FCB Faith is your rhythm and preystation. I listen, my mom listens, pretty much the whole family. Can I can. I don't. Listen to FCB Faith on iHeartRadio Odyssey at FCB faith dot com, or tell your smart speaker to play FCB Faith on iHeartRadio. This is the FCB podcast Network. This is Fascist Pass. Hi, everyone, and welcome into another episode of Backstage Pass. It's your host Victoria and we are here at the Old Jail after Dark in the beautiful Eeries Saint Augustine, Florida. I'm here today with our ghost host if I can call you that, Fran. How are you tonight? Doing fantastic? Thank you, glad you're here, Glad to be here. Thank you so much for having us. So let's take it all back to the beginning of really, what's your baby? The Old Jail after Dark one of the hot ticket things to do in town. How did this come to be for you? Well, to take it back to square one. This actually was born through the pandemic when we had certain CDC guidelines that we had to abide by. We can only allow a certain amount of people into a specific property or location or room, and so Ghosts and Great Stones was what normally happened for us, and you're looking at thirty to thirty five people per tour, and that wouldn't do under the new CDC guidelines. So we had to come up with something different, and David Chatterton decided, Hey, let's go ahead and do a paranormal experience. And so that gave birth to the Old Jail after Dark, which actually would only allow twelve, which is perfect to still stay within the guidelines. And from that day forward it just grew in popularity because the building just responded and even to this day it's still responding. I love that, And not to knock any of the other tours out there, but sometimes when you think of a ghost tour, you think kind of kitchy and touristy. But there's a lot of bloodshed, if you will, behind these walls. I mean, there's some sinister stuff. So what I find fascinating is how this job really came to be. You got a call from somebody who may or may not have been real. Can you tell us about how you got called to this place? Because to me, that story is fascinating that yeah. Okay, so this takes us back to twenty sixteen. Okay, this is way back. Sorry, I'll keep going. Yeah, it takes us back to twenty sixteen, where I was in the market for a new job and it was time for me to kind of move on and you know, follow my dream and passions, which was more or less in getting involved in the entertainment industry and tourism and whatnot. So I sent out a few applications here and there, but I don't remember sending one to historic Tours of Americatown trolley. Sure. So I get this phone call, and this is a crazy call. I'll never forget. There was actually a voicemail and it was from a lady who went by the name Nancy, said that if you know, we have a position that is potentially open for you, and if you had the time, if you could come here between such and such an hour. And I was like, okay, So I called back the number and I you know, it just went to like a fast busy. I'm like, I'll just show up and see what it's about. So I get here and yeah, I'm here to see Nancy from my interview, and I'll never forget that day. They look for the books, They're like, no, we don't have anybody on the books for an interview today, and who gain did you speak with? It's like Nancy, No, there's no Nancy here. I was like, oh wow, well I guess sorry, sorry if you know, sorry for your you know, the time I took here or whatever. I just felt bad. I was like, man, how did that? This is one sixty seven San Marco Avenue, right, and you know, the director of First Impression said yes it is. So I was just like, okay, well, I guess I'll go, but you know, thanks for your time. And right when I turned around, you know I have someone grabbed my shoulder and it was Stephen Mitchell, who is the general man were at the general he's the manager of daytime operations here at the at the facility, and he's like, you know, we actually have an opening as we speak, and we could come in and see you. And I went in. I interviewed. I met Dave Chatterton who happened to be there. Steven Mitchell was there, and they began to interview me. And from that moment on, you know, things start opening up for me. I got a position as actually as an actor for ghosts and gravestones, and I moved up to an assistant manager on duty and then from there I moved into the old jail after dark with doing the PARANORL investigations seven days a week. Very cool. I love that. So I feel like, you know, you could call it a gift. But when you were a kid, you had a really interesting and albeit unsettling experience with maybe the undead who knows. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? Yeah, man, I wish my dad was here to tell it to you a little better. I'm so I was young, you know, me, I to a grasshopper, and my dad said that I would come in almost every night and tell him someone's talking to me and I couldn't go to sleep. And it started out as just like I was telling my dad, this person's annoying. They just won't you know, they won't shut up. Sure, He's like, I was like, you know, can you come in my room? And he never come in the room. He just like never came in and checked it out. Yeah, Like I guess he wanted me to breathe in there. He's like, that got it. I got to teach you how to be a man. So I'm like, yeah, So this went on and then I start getting really dark. I'll never forget. And then I and this voice, whatever it was that I could remember, start sounding a little bit more chilling, and then I would refer to that voice as the devil. So I'd go in and tell my dad. I was