house. The episode weaves together personal memories about Halloween, local Appalachian lore, deep dives into Cherokee history, details of the alleged serial killer Jeremiah Lexer, and the ongoing haunted reputation of the property. The conversation explores not just history, but also raises questions about the line between fact and folklore, and the ethics of turning real tragedies into spectacle.

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Major Discussion Points and Insights

Childhood Nostalgia & Appalachian Identity

• The hosts open by reflecting on the pronunciation and mystique of "Appalachia," their own Halloween memories, and playful banter about haunted houses and nostalgia for small-town autumns.
• Both recall their youthful adventures participating in and creating haunted attractions (06:14–09:51).

The Land's Deep History

• They ground the tale in the context of the ancient Appalachian landscape, emphasizing its Indigenous (Cherokee) roots ([12:14–13:16]).
• The forced removal of the Cherokee (Trail of Tears) and the area's bloody Civil War history are discussed as preludes to the darkness associated with the land ([13:16–14:56]).

"They lived in harmony with the land, very much believing the land was alive and held balance between worlds." – Sabrina (12:14)

The Legend of Jeremiah Lexer

• The narrative establishes a central underpinning: the terrifying story of Jeremiah Lexer—wealthy plantation owner, alleged serial killer, and the man whose crimes would become the backbone of Frightmare Manor’s legend ([15:00–23:18]).
  • From 1887–1902, as many as 30–100 locals disappeared.
  • Lexer, liked but known for mood swings, murdered his family with an axe on July 5, 1902, then died by suicide ([18:39–23:31]).
  • Discovery of a gruesome pit with 31+ bodies; the town allegedly suppressed this story to protect its reputation ([19:25–20:54], [26:09–26:55]).

"There was a pit filled with dismembered body parts, arms, legs, heads, torsos, all at various stages of decomposition." – Sabrina (19:25)

From Crime Scene to Haunted Business

• The house, abandoned for decades, hosted several businesses, most notably "The Attic" and a seafood restaurant—both allegedly plagued by hauntings ([28:36–30:13]).
  • Reports of plates flying, cold spots, shadowy apparitions.
  • Employees refused to work due to ghostly incidents ([29:51–30:14]).
• In 2009, Chris Wooden officially turned the property into Frightmare Manor, capitalizing on its bloody history ([32:38–33:36]).
  • The haunted attraction markets itself as an authentic site of terror, playing heavily on the real/legendary events.

Frightmare Manor Today

• Frightmare Manor is consistently ranked among the top haunted attractions in Tennessee, spread over 20 acres.
  • Three main walkthroughs: "Money Back Haunt" (based on the Lexer murders), "Carne Evil Outcasts" (clown horror), and "Backwoods of Rage" (torture/grave themes), plus games like "The Lexer Jump" (a free-fall to mimic Lexer’s own suicide) and "Nightmare Challenge" ([34:43–37:52]).
  • The Nightmare Challenge is notorious: participants reportedly eat disgusting items, sign waivers, and very few complete it ([37:54–40:55]).

"If you face your nightmares and survive, you get all your money back... But it will take extreme guts, determination, and self control." – Sabrina reading from the Frightmare Manor website ([37:54])

The Hauntings: Lore Meets Reality

• Numerous reports from employees and visitors:
  • Shadowy figures inside the manor, unexplained noises and moans, objects moving or falling ([41:00–45:45]).
  • Staff employ a buddy system due to the overwhelming sense of unease ([45:55]).
• The hosts discuss the blurring of real phenomena and haunted attraction special effects, questioning how one can even reliably separate one from the other.

"People report seeing shadow figures and apparitions inside the house. And this is, like, long before it was Frightmere Manor." – Sabrina ([41:00])

Ethical and Paranormal Questions

• The hosts question the ethics of using real tragedy (if true) for entertainment, and speculate on whether such energy can create new hauntings—via "tulpa" thought-forms or paranormal vortices due to repeated focus and high emotion ([54:25]).

"Given the history, Frightmere Manor is undoubtedly haunted... I do believe the hauntings and paranormal energy is very, very strong on that land." – Sabrina ([54:25])

Is It All True? Investigating the Legend

• The veracity of the Jeremiah Lexer narrative is openly debated ([49:21–54:25]):
  • Sabrina couldn’t find primary historical documentation, though many locals accept it as true, and newspapers retell the story (albeit in more modern times).
  • Some argue it’s a concocted legend to bolster the business; others believe it’s a suppressed dark truth, covered up like similar 19th-century murder cases (e.g., Lizzie Borden).

"Anytime you look up Jeremiah Lexer, it takes you to the story of Frightmare Manor... But I think it's because they've done so much press that that's like, what comes up." – Sabrina ([49:38])

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Listener Story: A Personal Appalachian Haunting

(57:28–67:10)

• The episode closes as Corinne reads a chilling listener tale from Sam, who grew up in southeastern Kentucky near a cemetery and house steeped in their own murder legend—mirroring the themes of the main episode.
  • Haunting events include invisible forces, moving graveyard angels, and a protective female spirit now attached to the storyteller.

"Immediately, the angel turned around directly facing me, and my heart sank. No. Tears began flowing... All I could feel was something pure evil." – Sam via Corinne ([63:15])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "We were bullied. It took peer pressure, worked eight years, and we finally caved [on 'Appalachia' pronunciation]." – Corinne ([02:24])
• "Tennessee's a spooky little bitch." – Corinne ([11:12])
• "Who would want to live there? No bodies piled up. That many people just tortured and killed, right?" – Corinne ([26:15])
• "Do you love ghosts? Do you want to be freed out of your pants business for you?... Because what if someone shits themselves from being so afraid? Like, that's the concession stand at the end." – Sabrina ([30:31])
• "You can't cut off people's penises and make them eat it." – Sabrina, responding to an absurd Reddit story about the Nightmare Challenge ([39:38])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:22–04:59—Casual intro, Appalachian nostalgia, Halloween childhoods
• 11:12–14:56—Tennessee/area’s haunted landscape and Cherokee history
• 15:00–23:32—Crime story: disappearances, Jeremiah Lexer, axe murders
• 26:09–30:13—Attempts to repurpose the manor, escalating hauntings and business failures
• 32:38–37:52—Rise of Frightmare Manor as haunted attraction, authenticity of its lore
• 37:54–40:55—Details and controversy about the Nightmare Challenge
• 41:00–45:45—Modern and historical haunting reports from the manor
• 49:21–54:25—Debating the truth behind Frightmare Manor’s dark past
• 57:28–67:10—Listener-submitted personal Appalachian cemetery haunting

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Tone & Style

Corinne and Sabrina keep the tone playful, irreverent, and conversational—woven with dark humor and heartfelt emotion. They openly critique and unpack the sometimes-problematic themes of horror entertainment, all while genuinely honoring the strangeness and depth of haunted folklore.

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For the Paranormal Curious

• If you’re fascinated by haunted landscapes, unsolved mysteries, and the power of folklore to morph into “reality,” this episode is a must-listen.
• Listeners are encouraged to send in stories, join the Patreon, or even work at Frightmare Manor to report back with first-hand ghost stories.

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End note:
The episode masterfully blends ghostly storytelling, personal nostalgia, skepticism, and the persistent, intoxicating question: What’s truth—what’s lore—and does it matter if the spirits are real?

"Given the history, Frightmere Manor is undoubtedly haunted." – Sabrina ([41:00])

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

I am your host, Stassi Schroeder. Welcome to Tell Me Lies, the official podcast. What's the most unhinged thing of season three?

[A]

Steven because he's so evil, I do think he is misunderstood.

[B]

You see everyone face consequences. It's intoxicating. The writers just know how to trick.

[A]

Yeah, there's always a twist in this show.

