Spotlight – Philip K. Dick

One of my favorite authors from the pulp fiction era is Philip K. Dick. He has influenced the way I write and edit. He was not only a talented writer but a creative one as well. While most called his works dark and told of a foreboding future he was amazingly accurate with his predictions.

Philip was an American writer known for his contributions in science fiction. His work explored philosophical, social, and political themes, with stories dominated by evil corporations, dictatorships, and altered states of consciousness. His writing also reflected his interest in metaphysics, theology, and often drew upon his own life experiences.

Dick was born in Illinois, but eventually moved to California and began publishing science fiction stories in the 1950s. He initially had little commercial success. However, in 1962 he wrote the novel The Man in the High Castle which earned him a Hugo Award for Best Novel. He followed that with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This story went on to become the classic movie Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford in 1982. Dick produced 44 novels and approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. He was responsible for a variety of popular films including Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990 and 2012), Minority Report (2002), The Adjustment Bureau (2011), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). The Man in the High Castle, was made into a multi-season television series.

Philip K. Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series. On March 2, 1982, Dick died in the hospital at the age of 53. After his death, his father took his ashes to Riverside Cemetery in Fort Morgan, Colorado where he was buried next to his twin sister Jane. He died three months before the release of the original Blade Runner film.

This Week’s Podcast: On the program this week we have an incredible story from Portland, Oregon called, The Creature Of Multnomah Falls. Also, on the show we have a story from the master of Sci-Fi Philip K. Dick in a story he wrote called Second Variety. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

Ron’s Amazing Stories is produced and hosted by Ronald Hood:
Email: ronsamazingstories@gmail.com
Blog Page: https://ronsamazingstories.blog/
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RAS #371 – Cowboy’s of the Skies

On Ron’s Amazing Stories we have ghost tales with some high rise goodness thrown in. Sylvia Shults is back with another segment of Ghost Stories With Sylvia. Also, we have two more listener tales, Cowboy’s of the skies and The Night That Ruined My Sleep For Forever. Add in a classic radio story from Challenge of the Yukon to round out the program.

Featured Story – No Escape For A Murderer – Challenge of the Yukon was a long-running radio series that began on Detroit’s WXYZ. It was an adventure series about Sergeant William Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police. It followed his adventures as they fought evildoers in the Northern wilderness during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. In our adventure King goes above and beyond to save his partner and the day in a story called No Escape for a Murderer. It first aired on January 1, 1944.

Program Note: Sylvia Shults is a Librarian, Author, and Ghost Hunter. She has spent a lifetime in the pursuit of the weird and the strange. Her non-fiction works include Ghost of the Illinois River, Fractured Spirits, 44 Years in Darkness, Hunting Demons and The Spirits of Christmas. All of her books are available on Amazon and you can find out more on her WordPress Home Page.

To view the shadow video that Sylvia spoke of at Pollak Hospital, click here. It starts at about 29 minutes into the program.

The Stories You Tell

One of the amazing things about the podcast has been your response to the show. Your stories are what drives the whole thing. Over the years we have had tales from all walks of life. We have gone from a fisherman in Canada to a radio producer in Florida. We have had ice road truckers and NBA all-stars. There have been people who have seen strange things and experienced unbelievable events in their lives. All of this because you listen to me tell their stories, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

We are a few short weeks away from beginning our next year. Ron’s Amazing Stories turns nine-years-old on April 1st, 2019. The first podcast actually published a few days later, but on that day in 2011 I sat down and first began working on the concept and programming. I remember that it was a Friday afternoon and I just signed the contract with my then service provider for two years. That seems like a very long time back then. Here we are nine years later still together hearing wonderful stories sent in by you.

I want to thank all of you for your submissions to the show. Here is to our next year and to your upcoming stories.

Ronald Hood – Host and Producer of Ron’s Amazing Stories

This Week’s Podcast:

On the show this week we have a story from a steelworker called Cowboys Of Skies. We play an episode from the classic radio series Challenge Of The Yukon and much more. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

Ras #370 – Midnight Callers

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this time we have a scary encounter with Black Eyed Kids in a tale called Midnight Callers. JJ tells us about a dorm room ghost who is both a trickster and a shadow. We feature a classic Japanese Legend with a tale called The Story of Mimi Nashi Hoichi. We end the program with more of those old-time radio commercials that we all love. So sit up and press that play button now.

Featured Story – The Story of Mimi Nashi Hoichi

We have an incredible story for you today. It might be a bit different from anything you have heard before, but I urge you to give it a chance. It is called The Story of Mimi Nashi Hoichi and was written by Lafcadio Hearn. It is listed as a ghost story, but in truth, it is a Japanese Legend set to modern language. It was taken from Hearn’s book called, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.

Spotlight – Himan Brown

On the show last week we had an episode of The Inner Sanctum which is a radio series created by Himan Brown. Many of you asked to know more about the guy. Well, I think this is the perfect time to throw the spotlight on him and ask, “Who was Himan Brown?”

Himan Brown was an American producer of radio and television programs. Over seven decades he produced radio shows for most of the major radio networks of the time. Brown first learned about radio from his shop teacher at Brooklyn’s Boys High School, and at the age of 18, he began broadcasting on WEAF New York reading newspapers with a Yiddish dialect. One of his listeners was Gertrude Berg. She was a pioneer of classic radio and was the first women to create, produce and star in a long-running hit. She wanted Brown to play Jake, her husband on her show The Goldbergs, which he did for six months. He continued as a radio actor but soon began to pitch shows directly to advertising agencies.

While at Brooklyn College, he recruited fellow student Irwin Shaw to write scripts, giving the author his first paid writing job. Over 65 years, Brown produced more than 30,000 radio programs, including The Adventures of the Thin Man, The Affairs of Peter Salem, Bulldog Drummond, CBS Radio Mystery Theater, City Desk, Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater, Grand Central Station, Green Valley USA, The Gumps, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Joyce Jordan M.D., Marie, the Little French Princess, The NBC Radio Theater, The Private Files of Rex Saunders, Terry and the Pirates and numerous daytime soap operas.

Where Himan Brown shined was on the Inner Sanctum. He had a love for the dark and scary stuff and it showed on this well produced and written anthology series. Big stars flocked to his show to be part of its masterful direction and productions. Inner Sanctum eventually came to television and he repeated his success there. In 1974 he showed the world that good radio was still possible with the hit series CBS Radio Mystery Theater starring E.G. Marshall. This series ran until 1982 and reruns on radio stations all over the world today.

In 1938, Brown moved to a ten-room apartment at 285 Central Park West, where he would live the rest of his life. He had two children, Barry Kenneth Brown and Hilda Joan Brown, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Brown died peacefully at his apartment on June 4, 2010, at the of 100.

Brown’s awards include – The American Broadcast Pioneer and Peabody Awards. Also, Brown was inducted in the 1990s into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

This Week’s Podcast: On the podcast this week we have a scary story from listener Alexandra which should have you shivering just a bit. Mark Nelson is back reading a Japanese Horror short story that is remarkably entertaining! You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM (PST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.