Meet Neal Gibbons. One look at him, and you think he could be a wearing a red coat and going to your house on Christmas Eve. Well, you would be right on that, but Neal is also a paranormal tour guide, investigator, and researcher. Neal hosts ghost tours all across Chicago Land, and is a historian of Chicago's South Side. Everything from extensive research on Resurrection Mary, Archer Woods Cemetery, and Chet's Melody Lounge. Learn about Neal's backstory with Imps, and sneaking into Monk's Castle Cemetery.

Alright, so here's the thing. Bob has had Jack on the phone many times over the years, but he has never been in the studio. Well, that all changed this week. Meet, finally, Jack Chavez. Jack is a Swiss Army Knife of paranormal knowledge. He's a brilliant researcher who knows something about a lot of things. Including, but not limited to, cryptids, ghosts, demons, angels, local haunts, phantom clowns, and phantom kangaroos.

Also, make sure to check out or friends over at Heart of Illinois Center for Unexplained Phenomenon HICUP! https://www.facebook.com/HOIUnexplained!

Week two of Paranormal Researchers month, we welcome back to the show Rebecca and Pat from Ghostly Podcast. They are an interesting duo with Rebecca being the believer and Pat being a skeptic, they debate ghost stories. We dive into their pasts and look at why Rebecca is more researcher then hunter when it comes to the paranormal, and why one Buddhist's line changed Pat to being a skeptic forever.

What's the number one thing a paranormal researcher needs to prove what they find? Evidence. Not in the case of Jon-Erik Beckjord. Jon was a paranormal investigator whom studied Bigfoot, Lochness Monster, and UFO's. On this episode, we look at the strange case of Jon, and how his lack there of evidence made him quite the spectacle.

Ever see the movie the Exorcist? You know, with the little girl who gets possessed by a demon? Well, that movie was based on a book of the same name, and that book was based on a "true story." The story starts Cottage City Maryland in the home of the Ronald Hunkeler (Thanks Ghostly Podcast for the scoop.) There he learned about the spiritualism movement from his aunt Harriett. She taught the family how to use Ouija boards and the such. Upon her death, the family was experiencing some supernatural experiences around the home. Thinking it would help, the did a séance to see if it was the aunt. From there, Ronald began experiencing signs of possession. This week, Count Panek and Bob look at the case and see if there was any truth to the story of The Exorcist.

Episode 203: The Vanishing Hitchhiker

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You're driving down a dark road late at night. A hitchhiker climbs into your car, rides for a few miles… and then vanishes without a sound.

This chilling tale is one of the most famous in paranormal folklore: The Phantom Hitchhiker. From ghostly travelers on forgotten highways to spirits replaying their final ride, the legend has haunted drivers for generations.

In this episode of Bob After Dark, we explore the origins of this eerie story, its global variations, and why it continues to capture our imagination. Just be careful next time you see someone thumbing a ride in your headlights.

References:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/vanishing-hitchhiker-urban-legend https://multoghost.wordpress.com/2024/07/26/revisiting-the-vanishing-hitchhiker/

This week we visit modern lore and look at the SCP Foundation. This week we read 3 file cases known as SCP-217, SCP-425, and SCP-119. One is a virus that turns any object into a clock, another is a microwave that seems to bend time, and a television that broadcasts infinity.

Bob is home from Gen Con! He brings back stories of mead trading, gaming, and of course speaking. Bob hosted two seminars this past weekend. One was on some of the stranger stories he experienced. The second was how to implement the paranormal in a RPG. Also on this episode we talk about the history of the Ouija Board, and the early days of the Spiritualism movement.