The Ghosts of Galveston, Part Two | The Grave Talks

0:00PNC Bank brings you... Call for wild money moves. Hear that? That's an internet troll telling you to put all your money into a single investment. He wants you to liquidate your emergency fund... Yolo! ...and buy a digital rice horse night, Silicon Steve. Yolo! StaiVigilant, he's very persistent. Yolo! The guard against wild money moves with PNC Bank, brilliantly boring since 1865. Today on the Grave Talks, we continue our conversation about the ghosts of Galveston with Januari Wilson and Eddie Specter. To me, people have told me it's very important to tell an accurate story. That if you're telling a BS story, that it's kind of made up or perhaps it's... What's the word I want? You know, you're making it bigger than what it really is. Or was. That's great. That I've talked a lot of people who've said that the spirits do not like that.

1:05They want the real story told. I'll agree with that. We've had some issues. Oh gosh, yeah. So there's a bar here called the mob bar. Not any more, Shedater. If anyone wants to run this building, by the way, please do. These people couldn't keep managers. I think after the fifth manager, the guy just threw up his hands and went, nope. But we were in there one night. It was actually, it was the longest functioning legally licensed brothel in the state of Texas. And this particular bar specialized in underage people, unfortunately. And so one of the managers at the time, and myself and a couple of other tour guides, it was after work. We're sitting there at the bar and sort of talking about what we do. And the bartender himself, the manager, was having a lunch and a complaint about another tour guide, who would often tell false stories. You know, not everybody is meant for this job. But she would come in, she'd pick up on the door and have her tour guests come in.

2:08And she would say, and this is where all the child sex slaves were. And he goes, I hate when she says that, they weren't child sex slaves. And when he said that, he had this billy club on the wall. It was in with a screw. It shot off the wall, hit the cooler. All of us at the bar, like, shot back. There was that pause when something like that happens. We all just stare at each other. And the manager went, I apologized. I realized a lot of bad things happened to you. And perhaps you were, and I apologize. Whoa. And you were there when that happened? Oh, yeah. That would be insane. Yeah. And that bar is closed now. They can't be management. It is, if, you know, we win the lottery that is totally our headquarters. Absolutely. Because we've done a ghost hunt there. And that is very, very active, very active. But they do like, you know, that we tell those stories. But talking about false stories, you know, January, if I choke on a twinkie or something and die,

3:13tell people that I saved somebody in a fire. Go ahead and lie. You know what? I will. I will. Please do the same thing. Making good. Make me heroic. That's all I ask. She was good to everyone. Yes. Now, what are some of the other locations on the tours that are particularly active? You want to talk about the Seely Hutchins building, Eddie? Yeah, sure. That's a part of our walking tour. And on the strand. And Seely Hutchins building. That's an amazing story. During the great storm, like I said, everybody went to higher ground. And there was a schoolmarm who was working up there on the second floor. And the waters came up to the second floor. And during the storm, this was that night. You know, she couldn't see anything. The electric was out.

4:13And she could see people, you know, kind of when lightning struck, she could see people floating in the water trying to grab onto debris, trying to survive. And so this brave woman opened up a window. Huge hurricane going. And she could see somebody. She would grab them. And if you were alive, she would say, rest up. I need your help. If you were dead, she would put you inside and put you in a pile. And this went on throughout the entire night until the waters receded. And then she did the same thing down the stairs. She grabbed people and took them to the second floor that were dead. And she unfortunately died in that building due to illness about three months later after the storm. And to this day, she still haunts that place. And it suits. And for as long as I've been doing it, we've gotten pictures. It's amazing. Yeah, we have a recent picture taken by one of the groups that office out of there or have a shop in there. It's clear as day and she's right there with another spirit, we believe.

