Ep. 3 - The Ritz Theatre (ft. Josh Balz)

The boundaries between the living and the dead blur in this riveting conversation with death collector and entrepreneur Josh Balz, who shares the chilling history of his century-old Ritz Theater in Scranton, Pennsylvania. From the moment construction began in 1906, tragedy marked this historic venue when a worker was crushed by falling steel. Over decades, performers like Harry Houdini, Lucille Ball, and George Burns graced its stage—but some spirits never left the spotlight.

Josh recounts spine-tingling phenomena experienced by staff and visitors: the phantom projectionist who died of a heart attack and still operates his equipment, the mysterious little girl in white whose identity remains unknown, and the inexplicable sounds of metal stage rigging moving within solid brick walls. Most compelling is his theory that buildings choose their owners, not the other way around, as both his haunted home and theater came to him through strange twists of fate.

The conversation delves deeper into Josh's fascinating relationship with death. Despite owning human remains, vintage medical specimens, and a bed made from a casket, he maintains certain boundaries—refusing to mess with Ouija boards or attend séances out of respect for the dead. His philosophy reveals a delicate balance: honoring those who've passed while living among their artifacts and possibly their spirits.

Bobby and Jake explore the unseen energies that might attach to objects, buildings, and people, asking whether collecting pieces of death means inadvertently collecting pieces of restless souls as well. As the episode concludes, plans emerge for a special ghost hunting event at the Ritz, inviting listeners to experience its paranormal activity firsthand. Subscribe now and join us in uncovering the supernatural stories hiding in plain sight.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We ready, let's go.
All right, I am going to startthe episode without Josh Balls.
Good episode today.
Episode three.
I'm excited, we're ready, we'regood to go.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Am I the only one with the headphones on today?

Speaker 1 (00:17):
We are good to go.
You are the only one with theheadphones on today.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
I can make sure you guys sound good or whatever.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Episode three.
I can make sure you guys soundgood or whatever.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Episode three.
Episode three the Ritz Theater.
It's ritzy.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
It's glitzy.
What I liked about this episodetoday, episode three what do
you?
Like about it.
Thank you to everyone that'sbeen enjoying episode one,
episode two, showing much love.
Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
I was like Balls, we should do like a big reveal,
Like you come out behind likethe fucking wall or the curtain
or some shit, and he's like yeah, he's like yeah.
And then the motherfucker goesand pisses.
Anyway, he said he's got to peeout his Anyway.
But no, before we get into theshow here, we got Josh Balls
joining us.
Josh.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
There he is.
He's already here.
I actually didn't even stop forany fries.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
I'm going to go Before we start the episode I'm
going to get ready to go getsome fries.
Episode 3,.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
Rich.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Theater.
We got Josh Balls Jake's hereFeeling good.
I will always be here.
I'm going to get some fries.
See you in a second.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
From Blackraft Productions comes a journey into
the unknown.
Light your candles, lock yourdoors and listen closely.
This is Do you Believe inGhosts?
Hosted by Bobby Blackcraft andJake Simons, when haunted tales

(01:44):
and paranormal encounterscollide.
Let the session begin in 6, 6,6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Episode 3.
Episode, episode 3.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
Uh-huh, josh Balls Are you sure it's episode 3?
I was thinking in my head I'mlike wait well we've only done 2
.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, it's 3.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Bro, it's good to have you here.
Man, how the hell are you?

Speaker 4 (02:14):
It's good.
It worked out pretty swell thatI'm randomly here.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Let's not lie, you flew in just for the show.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
I flew in for the show.
You flew me in first class.
It felt nice.
Having a budget is great, butyou flew him in first class.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
It felt nice.
Having a budget is great.

Speaker 4 (02:26):
But you flew him in first class.
Oh yeah, All the time.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
That's lovely, but you know what's awesome today,
man, as we're here on, this is alegit or third episode.
It's been crazy.
We talked about Jake and I'shometown Shades of Death.
We went to our Salem store inSalem, massachusetts, which
you've been at.
I love it there, massachusettswhich you've been at, and you
know it's active there, it'sterrifying.
It's very active there.
I'm excited for today, man, onmany reasons.

(02:48):
We're going to be talking aboutthe Ritz Theater, which I'm
proud of you.
That's something that I got towatch.
This is a cool moment becausewe have these moments where you
and I had we were just talkingabout on episode one the other
day, where you and I had thenumber one music show on Amazon
Twitch.
Why'd you remind me your lifekind of went downhill after?

(03:10):
Yeah, I hate my life.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Oh, that's terrible.
I'm just kidding All of ourlives.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
I think what we built with that was very special,
very, and you know, kind of.
What we're building here iswe're doing a whole ghost
hunting show because, as youknow, you and I've been friends.
For how many fucking years haveyou and I've been friends?

Speaker 4 (03:26):
it's got to be 15 plus at this point, plus years
bro, it might be pushing 18.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
I would say probably like 18 19, because I've known
him almost as long as you knowme.
It's kind of crazy.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
I know about huh um, but over those years you've
watched, I've watched you grow.
You've got to watch me grow.
We've had a lot of ups, we'vehad lots of downs and one of the
big things I've always admiredabout you is, like you know, a
you're a brother to me first andforemost, but I got to.
We talked about this in otherpodcasts we've done or even on
twitch, a million times when wewere streaming but, I got to
watch you and I really don'twant to talk too much about the

(03:57):
music world right now, to behonest with you at all, but I
got to watch you.
We say it all the time.
You and I were saying all thetime, you know the, the american
dream or the rock star dream.
I watched you tour in a van, ohyeah.
And I watched you have nothingright to be, you know, selling
out stadiums and shows and like,I've watched you go to both

(04:18):
extremes right, it is wild.
But then I also got to watchyou do something very, you know,
pretty crazy to see is youwalked away from that rock star
lifestyle, right and terrifying.
It was super terrifying.
And I remember when all thatshit was going down, you'd call
me every day and I'd be like,bro, take the risk, go for it,
bro, because I remember how muchyou believed in yourself and

(04:38):
you would go for that shit.

Speaker 4 (04:39):
I think you were the person.
I called and I said do I dothis?

Speaker 1 (04:42):
Yeah, think you were the person I called and I said
do I do this?
Yeah, am I quitting the band?
Am I going to go?

Speaker 4 (04:45):
all in.
I said I think I need to dothis.
Is this a good idea?
And he said yeah, I went, Icalled chris and I quit.
So that's crazy thanks, hey,any emotional fans?
That's fucked up.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's fucked up hell , no, no, I just knew you know
you're how bad you wanted to bean entrepreneur and I and I knew
I think you and I always hit itoff the visionary side of
things.
You're such a visionary, youknow, and watching what you
built with all your businesses,now I mean strange and unusual,
fucking great.
I don't even brother, there'slegit, there is too many.

(05:16):
I mean, I'm about to go throughthis.
I was thinking like the nailsalon.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
The root beer.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
We sold that already.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
Right yeah, the root beer, you got the rich theater
which we're going to be divingdown steamy hollows right, yeah,
yeah, do you have a sleep?

Speaker 4 (05:27):
schedule.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
No, I haven't slept in a while, but I'm all right I
was actually thinking about that, even when we were streaming on
twitch, like, like you had tobe, you were so busy yeah, I was
.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
That was probably the busiest I've ever been.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
Yeah, and then we were streaming four days a week,
which was we were streamingfour days a week, man, but I
just want to say I really got alot of love for you and a lot of
respect for you, because thisshit, it's not easy not enough
love to get me a microphonestand, though, while the budget
went to this shit sorry but noman, thanks for being here.
I'm I'm really excited to divedown this because you, you know

(06:02):
me better than anybody.
You know that I believe inghosts like a motherfucker.

