June 26, 2024 • 43 mins
Brandy Stark was asked to be a speaker at a convention in Des Moines Iowa. While she was there, she poked around to see what kind of paranormal stories she could find. This is a compilation of both readings that she did while on the plane and story she was told by native Des Moinians!
EPISODE NOTES: Stories Of a Wandering Spirit: Des Moines
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EPISODE NOTES: Stories Of a Wandering Spirit: Des Moines
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/paranormal-pets-ghostly-encounters-with-past-pets-pets-animals-on-pet-life-radio--6668039/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is pet Life Radio, Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hello and welcome to Paranormal Pets. I'm your host, Brandy
Start and for once, I am coming to you from
des Moines, Iowa, of all places, so I was invited
to be a speaker. I got to explore Des Moines
and I got into a little bit of their paranormal
phenomenon out there, so I thought i'd share it with
(00:45):
you the listeners, and we will actually start that right
after these messages.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
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(01:14):
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Speaker 4 (01:35):
Let's Talk Pets on Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
All right, welcome back.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
So it's been a little while. It's been a couple
of months, I'm afraid, but I wanted to catch everybody
up on some of the fun that I've been having.
So the pug grumble here has grown by two. I
now have baby Pentheus a lot and her sister Prisaus.
They were unexpected, but they were a unique opportunity at
(02:15):
four months old. And there are littermates. If you do
not remember, from years ago, I had Pandora and Grace
who were littermate sisters, and I also had Odysseus and
Achilles who were littlemate brothers. And then right now I
also have another set of siblings, so Ajax and Calypso
are half siblings, but they are about a year and
(02:37):
a half apart. But Pandora, well, Grace passed away about
two and a half three years ago and Pandora passed
away in January. And the house, just if you have pets,
there's just a certain energy that your house has, and
my house did not have it. And so when these
sisters were available, we had to drive out to the
middle of nowhere Florida, Floral City. I literally could not
(03:01):
find the address on ways. I think I had to
go into Google maps. I mean, it was crazy, it
was way out there, but I did pick them up.
And Penthusla or Penny for short, was the runt, and
so I'm really hoping she stays petite. And Bresais is
what I'm calling my bonus sister. And so we have
these two girls, so I'm hoping that they are behaving
(03:23):
for the podcast. They literally just came back from being
spade yesterday and you you wouldn't know it. Therese must
be some good pain pills. But they're very, very sweet,
and my house really feels complete again. I've got my
black pug, I've got my boys, I've got my girls,
and now I have ages ranging from thirteen years old
(03:45):
to six months. We're not doing any more puppies. I
can't do any more puppies. Three years of puppies. That's enough.
So that was the first thing that happened. And then
I was invited to speak at a at a venue
called Demiicon. Demicon is kind of a literary science fiction
homegrown convention. It follows a lot of fandoms. It's very
(04:07):
similar to our local Necronomicon that takes place in Tampa
every year. And I have a really big soft spot
for homegrown, grassroots conventions that they tend to be smaller,
but they have heart in them. They raise money for charity.
(04:28):
It's it's a really good group of people. And I
was there last year, but with the zoo that I
have here, and of course I am a caretaker for
my mother who is eighty and showing definite signs of age,
I was only able to be there overnight last year,
so I was literally in the air as long as
(04:48):
I was at the convention. It was that quick. But
they invite me to speak because of my paranormal prowess,
and so they asked me back again this year, and
I did two talks, one on the evolution of the
zombie from revenant to zombies, so kind of a compare
and contrast from the Middle Ages to modernity and how
those reflect our cultural fears and our cultural expectations. And
(05:11):
then I did a talk on what we have found
in Saint Petersburg, and I had videos and sound files,
so it was a lot of fun, and unlike last year,
I felt a little more comfortable. This year. I got
to stay for two whole nights. I had a pet
sitter who was supposed to stay literally for the two
and a half days. You know, I was paying for that,
And as I can tell you is that in the
(05:32):
middle of it, she suddenly wasn't feeling well and started
going back and forth between the houses. And I don't
know if the pets were too much or if there
was something on her end, but I was a little disappointed.
I literally cleaned up my house for two months, because
as an artist, I have stuff everywhere. I got that
all sorted and put away. My bathroom broke down. I
(05:55):
got that fixed for something like seven hundred dollars so
that she wouldn't have to scoop water out of it
when she took a shower. You know, I took all
of the pets in because one was due for the
ravy shot, one had allergies, and one had a bladder infection.
And I want to get all that taken care of.
And if you have pets, you know that's expensive. And
I did all of this. I mean it was literally
(06:16):
two months of work to go away for two days.
And I was a little a little bit disappointed. But
it was interesting because I mentioned if they asked me
back next year, and this person said, well, they might
not be available. Planning a trip, and I'm thinking, okay,
so I don't know if I'm going to get to
go back. So I thought maybe I would go ahead
and share a little bit with you now when it
(06:38):
coast to Des Moines, Iowa. I have been saying for
two years now that they hide their ghosts. Well, I
do research on the areas because I love going to
a place and finding they're dead, right, that's my deal.
And so there are basically the same places listed over
and over in the city. And if you've never been
(06:59):
to the Midwest, and Midwest is kind of spread out,
so you know, if I'm going to a location, I
try to pack in as much stuff as possible. So
is there anything that I can use when I teach
the humanity? So you know, I asked about indigenous cultures,
any ruins? Those are on the east side of the state. Okay,
I'm a Star Trek fan. Captain Kirk comes from Riverside, Aisle,
(07:19):
which is an actual place, but that's two hours away
and I didn't have a car, so I couldn't do that.
They talk about the Axe Murder House, where in nineteen
eleven a family of six and their daughter's two friends
were all slaughtered with an axe, very very gruesome, and
that is actually a paranormal tourist spot, but that's also
a distance away. And then they have this mysterious black
(07:41):
angel that allegedly the eyes will light up red at night,
and of course that's another hour away. There is nothing there.
They didn't have any ghost tours. The History Museum was
in downtown with just twenty five minutes away, so it
was really interesting. But when I did my research, there were,
as I mentioned, kind of the same spots over and over.
(08:02):
So one is the Des Moines Airport, which has the
Cloud Room. I did check into that last year and
I did go back into it briefly this year. Then
there was the Woodlawn Cemetery. Everybody in the world points
you out to the cemetery in Des Moines, including people
that I was asking from the convention, and it is
the oldest cemetery there and it has something like sixty
(08:25):
six thousand burials. It is an immense cemetery. So that
was on my list of places to go, but I
wasn't sure how i'd get there. For one and two,
I was an out of towner and I would have
been by myself walking through the cemetery and even during
the day. I'm not. I don't know, the world's a
(08:46):
weird place these days, and the Midwest is even more
bizarre to me than Florida is I guess I'm used
to the Florida weirdness, but the Midwest is kind of well,
take no offense, it's just different. I guess. I wasn't
really sure considering the fact that I couldn't find it.
Paranormal Team, ghost tours, nothing out there. It was incredible,
so I had that kind of on my list, But
(09:07):
of course the days that I was there it was
going to rain. I'm thinking, okay, so I ended up
I just started asking folks. I said, you know, I'm
I'm a paranormal investigator from Florida, and I'm doing this talk.
And it was interesting because the first thing that happened
was literally on the flight out, and this was May third,
and May third, if you don't know, is World Paranormal Day.
(09:27):
And I had brought a couple of items to demonstrate
in case I happened to also find a place to investigate,
I could use them as well. And one was an
EMF meter that I use on my my haunted tours
because it lights up and it's relatively inexpensive, and if
anything happened to it, I would not be completely torn up.
I'm not taking my try field on the plane, so
(09:47):
and I was not checking any bags because this was
basically a two night trip and I am poor. So
I'm like, no, no baggage, I'm going to carry it
with me. I managed to shove two days worth clothes
and my computer and a little bit of equipment into
a carry on and off we went. So I actually
was going through Tampa International Airport and I got pulled
(10:10):
out of the screening line. The reason was that EMF meter.
And you have to understand I have traveled with my
paranormal stuff before and never had an issue. But I
got pulled out this tie because I didn't recognize what
it was. And I'm like, I'm a paranormal investigator. That's
an EMF meter. The cool thing was that the security
woman who was talking with me, who had to dig
(10:33):
through my bags and undo all of my very careful packing,
but I got it back in there. It's okay now,
mind you. I was also I made that plane by
fifteen minutes. I've never been quite so close to missing
a plane until my return trip and we'll get to that.
But anyway, and she was really interested in the supernatural,
so I gave her a spirit to Saint Petersburg card
and I hopefully she'll check out our site. So that
(10:55):
was just like wow, World Paranormal Day and I get
to celebrate by being pulled out of line. That's great.
