Is This a Ghost?

By: Clayton Smith and Patrick Dean
  • Summary

  • A real podcast about real ghosts that's real funny.

    Clayton Smith and Patrick Dean
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Episodes
  • 122. Betsy Ross
    Sep 25 2024

    Get ready to bust a stitch over this star-spangled spectre! Cotent warning: This one gets a little flag-sexy.

    This is the story of Betsy Ross. Come for the ghost, stay for: Just like dad’s toes; Limericists; We'll get a Sarah for you; Potato smell; The best way to hide from ghosts; I am base; Dril tweets; Maybe don't tell your friends about this one.

    Sources:

    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_Ross
    • https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/betsy-ross
    • https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/historic-us-ghosts
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    43 mins
  • 121. Alcatraz
    Sep 18 2024

    Someone find Nicolas Cage, we're going to The Rock! (Do us a favor and don't bring up the LaLaurie Mansion episode when you see him, ok?)

    This is the story of the hauntings of Alcatraz. Come for the ghosts, stay for air law; Do your worst, you filthy Canuck; The Isle of Pedantic; Now it’s time for the cannons; In support of white imperialism; The earthquake equivalent of toilets; Harvey Dent’s other famous quote; and it’s called the D block for a reason.

    Oh, and here's the photo of the Lady of Alcatraz.

    Sources:

    • https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-alcatrazghosts/
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_Island
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Ayala
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnston
    • https://medium.com/globetrotters/the-ghosts-of-alcatraz-the-rock-and-my-scary-silly-imaginations-48a4691a1dfe
    • https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/18/ghost-of-young-woman-photographed-alcatraz-prison-pictures_n_5506629.html
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • 120 The Smurl House
    Sep 11 2024

    It's another live recording for Is This a Ghost! And with the eyes of the United Kingdom watching our every move, we went super-hard into American ghost history with an all-new story from the diaries of our own personal Washington and Lincoln, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Let's. Get. Excited.

    This is the story of the Smurl House. Come for the ghosts, stay for: a real red-blooded American ghost; “Lech,” I’m familiar with; this is my one double dog; storing the parents; Xanax for kids; demon business; Daddy’s back program; and the Annaverse.

    Sources:

    • https://frightfind.com/smurl-haunting-house/
    • https://brianfanelli.com/2019/06/17/revisting-the-smurl-story-and-the-haunted-1991/
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smurl_haunting
    • https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/state/2017/06/25/jack-smurl-famous-for-haunting/20438473007/
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    54 mins

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

makes me laugh out loud

This podcast makes me want to get drunk and have conversations with my friends 😂 I will listen with a headphone in while doing chores and my kids keep asking what I'm laughing at. A great podcast for anyone that enjoys paranormal/history stories but also has a dark humor.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ghost stories for interest, not scares

I enjoyed listening to this podcast over a long distance road trip I was doing alone. I'm not super into podcasts in general, because I often find podcaster people annoying and, mostly, I don't love having to listen to a conversation I can't take part in. But I loved Cartalk back in the day, so that's an example of a talk radio show I enjoyed. I'm guessing this is not really a show for super ghost obsessives, since they are very open about not doing tons of reasearch, but it is good enough to tell an absorbing story and they note the stuff that could stand more investigation, if you want to do it. They also tell a lot of stories I've never heard before, which is refreshing. They hit some of the big, famous ones, of course, but also go into a lot of smaller, more off the wall ones as well, which I really enjoy. I find ghost stories super interesting, but when I'm driving for hours alone, especially at night, I don't need to be freaked out. They go on so many tangents and get distracted by the randomest details, that it's very difficult to get genuinely scared. It is, however, entertaining and they have a friendly vibe. I subtracted a star on a less important rating because sometimes the meandering tangents are genuinely too long, especially the ones about their personal lives.

Other points of note: I appreciate Patrick's effort to "fix" some of the misguided phrasing of things, such as when a sexual relationship between a slave and her owner is termed an "affair" by a reputable news source and he insists on calling it assault. It is hopeful when people doing things in the public eye/media etc. learn to be better and call out mistakes like this (yes, it is generous to call them mistakes). Secondly, I very much enjoy Clayton's appreciation of the ridiculous. The more absurd and, frankly, dumb the situation gets, the more he savors it, which gives me vicarious chuckles. Third, they have serious geek cred, which they reveal incidentally, for the most part, like when Clayton makes a semi obscure He-Man reference or when he admits his celebrity crush is on Tatiana Maslany (She Hulk). I own a Bubbah Hotep dvd and saw it on the big screen in Chicago hosted by Bruce Campbell in person, so I feel like they're kinda my people (Patrick has a signed poster from the movie).

Overall, definitely five stars. My favourite story so far is the one about the ghost hole. I love that and think it needs to be a plot device in a mystery novel.

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