A Private Eye Moment

This week has turned out to be detective-week on Ron’s Amazing Stories. To kick it off we have a story from a real gumshoe. While it is not a long story it does show us some of what the modern private detective job is like. Here is an email sent in by Sargent Jason Aims – California Highway Patrolman [ret].

After my retirement in 2009 I became bored and decided to take on odd jobs from a local detective agency. I get to pick the cases I work on, but there are times when they will call and ask me to fill-in. This was one of those times.

The case was a stolen identity. Most of the time there is not much we can do to help the victims of this type of crime, but in this case the perp was known and my agency was hired to follow her and catch her using fake ids or credit cards. It was a Wednesday and I had just taken over from another detective about 3pm in the afternoon.

Our agency uses cars that on the outside are, shall we say, low-key. However, inside they have the very latest gadgets. There are hidden cameras everywhere. There are microphones, lots of different kinds from the old stand by parabolic type, to a laser scope that will blow your mind. The car will lock up tighter than a prison and it is bullet proof. To top it all off a custom computer system runs everything and is tied back to the home office. The cigarette lighter has been replaced and it serves as a two-way switch. Turn it right and everything starts to record and the home office is notified. Smash it down and you just hit the panic button. The police and backup are on their way.

We were doing an old-fashioned stake-out of a motel where the perp had been staying. I settled in and after about an hour the passenger door opened. A large man got into the car and sat down. I reached over and turned the cigarette lighter to the right.

We had a rather heated exchange. Basically, he wanted me gone or I would be killed. I told him to open the glove box. He did so and that revealed a small monitor. After a moment it came to life with a picture of the man and description of his latest crimes. Also, he had a bounty on his head and was wanted for armed robbery and assault. The look on his face was priceless. He tried to open the car door, but I had locked it and had my 38 in my hand. After two minutes more the police were there and the man was in custody. The last thing he asked was how did I know. To which I said, I didn’t.

I don’t know whatever happened to him. In the end we did catch the girl using a stolen credit credit card and she is currently in jail serving ten years. I was the lead witness in that one. – Sargent Jason Aims

I love this story, simple but yet quite descriptive. In my head I can hear the banter between you two and can imagine the tension and relief when the police arrived. Were you as calm as you sounded? Thank you Sargent for your story and I am happy you remained safe.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the program this week it is detective week. We feature an amazing story from the OTR series Richard Diamond Private Detective titled The Read Rose. Also, we will review the audiobook The Maltese Falcon. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

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Dent In The Hood

We have an unusual and amazing animal story from Cody Apedaile. Cody and his wife Berklie are one of our most active FaceBook listeners and help promote the show. Cody has also done some of the Voice Overs that you hear on the show from time to time. Thank you Cody! His story is titled Dent in the Hood.

I once worked in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It is a few hours away from where my parents live. One weekend I decided to drive home to visit. Work ended around 10pm. I jumped into my little two door Honda Civic and went on my way. The route I took is one that only locals really know about and it cuts about a half hour out of travel time. However, This route is void of civilization for the most part. There is even a sign that warns drivers that there isn’t a gas station for 50 miles.

By the time I hit that lonesome stretch it was just after midnight. This route has a lot of national forest and winding canyon roads. Being a confident young man, I was driving fast, and whipping around the curves of the canyons. Coming around a wide curve, the brights of my car caught sight of a large elk cow.

Now, sometimes we have to question the intelligence of wildlife. If the elk had just run straight across the road we both would have been scared, but fine. Nope! This elk fled to the center line, and then began running directly away from my car. I locked my brakes. I guess I was cruising at around 70 mph when I spied my soon to be passenger and about 30 mph by the time we actually met. The elk was on the far right side of the road and my car, being low and small, went right under the back legs of the elk. She had a seat, and eventually bounced off the hood into the darkness.

