This is going to be a banner week here at Ron’s Amazing Stories. We have a new installment of the Horror express, and topic this time is, Bigfoot. If you have never heard of the beast? I will give you the quick rundown:

Bigfoot is an ape-human type creature that many believe lives mostly in forests in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He goes by many names such as Sasquatch. He is often described as being large, hairy, and resembling a half-man-half-ape creature in folklore and myths. Many of those who have reported seeing Bigfoot describe him with large eyes, a low-set forehead, large brow-ridge, and having enormous footprints. He is believed to be upwards of 500 pounds and anywhere from 6 to 8 feet tall. He is also reported to be rather smelly, and he is mainly nocturnal.

Bigfoot Facts:

• The Bigfoot mystery has existed for hundreds of years in different countries around the world.
  Bigfoot is the most famous of the cryptids. Early Native Americans believed that Sasquatch was a spiritual creature
• Russia, France and Germany have all placed Bigfoot on the endangered species list.
• Most believe that David Thompson was the first to discover Sasquatch in 1811 when he found a set of his footprints.
• Bigfoot has many nicknames including Jacko, Jingera, Monkey Man, Old Skunky Bill, Rugaru, Tree Men, Wendigo, Wigidokowok, and Yeti (its Himalayan cousin). There are many others.
• The first person to capture footage of Bigfoot was Roger Patterson. While there are people that believe that his footage is fake. Many acclaimed scientists have come around and now say that this is real evidence of an Ape-Like creature.
• There have been too many eyewitness accounts of Bigfoot sightings for researchers to dismiss the possibility of it’s existence. Many of the eyewitnesses are credible people, not those looking to gain fame, fortune or attention. However, to this date there is no DNA evidence to prove that Sasquatch exists.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week we have a new episode of the Horror Express. The topic this time is Bigfoot. We also have a handpicked OTR story by the Conductor himself. You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Saturday night at 6pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

January 05 – The Seventh Victim – (RAS #271)
January 12 – To The Future – (RAS #272)
January 19 – Tunnel Under the World – (RAS #273)
January 26 – The Horror Express #14
February 02 – Western Round Up – (RAS #274)

The genre of science fiction takes many forms. So many, it is difficult to lock it down to any one story type or science. One thing stands clear and that is that we humans love to think about a new possible future and science fiction allows us to do that.

What are its exact origins? Again we are dumbfounded and shake our heads. However, there are two broad camps of thought, one that identifies the early fantastical works such as the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh (2150–2000 BCE). While purist argues that science fiction only became possible sometime between in the late 17th and early 19th centuries. This is when man began the scientific revolution and major discoveries in astronomy, physics, and mathematics made it possible to dream.

In my mind, it began with the first Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1938 to 1946. I don’t say this because it was not available. Authors like Jules Verne or HG Welles would have reason to argue. I say this because this is when the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published, filmed and told. America was ready to move into space and sci-fi provided the doorway.

During World War II, American military planners studied science fiction for ideas. The British did the same, and also asked authors to submit outlandish ideas which the government leaked to the Axis as real plans. Meanwhile, the Germans had developed flying bombs known as V1s and V2s reminiscent of the “rocket ships” ever-present in pulp science fiction. A short story written Cleve Cartmill about a fictional atomic bomb project prompted the FBI to visit the offices of Astounding Science Fiction.

I hope you see my point here. We need Science fiction to fuel and inspire us to move forward as a people. My idea of a good science fiction story? It simple really. Take me somewhere that I have not been and can only dream about.

This Week’s Podcast:

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week you will find Science Fiction everywhere. So pack your space suit and your blaster be ready for it. You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

December 01 – The Horror Express #13
December 08 – Gigantopithecus – (RAS #268)
December 15 – A Rebel Among us with JDR Hawkins – (RAS #269)
December 22 – It’s a Wonderful Life!
December 29 – The Yellow Wallpaper – (RAS #270)
January 05 – The Seventh Victim – (RAS #271)

Happy Holidays! It is that time of year again where we come together and celebrate as a family. One tradition that has held up over the years here at Ron’s Amazing Stories is the annual playing of the radio classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. While every bit as Christmas as its it big brother the film masterpiece, it is a bit shorter, but still stars that lovable character George Bailey portrayed by Jimmy Stewart.  So Sit back relax and enjoy! After all it is a wonderful life!

Click Here To Play!

Merry Christmas!

-Ron

Our OTR Story

It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story “The Greatest Gift”, which Philip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published privately in 1945. The film is now among the most popular in American cinema and because of numerous television showings in the 1980s has become traditional viewing during the Christmas season. The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born.

This weeks podcast marks the beginning of the month of December and the Return of the Vampire. You are probably thinking that I have lost my mind and confused Christmas with some twisted Tim Burton type story. The truth is simple we begin the Christmas season with The Horror Express, and the topic for HE#13 will be Vampire’s Revisited. So, to start us off on this spooky week here are some facts about vampires that you may not know.

-Ron

Return of the Vampire – Just the Facts!

The Word Vampire – Many scholars argue the noun Vampire is either from the Hungarian Vampir or from the Turkish Upior meaning Witch. Other scholars argue the term is derived from the Greek “to drink” or Nosophoros meaning Plague-Carrier. It may also derive from the Serbian Bamiiup or the Serbo-Croatian Pirati. There are many terms found in literature and folklore that suggests that the vampire story is part of every culture on the planet.

Dolmens – Celtic for Stone-tables, dolmens would have been placed over graves to keep vampires from rising. Prehistoric stone monuments have been found over the graves of the dead in northwest Europe. Anthropologists speculate they have may been placed over these graves to keep suspected vampires from rising.

Vampire Illness – A rare disease called porphyria (also called the Vampire or Dracula disease) causes vampire-like symptoms, such as an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and hairiness. In extreme cases the teeth might be stained a reddish brown and eventually the patient can go mad.

The True Vampire – One of the most famous “true vampires” was Countess Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614) who was accused of bathing in blood to retain her youthful beauty. She was by all accounts a very attractive woman. Also, the vampire legends may have been based on Vlad of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476). He had a habit of nailing hats to people’s heads, skinning them alive, and impaling them on upright stakes. His name, Vlad, means son of the dragon or Dracula. Though Vlad the Impaler was murdered in 1476, his tomb is reported empty.

Tales of the Vampire – The first full work of fiction about the vampire was John Polidori’s 1819 book, The Vampyre. It was first published incorrectly under Lord Byron’s name. Polidori was Byron’s doctor and based his vampire on Byron himself. Of course the masterpiece of the genre, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, was written in 1897. It was famous for introducing the character of Count Dracula and tells the story of the monster’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England. It also introduced Dracula’s nemesis, Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

There you have it, some facts to get you started for this week’s podcast and The Horror Express #13.

This Week’s Podcast:

Coming up this week we have a bran new Horror Express podcast for you to enjoy! You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

November 24 – Thanksgiving Replay 2016
December 01 – The Horror Express #13
December 08 – OTR Tale From Suspense – (RAS #268)
December 15 – Special Guest – Julie Hawkins – (RAS #269)
December 22 – (RAS #270)
December 29 – Christmas Break 2016