Tag Archives: The Phil Factor

My Favorite Paranormal Podcast

Posted on May 14, 2024 | 14 comments

To be clear, the podcast is not paranormal. No one is sending it to me psychically. The podcast in question is Greg & Dana’s Haunted Objects Podcast. Over the last several months I have tried several paranormal podcasts. Some are of the “tin hat” type of crowd and others are very knowledgeable and experienced, but the paranormal investigators are not always great broadcasters. Greg, Dana, Conor, and Keelin are anything but boring.

The name of the podcast is misleading. It is about so much more than haunted objects. Greg and Dana are a couple. She’s a self-proclaimed witch and paranormal investigator. He is a paranormal investigator and multi-media producer. Together with their fun loving crew they are producers of some of the most interesting and entertaining paranormal content online, in podcasts, and on TV.

Greg and Dana are also the curators of The Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult. They have an advisory board that includes many of the most experienced and erudite paranormal minds in the business.

On their podcast, they essentially do what I did over the past several weeks with my blog posts, introducing a wide variety of paranormal subjects and exploring the history and science of each different type of paranormal phenomena. They intersperse funny stories from their travels and investigations, and sometimes do experiments to prove or disprove certain phenomena.

The time they went Bigfoot hunting with Jeff Goldblum

Above is a picture from Season 2, episode 5 of Jeff Goldblum’s show The World According to Jeff. That’s the only litmus test that I need. If Jeff Goldblum likes them, then I’m all on board.

If you have a sense of humor, like podcasts and the paranormal, then you need to listen to Greg & Dana’s Haunted Objects podcast.

Also, I would highly recommend that you check out Hellier,  a docuseries on Amazon Prime,  that they produced a few years ago. There’s two seasons.  It follows their several years long paranormal investigation that has some truly bizarre turns. It is so much more fun than those ghost shows.

You can also watch The Unbinding, which chronicles their harrowing experience with a haunted/cursed relic that they discovered in the Catskill region of New York.

 

Right now there’s only one season of the podcast, but it has over twenty episodes and I’m eagerly awaiting season 2. Hey Greg and Dana, if you ever see this blog post, I’d love to interview you for my blog! Email me Authorphiltaylor@gmail.com or on Twitter @ThePhilFactor

Have a great Tuesday! ~Phil

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Paranormal Tools of The Trade: The Spirit Box

Posted on May 9, 2024 | 6 comments

Pic from Gators and Ghosts

Admit it, you’ve watched the ghost hunting shows and thought how cool it was when they pull out some techno device and have a conversation with a ghost. After that, you’ve probably thought to yourself, “I wish I could get one of those!” The truth is, many of those cool tech ghost gadgets are available online and at prices that make them accessible to anyone. In this new series of blog posts, once a week I will highlight one of the ghost hunting tools you see on TV. This week it’s the Spirit Box.

In paranormal investigations, tools like the Spirit Box have sparked both fascination and skepticism. These devices, often used by ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts, purportedly allow communication with spirits through real-time audio feedback. While the Spirit Box has its fans who laud its usefulness, it also faces scrutiny for its limitations and the subjective nature of its findings.

At its core, the Spirit Box is a radio scanner, rapidly tuning through radio frequencies. Users believe that spirits can manipulate these frequencies to relay messages or responses to questions. Many paranormal investigators will connect their Spirit Box to a set of noise cancelling headphones and a blindfold to minimize any extraneous noise and distractions.

The allure lies in the possibility of direct communication with entities from beyond the grave. I believe that the Spirit Box can be useful, if the theory behind it is correct, but honestly, we have no definitive proof that ghosts can communicate through radio frequencies.

Connor Randall ,inventor of The Estes Method

One of the advantages of the Spirit Box is its real-time response feature. Unlike other paranormal investigation methods where they review film or listen to recordings, the Spirit Box offers immediate audible feedback, allowing investigators to engage with potential spirits.

