01:27 – Justin welcomes Ross, where listeners can find information online about AGHOST, and Ross talks about what got him into ghost hunting. He talks about forming the group in Seattle, being a full-time ghost hunter, and Justin talks about personal ghost experiences. Ross discusses the patience needed for ghost hunting, Scott talks about his experiences in the area, and Ross talks about how he peruses places to hunt ghosts.

18:18 – Ross explains why the apps people use may not be legit, the problems he faces in the ghost hunting field, and how he validates ghost encounters. He talks about the equipment he uses to read the environment, Justin talks about his theories of what ghosts are, and Ross shares what the secrets are to his success. He talks about the most challenging parts of ghost hunting, they talk about the ease of people manipulating videos, and Ross talks about the romanticism in working with the media.

36:41 – Jeff asks the first Coaster Question, Ross talks about his best personal ghost encounter, and always being respectful of the spirits he communicates with. Justin talks about GCP’s haunting experience at Union Club, Ross shares that he’d like to do an investigation there, and his want to also do a ghost investigation at the Pentium Temple in Tacoma.

55:15 – Ross talks about developing the system to prove touch, where listeners can watch ParaSense, and how long he’s been doing the ghost tours in Seattle. He talks about ghost research bias, the importance of stripping things down to their simplest form when investigating, and the importance of interviewing people who have had the experience. He talks about why the Amityville ghost case is so well known, being able to walk through the house, and AGHOST open memberships.

Thanks to Ross for joining GCP for an exciting look into the paranormal!

Special Guest: Ross Allison.

Sponsored By:

• Die Cut Stickers: Use the code GRITCITY15 at checkout and get 15% off your entire order! · Insanely custom stickers crafted to survive the PNW and beyond! Promo Code: GRITCITY15
• The Union Club: The Union Club is a coworking space contributing to Tacoma's growing artistic and entrepreneurial communities. It combines a maker studio, event hall, and office coworking space, in a 15,000 square foot historic building in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• ParaSense
• AGHOST | Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle-Tacoma — The Pacific Northwests Oldest Working Ghost Hunting Team Seattle/Tacoma - all of the outlying areas - for Washington State
• Spooked in Seattle Tours — SINCE 2004, SPOOKED IN SEATTLE TOURS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH AGHOST (ADVANCED GHOST HUNTERS OF SEATTLE TACOMA), THE OLDEST AND LONGEST RUNNING GHOST TOUR IN THE AREA, HAS BEEN TELLING THE REAL STORIES OF HAUNTED SEATTLE AND PRESENTING EVIDENCE COLLECTED ON ACTUAL PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS.
• The Manrea Castle Hotel in Port Townsend, Washington.

01:54 – Scott turns on Jeff’s picture as they all express how they’re missing him, Justin talks about what’s been happening with Brogans businesses in the last three years, and Chis talks about how’s he’s been since he last joined the podcast. He talks about the virtual tours he’s done during Covid, his touring of Tacoma’s old City Hall, and Justin talks about how The Union Club in Tacoma is haunted. He talks about how they’ve expanded there, the historical significance of the McMenamins building in Tacoma, and the secret bar there. Chris talks about being related to Patrick Swayze, Pretty Gritty Virtual Tours, and how they’ve been able to re-start their walking tours.

17:42 – Chris talks about the haunting he experienced at Stadium High School, the candy history in Tacoma, and the recent things he’s done with The Historic Preservation Office of Tacoma. He talks about the award they won during the pandemic, explains what started the Interactive Murder Mystery “Tacoma Noir”, and Scott talks about the group that put together live scavenger hunts. Chris talks about how he prepares for ghost tours, Scott reflects on the post ghost hunt at Brandy’s Attic, and Chris recommends that the guys tour the attic at The Union Club before the remodel.

35:03 – Justin tells Chris about GPC’s past Boot to Boot, Scott talks about his elegant fall during the event, and Chris recommends that they visit The Black Fleet Brewery during GCP’s next Boot To Boot. He talks about becoming a blacksmith, his love of making knives, and Justin gives Chris suggestions of things he could make for his bar. He talks about his plans to mark noon with cannons from his yard, Chris offers to make Justin a brass kraken for his bar, and explains how he tests each of his knives. Scott talks about what it takes to be a master bladesmith, his love of railroad spike knives, and Chris shares his love of KPOP music.