So anyway, I got up to Des Moines and there
were a few different things that happened. So the first
thing was that people started pointing out number one. I
started getting their personal haunted stories, which was a first,
(11:15):
and nobody looked at me like I was crazy this time.
So I was very glad for that, because of course
I come in with my you know, my Florida tan
and my bright blue hair, and you know, I'm talking
about ghosts in the middle of you know, kind of
the rust Bible Belt area. And I was like, you guys,
don't you have any ghosts, because I'm only fine in
the same ones. There's a university that has some ghosts.
(11:37):
There's supposed to be a high school. I can't get
into those. I've already been to the airport. I'm thinking
about the cemetery, but is there anywhere else? And lo
and behold, yes there was. There was a place called
Merle Hay Mall, which is only about a mile away
from the hotel, and it turns out that they could
shuttle me there, and so I got to check this out.
But I started getting some paranormal stories. The first one
(12:00):
that I heard was about a fellow who had an
NDE near death experience and he had heart issues that
was the reason for the NDE. He actually died about
six years ago, and they brought him back and he
noticed that he had moved into a new apartment and
when he went home from the hospital, strange things began
to happen. And this woman who was actually my shuttle driver,
(12:22):
said that she saw at least two odd things. And
she said he was afraid to tell people because they
would all think he was crazy. But one thing was
that she watched the TV console get knocked off, and
apparently this was kind of a heavy thing and there
was no reason for it to have moved whatsoever, and
she said it was like somebody shoved it, you know,
while she was sitting in the living room with him.
(12:43):
And on a second visit, he had a bluetooth speaker
that was not on or hooked up to anything, and
all of a sudden, it turned itself on and they
could hear a woman speaking, and she said it was
really garbled or like somebody speaking in tongues and they
couldn't recognize the language. But it lasted about twelve to
fifteen seconds. This bluetooth was in his bedroom and they
were in the living room, and she was like, I
(13:04):
am not checking that out. So apparently the fellow has
moved and activity has been fine since then, so hey,
all right good. The second thing that I did learn
was that the area around the cemetery is haunted. I
had several or at least two different stories about people
who had who either lived near the cemetery or who's
(13:28):
had family who lived near the cemetery. And one person
said that her grandmother was taking pictures and they had
this odd orb image that showed up right in front
of her, and she said, you know, she was like
a teenager in early teen, maybe around twelve. So they
called in a ghost hunting group, and the ghost hunting
group wanted her to replicate this, and so she kind
(13:49):
of stood in the same place as when her grandmother
was taking pictures, and she said when they started taking
pictures themselves. It was like somebody punched her in the gut,
and of course, you know, she said it was like
I fell over my handlebars on a bike or something
like that. She couldn't breathe, and that was really interesting,
and I asked about the team and she could not
remember who it was. So it was kind of sad
(14:10):
on that one. But okay, so there was one, and
then the second one actually did have a bit of
a paranormal pet story to it. So there was a
husband and wife couple I believe, who were at my
second presentation, and they started talking about or they actually
asked me how to protect their home because they lived
near the cemetery, and the gentleman actually worked at a
(14:31):
government run institution that was also massively haunted. Apparently at
one point had been a mental health institution or something
along those lines, and they had all sorts of phenomenon.
But it was his wife who was saying, you know,
how do I keep my home protective because I'm right
next to the cemetery and some things happened, you know.
So I gave her my general advice, and then the
husband popped in and said, well, and you know, we
(14:53):
have a ghost cat now, And I'm like, really, okay,
tell me about this. So he basically said that they
had a ghost cat that they had bought the house
and that apparently this coast cat was there when they
bought it because they didn't have a cat. They didn't
move in with a cat. They had never had a
cat before. And the phenomenon was that kind of like,
particularly when the wife was going to bed. She said,
(15:15):
it would feel like you feel something jump on the
bed and like curl up on your stomach like kneed
bread kneading, like the dough kneading right, biscuits making biscuits
there is and then curl up and go to sleep
on her stomach and she's like, and there's nothing there.
And so what they ended up deciding to do was
they got a real cat to see what would happen
and see if that would settle the household. And I
(15:37):
guess it must have worked, you know, so they now
have a living cat and this ghost cat and apparently
there are no real issues. So I was I was
very impressed with that. That's a way to do it.
So that was kind of cool. And speaking of which,
while I was there, I found one of their local publications,
and I ended up doing a quick recording because it
(15:59):
was a story about Woodlawn Cemetery, one of the caretakers,
a couple of the people who died, and then this
hero dog who saved the family of the grave semetery caretaker.
So we are going to pop that in here so
(16:20):
that you also can hear the story and learn a
little bit more about the oldest cemetery in Iowa. So
my last day here in Des Moines, I thought I
would read an article to you from the City View,
Your City, Your Style, your News. We are des Moines.
This is their summer edition, and it's kind of cool
(16:42):
because it reminds me very much of the articles that
I write for the Northeast Journal. It's kind of a
happy publication. But Woodlawn Cemetery is one place that I
didn't quite get to, which is unfortunate. But I've heard
it's haunted. People have told me about multiple haunted how
actually around the cemetery, which is really interesting. And there's
(17:04):
an little article in here entitled how this is from
Joe's neighborhood. Two characters and a Dog in Woodland Cemetery
by Joe Weeg. So I thought I would read it.
The graves sprawl over the bright green and faded brown grass,
like grazing cattle over the stubble of an Iowa cornfield.
(17:24):
That's a visual narrow blacktop roads mand are here and
there across the sixty five acres. Pools of sunshine dance
on the white granite tombstones and the half buried markers
of gray river rock, while the many trees with small
leafing buds stand quietly in respect. Woodlawn Cemetery is on
the cusp of a spring. Mike Browley tells a story
(17:46):
more than one hundred years ago. There was an undertaker
preparing a body, and this dog appeared and always seemed
to be underfoot. So the days go by and they
have the funeral at the cemetery again, they see the
dog off to the side. The bar takes place. The
caretaker Woodlawn Cemetery notices this dog still hanging around the
sky's grave, so they try to give the dog some
(18:08):
food and water. Mike Rowley is a big man, broad shoulders,
white smile, well spoken, unsurprisingly, a retired pharmaceutical salesman, surprisingly,
a collector of stories, a curious historian, and the savior
of many a grave in Woodland Cemetery. My dad died
when I was about eight. I spent a lot of
time with my grandparents. I was the youngest of my family.
(18:29):
I always had a natural interest in history. Never made
any money off it, though. Mike speaks with a subdued
intensity that is hidden behind his smile and a quick laugh.
Don't be fool folks. He has a plan, and since
he is bigger than his skin, he tries not to
overwhelm his listener with his enthusiasm for whatever that plan is.
(18:50):
We were in cemeteries all the time as the old
relatives died off. I always thought cemeteries were fascinating, and
I wondered what that guy did which he or she did?
Why interest in the small stories. It's not the headlines
that make people tick. It's a little untold things. Mike smiles.
Maybe I like the small stories better because I have
a short attention span ha, Or maybe it's from touching
(19:14):
your own tombstone. Mike was awarded the twenty twenty three
Lifetime Achievement Award from des Moiness Park and Recreation. Michael Raley,
whose relationship with des Moines Cemeteries began more than six
decades ago, has worked tirelessly to honor and remember there's
late to rest within them. Raley has spent countless hours
researching stories, planning cemetery projects, and curating our city's history.
(19:39):
Days go buying, the dog will not leave. It's really
getting famished. Finally, the caretaker's wife gets the dog to
come home with them. Dog's name is Queen Mary Christopher,
a realator in the Des Moines area with via a
group of mature realators who help each other rather than compete.
According to Mary, just wrote a book with Mike Woodland
Cemetery in Des Moines, a history. I decided to do
(20:03):
this book on Woodland Cemetery because there really wasn't a
book of all the stories. I approached Mike by accident.
He was leaning over a grave and we were introduced.
How appropriate. Mary smiles easily and speaks of cemeteries with
the bright eyes of a young kid showing you their
favorite toy. I love cemeteries. I can't travel without stopping
at every cemetery. I don't know why I love it.
(20:25):
It's a little creepy, but I love it. But Mary's
no dreaming kid. She is a get it done person.
Without a doubt, She's who you want organizing your life.
Mary roped Mike In as her co author and then
put together a team of eight to nine people to
flesh out their research, and several years later vile Leah,
(20:45):
a book of stories about Woodland Cemetery. As this book
made me think of my own death, Mary pauses. My
sister told me that even though I'm to be cremated,
I should really have a stone at Woodland. And I
thought about it, and that's what I did. Mary smiles,
looking off into space. The book has made me appreciate
people more. Here's all these people gone, some not forgotten
(21:07):
who were famous, but many of them forgotten for over
one hundred and fifty years. To think that someone will
remember me for one hundred and fifty years, that's cool.
