On Halloween night 2025, inside a packed room in Austin, Texas, members of the Night Owl community stepped up to the microphone to share something deeply personal… their own encounters with the unexplained.

In this special episode, we bring you three Campfire Tales recorded live at the Spirit Social 2025 — stories not pulled from books or legend, but lived experiences that have stayed with each storyteller long after they passed. 

“The Watseka Wonder”
Paranormal investigators Damian and Nicole of ParaPeculiar and The Real Ghosts… podcasts travel to Illinois to research one of the most infamous possession cases in American history. But what begins as a historical deep dive raises a far more unsettling question… did get more than they bargained for?

“The Shadow in the Headlights”
Decades before becoming a professional psychic medium, Elaine Ireland experienced something she still can’t explain. A late-night drive through rain-soaked Texas highways… a strange presence ahead in the darkness… and a moment that has stayed with her for half her lifetime.

“The Midnight Beat”
Paranormal detective Greg Lawson recounts his early days as a police officer working late nights in Austin, Texas. While reviewing old case files inside the city’s abandoned asylum, he begins to sense that some history doesn’t stay buried… especially in the dark.

These are the Campfire Tales of Spirit Social 2025.

STORYTELLER INFO:

Be sure to check out Damian and Nicole on their podcasts, The Real Ghosts of… and ParaPeculiar. You can connect with them on social media @therealghostsof and @parapeculiar

Elaine Ireland offers virtual readings and can be reached at [email protected]. You can also learn more about her most recent project at www.conversationswiththeancients.com.

And you can find Paranormal Detective Greg Lawson at www.theparanormaldetective.com or connect with him on social media @greghlawson.

EPISODE SPONSORS:

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Returning for one final overnight inside one of Austin’s oldest and most haunted locations, the Night Owl team pushes deeper into Moonshine Bar & Grill — testing what’s emerged so far and introducing new experiments designed to further interaction.

For the first time, a custom-built spirit communication device is brought into the investigation. Strange conversations unfold. A phantom smell suddenly begins to follow the team with no physical source. And multiple team members witness unexplained activity in real time.

As long-standing theories are challenged and new pieces surface, the mystery of Moonshine grows more complex than ever.

Some answers begin to take shape.
Others raise even bigger questions.

This is the final chapter of the Moonshine case — and nothing is what it first seemed.

Photo by Raymond Wallace

EPISODE SPONSORS:

LUMI GUMMIES
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AG1
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THE SECRET ROOM
Find The Secret Room, a podcast about the stories no one ever tells, anywhere you get your podcasts. 

The investigation at Moonshine Bar & Grill continues as the team returns to one of Austin’s most storied locations. What began as fragments and impressions now deepens, as previous findings are tested, challenged, and expanded.

After documenting Moonshine through extensive interviews with owners, long-time staff, former employees, and contractors, clear patterns had emerged: unexplained footsteps near the upstairs offices, objects moving or breaking, sudden injuries, and presences tied to the patio, upstairs office, Kinfolk, and the Sunday House.

When the psychic investigation began, each medium was kept blind and separate. Despite that, overlapping impressions surfaced. An aggressive male presence yelling “get out.” A darker energy moving between the patio and the Sunday House loft. An intelligent, non-threatening man with glasses connected to Kinfolk. And a new, unexpected element—a chaotic teenage boy believed to be responsible for many of the accidents reported in recent years.

As the night unfolded, even more layers revealed themselves: a protective female presence near the office stairs, a shadowy figure watching from the Sunday House loft, and an Indigenous woman who appeared during a later session with imagery tied to protest, the Capitol, and a much more modern chapter of Austin’s history.

By the time the first night came to a close, the building was empty, the energy had shifted, and the most pressing questions remained unanswered. Were the psychics accurately tapping into the same experiences staff had described? Were they independently sensing the same presences? And was something still hiding, waiting to be understood?

This episode picks up exactly where the investigation left off.

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Tonight, the team returns to one of Austin’s oldest and most notoriously haunted locations, Moonshine Bar & Grill.

