The Paracast Newsletter
April 5, 2026
www.theparacast.com
Are Ray Palmer and Richard Shaver the originators of the modern flying saucer era? Filmmaker Dean Bertram explores that question this week on The Paracast.
The Paracast is released every Sunday and available from our site, https://www.theparacast.com, your favorite podcast app, and the IRN Internet Radio Network. All episodes from 2022 and later now feature better audio and fewer ads. We are also re-releasing some of our most popular classic episodes.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive bonus podcast, After The Paracast, plus a special version of The Paracast with all the ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Episodes for subscribers to The Paracast+ are now released 24 hours earlier. Flash! Now includes over 100 classic episodes, so take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode (Ap4il 5, 2026: Gene and Geneva present a return visit from Dean Bertram, who has studied the influence of sci-fi and paranormal pioneer Ray Palmer and his sometimes partner, Richard Shaver, during the early days of the modern flying saucer era. He is currently shooting a feature documentary about Palmer and Shaver, and the birth of modern UFO belief, titled “The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers.” A short, stand-alone segment from that upcoming film, “The Shaver Mystery,” has been touring the film festival circuit for almost 2 years, and has won over a dozen awards, including ten awards for “Best Short Documentary.” Dean has a PhD in history from the University of Sydney, Australia. His doctoral dissertation was titled “Flying Saucer Culture: An Historical Survey of American UFO Belief,” and his writings have featured in a range of publications, including Fortean Times, People Magazine, The Spectator, and The Australian. He hosts the podcast Talking Weird on the Untold Radio Network. Wisconsin. His site: www.theshavermystery,com.
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers: A return visit by filmmaker Dean Bertram, who has for years studied the ways Ray Palmer and Richard Shaver influenced the modern flying saucer era. Speaking with Gene and Geneva, he holds forth on UFO history and UFO culture, the curious Maury Island affair, and disinformation agents. Bertram also talks about the strange case of Jim Moseley, Palmer versus NICAP and its director, Major Donald Keyhoe. He is currently shooting a feature documentary about Palmer and Shaver, and the birth of modern UFO belief, titled “The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers.” A short, stand-alone segment from that upcoming film, “The Shaver Mystery,” has been touring the film festival circuit for almost 2 years, and has won over a dozen awards, including ten awards for “Best Short Documentary.” Dean has a PhD in history from the University of Sydney, Australia. His doctoral dissertation was titled “Flying Saucer Culture: An Historical Survey of American UFO Belief,” and his writings have featured in a range of publications, including Fortean Times, People Magazine, The Spectator, and The Australian. He hosts the podcast Talking Weird on the Untold Radio Network. Wisconsin. His site: www.theshavermystery,com.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. And look for @theparacast on Bluesky Social, Facebook, Threads and X.
The Persistence of Ghosts
By Tim R. Swartz
Why ghosts?
When I was a kid, everyone always told me that there were no such things as ghosts…but I knew better.
Even at a young age I knew that ghosts were real. Don’t ask me how I knew this. It wasn’t as if my parents exposed me to spooky stories, television shows, or movies. This was a time when there were no reality ghost hunting shows, YouTube channels, or social media focused on ghosts and hauntings. They channeled my interests into more child-friendly pursuits.
But I couldn’t be fooled.
A Ghost By Any Other Name
They have been called all manner of names...ghosts, specters, phantoms and haints. People throughout the known world have told stories about visits from ghosts and spirits. The concept of ghosts is universal, with every culture throughout history passing down from generation to generation rich social and oral traditions of beings that inhabit other realms of reality yet also can interact with the world of the living.
In the West, the terms “ghosts” and “spirits” have become intertwined, usually referring to the spirits of deceased humans. Human ghosts are often considered malevolent and capable of causing harm to the living. However, in other parts of the world, “spirits” are different from ghosts. Spirits can encompass a broader range, including both benevolent and malevolent supernatural beings, nature spirits, ancestral spirits and even mythical creatures.
If you examine ghostly tales throughout history, you will be amazed by how similar these stories are to one another. No matter where on the globe you look, you’ll find stories and myths about ghosts and spirits that are eerily the same. Civilizations and cultures may be completely different, yet their ghosts and spirits pretty much act the same way.
You would think, given that ghosts and spirits are so pervasive in our history and cultural evolution, that we would have figured out by now if they weren’t real. Sure, we have scientists who adamantly declare that there is no scientific evidence for ghosts. No ghost has ever been captured and studied in a laboratory, and no ghostly activity has occurred in a repeatable fashion in a way that could be studied with modern, scientific discipline.
