SPEAKER_01 0:00

So much of like going to a film festival is, I mean, yes, we go to see movies, we go to support projects and stuff, but I mean, let's be real. It's it's meeting the people, it's connecting and like talking shop and like you know, networking. I hate that dreaded word too.

SPEAKER_03 0:15

I hate it too.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

It sounds it sounds so inauthentic. And it sounds yeah, exactly. There you go. That's exactly what it is. Like, because like if you said like uh I'm gonna go uh hang out with my friends, but you phrase it as like I'm gonna go network. People would be like, Who the fuck is this pretentious pizza shit? Like who would you talk about?

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Yeah, or like I'm having a go and have fun. Yeah, like it's yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

It really, it really is that mentality of like I'm just there there to make friends, and if they ask about a project, hallelujah. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Exactly, exactly. Be be gracious and grateful that you know people uh want to talk about projects and also be acceptable if like or accept that they might not want to talk about projects too. That's okay. I think that some so many times, like um well uh when I was at diff, am I allowed am I allowed to start going into this? Now are we we're allowed are we jumping in?

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Some actors keep it simple, and some actors are like acting, music, wine, labor, organizing. Sure, why not? That's today's guest. Welcome back to Ilise Will Say, the place where I'm deeply interested in people who refuse to have just one personality setting. Welcome to my brain. I'm Ilise, your host, your So you are an actor, actor, or like a secret triple thread investigator and your favorite person to overanalyze a self-tape at 1 a.m. We've all been there. And today's guest, he's one of those actors who can slide between drama and comedy without making it a whole identity crisis. You've seen him on The Baxters as Sam Hogan for three seasons, popping up in true detective and films like They're Inside, aka he's been putting in the work across every lane. But that's not the whole personality. He's also out here touring with an Irish punk band called Hounds of Belfast, working as a sommelier or some sommelier. I don't know how to say it, but he's gonna he's gonna teach me, which feels correct. And was literally a strike captain during the 2023 sag after strikes, shutting down productions at Paramount Studios. So yeah, actor, musician, wine guy, union leader, just a casual wrestle May. He's thoughtful, versatile, and clearly not here to do just one thing halfway. Please welcome the multi-hyphenate with range and a very full calendar. Jake Free.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Hey, thank you. Thank you. Good to be here. You make me sound way cooler than I actually am. I love that. That's good. Can you follow me around everywhere? Like when I walk into coffee shops, or it's like it's like, where's his order?

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Oh my gosh. Um where's his order?

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Do you know who he is?

unknown 3:01

He's Jake Fury.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Um, I have to fangirl you because as soon as you told me you were in a punk Irish man, I Googled it. I watched the music video, and I am obsessed with Barmaid. It is so much. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Getting ready for the podcast, and I was just like putting it on repeat.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Killer.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

It's so good. It is so good. Thank you. Um, also love Anchors Away. There's a lot of nautical themes going on. Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Yeah, I know. Like, I I absolutely got a lot of shit from my band at the time, and they're like, like, so what's going on here, man? Like, uh, like, are you like, were you a sailor in another life, or are you just obsessed with you got a fetish for the ocean? Yeah. Or you like you got a thing for mermaid that we don't know about, or whatever. So um, again, I grew up in in the Midwest, so like I it's not like I can really say, like, yeah, man, I've always been about the ocean. You know, uh uh, it's just something about her. She's always been there for me. Like, I can't even be that interesting about it.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

That means you're doing it right.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Yeah, that means you're doing it right.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Yeah, exactly, 100%. So getting back to that, um, yeah, so like I mean, the band itself, uh, it's kind of interesting. So Hounds of Belfast, you know, you'll probably recognize from my my accent that I'm not from Ireland.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

