On this week's show, the documentary series Strange Magick is discussed with director Bill Darmon and researcher and author Dave Goudsward. The film explores the connections between sites in New England, the odd connections between the magic of places and larger-than-life figures such as Aleister Crowley and H. P. Lovecraft, and even espionage during World War I.
In this conversation the focus is more specifically on Lovecraft and his likely connections to Mystery Hill, also known as "America's Stonehenge" in Salem, New Hampshire. Dave had been the manager at the site, and is also a historian of Lovecraft's life and works- in addition to also being a very fun guy to talk to! Bill and Dave get into Lovecraft's travels and possible romantic entanglements with a less well remembered writer named Myrna Little, and how these elements informed his weird fiction.

The pitch for the film, per Bill, goes like this: Aleister Crowley. Howard Phillips Lovecraft. New Hampshire. While they never met, new independent research has turned up intriguing connections between these two giants of the occult and a mysterious third party, a Radcliffe graduate who factors prominently in both of their writings- was it the same woman?
Could she have been their connection to strange stone sites linked to a German plot during World War I?
Strange Magick is both documentary and cinematic recreation of the work of researchers David Goudsward, Dr. Richard Spence and others- it is as much a story of the research as it is the research itself.
Watch it on YouTube at @StrangeMagickFilm

It was a fascinating and fun conversation, and a great one for Lovecraft fans. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

In addition to the YouTube channel, you can keep up with the documentary by following strangemagickfilm on instagram. Bill and Dave can both be found on Facebook as well.
Find Dave Goudsward's books here: http://goudsward.com/dave/

Fred Andersson returns to the show this week to discuss some wild cases from his home country of Sweden, including sightings of mummies, gnomes, and lake monsters! Fred had previously appeared on the show to discuss Jaws 3-D for one of the Third Time's the Charm (3xtC) episodes, but he just has too many cool stories to share to not have him back on for that. In addition, he's a wonderful researcher and just an absolute pleasure to talk to or listen to.

He and AP also get into "phantom stranger" encounters, with each sharing personal tales- and perhaps finding a new connection in one of Fred's strange stories! The conversation runs the paranormal gamut, and as always is the case with Fred it was an entertaining and illuminating chat.

Check out Fred's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Northern-Lights-High-Strangeness-Sweden/dp/1954528728
And follow his work on Medium here: https://medium.com/@fred-andersson

Robert Guffey joins AP in this episode for a lengthy and mind-bending chat that covers a lot of weird ground. Robert is a well-known writer and author of both fiction and non-fiction, and in this chat the difficulty in telling the difference between the two is well illustrated. One of his books, Chameleo, is discussed at length- in particular, how much of what seemed fantastic or crazy in it when it was released ten years ago now seems eerily prescient.
In addition, Robert discusses his newest book, The Expectant Mother Disinformation Handbook, and his short stories from Cryptopolis; science fiction and how it overlaps with secret government projects; how stories are told in media broadly about weird and paranoid subject matter; all this and more!

Check out Robert's site here: http://cryptoscatology.com/
If you haven't read Chameleo, you can get a copy here: https://orbooks.com/catalog/chameleo/

Viva Las Vegas! This week AP chats with Jeff Knox, a wonderful UFO researcher and cohost of the YouTube show Ufo Sunset, about Leprechaun 3. AP had come up with the idea of a Leprechanathon- that is, watching all of the Leprechaun movies in a row, and being the madman that his Mr. Knox actually did it! In keeping with the Third Time's the Charm formula, the chat focuses on the Vegas-set third installment but the conversation goes all over the map. From struggles to find internal consistency in the franchise to attempting to understand the dynamics of leprechaun magics, a lot of very silly ground gets covered- with some dirty limericks thrown in to boot!

This episode resulted from a conversation in the show's discord channel- if you are interested in joining the little community over there, send AP a message via Instagram, BlueSky, or smoke signal and he'll let you in!

Find Jeff on those sites under @mrjeffknox , and check out his YouTube shows and lectures here: https://www.youtube.com/@UfoSunset1947

This week's episode is a journey through sound and melody, as AP talks with Mike Fiorito about the interrelation between music and the Phenomenon. Mike is a musician, and a freelance music journalist, and also an award-winning author. His latest book, UFO Symphonic- Journeys Into Sound delves into the complex relationship between creativity, the unknown, and consciousness, and specifically the role music plays in all of it. Being a combination of speculation and personal accounts, both his own and those he collected from a variety of musicians, his "polyphonic" approach to the mystery of UFOs and other unexplained phenomena provides plenty of food for thought.

He and AP discuss stories and themes from the book, but also wander off into other fun territories such as weird Elvis stuff, the dangers of driving in Boston, and Italian-American superstition. Mike's insights and poetic approach to the mysteries of the world are a pleasure to explore. Check out his website, where you can also find his books, here: https://mikefiorito.com/

All Hail Discordia! On this episode, comic book artist Bobby Campbell joins AP to discuss his ongoing project to adapt the Illuminatus! Trilogy into comic form. The classic of 1970s high weirdness written by Robert Anton Wilson and Bob Shea is a centerpiece in the world of Discordianism, and adapting it to other media is no small task. Bobby talks about collaborating with others, such as Todd Purse, to bring the story to life on the page in Tales of Illuminatus!