Speaker 4 (06:06):
Because you believe in more than I that most people
should, but you also are thebiggest pussy, terrified of it
all yeah, yeah, but there's goodreasonings for that, which
you're going to find out as theseason goes along.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
Yeah, it's things I've been through to experience,
certain things, but I'll makeit quick before we jump in.
Here is I've stayed at many ofyour houses.

Speaker 4 (06:27):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
Well, sorry I got invited to stay.
I've been in many of yourhouses.
I've got invited to stay atmany of your houses, and I
stayed at one of your houses oneone, yeah and I had a terrible
vibe by the way, in your house,that's because I'm a horrible
person.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
The sweetest guy, best guy ever right Ever.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
But but the way in your house, that's because I'm a
horrible person, the sweetestguy, best guy ever, right ever.
But but the energy in yourhouse is bad.
Well, I collect death.
Uh, you do, yeah, you do.
But the first house, jake, Idon't even know if you know the
story.
I stayed at his house.
Where was?

Speaker 4 (06:54):
oh, I got a story too that was in dallas pennsylvania
, dallas pennsylvania yeah, okay, debbie does dallas, she has
okay, that's enough.
I wish, wish I was.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
Dallas no more Debbie .
No more Aunt Debbie.
Oh yeah, there's been a lot ofAunt Debbie on this show.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
But I stay in Josh's house and I have bad vibes.
I'm like I don't want to behere.
You know, fucking DallasPennsylvania Not shitting on
Dallas Pennsylvania but theydon't have a Four Seasons,
they're not going to have aRitz-Carlton express.
I'm down, I love it.
I, I love a holiday.
I'm like let's go, noavailability.

(07:27):
I'm like, okay, I think it waslike a tattoo or some shit going
on.
Was it the weekend?
I, there's something going on.
there was a convention probablylike a tractor expo or something
100 yeah not not shit inundoubt, but I'm just saying
I'll go to a tractor expo so Ihave to stay at josh's house now
.
Josh goes to me.
Uh, which bedroom upstairs doyou want to sleep in?
And I go?

Speaker 3 (07:44):
I have the same story .

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Here I go bro, first off, I'm not leaving this couch
because there's a tv, and see, Ilike to sleep with tv on, and
if I'm scared I put sportscenter on.
I like to watch.
Okay, what the lakers dotonight or what the steelers do,
I'm gonna watch.
I'm gonna watch.
Yeah, that right.
So you go, you go to me.
No, bro, you can go upstairsand sleep in the coffin bed.
Yeah, yeah, I go, bro, I'm goodright, because I'm going to

(08:06):
stay down here with the dyingeagles and the deer heads.

Speaker 4 (08:10):
We have no eagles here.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
This is America.
Okay, whatever, but you knowwhat?

Speaker 4 (08:13):
I'm talking about.
I wish actually.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
So I'm laying downstairs on the couch, slept
maybe three minutes.
I haven't slept at all.
I was like I got to piss Middleof the night.
Go, pee, go in the bathroom.
There's a black cat in hisbathroom.
Front door's open.
Do you own a black cat?
So the next morning I go toJosh.
I go hey bro, I didn't know youhad a black cat.
He's like I don't.
And at the time you were withRyan, she saw it.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
I believe she saw it.
Someone else saw it in thehouse.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
Yeah, so I wasn't bullshitting, so I was pissing
with a black cat in the house.
That he don't, it's just toomuch.

Speaker 4 (08:48):
I do not have a black cat.
Yeah, it's too much and thatwas actually so.
That's never happened before.
Yeah, but it was so funny thathe was so scared, but real quick
it I.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
it gave me the worst energy I've ever felt in my life
.
And didn't you say there wassomething that happened there,
or there was, so I didn't knowthis till after the previous
owner died in that basement.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
And if you so so my house I used to live down.
As you go down this long road,you go down a hill and it was
like a little cottage stylehouse and if you were at the top
of the hill sometimes you wouldsee the guy at the front door
staring up the hill have youseen him?

Speaker 1 (09:30):
no crazy, I never saw him.
Have you seen stuff in thathouse?

Speaker 4 (09:33):
not in that house.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
Have you felt stuff in that house?
Yes, okay like.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
There was definitely like.
A there was always.
This house was very wellinsulated and very, very
comfortable yeah but you'dalways feel this like slow cold
that rooted through the house.
And it was definitely like it'scrazy when you think about it,
Cause I collect very weirdthings.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
I mean you collect death for a living.
Yes, let's call it that.

Speaker 4 (09:53):
That's what I do Like .
I'm a lot of, a lot of jars,nothing really bothers me but
that feeling, that one like neckraising on the back of your
neck, feeling when that happens,that's when you can, that's
when I'm, I'm checking out for aminute, Like I'm thinking, like
I live.
I mean now, I mean I live alone.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Um, I mean, and I got to experience your new house.
Yeah, now, now your new houseis, I'm gonna be honest with you
, it's special.

Speaker 4 (10:19):
Cause it built in 1886 okay, 1886.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yeah, josh's like oh, I got your room.
Like no, this time there was notractor expo the holiday inn
express, remember I?
Said the holiday express I waslike no, no, no, your new house
is probably one of the mosthaunted feelings I've ever felt
out of anywhere I've ever beenin my life and I've been to some
really fucked up places.
Many.

Speaker 4 (10:41):
Many stories with that house, really Many.
So it's built in 1886.
It's about 7,000 square feet inthe middle of the woods.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
It's a beautiful home , beautiful, it's beautiful.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
But that 7,000 square feet, it's big, it's three
floors like staircase that goesall the way up to the top.
It's like my dream home.
I love the house, but there ismany stories, so actually a lot
of people don't know this.
The house that I live in now Irented when I was in Motionless
with a few of the guys and Ifell in love with the house.
Then Wait, in that house, thathouse.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
That's the house of all the stories that I've heard.
That's that house.
Shut the fuck up.

Speaker 4 (11:16):
So we've had oh, my God, I mean, we can thing where
it's.
There's been times where nahthis?
Is in synchronicity.
All of the bed.
There was probably six of usthat stayed there at the time.
This house is 10 bedrooms, likeit's, oh the house is huge, I
know, I know it's so six of Ithink.
At one time six of us stayedthere and, in synchronicity, all
of the beds shook at the exactsame time.

(11:37):
We don't have earthquakes, wedon't have.
There was nothing happening andit was like very odd that it
would anything.
That's never happened.
It's it's only happened twice.
There's been times wheresomeone has stayed in the house
and they're laying on the bedand the corner of the bed was
being made.
It was getting pulled over thecorner of the bed.

(11:59):
He left, he got up and he left.
Two o'clock in the morningChris actually came up and
picked him up.
Wow, which is actuallyhilarious.
It doesn't scare me, it doesn'treally bother me much.
So I don't mess with Ouijaboards.
I sell them, I love it, Icollect them, but I won't fuck
with the dead.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
Okay, but how come?
Because you know, so I don't.

Speaker 4 (12:27):
I mean, think about it real quick.
I'm not going to a seance, I'mnot going to a Ouija session,
yeah, but hold on, hold on, holdon, hold on.
I got to paint a picture but Ihave dead people in jars.

Speaker 1 (12:34):
I was going to say there's a lot of listeners here
that haven't been into yourhouse yeah, they know who you
are.
We should do a cribs, we shoulddo a god, we should do a
haunted cribs, haunted cribswould you?

Speaker 4 (12:45):
do it, would you, would you?

Speaker 1 (12:45):
be open to do it for a black craft episode.

Speaker 4 (12:47):
I'd do it, would you do it?
Hey, write that down.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
Haunted cribs I'd watch that show.
I would watch that show too,hey hey I heard it here.

