Guest host Connie Willis (info) welcomed author Lesley Bannatyne to discuss Halloween traditions. Bannatyne described how American Halloween grew into a creative, community-driven celebration. She explained that jack-o-lanterns trace back to old stories of wandering ghostly lights like will-o'-the-wisps and the tale of Stingy Jack. In the United States, children in the 1800s carved pumpkins, lit candles inside them, and carried them on sticks to frighten neighbors at night. These moving, glowing faces eventually became stationary porch decorations when Halloween parties and home celebrations expanded after the Civil War.
Bannatyne explained that costumes became part of Halloween because Americans once loved costume parties for many holidays, and Halloween's nighttime atmosphere made spooky themes a natural fit. People first dressed up for masquerade parties and later for large community parades, which helped turn costumes into an expected tradition. Homemade outfits dominated early celebrations until the 1930s, when retailers began selling mass-produced Halloween costumes. She recalled the flimsy childhood masks with rubber bands and noted how costume designs have since grown into elaborate works of creativity.
Bannatyne emphasized that trick-or-treating and related customs show how generous and communal the holiday has become. She points out that Halloween is the only night when people open their doors to strangers and spend money on treats for children they do not know. Bannatyne expressed her adoration for how families decorate yards, carve pumpkins, and give their time and creativity simply to delight others. For her, the fun of trick-or-treating, the artistry of pumpkins, and the excitement of costuming all reflect Halloween's unique spirit as a playful, welcoming celebration created by ordinary people for one another.
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During the second half of the program, ghost hunter Bill Murphy shared his experiences and research in the field of the paranormal. He explained that his lifelong interest in the paranormal began with a startling personal experience in his family's home in New Orleans. While visiting his parents, he saw a shadowy figure with a wide-brimmed hat cross the room between them before disappearing down the hallway. The figure was semi-transparent and avoided furniture as it moved, which convinced Murphy that he was not imagining it. His parents did not see the apparition, but they later revealed that visitors had reported the same figure and that similar sightings had occurred in other family homes going back generations.
Murphy went on to have a successful career in broadcast engineering before shifting his focus to documenting paranormal events. When unexplained activity followed him to his Los Angeles home, including loud pounding in the walls and the reappearance of a shadow figure, he began conducting Electronic Voice Phenomena sessions. During one experiment, he and his wife asked aloud, "Can we trust you?" They recorded the session and played it back, hearing a whispered voice reply, "No." That moment convinced him that EVP communication was genuine and motivated him to adopt a more scientific approach to paranormal research while still acknowledging his own personal experiences.
Murphy spoke about producing documentaries at locations such as the Queen Mary and the Stanley Hotel, and collaborated with Frank Sumption, the inventor of Frank's Box. Murphy presented an EVP in which a voice can be heard saying, "My father did this," which Frank believed came from his deceased son. He also played a darker example in which a voice warned, "You know we monitor this, the father and son, oh believe me Frank, or we are doomed." Murphy explained that recordings like these show both the potential and the risk of attempting real-time communication through such devices.