MonsterTalk

Cemeteries Cleaning and Grave Rubbing - Karen and Blake are joined by Matt Baxter to discuss the ethics and best practices around maintaining and preserving graveyards.  Links for Grave Rubbers from CyberSpace: The article that inspired this conversation  (via The Conversation) Ken Feder (friend of the show and emeritus professor of archaeology) sent along this helpful article about grave preserva...

This week we're welcoming back historian Dr Joseph Gagne to tell us about a ghost story that straddles North America and Scotland.  He was last with us to tell us about the legend of La Corriveau in episode 181 .  Appearances of the Dead: A Cultural History of Ghosts  by Ronald C. Finucane - mentioned by Joseph as his introduction to this story. This is an affiliate link and the book is out of pri...

Today we're discussing the strange story of The Houdini Seance and Arthur Ford the Spiritualist.     The last Houdini Seance (1936) - Audio + Story   Bess Houdini    Arthur Ford - Spiritualist   Arthur Ford - Obituary   The Houdini Code   The Bishop James Pike   Was Pike Seance Hoax? The Skeptics Dictionary: Arthur Ford Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monsterta...

In the mountains of North Georgia on a spooky civil war battlefield there is a legend of a green eyed monster. This is not that story. This is the story of the new festival set up to commemorate the monster, but also bring people and revenue to this rural southern town. We'll be talking with Nate Tucker and Dillan Whisenant about their experience kicking off the first Green Eyes Festival of Chicam...

This is the audio from our 2024 livestream ( http://youtube.com/monstertalk).   If you saw that live, this is the same audio without the moving picture bits. If you didn't see it but want to see our mugs waggin' synchronously to our voices, you can find this particular episode here . Otherwise - happy new year! We'll be back next week talking about how to make a successful monster festival with so...

We're joined by fellow podcaster and friend of the show, Andy Driscoll, to introduce a peculiar region in Massachusetts said to be home to concentrated high strangeness. We'll definitely be coming back to deep dive in these swamps for more details on particular claims but Andy gives us a great "hometown" introduction to this fascinating area. Video Segment with Jeff Bellanger introducing the topic...

One of the most "Christmas Ghost Story" ghost stories for Christmas that I've ever come across. Smee tells of a night of holiday revelry turned chilling and mysterious by the appearance of an unexpected attendee at the festivities. You can read along with the ebook  by purchasing it here.  (affiliate Link) Read more about  A. M. Burrage  if you like. (Wikipedia) Art for this episode is by one of m...

We're excited to have Laura Krantz back to talk about her latest book - a youth-focused look at how to distinguish between magical and scientific thinking: Do You Believe in Magic? Laura's very entertaining and informative podcasts:  LINK Laura's other writings ( affiliate LINK ) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support . Some product links...

An interview with writer, researcher and podcaster Aaron Gulyas - host of the UFO themed history podcast The Saucer Life. Gulyas is also the author of many books (affiliate link)  including some likely to be of particular interest to MT listeners: Extraterrestrials and the American Zeitgeist: Alien Contact Tales Since the 1950s Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Pol...

We welcome back Chris Woodyard to discuss the very odd story of the Wollaton Gnomes - a 1979 reported sighting of little men in little cars by a group of children in a British park.  Chris & Simon's podcast Boggarts & Banshees   (Apple Podcasts) Transcript of the gnome witness children's Interview  (courtesy Simon Young) Wollaton Hall (wiki) Blog by Frank Earp, who claims to have investiga...

We're delighted to celebrate Thanksgiving with the return of Dr. Brian Regal. He's here to talk about a favorite monster film, and announce the release of his autobiography, The Monster from Newark. Links:    Brian's autobiography -  The Monster From Newark (affiliate link) Karen's anthology of skeptics having weird experiences: Would You Believe It? (affiliate link) Lucky Dragon No 5 (wiki) Castl...

Thanks to your generous support I was able to make it to CryptidCon 2024 and this is a chat with Karen and me, reporting on day one. I'll be heading out later today for the five and a half hour drive back home but this has been delightful and you're sure to hear more from the connections I made and the ideas I heard while immersing myself in the cryptid community once more. Become a supporter of t...

I'm sorry to come to you with hat in hand, but our family vehicle's water pump just went out a day before I was to head up to Kentucky to go to CryptidCon.  If just 10% of our listeners would donate $1 it would absolutely cover this repair and restore my confidence in heading out of town. I hate to ask but I don't know any other way to come up with the money on such short notice.  So if you enjoy...

