Ghosthropology Podcast

06/02/2025

Spent part of last night researching folklore surrounding sleep paralysis for a future episode and was surprised to learn, though perhaps I shouldn't be, that there are parts of the Canada where, at least until the 1970s, sleep paralysis was often blamed on witchcraft committed by people within the community, with the ritual to cause sleep paralysis even being well known in some places.

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06/02/2025

While we are on hiatus, we hope you enjoy this quick supplemental episode that gives you a peek behind the microphone at how the episodes are made. Look for more regular episodes in March.

https://kmmamedia.com/2025/02/03/s005-how-ghosthropology-is-made-supplemental/

04/02/2025

Last week, I posted am image from a a horror game convention that used to be held in Santa Cruz County at the Brookdale Lodge. That convention is still going and is now hosted at the Cary House hotel in Placerville, CA.

Of course, like the Brookdale Lodge, the Cary House is also said to be haunted. The apparitions of past guests and employees are often said to appear. Unlike the Brookdale, most of the ghosts at the Cary House are either friendly or seem to not be aware of the living. The one exception is Stan Levine, the ghost of a former employee who is said to sexually harass blonde women.

I have not done an episode on it yet, but I am working up to it.

27/01/2025

In a photo from 2008, my good ladywife/producer, Mrs. Ghosthropology (better known as Kaylia from the Pages and Popcorn Podcast and It's a Q***r Thang - Podcast) is exploring a sunken courtyard in Old Sacramento. The original town of Sacramento was submerged in catastrophic floods that hit California in the 1860s, and the historic area was raised. This sunken courtyard is one of the places where you can easily access the original ground level.

Allegedly, some creature or spirit can be seen at the grates that lead to the basements of the older buildings in this area of town. What it is and what it wants are never made clear, but it's glowing eyes are often observed...or so they say.

22/01/2025

The Sanger Cemetery, reputed to be haunted - there is a ghost said to appear on the road near the cemetery and causing cars to veer off of the road, and the cemetery itself is said to be the home of a glowing tombstone - a rather common type of cemetery ghost story.

Back when I was routinely experimenting with photography, I built a pinhole camera and I created a pinhole aperture for my DSLR. I do not recall which device I used to take this photos, but think that the nature of the pinhole device nicely captured the eerie feeling of looking for ghosts at the cemetery.

19/01/2025

This morning I interviewed a Medievalist about the switch from beliefs in corporeal revenants in England to non-corporeal spirits, which appears to have happened in the period surrounding 1400 A.D. It was an interesting discussion, and I think will be an enjoyable episode.

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11/01/2025

Not a ghost, at least not exactly, but I have to have some affection for my local weird creature, the Fresno Nightcrawler. First sighted in Fresno and the surrounding area, some have claimed that this critter has been spotted in other parts of North America....but we all know that this ambulatory pair of dungarees are Fresno locals who sometimes go up to Yosemite for the day, just like the rest of us in the 'no.

09/01/2025

While we're on hiatus, I am recommending past episodes that you may have missed. Today, I recommend Episode 40, on the U.S.S. Hornet.

The USS Hornet is one of several Naval vessels permanently moored and used as a museum. Like most of these vessels, the Hornet has a reputation for being haunted. In this episode, Matt has an oppor…

26/12/2024

Happy holidays to all!

During my winter hiatus, among other tasks I am working on music for upcoming episodes. While I primarily play an electric, there are certain things that work best on a classical guitar, and luckily I have my dad's old classical for those moments.

I also look very confused in this image, but that's really just me concentrating on moving the finger on both hands simultaneously.

23/12/2024

Many years ago, Soviet scientists drilled the deepest borehole ever dug by humans. They were looking for geological information, but instead, they encountered the very fires of Hell itself.

In this episode, Matt discusses an urban legend with ties to both Evangelical Christianity and late 1980s right-wing politics.

It’s a HELL of a story, just in time for Christmas!

Link in comments. Enjoy!