After months of interviews, they’re finally handed the key and granted full access to the property.

For the first time, the full Night Owl team, including psychic mediums Jeffery, Kate, and the long-awaited return of Sara, arrive blind to the location to investigate Moonshine firsthand and search for what has unsettled staff and guests for decades.

Will this be the night that separates fact from folklore…or blurs the line even further?

Photo by Adam Lynch

EPISODE SPONSORS:

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In Part II of this Moonshine investigation, the activity escalates. More voices come forward — current staff, former employees, and even contractors — each describing new incidents inside one of Austin’s oldest and most famously haunted buildings.

Objects falling or flying without explanation… glass breaking where no one’s standing… a mysterious item believed to be haunted… and even the discovery of barefoot child footprints on the wooden floors after closing.

Tonight, the story of Moonshine Bar & Grill grows stranger, sharper, and harder to dismiss — as more witnesses step forward with experiences that defy easy explanation.

The deeper the Night Owl goes… the more this place seems to reveal. 

Photo by Adam Lynch

EPISODE SPONSORS:

AG1
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BETTERHELP
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Tonight, The Night Owl Podcast takes listeners inside one of Austin’s most storied and allegedly haunted landmarks — Moonshine Bar & Grill. Built on the foundations of the old Waterloo Compound and layered with nearly two centuries of history, this beloved downtown spot is known for more than its comfort food and cocktails.

In this episode, the team begins unraveling the myths surrounding Moonshine — sitting down with longtime staff and owners who’ve spent years inside its limestone walls, to explore where folklore ends and firsthand experience begins.

What emerges are patterns of strange happenings, lingering energies, and one presence in particular that many believe still keeps watch over the building.

This is just the beginning of The Night Owl’s deep dive into Moonshine’s haunted legacy....and the living witnesses keeping its stories alive.

Photo by Adam Lynch

EPISODE SPONSORS:

ONESKIN
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AG1
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More than a century ago, in the quiet town of Villisca, Iowa… a horrifying crime shattered a sense of small-town innocence: two adults and six children were brutally murdered in their sleep with an axe. The case remains unsolved to this day.

Today, the home where it happened still stands — preserved not just as a historical site, but as one of the most chilling and active paranormal locations in the country.

Previously on this Campfire Series, listeners heard from the current tour guide of the Villisca Axe Murder House… a tourism rep who left the home feeling deeply unsettled… a seasoned paranormal investigator… and a researcher and author who has studied the house for years.

But at the center of this series is one family: the caretaker and his wife, who unknowingly moved into the house directly across the street from the Villisca Axe Murder House — and soon after, began experiencing something they couldn’t explain.

In Part I, the caretaker shared his side of the story — but it became clear there was more he wasn’t ready to say. Since then, others have echoed the idea that a dark presence lingers in Villisca. And now, in Part III, the story returns to its heart.

Listeners will hear what the caretaker held back during that first interview.

And for the first time… his wife’s side of the story will finally be revealed.

Photo provided by Travel Iowa

EPISODE SPONSORS:

LUMI GUMMIES
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AG1
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BETTERHELP
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FACTOR
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In Part I of this Campfire Series, you heard from a range of voices connected to the site of one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in American history — the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders.

You heard from the current tour guide of the Villisca Axe Murder House, who walks its haunted halls regularly. You also heard from a representative with Iowa’s tourism office, who described the same strange unease that so many others have reported after visiting. And you were introduced to the gripping account of a man who unknowingly moved his family into the house directly across the street from the Villisca Axe Murder House — only to be hired as the property manager of the very home he once thought was just part of local legend.

Over the course of five months, his skepticism gave way to fear as a series of unsettling events unfolded — ultimately leading him and his family to flee Villisca entirely, relocating to Florida with no clear plans of returning.

Now, in Part II, we’re taking a short detour from that story to bring you two new voices whose experiences with the house span years and miles: a seasoned paranormal investigator with a personal history at Villisca, and an author who has spent years preserving the legacy of the case and the home in writing.

Together, their stories offer deeper context — and raise new questions — about what might truly linger inside the Villisca Axe Murder House.