While skeptics question the validity of the responses received, proponents argue that patterns and relevant responses can emerge over multiple sessions, providing a basis for further exploration. When used in conjunction with other investigative techniques, such as EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) recordings and EMF (Electromagnetic Field) detectors, the Spirit Box can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of alleged paranormal activity.

However, the usefulness of the Spirit Box is not without its shortcomings and criticisms. One of the primary concerns is the potential for pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon where the brain perceives meaningful patterns or messages in random stimuli.

Adam Berry of TLC’s Kindred Spirits

Another criticism leveled against the Spirit Box is its susceptibility to environmental interference. Radio frequency contamination, electrical interference, and even nearby electronic devices can influence the output of the Spirit Box, leading to false positives or misleading responses. For all we know, the responses might be a random word from a DJ in Milwaukee that somehow got caught on the frequency your spirit box was at. In a field where credibility is paramount, such technical limitations can undermine belief in the reliability of evidence gathered through the device.

Paranormal investigator Amanda Paulson

In conclusion, the Spirit Box remains a potential tool in the arsenal of paranormal investigators. Alone it’s usefulness is limited, but with validation from other sources during an investigation it may be impactful. I think that the best endorsement for The Spirit Box, is that all the experts are using it. Click the link for a closer look at the device and where to get your own.

Keep it spooky and thanks for reading! ~Phil

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Do You Believe Paranormal Phenomena? Vote in The Polls!

Posted on May 3, 2024 | 5 comments

As I mentioned previously, May 3 was National Paranormal Day here in the states. Admittedly, I enjoy paranormal activity a little more than most. Wouldn’t the world would be so much more fun and interesting if paranormal things were actually true? Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.  Most of the rest of this post is three polls that I’d love your responses to because in my next few blog posts I’m going to explore people’s beliefs in the paranormal, have some interesting interviews, and occasionally make jokes.

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Do You Believe in Ghosts?

12
Do You Believe that People Can Be Psychic?

12
Do You Believe There Are Aliens/UFO's That Visit Earth?

After answering and seeing the poll results, is there anything that surprises you about what people believe? If you’re a believer in any of those subjects, could you comment why?

Have a great day, and thanks for reading! ~Phil

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The Top Ten Paranormal Topics

Posted on May 2, 2024 | Leave a comment

Let’s be honest, when you think of the “paranormal” you think ghosts first, cryptids such as Bigfoot, Mothman, and The Loch Ness Monster second, and then you think aliens. As you might have noticed, over the last two years I’ve been getting into the paranormal quite a bit and it is a far larger landscape than what I would have imagined. So I’m just passing on what I’ve learned. I’ll go in order of popularity.

This is the best kind of #ghost

1. Ghosts! I like the idea of ghosts as much as anyone, but isn’t there way too many ghost hunting shows on TV?

Did you know that there are more than one type of alien? Read Craig Campobasso’s book!

2. Aliens: Now that the United States government has caught up with Blink-182 and admitted that aliens exist, the next few years are going to be interesting.

#Bigfoot riding the #Loch Ness Monster

3. Cryptids: Until about two years ago, I had never heard the word “cryptid“. Now I can’t get it out of my head. Cryptids are strange and unverifiable creatures. The big three of Bigfoot/Mothman/Loch Ness Monster have plenty of company in this category. Who wants next weeks top ten paranormal column to cover more cryptids?

Buy Yuri’s book and learn how to hone your psychic powers

4. Psychic powers: Yuri was much more than a spoon bender. His amazing psychic powers were verified by the Stanford Research Institute.  Also Uri is a great follow on IG. In his 70’s he looks like he has more energy than I do. The category of psychic powers covers a lot of specialties such as mind reading, telekinesis, remote viewing and many others.

5. Time travel and time slips: Are people traveling too and from the future to visit us? There’s a lot of interesting pictures out there.

Pic from iNews

6. Near Death Experiences: In most cases, it’s not near death. It’s after death experiences where the patient is clinically dead and their heart has stopped, but the medical folks manage to revive them. After being brought back from death, many patients report floating above the scene and can describe in detail what the doctors said and did.

