Blake Pfeil is the host of 'abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast,' a multimedia travelogue exploring abandoned spaces across the United States. Together, we discuss what our deep love of these American ruins means, how it relates to queerness, to addiction and recovery, capitalism and politics, and how these spaces can help us recultivate the empathy we need to find solidarity. Listen to abandoned: All-American Ruins wherever you get your podcasts or head to allamericanruins.com Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American Hysteria

Unabandoned with Podcaster Blake Pfeil of 'All-American Ruins'

Listeners like you can now share urban legends from your childhood and if selected, we will investigate your story in depth, sometimes even testing it out ourselves. Lauren's story: On a rural road outside Chicago, the ghosts of children killed in a school bus-train collision are said to push cars uphill, off the tracks, and out of harm's way, leaving their handprints in baby powder dusted on the bumper by local legend-tripping teenagers. So we investigated this urban legend, versions of which are told in small towns all over the country, by searching through old newspapers for related historical crashes, and then by unearthing reports of bizarre "mock accidents" that have occurred near Munger Road for decades. I even headed out all by myself to a rural road in Washington State said to be haunted by similar helpful ghosts, to see if there is any truth to this urban legend, or if it's all just an illusion. CW: Train accidents, death If you have an urban legend you'd like us to explore, head to americanhysteria.com and leave us a message! Thanks to Lauren and to Nick Smith, check out his film Munger Road on Amazon Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Munger Road | Urban Legends Hotline

For part two of my conversation with Sarah, I finish telling her about a satanic panic era "memoir" published by Chick Publications in the early 1990s which culminates in the author's transformation into a real-life vampire only able to survive by drinking human blood. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interview with the Ex-Vampire (pt. 2) with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Over the next two episodes, I tell Sarah the story of another one of Jack Chick's occult experts using his "memoir" published by Chick Publications in the early 1990s which culminates in his transformation into a real-life vampire. We also discuss other memoirs of cultic abuse and participation written during the Satanic Panic and how they contributed to the hysteria. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Listen to You're Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interview with the Ex-Vampire (pt. 1) with Sarah Marshall of 'You're Wrong About'

Who was Jack Chick, really? For the final episode in our series we will explore his childhood, his time in WWII, the comic moral panic happening at the beginning of his career, and how it all shaped the nightmarish world he would come to create through his work. We'll explore the negative impacts of his egregious messaging while at the same time looking at how beloved his lurid and campy cartoons have become. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Voice Acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chick Tracts pt. 3

An ex-druid grand priest for the illuminati, an undercover Jesuit agent of destruction, a woman married to the devil, and a doctor who battled demons and satanists alongside her – these are the people who brought Jack Chick the life stories he would use to create his tracts, comics, and books. For this episode, we are going to hear their sensational tales, explore their relationships to Jack, and expose both their lies and their crimes. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer and Editor: Miranda Zickler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chick Tracts pt. 2

Cartoons of satanic witch cults, Illuminati world domination, demonic homosexuals, and the pressing choice of hell or salvation were the horror hallmarks of Baptist indie comic artist Jack Chick's sensational world, his stories told through small booklets that his fans were instructed to leave anywhere a stranger might stumble across them. With a billion of these (often unintentionally hilarious) melodramatic little comics sold throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s, and into the present day, Chick Publications has played no small role in the creation of the most famous moral panics, conspiracy theories, and urban legends in American history. For part one, we will totally submerge you in his strange reality using some of the most outrageous examples of his work. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Research Assistant: Riley Swedelius-Smith Producer: Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chick Tracts pt. 1

Chick Tracts, what are they? You'll find out in our upcoming three-part series that covers a fundamentalist comic artist who was a hidden architect of the satanic panic, illuminati, and gay agenda hysterias. Jack Chick printed hundreds of millions of his bible tracts, small stapled together cartoon booklets full of blood sacrificing witches, evil secret societies, and sensationalized sin, based on the stories of "experts" like a druid high priest, a Catholic secret agent, and two women battling demons in a witch infested hospital. Chick Tracts are ridiculously brutal, deeply offensive, unintentionally hilarious morality plays meant to be left in random places by random Christians, in order to scare straight whatever lucky sinner happens to find them. Join our Patreon for ad-free early episodes and bonus content! This episode was co-produced by Riley Smith and Miranda Zickler Produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Context Clues: A Cartoonish Hell Awaits You