At least people might remember a couple of books I've written.
Mary laughs at herself a legacy. Then I feel like
life is really short. But as someone said, as long
as someone keeps saying your name, you're still alive. Two
or three years later, the caretaker's wife is sitting at
(21:28):
home and the dog is agitated, trying to get her attention. Finally,
the dog is making such a fush that she follows
the dog out of her bedroom. Minutes later, the ceiling
crashes down. The house had been on fire. Both of
them made it out alive. I thought I never lived
to be sixty six, says Mike. I don't think death
is good or bad. However, as one of the stones
has inscribed on it words suggest action, show and the
(21:51):
action doesn't have to be grandiose. We started putting in
stones for veterans whose graves hadn't been marked, and we
set a goal for five. Now we've done over three hundred.
I tell people not to be intimidated by the numbers.
Just do one. So if you go to Woodland Cemetery
and you're walking along the street, there's a little step
and it says McBride on it. The step is the
(22:13):
graveside of the caretaker long ago who took Queen home.
We thought, as the step was so small, it was
too small for you or me to step on, but
perfect for Queen to rest upon. We like that thought.
So there you have it, two characters and a dog
leaving their mark on Woodlands Cemetery. I thought that was fun.
(22:33):
Thanks for listening, and I guess I'll chat with you later.
So I thought that was like a really very cool
little local story to hear about their local historians going
through the cemeteries. And even the story about the heroic
canine a little bit a scance, but still rel and
as you can hear, the ghost stories have certainly riled
(22:55):
up the pugs. But I'm going to go ahead and
insert one other story. So this comes from the last
day that I was there. I was literally on the
shuttle going back to the airport, and wouldn't you know it,
the shuttle driver was a different person than I had
worked with them before, had a great couple different stories
(23:16):
that he was telling me about. But one he told
me that he had gone over a bridge and I
guess this is in Des Moines. He said, he's only
gone over it twice and he'll never do it again.
Because the story was that this particular bridge was a
sight in the forties of an argument between a husband
and wife, and the argument got so heated that the
(23:38):
wife took their baby out of the car and literally
got out of the car and started walking home, and
the husband, unfortunately, was so irate that he charged at
her in the car, and the only thing that she
could do was throw the baby over the bridge, trying
to save it, hoping that somehow it would hit the
water and survive, I guess, and then she was hit
(24:00):
the car. Neither one survived. According to the local legend,
but on certain nights, as you drive over the bridge,
you are supposed to hear the baby crying. So I
thought this was kind of interesting because he said the
first time he went over the bridge, he thought this
was an urban legend. He was a young man. He
thought it was kind of a joke. So he rolls
(24:21):
down his window and he's kind of going slowly over
the bridge, and he actually said he heard the baby crying.
It met the parameters of this manifestation. So he gets
off the bridge. He goes and he finds his friends,
and he is freaked out and he tells his friends
about this, and they say, oh, oh, we don't believe you,
and so he says, okay, come with me. They all
(24:41):
pile into his car, and as they're going back over
the bridge, he said, the car stalled completely. The four
of them got out and together they all heard the
child crying, and they were so terrified that they basically
ended up pushing the car off the bridge. Of course,
it did start up again after that, and they they
(25:04):
refuse to ever go back. I thought, oh, that's cool.
Why do I not know about this bridge? I am
not sure what bridge it is, So if you happen
to know if maybe that's not in Des Moines, maybe
it's in Iowa, but send me a note. It sounds
very familiar. I know I've heard this story before, but
I have not been able to place it from my
(25:24):
memory as of yet. But he also told me that,
and he was much more verbose the first time. I
asked him about anything else concerning animals, and he said
there was a beautiful pet cemetery that was very creepy
near him that he had heard about the first time.
He went into more detail. But when I asked permission
to record him, as I got was like a one
(25:45):
minute video so of this story, and we will insert
it here. So if you happen to know of the
cemetery and can send me a note, provided I go back,
maybe I'll rent a car next time and I'll be
able to go and find this and we'll do some
more paranormal pets. So we are going to go ahead
and listen to that right here. I haven't really ventured
(26:07):
in there. Something you don't know for sure. That's pretty neat.
How long has the cemetery been there? Do you know?
Speaker 5 (26:15):
You know, I've heard stories about it since I since
I was like ten twelve.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
I'm forty now, so at least thirty years. Oh wow,
So are there Do you know if there are any
unusual animals buried there? I don't know. I haven't, Like
I said, I have, I haven't ventured up there yet. Okay,
but that's neat. I like that they have a pet cemetery.
That's sweet because it gives people a place to go
and visit their pets. It's off gravel road, you know,
up through the hill, you know, so it's kind of secluded.
(26:43):
Oh yeah, it's you know, just driving down there, you
get that here, you know, the weird feeling. Wow, as
long as there's no kujo there, you're okay, right, all right,
very cool. All right. Now that you have heard my videos,
we are going to take a minute so that you
can hear from our sponsors, and when we get back,
we will do a little bit more on the paranormal
(27:04):
and I have some paranormal pet stories for you from
Haunted in America. So we'll be right back after these messages.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
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Speaker 4 (28:20):
Let's talk past it.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Let's done pets about Radio Catline.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
Radio Catlin Radio dot com.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Did you hear that our commercials have mysteriously disappeared? Paranormal
Pets is back with a haunted host. A ghost host
Brandy Stark.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Hello and welcome that. So the only other thing I
will tell you is that I had a great time.
It was interesting to see how the story started to evolve.
When it came to the one location called more Hay
Mall that I meant earlier. The first thing I heard
was from my original shuttle driver, who said, oh, you
need to talk to the guy at the front desk
(29:06):
because he knows about this haunted mall. So I talked
to him next and he said, yeah, that when he
was a kid, his mother worked there and one day
he was waiting around for her after work, and he
was a teenager and he heard voices and he followed
the voices into a conference room and he said he
saw a circle of nuns standing there singing. He was like,
(29:29):
what in the world. And he went out and he
got his mom. He came back and nobody was there,
and nobody had signed out the conference room. You know,
he had no explanation for it. Neither did his mom. Well,
as time goes on, I started to hear about a fire,
something about an old mall and there was a fire,
and there was a monastic order there, and it had
(29:50):
moved and then there was a new mall, and I'm
going okay. So I started digging through and happily enough,
there were lots of remembrances about this. But I started
looking for the history of the property. So the first
thing I will tell you is that I was trying
to figure out how you spelled mural Hay. So I
thought it was merl ehe like one word, but it
(30:12):
turns out it is a name, mural hey Hy. And
he was either the first soldier in World War One
to be killed and he was from Iowa, or it's
definite that he was the first Iowa killed in World
War One. There's like a whole area named after him,
like all of these plauzas. The second thing I found
(30:34):
out was that there was a monastic order there, so
it was Catholic, and sure enough there were amongst the
nuns who were there. It was closed and torn down
and the monks and nuns moved to a different location,
and in nineteen fifty nine they built the old mall.
So finally I was starting to get somewhere. And the
old mall had it was basically an open air mall,
(30:56):
well they revanped it in the seventies and I guess
created more of an enclosed mall, and shortly after it
had been rebuilt and revamped, there was a store there
called Yonkers. And on November fifth, nineteen seventy eight, a
fire broke out in this department store. And what ended
up happening basically, water dripped down on some of the
(31:19):
wires in the restaurant portion of this Yonker's department store upstairs.
It caused a fire. But because of the casings that
were wrapped around the wires, the plastic that they used
at the time to insulate the wires, caustic, just horribly
acidic fumes were produced. And it was about nine point
(31:41):
thirty in the morning. It was before the mall opened,
but there were about fifteen people employees who were there.
Four or five of them managed to escape to the
roof and they were rescued, but ten died. And apparently
it was so gruesome that the medical examiner had to
bring out jewelry in order to identified the ten who died.
(32:02):
And it wasn't just the fire that killed them. Some
of them were literally yards away from an exit but
had been overcome by these toxic fumes from the wires.
