Episode #164 - Chasing The "Spookiness" Of Our (Unintended) Dreams: An Interview With Rebecca Williamson

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Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

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determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

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This is Speaking From The Heart.

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Joshua: Welcome back to a very spooky

episode 164 of Speaking from the Heart.

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Now, if you're not sure why I think

it's a little bit spooky, you're going

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to find out today because today's guest

is Rebecca Williamson, and no, she's

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not spooky, but what she represents

might be a little spooky in itself.

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Rebecca owns a haunted wedding venue.

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She talks about the history of the farm,

ghosts, and the challenges of starting a

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business with people, telling you how to

do it, who don't actually own a business.

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Rebecca went from a mail carrier to

business owner in a very unconventional

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business that had a big learning

experience, and you're going to find

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that today's story, especially of how she

got into this house that she owns, which

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is a very beautiful place which we'll

talk about, really helps to understand

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why sometimes, even in our own houses,

trying to be able to build that value,

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build that consistency, build our

future, might be tougher than it might

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appear, especially from the surface.

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Now, I've had other guests on the show

that have talked about not only their

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adventures when it comes to owning an

Airbnb, maybe even traveling through

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a variety of different areas of their

lives to get to where they are today,

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but I think you're going to find that

this story has some twists and turns, not

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only of opportunity, but also invest in

something that might be scary starting

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out, but actually might help us in the

bigger scheme of things, being able

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to learn, being able to shift in the

priorities and direction of our own lives.

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I think you're going to hear from

Rebecca's story that that purpose, where

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we find those opportunities, means that

we're not always granted tomorrow, so

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we should take advantage of today in

order to not only find those ways in

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which we can make inroads, but even if

it's scary in itself, spooky, that is,

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you're going to learn so much about

how it's not as spooky as it sounds.

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But with that, let's go to the episode.

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All right.

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We're here with Rebecca Williamson.

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Rebecca!

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Thanks for sharing your

heart with us today.

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Rebecca: Well, thanks for having me on.

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I'm excited to be here.

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Joshua: I love what we're going to be

talking about today, but first off,

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Happy Halloween to all of those that are

listening to this episode, because I think

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today's guest will give you a little bit

of perspective of why I had this episode

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air on the date it is airing on, so thanks

so much for spending some time with me.

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I already let the audience know a little

bit about your story and what you are all

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about, but I got to ask this question.

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Why would you buy a historical

house to rent out, and have

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all these kinds of activities?

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There's has to be a backstory, and maybe

he can start from the beginning with us.

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Rebecca: Yeah, so there is a lot of

backstory to Cambre, so the Cambre

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House itself was built in 1867 by

French immigrants who came to the

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United States to be part of this perfect

utopian society called the Icarians.

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The Icarians were kind of like

a hippie commune where you

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sold everything you owned.

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You donated it all to this society and

lived in this apartment like complex.

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The Cambres came over from France to

be part of this idealistic movement,

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and then they ended up branching

out on their own and bought the farm

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that I now own in 1860, and four

generations of Cambres live there.

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They had an apple orchard there, so it

was a working apple orchard until around

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the 1940s, and then in 1979, the family

ended up selling the home at auction,

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and my grandmother had come there as a

little girl to pick apples, and she had

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some really fond memories of being out at

that farm, and so she told my grandfather

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she really wanted to buy it, and so she

dragged him out there, and said, "We're

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buying this!', and he fell in love with

it too, and so they bought it, not with

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the intention of ever living out there,

but because they loved history and

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antiques, and my grandmother always said

it was exactly the way she remembered it

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when she was a little girl, and there's

very few places you can say that about.

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The Cambre family built the home

really well and they actually

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took very good care of it.

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They never remodeled the home at all,

and when you're there at the house,

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you can tell that this home is almost

actly the way it was built in: 1867

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so my grandparents bought it with the

intention of preserving the history.

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They filled it with antiques, and

treated it kind of like a life sized

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dollhouse, and then we did craft shows.

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We did weddings.

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If there was a big family gathering,

we were doing it out of the farm.

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In 2015, my grandmother passed

away, and then two weeks later, my

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husband passed away suddenly, and-

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Joshua: Oh wow.

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Rebecca: Yeah.

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Joshua: I didn't realize

that, so I'm so sorry.

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Rebecca: Yeah.

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It was very sudden for my husband, my

grandmother; she'd had some problems

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for a while and she had a stroke, and so

her passing was slower, and then after

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she passed, two weeks later, my husband

just literally drop dead, and so the

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Cambre House was their favorite place.

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My grandmother loved it, and

my husband loved it as well.

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He loves spending time out there and being

there, and so in the mongst of all that

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grieving where I didn't really know which

way was up, they were getting ready to

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sell the farm, and we had a real estate

person come in, and they told us that

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anybody who bought this property would

have to completely gut it and remodel

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it if they planned on living in it, and

having this historic home that all the

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windows are even the original windows

from: 1860

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gutted and remodeled was heartbreaking.

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I'd already lost so much at that

point that I just couldn't bear

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the idea of losing yet another

thing, and so I bought the farm.

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No clear plan in mind.

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Anybody who has been in what is called

complicated grieving, so when you're

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grieving more than one person, or more

than one large loss at a time, you end up

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in this space that's called complicated

grieving, which is complicated.