So, therefore, no ghosts.
But someone forgot to tell the ghosts.
Year after year, century after century, the reports roll in. For something that isn’t supposed to be real, people sure do see a lot of ghosts.
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, in a commentary to W.Y. Evans-Wentz’s translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, wrote, “It is a primordial, universal idea that the dead simply continue their earthly existence and do not know that they are disembodied spirits, an archetypal idea which enters into immediate, visible manifestation whenever anyone sees a ghost. It is significant, too, that ghosts all over the world have certain features in common.” (Oxford University Press, 1927)
Did ghosts begin to appear right after the first humans died? Did a few of those first humans not rest peacefully in death’s endless slumber and so the haunting of Earth began?
Another possibility is that, as the first human emerged from evolution’s womb, a mysterious, vaporous twin slipped through also. This means that ghosts may not be as simply explained as “dead humans who do not rest peacefully.”
Are ghost’s residents of their own realm or even their own Earth which overlays with our Earth? There are many questions about ghosts, but we tend to just repeat, “Oh, they are restless souls of those who once lived.” There are many other possibilities as to the origins of ghosts and a mountain of information which remains hidden about this spooky phenomenon.
There’s so much that doesn’t make sense about ghosts. Why do some people seemingly come back as ghosts while others don’t? How can a place be paranormally active one day and then absolutely quiet the next? How are we able to pick up a ghost’s voice on a recorder when we can’t hear it? The questions keep coming, and the “rules” that ghosts seem to play by are so random and unknown.
Consider this first-hand experience of Kurt Konecny, writing in the new book: The Persistence of Ghosts: Real Ghost Encounters, Residual Hauntings, and the Theory Behind Why Spirits Persists.
“Late one afternoon, around 4:30 or 5:00, I was in my apartment, sitting in the recliner watching Jeopardy! on the television. Directly behind the recliner was the little hallway area between the bedroom and the bathroom. As I was sitting there watching TV, I heard something behind me, so I half-turned my head to look using my peripheral vision. What I saw is very difficult to describe.
“Looking at the bathroom, I saw what appeared to be an old, decrepit man crawling out of the bathroom and edging around the door frame. He was crawling on his tiptoes and fingertips, and his back was arched at a very pointed angle, as if it had been broken or something. All I really remember about his clothing is that he had a blue-and-black checkered flannel shirt on and ratty, torn jeans. He had long, white, stringy, dripping hair, and his face was down towards the floor, so I never got a good look at it. He edged around the doorframe, crawled out into the hallway, and was gone.”
Kurt’s frightening encounter was the culmination of several years of mild paranormal activity in his apartment that had been experienced by both he and his girlfriend. What makes this ghostly sighting so bizarre is that this was the first and only time an apparition had been seen. Before that, it was mostly the appearances of lego pieces in odd places (there were no children or legos in the apartment), and the occasional mysterious voice of a little girl in the middle of the night.
The belief in ghosts shows us the ever-evolving attitudes towards life, death and a possible afterlife. The idea that death is not the end, that it is only a phase in the cycle, or indeed the beginning of a new life, seems to have been comforting to humans ever since our ancestors became aware of the fact that death was unavoidable.
In modern times, scientific theory more and more embraces a materialistic philosophy that precludes having a soul and experiencing an afterlife. The belief in, or acceptance, of ghosts can be comforting to those who consider that there is more to our existence than what we see in the material world.
The Persistence of Ghosts, by Tim R. Swartz & Sean Casteel is now available on Amazon.com.
Tim R. Swartz is an Indiana native and an Emmy-Award winning television producer and videographer. He is also the author of “Weird Time – Exploring the Mysteries of Time and Space”, “Mimics – The Others Among Us,” “Gef The Talking Mongoose: The Eighth Wonder of the World,” “Alien Artifacts,” “The Lost Journals of Nikola Tesla,” “Tim R. Swartz’s Big Book of Incredible Alien Encounters,” and many others.
As a photojournalist, Tim has traveled extensively and investigated paranormal phenomena and other unusual mysteries in such diverse locations as the Great Pyramid in Egypt to the Great Wall in China. He has also appeared on the History Channel programs “The UnXplained” “History’s Greatest Mysteries,” “Ancient Aliens,” “Ancient Aliens: Declassified” and the History Channel Latin America series “Contacto Extraterrestre.”