Speaker 4 (12:53):
First, I want, I want 50, how much 50, 50, yeah, I'm
about 49 I'll take it.
You can take the majority, okay.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, I'll take that, okay, just um, but, but here's
the thing I want to talk abouton that.
So you won't fuck with ouijaboards, no, you won't go to
seances, right, but you go intoyour house, but it's that's
disrespectful to the dead.
Okay, but hold on.
But.
But putting them in a jar isn'tdisrespectful to the dead.
They're already in a jar no,they're not.

Speaker 4 (13:17):
He didn't put them in a jar.
I have old vintage specimenslike the.
The humans that I have in jarsare from teaching collections
from the 50s that I bought inauction so?

Speaker 1 (13:27):
so why do you think yeah, no, that's fair I get
everything you're doing ishumane everything you're doing
is humane yes but always ofcourse, of course.
But but see, I, I like theouija board concept.
I I don't mess with the ouijaboard.

Speaker 3 (13:43):
I'm on josh's side with that.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
But jake, you're a skeptic, so it that's fair.
So someone that's a skeptic nowjake's been a skeptic on how
many episodes already to it.
You, you claim you put the flag.
You put the flag in the ground.

Speaker 4 (13:54):
The thing is I heavily believe in it.
I know you do, so I don't needa board to tell me things that I
already know that exist yeah,that's fair, but you wouldn't
want to speak to the dead.
I'm not in in that scenario.
I would not, because that is Ifeel like.
If I want to, I want to have anauto, I want myself to have an
out out of body experience thatdoes connect with the dead.

(14:14):
I don't want to force thatmoment upon.
I don't, I don't.
You've ever seen beetlejuice?
Come on, of course I don't.
I don't want that to happen,you know.
So what we?
So I was not involved in thehouse, but they did a Ouija
board in one of the rooms andwhen they did it it spelled
B-U-T-L-E-R.

(14:34):
Butler.
Wow.
So there is a set of Butlerstairs in the rear.
So it was built in 1886.
They had servants, they hadthis.
It was a very wealthy familythat owned the house.
Your sauna is on that side ofthe house, right yeah, so that
goes upstairs.
So the butler and I think thatthe reason that it doesn't
bother me as much as it botherseverybody else is because I love
the house.

Speaker 2 (14:53):
And I take care of the house.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
I clean the house I got chills.

Speaker 4 (14:57):
So when I found out the butler thing and afterwards,
no correlation, zero thisperson that stayed in this room
had no idea that we found thebutler on that ouija board.
It started when it starteddoing the corner of the bed
making the bed.
It was making the bed while ahuman was in.
I have the craziest childrenand it was fucking crazy.
I've.
So.
I've seen there's been timeswhere I mean the little things

(15:19):
like you'll be on the thirdfloor in the door, you'll hear
someone knocking at the doorlike very vividly, um, and then
you go downstairs no one's there, like that has happened
multiple times.
But it's like you can.
You can pick those things apartbut you're okay with it.
Though you're, I am 100 okaywith it.
Do you ever feel like you'rethreatened by anything?
No, never, because I respect itmore than it as much as it
would probably acknowledge, isthat you respect I would hope,

(15:40):
so I mean I've seen.

Speaker 1 (15:42):
Well, if it didn't, it would fuck you up, it would
do crazy shit.
It would do crazy shit to you.

Speaker 4 (15:46):
So I mean, like people have seen shadow people
in my house.
The beds have shooketh.
The beds have shooketh.
The bed has been made myex-girlfriend.
She was putting on makeup andshe felt someone combing her
hair Like a butler A butlerSomeone's taking care.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
The caretakers are still, I think, heavily
connected to that house, andthat's a great segue to go into
the Rich Theater, because here'swhat I like about this, and we
definitely got to do HauntedCribs, by the way.

Speaker 4 (16:19):
Oh, I love that.

Speaker 1 (16:20):
But I'm such a big believer that you don't choose
the house, the, but I'm such abig believer that you don't
choose the house, the housechooses you.
And I feel like, as we're aboutto talk about this music venue,
right, I feel like it's kind ofthe same thing.
I feel like you didn't choosethis venue, this venue chose.

Speaker 4 (16:34):
Everything has fell on me, you've known.
But so before the house I livedin, the house you stayed in, I
then left.
I had a mental breakdown, Ibroke up with my ex-fiance, I
moved into a church which,honestly, the church, nothing.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
Nothing, I'll be honest.
I've been there.
I didn't get a vibe at all atthat church.

Speaker 4 (16:54):
And then, when I left that one I found what the hell
am I even getting at?
But I left.
So, that house I rented yearsago and I fell in love with it
and then it went for sale and itsold and it was never going
back on the market because theguy was giving it to his family.
And then one random day I gotan email and I was like what is
this?
And it was like the house isfor sale.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
The house chose you, motherfucker.

Speaker 4 (17:13):
He's like do you want this house?
And I got a killer deal on itand I was like I have to buy
this house and this is yourcurrent home, current home.
So I bought that and that samething with the Ritz like it fell
into my lap.
I went across the street tocater an event and I didn't even
know it existed.
I've lived in the area myentire life.
I was like what is it?
It was like a children'stheater and we catered an event
and a guy was he's like this isfor sale and I went fuck it's

(17:39):
weird, huh, and I'll tell youwhat that has.
It was built in 1906 or 1907.
And it's a beautiful, beautifulbuilding.

Speaker 3 (17:51):
It is beautiful.

Speaker 4 (17:51):
I love it there, it is horrifying.
Yeah, it's wild.

Speaker 3 (17:58):
We should dive down into some Ritz so is that
Scranton, pa, scranton,pennsylvania, downtown Scranton
yeah?

Speaker 1 (18:04):
Okay, jake, you got a little fact for us on it.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
It was built back in 1906 and it was originally named
the Pauley.

Speaker 4 (18:12):
Thank you for the correction.
What year was that one?

Speaker 3 (18:14):
time 1906.
This building is pretty much inthe heart of Scranton, in the
middle of the city.
It had what they call a bow artstyle to it as well.
The whole thing is bowed andstuff.
It's really beautiful inside.
I've been there before.
Bobby's been there.
It's an absolutely beautifulbuilding there's a vibe to this
building.

Speaker 1 (18:34):
It's that's that's um , you know, it's funny when I
was there you you feel, you feelsomething especially down the
back hallways.
It's cold, it's cold, it's cold.
I mean, when we were there itwas cold, but this was like meat
locker cold.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
So yeah, it was built in 1906 by Sylvester Pauly, and
so people have.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
it's crazy to own a building that Lucille Ball has
performed in George BurnsHoudini has performed yeah,
harry Houdini, wc Fields andWill Rogers, like a whole bunch
of so 1915, Houdini has been inmy building, which is the
coolest thing.

Speaker 4 (19:10):
But, like when you talk about someone that bends
the rules like that's crazy, butthere is, so the reason why it
even gets so.
When the building was beingbuilt, they were putting up the
steel that goes in the buildingand one of the steel posts fell
and crushed one of the workers.
That was the first issue Whileit was being built.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
So that would have been in 19.
1906, 1907 when they weregetting it off the ring.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
So a gentleman died by getting crushed impaled, if
you will by a metal post.
So that was the first thing tohappen.
So there was a lot of thesemixture things of the haunting,
but in when it was first built,it as you see, have you seen it?
Today it's two floors.
Right in 1906 it was one floor.
Oh so it was a theater with amezzanine that wrapped around

(19:54):
that was a 2500 cap, actualvaudeville theater, so that used
to be called theater row.
And then it burnt down.
Um, in the 30s or 40s, and andwhen they rebuilt it they put
that second floor.
No one died in the fire.
But there's the biggestinstance.
Well, one is the low-layingfruit that I always is, one that

(20:17):
you always get is theprojectionist, the original
projectionist for the buildingin this.
He died in the projection booth.
He had a heart attack.