Are we being invaded?? I sure thought so. Today we are talking quite animatedly to our official paranormal correspondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet, a documentary series that explores the unknown and our relationship to it. This episode includes our thoughts on the recent unidentified aerial phenomena, the first UFO hysteria of the 1940s, and how our otherworldly encounters have something to do with both personal and national trauma. Check out Euphomet! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OMG WTF UFOs with Jim Perry of Euphomet

In 2014, an urban legend formed around a cartoon cat chatbot when rumors spread across social media that a child predator was operating the app, actually visible in the reflection of her big blue eyes. We'll look at the moral panic that cropped up around Talking Angela, and take a look at how urban legends are often a patchwork of clumsy crowdsourced creativity taken far too seriously. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Co-written by Riley Swedelius-Smith Co-edited by Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking Angela

For this episode we chat about the sensational tales of cyberspace, from Slenderman to the Momo suicide game, with the guys behind the new podcast Digital Folklore, an immersive experience that explores online culture, internet monsters, memes, and urban legends as an accessible and entertaining way to learn about academic folklore concepts. We'll get deep into what these new stories tell us about ourselves, American society, and the wilderness of the modern internet. Subscribe to Digital Folklore! Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Urban Legends in the Internet Wilderness with the Digital Folklore Podcast

Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a podcast about a family on the fringe who convinced tens of thousands of people across the globe to buy a miracle liquid made of poison, the international conspiracy they ignited, and the people who fought to take them down.     Smoke Screen: Deadly Cure is a Neon Hum Media, Bloomberg & Sony Music Entertainment production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing: Deadly Cure

Nope, it's not an urban legend! Today we are talking to journalist and filmmaker Robin Washington who, like a huge number of boys in high school between the 1920s and 1970s, was required to swim naked during gym class. Not only has Robin created documentaries like the PBS film You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow!, he is also a founder of the Alliance of Black Jews. But Robin is here to talk to us specifically about the trauma that was his 1970s high school swim class and a shocking experience once shared by millions of boys but long forgotten by the rest of America. Learn more about Robin's work at robinwashington.com Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content American Hysteria is produced and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Edited by Miranda Zickler Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Naked Swimming was Required in Gym Class with Journalist Robin Washington

In 1974, running naked in public became a major fad led by students on college campuses across the nation. This provocative prank was surprisingly well-received, considered a playful call back to the college fads of yore like the riotous panty raids that burned across campuses in the 1950s. We'll look at the most outrageous moments from these crazes and see how streaking was used to discredit the political actions of students protesting against the Vietnam War and in the name of civil rights. Become a Patron to support our show and get early ad-free episodes and bonus content Follow American Hysteria on social media: Twitter: @AmerHysteria Instagram: @AmericanHysteriaPodcast Find our merch at americanhysteria.com American Hysteria is written, produced, and hosted by Chelsey Weber-Smith Co-researched and co-edited by Riley Swedelius-Smith Co-produced and co-edited by Miranda Zickler Voice acting by Will Rogers Sound design by Clear Commo Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Streaking Craze

Dr. Ronald Dante is a talented hypnotist (and not an actual doctor) whose mind-bending schemes span decades. Dante worked the smoke-filled nightclubs of 1960s Hollywood and rode the self-help craze of the 1980s and 90s, hypnotizing women out of their fortunes, taking out hits on his rivals and opening up one of the biggest fake universities in history. Host Sam Mullins tracks Dante through yacht clubs, prison cells, trailer parks and theme parks to uncover the unbelievable true story of the greatest con man you’ve never heard of. Chameleon: Dr. Dante is a Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing: Chameleon: Dr. Dante

American Hysteria explores how fantastical thinking has shaped our culture – moral panics, urban legends, hoaxes, crazes, fringe beliefs, and national misunderstandings. Poet-turned-podcaster Chelsey Weber-Smith tells the strangest stories from American history and examines the forces that create the reality we share, and sometimes, the reality we don't.

hubhopper

American Hysteria

hubhopper