So it turns out that they rebuilt the mall, they
rebuilt Yonkers. It was there, I believe, until about nineteen
eighty five, and then has been replaced and currently at
one point, I guess it was a conference room and
(32:24):
currently it's a bowling alley of all things. But I
met some of the security folks who do say that, yes,
at night you will see shadowy figures kind of in
the distance, and if you approach them, they disappear, or
they slip around a corner and vanish. One employee said
that she usually felt like somebody was right behind her
watching her at all times, particularly when she was in
the basement area. So Yonkers was built over an old
(32:47):
part of the mall and it had a basement. I
guess that's a big thing in the Midwest, So that
was that, But it was all over the mall where
she could feel like somebody was following her. And then
apparently some employees mentioned worked in the bowling alley but
at night, when everything was shut down and they were
working on the mechanics of the bowling alley, they would
hear conversations and yet there was nobody there. They could
(33:11):
never stop the conversations. They couldn't find the source of them,
but they could always hear them, so it was like,
really really cool. I was only there for about an
hour and a half. I really didn't get a lot
on readings, but oh well, what are you going to
do other than go back? And now that I have
my research and order, I have some other questions that
I think I can ask. But the other really cool
(33:31):
thing was that on the return trip I had gotten
a bunch of paranormal books after Halloween. They were all discounted,
or actually my mother had gotten them for me for Christmas,
because you know, she's very good and understanding about this
and just kind of goes whatever you want and gets them.
One is called Haunted in America. True Ghost Story is
from the Best of Leslie Rule collection, and this is
(33:53):
by Leslie Rule. And I got to finish the book
in part because my plane came in late, but the
plane that I was supposed to connect to was also
running late. Except the plane that I landed on was
on one side of the airport and the plane that
I needed was on the other side of the airport,
which was quite literally a mile apart. I ran all
(34:14):
the way down there, and it turns out they had
already released my seat even though the plane had not left.
I had told the stewardesses, and they refused to radio
ahead for me. They were literally putting. I couldn't believe this.
They were literally putting the stand by people on the
plane while I stood there saying, but I have a
(34:36):
ticket right here that I purchased for this plane, and
the reason that I'm late is because your plane was late.
Nobody would call down here. I had to sit for
another two hours. It was lovely and if you can guess,
the airline's good for you, but I will be avoiding
it from here on out. So I got down to
(34:58):
the last chapter of my book, and I got so
excited because chapter sixteen, and Haunted in America is about
paranormal pets. So I thought I would just read you
a couple of these stories. One is the Cranberry Cat.
I thought this was fun. When the waitress saw the
elderly lady seated at a table at the Cranberry Inn,
(35:20):
she approached her with a smile, but the waitress's smile
vanished when the woman did right before her eyes. The small,
white haired lady had appeared several times over the years,
always at the same table. She always disappeared the instant
anyone walks towards her, and I love that because that's
such a ghost thing. The Cranberry Inn in Cranberry, New Jersey,
is a special place. It was created from historic buildings,
(35:43):
including two eighteenth century stagecoachs, structures that started the Enn's
tradition of warm welcomes nearly three hundred years ago. Today
it is stunningly beautiful, with an open interior that makes
it a choice spot for weddings. It's also known for
or It's fine cuisine, and for the fact that it's haunted.
It's a peaceful kind of haunting, with benign spirits attached
(36:06):
to the place that held significance for them when they
were living beings, though the histories of the people they
once were is not always clear. Owners Tom and Gay
Engine Gin It's inge g N E R I. I'm
just going to spell it suspect. The dining room ghost
is Missus Mack, a lady who once lived in a
(36:26):
room on the upper floor and passed away in nineteen
seventy two. If Missus Mac had pets, that might explain
why the apparition of animals are also seen at the
Cranberry Inn. We have five people ghosts, and a ghost
cat and a ghost dog. Gay told me the cat
has been seen by a bartender and many of the customers.
She often feels the kitty brushed past her ankles and
(36:49):
has caught glimpses of it from the corner of her eye.
Many people have described the ghostly cat and dog to her,
but Gay is tight lipped when it comes to describing
the pets colors and marking. When someone describes the ethereal
pets in the exact way that others have, Gay can
be certain the sighting is legitimate. I spoke with customer
Sharon Hecker about the night that she and two friends,
(37:12):
Joanne and Roseanne, enjoyed Christmas dinner at the Inn. While
they dined, the topic of hauntings came up. They had
heard about the Enn's ghostly pets and were intrigued. When
the trio went into the ladies room after dinner, Roseanne said,
I'd never seen a ghost. I would love to see one.
She ducked into a stall and Joanne and Sharon were
chatting by a sink when they witnessed a surprising sight.
(37:34):
It was the back end of a cat, Joanne told me.
We saw its back legs and tail, Sharon added, and
it disappeared. Roseanne exited the stall too late to see
the ghostly cat. I always missed the good stuff, she cried.
As they left the restroom, all three of us heard
a resounding meal, said Sharon. To say we were startled
is an understatement. And if you're interested, the Cranberry Inn
(37:55):
is twenty one South Main Street, Cranberry, New Jersey, eight
five two. The cranberryin dot com is the website, and
the phone is six oh nine six five five five
five nine five. We'll do one more and then we'll
call this episode of Des Moines Hoopoery Stories done. This
(38:16):
one is called Little Joe, Wally, Uncle Wally, Beastie, Booty Girl, Turtle, Piggy, Piggy, Sister, Smudge, Amber, Snickers,
Little Joe. Before they found refuge in Anita Morrison's Portland,
Oregon Backyard sanctuary, these ten beautiful felines lived the hard
life of America's millions of feral cats. Feral cats are
(38:38):
simply cats born without homes and not tamed by humans.
They seek shelter in places like abandoned buildings and overgrown
BlackBerry bushes. They live on rodents in garbage pail scraps, unprotected.
Their lives are often short, but the population continues to
grow as they breed and breed and breed. Anita first
became aware of the feral cat dilemma when an elderly,
(39:01):
wheelchair bound neighbor began feeding a couple of stray cats.
Not spade or neutered the cat's bread, and before too long,
over one hundred cats were swarming the neighborhood. It tugged
at Anita's heartstrings to see the scrawny, homeless creatures. I
got involved with the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, explained
to Anita, a grandmother of five. She began trapping the
(39:23):
strays in a humane have a Heart trap and got
them spade and neutered. Nineteen years later, she is still
doing her part to help the hapless kiddies. In fact,
she and her husband Joe have turned their backyard into
an oasis for feral cats, complete with cozy little houses.
While most feral cats are wary of humans and won't
(39:44):
let them close, one special cat won Anita's heart and
she won his Little Joe was a big white and
gray boy with a little dot beneath his nose. He
loved to play with the humans. He liked to fetch acorns,
she remembered fondly. They nicknamed him the Mayor because he
always welcomed the new cats. Whenever a strange cat wandered
(40:04):
into the yard, Little Joe would eagerly greet him and
then show him to the food dish. It was like
he was saying, this is a great place. Look, they
have food and toys. Anita smiled at the memory, but
her eyes saddened as she told me of little Joe's
tragic end. He was hit by a car, and she
and her husband were devastated as they prepared to bury him.
(40:26):
I wish we had gotten a picture of him, she
said sadly. As they looked around at the surviving cats,
they realized they had no photos of any of them.
We rushed out and got some film. Anita got out
her Olympus camera and took a roll of pictures of
her backyard kiddies. When she and Joe went to pick
up the photos, they sat in their car and looked
over at the snapshots. Suddenly, Anita gasped, and then they
(40:48):
both started crying. For there smack in the middle of
a photo was the undeniable image of Little Joe. He
sat behind the food trough between Amber and Booty Girl.
Little Joe is lightly transparent, allowing the lines of the
shed behind him to show through his body, but other
than that, he appears just as he did in life.
I learned of the extraordinary photo taken with ordinary film
(41:11):
through a friend of Anita's, and it took some coaxing
for her to allow me to include her story in
this book. I just don't want Little Joe to be exploited.
Anita insisted Little Joe's story will help a lot of
people feel better. I told her it will comfort them
to see his pictures and to know that their pets
spirits live on. She finally agreed to allow me to
use the amazing image of the cat's ghost. I'd like
(41:34):
the best possible, Prince. I told her it would be
better if you could have one made from the original
negative rather than a copy. Anita misunderstood my request, so
when she couldn't find the negative, she sent photos to
Kodak to have a new negative made. Soon, she received
a phone call from a puzzle Kodak employee. There's a
problem with the photos, said the woman. Oh, Anita replied,
(41:54):
the cat is transparent, said the woman. Yes, said Anita.
He looks like a ghost, said the woman. So a
picture tells a thousand stories, and then it does, say
and I like this part. For information on how to
help paral CAATs, please visit pharlcats dot com. So there
are a couple more stories in here, but I kind
of feel like we have talked for a while, and
(42:17):
so what I would like to do is to remind
everybody out there to please be kind, keep your pets
indoors this summer, at least in Florida. We are currently
in our preheating stage, which we luck with my last
set of puppies for a while, I hope as one
of them is walking by me crying off my shoe,
(42:37):
Thank you Penny Support Rescues and until the next time,
Happy Haunting take care of it.
Speaker 6 (42:49):
Yet Life Radio presents paranormal pets where you can always
expect the unexpected.