But I did recognize that there were some vowels that changed in the songs.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Um, yeah, and I was like, I mean, yes, I yeah, well, you know, sometimes that happens, you know, in in the in the phrasing of of uh of those songs. But uh the band itself kind of comes from the fact that, you know, like many Americans, I have uh, you know, I'm a mutt. I uh my family comes from many different uh regions of the world. Uh Northern Ireland being you know my father's side, and you know, I'm very German too. I have French blood in me. Uh, I'm sure that if we sat down many other people on this podcast, it'd be like we'd we'd pretty much be able to get somebody from every corner, nook and cranny of the world, you know. Uh so you know, that's where the name kind of comes from. And uh that said, you know, I I really wanted to uh you know put together something that felt fierce and and kind of matched the rebellious spirit that I think we all kind of kind of had. So it felt it felt right, you know. The band itself kind of came about, it was kind of interesting. We uh we saw it on a one of my good friends uh who's also a filmmaker and actress, she uh reached out uh and said, you know, like on an Instagram post, she was her singing uh The Parting Glass, which is like an old traditional uh you know, Irish song that is used uh at the beginning of uh like when friends meet, uh at weddings, funerals. It's a very like versatile song. So she was singing it and she was saying, I'm missing Ireland, something fierce right now. And so all these people started commenting uh in our friend group and people we didn't know, uh just saying, like, oh, that's beautiful, I love your voice, this and that. And then one person suggested like we should start a session. And if you know what a session is, a session is an uh an Irish term uh uh for like you know getting a group together and playing kind of trad music or traditional style music. Yeah, and so like the uh one person was like, Well, I can host, and another person like, well, I play this, I play that, and then I was like, Well, this is pretty fucking cool. Let's make this happen. We've been trucking along for a minute. Our album uh Blistered and Blue just came out uh this year.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Uh and then thank you so much. I listened to all of it.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

It's it's really, really freaking good. It's really freaking good. I appreciate that. And it just like gets you pumped. Like that's what I love.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

I think the nicest compliment we got, there was somebody who was reviewing our album. Uh, you know, then they said, you know, God, your guys sound. It sounds like as if like the Dropkick Murphys punched your boss in the face and then Bruce Springsteen paid the bar tab. I was like, holy fuck, man, that sounds way cooler than I would have ever been able to. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So like from now on, I've like I've never forgotten that. I was like, can you just follow us around everywhere and just like introduce us? Like, you'll follow me around to the coffee shops and they'll follow us around for like you know, the tours and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

Um, the thing that I love about the whole album, it makes me want to go to a pub. It makes me want to go to a pub, have a pint, good, get in a fight, fall in love, fountain, like fall out of love, and then like we can solve it with another pint.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Exactly all the same night. Exactly. A hundred percent. That was a little good. Then we nailed it. You really we absolutely nailed it. Good, yeah. I think one of my friends, when he listened to it, he's like, honestly, man, this is like that scene when Jack and Rose and he's like, Hey, you want to go to a real party? You've ever heard like, you know, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, that little whistle at the beginning. That's a tin whistle, it's the same thing, it's the same thing. And I'm using that because I'm like, everybody's probably seen Titanic, or at least is like going, oh yeah, that's that's that fucking thing.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

