Are trapped ghosts inside the Milton Schoolhouse? Are there mysterious spirits, unrelated to the legend, that call the Milton home? Or perhaps there has never been a ghostly presence in the building. Join me as we chat with Milton co-owner, Meredith, as well as previous guest, Ginger Collins-Justus. Paranormal or not, you MUST visit the Milton and see its current reincarnation!
“The Milton Schoolhouse is a place for innovators, dreamers, bold visionaries, entrepreneurs, inventors, artists, daring pioneers- and renaissance people.”
Are you brave enough to stay the night at the haunted Myrtles Plantation? I did. Join me as I talk about the exciting stops on my summer vacation through the south, here in the US. Other paranormal spots included the King’s Tavern in Natchez, MS, Oak Alley Plantation, and the Lalaurie Mansion in New Orleans.
The haunted Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, LA.
Leaving St. Louis forLamberts Cafein Sikeston, MO 1:54
Stayed the night at theHilton Memphis(Sorry, Elvis) 2:49
Natchez, MS
We arrived in the beautiful and historicNatchez, MS. View the photos I took around the city in my Natchez album onFlickr. 3:14
King’s Tavern — Featured on Ghost Adventures in Season 7, episode 18 from 2013. Kings Tavern is the oldest standing building in the Mississippi Territory and Natchez and its history goes all the way back to 1769. 3:36
Plan B and stumbling into a beautiful surprise! 4:17
Dinner at the historicBowie’s Tavern— We talked to some residents who recommended we have dinner at Bowie’s Tavern, which is on Broadway in Natchez. And they made a great choice for us. Good food and really nice people. The historic building overlooks the Mississippi river and was originally a cotton warehouse. They also proudly display a mahogany bar that was built around 1880. They also have lodging on the upper floor with a view of the river! 5:04
Natchez City Cemetery
Spending the morning in the beautifulNatchez City Cemeteryfor some photography. Check out that photo album onFlickr. 6:03
The mysterious and unique grave of Florence Irene Ford (Sept 3, 1861 – Oct 30, 1871), who died of yellow fever at the age of 10. This grave was constructed with a set of open concrete stairs that descend next to what would be the head of Florence’s body, with the headstone above. Learn more about this grave atGhostInMySuitcase.com. 8:05
Monmouth Mansion
Before leaving Natchez, we toured theMonmouth Mansion(built in 1818) and the beautiful gardens and small cemetery that surrounds it. Check out my Monmouth Mansion photo album onFlickr. 10:03
The Myrtles Plantation
TheMyrtles Plantation(built circa. 1796) in St. Francisville, LA — If you are as big of a paranerd as I am, you’ve probably seen the Ghost Hunters investigation of Myrtles from way back in 2005, episode 1 of their 2nd season. You’ve also probably seen the The Ghost Adventures crew investigate the place just last year in season 9, episode 2. 10:46
The lovely Miss Hester 11:33
Some audio with a little bit of the atmosphere of the haunted Myrtles Plantation. 12:25
The ghost of Chloe — Probably the biggest legend of the Myrtles. Chloe was supposedly the slave closest to the Woodruff family, who purchased the home in 1820 and remodeled it. Was she Mr. Woodruff’s mistress? Did she poison Mrs. Woodruff, along with Cornelia and James, two of the children? Was one of her ears cut off? And was she hung from a nearby tree? 19:03
The nursery, or the “Ruffin Stirling Room”, which is where we stayed for the night. The two children, Cornelia and James Woodruff, were apparently taken to this room, where they later died. 21:26
Kate, Cleo, Voodoo, and other deaths at the Myrtles. 21:47
More about the “terrifying” bed shaking experiences that have been reported in the nursery/Ruffin Stirling Room. 22:34
Before bed we tried to reach out to any of the spirits of the Myrtles by conducting an EVP, Spirit Box, and Ouija session in the nursery. 23:06
Who changed the track on my recorder while we were sleeping? 26:23
More audio of me touring the grounds of the Myrtles, including the pond and cabins around the back of the property. 28:26
Our visit to Grace Cemetery and the Grace Episcopal Church in St. Francisville, LA. You can find the Grace Cemetery photo album onFlickr. 30:18
Oak Alley Plantation
The beautiful and reportedly hauntedOak Alley Plantationin Vacherie, LA. It’s one of the more popular plantations. In fact, you’ve probably seen it in photos or even as the Hollywood backdrop of a movie or two. It was featured in Season 4, episode 19 of Ghost Hunters in 2008. The rows of 300 year old oak trees are breath taking. Check out my Oak Alley Plantation album onFlickr. 32:36
French Quarter in New Orleans
Heading to New Orleans and the overwhelming heaviness or anxiety that I was feeling. 33:45
Dinner and my delicious Po’boy at theVacherie Restaurantat the Hotel St. Marie. 36:32
On the way out the French Quarter, mom dropped me off at the Lalaurie Mansion. Hopefully you remember my interview with Victoria Cosner Love, who authored the book on Madame Delphine Lalaurie, the real life murderess portrayed in American Horror Story: Coven. If not, you can check outepisode 7of the podcast from August 6, 2014. 36:47
What’s the opposite of the French Quarter in New Orleans? Long Beach, MS, which was the last leg of our trip. Long Beach is not far from Gulf Port, MS. We stayed at theHoliday Inn Expressfor a few nights. 38:28
On our first night we had dinner atShaggy’sright on the beach near Gulfport. 39:26
The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and iHeart Radio. Please subscribe, submit a rating, or share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the séance!
