MonsterTalk

Tana's Thesis: Paying Respects: Death, Commodity Culture, and the Middle Class in Victorian London.

Death Photos of the Victorian Age - memento mori 

The Catholic incorruptible saints

British "natural death" burial laws

Garden Cemeteries

The Cremation Society (behind the 1902 UK Cremation Act)

The Highgate Vampire case of the early 1970s

Nicholas Cage's pyramid tomb in New Orleans St. Louis Cemetery 

(Source: Atlas Obscura)

New Orleans Above Ground Burial:

"When St. Peter Street graveyard was close to capacity, city officials established St. Louis Cemetery #1. At the time, Esteban Miro was the governor of New Orleans, and his allegiance was to Spain. Therefore, when the St. Louis Cemetery was developed, the wall vault system that was popular in Spain at the time was adopted for those who wished to be buried stylishly above ground. Ground burial also continued at St. Louis Cemetery."

Mort Safes - protected corpses from resurrectionists, not the public from wandering dead.

 

Burke & Hare - notorious resurrectionists turned murderers, inspired:

• The Body Snatcher (1945)
• Burke and Hare (2011)
• Horror Maniacs aka The Greed of William Hart (1948)
• The Flesh and the Fiends aka The Fiendish Ghouls (1960)
• Burke and Hare (1972)
• The Doctor and the Devils (1985)  (amazing cast + produced by Mel Brooks!?)

 

"Saved by the Bell" etymology derives from boxing, not grave bells

Launching ashes into space

"Jet" the source of the phrase "jet black" and the Whitby Jet mourning jewelry referenced

Key West cemetery

 

A reading of The Night Wire by H. F. Arnold.  Karen and I wish you all a safe and happy holiday.  Oh - and if you're doing any traveling for the season I suggest you steer clear of Xebico.

Some background on Mr. Arnold.

We're joined by veteran monster investigator Joe Nickell (of CSI) to discuss three historic sea monster cases he thinks he's solved. Classic monsters and science in this one.

Case Files discussed in this episode:

Gloucester Sea Serpent 

Arkansas White River Monster 

Kraken: Monster of the Deep 

Also mentioned: Karen has some new short stories on Amazon!

 

Snag some merchandise based on our new artwork at http://bit.ly/shopmonstertalk - 30% off sale going on right now.

[Correction inserted Nov 15, 9:30 AM regarding the gas in the Cameroon lake incident being CO2, not Methane.]

This episode we look at Will O' The Wisp, Ghost Lights, Ball Lightning and all manner of glowing monstrous and bizarre lucent phenomena.  Joining us for the discussion is researcher, Jerry Drake.  We discuss some quite peculiar case details and Jerry has sent me some photos that I've attached here in the show notes. Let us know what you think over at the MonsterTalk Facebook Group.

 

Carlyn Beccia has written a new book for kids that combines Monsters and Science!  Monstrous: The Lore, Gore and Science Behind Your Favorite Monsters is an ooey-gooey romp through the world of monsters and the many fascinating things you can learn when you apply science to their premises. 

But don't think it's just for kids. This book has lots of cool, disgusting, crunchy science morsels in it plus gorgeous art that make it a perfect Coffee Table book for macabre decor. 

Here are some sample shots from the book, and there's more like this from cover-to-cover - and this isn't Carlyn's only book.  She's got more.

 

 

 

We're joined by Stacy Sharp, friend of the show and former USN law enforcement with Blake back in his Navy days in Bahrain. Stacy has spent much of his post-Navy career working in law enforcement, victims rights and the judicial system. 

Discussion is on serial killers, their motivations, their methodologies and how to balance fascination with the macabre with keeping the victims rather than the killers foremost in mind.  The crimes discussed in this episode are graphic, disturbing and will not be suitable for all audience members.  Listener discretion advised.

Patreon Bonus segment: Discussion of Balmain Bug - an edible crustacean of Australia.  It looks like an unarmed lobster.  

Serial Killers:

• Ted Bundy  
• John Wayne Gacy 
• Jeffrey Dahmer 
• Jack the Ripper 
• Definition of Serial Killer 
• Richard Chase 
• Rampage (docu on spree killers, not the giant critter movie with The Rock)
• BTK Killer (Dennis Rader)
• Ed Kemper (Audiobooks read by Ed Kemper)
• Mad Bomber of New York 
• Profilers 
• Mindhunter 

This is a sample episode of our new show In reSearch Of, which I'm co-hosting with Jeb Card.  I hope you'll consider subscribing.  I'm planning to keep the regular IRO episodes free, but offer bonus content for Patreon supporters.

This is the pilot episode of In reSearch Of, the show where we watch the original TV show IN SEARCH OF… and consider some of the explanations that the producers chose not to present.

In our inaugural episode, we watch the TV Special In Search of Ancient Astronauts, a repackaged cut of a German documentary about Eric Von Daniken's book Chariots of the Gods. 

We want to thank Rachel and Chris Lackey for the theme music (And Greig Johnson!). They host the excellent show Rachel Watches Star Trek. 

Also, we want to credit Jason Colavito for his excellent research into this and many adjacent topics around the Ancient Astronauts and Ancient Aliens tropes of the past fifty years, including his book:  The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture

(Seriously - check out this link to Jason's article. He gives some great contemporary detail on the impact of this TV special such as "... within 48 hours of the program’s broadcast, Bantam Books had sold 250,000 new copies of Chariots of the Gods."  Amazing.)

Oh - so as Jeb mentions, EVD is directly mentioned in the brainstorming session with Lucas, Spielberg, and Kasdan! You can check that out here.

Walter Conkrite's  UFO's Friend, Foe or Fantasy  UFO documentary

Show Notes:

• Dr. Harold P. Klein worked for NASA and was a major figure in the Viking mission.
• The Baghdad Battery - no reason to believe this was ever used as a battery. More likely a scroll container. (Featured on Episode 16 - season 3 - of Mythbusters)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (you can watch the clip here)
•  Mesoamerican Sites:
  • Olmec Heads
  • Tula
  • Teotihuacan
  • Chichen Itza
  • Tiwanaku
• Piri Reis map
• Wernher Von Braun 
• Stonehenge 
• How did the ancients move stones?

Theme music (updated!) is by Rachel Lackey & Greig Johnson.

 

A look back at the highly influential television show In Search Of... which was hosted by Leonard Nimoy.  Features remembrances from Steven Novella, Lyle Blackburn, Matthew Baxter, and Brian Dunning.

Along with archaeologist Jeb Card, I'm launching a new show called In Research Of... which will revisit this original series and add some explanations the producers chose not to include. (Link to show on iTunes.)

In Search Of... had 6 seasons in its original run and you can currently (as of this posting) view them all on YouTube.  

Thanks to everyone for supporting us to reach 200 episodes! Karen and I are excited about producing many more. 

Is the Ouija Board a tool for talking to the dead? Or is it just a game from Hasbro? We dig into the history of Talking Boards with Robert Murch!   LINKS: The Talking Board Historical Society (Est. 2013) Helen Peter Nosworthy Michael Faraday & Spiritualism