[B]

Tell Me Lies the official podcast January 6th. And stream the new season of Tell Me Lies January 13th on Hulu and Hulu on Disney. Very spooky. Hey.

[A]

Hi. Hey. Hey, what's up? Hello. Hello, everyone.

[B]

I am wearing my demon shirt.

[A]

Yeah, I feel like you haven't done the demon voice in a long time.

[B]

Keeping you on your toes. You never know when it's gonna come.

[A]

Yeah, probably the next lighthearted episode. We have to read an entire light hearted story in a demonic voice.

[B]

Oh, I for sure we have a visit from loved ones encounters planned. And I for sure found a way to add demons in there.

[A]

Oh my God. Of course.

[B]

Who is she?

[A]

Who is she? Well, we know exactly who you are. You're someone who loves demonic stories.

[B]

And you know what else? I love Appalachia.

[A]

It's so crazy because every time we talk about Appalachia, which it feels still phony saying Appalachia because where we're from, the pronunciation's different.

[B]

Appalachia.

[A]

For everyone else, it is one of

[B]

those things we've been like gaslighting ourselves into changing something. But that now I don't even remember the right way to say it or the way that I was taught to say it.

[A]

The Appalachian Mountains.

[B]

Yeah, like that sounds wrong now. We were bullied. We were bullied.

[A]

It took peer pressure, worked eight years and we finally caved. But it just feels. It's funny talking about it because, like, we've lived in it and yet when we talk about it, it feels like so foreign and so far away, and, oh, my God, like, these creatures are going to come for us. Which, in fairness, most of them exist. The really bad ones are in the south, and we're in the northern, today Appalachian region.

[B]

No, we love Appalachia. And it's spooky. It's kooky.

[A]

Spooky, kooky.

[B]

It's freaky, it's creepy. And without even. Oh, it scared me. My jacket just ejected itself off of the Not Meant for Jacket pole. I put it on.

[A]

Do you almost call it a coat hanger? Yeah, it's a microphone stand.

[B]

It's my coat hanger in the office. But Appalachia is just spooky. She was born that way.

[A]

She was.

[B]

She was born that way. Just like we were.

[A]

All of us.

[B]

Oh, way before all of us.

[A]

She's ancient, but she's pretty.

[B]

She was a creepy kid. Now she's a creepy goddess with ancient powers.

[A]

She's an elder. She's shrinking, actually.

[B]

Yeah. Bow down to her magic. Okay, great. Glad we all agree. We've talked about Appalachia for hours on end. The magic, the Cryptids, the disappearances. But up until the other day, I had never really stopped to ask, like, oh, what happens during Halloween, October, the time of the year when the veil is, like, the thinnest and people all over the world and all over the country and all over the Appalachian region are partaking in spooky events. Does that energy, like, stir something up?

[A]

Right.

[B]

Does it make it even more haunted? And that is when I found this place. I'm calling it the Murder House Turned Haunted House in Appalachia, specifically in Hamblin County, Tennessee, that in October or in the fall is turned into a haunted attraction, but is truly haunted. Haunted beyond being a haunted attraction.

[A]

Oh, see, that's so confusing, isn't that

[B]

it's like layers on top of each other.

[A]

I'd be. I'd be confused. Like, is this just, like, marketing, or is this actually a haunted market?

[B]

That is a good question. And we'll get into that at the end of this episode. But no, according to all the sources that I found, this is a very real haunted house that is haunted. Haunted.

[A]

Like paranormally active. Haunted house.

[B]

Paranormally active, which I've always been so curious about. Like, because the idea of working at a haunted house sounds so fun in theory, but you're alone in dark spaces for a lot of the time, right? Trying to scare other people. But what if something's trying to scare you?

[A]

That's a good question.

[B]

And that especially if you're lying today if you're.

[A]

Well, I guess it's seasonal, right?

[B]

It is seasonal.

[A]

Yeah. Because I. I worked one when I was in high school.

[B]

Where was it?

[A]

It wasn't a house. It was in the woods.

[B]

Terrifying.

[A]

I was part of the. The Frightmare Frightmare team, which, like, it

[B]

was literally called Frightmare Manor.

[A]

Oh. Oh, my God. Amazing. But, yeah, no, I would, like, hide in the woods, in the tree lines. I would, like, lay down along the path and cover myself with leaves. Ah. Just jump up. But you're so pumped up with adrenaline of getting to scare other people. It doesn't. You don't get scared. Yeah. But also, I did that for two or three nights out of the year for, like, a few years in a row to volunteer.

[B]

We're still learning things about each other.

[A]

We still have lore left.

[B]

That is very, very fun.

[A]

Yeah, it was so fun. I don't know if they still do it. Catamount, Vermont.

[B]

Was it like, a big city put on thing or was it just, like, you just kids put it on?

[A]

No, no, no, no. It was. It was like. Well, it was in Williston, which is the town that I grew up in, and it was a, like, farm or like, the property that had all, like, the trails, like, mountain biking or whatever, apple trees, that sort of stuff. They would put it on, but they're. They'd get volunteers. And so, like, I always volunteered to do the scare stuff, but, like, sometimes I'd volunteer.

[B]

You didn't get paid?

[A]

No.

[B]

You just did it for fun?

[A]

Yeah. I worked concessions before I did pumpkin carving multiple years in a row because they had, like, thousands and thousands of pumpkins.

[B]

The, like, nostalgia that is, like, creeping through my bones right now for Halloween.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Yeah. So strong.

[A]

I feel like my life in October was what people in Vermont, in my town was what people see in movies and. And they're like, oh, an American Halloween.

[B]

That was Halloween town Halloween.

[A]

I. Yeah. Are we surprised? I am.

[B]

No, not at all. But I just now.

[A]

Oh, you know what I miss?

[B]

What do you miss?

[A]

We're never gonna get to your episode. Now you have me on the nostalgia train. Do you remember when, back in, like, the 90s and early 2000s, they had those big trash bags that looked like pumpkins and they were orange with pumpkin faces in it? Yes.

[B]

They still have those. Do they?

[A]

I have not seen them. And you put all your leaves in them.

[B]

I think they definitely still have those.

[A]

Oh, I loved those. Those felt so 90s.

[B]

If you two are now feeling nostalgic, this is the perfect episode for you because it. It will talk a lot about Halloween and the haunted attractions and things, but we'll also be talking about a brutal, dark history of this place. So this is located in Appalachia in Hamblin County, Tennessee. It is the ultimate authentic haunted attraction with animatronics, special effects, many horrors, and it has. It's a 20 acre property. It is located on a long abandoned plantation, and it is one of the top rated haunted houses in the country. And like I have insinuated, the most terrifying part is that the horror isn't all fake. It is based on a true story. And this is the story of Frightmere Manor, a modern day haunted attraction in Scream park that is actually haunted. Haunted by a serial killer whose spirit has never left the land.

[A]

Oh, shit. That's a really.

[B]

That's horrible frightmare, man.

[A]

They should put a corn maze in the back and really make it.

[B]

They have so many different attractions, so it's like every year they change it. But last year there were three walking attractions. Like one that went through the house, one that was through the woods, and then another one that was like, by like a grave area. It's 20 acres. It's massive.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Should we buy property and put something on?

[B]

Oh, I was like, when you hear this story. Not near here.

[A]

Oh, but.

[B]

But that actually reminds me, when I was a kid, my whole neighborhood, like all the kids in the neighborhood would get together and we made our own haunted house for the neighborhood.

[A]

Oh, that's so fun.

[B]

And so we would pick, like, someone's backyard and construct it there. We all had little rolls.

[A]

But one year, this is what happens before iPads.

[B]

Great kids bang outside making haunted houses.

[A]

They're architects.

[B]

I feel like we used to also, like, put on plays in, like someone's backyard and everyone in town would come over.