And later, in Part III, we’ll reconnect with the caretaker you met in Part I and hear from his wife for the very first time — bringing this Campfire series to its unforgettable conclusion.

Photo provided by Travel Iowa

FEATURED GUESTS:

Richard Estep - Book “A Nightmare in Villisca”
Colin Browen - The Paranormal Files “The Axe Murder House of Villisca”
The Paranormal Files YouTube Channel
The Conspiracy Files YouTube Channel
Murder in America Podcast

EPISODE SPONSORS:

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Prepare yourself to venture into one of the most chilling true crime cases in American history — the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders.

This is part of our Campfire Series — a storytelling format where we gather firsthand accounts, interviews, and stories connected to a haunted location. Unlike our usual investigative episodes where my team and I conduct on-site investigations, these campfire installments bring together voices from afar to share their lived experiences.

In this special two-part series, we’ll explore the tragic night when eight people, including six children, were brutally murdered in their sleep. The case remains unsolved to this day. And the house where it happened? It still stands — a modest white home in Villisca, Iowa, now known across the country for both its history and its hauntings. It’s a place you can visit… though some who do report leaving with no intention of returning.

Over the decades, the Villisca Axe Murder House has drawn in investigators, authors, and television crews, all hoping to uncover the truth — or connect with something beyond it.

In Part I, you’ll hear phone calls with individuals who have direct connections to the house: a current tour guide who walks visitors through the home regularly, a local Villisca resident rooted in the town’s legacy and history, and a man who unknowingly bought the house directly across the street — only to discover that Villisca may have called him there for reasons he couldn’t yet understand. A few months later, he would find himself entangled in a series of events that nearly tore his life apart — beginning when he was hired to manage the murder house property itself.

And that  is only the beginning. In Part II, we’ll continue his story, hear from this man’s wife, and speak with both a longtime paranormal investigator as well as an an author who has written extensively on the home’s haunted legacy.

So settle in, and listen closely. Because this campfire burns in the shadow of a home where something unthinkable happened over a century ago… and where some believe it never truly ended.

Photo provided by Travel Iowa

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In tonight’s episode, the Night Owl team returns once more to Freddo ATX — the historic Victorian café where unexplained activity continues to raise questions. In their last visit, three psychic mediums were brought in separately, blind to the location, and kept apart throughout the investigation. What they uncovered — children’s spirits, multiple women, and even the name Walter — pointed to a complex spiritual presence lingering in the home. But they’re not done yet.

Now, they return for a final night inside Freddo ATX, this time with all three psychics together. And with new tools and experimental methods in hand, they’re pushing deeper — to see if the spirits of this place are ready to reveal more.

Photo by Meg Blohm

EPISODE SPONSORS:

LUMI GUMMIES

Go to LumiGummies.com  and use code NIGHTOWL for 30% off your order.

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In tonight’s episode, the Night Owl team returns to Freddo ATX — a cozy café and bar tucked inside a stunning Victorian home at the corner of South Congress and Oltorf in Austin, Texas. In their previous visit, they gathered stories from the owners, staff, and a local ghost tour group that routinely stops at the property. The reports were unsettling: a heavy, foreboding presence on the first floor, strange thuds and disembodied voices, whispered names, phantom footsteps, and sightings of a woman — and even children — in the upstairs windows. The sightings were so frequent, someone once threatened to call CPS. Still, with Freddo only occupying the house since 2021, the staff aren’t quite sure what — or who — might be haunting the place. Some point, half-jokingly, to the home’s most famous former resident: Walter Tips — a rags-to-riches entrepreneur who rose to become one of Austin’s most successful merchants and eventually a Texas state senator. He lived — and died — in this home. But could he still be here? And if so, could there be others trying to make themselves known?

Tonight, the team returns to Freddo, joined by not one, not two, but three psychic mediums — all with no prior knowledge of this location and blind to the address until arrival. Their goal: to validate the claims shared in Part I, and perhaps, uncover something entirely new. 

Photo by Meg Blohm

EPISODE SPONSORS:

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