Speaker 2 (20:26):
Oh, wow.

Speaker 4 (20:26):
So once in a while you'll, that projector will turn
on.

Speaker 3 (20:29):
No idea.
Have you experienced itpersonally?

Speaker 4 (20:31):
Yes.
You'll hear it go like you'llhear the fans it's and it
wouldn't matter.
Yeah, but it like you'll hearthe fans it's, it's horror and
it wouldn't matter.
Yeah, but like knowing that,that the gen the dude passed
like he died in that building,like it's whatever, but the
biggest one is the little girlum and that and and so, but I
can't find any recollection of.

Speaker 1 (20:52):
There's no story of it.

Speaker 4 (20:53):
There's no, there's no real, like, but that's,
that's the overarching if youwatch any kind of so we've had
people in the theater that havedone.
Ghost Honey, it's always alittle girl in a white dress.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
Now have you seen this?
I?

Speaker 4 (21:03):
have not seen her, but I've heard her.
Okay, and many people haveheard her.
So I had painters there and wewere repainting the whole inside
there was one of the painterswere in the bathroom.
He was there alone and he kepthearing hey, come, help me, Help
me, Help me.
And he's like I have the mostinsane chills right now.
He's like I'm in the bathroom,I'm coming right the fuck out,

(21:24):
and they opened the door and noone was in the building.
It was 9.30 in the morning andhe's like what's weird?
He's like I don't know who itwas that.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
And then you know messing with the lights, but
they they saw up in the top.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
You know that vip booth, all that, of course.
Yeah, he said he saw a little,a shadow of a little girl all
the way up the top.
Wow, he's like I saw.
He's like I don't, he didn'twant to work there anymore.
I'm pretty positive he quit.
He was like the, the assistantto the painter.
His name was shane brit was thepainter guy, his assistant.
Um, uh, I think I pretty surehe never came back after that.
Wow, it was so.
The little girl is like the isthe one.

(22:03):
She's the one sitting there.
She's the one you know lookingfor her spiritual connection or
how she's, I think, how to passon to that next thing.
But that's what's crazy.
I never found the story of likea little girl getting lost.

Speaker 1 (22:17):
You never heard any local legend, nothing at all.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
Well, I have done some research on this and
apparently it doesn't have to beat the exact location for there
to be specific hauntings.

Speaker 4 (22:29):
It can be like a couple block radius, or maybe
it's a memory that she had whenshe passed away and that she
wanted to hang out in thetheater and see the show the
movies.
So it used to be the pulley.
The Sylvester pulley was apulley theater and then it
turned into the Comerfordtheater and then it turned into
the Ritz theater.
So it's been three differentiterations but that's the one
it's.
It's.
It's the little girl, the whitedress, the, the and I always

(22:53):
see the big one in that buildingis always the cold chill.

Speaker 1 (22:58):
I felt it.
I mean, I felt that.

Speaker 4 (23:00):
There's no windows.

Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah, there's no fucking windows, so there
wouldn't be any prone to draftsor anything Interesting.

Speaker 4 (23:06):
I'll have all this stuff off.
And there's also so a lot ofpeople don't know this there's
catacombs underneath the Ritz.
I did not know this so so youcan go and you can go down to
the basement.
You can go and you can crawlout into catacombs that go into
I haven't yet.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
Can we do that?

Speaker 4 (23:23):
We can, I'm terrified to do it.
I want to do it, but I want todo it at the right time, the
right situation.

Speaker 1 (23:27):
You know what I think would be a great idea for this.
So we're three episodes inright, yeah, and Jake's a
skeptic.
I don't, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
I always have a lot of questions.
You're full?
Yeah, he's a fool but balls.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
I think what would be cool is is Jake and I were
discussing.
We were talking about pickingmaybe like five to six spots
this year and going out invitingour Patreon subscribers.
Right, you know, making, makingit like a proper or event,
because we just did one in salemyeah, and we just talked about
that on the last episode and wedid ghost hunting at the end of
the night and my store theaction is fucking.

(24:01):
I'll send you the episode.

Speaker 3 (24:02):
You have to go check it out, I wish I was there for
that weekend.

Speaker 1 (24:05):
But we should.
We should put one together atthe ritz where we come in, do
like a black craft ghost hunting, takeover right, maybe in
because your restaurant's insidethere too.

Speaker 4 (24:12):
Yeah, we could do a whole thing.
That would be be we should dothat.
It's crazy because there'sactually rooms that people have
never even been in.

Speaker 1 (24:20):
Have you been in every?

Speaker 4 (24:21):
single square foot of the Ritz?
I don't think so.
So recently, like months ago, Ifound a room, and it's not a
small room.
It is not a small room.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
Wait, how long have you had the Ritz now A year and
a half.

Speaker 4 (24:41):
And you're still finding, still finding rooms
okay, it's 60 by 80 with 40 footceilings.
What the fuck I found it?
What floor it's all the way inthe top, in the back.
It was behind a wall, wow, andit was just this whole thing.
So it's like there's there'smultiple basements, there's
birth, there used to be aspeakeasy downstairs in the
basement in the 80s I think Okay, 70s or 80s.
So it's like there's all thesearchways downstairs and there's

(25:04):
all these little catacombs andthere's a front basement.
So it is really one of thosebuildings that has the age and
has the stories and it has a lotof connections to a lot of
different things.
Like you talk about all theseperformers that have been there
and all these, all theseintricate stories of that people
had, but it's crazy that all ofthem loop back to that little
girl and I have yet to see herand it kind of kind of bums me,

(25:24):
kind of bummed me out I'll behonest with you, I think, uh
like on our first episode, wefound there's there's a story of
a girl, of a woman a woman inwhite on uh, shades of death.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
That, yeah, I actually captured it on camera.
I got two different angles.

Speaker 4 (25:38):
I'll show you when we get.

Speaker 1 (25:40):
It's pretty insane.
Um, the ghost hunters were like, yeah, this is you got
something here, and they're thefirst to be like no you know,
jake says no, but uh I thoughtit was something else.
I I truly think balls.
Uh, one of the one of our ghostexperts, uh, her name is alora.
She's like a, she's a but, she,she's not like a medium like
channeling, like oh, I need totalk to one of my past you know

(26:01):
relative that passed away.
She can go into areas, intothat.
She'd be perfect for youbecause she could go in there
and tell you like who was hereand what happened and how it all
went down.
Pick up the girl.

Speaker 4 (26:14):
The girl Cause.
That's what I want to like.
I want that connection.

Speaker 2 (26:16):
I want to find out why she's there yeah.

Speaker 4 (26:19):
And that's like the most important, like there used
to be.
So it went my my first store,strange, the first location.
There used to be this littleboy that hung out in the back of
the thing, out back of thestore, and then I found out that
his father, I did the um, itwas a suit store there and he
owned it and the kid um, the dadpassed away.
The kid didn't pass away, butwhen the kid passed away, I'm

(26:41):
guessing that that was his fondmemory of hanging out in the
store with the kids.
He was always in the store andhe was always in the back of the
store playing with stuff.
So, there was cologne or therewas something that had something
in it, he would spray it or dothis.
So the little girl to me now isthat story that I haven't
captured and I don't know why.
Like the rejectionist, Iunderstand because he passed
away, he died, he had a heartattack while he was showing,

(27:04):
which is funny.
He was actually showing wild,wild West, which is, which is
funny.
And then I know about, I knowabout the gentleman that died by
the, the metal, the beam, whenthey were building the thing,
but that's the I it's.
It bums me out that I don't knowthe answer and I mean I would
love for you guys to come, Iwould love for your, your
patreon, your people to come andtry to or bring oh, they would

(27:24):
have, we should.