[A]

Yes. That gave me a flashback to. I would never do this in my current day because I'm way too ashamed. But like, one time there was a huge block party and me and two other girls, like, ran to my house, practiced a routine for 30 minutes, and then went and performed.

[B]

What was it Today you do but

[A]

you don't don't 3 LW you will but you won't, won't no more. Wait.

[B]

I think we were really good. My talent show song was the Six Flags song.

[A]

What? How did you choose that?

[B]

I loved. Really gets me going. I don't.

[A]

That is so funny. You commit that to be one of your two children alive ever. You have to play the game. That is so freaking Funny. What?

[B]

I. I still to this day love that song.

[A]

Can you do it right now?

[B]

No, no, no, I could not.

[A]

Oh, man, that's so good.

[B]

We're both learning things about each other.

[A]

We should talk more

[B]

as I'm seeing each other. Like, 20 hours a week is not enough.

[A]

Yeah. And then before that, when we lived

[B]

in California, it was like 80 hours all the time. Okay. Serious business. Now, this is where we get into the history of this land. And this is actually the history of this land specifically is very similar to what I covered in episode 359 about the reed House Hotel. Because they're relatively close to each other. They're both in Tennessee. This is more.

[A]

Tennessee's a spooky little bitch.

[B]

Exactly. Couldn't say it better myself. But, yeah, so it's very similar to that episode. So I'm not gonna go as deep as I did in that episode. But this is like, maybe a two hour drive northeast from Chattanooga. It's closer to Knoxville, and it's in Appalachia. We know Appalachia. It is ancient. It is historic. And this area specifically holds the memory of those who lived upon it centuries ago. Long before this house ever stood, long before settlers came, the Cherokee Nation lived here. So there's this small little unincorporated community in Hamlin county called Talbot, Tennessee. And that's like, that's where this house exists now. It's in East Tennessee, located smack dab in the middle of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley region. So it's like very beautiful rolling hills, valley, low valleys, where you have, like, beautiful, stunning Tennessee views of the hills.

[A]

So pretty.

[B]

So pretty. And long before it was frontier farmland, it was a place the Cherokee called home. They lived in harmony with the land, very much believing the land was alive and held balance between worlds. But as we talked about in episode 359, by the late 1700s, early 1800s, the Scots Irish settlers began pouring into the region, pushing westward expansion and ultimately erasing the Cherokee people through what we know as the Trail of Tears. Yeah, Cherokee were forced out of their homes, away from their land, but their spiritual beliefs and higher powers very much remained ingrained in the land, like the Nanahi people. And then there's, like, the Ukena spirit

[A]

that someone should make. We're not the right people because we are white. Yeah. But someone should make a, like, Cherokee podcast, because I feel like we have covered so many Cherokee legends and that's. It's hardly any.

[B]

I'm sure there is one. We should look that up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

If not someone who is qualified, please Start. Yes, we will listen. You have two listeners right here, or if you have one that you recommend, please tell us. But the point being here is that, like, they very much believe the land was alive with the memory of everything that ever happened there. And all of the spirits that lived there still resided there. So this is a very, like, energetic area. On top of it being Appalachia frontier, settlers then built their own homes on top of this land they had stolen, on top of land with energy they themselves could feel, but not understand. This time was also very difficult. For survival. Settlers built log cabins. They depended on family. Life was really hard, insular, and often lawless. Then came the Civil War, and in this region, it was very volatile. Many loyal Unionists lived in this area. But because Tennessee ultimately succeeded and was in the Confederacy, brothers were turning against brothers. It was a lot of bloodshed and a lot of conflict, like internal conflict in Tennessee. Many people died, homes were overtaken, crops were destroyed, which meant that the land further absorbed more blood and more pain. It continued to promise to remember. Now it's amidst this time and friction in 1870, that the greater Hamblin county was formed. It was a predominantly farming town mixed with limited trade markets, and most families were farming corn, tobacco or livestock. It was a very modest, small town, very focused on rebuilding. After the Civil War, Essentially, everyone knew everyone. So when in 1887 people started going missing, they noticed.

[A]

It's like a real life game of the traitors. Who is the killer in the house?

[B]

People are really dying. But at first, okay, so it's 1887. It's post civil War. Life is hard. Farming, work is hard. The area, the region, like the mountains were dangerous. So at first they're not tornadoes. There's so many different aspects that were out to get you that at first no one's thinking, oh, there's a killer on the list. People are like, oh, maybe they wandered off into the woods and got attacked by an animal. Or maybe they left to go find better opportunities. And the right word once they land somewhere else.

[A]

Right. I feel like that was one of the things that was easy to get away with back in the day. It was just like, oh, someone left and you just have to wait for them to write. Or was like, oh, they must have abandoned us. And it's like, or they were murdered.

[B]

And in this case, they were murdered. But they don't really have any evidence of anything. They. So they keep saying or thinking, maybe it's just one of these, a million other reasons, and they are gone. But then more People go missing, vanishing into thin air and people were wondering where they went. And over the course of 15 years, this number varies, but upwards of 30 to 100 people went missing. This is a small town.

[A]

I was just gonna say, didn't you say this is small?

[B]

I don't know if this is curious

[A]

what the actual population was because that seems like a big chunk.

[B]

Yeah, I don't know what the population was. And this is over a course of 15 years. So if the number is closer to 30 and I feel like maybe that's not as concerning, I don't know the specific stats. So the Hamlin county sheriff, his name was J.F. hayes. At this point he tried and failed to uncover the mystery until one night in 1902 when a gruesome axe murder finally led officials to an answer. The answer was that those missing persons had not vanished into thin air, had not died to the elements of the Appalachian wilderness. They had been murdered by one of their own. A serial killer that had been hiding in plain sight for decades. Damn. So it's July 5, 1902. It's an ordinary day, but as night fell, so too did the cloak that Jeremiah Lexer had worn for so many years. Jeremiah Lexer was a wealthy plantation owner in Hamlin county and he was well known and well liked. Like he is referenced as being very crucial in the creation and foundation of Hamlin County. Like he was high up.

[A]

Well, what did the people enslaved on his plantation have to say about him?

[B]

Good question.

[A]

He could be forward facing on the street, like what a great guy and then take out everything.

[B]

But even on the street people knew he had a little bit of anger or pro like he had, he had a lot of mood swings. And people again, this is so hard because like a lot of this is written after the fact, right where it's like they know he's a serial killer. So they're, they're out, they're like pulling.

[A]

Yeah, I always knew.

[B]

But according to these like later written reports, people thought and assumed his mood swings were just like the normal mood swing that people have trying to survive in a really harsh environment in a, in a world post civil war rebuilding. Crops are unpredictable. There's a lot of stress, lots of stress. But that all changed on July 5, 1902. That night, Jeremiah Lexer returned home to his manor in Talbot, Tennessee, the place that had passed through generations of his family and originated back to 1790. And he picked up an axe, he went through his house and tragically slaughtered his entire family.

[A]

Good lord.

[B]

His wife, his son, his daughter in law and his three grandchildren.

[A]

Oh God, it's horrible. It makes me nauseous.

[B]

After committing such a heinous act, Jeremiah Lexer then climbed the stairs to the second floor of the manor, placed the bloody ax on the mantel and according to records he jumped headfirst out of the second floor window to his death. Shortly after the Sheriff L.F. hayes was called to the Lexer manor and discovered the bloody crime scene. All seven Lexer family members were dead. And within the home there were these like incoherent messages written along the walls in the blood of the family members.

[A]

Now I have chills. This is horrific.

[B]

But the discoveries did not stop there. While they are searching the house trying to put the pieces together, the sheriff and his deputies made another horrific life altering discovery on the property. There was a pit filled with dismembered body parts, arms, legs, heads, torsos, all at various stages of decomposition.

