E496 Honeymoon Hamburgers and Whale Princes

- I was literally wearing pants from Zazzle yesterday. - Wait, what? Tell me about that. - Hanks face all over them. - No. - I actually forgot that I was wearing them and then I went to the dog park and I saw someone wearing spots all over their pants. Like that, spots all over them. And I said, "Oh, nice pants." And they said, "You really are not one to talk today." - Truly, I have used Zazzle for a long time. If you want to custom gift, Zazzle's the place they've got. - If you want to custom gift of Hanks face on a pair of pants for your friend. - You could put anything on anything it seems. - Do you remember when I made a mug one time? The only reason I remember is I pulled it out this morning to go, "What mug is this?" And it was way in the back, way dusty. And I meant to send it to you ages ago. It says, "Live laugh, lemon," and Comic Sans. There's pictures of me and lemon on like everything. And then it says, "Family is forever." And I was like, "That is, that's a mental health crisis." - A threat. - Yes, sent it to you. - All of us just say, "Use Zazzle." - The opportunities are endless for gifts. Apparently a gift I got M, which by the way, I discovered again this morning. This was probably three years ago that I made this thing. - I'm telling you, "Zazzle's the gift that keeps giving." And right now, save 25% of your first order at zazzle.com. - Man, that's 25% savings on your first order at zazzle.com. Go make some things amazing like I apparently did and M definitely did zazzle.com. - Hi, I'm Cassie, host of Tell Me Your Ghost Story podcast. Each episode features someone sharing their real life paranormal encounter in their own words. From haunted houses to strange creatures, messages from beyond to UFO encounters, each story is sure to haunt you. Like David's story, he delivered mail to a bustling hotel in downtown LA, but later learned it had been abandoned and condemned for years. Or Jordan, who woke up in a historic hotel to find a goblin-like figure staring at her. And whatever it was, it followed her home. And Evan, who left the first responders who saved his life, stunned. After accurately recounting what happened while he was clinically dead, ready for more? Listen to Tell Me Your Ghost Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. - This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace Domains. We have you Squarespace since we started the podcast almost 10 years ago. Actually, in the Schultz-Worth manner, we now have two family members using Squarespace because Allison and her jewelry business, for just craft, just started using Squarespace themselves. She was like, "I really need a website." And I said, "We've never had a problem with Squarespace. You gotta use them." Squarespace, your domain comes with everything included from the moment that you register. You get every feature, every tool, everything you need to manage everything for your website. Just in one place, from email forwarding to domain renewals. You don't have to worry about going elsewhere for any of it. It's all in one spot. And now you can not just secure your domain without any extra fees. When we were starting our website, it would cost all this extra money just to have the rights to the name or to the URL. But Squarespace has that handled and your domain includes advanced built-in security and privacy protections with an activity log. So you know everything that's going on on your website at all times. You never have to wonder when something changed at all. And with Squarespace, you also can unlock a full suite of tools, not just the website builder, but email campaigns, scheduling, all that from, again, just one place. It's really wonderful. We love Squarespace. We have been singing their praises for a long time. And that's because for the last 10 years, they have only gotten better and better and better. So please go check them out. Check out squarespace.com/drinkforfreecharile. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code drink to save 10% off your first purchase of a domain. [MUSIC PLAYING] Do you want to know how my grandmother says hello every single time, like if you call, if you walk in the room, like my mother's mom goes like this. Ha-li-halo. And it's like so. Ha-li-halo. And she sings in the church choir. She's not even religious. She only goes to sing. But like, she has that really high freaking, oh my god. So sometimes when there's just like a pause before greeting, I just that intrusive thought comes in. I, as an adult, that would scare the shit out of me. But as a kid, you know you're like, grandma's here. Like, it sounds like a little-- I was more like, oh no, grandma's here. Oh, I see, OK. But, you know, it's OK. We've had our ups and downs. My-- that sounds-- it sounded very chipper. And my gammie had a lot of chipper-- It is. Oh, she's extremely chipper. Yeah, that's-- it's like the singing in the kitchen, the humming, that like, she's just like always singing. Yeah, she's always just delighted about something. Every morning you would wake up-- if you slept over at my gammies, you'd wake up to a song. And like, God, I love that woman when I'm not sleeping. But like, every time she woke me up with a song, I'd be like, you, we clearly don't do this enough. Because-- We're waking up with the songs is insane. And my father used to do this. And he would go, I've done this on the podcast. I feel it in my bones. I'm repeating it. I'm repeating. I'm not-- It's OK. Do it again. Hey, spirit guides. This is not me repeating a generational cycle. I've already broken that curse. So please don't punish me. But here's what he used to do. He used to walk in and you go-- Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, sun and shine. And you don't have to be sad. And what it means is, so when he would rip open the curtains, like, of course, blind you, you know. The lyrics translated directly are as follows. Good morning. Good morning, good morning. Good morning, sunshine. You are not allowed to be sad. Yes, you have talked about this before. Yes, yes, yes. You may not be sad. I mean, you know, that's a warning sunshine. There's some people out there who would consider that, like, one of those daily affirmations, like, you'd be happy. You'd better be happy, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I am happy. I am wealthy. I am fulfilled. Well, I am not allowed to be sad. As you know, I'm such an evil monster when I'm sleeping that my-- it was clear whenever I would sleep over at Gammy's, because she obviously didn't know who I actually was when I wasn't sucking up to my sweet grandma. Because when my mom wakes me up, she literally will, like, use a stick, like, I'm a lion. [LAUGHTER] And then when I wake up, I don't think it's like, like, I'm laughing, but I'm also, like, really scared. It's not funny. I'm actually afraid. Like, what have I done to her that's so hard? But she's, like, my first-- I feel-- with that morning will be her dropping the stick and fearing and backing up and going-- Feeling for the doorway. She goes, it's me, it's me, it's mom. It's me, like, I'm like, what the-- it's, like, she truly thinks I'm going to, like, pull out the knife under my pillow. This is lion tamers have seen scary things, right? Like, their lives are at risk. It's a brave job she has. Both of them by Gammy would go, oh, good morning, my little birdies. And my mom would go-- And my mom would catch you off guard, and you probably never once attacked her, you know what I mean? You're totally fucking right. But I could hear my mom when my grandma was doing that, my mom being, like, back away, you don't know what you're doing. It's like-- What is with that? What-- I know, what is that? It's like, my stepdad used to just, like, rip the covers off aggressively. Like, is that-- Hey, does everybody's parents do that? Or is that just, like-- I could see it if you're, like, if you have a teenager who just won't get up, right? You have to get to that place where you're-- No, there was, like, never a peaceful way to wake up. In any home, I lived in. I don't think ever. You know what's-- I'm even afraid to go to sleep because I'm afraid to wake up. That's the most fall-up way Emo Bullshit I've ever said, right? That's not the bruise, yeah. No, I-- A walking bruise is what I am. I-- with you, I-- I-- You said it, and maybe it was supposed to sound really fucked up, but to my ears, that was right. Thank you. And even Allison, who, like, is a very kind waker upper, the second I sense her in the room, I go get away from me. Like, I'm, like, what could you need right now? Get the stick. Yeah. [LAUGHTER] Oh, it's so not funny. But I, like, I'm, like, what-- I must have horrified her as a teenager. I know I was nasty as a teenager, but that's crazy. Anyway, did you wake up OK today, Christine? Nobody's saying to me, so I felt good about that. Honestly, the only time I didn't even tell this on the podcast, I talked about this on TikTok, but I-- Geogas skunked by three skunks. Welcome to Hell. Has that happened before? Never. Here's what happened. Oh, no. Three of them? 2am. He comes and wakes me up. He's having tummy troubles. I, ever so graciously, go downstairs, let him out. This is the day after we had this tornado blow through. So I didn't realize there was, like, a hole in the fence that he could get out. I'm waiting. I'm waiting. I'm thinking, it's taking him a long time. Suddenly, I'm like, it is 2.15. Like, what is he doing out there? And I look, and I just see, run up the street. This butt curtain past the fence, running up the wrong direction down the one way street. And I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. So I think he's chasing a cat. And thankfully, it hides under the truck right in front of my house. So I'm like, so I run outside. It's, again, now it's about 2.15 in the morning. I'm not wearing pants, of course. Why would I be, right? And I'm like yelling like, yeah. And I'm saying all his favorite words. I'm yelling lunchtime, it's like I look fucking insane. I'm like, lunchtime dinner, treat cats. Like, I'm trying everything. But he is dead set. And all of a sudden, he starts sneezing. And I'm like, what is he sneezing at? Suddenly, a skunk family, darts out from under this truck. And into the sewer. And this idiot chases them. But one of the skunks, his booty's too big. And it's good. stuck in the sewer drain and GEO scared his nose right in that booty. And I tell you what, the sneezing, the just wrenched head to toe. The crying, they can cry, dogs can cry. Oh, this luscious like fur, and it's just oily skunk. And I finally managed to get this idiot inside. And he just runs straight onto the rug. Of course, brand new rug. Well, because they're just trying to rub it out of their eyes as fast as they can. Oh, my god. So did he really get jumped by all three skunks, or was it just the one? Like, did he get triple skunk? He got sprayed by at least one under the truck, and then he continued to chase them into. And then he got the full, I'm saying a lot of words, but the full face, face, face spray. So how did you, when did this happen? Wow, it feels like just yesterday, but I think it was about a week, it was about five days ago, and I locked him in the downstairs bathroom. I was on Reddit, googling like baking soda, you know, whatever is spraying him down. And I was, I mean, it was just ridiculous. Like, we had already lost power because of the storm that had gone through. It was just like, I felt like, I was little home on the prairie or whatever that children's book is from America. Yeah, talk about being mad at Allison, because when when Hank got skunked, I called her like freaking out, being like, what do I do? What do I do? And she was like, you could google it. And it was two in the morning for her to be fair, but it was not the help I wanted. I wanted her to teleport there and fix it. And she couldn't. And so she was actively told no one, except that I continued to bitch about the entire. I went into complete assault and solvent. But they didn't like smell it in the house. No, they were out of town. He and Lionel were visiting. Sorry, that was part of the problem during the tornado and all this. I was home alone. I had to open the trap door to the basement. And do you remember it was the day we recorded and there were these roofers on the roof. And I kept saying like, I feel like I'm gonna watch them fall. Well, guess what? That day the ladder was still freaking up to the roof. And I was like, in the in the living room going, I am a strong independent woman and like opening the trap door because it's like eight feet tall and like made of the floor. It's made of the floor. And so I'm like lifting it. And Juniper and Moonshine just trot on downstairs. Like they're ready to be saved, you know, from this fucking hurricane. And then I'm suddenly like screaming out the door to these roofers like get in the house. You idiots, you're gonna die. But the ladder was stuck and it's gonna fly down the street and kill somebody. So anyway, they hit it there. I know I've told a story. But that is where I was alone. And then that night, it couldn't get worse than that. It didn't happen. I mean, I this you're not gonna want to hear this. Oh, it got so much worse. Oh my god. Wait, this is the worst part. The next morning I went to yoga. I had to wash the chart everything and the yoga instructor at the end goes, yeah, man, it just reeks and I go and the whole neighborhood starts talking. And the reason I brought this up is because the time I was awoke in the day after was so horrifying. I was almost as horrifying as a song. The neighbors outside. I heard them saying, does anyone smell that? What happened out here? It's right around this house. And I'm like in my bedroom waking up and I hear them congregating. Like I'm in some sort of pilgrim, like time. Yeah, they're coming right here. They're all gathered outside. And my windows open. And I'm like, my god, oh my god. Don't make a sound. But it's like emanating off me. I just became that guy for the day for the week. Um, I know exactly every single step of the way that is horrible. Um, horrid. I and honestly, you're not gonna want to hear this, but I feel like it was actually a gift that nobody else was there to help you because everyone else is close and like the cat. I mean, as you know, as you just said, you don't even recognize the smell at some point on you. So like it would have spread 10 times with god. It was like in my hair. Yeah. And then like the, um, cause I remember I was, I spent all night. I was up until like nine in the morning, the next day trying to clean the entire house. And thank god we had just like moved in and had very little in the house. So I just had the windows and door open for three days. And I was like, if someone wants to steal my shit, they can't. I don't care. Just to air it out. Because as you know, that smell is like something you've never smelled in your life. It's like, it went through the neighborhood. And I think you actually chased these duck freaking skunks around the neighborhood because he was gone for 15 minutes. I had no clue where he was. That dog. I mean, he's going to kill, he's going to be the end of me. My nervous system can't take it. I love that he's still a little silly boy though. He's just my little prince. And now he's laying in the bed like taking up the half of the king size bed, just living the little prince life. Does it still smell like skunk at all? Cause for days after I didn't know it. I even smell that because I got so used to the smell to be honest. And then I got caring. I went to the dog park and everyone was like, oh, Hank clearly got skunked and I went and then he smelled him and he went, oh no, he's fine. And then they smelled me and they went, oh, you didn't clean yourself. I just like got to, I was like, I don't have the capacity to care about this anymore. And I just stopped caring. I feel so bad for you. It really is like, it's one of those things that like, it's one of those things that you are, you can morally feel okay by like wishing on a worse enemy. You know, it's like, I can't put in mouth. It's like, talk about like a big inconvenience, but like, yes. And like, somewhat embarrassing and really a pain in the ass, but like, ultimately, not a huge danger, hopefully, if it doesn't get too nice. Temporarily the zucking sucks. It just, yeah, it was, it was not cute for like my few days as an independent woman, you know, alone at home and no one but the trap door to keep me safe. I'm so sorry. That sounds like you actually really didn't have any fun. Well, you know, it's like the skunk is the least in my life worries, but it's the only thing that feels like, you know, it's like, the skunk like, it was like the cherry on top, you know, it goes like that, you know, it's like, oh, the night I needed to sleep, it's like, how about instead it to in the morning after you finally got power instead of sleeping with air conditioning finally, like, you actually have to be awake now and trapped in the bathroom with this dog for two hours. Dude, I mean, you're, it's like, it's like some least of my concern. So