Actually... Forgotten Stories for Curious Minds

In the summer of 1987, a Pinellas County jury listened to the state’s star witness in a death penalty trial. All he had was a story: the defendant had confessed to him in the county jail.  But the jury believed him.

His name was Paul Skalnik. He was a former Austin police officer turned con man who had nine wives, and passed himself off as a Vietnam fighter pilot, an oilman, a defense attorney, and even a dying cancer patient, depending on what day you asked him.

Then he found the most valuable con of all: supplying convenient “confessions” to prosecutors in exchange for leniency, again and again, for years.

In this episode, we follow Skalnik from bad checks to the witness stand. We look at why jailhouse informant testimony is one of the most controversial kinds of evidence in the American justice system, and at the case of James Dailey, a Vietnam veteran who has been on Florida’s death row for nearly four decades. His co-defendant has sworn that he alone committed the crime.

We also talk about Pamela Colloff’s acclaimed book Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast. Her years of reporting brought Skalnik’s story to light.

Content note: This episode includes mature references. Listener discretion is advised.

Show Notes:

Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast by Pamela Colloff

https://link.amazon/B0e5dRs4M

In the 1983 cult classic WarGames, a teenage hacker played by Matthew Broderick accidentally connects to a military supercomputer and nearly starts World War III. Pure Hollywood, right?

Not quite. Behind the movie’s premise lies a string of real, little-known Cold War close calls, and a president who watched the film and asked a question no one in the room wanted to answer.

In this episode of Actually, we uncover the true story behind WarGames: a movie born from Cold War fears, written while those same fears were quietly playing out for real. Was art imitating life, or was life imitating art? Tune in to find out!

The stories were terrifying. The books became bestsellers. Hollywood turned them into horror classics.

But what happens when the people who were actually there remember things differently?

In Part Two of our deep dive into Ed and Lorraine Warren, we're taking a closer look at some of their most famous – and controversial – cases, including the Enfield poltergeist, the Snedeker haunting that inspired The Haunting in Connecticut, and the disturbing claims surrounding the Smurl family which was the subject of the most recent Conjuring film in 2025. 

We'll examine what investigators discovered, why one author publicly questioned the story he was hired to tell, and how Hollywood transformed disputed paranormal investigations into unforgettable tales of supernatural terror.

Were the Warrens fearless investigators confronting genuine evil? Skilled storytellers who understood the power of fear? Or was the truth somewhere in between?

Before The Conjuring, before Annabelle became a horror icon, and before Hollywood turned their investigations into a multimillion-dollar franchise, there were Ed and Lorraine Warren.

He was a self-proclaimed demonologist. She claimed to be a clairvoyant and medium. Together, they became two of the most famous – and controversial – paranormal investigators in American history.

But who were the Warrens before the fame? How did they become authorities on hauntings, possessions, and things that supposedly go bump in the night? And where does the truth end and the legend begin?

In Part 1 of this two-part episode series, we're going back to the beginning to explore the lives, beliefs, and extraordinary claims of Ed and Lorraine Warren – and the foundations of a paranormal empire that continues to fascinate and divide audiences today.

Because sometimes, the most interesting part of a ghost story isn't the ghost. It's the people telling the story.

Be sure to tune in for Part 2 this Thursday, 10/29!

In 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were murdered inside a house in Amityville, New York. Just over a year later, a new family moved in – and fled after only 28 days, claiming something terrifying was living there with them.

What followed became one of the most famous haunting stories in American history, complete with demonic encounters, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, bestselling books, and a Hollywood horror franchise.

But how much of The Amityville Horror actually happened? We take a deep dive in this episode and find out! 

Show Notes:

Amityville "Ghost Boy" Photo:

https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/amityville-ghost-boy.php

EXCELLENT Book about the Investigation into the Events at the Amityville House, 

The Amityville Horror Conspiracy by Stephen Kaplan

https://link.amazon/B00QMeSV9

The Night the DeFeos Died: Reinvestigating the Amityville Murders by Ric Osuna 

https://link.amazon/B00QMeSV9

Documentary by Daniel "Danny" Lutz, one of George and Kathy's children (which I wrongfully said was a book in the episode...sorry about that!)

