Tag: ghosts

Episodes

Ahoy There Queen Mary!

themuglytruth
View of the Queen Mary from the harbor side, Long Beach Harbor, CA.
Ahoy there! Today’s episode is about Long Beach Harbor’s very own Queen Mary! Listen in on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Today The Mugly Truth goes back to our roots! We get all creepy crawly with ghostly stories about our favorite Queen of the states. Of COURSE we mean the lovely luxury liner-turned-hotel: the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor, CA! We don’t talk ONLY about ghosts, but we definitely discuss a few of the most famous onboard hauntings. We nope-out about Room B340, and wonder if John Henry (who loves beer), little Jackie (who roams the pool area), John Peddler (crushed by door 13), and the Grumpy Growler (so named for growling at passers-by) will make themselves known to Kris and family when they stay overnight for her birthday! Kym recounts her own sleepless night and curious tapping on her door during her recent stay in the lovely Eisenhower Stateroom.

Of course Kym has more than just ghost stories to tell. She goes into the childhood vault to pull out not one but TWO celebrity interactions – in pure Kym fashion – on the same night at the Queen Mary about thirtyahemmmmaahsomffing years ago. One story has her telling off Bobby Grich (of Angel’s baseball fame) in the parking lot and later she was actually speechless during an elevator ride with 80’s hearthrob Perry King. It’s feast or famine with that woman.

We delve just a bit into the history of the ship: the legend of how she became so named, her tour of duty during World War II, and her journey back to grandeur as a luxury cruise ship after the war.

And perhaps the most important takeaway from the entire episode is probably this: if staying overnight, it’s best to bring your own coffee pot because there wasn’t one in Kym’s extra lit suite. Mmmscuseme? We believe a mutiny is in order! SOMEBODY NEEDS TO WALK THE PLANK! There ain’t no java thar! What are you THINKING Queen Mary Hotel? Coffee is LIFE, do you not understand this? BYOCP people, BYOCP.

Once you’re sufficiently recovered from this revelation, go ahead and check more information about what we cover in this episode:

  • To see/listen to the video of Bob Davis (of Planet Paranormal Investigations), talking to little Jackie , please go to his YouTube link.
  • To see what Perry King is up to, please visit his website. He’s an active guy! We love Kym’s stepdad Ted, but we wouldn’t have minded a stint with Mr. King as Mom Jackie’s beau. Wink wink.
  • For Bobby Grich information, go here.
  • For more information about tours on the Queen Mary, go here. For general information, visit the Queen Mary website, but there’s also information here.
  • To watch Buzzfeed Unsolved Mysteries, go to their YouTube channel. To watch Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej’s Queen Mary Room B340 stay (and see the toothpaste fly HORIZONTALLY off the sink – not vertically KRISSSS – video), go here. There’s also a blog highlighting the more eventful bits and pieces here.
  • The writing desk in the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
  • Second guestroom in the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
  • Peeking into the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
  • The seating area in the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.

So check out Ahoy There Queen Mary! today. And while you’re at iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts, it’s SUPER EASY to 1) subscribe, 2) download, 3) listen aaaaaaaand 4) If you enjoy what you hear, rate and a review! (Pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Photos courtesy of WordPress free library, public domain, and Kym Wagner.
Episodes

Call Me Korgia

themuglytruth

Blog Card
Fangirl Alert! Listen to “CALL ME KORGIA” on iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

lighted happy birthday candles
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Before we get into the details of today’s episode, Call Me Korgia, let’s say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR VERY BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL KYM!! TODAY is Kym’s birthday and we wish her all the best!

So! Happy Birthday and Happy Tuesday!! Today’s episode is allllllll about the serious, hardcore fangirling over and paying an homage to Kym and Kris’ most favorite podcast, My Favorite Murder. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, hosts of the epically popular podcast, are the ladies who inspired us to get into podcasting. When we started we had no delusions we could do anything at the level of these two amazing women, but we knew we wanted to podcast  anyway. And so we did with coffee mugs in one hand, mics in the other, and a whooooole lot of opinions, stories, and laughter. And we have loved every minute of it from day one.

As a birthday kickoff for Kym, we went to the January 11, 2019, My Favorite Murder podcast live show at the Civic Theater in San Diego, CA. After the show, we met Karen and Georgia where we were able to thank them (profusely) for inspiring us. In today’s episode we recount the mega highs and the very few (only one actually) annoying lows of the night. Oh, and there’s Kym’s especially slick maneuver at the meet and greet. That’s our girl, Kym.

