MonsterTalk

Blake recounts his recent visit to see Robert the Doll, and his findings after a deep dive into newspapers and other literature.   Patrons get follow-up info from the girl who was the subject of the "true doll haunting" from episode #114!  Karen's latest book:  Bitch: The Journey of a Word Recent death "associated" with demonic doll Annabelle Official website of the museum hosting Robert the Doll...

Flashback to October 2016! Updated content on Robert coming soon. In this week’s episode of MonsterTalk, we talk about demonic or evil dolls, and look into the history of one of America’s most famous creepy playthings:  Robert the Doll . Our interview is with Dr. Cori Convertito, Curator of the Key West Art and Historical Society, which oversees the  Fort East Martello Museum , home of Robert the...

Flashback to January 2018: In this episode of MonsterTalk, we return to discussion of the Ultraterrestrial Hypothesis (UTH) and what seems to be its growing influence in paranormal circles. It’s been used to explain UFOs, mothman, bigfoot, fairies, dogman, ghosts and many other phenomena which defy scientific demonstrability. Now it crops up again in a new film event titled  Alien Intrusion  which...

FLASHBACK to December 2013: A FAMILIAR VOICE returns to  MonsterTalk  as Dr. Karen Stollznow joins us to discuss her (then new) book,  God Bless America . Items of Interest Haunting America on Amazon More information on the case of Anneliese Michel Wade Davis’s book on Haitian zombies — The Serpent and the Rainbow More reading on the Satanic Panic —  In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult...

Flashback to May 2015: IS THERE A LOST CITY somewhere that formed the basis of the legend of Atlantis? Dr. Kenny Feder returns, not to praise Atlantis, but to bury it. Kenny Feder: Selected Works The Past in Perspective Frauds, Myths and Mysteries Linking to the Past Related Links Atlantis by Donovan Podcast — Archeology Fantasies In Search Of… Atlantis Music Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach St...

We will be playing some episodes from our archives for a few weeks this Summer - let's kick it off with this classic from October 2013! THE WARREN OMISSION.WAS THE STORY OF The Conjuring the true story of how Ed and Lorraine Warren fought demonic forces in Rhode Island? In this special episode of MonsterTalk, we hear a different side to the story of America’s first family of ghost hunting. Feature...

We're joined by Erik Davis to discuss his book High Weirdness - a history of psychedelics and counterculture as a triptych embodied with three prominent figures: Terrence McKenna, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Anton Wilson. From Blade Runner to the Illuminati to Magic Mushrooms these three laid down foundational blocks decades ago that underpin (or perhaps undermine?) our present.  Terrence McKenna P...

We’re joined by Matt Baxter to discuss what we thought was a horror film but turned out to be something quite different. Warning: This film and episode deal with suicide, murder, abortion, politics, religion, and pretty much most of the hot potato topics we generally try to eschew. Hopefully we do a decent job of discussing it. Nefarious (streaming) – Affiliate Link More on Blaze Media Some review...

Matt Baxter returns to join Karen and Blake in a discussion of allegedly haunted “bothies” in the remote hiking regions of the UK. This episode contains some discussion of guns, suicide, and cannibalism. Links to further reading/listening: What is a “bothy?” Mountain Bothy Association BBC’s Uncanny episodes we mention: Don’t Sleep in this House – December 2021 Return to Luibeilt Christmas Special...

Jerry Drake returns to discuss his new book: Hazel was a Good Girl: The Murder that Inspired Twin Peaks Jerry has been with quite a few times to discuss Grimoires , Jack Parsons , The Hollow Earth , Internet Mysteries and Ghost Lights and we're excited to see what he makes of this real life unsolved murder with ties to one of the most influential shows to ever air on TV. This episode does discuss...

We're back with part two of our 2-part coverage of the 1976 episode of The Six Million Dollar Man that introduced a generation of kids to Bigfoot, and the idea that the creature might be interconnected with space aliens living inside a California mountain. Related Links: The Bionic Book by Herbie Pilato (affiliate link) Operation Plowshare The Six Million Dollar Man series (DVD) Become a supporter...

Karen joins Blake to discuss the influential 2-part episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man that introduced a generation of kids to Bigfoot, and the idea that the creature might be interconnected with space aliens living inside a California mountain. This is part one of a two-part special edition. The patron edition has extended footage and no modern commercials. Extensive show notes available here...

Blake and Karen take a minute to catch their breath and talk about where things are in their lives and what's up next in MonsterTalk news. Links: Bitch: The Journey of a Word Adhesive Capsulitis  Idiopathic Illnesses Mechanical Turk Speaking Machine Replica of Speaking Machine (YouTube) Wolfgang von Kempelen Deep Mind Deep Blue Marvin Minsky John McCarthy Become a supporter of this podcast: https:...