it's like, it's just insane on top of everything. It just, it's just the umbrella. I mean, now everything smells like skunk. When I, when I, when he got skunked, it was the last time I was letting him out for the night and it was two in the morning and then I was like, well, I got some cleaning for the next seven hours of my life. I guess this is now my life. Oh my god. And that was the day I found out he's scared of baths. That was a bad day. So it's like, oh, you really fucking need one. Well, you really, this is the time to find out. Yeah, no, but that was actually, I mean, you and Geo have clearly already bonded, but that was for us, that was the moment. First time we had to put our differences aside. Yeah, clearly, um, to say both of us, I'm assuming that's why you drink, even though it's a few weeks old. You know what? It is why I drink because there are so many reasons, but they're all far too insane and heavy and gigantic. So, you know, that'll be for another, catch me somewhere else on that. Okay. I don't know. Okay. What are you drinking? I'm drinking just water because I'm just kind of trying to survive. I'm also drinking water, but I'm drinking, I'm surrounded by bottles of half drink water that I keep leaving everywhere. And now my goal throughout this is to just drink all of them and to marry the ketchup. What? You marry the, marry the waters. You can't just say that twice. And now it's like, what are you talking about? It's like what you do when you work in a restaurant, you put the at the end of it, you consolidate. Yes, I'm marrying the ketchup, but my body is the ketchup bottle. And the ketchup is water. Yeah. It's the same. One time I worked out a farm for a few months. I wasn't supposed to, but I just kind of did. And I had a crush on the farmer, Mark, with the sea, because he, like, he went to Harvard and he like quoted books and stuff. And I was 18. So I had a huge crush on him. So I kept going to the farm and they were like, you're not like, you, your shift is over. And I was like, oh, well, I'm here. But the first day I was there, they were like, you have to consolidate the lettuce. And they kept saying that. And I was like, I don't know what that means. I don't know what that means. And so I stood by the lettuce. And I just was like, oh, yes, I'll move this bin on top of the fridge. Could that be consolidating? Like I stood in there for like an hour being like, what do I do? And then finally, they were like, did you consolidate the lettuce? Exactly. I was like, and I said, I think so. And they were like, well, let me do it real quick. And then they just Oh, I thought you said, move it on top of the fridge. My bad. Literally, I hate to break it to you, but I think the first of all, a farmer from Harvard is like straight out of Hallmark. I know. And I thought that I was the co-star, but alas, I was just the quirky sidekick in the background. Who didn't know how to consolidate? I do think someone else probably came along and you were just like the comedy point in the beginning. Yeah. Yeah. She was really pretty too. Yeah. But yeah, I think if he's from Harvard and you didn't know what the phrase consolidate the lettuce, he probably went, we are in different brackets. Well, that was also the week that I found out I had entered. I had been accepted to the program where I met Allison go forth, which was the philosophy seminar, like live in philosophy seminar that she and I both did. So I told I told Mark all about how I got to be part of the live in philosophy seminar. I'm sure they're actually really sucked them in. I bet that one. Yeah. Yeah. I'm on him good. Well, I don't know. You don't know consolidate the lettuce. I don't know Mary that catch up. So obviously we have we're meant to be. Let's get the fuck out of here. I would have looked at you on that farm and been like, this is not our place babe. Yeah, I would have been like Mary who. Who's Mark? - I'll be remarks. - Okay, so that's what I'm just drinking a bunch of hot, loose waters, and then I today is the new last day that Allison's parents will be here, but they extended their trip. - The new last day, what does that mean? - They were supposed to leave earlier, but they've extended their trip because the building has become so elaborate of the spookyzy. - Of the spookyzy? - I am not allowed to know still what's happening I just know that I thought a moving walkway or something, I can't wait to find out. - Literally, I have, I consider myself generally handy and like, if it requires a drill, I can do it. I can do that, but I don't know how to do any of the stuff that they're all doing. - Yeah, I mean, not an architect level, I suppose. - Certainly not, especially like retired decades and decades and decades between them experience. - And looking for a project. - Well, hungry for, they're hungry for that project. - All three of them, it's like family bonding plus just yearning for something to accomplish. - I mean, that sounds great. - So they're going to come over to my house, please. - They're all up to something, but also let's not forget that they've all been starting at like 7 a.m., they've all been wonderfully quiet. That's not the problem. There's not even a problem, but it's like from 7 a.m. until like past dinner, they just are going, going, going. And they still didn't get everything that they wanted to done in time. And so they extended the, anyway. - So they're all, I can't wait for the tour, the like virtual tour afterward. - B2, 'cause I don't even know what's going on there. - Okay, fair point. - The garage is now called the shop officially. - Oh, that's kick ass. - Okay, keep going, oh, we're in the shop. And oh, you're going to record. We'll just be in the shop for the next three hours. I'm like, what could you be doing in there? - But in the shop, please, they're in the shop. So I love that for them. Anyway, and also, well, I'm not even going to get into that. I have a lot to tell you about my story today. So we got to get into this. - So my mom was watching my house and she was like, ooh, I have to sign for a package, which means it might be alcohol. And I was like, yes, you can have it. And she's very excited because she's gotten way into Angry Orchard. This episode, by the way, is brought to you by Angry Orchard Hard Sider. Very delicious, very crisp stuff. And now delivered to my home and to my mother. - It's just moments away from your lips, yeah. Angry Orchard Hard Sider is made with two real apples in every cider, which is why it has that real fresh apple flavor instead of just being overly sugary. So it tastes like you're just sitting in an orchard. - It's a hard cider with other natural flavors. It's not beer and it delivers that balanced refreshing finish. You can kind of be listening to a podcast. You can be out and about watching the big game. You can be doing whatever you want to do. Angry Orchard is delicious. It's the number one hard cider in the country. So they clearly know what they're doing. - Yeah, if you like the sound of (sighs) then that could be you. Don't get angry or get orchard near you. Visit AngryOrchard.com and use the cider locator to find Angry Orchard near you. Angry Orchard Sider Company LLC. Angry Orchard is a hard cider with other natural flavors. Please drink responsibly. - This was originally supposed to be such a short story. And then I did my thing where I was like the story's too short. I need to find like a quick little deep dive to talk about. So like I have enough for us to like banter about. And then the deep dive's just kept a common. And so I want to apologize to the people who like a straight-lined story. Like I just like. - I'm here for the Wurley ride. It's gonna be a loop-to-loop kind of situation. - I might dream of me, though. - Worn you when the loop-to-loops are coming. But this is, the story itself is actually incredibly boring, but every time like good start to a podcast. - But like the people that come along the way, the friendships you make along the way, I gave them a Google and I went, "Oh, this person's so interesting." - Those are a little shout-out. - See, okay, we've got, okay, okay, okay. We've got some characters. - So I can give you an incredibly short rendition if you like, it would be about 15 sentences. But along the way, it gets very interesting. So if you recall last week I did haunted fast food restaurants. - Yes. - Then I said there was a McDonald's that I really wanted to cover. I did not, the McDonald's is one bullet. There's nothing, like I thought I was gonna get really into like the nitty-gritty of a haunted McDonald's. There really is nothing to talk about except that for a time it was a McDonald's. But the house itself ended up being its own super interesting story. So. - Oh, okay. So let's just say this was inspired by the McDonald's. I thought I'd be talking about. - Who is this? - Okay, but we're also not getting paid by McDonald's. So like, they better-- - Sure, step up. - And honestly, thank God we're not getting paid because I'm only gonna mention them ones. So otherwise it'd be so disappointing to them that they'd be like, we paid for a full episode. What's going on? - We wouldn't be getting paid then, probably. - So this is one of the McDonald's I did not cover last week. This is the frontier house. Ooh, okay. - Which in the 70s becomes McDonald's temporarily. - Okay, so this is the frontier house and then I'm also gonna add this on. This is mainly for Megan, our social media queen. Are you okay? I'm just-- - Oh, I see. - You're having fun. - They've been off screen. - I thought you were like fainting 'cause Megan's incredible. - Sorry. If I disappeared, Jack, just cut the M when I'm everything, sorry. I'm like having a, I'll tell you about another time M, but my last phone, sorry. Okay. - I think we can relate. - We could go forever. - Yeah, so I'm calling this the frontier house. I'm also gonna call this the frontier house and the Morgan Affair because it's such a big chunk of the story and is also somewhat of a historical event. So if someone wanted to search that on our website in our episode list and you wanted to be able to type in the Morgan Affair instead of the frontier house. I don't know, however you wanna do it, Megan, I trust you. So this is the frontier house. It's in Lewiston, New York, which is in the Niagara area. - Aha, I've been to Niagara Falls on my mom's honeymoon. - Have you? You got to go on one of their honeymoon's that's sick. I did it, not. - I brought my best friend with me. It was a really insane time. - No, as a child of many divorces, it's much less insane than other things you've said. - Well, we wrote a poem, well, we didn't get to. We weren't really asked to, but we wrote a poem for the wedding that rhymed and then. - Whoa, you know they were, I'm sorry. Maybe it was beautiful, but like also I feel like, I was gonna say, as the bride and groom, I feel like they were trying to do something sweet and include you, but they're also kind of stifling their laughs and trying to keep it together. - It was more just that they were absolutely not pleased that I was acting up again, but it's okay. Because my brother did a violin solo and my grandpa gave him a hundred dollars. So, you know what? - He got paid for his performance in New York. - He got paid for everything. Yeah, he got paid for that. And so, that was a trip where a listen, I got into a fight about hamburger prices and my mom called me a bitch in the Hard Rock Cafe. - Damn, you must have said something really mean about hamburgers. - I was right. - You know what? - You know what, it wasn't. - I'm on your side, whatever you said. - Thank you. - But, you know what, hamburger prices are exactly two higher, lower, exactly right, whatever you said. - That's exactly right. - Thank you. - So, this is in the Niagara area. We've gotten into like a third of one size. - I was gonna say, I don't know why you've extended this any further. I could probably make it 18 hours. - I should know better. This building was built in 1824. It was built as a swanky hotel/stage coach shop/tavern. And it was called the finest hotel west of Albany. West of Albany is a lot of space. - West of Albany? - If you said east of Albany, I'd be like, okay, that makes sense. - Yeah, that hits the ocean pretty quick, yeah. - I did Google how many hotels were west of Albany in the 1820s? - Maybe they meant like, - Oh. - 'Cause I wanna be like, oh, you're number one out of how many. And also, there's no fucking way without a plane that you know this. You're just saying it. - Yeah, but that's the perfect thing. 'Cause it's like, what is it called? What is it called? What is it called when you? - Sort of the D, doesn't it? - Dineglet. - Dineglet. (laughing) - It's a possible deniability. - Thank you, I was close. (laughing) - Yeah, a possible deniability. They're like, well, as far as I know, I mean, I haven't taken my private jet in 1822 out to wherever the fuck. So yeah. - So sure. - So it is allegedly. I mean, no one was ever gonna prove them wrong 'cause they could only walk so many miles in their lifetime. The finest hotel west of Albany. It was built out of three feet thick walls of stone made by only 18 men over only 18 months. - This is like a riddle. - It does feel like they all just took like a one month long shift at a time. - Yeah, it feels like a goat was like, a magical goat had something to do with it. - Like a beanstalk grew out of this. - Yes, no, I literally was not saying a bag of beans or something, yes. - So, okay, it was made by 18 men over 18 months. That's just, that does feel like they just said that for the flare and it can't be real. - Like a weird riddle, yeah. - When it was finished, the hotel was 15 rooms, which I don't know if that's big or small. - Wait, there were 18 men, did they have to like-- - Right, did they have to share all while they worked? - I thought we were all gonna contribute a room. - Now what's fun is that the, that would have been fun if you let every-- - Let me know. - Okay, hotelier people, I need you at the front. You should have at the hotel staff and that's garsalk, garsalk. as I slip you up 500 or something so you leave me alone. - Five hundred. - I don't know this is my fantasy. We're like, I can just do that. - We have traveled to so many holiday and expresses. I've never seen you fly a five hundred dollar film. - Okay, but can you imagine, can you imagine? - I would lose my ever loving mind. - No, I'm adding something else. Can you imagine a hotel, and you let every person who works design their own room, and that everyone has their own floor flora? - It's also a terrible idea 'cause most people have terrible taste, no offense to most people. It would be very silly though, and what if it's you? - It's probably not you, wink, but it probably is. - What if they all had the same interests and they all ended up being the exact same room? I'd be like, are you fucking kidding me? - Oh, it was just all like that gray, bachelor pad type, like everything's kind of too sharp. - Well, this one, the only similarity between each of them, I guess that we know for sure, is that all 15 rooms had a fireplace, which is nice in the 1820s. - That's nice. Guests here, because remember, it was super swanky. Guests included, President McKinley, okay. - Geez. - Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, The Prince of Wales. - What the fuck? - What, I mean- - Take your seat Charles Dickens, The Prince of Wales. (laughing) - My favorite prince of them all. - I was so impressed by your hilarious joke, wow. (laughing) - I really wish to go back in time and really commit to that joke, so you thought that was intentional, but no. - God, that was funny. I was like, what a weird title. I've never heard him call that, okay, I get it now. - No, Charles Dickens, come out, The Prince of Wales, come out. - Oh, understood, understood. - Now, my favorite person, and we have entered our first loop-to-loop very quickly, our first tangent. One of the people who've stayed here is Jenny Lind. Do you know the name Jenny Lind? - I don't, question mark. - Okay, so I need everybody to know immediately. I know that this is silly that I'm going so in depth about this purely to say at the end. She was just one of the guests that came to this place and she has no significant meeting to this building, but she's so interesting, and also she was the only woman listed out of all the notable guests, so let's give her a minute. - Yeah, let's see. - Jenny Lind was a famous soprano opera singer, also known. - With my grandma. - Yeah. (singing in foreign language) - You know what, that was Jenny Lind's favorite song. She was born in Sweden, and her stage name became the Swedish Nightingale. - Swedish Nightmare, and I was like, that's kick ass. - No, but that would actually be it. - That's for sure a metal band. You know that's like a hardcore band. - Swedish Nightmare. - Swedish Nightmare, isn't there? - It's just like the Skarskars Brothers or something, just all. - There are six Mafia, Swedish Mafia. Am I making that up? - It's either that or you're having a stroke, but I'm not sure which. - It could be both. So she's a famous opera singer, known as the Swedish Nightingale, and she was actually, now tell me, this is, the second I saw this title in an article, I was like, obviously she's getting a deep dive. She is known as one of the countries, not, sorry, not Sweden, the US. She is known as one of the US's first female celebrities and is often jokingly referred to as the first Taylor Swift. - What? - Don't not get you. - Okay, jokingly referred to. Let's not joke about her. It sounds like she is the, like I would agree to assess her. - She certainly was like everyone knew her. Okay, so we're gonna go into this. - Jenny Lind, like the name is like, I'm like, I feel like I should know what that is. You know what I mean? It's like, it's familiar to me, but I don't. - Well, it sounds so like America's Sweetheart, like, oh Jenny Lind, I don't know. - Americana, yes. - Yes. - So she was born in 1820. Did the door just open? I don't know. It's like, now that there's so many people in and out of this house, it's like ghosts are here. So she was born in 1820 and she grew up in Sweden, but she sang across Europe from 11 to 28. - Okay. - Wow. - And by 28, she could retire. That's how like big her opera singing was. So at 28, this is a quote, I just didn't even wanna change this up. At 28, the audience for her farewell performance included Queen Victoria, who presented her with a German crested night in jail. - Well done. - Okay, no big deal here. I'll just bring this German crested night in jail as a present. - Can you imagine? You haven't even hit 30 and then people come into your house and they're like, oh my God, what's this little chochki on your shop? - Oh, you know the Queen gave it to me when I retired. Are you kidding me? - It's really quite gosh. So, okay, so then she retires and after retirement, she's like, I should really get into just like doing concerts. That'd be like so sec. But she said it in Swedish. So PT Barnum of Barnum and Bailey. - I almost said his name earlier when you were talking about lion tamers. - It's, and also you said something about flying a jet and I almost mentioned Taylor Swift. It's, there's a lot of synchronicity. - Wow. - So PT Barnum heard about her and said, girl, you gotta get to the US. You have to go on tour and let me be your tour manager. 