like that, look, man, there's there's something in the room. I think it is the devil talking to me. And my Dad's like, oh man, what's going on? So anyway, it got to my mother and my grandmother found out about it, and then we all had like that, you know, come to Jesus meeting and you know, I come from a Roman Catholic family, and you're like, well, Francis, I think it's time that you go ahead and we take the next step. And you know, being a kid, I was like, okay, whatever it is, I don't care what it is. I just wanted to go away. It's like, what are your thoughts on becoming an ultar boy and working for the Catholic Church? And I agreed, and I'll tell you after taking that position, you know, as an ultar boy, those events did start minimizing, and that dark voice kind of got smaller and smaller and smaller, but still it was there, and I got to say, it's just like I totally feel that I was being tormented since a child because as a young child, even after even at those early stages, because of the effects I had being an altar boy and you know, the protection that I received that I truly felt. I felt, well, why not just take it to the next level become a priest. And so that was my you know, that was like my family just thought that was the greatest thing. Oh my god, my child, we raise a child to become a priest. This is like, you know, they felt honored. And you know, eventually throughout the you know, maturity and whatnot and getting older and getting involved in sports, priesthood really wasn't my thing. But I was always so so passionate about the supernatural and that proverbial door that you can open to the spirit world because of that connection I had as a young boy, for sure, you know, and I didn't know who I was talking to what I was talking to, but every night it did seem different. So it was it was pretty crazy. My parents were concerned, they were sure. Yeah, my dad was a coal miner too, so he was always working in the mines and yeah, It's the last thing that he wanted to hear when he came home was his son's getting possessed by It really wasn't a possession. It was just a conversation that I needed his help. That ever ary right, And so yeah, So I gotta say getting involved with the church definitely changed things for me and I got closer to God. And I'll tell you that just that was that's a force that the higher Power keeps you, keeps you right, and keeps you on the right track. And I think at an early age, you know, I was vulnerable, very vulnerable. I think I was like maybe six or seven years old, started early. That's very fascinating. Absolutely, that is fascinating to me. So you have led thousands of people in and out of these doors and you but I love about the old jail after dark. It's not some sterile like corporate feeling experience. You can only book so many people at a time, so it's very personalized. It's very one on one. You've seen people's reactions and their experiences. I've had experiences in the past with my phone unlocking on its own, you know, demonic eyes coming up, the word soul coming up over the EVP recording device save. I have seen probably an experience more things behind these walls than I ever had before. And I've had a lot of encounters, So walk us through, Like, what are some top maybe three memorable encounters you've had doing this? Well, okayte the most memorable encounter that still I carried with it. I think about it every time I come here and turn on one of our portal boxes, which is a spirit box that uses white noise to open up a line of communication with another realm. I'm gonna call it the dead Some would say it's an interdimensional realm, or you know, some people think it's a truck driver from Maine. I you know, who knows, right, But it does create some communication. I had a family, Well here's the story I had on the books. This was all that was that came that night. We had a family of five, a party of five. And they came up and they checked in and there was only four and they said, there's only four of us tonight. And I didn't question. I was like, okay, let's go ahead and start. So, you know, we did the we started. I explained to them the history of the building safety, you know, precautions, and whatnot, just your normal introduction, your pre investigation, and then we went right into the investigation part. And normally, you know, we'll go ahead and lay out equipment and wait wait for the energy to start presenting itself so way you know where it's at. But these people asked are like, where is the where do you get the most energy? And I kind of told them there's two areas as you have the shaff's bedroom and you also have solitary confinement. They're like, let's go in the solitary confinement. So we went in the solitary confinement. I plugged in the portal box, which is that amplifier that uses a spirit box through an amplifier to clean up the white noise. Well, anyhow, questions we stay, start asking questions. They're like, okay, who's with us? And you know, nothing came through. And this went on for about ten minutes. We didn't get a response. Right when they're about to leave the room, the mother says, okay, if no one's here, we're gonna leave. So last call who's with us? Clear as day, the word Jacob comes through and I was like wow. I was like okay, well, Jacob and the family looked at each other. Right, So I'm like, okay, all right, and then the mother seemed like you were short of breath, and she asked that question again. She's like, okay, who again, is this clear as day, back to back, Jacob. The mother starts crying. One of the little girls who was in the investigation, she