Tag Archives: ghosts

27 – Parapsychology Fact Vs. Fiction: An Interview with Loyd Auerbach

Looks like Mike survived his half-marathon that we were talking about last week in the below-zero temperatures on Sunday, but just barely!

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and here’s Mike and Wendy recording the intro to the interview in the Sunspot rehearsal space.

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Today’s interview is with parapsychology mainstay, Loyd Auerbach. He really has been keeping the fires burning for the scientific study of the unexplained for four decades and his book ESP, Hauntings, and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologist’s Handbook was extremely influential on a young Mike (which is one of the reasons that he’s so excited about the interview.) Not only has Loyd been highly involved in keeping parapsychology in academia, he has been on thousands of paranormal investigations, and consulted for television (especially on a forgotten classic from the 80s, Shadow Chasers.)

The conversation begins with how Loyd got into the paranormal, his study at Northwestern University under the great UFO researcher, J. Allen Hynek, and then his job at the American Society for Psychical Research. It’s basically a lesson in how to get your dream job so that’s worth listening to the podcast for that information alone.

Loyd moves out to the West Coast to continue his studies at JFK University who was the only place in the United States a post-graduate degree in parapsychology at the time. It was a different time, and he discusses the difference between scientific attitudes towards the unexplained was more welcoming in the days before today’s science vs. faith culture wars.

Loyd talks about some of his Hollywood script consultation and also how he’s not that interested in appearing on paranormal television shows anymore because they don’t portray parapsychology and paranormal investigations in a realistic light. He goes into the difference between reality and what they show you on TV and the movies.

Mike and Loyd then delve into not only tips for novices interested in going on paranormal investigations, but also tips for people who are interested in letting a paranormal group investigate their house. It’s a must-listen for anyone who’s interested in finding a paranormal group to investigate their home because it’ll help you weed out the inexperienced groups from parapsychologists who might actually be able to help.

The conversation also goes into Loyd’s latest endeavors to help educate newbies to parapsychology and his latest online courses, which are all about learning to investigate paranormal phenomena like hauntings or ESP in a scientific way so that your investigations can help further the field of parapsychological research.

Loyd Auerbach Parapsychology Links:

Loyd Auerbach’s website

ESP, Hauntings, and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologist’s Handbook

Follow Loyd Auerbach on Twitter

Take one of Loyd’s paranormal classes online at the Rhine Education Center

Featured Song: Pascal’s Wager

We are but tiny,
inside a world of infinity,
all we have is our reason,
to make us better than the beast.

Pascal was a gambler,
who wanted to believe.
Pascal made a wager,
for the souls of you and me.

And if you win, you win, you win it all.
And If you lose, you lose,
and it don’t matter anyway,
And there’s so many things I’ll never know,
But even the brightest stars,
must lay down their cards,
when the ferryman calls.

I was born a cynic,
but I’m willing to take my chance,
that the universe is big enough,
to be more than coincidence.

We’re playing a game,
that we don’t want to admit,
All the things we feel,
that you just can’t dismiss.

So if you win, you win, you win it all.
And If you lose, you lose,
and it don’t matter anyway,
And there’s so many things I’ll never know,
But even the brightest stars,
must lay down their cards,
and figure out just who they are,
when the ferryman calls.

You’re not a fool to believe.
You’re not a fool to believe.

17 – Holiday Hauntings: Christmas Ghost Stories

If it’s the most wonderful time of the year, why are we sharing scary haunted tales? Explore the history of the tradition of telling spooky Christmas ghost stories!

More links on Christmas Ghost Stories:

Hypnogoria article on “The Origins of Ghost Stories at Christmas”

Deseret News, “Telling Ghost Stories is a lost tradition on Christmas Eve”

The Conversation, “Why ghosts haunt England at Christmas but steer clear of America”

Bill Petro, “History of a Christmas Carol: A ghost story of Christmas”

Featured Song: Next Plane (Welcome Home)

There’s dust in my bunk
and no snow upon on the ground,
it’s 110 outside and I wake up at every little sound.
I’m sick of being afraid, I’m tired of the bad dreams,
I won’t watch my son grow up on a computer screen.

I’ve seen too many ghosts of Christmas Past,
I’ve seen too many ghosts at all.

I know the fireplace was cold,
while I was being GI Joe,
and I’m sorry you poured your Christmas wine alone.
But I won’t miss another one,
And this year I’ll put down my gun,
This Christmas I’m on the next plane home.

There’s a table waiting for me,
and they’re playing my favorite song,
There’s a girl that’s waiting for me,
and she’s waited for too long.
But too many friends have gone,
and I’ve read too many tags,
There’s too many people I love,
coming back beneath a flag.