'Cause he smelled money, like Mr. Krabs. He was like, Jenny Lynn, this. - Oh yeah, oh yeah. - He's in, she's the next Taylor Swift I can just tell. - She, like exactly his words and she was like, who's Taylor Swift? And he was like, don't worry about it. It's gonna be great. - Oh, you don't even know the half of it. - So he said, I'm gonna manage your tour. Just come here at the time. Nobody actually knew who she was in the United States. She was more of a European thing. - Oh, so he's like, let's bring the class to America. - He said, we're gonna blow him all the way. So, woo. She agreed to come on tour under his management to the US. She had all these stipulations. I love that. She was like, I'm gonna decide what music I sing. I want a thousand dollars per show. - Good, yeah, she's been in the show business for her whole life since she's a kid. - What is this amateur hour? So, her whole dream was to one day open a music school for girls. So she was like, I'm doing this tour purely to make enough money to then just donate it all. So, let's make that clear. I need enough for a music school. - Love that. - So, to promote her upcoming tour, he went bananas with the publicity. Everything he could think of, he did, which I can't imagine more than like, your local paper in the 1820s. - I don't know, he's PT Barnum. Like if anyone's gonna be able to pull a stunt with like, while also hurting animals in the process. You know, like, he's gonna find a really fucked up way. - Well, he nailed it because basically, the hype that he got her was equivalent to like, beaver fever or beetle mania. Like, everyone went bananas. They called, they ended up calling it, 'cause her name was Jenny Linde. They called it Linda Mania. - Wow. And thousands and thousands and thousands, I think it was like around like 50,000 people showed up just to see her arrive in New York. So like, I imagine getting off a ship and like, everyone you've ever seen at the support is here for you. And she even stepped foot in the country yet. And all these people were so stoked to see her. Her tickets, which were, at the time, I don't even, I should have done the math on this, but in the 1820s or 18, whatever's, her ticket was supposed to be $6. And that, - Oh, wow. - Heros, my, but people were so stoked for her that they sold so fast that her tickets became worth $200 each then. - And that's when ticket master was born. - And that's when someone had the idea, certainly, and they were like, - Credit Tory Markets, yeah. - So people were even just buying random items. The hotelmates were like selling her hair that they found in their brushes. Like, gloves, hats, anything she ever touched, she was like throwing out into the crowds and people were hoarding them for the rest of their lives. She was like one of the first, it girl celebrities. - Holy crap. - She had her own line. She was actually one of the first celebrities to have their own line of paper dolls. Thank you very much, ever heard of it. - Are you serious? - Jenny Lynn dolls. - That's sick. - And she ended up also changing the furniture game because she said in some sort of interview, which I didn't even know the interviewed celebrities back then, she said that she was obsessed with this one bed that she slept with, not slept with, yikes, slept in. It was called, at the time, it was a spool turned spindle bed. And she was like, oh, America has the best bed. The spool turned spindle bed. I am obsessed. I sleep so good, blah, blah, blah, blah. Helix, Casper, blah, blah, blah. - I was a, I was holding my tongue. - Well, so now those beds are called Jenny Lynn beds to the stake. So if you want to Google it, it's a very specific type of bed that you can still buy anywhere, but they're known as Jenny Lynn beds because she loved them so much. - How do you spell her last name? - L-A-N-D. - Lynn. - Oh yeah, okay, so that's exactly, and that's such that shaker Americana style. So that is how my stepmom's beds always lived, and they always creeped me out, 'cause they were also always like a hundred years old, and I felt like. - It does look like it's from another time. - Yeah, it's kind of creepy, but I kind of like the style's very cabin. - Yeah. - I don't know. - Wimsy, a little whimsical with the spruce. - Yeah. - Anyway, so she ended up doing almost a hundred shows with PT Barnum. So she made almost $100,000 back then just on her store. - Jesus. - And she did another 60 shows in the US after she broke things off with PT Barnum. And she made, I think in like, what would be the equivalent of like $10 million today? - Dear God. - Donated most of it. And for those who are like Broadway musical people, I am not going to tease you any longer. Yes, she was also featured in The Greatest Showman, also with PT Barnum, Hugh Jackman. And she's the one who's saying the song never enough. - I never saw this movie. I think I watched it on the airplane. - It's become like a song that's like a trending song in videos and stuff, so like you probably have heard the song and don't know it. But that was Jenny Lynn. and singing that song. - Okay, what's the name of it? - Never enough, great a show. - Okay, anyway, that's my little spiral on Jenny Lynn, but I thought that was like, two interesting things. - I mean, I can't believe I didn't know that I feel like some people might be shocked that we didn't know that, but I've just. - Someone out there has a special interest with Jenny Lynn, and they're so glad that she finally had a moment. - Finally, seriously, she looks, oh, she's cool, oh my. - She's a cute guy. - And it's so weird to see like, an oil painting of her, like you should wait. - She was a superstar, it's like that's an oil painting. - Well, so in the gray showman, they also allude to like PT Barnum in Jenny Lynn, like having like a thing. I don't know if that part's true or if that was just for the movie, but how fun would that be if you're like, oh my God, you know the circus guy? Yeah, that's mine, that's mine, man. - Oh my God. - Yeah, let me have someone oil paint her so you know what she looks like. - That feels truly so like how like, Yin and Yang balanced relationships armor, like it's the circus guy and the soprano opera star that could retire by 28. - Of course, right? - It's the queen personality. - And literally retire and buy a country somewhere. You know, it's like, really? I was in the wrong industry. - There's always a fancy pants and there's always the court jester, you know? - Well, and my parents want me to go into STEM and it's like, really, what was I thinking? (laughing) - Okay, so all of that to say everyone, she was just one of the many guests that came to the Swinky Hotel, the Frontier House. - I mean, she sounds like a big deal, so. - She deserved it. - So this was a hotel slash stage coach shop in Tavern for almost a hundred years. And since the 1840s, the building has changed ownership like eight or 10 times. So it started in the 1820s, the first 20 years it was owned by the same person and then it just kind of started changing hands. The hotel had a big few years in the 1960s because there was this huge boom of factory workers that came into the area and they didn't have enough housing yet. So then the hotel kind of became a boarding house where they were rent, it was like daily rates, but they were doing it. - And they had all those spindle beds. - Can you imagine? They should have been like, we only have Jenny Lynn beds after Jenny Lynn stayed here. You could be in the Jenny Lynn suite. They really should have monetized that if they wanted up. - I feel like it's a good marketing strategy. - I think so. So anyway, they ended up renting the rooms by eight hour shifts so that way they could have three sets of customers per room every day. - Oh wow, okay. Just so people could go in there and take a nap on their break or on their day off and then they could go right back to the factory. So it's been a hotel, it's been a boarding house, it's been a restaurant. At one point it was also a museum. It's been all sorts of stuff, but it was also a free mason lodge for many years and I need you to remember that eventually. - I will not forget it. I remember the McDonald's and I remember the free mason lodge. - The only things you have to care about so far, Jenny Lynn was interesting, but all you need to know is it was once the McDonald's. - Oh, I care deeply about her. I still have her oil portrait up on the side of the screen just 'cause I find it delightful. - Listen to that song later, it's a wonderful song. - I have the little page that says Jenny Lynn's music and some of her songs in a picture. - It looks great, I'm gonna listen to it. - Oh yeah, I like how I'm suggesting the one song she didn't actually sing. It's just like as the actress of the original music. But yes, I will also listen to the greatest Sherman song I'll listen to. - Okay, so before I get into the free mason lodge lore, I want to go on another downwards viral because this guy is equally as interesting. One of the owners in all of those exchanges of ownership, one of the owners, his name was George Rector. He added on another restaurant to the building and this is actually very foreshadowing of not just him, but his son and his grandson who all became restaurateurs. - Okay, so it sounds like eventually down the line, some of his kids also ended up running this place, but we care about George Rector. - Okay. - George has a son named Charles. Charles went on to move to New York and Chicago, open his own restaurants and he created this chain called the Rector's Restaurant. - Okay, make sense. - The first restaurant was actually in Chicago as part of the 1893 World's Fair. - Ooh, he ended up opening another Rector's because that one was obviously so successful. He opened this one like in like the Times Square area on Broadway, like, or not Times Square, sorry, but like literal Broadway, 42nd Street. If not 42nd Street, let's call 44th Street nearby. It was in the huge area where all of the actors and theaters and celebrities went in the 1910s. - Sure. - He served all the celebrities at the time and the restaurant was so well known as the restaurant where all the Broadway people go, that the Zigg Field Follies that I've mentioned in the past, do you know about them? - Yeah, sort of. - They were like a musical, they would put on different shows like Variety shows. - Yeah. - They created a show using Rectors as the set of their own show because it was so well known as the restaurant where all of the like Follies and the artists go. - Oh, neat. So that show was called The Girl from Rectors, The Girl by the Way was Fictional. They just threw Rectors in there. And they even had a song featured in the show called If the tables at Rectors could talk. And they say, "Oh, she paid a nickel and grazed his hand gently." - And by the way, my favorite thing about this show inspired by these famous restaurants, this show The Girl from Rectors was advertised as, and I quote, "A spicy salad with very little dressing." (laughs) - Love that. - La la la. - It actually ended up dinging the restaurant's reputation 'cause it made sound like all the salacious people go there, but that's also kind of what you wanted. - That sounds like a Tinder profile. - Okay, so we're not done with the loophole. I just wanna make sure that the, one of the owners of the hotel was George Rector. His son Charles opened these Rectors restaurants. And this one restaurant that was on Broadway that everyone cared about. There was one very famous guy in the Broadway scene. This doesn't mean he was like in theater, but he was just a part of that nightlife crowd. - Yeah, yeah, he was just like in it. - He was always there. Everyone knew him in the Broadway area of New York and he was called Diamond Jim Brady. Diamond Jim, we love Diamond Jim. - Okay. - By the way, despite him being such an elitist, he's so iconic. I just need everyone to put our capitalist feelings aside for a second. - Sure. - And so capitalist aside. Because I just need you know, I read his obituary and I was like in another world, I only wish to be as flamboyant and iconic as this man. So in his New York Times obituary, it said, right, many, there were many obituries about him. They all wanted to write about him and they all wrote about him as if it was a love letter. They all wow. - Wow. - Diamond Jim was a big guy. He was apparently worth $12 million then, which is now like $462 million today. - Yes. - His jewelry alone was worth what is now around $80 million today. He owned the first car in New York. - Oh. - Somehow still had road rage, even though he was the fastest man alive. - He's the first to have a road. - Wow, wait, you're right. He's literally the only one on the road. So it is all within, you know what I mean? Wow, that's deep. - It says something, but he had the first car. I guess he also had the first road rage and he's, I'm assuming because of this road rage, was involved in the first car traffic jam. Like, I'm assuming a car crash happened. - He crashed himself. He crashed his own car and created his own traffic jam and created his own reason for car insurance. And he ruined it for everybody. He thinks a lot. - Like, he should have been the blueprint of like, maybe cars aren't gonna be-- - Maybe let's do it a little different. - Maybe an airbag. - Maybe people named Diamond, whatever the fuck should like learn how to not drink and drive. - Well, he was only assumed. - He was known as Diamond because of his $80 million worth of jewels that apparently were so big that it took multiple fingers to hold one jewel. - Yeah, so he's driving around barely able to hold onto a steering wheel a little lonely. He can't even turn the key. - There's not even a road. There was forces. - Maybe that's why he had such road rage. - He was just weaving between people just walking through the street. - Yeah, it horses probably. Like, you're just like fucking hitting horses left and right. - So he caused this, oh, sorry. This was the-- - Caused a major traffic accident. (laughing) - This is the sentence in one of his obituaries that made me wish I could-- - It was very like a dolly-parten iconic attempt. - That's so intrigued, yeah. - But I read this in his obituaries, he says, "He caused a sensation here recently before his death by purchasing a pair of glasses set with Rose Diamonds for his dog at $6,500." Back then. (laughing) - For his dog. (laughing) - Yeah, back then people didn't like do shit like that for their dogs. Like nowadays that's like a celebrity thing, but like back then people didn't treat their pets like that. - Like he was Paris Hilton or something. - But it was like so eccentric to behave that way back then. - So here's the other things about Diamond Jim. And I know I'm going further and further. - He might be like Elton John, but like in the jewelry business. - Yes, I don't know. - That's a great way to put it to him. - I also imagine how he clearly does