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You lose a big sense of who you are as

the person when you go through that much

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grief, and there's a lot of physical

manifestations to grieving that you don't

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really realize until you're in that space

and thinking clearly is not something that

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is a possibility, but yeah, like I said.

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It was one of those things where I just

said, "I'm not going to lose one more

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thing.", and so I bought the farm, which

trying to explain to your friends that

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you bought this three bedroom farmhouse,

in the middle of nowhere, over an hour

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from your house that you don't ever

plan on living in is kind of rough, so-

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Joshua: I mean, I kind of had that

thought; like this wild proposition

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that maybe you were doing this for noble

motives, but then hearing this, I almost

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felt like this was like a triple whammy

of sorts that if you would have bought the

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house, and you would have been not been

able to fix it, that just would have been

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another grieving moment for you, perhaps.

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Rebecca: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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It would have been another

grieving moment, like the idea

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of losing one more thing was just

something I just couldn't handle.

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I literally couldn't stomach the

idea of losing one more thing, and

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I bought it, and it was just one of

those things I'm like, " I don't know

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what I'm doing with it.", so then

I bought it and then said, "Oh my!

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What on earth did I just buy?

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What am I going to do with this?

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I have no clue.", so I kind of

went back and I said, "Okay.

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Well, what did my grandparents do

with this?", so they did craft shows,

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and then I'd had a few cousins that

got married over the years out there,

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and so I had the bright idea that I

could open it up as a wedding venue.

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Now, I was a mail carrier at this point.

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I was not a business owner.

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I didn't know anything about

business, but I'm like, "You know.

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We've had some weddings.

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This'll be easy.

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I'll just tell people we're doing weddings

out here.", and love to show up, because

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people like outdoor weddings right now.

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It's a big thing, and oddly enough,

you do actually have to advertise.

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Joshua: Yeah.

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Usually that's how it works, and

I've learned that the hard way for

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my business too, so I can understand.

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Rebecca: I mean, you come into

these ideas like, "Oh yeah.

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Slap out the sign, and people will know,

and they'll show up.", and that's just

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not how that works, and so I was able

to work with small business development.

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It's a free program through the

government, and they were able to

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kind of help me learn how to run a

business, learn how to market myself.

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This is a farmhouse out

in the middle of nowhere.

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No one will drive by this place

ever, unless they're looking for it,

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and sometimes they drive by anyway,

so the marketing aspect of it was

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super important, and I was grateful

for the help for the small business

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development where they came along,

and were able to kind of give me a

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crash course in owning a business.

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Joshua: I've been looking

at photos on your website.

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For my listeners, I'll have them

in the episode notes too that you

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can take a look at this house.

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It's beautiful, and I see the

work that you've done with it.

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I really am afraid to ask you

this, and maybe you remember it,

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but I'm kind of cringing a bit.

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You said that a lot of

work had to be done.

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How much did it cost to actually

renovate the overall house to

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make it a functional facility?

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Rebecca: Not as much

as you'd really think.

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My grandparents had done a lot of

work themselves when they purchased

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it from the Cambres, and like I

said, it was really well preserved.

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A lot of it was just going through

and cleaning; a lot of cleaning.

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My grandparents had been in the

nursing home for the last six

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years of their life, so it hadn't

really been used in six years.

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There was a new furnace involved.

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I took out some really old carpet in

one room and laid down some new floor.

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I was really hoping to salvage the

floor underneath of it, but when we

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pulled up that really nasty old carpet,

there was plywood that had been nailed

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down like an inch apart, like into

the entire floor, like little one

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inch squares, and it was crazy, so-

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Joshua: Yeah.

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Rebecca: Unfortunately, I couldn't

save the floor underneath, but I

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found like a floating floor that's

put over the top that a lot of people

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think looks like the original floor,

so I was able to match that up.

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One building had to come down.

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The foundation was kind of giving out

on this old barn, and so we took that

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down and put in a patio, but as far as

old houses in the middle of nowhere,

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we got really lucky in that there

wasn't a whole lot of extra stuff.

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Joshua: Now, I noticed that this is

overlooking the Mississippi River, so to

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put this in perspective for our listeners

as to where this is exactly located,

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can you kind of give us an idea, if

you can, draw that map visually for us.

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Rebecca: Sure, so I am

in West Central Illinois.

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If you picture the shape of Illinois,

there's a nose, kind of on the

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side, and I am right on the nose of

Illinois on the Mississippi River.

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Joshua: It has to be actually pretty

beautiful to be at the house, being

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able to also see that overlook and then

being able to use it for a variety of

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different things, so you started to say

some of that already where you converted

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this into a wedding facility, but I see

that on your website, you have rentals

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and ghost tours, so I wonder if you

could tell us a little bit about what

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you offer in terms of general rentals,

and then, what's appealing to going

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to this house to then do a ghost tour?

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Rebecca: And now we see why

I'm on the Halloween episode.

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Joshua: Yeah.

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I like getting super scared about it.

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Ooh!

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Okay.

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That was my visual

effects for my listeners.

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Rebecca: Yeah, so I own

a haunted wedding venue.

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Everybody always asks me like, "Okay.

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How did you realize the farm was

haunted?", and my answer to that question

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is I spent the night there for the first

time, so when we were kids, we spent

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a ton of time out at the farm, but we

didn't actually spend the night, because

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my grandparents lived about 10 minutes

away from the house and when it got dark,

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we all just went home, or we went to

grandma and granddad's to spend the night.