I’ve seen too many ghosts of Christmas Past,
I’ve seen too many ghosts at all.

I know the fireplace was cold,
while I was being GI Joe,
and I’m sorry you poured your Christmas wine alone.
But I won’t miss another one,
And this year I’ll put down my gun,
This Christmas I’m on the next plane home.
This Christmas I’m on the next plane home.

10 – Celebrity Hauntings: Ghosts of Rock Stars

We’re talking ghost stories! Specifically, stories about rock star ghosts and celebrity hauntings.

Ghosts aren’t often reported of people who died peacefully. Many rock stars’ lives have ended tragically and suddenly, in the type of untimely ending often resulting in restless souls with unfinished business. Many witnesses purport to have seen those souls in the form of ghosts, and when those ghosts are famous people, it makes for interesting ghost stories.

The first celebrity ghost we discuss is the infamous Elvis Presley. Although many people believe that Elvis faked his own death, many also claim to have seen his ghost and/or communicated with his spirit in places as obvious as Graceland and as odd as Burger King.

Next, we talk about a dead celebrity, Mama Cass, who visits a living celebrity, Dan Aykroyd! He lives in her former dwelling, which he believes her spirit continues to inhabit. Did Cass’s ghostly visits to Aykroyd’s boudoir inspire a scene in Ghostbusters?

Many recording studios host ghosts: Jim Morrison haunts the Sunset Sound studios and his band mates’ dreams. The Cave, another recording studio and former speakeasy, is haunted by the ghost of Warren Zevon, singer of the song Werewolves of London. Axis Studios, a Wisconsin recording studio where Sunspot recorded parts of their “Cynical” album, has ghosts who get bored and leave if you don’t show fear. A mysterious heartbeat was once discovered on a recording made there.

Given the untimely/tragic nature of their deaths, it’s not surprising that many members of the 27 Club haunt us. Vibes of Kurt Cobain have been uncovered by a psychic in the wood of a park bench in Viretta Park in Seattle, Washington. Others have reported seeing/feeling his spirit there. A woman also claimed that Cobain haunted her laptop until she kissed it on his ghostly request, upon which it stopped working.

Whitney Houston is another, more recently departed, celebrity whose spirit visits her mother, Sissy Houston, by ringing her doorbell.

Pete Doherty (co-frontman of The Libertines), the close friend of Amy Winehouse (who passed away in 2011), is convinced that she haunts his flat. He has gone so far as to flee from the UK escape her ghost, which appears in the form of images and reflects in the night.

Musician Gram Parsons liked Joshua Tree National Park in California, where he and his friends would spend time UFO-sighting, so much that he wished to be cremated there after he died. He ended his own life with a drug overdose at the Joshua Tree Inn, where to this day his apparition appears in haunted Room 8. In a bold move of loyalty, against Parsons’ family’s wishes, his best friend Phil Kaufman stole his ashes from the airport and scattered them in the park he so adored.

Legendary John Lennon’s spirit has been witnessed near the Dakota Hotel where he was killed. When his surviving band mates released a new song for the Anthology, a white peacock wandered into one of the photos, which the bandmates believed was a sign from Lennon. They also claim that their deceased band member’s name can be clearly heard in a backwards section of the recording they made.

Finally, one of our favorite concert venues, First Avenue in Minneapolis, hosts several specters. One is a blond woman in a green jacket, who legend has it hanged herself in the bathroom, and who on occasion reportedly reveals herself hanging in the bathroom. The other one, named Slippy, makes a balloon appear that rises and falls in the staircase. In addition to these apparitions, staff claim that the sound and lighting equipment is susceptible to eery signals from beyond.

Links on Celebrity Hauntings

Bubba Ho-Tep – Movie in which Bruce Campbell portrays Elvis at an old folks’ home plagued by a mummy
Joe R. Landale – Author of Bubba Ho-Tep and other horror/supernatural stories
James “The Amazing” Randi – Writer for The Skeptical Inquirer and creator of the One Million Dollar Challenge
Grand Theft Parsons – Movie about the theft of Gram Parsons’ corpse
Haunted Rock & Roll: Ghostly Tales of Musical Legends by Matthew L. Swayne – Book about rock star ghosts and venue hauntings

Featured Song: Skeleton Key (The Secret Lives of Ghosts)

I was a ghost without a story,
A specter looking for a past.
Waiting and just watching,
All these lives pass by so fast.
I wrote a tale without a hero,
I wrote a song without a tune,
But all stories need an ending,
And I hope that ending is you.