not have just dog glasses. - With all the grains. - Yeah, and like for sure the blinged out glasses. - He's like gay Tony soprano or something. - Yes! - My favorite thing about Diamond Jim was this man loved to eat. (laughing) Like when I, like he should, like he would have, he is a soprano, this is crazy. - He would have really been into like starring in like muck bangs or something on him. - Oh God! - He had a phrase where he was like, I start four inches away from the table and I stop eating when my stomach is touching the table. - Like he's like on a Dionysus shit. He's like just fill me up. Oh man, yeah, he's a. They called him in one. article the ultimate glutton because everything was too much, everything was too much. He was so big, and remember I know we're going further and further down the rabbit hole, but to remind us that we're talking about like restaurants in New York and the area where he was the guy, and he loved to eat. So every restaurant wanted him at their place to be like diamond gem eats with us. To give you an idea of how much he eats, this was a quote. It's an average dinner he had at Reckter's restaurant. Okay, okay. Wow. Tell me if you could eat this, Christine. I have a feeling that's enough. Two or three dozen, uh, two or three dozen oysters, six crabs, two bowls of green turtle soup, six or seven lobsters, two ducks, a double portion of tarot and sardine steak, vegetables, and a dessert platter of French pastries. It's a little average meal in the amount of animal. I'm sorry. You know, when you start thinking about how many animals now are in you, is just like starts to make me feel actually pretty. When it's literally a farm in your stomach and like turtle, like wild. Well, turtle used to be huge back then. Look at all three of these fucking menus. It's like on all of them. Turtle was obsessed with it. It's like your favorite food. I have seen turtle on one menu, but it was, I think it was like a like this, like a framedness like. Oh, I've seen it like in places, but I'm still okay. I was going to say I could never, I don't think I could. I'm not going to be participating in my, my body says no to that. But this man, okay, so it's obviously fucking loves to eat literally. I thought you were like at the oysters. I was like, I could for sure eat it as no oysters. I bet you and then it like kept going and I was like, okay, hold on. I'm actually really overwhelmed. He in one of his obituaries. Two ducks. Don't put two ducks. Like, stop it. People saying two ducks. They just picture a mallard and he's just going to like eat a mallard. Like, I hate this. I mean, I was, what was the one that threw me off the most? It was a, a tariff, a double portion of tariff and I don't even know what one portion tariff in is. I think it's a tariff in. Oh, it's a big fish. No, isn't it? That's also turtle, right? Isn't that like the terps? Oh, wait. It's a creepy turtles. Yeah. So he's, why is he eating turtles of turtle soup and then two portions of normal turtle? You know, that he just ate nine turtles. That he is a doctor. He is a doctor's soup book. He became an aquarium in a doctor's soup book by eating nine turtles. That's insane. He's like Sam, I am being like, look, look what could be done if you just opened your mind and you're tummy up. Yeah, look at how fucking, fucking diabolical things get when you try to peer pressure other people into eating things they shouldn't be eating. I mean, even a dessert platter. It's sick. It's not even just the French pastries. It's a plat, like, he eats the tray. I don't really, but like, at least there's not, like, fucking wildlife in him. And one of his obituaries, his friend, like, could have said anything in his fucking obituary. The friend took the opportunity instead to say, quote, I have seen him eat a pound of candy in five minutes. What else do they have to talk about if that's what he's busy doing, eating turtles all the time. Man, fucking mostly. I cannot get over the fact that he ate two turtles, plus turtle soup. It's like, you can't get enough turtle in one way. You got to eat turtles in another way. It must be somehow to him only with you, sir. By the way, like, to this day at the Beverly Hills restaurant, the famous one over here. Yeah, they have, you know, you know, the place, they have an extra thick cut of steak named after him still. Oh, I thought you're gonna say turtle. And I was like, please don't tell me this. Okay. Besides being able to afford what's probably $50,000 worth of rose lenses for my dog. The only other thing I want of his life is the fact that there's an extra thick steak cut named after me. Yeah, everything else I'll pass. Yeah, but that you're right. Those are like, those are like trophies. Those are good, good. Also, he never drank or smoke instead with every meal he would chug gallons of orange juice. This is just like the hard burn. Think about the turtle and the orange juice mixing in your stomach. I mean, we have to imagine why making someone so ill on their lunch break right now and I don't regret it. And I am not here to Bobby shame a single person, but like I'm imagining the health stuff he's dealing with if he's eating that many calories every single day. But on top, one sip of orange juice, I'm fucking done for eight days. I can't imagine gallons on top of the rest of his diet. I can't. And like the amount of liquid, like the soups and the gallons of juice, like this person must be just running in the bathroom. I mean, I can't, I can't, I can't. Okay, so climbing kind of out of our rabbit hole now, that was probably as deep as we were going to get. But so every restaurant in Broadway, obviously once him there is like, like to be like the famous eater comes to our place. That's how good our food is. And remember, we were at Reckter's Restaurant. That was the big famous one. Sergeant Charles, Jordan Charles, George owned the Frontier House, his son opened all the Reckters and really wanted Diamond Jim to be like, only come into Reckter's restaurant. So at one point, Diamond Jim is there. And Charles Reckter hears Diamond Jim saying, "I love your food, but I really love filet de sole margarie." I've never had that. But it's a French fish dish. I'm never going to because I don't want to eat anything that this man thinks is a good dish. Okay. Well, luckily for like, I don't think Diamond Jim knew who he was talking to. But Charles Reckter was like, you don't know this, but my first restaurant was at the World's Fair in Chicago, where I opened one of the first like, really chic seafood restaurants. And so you're talking to the right person. Oh, what a sincity. You're talking to the right person. And at the time, French seafood dishes did not very much exist in the US. So Charles was like, if I went Diamond Jim to come into my place, I need to really wow him and have his favorite Parisian fish dish here. Oh God, more with this fucking fish shit. So basically Charles Reckter doesn't know how to do anything simple. He could have just fucking, I don't know, called Paris and handled it. Instead, instead, he sent his son, so now we're at George Reckter's grandson. Okay. Sent his son also named George. So we're going to say George Jr. George Jr. He sent George Jr. He was like, hey, I know you're at Cornell and you're kind of thinking about law school, but like, would you want to apprentice at a Paris, a Parisian cafe? Like, I know you have a tie wrapped around your head right now and you have no plans for your future, but do you want to go to a Parisian cafe for the summer? So the rumor is that Charles ripped his son out of Cornell. I don't know how true that is, but ended up sending him to Paris to study under the best French chefs for the summer. Let me guess, the kid probably didn't complain so much about that, but I would have I know. He did it and he ended up becoming an incredible internationally recognized chef. Oh, good. He was, I know I mentioned Taylor Swift earlier, but a different article called him the Gordon Ramsay of the early 19th century. Oh, with all the flair and all that. Yeah. So he became known, or he ended up being a Cordon Bleu chef. He was in the society of Parisian cuisiners. He became the only American at this point to ever be approved by Parisian judges to be considered a master of that exact fish sauce that Diamond Jim loved. That exact sauce. Wow. He went there to learn that one sauce and he went, I'll do whatever it takes. And then he had to like go essentially like a doctoral like he had to like be tested under all these judges somehow. Yeah. So he comes back to New York, he starts running the Rector restaurant on Broadway just so he can make Diamond Jim this fish whenever he fucking wants. And I guess Diamond Jim quote became one of the best 25 customers they ever had. Wow. Okay. Um, George Rector, Jr. Then on top of that ends it up becoming the early 1900s version of a food celebrity. Or as he called himself a food representative at large, me too. A food representative at large. He introduced the country to French cuisine. He served all the celebrities of the time. He wrote books on food. He had a regular like three times a week CBS radio spot where he talked about food. He lectured on food. He played himself in a movie. I'm thinking about food. This is what I'm saying. Like you got to just follow your passions in life, you know. Well, my passion was apparently to absolutely not talk about the front to your house today and just talk about anything else. Exactly. And look how happy we are. My two favorite things about George Jr. The acclaimed chef was that he was one of the first people in the U.S. to ever talk about Fettuccine Alfredo. He wrote about it and he was like, you got fucking here about this. Number two is that he said out of everything he ever ate best food in the world hot dogs. So I apologize to everyone who didn't want a big old rabbit hole episode today, but all of this to say his grandpa George was one of the first people to run the front to your house and also foreshadowingly of the rest of his family opened a restaurant in the building. Geez. Okay. Okay. So now we're back in the general history of the front to your house. It was, but not for long, don't worry. So it was a hotel. Then it became a private home for a while. It became another hotel. It became that boarding house. I mentioned it became a different swanky restaurant. It became a museum and then a museum restaurant. Combo, which to me is like the Taco Bell KFC Pizza Hut situation course. In 1974, it became a historical landmark, which meant we could no longer really touch it outside of renovations. And then the next year, it became a McDonald's, which is why they were not able to change much if it's appearance. So if you were to Google front to your house McDonald's, it looks like a random fucking colonial house that we're just calling it so weird. So do you think it was like they got the permit when they found out McDonald's bought it and they were like, shit, we don't want them to like tear it down. I don't know because a few sources said that the McDonald's started in 1975, which would be exactly a year later. But then other ones said that they bought it, but then it didn't open officially as McDonald's until 1977. So for those like two or three years it's just sat under the McDonald's license okay so maybe they were under negotiations of how much they could touch I don't know yeah okay weird it's just uh I love that you're like it's on the National Register of Historic Places and then it became a McDonald's it's like wait what it's really weird to know how it would become a McDonald's after being on the historical landmarks it's like wait they put the plaque on and they're like now we can serve french fries here oh right yeah yeah it feels like that grease will never leave so yeah that feels like it's own kind of I don't know tainting something special but sacred but what do I know what do you know nothing so nothing by 2004 McDonald's closes so from the 70s to 2004 was a McDonald's which was a good run it sounds like this thing was really switching hands a lot so this was a long one um but then for the next 10 years or so it sat abandoned and it was just known as like the random old house looking McDonald's oh I mean it's got to be weird because it probably still has like this like creepy Ronald McDonald like stuff stolen it like grim it grimaces in the corner yeah right like you look in the window and oh see the hamburger glor did you have a favorite of McDonald's friends I don't think I understood what was happening me either it was all clearly like they were adults on acid okay I'm glad you say that because sometimes I think it's like my weird German upbringing and I'm like I didn't get it but no the point is your not one right okay because I never really was like drawn to them as a personal attachments you know in my own personal deep dives I might one day just look into like what the fuck was going on at Ronald's playhouse because you gotta be in the right headspace I imagine it's gonna be a weird ride I remember it like one of them was like a little bird who kind of looked like big bird but she was also a pilot but because she wanted to be able to fly even though she was a burden couldn't fly I'm like what the fuck are you talking about weird how high were you and all those little smoking dude although like like sentient mcnuggets that were everywhere it's like south park meets like meets like pretend children's show like it's just weird it's all weird yeah I I felt I got weird vibes from that whole thing I don't know well the yeah I don't understand I'm with you a hundred percent so I was like at least I can get behind hamburger hamburger like he steals hamburgers I get that that's about as much as I understand so that that's always like okay I I can get him like yeah I don't look guys I'm like I get your deal grimace has a weird one where he's like it's like he was like Ronald McDonald's imaginary friend or some shit yeah it's like dark immediately dark and immediately fucked up side bar I'm kind of wondering if they are the say if we just absolutely stole rights from McDonald's not you and me but in Fredericksburg our minor league baseball team the Frednatz our mascot is this fugly ass purple monster which looks like grimace except uglier so ugly and the storyline of why we picked him when like our team is the nationals and like one of our earlier mascots was like George Washington yuck they picked this purple guy and they're like oh yeah well that was George Washington's imaginary friend and I'm like I as someone the whole point of George Washington being the mascot of Fredericksburg is because George Washington grew up in Fredericksburg I promise you as someone who had to live in that fuck ass town for so long there was never we never learned anything about him having an imaginary friend that is not true they made that should be like we found an old leatherbound diary underneath the cherry tree and purple dust blew away from it and it was all about maybe grimace yeah and now the okay that's insane and also so funny and strange and you know it's so weird as our high school had a mascot just called the blob and there was no reason for it like but like we were the nights like the silver nights but it's like why are we but the mascot was like this blob character and nobody like knew where it came from or why um so yeah it kind of reminds me that that really is like minor league baseball rules where it's like oh we're called this one thing and the mascot is something so fizz looking different and we may not ask questions any questions will be denied you'll just be disappointed you're never allowed to know because it's actually written by the writers of the McDonald's scare back story characters honestly don't even fucking talk about it because if you do Ronald McDonald will find out that we stole his idea and you know he lives in that creepy building and if you look in the windows and meet up make eye contact like in seven days that's when it's all going to go down I know I'm truly in hell when I'm at the frontier house and grimace somehow introduces me to his cousin who was also visiting George Washington at some point imaginary and you okay all right we're going to yeah we're spiraling remember what I said if we couldn't get lower than the rabbit hole I brought us to and I said bet yeah okay the last real point I have uh is that in 2013 or around there it switched ownership after being a banner for 10 years before being in McDonald's it was McDonald's then abandoned and then it got bought out in 2013 a few times but the most recent update I have is that last year it became a new swanky restaurant called Fairbanks but then I googled it in its as temporarily closed so I um but the yellow pictures looked spectacular okay okay so now I'm gonna get into the haunted situation here which comes with its own deep dive me me me okay so the who are you Jenny Lind oh my gosh it's like she's here in the room with me right now I think that's is that how you would say it in Swedish also me me me me me it would just have like a mouse on it sweet it like an ikea furniture it's such a low blow it's