It makes our heart really happy.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Well, good. Uh so that's uh we got that. Uh I decided to make that a music video, but I didn't really know how to go about it.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Um the music video is really good too. Like it's really good. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Um I really appreciate that. So uh Braden Barton is the director of that and uh Mark Carney uh did the DP uh or was the DP for that. Um we're very lucky to get both of those guys on the project. I met Braden actually in a very organic, unique kind of way. So when I'm not uh you know acting or doing music, um, you know, I have a day job. I have to, especially in the way that this industry has been going. We can get into that, but uh I'm a Somalier. So I went to the Court of Masters, and so I got uh I got certified through that. And you know, I'm I'm at a really uh prominent uh wine bar in Los Angeles, probably one of the best. I'm absolutely gonna you know toot my own horn on that. We we have absolutely one of the best, and I'm very proud of that place. But he sat down with his wife, uh, who is also in the industry. She is a manager and she produces and and I just got Midwest vibes. Like they were just really cool, down-to-earth individuals. And through the course of us talking, you know, I found out he was Irish American too. He had uh, you know, he he loved uh the style of music that we were playing, and we just kind of like chopped it up. Yeah. Uh and then he went home and he listened to my band, and I got a text from him within like less than 24 hours, like, dude, I'm doing your music video. I don't know which one, but we're gonna do something together. And I was like, oh. I'm like, in the time I'm thinking, that's really sweet. You know, like let's see if he follows through. And then immediately I get a call within the week uh wanting to set up a meeting. He sits down with me for coffee, and he's already got like, you know, a play-by-play of how he wants to like, you know, color schemes. He's got it chopped up into saying, like, okay, so I really want there to be a bar fight. So two-day shoot. We we shot part of that um at the Broadwater Theater uh here in Los Angeles, and uh which we got that location for free. I kid you not, because the the owner of the place owed one of our uh band members a favor. So we were like, we're cashing in all the favors. I'm reaching out to friends, uh, you know, everybody and anybody that I know is like, hey, do you want to be in a music video? And so many people you'd think like people would want to jump on, but there's so many people that are like, you know, I think I'm busy. No way, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

I thought you were real. I would love to be, I love music video.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

It is really fun, it is fun, and we I mean, we had a full-on production too. Like with the whole thing, um, so Braden was able to get his entire team together, and he's been on the road with them. Like, he's an Ayahtsee, so he's he also directs, and we got an entire crew of people, uh, and we shot on anamorphic lenses the whole thing, which should have cost us around $100,000. We shot it for six. Damn. Uh, and that's because of the amount of favors and people wanting to create and for the love of the music and a true spirit of indie filmmaking, which is why we got this into the Dallas International Film Festival. So it was really freaking cool to get there. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Like in the band, you're like, you know, like you really let it rip, and it's so funny. Is it because when I first so I first watched the music video and then I listened to the entire album album and I was like, is he just like the actor lips I can do this? And then I heard the entire album and I was like, this is him, and it's so cool because you have so many little like fun other like passions and um like work, and I wouldn't call it just like um hobbies, but like you know, surfing is a hobby, it's a fun hobby.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Like you just don't need a lot of yeah, and I'm not good at it, but I love to do it, you know. A hundred percent. I uh you know, life is too short to be one thing. Yeah, and if there's one thing I could do is encourage other people in life to just go after the things that you love. Uh you never lose by loving. Like make things your own, pursue the person, pursue the dream, uh, and you know, make the most of it while you have it.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

You gotta you gotta. Why not?

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Yeah, oh wow, dad jokes. All right, let's go.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

When we first met, too, um, because I love champagne, I love carbonated things, it's just like a sensory thing for me. Um, and you were like, you should try Blanc de Blanc. And I was like, uh ordering it now. Um, so I just want, since I have you here, what are some other recommendations? Because Blanc de Blanc changed my life. I'm not gonna lie. It's really funny.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

So Blanc de Blanc is a Chardonnay. That is a Chardonnay. That means you know, white of white, uh, when we talk about uh that in wine, specifically with champagne. Uh, you know, if I recommend uh Pulet Jacquemat, which is uh an awesome uh champagne that we actually carry at one of the other places. I will I will text it to you and you'll have it. You'll have it read already, you know.