So hear my prayer,
And let me know that you can see me there.
Exorcise,
Take my hand and let’s go towards the light,
For you’re the Skeleton Key to set my spirit free tonight.

I was a grave without a headstone,
Wandering the earth for rest,
Alone in a crowd,
as a soul that’s dispossessed.
I was a murder without a body,
I was a crime without a scene.
But this dunit needs a who,
And I hope you’ll take my plea.

So hear my prayer,
And let me know that you can see me there.
Exorcise,
Take my hand and let’s go towards the light,
For you’re the Skeleton Key to set my spirit free tonight.

I was a ghost without a story,
A specter looking for a past.
Waiting and just watching,
All these lives pass by so fast.
I wrote a tale without a hero,
I wrote a song without a tune,
But all stories need an ending,
And I hope that ending is you.

So hear my prayer,
And let me know that you can see me there.
Exorcise,
Take my hand and let’s go towards the light,
For you’re the Skeleton Key to set my spirit free tonight.

I was a ghost without a story,
A specter looking for a past.
Waiting and just watching,
All these lives pass by so fast.
I wrote a tale without a hero,
I wrote a song without a tune,
But all stories need an ending,
And I hope that ending is you.

So hear my prayer,
And let me know that you can see me there.
Exorcise,
Take my hand and let’s go towards the light,
For you’re the Skeleton Key to set my spirit free tonight.

I was a grave without a headstone,
Wandering the earth for rest,
Alone in a crowd,
as a soul that’s dispossessed.
I was a murder without a body,
I was a crime without a scene.
But this dunit needs a who,
And I hope you’ll take my plea.

So hear my prayer,
And let me know that you can see me there.
Exorcise,
Take my hand and let’s go towards the light,
For you’re the Skeleton Key to set my spirit free tonight.

I was a ghost without a story,
A specter looking for a past.
Waiting and just watching,
All these lives pass by so fast.
I wrote a tale without a hero,
I wrote a song without a tune,
But all stories need an ending,
And I hope that ending is you.

So hear my prayer,
And let me know that you can see me there.
Exorcise,
Take my hand and let’s go towards the light,
For you’re the Skeleton Key to set my spirit free tonight.

5 – Interview with Susan Masino: Rock Journalist / Paranormal Researcher – Part 2

As promised, we present the second half of Mike’s interview with Susan Masino!

Before getting right into the meat of the show, we thank you for listening. Seriously, it’s been fun beginning this new project and getting some content out there that’s a little different from our norm. If you’re enjoying the show, we’d really appreciate it if you could leave a review (the more stars the better!) in iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Or, if you prefer, just spread the word by telling a friend about our show or linking to it on Facebook! Please make sure you leave your name in the review/link so we can thank you in a future episode.

Beginning on a positive note, Susan describes the larger-than-life presence that was Bon Scott of AC/DC. Although he never gave any indication of it, Susan learned through her research that he was struggling quite a bit throughout his rockstar-idol years. She tells us how, although Bon is no longer in this world with us, he’s still around the band and the AC/DC world and makes himself known through the dreams and feelings of the living. Susan tells how Bon continues to be a ray of light, in spite of his absence in the physical arena of our living world.

Next, the discussion turns to the topic of synchronicity. Also commonly referred to as white light, good energy, intuition or gut feeling, Susan explains how a person’s inner self often guides (or tries to guide) but is easy to ignore. She reminds us that the “universe has a great sense of humor” and we should pay attention when signs appear that we should pay attention to. Listen for the best example of Susan’s experience with clairaudience, which occurred while she was in living in New York Sublets, it may just make you take notice next time the “voice in your head” tells you something!

The experience led to her job at a recording studio that worked on projects with Steve Winwood, Diana Ross, John Denver, Joe Cocker, the soundtrack for the movie “Beat Streat” and music for the 1984 Olympics. In the basement of Studio 54, did Susan see any disco-dancing ghosts? She didn’t see apparitions, but Susan did have vivid dreams while living in NYC during the “wild west days” of New York.

Finally, Susan shares the biggest dream(s) she has had that came true.

Featured Song: Grand Guignol from the album Singularity

This song is available on iTunes, has a video on YouTube (you’ll see Wendy in a different light after watching it), and even has a pop-up video on YouTube, old-school VH-1-style!

Lyrics:

You love the drama,
You play the role,
and you’ll do anything,
to get my goat.
and when you bleed some,
it’s a horror show,
You think I’m crazy,
well you should know.

There’s always something wrong with you,
Someone’s always done something to you.
Stop being such a huge asshole.
Your big exaggerations,
always lead to a confrontation,
This little act is getting old,
you’re the Grand Guignol.