like such a fucking low blow dude low but good every time thank you there's only so I don't know enough about Swedish people to have anything other than ikea you know I went to Sweden and I went to an ikea in Sweden so I feel like I've really was everything there in America American I'm so fucking stupid in English I mean you just sort of encapsulated the vibe of the entire excursion okay you know with my class um so yeah they a little bit catered to the idiots um but no it was anti-climactic you know that's just shame it would be funny if they were just totally making fun of us and all the furniture was just called like bed and chair and like in English since we get this way yeah yeah yeah whatever yeah no there's no elaborate backstory unfortunately it was just um meatballs been there done that in uh you know Westchester Ohio am I right didn't even have to leave the country for that one yeah yeah my mom had the accent everything it was like I was already there perfect um I um oh well I'll tell you after I don't I'll I'll bring this up at um uh yeah the hour but it's okay remind me ikea you'll know what it means okay so I'm gonna park in the stroller park okay see you there the okay here's your final uh I keep going to say downfall when I really mean like rabbit hole but a fuck this is the uh some of the lures to why this place is actually haunted okay despite just being like a hotel a million times so this involves the free mason's remember I told you at one point it was a free mason lunch yes the top floor of this when it was the original frontier house and the original spanky hotel it was used as a meeting house I think exclusively for free masons um if not they were still always fucking there so something happened on this property at the frontier house that ended up becoming part of one of the biggest events in free mason history oh um to this day it like rocked the free masons as they were and things have never been the same okay and it is called the Morgan affair huh so in the 1820s I'm gonna try to do this as quickly as I can because I'm aware of how much time I've already taken from everybody as I just like encourage your brains to rot away so I'm just gonna say this quickly I'm happily melting over here okay my brain my brain is so go for it I provide a no go so far I'm aware of that in the 1820s the free masons were a big big deal in the US it was not in the way that it is today they were like it was a very renowned prestigious the influential boards yeah but it was it was a really big deal to be in the free masons the free masons were very thought highly of right like very exclusive very exclusive and if you were joining the free masons it wasn't like oh like or like because you're in a cult or because you're into like spooky secrets and you want to know all about that it was really like like encouraged like oh if you really want to be a man of the of the times you go the free mason right so enter William Morgan who either was a free mason and everyone forgot or desperately wanted to be a free mason who was trying to lie his way in depending on the story actually really not even depending on the story no matter which way you spin it people seems to never fucking like William Morgan to begin with it sounds like he would have maybe a gambling issue maybe a drinking issue he was out there telling like crazy stories that a lot of people couldn't believe because they were so spectacular and one of them was that like he claimed to be a soldier in the war of 1812 but there was no evidence of that um you're gonna say but there was no war of 18 but the war died 40 years ago and I was like wait really that was all alive it was fake we're all okay now effect holy shit so like he he could have been in the war but he was saying he was a certain rank we're like if you look up like so like full on stolen on every front like he's like trying to be in the Freemasons he's trying to say he's served in the war okay exactly and so one of the things is he said that he that vibe he claimed that he was a Freemason but there's very very little evidence that proves to him actually having a Freemason okay that doesn't mean he wasn't like there was he did have a shocking amount of knowledge about Freemason's secrecy he sounds like he's kind of he could have charged that information out of somebody and also if he's if he's has a drinking problem he might be constantly at a bar where people are also drunk and spilling secrets like he's like a slippery dude yeah however there is official evidence that he at some point at chapter 33 of the Freemasons at that lodge at the chapter 33 lodge he did earn the royal arch degree which apparently means you have to have to make Donald the golden royal artist only grimace has ever won that title he is the hammer man he just stole the bowler yeah oh shit that now that's some lore I could get behind I'll be honest with you as a kid I would have eaten that shit up the synchronicities it doesn't have to make sense if you say it fast enough and people move on so like right now so okay so there is evidence that he like actual like Freemasons confirm that somehow even though there's no evidence that he was ever initiated what his official lodge is any membership status there's no legitimacy to like an account he would be on there's none of that we don't know where that is however there is official record of him earning the royal arch degree at a chapter 33 lodge okay which means it's written in crayon it's written in squeezed ketchup just like a finger with ketchup I or just this yeah it's like it was actually it's a medal but it's just a toy that came from the happy meal suma it's stupid oh it's just like like a chick of a dog and he's stapled it was just so but so for him to have earned that degree in Freemasonry he had to have also earned six other degrees to have even earned that one so it implies that somewhere he was initiated there's just no record of it and so people in the Freemasons have even said he must have just like been a part of the laziest fucking lodge where they did no paperwork like okay okay but there there is no doubt that's not something that people are are wavering on to my knowledge that like we know somehow he got this but like did he just charm his way in and go to a lodge and say I see I don't want to get haunted by this guy so I won't go I'm gonna call yeah well one of the series is like was he a Freemason somewhere else or was he not and he just he said he just moved to town and had this degree and he deserves the next one but he has no paperwork like I don't know right sure sure sure so other than there being no evidence of his membership except for this random thing he did have to happen to have a lot of knowledge about things that he really should have not known unless he had that degree okay but because he already had the reputation of like crazy stories and drinking a lot and gambling a lot he just was not trusted in town so that made it look even less reliable so when he tried to open a chapter in this new area of New York that he moved to they did open the chapter and they did not include him they denied him because they were like we can't prove that you're actually a part of this feel good I can't feel good so in retaliation because of course he's a scorned man the worst thing for a man is if he's embarrassed right so in retaliation he announced that he was going to write into the local paper an expose on all the Freemason secrets he knew which I mean he's had this fucking card in his pocket I mean he has he was like you're gonna let me interrupt somewhere down the line somebody they all had to know they had to know they gave a way a little too much and evil twinkle it as I he had he decided that he would be doing this because he was in kuhuts with another man in town who had been wronged by the Freemasons and his name we're just gonna say David he's got a long name we're gonna calm David he owned a printing press and so I guess they oh shit they tagged he got to be friends with David was like I could publish anything you fucking want because I have a press yeah it's like the friend with a pickup truck but the one with the printing press exactly well the only like truck in town is already in a traffic jam from that other guy oh fuck it already crashed and burned and we're waiting for triple A so if they were actually Freemasons which I do think David was like a first degree or whatever and then he had a bad reputation too so they kicked him out so but in the event they were not really Freemasons they you know they still were threatening enough that people didn't want to find out that they might be calling a bluff um or that they might be bluffing if they were Freemasons they were breaking their oaths of secrecy and loyalty to the brotherhood so that was also bad so no matter what the Freemasons were pissed and remember the Freemasons were very influential important people in town at this point and everybody respected them it wasn't like oh the the president is a Freemason in this shady like it wasn't shady right it was like if you were Freemason people respected you more oh I have a picture of me on at the Freemason lodge here in Newport on the on the like big throne thing beautiful my mom dared me to ask and I said no and then she said I'll do it and I was like please don't she did it anyway and we sat on it and took a picture and we were the only ones who they didn't open house for some reason and we were the only ones who went in I mean well if you're gonna do an open house you have to expect people are gonna sit on things I'll tell you I kind of was like we were like before they question us let's just do it so I have this nice picture of us all like sitting on it awkwardly my brother was dying inside but anyway I'm still very jealous of your shirt I think it's your sweatshirt that's also Freemasons the Scottish or something I think I got rid of that people such a good sweatshirt asking about it and I was like I don't know what this means did you think it was stolen valor they thought it was stolen about I was like this is just a cozy sweatshirt from Goodwill but people were like oh like you know or whatever or like they would be like how do you how do you get that how did you get that I was like they were selling a hundred of them at Goodwill for like two dollars each they were like I love that's what stocks there's a good one they're probably still at the Goodwill in Coryville if you want me sure well okay so the Freemasons freak out because they're like they could know something we don't know for sure so they decide to react by beating William Morgan to the papers and denouncing him and being like whatever he's got on us like it's not true don't listen to him he's a he's a drunkard you know don't listen to him and then they also tried to break into David's house and destroy his printing press no and then they got their Freemasons cop friends involved and William Morgan was immediately arrested for stealing a shirt and tie cannot confirm if he actually did that and also for not paying a loan back in time which in hindsight was probably just employed to keep delaying him from posting him like just keep him in jail because if you hadn't paid a loan then you had to stay in like restitution jail or something I don't totally understand but it was some strategy of like well he's stuck here until he can pay it like a technicality type yes yes yeah but David with a still fully functioning printing press bailed his friend out and very shortly though William Morgan was arrested again and only after one day in jail he was apparently according to witnesses that were all about this jail locked up they watched him get pulled out of his cell and he disappeared into a wagon and was never found again fanning what in the fucking Rapunzel like this like weird fairy tale rumble still skin bullshit like this guy is trouble fanning the fires even more after his disappearance David was like don't you do that's my fucking friend and he published the expose anyway and it became a if newspapers could become national bestsellers this one didn't people were like eating this shit up they were like I don't really see them wow immediately people started wondering and assuming that maybe the Freemasons weren't as good as we thought and maybe they committed some sort of foul play and this was the beginning of the anti-masonic witch hunt oh I see I feel like I've heard of this on like lore or one of those shows where it was like how this I forgot I remember the guy with the printing press was all part of the problem but I didn't remember the details yeah this is the beginning of the Freemasons being a shady little group that we don't trust this very day they really got in it with that one didn't they they really got in it yeah between a this was also like historically at a time where there had just been a recent recession so everyone's extra suffering and they're really noticing just how many wealthy people are out there not suffering and how convenient it is that all of them are Freemasons and this is during a turn of the century not turn of the century a revival in Christianity in some degree so the mysticism and esoteric rituals in the Freemasons world are kind of freaking them out to begin with so they were and they were already kind of looking sideways at the Freemasons so this was just another reason to judge them of like my Christian beliefs say this This is kind of fucked up. We're interested. session and you all have a lot of fucking money. I don't know where and now a guy is missing because you didn't want him telling on your secrets. So over time, on top of this, even more confessions came out. These were all rumored confessions. There's no official confirmed confession. But a bunch of people for some reason started saying that they were the free masons that had killed William Morgan. I don't know if that was-- - Oh my God. - Just because they needed the attention or anything, but they were their January 6th, too. Meanwhile, other free masons were, they were out there the ones that were in political power that didn't want their reputation ruined. They were almost going against the free masons being like, let's have a search party and you're rewarded if you find them, but then people were coming back being like, we know you killed them and you're not gonna have to pay any of us like you're trying to cover your own ass. - Right, like you're just trying to look good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I gotcha. - So in a report that's taken the most seriously, I think it's called the Lewis and Report because we're near Lewis and New York. People at the jail witnessed him being dragged out of the cell. Again, this is all alleged, but this is the one that's taken most seriously. And I think was used in court when they were trying some of these people to get information out of them. Others allegedly confessed to bringing him to being in the wagon and dragging him out of the jail. Whenever someone was asked where they brought him, they say the first stop was the frontier house. So that's how this is all connected and why it's a part of this history. - Holy shit. - Holy shit. - So the official, unofficial story is that they grabbed him out of the cell after a 24-hour period of him being locked in to confirm that he was really very, people witnessed him. Then they dragged him out and they kept him imprisoned at the frontier house for several days until they figured out what their next move was gonna be because they had their eyes on Fort Niagara, which was an abandoned military facility. - Oh, well it was on the way there. So they kept him at the frontier house and apparently those were his last days where I'm sure they were like being the crap out of him being like you have one more chance, don't expose us, don't expose us blah blah blah. Even though they'd already been exposed but maybe they could get him to like denounce it in some way. - Yeah, I guess he held firm or maybe they never gave him a chance at all. And that was the last place that anyone says that they ever saw him before he got brought to Fort Niagara. - Geez. - Once he was moved from the frontier-- - It's some lore, holy shit. - Yeah, once he was moved from the frontier house, many people say that the Freemasons in like a group all killed him. Some say that no, we didn't kill him. We just brought him to the Canadian border and forced him to leave the country without any papers. - Like horse. - Yeah, so you can come back. But as this is all happening, people know that he's missing. They can't find him, they're reading the expose and then a body is found on Lake Ontario, right where Morgan allegedly disappeared. - Oh boy, oh boy. - We still don't know to this day if it was him. It probably wasn't him because I think William Morgan was bald and this guy had hair. But then there's all these stories about like, "Well, no, they put a wig on him." Like it got crazy. - Okay, okay, okay. - This led people to double down on their distrust of the Freemasons and this helped form the official anti-Maisonic political party, which was the first ever time that the US had three political parties that