For more than a century, the Ouija board has fascinated, frightened, and mystified millions. But what if one of the world's most infamous supernatural objects started out as something far less sinister...a clever business opportunity?

From the rise of Spiritualism in nineteenth-century America to a mysterious naming session, bitter business rivalries, and a tragic factory accident, the true history of the Ouija board is stranger than you might expect.

In this episode of Actually... Forgotten Stories for Curious Minds, we uncover the surprising origins of the talking board, explore the science behind its seemingly mysterious movements, and discover how an ordinary parlor game became a symbol of supernatural terror.

And as for the name Ouija? Well, according to legend, the board actually...chose it itself. Say what?? You'll have to tune in for the rest! :) 

So how much of what we think we know about the Salem witch trials is actually true?

In Part 2, the conclusion of our two-part series, on the Salem Witch Trials, we're heading into the courtrooms of 1692, where invisible evidence could send someone to the gallows, proclaiming your innocence could make things worse, and even a respected grandmother wasn't safe from accusation.

We'll uncover the real stories behind some of Salem's most infamous executions, meet the man who refused to enter a plea, and discover why one woman remained imprisoned even after being found not guilty.

But the story doesn't end when the executions stop.

From judges who refused to apologize to a group of eighth-graders who helped correct a 329-year-old injustice, we'll explore how Massachusetts spent centuries trying to undo what Salem accomplished in a matter of months.

And we'll ask one final question: When an entire community participates in an injustice, who is responsible for making it right?

Don't forget to listen to Part 1 to get the backstory on how this all started!

Learn more about the wacky world of "poppets" here:

https://www.learnreligions.com/all-about-magical-poppets-2562563

Dry Tinder, a Tale of Rivalry and Injustice in Salem Village by Janice C. Thompson:

https://amzn.to/4hR3S38

Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials by Marilynne K. Roach:

https://amzn.to/4hR3S38

Actually Facebook Page for some of your host's photos from a visit in August 2026

https://www.facebook.com/actuallypodcast

Actually Instagram Page for some of your host's photos from a visit in August 2026

https://www.instagram.com/actuallynerdy

Everyone knows the story of the Salem witch trials. A group of girls behaved strangely, frightened villagers cried witchcraft, and innocent people paid the price. Right?

Except…that's not quite how it happened.

In Part One of this two-part series, we're going back to 1692 to uncover what really set the Salem witch trials in motion - such as a community divided and under pressure, a controversial minister, an enslaved woman named Tituba, a VERY questionable cake recipe, and a justice system willing to accept invisible evidence as fact. 

How did a handful of accusations become a deadly conspiracy? And why did questioning the accusers eventually make you a suspect yourself?

The truth is far more complicated - and far more disturbing - than the version most of us learned in school.

Part Two arrives Thursday...make sure you tune in to both to hear the full story! 

Show Notes for Part 1:

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde

https://amzn.to/3TReDuy

Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem by Elaine Breslaw

https://amzn.to/4B3vbjR

In 1897, a young West Virginia woman died suddenly, was buried quickly, and might have been forgotten. The doctor called it natural causes.

Her mother, Mary Jane Heaster, wasn’t convinced. Then she made an extraordinary claim: her daughter had returned from the dead – and named her killer.

On this episode of Actually, we explore the tale of the Greenbrier Ghost – a haunting story of a suspicious death, a determined mother, a murder case that took an unexpected turn in court, and a story that refused to stay buried.

Was your living room once a “death room”? And did old American houses in the Northeast really have special doors for carrying out coffins?

They’re the kind of stories that make a haunted walking tour memorable. But behind those wonderfully creepy explanations lies a stranger – and surprisingly human – history.

Actually kicks off spooky season with “The Room Where Death Used to Live,” exploring home funerals, Victorian mourning customs, and how America’s relationship with death changed the spaces we call home. Along the way: a mysterious side door, a magazine editor with strong opinions, and a very persistent story about how the living room got its name.

Before you give your couch a suspicious look, give it a listen. And stay tuned for the second episode of the week which is dropping THIS THURSDAY!