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We didn't stay out there, so I bought

the home, and we're getting ready to do

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some work, so we went out there for the

weekend, and that particular weekend, I

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brought my sister and my daughter with me.

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My daughter was eight, and as the

sun goes down, it becomes apparent

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that we're really going to spend the

night there, and my daughter panics,

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so my eight year old is freaking out.

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She's like, "I am not sleeping

here.", and I'm like, "Yeah.

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You are.", and she was

like, "I don't think so.

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You are going to take me home.", and I

said, "Absolutely not.", and so I had

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the car keys, and she can't drive, so she

is actually staying here at this house,

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and she refused to sleep in any bedroom.

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I mean, if that was a flat, hard no.

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She was not going to sleep in any

of those bedrooms, and we finally

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compromised in the fact that she was

going to sleep in the living room.

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We'd brought an air mattress with us,

so I am sleeping in the middle of the

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living room, on a twin size air mattress,

with an eight year old glued to my side,

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who is terrified to be in this house.

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Now, my sister slept

upstairs in a bedroom.

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She'd brought her puppy with her, and

the puppy was like six weeks old, and

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was still going outside to go to the

bathroom in the middle of the night,

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and so in order to do that, she comes

down the stairs, walks right beside

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my head, goes out the front door,

comes back in, so in the middle of

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the night, I'm waking up three times

by somebody coming down the stairs,

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walking past me, and going out the door.

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I did not open my eyes because I

don't want to get the puppy excited.

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I finally got that kid asleep.

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We're not going to make waves here, right,

and so the next morning I told my sister,

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"You know, your puppy did really good.

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You guys only went outside

three times last night.", and

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she says, "Puppy did great.

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We went outside twice last night.",

and I said, "No you didn't.

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You went outside three

times.", and she says, "No."

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Joshua: Oh.

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Rebecca: We argued, and finally came to

the realization that I really had heard

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somebody come down the steps that was

not my sister and go out the front door,

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and so that kind of got us thinking about

stuff that had happened at the farm.

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My grandparents never

thought the farm was haunted.

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That wasn't something that we had

actually talked about, that during the

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eighties, that wasn't really a thing

people did talk about, but the basement

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door of the house opened so often

when we were kids, if there was a big

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event out there, a lot of times they

made one of us grandkids stand by that

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door to make sure it was stayed shut.

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The attic door opened on

its own a lot as well.

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They always blamed one of us grandkids,

but none of us grandkids ever remember

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opening that door, and that door

actually, coming back and looking at it

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as an adult, that door is weighted so

it swings shut, so if you push it open,

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it will swing shut, so there literally

is no reason that that door should

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ever be opened on its own, and so now

we're thinking, "I think we might have

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something going on here.", and I had

a friend who was starting a paranormal

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investigative team at that point, and so

I reached out to him and I said, "Hey!

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I just bought this farmhouse

in the middle of nowhere.

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Do you want to come and check it out?",

and he did, and that was the point where

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we realized that the home was haunted.

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We definitely had a lot of activity.

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We were able to measure some really

solid cold spots about that time.

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If you've done paranormal investigating,

there's a lot of equipment they bring, and

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the lights went off, and they got a lot

of activity, and so then it was like, "Oh!

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I own a haunted farmhouse!"

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I had a friend suggest that I should

start doing ghost tours out there, and

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I did, and it went really, really well.

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I will say hosting ghost tours

is terrifying, because you can't

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tell the ghost, "It's time!"

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You can't have practice runs

with people you don't see.

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Joshua: It's like, "They paid money.

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Now it's time to come out!"

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No!

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It doesn't come out that way.

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Yeah.

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Rebecca: I mean, don't get me wrong.

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I have walked in the house before a

paranormal investigation and kind of

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clap my hands and said, "Okay, guys.

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This is it.

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Don't make me look stupid.", but yeah,

the ghost tours went really well so far.

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I had really good luck

getting activity for people.

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I host my own private ghost tours.

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It's a two hour tour where I

have a paranormal team there.

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They bring their equipment.

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I tell them the history of the location

and the farm, and then they get to go

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investigate with a paranormal team using

their equipment, so it's a lot of fun.

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It's like you see on the TV shows,

and then I rent it out to paranormal

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teams who are looking for overnights at

locations, and so the first year I didn't

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have a wedding at my wedding venue.

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Joshua: I didn't have my first client

for a while until like about halfway

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through the year, so I totally

understand where you're coming from.

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It takes a lot of persistence.

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Yeah.

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Rebecca: It does, and like weddings

are planned at least a year out, so it

287

: 00:17:54

takes at least a year to really build

up a wedding venue, if not longer.

288

: 00:18:00

I think I finally hit my stride with

the weddings about three years into

289

: 00:18:03

it, but the ghosts really kept my farm

going, and for me, having the ghosts

290

: 00:18:11

there, and doing ghost tours and stuff,

especially coming through all that

291

: 00:18:14

grieving process was hugely affirming.

292

: 00:18:20

My grandparents did some interaction

on some of the tours where they were

293

: 00:18:24

able to like tell me that they liked

what I was doing out of the farm.

294

: 00:18:29

That was something I was like, since

I hadn't planned on buying the farm,

295

: 00:18:33

I hadn't been able to discuss that

with them and to do this ghost tour

296

: 00:18:37

where granddad was like, "Yeah.

