Ghostly Talk Podcast

We keep it conversational and go all over the place with the duo that is Dye Paranormal: Chad Dye and Heather Hansen. Just in time for Valentine's Day, we share how the paranormal all brought us together in it's fun and strange way. Chad and Heather are also the resident paranormal investigators at The Whitney, a historic and stunning 19th century mansion in Detroit, Michigan with an upscale restaruant and a few ghosts! They are also the event managers of the Midwest Parafest which is in its fourth year. Give them a follow to keep up-to-date with the latest paranormal events they have planned.

Our first show of 2023 starts off with that everlasting discussion of evil in our world, what happens after we die, NDE (Near Death Experience) stories, and much more. Pastor turned horror writer Ezekiel Kincaid updates us on his work and ongoing paranormal explorations. Inspired by Bruce Campbell and characters like Tucker and Dale, Kincaid is also an unapologetic, witty writer of horror comedy so naturally when he introduced and explained one of his latest titles, we exploded into childish laughter. 

We also discussed an upcoming format change to Ghostly Talk. While we still plan to have guests on the show, we may venture into more conversational territories between us (Scott and Amber) and whatever strange and fun topics we want to explore.

Visit our website for show notes with links to books and movies we talked about.

For our last show of the year, we continue our foray into the high strangeness that is Christmas, Yule, and the dark winter months. Author and Ghostly Talk's very own "writer in residence" Mark Onspaugh shares some strange tales, folklore and of course his original story specially written for this show, "The Best Gift Ever" and a retelling of the heartstring puller "Vulpecula."  Isolated versions of Mark's stories are available at www.ghostlytalk.com. Make sure to check out Mark's books on Amazon!

Bio:

Mark Onspaugh is a native Californian who grew up on a steady diet of horror, science fiction and DC Comics. He’s a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers association. In addition to the produced film Kill Katie Malone, he has several other screenplays in various stages of development, and was also one of the writers of the cult favorite “Flight of the Living Dead”. While Onspaugh is definitely a fan of the horror genre, he also writes science fiction and comedy.  He polished his comedy writing (and improv skills) at the Groundlings Theater in L.A., where he studied under Lisa Kudrow (“Friends”), Michael McDonald (“Mad TV”) and Heather Morgan (“The Dana Carvey Show”).

Earlier in his career, Onspaugh studied Special Effects Makeup in college and continued to pursue this passion under the tutelage of premier makeup artist Thomas R. Burman (“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”,” Cat People”, “Scrooged”) with additional lectures by such notables, among others as Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker (“American Werewolf in London”, “Men in Black”, “Planet of the Apes”).  An active member of the Horror Writers Association, Onspaugh has won recognition for his screenwriting and a novel, Kushtaka, at the Austin Film Festival and the Writers Network competition, respectively. In 2003, his feature scripts, RAZORFISH and STRANGERS both made the second round at the Austin Film Festival. In 2007, his script THE DEAD LIFE was a quarterfinalist in the 9th annual Scriptapalooza competition. STRANGERS is a backdoor pilot for a series of the same name. Onspaugh has written the STRANGERS bible, debut episode and a regular episode. Onspaugh’s previous television credits, include episodes for Night Man (“Burning Love”), X-Men Animated (“Secrets, Not Long Buried”) and Street Fighter Animated (“Getting in Guile”).

Mark knows people expect horror writers to be lurking misanthropes, but hasn’t lurked since leaving L.A.  A native Angeleno, he now lives on the central coast of California with his wife, author/artist Tobey Crockett and two off-kilter cats.

Yes, sending Christmas cards of dead birds was a thing the Victorians did. We discuss this kind of Christmas strangeness and so much more with Craig Kringle, the creator of Weird Christmas. Learn more about Christmas and holiday weirdness with Craig's podcast "Weird Christmas."

Bio

Craig started collecting vintage Victorian Christmas cards years ago and sharing them with friends online, and the whole thing exploded. This site began with a Tumblr blog, but there were stories to tell about those images, and Tumblr’s not the best for text. Craig decided he didn’t enjoy having free time, so he started a podcast. Weird Christmas can be found at www.weirdchristmas.com.