SPEAKER_03 12:51

Show notes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Uh uh exactly. Uh there's there's so much great wine out there. Um, you know, one of the things that I'm lucky that I get to do at one of my places, I open up rare vintage bottles and make them available by the glass literally every single day, which is super, super fun.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Um what's like the wine that has blown your mind?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Uh I opened up uh a bottle of 1925 Mouton Rothschild um uh about a year ago. We did it for our anniversary. Oh girl, that is uh a left bank Bordeaux that's a part of the first growths. It's one of the greatest wines in the world. Uh and the fact that we could open something that was over a hundred years old and it still had all these gorgeous tertiary profiles and aggressiveness. It was like let's see, notes of like leather, tobacco, blackberries, plum, uh stewed vegetables, soil clay, any of these things in wine.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

I just my palette.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

I'm gonna tell you, it's it's mind-blowing when you get a chance to. Uh it's it's one of those things that you know I just kind of fell into like during the pandemic where I was like becoming a professional drinker, and I was like, if I could do something productive with this new found destructive hobby, that would be great. And so I had to have like a come to Jesus moment. I was like, I'm like, okay, so I gotta do something better with my time. What if I actually did, you know, made a career of this, and you know, and that's how I kind of fell into I didn't want to be a lost year for me. Like for so many people, I think you know, 2020 was a miserable time, and it was for me in a lot of ways, because I had just done three seasons on the Baxters, and then we were waiting for waiting for the show to come out, and it was just this kind of uh weird moment where we're like, now what? And when you know MGM didn't release it, we were like, Well, what what are we doing? We have three seasons in the can, why we haven't released it? And there was I went into weird negotiations between them and Netflix, and eventually uh Amazon bought MGM and finally released that, and it took them I think how many years to finally release that thing? Uh we shot it in in 2019 and they released it in 2024.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

Whoa, yeah, yeah. Wild.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

So wild. So like if like the point that I'm making there is that you know, just because you shoot something and just because you get paid for your day rate and all that stuff doesn't mean it'll ever see the light of day. So that was really hard. I went from you know, going out for you know, constantly series regular stuff and and you know, recurring stuff, and then all of a sudden it was like, you know, uh all these uh casting directors are like, well, we see that he's done this on his IMDB, but like, but where is this footage? And then like, and trust me, like my team was like, like, well, we've been looking for it too, and we're looking forward to seeing it one of these fucking days, you know. And and it was very difficult because you know, pitching is a big thing that you know, agents and managers need to do. Yeah. And but they need to be able to have something to show, otherwise, it's just words in an email, uh, and you're real and all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Speaking of um, I need things to show. Um, I'm not gonna let you off the hook on the wine thing, just real quick. And also, you were smarter because I went the white claw route in 2020. Should have gone to one.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Oh, okay. I mean, let's be clear, there was definitely some white claws and some other things. You know, it's like, yeah, who had the budget to like buy fucking 1925 Mouton Rothschild? Like I did.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

So 1925 Mouton Roth Rothschild um aside, uh, what sincerely do not know how to spell that. Um, but for the normie like me, who is trying to get into wines and like shops at Trader Joe's, what is like what is like a solid, like a couple of of things that I could try from like Trader Joe's or just your local grocery store?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

You know, I'm gonna tell you this. I don't go to grocery stores to get wines. Um, but I and not to not to be pretentious or anything. I there are so many great local um You laugh, but I'm telling you, there's there's so much this is why I don't do stuff at grocery stores. I'm gonna tell you right now.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Somebody's like oh um, I'm not pretentious, but um I'll have some extra oju with my steak.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

And you're like, oh right, all right, all right. I hear you. Message received, okay. But the reason why I don't go there is because I mean there's been so many grocery store wine in particular that have been recalled because they're they're putting additives or uh you know, things like formaldehyde as a uh you know preservatives in those wines. And so if not for profile, certainly for your health, like avoid that shit like the plague, man. Like you gotta go, go to a local wine shop, talk to the person behind there and say, Hey, what should I be drinking? What are you passionate about? Tell me what I should be doing. And you know, people will be like, Well, I don't like bitter, I don't like that. And then I love when people say that because I'm like, I think you mean tannins. And they're like, what the fuck is a tannin? And then I'm like, all right, uh, that's be that's the dryness and the astringency that you get because of the seeds, the skin, and the stems of the grape. And like, slow down. Let's let's break this down. You know, no, listen, listen.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

No, I'm just giving you some. So I love it. It's great.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Bring it on, bring it on. I got a thick skin. Let's go. Um, I'll just cry later.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Chicago's best kept secret. That's not needed-ish. It's Joel MySonette photography. He's legitimately the best, and it's about time everybody knew. Actors, execs, LinkedIn Lurkers, book at mycinetphotography.com and thank me later. Let's do hot cakes real quick. Uh okay, let's jump in. Let's go. Yeah, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

I'm nervous.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

What is your best Chewbacca sound? Go.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

I tried, I tried.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Coffee before self tape, yes or no?