The shock and amazement of the impact left me coasting my car for roughly a quarter mile before pulling off to the side. I got out and did a quick inspection of my car. Yep, there was a nice big imprint on the hood, and I did make it home safely. I continued to use that car for half a year after. I don’t know what ever happened to that elk though. Never will. By the way It’s fun to tell people that I have had an elk sit on my car – Cody Apedaile

This Week’s Podcast:

On the program this week we investigate the world of the pulp fiction writer of the 1940’s with a wonderful science fiction story titled The Unseen Blushers. Now how can you do both of those things in one story? You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

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The Civil War Ghost Of Utica

Our story this week comes from returning listener, Chad Campbell from Chicago, IL. We first heard from Chad in episode #486 – Dead Man’s Planet. He told us then that he had other stories he wanted to share and this is a good one. Chad has titled this: The Civil War Ghost Of Utica

As I’ve said here before, though I’ve experienced many hauntings in my life, I don’t really ever SEE ghosts. There was that one time with the woman sitting on my couch staring at me, and there is this story. I want to thank Ron for giving me a place to share it.

September 2020, I was taking my wife to work as I did almost every night of the week. On the way, we drove through this little country town of North Utica, Il. On the way there’s a big hill going down into the town. We had been that way a ton of times, so we knew all of the little landmarks (Trees, road signs, mailboxes, etc.) Right behind the big green sign that said we were in Utica, there was a man standing there on the side of the road looking our way. Because he was something out of the ordinary I quickly looked over and got a good look at him for a brief second as we passed by. At that same time my wife saw him and she said, “OMG did you see that?”

I asked her what she saw and she said, “That Guy was a Civil War soldier!”

She said she saw a detailed face, but I didn’t. For starters, he was mostly white and glowing, like my headlights were really lighting him up, but they weren’t. I was drawn to his face because what I saw was just a blank, white, glowing area. He had his right leg up like he was resting it on something and had his rifle in his hand, holding it to the ground like a cane. Also, he had a Kepi hat on. It seemed like he wasn’t just white, but shades of light gray, though glowing. We had plenty of time so I turned the car around to get another look. When we got back to the sign he was gone.

I dropped my wife off and drove back to the site. I wandered around the area for a while but didn’t see any signs of a person or ghost having been there. This prompted me to do some research. I wanted to know what if any battles took place around the Chicago area. I couldn’t find a single one. What I did find was this:

Chicago was a stronghold of abolitionist sentiment and the springboard of Lincoln’s presidency. Chicago was blamed in many circles for bringing on the war, but also prospered. Its population almost doubled as thousands of immigrants found work in the city. It was the second leading war supplier next to New York. There were army bases in the area. Camp Douglas, located near Chicago, was one of the largest training camps for union troops, as well as Camp Butler near Springfield. Both served as leading prisoner-of-war camps for captive Confederates.

Well Ron, that was it. We purposely drove that way every night after that until she lost her job because of the pandemic, just hoping to see him again, but we never did. I’ve wanted to stop by at the house near where he was at to ask them if they had ever seen him, or if maybe they had a costume from the Civil War and they were just hanging out freaking people out, though I’m not sure how they would’ve pulled off the glowing and faceless thing, but I haven’t yet and probably never will.

Oh yeah, there is a very old cemetery in Utica. My father once told me, and he is not known for telling any tales, let alone tall ones, he once drove by there and saw a werewolf . But that is another story and I might add a very creepy one.

Chad Campbell – Chicago, IL

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week our featured story tells what The Hallmark Hall Of Fame says is a true story. Wyatt Earp has to settle a fight between an old friend and an angry town. I will leave it up to you to decide it is true. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

Your Stories:

Do you have a story that you would like to share on the podcast or the blog? Head to the main website, click on Story Submission, leave your story, give it a title, and please tell me where you’re from. I will read it on the show if I can.Social Links:
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Awesome Hotel and the ghosts are pretty cool too!

I love stories that come from places I have seen. In the early 2000’s my company sent me to Austin, Texas for some training. I was there off and on for about four months. During that time I did a little sightseeing and one of the places I visited was along the RiverWalk. I saw the Alamo and the famous Menger Hotel in San Antonio, TX. Why is the place famous? When the Civil War and Reconstruction were over, and especially after the railroad arrived in 1877, the Menger became the best-known hotel in the Southwest. It was praised for the cuisine offered in the Colonial Dining Room. True stuff. I never stayed there or ate there, but it is a beautiful place!

Boyd Gray from Texas has a different experience with the hotel. He sent this in via the website and gave it the title, Awesome Hotel and the ghosts are pretty cool too!

I’m sure most people that are into ghosts or the paranormal have heard about the Menger Hotel. It has a long history and has seen its fair share of events, but I won’t bore you with it ( it doesn’t hurt that it is parked next to the Alamo either). I Love the Menger and not because it produces some of my favorite encounters but because it is a great old hotel and the staff there is always on point. I’m not much of a modern hotel guy. I like a hotel with history and charm instead of a modern look or a bunch of extras.

