Art Bell Ghost to Ghost AM

[Primary Assist]

From the high desert, and the Great American Southwest, I'd like to shine the spotlight on an all-time legend among talk radio and conspiracy nuts, Art Bell. One of my favorite ways to celebrate the Halloween season while at work is to throw on a classic episode of Ghost to Ghost AM, which is the Halloween-themed version of his renowned Coast to Coast AM program.

For those of you not in the know, Coast to Coast AM came into prominence in the early 1990's as a late night radio talk show where Art Bell, the host, would either interview a guest or open the phone lines to unscreened callers to discuss whatever was on their minds. Themes included time travel, bigfoot, the Chupacabra, Area 51, and just about any other paranormal or conspiracy-minded subject matter. The classic episodes of this show are fascinating not only for the topics and stories that are discussed by the callers and guests, but also because they serve as a time capsule for the media-saturated era of just before the information age.

Art's candor with his guests is refreshing since he's never afraid to step in and cut off a guest who is clearly lying, but he was also happy to let an interview go on for just the right amount of time to really let a guest tell his or her story. To this day there really aren't too many spaces for these types of tales and it's hard to find a host that's even half as inimitable as Art.

So for HFBoards' listening pleasure on this Halloweekend 2021, I present you one of the finest ghost themed shows to ever grace our nation's airwaves... Ghost to Ghost AM 1994:

 

[Flukeshot]

I used to listen to coast to coast AM all the time. Just recently had the thought to see if old episodes were on YouTube and have put them on as night time knock out listening. I was half asleep one night and must have heard some of the topic of "the black eyed children" and it led to some nightmares haha.

Really a fantastic show for anyone even slightly into the paranormal.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

I was in uni or high school last time I listened but was always turned off cos he gave a platform to literally everyone including the Alex Jones types or the illuminati are reptilians types.

There was a show on after this on Toronto AM 640 called A View From Space with The Spaceman. It also had some insane conspiracy stuff but none of the supernatural crap and it at least gave you some great knowledge when it came to history and politics.

 

[Flukeshot]

I was in uni or high school last time I listened but was always turned off cos he gave a platform to literally everyone including the Alex Jones types or the illuminati are reptilians types.

There was a show on after this on Toronto AM 640 called A View From Space with The Spaceman. It also had some insane conspiracy stuff but none of the supernatural crap and it at least gave you some great knowledge when it came to history and politics.

I forgot about that show too! Every show started with some insane but well thought out ramblings that I could never follow.

I'm not sure if it was on that show or coast to coast, but I remember an elderly sounding guy who called in and claimed to have found a supreme dietary balance that allowed him never to need to poop... The host's reply was simply, "Why?" and the old guy had no answer.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

I was in uni or high school last time I listened but was always turned off cos he gave a platform to literally everyone including the Alex Jones types or the illuminati are reptilians types.

There was a show on after this on Toronto AM 640 called A View From Space with The Spaceman. It also had some insane conspiracy stuff but none of the supernatural crap and it at least gave you some great knowledge when it came to history and politics.

Gary Bell!!! I remember listening every Saturday. Ironically died a few weeks after Art Bell did.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

I used to listen to it back in the day. However, I now realize shows like this have helped to fuel the wave of conspiricy and distrust in America.

Countless people listen to this show and take the shit these crackpots say as hard truth, when in reality its low brow entertainment.

 

[koyvoo]

Here is Gary Bell’s entire “Spaceman” archive. This guy was on another level. Made guys like Art Bell and George Noory and the Coast to Coast guys look mundane in comparison.

 

[AceKing21]

I would listen to Art Bell on my home from work at 2:00AM. Always was very interesting material. I didnt really believe in most of his content, but with some of his guests it made you think, which in turn pulled you into his shows further.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I forgot about that show too! Every show started with some insane but well thought out ramblings that I could never follow.

I'm not sure if it was on that show or coast to coast, but I remember an elderly sounding guy who called in and claimed to have found a supreme dietary balance that allowed him never to need to poop... The host's reply was simply, "Why?" and the old guy had no answer.

Perfect example of how "so close yet so far away" these shows were to being intelligible.

If someone actually found a diet that eliminated the need to poop, that would mean your body is running at 100% digestive efficiency. It would mean the end of hunger... this old guy just never stopped to think it through

I used to listen to it back in the day. However, I now realize shows like this have helped to fuel the wave of conspiricy and distrust in America.

Countless people listen to this show and take the shit these crackpots say as hard truth, when in reality its low brow entertainment.

It's honestly very sad. This stuff seemed so harmless back in the day, partly because it was so obviously operating at the edge of what could even be plausible. It was like reading tabloids, with a dash of late-night TV silliness thrown in.

Couldn't have known back then that cable news and social media would become what they are today. These old radio shows were like a laboratory for techniques that became weaponized and unleashed on general society within a generation.

 

[Primary Assist]

I used to listen to it back in the day. However, I now realize shows like this have helped to fuel the wave of conspiricy and distrust in America.

Countless people listen to this show and take the shit these crackpots say as hard truth, when in reality its low brow entertainment.

I'd say that your point is equal parts spot on and unfortunate - I have an almost anthropological appreciation for Art Bell and his program simply because I'm so fascinated that people out there really believe the things that were being discussed on-air. The dark side of this is that this type of platform allows for disinformation and spurious conspiracy to spread unmolested. Even in the 90's Art Bell was maligned for spreading harmful conspiracy fodder, such as the Hale Bopp UFO Claim with Heaven's Gate and his paramilitary discussions that could be linked (speciously) to the Oklahoma City Bombing. This was a major catalyst for him switching to more absurd topics and bringing on zanier, and yes, even more lowbrow, guests.

As a campy time capsule of the 90's though, I do really enjoy firing up an old playback of the Ghost to Ghost AMs or some of the more famous call-ins like Mel Waters with Mel's Hole. Art was undeniably gifted as a talk radio host and his bumper music choices are sublime. It's just a shame that when viewing this program through the lens of a misinformation-addled 21st century the show isn't quite as innocent as it once seemed.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

I miss the show for what I remember it to be at the time. However, what I remember it being (A campy, late night talk show talking about aliens and Ghosts), is unfortunately not what it really was, nor continues to be. Literally anyone can come on to the show and spew almost any insane, malicious, conspiricy they want,withouy any fear of reprisal.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I miss the show for what I remember it to be at the time. However, what I remember it being (A campy, late night talk show talking about aliens and Ghosts), is unfortunately not what it really was, nor continues to be. Literally anyone can come on to the show and spew almost any insane, malicious, conspiricy they want,withouy any fear of reprisal.

Well said.

 

[montreal]

My grandma when she was alive was a fan of show, I checked it out and the one where the guy calls in and says he works at area 51 and talks about aliens and then the line goes dead and Art's power goes down. That was fun to listen to while high as a kite as it felt legit real to me.

 

[savebyrichter94]

My grandma when she was alive was a fan of show, I checked it out and the one where the guy calls in and says he works at area 51 and talks about aliens and then the line goes dead and Art's power goes down. That was fun to listen to while high as a kite as it felt legit real to me.

It wasn’t real?