7. Demonology/Exorcism: The pic above is Rich Valdes a professional demonologist that I interviewed last for this blog. Demons are different than ghosts. Ghosts are assumed to be spirits of humans who have died. Demons are believed to be sentient evil entities.

8. Objects appearing from Nowhere: There are many, many documented cases where solid objects have been summoned or just appeared in a place that was empty a moment ago.

9. Witchcraft: Is witchcraft for real? Just like any other paranormal subject, there are believers and non-believers. Witchcraft isn’t necessarily negative or evil. It depends on the person practicing witchcraft.

10. Out of Body experiences: Can you leave your body and visit other places and view things you couldn’t possibly see from your bed? Guess what? There’s some science that says yes!

If you have any other paranormal subjects that you think should be added to this list, let me know in the comments!

Have a happy Tuesday! ~Phil

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I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost!

Posted on April 30, 2024 | 7 comments

Picture credit Collider.com & Sony Pictures

I just recently discovered that May 3rd is National Paranormal Day and I’m going to lean in hard here at The Phil Factor.

There’s two things I’m not sure if I believe in, ghosts and death. Well, I’m sure I don’t believe in my own death, and if by chance it does happen, I plan to overcome it by becoming a ghost. I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself What a weirdo! Hey, relax on the judgement there. I’m contractually bound to comeback after death, if I have one, a death that is.

Contractually bound? Yup. Nothing I can do about it now. It was many years ago in college. One night myself and two friends were drinking some adult beverages. You know how when you’re young, like 20 or so and you think you’re really deep thinkers even though you’re really idiots who don’t know anything? We had imbibed a few beverages and got to talking about death and the afterlife.

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We all were curious to know if there really was life after death, so right then and there we Googled and then re-enacted a centuries old Druid ceremony complete with a circle of salt, candles under a full moon and signing a pact with our own blood, which was flowing easily because of the alcohol we had been drinking. Ok, no we didn’t. I had you going there for a second, didn’t I?

There was also no Google when I was in college, but we did make a promise to each other that whoever died first would come back and haunt the other two so we would know that there’s life after death.

I don’t know where those two college friends are now and don’t even remember ones last name. Hopefully, because of our vow, some sort of afterlife mojo will help us find each other and keep our promise. As far as I know, none of us has ever shown up to haunt the others. With May 3rd being National Paranormal Day I got to thinking of this and what else I might do if I were to be a ghost.

Stars DEMI MOORE and PATRICK SWAYZE. Licenced by Channel 5 Broacasting. Contact Five Stills: 0207 550 5583/5509/5544. Free for editorial press and listings use in connection with the current broadcast of Channel 5 programmes only. This. image may only be reproduced with the prior written consent of Channel 5. All rights reserved. Not for any form of advertising, internet use or in connection with the sale of any product.

I know this may be hard for you to believe, but in my life I’ve been a bit of a practical joker at times. I’m pretty sure that if I ever come back  as a ghost I’m not going to take off my shirt and help anyone with pottery. Jeez, what a waste of an afterlife. I’ll probably be what we all know as a poltergeist. I’ll move a lot of peoples car keys just before they have to leave for work.

During live televised events I’ll show up invisibly and give the President or the Pope a wet willie. I’ll be on the field at all my favorite live sporting events, helping out a little to ensure my favorite teams win.

You know that feeling you get when you feel like someone’s behind you but you turn around and no one’s there? That’ll be me.  Who knows? Ghost Phil may even zip into the internet and follow the connection to your computer and cause embarrassing typos when you’re posting pictures.

So do you believe in life after death? Do you think there are real ghosts? Have you ever had an experience with what you think was a ghost? What would you do if you were a ghost?

Have a great day, and yes, I do think we should celebrate National Paranormal Day by pulling out the Halloween decorations! ~Phil

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Just One Thing

Posted on March 18, 2024 | Leave a comment

Many of you may not remember this scene from the 1991 movie City Slickers:

Or maybe you do. Jack Palance‘s character, Curly, tells Billy Crystal‘s character that “the secret of life is just one thing.”  To which Billy Crystal replies, ‘That’s great. but what’s the one thing?”  Curly answers, “That’s what you’ve got to figure out.”  This week I figured out what my one thing is.