297

: 00:18:39

I really like what you're doing

and I'm happy about it.", that

298

: 00:18:41

was like, really nice to be able

to get that feedback, you know.

299

: 00:18:48

Joshua: I actually thought of this, and

this is probably a little far fetched

300

: 00:18:52

of a question; probably one of the far

fetched questions I've ever asked on the

301

: 00:18:55

show, but I want to put this in your mind,

and maybe you thought of this already.

302

: 00:19:00

Rebecca: Okay.

303

: 00:19:01

Joshua: Do you think that maybe your

husband, and even your grandmother,

304

: 00:19:06

obviously, they're no longer here,

you think that those are the spirits

305

: 00:19:10

that might be haunting the house?

306

: 00:19:11

Rebecca: My husband not as much.

307

: 00:19:13

We have never really had any

interaction with my husband at

308

: 00:19:16

the farm, which is like kind of

disappointing, but, I mean, he moved on

309

: 00:19:20

to wherever he wanted to go I suppose.

310

: 00:19:23

My grandmother, occasionally is there.

311

: 00:19:26

Usually before we're getting ready for

a big event or something, we'll smell

312

: 00:19:30

like this cinnamon smell, which when they

were having the craft shows out there,

313

: 00:19:35

she filled the house with these cinnamon

broomsticks and stuff, so it had a really

314

: 00:19:39

strong cinnamon smell, which the last

craft show they had was in: 1993

315

: 00:19:44

scent is, obviously, no longer really

associated out there, but yeah, before

316

: 00:19:50

I've had my big craft shows out there, I

will get a little hint of that cinnamon

317

: 00:19:55

scent, and I feel like she's there, like

she's excited that we're doing this.

318

: 00:20:00

My grandparents love this farm

so much, and my husband did too.

319

: 00:20:05

My husband really enjoyed spending time

out there, and so to be able to do this

320

: 00:20:10

out there, and be able to talk about

them, is so nice to be able to have the

321

: 00:20:15

opportunity to share their stories, and

carry on this legacy of what they loved.

322

: 00:20:21

Joshua: That's actually something I

was thinking about is what's the legacy

323

: 00:20:25

that you want to leave with this house?

324

: 00:20:27

Obviously, it has been registered with the

National Registrar so that is a historical

325

: 00:20:33

place that can't be essentially touched

in ways in which that could be ruinous

326

: 00:20:40

for that place, but I'm wondering for

you, what was your vision when you took

327

: 00:20:44

over, outside of all the things that

you shared already, what do you think

328

: 00:20:48

ultimately you want to achieve by having

this space for other people to come?

329

: 00:20:53

Rebecca: Like I said, originally

there was no plan in mind.

330

: 00:20:58

Joshua: Yeah.

331

: 00:20:58

Rebecca: Unlike other business owners

who had worked in Europe for years and

332

: 00:21:01

years to make a plan, I had no plan.

333

: 00:21:03

I just had the farm, but like,

as far as legacy goes, I really-

334

: 00:21:09

Joshua: I'm going to add on to my

question, and I know that you said

335

: 00:21:11

that earlier too, because I figured

that this was sort of sudden.

336

: 00:21:14

This sort of opportunity kind of

just sat on your lap and it was

337

: 00:21:18

here, but even then, you had this

opportunity now, and you've been

338

: 00:21:22

doing it for a number of years.

339

: 00:21:23

I'm sure that you have fell into what

you wanted to see as the future for this

340

: 00:21:29

place, so that's sort of where I was also

thinking when I asked that question too.

341

: 00:21:33

Rebecca: I think what I really like about

what I'm doing right now is like taking

342

: 00:21:37

my special place, something that was very

special to me and my family, and making

343

: 00:21:43

it a special place for other people and

their families as well, so for the wedding

344

: 00:21:48

couples, this becomes their special place.

345

: 00:21:51

This is where they got married, and

they'll come back and do pictures with

346

: 00:21:55

their kids, and things like that, and

so having it become special to them too

347

: 00:22:00

is usually rewarding, and then like for

the paranormal people, they fall in

348

: 00:22:06

love with the house too, and like, I

have paranormal teams that will come out

349

: 00:22:09

here and investigate looking for ghosts

every single year, because they love

350

: 00:22:14

being out there so much, so that part,

I like to think my special place will

351

: 00:22:21

live on and be special for other people

too, and I have succession plans, like

352

: 00:22:27

when you go through a sudden loss like I

did with my husband, you start thinking

353

: 00:22:33

long term, like what happens after I

go, so I have all of that planned out.

354

: 00:22:39

There's two options for that.

355

: 00:22:40

One option is my kids take over,

and they're still kind of like, "Oh!

356

: 00:22:45

Maybe.

357

: 00:22:45

I'm not really sure, but maybe.",

so if they choose not to, then I

358

: 00:22:51

can set this up as a non profit,

and have a board that runs the farm.

359

: 00:22:57

Joshua: It sounds like there's always

going to be a farm, and a place to

360

: 00:23:01

go and watch the Mississippi River.

361

: 00:23:05

Rebecca: That's my plan.

362

: 00:23:07

Joshua: Yeah.

363

: 00:23:08

I'm glad to hear that.

364

: 00:23:09

For you, and I find this

connection really unique.

365

: 00:23:13

Here you were.

366

: 00:23:15

You were a postmaster,

essentially, delivering mail.

