Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf

“I know more than one super-skeptical person who is unsettled by the commonalities that people report from Ayahuasca.  Having your ego dissolve, seeing clockwork elves and snake imagery… Very common things that happen, and it’s like: ‘That bothers me’.”

–- Blake Smith, co-host of MonsterTalk: The Science Show About Monsters

What do you believe – and why do you believe it?   

When it comes to the paranormal, Blake and Richard disagree on just about everything.  Blake is a self-described materialist while Richard rules nothing out.  Which makes the fact that they are friends the hardest thing to believe of all.  But they are.  In an age of AI anarchy and looming “Disclosure”, how can anyone know what to believe?  Richard and Blake waste no time finding out.  First, they debate Richard’s Disgusting Martini and Blake’s Odd Date Night Rituals.  Then they tackle the eternal questions: Is Bigfoot a bear?  Is Mothman a barn owl?  Can you really profile a serial killer?  And what would Blake do if he saw a poltergeist?  Before the night is through, they dissect The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Girl From Ipanema, the “Barney” song as an instrument of torture, Richard’s Danny Robbins impression, Shadow People, R.E.M (and REM), the gaps in materialism, the solution to alien abductions – and why Mezcal tastes like Band-Aids!   
LINKS:
Listen to Blake Smith’s podcast “MonsterTalk” here https://www.monstertalk.org/

Support RHPB on Patreon and get extra AUDIO and VIDEO content here! https://patreon.com/RichardHatem?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Celebrate 2026 with 26% off all RHPB merch with offer code RHPB26! CLICK HERE and the discount is pre-applied! https://richardhatem-shop.fourthwall.com/promo/RHPB26

Need help with your personal writing projects?  Richard is here to help!  Get 20% off when you mention RHPB!  https://www.richardhatem.com/

Visit Cyprus, the country where I have the fewest listeners!  It looks beautiful!  https://www.visitcyprus.com/

This week I’m joined by my old Titans friend Bryan Edward Hill as we break down the three films comprising the Omen Trilogy – all of which ask the haunting question: “What if the Anti-Christ was real -- and living among us right now?”  The Omen, starring Lee Remick and Gregory Peck, was released in 1976 to massive critical and box office success.  It is now considered a masterpiece of modern horror.  It spawned two feature film sequels, a TV-movie, a 2006 remake, a 2015 TV series, and most recently, a “pre-quel” which is somewhat confusingly titled The First Omen even though chronologically it could be considered the fourth, fifth or even sixth Omen (depending on how you count your Omens).  Bryan and I focus the first three films, and then we get into the short-lived A&E series Damien, primarily because I worked on the show and wrote one of the episodes.  We talk about everything from the incredible casting of all three films to the academy award nominated score, to various ways the story can (and should) continue today.  And along the way we answer the questions: where did the idea for David Seltzer’s original screenplay come from?  How did they film the iconic “Baboon Attack” sequence?  What famous political family was the Thorns based on?  And would you trust a guy named Bugenhagen if he told you that the only way to save the world was to murder your own child with the Seven Sacred Daggers of Megiddo?
St. Louis native Bryan Edward Hill is a director, screenwriter and comic book author whose television work includes Ash vs. The Evil Dead and HBO Max’s Titans.  His comic book work includes American Carnage, Kilmonger, Blade, Fallen Angels and Ultimate Black Panther.

PLUS – A PATREON EXCLUSIVE! “OMEN EXTRAS” – for Patreon members at the Obsessed Fan Level, get an additional 30 minutes of conversation where Bryan and I discuss the rarely seen Omen IV: The Awakening; the 2006 remake of the original -- and the surprisingly great 2024 release The First Omen.