got maybe fourteen years old, she says, she says, she says, I'm sorry. She's like, you know, it's my fault. You know, you know, I a whole lot of second. Can we be back up for a second. Of course, she didn't say I'm sorry, but I'll take it first. And it's okay, so here comes the girl again. Okay, the girl starts. The girl actually said she's like Jacob. She's like, I shouldn't let you go. It's my fault. It's my fault. And then the mother starts crying. The father leaves. He looked like he was really really mad. He left the building. The girls start, both of the girls start crying, and clear as day, it says, I'm sorry. Sound the same voice that said Jacob. And everybody start crying, and I'm like, look and I'm trying to figure it out. And then the mother grabs my hand and says, this was Jacob's idea, said Jacob didn't come today because Jacob committed suicide. Oh my god. Yeah, that's heavy. Yeah wow, I'm sure that. I mean, how do you handle something like that as a I mean, do you go into therapy mode or do you? I mean, it's just I couldn't. I had no words. Yeah, I had no words because I usually try to keep everything upbeat, but it was just like everything was started, the process. Why the father left the room, where everybody started crying and the mother started losing their breath and wow. So yeah, so that to me was the most oh wow, I can't even call it like next level experience that I think about every time I stick on that. I mean every time I go into solitary confinement and I turn on that that device, I think of Jacob every time, every time, just because of that heart breaking. It is heartbreaking, and so in my head, you know, after the investigation was over, and the investigation went longer because they didn't want to leave after two thirty, they felt like Jacob was with them and this was their opportunity. And I'm like, oh my god, how am I gonna you know, present the fact that we have to close it up and have to move on. But the mother. We were here till about three thirty, and the mother was like, okay, I guess it's time to go. And then she kind of shut the machine off and she's like, she's like thank you. I was like, I was like, don't thank me. I mean, this is this is something I guess that you guys needed to hear. This is this is your energy, this is this is someone who's still with you, you know, and probably wants you to know that they're okay. That was the best thing I could think of. I'm sure, you know. And so they left. They got closure. But still in my head, it's just like, Okay, was it really Jacob that came through or was it something trying to pretend it was Jacob? So I'm sure I'm still it ends with it. Have you ever heard from him since? No? No, okay, I have not. But I'll tell you I didn't feel ill, any ill feelings. I did feel love, and I kept to a lot of my friends. You know. One of my good friends is a priest, and he even told me because I went to Catholic school of them, and he's like no, he says that was probably Jacob. Now to tie into that hole, and this will bring me to the second event. That was pretty chilling. Now, the Catholic Church doesn't really get involved in paranormal investigations, but you're ready for this. I don't want to get anybody in trouble. I'm going to tell you. Anyway, I had three priests from the University of Notre Dame come here, you know, and this was like almost right after Jacob, and they made everybody know that they were a priest. I had a honeymoon couple here and again we had five people, you know, doing the investigation. And when they came in and they started doing, they did their own thing. They didn't want to do any equipment. They're like, I don't want to be touching any of you heard that too, it's last and the lights went. On something Yeah I did. It felt like ath it felt like a like a flick. Oh my, yeah, and then the light went off. I'm telling you never know, you never know in this place. Like I said, there's some stuff going down. We're talking about some you know, some heavy stuff. Heavy stuff. Yes, we are very heavy. So wow, So where was I almost Oh? The three priests. Oh say, so they came in here now here. Here's the thing. Now we have a Bible over here too. So they picked up the Bible and they start reading from the Bible, and I was like, oh my god. They're like, you know, what are they doing? They're like maybe doing something good or something. I am going to tell you this if this didn't freak me out. When they start reading from the Bible, just like when we heard that little noise there and I can't believe it just happened. The windows start vibrating. Yeah, so what what were they reading? Do you remember? I don't remember. They took some it was. It might have been something. I have no idea. I can't even I can't put you know how much the Bible is? It just they were talking about Jesus, sure, and I don't know. Whatever was in here was open to the fact that they were talking to Jesus or they weren't. But then they stopped treating abruptly. They never they didn't say why, but they stopped treating the Bible and then they start speaking in Latin. That's when the honeymoon couple that was here decided to like, look, we're ready to leave. Now. This is freaking us out back for our time. This is definitely we want to start our marriage on the right foot. We don't want to have anything. I mean, everybody's I said, well, you can go into another part of the building. They're like, no, man, we've heard it. We heard what's going on in here, and we heard the windows. And I'm like, and they heard some bumps. Okay, you know. I'm like, you know, think about it's funny. But