were all considered equal instead of two. - Holy crap. - And this third political party, the anti-Maisons, I guess is what they call themselves. Their biggest enemy was a Freemason who was running for president named Andrew Jackson. (gasps) And when he became president, it pissed off even more people because it confirmed for them that these secret wealthy people had power, they run aware of, and they were taking over the world. - Yes, yes, yes. - Wow. - So I know this was a deep rabbit hole, - Oh my gosh. I feel like I'm 10 times smarter than I was an hour ago. - This is probably the most important of the rabbit holes we've done today, but it's basically to let you know that in Freemason history, this is what tanked Freemasons reputation forever. Logges everywhere closed, people left, people were encouraged by their churches to leave. Like, oh, this is satanic shit you're doing. In that one year, in the country, there were almost 250 lodges and by the end of the year, there were only 40. Because so many people had either been coerced to leave or force to leave or they didn't trust their own friends. So so many people were joining this party in this movement. They all ended up, anyone who stayed, those 40 lodges that still existed by the end, they had a meeting to try to figure out how to do damage control 'cause they were like, we only had 40 lodges left, like where bots did not exist. And so they ended up deciding that they were going to leave behind their secret ritual symbolic mysticism. And they were going to rebrand as a fraternal, as a fraternal charity organization. Okay. A lot of people, especially people who appreciated the old esoteric history of this place. They think it was absolutely a sell-it and they were placating the Christians. But other people were like, we, it was either we have zero lodges or 40 lodges. And if this was how we come in, you know. But then that did turn around their brand for a while 'cause they only had 40 lodges in. They have a lot more now. And they decided to focus on leading with Christian values. And now you can't even join unless you believe in a God and all this stuff. So, oh wow, yeah. So, the last thing I'll say about this deep dive is that fun fact, William Morgan's alleged kidnapping, alleged kidnapping, whatever, his disappearance that we all think was a kidnapping. This is why I can ride to nowhere. To the Niagara Falls, the last place you would be taking a fucking midnight wagon ride to. Out from jail, in a barrel, maybe. (laughing) I made that part up, guys. I mean, there's no evidence that there was not a barrel. Thank you so much. And that's how I do journalism, too. Boots on the ground, with your degree and everything. So, yep. This is the last fun fact, is that William Morgan's alleged kidnapping led to kidnapping becoming an official felony. Which is, at the time, at least punishable by, there's a quote, punishable by imprisonment, not exceeding 14 years. But before that kidnapping wasn't even a felony. That could just take whoever you wanted. Honestly, I was gonna be surprised. And then I was like, actually, most of the stories feel like that's true. Yeah. Like the way you could just drive a car into a building and nobody really cared or like kill a bunch of horses on your drive because you're the only one in New York with a car, you know? And it's like, oh well, we never had a law for that. So, yeah, I guess it's not that shocking. But wow. Well, so now this is super quick, but the reason why the frontier house is considered haunted and why it is the haunted McDonald's that everyone talks about, even though McDonald's is the least interesting thing about it, is that many say the main ghost here is William Morgan because his last moments of real life and energy were in his house. It was like the second location, you know? Yes, yes, yeah. The residual energy of right before he passed, they say. It's thought that he is the head ghost in charge here, the HBIC, head, butch in charge. He would be. But could I just have a fucking spider on my leg? I literally almost became a spider man and screamed at the same time. That was crazy. Oh, M-G. I just felt that you become Spider-Man and scream at the same time. That's crazy. I felt the, ugh. OK. People have seen shadows of people rocking around the building, especially the silhouette of a woman, but people have also seen an older man hanging out in the pantry, which makes me think it's Diamond Jim and not this Morgan guy. Oh, yeah. He's looking for more terrapin' yum yum. Where are the turtles? So people say that doors and windows open and closed on their own, people here unexplained banging sounds. Their apparitions throughout the building and during renovations, especially in the '70s and those becoming a McDonald's, the tools would go missing all the time. And it said that one of the ghosts here might be not just William Morgan, but maybe when they were building it originally, maybe during renovations, I'm not sure. There was allegedly a worker who was working at the very tippy top floor and somehow fell all the way down to the basement. Oh, shit. Which makes me think it was early, early on unless he fell outside the building. But to cover up this death or the osha violation that that was, the other two workers there took his body and to hide the evidence of what happened, they buried him inside the walls of the building. What? This is where I will say that in renovation sense, nobody's ever found bodies of the building or in the wall. But yet, yes, that we know. If they haven't opened every wall, two quotes from two different owners have-- one of the owners has said, have I seen the ghosts? Not really, but have I heard them? Yes, sounds and screeches. There's been certain things and times that I've heard noises and doors moving. Another staff member has said, while working here, I have to say we've heard bumps in the night. And because it's our second year here, we just keep working and going about our business. But it's certainly not a quiet building and it does have its own voice, if you will. Because of its haunted status, it has also become a Halloween jump scare attraction. However, all the proceeds and the props-- the props are made-- let me how do I want to say this-- the props are made by, and the proceeds go to, artists with disabilities. Oh, cool. I'm so sorry, that was so, so long, but that is the frontier house. Wow, I mean, I never thought a haunted McDonald's would get so-- I thought that was going to be the easiest fucking notes I've ever done in my life. So I didn't start until 11 o'clock in the night, Christine. I was up all night. Oh, fuck. All night. I thought, this will be a paragraph. How am I going to stretch this? And it just kept going. "Oh god, help me." - Hmm. - Anyway, happy hour? - Yeah, happy hour. Sports bras used to be the bane of my existence and Honey Love really helped me figure that out. Not intentionally, but they sent us some product and I thought, well, I gotta try this out. And yeah, now that I'm doing a lot of yoga and a lot of strength training, it's like I actually need sports bras, which is something I haven't needed in a long time. So I'm really thankful for Honey Love and they look cute too. So, you know, if that's your bag, I say go for it. - And Honey Love is an independent female founded brand with products designed by women who actually wear them, including the founder, Betsy, love when you wear your own product. And Honey Love doesn't just make bras and shape where they've built a full line of tanks, body suits and underwear with supportive structure, smoothing fabrics and premium finishes. So if you're trying to feel silky smooth in any way, - Oh, the tanks are so nice, yeah. - It's handled. - Treat yourself to the most advanced bras and shape where on the market. Use our exclusive link to save 20% off Honey Love at HoneyLove.com/drink. That's Honey Love.com/drink. After you check out, they'll ask where you heard about them. So please support our show and tell them that we sent you, experience the new standard in comfort and support with Honey Love. - Today, I have a story for you. This is a story of Angela Green. In mid February of 2020, a phone call came into the police department of Prairie Village, a suburb of Kansas City, Kansas. On the line was Michelle Guo, who lived in New York. She was requesting police to a wellness check on her aunt, Angela Green. Angela was her mom's sister. So her mom was Catherine, and they lived in New York. And Catherine and Angela had grown up in Northern China where Angela had studied journalism and worked in modeling. And then when her sister, Catherine, married an American man and began a family in Kansas, Angela eventually followed, and they both started families in the US. She was introduced by family friends to a guy named Jeff Green, and you need to understand Jeff is spelled G off. - Like the GF? - Like the giraffe and like the poister and like. (all laughing) That was our college professor. - It's both of us, that guy. - We weren't even friends in both of us loved him. We were both really obsessed with him. - Thank you. Okay, I thought you hated him. - No, I loved him. - Oh, thank you, because you and I were the only people who were like nice to him. And I remember being like, what is everyone's fucking problem? - You know, I was so jazz that he had a memory card in the shape of a camera. - Yes, oh, and I was so jazz when he's like, I studied to be an arborist, and now I'm here. And I was like, this guy's fucking weird. - He was like, I don't know. - He had something, I don't know what his deal was like. - I mean, a whole documentary about him. It was my final project was like the cat story where like, it was like his weird ass story that he told on the first day of like, oh, this cat is gonna die, but then he forgot the plot. And it's like, and then the cat. And we were like, what happened to the cat? He's like, I think it died, but I don't remember. And we were like, what the fuck is this story? You're trying to teach us something. - He was such a weird guy, but in a way like where you just wanted, you just, it was the intrigue. He knew what he was doing. - He was so, and he knew, and like he watched that film and he was like, he must have thought you were like, I guess I got to give this an A. And we were like, we were just such a weird ass. - So I saw him out walking around in Boston with his wife, and it was like a celebrity setting. - You did? I never saw him outside of school. I would have freaked out. - I remember when I tried to tell my friend, my friend Mohammed, I was like, some Mohammed, here's my idea. We're gonna make this weird video about our professor. And he was like, I'm a cat too. - Yeah, yeah, I'm about to, and I'm gonna play the cat, which I did. And I was like, and you're gonna play our professor, Jeffrey Poister, so wear this blonde wig, and poor Mohammed was so nice. He's like, I'm just trying to like, you know, bring children's television back to Afghanistan, but sure, Christine, whatever your fuck-ass idea is, about making a film where you're a dead cat, and you get to like, lay in the road of Boston. Anyway, it was insane. - You're another one. - Let's not forget your other fucking slam dunk of a film, where you were also dead. - What's your name? (laughing) - You love being dead, what's your deal? I was meant to be a fucking Scorpio. It's like, I can't escape it. It was literally, I made, I made plays like, cry at a grade. And then it was so embarrassing because I realized later, like the grave was from like, 1685. (laughing) - It was just like about grand mama. - Yeah, it looked like I had died and like, he was worshipping a Victorian ghost. But like, I made him walk into a Trader Joe's and I filmed him going down the escalator. It was to bring flowers. - And then I put Alt J, like just an Alt J song underneath the entire video. And our professor was like, you can't just make a music. You can't just like not have sound and just put a music video. So he gave me a B on it. And then I removed the music and he gave me an A. But I need you to remember in the chronology of everything, that was my very, ever first impression of Blaze. (laughing) 'Cause I didn't fucking. (laughing) 'Cause I had me and you were like, this fucking girl is making this video. And then I'm making everybody watch it in class. - You know what, my first impression was of that project? Do you know what my first impression was? - What? - I thought it was fucking great. - Thank you! - I thought it was so good. And I remember-- - I still have it somewhere. It's hidden. - Of course. - It was on, it was somewhere. I have not seen it recently, but I remember a few years ago going, how did I find this? I think it was, did you have it on a YouTube situation? - It must be an unlisted YouTube video. I gotta find that. It's like so sick because I literally, you're right. I literally made Blaze walk around and look at a phone where it was like me on the screen. And you were fucking nice to me. - And he was five me, five me. - You're like, okay, Blaze, first of all. - And he was like, my grandpa. - And this was when you were long distance. So he came in for a hot weekend for you to go, okay, I need you to like, longingly look at the picture of me. And then by me, flowers, which will actually give me in real life too after this. And then I need you to think about crying 'cause I'm dead. And I need you to come with me to a cemetery and think about how dead I am. And then I'm gonna film it and also, all Jay's there, but I'm pretty good at this. - And also, I know the perfect soundtracks in this. I've also planned this since I was 16. So I actually have the set. - I'm also ready to go. - And also, when I am dead, I'm gonna need you to place up my funeral. I'm just trying to love as much of it as possible. - And honestly, Jeffery Poison gave me an A and I'm still feeling like it was one of my magnum opuses. I've had many, of course. - Christine, I'm not kidding. I didn't know you. - I would smoke a fact that that was the first fuck-ass impression I made. I can't. - I mean, I remember the first day meeting you and then I don't remember anything about you except for projects because they were so moving. But moving is a really generous word. I don't think most people called it that. - I remember that one, I remember that one. I kind of remember the cat. I was more locked in with the blaze one. 'Cause you really did a good job. I was a plot twist. You didn't know that you were dead at the end. You thought you were just going on a date but then he was at the graveyard. - Thank you. - I really thought I'm not kidding. I always thought that was a great one. - Thank you so much. - You really just know how to hype me up, man. - But obviously the best, you know which one's my favorite. Girl, don't do this to me. (laughing) - Our frickin', we didn't know each other yet. - Grave, like what? First of all, always in the graveyard. But like what, oh yeah, what's wrong with you? - What is someone's always dead, isn't there? - One of us is always participating in a graveyard at some point. - I have no idea where that would even be. But like the fact that we didn't know each other, we maybe said five sentences. We got lumped into a project with each other and didn't know each other. I remember we had to do a project about anything and we, this is the first time we ever really talked. And I was like, well, what do we do? And you're like, I don't know what should we, we should talk about ourselves so we know what our interests are and see if we find anything. And I said something about ghosts and you went, okay, let's just, we'll go to the graveyard. I know we're really going over my last project. (laughing) - Hey, it's where I was buried for our last project. It's where, yeah, it's where tears were shed over my untimely demise. - And we're like 22 years old and I'm carrying around an EMF detector and telling you how equipment works. And we're at ghost time. - I mean, it's really crazy because it took us years to put that together that we had done that. And I remember thinking like, I just scored the jackpot. I got match with someone who does ghost hunts. That's crazy. - And then we didn't speak for another like three years. - And then we were both like, no, no thanks. (laughing) - But like, what a foreshadowing. That's like, that truly is so fucking bizarre. - That is, I bet you. - It's somewhere, yeah. - It's really weird. That's really weird. - It says, sorry, and Christine, she's for an Emily Shultz with long hair. (laughing) - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We've gotta, we've gotta move past that part. Yeah, we can fix that in post. - We'll fix that in post, we'll fix that in post. - No, that's, I mean, just what are the odds? What a full circle. But I had, I mean, I almost died in some of these projects. I remember just like carrying tripods around and getting like almost hit by cars and like being an idiot and like doing things like carrying cameras into like bodegas and being like told like, get the fuck out. - Yes. - And like, what am I doing? Just being an idiot, you know? - I had a project like that with our