5:15You know, that's right. That's right. When you told that story, it really touched me because how horrible that had to have been. Because it wasn't just raising, rising, excuse me, floodwaters. This is like you're in the middle of the ocean. Yeah. And the winds go. Yeah, in 30, we don't know. 145, I think is what they clocked up. Yeah, that's what it was. You know, rising floodwaters would be horrific anyway. But now you're basically in the middle of the ocean. How brave is that? And because she did that, other people actually jumped into action that were probably, you know, what I would be doing, cowering in a corner. Because you'd be terrified. And you almost have to wonder if her cause of death wasn't somehow related to the hurricane. It's pulling the bodies, probably made her sick and then the sadness and just, I mean, that's trauma.

6:19She probably didn't have a therapist she could call, you know. No clean water, food, like all the things. All the things, right? Come a loco. Oh my gosh. Yeah, absolutely. And I think another few places as you walk along the strand, there's a, I mean, like we said, you know, you'd be hours and hours and we would get stopped at every single building and tell you the history and the ghost stories shared with us. But another block is on the strand around 20th street is where the Civil War headquarters was right there. Civil War battles took place right there in the street and across the street from there. The nickels building was like an infirmary slash morgue for the soldiers and things like that. We believe it's one of the most haunted buildings right there on the strand and we keep on getting stories. The new people who have a shop there, he showed me video not long ago of this on the wall.

7:28He has all these tools and he had this pair of pliers hanging and he said, this happened last night, you know, and he would show me and he had to fast forward, but you would fast forward and you can see the pliers move just a little bit, little bit, little bit and then pop right out of its slot and onto the bench. And it is just amazing. Lots of stories there. And he told me that story and then I was doing a tour about three weeks later and this is about two years ago and then he pops back out and asked me, did any tell you what I showed him. I said, yes, he said, well now tell him every day when I come in, these pliers are on the floor. And I had a child on my tour that day who had booked the tour his dad said because somebody had moved the toothpaste toothpaste in his bathroom. I think his dad was trying to convince him that goes smart real, which this was a terrible mistake. The child is like gripping his pants, looking at me behind the dad and so I'm trying to comfort the child and I was like, you know, it's fine.

8:29These ghosts don't really know what they're doing. They're just kind of living a day in the life. And one of my tour guests says, I can think of a reason a civil war doctor would need some pliers. Yeah. I'm not okay. I'm not okay. Not a Mr. Poor kid. What does she mean by that? Do you find as you do the tours different nights are different? Like the energy changes or because you both being sensitive that maybe you feel drawn someplace one night as opposed to another night you can sense it's active tonight, not this night. It's almost as if the guests drive it. I like to say I wonder who the universe is delivering to us tonight because it always seems to have so many coincidences of what the guests are actually there to experience. Now that is interesting to me. Because I kind of assumed it would be more like the two of you are the ones they're attracted to but it could be someone with your group.

9:35I had a gentleman he was a one person tour and Eddie called me and said you don't have to do this. I'll call him and cancel it and I'm like, no, no, I actually feel like I do. And I we went to the whole tour stop by stop and we stopped and he kind of teared up he goes, I want to thank you so much you didn't have to do this. But last year this time my life partner I forget her name and he started showing me pictures. She had passed away in that year. She got aggressive cancer and passed away every single stop we made. He had a picture with her on those stops. So yeah. And you didn't know that before that was after the tour ended. I think that would be hard to know going into the tour. I had no idea it was his name and he had told me he was there because his daughter was giving birth. But he was giving his daughter space and he actually that's really why he would head up the tour. That would have been really difficult for him, but it also was something they must have enjoyed doing together.

10:37It was. Do you find that too, Eddie, that it kind of changes depending on the night, the energy in the in the locations? Oh, absolutely. And even as a tour guide you have to read a room. Are they more interested in the history or the ghost stories? And then I'm very open when it comes to it anyhow. Yeah, absolutely. You get certain people who have negative energy or something, which is very rare. And that may conjure something, but most of the time it's pretty nice. It's pretty nice. And we attract all the good spirits that want the stories told. So I think you do paranormal investigations, don't you as well? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So what are some of the places that you go into? And once you're in there, do you find that just the energy of the building kind of influences the night as well?