[A]

Jesus Christ. This person was not just like, like immediately my mind is like there's something that has turned off or on and he is not with it. Yeah that statement isn't even. Doesn't do it anymore.

[B]

Right. And also like it doesn't seem like he's doing much to hide it. Like it was relatively easy for the police to find when they were on the property. Again this is all like happening so fast that this is like discovery after discovery of tragedy after tragedy. They're in shock. LF Hayes is so sick by the sight of this pit he had to run outside to regain composure and like not throw up. He at the moment didn't know the exact number of bodies that were in the pit but he had this sinking feeling that those were the remains of like the dozens of people who had disappeared over the years. And he was right. Even more shocking to him, Jeremiah Lexer had been a friend. So now he's like confronted with this horror and confronted with this like reality that this person he thought he knew, the person he thought was his friend. Yeah he didn't know him at all.

[A]

That just really makes you wonder too like how could he present in a normal enough manner that like people weren't wondering what was going on, you know like. Cause he seems so out of it like based on the state of the bodies and him axing and like did he use an axe? Do we know what his MO was for all the missing people?

[B]

I don't know specifically. I don't think it was the same way he brutally murdered his whole family but it's like these murders, him being a serial killer was Happening over such a long span of time that we don't know what triggered him on the night of July 5th. I don't know that it matters. He was clearly mentally unwell and deranged. Yeah, but the sheriff is just like so confused. How do you rationalize the person he thought he knew with the reality he is looking at? And that was very difficult. But the truth he was looking at was that Jeremiah Lexer was a serial killer. The worst Hamblin county had ever seen. Over the next few days and weeks Police discovered 31 bodies in the pit. 31. Again I couldn't find like specific details which we'll get into the reason why in a little bit. But through this investigation it was discovered that Jeremiah Alexer had been silently kidnapping and then like really sickly torturing before murdering and dismembering these people for upwards of 15 years.

[A]

This, this is like a New Orleans.

[B]

What's her face? Madame LaLaurie.

[A]

LaLaurie, yeah. Yeah, because she, she basically had like the same power like the mansion, the property y. Slaves, access to people and did a lot of torture. Yeah, evil. Evil. Evil very man. Why can't. Okay, I'm not. Why can't be like Dexter? Serial killers be like Dexter and target other serial killers, be a vigilante serial killer.

[B]

So yeah, this was unfortunately not a Dexter. He was just a horrible human being who had been living underneath the noses of all these people in Hamlin county for so long under this disguise. And they could not understand why he had done any of it. They also couldn't understand why on the night of July 5, 1902, Jeremiah Lexer went home and brutally murdered his entire family.

[A]

Right.

[B]

There were no answers and unfortunately none of us will ever really get answers because he's dead too.

[A]

Yeah, but they didn't like when they found him, he didn't ever say why. No.

[B]

He died by suicide.

[A]

Oh that's right.

[B]

Yeah. It is interesting because the and people have like brought up like how did he die from that fall? Because it's not like that tall of a building but apparently he went headfirst.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Either way he is dead and we have no answers today.

[A]

Do we know if he had slaves? I would assume he did given it's a plantation.

[B]

I mean granted like this story and like the murders and discovery happens post civil war. So technically there were no slaves but they were probably still working on the plantation.

[A]

Yeah. Cause I'm just curious like what all of those people saw.

[B]

That's a great question. Unfortunately we don't have an answer to that or too much about this. Some people do theorize that Jeremiah Lexer had multiple undiagnosed psychological disorders, which I feel like no dub, and that he was suffering from psychosis and hallucinations. Either way, these undiagnosed conditions are not an excuse. I think it's just people trying to make sense of a monster who was living amongst them for so long. Do you live for planning trips for yourself, for your friends, for your family? Well, what if we told you you can turn that into a side hustle and actually make active income from it?

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[B]

and after the discovery, the Lexer manor remained vacant because who would want to live there?

[A]

No bodies piled up. That many people just tortured and killed, right?

[B]

So it was abandoned for a while. And then also it's believed that the Hamlin county tried to keep this really, really quiet because they were nervous that it would keep people from moving there and they were trying to like build an economy in a city.

[A]

Yeah, it's hard because it's like, yes, you see this headline and you're like, oh, God, I'm not going to move there. There was a murderer and people went missing and, like, that horrific thing happened. But then on the flip side, what are the chances that a second serial killer is going to be in the town? Is that not one of the safest places you could maybe take a chance to move to?

[B]

Or do you think that a serial killer got away for so long and a serial killer reads that and they're like, oh, they won't expect another serial killer. Like, ooh, I'm gonna move there.

[A]

Incompetence. Let me go there. Perfect scene.

[B]

Either way, people are not willing to take their chances. And they kept this very, very hush hush. But it was also whispered about. People in the town knew about it, they talked about it. And for a long time, locals whispered about the spirit of Jeremiah Lexer haunting the house. People swore they saw a man yielding an axe walking past the dark windows. Others claimed to hear cries of his victims. But that was just local lore, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No way that place was actually haunted. Yes way. But no one was really willing to buy the house for themselves, so it was abandoned for a really long time until many years later when someone was like, this is the perfect spot for a restaurant. And I don't know exact dates here. And also, this is like off a highway. So it's not like a small little town where houses are all next to each other. Like, this has 20 acres of land. It's kind of rural. But I again, I don't know the exact dates here. The home was built in 1790. The axe murders and discovery of the bodies took place in 1902. And then for a long while, the building sat vacant, uncertain when. But in more modern times, the home sold and was used for various businesses. One restaurant, the Attic, operated in this house and on this land for many years.

[A]

In the actual house.

[B]

In the actual house.

[A]

So they heard there was an axe murderer who lived here. Let's go put a bunch of knives out all throughout this house and see what happens.

[B]

It was probably cheap.

[A]

Damn. Also, we've been covering a lot of stories from the early 1900s. Recently, I feel like between like 1880 and 1912, like the past multiple episodes, we've been like. And then in 1905, this happened.

[B]

We're trying to escape the reality of our world today. So the Attic operated in this house and land. The owners leased the back of the house to a hair salon and barbershop. And after many success.

[A]

Knives everywhere.

[B]

Knives everywhere, everywhere. Very Sweeney Todd, actually. So Sweeney Todd, like the barber Shop next to the restaurant, right? Serve up the pies. But. So this restaurant was very successful for many years. They even built an addition for more restaurant seating. As far as we know, there are no documented reports that the owners had issues with hauntings. But eventually, the restaurant did switch ownership, and it became a seafood restaurant. And this was in operation until 2001. And according to Internet rumors, this restaurant had to shut down because the hauntings got so bad.

[A]

Holy shit.

[B]

Plates were being thrown and shattered objects moving on their own. There were cold spots, shadow people. Like, it got so bad that employees refused to show up for work.

[A]

Was this guy allergic to shellfish or something? Like, why did he let the other restaurant go on?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

But the seafood is too much.

[B]

Or did people just ignore the hauntings when it was the other restaurant?

[A]

Yeah, maybe.

[B]

I don't know. So then, in 2001, the Lexer murder house was once again abandoned. Once again, no one in town wanted to take ownership of this home. I mean, what business could you run out of a haunted house, Right? What business, you might ask?

[A]

Huh. Interesting. Are we within that sort of business?

[B]

I think we might be.

[A]

Corinne, do you love ghosts? Do you want to be freed out of your pants business for you? You know what? I feel like a place like this should sell, like, underwear and pants, because what if someone shits themselves from being so afraid? Like, that's the concession stand at the end of this one.

[B]

As someone who has shit themselves recently, Actually, it's been.

[A]

I don't think it's been that recent, but more recent in comparison to, like, the average person.

[B]

Yeah, because I'm prone to it. I always have extra underwear on my person. Like, always.

[A]

That's smart.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Be prepared.