Back in the mid-1970’s it was the end of a normal school day at Cicero Elementary School. Bus number 186 was called over the P.A. system, meaning I could leave the classroom, retrieve my coat from my cubby and head outside to find my bus home. Eight year old Phil gathered his papers and books, pushing them sloppily into an already overstuffed desk.

I hurried a little extra because I was thirsty from playing outside in the sunshine during end of day recess and I wanted to get a quick slurp of cool, refreshing water from the fountain in the hall before I left.  I rushed to my cubby outside the room, grabbed my coat and put my orange and black Baltimore Orioles Little League baseball cap on my head. It was probably a little crooked, it always was. I just didn’t have the knack of centering the brim over my face unless I was looking in a mirror. I didn’t care though. I was still at an age where I hadn’t yet learned that I should be self-conscious about how I was put together. That was something boys didn’t think too much about until they noticed girls.

I didn’t know it, but the next moment was the one that changed my life. I turned from my cubby and fought my way across the hall, dodging and weaving through the other students flowing down hallway like a swift moving river of four foot humanity. After successfully navigating the obstacle course I reached my destination. The hallway water fountain.

1870168-fountain-xl

Doesn’t that bubbling, gurgling water look refreshing? I thought so too, so much so that I leaned in for a drink a little too quickly. See that curved piece of metal above the bubbling water? I leaned over, perhaps slightly hurried and slightly distracted by the crush of students and thoughts of my waiting bus. As I did so, one of my center front teeth hit that curved metal piece. Not hard, but hard enough that about one quarter of a tooth broke off cleanly and completely. One drink. One quarter of one tooth. One life changed forever…

Yes, I know it sounds insignificant, but we rarely realize the long term ripple effect of small moments when they happen. That one moment those many years ago helped me realize just how lucky I am.

On Thursday of this past week, decades after I broke that tooth, I visited the dentist because of that tooth. Complications related to that one simple moment have probably required me to have, literally, about 100 additional dental appointments over the years.  There have been countless procedures, needles, poking, prodding, and pain. Lots of pain. Today I thought to myself that if I had one chance to turn back time and change one moment in my life, that moment when I broke my tooth might be what I’d choose.

Then, in the course of writing, I thought to myself, “considering what so many others have endured, if my biggest problem in life is a broken tooth that will plague me for the rest of my days, then I’ve been pretty damn lucky.” Then I also thought to myself that I wouldn’t go back in time and stop stupid eight year old me from bumping my tooth, because from today going forward it will always remind me how lucky I’ve been. Weirdly, on Tuesday when I’m in a dental chair because of this tooth, I’ll probably smile. Because of the dental work on the tooth it may never be a perfect smile, but it will be a grateful one.

So what’s your “one thing“? What would you change if you could? Or what life lesson did you learn from that one particular moment in time?

As always, if you enjoyed #ThePhilFactor, please share it to Twitter or Facebook, Have a great week! ~Phil

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Daylight Stupid Time

Posted on March 9, 2024 | 2 comments

This is my bi-annual reminder that tonight in the United States we move our clocks forward by an hour tonight and my reminder to you that it’s stupid. I’ve been posting this every Fall and Spring since 2006 and will continue to do so until the government does away with Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight-Savings-Time

When I’m elected President, or Sexiest Man Alive, whichever comes first, I’m going to pass a law getting rid of Daylight Savings Time. I don’t know if all other countries do this. I do know that not all the U.S. states abide by it. Hawaii and Arizona have essentially told Daylight Savings to eff off. They don’t care if the rest of the world does it.

Daylight Savings Time was created about 120 years ago to give farmers more daylight in which to do their work in the fields. Call me crazy, but why the hell didn’t someone just suggest that the lazy ass farmers drag themselves out of a bed a little earlier each day? Because those cud chewing, overall wearing, udder jerking lay-abouts can’t be bothered to set their alarm clocks we’re all stuck changing time?