Speaker 5 (42:56):
Each week, we'll discuss all aspects of wee of us,
virtual animal encounters, ghosts, totems, psychicanimals, animal souls, animal angels,
and animals.
Speaker 6 (43:07):
In religion with a little cryptozoology throning. Step into the
supernatural world of pets every week only on petlifradio dot
com
This is pet Life Radio, Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Hello and welcome to Paranormal Pets. I'm your host, Brandy
Start and for once, I am coming to you from
des Moines, Iowa, of all places, so I was invited
to be a speaker. I got to explore Des Moines
and I got into a little bit of their paranormal
phenomenon out there, so I thought i'd share it with
(00:45):
you the listeners, and we will actually start that right
after these messages.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business
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(01:14):
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visit Petlifradio dot com. Slash advertised today.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Let's Talk Pets on Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
All right, welcome back.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
So it's been a little while. It's been a couple
of months, I'm afraid, but I wanted to catch everybody
up on some of the fun that I've been having.
So the pug grumble here has grown by two. I
now have baby Pentheus a lot and her sister Prisaus.
They were unexpected, but they were a unique opportunity at
(02:15):
four months old. And there are littermates. If you do
not remember, from years ago, I had Pandora and Grace
who were littermate sisters, and I also had Odysseus and
Achilles who were littlemate brothers. And then right now I
also have another set of siblings, so Ajax and Calypso
are half siblings, but they are about a year and
(02:37):
a half apart. But Pandora, well, Grace passed away about
two and a half three years ago and Pandora passed
away in January. And the house, just if you have pets,
there's just a certain energy that your house has, and
my house did not have it. And so when these
sisters were available, we had to drive out to the
middle of nowhere Florida, Floral City. I literally could not
(03:01):
find the address on ways. I think I had to
go into Google maps. I mean, it was crazy, it
was way out there, but I did pick them up.
And Penthusla or Penny for short, was the runt, and
so I'm really hoping she stays petite. And Bresais is
what I'm calling my bonus sister. And so we have
these two girls, so I'm hoping that they are behaving
(03:23):
for the podcast. They literally just came back from being
spade yesterday and you you wouldn't know it. Therese must
be some good pain pills. But they're very, very sweet,
and my house really feels complete again. I've got my
black pug, I've got my boys, I've got my girls,
and now I have ages ranging from thirteen years old
(03:45):
to six months. We're not doing any more puppies. I
can't do any more puppies. Three years of puppies. That's enough.
So that was the first thing that happened. And then
I was invited to speak at a at a venue
called Demiicon. Demicon is kind of a literary science fiction
homegrown convention. It follows a lot of fandoms. It's very
(04:07):
similar to our local Necronomicon that takes place in Tampa
every year. And I have a really big soft spot
for homegrown, grassroots conventions that they tend to be smaller,
but they have heart in them. They raise money for charity.
(04:28):
It's it's a really good group of people. And I
was there last year, but with the zoo that I
have here, and of course I am a caretaker for
my mother who is eighty and showing definite signs of age,
I was only able to be there overnight last year,
so I was literally in the air as long as
(04:48):
I was at the convention. It was that quick. But
they invite me to speak because of my paranormal prowess,
and so they asked me back again this year, and
I did two talks, one on the evolution of the
zombie from revenant to zombies, so kind of a compare
and contrast from the Middle Ages to modernity and how
those reflect our cultural fears and our cultural expectations. And
(05:11):
then I did a talk on what we have found
in Saint Petersburg, and I had videos and sound files,
so it was a lot of fun, and unlike last year,
I felt a little more comfortable. This year. I got
to stay for two whole nights. I had a pet
sitter who was supposed to stay literally for the two
and a half days. You know, I was paying for that,
And as I can tell you is that in the
(05:32):
middle of it, she suddenly wasn't feeling well and started
going back and forth between the houses. And I don't
know if the pets were too much or if there
was something on her end, but I was a little disappointed.
I literally cleaned up my house for two months, because
as an artist, I have stuff everywhere. I got that
all sorted and put away. My bathroom broke down. I
(05:55):
got that fixed for something like seven hundred dollars so
that she wouldn't have to scoop water out of it
when she took a shower. You know, I took all
of the pets in because one was due for the
ravy shot, one had allergies, and one had a bladder infection.
And I want to get all that taken care of.
And if you have pets, you know that's expensive. And
I did all of this. I mean it was literally
(06:16):
two months of work to go away for two days.
And I was a little a little bit disappointed. But
it was interesting because I mentioned if they asked me
back next year, and this person said, well, they might
not be available. Planning a trip, and I'm thinking, okay,
so I don't know if I'm going to get to
go back. So I thought maybe I would go ahead
and share a little bit with you now when it
(06:38):
coast to Des Moines, Iowa. I have been saying for
two years now that they hide their ghosts. Well, I
do research on the areas because I love going to
a place and finding they're dead, right, that's my deal.
And so there are basically the same places listed over
and over in the city. And if you've never been
(06:59):
to the Midwest, and Midwest is kind of spread out,
so you know, if I'm going to a location, I
try to pack in as much stuff as possible. So
is there anything that I can use when I teach
the humanity? So you know, I asked about indigenous cultures,
any ruins? Those are on the east side of the state. Okay,
I'm a Star Trek fan. Captain Kirk comes from Riverside, Aisle,
(07:19):
which is an actual place, but that's two hours away
and I didn't have a car, so I couldn't do that.
They talk about the Axe Murder House, where in nineteen
eleven a family of six and their daughter's two friends
were all slaughtered with an axe, very very gruesome, and
that is actually a paranormal tourist spot, but that's also
a distance away. And then they have this mysterious black
(07:41):
angel that allegedly the eyes will light up red at night,
and of course that's another hour away. There is nothing there.
They didn't have any ghost tours. The History Museum was
in downtown with just twenty five minutes away, so it
was really interesting. But when I did my research, there were,
as I mentioned, kind of the same spots over and over.
(08:02):
So one is the Des Moines Airport, which has the
Cloud Room. I did check into that last year and
I did go back into it briefly this year. Then
there was the Woodlawn Cemetery. Everybody in the world points
you out to the cemetery in Des Moines, including people
that I was asking from the convention, and it is
the oldest cemetery there and it has something like sixty
(08:25):
six thousand burials. It is an immense cemetery. So that
was on my list of places to go, but I
wasn't sure how i'd get there. For one and two,
I was an out of towner and I would have
been by myself walking through the cemetery and even during
the day. I'm not. I don't know, the world's a
(08:46):
weird place these days, and the Midwest is even more
bizarre to me than Florida is I guess I'm used
to the Florida weirdness, but the Midwest is kind of well,
take no offense, it's just different. I guess. I wasn't
really sure considering the fact that I couldn't find it.
Paranormal Team, ghost tours, nothing out there. It was incredible,
so I had that kind of on my list, But
(09:07):
of course the days that I was there it was
going to rain. I'm thinking, okay, so I ended up
I just started asking folks. I said, you know, I'm
I'm a paranormal investigator from Florida, and I'm doing this talk.
And it was interesting because the first thing that happened
was literally on the flight out, and this was May third,
and May third, if you don't know, is World Paranormal Day.
(09:27):
And I had brought a couple of items to demonstrate
in case I happened to also find a place to investigate,
I could use them as well. And one was an
EMF meter that I use on my my haunted tours
because it lights up and it's relatively inexpensive, and if
anything happened to it, I would not be completely torn up.
I'm not taking my try field on the plane, so
(09:47):
and I was not checking any bags because this was
basically a two night trip and I am poor. So
I'm like, no, no baggage, I'm going to carry it
with me. I managed to shove two days worth clothes
and my computer and a little bit of equipment into
a carry on and off we went. So I actually
was going through Tampa International Airport and I got pulled
(10:10):
out of the screening line. The reason was that EMF meter.
And you have to understand I have traveled with my
paranormal stuff before and never had an issue. But I
got pulled out this tie because I didn't recognize what
it was. And I'm like, I'm a paranormal investigator. That's
an EMF meter. The cool thing was that the security
woman who was talking with me, who had to dig
(10:33):
through my bags and undo all of my very careful packing,
but I got it back in there. It's okay now,
mind you. I was also I made that plane by
fifteen minutes. I've never been quite so close to missing
a plane until my return trip and we'll get to that.
But anyway, and she was really interested in the supernatural,
so I gave her a spirit to Saint Petersburg card
and I hopefully she'll check out our site. So that
(10:55):
was just like wow, World Paranormal Day and I get
to celebrate by being pulled out of line. That's great.
So anyway, I got up to Des Moines and there
were a few different things that happened. So the first
thing was that people started pointing out number one. I
started getting their personal haunted stories, which was a first,
(11:15):
and nobody looked at me like I was crazy this time.
