Buckle up as Blake and Karen are joined by Matt Baxter to discuss haunted automobiles and creepy highway adjacent stuff like cursed vehicles. Spooky stories abound and check the show notes for lots of links. WARNING: This episode does contain brief discussion of suicide and murder. As we always like to mention, if you're having troubling thoughts related to self harm please seek help. You don't have to struggle alone - in the USA you can call 988 any time and get real help immediately from peopl...
Oct 23, 2023•41 min•Season 3Ep. 4
We're joined by psychologist, writer, journalist, television personality, and co-founder and executive director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences (CICAP), Massimo Polidoro to discuss the 1954 Florence "Soccer" mass sighting of UFOs. BBC article: “The day UFOs stopped play” The unlikely story that this case inspired David Bowie Pwdre Ser (Star Jelly) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
Oct 16, 2023•41 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Chris French joins us to talk about his career, his upcoming book, and why he says that Parapsychology is not pseudoscience. Robert Morris (Parapsychology) Uncanny Tour Uncanny BBC Radio Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .
Oct 09, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Laura Krantz is back to talk about her new young-adult non-fiction book, IS ANYBODY OUT THERE? This gorgeous book is built from her research on season 2 of her podcast WILD THING. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .
Oct 02, 2023•35 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Christopher Klimovitz returns to talk to us more about the legends and folklore around Whitby, the town where Dracula comes to England in Bram Stoker's famous novel. Christopher previously talked with us back in #179 about folklore of the Balkans Dracula (full novel) Lych-Wake Dirge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyke-Wake_Dirge Monty Python - Four Yorkshire Men Whitby's Connection to Dracula The Night Frankenstein was Born The Wreck of the Dmitry (inspiration for The Demeter in Dracula) Become a...
Sep 25, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 50
A continuation of our look at Georgia Cryptids, excerpted from a DragonCon 2023 presentation. In this episode we take a deeper look at Altie, plus discuss Bigfoot, Aliens, and Hogzilla. 2011 Creative Loafing story featuring Blake Smith & Rick Spears Hogzilla and other giant pigs Georgia Martian Moon Monkey Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
Sep 18, 2023•29 min
Did a European-trained Werewolf haunt late 1800's Georgia? Blake and Karen discuss the case of the Georgia Werewolf. Sheep Ranching in Georgia Red Wolf range today (and historically) Grave of the GA Werewolf (Don't legend trip here - it's private land) Ghostly re-telling of the Emily Burt story Same story - from Week in Weird Georgia Ghosts by Nancy Roberts(affiliate Link) Nancy Roberts Amazon author page(affiliate Link) The Kennesaw House (allegedly haunted location in Marietta, GA) 2017 film l...
Sep 11, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Blake and Karen interview Georgia paleo-artist Rick Spears and discuss his iconic sculpture depicting the local "estuary monster" that inspired the piece. Currently located in the Darien, GA Welcome Center, the statue is a beautiful reminder of the colorful local folklore that we will be discussing in our interview. Rick Spears' website Darien Welcome Center (home of the statue) 2012 Creative Loafing article that cites Blake and Rick Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/p...
Sep 04, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Catching up on what we've been working on, what's up next, where you can see Blake talk at DragonCon this next weekend, and other big news relative to Monster House, LLC. October Forsyth County Library - 10/15/2023 DragonCon 2023 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .
Aug 28, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 46
This week we're seeking the truth about the strange but pervasive idea that people can use sticks or rods to mysteriously locate things. Water is often the target, but certainly isn't the only one. It might be considered aqueous yet innocuous when the quest is just for a new well, but what if the seeker is being paid to find treasure? Or oil? Or cancer? Knowing how this stuff works (and doesn't) is a fascinating gateway into understanding the human brain and the tools we can use to test this are...
