Phenomena Review Committee

Johnny Macabre
  • 5.0 (1)
  • History
  • Weekly

A weekly podcast exploring haunted history, folklore, cryptids, strange events, famous cases, investigation methods, and the stories that keep people asking questions. Each episode looks at the unexplained through a mix of history, research, and open discussion, giving listeners a place to learn, share ideas, and suggest the mysteries they want covered next.

  1. 2d ago

    PRC Case File #022: When the Veil Grows Thin — Halloween Night and the Spirits Among Us

    Halloween night. The pumpkins are glowing, the streets are growing quiet, and somewhere in the darkness, something may be coming home. For centuries, people have believed that October 31 marks a time when the boundary between the living and the dead becomes dangerously thin. A night when restless spirits wander, deceased loved ones return, and the supernatural seems closer than ever. But where did these beliefs originate, and is there any evidence that Halloween night is different from any other? In PRC Case File #022: When the Veil Grows Thin — Halloween Night and the Spirits Among Us, Johnny Macabre brings The Season of the Macabre to its conclusion with an investigation into Halloween's connection to death, remembrance, ghost stories, and the belief that spirits can cross into the land of the living. From the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain and the Christian observances of All Saints' and All Souls' Days to the traditions of leaving offerings for the dead, we'll examine how centuries of religious practices and supernatural folklore helped shape Halloween. We'll also investigate ghostly visitations, haunted cemeteries, mysterious footsteps, phantom lights, and the belief that deceased loved ones sometimes return through dreams or unexplained encounters. Our investigation takes us into the American South, where Lowcountry legends, the Boo Hag, and stories of restless spirits continue to influence local folklore. And what about the paranormal investigators who claim Halloween is the best night to communicate with the dead? Can séances, electronic voice phenomena, or unexplained experiences provide evidence of spirits, or do expectation, grief, and human perception offer other explanations? As we close our four-part Halloween series, we'll revisit the historical themes of witchcraft, Spiritualism, and the traditions surrounding the dead, separating documented history from folklore and unverified supernatural claims. If Halloween is the night when the dead return, what happens to the ones who never leave? Join Johnny Macabre for the final investigation of The Season of the Macabre. And stay tuned, because our next series, Whispers from the Holler, takes us into the American South and Appalachia to investigate the unsettling superstitions, warnings, and folklore passed down through generations. Have a paranormal experience, ghost story, or Southern superstition you'd like us to investigate? Send it to phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don't ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first.

  2. 2d ago

    PRC Case File #021: The Witching Hour — Curses, Witchcraft & the Fear of the Devil

    Three o'clock in the morning. The house is silent, the streets are empty, and somewhere in the darkness, something is waiting. For centuries, people have feared the witching hour, a time supposedly associated with witches, demons, curses, and the Devil himself. But where did these beliefs originate, and how did fear of supernatural forces become powerful enough to turn entire communities against their own neighbors? In PRC Case File #021: The Witching Hour — Curses, Witchcraft & the Fear of the Devil, Johnny Macabre continues The Season of the Macabre with an investigation into the terrifying history of witchcraft and the consequences of supernatural fear. From the European witch hunts and the infamous Malleus Maleficarum to the Salem witch trials of 1692, we examine the accusations, religious beliefs, and mass hysteria that led to the persecution and deaths of thousands. We'll also investigate witches' familiars, black cats, alleged pacts with the Devil, protective charms, grimoires, and the mysterious power of curses. Our investigation also takes us into the American South, where witchcraft accusations continued long after the Salem trials, including the disturbing Fairfield County witch panic of 1792. Were witches truly capable of supernatural harm, or did fear, superstition, and human psychology create something far more dangerous? The most frightening part of witchcraft history may not be what witches were accused of doing, but what ordinary people did because they believed those accusations. Join Johnny Macabre as we separate documented history from folklore and examine the darkness behind one of humanity's oldest supernatural fears. Have a paranormal experience or historical mystery? Contact us at phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don't ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first.

  3. Oct 14

    PRC Case File #020: The Dead Are Listening — Séances, Spiritualism & Speaking Beyond the Grave

