89 – Cowboys and Call Girls: Live from the Haunted Old Baraboo Inn
We took the show on the road this last Saturday night to the Old Baraboo Inn in Baraboo, Wisconsin to do a live podcast and ghost hunt.
Allison from Milwaukee Ghosts joined Wendy and I to explore what is reputed to be one of Wisconsin’s most haunted buildings. She put on a presentation about Dairy State weirdness at the beginning of the night and it was fantastic because there were a bunch of stories that I never heard before and she gave us a preview of some of the cool stuff she’ll be doing at this year’s Milwaukee Paranormal Conference.
Once Allison finished her presentation, we took some time to interview owner B.C. Farr about the place and its history. Built in 1864, the saloon has had several owners over the decades as it shifted from a boarding house to speakeasy to brothel and then just a nice Wisconsin tavern.
B.C. had been a regular there since the 80s and was on a path to become a professional NASCAR race car driver. But the entrepreneurial spirit got the best of him and after a strange fire gutted the place, he got the opportunity to own it for himself. And it only took a short time before he started seeing his tools disappear randomly and shapes out of the corner of his eye. And that was just the beginning…
Since it was a live interview, it was even more fun because there were people at the bar who had seen things with B.C. over the years and he calls out a friend who had sat with him at the tavern one night and listened as the jukebox turned off and they could hear old honky tonk piano music wafting through the room for 30-45 seconds before the jukebox kicked back on. Another patron talked about the ghost of a cowboy they both saw one night. And according to this Wisconsin State Journal article, there’s plenty more ghosts there, including a few of the ladies of the night that used to work upstairs in the establishment. Whatever specials they’re offering, the ghosts are taking it, because it seems they’re just as popular with the dead as with the living!
Once we finished interviewing B.C. we talked with Melanie Carroll, who was dressed up like a spirit named Cybil, who’s been seen wandering the tavern in a fancy white dress. Melanie has a team called Date With The Paranormal in the area and has been investigating the Old Baraboo Inn since she moved into the area.
Her team uses what’s called an SLS Camera, which stands for Structured Light Sensor. Its use in ghost hunting has been made popular by Zak Bagans and Ghost Adventures. The camera captures an interesting variety of electromagnetic fields and seems to be able to detect movement that we cannot with our naked eye. In addition to doing photos earlier in the evening as “Cybil”, Mel was gracious enough to take us on a mini-ghost hunt up in the apartment upstairs where the old brothel used to be! My internet cut out after a few minutes, but I was able to capture a little bit of it in our See You On The Other Side Facebook live stream…
Okay, now here’s something weird. For this episode we originally recorded a tribute to Prince, who died this week at his estate and recording complex in Minnesota. So, Wendy and I worked up an acoustic version of “Delirious” and we played it for the crowd right after the podcast.
We set the Zoom to record, just like it had been for the podcast interview recording, but when we went back the next day to check the recording – it was gone! Prince was famously known to be insanely protective about his songwriting copyrights. Was it the Purple One himself who turned the recording off?!
Who knows, but since we were having a great time at the Old Baraboo Inn, with a few glasses of wine, we decided to make this week’s song, “In Vino Veritas” , about the simple pleasures of having a couple of drinks!
In vino.
In vino.
The drunken man’s words
are the sober thoughts,
little bit of truth
serum in the sauce.
Another round, you’re on a roll,
tell me the secrets of your soul,
Confess your sins, and let go,
I love you more when you lose control.
So you can call me when you’re messed out of your mind,
Now that’s something I can get behind,
You finally say the words you’ve always wanted to,
when you bid sobriety adieu
There’s nothing to tell but the truth.
The words flow fast,
with a wedge of lime,
and moderation’s
just another waste of time.
Another round, you’re on a roll,
tell me the secrets of your soul,
Confess your sins, and let go,
I love you more when you lose control.
So you can call me when you’re messed out of your mind,
Now that’s something I can get behind,
You finally say the words you’ve always wanted to,
You’re so much more fun when you’re crunk,
because you don’t lie to me when you’re drunk.
You’re much more interesting on your third glass of wine,
your honest flavors always come out on the vine,
It’s your boss and his secretary or your friend that popped her cherry,
the truth is you ain’t no girl scout,
when the skeletons come out.
The skeletons come out.
The skeletons come out.
Another round, you’re on a roll,
tell me the secrets of your soul,
Confess your sins, and let go,
I love you more when you lose control.
So you can call me when you’re messed out of your mind,
Now that’s something I can get behind,
You finally say the words you’ve always wanted to,
when you bid sobriety adieu.
And you can call me when you’re messed out of your mind,
Now that’s something I can get behind,
You finally say the words you’ve always wanted to,
You’re so much more fun when you’re sauced,
In vino veritas.
In vino.
In vino.
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