friend Matt. And I remember being kicked out of a few gas stations. - Yeah, they don't like that for obvious reasons. But like. - Oopsie daisy. - Yeah, you know. Okay, so anyway, this guy's name was Jeff with a name. (laughing) Okay, that's where, that's how we got here, okay. (laughing) - Need I say more? Okay. - Okay. - So she was introduced, I mean, Jeff Green, G-Off, Jeff Green, a businessman, of course, a busy businessman, Who? told her he was in his mid-thirties, but turns out she found out right before her wedding actually was 46. And ended up being 16 years older than her. So she was blatantly lied to, but despite being found crying her entire wedding day, she went through with a marriage, and they wed in 1998, and she was able to move to Kansas to live with Jeff near her sister Catherine and Catherine's family. So for a while, Angela was extremely close with her niece, Michelle. No, gone little adventures together, but in 2004, Catherine and her daughter moved to New York. So Angela was left in Kansas with Jeff and her own daughter, four-year-old Ellie. And when Ellie had been born, she had become Angela's entire world. Angela basically became kind of consumed by being her mother and basically didn't talk much to the rest of the family. She focused almost completely on Ellie. Now we fast forward to 2019. Ellie is 19 years old, and she gives her aunt Catherine in New York a distressing call to say she's worried about her mom. And this prompts Michelle, who is Ellie's cousin, sorry, it's kind of confusing, but Angela and Catherine are the sisters who moved from China and then Michelle and Ellie are the cousins. So Michelle is like, you know what, I'm going to call the police back in Kansas and have them do a wellness check on my aunt, Angela. Okay. So police visit the residence in Prairie Village. Angela wasn't home, but her husband Jeff told police that she was out with friends and she was just fine, and he couldn't imagine why somebody would be concerned enough to send police to their home. So the police are like, all right, so they head back and they follow up with Michelle and say, hey, there's nothing to worry about your aunt is just out with friends. And they were going to drop the issue, but Michelle's heart sank because she knew her uncle was lying. Jeff had told his own daughter, Ellie, that Angela had died in July of 2019 and no one had seen her in eight months. Geez. Oh my god. So in June 2019, Ellie was 19 years old and she just finished her first year of college. She was excited about her summer plans, which included a job and a boyfriend, but her mom was getting really, really anxious because Ellie had been gone for two months studying abroad and Angela, like I said, had kind of motherhood was her whole thing and being Ellie's mom was her whole thing. So when she left for months at a time, she really struggled. Ellie and her mom were also extremely close because Angela wasn't very confident in her English speaking skills and had raised Ellie to speak fluent Mandarin. So they spoke, she spoke mostly with her daughter, like that was a person she spoke the most with and was the closest with. So when she left for college and had plans and had a boyfriend and was moving abroad and studying, it was really hard for her. Angela had had a hard time adjusting to life in Kansas at first, but when Ellie was born it was like everything was finally like she had a purpose, you know. Yeah. When her sister moved to New York, Angela became even more isolated and so, you know, every now and then her neighbors would see her outside, like tending to the garden or taking care of flowers in the like local public areas, but she rarely spoke to the neighbors. She wasn't, she was very shy, very introverted and it seemed like her whole world was just her house, her gardens, the grocery store and that's kind of it. Okay. So it became harder for her when Ellie moved out and started an independent life. Ellie thrived her freshman year. She went to University of Kansas while Angela, you know, really struggled with the adjustment, feeling very isolated and alone. But that wasn't the only thing troubling Angela. She struggled with anxiety and unpredictable mood throughout Ellie's childhood. Ellie even said that her mom was increasingly upset. She's never been able to figure out why and she probably never will. She is. Okay. So she's really, she's been gone through it. I think she was hiding her struggles for a long time. But despite all the struggles, they still had a lot of love between them. Ellie was, had that struggle with a strict parent growing up and then kind of turned around to be thankful for the strictness if that makes sense and said she was thankful for for how strict her mother had been about school and grades. And she also said she felt like she was her parents main focus, even her father, Jeff's like she was close with him as well. And she thought her parents loved each other and that they were happy. But now looking back, she realizes like their life was solely built around her. And when she left for college, it was like they didn't have anything in common to hold it together and the crack started to show. Do you think I don't know if there's any evidence of this, but before she left, did they seem happy at all or like even friends and like they were like we're just doing this until she goes to college or I think or was it always kind of not based on love? She was kind of always just a little bit of independent. Okay. From what I can understand, I don't really know the details, but it didn't seem like things were. It seemed like the focus was just on her and kind of given her one right exactly. And that was kind of the only thing touched on. So on June 19, 2019, Ellie and her mom had an argument. Ellie was often out of the house working or having fun. And like I said, this was hard on her mom. So during this fight, Angela threw some of her Ellie's stuff on the ground and said, if you're not going to be home, you can just leave and live somewhere else. So Ellie packed up and headed to stay the night with her boyfriend, Zach Kraus at his parents house. She knew her mom would cool down. She always did. And she was like, she'll call me in a few hours or a day or two and ask her to come home. So Ellie actually thought like, I'll probably come home tonight, honestly, like I probably won't even end up staying the night. A few days later though, her dad texts her. And the text says, mom is getting mental health care. And I'm at home beginning to organize come home at any time front door is open. I'm going to need help going through mom's things. Oh, that doesn't sound like a normal thing to say. No, that's like not even the way you would send that text. No, right? That's weird on every fucking. Raising is weird. It's like, it's all fucking weird. The way he talks is weird. I've heard phone calls with this guy. It's fucking weird. Is it an accent that I don't know about before I just like rip him up? Sure isn't. G off is just, it's just that kind of guy. Because even just to say like, how casual it's be like, oh, mom's having a mental health crisis. And then also when you get a chance to come home, I'm organizing. It's like organizing. You're not going to give me. You must know I need more context. And what like the way you're reacting is how Ellie reacted. Okay. She was like, what the heck? What the hell are you talking about? She wasn't like, oh, this is normal behavior from my dad. She was like, this is out of the ordinary. Something alarming is happening. I recently was just in Florida with my mom. And I brought neutral with me on day one. That bag of my neutral supplements went missing. And I crept on over to my mom's side of the room. And all of a sudden that bag was in her suitcase. And I went, what are you doing with these? And she sold things. And she literally assumed on her own. She went, oh, I thought I thought you were gifting them to me. I thought you brought them all the way here so I could have them. And I went, what is wrong with me? I looked through your suitcase to decide what you brought for me. She went shopping in my suitcase. And the only thing she grabbed was neutral. And chocolate was in there too, by the way. Well, look, you can even look at me over here. I will put my head down. I don't even have to worry about my thinning hair that I was so insecure about before. I don't know. I don't worry about anymore. Just flip that thing around. So Linda, I would go through the suitcase and take it to I think you're onto something. Neutral is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand. And it's the number one hair growth supplement brand personally used by dermatologists. Neutral's hair growth supplements are peer reviewed and SF certified for sport and clinically tested. Let your hair be one less thing to worry about. See visibly thicker, stronger, faster growing hair in three to six months with neutral full or see it on your mom's head from the other side of the room. For a limited time, neutral full is offering our listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you visit neutral full.com and enter promo code drink. That's neutral full.com spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L.com promo code drink. So he tells her Angela had been hospitalized for a psychiatric crisis and Ellie was completely shocked and blindsided. Like she said, her mom was like sometimes sad about things but never like you know, never had any outbursts or incidents anything like that. So she asked where her mom was staying so she could visit. But Jeff was like, it's just not safe. It's not safe. And he said don't like, are you fucking? Where's my mom? Where's my mom? What happened? What did she do? What happened? Did she hurt her? How bad could it be from her to have gone from never having a crisis? A sign of anything. Having apparently you're treating this like she snapped overnight. Like it cannot be that bad where I can't call my mom and just tell her I know what's going on or text her or something. Yeah, exactly. So she's completely shocked and she's like, well, can I visit her? And he goes, no, no, no, actually I already visited her and it's all fine. Don't worry about it. I feel like I'm obviously this is in hindsight and recovering something that has already happened. I feel like if this room movie, my first response would be like, I'm leaving right now. Like, I'm not even saying here because what the, you're acting just as fucking weird as she might be acting. This is so, so shady. So he tells her to come home and help him sort through her mom's stuff. And she's like, I guess, right? Because she's off at college. So he says, um, yeah, come on. And she comes and he says, okay, we're going to have to clean up the house. We, we want to hang up photos of Angela. We want to make sure it looks welcoming and supportive for when she eventually gets back wrong. And so when the police comes, she looks like it looks like a loving family. Correct. He made Ellie do bizarre things like get rid of almost all of Angela's clothes, which made Ellie really anxious because like she knew her mom would be so upset to come home and find all of her stuff gone and her clothes just like tossed. And she still didn't know where her mom was. Like, she's 19. She's like, what's her treatment plan? Like, what's going on? And she is frustrated. But anytime she asks, like, her dad says he's not willing to talk about it. And also like, she was raised to be so obedient of her parents that it was sort of like, she trusted her dad. It was like, she, she just trusted that he would do what was best for her. Cause why wouldn't she? And so it was like, she just was frustrated. But it was like, I guess I'll, I'll, yeah. And see what happens. Poor girl. And I'm, I'm assuming nothing, I mean, not even assuming it's, it's clear nothing has ever happened to this level before. So like she wouldn't even know. Like, of course, you would just listen to your dad and not be like freaked out that he's completely devoid of reality, it seems like just like acting totally off-kilter. Yeah. And you'd be like, I guess, you know, something I don't. But getting rid of all of her clothes might be like, I feel like my first time, I'd be like, well, I'll just put them in a suitcase in case she wants them later. But then like that would have also been like, you might have gotten yourself in trouble. You might have been like, no, you can't have the throwaway, throwaway, throwaway, throwaway. And then, well, yeah, I mean, if he, if she's supposed to do as, you know, he says, and she's like, okay. And she trusted him. Like, she loved her dad. They were really close. So there's no reason for her to question him. It's just so strange. But like, he wouldn't answer any of her questions. And she couldn't understand like why she would ever need such intense inpatient care. She could think back to times her mom was anxious in childhood. But she said, I knew she acted a little weird, but I didn't know as to the extent where she needed to be taken away. So on July 16th, Angela had allegedly been hospitalized for nearly a month. Jeff texted Ellie and told her there's something I need to tell you. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Okay. At around, oh, yeah, yeah, Nightmare, at around 11 o'clock at night, he drove to her boyfriend's house, sack's house, the crosses where he was she was staying. Ellie met him out in the driveway. He told Ellie, her mom had died that day in the hospital of a stroke. She was 51 years old. Ellie collapsed to her knees in the driveway. Jeff got back in his car and drove away, leaving Ellie alone on the ground. Hello. Hello. Yep. Yep. Why? You just told your fucking, you told your baby that her mom's dead and you just zoom on. And we're supposed to look like every, okay, here's the better question. Does he think he's getting away with seeming normal? Because that can't fucking know. He can't question. Nothing, nothing weird to see over here that I don't fucking care that I just destroyed my child's heart. Yeah, I mean, I think he literally just don't care. Insane. It's really wild. It's really wild. So he just drives away, literally drives away. So that comes out and like has to tell his parents like, hey, my girlfriend's dad just stopped by and said her mom died and then drove away. So if I were those parents, I mean, like now, you look here with this. Yeah, no, literally, that's what happened. Like, good. His mom Sarah said, Ellie came back inside like a shell of herself. And the next day they asked Jeff over for lunch to speak with Ellie and see what they could do next and like give her some information and closure. But Jeff completely shut down any discussion. He said he refused to speak about Angela. He wouldn't discuss a funeral or memorial service or even what would happen to her body. And every time Ellie tried to broach the topic that her mom died apparently 24 hours ago. Jeff told her he was too upset to talk about it. Ew. I mean, so yeah, Sarah is in the awkward position where like she's like, this is really private and awkward, but like also, what else can I do? You know, like I can't intervene here. So from then on, Jeff just refused to talk at all about Angela and Ellie was supposed to just move on with her life. She even recalled quote, I didn't want to ask him a ton of questions and offend him while he was grieving. So she just went with it basically. She returned that autumn to school and she sought therapist and psychiatrist and tried to navigate grief without sort of any information and being so close with her mom like this was her worst nightmare. Worst than that was she was dealing with it on her own. Her dad had actually told her that this was a private piece of information. And she was not allowed to tell Catherine, her aunt or Michelle, her cousin. So she basically was alone with this. So Angela's sister didn't know Angela was dead. And he basically said you can't tell them until the time is right. The time is right. It's right. Oh my god. And knowing that she was so ready to just like obey and listen to her dad. And also like I'm assuming if she's not thinking he's acting weird or if she's aware that she thinks he's acting weird, but she also really trusts and loves him. Right. So she's like really confused. Yeah. But but like for her to still on top of. Worst day of your life, finding out your mom's dead, being able to still like find sympathy for him and how he's treating you right now, which is horse shit. Like, I mean, yeah, that's the way it goes. Like, oh, I want to make sure everyone else feels okay. You know, I mean, I like just what a heart. Yeah, horrible. And she just had to rely on herself. I mean, I'm glad she at least had the boyfriend's family to seem like they were at least a safe home, you know, for her. So finally, she couldn't wait any longer. She called her aunt. I mean, they hadn't spoken. They only spoke a few times a year. So it wasn't like weird that she hadn't been talking to her. But she just eventually called and was like, I have to tell you something. I have to tell you that Angela died on the six and she said when on the 16th and Catherine was