11:39Every single one? Oh, I bet. I bet. We don't go into a lot of building stores during a standard tour, but we do have many stops. If you want to take a bathroom break or get a drink, you're allowed to bring your alcoholic beverage along the strand, which is pretty nice. We do enter the Tremont House Hotel, which is very, very beautiful. And we have that going for us, but also we used to go through the mob bar, but that's too bad. It's more intimate. Well, that's okay. It's okay. Just being outside of the place does the job. And we encourage people and people send us a lot of pictures that they take on the tours too. You rarely see it that night. It's always the next day that you see your ghosts in the picture. I find that true in so many locations. Have you ever taken a ghost tour or have you experienced anything paranormal in your life?

12:43I have. And it started for me as very young because I grew up in a haunted house. So it's interesting because I think people like us that had something as a child. I don't understand why I'm kind of terrified of it and drawn to it at the same time. Yes, but I find so many people are like that. There's something I'm fascinated by, but it does scare me because I remember how scared I was as a kid. And I don't want that. I don't want to have people walking around at night doing things in my house. I really don't. But it's almost like you have to tune in in order to tune back out. Yeah, then it goes away, but the blocking it and the defensiveness, it doesn't work. And I think that when you do have experiences that you're also fascinated by what was it. And so I'm drawn to other people like you guys who have had experiences and do this on a regular basis.

13:47Because you have some insight into it. And I think collectively everybody's insight might eventually add up to some pretty profound answers. I agree. And actually, like, have you ever taken a ghost tour anywhere? Yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. I love it. I take ghost tours everywhere I go. Now going in and doing a paranormal investigation, that kind of, I don't know that I could... And I think that goes back to when I was a kid and being in the dark at night and hearing footsteps and lights turning on and off and the like the TV turning on and off. That scares me. So I think that's kind of like a PTSD thing almost. Like now I'm sitting here waiting for something to happen. Like that just gives me anxiety. Have a lot of fun. When you come visit, we'll take you to see the good guys. I love it. Yeah, what's very important about the ghost hunts, even if you do it, you know, beyond just joining us, you have to have a group.

14:57Don't go alone, all that stuff. The group right there, it's all good energy because we're all after the same thing, just curiosity. And you have to create that balance between strength and sensitivity when it comes to it as well. It's very important, but it can be very fun. Now, do you guys do paranormal investigations with groups at locations there in the Galveston area? Oh, yeah. And what are some of the locations that you frequently go to? Well, I've done quite a few. We did the Monard House. It was built in 1839. When Galveston became a city, he was one of the founding fathers, Michelle Monard. And it's still here. You know, they built them to last. And we investigated that. And yes, we would sell tickets and it's a good group. You could bring any paranormal equipment you want. You're led by a guide or myself, and you just go through,

16:05we'll take turns going through different rooms. It's very respectful in that nature. We've done that. We've done the Samu May Williams home, another founding father. We did do, yes, the mob bar. Lots and lots of places. And January, what kind of place, like do you do those as well? And what places is there a place that you really like to go to? I think Sarah's were drawn to different places. Absolutely. And I'll obviously, Eddie brought me into this. So I've gone all the places he has. I just hang out with him. And I'm going to go to the other place. I'm going to go to the other place. The mob bar, the building I keep speaking of, which I don't think it'll be mob bar forever. It's been a lot of things. It's right there by the train station. That particular place, I feel like I've just become friends with the people who were in there.

17:08And I'm drawn, even if the doors are locked, I still just go over there and sit for a minute. I part there pretty much every time I go there. With the history of that place, like we were talking about earlier, the trauma that happened. So it's not just about death. It's about what happened there. I think it could really influence, and of course, if there's spirit still there, that experience that, I think you would feel that too. Absolutely. And I love Galveston Island. Galveston Island is where you have to start, but it doesn't just stop on the island. All of Galveston County. And so some other people we work with, and we've been, you know, on the mainland, Brasoria County, Dickinson, Ryle, Avangleton, we've been doing investigations there to inside and outside. Sometimes we're just in a field. It's the whole area. Which makes sense.