[B]

Okay, well, anyway, be prepared to enter Frightmere Manor. This is the perfect business for a haunted house. A haunted house. Again, I like. It's really hard to find specific dates. I'm sure I could have looked up, like, business records and stuff, but I didn't. It's not a hundred percent clear what year Frightmere Manor opened. Some reports say that it began operating as a haunted house, like, in the early 2000s. And so the seafood restaurant closed in 2001. But the attraction that it is today was established in 2009 by a man named Chris Wooden. So I don't know if, like, he more casually owned the property and was running as a haunted house before deciding to call it Frightmere Manor. I'm not sure, but Chris Wooden had heard the haunting history, like, the true story of the home and Saw this as the perfect location for a haunted house attraction. A murder house turned haunted house. And he loves to hone in and harp on this specific fact. A lot of haunted attractions do come up with fake history, fake lore, fake tragedies that so called happened on that property in order to like sell tickets and sensationalize. That's why it's attraction. But he likes to harp on the fact that he didn't have to do all of that, that it was already there for him.

[A]

Right. Long before his business was established. It was easy known, chronicled businesses shut down from the hauntings.

[B]

Yes. In the first year of operation in 2009, Chris had apparently spent a lot of time digging into the history, trying to unearth hidden history of the homestead. And based on what he learned and what he found, he curated Frightmere Manor to be basically a replica of the horrors that truly happened there. Which I feel like, I get it. But don't you also feel like that's a questionable decision to do and wouldn't that stir up more activity?

[A]

Right. And who's to say that all victims are still trapped there and are now like reliving and watching people find joy and excitement and pay to experience.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Their terrors? Yeah, it's kind of fucked up.

[B]

Well, it has been happening year after year and every year they come up with like various attractions to terrify their victims, as they are called. Most of them, not all of them, but most of them are based around the true story of Jeremiah Lexer. Year after year, Frightmere Manor has been listed among the top 10 haunted houses many times. Named number one most haunted house attraction in all of Tennessee. It is a 20 acre property and the team behind Frightmere Manor makes sure to utilize all of it. So I looked up the most recent like attractions that they had in 2025. I don't know what will be coming in 2026, but this is what they had in 2025. They offered three walkthrough attractions with high tech animatronics, professional actors, special effects, and countless psychotic demented souls. Which I imagine were the actors. Yeah, the three were the money back haunt, Carne evil outcasts and backwoods of rage. I'm pretty sure the money back haunt was like you go through the Lexor Manor and you basically walk through the night of July 5, 1902.

[A]

Oh, I almost would have rather they made up like just theorized about like someone's torture and murder instead of they

[B]

did that in the backwoods of rage.

[A]

Okay. The whole family, like children being killed.

[B]

I Mean, I don't know the specifics. They don't have, like, video footage of. Of it. They are very. I'm surprised for how popular this attraction is. Like, there are no come with me through the haunted house. Like, they're very. Like, their security is strict.

[A]

Yeah. It also makes me wonder, like, how do you differentiate when you have so much activity going on seasonally? Like, what is an actual haunting?

[B]

How do you know? I think that's why it's hard. That's why people have been able to write off their experiences as something attributed to the electronics or whatever exists in the haunted houses. Okay, so that's one of the attractions. Then there's Carne Evil, which was full of clowns and horrors, but less Lexer themed. And then there was a backwoods where the Lexor cabin stood guard over countless unmarked graves in the woods. And I think this was more of like the torture specific. Beyond the walking attractions, Frightmare Manor offered axe throwing, basketball, carnival games, and these two very, in my mind, questionable. Add on, like, you had to pay extra to do these. They were the Lexor Jump and the Nightmare Challenge. So if you remember, Jeremiah Lexer died by jumping out of the window.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Frightmare Manor has a free fall experience called the Lexer Jump to mimic that final act. And it's a free fall tower.

[A]

How much do they pay in insurance for this short?

[B]

Oh, I'm sure there's so much that is insane. Isn't that crazy?

[A]

Yeah. And also just they really thought of every detail to, like, pretend that you're.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who owns this? Should we.

[B]

Should we? Well, this is where they're doing. This part reminds me of McCamey Manor. That's also in Tennessee. Damn. Tennessee. What is up, guys?

[A]

Check your drinking water.

[B]

Anyway, so this challenge reminds me very much of the Mickey Emmy Manor. It's called the Nightmare Challenge. I'm just going to read the description. As it says on the website, the nightmare at Frightmare is what makes Frightmere Manor the most controversial haunted attraction in Tennessee. You will sign a release form. You will face your worst nightmares. You will be scared. For some, it lasts about 20 minutes. For others, a lifetime. Want more hints? You must one, eat something. Two, drink something. Three, do something. If you face your nightmares and survive, you get all your money back. Two, you get a picture put on Survivor wall for all to see and admire. And three, friends, family and staff will cheer for you. It then goes on to say it's not an impossible task. However, it will take extreme guts, determination, and self control. I try to find Information about this nightmare challenge, again, closed lipped. They are. You cannot find.

[A]

Does it even exist or is this just.

[B]

It definitely does, but most people don't get their money back. I did find a Reddit thread about this and there are a few responses. The first person responded, their username was museliz and they said that they had participated nine years ago but could not complete the challenge. The first challenge was to eat an egg. Like a big egg, where you had to eat like the shell and all.

[A]

Oh, yuck. No salt. No thanks.

[B]

And it's raw.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's not like a delicious hard boiled egg.

[A]

Excuse me again, back to the insurance inquiry.

[B]

Well, they. You have to sign a, like a third party.

[A]

If I die by salmonella, my family's not gonna come after you. Yeah.

[B]

Then this user said that they had to eat what the staff told her was goat dick, but was actually a ghost pepper. And the, like, spice of it was so, like, so painful they had to run out.

[A]

Another person isn't like an X factor.

[B]

I think it is very X factor, which is better than the McCamey Manor. Like McCamey Manor, they're full on torturing you, like pulling your teeth out, cutting your hair. This is more drink hot sauce. And that was what another person said, that you had to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce. So they, they are really difficult challenges.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But then another user, again, I'm gonna like, it's Reddit. And also, I really don't believe that this happened. But this is what they said on Reddit. They said that they're still in therapy for the final challenge. That in the final challenge they had cut off his penis and made him eat it and he still didn't get his money back. So I'm gonna go ahead and say that's probably not real.

[A]

No.

[B]

I think there would be a lot more news stories about that if that were.

[A]

I agree with that. I don't think the waiver would cover that. I think in the court of law it doesn't. There's some contracts that are just.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You can't, you can't cut off people's penises and make them eat it.

[A]

No.

[B]

I did find though, on that same Reddit thread, someone who worked at the attraction said they worked there for a couple of years and that every night the team changes the challenge so that no one can leak it and ruin it for other people. So, like, everyone's experience is very different.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I do think you have to disclose, like, your fears and like, dislikes so that they cater it to you. Like, if I said I absolutely despise eggplant or I'm a vegetarian, they would, like, give me eggplant or meat, you know?

[A]

Yeah. So lie, you know? Yeah.

[B]

Be like, I'm scared of kittens. They're soft fur. Ew. Puppies.

[A]

Puppies. Ew. Disgusting.