like, but it's only the 14th of February. And she's like, no, she died on the 16th of July few months ago. So she's been dealing like just holding on to this for eight months. Oh my god. Any and her dad's just like, move on. Oh my god. Oh my god. Catherine was like, we what? I don't know what to do. And Ellie was like, I don't either. And I have no information. So Catherine's daughter, Michelle, Ellie's cousin calls Ellie and asked for the details, which are few and far between Ellie was like, here's what Jeff told, here's what my dad told me about how my mom was taken to the hospital. He told her that he and some mental health professionals had surprised Angela in the grocery store parking lot and forcibly transported her to a psychiatric hospital. That doesn't make him look good at all. And she struggled when they took her. Oh my god. But Michelle was an attorney and was like, that's not a thing. You don't just, that's not what do you mean? He and some mental health professionals ambushed her in a parking lot. That's not a thing. I was going to say it's a made up story. I think you just did it for me anyway. But I was going to say, would you mind letting me know where in the story people start sideying him and being like, he clearly fucking killed her? I mean, I think at this point, they're like something shady is immediately up because Michelle is an attorney and she's like, no, no, no, no, no, like the Angela can take be taken into this isn't like 1850 like Angela would need to be taken into custody and hospitalized by court order issued by a judge like you can't just like drag someone from a grocery store parking lot. It doesn't make any sense. Ellie meanwhile halfway through her sophomore year living at school in Lawrence, Kansas, shout out. We did a show there. Michelle told Ellie to drive to Topeka and get a copy of Angela's death certificate so they could find out like where she died, how and who signed off on it. So Ellie drove there and they were like, we don't have a death certificate. Oh my god. Michelle believed that meant one of three things either Angela died in another state. Angela was still alive or nobody was notified of her death. Authorities were not notified. So Ellie drove, so not something fishy Ellie drove home to Prairie Hills and asked her dad, which is where her dad lived and asked him where her mother died and he said, Kansas, she said, no, he didn't. I just went up there and there was no burst or no death certificate. That's bold. So he said, so he said, well, I thought she died in Kansas, but maybe I'm wrong. And he said he would have to find out it could be Missouri. He didn't remember and like, you know, they do share that border. Okay, but like, that's not right. So Michelle's like, this is shady as shit. This is when she calls in the wellness check on her Aunt Angela. This is where this domino starts, you know, going. So police arrive at the home Jeff tells them oh she's out with friends and Police were like well, we were told Angela's dead and Jeff said I don't understand why anyone would say that She is perfectly alive and well and it's like you've been telling your daughter eight months now that she's dead And that this death need to be kept a secret now you're like she's out with friends and it's like first of all She didn't even have friends that was part of the whole like this thing she was struggling with like what are you talking about? Name them. So this was like literally this was a final straw because Michelle was like This is not it something's wrong. So Ellie went to the police department file a missing persons report for her mother While she is at the police station filing the report her phone rings and it's her dad So they say put it on speaker. We're gonna record it and you can hear the recording online. Hell yeah, brother Of course. He's immediately changing his story again. He'd previously told this like crazy grocery store parking lot abduction Story this time he said he was at work in June when he received a phone call that Angela had been hospitalized and that he wouldn't be able to see her for a week So Ellie was like, okay, well where and he said well, that's what I need to see if I can find out and It's like didn't you visit her remember? He said he visited her already Jeff said over the phone that he'd gotten a call from the hospital that Catherine had died That and then that somebody showed up at the front door to sell him the earn What the fuck he has to know that he sounds like a fucking idiot and she goes How much did you pay for and he goes $1,500 which is about the right price and it's like what? And so then when Ellie asked where the earn is he says he'd he he has in the house But he had recently opened it and it's the darnedest thing. It was empty Like he had like I'm like The hello the irony is like I would love to take him to a supermarket and have a bunch of health professionals Jump him and bring him into a truck. Right. What the fuck do you do you really think he's he I mean honestly like like I think he's just such a Is he like he's just that he's gonna get away with it? I don't know is he that conceited or is he panicking? He just doesn't have a good story. I honestly don't know that honestly don't know so when And by the way, this is it was a red and black earn which were her favorite colors angels here colors and when Apparently when Ellie or Michelle one of them Googled red and black earn it was like the first friggin shopping link on Google and it's like so he clearly just ordered it on the internet and then pretended like literally a shot of the next time to it I thought why would you leave it up? Why would you even come up with someone came to the door? Why would you just say I bought an Amazon? That's so weird and even on the phone call she goes dad You would never just pay $1,500 to some salesman in cash. I know you that's enough. You're so frugal. Well, are you talking about I don't believe you in your Amazon Cart you couldn't also grab like bag of sand and like just have that to put in there like what do you mean? Like right. I mean to be like it's the darnest thing. It's empty. I must have gotten scammed and it's like what are you talking about? so Then he said he thought he saw Angela somewhere near the house and that sometimes things moved around the house So he thought she was coming in and out and had faked her own death I have nothing to I have nothing to say. I'm just a mere shock that he's such a Okay, I'm talking about. Okay. So police are like got it. We are on the case like literally at this second. Yeah, picking their feet They're so excited that this is a slam dunk situation. They're like nailed it because Wow, he's guilty as fuck. So sounds guilty as fuck. So Jeff's Allegedly so detectives open a missing person's case immediately and they speak to people in the neighborhood who had not seen her in a long time, Angela and meanwhile Jeff's family side with him and basically ice Ellie out completely whenever she reaches out they say We'll meet with you for lunch, but only if you refuse to talk about your dad or mom and she said why is that and They said is it she said why is that has he asked you not to and they replied if that's the only reason for seeing us I'm not interested. We don't talk about you. Wow. This is like her dad's family like her family her relatives What the hell and she just lost her mom. So it's like what the fuck him. I mean at this point totally iced her out at this point I have to wonder does he have like third and fourth family is at this point that he just like it seems like everyone just listens to him when he says Don't talk about this and he can just get away with whatever he wants. He's just getting totally protected and they When she brings up her mom, they said you have to let it go. She's like let it go. Are you stupid? What are you talking about? Yeah, it's insane So detectives obtained warrants to search the greens house in prairie village as well as a friend's 35 acre property where he would store some of his stuff More than 70 officials participated in a thorough search But unfortunately there had been all this construction nearby and all this soil had been moved around and dumped on top of the property so like 20 to 30 feet of dirt and It had been completely transformed from when Angela had gone missing so It was like really really difficult and they were unable to find her then the FBI becomes involved but things are super slow Partially because people just kept telling the FBI. Oh, we just assumed she moved back to China and then the FBI was like Oh, maybe she just moved back to China and Angela had literally lived in the states for over 20 years I mean while she had never visited China since moving here not once It's just like okay, you racist fucks. Whatever. Uh, she yeah sure sure sure So super overwhelmed and frustrated by how slow this was going. Michelle decided to make Angela's story known on TikTok Thank god. Oh And she made part she made a video that started welcome to part one of who the F did my Aunt Mary and where the F is my aunt And there's a repost of an older video it garnered millions of views overnight Michelle and Ellie both began posting videos discussing Angela's disappearance demanding more attention They believe Jeff and Jeff's family knew what happened to Catherine and they needed someone to come forward with answers The case was covered on our friend Sarah turnie's podcast voices for justice and that's definitely worth a listen Much like Sarah turnie did Ellie continued to record phone conversations with her father And in one she asked what date was the last time he'd seen Angela and he said quote Gosh, I don't know I didn't write it down and then said that's the busiest time of year for me at work I'd be like did you hit your fucking head like what are you I mean really I get a grip god like just lot like you have the lie better You have like I know he's getting away with it, but he has to wonder if she knows this is bullshit Like that's what I wonder do you think you're also fucking stupid like he changed the story again now saying that actually Angela left on her own And that she wanted he didn't want to hurt her by making her think like that Angela left her behind So he invented that she died to make her feel better about it And it's like are we kidding oh my god and in the house was her passport ID all her money Uh, by the way she had a stash of money that conveniently also vanished at a certain point But you know nobody knows what happened to that. So I'm not gonna say anything more Jesus more over She didn't even have like a credit card to build credit. It's just nonsense, right? Nonsense Michelle described Jeff as controlling and Angela is very dependent on him, you know, she wasn't given access to her own money things like that There was just no trace no trace of her. There was an episode of Dr. Phil where Ellie spoke about um Her mother's death and she said no she did not believe there's any chance that she was still alive Dr. Phil's team hired private investigators to evaluate soil from a new garden at the property where apparently they found that They announced this is the most Dr. Phil thing ever they announced to her that her dad had planted Hostas Angela's favorite flower in his garden bed. I planted two of these. What the fuck are you talking about? Two middle fingers. I hope they grow Into trees like bean stalks like mentioned previously mentioned in this episode of four mentioned bean stalks Uh, they were transplanted from Angela's garden at the prairie prairie village house and then cadaver dogs alerted to the soil samples so detectives actually were able to obtain a warrant through this to excavate the garden But they were not able to find anything but that was like one of the most promising leads and honestly one of the nicest things I've ever heard Dr. Phil do I was gonna say one of the few times. I'll say thanks all thanks to Dr. Phil uh One of the only um so more than anything Ellie just knew Angela would never abandon her so she knew she Was probably dead rather than having left the family um Ellie eventually ended contact completely with her father Cutting him out of her life and moving out of state to continue schooling in Colorado where she studied journalism According to Michelle when Ellie last spoke to her dad Jeff She said I know you won't say anything now, but before you die Can you at least write me a letter of what happened to mom Jesus Christ? That's so terrible Pitiful leak pitiful it is Michelle continued to make tick talks to raise awareness about Angela's disappearance. She's collaborated with other creators like Sarah turnie, crime junkie, and other creators have left comments that they're making their own videos. There's an investigator named Steve Ridge who has offered to help pro bono and has offered now a $100,000 reward for any information which leads to finding Angela. - And do we know what the dad thinks about his daughter at this point? - They're just cut off from each other. So I think he's just isolated like his family. - Crazy, you know, somewhere being protected by them. In a new people magazine investigate special from this February, 2026. Michelle says she thinks about Angela every night when she goes to sleep and every morning when she wakes up. She says she won't know peace until she knows what happened to her aunt. She also said, "I promise that Jeff will never know a single day of peace until we figure out what happened." - Okay. - But Jeff is not a named suspect in Angela's disappearance. I want to be super clear about that. The case may remain unsolved unless someone who knows what happened to Angela comes forward. There's not been any body found and it's nearly impossible to convict without a body. In March of this year, police told KCTV5 news and I thought this was pretty darn important, especially for this context. The detective said, "Any time there is a new podcast, a documentary or story about Angela Green, the police department receives numerous information from around the country. However, there is yet to be a tip or piece of information that provides new evidence or a lead that has not previously been investigated. But there's also always hope that someone will provide a tip so any information, no matter how small, you're encouraged to contact the authorities, especially if you, you know, curve in the area and know anything, know anybody involved." So yeah, I thought that was heartening at least to hear that like they do get tips when podcasts cover cases, you know? That's good, that's good. And we, everything we said is alleged, of course, but yeah, about him at least, yeah. But wow, that's, that's heartbreaking. To have to hear like the phone calls with the dad being like, "Why do you always want to talk about your mom when you call?" And it's like, "Are you kidding me?" 'Cause you told me she just died like two days ago. And also the weirdest thing, it's so weird. It says everything I ever need to know about your relationship with her too since you don't give a shit. Like, why don't you give a shit about me giving a shit? What's wrong with you? Yeah, it's all like to drive away like that, yeah. Yeah, well, you. Well, anyway, that was a doozy. Thanks for listening, everybody. Thanks. Before we go, I have an update on my phone, Lanyard. Everyone ate me alive in my DMs about this. Did they, what do you mean in a rude way? No, but they said like, because of that? No, not like that, because I ragged on it saying, I looked like a mom, 50 year old mom, and a bunch of 50 year old moms, I guess have Instagram and know how to message me and they all went, "How do you say such a thing?" I said, "Just so you know, as a 50 year old mom, I would never." And I went, "Oh, okay." Oh, you got like double burn. Yeah, I got even alive. Yeah, no, everyone was not a big fan of me comparing this to a demographic people who just wouldn't even ever think to own this, and that-- And you actively listened to our podcast, which is a wild choice for you to-- They, they all said something along the lines of like, I should try closer to like 80 or 90 year olds. They're the people who would, who would use this. And you know what? Okay, first of all, stop that, 'cause now the 80 and 90 year olds are gonna start DMing us, and I just simply can't handle that. My grandma does know how to DM, so everyone watch yourselves. And I'm scared, really. I hear your cries. I apologize to the 50 year old moms that I offended. However, I still think it's a slam dunk. I, maybe it's just, maybe I stand alone here. But if you have, if you don't have one, you're bested out. This is like the rest of the time I've ever seen. So. Yeah, it's super cool. Me and everyone at the retirement home are just getting all tangled up, and each other's a little phone laying there, so-- Oh, wow, it's saucy. Thank you, everyone. Sorry for all of the rabbit holes downward spirals, but I think we did quite a lot of damage today and a lot of different categories between all of our old cinema projects and-- Oh, fuck, yeah, I got to find that old video. It's so haunting. Well, everyone, we'll see you next week. And that's why we drink.