Speaker 1 (27:25):
We should make it a whole event.
We should do a sleepover in theritz.
We can do.
Okay, I know the guy that ownsthe place I know someone well.

Speaker 3 (27:31):
I'm going to be honest too, because it sounds
like the ritz has like a reallyrich history, so I feel like
this could probably be like atwo or three part series.
I feel like there's a lot moreat hand than just like.
I feel like you said you foundan individual room that you
never even noticed before I feellike a lot of different things
occurred in this one buildingthat I don't think we're just

(27:52):
going to be coming across like alittle girl wandering the
hallways.
We're going to be coming acrossa lot of different things and
it may expose some history thatwe're not fully aware of yeah, I
would love for jake to seesomething for I have not
witnessed an apparition yet.
It's crazy, you've never seen ashadow.
No, I, even when we we did thesalem episode, I pretty much
told him I was like yo, I washere for two full months and I

(28:13):
did not experience one thing.
And and I mean, I was there,going to the restroom, use the
restroom at 2, 3 in the morningand nothing happened.

Speaker 1 (28:21):
Yeah, but to that, I mean Paul, I would say you are,
I mean you've been on TravelChannel.
You were as the ghost expertcorrect Yep, yep yeah, you know,
having a lot more expertise inthis field than Jake and I
wouldn't you say, though, ifyou're closed off to it, you'll
never see it.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
That's like life in general.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
If you're closed off to business things or whatever,
it's never going to happen.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
I agree, it's not like I intentionally close
myself off to it?

Speaker 1 (28:46):
Yes, you do, because you walk around and you're like
I'm Mr, I don't see anything.

Speaker 3 (28:51):
No, that is a product of things not happening to me.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
And that's why I came to that conclusion.
I think your body you're beinga realist and that's the issue
is that your body is mentallyblocking the situation that is
at hand and I think, if you, youknow, maybe we should figure
out a proper you know, what weshould do Is go to New Orleans
and do a proper seance, andthat's the vibe.

Speaker 3 (29:11):
I don't know about seances.
They freak me out.

Speaker 1 (29:14):
They freak me out, but now you're a little bit of a
believer.

Speaker 4 (29:18):
Touch Ouija boards won't do seances, so I would do
one.
If it was a proper, I wouldn'tdo it in LA, I wouldn't do it in
Pennsylvania.

Speaker 1 (29:26):
I wouldn't mind doing it in LA, because then I'm
going to talk to.

Speaker 4 (29:28):
Jim Morrison.
I wouldn't mind talking to JimMorrison.
Where's he buried?
I don't know where he's buried.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
I thought he was buried in New Orleans, but he
lived down here in Laurel Canyonoff Love Street, you think that
would be an interestingconversation, fuck yeah.

Speaker 4 (29:38):
But pulling and going into a proper seance with a
voodoo priestess or somethinglike that that actually pulls
the I don't know the correctterminology.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
So I don't want to speak out of turn I would do it
In those situations, I would doit.
Hypothetical.

Speaker 4 (30:02):
Yes, and I'm proven wrong right.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
Is there a method to where, once you do the seance,
you can actually close it offafter?
That's what I'm saying.
I'm allowed to ask you thisquestion because it's also
important for the listener toknow how this works because once
you open this door to theseance.

Speaker 3 (30:13):
What happens after you open the door?
When you close it, is it fullyclosed?

Speaker 4 (30:17):
You just got to put some Palo Santo in your pocket.

Speaker 1 (30:23):
Go to the Christmas store down the street.
You'll be fine.

Speaker 4 (30:25):
Here's also a thing I love that people sage Please
sage, it's great, it's your baselayer.

Speaker 3 (30:32):
It smells great too.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
If you want to do correct, cleansing Palo Santo is
the way to go.
It's a little, oh no.

Speaker 3 (30:39):
I used to do that with my bedroom.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
Now what if?
Because I don't think.
I think there's some goodspirits, personally, oh, 100%.
I mean, I know there are, whenI die, hopefully soon, I'm going
to be a nice.

Speaker 4 (30:50):
Jesus.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
I'm going to come back and haunt you motherfucker,
I'm going to be a gentleman.

Speaker 4 (30:54):
I'm going to open doors for people.

Speaker 1 (30:56):
I'm going to be a good spirit Now, when you're
doing staging, does it cleargood energy too, though?
Yeah, that's what I'd always bescared about.
You're cleansing.

Speaker 4 (31:07):
Again, I'm not a super expert.
I saw you on Travel Channel.
I was on Travel Channel, whichis crazy.
It kind of makes you an expert.
I always forget about it.
I was of makes you an expert.
I always forget about it.

Speaker 1 (31:19):
I was an expert on uh a ghost television show that
kind of makes you an expert.

Speaker 4 (31:21):
That makes me an expert, expert, expert balls.
That's fair, um, but no, Ithink it's.
It's crazy, and you know, goingback to the ritz and owning a
building I mean every singlebuilding that I own right now
has.
The church was built in 1907,my house was built in 1886, the
ritz was built in 1906.
What else do I have safe to saythat all?

Speaker 3 (31:39):
these chose you the typical experiences that people
have had.
There is faint footsteps,ethereal singing.
I've heard people singing inthere at night too, as well no
but, I can picture that it was avaudeville theater.

Speaker 4 (31:54):
I would love to hear that.

Speaker 1 (31:55):
I hear shit all the time there do you really give us
the craziest ritz?

Speaker 3 (32:01):
the craziest one, yeah I want to hear it all right
.

Speaker 4 (32:04):
So the craziest one that I have I have heard is it
sounded like someone was takingmetal on metal and dragging it
down the side so slow and I waslike, well, how do I figure this
out?
What is it?
And I walked, and I walked, andI walked towards it and Were
you there by yourself.

Speaker 2 (32:18):
I was there by myself ?
Was it one of those thingswhere it stopped?

Speaker 4 (32:21):
as soon as you got close it basically sounded like
Okay, like super slowly, like itwas metal on metal being
drugged down, like someone wasmessing with the rigging.
So in that open room is whereall the rigging to the stage was
, back in the day, back in theearly 1900s, and it sounded like
someone was like slowly pullingup metal on metal, like they

(32:44):
were like rising one of the sets.
And I walked back to where Ithought it was and it was just a
concrete wall, a brick wall,and I was like well, because I
was like oh, it's probably watergoing down a pipe or you know
the, the, the heat turning on orthe whatever, but that was that
made me feel reallyuncomfortable because it was, it

(33:05):
was unexplainable, yeah, um,and I think it felt like it was.
You know basically where.
Where it did happen was in thegreen rooms in the back which
which you've been to the greenrooms.
The secret room is above those.
It's above those rooms, so Ithought there was nothing up
there.
So it sounded like someone wastaking one of the metal rigging

(33:27):
lines and just it was like Idon't make a good metal sound.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
Were you with anybody else?
No, I was by myself.

Speaker 4 (33:34):
I hang out in that building a lot by myself, which
is I've come to love thatbuilding and know a lot of.
You can go up into the ceilingby going up and up into all
these stairs.
You can go on the roof, you cango on the there's.
It's such a crazy.
It's the coolest thing I own.

(33:55):
Yeah, and I own a lot of shit.
You do own a lot of shit you doown a lot

Speaker 1 (33:59):
of shit Like I.
I'm a hoarder, no.