[B]

So, yeah, I really couldn't find anything about people who had completed it, which either makes me think that no one has. And even, like, they say that there's like a survivor wall that all of the photos get posted on of people who have completed it. Couldn't find any evidence of that. Or they're just really good at keeping details under wraps. It's also, we're recording this in March. This comes out in March. It's also sometime after October. Maybe they have taken that off the website and are prepping for 2026.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I don't know. Either way, me no likey. That's what I wrote.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So overall, Frightmere Manor is said to be one of Tennessee's most haunted horror attractions and a must visit for you fright chasing horror freaks out there, which is a lot of you. Whether you do the nightmare challenge or not, you are certain to be entertained or scared and possibly by more than human souls in costume, but by the dead who haunt there as well. Because given the history, Frightmere Manor is undoubtedly haunted. So a lot of the reports that I could find were shared amongst staff and, like, passed by word of mouth. But here are the hauntings that I could find. People report seeing shadow figures and apparitions inside the house. And this is, like, long before it was Frightmere Manor. That's the same report. Like, people would see someone walking through the windows when they were dark and no one was inside. A lot of shadows out of the corner of your eye. And again, like, going back to what you said, like, how do you. How do you differentiate between, like, the horrors of Frightmere Manor versus like, an actual haunting? Yeah, so a lot of people will see shadows out of the corner of their eyes, but they'll, like, write it off as, like, another cast member just walking by or a trick of the light, but it's probably something more.

[A]

You know what? This just gave me an idea for what. And I don't know that there's actual, like, money in this, but it's just like. Because I feel like haunted houses and things like this, they either go too far into, like, grotesque, sort of like torture, blood, horror. Blood horror. Or they're just, like, for the average person who just wants a jump Scare or to be frightened in the moment, because it's the month of October and Halloween's coming. I feel like for people who are truly deep into horror and it takes a lot to scare them. I'm thinking about myself. I think for me to truly feel the fear. If there was a place that was an overnight and you have experiences and it's only you or you plus another person.

[B]

So basically a paranormal investigation.

[A]

Well, sort of. But I was thinking about, like, outside, like. Cause I'm most scared outside. Like, your challenge is, like, you have to spend the night in like a tree stand or something. And then there's like, actors and stuff going through the woods or doing things, or like you're in a tent with like your. Your best friend or something. But then in the distance you hear in the middle of the night, like a pig squealing or like the sound of someone screaming for hell.

[B]

Horror story.

[A]

Yeah, basically where like, your. Your brain is like, oh, these are actors. Like, these people are paid to do this. But, like, it's just distant and weird enough that you're not sure.

[B]

It's unsettling.

[A]

It's unsettling. It's like. Or did someone just break onto the property? Or is this actually a murderer? Or how much do we actually know about this attraction? I need like a psychological.

[B]

You need an immersive experience.

[A]

I need an immersive experience where I

[B]

feel more grounded in reality.

[A]

I feel hunted.

[B]

You're sick. I feel like in theory you want that, but you don't actually want it.

[A]

No, no, no, I don't want it, but. But that, I think, is what would take.

[B]

Didn't you just start this with no, you know what I want?

[A]

Well, no, like, that would be. Sorry, I don't want that. But I think that that is what, like, the torture, like, that sort of thing is. Not. That wouldn't. It wouldn't not scare me, but I think I'd be, like, disgusted by it. And I wouldn't be like, oh, that was a scary, like, haunting experience. I'd be like, that was a fucked up, like, human experience.

[B]

It's kind of like an escape room in a way. Like, I feel like I did an escape room in LA that. I mean, nowadays, like, they're so elaborate and so like the set design and stuff. I did one that was horror themed and it was just two of us who did it. And at one point, one of us had to go in the elevator. And so I went into the elevator by myself. The doors closed, all of the lights went off. Like it was very, very scary. It was good.

[A]

That is good.

[B]

So there's something for everyone.

[A]

What's your deepest, darkest fear?

[B]

We'll curate you up. We could curate this, add it to our scroll. Our long list of business ideas that. When do we have time to do all of them? We don't.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So back to the hauntings at Frightmere Manor. There are unexplained sounds beyond the special effects. And there was one story that I found of someone who was like newly working at Frightmare Manor. It was daytime before, like the haunted attraction had opened. They were in the house and they kept hearing like these really strange sounds, like moans. Like almost like a human being making these like eerie sounds.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they kept thinking it must just be like a soundtrack or like a special effects or something like that. And so she asked about it when she like ran into someone else and they were like, wait, there are no soundtracks on. Like nothing is playing right now. But like they were convinced that maybe they were pulling a prank on her or something. But it could have been a ghost.

[A]

Could have. Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Objects.

[A]

Which makes me sad because it's like knowing the history. The reason for the moaning is probably.

[B]

I hope it's residual.

[A]

Yeah, me too.

[B]

Objects fall, they move on their own. Which is also something they experience during the seafood restaurant. Overall, staff try to follow a buddy system when they can and try in the less creepy areas of the property. Overall, it is no surprise that a place like this is haunted. The history is one thing, but then I think, and I mentioned this earlier, like this added element of almost not necessarily mocking, but kind of and making like entertainment out of the most horrific moment in all of these spirits lives.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we know for a fact that there were 31 plus, like the six members of the Lexer family people murdered on this property that we know of. We don't know how many others there were. There are reports like hundreds of people went missing during that 15 year period. So I imagine that that would be really, really infuriating or confusing for those spirits if they're still there on that land. Totally trying to like process what happened to them. I do hope that there are spirits who find it fun and they get a kick out of like scaring people.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Or that they find comfort in other people being there. Cause for so long it was abandoned. Like, maybe now they don't feel as alone. Do you want to know what I'm wearing under my clothes?

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Don't we all?

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Yes. And I'll say my experience with skims, having a growing body right now and being pregnant and like not knowing what my size is. I ordered at first the underwear and I was like, if it's perfect, the stretches are on real. And I'm like, oh, this is actually going to be the underwear that, like, I order. And it's just kind of, it's going to expand enough that I'm not going to have to keep reordering underwear every, like month.

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[B]

this story that has been like a bit contentious and debated in the world, so I feel like I have to bring it up. Some people have questioned the validity of Frightmare Manor's. History, as in people have questioned if any of it is true at all.

[A]

Hmm.

[B]

And here's the thing. I could not personally find any historical documents that pertain to Jeremiah Lexer, his being a serial killer, or the axe murders that are said to have taken place in 1902. Like, anytime you look up Jeremiah Elixir, it takes you to the story of Frightmare Manor and the haunted history behind the house. But I think it's because they've done so much press that that's like, what comes up.

[A]

But I don't know if this would work. But you know how there's the Wayback Machine, which is. If anyone doesn't know what that is, it's a website which allows you. Not, like all of the Internet, but, like, if you have the URL to a website, you could go back in time, like, choose a date from, like, years ago and see what, like, the website looked like then.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I am curious if, like, Wikipedia has a page on it and you can

[B]

go, I don't know, back or just

[A]

like a straight up Google result. You could look frightened.

[B]

Manor, like, kind of came out when the Internet was blowing up too. So it's hard. But I did find a lot of articles, like newspaper articles. So it's not just like blogs and stuff written like newspaper articles that do share the story of Jeremiah Lexer, but they are more recent.

[A]

And are they all local, too, that are in Tennessee as like a.

[B]

So some people have debated, like, is this entirely fabricated by the owners of Frightmare Manor, like, a lot of haunted people do?

[A]

I hope so.

[B]

I hope so too. But other people believe it is true. And, like, cite what I had talked about earlier, back in 1902, when the murders and discovery happened. This was a very struggling county. They were trying to rebuild after the Civil War, draw in new people, like, build their economy. They didn't want this idea of a serial killer, an ax murderer, to taint their reputation, so they paid off people to sweep it under the rug, which it's common practice even today.

[A]

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that

[B]

is trying to be covered up. Yeah. So then also the people who believe it was covered up by locals actually cite the Lizzie Borden murders from 1892 as a reason for their decision, because 1892, so 10 years before Jeremiah Lexer murdered his family and was discovered to be a serial killer. On August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden was said to have taken an axe, gave her mother 40 wax. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41. We're not going to get too deep into that story, but the context of this, what's important is that people believe, given how they had seen Fall river and the world handle the Lizzie Borden axe murders and how it like, hindered the reputation of Fall river, like, even today, like Fall river, you only go there for the Lizzie Borden house.

