This episode contains our exclusive interview with Tina Romero, daughter of the legendary filmmaker George Romero, discussing her film 'Queens of the Dead' at the Buried Alive Film Festival. Becky also interviews several independent filmmakers, who had only 13 days to produce each short horror film in the annual Sinema Challenge. Becky tells funny stories about being trapped on a tour with her mom, and the awkward joy of attending the rather bawdy film festival with her teen daughter.  

We promise not to give away any spoilers for 'Queens of the Dead'! Instead, Becky and Diana muse briefly on the evolution of queer/female representation in horror and other media genres. Then, we prospect for ideas should we decide to enter the Sinema Challenge in 2026, based on our favorite white card from Cards Against Humanity. You know the one.

This episode (and a shorter video of just Becky chatting with Tina Romero) are both on Youtube.com/HomespunHaints. There were so many outtakes from this episode, which we shared with our Patrons over at Patreon.com/HomespunHaints.

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“This might hurt a little,” the lady in blue tells the four-year-old clinging to the roaring jet ski. Trees blur. The throttle won’t let go. What follows is a tragedy turned miracle, a fate that shouldn’t have been possible.

Today's episode is actually a loaner from Spirits Uncorked, a podcast all about the very haunted Lake Lanier. Their guest, Alyse, takes us back to her childhood at War Hill Park on Lake Lanier, just north of the Highway 53 bridge long linked to the Lady in Blue. You've heard Homespun Haints talk about Lake Lanier and what lies beneath it, but this first-hand ghost story is what really convinced us the legend must be true.

For more Lake Lanier ghost stories and history, subscribe to Spirits Uncorked at LanierGhostTours.com (or take a boat tour with them, if you dare). 

Wanna hear Becky tell Diana about the source of her Lake Lanier phobia in a wickedly ribald tone? Well, Hainted Loves, you know you have to go to Patreon.com/HomespunHaints to hear the filthy stuff. This feed swap episode is also available in (partial) video format over on our Patreon. 

Thank you to our friends at Southern Gothic Media for introducing us to Elizabeth and Erica of Spirits Uncorked! 

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We sit down with psychic medium Patti Negri to explore Dollcraft, her new hands-on guide to inviting the right spirit, banishing the wrong one, and caring for doll vessels without wrecking your life. When a low-vibration hitchhiker shows up, she shares how to banish, reset, and re-establish boundaries—illustrated by the transformation of Patti's doll “Belle,” whose dark attachment gave way to a kind child spirit after a little dollcraft. The conversation moves beyond dolls into cleansing practices, and Patti issues a warning about over-using sage. 

We also seem to have finally found a perfect person to ask about spectrophilia, and with an open mind and great sense of humor, Patti talks about the pros and cons of having sex with ghosts. Our conversation offers cheeky (yet practical) tips and bold ideas about physical intimacy with a deceased loved one. 

In forecasting the rest of 2025, Patti invokes the dragon—an ancient, cross-cultural protector that “lives at the crossroads.” She explains how to create, feed, and task a dragon fetish to focus your will, protect your space, and attract opportunities. 

Homespun Haints is a huge collection of seven years worth of true, first-hand audio and video ghost stories. If it resonates, please subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more curious minds find us.

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Three podcasters from The Activity Continues share their true Minnesota ghost stories with Becky and Diana and what makes them continue exploring the paranormal. Their experiences range from protective ancestral spirits to aggressive supernatural entities in the Middle East.
• Becky shares a recent experience she can't explain that happened at her new job as a violin teacher in Atlanta
• AP describes encounters with her grandfather's spirit, including a specific electronic device that started functioning a little differently after his death
• Amy deliberately bought a haunted Victorian house where she saw multiple apparitions; was one of them the ghost of Kid Can, a notorious Minneapolis bootlegger?
• Megan had a spirit named Frank attach to her in college. He followed her to Bahrain...but perhaps to protect her from something more sinister?

Find The Activity Continues podcast on all major platforms and at theactivitycontinues.com, where you can share your own ghost stories through their website or voice message feature.

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What if face-planting onto a tile floor from three feet up turned out to be the most transformative moment of your life? For Jen Mitchell Love, a family law attorney with 19 years of experience, that's exactly what happened during what should have been a routine (albeit admittedly ill-advised) breathwork session in a steam room.

Upon regaining consciousness with blood pooling around her, Jen received a visit from her ancestors, along with a clear message: "You have come here to do big things, and you need to do them!" What followed were five days of extraordinary experiences that completely transformed her perception of reality ("was that a glitch...in the sky?") and her life's purpose.

