*SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains spoilers for Episode 13. Before reading, be sure to listen to A Haunting on Main St. Afterward, feel free to check out this "Behind-the-Episode" blog for additional info and photos! And visit our Patreon page for more extras!
Photos for this story provided by Thao Photography
In June of 2018, I took a road trip with my wife to give myself a break from work and the show. We had heard Buda was a great place to visit for Austinites, so we decided to give it a shot. After visiting many of the nice shops on Main St., we popped into Old Town Buda Antique Mall at 212 Main Street. In here, we would be warned by the clerk about "the ghosts on the second floor". This led me to gather some contact info and plan a visit back to this shop, when I wasn't on personal time with my wife!
A few months later, on September 7, I ventured back to this shop to interview owner, Jeff, after business hours. I'd already fallen in love with this town on my first trip to Main St. back in June. I discovered one of my favorite hangouts of all time - The Cigar Vault. So coming back here to investigate ghosts in the building adjacent to this cigar shop was more of a dream come true than a road trip and work. Alexis and I had already planned that we would go grab a cigar and sit out on the patio and enjoy this night once the interview was done with.
Upon entering, you immediately see that Old Town Buda Antique Mall is filled with history. Cases and rooms filled with objects from various vendors that run the entire length of the 1st and 2nd floors of this building.
Upon entering, if you take an immediate left, you enter the room Jeff and I are standing in, pictured above. It's here where he is showing me the where the first incident that made him question if something was in his shop happened. A vanity mirror he'd leaned against the wall had somehow moved the next morning with no one else having access to the building.
Moving further into the store right past the front counter, you see the building splits into two wings. This photo above is a picture of the doorway that leads you into the left wing of the 1st floor.
This area in and around this doorway near the front counter is a hot spot for activity. This is the area where regular customer Ron had his hat knocked off. In this same doorway is where Jeff witnessed the misty figure on his phone surveillance system late one night, and this is also where cold spots are often felt.
Frequent customer Ron standing in the location to the left of the front counter where he had his hat mysteriously knocked off his head.
If you push your way down the left wing of the 1st floor and make your way to the back of the building, you'll end up where Jeff and I are standing in this photo above. It's in this area that Jeff describes reports of a male voice being heard often. In part II we'll share more about this particular report.
The right wing had less activity so we pushed our way up the stairs, where many experiences have been reported.
I'm standing at the landing of the 2nd floor here. It's here where many report an uneasy feeling and also where Jeanie discovered the shaving stand mysteriously moved to the middle of the top of the stairs when she opened one morning.
Above is the actual photograph taken by Jeanie on the day she found the shaving stand placed oddly at the top of the stairs. She sent this image to Jeff to ask him if he had left the stand like this for some reason. He responded he had no clue how the stand had gotten there and he was the last person there to lock up and that it wasn't there when he left.
Jeff and I at the landing to the top of the stairs
Here Jeff explained how the presence he believes to be "Nathan" resides and usually makes his presence known. Mostly what's felt here is an odd or uncomfortable feeling. Sometimes even hair raising and tingling feelings as well.
This is on the right wing of the 2nd floor. If you push your way back there's a step-down into the left wing of the 2nd floor, where Jeff believes the spirit he calls "Judith" resides mostly. He didn't' know why but he feels her here mostly.
It's also in this wing or on the 2nd floor in general that customers continually report feeling uneasy or like they are being watched.
Pushing back even further in this 2nd floor left wing, you end up in this small storage room. Here Jeff admitted having a small tin sewing box he felt might be the object Judith is attached too. He sadly could not find the box since it's buried in the back under large piles of boxes. If he end ups finding it, I intend on adding it to the blog.
This story will continue in Episode 14: A Haunting on Main St. - Part II, which will release on November 26, 2018. This time, Alexis, Franklyn, and Sara join me to investigate the claims and see if we can provide any more info or validation for Jeff and his unique shop in Buda, Texas. Stay tuned!
-Stephen Belyeu
Alexis and I on Main St. just outside Old Town Buda Antique Mall
Recorded this little snippet of time we had out at The Cigar Vault's back patio. If you look just behind the band, the red brick building is the left side of Old Town Buda Antique Mall.
Alexis and I having a cigar after interviewing Jeff and a few others on our 1st trip to Buda - Cigar Vault - 210 Main St., Buda, TX