18:08It doesn't just stay within these parameters. There was a lot that happened there. Now, what I found interesting is that it's not just a ghost walking tour. You also do segway tours. There's a boat tour. So people have all kinds of options on what they could do. Yeah. There's so many stories. You can't just limit it to the small walking tour on the strand. So what we have is a mystery island tour. And we have a eight person golf cart where we go all around the island. We even go through the cemetery and stop by the hotel Galvest, which is pretty haunted. And also on a spot where supposedly Jack the Ripper was here, apparently. What? This story, by the way, I'm very compelling. Yeah, you have to flesh this one out a little. Oh, that was a weird thing for me to say.

19:09You have to explain this Jack the Ripper. I don't know why that came into my mouth. But explain this story just a little like, what would he have been doing there? No, that's the story behind it. Very good question because the thing is that we're not sure if this was Jack the Ripper or this was just maybe a copycat. But apparently this guy who had a mental illness over in London made his way to New York and then found his way through Galveston apparently because while he was in New York, one of the police chiefs or something said, if Jack the Ripper ever showed up here, he'd be caught in a second. And all of a sudden these prostitutes were murdered and in one incident he wrote in blood. Okay, catch me now.

20:10Oh, they gave me chills. Yeah, and then he takes off and he apparently finds his way in Galveston and this was in 1891. And there was a woman, her name is Carrie Brown and she was discovered in this home with the same MO as the other Ripper murders. I mean, she was there was strangulation, the throat slash twice from left to right, ripping open the body, scattering the end trails and things like that. It's just crazy. And then never caught Jack the Ripper. So it's like he went somewhere. Yeah, but yeah, and we stopped by the house where she was found. We just tell the story and leave it to the imagination. I mean, you never know. I mean, even the newspapers, we looked it up in the newspapers has Jack the Ripper finally shown up on the island. And there's a place between Yagas and the butter row building where I've heard people believe he was hunting.

21:15Is there more than one victim or could he have just been there for a little bit and gone someplace else? Because you know, when you think about it, at the time, news did not travel fast. So he could have gone there, done something and been long gone for a month before the news really guide out across the country. Well, we have another layer of issue here and that we live in a swamp. So it's a really great place to hide bodies. Literally. Yeah, literally. So you know, you can't always tell if there were more or not. Because he could have hid that so easily. That's interesting. I never heard that. Oh, yeah. You've heard of the killing fields of Texas, right? Yeah. So people think it's just a block in Lake City, which is like people should know that story. It's important, but it's not just that I 45 from Houston to Galveston is the bloodiest stretch of highway to this day in the United States.

22:18And we're just talking young women that doesn't include that creep of candy man who has taken little boys over in Kima. It. Lots and lots of women have gone missing here. So it is, yeah, lots of places to hide bodies. You think that's just one person or do you think it's like. Great question. Are you going to handle that one Eddie? Oh, for the Texas killing fields. Yeah. There are a lot of suspects and I think they narrowed it down to at least two. I do believe person. It's several we think. There's just so much darkness in that area. You know, and it's what's crazy is that I'm going on a cruise. It's like, oh, it's like there's a weird dichotomy of emotions. Oh, yeah. And you know, if we're still in the mainland, we haven't even gotten talking about the KKK or started talking about them.

23:21Let's be done as soon as possible. But, you know, that was a huge presence in the South here. And then I don't know if you heard it first. Eddie's the one who told me this story too. I wasn't even aware of the murder of Dersht. Again, I'm going to punt to Eddie because I don't know the story. Oh, oh, yeah. Sure. Story of Robert Dersht. There's been some documentaries on him, right? Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. There's a, he was a millionaire, you know, and did some questionable things throughout his life. And apparently he lived in a home in Galveston and we stopped by there. It's like a, kind of like a duplex, four rooms, actually. And apparently lived there. And he would dress up as a woman or something like that to hide himself, do weird things. But his neighbor apparently caught him doing something.