Kym and Kris in San Diego MFM Show
Waiting for Georgia and Karen in San Diego Civic Theater January 11, 2019, My Favorite Murder.

Karen and Georgia MFM On Stage
Karen and Georgia sit down to talk murder, San Diego Civic Theater, January 11, 2019, My Favorite Murder

Fangirl Moment
The moment we got our act together and got to thank Karen and Georgia for inspiring us to start podcasting.

The second half of the episode segues into a very MFM-tributesque recounting of two stories from our travels: The “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory of Slovakia, and the underground area of Edinburgh, Scotland called “Mary King’s Close“, where people spent generations living, working, and dying in darkness.

Kym talks about how Elizabeth Bathory and her husband reigned bloody supreme (literally) as sado-masochists in their castle (now in ruins) on a hill in Slovakia. But it wasn’t until after the death of her husband that Elizabeth’s unbridled vanity and penchant for fatal torture earned her the reputation as being history’s most prolific female serial killer. Elizabeth believed the blood of virgins would keep her young (sound like any bloodsucker you’ve heard of?), so she took advantage of her social standing to get as many into her clutches as possible. Spoiler alert: she was caught, but she is proof that the rich and powerful could (and still can to this day) literally get away with murder because although Elizabeth’s servants – who were forced to do her disgusting dirty work – were put to death for their participation in her schemes, Elizabeth was merely sentenced to live out the rest of her days in her own home. Did we mention she lived in a castle? Tsk. Poor, poor, bloody Elizabeth.

elizabeth_bathory_portrait
Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the first female serial killer in history. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, artist and copyright unknown.

 

Čachtice Castle, Slovakia
Ruins of Elizabeth Bathory’s castle. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

While there’s no murder and intrigue in Kris’ story, there is definitely creepiness and death as she talks about the history of Mary King’s Close, and how part of the current city of Edinburgh was built right over the top of existing streets, businesses and homes, some still intact. Despite the lack of sunshine and fresh air, life continued underground for many of the poorest folk for generations, even when the plague devastated almost half the population of Edingurgh in the 1600s. In fact, underground was where the plague victims were quarantined (albeit provided for), until the devastating disease ran its course. One of the plague’s most famous victims, little Annie, still receives gifts to this day as visitors try to help alleviate her sorrow of being abandoned by her parents as she died a slow and pitiful death in the darkness of Mary King’s Close.

marykingsclose_wikipedia_thecontinnuumgroup
The actual Mary King’s Close, with props to recreate what life was like in the underground “city”. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, photo by The Continnuum Group

Mary King's Close Model
Model of Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo by Kristen Core.

Mary King's Close Plaque
Plaque describing the model of Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo by Kristen Core.

A Scottish Close
What a typical close looks like, open to the fresh sky. Photo courtesy WordPress Free Library, by Pixabay

Oh…and the city mentioned by Kris as being the home of the “Cathedral of Bones” near Budapest is called Kutná Hora and the “Church of Bones” is named Sedlec Ossuary. Here’s a look at some of the eerie, beautiful craftsmanship inside the church. Yep. Those are human bones.

Sedlec Ossuary Kutná Hora
Photo of the Bone Church, Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora Hungary, Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, by Pudelek (Marcin Szala)

Check out our CALL ME KORGIA episode on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com
Episodes

Big Scare

themuglytruth

TMT_Ep16_IGPhoto
Kris and Kym enjoy coffee to the LAST DROP! Photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px.

Kym and Kris take the podcast to new heights when they hang out in Big Bear, CA, for the weekend in search of epic history (some tragic) and haunted happenings.

BB_Kym_Deck
Kym bundled up for recording outside on a deck in Big Bear.

We started off visiting the small and poignant Big Bear Cemetery. The cemetery opened in the late 1980s and unfortunately has had some financial difficulties over the years. It is under new management and by all accounts, seems to be the only cemetery in Big Bear.

We spent quite a bit of time walking through and viewing some of the lovingly decorated gravesites.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Throughout the cemetery were homages and tributes to the heart and soul of loved ones who have passed on, including some who must have had quite a sense of humor in life.

BB_Cemetery_AdiosAmigo
Humor is forever.

Afterwards, we went into Big Bear Village and visited the Knickerbocker Mansion (or, at least, the chained fence surrounding it). Couldn’t discover if the mansion is haunted, but it is a lovely compound and apparently has the oldest still-standing vertical-log cabin in the area (if not the state, or the country…or perhaps…even…THE WORLD!!) It’s currently closed but we couldn’t figure out if it’s because of renovations or for sale. There was no sale sign, but there was a box full of flyers espousing the virtues of the property.

