The Spooky Stuff

Ken Summers is a paranormal researcher, history aficionado, part-time traveler, variegated artist, and purveyor of strange tales and forgotten hauntings. The ever-apologetic creator of the “orb color chart,” he has always endeavored to balance open-minded fascination and humor with logical questioning in the pursuit of truth. Unlike many self-described experts in the field, he isn’t afraid to admit that he doesn’t have all the answers, and where others argue over the existence of ghosts, UFOs, Sasquatch, and other mysteries, Ken sees the true value of supernatural stories as a means of keeping interesting, forgotten history alive. Ken has long been fascinated by the most obscure, forgotten, and unusual stories and incidents related to the paranormal. That quest for the strangest of the strange developed into a blog series of “Queer Paranormal Road Trips” in 2008. This questioning of the sexualities of specters led to his last book, Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts, published in 2009. Currently, he’s busily at work researching for a follow-up book, once again delving into the mysterious realm where ‘weird’ and ‘queer’ blur together. Whenever possible, Ken puts his vast knowledge of “useless information” to use in the form of tours, lectures, or writing. Some of his work can be found on Week in Weird. He was also editor and a contributor for Haunted Akron.

Rebecca Williamson is the owner of Cambre House and Farm, a haunted wedding venue outside of Nauvoo Illinois. She has been interested in the paranormal her entire life and has nearly 20 years of experience doing paranormal investigations. Rebecca bought the Cambre House from her Grandparents' estate in 2016 and hosts weddings and paranormal investigations there.

In this episode, Vanessa Hogle came to the paranormal table to talk about her latest book, “Ghosts Abroad Ireland” just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! She tells me about her adventures in Ireland that will make you laugh and even cry. Five short years ago Vanessa Hogle was stuck. Knee deep in two jobs, a dead end relationship and no positive viewpoint regarding the future. Knowing something had to change she drew inspiration from her past and began to forge a new life for herself and her son. She had been involved in the paranormal community before and knew that's where she had to start. Having "remote viewed" for a paranormal team, and consulted for the "Leave or Die" episode of The Haunted, on Animal Planet. Always finding new ways to better herself, and her family's future, Vanessa has also drawn upon her more artistic abilities and has established herself as a commissioned artist, showing publicly at Loyola University, Chicago, in September 2018. In January of 2019, she founded Perfect Trust Productions LLC and recruited trusted friend and investigator, Gwen Clapper. By January of 2020, Vanessa was named as the newest member of Beyond Perception Investigators. A paranormal team whom she had worked extensively with for several years. With over 400 investigations under her belt, her books and art, Vanessa is proving there are no limits too high to reach. She has done this all while raising a son and holding down 2 jobs! You can find more information about Vanessa at vanessahogle.com.

Welcome to the Spooky Stuff podcast. In this episode, Robert Murch and Rick “Ormortis” Schreck stop by the paranormal table to talk about the infamous Ouija board. They talk about the history of the Ouija board, the media’s influence on how the board is viewed, Shreck’s famous Ouijazilla, and how they came to become avid collectors and experts on talking boards. Robert Murch is the world’s foremost collector, historian, and expert on Ouija and Talking Boards and serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Talking Board Historical Society which he founded. His bizarre relationship with Ouija began after watching Kevin Tenney’s Witchboard in 1986, a century after the talking board made its debut. Murch purchased his first antique Ouija board in 1992 and became obsessed with unraveling the mystery of its origins. Since then, he’s devoted his life to researching the history of the Ouija board and its founders, with Murch often traveling the world to track down descendants of all those involved with the introduction of the mystifying oracle. Rick “Ormortis” Schrek serves in TBHS along with Murch as Vice President. Ironically his collecting started the same year as Murch 1992 when he visited Salem Mass for the first time. Rick and Murch have known each other for a long time as friends and fellow collectors before the formation of the TBHS. His passion for collecting talking boards is rivaled by his obsession of making them which he has been doing for about 17 years. He uses materials that most won't touch, wood from embalming tables and funeral type stuff. Rick’s biggest accomplishment is his Ouija board -OuijaZilla, the largest Ouija Board on the planet. It is featured in Ripley's Believe it or Not, Bind Blown, 2020. You can find more info about Rick at ouijazilla.com.

In this episode, Dan and Kat Eckhart stop by the paranormal table to talk about their work as professional seance hosts. We dive into the fascinating history of seances and their influences on women's rights, religion, and the abolitionist movement. It was an amazing conversation. The Eckharts are séance hosts and experts, obsessed with exploring what lies beyond the veil. Often referred to as “celebrity occultists", the Eckharts strive to share their love of the paranormal by showing that spirit communication can be exciting, mystical, and ultimately accessible to us all. In their séances, the Eckharts share some of their most impactful ghost stories, facilitate spirit contact through traditional techniques such as crystal moving on a spirit board, and demonstrate unnervingly accurate trance mediumship. You can follow the Eckharts on Instagram and TikTok and you can visit their website at theEckharts.com.