24:22And so Robert Dersht apparently killed him. And his body was later found in pieces pretty much by a fisherman in his son. And they just pulled up a body and they figured it out. And it was Robert Dersht. And that caught finally after all this time. And he was released from, no, he wasn't released, but he died of COVID of all things, right? Right when it was happening. But there's a movie called All Good Things with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. And in the very beginning of the movie, you see this shadow figure throwing a body into the water with a big sign that says Galveston in the back. And I think I watched an actual documentary on him. Oh yeah, they have a... Just creepy, creepy stuff. But I totally forgot that's where that happened. Man, there's a lot going on there. Like we could do a 10-parter.

25:24You could just zoom in on the Bishop House or the Moody Mansion. You know, there's so many places. Yeah. Yeah, hopefully that's the plan eventually, you know, working with our... And how psychic, Siri, she's a wonderful human being. Oh, she's amazing. What's the best way for people to get more information? Go to the website. Absolutely. Just go to Eddie Spector, Eddie with a Y Spector, ER, at the end, dot com, Eddie Spector dot com. And you can book any of our tours right there. We're slowly opening up different tours. We have a pub crawl tour we're working on. And also a brand new innovative thing that nobody else on the island has. No other ghost tours. These ghost tours that are fly by night, they come and go, they don't know what they're doing. They're unprofessional, they wear shorts and t-shirt. They just do it for the money. They don't really care if they have the passion for what these people deserve.

26:26But the new thing I have coming up and hopefully launch in August is an interactive self-guided tour. You know, we have people who want to take a tour three in the morning or two in the afternoon. And some tour guides may not be available or they're sick or out of town. So this way you can take a tour anytime you want. And it's self-guided on your phone where you are provided with maps. You click it, it tells you where to go. It's provided with audio and pictures and all that. You'll have 24 hours to take the tour yourself. So if you want to pause, get a drink, go have dinner, start it back up tomorrow. It's up to you. That's a great idea. Yeah, you still took a tour. So maybe you heard my story, but you can't remember and you want to go back to that spot, then you can relisten. That's such a great idea. Thank you. And you can also, there's a Facebook page just search for Eddie Spector.

27:30I think if you just go Eddie Spector, it'll pop up. Yeah, sure. If you go to, yeah, Eddie Spector and the website directs you to the social media and things like that. And I will put a link so wherever people are listening to this show, they can, on the description, they'll be a link right there too. And I want to put a, he mentioned our inhouse psychic, Sarah. Sarah, you lit the checo. You can also book his tours through her website. It's paranormal, supernatural state. And she's been doing investigations for a long time too. So anyway, there's a lot of ways to get to us. Awesome. Well, this was so interesting, you guys. I swear, we might have to circle back and do some more. Like really go into a couple of locations because this was really interesting. Yes, yes. I'd been wanting to do an episode about Galveston forever. And we really didn't even touch the surface. I mean, we did. But you know what I'm saying? There's just so much there.

28:33Mm-hmm. But you guys were absolutely great. So January and Eddie, thank you so much for doing this. Oh, thank you, Carol. It was so nice to meet you. Thank you so much, Carol. This has been a blast. And I look forward to seeing you on the tours. And that wraps up our conversation about the ghosts of Galveston with January Wilson and Eddie Spector. For more information on their tours, go to edispector.com and you can find the link in the show notes. If you'd like access to all of our episodes including the Archive and Advanced episodes, everything commercial free, then you can become a Gravekeeper. Sign up on Apple Podcasts, you can try it there for three days free, or go to patreon.com slash the Grave Talks. I'm Carol Hughes, and for all of us here at the Grave Talks, thank you very much for listening.

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