Callers shared their bizarre stories during Friday night's Open Lines. Alexander in Washington, D.C. told George about a bigfoot encounter he had while on a trip with his buddies to the Blue Mountains in Pennsylvania. The caller said he was outside on personal business when he noticed his friend's dog become alert and take off back toward the cabin. A terrible smell enveloped the area before he heard a grunt and turned to find the source, Alexander recalled. It was then that the caller claims to have seen an 11-ft tall creature with a coned-shaped head, deeply set eyes, and an ape-like mouth standing less than an arm's length away from him.
Allison in Chicago recalled a odd occurrence that happened to her during a trip to Albany, New York. According to caller, she and two friends where driving on a highway about two hours south of Albany when they came upon a thick fog. Allison said they don't remember any of the drive after the fog, but somehow managed to make it far north of Albany, to a place in the Adirondack Mountains some six and a half hours away.
Tony in Maryland shared an unusual childhood experience in which he saw a "giant bit of smoke" unfurl at his bedroom window and a figure appear out of it. A caller in Sacramento recounted some of the strange experiences she's had aboard the haunted Queen Mary, including one involving a malevolent entity that caused her to smell smoke.
In the final half hour, George played audio from his 6/25/08 interview with the late Tom Van Flandern, who shared his theories about Mars
Queen Mary Ghosts
Our first hour guest, psychic Erika Frost, talked about the upcoming GhostFest III as well as some of the strange things that have occurred on the supposedly haunted Queen Mary. Frost said poltergeist activity has been reported and guests have been physically touched while touring the ship. In one case, she watched as a woman's hair was lifted straight up into the air by an unseen force. George also played some EVPs recorded aboard the Queen Mary. Frost said there are a few rooms where they have "audible interaction" with the ship's ghostly residents.
Economy Update
Appearing briefly at the start of the show, trends analyst Gerald Celente provided an update on the US economy. Celente expects 150,000 retail stores to close in 2009, leading to a loss of 700,000 jobs and the collapse of the commercial real estate market.