    What if the dead could hear you? What if they could answer? In 1848, two young sisters in Hydesville, New York, claimed they were communicating with a mysterious spirit through a series of unexplained knocks. Margaret and Kate Fox soon became the center of a supernatural phenomenon that would ignite the modern Spiritualist movement. Before long, séances were sweeping across America and Victorian Britain. Tables reportedly moved without explanation, mediums delivered messages from deceased loved ones, ghostly figures appeared in photographs, and grieving families gathered in darkened rooms hoping for one more conversation with the dead. But were spirits truly reaching across the grave—or were people witnessing one of history's most extraordinary mixtures of belief, grief, psychology, and deception? In PRC Case File #020, Johnny Macabre continues The Season of the Macabre, our Halloween investigative series, by exploring the unsettling history of séances and attempts to communicate with the dead. From the mysterious Fox sisters and their controversial confession to Mary Todd Lincoln's interest in Spiritualism, Victorian spirit photography, the strange substance known as ectoplasm, and Harry Houdini's relentless investigations of fraudulent mediums, this episode examines the evidence behind some of history's most famous supernatural claims. We'll uncover how séances became a cultural obsession, why intelligent and influential people believed the dead could communicate, and how magicians and investigators exposed techniques capable of producing seemingly impossible phenomena. We'll also investigate Ouija boards, moving tables, automatic writing, electronic voice phenomena, and the psychological forces that can make ordinary events feel supernatural. And with Halloween approaching, one particularly fitting mystery awaits: Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926—but could the world's greatest escape artist ever escape death itself? PRC Case File #020 Subject: Séances, Spiritualism & Communication with the DeadClassification: Spiritualism / Historical Investigation / Alleged Spirit CommunicationHistorical Status: DocumentedParanormal Status: UnverifiedSeries: The Season of the Macabre — Halloween Special For centuries, humanity has wondered whether death is truly the end. But perhaps the more disturbing question isn't whether the dead can speak. It's whether someone—or something—is listening when we call. Have a paranormal experience, historical mystery, or case you think belongs on the PRC desk? Email phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don't ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first.

  4. Oct 8

    PRC Case File #019: Halloween — The Night the Dead Come Home | Samhain, Spirits, Witches & the Truth Behind October 31

    Every October 31, the dead return, witches take to the skies, monsters roam the streets, and millions of people celebrate a night filled with fear, superstition, and the supernatural. But how much of what we believe about Halloween is actually true? Long before haunted houses, horror movies, jack-o'-lanterns, and trick-or-treating, ancient seasonal traditions marked the arrival of winter and the mysterious boundary between the living and the dead. Over centuries, Celtic folklore, Christian observances, European customs, and American traditions combined to create the Halloween we know today. In PRC Case File #019, Johnny Macabre investigates the strange and sometimes misunderstood history of Halloween. From the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain and the Christian observances of All Saints' and All Souls' Days to wandering spirits, witchcraft, divination rituals, Stingy Jack, and the origins of trick-or-treating, this episode separates documented history from centuries of folklore. We'll also explore Halloween's darker side: the fear of witches, the rise of haunted attractions, poisoned-candy legends, Satanic panic, and the horror films that transformed October 31 into a celebration of everything macabre. Was Halloween originally a night when the dead could cross into our world? Did the Christian Church simply replace an ancient pagan festival? Why do we carve pumpkins, wear disguises, and invite monsters to our front doors? And perhaps the strangest question of all: How did a night once associated with death, darkness, and supernatural danger become one of the world's most beloved celebrations? PRC Case File #019 Subject: The History and Folklore of HalloweenClassification: Folklore / Religious History / Supernatural TraditionsHistorical Status: Documented Traditions with Disputed OriginsParanormal Status: Unverified This Halloween, follow Johnny Macabre beyond the costumes, candy, and Hollywood monsters to uncover the history behind the night when the dead supposedly come home. Have a paranormal experience, historical mystery, or case you think belongs on the PRC desk? Email phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don't ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first.

  5. Oct 1

    PRC Case File #018: The Exorcism Before The Exorcist — The 1949 Case That Inspired a Horror Legend

    Before Regan MacNeil. Before the spinning head. Before the vomit, the crucifix, and Father Merrin standing beneath that streetlight—there was a thirteen-year-old boy whose family believed something had followed him into their home. In 1949, a family in Maryland began reporting strange disturbances: scratching inside the walls, moving furniture, a shaking mattress, unexplained marks, and increasingly violent behavior centered around their teenage son. After doctors, ministers, and family members struggled to explain what was happening, the case eventually reached a group of Jesuit priests in St. Louis. Father Raymond Bishop began documenting the events. Father William Bowdern became convinced they were dealing with demonic possession. With authorization from Archbishop Joseph Ritter, a formal exorcism began. What followed would become one of the most famous alleged possession cases in American history—and eventually inspire William Peter Blatty to write The Exorcist. But how much of the story actually happened? In PRC Case File #018, Johnny Macabre goes back before Hollywood to examine the surviving accounts, Bishop's diary, the testimony of those who participated, the alleged supernatural phenomena, possible psychological and behavioral explanations, and the enormous gap between the historical case and the horror legend it created. Was a teenage boy really possessed? Was some of the activity deliberately produced? Did religious expectation intensify a genuine crisis? Or did the priests encounter something in 1949 that still resists an easy explanation? PRC Case File #018Subject: The 1949 St. Louis ExorcismClassification: Alleged Demonic Possession / Exorcism / Historical InvestigationHistorical Status: Exorcism DocumentedParanormal Status: Disputed / Unverified Because before The Exorcist became a nightmare... there was a real case. Have a paranormal experience, historical mystery, or case you think belongs on the PRC desk? Email phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don't ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first.