367

: 00:23:18

You probably were delivering the

businesses, and now you get the mail

368

: 00:23:21

delivered at this house as being

a business owner, so you kind of

369

: 00:23:24

did this 180 in your own career.

370

: 00:23:27

Rebecca: Right.

371

: 00:23:28

Joshua: First off, I don't think

anybody imagines that journeys in life

372

: 00:23:32

could ultimately end into places that

you never thought possible, and I'm

373

: 00:23:35

sure that even for yourself, you never

thought in a million years, like, "I'm

374

: 00:23:39

going to be an innkeeper of sorts."

375

: 00:23:41

you're kind of an events coordinator.

376

: 00:23:43

You're a jack of all trades when it

comes to just event management, and

377

: 00:23:47

having pretty much a facility that can

be rented out for a variety of purposes.

378

: 00:23:52

What has it meant for you to grow

from being that past version of

379

: 00:23:57

yourself to who you are today?

380

: 00:23:59

What has that journey been for you, and

what has that meant and represented?

381

: 00:24:03

Rebecca: Yeah.

382

: 00:24:03

If you would have told me that

I was going to be doing this, I

383

: 00:24:05

would have said, "I don't think so.

384

: 00:24:08

That sounds pretty wild.", but I

really felt like this gave me purpose,

385

: 00:24:15

so they tell you when you go through

grieving that you lose a sense of self.

386

: 00:24:20

Your sense of self really gets lost, and

you have to try and rebuild, and re-find

387

: 00:24:25

yourself again, and starting the business

at the farm really gave me purpose.

388

: 00:24:31

It gave me goals, and plans, and

gave me something to look forward to

389

: 00:24:37

and work towards, and which is just

this project that really took on a

390

: 00:24:42

life of its own, and gave me back

that sense of purpose and self that

391

: 00:24:46

I'd really lost going through grief.

392

: 00:24:49

Joshua: Do you think that the grieving

process is still going on, or do

393

: 00:24:54

you feel that it's just part of you,

and not just what is motivating you,

394

: 00:24:59

to keep doing better for all your

customers, all the people that rent?

395

: 00:25:03

What does that look like for you

to kind of work through that?

396

: 00:25:06

Rebecca: I think it's

just a part of myself now.

397

: 00:25:09

That is something that happened to me.

398

: 00:25:12

It was very defining for me, and I

don't think- I know a lot of people

399

: 00:25:16

say, "Well, I'm past all that now.",

or whatever, but it's not something I'm

400

: 00:25:20

ever going to really get past, but it's

something I've learned to live with.

401

: 00:25:25

I've learned to live with that as

a part of myself, and I mean, I

402

: 00:25:30

will always miss them, obviously.

403

: 00:25:33

I think as kids, we expect our

grandparents to pass away, and so that

404

: 00:25:37

loss was one that I had been mentally

preparing for myself from when I was

405

: 00:25:42

a kid, but, when the actual day comes,

you're just never ready, even when

406

: 00:25:47

you're expecting it and prepared for

it, you're just never really ready, but

407

: 00:25:51

then losing my husband very suddenly,

like that was something that we

408

: 00:25:56

obviously not had planned on, and it

makes you think about life differently.

409

: 00:26:02

It makes you think about how

much more fragile life is.

410

: 00:26:07

I mean, we all are born with this

feeling like we're invincible, and, "Oh.

411

: 00:26:11

We'll live to like 120 or something.",

but for the reality is that you just

412

: 00:26:17

don't know, and you're not guaranteed

tomorrow, and you have to learn to really

413

: 00:26:22

embrace living today, so I think that,

to me, it kind of gave me that sense

414

: 00:26:29

of purpose to go through all of this.

415

: 00:26:33

Joshua: For you, being that you've gave

this house, the Cambre House, a future

416

: 00:26:38

for tomorrow, what has that meant for you?

417

: 00:26:41

I mean, obviously, you've had some

time now to think about it over the

418

: 00:26:44

years, and I'm sure you've come to

a different conclusion than what

419

: 00:26:48

you ultimately had set out in the

beginning, because it was sort of like

420

: 00:26:51

I said earlier, dropped on your lap.

421

: 00:26:53

What do you think it has meant to be

able to have part of history revitalized?

422

: 00:26:59

Rebecca: I love the history side of it.

423

: 00:27:00

I love being able to take the history

of the farm and be able to share that.

424

: 00:27:05

I love being able to tell my

grandparents story, and the Cambre

425

: 00:27:08

family story, and even my story, to

people and be able to share that.

426

: 00:27:13

I think originally, like

I said, I thought, "Okay.

427

: 00:27:15

Well, I guess we're going to have

a wedding venue, and I'll do all

428

: 00:27:18

this wedding stuff.", and now,

it's almost about half and a half.

429

: 00:27:23

I do ghosts, and I do weddings, and

for a long time there, I ran it as

430

: 00:27:28

two separate businesses entirely.

431

: 00:27:30

Okay, on one hand, we're going to put

on the wedding hat and we're going to

432

: 00:27:33

talk about weddings, and over here,

we're going to put on the ghost hat and

433

: 00:27:36

we're going to talk about ghosts, and

still learning the business process,

434

: 00:27:39

I went through a business coaching

program where they're like, "Okay.