So I was very glad for that, because of course
I come in with my you know, my Florida tan
and my bright blue hair, and you know, I'm talking
about ghosts in the middle of you know, kind of
the rust Bible Belt area. And I was like, you guys,
don't you have any ghosts, because I'm only fine in
the same ones. There's a university that has some ghosts.
(11:37):
There's supposed to be a high school. I can't get
into those. I've already been to the airport. I'm thinking
about the cemetery, but is there anywhere else? And lo
and behold, yes there was. There was a place called
Merle Hay Mall, which is only about a mile away
from the hotel, and it turns out that they could
shuttle me there, and so I got to check this out.
But I started getting some paranormal stories. The first one
(12:00):
that I heard was about a fellow who had an
NDE near death experience and he had heart issues that
was the reason for the NDE. He actually died about
six years ago, and they brought him back and he
noticed that he had moved into a new apartment and
when he went home from the hospital, strange things began
to happen. And this woman who was actually my shuttle driver,
(12:22):
said that she saw at least two odd things. And
she said he was afraid to tell people because they
would all think he was crazy. But one thing was
that she watched the TV console get knocked off, and
apparently this was kind of a heavy thing and there
was no reason for it to have moved whatsoever, and
she said it was like somebody shoved it, you know,
while she was sitting in the living room with him.
(12:43):
And on a second visit, he had a bluetooth speaker
that was not on or hooked up to anything, and
all of a sudden, it turned itself on and they
could hear a woman speaking, and she said it was
really garbled or like somebody speaking in tongues and they
couldn't recognize the language. But it lasted about twelve to
fifteen seconds. This bluetooth was in his bedroom and they
were in the living room, and she was like, I
(13:04):
am not checking that out. So apparently the fellow has
moved and activity has been fine since then, so hey,
all right good. The second thing that I did learn
was that the area around the cemetery is haunted. I
had several or at least two different stories about people
who had who either lived near the cemetery or who's
(13:28):
had family who lived near the cemetery. And one person
said that her grandmother was taking pictures and they had
this odd orb image that showed up right in front
of her, and she said, you know, she was like
a teenager in early teen, maybe around twelve. So they
called in a ghost hunting group, and the ghost hunting
group wanted her to replicate this, and so she kind
(13:49):
of stood in the same place as when her grandmother
was taking pictures, and she said when they started taking
pictures themselves. It was like somebody punched her in the gut,
and of course, you know, she said it was like
I fell over my handlebars on a bike or something
like that. She couldn't breathe, and that was really interesting,
and I asked about the team and she could not
remember who it was. So it was kind of sad
(14:10):
on that one. But okay, so there was one, and
then the second one actually did have a bit of
a paranormal pet story to it. So there was a
husband and wife couple I believe, who were at my
second presentation, and they started talking about or they actually
asked me how to protect their home because they lived
near the cemetery, and the gentleman actually worked at a
(14:31):
government run institution that was also massively haunted. Apparently at
one point had been a mental health institution or something
along those lines, and they had all sorts of phenomenon.
But it was his wife who was saying, you know,
how do I keep my home protective because I'm right
next to the cemetery and some things happened, you know.
So I gave her my general advice, and then the
husband popped in and said, well, and you know, we
(14:53):
have a ghost cat now, And I'm like, really, okay,
tell me about this. So he basically said that they
had a ghost cat that they had bought the house
and that apparently this coast cat was there when they
bought it because they didn't have a cat. They didn't
move in with a cat. They had never had a
cat before. And the phenomenon was that kind of like,
particularly when the wife was going to bed. She said,
(15:15):
it would feel like you feel something jump on the
bed and like curl up on your stomach like kneed
bread kneading, like the dough kneading right, biscuits making biscuits
there is and then curl up and go to sleep
on her stomach and she's like, and there's nothing there.
And so what they ended up deciding to do was
they got a real cat to see what would happen
and see if that would settle the household. And I
(15:37):
guess it must have worked, you know, so they now
have a living cat and this ghost cat and apparently
there are no real issues. So I was I was
very impressed with that. That's a way to do it.
So that was kind of cool. And speaking of which,
while I was there, I found one of their local publications,
and I ended up doing a quick recording because it
(15:59):
was a story about Woodlawn Cemetery, one of the caretakers,
a couple of the people who died, and then this
hero dog who saved the family of the grave semetery caretaker.
So we are going to pop that in here so
(16:20):
that you also can hear the story and learn a
little bit more about the oldest cemetery in Iowa. So
my last day here in Des Moines, I thought I
would read an article to you from the City View,
Your City, Your Style, your News. We are des Moines.
This is their summer edition, and it's kind of cool
(16:42):
because it reminds me very much of the articles that
I write for the Northeast Journal. It's kind of a
happy publication. But Woodlawn Cemetery is one place that I
didn't quite get to, which is unfortunate. But I've heard
it's haunted. People have told me about multiple haunted how
actually around the cemetery, which is really interesting. And there's
(17:04):
an little article in here entitled how this is from
Joe's neighborhood. Two characters and a Dog in Woodland Cemetery
by Joe Weeg. So I thought I would read it.
The graves sprawl over the bright green and faded brown grass,
like grazing cattle over the stubble of an Iowa cornfield.
(17:24):
That's a visual narrow blacktop roads mand are here and
there across the sixty five acres. Pools of sunshine dance
on the white granite tombstones and the half buried markers
of gray river rock, while the many trees with small
leafing buds stand quietly in respect. Woodlawn Cemetery is on
the cusp of a spring. Mike Browley tells a story
(17:46):
more than one hundred years ago. There was an undertaker
preparing a body, and this dog appeared and always seemed
to be underfoot. So the days go by and they
have the funeral at the cemetery again, they see the
dog off to the side. The bar takes place. The
caretaker Woodlawn Cemetery notices this dog still hanging around the
sky's grave, so they try to give the dog some
(18:08):
food and water. Mike Rowley is a big man, broad shoulders,
white smile, well spoken, unsurprisingly, a retired pharmaceutical salesman, surprisingly,
a collector of stories, a curious historian, and the savior
of many a grave in Woodland Cemetery. My dad died
when I was about eight. I spent a lot of
time with my grandparents. I was the youngest of my family.
(18:29):
I always had a natural interest in history. Never made
any money off it, though. Mike speaks with a subdued
intensity that is hidden behind his smile and a quick laugh.
Don't be fool folks. He has a plan, and since
he is bigger than his skin, he tries not to
overwhelm his listener with his enthusiasm for whatever that plan is.
(18:50):
We were in cemeteries all the time as the old
relatives died off. I always thought cemeteries were fascinating, and
I wondered what that guy did which he or she did?
Why interest in the small stories. It's not the headlines
that make people tick. It's a little untold things. Mike smiles.
Maybe I like the small stories better because I have
a short attention span ha, Or maybe it's from touching
(19:14):
your own tombstone. Mike was awarded the twenty twenty three
Lifetime Achievement Award from des Moiness Park and Recreation. Michael Raley,
whose relationship with des Moines Cemeteries began more than six
decades ago, has worked tirelessly to honor and remember there's
late to rest within them. Raley has spent countless hours
researching stories, planning cemetery projects, and curating our city's history.
(19:39):
Days go buying, the dog will not leave. It's really
getting famished. Finally, the caretaker's wife gets the dog to
come home with them. Dog's name is Queen Mary Christopher,
a realator in the Des Moines area with via a
group of mature realators who help each other rather than compete.
According to Mary, just wrote a book with Mike Woodland
Cemetery in Des Moines, a history. I decided to do
(20:03):
this book on Woodland Cemetery because there really wasn't a
book of all the stories. I approached Mike by accident.
He was leaning over a grave and we were introduced.
How appropriate. Mary smiles easily and speaks of cemeteries with
the bright eyes of a young kid showing you their
favorite toy. I love cemeteries. I can't travel without stopping
at every cemetery. I don't know why I love it.
(20:25):
It's a little creepy, but I love it. But Mary's
no dreaming kid. She is a get it done person.
Without a doubt, She's who you want organizing your life.
Mary roped Mike In as her co author and then
put together a team of eight to nine people to
flesh out their research, and several years later vile Leah,
(20:45):
a book of stories about Woodland Cemetery. As this book
made me think of my own death, Mary pauses. My
sister told me that even though I'm to be cremated,
I should really have a stone at Woodland. And I
thought about it, and that's what I did. Mary smiles,
looking off into space. The book has made me appreciate
people more. Here's all these people gone, some not forgotten
(21:07):
who were famous, but many of them forgotten for over
one hundred and fifty years. To think that someone will
remember me for one hundred and fifty years, that's cool.
At least people might remember a couple of books I've written.