Speaker 4 (34:00):
I am like, if I'm not the spookiest guy, you know
there's something wrong.
Yeah, you are.

Speaker 1 (34:03):
And I and it's funny because even getting to know
these ghost experts, uh, davidand Laura, I mean they go to the
Conjuring House, hell House, Imean they do sleepovers.
They go to the craziest hauntedcastles, whatever it is,
they're the nicest people ever.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
Yeah, they have to be .

Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yeah, and I like the way they talk to the spirits and
all that shit.
See what happened to me when Iwent, because I've been down
this path a lot.
You and I went ghost hunting inMansfield State Prison.
Oh my God.

Speaker 4 (34:32):
Remember the ghost touched me.
Yeah, jake didn't believe me.
It touched me up in that room.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
Yeah, yeah, I've been touched before.
We had some crazy shit.
Did we not have some crazy shit?
Go on on that tour.

Speaker 4 (34:42):
It was.
That was terrifying Up in thatone where the front like the
church-ish area right there, bro, so scary it was scary, very
scary.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
But I've never done it properly with like experts
with us.
We had a, we had a tour guideon that man's full state prison,
but it wasn't like a no, anexpert in the field, no.
And when we were just in salem,uh, back in february, and I got
to do a proper ghost tour, yeah, it felt fun and it felt like
whoa, this is like yeah, this issome real shit.

Speaker 4 (35:06):
There's actually a haunted scranton tour is there.
Yeah, and ritz is on one of thestops.
Oh so, look up, you can look up.
The radisson hotel is wait, isthat where I stayed?
Uh, you stay at the hilton.

Speaker 1 (35:17):
I stayed at the hilton because I was terrified
of, yeah, the radisson is.

Speaker 4 (35:20):
It looks like something out of gotham.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
It's beautiful yeah, on the corner, like on the, is
it like on the corner kind of itlooks like an old train station
building or something it'sbeautiful.

Speaker 4 (35:27):
It is beautiful, um, but there is a, a haunted
scranton tour, uh, that they doin october, which is, but we're
on one of the stops, which isvery sick, would you say it's
worth doing the tour.
Oh, yeah, yeah, I mean, we'refrom that age, you know what's
we have.

Speaker 1 (35:42):
Well, on our first episode, where we're from, it's
coal mine town and it was all.

Speaker 3 (35:46):
It was all coal mine, so it's great, same thing.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
And what's the haunted history?

Speaker 4 (35:52):
vibe is like there's, you know, a lot of mysterious
situations.
Um, oh my god, there's a goodone dude, it was founded around
the same time.

Speaker 3 (35:59):
Same time as well, it's just that scranton became
this yeah, you know much bigger.

Speaker 4 (36:03):
There's like a modern serial killer that was is from
scranton.

Speaker 3 (36:08):
What the you know, like recently yeah, that's
fucking funny.

Speaker 1 (36:15):
I thought my man Yaru said oh shit, jack the Ripper,
didn't they solve Jack theRipper?

Speaker 4 (36:21):
recently, by the way, I don't know.
I think they found DNA and theysolved it.
But back, you know, Scrantonhas the age has the things.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
It's deep in history with that stuff, Very, very very
deep.

Speaker 4 (36:29):
It's funny because.
So my back to my house.
It used to be called theHollenbeck House, so Hollenbecks
owned a lot of.
They owned a coal miningsituation, but down in
Wilkes-Barre.
So he had a house inWilkes-Barre.
But I live in a town calledMountaintop and they would come
there in the summers because itwas 10 degrees, it was on top of

(36:50):
mountains, it was 10 degreescolder, but they have there's a
Hollenbeck Cemetery, which ishorrifying.
It is horrifying.
We need to go and I'm going toget buried there.

Speaker 3 (37:00):
I already bought my plot, you bought your plot.

Speaker 4 (37:02):
Yeah, in a mausoleum there, it's awesome.

Speaker 1 (37:04):
Priorities, guys, how much is a plot going for these
days?
Five grand, five grand, that'snot too bad, you had to prepay
that.

Speaker 3 (37:13):
Yeah, does that come along with anything?

Speaker 4 (37:15):
No, you just get a hole.
No coffin.
No, it's a casket, so youbetter watch it.
But no, it's that family isrich and it's so much rich in
history themselves.
I mean Amelia Hollenbeck shewas a Hollenbeck, she had
another name.
She actually has clothing inthe Met Museum, so it's like

(37:35):
that family is such rich inhistory and there's a lot of
fucked up stuff at theHollenbecks.
Oh, it's a good one.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
It's the.

Speaker 4 (37:42):
Hollenbecks.
You said Hollenbeck yeah.
How do you spell that?

Speaker (37:48):
H-O-L-L-E-N-B-A-C-K-E-N .

Speaker 3 (37:48):
And as in Nancy.
Yeah, E-N.

Speaker 4 (37:53):
Hollenbeck house.
One of the Hollenbeck houses,but yeah, Wilkes-Barre also-.

Speaker 1 (37:57):
Or that house owns you.

Speaker 4 (37:58):
Listen, no one owns me that's debatable.

Speaker 3 (38:02):
It sounds like the Rich Theater does.
It sounds like he's independent.

Speaker 4 (38:05):
But no, I mean I love the paranormal, I love and I
respect it times a million.

Speaker 1 (38:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
I love hearing stories and I love experiencing
whatever I can and I love, youknow, experiencing whatever I
can and I love and I with withopen arms.
I think it's a very wonderfulsituation.
Do I want to poke it and prodit to like?
No, because I have so muchdarkness in my life that I don't
want to add more to thosesituations Like this is therapy

(38:32):
time.

Speaker 1 (38:32):
Oh God, man, it's scary.
This is like this is terrifying, right now Not to get off
subject here, but, Buzz, you'resuch a light human being Like
you got such good energy to you.
There's always a good aura toyou, I try.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
You're a great human.
You treat people with respect.

Speaker 1 (38:46):
Yep, anyone ever says anything bad about you.
They're just lying or theygenuinely don't know you.
Um, but I'm starting to thinkas your therapist.
Maybe some of this stuff youbrought into your house has
crept like, has creeped intoyour real life darkness shit
that could be it could be timeto look.
Maybe it's time to let some ofthat shit go.

Speaker 2 (39:08):
I feel, like you know , let me finish my thought.

Speaker 1 (39:12):
I feel like I'm onto something here.
You're very in tune person.
Yeah, you know if this person'sgood or if this person's bad.
You're very in-tune Most times.
Yes, yes, but that's just humannature.
We all fuck up.
It's just human nature.
No one's perfect here exceptJake.
But I feel like you would haveto look at some of your items in
your house, right, and being asin tune you are and as

(39:35):
respectful you are, to right.
Yeah, the dead.
I guess I don't know what youcall the proper term here, the
terminology here.
Three episodes in, I'm gettingbetter at this but.
I feel like there's certainitems in your house that you got
to look at and be like oh, thatgives me a bad vibe.
This person gives me a bad vibe.
There's.
This person gives me a bad vibe.

Speaker 4 (39:53):
There's a couple things I mean I have to say what
they are.
But I have.
I have a friend who used to.
He's a very, very relevant inthe music scene.
Very, he's an icon in the musicI know.

Speaker 1 (40:06):
I know that I know who this is I know this story.

Speaker 4 (40:08):
This story is fucking insane and I talked to him once
about.
I was like hey, what'd you dowith all your stuff?
I was like I was like I collectthe same stuff that you collect
.
He's like, oh, he said nothing,but heaviness followed me for
the longest time he owned serialkiller memorabilia.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
John Wayne Gacy paintings Yep.