435

: 00:27:43

You need to bring these two together,

and put one hat on it.", and I went

436

: 00:27:49

through and I rebranded everything as the

haunted wedding venue, so, that was kind

437

: 00:27:54

of my bringing the two sides together,

and now here we are: haunted weddings.

438

: 00:28:01

Joshua: I have to say.

439

: 00:28:02

You're one of the more unique individuals

to be able to bring something like those

440

: 00:28:06

two concepts together, because I always

heard them separately, and here, even

441

: 00:28:10

in Pennsylvania, we have haunted houses.

442

: 00:28:13

We have wedding venues, but nothing quite

like combining the two together, so I

443

: 00:28:17

find your business venture very unique.

444

: 00:28:20

Congratulations on everything that

you're doing to make that such a

445

: 00:28:23

success and getting as many people,

many different ideas, out of it.

446

: 00:28:27

I have been super excited for you

just seeing this and hearing you

447

: 00:28:31

today; just all these things that

you're doing is incredible, Rebecca.

448

: 00:28:36

I want to give you the last few minutes

here as we're at the end of our time.

449

: 00:28:39

Let us know how we can

get in touch with you.

450

: 00:28:41

Maybe people want to come

visit the Cambre House.

451

: 00:28:44

Maybe you can give us some information

as to how they can make a reservation.

452

: 00:28:48

Maybe for the future, they might

want to come and do a ghost tour.

453

: 00:28:52

Although it's Halloween, they might

be missing out a little bit, but hey.

454

: 00:28:55

I'm sure you're doing that year round, and

that's an opportunity for them as well, so

455

: 00:28:59

I'm going to give you the last few minutes

to share all that with our listeners.

456

: 00:29:02

Rebecca: Yeah, so my website

is cambrehouse.com, so C

457

: 00:29:06

A M B R E; Cambre House.

458

: 00:29:10

I'm on Facebook @CambreHouse.

459

: 00:29:12

I'm on Instagram @Cambre.House, and

then I'm on TikTok too @CambreHouse.

460

: 00:29:19

At this point, if you type Cambre

House into a search engine,

461

: 00:29:22

I should pop up somewhere.

462

: 00:29:24

If you look on YouTube, there's

a lot of videos of people doing

463

: 00:29:27

investigations out at the house, so if

you like all the ghosty stuff and you

464

: 00:29:31

want to see what a good investigation

at Cambre looks like, you can

465

: 00:29:34

definitely check some of those out.

466

: 00:29:36

Joshua: I think that all of that is

amazing and spooky in itself, so I'm

467

: 00:29:41

going to put all of that in the episode

notes for you, and also for our listeners

468

: 00:29:45

to access, but I have to tell you.

469

: 00:29:47

It is an incredible story of grief,

and turning it into profoundness and

470

: 00:29:53

opportunity, and I love how you're

creating this opportunity for so many

471

: 00:29:59

other people, instead of letting it

get the best of you, and I think that

472

: 00:30:03

is really important in this day and

age to even take a big step back and

473

: 00:30:07

reflect and I could see this farm

being a great revenue opportunity for

474

: 00:30:13

not only the emotional revenue that

we need to have, but also what we

475

: 00:30:17

can generate in our minds as exciting

opportunities, and you've done that.

476

: 00:30:20

You've continued to do that, Rebecca, and

for all those reasons, and to celebrate

477

: 00:30:25

those successes, thanks for being on

Speaking From The Heart, sharing with

478

: 00:30:28

us about all these opportunities, and

I wish you further success in the farm.

479

: 00:30:33

I love the haunted aspect of

it, and having this venue for so

480

: 00:30:38

many different people, so thanks

again for being part of the show.

481

: 00:30:41

Rebecca: Yeah.

482

: 00:30:42

Thanks for having me

on, and Happy Halloween.

483

: 00:30:45

Joshua: Again, I want to thank Rebecca

so much for being part of the show,

484

: 00:30:48

talking about the Cambre House, and

sharing a little bit about her own

485

: 00:30:52

journey getting to where she is today,

but I have to say, being able to run

486

: 00:30:57

your own house, being able to run the

opportunities in which you have guests

487

: 00:31:00

coming in and out, whether they are

scary, whether they are something that

488

: 00:31:05

falls into your lap, whether that is a

family tradition that you're carrying on,

489

: 00:31:10

is something that is an experience that

we should never, ever take for granted.

490

: 00:31:16

Even if everything seems like it's

going to be torn down, including our

491

: 00:31:20

own house, this is the opportunity that

you can rebuild in whatever direction

492

: 00:31:25

you want, and Rebecca really did that,

not only in her life, but also with this

493

: 00:31:30

opportunity that was granted to her.

494

: 00:31:33

Whether you're going through physical,

emotional grieving, you can build a place

495

: 00:31:37

where there's many opportunities to start

from scratch, and make it whatever you

496

: 00:31:42

want, especially in this setting, a place

where people go to escape, be able to

497

: 00:31:48

have retreats, weddings, whatever the

venture might be, and be able to explore

498

: 00:31:53

something about themselves that they might

have otherwise never had a chance to do.

499

: 00:31:58

I think that this story really exemplifies

that we need to salvage part of the

500

: 00:32:02

processes, part of the things that

go on in our life, even if they seem

501

: 00:32:06

a little bit scary, and repurpose it

in a completely different direction.