52:43 – Justin kicks off Is It Tacoma, they talk about how murderous racoons are, and Justin reflects on their past guest StreetBall Supe. Scott expresses what story he fells is from Tacoma, Chris asks if the story is actually from Tacoma, and Justin reveals what story it is. Justin shares the locations the two other stories are from, Chris talks about past interactions with a racoon, and Justin talks about a past argument he got in with a racoon. Scott stands by being right on his guess, they talk about squatter’s rights, and Justin shares where people can find Pretty Gritty Tours online.

Thanks Chris for joining the guys again for an update on what’s been happening since you last joined the podcast!!

Special Guest: Chris Staudinger.

Sponsored By:

• Die Cut Stickers: Use the code GRITCITY15 at checkout and get 15% off your entire order! · Insanely custom stickers crafted to survive the PNW and beyond! Promo Code: GRITCITY15

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• The Grit City Podcast: Pretty Gritty Tours - Chris Staudinger
• Union Club Tacoma in Tacoma
• Pretty Gritty Tours on YouTube
• Pretty Gritty Tours on Facebook
• Historic Preservation - City of Tacoma
• Celebrate 2021 Historic Preservation Awards - City of Tacoma — Pretty Gritty Tours for partnering with heritage organizations to transition to virtual programming
• The Spar Diner in Tacoma
• Tacoma Noir — "Tacoma Noir" is an interactive historic-fiction murder mystery based on Dashiell Hammett's time in Tacoma in the 1920s. 
• FALCON COAST FORGE — Born in flame. Bound for glory. Whatever you need, we can make it.
• Vulcan Knife
• StreetBall Supe
• The Grit City Podcast: Streetball Supe
• Squatters Rights Washington - Everything you Need to Know — Are you a property owner? Did you notice a squatter in your Cheney, Liberty Valley or other Washington property?

01:05 – Brogan shares his and his wife’s Halloween costume plans, his plans for the birthday party celebration happening at Acme Tavern, and Andrew shares how Tacoma Ghost Tours got started. He talks about being into scary things since he was a kid, his love for history, and where Tacoma ghost stories came from. He talks about the haunting at what is now the Forum Bar and Grill, where listeners can find the pics he was talking about, and they converse about each of their personal ghost experiences.

14:32 – Andrew shares that his first ghost interaction when he was 19, he talks about how the tour works, the length of the tour, and how they really try to focus on a mix of ghost reports and proven historical facts. He talks about the skepticism he has on the ghost stories he’s heard, he gives credits to the people that run Brandys Attic, and talk about the ghost experiences they have had there.

27:20 – Brogan talks about his stepson getting to play for the Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Tacoma, how the secret services coached the kids during the visit, and Andrew expresses how good it is that Tacoma is taking strides to reconcile when the city expelling of 200 Chinese people in 1885. Scott shares on how amazing it is that over the course of 150 years how much we have advanced our relationship with China, how India separated part of their country to turn over to the Dalai Lama, and Andrew explains how Buddhist monks are, at time, also martial artists.

45:00 – Brogan talks about working as a security guard at the Tacoma Road Center and the hauntings there, Andrew talks about working with local ghost hunters on investigations, and how running the business turned him and his dad into minor level ghost hunters. He talks about more on the creepy “ghost” incidents at Brandys Attic, Scott offers to join him with a ghost hunt there, and Andrew talks on other potential buildings that are haunted in Tacoma, including Theatre Comique run by Harry Morgan, who controlled just about anything illegal in Tacoma in the late 1800’s.

Our hearts go out to Andrews parents, GCP is grateful for being able to know him.

Special Guest: Andrew.

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Tacoma Ghost Tours on Facebook
• Tacoma Ghost Tours on Twitter
• Tacoma Ghost Tours Website

2:20 – LeeAnn explains what Tacoma Hops is and what go her into beer and food pairing. She talks about how her pairing starts off with the appetizer, main meal, and finishes off pairing beer and desert. LeeAnn chats about how versatile beer is with food, how she learned about the many cities she traveled to through the food they featured there, her not having a pallet for beer at the beginning, and how she finally came to the conclusion that there is a beer for everyone. She then dives into what brought her to Tacoma from Canada.

14:17 – LeeAnn tells the guys about the tours Tacoma Hopps offers every Saturday, the happy hour tours that are offered every other week on Wednesday and Thursday nights, her hope to add additional tours in the future, and the private booking tours she offers. They talk about meeting on Twitter, the importance for business to have a social media presence, Tacoma Hop’s FAQ’s, and the Blooms and Brews event coming up in November.