  6. Sep 16

    PRC Case File #017: The Devil in Fairfield County — South Carolina’s Forgotten Witch Panic

    In 1792, exactly one hundred years after the Salem witch trials, fear of witchcraft erupted in the backcountry of South Carolina. Livestock reportedly became sick and died. Young women suffered strange physical attacks. Witnesses told stories of levitation, pins and hair appearing from the body, people transformed into horses, secret gatherings of witches—and even encounters with the Devil. At the center of the accusations was Mary Ingleman, an elderly German woman known for her knowledge of traditional remedies. Along with several other accused residents, Mary was brought before an unofficial tribunal near Winnsboro, found guilty of witchcraft, brutally whipped, and burned. But were witches actually terrorizing Fairfield County—or was something very human happening? In PRC Case File #017, Johnny Macabre investigates one of South Carolina’s strangest and most disturbing forgotten episodes, separating the surviving historical record from later folklore. From unexplained illnesses and supernatural testimony to psychology, community panic, vigilante violence, and the legend that Mary’s spirit still haunts Fairfield County, this case asks a darker question than whether witches were real: How did ordinary people become convinced that their neighbors were agents of the Devil—and what were they willing to do once they believed it? PRC Case File #017Subject: The Fairfield County Witch PanicLocation: Fairfield County, South CarolinaClassification: Historical Witch Panic / Vigilante Violence / Alleged Supernatural ActivityHistorical Status: DocumentedParanormal Status: Unverified Have a paranormal experience, historical mystery, or case you think belongs on the PRC desk? Email phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don’t ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first.

  7. Sep 9

    PRC Case File #016: Safe and Sound — When Healing Becomes Horror 1.19

    What happens when the sounds meant to relax you become the sounds that terrify you? In PRC Case File #016, Johnny Macabre enters the strangely intimate world of ASMR, medical fear, parasocial relationships, and the unsettling psychology of trust. Why can a whisper lower your heart rate? Why do millions of people fall asleep listening to strangers speak directly into their headphones? What makes the sound of a joint cracking satisfying to one person—and horrifying to another? And what happens when the person behind the comforting voice becomes someone you trust a little too much? The investigation leads to the upcoming medical-horror film CRACK, where a celebrity ASMR chiropractor prepares for his first-ever livestream—and a routine neck adjustment goes catastrophically wrong in front of thousands of viewers. Johnny examines the real science behind ASMR, the psychology of digital intimacy, the risks and controversies surrounding cervical manipulation, the evolution of medical and body horror, and why livestream culture may have created the perfect setting for a new kind of nightmare. Because modern monsters don't always wait in abandoned houses. Sometimes you subscribe to them. Sometimes you put them directly into your ears. And sometimes you ask them to help you sleep. PRC Case File #016Safe and Sound — When Healing Becomes HorrorFeaturing the upcoming medical-horror film CRACK At PRC, we don't ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. Case by case. Evidence first. https://www.pillarboxmedia.com/crack/ Please like, share, and tell everyone about this upcoming film!!!

  8. Sep 2

    PRC Case File #015: Tim Curry — A Life Deliciously Strange

    On August 25, 2026, the world lost one of its great masters of the strange. Tim Curry could make a villain terrifying, hilarious, seductive, theatrical, and unforgettable—sometimes all in the same scene. From Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pennywise in IT to Darkness in Legend, Wadsworth in Clue, the Grand Wizard in The Worst Witch, and a long career filled with monsters, madmen, murderers, pirates, and wonderfully bizarre characters, Curry left a permanent mark on horror, fantasy, cult cinema, and gothic popular culture. In this special memorial episode, Johnny Macabre steps away from the usual paranormal case file to examine the life, career, and macabre legacy of Tim Curry. We explore how Rocky Horror became a midnight-movie ritual, why Curry's Pennywise terrified a generation, how he embodied the archetypal Devil in Legend, why Clue remains one of the great cult mysteries, and how his unmistakable voice carried his presence into animation, fantasy, and generations of childhood memories. This is not an investigation into whether the supernatural exists. It is an investigation into the people who taught us what monsters could look like, sound like, and—occasionally—why we might love them. PRC Case File #015Subject: Tim CurryClassification: Horror & Paranormal Culture / Memorial RetrospectiveLegacy: Monsters, Madmen, Camp, Cult Cinema, and the Macabre Have a favorite Tim Curry role, memory, or performance you think deserves recognition? Email phenomenareviewcommittee@gmail.com. At PRC, we don’t ask you to believe. We ask you to investigate. And in Tim Curry’s honor: Don’t dream it. Be it.

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A weekly podcast exploring haunted history, folklore, cryptids, strange events, famous cases, investigation methods, and the stories that keep people asking questions. Each episode looks at the unexplained through a mix of history, research, and open discussion, giving listeners a place to learn, share ideas, and suggest the mysteries they want covered next.

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