Speaker 4 (40:29):
Ted, ted bunny's car.
Ted Bunny's car, like the real,like which I would kind of I
would love to have, weirdly.
But okay but when he at onetime it was with his child, had
they had this kid said something.
He went I'm selling all thisstuff.

(40:50):
He got rid of all of it and italmost 180 like 980.
Kid said something and he wentI'm selling all this stuff.

Speaker 3 (40:55):
He got rid of all of it, and it almost 180'd.

Speaker 1 (40:56):
Like nine 180.
Bro, of course.
So let me tell you my quickstory about the Gacy painting.
This is this is I know thisstory, do you?
Know the story.
This is.
This is a.
This is a true story.
I put this on anything.

Speaker 4 (41:05):
Out of the, out of the black house.

Speaker 2 (41:07):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (41:16):
I will put this on anything I have in my life.
So, uh, I'm, I'm on on tour,okay, I'm on tour and I come
home from tour and at the time Iwas sleeping on like a little
fucking shitty like bed like Imean dude, it was like it was a
was it was that not even a twin,it was a what's smaller than a
twin, like a single, I don'tknow.
Yeah, yeah, like a bunk bed,yeah it was worse than a bunk
bed, you know, and um, that wasmy bed.
I was sleep in off tour when Icome home.
So, whatever, get home, sleepfirst night in bed and I fucking

(41:39):
shoot out of bed at like 3 am,4 am, I don't know what time it
was.
I'm freaked the fuck out.
I'm like screaming bloody murderdude, like legit screaming
bloody murder right and what washappening to me is I was laying
down and something came outfrom underneath the bed with its
arms and just pulled me down,like, kept pulling me down into
the bed, like, kept, like it waslike I told you the story a
while ago?

Speaker 2 (41:58):
did I not tell the same story?

Speaker 1 (42:00):
not lying it kept pulling me, I freak out and I
can't let go and I'm likefreaking out and sure enough, uh
, the dude was like bro, that'sinsane that you're freaking out
like that.
I'm like why he's a bro?
I just bought a bunch of, um,uh, john wayne gacy paintings
and I fucking slid it under yourbed because I didn't know what
to do with it until I got itframed and shit, I just put it

(42:20):
under the bed.
You know, I don't know itchecks out it checks out.

Speaker 4 (42:24):
I mean I have crazier shit so I don't really mess
around with serial killer stuffI want to, like I would.

Speaker 2 (42:29):
I just be, out of like I don't fuck with that shit
.

Speaker 4 (42:31):
So out of like I love conversation pieces and things
and stories.
I love stories and you come tomy house.
Every single thing tells astory.

Speaker 1 (42:39):
Your whole house is a story.

Speaker 4 (42:41):
I have a white peacock, I have a human skeleton
, I have books wrapped in human.

Speaker 1 (42:44):
Your hairless peepee even tells a story.

Speaker 4 (42:46):
My hairless peepee, which is my cat.
That's his cat.
His name is Peep, we call himPeepy.
I have books bound in humanskin.
I have faces in jars, but it'sa conversation.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
You have those things .
I wonder why it's that way.
Yeah, it's definitely aconversation.

Speaker 2 (43:01):
What do you think of that?

Speaker 3 (43:01):
I want to talk about the books made of skin.
Is that Evil Dead?
No wonder why I'm miserable,huh.

Speaker 4 (43:05):
Yeah.
I think it's time I don mycollection.
I love my stuff.
I want my house to be a museumwhen I die.
I want my house to become theJosh Balls house and it's a
piece of art that you walkpeople through.
I want an estate that is amemory, it's a legacy, it's a
museum of death.
The house of balls, the houseof death.

(43:27):
Oh yeah, balls, death.
So it's fucked up.
Yes, so if you have EileenWuornos or John Wayne Gacy or
Ted Bundy something, call me.
I mean, that's all.
Wow, I don't mind hating mylife for cool stuff.

Speaker 3 (43:47):
Do you believe having some of these items, or is
there anything like maliciousenergy?
Do you feel like there's anysort of maliciousness that could
I don't know manifest.

Speaker 4 (43:54):
I'm almost hearing the story from the person that I
, that's when it put it inperspective for me.

Speaker 1 (43:58):
Yeah, and when he told me that Because that
person's not going to bullshityou either.

Speaker 2 (44:01):
No, this is like a person that won't straight
shooter.
Yeah, great human being.

Speaker 4 (44:06):
And that's, and I was like fuck, so it does.
I think everything has energybuilt into it.
I think everything, from thismug to this mic, to these walls,
have energy.
But what energy is itPortraying energy?
Is it stale energy?
Is it negative energy?
Is it this Everything?
I don't believe in God, but Ibelieve in energy.
I believe in ghosts, I believein things that are higher power,

(44:28):
because there's something thereI don't believe in some
fictitious ding-dong but thingsthat are real, I think
apparitions, and I know that yousound like a crazy person, but
that is a plausible thing thateveryone has felt.
Everybody has felt those hairsraised in the back of their neck
.

Speaker 2 (44:46):
They felt going up.
I've had that feeling.

Speaker 3 (44:50):
It's there.
Oh, the guy who doesn't believehe has a feeling I the end of
the season.
I'm allowed to have a feelingand say it may not be correlated
to apparitions, but I think so.

Speaker 4 (44:59):
You know, to wrap this up kind of is like I think
death is so fascinating, I know.

Speaker 1 (45:05):
You bought yourself a plot already for five grand.
I'm ready to die.

Speaker 3 (45:10):
When I stayed with you one time, I'm pretty sure
your bed headrest Was a casket.

Speaker 4 (45:14):
Yeah, I tried to get him to sleep in it.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
That was literally that's my story.
By the way, I stayed in his bedfor like 4 or 5 days.
We were working on musictogether and the guest bedroom
had the head as a casket Iremember you showing I remember
you showing me the bedroom.
Like, are you fucking?

Speaker 4 (45:33):
kidding me.
I have a funeral room.
It's a casket bed with the lidof the casket is the headboard,
and then I have human.
I think I have like a spine inthere and, like some, like
off-putting photos.

Speaker 3 (45:45):
As much as it freaked me out a little bit, I did not
experience anything.

Speaker 4 (45:49):
Hey, it was a brand new mattress, that is funny.
It was a brand new mattress,that is funny.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
It was a very comfy arrangement.

Speaker 4 (45:56):
You probably slept next to death.

Speaker 3 (45:56):
The casket definitely threw me off a little bit.
I'm not gonna lie.
There was like some momentswhere I felt like it was just
gonna close on me.
I would love that.
I'm sure you would.

Speaker 4 (46:06):
Again, I just I love the conversation and, like I
want to, I respect death and Iwant to, I want to do like, even
in my, in the ritz, I want todo um plaques of, like houdini
and lucille ball and have themtell the story that they were in
the ritz.
And like, like respecting deadand putting like that that out
to the world is is is sowonderful.

(46:26):
Like, why would you forgetabout people?
Why would you forget aboutthings?
and if you can like, I respecthim.
I a I have a fucking face in ajar.
I love it.
It's fucking awesome.

Speaker 1 (46:35):
I forgot about that, yeah.

Speaker 4 (46:36):
I, I, I, I.
You know things that I'vegotten out of like.
You know cause, when they usedto teach in in school, they used
to use proper bodies buckiesand things like that and the,
the forward and silicone andthings like it's almost
realistic.
So they got rid of those thingsand years ago I mean I would,
I'd go to auctions all the timeand pick up these, these wild

(46:58):
things, and they tell a story.
It's awesome, like what do youbuy?
Like bobby loves restorationhardware, I do you, like you.
But what is?
What story does that thing tell?
When you, when you come intoit's it's your house.