Aug 21, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Chris Woodyard returns to tell us all about the strange and mysterious phenomenon of The Women in Black that erupted in the United States at the end of the 1800s. Patrons can read a selection of contemporary news stories about this outbreak at patreon.com/monstertalk. LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE: Ghost & Witch Panics Victorian Mourning Clothes Whitby Goth Weekend Ohio Cryptid - The Crosswick Monster Gossamer (Looney Tunes) More by Chris Woodyard: Chris' Amazon Author Page (affiliate Link) Victori...
Aug 14, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 44
For the next two episodes we'll be in conversation with Chris Woodyard, an author and researcher whose work will likely be of interest to many of our listeners. This week we're discussing omens and it turns omens can be almost anything we find symbolic or evocative - and they're not all bad. Have a listen! Links for this episode (Omens): Black Dogs as Victorian slang for Depression Telling the bees Psychopomps Colony Collapse Disorder Chris' Amazon Author Page (affiliate Link) From the music box...
Aug 07, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 43
We welcome back Dr. Brian Sharpless to discuss his exciting new book (due in October) called Monsters on the Couch. The book looks at some of our most common monster types and discusses the real psychological conditions that can appear quite similar to these creatures. In this episode we'll be talking about the sensitive topic of necrophilia - and because this is the practice of having sexual relations with a corpse, the episode gets an explicit tag and the Patreon edition includes quite a few e...
Jul 31, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Part two of our look at time travel stories involving old computers covers the strange and twisted tale of John Titor - aka TimeTravel_0 - a self-described time warrior from the 2030s who has come back to the early 2000s to get an old computer and save the world. Hilarity ensues. Part 2 links: The Hoax Hunter reveals his candidate. Reddit discussion of the Haber identity Rochester Magazine coverage - has interesting counterpoints on Haber identity Old posts about the civil war of 2005 from Titor...
Jul 24, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 41
In 1984 a group of people living in Dodleston, England, began to receive strange messages on a BBC Micro personal computer. Then things got weird... Part 1 of our 2-part coverage of time-travel and vintage computers! Links: Pathological Punning - Witzelsucht A detailed review of The Vertical Plane Where is Dodleston? The book (reprinted recently) The Vertical Plane by Ken Webster (affiliate link) A segment on this topic from the TV show From Out of this World (1996) A more detailed dive into the...
Jul 17, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Richard Sugg joins us again to discuss the weird story of Bobbie the Wonder Dog (aka Silverton Bobbie) - a dog that took a trip of more than 2500 miles to return to its family. The centenary of this event is almost on us - and this is our 300th episode of the show. Lots to think about in this episode and I hope you'll share your own thoughts about what mechanisms might be at play behind the phenomenon of animals that manage to find their way home. Bobbie the Wonder Dog (wiki) News coverage of Bo...
Jul 10, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 39
A discussion with artist and author Florian Schafer on his newest book about German house spirits. Links for this episode: Hausgeister: Household Spirits of German Folklore - pre-Order now (affiliate link) Fiction that inspired D&D: APPENDIX N (affiliate link) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
Jul 03, 2023•45 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Richard Estep is a paramedic by day, paranormal investigator by night. Author of Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks: True Stories of American Corruption, he’s written more than 30 books on topics as diverse as serial killers, demons, UFOs, and haunted hospitals. Richard Estep (Amazon Author's Page) Haunted Hospitals (Amazon Streaming) Haunted Case FIles (Amazon Streaming) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
Jun 26, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 37
We're delighted to talk today with Professor Jack Longino of the University of Utah as he discusses ants! Can you help Karen & Matt out of a tough financial situation? There's a fundraiser here and they really appreciate any assist you can provide! https://bit.ly/helpkarenandmatt DISCUSSED IN THIS INTERVIEW: "Fringes of Reason" book link (Ted Schultz) Walter Tschinkel -molten metal ant nests Are invasive N. American fire ants moving north due to climate change? Other MonsterHouse Media that ...