502

: 00:32:12

Lately, I've been thinking about this,

especially when it comes to the variety

503

: 00:32:15

of different avenues, opportunities

that I have in my life, even with all

504

: 00:32:19

the things that happen in my business,

Your Speaking Voice, but I think that

505

: 00:32:24

we have to learn from these experiences

that even when we are growing, it is

506

: 00:32:29

okay to shift in different perspectives.

507

: 00:32:31

It is okay to go in a different direction.

508

: 00:32:34

It doesn't mean that you have to

test the values of your family.

509

: 00:32:38

Whatever has happened in the past can

be set in stone and you can't change it.

510

: 00:32:43

That's not really the case.

511

: 00:32:45

You can do whatever you want, as long

as you're respecting the fact that

512

: 00:32:49

it's being passed down to carry on not

only that tradition, which can be used

513

: 00:32:56

very loosely, but more so about what

the experience can be to one another.

514

: 00:33:03

That's really how culture begins; being

able to hand down the lessons from

515

: 00:33:07

generation to generation of the things,

of the places, of the opportunities that

516

: 00:33:13

others get to explore, and I think that

even when we hear about the feelings, when

517

: 00:33:19

we are shifting in our own lives, we often

forget about the lessons of our past.

518

: 00:33:24

Sometimes we are thinking that that

fear, those things that hold us back

519

: 00:33:29

from really exploring what is out

there, means that we don't want to

520

: 00:33:33

do what is really the hard work.

521

: 00:33:36

Rebecca didn't have to fix this house.

522

: 00:33:38

She didn't have to salvage it for what

it is today, but even then, when you

523

: 00:33:43

think about all the weighted doors,

all the different hinges that have

524

: 00:33:47

to be hung, all the photos, all the

experiences that people get to have,

525

: 00:33:53

just because you're customizing it based

on the experiences that you can show,

526

: 00:33:58

farmhouses are a great way to explore

those kinds of opportunities, not only

527

: 00:34:04

for ghosts, but also for yourself.

528

: 00:34:08

Now, we have to really preface this a bit.

529

: 00:34:11

I know that for many people,

ghost hunting, that superstition,

530

: 00:34:15

that paranormal activity,

might not be for everybody.

531

: 00:34:18

You might be calling bluff on

all those things, especially

532

: 00:34:22

at your age, and that's okay.

533

: 00:34:24

There are other people that actually do

genuinely believe in it, and make not

534

: 00:34:28

only a living off of it, but have also

given some opportunity to reconsider

535

: 00:34:34

the energy, the spirits that are around

us that help us to feel, or act, on

536

: 00:34:39

certain things that go and come around.

537

: 00:34:43

I think those doors, those things that are

oftentimes hard to push and try to open,

538

: 00:34:49

mean that we have to also explore the

tools that might be even right around us.

539

: 00:34:54

Maybe that door that we're supposed

to go through isn't ready for

540

: 00:34:57

us quite yet, and that's okay.

541

: 00:34:59

What we really need to learn from

experiences such as Rebecca's is

542

: 00:35:03

that we might be doing something

in one direction, but we can

543

: 00:35:07

certainly shift it to go a completely

different way, and that's okay, too.

544

: 00:35:12

It means that we're exploring ourselves,

exploring what the opportunity is

545

: 00:35:16

to venture outside of those four

walls that we're often entrapped

546

: 00:35:20

in, whether that is a cubicle.

547

: 00:35:22

Whether that is your own

work from home setting.

548

: 00:35:25

Whether that is the manufacturing floor.

549

: 00:35:27

Whether it's something else

that you are trying to escape.

550

: 00:35:30

Just know that being able to take a

place at the seat at the table so that

551

: 00:35:35

you can start to figure out what that

direction is in your life, means that

552

: 00:35:40

you are oftentimes challenging what

might be in front of you, and not wanting

553

: 00:35:46

to be part of that process anymore.

554

: 00:35:48

You want to break down that weighted door.

555

: 00:35:50

You want to be able to go into a place

of your life that you can explore, but

556

: 00:35:56

to be able to take a place for something

else, to give somebody else that space

557

: 00:36:02

so that they can do something that

they might have been dreaming for a

558

: 00:36:05

very long time, such as a retreat, such

as a wedding, such as escape from the

559

: 00:36:11

overall stresses of life, that might

be the greatest succession opportunity

560

: 00:36:18

that could ever fall in your lap.

561

: 00:36:20

It is a matter of finding

what that purpose is.

562

: 00:36:24

It's a matter of keeping your nose to

the grindstone to be able to find ways

563

: 00:36:28

that, for yourself, and for others, you

can keep carrying that torch forward.

564

: 00:36:34

That, my friends, can be very hard,

even if you're possessed by spirits

565

: 00:36:38

that are around you that oftentimes

don't have your best interests in mind.

566

: 00:36:43

Finding your purpose means having

places like this farmhouse that

567

: 00:36:48

Rebecca has described today.

568

: 00:36:50

Converting it into something that now

serves a whole different kind of purpose;

569

: 00:36:55

a retreat of a retreat, if you will,

of being able to find plans, looking

570

: 00:37:01

forward towards things that you might

be going through, but you need some

571

: 00:37:05

time away from others, but, even if

you're not quite ready even after this

572

: 00:37:10

experience, that's what this is exactly

all about: living this kind of experience.

573

: 00:37:18

You see, we're not always

guaranteed tomorrow.

574

: 00:37:21

Tomorrow is never granted

to us automatically.