when I was when it was happening, I was like, this is like it shakes you out. It doesn't. It's just the stuff like even when Hollywood tries to make movies like that, but when when it really happens and you're in the thick of things, I start like I was praying you know that it stayed away from me whatever they were conjuring up. But for sure, yeah, but you can't really. You know, I have a respect for everybody in here, but I didn't know what they were doing. But it definitely it's it got me. But they did something in here. But I don't think it liked it too much because when they were leaving, you know what they said, And this is again something still sticks with me. They're like, you have an unsettling presence in this jail. Yeah, And I was like, but hearing it from a priest, three priests, and that doesn't sound I don't think it sounds like a joke. Three priests go to a jail and something like a punch line. But the punchline is they told us it's we kind of already know that there's been a lot that went on here, especially how you you know about the pain and the death and everything. But they were like, there is an unsettling presence. And here's the thing about this whole priest thing. I was gonna kind of talk about, see back in the day, doing any kind of paranormal investigations that involve, you know, anything, Priests aren't allowed to do this because I was always taught that if you reach out to anything, you know, you open up that spirit or the spirit world, it is not good that comes through. It's always been known to be demonic, right, But now that the priests were here doing that, they're like, we're realizing it's not all demonic. We know that there are some trapped souls sure, and they need our help, they need our guidance. Right, and here they are okay. So, you know, I was taken back by even having them here. But now I realized that, you know, priests now are getting involved in, you know, the paranormal side of things. They're investigating and not discounting the fact that it's completely all dark spirits. But they're good spirits, of course. And there is sort of a misconception, I guess, so to speak, because after my experiences here there were two very you know, there was one that there was a woman and here leading a tour and my father said some sort of Bible verse or my mother said something and the equipment just sort of levitated and shot, this was expensive equipment. She's not gonna So we've had a few experiences here that are just, you incredibly unsettling, and I tell people about them, and the number one thing I hear is, well, I'm scared to go because what if these things follow me home? What if this gets in my So what would your advice be to someone who's maybe toying with the idea of doing this, but they're just terrified of being followed? Is there a way to purge yourself of that before you leave? Yeah? What you have to do is, first off, you don't want to conduct any kind of purging inside the building that you're investigating. Sure, you're going to be outside, you know, in a safe zone which is a little away from the property. And before you get into your car, before you touch any of your you know, at your vehicle of any sort, you want to make sure that you lay the boundaries and you state whatever's here must reside at this premises has no invitation to follow. And you could say that your own way, you know, personally, you know, I tell people to tie in their own you know, belief systems. But it needs to come from a good place and you need to you need to command it, and it has to come from a point of authority, just like you're trying to address up puppy that it needs to stay, you know, And that's how you're going to address the spirits. Yeah, you know, And that's just how it has to be, because if you give anything an invitation and you open up and you keep that door open, it will it could potentially attach itself to you and then create issue. Did you know, Alice, we're getting some hits. We're getting out. Yeah, we just got our lights are flashing and there are a few keywords and things I think that you're saying that I've noticed have triggered these lights. You guys, we're going to post a whole history. I'm going to write a spotlight blog on this. We're going to give you all the inside scoop on what we experience during this paranormal investigation, a little history on the Old Jail, just so you can know the injustice and bloodshed that happened behind these very walls before we let everybody go. Fran, how do we book a tour with you? How do we follow along with you on social media and get connected? Well, you could go to Old Town Trolley Tours and you can go ahead and scroll down to Old Jail after Dark. It's one of the tours. And so I sewed up the marketing guy. Let's try it again. Okay, we don't expect you. We'll post it all, okay. So yeah, what you want to do is you want to go to Old Town Trolley Tours and look for Old Joel after dark, Okay, And that's that's one of the venues. But Ghosts and Gray Zones is also a great venue, and the tour around Saint Augustine is also fantastic. Because you learn. It is so great. I mean, it is the oldest city in America. It has a lot to say for sure. Absolutely, well, fran it has been such a pleasure, I mean this is so fascinating. Thank you for. Spending time with us today. Absolutely, and thank you all for listening. As always. Want to thank Eric Hatcher on the camera there and thank you for joining us on backstage pass. We'll see you next time. This has been a presentation of the FCB podcast Network, where Real Talk lives. Visit us online at fcbpodcasts dot com.