After recognizing that the conventional divorce system destroys families rather than helping them heal, Jen transformed her legal practice into Solace Divorce Mediation. Now she guides couples through divorce as a soul journey, incorporating concepts of reflection, soul contracts, and inner healing into the legal process. 

Jen's story is ultimately about navigating life—do we externalize our problems, blaming others and circumstances, or do we look inward to discover the reflections that can lead to our evolution? 

Find more info about Jen, her book, and her work in the show notes for this episode, which live at HomespunHaints.com/fifth-dimension-divorce

Episode promo: 

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Doll historian and witch Heather Green unpacks the mysterious world of haunted dolls, explaining how they function as portals for spirits rather than becoming possessed objects themselves. She draws on her extensive knowledge of doll history and the occult to help us distinguish between "inspirited" dolls that have absorbed energy over time, and "ensouled" dolls that serve as anchors for specific spirits.

In this interview, Heather teaches us:

• Dolls can be "inspirited" with energy from years of human interaction without being haunted
• Most haunted dolls function as portals rather than possessed objects
• Destroying a haunted doll can make the haunting worse
• Tarot can be an effective tool for communicating with doll-attached spirits

Heather also hosts a weekly podcast called "The Witches Movie Coven," discussing films from a witch's perspective. Learn more about her at https://www.heathergreene.net, or in the show notes for this episode at homespunhaints.com.

And remember, there's no such thing as a free kitten.

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Three knocks in the night. A wailing cry. A figure in white seen from the corner of your eye. Across cultures, these omens carry the same chilling message—someone will soon die.

In this captivating exploration of supernatural death harbingers, folklorist and author Steven J. Rolfes takes us deep into the mysterious world of banshees and their counterparts across different cultures. With his book Beware the Banshee's Cry as our guide, Steven reveals the fascinating complexities behind these ethereal messengers.

What exactly is a banshee? Steven presents three possibilities: the ghost of an ancestor with either loving or vindictive intentions, a fairy from the ancient Tuatha de Danann, or perhaps most intriguingly, a transformed Celtic goddess. The name itself—"bean sí" or "woman from the fairy mound"—connects these entities to pre-Christian Celtic traditions that have survived centuries of cultural evolution.

From Lady Fanshawe's encounter with a floating red-haired apparition at an O'Brien castle in 1649 to a mysterious black cat haunting a Cincinnati hospital in 1879, these stories span continents and centuries, demonstrating how banshees follow Irish families wherever they travel. We also discover similar traditions worldwide, including Germany's White Lady (Weissefrau) and Mexico's weeping woman (La Llorona), showing how humans across cultures have personified death's approach.

The folklore contains surprising elements—banshees' treasured combs that shouldn't be stolen, the protective power of iron against supernatural entities, and the specific families traditionally haunted by these harbingers. Stephen's storytelling brings these traditions to life with both scholarly insight and captivating narrative.

Listen now to discover whether your heritage comes with its own supernatural warning system, and consider: if you heard three knocks at your door tonight, would you answer?

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What happens when an astrologer's meditation on birth charts opens unexpected doorways to the spirit realm? Susan Reynolds never planned to communicate with the dead—in fact, she was once so terrified of ghosts that she would leave the room if anyone mentioned them. Yet over her 40-year journey as an astrologer, the veil between worlds kept thinning until she could no longer ignore the messages coming through.

Susan's remarkable story begins with a routine pre-reading meditation that unexpectedly revealed a client's past life as an Irish farmer's wife with seven children. Though hesitant to share what seemed like a "boring" vision, Susan watched in amazement as this revelation transformed her client's life, lifting the burden of guilt the woman had carried about choosing career over family. This pivotal moment taught Susan to trust the information coming through, regardless of how it might be received.

The spiritual downloads didn't stop with past lives. During readings, deceased loved ones began appearing with urgent messages for her clients. "I'm not a medium," Susan insists, explaining that unlike professional mediums, she can't summon spirits at will—they simply show up. One particularly moving encounter involved a father who had passed just weeks earlier, desperately wanting his daughter to know he loved her one last time.

For years, Susan maintained a double life—corporate professional by day, intuitive astrologer by nights and weekends—until her spirit guides abruptly announced it was time for her to pursue her calling full-time. This dramatic career shift allowed her unique approach to astrology to fully bloom, combining traditional chart analysis with spiritual insights that address the soul's journey across lifetimes.

