Sylvia Shults's Blog, page 49

Today I Learned …

Sometimes dogs and wolves in movies need to have their tails altered using CGI. It often happens that they’re supposed to be menacing or threatening, with their tails down, but they’re so excited to be doing a good job acting that they can’t stop their tails from wagging.

Listener Feedback

I’m having so much fun being a guest on Ron’s Amazing Stories every month. And happily, our listeners seem to enjoy our back and forth banter too. Ron was kind enough to share an email he got from one of our listeners.

“Hello Ron — First let me say what so many others have said, you have the most unique podcast out there. Your mix and mash of stories is wonderful and fun to listen to. You asked, ‘What is our favorite segment?’ For me, hands down, it’s Ghost Stories With Sylvia. You guys seem to like each other and have a lot of fun. I do have a question for the both of you. Do you agree on what ghosts and spirits are? I am betting this question is going to spark a debate.”  — Jeanette Porter, Harwick, PA

For the answer, just take a listen to our show. You can find it here: http://www.ronsamazingstories.com/

Today I Learned…

Kangaroos can’t walk backwards.

Lights Out: Galena, Illinois

Here’s another fun episode of Lights Out for your delectation and enjoyment! Galena, Illinois, is a pretty little touristy town, that is loaded with ghost lore. Come along with me for a tour of this haunted place. We’ll join Steve Repp for his All About A Ghost tour. Steve is a great storyteller with a lovely, self-deprecating sense of humor — he even let slip a couple of “dad jokes” as we walked around. His tours are $15, and well worth the scratch. I highly recommend catching a tour if you’re in town. https://youtu.be/GIaRnqai02I

[image error]

Lights Out: Haunted Church

Northern Illinois, a peaceful, rural part of the state, has its share of haunted locations. One of these is a church in the suburbs north of Chicago. Come with me to explore it. https://youtu.be/JOe1HmFPcZM

[image error]

October’s the Month for Scary!

So last night, I bundled up a blanket, an afghan, a thermos of hot sweet tea, and some picnic snackies, and went down the street to lay on the grass and watch the meteor shower. I didn’t see any meteors, but I spent an enjoyable twenty minutes or so listening to the old-time radio episode presented by Ron’s Amazing Stories.

This podcast features the most highly regarded episode of the old-time radio series Quiet, Please. It is called The Thing on the Fourble Board. This story has led both fans and OTR experts to label the episode one of the best radio horror programs ever broadcast. Richard J. Hand of the University of Glamorgan notes that “The Thing on the Fourble Board” is not only cited as the finest example of radio horror but occasionally cited as one of the best examples of radio drama as a whole. RAS401-Thing-100819.mp3

Ron says, “An oil rig worker discovers an invisible creature of unknown origins living beneath the depths of the earth. What happens to this man is horrific, and the ending is absolutely brilliant. If you’re alone, turn the lights down low and listen. It will help get you into a Halloween mood.”

So, you guys want to know what’ll freak me out? I was wondering the same thing. Last night, I found out. After listening to “The Thing on the Fourble Board” at night, by myself, I was quite thoroughly creeped out. Thank you, Ron, for giving me such a deliciously spooky experience!

Today I Learned …

Some species of burrowing spiders keep teeny tiny frogs in their burrows. They do this for pest control — the wee froggies eat the bugs that are too small for the spider to catch, bugs that might try to eat the spider’s eggs. This means, essentially, that weentsy frogs are spider cats.

Today I Learned …

There’s a word for the stringy bits of a banana, between the peel and the fruit. They’re called phloem.

Thoughts on the Afterlife

So the other day, at the library, I was checking books in, and I came across a book by a doctor who had clinically died, visited the afterlife, and come back to tell the tale. My first thought was, hey cool, here we have an actual sciencey-type person who can back up our theories on the afterlife. That’s great!

And then, I thought, why do we NEED someone to back up our theories? I mean, I personally believe in an afterlife. I know many people do not, and that’s their own business. I happen to believe in an afterlife the same way I believe that if I drop an apple on the floor, it’s going to fall down, and not float off sideways.

But WHY do I believe this? Why do I, and sooooo many other people, believe that death is not the end? Just to play devil’s advocate here for a second, evidence of the paranormal can be faked. Pictures can be faked. Ghost voices can be faked. I can sit here and tell you that I saw a full-body apparition in my bedroom. You may believe me, you may not. But you only have my word for it. Am I telling the truth? Or am I making up stories to get attention? (Full disclosure, in case anyone’s keeping score: I have never ever ever faked evidence. Any story I tell, is true as far as I experienced it.)

Here’s the thing my mind dropped on me as I looked at the book by the scientist: maybe we believe in an afterlife because we have evolved to believe in an afterlife. In the same way we are unique on earth in having opposable thumbs, and we cry with emotion, and we’ve developed religion, maybe we have ghosts because we have evolved to have ghosts. Maybe the human spirit is SO unique and SO powerful, some of that psychic residue sort of hangs around after that particular organism has died. And sometimes, the lucky ones among those that are left behind can see or hear or sense that psychic residue.

And that means we are not alone.

Today I Learned …

Swordfish heat up their eyeballs when they go hunting. This allows them to see better and pick out the shape of fleeing prey.