📻 Weird, Ghostly and “Supernatural” Antics of the Radio (1931‪)‬ Pessimists Aloud

Did the rise of 19th century technologies - such as radio - lead to an increase in ghostly sightings? That’s the question Atlantic writer Derek Thompson asked on Twitter this week and it brought to mind a 1930s piece from the archive titled: Weird, Ghostly and “Supernatural” Antics of the Radio that could hint at an answer (yes!) The 1931 San Francisco Examiner peice consisted of a heavily illustrated two-page spread about fictitious reports of ghostly sounds, prompted by the rise of radio boradcasting. It explored reports of strange sounds eminating from everyday objects - which some thought were supernatural forces - but experts insisted were actually rogue radio waves being picked up by metal objects.
Source: 📰 The San Francisco Examiner1931 📅 Sun, Sep 13, 1931 · Page 100 http://pessimistsarchive.org/list/radio/clippings/1931/m-sc-535-217
🎙 Backing Music: Louisiana by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra; Razaf; Schafer; Johnson - Brunswick (02650-B) Publication date 1938 Topics 78rpm, DanceDigitizing sponsor Kahle/Austin Foundation Contributor Internet Archive Language English - https://archive.org/details/78_louisiana_duke-ellington-and-his-orchestra-razaf-schafer-johnson_gbia0064586b/Louisiana+-+Duke+Ellington+and+His+Orchestra-restored.flac