I have quite a treat for you. Below are three Halloween Safety videos dating from 1977 to the early 1980s. I had a great time watching these several times just a few nights ago. For me, there is so much nostalgia packed in these videos, but also some rules and scenarios that seem so funny in 2014. Remember the overblown fear of razor blades and tampered candy, even though no cases even exist? It’s mentioned below.
I wonder if I actually watched any of these as a child. I can just picture myself in one of my elementary school classrooms, watching the film strip with the familiar crackle in the background. I wonder how children these days would take to watching these? I’m considering showing them to my students at school in a few weeks, just to see what they think.
About three years ago, my buddy Matt and I took off for a day trip to Alton, Illinois… just for fun! I had never been and so he was going to show me around. Alton is a place full of history, absolutely beautiful buildings, and of course… ghost stories! Early this week I was chatting with friend and researcher,Randall Keller, when I remembered a specific part of that Alton trip years before. On that beautiful October day, we stopped by the Milton Schoolhouse. Earlier that year, the Ghost Hunters (T.A.P.S.) filmed an investigation there and I had been particularly impressed with that episode.
If you watch theGhost Hunters episode, they’re quick to play up the drama of the sad and gruesome events that supposedly happened inside the building years ago. According to Troy Taylor atAltonHauntings.com, the schoolhouse was built in 1904 and served students until 1984. The local legend (because apparently there’s no actual record of the events) about the school involves a little girl who was brutally murdered and raped by a janitor in the building in the 1930s. Some time later the janitor hung himself inside the school after leaving a note with the message “I did it!”
As much as I wanted to get into this place, we settled for being sneaky and walked around the property for some pictures. We had a very brief meeting with the current owners in the parking lot (probably something like “Hi. Um… can we help you?”), but we didn’t push for an invitation.
After reliving this memory and digging up the forgotten photos, I decided I MUST contact the owners to get inside, if for nothing else, to just walk around with a recorder and get some good photos. I was hoping it hadn’t turned into a paranormal trap or a “pay to investigate” place. After some new research, boy was I surprised to see what is going on at The Milton Schoolhouse now! How quickly things change. If I make a visit, it definitely won’t be the kind I had in mind.
“Purchased in 2009, The Milton Schoolhouse is actively undergoing renovation to host artists, small businesses, and community oriented groups as we work to infuse this beautiful riverfront town with a fresh burst of entrepreneurial spirit.”
“The Milton Schoolhouse is a place for innovators, dreamers, bold visionaries, entrepreneurs, inventors, artists, daring pioneers- and renaissance people.”
Currently you can get a massage at the Milton. The old schoolhouse also houses the office of an electrician, two different photography studios, an art studio, and a creative stained glass studio. Apparently there’s a business called Marie the Cheesecake Lady coming soon! (Cheesecake. Yup. I’ll be taking a trip back to Alton soon!)
So what do the new owners think about their haunted history? They’re apparently trying to distance themselves from it all, as according to their FAQ page, they say…
“Instead of haunted, we prefer to say the building has a lot of character. We’re working hard to infuse this building with new life- and prefer not to lean on an old urban legend to create a buzz about this awesome place. “
I would have to agree. It seems pretty awesome. This is probably something that many historic and possibly struggling communities should take note of. Wouldn’t you agree?