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Uh ooh, depends on the role. Um, but I'm gonna say yes.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Villain or best friend?

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Ooh, fucking villain. Let's go. Listen to my voice.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

What's the weirdest special skill you have on your resume?

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Um Christopher Walken.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Best Irish pub in LA.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Oh, fuck. Uh I'm gonna get burned for this one. Um, I'll probably say Tom Bergen's, but I got a heart, a soft spot in my heart for uh Molly Maloney.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

You can only eat one thing for the rest of your life potato or corn?

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Neither.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

Best movie ever made.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Fucking potatoes? Uh best movie ever made. Uh oh my god. Uh breathless.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

Biggest celeb you've gotten to see or work with.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Oh, um Jesus. Uh, probably Jude Law.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Do you get your drama from your mama?

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Oh, totally.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

The Lockness Monster, real or fake?

SPEAKER_01 19:57

I want it to be real. So bad.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

Thank you so much for the first time.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

I want that to be so real. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

Um, that was fun. That was I loved your Chewbacca.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Oh man, I I tried. I I don't think I've ever made that sound before. So I was like, I have no idea what's gonna come out, or we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02 20:13

It was great, it was great. And I'm with you on the villain. Oh, it's so much fun to play the villain.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I did um I I can't talk too much about it because I signed an NDA, but I did um I did play a villain on a very prominent video game that should be coming out later this year. So I I had a lot of fun. I do a lot of voiceover work. Yeah, you said Christmas.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Let's hear it.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Yeah, so sometimes is crazy. Um, you know, wow, you know, I had this time where people would ask me, you know, questions and I just answer the following.

SPEAKER_02 20:47

So much time to be on my podcast. Wow. Like somebody else.

SPEAKER_00 20:50

Yeah, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

I mean, that's that's as good as it'll get, but you know, uh, you know, we we have fun. We have fun.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

That's awesome. Um, and then Jude La, you worked with her.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Uh yeah, so no, that was actually my very first moment ever, like seeing um like a celebrity or somebody that uh you know, where so I was in New York at the time. I was studying uh I had this play that I was doing, and I was actually going to see the columnist starring uh John Lithgau. So I was uh on Broadway uh sitting in the seat, and I saw uh so I'm it's right in the right when like intermission is about ready to happen. And I'm I'm staring at my my script in between uh to like study go over my lines and stuff while still seeing a play. I if that's the most cliche actor thing, I don't know what it is. Like it's like it's a little on the nose, Jesus kid, like get it together, you know. But and and then to like what I'm about to tell you is even more kind of like like a what the fuck moment.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

Um so all of a sudden it's nine.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

I I was, I think I was like probably twenty one.

SPEAKER_02 21:57

Uh and better.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Yeah, yeah. And so I hear this like very gentle like tap or I feel this gentle tap on my shoulder, followed by this very gentle, like, excuse me, Mike, do you mind I have to pass Sauvier? And then I was like, I was like, yeah, sure, no problem. And then I looked over and it's fucking Jude Law. He's sitting next to me the entire goddamn show, and I had no idea because I was, I'm not joking. And I'm looking down at my this this is this Hollywood stuff that people don't tell you about. So I'm like, but this is this was in New York. And so I'm looking at my script and I'm so enamored because I was like, I'm not gonna memorize any of this shit in time, you know, for rehearsal. And so I had to to do that. So and then so obviously I'm like, yeah, sure, no problem, fucking Jude Law. Let me just get up and move out of the way, Your Highness. Like, I just because he was just such a sweet guy, and I was surprised at like, I mean, he really is that good looking. Like, he really is, like, super cute. So, you know how many times I carry a script with me anywhere I go now? Zero.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

Yeah, zero.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

I try to be as present as possible and and talk to people and experience life.