19/12/2024

Recording my next episode, on the Well to Hell, while wearing the Loveland Frogman socks from The Sockness Monster (https://3774ef-2e.myshopify.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYrZkK65jX6s-l7AmTCU7KLZrpyFp5klbz73uUR1TlLZ_ReHtPnhp82PuU_aem_uAR8Zry9l3BvSH3bJJzlcw)

18/12/2024

Marriage can be hard...especially when one partner is dead.

https://www.irishpost.com/news/irish-woman-married-ghost-300-year-old-pirate-says-split-162579?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1A_DoqBwcBh40aMicsdOTWE1pCP4f1gOEzb7SDUeeSwCr4p0NqZn4KIPo_aem_Ip0qNp5D6mbwwsUYp5bUBw

AN IRISH woman who married the ghost of a 300-year-old pirate claims the couple have split up.Am...

17/12/2024

Folklore that isn’t spooky.

Newbury, New Hampshire is a small town, home to a little over 2,000 people and a piece of roadside graffiti that reads: “Chicken Farmer, I still love you.” As local legend has it, the original message: “Chicken Farmer, I love you.” was written on the rock sometime in the late 1980s (in some reports as early as the 1970s) by a shy teenage boy who had an eye for a young schoolgirl who lived on the small chicken farm across the street from the jutting rock where the boy painted his love note. He was reluctant to approach the girl in person so he settled for a less personal but more public way of reaching out to her by using a paintbrush and a chunk of granite to deliver the message. The awkwardly hand-painted love note remained on the rock and, but for the weather and growing vegetation, was unmolested for years.

One night in the early aughts the sign was repainted to the current message by an unknown hand. On occasion someone would clear away the brush blocking the sign from view and the letters would be spruced up again. The sign had become a local institution and was cared for like any other landmark so that it could continue being enjoyed by passers-by.

In April of 2011 some busybody ended up lodging a complaint about graffiti, and the rock was painted over by a member of the Department of Transportation in a fit of responsive customer service. The painted-over space didn’t remain empty for long and a newly repainted Chicken Farmer message reappeared along the side of Route 103 once again. There the words of long lost love remain to this day and in perpetuity thanks to a petition organized by townsfolk intent on keeping this odd little piece of local folklore intact.

Source: Atlas Obscura

09/12/2024

The Playa Vista or Bellona Wetlands area is said to be haunted. Despite the location containing a well-known and widely reported Native American cemetery, the ghosts are actually somewhat unexpected and weirdly delightful. In this episode, Matt talks about ghosts, real estate development, archaeology, and Howard Hughes.

https://kmmamedia.com/2024/12/09/89-ghosts-of-the-playa-vista-project/

14/11/2024

One of the best things I have learned from doing research for this podcast is that 19th century Brits routinely thought that the best way to deal with a ghost was with a firearm. Seriously, for all that modern day brits like to talk about Americans being obsessed with guns, I have yet to read a pre-1920 account of a ghost encounter on the British islands where nobody decided to bring a gun to try to shoot the ghost.

Good chap, he's already QUITE dead!

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04/11/2024

Episode 87 is up!

https://kmmamedia.com/2024/11/04/87-ghosts-of-mount-holyoke-college-part-2/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGV24JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcy3_hwDa5xgf_Oi7J2oVD5oyRVJn2ftIQnsK-bJXGM3kKDmcIlcMamAmA_aem_CGJtR_LgiUzGiTVy8y4bjw

In the episode, Matt continues his talk with Dr. Michele Hanks and Dr. Liberty Stanavage about the ghost stories associated with Dr. Hank’s alma mater, Mount Holyoke Colege. Ghost stories, ca…

31/10/2024

This seems like something that listeners might enjoy:

Imagine a realm where the most horrifying terrors of the underworld emerge to wreak bloody vengeance upon any who... hmm? what's that? you wanna go literally...

28/10/2024

Unanticipated problems continue here at Ghosthropology HQ - but we are getting back on track. Not sure when the next episode will drop, but it will hopefully be soon.

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