Booze & Ghouls

White Hills Mansion

EPISODE DESCRIPTION
White Hill Mansion in Fieldsboro, New Jersey, is one of the state’s most quietly disturbing haunted locations. In this episode of Booze & Ghouls, we dig into the mansion’s documented history of abuse, confinement, and power imbalance — and the modern paranormal encounters that seem unwilling to fade. From physical interactions and intelligent responses to ethical questions about investigating trauma-soaked spaces, White Hill proves that some hauntings aren’t about ghosts chasing attention — they’re about history refusing to stay silent.
 
RESOURCES USED (for Show Notes)
New Jersey Historical Society archives
Burlington County historical property records
Weird NJ magazine — White Hill Mansion features
Paranormal investigation reports from NJ-based research teams
Interview summaries from former caretakers and investigators
Colonial-era household and labor records (18th–19th century New Jersey)
Comparative studies on trauma-linked haunting locations

Baranov Castle

Welcome to Booze & Ghouls as we climb Castle Hill in Sitka, Alaska—where colonial battles, ancestral resilience, Russian micromanagers, and phantom cannon blasts all left their fingerprints. This isn’t your average haunting; it’s a whole spectral council meeting on one hill.
 
Resources Used
The Russians in America: 1799–1867 by Hubert Howe Bancroft
Russian-American Company Records – Alaska State Archives (Sitka)
Tlingit Oral Histories – Sealaska Heritage Institute
U.S. Dept. of Interior, National Park Service – Sitka National Historical Park documentation
Russians in Alaska, 1732–1867 by Lydia T. Black
The Tlingit Indians by George T. Emmons (ed. Frederica de Laguna)
Alaska’s History: The People, Land, and Events of the North Country by Harry Ritter
Colonial Sitka: Conflict at the Edge of Empire by Katherine L. Arndt
Sitka Historical Society & Museum – local archival accounts
Alaska Office of History & Archaeology – Castle Hill (Noow Tlein) Site Reports
Local ranger and tourism logs documenting modern encounters

We Are Back!!!

Located along the Kentucky River in Frankfort, Old Crow Distillery played a pivotal role in shaping modern bourbon — but its legacy includes far more than innovation. Built during an era of dangerous labor practices and minimal safety standards, the distillery witnessed fires, accidents, and quiet human cost that rarely made official records.
In this episode of Booze & Ghouls, we examine Old Crow’s history through a true-crime-adjacent lens, exploring worker deaths, river-related incidents, Prohibition-era uncertainty, and the modern paranormal reports tied to its remaining structures. With grounded research and respectful skepticism, this episode asks whether places built on risk and repetition ever truly let go of their past.
 
RESOURCES USED
Kentucky Historical Society
National Register of Historic Places (Old Crow Distillery listings)
Frankfort city archives
Bourbon industry historical publications
Prohibition-era Kentucky legal records
Investigator and former employee account summaries
 

We Going To Savannah

Episode Description
In this episode of Booze & Ghouls, Colleen checks into Savannah’s famously haunted Marshall House—part Civil War hospital, part yellow-fever ward, part elegant boutique hotel, and part “please ignore the amputated limbs under the floorboards.” We dive into the building’s intense medical history, its connection to true-crime-adjacent tragedies, and the modern paranormal encounters guests report today—including ghost children shaking beds, phantom surgeons checking vitals, full-body soldier apparitions, and a very judgmental woman in gray. Includes one dark-humor Boozy Aside, plenty of snark, and no unnecessary fluff.
Resources Used
All resources below were used for factual history, building background, hospital records, verified hauntings, and modern experiences:
“Savannah’s Historic Hotels,” Georgia Historical Society archives
Civil War medical records from Sherman’s occupation of Savannah (National Archives, Union Army hospital documents)
“Yellow Fever in Savannah: Epidemic History 1800–1900,” Georgia Department of Public Health
Marshall House official historical timeline (Marshall House Savannah, hotel historical documentation)
“Historic Preservation and Renovation Findings, Savannah 1990–1992,” City of Savannah Restoration Reports
Marshall House Guest Relations & Staff Interview Summaries (public-facing anecdotes compiled from hotel releases)
Ghost City Tours: Savannah — Marshall House investigation notes
American Ghost Walks – Savannah: reported experiences
TripAdvisor guest reviews mentioning paranormal encounters (aggregated public reports)
“Haunted Savannah” by James Caskey (modern accounts + historical context)
Savannah Tourism & Visitors Bureau historical building registry
Landmark District Architectural Review Files

We Head To Philadelphia

In this episode of Booze & Ghouls, we head to Philadelphia to explore one of America’s most terrifyingly iconic landmarks: Eastern State Penitentiary. Once the world’s most expensive and technologically advanced prison, this crumbling Gothic fortress pioneered the use of extreme solitary confinement… and left behind a legacy of psychological torment, true crime horror, and lingering spirits who don’t seem ready to clock out.
We dive into the prison’s unsettling history, the infamous inmates who made headlines (and sometimes trouble), the deeply controversial punishment methods, and the modern encounters that keep ghost hunters coming back for more. From whispered voices and shadow figures to full-bodied apparitions and footsteps that pace long-abandoned corridors, Eastern State delivers hauntings as heavy as the stone it was built from.
Grab your drink, brace yourself, and join us for a snarky, boozy, and spine-tingling walk through one of the most haunted prisons in the United States.
 