He and AP go all over the weird map in this chat, covering not just Wilson and the Discordians- they get into the nitty gritty of creative endeavors, the value of sincerity, the madness of the world and making art in spite of it all, and most importantly following your bliss as an act of resistance.

Bobby is a teacher, an artist, the founder. of MLJC LLC, and an all around wonderful guest.

Find him online here: https://weirdoverse.com/
and check out Tales of Illuminatus! here: https://talesofilluminatus.com/

Maevius Lynn joins AP this week to explore the living tradition of Thelema and discuss the complicated legacy of Aleister Crowley. Lynn is a practicing Thelemic ceremonial magician, a writer, an artist, and a lecturer who offers a unique perspective to an often misunderstood realm of the occult and religious thought. She has a knack for explaining advanced theory in a way that is easy to understand, and does so in her published articles and on her YouTube channel in a way that is inviting, encouraging, and informative.
In this episode Lynn shares parts of her own story, what led her to Thelema and what that looks like in our modern age. Along the way she and AP discuss popular misconceptions around Thelemic terminology, practice, and history and also unpack the life and beliefs of Crowley. It was a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion, and Lynn offers a lot of practical advice and insight for those looking to start a mystical journey of their own.

Make sure you follow Maevius Lynn on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@MaeviusLynn

This week, AP and guest co-host Blackwolf John Oates chat with Aaron Gulyas about Star Trek III: The Search For Spock! Setting phasers to "snark", they boldly go where many nerds have gone before in dissecting Star Trek as a franchise, focusing on the original cast and the motion pictures they appeared in. The conversation takes a lot of turns and goes in many geeky directions, including (but not limited to): the dynamics of the original crew, nostalgia for movies with old guys running around, cavalier methods of time travel, whether Bones was a swinger, Roddenberry's many shortcomings, and more!

Aaron is the host of the long-running podcast The Saucer Life, which examines events and people around the subject of UFOs. The podcast is a personal favorite of AP's. He is also a historian, a teacher, an author, and a two-time Jeopardy! contestant. He has a great sense of humor and a wealth of knowledge about all things flying saucer and sci-fi related, and it was a great pleasure to have him on the show.

Check out The Saucer Life here: https://saucerlife.com/ 
And find Aaron's books here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00958F6ZM

Journalist and author Doug Brod joins AP in this episode to discuss his recent biography Born With a Tail: The Devilish Life and Wicked Times of Anton Szandor LaVey. Doug is currently an editor at the Toronto Star, and was formerly editor in chief for SPIN and TV Guide. He has also written for The New York Times, Billboard, Hollywood Reporter, and Fangoria.

Doug's entertaining narrative of LaVey's life and works fills in a lot of gaps left by previous writings on the man, and gets to questions about the nature of truth with larger-than-life figures such as the founder of the Church of Satan. He and AP talk in this episode about the Church, personalities around it, and LaVey's complicated and sometimes problematic philosophy. Also discussed are his aspirations toward celebrity, such as his insistent claims of involvement in the making of Rosemary's Baby, his friendship with Jayne Mansfield, and his appearance in the truly odd horror film The Devil's Rain... not to mention Sammy Davis Jr., who almost had a TV show in which he played a minion of Hell!

In addition Brod was able to interview and gain new insights from people who knew LaVey, such as Jaques Vallee, Don Frew, Nikolas Schreck, and others- resulting in an array of opinions about the controversial and impactful figure.

There's also a brief discussion of Doug's first book, They Just Seem a Little Weird: How KISS, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll. Be sure to check out his books, available on Amazon (although it's preferred if you can order it through your local bookseller!). You can order the book directly from the publisher here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/doug-brod/born-with-a-tail/9780306833311/?lens=grand-central-publishing

For this week's show, the inimitable Stephanie Quick joins AP for a look at the cultural context around the San Francisco Bay area and her lived experience there. Offering context for a variety of personalities and organizations tangential to weird studies, the artistic and political movements of the area from the 1960s to the present are examined. 

Stephanie is one of AP's favorite people to chat with, a notable fortean, synchronicity explorer and self-described Julia Child of Sex Magic. She brings a wealth of knowledge and lived experience from her decades living in and around the Bay Area, and points out often overlooked aspects of it that made it an attractive place for people with fringe beliefs. It is hoped that through the lens of her personal observations, and localized history, listeners will have a better understanding about people and traditions in the Weirdosphere that seem to center on it.

Among the topics covered are pacifist movements, racial justice movements, avant-garde art and music, cooperative living and commerce arrangements, the early punk scene, disability advocacy, Alcatraz, and more!