LINKS:

Support RHPB on Patreon and get extra AUDIO and VIDEO content here! https://patreon.com/RichardHatem?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Celebrate 2026 with 26% off all RHPB merch with offer code RHPB26! CLICK HERE and the discount is pre-applied! https://richardhatem-shop.fourthwall.com/promo/RHPB26

Need help with your personal writing projects?  Richard is here to help!  Get 20% off when you mention RHPB!  https://www.richardhatem.com/

Astonishing Legends co-host Forrest Burgess makes his RHPB debut to kick off the Halloween Season and reveal his “Top 5 Favorite Paranormal Books”!
Of course, first we have to argue about the format of the episode, whether or not I explained it to him clearly, and how is he even supposed to narrow it down to five?!?  But rest assured, we “count ‘em down!”  – just like Casey Kasem and “America’s Top Forty”!  And along the way we talk about everything from “Summer-ween” to Alien Pool Parties to The Odessa File to Tarot Cards to Silence of the Lambs, astral travel, Scott Philbrook, Mike Tyson, the Lizard Man, Spooky Action at a Distance – and all of Forrest’s Girlfriends!  If you know Forrest, you know it’s gonna get weird.  And if you don’t, well… you have been warned.
PLUS: BONUS PATREON CONTENT!  For Patreon members at the Obsessed Fan Level -- Forrest Burgess joins me to reveal and discuss his FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME!  Only on Patreon! 
LINKS:

Listen to Astonishing Legends here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astonishing-legends/id923527373 
To buy all of the books Forrest recommends, please go to https://bookshop.org/

Visit the Raymond Restaurant and have your own Alien Pool Party! https://theraymond1886.com/

Support RHPB on Patreon and get extra AUDIO and VIDEO content here! https://patreon.com/RichardHatem?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Celebrate 2026 with 26% off all RHPB merch with offer code RHPB26! CLICK HERE and the discount is pre-applied! https://richardhatem-shop.fourthwall.com/promo/RHPB26

Need help with your personal writing projects?  Richard is here to help!  Get 20% off when you mention RHPB!  https://www.richardhatem.com/

Richard is back from the Light in the Dark Tour 2026!  Join Richard and his wife (and RHPB executive producer) Susan Lambert as they discuss everything from Richard’s yearlong scheme to finally appear on “Woo-Woo with Rachel Dratch”, to the last minute decision to embark on the tour alone, to Scott Philbrook’s shocking news about getting COVID which basically made Richard certain that he had COVID too just by talking about it, to all the performances of RHPB and all the beautiful, kind and amazing fans we met along the way!
LINKS:

Support RHPB on Patreon here! https://patreon.com/RichardHatem?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Celebrate 2026 with 26% off all RHPB merch with offer code RHPB26! CLICK HERE and the discount is pre-applied! https://richardhatem-shop.fourthwall.com/promo/RHPB26
Need help with your personal writing projects?  Richard is here to help!  Get 20% off when you mention RHPB!  https://www.richardhatem.com/

Welcome New Listeners! Revisit Episode 1: Ghosts & Specters
Show Description:  Hey Everybody!  I just had the pleasure of appearing on “Woo-Woo with Rachel Dratch”!  So, I’m re-broadcasting the very first episode of RHPB (“Ghosts & Specters”) for new listeners and anyone who wants to hear it again.  (And don’t worry, the episodes don’t run in chronological order, so you can actually start anywhere…) If you’re new here -- welcome aboard!  I’m so thrilled to have you here!
LINKS:

Listen to me on “Woo-Woo with Rachel Dratch” here:
Spotify • Apple Podcasts
Woo Woo website
Get tickets to Richard Hatem’s “Light in the Dark Tour 2026” LIVE!: https://www.richardhatemsparanormalbookshelf.com/events
Support RHPB on Patreon here! https://patreon.com/RichardHatem?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Celebrate 2026 with 26% off all RHPB merch with offer code RHPB26! CLICK HERE and the discount is pre-applied! https://richardhatem-shop.fourthwall.com/promo/RHPB26

Need help with your personal writing projects?  Richard is here to help!  Get 20% off when you mention RHPB!  https://www.richardhatem.com/