Resources
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc.
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC)
John Haviland Architectural Papers
McKelvey, Blake. American Prisons: A Study in American Social History Prior to 1915.
Teeters, Negley K. & Shearer, John D. The Prison at Cherry Hill: The Separate System of Penal Discipline.
Rothman, David J. The Discovery of the Asylum: Social Order and Disorder in the New Republic.
Lewis, Orlando F. The Development of American Prisons and Prison Customs, 1776–1845.
Smith, Philip. “The Architecture of Confinement: Eastern State Penitentiary and the Evolution of Penal Reform.”Journal of Architectural History, Vol. 42.
Capone, Deirdre Bair. Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend.
Philadelphia Police & Court Records (1929)
Sutton, Willie. Where the Money Was: The Memoirs of a Bank Robber.
“Sutton Escapes Again.” Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 1945.
Eastern State Inmate Intake Logs, 1830–1940 (digitized summaries)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Court documents related to violent offenders housed in Cellblocks 12 & 15
Eastern State Penitentiary — “Reported Activity Logs”(Records kept by staff regarding repeated experiences: voices, apparitions, etc.)
Guided Tour Staff Interviews, 2018–2023(Accounts from long-term employees describing recurring hotspots)Personal blog and eyewitness entries:
“Ghosts of Cellblock 12” – firsthand reports compiled on phillyhaunts.net
Visitor accounts archived on YourGhostStories.com (filtered for consistency)
Independent paranormal investigation logs from Haunt Investigators of Pennsylvania (HIP)
Audio anomaly collections recorded in Cellblock 4 and Cellblock 12(Available through ESP’s official “Terror Behind the Walls” off-season documentation)
American Correctional Association — “Historical Analysis of Solitary Confinement Practices.”
Haney, Craig. “Mental Health Effects of Solitary Confinement.” Stanford Journal of Civil Liberties & Civil Rights.
Philadelphia Historical Society — Urban crime and punishment in the 19th century
Temple University Urban Archives — Prison overcrowding, reform debates, and post-closure deterioration
 
 

Aradale: Where Madness Never Clocked OUt

Join Booze & Ghouls as we head down under to Victoria, Australia, to explore Aradale Mental Hospital — a sprawling Gothic complex where over 13,000 souls checked in and few ever left. Between the grim legacy of J Ward’s criminally insane inmates, lingering spirits of patients long forgotten, and a few cheeky ghosts with no respect for personal space, Aradale remains one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most haunted — and human — locations.
Oh, and our Boozy Aside? A cheeky nod to Aussie ingenuity with a gin-and-bush-tucker twist. Because even when you’re telling ghost stories about Victorian-era asylums, hydration is key.
 
Resources Used
Ararat Historical Society Archives
“Haunted Asylums of Australia” by Allen T. Moore (2020)
Heritage Council of Victoria, Aradale Precinct Report
Ghost Tours Australia: Aradale and J Ward Case Files
State Library of Victoria: Ararat Lunatic Asylum Records (1867–1993)
“Australia’s Dark Past: Inside Aradale and J Ward” – ABC News, 2018
Aradale Ghost Tours official documentation & eyewitness interviews

Light House/The Basement

Fog, waves, and a lighthouse that refuses to rest. In this episode of Booze & Ghouls, Colleen explores Wood Island Lighthouse—from its 19th-century keepers and isolation, to the infamous 1896 murder-suicide, and modern hauntings that still send shivers across the Maine coast.  
Resources Used:
U.S. Coast Guard Archives: Wood Island Light Station Logs (1808–1980)
New England Historical Society: “Ghosts of Maine’s Lighthouses”
Maine Lighthouse Museum Archives
Historical Society of Biddeford Pool records
Paranormal Research Association of New England field notes (2009–2018)
Oral accounts collected by the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse
Email us booze.and.ghouls.podcast@gmail.com
 

Halloween Episode - The Whaley House/Congress Hotel

Grab a drink and maybe a sage stick, because Stan and Colleen are checking into two of America’s creepiest crash pads: the Whaley House and the Congress Hotel. Between fiery finales, heartbroken brides, and a few ghosts who clearly missed checkout, you’ll get history, hauntings, and just enough sarcasm to keep the lights on. Boozy asides included, because paranormal tourism is always better with a cocktail in hand.
 
RESOURCES & REFERENCES- Whaley, Thomas. Whaley House Historical Records, San Diego Historical Society Archives.- Hill, Patricia. San Diego Ghosts: Hauntings and Legends. California Press, 2002.- Travel Channel. Most Haunted America: The Whaley House Feature, 2010.- Ghost Adventures. Whaley House Investigation Footage, 2012.- Kelly, John. Old Town San Diego: History and Hauntings. San Diego Historical Press, 1998.- San Diego Paranormal Research Society. Field Reports: Whaley House, 2005–2020.- Local tourism archives: Whaley House Museum, Old Town San Diego.
 Sources & References
-Chicago Hauntings: The Congress Hotel," CBS Chicago
-Chicago's Most Haunted Hotels," Choose Chicago
-The Spirits of the Congress Plaza Hotel," Windy Cit Ghosts
-The Stories Behind Chicago's Most Haunted Places," Chicagoist 
-Real Haunted Hotel- Congress Plaza Hotel,' IlinoisHauntedHouses.com
-Congress Plaza Hotel: A Haunted Chicago Landmark,' Paranormal Traveler
-Congress Plaza Hotel.' Chicago Architecture Center
If you have any questions comments or any personal stories of you own please email us at Booze.and.Ghouls.podcast@gmail.com