The sky is always falling down,
I can’t take you anywhere downtown,
It’s a bitchfest or a catfight,
don’t you know anyone you like?
You’re making threats so the stage is set for another breakdown.

There’s always something wrong with you,
Someone’s always done something to you.
Stop being such a huge asshole.
Your big exaggerations,
always lead to a confrontation,
This little act is getting old,
you’re the Grand Guignol.

You love the drama,
You play the role,
and you’ll do anything,
to get my goat.
and when you bleed some,
it’s a horror show,
You think I’m crazy,
well you should know.

The sky is always falling down,
I can’t take you anywhere downtown,
It’s a bitchfest or a catfight,
don’t you know anyone you like?
The stage is set,
off go the bets,
You’re making threats,
you’re killing pets,
in another breakdown.

There’s always something wrong with you.
What am I gonna do with you?
Stop being such a huge asshole.
This little act is getting old.
You’re the Grand Guignol.

4 – Interview with Susan Masino: Rock Journalist / Paranormal Researcher – Part 1

In our very first interview episode, Mike talks to special guest Susan Masino about some incredibly interesting crossovers between the music world and the world beyond.

As author of books: Let There Be Rock: The Story of AC/DC, Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy-My Life and Times with AC/DC, Van Halen, Kiss…, and The Secrets of the Universe: Universal Laws, Past Lives, Ghost Adventures and More, Ms. Masino is the perfect guest to join See You On The Other Side, and she’s got so many interesting things to say that we certainly hope she’ll return to the show in the future.

Susan tells us how she became interested in the music scene and the paranormal / psychic world. Why do so many venues and theaters have a propensity toward hauntings? She has her own opinion on the matter, and some great supporting stories to share that may bring a shiver up your spine.

Not only are ghosts and hauntings an area where Susan has had many experiences, but the topic of past lives / reincarnation is also very near and dear to her, as she believes her own son has a strong link to the Titanic. His story was featured on the television series “Ghost Inside My Child” because of the incredible dreams and visions he had as a young child. This brings to the conversation the topic of movies, and how they can often trigger memories of past lives in people. Susan also tells about a connection she herself may have to an actress from the past.

Featured Song: Saturday Night Gospel

Lyrics:

Well, we started playing when rock was on cassettes,
and the girls would tease their bangs with oceans of Aquanet.
Hang out in parking lots and learn to smoke cigarettes,
and we canonized all the rocker guys.

I used to high-speed dub my tapes for all my friends,
10 years on with Napster, yeah we did it all again.
We’d preach to country heathens who didn’t understand the reasons,
why I had to wear a concert shirt,
and every Saturday night we went to church.

And we sang,
Amen, my friend. Hallelujah.
Don’t you take that name in vain.
Praise the Lord with the sound, baptize me until I drown.
Let a choir of fallen angels sing my name,
I still believe the song remains the same, we haven’t changed.

And there were mullets as far as the eye could see.
My Blessed Virgin looked just like Debbie Harry,
We prayed at the Houses of the Holy,
And just like John Lennon, we all were bigger than,
you know.

I used to high-speed dub my tapes for all my friends,
10 years on with Napster, yeah we did it all again.
We’d preach to country heathens who didn’t understand the reasons,
why I always wore a concert shirt,
and every Saturday night we went to church.

And we sang
Amen, my friend. Hallelujah.
Don’t you take that name in vain.
Praise the Lord with the sound, baptize me until I drown.
Let a choir of fallen angels sing my name,
I still believe the song remains the same,
we haven’t changed.

We started playing when rock was on cassettes,
and the girls teased their bangs with oceans of Aquanet.
We hung out in parking lots, learned to smoke cigarettes,
and we canonized all the rocker guys.

And we sang,
Amen, my friend. Hallelujah.
Don’t you take that name in vain.
Praise the Lord with the sound, baptize me until I drown.
Let a choir of fallen angels sing my name,
And we sang,
Amen, my friend. Hallelujah.
Don’t you take that name in vain.
Praise the Lord with the sound, baptize me until I drown.
Let a choir of fallen angels sing my name,
For I do believe the song remains the same,
we haven’t changed.

2 – Lucid Dreaming: A Beginner’s Guide for Psychonauts

Have you ever taken control of your own actions while dreaming? In this episode, we delve into the topic of lucid dreaming. Mike shares his experience of studying the process in order to escape nightmares, and Wendy describes a lucid dream in which she could fly.

Featured Song: Hypnogogic from the album Singularity

This song is available on iTunes and also has a video on YouTube. Enjoy!!

