Tag Archives: abraham lincoln

256 – Conspiracy Theories: From Sword Of Trust to The Moon Landing

The new film Sword of Trust features a deep-dive into a fictional conspiracy theory that the South actually won the Civil War. Directed by mumblecore veteran Lynn Shelton and starring everyone’s favorite curmudgeon Marc Maron, Sword of Trust is a comedy about a couple who inherit a Confederate sword that actually proves the South won the war and their journey into tinfoil hat-land to sell the sword to the highest bidder.

Our colleague Scott Markus from What’s Your Ghost Story.com got to work the Sword of Trust red carpet at the film’s premiere at SXSW this year for the International Screenwriters’ Association and he asked the cast and crew (including director Lynn Shelton and lead Marc Maron) about what their favorite conspiracy theory was for this episode.

In addition to that fun segment, Scott joins Wendy and I for a discussion of our favorite conspiracy theories. Because of course, July 20th 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the landing on the moon and the idea that we faked it because we needed a big propaganda win at the end of the 60s continues to this day. Who doesn’t love this video of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin punching A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon filmmaker Bart Sibrel…

In addition to discussing the movie and the moon landing conspiracy theories, here are some of the other topics we talk about:

Because Sword of Trust features a Civil War conspiracy theory, we wanted to record a song that was popular during the era. Released in 1861, you could hear “Aura Lee” on any night around army campfires on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. You might recognize the melody because it was repurposed for Elvis’ classic, “Love Me Tender”.

As the blackbird in the spring, ‘neath the willow tree,
Sat and piped, I heard him sing; sing of Aura Lee.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee, maid with golden hair
Sunshine came along with thee, and swallows in the air.

In thy blush the rose was born, music when you spake.
Through thine azure eye, the morn, sparkling seemed to break.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee, birds of crimson wing
Never song have sung to me as in that night, sweet spring.

Aura Lee, the bird may flee the willow’s golden hair
Swing through winter fitfully, on the stormy air.
Yet if thy blue eyes I see, gloom will soon depart.
For to me, sweet Aura Lee is sunshine through the heart.

When the mistletoe was green, midst the winter’s snows
Sunshine in thy face was seen kissing lips of rose.

Aura Lee, Aura Lee, take my golden ring.
Love and light return with thee,
and swallows with the spring.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee, take my golden ring.
Love and light return with thee,
and swallows with the spring.

117 – Paranormal Presidents: Superstitions, Seances, and Ghosts In The White House

While the partisan hysterics of the 2016 Presidential Election has amateur political pundits “unfriending” each other on Facebook and torn family relationships asunder, we’re more interested in the things that can bring people together. And nothing unifies a nation like a great supernatural experience!

American presidents are no stranger to the world of the weird. From Jimmy Carter’s UFO encounter to Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s enthusiasm for astrology,  the various Leaders of the Free World have not only had their own experiences, it seems like some wanted to keep the job so bad, they’ve never left.

paranormal presidents lincoln
Mary Todd dig the spike. Half the spooky stories in the White House are about Honest Abe!

It’s the Lincoln Bedroom that has a ton of paranormal presidential stories and people have seen the spirit of good ol’ Lincoln himself, his wife Mary Todd was a believer in spiritualism who wanted to contact the spirit of their deceased son and it’s believed that they conducted seances in the White House. From premonitions of his death to ghosts of the conspirators involved in his assassination, it seems like Lincoln’s afterlife has been just as eventful as his life.

Speaking of Lincoln, it seems like he was the victim of the “Tippecanoe Curse” of William Henry Harrison. Because of Harrison’s brutality to the Tippecanoe Tribe in Indiana it is said that they cursed him to die in office and that  every President elected 20 years after would die in office too. And it happened. From Harrison all the way up to JFK, 1840 to 1960, 120 years. Ronald Reagan broke the curse by surviving his eight years in office, but he was the victim of an assassination attempt 69 days into his presidency that he barely survived. The Gipper has his own ghost story in the Lincoln Bedroom as well!

paranormal president podesta obama ufos
John Podesta and President Obama – Was Hillary’s Campaign Chair pumping the Commander-In-Chief for UFO disclosure?

It’s the WikiLeaks release of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman (and noted X-Files enthusiast) John Podesta’s emails that has brought the paranormal aspect to the 2016 Presidential campaign. The news sites can talk about the DNC plotting against Bernie Sanders, private email servers, donations to the Clinton Foundation,  blah blah blah… we’re more interested in his email exchanges with conspiracy theorist/punk rocker Tom DeLonge and dearly departed astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell that made headlines earlier this year. Plus, just before the election it was discovered that he was invited to an Aleister Crowley-inspired “spirit cooking” ceremony, so really John Podesta is the paranormal hero of the 2016 election.

Cthulhu for paranormal President
Cthulhu for President

This being Election Season, of course people have been asking us about our official opinion for President and we’re proud to endorse a candidate that we really can believe in. We even wrote an Election Day song for our preferred candidate. This year the best option is to “Vote Cthulhu”!

There’s a lot of people saying
That they don’t like the candidates
They think the results are all rigged
They think their vote will go to waste
But there’s a choice you can support
If you feel your view is underserved
There’s a sleeper that lies dreaming
Who’ll give us just what we deserve

I’m voting Cthulhu,
Because it’s time we all came clean.
I’m calling Cthulhu,
Apocalypse is what I mean.
I’m voting Cthulhu,
To wake the Elder Gods themselves.
If you’re gonna waste your vote, well why not waste everyone else?

On the left or on the right,
It won’t matter where you stand,
When you’re driven mad from fear,
You just won’t care in a wasteland.
That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

I’m voting Cthulhu,
Because it’s time we all came clean.
I’m calling Cthulhu,
Apocalypse is what I mean.
I’m voting Cthulhu,
To wake the Elder Gods themselves.

If you’re gonna waste your vote, well why not waste everyone else?