In “Tales from the Vidcast" episodes, I will gather weird experiences (and legends) from friends and acquaintances.  Quite a few in this first batch were related to me previously (often in less detail).  Most are personal experiences the storyteller couldn’t explain that struck them as potentially ghostly or paranormal, with the exception of one urban legend/campfire tale and one secondhand story.  I am not judging whether these stories were actually paranormal or not; the purpose is to look at what types of stories people have that they interpret as eerie or unexplained.  However, I do try to ask questions or offer alternative possibilities wherever I can.  Many do indeed seem hard to explain (in my opinion).  Of course, another reason we tell stories like this is simply for fun.   NOTES:  -In case not obvious, Alesha is my older sister.  -The Stone Tape (sort of) theory I reference ("emotional recordings") is a "hypothesis" simply by the "speculation" or "proposed explanation" definition.  It does not currently appear to be a scientifically supported explanation. -*Typo: should be "Mark's and Trunks's Stories" I think  -Extra info on Matt’s (aka Trunks) story: The phenomena that seemed to come and go in an upstairs bathroom (when he was in high school) was hinted by two of his family members to have coincided with some occult activity they engaged in.  He says they never gave him a straight answer as to what exactly happened.  They did claim that right before it seemed to subside, they “banished" whatever it was. This phenomena struck him as a much more negative feeling than what was felt in the other (master) bathroom.  Trunks says he and his siblings have disliked using the master bathroom since they were young.  They felt as though they were being watched from a linen closet.  The last time he used that bathroom (somewhat recently), he says he felt very cold on one side of his head and shoulders.  Then, he heard whispering in his ear on that side.  He couldn’t make out words, but says it sounded garbled, as though several things were being said quickly and simultaneously.   -The version of the Walney Road story in Weird Virginia by Jeff Bahr, Troy Taylor, and Loren Coleman says the man killed was out for a walk.  It is said his ghost is looking for the hit-and-run driver.  This version says he will appear in your passenger seat and "force you off the road” if you don’t pick him up after his third appearance.  The entry suggests that accidents occurring along the road may contribute to the story.  The additional/alternate details in my telling are included in versions told in online entries, such as on Shadowlands Haunted Places Index.  In the variation related there, if you don’t pick up the ghost, “a car will come out of nowhere and kill you.”  -See my SOURCES document for more details on the Bunny Man legends.    -Ryan thinks the haunted house in Fredericksburg (in his first tale) may have been at Deep Creek Vintage, but is not positive since it has been a few years now.  -The object Ryan saw in the sky appeared to be low-flying and a fairly close distance from him (within a couple blocks).  He judges its size to have been roughly that of a small school bus.  -The only additional detail that Ryan remembers being told about his friend’s “skinwalker” sighting is that the figure appeared to be watching her. MUSIC  -Track Title: Halloween 2017 Available at: https://youtu.be/aYeuCKoTc3k Beat by https://chrishayesmusic.co.uk   -"Spellbound" - Darren Curtis    -SINISTER - VIVEK ABHISHEK SOURCES https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cbo1JVJ5vcr-8FpNsBvbiQ9sHiYh3jstAbCWK7GJUB0/edit?usp=sharing

In this episode, we (myself, my brother, and our friend "Trunks")discuss Japanese ghosts. A weird error occurred with my recorder during the main session, and the first 22 minutes of audio was lost. I had to use the camera audio for that portion.  NOTES (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNgOZ7uyns8&t=1721s for complete notes) -To elaborate on the intro, ghost tales can also more generally show you what concepts INTEREST (not just scare) people.  -Apologies for all mispronunciations or wrong emphasis. Two key words I realized I got wrong for example: yurei (should be more like YOO-RAE), kaidan (should be more like KAI-DAHN).  -According to author Zack Davisson, some folklorists do not include yurei as yokai (Davisson 2013). I think I agree with his approach (along with others he cites) in which yokai encompasses both monsters/creatures and entities such as yurei. Many, including Davisson and Matthew Meyer, would define any supernatural phenomena with roots in Japanese folklore as yokai.  -A Japanese author who writes historical supernatural fiction (Miyuki Myabe) said of the Edo period in a Japan Times interview, “Life was hard and short,” and that people “understood death might be just around the corner. In fact, I believe this is what contributed to the development of Japan’s scary storytelling tradition” (Alt 2014).  -Not sure why I said “strange OR supernatural” as every kaidan I’ve heard was supernatural.  -Zack Davisson points out on his blog site that most broadly, kaidan were any old-fashioned strange tales, meaning they were not just the scary or gruesome ghost stories. They "can just as easily be funny, or strange, or just telling about an odd thing that happened one time” (Davisson).  -Okiku is often spoken highly of (in the Himeji-based legends especially) for her faithfulness and bravery. Other times she is depicted more simply as a wronged woman.  -Author Zack Davisson says that although you could argue Himeji's Okiku story came from the previous castle based on its supposed dates, the Okiku well is “almost certainly of a later origin”, as only a gate apparently remained of the previous castle (Davisson 2015).  -The urban legends about asking for Oiwa’s blessing on productions often seem to say to visit her grave rather than her shrine in Yotsuya, Shinjuku, Tokyo. It seems that some (online) may be mixing up/combining her grave with her shrine. She is supposedly buried at Myogyoji temple in Sugamo, Toshima-ku, Tokyo.  -Quotes from Lafcadio Hearn and his wife Setsu were read from Paul Murray's introduction to Japanese Ghost Stories. The Hearn quotes were from On Poetry and "The Eternal Haunter." Setsu's was from "Reminiscences" (Murray 2019).  -According to editor/biographer Paul Murray, “[Hearn’s] works became popular in his adopted homeland after their translation into Japanese in the late 1920’s, where his role in collecting and preserving folklore was much appreciated"(Murray 2019).  -Mujina are badgers with magic powers. Sometimes they may take the form of a faceless “ghost" to scare humans. A faceless “ghost" is called a nopperabō (Meyer).  SOURCES  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XCq3LOs5YvQOOdNoco0YT4mKtbjmby6O0HEykVj8GT0/edit?usp=sharing MUSIC  -Halloween 2017 Available at: youtu.be/aYeuCKoTc3k Beat by chrishayesmusic.co.uk  -Yurei (Japanese Horror Background Music)  - Krao SINISTER - VIVEK ABHISHEK

In this first episode of the Haunt, I recall the stories of three unexplained experiences that involved us and/or members of our family. Next, we rewatch an old Travel Channel segment (from the 2003 show Haunted Town) on the Atchison, KS Sallie House that badly scared me as a kid. We also discuss some exploration I did of the story online. This episode was mostly recorded in December and early January, but I just found the time to return to it and put the finishing touches on. Going forward, I will try and release at least 1-2 per month if possible.  *Extra Notes & Clarifications:  -To clarify my position, I am agnostic on all paranormal topics as of now.  -The sections with the personal stories have poor audio quality, but the group setting/atmosphere fit how stories like these are told, so I decided to include them anyway.  -My mother recalls that our aunt described the figure as wearing old-fashioned clothing (possibly 1800s or early 1900s).  -The two stories I was present for both happened years ago, and recalling them here made me more aware that my memories of the actual events are somewhat vague. Hopefully incorporating both my brother's and mother’s memories got the stories as close to accurate as possible. If I had to bet, though, they were just seemingly odd coincidences and/or misinterpretations, but they are fun examples of the types of ambiguous “ghost” stories that many have. As for my aunt’s experience, it seems fairly compelling as my mother recalls it, but we would of course want to hear more detailed accounts from both my aunt and her sister-in-law to further gauge it and rule out other explanations.  -I either misspoke or misremembered the details of the stuffed animal story. According to the account on the Pickmans’ site, they only found the full circle of animals the first time; on the next two checks they say it was a single bear in the center of the room.  -Aside from living in close proximity in Atchison during the same time period, recent paranormal investigators/researchers have concluded there is no evident connection between Sallie Hall and the Finneys.  -According to the Pickmans’ website on the house, Debra had started to research the house’s history before Peter James visited and Tony had the “MC” scratches, so we can’t rule out that she could have already known the name M.C. Finney.  MUSIC:  -Track Title: Halloween 2017 • Available at: youtu.be/aYeuCKoTc3k • Beat by chrishayesmusic.co.uk  -Through the Wall by Pourquoi Avoir Peur ?STUDIO  -SINISTER by VIVEK ABHISHEK  FAIR USE Movie/TV samples used in intro -Sightings -Ghostbusters -Travel Channel Haunted Town -The Sixth Sense -Scariest Places on Earth -Poltergeist -Blair Witch Project -Joe Nickell -Ben Radford -X-files  SOURCES:  See description on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeHixWllonk&t=7s