SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf - The Ghost of 29 Megacycles

Astonishing Legends

Scott Philbrook

Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 9.8K Ratings

🗓️ 23 November 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SPECIAL CROSSOVER PRESENTATION of Richard Hatem’s Paranormal Bookshelf
"The Ghost of 29 Megacycles" - S1:E5

"At first, he couldn't believe what was happening. A shape was beginning to form. He could clearly see the head and face of a man. O'Neill was gripped in fear. 'My God who are you?' Bill said. He was more than surprised when the figure answered: 'They call me, Doc Nick'." – from The Ghost of 29 Megacycles by John G. Fuller.

Close your eyes and picture this: it's the winter of 1984. Karma Chameleon is on the radio, Ronald Reagan just announced his candidacy for a second presidential term, and a young Richard was returning home late on a Saturday night when his brother, John, caught him in the hallway and made him listen to the scariest thing they'd ever heard.

In this episode, Richard explores The Ghost of 29 Megacycles by John G. Fuller. This book chronicles the development and use of the Spiricom device, an invention claiming to facilitate two-way communication between the living and the dead. As Richard immerses himself in the pages of The Ghost of 29 Megacycles, which he found in 1997, he can’t help but see himself reflected in the pages. You see, he was holed up in the Heathman Hotel in Portland, Oregon, working on The Mothman Prophecies. Through Meek's unwavering belief in the impossible, Richard finds inspiration to embrace his own sense of limitless belief, propelling him to finish the screenplay and truly bet on himself.

Join Richard as he uncovers the mysteries of the Spiricom and reflects on the power of belief, in both yourself…and the paranormal.

Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts for the next episode. Learn more about the stories, books, music, and more featured in this episode at https://www.richardhatemsparanormalbookshelf.com/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey folks, Scott here. Forgive the audio quality of this recording. I'm traveling with my family for the Thanksgiving holiday and I don't have my studio gear with me, but this will be brief.
0:09.0	As you may know by now, Forrest and I have stepped away from the main show for a bit, dealing with some family losses.
0:15.0	We truly appreciate your understanding and patience during this time. While we're on hiatus for the rest of the year,
0:21.4	we didn't want to leave you completely without new content, so we're taking this opportunity
0:25.1	to share some fantastic episodes from other shows on the Astonishing Legends Network. Don't worry,
0:31.1	Forrestnot will be back with all new episodes of Astonishing Legends and the Astonishing Dead Letter
0:35.3	office in January of 2026.
0:38.3	But for now, we're really excited to bring you an episode of Richard Haddam's Paranormal
0:42.3	Bookshelf. Longtime listeners of our show, of course, know who Rich is, but for those that don't,
0:47.5	he's an absolutely brilliant television writer, film writer, and storyteller, and most importantly,
0:52.4	in this case, an avid collector of paranormal books. Most of
0:56.3	them first editions, many of them signed. His show is not only about these books and their place
1:01.3	in the paranormal zeitgeist at large, but how his discovery of them at various times in his past
1:05.9	intertwined with his own personal life and shaped his philosophy on all things unexplained.
1:11.8	This particular episode of Rich's show is episode five from season one.
1:15.9	It was originally posted to his feed in May of 2024.
1:20.2	It's called The Ghost of 29 Megacycles, and it's a perfect example of why we love his show so much.
1:26.7	The book at the heart of this episode
1:28.9	is about the fascinating and also heartbreaking tale of George Meek, Bill O'Neill, and their
1:34.0	quest to build the Spiritcom, a machine designed to talk to the dead. Rich's storytelling style
1:40.4	here is a masterclass in conveying how the book personally affected him, while he
1:44.8	addresses some skepticism about what Meek and O'Neill were trying to do. He also explores the
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