Jun 19, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 36
I've replaced the intro on our audio distribution system but the system apparently caches the file and it may take some time for the corrected audio to work its way out to the world. My apologies - the music volume is so high in the first 5 mins of the intro it's very difficult to hear the text but it clears up after that. Still, I worked hard on the intro only to make a rookie mistake when finalizing the project. Hopefully the corrected audio will eventually make it to the public. Mick West con...
Jun 12, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Mick West joins us to talk about trying to solve UFO mysteries while keeping his cool. Mick is the author of Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic and Respect. He hosts a leading site for analysis of weird aerial phenomenon called Metabunk. He also maintains the site "Contrail Science" which tries to resolve the pseudoscience of "Chemtrails." In the intro there are some clips about NASA and US Congressional looks at the "UAP" phenomenon. I will argue that...
Jun 05, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 34
A look at the "incorruptible" corpses of Catholic saints and a discussion of how they got this way - with Elizabeth Harper. Wilhelmina Lancaster (new incorrupt corpse) Joyce Caroll Cruz book on incorruptible saints (affiliate link) The Mummy Congress by Heather Pringle (affiliate link) Essay mentioned The Violent Madonnas by Elizabeth Harper The Order of the Good Death Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
May 29, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 33
A look at the 2012 film The Possession which is allegedly based on the "true story" surrounding a wine cabinet and a creature from Jewish folklore known as a Dybbuk. The 2021 Input Magazine article that "blows the lid off" the story of the Dybbuk Box. Affiliate Link to THE POSSESSION (2012). Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
May 22, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Karen and Blake talk with Professor James Giordano from the departments of Neurology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center about the phenomenon called Deja Vu. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .
May 15, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 31
291 - Montauk & Stranger Things (explicit) aka The Philadelphia Experiment pt 3 We take a deep dive into the absolute whackadoodle world of "The Montauk Project" and delve into its connections to the Netflix streaming series Stranger Things. (Karen & I are joined by Matt Baxter) The first book in the Montauk series is The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time. (affiliate link) Brief interview with Preston Nichols - 3 mins long There used to be a very thorough debunking site dedicated to B...
May 08, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Author Sarah Krasnostein joins us to discuss her book The Believer: Encounters with the Beginning, the End, and our Place in the Middle. The Believer on Amazon (affiliate link) Previous episode discussing Australia, UFOs, and young-earth Creationism Previous episode discussing the Ark Encounter park. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support ....
May 01, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 29
The Myrtles Part 2: Send the Made-Up Continuing our look at the many ghostly legends surrounding the Louisiana plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast, The Myrtles. Karen & Matt just got back from another visit/investigation so check the show notes for some fresh photos! (see show notes at MonsterTalk.org for photos) The Myrtles Whiskey Rebellion Ghostland by Colin Dickey Haunting America by Karen Stollznow Oleander Yellow Fever Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcas...
Apr 24, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 28
A look at the many ghostly legends surrounding the Louisiana plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast, The Myrtles. The Myrtles Whiskey Rebellion Ghostland by Colin Dickey Haunting America by Karen Stollznow Oleander Yellow Fever Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .
Apr 17, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 27
WHAT IF YOUR WILL WERE NOT YOUR OWN? What if your mind were being controlled by something other than your own volition? This isn’t an imaginary scenario. Real lifeforms here on earth can profoundly influence the behavior of other lifeforms, turning them into helpless zombies, forced to do the bidding of their emotionless masters. In this episode of MonsterTalk, we interview entomologist David Hughes about host behavior modification by parasitic organisms. For more information on David’s work, vi...
Apr 10, 2023•52 min
Matt Baxter joins Blake & Karen to discuss the case of the allegedly "demon haunted" house of Gary, Indiana. There will be a companion video to this focusing on Zak Bagans' film of the same location in the very near future. You can see a lot of the characters in this story in this Inside Edition clip. Joe Nickell's investigation into this case. Please take a moment and fill out our Airwave survey - just go to the survey page and select MonsterTalk from the show list, then answer the question...
Apr 03, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 26
