77 Interview With A Haunted Tour Guide

In this episode, Matt talks with Rob Hawthorn, who creates and leads ghost tours in Mendocino County, California. They discuss the process of gathering stories, putting them together, and leading a ghost tour as well as how ghost stories represent the community from which they come.

76. The Blue Lady Ghost of the Moss Beach Distillery

The Moss Beach Distillery, located just north of Half Moon Bay on California’s coast, is reputed to be haunted by a number of ghosts, most notably a 1920s flapper garbed in a blue dress. In this episode, Matt discusses ghost stories, historical research, commerce, tourism, and technological trickery

75. Three Water Ghosts

In this episode, Matt discusses three different ghost stories associated with three different water sources: Isla De Las Munecas in Mexico, Okiku’s Well at Himeji Castle in Japan, and the ghost of the Central Park Canal in Bakersfield, California. The stories are quite different from each other but should provide some chills to listeners.

74. Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia

Are you afraid of encountering human skeletons where they should not be? Are you afraid of deep water, sharks, and crushing pressures? Well, this episode is for you. Come with Matt as he discusses Chuuk Lagoon, a haunted naval battleground in the Pacific Ocean.

73. Shadow People

Shadow people are an enigmatic paranormal phenomenon, possibly an indication that beings from some alternate dimension are attempting to intrude into our world… or they’re just odd tricks of human perception that people have made a lot of assumptions about. In this episode, Matt discusses the history of shadow people as a phenomenon and what they may tell us about the development of folklore in an age of science fiction.

71. Interview With Dr April Beisaw

In this episode, Matt speaks with archaeologist Dr. April Beisaw about the connection between archaeology and ghost hunting, as well as what academics might learn from ghost hunters in terms of communicating with the public.

S004. Holiday Supplemental 2023

In honor of the tradition of sharing spooky stories during midwinter, Matt revisits four scary stories. Commentary can be found in their previous episodes (49: Dudleytown, 35: Poveglia Island, 55: Shanghai Tunnels, 18: Himuro Mansion) Until 2024…

70: La Llorona

La Llorona is a story that many of us have heard, but it has a history and a meaning that goes beyond the surface. In this episode, Matthew gets into the politics, art, and history of the weeping white lady looking for her children.

69. Digital Folklore With Trevor Blank

In this episode, Matt speaks with folklorist Trevor Blank about digital folklore, including creepypasta, and its role in shaping how creepy subjects are discussed. Matt and Trevor also discuss why folklorists were slow to accept that online folklore is, in fact, folklore. Along the way, there are detours into prison folklore, Slender Man, and Bloody Mary.