27:45 – LeeAnn talks about where she got the podcast pickles she brought to the recording, her husband joining the team as the tour Sherpa, and they do their first taste pairing with a farmhouse ale from Mollusk Brewing in Seattle paired with smoked fish in a crème fraiche spread on a fig and hazelnut cracker from Art of Crunch. She also guides them through the proper way to get the full experience with pairing of beer and food.

45:15 – They try their last pairing that consists of Wingman’s coconut porter paired with a double chocolate donut from Tacoma’s Top Pot Donuts. LeeAnn discusses that customers that may have food allergies should contact her prior to the tour, the guys talk about Brogan’s trip to urgent care, and Wingman’s peanut butter and Nutella porters. Justin talks about working as security guard back in the day at the Park and Ride across from where Wingman is located and how the food actually changes flavor with the paring of the two. The show comes to a close with LeeAnn talking about the challenges she has with choosing the food that’s easy to bring along on the trip.

Thanks LeeAnn for joining the guys to discuss what Tacoma Hops does and giving them a delicious look at your beer and food pairing!

Special Guest: Lee Ann.

Sponsored By:

• The Union Club: The Union Club is a coworking space contributing to Tacoma's growing artistic and entrepreneurial communities. It combines a maker studio, event hall, and office coworking space, in a 15,000 square foot historic building in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Beer Tours | United States | Tacoma Hops — Tacoma Hops is your stop for touring the craft breweries of downtown Tacoma on foot. Join us and learn more about Tacoma, the revival of our historic brewing district, and have some great beer and food pairings along the way!
• Tacoma Hops on Facebook

This episode kicks off with Chris telling the guys about growing up in around eastern Washington, including Leavenworth. He tells them what brought him over to this side of the state, explains what Pretty Gritty Tours is and what made him decide to start doing the tours. They talk about Tacoma being ‘The Boston of the Westcoast’, Yakima being the ‘Palm Springs’ of the west, and the Miners Burger in Yakima that gives free burgers to people that can do a free standing split in their door frame.

14:40 – Chris talks about his reasoning for avoiding the majority of Patrick Swayze films, they discuss the movie ‘Next of Kin’, and Wesley Snipes movies back in the 80’s and 90’s. Conversation then goes back to Chris telling the guys about his travels around the world and what sparked him to create the business in Tacoma. He talks about deciding to move to Pohang, South Korea and what made him decide to live there for 2 years instead of his initial plan of staying for 6 months.

29:38 – Chris talks about how he and his wife became travel bloggers, them being on TLS, his wife writing for National Geographic, and how they met while traveling abroad in college. They talk about John Lithgow’s understated acting career, the sale of Top of Tacoma, and the history around East Tacoma. He then tells the guys of one of his favorite stories of Tacoma.

45:41 – Talk goes to how the building Golden Dragon is in was originally where The Real Art Theater was, built by Radnor Pratsch who built three theaters on South Tacoma Way in the early 1900’s, and the classic dive bars in the South Tacoma area. They talk about Tacoma’s changes over the years since the 1870’s, how Seattle jumped ahead of Tacoma early on, and Pretty Gritty Tours being involved in the Link and Drink.

As this great episode comes to an end, the guys talk about their favorite parts of Tacoma, including Wapato Park, the Tacoma waterfront, Rustin Way, Hilltop, and the old City Hall building. Chris tells about working with the historic preservation office and where people can find him online.

Thanks Chris for a great conversation and information about Pretty Gritty Tours.

Special Guest: Chris Staudinger.

Sponsored By:

• Wizard's Keep Games: Building Community Through The Power Of Games. Stop by and check out the weekly events. Commander, D&D, Friday Night Magic, It all happens at Wizard's Keep Games in Renton. 17148 116th Ave SE Renton WA, 98058
• The Lindsay Jackman Group: We understand that buying or selling a home is more than just a transaction: it’s a life-changing experience. That’s why our team of highly-seasoned real estate professionals are dedicated to providing exceptional, personalized service for all of our clients. We take great pride in the relationships we build and always work relentlessly on the client’s behalf to help them achieve their real estate goals. Lindsay Jackman, Broker 253.857.3366 RE/MAX EXCLUSIVE 7201 Pioneer Way Ste A 101, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• PRETTYGRITTYTOURS.COM - The ultimate Tacoma Tour company — Pretty Gritty Tours - Home