By Tim Binnall
Civil War ghosts, fairies, and spontaneous human combustion were among the fascinating topics explored this past week on Coast to Coast AM. And, here at the C2C website, we told you about an Ohio hunter's possible Sasquatch sighting, a baffling banana mystery in Britain, and the Belgium government warning residents against eating their Christmas trees. Check out our round-up of highlights from the past week ... In Coast You Missed It.
Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) was in the spotlight on Thursday night's program as author Larry Arnold shared insights from his decades of research into the mysterious phenomenon. Defining these unsettling events as instances wherein a person is almost completely incinerated by a fire with no discernible source, he mused that they are, thankfully, fairly rare occurrences. That said, he observed that while mainstream science has largely dismissed the phenomenon, numerous first responders have reported encountering cases of spontaneous human combustion that left them baffled. During his appearance, Arnold details some of the more infamous accounts of SHC, such as the mysterious death of Mary Hardy Reeser in 1951.
The legendary Bigfoot was back in the headlines this past week by way of two stories involving the famed cryptid. In Ohio, a hunter was stunned when he spotted a dark bipedal figure bounding across a field. The remote location and how the creature moved as well as its size left the man to speculate that the animal could have been Bigfoot. A snowy driveway in New York State was the setting for the second account wherein a paranormal researcher found a pair of sizeable prints that seemingly suggested Sasquatch may have visited his property earlier in the day.
Of the various elemental and supernatural beings that some believe share the world with us, few are as enigmatic as fairies. On Monday night's program, researcher Kate Ray discussed the iconic entities she described as mischievous, though not exactly malevolent. She explained the entities have a different value system from humans, which is why their tricksterish nature can sometimes be misinterpreted as malice. A similar misconception, she said, is that while these beings can be diminutive in size, they can also shape-shift into a human or even an animal. Ray also talked about the presence of fairies at haunted locations.
Two weird mysteries from across the pond popped up in the news this past week, beginning with a bizarre case that has gripped the British town of Beeston. Residents there say that for at least the last year, someone has been leaving a plate of peeled bananas on the side of a road on the 2nd day of every month. The ritualistic offerings have spawned an array of theories, including that they could be religious in nature. However, as of now, no one is certain why the flummoxing fruit keeps appearing. Meanwhile, police in Ireland stepped up their patrols of a community after a motorist encountered and filmed an eerie individual dressed entirely in yellow wandering down the street.
Tales of Civil Wars ghosts took center stage on Wednesday night's program as paranormal investigator Courtney McInvale shared stories of such spirits and the unnerving sites where they are said to dwell. Specifically, she detailed a nightmarish Confederate prison, Camp Sumter, wherein a staggering 13,000 soldiers perished, and a battlefield in Georgia that saw 30,000 casualties in two days. As for why the Civil War has spawned so many ghost stories and haunted locations, McInvale noted that many of the combatants who died were quite young and theorized that the immense trauma of so many of their lives being cut short may have resulted in some kind of "time slip" conducive to paranormal activity.
With the holiday season having come to a close, this past week featured a pair of odd stories about the fate of disused Christmas trees. At the Berlin Zoo, the facility's resident elephants were treated to an annual feast wherein they dined on the decoration. Fortunately, officials at the site offered assurances that the greenery was carefully sourced to avoid harmful chemicals. To that end, later in the week, the Belgian government warned residents that they should not eat their Christmas trees after a misguided post from a community website suggested people partake in the practice which could be dangerous due to the possible presence of pesticides and flame retardants.
Coast Insiders can check out all this week's shows as well as the last seven years of C2C programs in our enormous archive. Not a Coast Insider yet? Sign up today.