SPEAKER_02 23:01

Real quick, before we we we uh we close this up, um, I want to chat real quick because we get weird on this podcast. And so I talked about the leftist monster. Let's get weird. Let's get weird was real. Um, do you believe in ghosts, aliens? Do you have any stories? Um, anything you're like currently Google I got some stories. Yeah, what you got? Okay, so what what what are you associated with?

SPEAKER_01 23:27

You know, here's the thing. I go I go back and forth with a lot of that stuff. You know, I I grew up religious. I don't know that I would call myself a religious person anymore. I would say I'm more uh I'm I'm from St. Louis, Missouri. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

So I'm so definitely Bible Belt uh kind of area. It's still very much a liberal city, uh, but you know, like you go an hour outside there and you guys pretty rural, real fast. I'm gonna tell you. Um you see what Cardinal Define. Um yeah, anyway, that's that's that's its own a little scary. Um let's let's talk about uh ghosts. Uh there's a couple of things I've experienced in my life, and I don't know how to explain them. Um so I I'm gonna try and just pick one. Uh there's a famous place um in St. Louis, and it is called uh the Lent Mansion. Uh, and it's now a bed and breakfast, but it used to be owned by these like famous beer bearings.

SPEAKER_02 24:21

I don't know why, but bed and breakfast is always have something. Yeah, right. There's always something.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

100%.

SPEAKER_02 24:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yeah, yeah. I think there were uh three different suicides in the in the building uh from the uh the family owners themselves. They also had um uh a petting zoo that was underground, uh underneath their mansion. Yeah, it was like a cave system. So the thing about Missouri in general is has some of the bit the it it's full of caves. It's just full of caves. Um, you know, and so they had that's where they would store their beer, that's where there was also a path that would take them from the mansion to the brewery. Um so there's a I mean, so we talk about prohibition and other things too. So in my early 20s, when I spent the night there uh with an ex and the two of us wanted uh to kind of celebrate our anniversary there, so we we rented this suite uh that is called the Lavender Suite.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

Uh and it was owned by partner to a haunted house.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Listen, they wanted to go too. They wanted to go too. They're also very much into the ghosts and things like that too. But um quickly uh she started to to not be uh too keen on the place uh because we took a ghost tour first. No, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:40

Uh and before you go to bed.