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John Brassard Jr. joins us again for a conversation about paranormal and dark tourism and a lot more! We really let ourselves just wander on this one and it was so much fun.

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John Brassard Jr. is an author, host, and podcaster behind the Kitchen Table Historian. He grew up on the stories of America’s past told to him by family and friends. He was always intrigued by the strange and unusual stories that his grandfather and father told him. He decided to turn it into a life-long interest. Since that time, he has authored three books and numerous articles detailing forgotten stories from the nooks and crannies of history. In 2019, John started the Kitchen Table Historian podcast, bringing these weird and wonderful tales into the ears of eager listeners all over the nation.

Scott L. sits down with author, researcher, and filmmaker Mike Ricksecker to talk about “Alaska’s Mysterious Triangle” and a bunch of other strange stuff. Mike Ricksecker has been featured on Travel Channel’s “The Alaska Triangle”, History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens” and “The UnExplained,” Animal Planet’s “The Haunted” and more.

Can being in a haunted location have a long-term, negative impact on a person? We discuss this idea with Scott Sukel and Zippy who spent many years at the historical Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio. Scott Sukel went into very personal detail about how volunteering and working at this former prison affected him and how leaving it all behind was probably the best thing for his mind and his health.

If you want a recap on the ghostly stories of Mansfield Reformatory, listen to episode 49 when Scott and Zippy were with us on January 22, 2019.

We sit down with author and supernatural researcher of all things strange and unusual, James Willis, to talk about the stairway spirits at the historic Clay Haus Restaurant in Somerset, Ohio.

Have you visited Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky? Or is it on your bucket list of haunted places to explore? Our old friends Tonya and Allie Haynes from the Waverly Hills Historical Society stop by to talk about all things Waverly from the history and purpose of the hospital to its current haunted reputation. Check out the Waverly Hills Sanatorium website for tour dates and special events.

Bio:

Tonya Haynes has worked with Waverly Hills for nearly 20 years. Her interest in the paranormal world started in her childhood, and since then, she’s been involved with paranormal groups such as the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society. Currently, she serves as Waverly Hills Sanatorium’s Director of Operations, where she manages events and tours and day-to-day operations.

Allie Haynes has been involved with Waverly Hills Sanatorium in some capacity since 2003, helping the Sanatorium with different roles throughout the years. She started as a volunteer, and since then, Allie has led tours and hosted events, served on the Waverly Hills Historical Society board of directors, and more. Allie has been interested in the paranormal world since childhood and has been searching for more experiences ever since. She currently serves as a human resources consultant for the Waverly Hills Historical Society’s board of directors, the nonprofit organization that manages the Sanatorium and its surrounding grounds.

Allison Jornlin and Mike Huberty join us to talk about their journey into the paranormal, their experiences, and owning a paranormal tour company, American Ghost Walks.

www.americanghostwalks.com

Bio:

Allison Jornlin: Allison Jornlin has been investigating strange phenomena for more than 20 years.  Inspired by Chicago’s Richard Crowe, who kickstarted U.S. ghost tourism in 1973, she developed Milwaukee’s first haunted history tour in 2008. Allison currently works as a professional weirdo, speaking throughout the U.S., writing for a variety of publications, and developing haunted history tours for American Ghost Walks. She has also been featured in the media including an appearance on the CW’s "Mysteries Decoded."

Mike Huberty: In 2010, Mike founded a tourism company called Madison Ghost Walks dedicated to preserving the Wisconsin capitol city’s history and folklore, as well as showing people a great time around the city. Today, Mike has expanded his mission to 6 U.S. states including California, Puerto Rico, and even Hawaii. Mike performs in the Wisconsin Rock Band Sunspot and is the co-host of the See You On The Other Side podcast with pop culture and paranormal themes. He has also been featured on the BBC and TRVL Channel’s "In Search of Monsters."