Youtube Review: Real Ghost Stories On-line

I watch a lot of CreepyPastas on youtube. I think it would be safe to say that I really appreciate any well-written content from the horror genre; be it a blog post, a published book, or a well read story. This particular podcast came up in my recommendations, and I originally thought that it would be a creepypasta, and clicked, ready to hear some good, creepy fiction. Instead, I found an entire podcast, full of archived episodes.

The show is simple in its format, and delivers everything it promises. The title, “Real Ghost Stories On-line” gives away the entire show. A married couple, Jenny and Tony Brueski host the podcast from their home studio in the American heartland, giving the show a cozy, grass roots feel. Neither seem to be particularly well versed or trained in the paranormal; Jenny seems to be trained in psychology, whereas Tony's background is in radio. They never claim to be experts, and instead act as a voice to share stories of hauntings sent in by real people through their web site, http://www.realghoststoriesonline.com/ .

At first I thought I wouldn't like the show, because the hosts had no expertise, and because I didn't think that “true” ghost stories would be as good as fictional creepypasta. In the real world, there is very often a mundane explanation for supposed supernatural events, and it's difficult for me to lose myself in a story if I think that the person telling it is purporting it to be real. My mind begins to doubt that person, wondering if they're trying to trick me or if they've been fooled themselves by some outside force, or if they're just mistaken and attributing their own shortcomings to a supernatural, outside force.

But the more I listened to this show, I found it growing on me. The hosts are charming, and it's actually refreshing to hear a show where the host doesn't claim to have all the answers. The true stories aren't all obviously made up, and many of them are tales recounted from the caller's childhood, such as the evil zombie clown one person claims to have seen when he was a small child. Those stories are interesting from a supernatural standpoint, I'm sure, but also from a psychological standpoint. The boy in that story had witnessed a man, a clown, die in a parade during the day, and that night saw the specter of his walking corpse. Going to a carnival, a happy place, as a child, and witnessing a death, is going to be traumatic. The fact that the child saw this, and remembered it as an adult is sad, but in a morbid way, it holds my attention. And there are several stories like that one, that will be interesting if you like the supernatural, but also just if you like the human mind.

Of course, they do have guests who begin their call by claiming to be “psychic” or have “the sight”, but that type of thing seems to permeate any “true story” type of paranormal show, and there isn't much you can do about it. Any time you have an open line like that, you're going to get people who are so deep in their own mystique that they don't even try to see the real world around them. And that just can't be helped. It isn't really the show's fault that those type of people will appear on it, as they will appear anywhere they can find an audience.

Perhaps one of the most famous hauntings in American history is that of the Amityville Horror. There was of course a book by the couple, Kathy and George Lutz, who owned the house, who claimed to be haunted by the spirit of a boy, Ronald DeFayo Jr, who had murdered his family in the very home they now inhabited. This show has actually had two of the Lutz's now adult children on as guests, to talk about their experiences, not only in the house but afterward, dealing with the aftermath of the fame that came from their parents' very public outcry over the purported haunting.

All in all, if you're interested in the horror genre, even if you aren't particularly interested in these “true” stories, you'll still find hours of entertainment in this podcast. If you do like “true” stories, you'll absolutely love the show. I've been listening to the backlogs on youtube, and it's great to have on while you work, because you have several segmented stories instead of a long, flowing narrative that requires more concentration. At least try an episode, and see if you get hooked!