SPEAKER_01 25:42

Oh, oh, it was great. She actually saw something, and I didn't. Like uh there was we were in one of the rooms, and in the middle of the tour, uh we had everybody in the room. She looked into this mirror that was like a vanity, and she saw this very tall, bald man walk across the entrance of the door, no, and and she was like, she didn't think anything of it until in the middle of the actual tour, the woman said, She's like, Sometimes people look in this vanity and they see a man walk past in the reflection and go into this wall where there's no entrance to, or like, you know, so she immediately grabbed my arm, she's like, I don't want to stay here. And I'm like, I'm like, ah, come on, like, come on, like, just do it anyway. It'll be fun, you know? And so uh part of the reason I wanted to see in the lavender suite because it it can it connected to its own like private bathroom that has like a fireplace in there. Um, this oh girl, like I'm telling you, this is a mansion. We're talking about a mansion, okay? Like it's it's an amazing place. So and it also had this like uh incredible bathtub. Uh so I was like, I want to go and like have an evening hanging out in this cool like place, like in our suite and the bathroom, and like I want that shower in the morning is gonna be amazing. Come on. So uh, you know, like you know that place is gonna be cool. What's not to love? What's the matter with you? So there was um a part of the evening we had got we had got had some wine and it was late at night, and we know that everybody was asleep because I remember going downstairs into the kitchen, which was terrifying, to uh grab some ice. And so I remember coming upstairs and uh going into the bathroom uh and and kind of like getting uh the bathtub ready for us because I I wanted to like, you know, it's like it's a romantic night. We're celebrating. And I'm like, we're gonna have some, we're gonna have some champagne and chill out, you know? And so and so all of a sudden I start to hear what sounded like footsteps, not in our room, not in the bathroom, but outside. And and then so I I stopped the water running, and now I distinctly hear like shuffled like footsteps. And I'm kind of like, I'm like, am I hearing things? This is super weird. And she looks like a cat, like staring at headlights, you know, like just kind of like I don't know whether to run or what, and so we both hear it. I'm like, Do you hear what I hear? You know, and she's looking at me like, yeah, I told you they didn't want to fucking stay here. Like, and now I'm hearing footsteps outside the door, you know, and so we're both kind of looking at each other very terrified, and uh, and then the scary part, this is that's not even the scary part. All of a sudden we hear the footsteps, and they're right outside the door of the bathroom. No, and we're both looking at it and we're like, what do we do? And then we start to see the um the actual doorknobs slowly start to turn. I'm not making this up. This is the scariest thing I've ever experienced. I'm looking at this thing, and I'm I've I've never been I don't know what's behind that, but I don't want to know. I don't want to know. And I remember staring at the door and seeing this doorknob slowly start to turn, and I'm I've never been frozen with fear, but that was a moment where I was kind of like, I don't I don't know what I'm witnessing, I don't know what I'm experiencing.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

You can't do anything, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Because I just came from downstairs and I know that there's one other couple and they're on the third floor, we're on the second floor, there's nobody in this massive place but us and this other couple, and they're fucking asleep. So who is out there? And so as the door starts to turn, she's just like, she's like, Are you kidding me? And so then I'm like, and I kind of like somehow it kicks me out of like this weird stupor of like being frozen, and I go and I grab the door and I just hold on to it, and then all of a sudden, we just hear nothing, and nothing was there after that. I opened the door very slowly and I looked outside, and it's nothing but pitch black, and there's nobody out there. There's nobody out there, but it's very cold, it's very, very cold. And I just remember like, let's go to bed, let's go to bed after that. Like, I am so creeped out. Oh, we we absolutely got drunk because it was like, there's no way I I can possibly go to sleep sober. Like, I just I could not, and out of fear, like I'm gonna be honest, I've never been more scared. So I've never slept, spent the night uh ever again at the Lump Mansion, but I highly recommend it for anybody who's a a ghost, a ghost person, you know, out there that really wants to experience something truly freaky. Um, that was that's the freakiest thing that I've ever experienced in terms of haunted stuff. Yeah, you should you should spend a night there. You should you and your husband should go.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

So good.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

Thank you so much for being on the podcast, Jake. This is so much fun. Oh, it's a pleasure. Yeah, this is a good one.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

Yeah, yeah. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

That was so much fun. Um, I can't sing like him. That's terrible. Please go listen to Hounds of Belfast instead. Uh, they're on uh Instagram as at Hounds of Belfast. Um and please go follow Jake Fore. That is uh Jake F-E-R-R-E-E uh on Instagram and on all the socials because he's very funny and the band is really good. Sincerely, go listen to it. Um that it I mean, I'm I'm still jamming to it. So thank you, Jake, for being on the podcast. Thank you for listening. Um, if you like this, please uh like, subscribe, do all the things. Um, it really means a lot to us. And I will catch you on the next episode. Bye. Ilse Will Say is an Entrepida Entertainment podcast produced and edited by Jacob Cagle, music by Eric Facus, and photography by Joel MySonet, and I am your host, Ilse Sacherio Rivera. The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here should be taken as professional advice, expert opinion, legal guidance, or a reason to DMSU conspiracy theories. We're here for the laps, y'all. Carry on.