Blake and Karen are joined by Matt Baxter to discuss the 2023 film Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose , based on the story of Gef, the talking mongoose at the heart of the story. Visit our original coverage of Gef in episode #67 Watch the film (Amazon affiliate link)   A list of the clever things a mongoose might say... The Haunting of Alma Fielding - a recent book about Nandor Fodor's investig...

We're joined by author and professor Anne McClannan to discuss her new book Griffinology.  These monsters are visually easily recognized - but how much do you know about their history? Links: Griffinology is available directly from University of Chicago Press. Coupon code UCPNEW is good through Dec 2024 for 30% off - which brings the price down to $28 off its regular cover price of $40!   Griffins...

We managed to catch up with Joe Laycock for ONE MORE VAMPIRE EPISODE! This time we're having a look at the world of people who believe they are really vampires. Some drink blood, some drink energy, most embrace vampire gaming. Joe wrote  Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism   In fact, Joe has written  a lot of books  that will be of interest to you guys! And I'm so excited about Joe's...

Blake and Karen are joined again by Matt Baxter to talk about vampires in books, film, tv, and comics! This episode is EXPLICIT and contains adult language.  We talk about a ton of topics in this one and too many shows and movies to list - but I'll try and post a list when I get time to all the things referenced over at this episode's page on MonsterTalk.org - Thanks for your patience! You can wat...

We’re joined by  researcher Katarzyna “Kasia” Ancuta  to learn more about the Chinese creature known as the Jiangshi – but more famous in the West as “Hopping Vampires.” It turns out that their history is being complicated by their appearances in pop-culture! Jiangshi Movies:  (affiliate links) Encounters of the Spooky Kind Mr. Vampire Rigor Mortis The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires Additional Re...

We're delighted to have Brian Sharpless ( Monsters on the Couch ) back with us to discuss some of the Psychology elements of vampirism, as well as some of his favorite historical cases. Be sure and grab his book if you're at all interested in the intersection of monsters and Psychology. Show Notes: Monsters on the Couch Renfield Syndrome (wikipedia) 2005 Romanian Vampire case (The Guardian) Richar...

We kick off our Vampire October with the story of Arnold Paole and we're joined by Matt Baxter. This story appeared in the 1979 edition of Usborne's Haunted Houses, Ghosts, and Spectors.  Arnold Paole Lee Illis 1964 - Porphyria and Werewolves 1985 - David Dolphin  - NYT article on Porphyria and Vampires Penanggal   Manananggal Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mo...

In this episode we look at the history of the Vampire in folklore and literature with professor Nick Groom - aka "The Prof of Goth." Links related to Professor Groom: The Vampire: A New History by Nick Groom (affiliate link) Nick Groom - University of Macau faculty page - NickGroom@um.edu.mo   University of Exeter faculty page - N.Groom@exeter.ac.uk   Times Literary Supplement - articles by Nick G...

Karen and her husband Matt are back from visiting Australia and in this episode we discuss some viral ghost photos. The photos will be in the show notes, and we will cross-post a version of this on our YouTube page with image inserts. Karen's new book BITCH is on sale now.   Blake's recent article about mind viruses  seems to be backed up by an even more recent article confirming that clinical evi...

Part two of our two-part talk with author Adam Gorightly about his research into the very strange history of Discordianism and The Illuminati. If you have never heard of Operation Mindf*ck, then you didn’t listen to part 1 –  so get back over there ! Due to the chance that I might have failed to bleep out an “F-bomb” somewhere, I’m labeling this explicit. LINKS: Adam Gorightly Books  (affiliate) H...

Part one of our two-part talk with author Adam Gorightly about his research into the very strange history of Discordianism and The Illuminati. If you have never heard of Operation Mindf*ck, get ready for a ride. LINKS: Adam Gorightly Books (affiliate)   Historia Discordia (affiliate)   Illuminati (wiki)   INWO game (SJGAMES) and Board Game Geek review   Can't Get You Out Of My Head  (Youtube)   JF...

In this episode Blake continues his conversation with Richard Hatem (Mothman Prophecies, Titans, Under Siege 2) about his new podcast .  Karen was away during this episode but will be back next week. Additional Links: Spiricom  via  Encyclopedia.com Spiricom  – by Kenny Biddle via Skeptical Inquirer Recording of a Spiricom Session  (YouTube) The Mothman Prophecies (amz affiliate link) Titans (amz...