575

: 00:37:24

We might not ever wake up from our

internal slumber, just like zombies and

576

: 00:37:29

mummies you might think about around this

time of year, especially with Halloween.

577

: 00:37:34

It might even portray something of a

completely different nature that you

578

: 00:37:38

didn't really think was going to happen.

579

: 00:37:41

You didn't really believe that this

sort of feeling, this thought process,

580

: 00:37:45

this experience that you are ultimately

having right now in your life would ever

581

: 00:37:50

come to fruition in the first place.

582

: 00:37:54

You see, with feeling like you can't

always get tomorrow, you have to live each

583

: 00:37:58

day with your truest purpose, which is

why breaking down those weighted doors,

584

: 00:38:03

figuring out what it means to tear down

that house into making it something that's

585

: 00:38:08

completely different for suiting the needs

for your new house, whatever that might be

586

: 00:38:14

figuratively or literally, it means that

you have to salvage some of the things

587

: 00:38:19

that have happened in your life, always

looking back, thinking about what it means

588

: 00:38:24

to keep pressing forward, to keep seeing

what that end goal is, that even when

589

: 00:38:30

all the things that happen in your life

happen for a reason, you stay true to the

590

: 00:38:36

fact that you're never granted tomorrow.

591

: 00:38:39

During this time of year, it's always

so hard, especially with the loss of

592

: 00:38:43

loved ones, especially if you've been

experiencing that, and even in the United

593

: 00:38:47

States, going through some of the toughest

things that you might have ever seen in

594

: 00:38:51

this country's history, you have to think,

"What is it that we can latch on to?

595

: 00:38:56

What is it that gives us hope?

596

: 00:38:58

Helps us experience dreams, aspirations,

to keep working towards that prize that

597

: 00:39:04

we're ultimately trying to obtain."

598

: 00:39:07

Does it mean that renting a house,

giving opportunities to others,

599

: 00:39:11

be able to really suit the needs?

600

: 00:39:13

Is it something that you really

want to do, but you're not quite

601

: 00:39:16

sure how to do it financially?

602

: 00:39:18

Is there something else that you

could do even better than what you're

603

: 00:39:21

doing today, maybe being able to

create those values in your life.

604

: 00:39:25

Maybe knocking on those doors that

are weighted, trying to push open, so

605

: 00:39:30

that you can experience some of the

opportunities to explore ghosts, goblins,

606

: 00:39:35

other sort of spooky things that might

be happening in your life, whether

607

: 00:39:39

that is literally or figuratively.

608

: 00:39:43

Maybe these ramblings today of some

musing that I've had even with this

609

: 00:39:48

conversation with Rebecca, shed a light

on why it's so important to always do

610

: 00:39:54

what you always thought you could do.

611

: 00:39:57

Even if you're told that you can't

do it, you have to refuse it.

612

: 00:40:02

You have to work harder than maybe

other people have ever worked to be

613

: 00:40:07

able to bring that value, to bring

that conviction, to bring purpose to

614

: 00:40:12

otherwise things that people would ever

agree that you can't do, but you want

615

: 00:40:18

to show them that you are able to do it.

616

: 00:40:22

You are granted tomorrow if

you're willing to work on yourself

617

: 00:40:26

and help others to do the same.

618

: 00:40:29

It's no different than trying to

find purpose in the dreams and

619

: 00:40:34

aspirations of the job that you live,

and the things that you want to do

620

: 00:40:39

that have not yet been accomplished.

621

: 00:40:42

Even if you go through life

struggling on every step of the

622

: 00:40:46

way, let me ask you a question.

623

: 00:40:49

Is that struggle helping you to grow?

624

: 00:40:52

Helping you to rebuild, repurpose

yourself, and what you're ultimately

625

: 00:40:57

supposed to be doing, but also, if

others are not helping to challenge your

626

: 00:41:02

status quo, to help you see that light

at the end of the tunnel, if they're

627

: 00:41:07

not helping you become the best version

of yourself, maybe, in a new way, what

628

: 00:41:15

exactly are you doing hanging around them?

629

: 00:41:19

To find this place, to make it special

for so many other people, to create

630

: 00:41:24

plans to help look forward towards the

other things that you're still learning

631

: 00:41:29

and growing in, trust me in this.

632

: 00:41:33

You might be looking not only for those

spooky ghosts, those spooky areas of your

633

: 00:41:38

life in which you can create that value,

but just like our guest today, you can

634

: 00:41:44

find new ways to not only help yourself

build that house that you always wanted.

635

: 00:41:51

Whether it's personal, professional,

business, or whatever the case might

636

: 00:41:55

be, you are entitled to it, as long as

you believe that you are guaranteed that

637

: 00:42:02

tomorrow, in more ways than just what

ghosts, goblins, mummies, or any other

638

: 00:42:09

sort of spirit might say to you, you are

worthy of so much, as long as you believe

639

: 00:42:17

in what you can be becoming that best

version of yourself, and that might be

640

: 00:42:24

the best Halloween costume you ever wore.

641

: 00:42:28

Thanks for listening to episode

number 164 of Speaking from the

642

: 00:42:32

Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart very soon.

643

: 00:42:37

Outro: Thanks for listening.

644

: 00:42:38

For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

645

: 00:42:43

The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

646

: 00:42:47

Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

647

: 00:42:54

services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

648

: 00:42:58

See you next time.