[A]

Yes. Sorry to the Fall river residents, but you live there, you know, and you

[B]

associate it with the Borden axe murders.

[A]

Yeah, if you're. If, yeah, tourists don't go to Fall River. Right. For any other reason. It's like literally the Lizzie Borden house.

[B]

So if we do believe that the Lexer axe murders happened, which was 10 years after the Lizzie Borden ax murders, and they saw what had happened in Fall river, maybe they were like, this is proof that we need to brush it under the rug, not tell anyone, keep it a secret.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But then also people have said and used the Lizzie Borden murders as a reason that this was like, falsified, that maybe after the axe murders in Fall River, Massachusetts, all throughout the country, all these, like, local legends and whispers started to develop based on that axe murder. And so like this formed a lore that was more local to Tennessee, but was based off of that, unfortunately. I don't know 100%. But we do know the reports of hauntings in this building and on the land do predate Frightmere Manor. Like there are blogs and reports of hauntings before Frightmere Manor was a business. And most locals to Hillman County, Tennessee do believe the story to be true. So maybe it's a mix of truth and lore, but I do believe the hauntings and paranormal energy is very, very strong on that land. So maybe the spirits are sadly the victims of this horrible, horrible tragedy. Or maybe because of all this activity and the curation of such a horrific haunt, they have created spirits like the thought form, like tulpas or conjuring Philip. And now the land is haunted. Especially like all these people who are flocking here for two months at a time. Like the amount of energy that is being like thrown at this land in just a two month period during the time of the year when the veil is the thinnest. Perhaps it's creating its own energy vortex and portal, which is creating hauntings or inviting spirits, who knows?

[A]

Which actually just reminded me of when Greg and Dana Newkirk were on tour and we went to see them live and they had ventriloquy dolls made of themselves and everyone was putting energy towards them to try to create them into haunted objects. And they very much were starting to react and like, move on their own and do things. We haven't checked in on that in like a year.

[B]

We should see. And I think they're still like, taking them on the road.

[A]

Yeah. Oh my God. Those things are about to be absolutely terrifying.

[B]

We should text them, actually.

[A]

You want to know what is going to be like, the worst haunted attraction I think I could experience going into Greg and Dana Newkirk's home, where the people hated on tracks.

[B]

I would love. I feel like because of Greg and Dana and who they are, their home probably has like the best vibes. Even the haunted room, I imagine, has good vibes.

[A]

True. Dana's such, like, mother energy.

[B]

She is.

[A]

She's so protective.

[B]

I feel like she's Mother Earth.

[A]

Like, when I see her, like, I almost picture like giant black, like raven

[B]

wings coming and like taking you under shelter. Yes. Love her. Love them both. But yeah, that's the Frightmare Manor and you can go visit it this October or September. It's September and October in 2026. Maybe you can ask the actors who are trying to jump out and scare you very politely, be like, haha, that scared me. Thank you. Now can you please tell me, have you experienced any ghosts here?

[A]

Yeah. So where's the real frights? Where's the real horror?

[B]

Maybe you can ask them and report back to us.

[A]

What do you experience in your break room?

[B]

Or sign up for a job for September and October, start working there to get the inside scoop. Get the tea. Give it to us.

[A]

Yeah, we won't. We won't tell.

[B]

No, but you will tell.

[A]

But you have to tell us. You will tell us so no one will know that you went against your NDA or whatever they make you sign.

[B]

I wonder if they even make you sign an NDA. Like if it's true history and it's haunted, that's your story to tell.

[A]

Yeah. Did you hear that from the lawyer herself? Sabrina. Deanna. Sabrina.

[B]

Esquire.

[A]

Esquire. Wild. Ooh. These ones are, like, hard because I feel like so many of the places that have the lore and you're not sure. Like, the lore is just so gross.

[B]

Like so disturbing.

[A]

So disturbing.

[B]

And whether it's true or not, the sad fact is that there are true story iterations, like real stories like that that do exist.

[A]

Right. And I really wasn't sure how to go about because I tried to search because you just said, like, Murder House at first.

[B]

Oh, Appalachian Murder House.

[A]

Yes. I was like, well, I don't know how to go about this. Anyway, I found a story that I think could be, like, somewhat adjacent to that. And this is from our listener, Sam. Hello, fellow ghosty witches. My name is Sam. I started listening in 2023, and I have been hooked ever since. Thank you for creating this spooky community. First, let me say I've debated so long on sending in the story because it still gets me when I talk about it. So buckle in, ladies. This one is a long one.

[B]

Oh, geez.

[A]

Okay. I grew up in southeastern Kentucky, right in the Appalachian mountains. Growing up here, you always hear the same tales, the lore, what not to do in the woods. This story takes place in 2012, located in Pulaski. Hopefully I didn't picture that.

[B]

Sounds right.

[A]

Pulaski County. Growing up in this rural area, there wasn't really much to do. So what did me and my friends do? Well, we went to the Walmart parking lot, and we would go ghost hunting, too.

[B]

At the Walmart parking lot.

[A]

I think that's like the two activities. It's like you either, like, gather and socialize at Walmart or you go ghost hunting.

[B]

Perfect.

[A]

I've always believed in the paranormal ever since I was a child and growing up, my family would tell me and other kids their own haunting stories.

[B]

I love that you're the collector of stories. Yes, the keeper.

[A]

I have to give a quick background on this location. My friends and I had always been told about this place, which I'm going to call it H cemetery, as the family that currently owns it has asked for people to leave it alone. So, h Cemetery, right before you arrive at the cemetery, there's a house, and we will call it the H house. The legend goes that back in the 1900s, I don't remember the exact year. Could have been our birth year. We were born in the 1900s. We were born in the 1900s, back in 1993. I don't remember the exact year. Shout out to trauma. The man who lived with his family here came home one day, killed his wife, and put their infant daughter in the well on the property.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

The second legend.

[B]

What is wrong with people?

[A]

Right?

[B]

Dexter, where are you?

[A]

Seriously? Come on, get it together. Go quicker, work harder, kill more, sleep less. The second legend I was told, and not by a very reliable source because he was a distant relative, is that a man came home to his wife and daughter murdered. So in both stories, the man ended up dying by suicide, and he is said to be buried in H cemetery. It has always been said that if you go onto the property and walk to the well, which is probably a half mile walk. You can hear a child crying.

[B]

Oh, that's so devastating.

[A]

I never was brave enough to cross the property line after what happened to me in the cemetery though. But my friends did say that they heard the child cry. Okay, so now you have the background onto the story. My friends May, Randy, Travis, and I decided that we were going to go and see this place for ourselves. This was my third time here, but my friends had never been. After this night, I swore I would never return. It's important to note that when going to the cemetery, we were always respectful. We never stepped on the graves, we never touched headstones, et cetera. This was in a location where if you don't know where you're going, you're never going to find it. It's in the middle of nowhere. There's a gravel road that you have to take in order to get there. It's only a couple minutes drive. But this is important information. Our first stop was the house. Getting out of the vehicle was extremely hard for me. I've always been very sensitive to the paranormal and none of this felt right this night. Eventually, Mae coaxed me out, saying, it's not that bad, you'll be fine. That, folks, is how they get you. Sadly, the house has been burnt down. It was burnt down many years ago by a high schooler.

[B]

Oh, geez.

[A]

May and Randy went over to the property line and stepped down into the basement of the home. I stayed back with Travis. As I refused to cross the line. Something in my gut told me that I needed to stay put. A few minutes later, May and Randy come back screaming that Randy had been pushed off of the brick chimney. May said that right before this happened, she felt an ice cold sensation run right over her body. Randy was not so respectful. He wasn't really a decent person. He kind of shouldn't have been there with us in the first place.