I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but about 15 years ago the U.S. Congress, in another colossal waste of their time and our tax dollars, extended daylight savings time by a few weeks on either end.

First off, why isn’t it called daylight savings time since we are using less daylight in the winter months? And of course it should be Daylight Spending time from March to November.

Secondly, at this point all the farmers (except the creepy Amish ones) have electricity and alarm clocks, which may not have been the case 120 years ago. I can get away with saying that about the Amish because my demographic data shows that for some reason I have very low readership among the Amish. I guess they just don’t get me.

Reportedly the reason Congress did this is to save energy. How will changing our clocks twice a year save energy? Don’t we set our thermostats and use heat based on the outdoor temperature, not how light out it is? I’d like to save the energy I expend changing my clocks! I’d like Congress to tell me when I get that back. Congress has again proven to be the biggest collection of morons outside of…well…I guess I can’t think of a bigger collection. Why doesn’t Congress set their alarm clocks an hour earlier so they can get up early and get more of this important work done?

dst-baby

B.T. dubs, if we set our clocks ahead an hour now but we turn them back in the Fall,  over the course of a year what difference does it make?

If we learned anything from Marty McFly it was that we shouldn’t muck about with time. Also, according to statistics,  the day after we change our clocks there are more workplace injuries, car accidents, and for the day, a 10% rise in heart attacks.

I for one am not going to go for this stupid daylight savings time thing anymore. I don’t work at a farm or for Congress, so I told my boss that for 6 months I’ll be to work an hour early or late, however it works out. When I’m elected President, or Sexiest Man Alive, whichever comes first, this is going to change!

If you’d like to support my bid for President or Sexiest Man Alive, please hit the Facebook, Twitter share button below, but hurry because you have an hour less to do it in this weekend. Or is it an hour more? Have a great weekend! ~Phil

#PHIL2024

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Ginger Zee and Her Snow Deficit

Posted on February 18, 2024 | Leave a comment

Who is Ginger Zee? Some of you will know her and some of you won’t. She’s my possible future wife. She doesn’t know that of course, but if my wife divorces me, it’s me and Ginger Zee, as long as her husband does the right thing and steps aside.

Ginger Zee, Good Morning America

Ginger Zee is the “Chief Meteorologist and Climate Correspondent”  on Good Morning America. I really appreciate how she delivers the weather news every morning. Although lately she has not been in my good graces.

I live in the northeast of the United States. It’s an area of the country that typically gets a lot of snow during the winter months. And some of the Fall and Spring months too.

This year our part of the country is not getting a lot of snow. So every morning Ginger Zee tells me that I have a “snow deficit“. OK, she’s not telling me personally that I have a “snow deficit“. That would be crazy … for her to do that on national television.

I don’t know what her problem is with us not having enough snow. I don’t care if it doesn’t snow a single day all year long. I hate snow. If one flake hits the ground that’s a snow surplus in my opinion. Yet, Ginger Zee keeps telling me that I have a snow deficit EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. C’mon Ginger, you’re better than this. I did a couple years of  broadcasting courses in college and not once did any of my professors suggest that we develop a catch phrase.

Snow deficit?!!? How in the world is a lack of snow a problem? I know there’s people who love snow, but most of the time those people don’t live where there’s snow and cold temperatures for five months straight. Ginger, you’re one of those people who live in the northeast. Why are you fixated on the SNOW DEFICIT?!!? If you don’t stop with the “snow deficit” I may never let you marry me. My local news weather guy has not mentioned the snow deficit once. Then again, maybe that’s why he’s the local guy. Or maybe he hates snow like the rest of us normal people do.

A funny thing happened during the writing of this blog. I learned that Ginger Zee isn’t just a pretty face giving me the weather.