BB_Knickerbocker
The Knickerbocker Mansion, Big Bear Lake

We then visited the Captains Anchorage restaurant (once the Sportsmans Tavern, owned by actor Andy Devine) just up the street. We were too early to go inside, so had to be content with just walking around the building while the kitchen crew eyed us through the window. Not creepy at all. Something weird happened to Kym’s camera phone as she tried to take a photo of one of the upstairs windows. Now. There is a story about a man named George who was found dead in his office on the second floor, whether by murder or by suicide no one really knows. But his ghost is said to haunt the restaurant. So. Ghost? iPhone glitch? Hmmm…..we may never know. There was nothing untoward in the photo, but we are planning to go back and next time…go inside! So bring it on George!

BB_CaptainsAnchorage
Captains Anchorage steakhouse, Big Bear Lake

Our Tour Guide to Macabre Big Bear (Kym’s mom) pointed out a home in her neighborhood and a couple businesses in the village with tragic histories, and at one point we did stop near the condo where Christopher Dorner holed up during a manhunt that ended in a fatal shootout with police. During his vengeful spree, he ruthlessly murdered Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, Officer Michael Crain and Officer Jeremiah MacKay, and caused injury to many others before dying in a fire in a cabin off Highway 38. It’s a tragic addition to the otherwise rich and beautiful history of Big Bear.

To lighten the mood, we end up by touching on the relationship Big Bear has with Hollywood. This has nothing to do with Halloween, or hauntings, or spookiness. Nope. This is alllll about the “make us feel better please” after spending a day talking about death.

In the early 1900s, the mountains, valleys and lake were discovered to be as much a goldmine for filmmaking as the actual gold mining industry had been in building up the town in the 1800s. Aside from a laundry list of classic westerns made in the early first half of the 20th century, scenes in notable movies including “Gone With The Wind,” “Paint Your Wagon,” “Kissin’ Cousins,” “Old Yeller,” and “Davy Crockett” and television shows including “Lassie” and “The FBI” were filmed in the area.

And just because they were so danged cute, here’s some parting shots of just some of the critters who kept us company during the recording.

BB_Chipmunk
Eat up little Chip!!

BB_BlueJay
He wants a peanut mom!

To hear our BIG SCARE episode, go to iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and then subscribe, download and listen! If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review! The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com
Location photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px

 

 

Episodes

Episode 04: Julyoween!

themuglytruth

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Happy Tuesday!

Oh, dear mug-clutchers, we keep trying to manifest cool, crisp Autumn!! As we sip iced-coffee, fan ourselves and bemoan California summer heat, we try to bring a bit of October by regaling ourselves with Halloween-inspired tales…hence Julyoween! We talk about our own experiences with the paranormal – apparitions, floating ghosts, messages in our dreams, moving photographs (and not the super amazing, always wonderful Harry Potter kind), ouija boards, EVPs, orbs, ghost walks, ghost bus tours (the best in Edinburgh!), creepy childhood homes, long-passed grandmas, cemeteries, and even a dancing box.  And we also learn some of the most haunted spots in Orange County, California: Yost Theater in Santa Ana, The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, Yorba Linda Cemetery, The Wild Goose Yacht in Newport Beach, the Howe-Waffle House in Santa Ana (NOT the Whaley House, which is in San Diego – good one Kris *eyeroll*), Rutabagorz Restaurant in Old Town Orange, Kmart in Anaheim (wait…WHAT?? Yes you read that right…unfortunately Kris was thinking Walmart, ergo the what’re the ghosts wearing quip. Oh man. We hate when jokes get messed up on technicalities like accuracy and FACTS. *crossing arms, tapping foot, pouting*), Cypress College Photography Department, just about all of Fullerton, and so…much…more!!

Don’t be scared, click the Libsyn link below to help you cross over to the latest Episode of the Mugly Truth Podcast!

//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6827710/height/360/width/640/theme/legacy/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! And leave us your own tales of the paranormal on any of those sites, or email us here at sipsters@themuglytruth.com!

Note from Kris: Hi all…I found a photo of my beautiful friend Kerrie Ann, circa 1987-1988, during Christmas time at my parent’s house (yes the one where most all my paranormal moments happened!). As I edited this episode on Sunday, 15 July, it hit me that that was her birthday. I miss her every day. Our birthdays were intertwined and mine was never the same after she passed. Rest in Peace my lovely, beautiful soul-sister, you will always be in my heart.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com