[B]

Randy's the reason to not go back or go to any haunted place with Randy. Do not.

[A]

Yeah, you really have to be conscious about, like, the people's attention and energy that are like, coming in with you. So. No, fight me, bro. Energy coming in to a place like this. He had been trying to climb the chimney and he was being rude. And I believe that this was the reason that things got so much worse. We then drove down to the cemetery, and when we pulled up, I felt like my chest was going to cave in. I suddenly could not breathe. And at this moment, I knew that we probably should leave. But I Was young and dumb, and so we stayed.

[B]

You stayed. To be fair, I probably would have, too.

[A]

Right. It's like you're there with other people, too, so it's.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, part of you feels like you can't just control.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Everyone. And also, like you also can't.

[B]

And also, like. Oh, like, that one little thing happened, which is exciting, Especially if you're going there for paranormal activity.

[A]

True.

[B]

There's, like, a thrill to it.

[A]

Yeah. But, like, Sam is being basically suffocated and.

[B]

And Samsung frozen in place. Like, no.

[A]

Right. Yeah. Okay. So I was young and dumb, and we stayed. We started looking around the cemetery to get a feel for things. And Randy, being the asshole that he was, lit and smoked a cigarette and then used a headstone to put it out.

[B]

Randy.

[A]

We were all furious with him. He and Mae went to the other side of the cemetery, and I stayed with Travis. Did Mae and Randy have a thing? Why is she always running off with him?

[B]

Probably a bad boy.

[A]

While talking, I felt as if something was screaming at me to look over to my right. And so I did. And as I looked over, I noticed the first two rows of graves had multiple flags, and one had a windmill. The flags in the front row started to move as if they were being blown by the wind, but there was no wind. And the second row of flags were completely still, and we did not feel a single thing. At this point, I started to feel a lump in my throat. As soon as those flags stopped moving, the second row started to move, and then the windmill started to move. And it was in this, like, cyclic rate. I'm not the person to pray. But in that moment, I did start praying.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

All of a sudden, I looked over to a grave, and in the first row, I noticed a concrete angel next to the headstone facing away from me. Immediately, the angel turned around directly facing me, and my heart sank. No. Tears began flowing. All I could feel was something pure evil, and it was surrounding me. Ooh, I have chills. Cause normally, like, an angel, you'd think, like, oh, it's watching us. It's gonna protect us.

[B]

But it would be mad feeling the feeling of it. Yeah.

[A]

I felt like I was being mocked by a demon for praying. Travis looked at me and asked what happened. I told him. He looked over and he said, yeah, the angel was facing me. He said it must be an angel trying to protect me. But I knew no, this was something far more sinister. Yeah. Shortly after this, I begged and I pleaded, please, please let us go home. Randy was refusing because he Wanted to lay down on the grave.

[B]

Smur. Randy. Smur.

[A]

The specific grave that was considered to be a portal to hell. Let Randy. Let him be sucked off.

[B]

Yeah, you guys go. Randy's good. Leave him behind.

[A]

Remember I said he wasn't the most respectful person? Well, it said if you lay on this very grave, you'll feel a burning sensation. And when you try to get up, three claw marks will be down your back. And he did do that. He laid down. I saw it myself. And he wanted to stay longer. And Travis was quick to get into the car. And finally, Randy and Mei do get in the car. And that is when we take off like a bat out of hell. From that moment on, I have felt a presence with him.

[B]

No, Sam, I'm so sorry. Give him Randy's address.

[A]

Right forward.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

A middle aged woman. And she wasn't evil. She was protective and calm. But she has been around me ever since.

[B]

Oh, interesting. Okay, don't give her to Ra.

[A]

Keep her. I talk to her all the time, especially when I'm scared. And many years later, I had a friend who noticed this woman's presence around me the first time I ever went to her house. And that, for me, only confirmed it more. My friend is a witch, like I am, and I've never told her this story before. It surprised me that my friend could feel her near me, as no one else has ever told me this before.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Anyway, I swore I would never step foot in the cemetery again. But years later, I did. And that was the worst decision that I could have made. What? It haunts me to this day. If you're wondering if Sam told us what happened, they did not. Sam, stay spooky. See you on the other side, Sam.

[B]

Okay, well, I have so many questions, like, what happened the next time? And was Randy with you? Because I feel like Randy is.

[A]

No way. Randy was with Sam. Although Sam did say at the very bottom of this, while proofreading it, the computer started to glitch and it, like, kept flashing.

[B]

Well, it makes me wonder if the woman who's with her was so grateful. Like, I don't know. Like, I just feel like if this cemetery has such negative energy, like, is this female spirit so relieved to be gone from there and, like, finally found a human attachment that could help get her out of there. And maybe that's why going back the next time, even though we don't know what happened, was so horrific. Because that spirit, like, didn't want to go back, Right?

[A]

Or was, like, fighting things off.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Ooh. I can't believe. So, like, Sam didn't outwardly say, but I think she was insinuating in her email too that I think Randi did get the scratch mark because she was like, I saw it happen. And I don't think, like. I think that's what she means is like, the scratch marks too.

[B]

If I were a demon, I'd be scratching Randy like left and right.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That evening.

[A]

That gives me so much anxiety. It like takes away from the experience of getting to be in a cemetery when there's someone who's like behaving recklessly, provoking. It's. Yeah, you're just like, not like I'm disrespect. You're making me on the. The ghost and demons team here because I also don't want you here now. Yeah.

[B]

And this is something we talk about all the time. It's like, when it comes to paranormal investigating, the biggest thing for us has been who you go with. And that's why, like, I'm more hesitant to do like a massive paranormal investigation with a bunch of strangers because I don't trust people.

[A]

Right. It's really hard.

[B]

Damn, that is so hard.

[A]

And I also feel like we're almost proof of it working out in your favor if you go in with good intentions and know who you're going in with. Because every time we gone somewhere, people are like, oh my God, this is the most experience we've ever had. And we're like, be respectful.

[B]

Bring the ghost girls. Ghost girls attitude.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Or our.

[B]

Our energy actually reminds me of the book that we just read For Patreon, Episode 13 by Craig de Louis. So good. So good. It's all about like a paranormal investigative team that goes to.

[A]

Did you already read it? Yeah. Boom.

[B]

This episode comes out after we have

[A]

this world of like podcasts. I'm like, didn't we just pick it like last week?

[B]

We're literally discussing it next week.

[A]

This always happens to me. We do a book club every other month and it feels like just a blip ago that we. Okay, you gotta read that. This is why I end up listening to all of the books.

[B]

It's a ten hour audiobook, so. And also I recommend listening to it

[A]

three for me because I. They're crazy, right?

[B]

It very much reminded me of the Black Tapes. Listening to the audiobook. Oh, I love it. It's really, really cool. But in that book, like, the different team members have such different perspectives when it comes to paranormal investigating. And like, one of them does have a little bit of like, come at me Demon energy kicked out of the group. It's little Randy energy.

[A]

Yeah. Damn.

[B]

But yeah, book club is great. If you want to join us, the next book we're reading is Hollow by Selena Myers, AKA Selena Spooky Boo. And we're excited for that and we'll be discussing that in May. Yeah. So join us over there. If you have paranormal encounters and ghost stories, please email them to [e-mail] and rate and review us on itunes. And join us on Patreon if you want. Episodes one week early and ad free plus bonus content. Campfire stories, book club, witch class. So many things over there.

[A]

So many. Shout out to Jamie Ryan, who edits and produces our podcast. Thank you Jamie and thanks to all of you. We love you and we will see you on the other side.

[B]

Very spooky.

[A]

Thanks for listening.

[B]

We love to hear your stories and your feedback. So we have a little survey for you. Please visit two GOG fans to take our listener survey. That's the number two. The letter G O G Fans to take our listener survey.