Mary laughs at herself a legacy. Then I feel like
life is really short. But as someone said, as long
as someone keeps saying your name, you're still alive. Two
or three years later, the caretaker's wife is sitting at
(21:28):
home and the dog is agitated, trying to get her attention. Finally,
the dog is making such a fush that she follows
the dog out of her bedroom. Minutes later, the ceiling
crashes down. The house had been on fire. Both of
them made it out alive. I thought I never lived
to be sixty six, says Mike. I don't think death
is good or bad. However, as one of the stones
has inscribed on it words suggest action, show and the
(21:51):
action doesn't have to be grandiose. We started putting in
stones for veterans whose graves hadn't been marked, and we
set a goal for five. Now we've done over three hundred.
I tell people not to be intimidated by the numbers.
Just do one. So if you go to Woodland Cemetery
and you're walking along the street, there's a little step
and it says McBride on it. The step is the
(22:13):
graveside of the caretaker long ago who took Queen home.
We thought, as the step was so small, it was
too small for you or me to step on, but
perfect for Queen to rest upon. We like that thought.
So there you have it, two characters and a dog
leaving their mark on Woodlands Cemetery. I thought that was fun.
(22:33):
Thanks for listening, and I guess I'll chat with you later.
So I thought that was like a really very cool
little local story to hear about their local historians going
through the cemeteries. And even the story about the heroic
canine a little bit a scance, but still rel and
as you can hear, the ghost stories have certainly riled
(22:55):
up the pugs. But I'm going to go ahead and
insert one other story. So this comes from the last
day that I was there. I was literally on the
shuttle going back to the airport, and wouldn't you know it,
the shuttle driver was a different person than I had
worked with them before, had a great couple different stories
(23:16):
that he was telling me about. But one he told
me that he had gone over a bridge and I
guess this is in Des Moines. He said, he's only
gone over it twice and he'll never do it again.
Because the story was that this particular bridge was a
sight in the forties of an argument between a husband
and wife, and the argument got so heated that the
(23:38):
wife took their baby out of the car and literally
got out of the car and started walking home, and
the husband, unfortunately, was so irate that he charged at
her in the car, and the only thing that she
could do was throw the baby over the bridge, trying
to save it, hoping that somehow it would hit the
water and survive, I guess, and then she was hit
(24:00):
the car. Neither one survived. According to the local legend,
but on certain nights, as you drive over the bridge,
you are supposed to hear the baby crying. So I
thought this was kind of interesting because he said the
first time he went over the bridge, he thought this
was an urban legend. He was a young man. He
thought it was kind of a joke. So he rolls
(24:21):
down his window and he's kind of going slowly over
the bridge, and he actually said he heard the baby crying.
It met the parameters of this manifestation. So he gets
off the bridge. He goes and he finds his friends,
and he is freaked out and he tells his friends
about this, and they say, oh, oh, we don't believe you,
and so he says, okay, come with me. They all
(24:41):
pile into his car, and as they're going back over
the bridge, he said, the car stalled completely. The four
of them got out and together they all heard the
child crying, and they were so terrified that they basically
ended up pushing the car off the bridge. Of course,
it did start up again after that, and they they
(25:04):
refuse to ever go back. I thought, oh, that's cool.
Why do I not know about this bridge? I am
not sure what bridge it is, So if you happen
to know if maybe that's not in Des Moines, maybe
it's in Iowa, but send me a note. It sounds
very familiar. I know I've heard this story before, but
I have not been able to place it from my
(25:24):
memory as of yet. But he also told me that,
and he was much more verbose the first time. I
asked him about anything else concerning animals, and he said
there was a beautiful pet cemetery that was very creepy
near him that he had heard about the first time.
He went into more detail. But when I asked permission
to record him, as I got was like a one
(25:45):
minute video so of this story, and we will insert
it here. So if you happen to know of the
cemetery and can send me a note, provided I go back,
maybe I'll rent a car next time and I'll be
able to go and find this and we'll do some
more paranormal pets. So we are going to go ahead
and listen to that right here. I haven't really ventured
(26:07):
in there. Something you don't know for sure. That's pretty neat.
How long has the cemetery been there? Do you know?
Speaker 5 (26:15):
You know, I've heard stories about it since I since
I was like ten twelve.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
I'm forty now, so at least thirty years. Oh wow,
So are there Do you know if there are any
unusual animals buried there? I don't know. I haven't, Like
I said, I have, I haven't ventured up there yet. Okay,
but that's neat. I like that they have a pet cemetery.
That's sweet because it gives people a place to go
and visit their pets. It's off gravel road, you know,
up through the hill, you know, so it's kind of secluded.
(26:43):
Oh yeah, it's you know, just driving down there, you
get that here, you know, the weird feeling. Wow, as
long as there's no kujo there, you're okay, right, all right,
very cool. All right. Now that you have heard my videos,
we are going to take a minute so that you
can hear from our sponsors, and when we get back,
we will do a little bit more on the paranormal
(27:04):
and I have some paranormal pet stories for you from
Haunted in America. So we'll be right back after these messages.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Now, time for something really scary. A word from our sponsors.
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Speaker 4 (28:20):
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Speaker 2 (28:45):
Hello and welcome that. So the only other thing I
will tell you is that I had a great time.
It was interesting to see how the story started to evolve.
When it came to the one location called more Hay
Mall that I meant earlier. The first thing I heard
was from my original shuttle driver, who said, oh, you
need to talk to the guy at the front desk
(29:06):
because he knows about this haunted mall. So I talked
to him next and he said, yeah, that when he
was a kid, his mother worked there and one day
he was waiting around for her after work, and he
was a teenager and he heard voices and he followed
the voices into a conference room and he said he
saw a circle of nuns standing there singing. He was like,
(29:29):
what in the world. And he went out and he
got his mom. He came back and nobody was there,
and nobody had signed out the conference room. You know,
he had no explanation for it. Neither did his mom. Well,
as time goes on, I started to hear about a fire,
something about an old mall and there was a fire,
and there was a monastic order there, and it had
(29:50):
moved and then there was a new mall, and I'm
going okay. So I started digging through and happily enough,
there were lots of remembrances about this. But I started
looking for the history of the property. So the first
thing I will tell you is that I was trying
to figure out how you spelled mural Hay. So I
thought it was merl ehe like one word, but it
(30:12):
turns out it is a name, mural hey Hy. And
he was either the first soldier in World War One
to be killed and he was from Iowa, or it's
definite that he was the first Iowa killed in World
War One. There's like a whole area named after him,
like all of these plauzas. The second thing I found
(30:34):
out was that there was a monastic order there, so
it was Catholic, and sure enough there were amongst the
nuns who were there. It was closed and torn down
and the monks and nuns moved to a different location,
and in nineteen fifty nine they built the old mall.
So finally I was starting to get somewhere. And the
old mall had it was basically an open air mall,
(30:56):
well they revanped it in the seventies and I guess
created more of an enclosed mall, and shortly after it
had been rebuilt and revamped, there was a store there
called Yonkers. And on November fifth, nineteen seventy eight, a
fire broke out in this department store. And what ended
up happening basically, water dripped down on some of the
(31:19):
wires in the restaurant portion of this Yonker's department store upstairs.
It caused a fire. But because of the casings that
were wrapped around the wires, the plastic that they used
at the time to insulate the wires, caustic, just horribly
acidic fumes were produced. And it was about nine point
(31:41):
thirty in the morning. It was before the mall opened,
but there were about fifteen people employees who were there.
Four or five of them managed to escape to the
roof and they were rescued, but ten died. And apparently
it was so gruesome that the medical examiner had to
bring out jewelry in order to identified the ten who died.
(32:02):
And it wasn't just the fire that killed them. Some
of them were literally yards away from an exit but
had been overcome by these toxic fumes from the wires.
So it turns out that they rebuilt the mall, they
rebuilt Yonkers. It was there, I believe, until about nineteen
eighty five, and then has been replaced and currently at
one point, I guess it was a conference room and
(32:24):
currently it's a bowling alley of all things. But I
met some of the security folks who do say that, yes,
at night you will see shadowy figures kind of in
the distance, and if you approach them, they disappear, or
they slip around a corner and vanish. One employee said
that she usually felt like somebody was right behind her
watching her at all times, particularly when she was in
the basement area. So Yonkers was built over an old
(32:47):
part of the mall and it had a basement. I
guess that's a big thing in the Midwest, So that
was that, But it was all over the mall where
she could feel like somebody was following her. And then
apparently some employees mentioned worked in the bowling alley but
at night, when everything was shut down and they were
working on the mechanics of the bowling alley, they would
hear conversations and yet there was nobody there. They could
(33:11):
never stop the conversations. They couldn't find the source of them,
but they could always hear them, so it was like,
really really cool. I was only there for about an
hour and a half. I really didn't get a lot
on readings, but oh well, what are you going to
do other than go back? And now that I have
my research and order, I have some other questions that
I think I can ask. But the other really cool
(33:31):
thing was that on the return trip I had gotten
a bunch of paranormal books after Halloween. They were all discounted,
or actually my mother had gotten them for me for Christmas,
because you know, she's very good and understanding about this
and just kind of goes whatever you want and gets them.
