In the first half of the program, paranormal investigator Dr. Barry Taff discussed evidence that normal is actually paranormal, and how science is showing amazing explanations for ESP, ghosts and poltergeists. He recalled his days researching telepathy and precognition at UCLA's former parapsychology laboratory. The evidence suggested that people access paranormal and related information in the same way they access their own memories, Taff explained, noting that long-term memories likely do not even reside within the brain. This means a brain activity that most consider 'normal' is actually 'paranormal, he proposed. The Discovery that some individuals were particularly gifted at accessing remote information ultimately attracted the interest of various U.S. intelligence agencies, he added.
Taff shared his startling eyewitness account of the case upon which the horror film The Entity is based. According to Taff, objects were thrown at victim Doris Bither, luminous anomalies appeared around her, room temperatures plunged inexplicably, and a rotten odor of decomposition filled her house. Numerous witness saw the lights around the Bither, he reported, adding how he once watched them coalesce to form an apparition of a large man. Taff believes this was an authentic poltergeist event made manifest by the victim's troubled psyche. Interestingly, the mischievous activity spread to neighboring homes as well as followed Bither whenever she moved, he disclosed. Taff also talked about a similar poltergeist case from San Pedro, California, where a woman was plagued by strange activity in her home that included human blood plasma oozing from the walls.
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During Open Lines, George offered a special line for callers to share their scariest moments. Wayne in Bolivar, Missouri, recounted a shocking time during his youth when he and some friends actually levitated one of their group while playing 'light as a feather, stiff as a board.' As his friend rose higher above the ground an unscrewed light bulb dangling from a ceiling socket mysteriously turned on, he explained. Tracey from Gaffney, South Carolina, reported on the tragic night he was shot by a fare in his taxicab. The bullet entered near his right ear, pierced the soft palate, traveled through the center of his head, and exited the left ear region, he detailed, adding that the projectile also clipped his carotid artery. Tracey said he lost seven pints of blood and died three times on the operating table. He remembered everything turning white before being overcome by an inexpressible sense of peace. Carla in Chico, California, told George about a nightmarish dream she had as a child. She recalled desperately clinging to a post on her four-poster bed as a mysterious stranger tried to steal her away. Carla said she awoke from her nightmare abduction to find herself on the floor of her bedroom. She blamed the house for the dark dream.
News segment guests: Jeffrey Smith / John Lott