And is that even a ghost? You know what I mean? Is that even the same thing? The

way I understand it, and again, it's nebulous.

There's a lot of room for conjecture and all, but I think that When people die, they're either ghosts with a lower vibration and they're either stuck or they choose to stay at that location or they're a spirit with a higher vibration and they go over to another plane where they should be.

We should be in that spiritual realm.

For some reason, some individuals just get stuck and they can't move over.

Some of us, I believe, have the ability to help them pass over.

and they talk about that.

So could be the case.

It, it, does fear play a central part in Scream of the Haunted House? Or what, is there another emotion that underpins people's experiences?

Yeah, yeah, that's a great question.

Yeah, I'm, I'm glad you asked that.

I think with, uh, Paranormal Apocalypse, uh, fear was the driving force, and I wrote this because, mainly because of the political climate, that I think a lot of us were being just, uh, placed in fear, like lemmings, uh, by, uh, by, uh, religious organizations, by political organizations, and by society.

So I think a lot of us were just sort of living in fear for the times, chaotic times, unpredictable times, times that, uh, like right now, that we're kept off balance.

And, uh, it's, it's enough to drive you mad if you allow yourself to be, uh, wrapped in that fear.

So in Paranormal Apocalypse, I, I tell people, "Be your own person.

Maybe let's talk a little bit about her Haunting of Hill House, and how kind of important that is in the genre of horror fiction, and why that's such a significant book, and h- how that ties into your current work.

... can't I go over to the dock and catch a fish?

Yeah.

And you know, I have a really good friend that lives in, um, in North Carolina, and I'm glad that she doesn't live near Asheville because a couple of years ago, I think it was Hurricane Helene, that flooded, um, North Carolina, those mountains of North Carolina around Apple- around, uh, um, Asheville with f- floods of biblical proportions.

They've never seen that before.

It was just horrendous.

Uh, the rains just came, just came down and, um, you know, so we're seeing more of that, and there's more evidence of that.

And I think we need to be concerned.

What bothers you about it?

Could you tell us a little bit more about that? Because that sounds as fascinating as it is terrifying.

It is terrifying, I guess, in a sense, but Albert Ostman was a Swedish French trapper, and he was there in British Columbia.

And something was messing around with his campsite, uh, stealing food, uh, you know, making tracks, upsetting the thing.

And he, and he was angry, and he thought it was some kind of a robber.

But what he did was Albert Ostman got into his sleeping bag with a rifle, and he was gonna hide there until this culprit showed up again, and then he was gonna jump out and shoot the guy.

Frontier justice.

I mean, that's how, how we did it back in the old day.

Now, talking about your amazing books, right, I was thrilled that you explored the Bigfoot UFO connection in The Last Rites of the Bigfoot, right? Why do you think so many witnesses report strange lights, missing time, other paranormal phenomena as- alongside Sasquatch?

For our listeners who may not be familiar with your work, can you give us a quick rundown of who you are and what you do in Bigfoot research and-

Yeah.

Um, I'm a, uh, former rock journalist and former psychologist, and, uh, somewhere along the line, I just, like, really, uh, uh, got bitten by the paranormal bug.

And I'm not just talking about cryptids and Bigfoot, but, you know, flying saucers, you know, UAPs, demonology, the whole thing.

And I just, uh, love it all 'cause it's just...

I, I mean, I'm just intrigued by what's around the corner, and I think we're all sort of fascinated by that.

So, um, uh, the, um, thing about Bigfoot, though, I had a book called, uh, Coal Region Hoodoo: Paranormal Tales From Asi- Inside the Pit.

... who don't know about it.

Can you talk a little bit about that now too?

Yeah, the, and Jonestown was actually, uh, you know, personal to me.

Um, Jonestown took place, I believe it was December of, um, uh, 1978, and I was, uh, in Wyoming.

I was in the, the state of Wyoming in a cabin in the woods [laughs] and, and, uh, we were there for about a little over a week, but there was no, uh, television, radio, newspapers.

There was nothing.

It was just nature, you know? And, uh, just me and my girlfriend.

And, uh, but anyway, we came out of the woods, and the first thing we heard was what happened in Jonestown, a ritualistic, uh, suicide.

Of course

What about, um, uh, weaponized religion?

Yeah, um, you know, [laughs] that really gets into the political, and it gets into, uh, uh, what's happening today.

You know, we have that what's so-called religious right tends to be, uh, conservative.

Uh, it tends to be lockstep with church and state.

And, uh, it, it's, uh, it's alarming because, uh, it's, it's a great way to go and mobilize people.

Uh, again, u- utilizing, uh, the Bible and Christianity and, uh, all of that, that, all of, what that would, what that represents.

And, um, and it's, it's my understanding that on the Fourth of July, there's gonna be a massive, uh, uh, get-together at the White House, you know, with this religious right.

A- anxiety and fear.