One is called Haunted in America. True Ghost Story is
from the Best of Leslie Rule collection, and this is
(33:53):
by Leslie Rule. And I got to finish the book
in part because my plane came in late, but the
plane that I was supposed to connect to was also
running late. Except the plane that I landed on was
on one side of the airport and the plane that
I needed was on the other side of the airport,
which was quite literally a mile apart. I ran all
(34:14):
the way down there, and it turns out they had
already released my seat even though the plane had not left.
I had told the stewardesses, and they refused to radio
ahead for me. They were literally putting. I couldn't believe this.
They were literally putting the stand by people on the
plane while I stood there saying, but I have a
(34:36):
ticket right here that I purchased for this plane, and
the reason that I'm late is because your plane was late.
Nobody would call down here. I had to sit for
another two hours. It was lovely and if you can guess,
the airline's good for you, but I will be avoiding
it from here on out. So I got down to
(34:58):
the last chapter of my book, and I got so
excited because chapter sixteen, and Haunted in America is about
paranormal pets. So I thought I would just read you
a couple of these stories. One is the Cranberry Cat.
I thought this was fun. When the waitress saw the
elderly lady seated at a table at the Cranberry Inn,
(35:20):
she approached her with a smile, but the waitress's smile
vanished when the woman did right before her eyes. The small,
white haired lady had appeared several times over the years,
always at the same table. She always disappeared the instant
anyone walks towards her, and I love that because that's
such a ghost thing. The Cranberry Inn in Cranberry, New Jersey,
is a special place. It was created from historic buildings,
(35:43):
including two eighteenth century stagecoachs, structures that started the Enn's
tradition of warm welcomes nearly three hundred years ago. Today
it is stunningly beautiful, with an open interior that makes
it a choice spot for weddings. It's also known for
or It's fine cuisine, and for the fact that it's haunted.
It's a peaceful kind of haunting, with benign spirits attached
(36:06):
to the place that held significance for them when they
were living beings, though the histories of the people they
once were is not always clear. Owners Tom and Gay
Engine Gin It's inge g N E R I. I'm
just going to spell it suspect. The dining room ghost
is Missus Mack, a lady who once lived in a
(36:26):
room on the upper floor and passed away in nineteen
seventy two. If Missus Mac had pets, that might explain
why the apparition of animals are also seen at the
Cranberry Inn. We have five people ghosts, and a ghost
cat and a ghost dog. Gay told me the cat
has been seen by a bartender and many of the customers.
She often feels the kitty brushed past her ankles and
(36:49):
has caught glimpses of it from the corner of her eye.
Many people have described the ghostly cat and dog to her,
but Gay is tight lipped when it comes to describing
the pets colors and marking. When someone describes the ethereal
pets in the exact way that others have, Gay can
be certain the sighting is legitimate. I spoke with customer
Sharon Hecker about the night that she and two friends,
(37:12):
Joanne and Roseanne, enjoyed Christmas dinner at the Inn. While
they dined, the topic of hauntings came up. They had
heard about the Enn's ghostly pets and were intrigued. When
the trio went into the ladies room after dinner, Roseanne said,
I'd never seen a ghost. I would love to see one.
She ducked into a stall and Joanne and Sharon were
chatting by a sink when they witnessed a surprising sight.
(37:34):
It was the back end of a cat, Joanne told me.
We saw its back legs and tail, Sharon added, and
it disappeared. Roseanne exited the stall too late to see
the ghostly cat. I always missed the good stuff, she cried.
As they left the restroom, all three of us heard
a resounding meal, said Sharon. To say we were startled
is an understatement. And if you're interested, the Cranberry Inn
(37:55):
is twenty one South Main Street, Cranberry, New Jersey, eight
five two. The cranberryin dot com is the website, and
the phone is six oh nine six five five five
five nine five. We'll do one more and then we'll
call this episode of Des Moines Hoopoery Stories done. This
(38:16):
one is called Little Joe, Wally, Uncle Wally, Beastie, Booty Girl, Turtle, Piggy, Piggy, Sister, Smudge, Amber, Snickers,
Little Joe. Before they found refuge in Anita Morrison's Portland,
Oregon Backyard sanctuary, these ten beautiful felines lived the hard
life of America's millions of feral cats. Feral cats are
(38:38):
simply cats born without homes and not tamed by humans.
They seek shelter in places like abandoned buildings and overgrown
BlackBerry bushes. They live on rodents in garbage pail scraps, unprotected.
Their lives are often short, but the population continues to
grow as they breed and breed and breed. Anita first
became aware of the feral cat dilemma when an elderly,
(39:01):
wheelchair bound neighbor began feeding a couple of stray cats.
Not spade or neutered the cat's bread, and before too long,
over one hundred cats were swarming the neighborhood. It tugged
at Anita's heartstrings to see the scrawny, homeless creatures. I
got involved with the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, explained
to Anita, a grandmother of five. She began trapping the
(39:23):
strays in a humane have a Heart trap and got
them spade and neutered. Nineteen years later, she is still
doing her part to help the hapless kiddies. In fact,
she and her husband Joe have turned their backyard into
an oasis for feral cats, complete with cozy little houses.
While most feral cats are wary of humans and won't
(39:44):
let them close, one special cat won Anita's heart and
she won his Little Joe was a big white and
gray boy with a little dot beneath his nose. He
loved to play with the humans. He liked to fetch acorns,
she remembered fondly. They nicknamed him the Mayor because he
always welcomed the new cats. Whenever a strange cat wandered
(40:04):
into the yard, Little Joe would eagerly greet him and
then show him to the food dish. It was like
he was saying, this is a great place. Look, they
have food and toys. Anita smiled at the memory, but
her eyes saddened as she told me of little Joe's
tragic end. He was hit by a car, and she
and her husband were devastated as they prepared to bury him.
(40:26):
I wish we had gotten a picture of him, she
said sadly. As they looked around at the surviving cats,
they realized they had no photos of any of them.
We rushed out and got some film. Anita got out
her Olympus camera and took a roll of pictures of
her backyard kiddies. When she and Joe went to pick
up the photos, they sat in their car and looked
over at the snapshots. Suddenly, Anita gasped, and then they
(40:48):
both started crying. For there smack in the middle of
a photo was the undeniable image of Little Joe. He
sat behind the food trough between Amber and Booty Girl.
Little Joe is lightly transparent, allowing the lines of the
shed behind him to show through his body, but other
than that, he appears just as he did in life.
I learned of the extraordinary photo taken with ordinary film
(41:11):
through a friend of Anita's, and it took some coaxing
for her to allow me to include her story in
this book. I just don't want Little Joe to be exploited.
Anita insisted Little Joe's story will help a lot of
people feel better. I told her it will comfort them
to see his pictures and to know that their pets
spirits live on. She finally agreed to allow me to
use the amazing image of the cat's ghost. I'd like
(41:34):
the best possible, Prince. I told her it would be
better if you could have one made from the original
negative rather than a copy. Anita misunderstood my request, so
when she couldn't find the negative, she sent photos to
Kodak to have a new negative made. Soon, she received
a phone call from a puzzle Kodak employee. There's a
problem with the photos, said the woman. Oh, Anita replied,
(41:54):
the cat is transparent, said the woman. Yes, said Anita.
He looks like a ghost, said the woman. So a
picture tells a thousand stories, and then it does, say
and I like this part. For information on how to
help paral CAATs, please visit pharlcats dot com. So there
are a couple more stories in here, but I kind
of feel like we have talked for a while, and
(42:17):
so what I would like to do is to remind
everybody out there to please be kind, keep your pets
indoors this summer, at least in Florida. We are currently
in our preheating stage, which we luck with my last
set of puppies for a while, I hope as one
of them is walking by me crying off my shoe,
(42:37):
Thank you Penny Support Rescues and until the next time,
Happy Haunting take care of it.
Speaker 6 (42:49):
Yet Life Radio presents paranormal pets where you can always
expect the unexpected.
Speaker 5 (42:56):
Each week, we'll discuss all aspects of wee of us,
virtual animal encounters, ghosts, totems, psychicanimals, animal souls, animal angels,
and animals.
Speaker 6 (43:07):
In religion with a little cryptozoology throning. Step into the
supernatural world of pets every week only on petlifradio dot
com
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The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.