This is part two of our two part look at Dragons and how these mythical beasts are being used to promote Creationism. Our guest is Dr. Philip Senter and he's the author of a new book about this topic.  We use the word bullsh!t a lot in this episode so I slapped an explicit tag on - but I don't think it's too explicit otherwise.  Get Dr. Senter's book here: The Real Story of Dinosaurs and Dragons N...

This is part one of our two part look at Dragons and how these mythical beasts are being used to promote Creationism. Our guest is Dr. Philip Senter and he's the author of a new book about this topic. Get Dr. Senter's book here: The Real Story of Dinosaurs and Dragons Read more about "The Dragon of Bologna" Another Book about fake historical zoological specimens  The National Center for Science Ed...

Matt & Karen went out for a little getaway weekend to Victor, Colorado and ended up investigating the allegedly haunted Victor Hotel. Did Eddie die in the hotel elevator? Was Matt caught in embarrassing circumstances? Find out inside! The show notes here won't show the images so you'll need to hop over to our episode webpage to see them. https://www.monstertalk.org/s04e28-the-victor-hotel-ghos...

We're excited to welcome back Peter Bebergal. This time we're talking about mysticism and dybbuks. Be sure and check out the links below including the upcoming talk Peter is giving April 14th for The Last Tuesday Society. Peter on Jewish Boston podcast All the Haunts Be Ours  (affiliate link) 15-Disk Horror Collection The Ibbur from Jewish mysticism Peter will be talking monster culture for The La...

We're delighted to get to talk with Adrian Shine, who has worked for decades to raise awareness about Loch Ness and investigated the legendary creature said to inhabit the dark waters of that deep Scottish lake.  He's written a new book about Sea Monsters and their connection to the Loch Ness Mystery which releases April 1st, 2025.  A Natural History of Sea Monsters (affiliate link) The Loch Ness...

We're back with part 2 of our interview with Dr. Eleanor Janega to discuss Demons in Medieval Europe - and a lot of that has to do with sexy sex.  So… another EXPLICIT tag!  Eleanor's Blog Going-Medieval Eleanor's book The Once and Future Sex The Apocalypse Tapestry of Angers  (The Guardian) The Apocalypse Tapestry  (Wikipedia) YouTube videos with Eleanor  Monty Summers translation of the Malleus...

We're joined by the engaging historian Dr. Eleanor Janega to talk about how the people of Europe considered demonic sex during the medieval period of history. This episode is in two parts, and both are explicit.  Presenter on the History Hit channel - https://www.historyhit.com/   Blog - https://going-medieval.com/   Medievalist, author, blogs about medieval history, pop culture, and swearing  Aut...

A brief remembrance of our friend, Joe Nickell. (December 1, 1944 – March 4, 2025) Joe Nickell's extraordinary life came to an end on Tuesday, March 4th and we're posting this brief remembrance this week instead of our regular episode. Check out Joe's many "personas." The Science of Monsters: Tracking the Real-Life Creatures Archive episodes with Joe The sourtoe cocktail Become a supporter of this...

We're joined by Allison Jornlin ( paranormalwomen.com) to talk about the footprint of women in the field of parapsychology and paranormal investigation.  We most recently talked with Allison during "the dark times" on our COVID-era MonsterTalk Live series. She also covered the Chicago Mothman flap with us back in 2018! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertal...

Is the cave of the winds near Manitou Springs, CO HAUNTED!? Matt Baxter has investigated and he joins us to talk about what he found. Related Links: Spooky Science Sisters - Roanoke episode with Karen In Research Of… The Lost Colony  - Blake & Jeb Card discuss the In Search Of… episode about Roanoke. Eclectic Shopping options in Manitou Springs The history of Manitou Springs The Cave of the Wi...

We're joined by Dr. Justin Mullis  to get a better understanding of the incredibly lore-dense anime series Dan Da Dan . Justin's academia profile Legend of Momotaro Some links recommended by Justin: This is  a really good video  about the history of the Flatwoods Monster in Japanese video games. Highly recommended. This is the  Religious Dispatches article  about koro. Here's the  Japan Today inte...

As Valentine's day bears down upon us, we turn to the monsters whose origins lie in passion, betrayal, and tragedy. If love is the strongest human emotion, surely rage at betrayal is its nightmarish mirror - and such emotions are embodied in a variety of creatures around the world and throughout history. Content Warning - this episode contains stories of child death, suicide, murder, and other unp...