The Union Screaming House

Episode of Morbid · October 19, 2026 · 59 min

Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley recount the Union Screaming House haunting in Missouri, after chatting about spooky books and Mike Flanagan's Carrie.

Summary

The episode opened with Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley discussing a recent trip to Salem in October, their love of gloomy weather, and spooky-season reading, including Goosebumps, Fear Street, Leigh Bardugo's Hell Bent and Richard Chizmar's Becoming the Boogeyman. Kelley admitted she had never read a Goosebumps or Stephen King book, and the hosts settled on Misery as her first King novel. They also discussed Bravo reality television and Mike Flanagan's Carrie series, which Urquhart said she found difficult to watch because of its depiction of bullying.

Urquhart then narrated the story of the Union Screaming House. After his 1999 divorce, single father Steven LaChance moved his three children, Eliza, Eli and Elliot, into a spacious rented house in Union, Missouri, in 2001. She described a series of reported events: doors fitted with latches on the outside, a picture that repeatedly fell from the wall, passersby avoiding the house, sudden temperature drops, Elliot's encounter with a clown-like apparition, a smoky dark figure in the kitchen, and agonized screams that drove the family out. After a night of shaking, footsteps and the combined screams of a man and a child, the family fled and never returned.

The next tenants, Linda Marsh, Emmett Bryce and their teenage daughter Ashley, reportedly experienced similar phenomena, including Ashley's vision of a hanging infant. Urquhart recounted Ashley's psychiatric hospitalization, an investigation by psychic medium Betsy Bellinger and the St. Louis Ghost Search, LaChance's research linking the property to Confederate captain John Crow and past violence, a priest's incomplete blessing, and an alleged attack on Linda that preceded her own hospitalization and the family's departure. The hosts criticized the landlord, who reportedly later turned the property into a dog kennel, and noted LaChance's book The Uninvited and an episode of A Haunting about the case.

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    Salem trip and gloomy weather

    The hosts open by recalling a nighttime trip to Salem and their preference for rainy, cold weather over summer.

  2. 2:33

    Spooky books and a book club idea

    Urquhart and Kelley discuss Goosebumps, Fear Street, Hell Bent and other spooky-season reads and propose a Fear Street book club.

  3. 5:31

    Reality TV, Carrie and Stephen King

    Kelley describes her Bravo viewing, the hosts discuss Mike Flanagan's Carrie series, and they pick Misery as Kelley's first Stephen King book.

  4. 9:20

    Steven LaChance moves to Union

    Urquhart introduces Steven LaChance's divorce, his search for a larger home and the family's move into the Union, Missouri house.

  5. 14:01

    First signs of trouble

    Outside door latches, a repeatedly falling picture, wary passersby and Elliot's fright in the basement mark the family's early weeks.

  6. 19:27

    Lights, cold and the clown

    The family returns to find every light on and the house freezing, and Elliot reports a menacing clown in the hallway.

  7. 22:55

    The dark figure and the first flight

    LaChance sees a smoky figure in the kitchen, hears a man screaming and flees with his children, who see the figure in an upstairs window.

  8. 29:02

    Questioning the landlord

    LaChance calls the landlord and learns of earlier tenants who reported a ghost or left belongings behind.

  9. 31:32

    The night they fled for good

    Shaking doors, a putrid smell, giant footsteps and the combined screams of a man and child drive the LaChances out permanently.

  10. 38:54

    The Marsh and Bryce family

    New tenants Linda Marsh, Emmett Bryce and daughter Ashley experience noises and visions, and Ashley's mental health deteriorates.

  11. 44:54

    Paranormal investigation

    Betsy Bellinger and the St. Louis Ghost Search investigate, describing spirits of former owners and possible psychokinetic activity tied to Ashley.

  12. 49:40

    History, the priest and the attack

    LaChance links the property to Confederate captain John Crow and past violence, a priest performs a partial blessing, and Linda reports being choked.

  13. 53:00

    Aftermath and reactions

    Linda is hospitalized, the family leaves, the house becomes a dog kennel, and the hosts react and mention LaChance's book.

People

In the conversation

  • Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
  • Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid

Discussed

  • Steven LaChanceSingle father and author who reported the Union Screaming House haunting and wrote The Uninvited
  • Linda MarshLater tenant of the Union house who reported paranormal activity and an attack
  • Emmett BryceLinda Marsh's partner, initially skeptical tenant of the Union house
  • Betsy BellingerPsychic medium with the St. Louis Ghost Search who investigated the house
  • John CrowConfederate Army captain and enslaver said to have owned the property
  • Mike FlanaganAmerican filmmaker who created the 2026 Carrie series
  • Summer HowellActress playing the lead in Mike Flanagan's Carrie series
  • Stephen KingAmerican horror novelist and Chizmar's collaborator on the Gwendy books
  • R.L. StineAmerican author of Goosebumps and Fear Street
  • Leigh BardugoAuthor of the novel Ninth House

Topics

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From the publisher

In the spring of 2001, single father Steven LaChance moved his family from a cramped apartment to a spacious house in Union, Missouri. The house was intended to be a new start for the family, but before long their excitement turned to dread as life in the new house became a nightmare. Within weeks of moving into the house, Steven and his children began experiencing strange and unexplainable phenomena. Lights turned on and off by themselves, temperatures fluctuated wildly from room to room, and there was an ever-present feeling of being watched. In time, whatever entity lived in the house began focusing its malevolent attention on the children, exploiting their fears and terrifying them night after night. After several months, the LaChance family couldn’t tolerate the home anymore and moved out but, little did Steven know, that was only the beginning of his journey into the paranormal.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 20, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Religion & Spirituality·Books·TV Reviews