Story time! My first stay at the Menger didn’t produce results and even the ghost tour was pretty standard but hey it was well done and I learned the history. The next trip back was a different story. I booked there again because I just like the hotel and the staff. I Checked in and went up to my room which was located on the Alamo side unlike the first time. I passed a mirror in the hallway that overlooked the balcony and I saw a woman dressed in period clothing. At first I thought it was one of the ghost tour ladies cause that’s how they dressed, but by the time I wiped my head around to look at her…. she wasn’t there.

I shook my head. I thought I was overlaying the painting from downstairs in my head, however, when I got closer to my room door there was another mirror at the end of the hallway and I saw her in the reflection again. I turned around to see if there was someone behind me and there was no one. That made me uneasy but I smiled and thought that this was going to be a good trip even if I didn’t experience another thing.

Well, it didn’t stop there. Later that night I was getting ready to go out to dinner. My bathroom light came on all by itself, and no joke it looked like there was a shadow being cast onto the floor coming out of the bathroom. I walked over and looked in and couldn’t find a reason for the shadow, which I was now standing on. Well, I quickly finished getting ready and went to dinner ( I needed a drink LOL).

At dinner, my client asked how I liked the Menger and I told him I loved it. He asked if I had seen any shadows without people attached to him. I told him about the mirror woman but not the shadow in the bathroom. I wanted to figure that one out first. Got back to my room and the light was off in the bathroom, as I walked by I said thank you for turning it off half-joking. I put my stuff down and returned to the bathroom and turned the light on, no shadow. I tried some different things to make it happen but nothing close and all I kept thinking was there was a ghost laughing his butt off watching me try and figure it out! The night finished out quietly.

I have other experiences from that hotel that I could share. One involves a talking TV with the sound turned off. Freaky bit of ghosting that was.

Boyd Gray – Texas

This Week’s Podcast:

On the show this week we take you to the world of Escape. Escape was an old time radio series hosted by William Conrad. A test pilot finds himself in a study that changes his life forever. The story is titled The Man From Tomorrow and I think that there just might be some truth to this one. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

Your Stories:

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The Run-Around Man

Our story this week was sent to us via Reddit and was written by Lee Garcia from New York. It is the perfect example of the head-scratcher. What is that you might ask? Simply put, that is a story that defies any explanation.

Before my family moved, we lived in a small town called Waterford, outside Albany, NY. It was along the Mohawk River, and is very close to where the Mohawk and Hudson connect in the Erie Canal system. We lived in a small house at the time, around 15 years ago.

My parents both had instances in the house where they would hear me as a three year old having conversations by myself in my room. They were freaked out by this, obviously. When they asked me who it was, I would always give the same response, “The Run-Around Man”

This also coincided with an experience they had where the lights in the kitchen would turn on and off at will. When they had someone come look at it, they said it was perfectly fine but it never stopped. One day my father was watching the wall switch and it moved on its own right in front of him.

Years later my parents found out, from some people who had lived in the town for many years, that the house used to be occupied by a handyman in the 1920s and 30s. He was referred to around town as “The Run-Around Man”. His family lived there until a fire nearly destroyed the house and he was killed. On a side note; my family moved from that house in the mid-2000s. It was torn down after massive flooding from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Lee Garcia – New York

Well Lee not much anyone can say about that. It truly left me scratching my head in wonder. I am always interested in looking things up and I decided to look into waterford. I found an amazing photo of the flooded streets in 2012. I also found this little tale.

Cohoes Falls is a waterfall that runs off the Mohawk River between the city of Cohoes and the town of Waterford. It was originally named Gahaoose, meaning “The Place of Falling Canoe.” Legend has it that a Native American girl was canoeing on the river one summer night when the current overtook her, forcing her to fall off the falls to her death. Her ghost has since been spotted on nights of the full moon, wearing war paint and paddling against the rapids.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the program this week we have a story titled How-2. Even though “How To” videos are huge on YouTube today, it was even a thing in the 50s. However they were called “How To” books. This story moves us to the future where How-2 is taken to a whole new level. Also, on the show we have more stories sent in by you for you. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

Your Stories:

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