Speaker 1 (47:11):
So A I can answer this easily.
I know what you're talkingabout.
You're trying to be funny rightnow.
I'm trying to justify.
No, okay, a I appreciate.
I like nice furniture.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
I like a certain style.

Speaker 1 (47:23):
I like being comfortable.
I like feeling good when I'mrelaxing at night, so that's why
I like Restoration Hardware.

Speaker 3 (47:27):
Do they do caskets for beds?

Speaker 1 (47:33):
I actually love restoration hardware.
Okay, cool, so you're talkingabout Bobby.
Why do you have a skull fromrestoration hardware in your
house as opposed to a real humanskull.
Yes, and the answer could bewell, josh Balls, look at your
life and look at your life andlook at my life.

Speaker 3 (47:47):
I'm so kidding.
Look who's happy and who's sad.

Speaker 1 (47:51):
So maybe get yourself .
Hey, as we wrap this up, getyourself a fake skull or I don't
know, don't get a real one Idon't consider.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
Josh Balls, a sad person.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
He just said how he wants to die three times.

Speaker 3 (48:04):
Yeah, I know, that sounds weird but to me when I'm
around him.

Speaker 4 (48:09):
I feel good about things, oh I love being happy,
but I'm overall pretty sad.
I think it's the energyattached to you from the house,
or because maybe deep downinside, you're genuinely a happy
person.
I partner with some really badpeople sometimes.
You know what?

Speaker 1 (48:26):
That's the beautiful part to life.
To wrap it up, how we startedthe show, we'll end the show
like this.
I like it.
I've watched you go from thehighest of highs.
I've seen you hit some lows.
True, You've watched me go hot.
We've both.
We've seen a lot of shittogether like that and I know
where you're at right now.
But, dude things good, You'regood.
You got this shit.
Life is actually great.

(48:48):
Have that.
You wouldn't know what the goodis.

Speaker 3 (48:49):
Peaks and valleys I'm like gary v you don't know
light without the dark.
All right, okay, buddha, therehe is okay uh, episode three
josh balls, rich theater.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
I think we should talk offline about an actual
proper uh ghost hunting nightthere I think we bring people
there, we do dinner, we do let'sdo a dinner and a show.

Speaker 4 (49:06):
We do an overnight stay and we do a potentially an
overnight stay I would totallydo an overnight stay.

Speaker 3 (49:12):
Bobby would stay at.

Speaker 4 (49:13):
Hilton.
Yeah, Bobby and Yaru Hilton.

Speaker 3 (49:18):
Does any of your bedrooms right now have?

Speaker 1 (49:20):
a basket for a head.
I know he tried to lure me intoa room.
He's like I got vegan beefjerky and coconut water.
I did do that, Listen.
It's like.

Speaker 4 (49:32):
I did do that.

Speaker 3 (49:33):
Listen, it's like I got vegan coconut so.

Speaker 4 (49:37):
Bobby was at the time was vegan and he brought over I
think there was a couple peoplewith you at the time Every
single bedroom.
I got them snacks and water anddrinks on the bedside.

Speaker 3 (49:45):
Oh, you're a hell of a good host, and they didn't
fucking stay there.

Speaker 4 (49:48):
Not one of us.

Speaker 1 (49:49):
We all said Holiday Inn Express.

Speaker 3 (49:51):
They all laughed and went.
I slept in your casket.

Speaker 1 (49:53):
Yeah, ask the question, go ahead.
Yeah, do you?

Speaker 2 (49:56):
have anything that didn't die horribly.

Speaker 4 (50:02):
Well, to my knowledge , everything, nothing was done
by murder or forced death To myknowledge.
But everything I've sourced,I've sourced ethically, through
auctions, and I have like thelineage of those things, but I
couldn't tell you, to be honest,if I might have a thing or two.

(50:24):
I'm actually working on a moviethat's based around collection
and based around an item that isconnected, where it's like this
person gives away their entirecollection.
But it was never the weird shit, it was a normal thing.
At the end of the day, the guysubverts the expectation.
Just give it away, it wouldhave been post-death.

Speaker 1 (50:48):
It would have been a crime scene thing.

Speaker 4 (50:51):
A lot of it's pathology.
They want to study those pieces, so that's how they People will
donate their body to scienceand that's how I got all of my
stuff.
So it has.
I don't have anything withbullet holes in the head.
I don't have no death suicideanything like that that I know
of.
But knowing those stories arealso amazing to own those sorts

(51:12):
of things.
But knowing those stories arealso amazing to own those sorts
of things.
But I think death is veryfascinating and I think what you
guys are doing is veryfascinating.
I think opening that portal isvery terrifying.

Speaker 3 (51:23):
So be careful.
I was going to say we'retalking about me right now when
it comes to opening the portal.

Speaker 4 (51:29):
I'm not going to lie.

Speaker 3 (51:32):
Definitely open my portal, oh my.

Speaker 2 (51:36):
God, oh fuck, this show sucks.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
She's not going to make it.
Here's the deal.

Speaker 3 (51:41):
She's not going to make it Everything you're
discussing, because I was fairlyquiet during most of this
episode, because I'm obviouslysoaking up all the information
that you're talking about.
I do believe that there is apart of me that does not want to
be open to it, because to me Ifeel like reality alone is
fucking terrifying enough.
So the idea of knowing thatthere's this other plane of
existence that's just kind ofhard to comprehend for most

(52:03):
people.
I would be worried aboutopening up another door of
plausible discomfort to as well.

Speaker 4 (52:10):
How scary the world can be already as it is.
100% understand that.
But if you don't see it, thenhow do you know if it's bad or
good?

Speaker 3 (52:16):
And I really don't see it, and anytime I did
experience something, it wasalways with somebody else.
It's never happened with justme.
Open your eyes.
My eyes are open, your contactsmy contacts, Episode three Josh
Balls.

Speaker 1 (52:32):
Thanks for getting here you're welcome we're going
to plan a Scranton trip.
We've done it before.
Pop up.
Where can everyone check outyour stuff?

Speaker 4 (52:42):
you got the rich theatercom the strange
unusualcom drink parlorcom noir,dark spiritscom drink parlor,
it's never ending honestly justfollow me and.
I'll post everything, just thestuff.

Speaker 3 (53:01):
I like it house creeping.
What do we get going on thisweek?
I know we get eventsapproaching.
We do have events approaching.
We can talk about that on thenext episode.

Speaker 2 (53:10):
We'll save that for the next episode.

Speaker 3 (53:11):
We got a lot of big things going on this summer.
I'm personally excited andheavily involved in You've got a
lot of stuff.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
We'll be at all the DWP festivals.
Drink parlor root beer.

Speaker 3 (53:25):
We definitely need to do something for
reincarceration, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (53:30):
We need to do another episode.
Whenever we do the MansfieldState Prison episode, we will.

Speaker 3 (53:39):
Huh, Wow, J-Van Wow.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
J-Van Wow.

Speaker 4 (53:43):
Wow, come on in.
It's okay, we were endinganyway.

Speaker 3 (53:47):
Wow, j-van, there he is, way to go ahead, and
interrupt our third episode, asI was walking in Jay Van way to
go ahead and interrupt our thirdepisode Walking in with a
rainbow wheel.
That's very nice.

Speaker 1 (54:02):
It's a.
Jay Van show.
Whatever we do, the stateprison, one Mansfield State
Prison, incarceration you needto be a guest on that show.

Speaker 3 (54:11):
Can you do an overnight stay there?
I think don't let us doanything there we're pretty
connected there.

Speaker 4 (54:15):
We had some crazy shit there.
We know some people.

Speaker 1 (54:19):
Balls, thanks for being here.
J-van, thank you Episode 3,much love See you guys Bye.