Lyrics:

I wake up in the night,
still awake but paralyzed,
and you are there hovering over me.
I can’t believe my eyes,
Trusting myself is unwise,
but there you are still hovering over me.

My better nature tells me,
this is a fairy story,
but without trying I can feel you.
An undigested bit of beef,
brings back of an old motif,
but in this moment you are here.

A waking dream,
of my invention,
does not conform ,
to comprehension,
lost in Hypnogogia again.

These animated figments,
ambiguous in their malignance,
have opened up a portal over me.
Wondering if these phantasms,
are weighing all my malefactions,
and are they here for my reckoning?

A chance to recreate,
the circumstance of my mistakes,
to speak the language of the speechless.
In the shadow of moonlight,
is this the way to make things right,
or are you the core of my weakness?

A waking dream,
of my invention,
does not conform ,
to comprehension,
lost in Hypnogogia again.

Immobile and bedazed,
by the look upon your face,
I am both in awe and terrified.
A moment to connect,
with one I had on such effect,
what urge do you need satisfied?

Apology or a decree,
some rare form of alchemy,
some otherworldy threat,
something that hasn’t happened yet.
Or just some subconscious scheme,
to straighten out this Philistine,
and only a dream.

My better nature tells me,
this is a fairy story,
but without trying I can feel you.
In the shadow of moonlight,
is this the way to make things right,
or are you the core of my weakness?

A waking dream,
of my invention,
does not conform ,
to comprehension,
lost in Hypnogogia again.

Morpheus can read your mind,
Morpheus will always find,
all the things we keep inside,
all the things we try to hide.

Links to Things We Discussed:

Dream On app for iOS – Lucid dreaming app with dream journal
Awoken app for Android – Lucid dreaming app with dream journal

0 – Make First Contact with Mike and Wendy, Your Haunted Hosts to the Weird Reality Between Paranormal Activity and Pop Culture

This is the first episode of Sunspot’s brand new podcast, See You On The Other Side, a new paranormal pop culture podcast. In it, you’ll get a little background as to why we find it fun to talk about the supernatural, paranormal, and general other-worldly topics and their relationship with the entertainment industry.

Mike and Wendy recap some of the strange things that they and their bandmate Ben have witnessed while on tour, including a terrifying post-show excursion into the haunted basement of Ballyhoo’s in Merrill, Wisconsin, visiting the haunted railroad crossing in San Antonio, Texas, brushes with orbs caught on video, suspicions of aliens, and more.

Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions for show topics! We’d love to hear from you.

Featured Song: We Are The Darkness from the album Singularity

This song is available on iTunes and also has a video on YouTube. We hope you enjoy it!

Lyrics:

We are the impossible,
the things that should not be,
caught between Hell and Purgatory.
We are the invisible.
Waiting in the dark,
bearing the Devil’s mark.
We are the untouchable,
the kind they walk right through and never even have a clue.
We are the polluted souls.
Sloth and gluttony,
a leper colony.
The unwashed and the unholy.

Better to rule in Hell than never have a chance,
I’ve never been so glad to be forever damned.

And we will scream and we will cry,
and we will stand against the wind and watch them rail against the night.
Beware the human and his silly little game,
We are The Darkness, baby, we are not the same.

We are the undesirable,
Bleeding from the barbs carved into pariah hearts.
We are the un-nameable.
Demonic and sinful,
diabolical.
We are the abominable,
with spirits that are stained,
drunken on the blood of saints.
We are the wicked and the cursed,
doomed to fear the dawn,
an infernal spawn.
We are the whores of Babylon.

Better to rule in Hell than never have a chance,
I’ve never been so glad to be forever damned.

And we will scream and we will cry,
and we will stand against the wind and watch them rail against the night.
Calling all vampires, calling all succubi,
We are what they fear the most and we will never die.
And we will scream and we will cry,
and we will stand against the wind and watch them rail against the night.
Beware the human and his silly little game,
We are The Darkness, baby, we are not the same.

We are The Darkness, baby, we are not the same.
We are The Darkness, baby, we are not the same.
We are the ones that they will try to hold in chains,
the ones like you and me, we are a different breed.
And they’ll call us evil, the sons and daughters of Cain,
Find excuses for their hate and they will know us,
When they curse our name.
When they curse our name.
When they curse our name.
And they will know us when they curse our name.

And we will scream and we will cry,
and we will stand against the wind and watch them rail against the night.
Calling all vampires, calling all succubi,
We are what they fear the most and we will never die.
And we will scream and we will cry,
and we will stand against the wind and watch them rail against the night.
Beware the human and his silly little game,
We are the darkness, baby, we are not the same.

Links to Things We Discussed about the Band and Paranormal Pop Culture