Copyright 1999-2026 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
April 5, 2026
www.theparacast.com
Are Ray Palmer and Richard Shaver the originators of the modern flying saucer era? Filmmaker Dean Bertram explores that question this week on The Paracast.
The Paracast is released every Sunday and available from our site, https://www.theparacast.com, your favorite podcast app, and the IRN Internet Radio Network. All episodes from 2022 and later now feature better audio and fewer ads. We are also re-releasing some of our most popular classic episodes.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THE PARACAST+ YET? PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARACAST+ SO YOU CAN SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive bonus podcast, After The Paracast, plus a special version of The Paracast with all the ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Episodes for subscribers to The Paracast+ are now released 24 hours earlier. Flash! Now includes over 100 classic episodes, so take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode (Ap4il 5, 2026: Gene and Geneva present a return visit from Dean Bertram, who has studied the influence of sci-fi and paranormal pioneer Ray Palmer and his sometimes partner, Richard Shaver, during the early days of the modern flying saucer era. He is currently shooting a feature documentary about Palmer and Shaver, and the birth of modern UFO belief, titled “The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers.” A short, stand-alone segment from that upcoming film, “The Shaver Mystery,” has been touring the film festival circuit for almost 2 years, and has won over a dozen awards, including ten awards for “Best Short Documentary.” Dean has a PhD in history from the University of Sydney, Australia. His doctoral dissertation was titled “Flying Saucer Culture: An Historical Survey of American UFO Belief,” and his writings have featured in a range of publications, including Fortean Times, People Magazine, The Spectator, and The Australian. He hosts the podcast Talking Weird on the Untold Radio Network. Wisconsin. His site: www.theshavermystery,com.
After The Paracast — Available exclusively to Paracast+ subscribers: A return visit by filmmaker Dean Bertram, who has for years studied the ways Ray Palmer and Richard Shaver influenced the modern flying saucer era. Speaking with Gene and Geneva, he holds forth on UFO history and UFO culture, the curious Maury Island affair, and disinformation agents. Bertram also talks about the strange case of Jim Moseley, Palmer versus NICAP and its director, Major Donald Keyhoe. He is currently shooting a feature documentary about Palmer and Shaver, and the birth of modern UFO belief, titled “The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers.” A short, stand-alone segment from that upcoming film, “The Shaver Mystery,” has been touring the film festival circuit for almost 2 years, and has won over a dozen awards, including ten awards for “Best Short Documentary.” Dean has a PhD in history from the University of Sydney, Australia. His doctoral dissertation was titled “Flying Saucer Culture: An Historical Survey of American UFO Belief,” and his writings have featured in a range of publications, including Fortean Times, People Magazine, The Spectator, and The Australian. He hosts the podcast Talking Weird on the Untold Radio Network. Wisconsin. His site: www.theshavermystery,com.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. And look for @theparacast on Bluesky Social, Facebook, Threads and X.
The Persistence of Ghosts
By Tim R. Swartz
Why ghosts?
When I was a kid, everyone always told me that there were no such things as ghosts…but I knew better.
Even at a young age I knew that ghosts were real. Don’t ask me how I knew this. It wasn’t as if my parents exposed me to spooky stories, television shows, or movies. This was a time when there were no reality ghost hunting shows, YouTube channels, or social media focused on ghosts and hauntings. They channeled my interests into more child-friendly pursuits.
But I couldn’t be fooled.
A Ghost By Any Other Name
They have been called all manner of names...ghosts, specters, phantoms and haints. People throughout the known world have told stories about visits from ghosts and spirits. The concept of ghosts is universal, with every culture throughout history passing down from generation to generation rich social and oral traditions of beings that inhabit other realms of reality yet also can interact with the world of the living.
In the West, the terms “ghosts” and “spirits” have become intertwined, usually referring to the spirits of deceased humans. Human ghosts are often considered malevolent and capable of causing harm to the living. However, in other parts of the world, “spirits” are different from ghosts. Spirits can encompass a broader range, including both benevolent and malevolent supernatural beings, nature spirits, ancestral spirits and even mythical creatures.
If you examine ghostly tales throughout history, you will be amazed by how similar these stories are to one another. No matter where on the globe you look, you’ll find stories and myths about ghosts and spirits that are eerily the same. Civilizations and cultures may be completely different, yet their ghosts and spirits pretty much act the same way.
You would think, given that ghosts and spirits are so pervasive in our history and cultural evolution, that we would have figured out by now if they weren’t real. Sure, we have scientists who adamantly declare that there is no scientific evidence for ghosts. No ghost has ever been captured and studied in a laboratory, and no ghostly activity has occurred in a repeatable fashion in a way that could be studied with modern, scientific discipline.