My original intent was to go off on a funny, unhinged rant about Ginger Zee constantly saying snow deficit and how much that bugged me. Prior to this morning, I knew very little about Ginger Zee other than her regular appearance on the morning news. Then as I looked up links and pictures, I learned that she is a wife and mom that has battled mental health issues and has been an outspoken advocate. I also learned that she is an author of two biographical novels and a three book fiction series about a young girl that has great reviews on Amazon.

Ginger, go ahead and keep saying “snow deficit“. It’s your phrase, enjoy it!

Thanks for reading folks! Have a great Sunday and be nice to everyone. You never know when they’re carrying a heavier burden than you can see. ~Phil

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Should I Podcast?

Posted on February 16, 2024 | 5 comments

I have the equipment, and for me having that is like an open door inviting me in. I like writing, but I also like talking. Many years ago I went to college and for the first two years I focused on broadcasting and writing, so I like to think that if I talked I might be not be terrible. There was also a time about seven years ago when my blog was very well trafficked on a daily basis.

If I did podcast, what would I talk about? Probably the exact same goofy stuff that I do here. I’ve done some great interviews over the last 19 years and I’ve always thought that those would have been more compelling if they could be heard rather than read.

You are obviously reading me right now, so if you’re a podcast person, would you subscribe and listen to me say all this stuff when you’re driving around in your car? What if I just did videos on Youtube and put them in here? Would you listen or watch that? Or do you prefer reading?

Are either of those logos appealing to you? If you saw either one, would the title and tag line make you curious? As I’ve been typing this, I’ve realized that it seems inevitable that I will try myself out as a podcast. I’ll never leave here. I will probably just expand to different outlets to find a wider audience. Not that you guys and gals aren’t great, because you are. I love my regulars that read and comment. Without you, I wouldn’t have the confidence to put myself out there on video or audio outlets.

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks for reading! ~Phil

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Angst Away! The Cure for That Valentine’s Day Stench

Posted on February 14, 2024 | 5 comments

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it’s Angst Away! The body spray that covers up your pure hatred of Valentine’s Day! Can you smell it? A day after Valentine’s Day the smell of romantic angst everywhere will be starting to fade.

axe

Look, I don’t have all the answers in life. I’m just a boy, standing in front of a computer asking you to read my blog, which in my world equates to love. If I get that little “like” click or God forbid, (gasp), a comment, I suddenly turn into Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch. Yeah, how’d that work out for you Tom? (click the link to watch that cringey moment in all it’s glory) Am I the only one who remembers this idiot moment?

Back to Valentine’s Day. Scrolling through my Twitter (X) feed today, I saw/read more Valentine’s Day angst than I’ve ever seen. Some were trying to identify the perfect Valentine’s Day, some wanted to promote the even keel approach to showing love every day, and others decried the whole holiday as a giant societal “F-you” to anyone who doesn’t currently have a romantic partner.

My thought is this: Jeez, lighten up everybody. Valentine’s Day is not out to get you. It’s not out to tell you anything about your life. Do you get upset around Labor Day because other people work harder than you? Don’t be an idiot. Your perspective is like a telescope. You only see what you choose to aim it at.

Over the past decade at one point most of American society has been completely nuts for The Handmaid’s Tale and Yellowstone, both very romantic shows. Well guess what? I don’t care. I’m sure they’re great TV shows, but they’re not a big deal for me. If people want to enjoy those shows, great for them. It’s fun to have something in common to talk about with others, but I don’t think I’m an incomplete person because I don’t watch them and I don’t stress if I missed the season finale.

Valentine’s Day should be treated the same way. If you don’t like it, change the channel, focus on something else. I’ll let you in on a little secret.  I’ve noticed a pattern. Valentine’s Day happens every year on February 14th, then it goes away, and guess what? You’re still here and so is everyone else. You’d better keep your guard up though because St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and those happy Irish folks are also out to make you feel bad because you don’t have a shamrock tattooed on your ass. (I’m not saying I do or don’t. It might just be an example.)

Like I said, I don’t have all the answers. I have a blog and my perspective. You have your perspective too, and you can change it if you want. Have a great week and if you liked #ThePhilFactor show me a little love by hitting the Facebook or reblog  buttons below.

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