Whether you're a skeptic, a spiritual seeker, or somewhere in between, Susan's experiences offer a fascinating glimpse into what happens when analytical practice meets intuitive gifts. Her story reminds us that our greatest strengths often emerge from embracing the very things that once frightened us most.

Ready to explore your own cosmic blueprint? Visit ExploreAstrology.com for Susan's free monthly predictions and intuitive guidance.

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Chris from The Wandering Road podcast shares his family's terrifying experiences in both his childhood homes in The Bronx and Queens, NYC, where mysterious entities threatened and terrorized them for years.

• Childhood encounters with small shadowy creatures called "duendes" in their Bronx apartment
• Strange phenomenon in their Queens home including doors slamming and electronics turning on by themselves
• Heavy footsteps in the attic and mysterious knocking on doors with no one there
• A growling entity outside Chris's bedroom door at 4am
• Chris's sister's "imaginary friend" named Andy who wore a 1920s sailor suit
• Chris's aunt being thrown out of the bathroom
• Chris's mother getting attacked while blessing the house
• The spirit of an old woman threatened to kill Chris's family in his mother's dream
• Family members' voices would call family members' names when no one was home
• Nazi paraphernalia found in the attic seemed to confirm the rumor that previous owners practiced occult rituals
• These terrifying experiences led Chris to a spiritual awakening

You can find The Wandering Road podcast on podcast platforms, YouTube, and social media @TWRpod

#hauntednewyork #paranormalpodcast #paranormalactivity #ghostadventures #ghosthunting #spookystories #realghoststory #hauntedapartment #hauntednarratives #storytelling #ghoststoriespodcast #ghoststories

Show notes for this episode live at https://homespunhaints.com/paranormal_NYC_mysteries

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URGENT: Our friend Courtney from this recent episode needs your help; all you have to do is click on this link to her IG post, "like" the IG post (not THIS post, but the IG post at the link below👇), so she can win her pitch contest and secure funding:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIRODSRsQdP Thank you!

Courtney, the mutual friend who originally connected Becky and Diana, joins us from Munich to share her unexplainable telekinesis experience. Her story bridges the supernatural with the power of manifestation, showing how intense emotions might literally move objects—and lives—in unexpected directions.

In this episode, we: 

• Speculate on the neurological basis for Courtney and Diana's telekinesis phenomena,
• Hear about a mysterious (angelic?) encounter at New York's lesbian bar Cubbyhole after another frightening (demonic?) encounter prompted her first visit there,
• Examine manifestation as a way of life—from moving objects with her mind, to moving to another country, Courtney's manifestation game is suspiciously efficacious,
• Develop the signature "Have a Spooky Day" cocktail, to be served at Courtney's new business, Frau Bar, Munich's only dedicated space for the FLINTA community (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, transgender, agender).

Please consider supporting or sharing Courtney's crowdfunding campaign to open Frau Bar at https://www.startnext.com/flinta-bar-munich/ds/d/sn-erlebnisse/sn-events/vip-soft-opening-i435890.html. 

Keep up with developments by following @Frau_Bar_MUC on Instagram or visiting fraubar.de.

Show notes for this episode live at: https://homespunhaints.com/telekinesis_manifestation_in_munich

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JJ of Southern Demonology shares his fascinating journey from growing up in a haunted log cabin in rural Tennessee to encountering far more sinister spirits in Japan. His experiences reveal striking cultural differences in how ghosts and demons manifest across different parts of the world.

• Growing up in a 200-year-old log cabin with a ghost named Patrick who would mysteriously open the attic door
• Visiting Aokigahara (Japan's "Suicide Forest") and hearing an unexplainable sound that his companions couldn't detect
• Encountering a terrifying entity in Tokyo that demanded entry by repeating "hairu" directly into his mind
• Explaining the differences between Japanese spirit categories (yurei, yokai, and tsukumogami) and Western demonology
• Sharing his academic knowledge of Judeo-Christian demons, including the evolution of Lilith from Akkadian wind goddess to Jewish folklore
• Experiencing precognitive dreams that predicted future events, always appearing in black and white

If you'd like to learn more about demonology and paranormal experiences from around the world, check out JJ's podcasts: Southern Demonology and Paranormal Rundown.

Have you had a paranormal experience you want to tell a story about? Apply to be featured on our next episode: https://homespunhaints.com/submit-real-ghost-stories

Help support what we're doing and get all content ad-free plus bonus content:  www.patreon.com/homespunhaints

Diana's notes, details, musings, and links for this particular episode: 

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