So, therefore, no ghosts.
But someone forgot to tell the ghosts.
Year after year, century after century, the reports roll in. For something that isn’t supposed to be real, people sure do see a lot of ghosts.
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, in a commentary to W.Y. Evans-Wentz’s translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, wrote, “It is a primordial, universal idea that the dead simply continue their earthly existence and do not know that they are disembodied spirits, an archetypal idea which enters into immediate, visible manifestation whenever anyone sees a ghost. It is significant, too, that ghosts all over the world have certain features in common.” (Oxford University Press, 1927)
Did ghosts begin to appear right after the first humans died? Did a few of those first humans not rest peacefully in death’s endless slumber and so the haunting of Earth began?
Another possibility is that, as the first human emerged from evolution’s womb, a mysterious, vaporous twin slipped through also. This means that ghosts may not be as simply explained as “dead humans who do not rest peacefully.”
Are ghost’s residents of their own realm or even their own Earth which overlays with our Earth? There are many questions about ghosts, but we tend to just repeat, “Oh, they are restless souls of those who once lived.” There are many other possibilities as to the origins of ghosts and a mountain of information which remains hidden about this spooky phenomenon.
There’s so much that doesn’t make sense about ghosts. Why do some people seemingly come back as ghosts while others don’t? How can a place be paranormally active one day and then absolutely quiet the next? How are we able to pick up a ghost’s voice on a recorder when we can’t hear it? The questions keep coming, and the “rules” that ghosts seem to play by are so random and unknown.
Consider this first-hand experience of Kurt Konecny, writing in the new book: The Persistence of Ghosts: Real Ghost Encounters, Residual Hauntings, and the Theory Behind Why Spirits Persists.
“Late one afternoon, around 4:30 or 5:00, I was in my apartment, sitting in the recliner watching Jeopardy! on the television. Directly behind the recliner was the little hallway area between the bedroom and the bathroom. As I was sitting there watching TV, I heard something behind me, so I half-turned my head to look using my peripheral vision. What I saw is very difficult to describe.
“Looking at the bathroom, I saw what appeared to be an old, decrepit man crawling out of the bathroom and edging around the door frame. He was crawling on his tiptoes and fingertips, and his back was arched at a very pointed angle, as if it had been broken or something. All I really remember about his clothing is that he had a blue-and-black checkered flannel shirt on and ratty, torn jeans. He had long, white, stringy, dripping hair, and his face was down towards the floor, so I never got a good look at it. He edged around the doorframe, crawled out into the hallway, and was gone.”
Kurt’s frightening encounter was the culmination of several years of mild paranormal activity in his apartment that had been experienced by both he and his girlfriend. What makes this ghostly sighting so bizarre is that this was the first and only time an apparition had been seen. Before that, it was mostly the appearances of lego pieces in odd places (there were no children or legos in the apartment), and the occasional mysterious voice of a little girl in the middle of the night.
The belief in ghosts shows us the ever-evolving attitudes towards life, death and a possible afterlife. The idea that death is not the end, that it is only a phase in the cycle, or indeed the beginning of a new life, seems to have been comforting to humans ever since our ancestors became aware of the fact that death was unavoidable.
In modern times, scientific theory more and more embraces a materialistic philosophy that precludes having a soul and experiencing an afterlife. The belief in, or acceptance, of ghosts can be comforting to those who consider that there is more to our existence than what we see in the material world.
The Persistence of Ghosts, by Tim R. Swartz & Sean Casteel is now available on Amazon.com.
• • •
Tim R. Swartz is an Indiana native and an Emmy-Award winning television producer and videographer. He is also the author of “Weird Time – Exploring the Mysteries of Time and Space”, “Mimics – The Others Among Us,” “Gef The Talking Mongoose: The Eighth Wonder of the World,” “Alien Artifacts,” “The Lost Journals of Nikola Tesla,” “Tim R. Swartz’s Big Book of Incredible Alien Encounters,” and many others.
As a photojournalist, Tim has traveled extensively and investigated paranormal phenomena and other unusual mysteries in such diverse locations as the Great Pyramid in Egypt to the Great Wall in China. He has also appeared on the History Channel programs “The UnXplained” “History’s Greatest Mysteries,” “Ancient Aliens,” “Ancient Aliens: Declassified” and the History Channel Latin America series “Contacto Extraterrestre.”
Copyright 1999-2026 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!