Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf

“Compared to most people in Lily Dale, I was a raging skeptic.  Compared to most of my journalistic colleagues, I was a soft-headed sap.  I didn’t believe Lily Dale’s people could chat with the dead, but I was willing to concede that I might be wrong.  I never intended for any of it to change me.  But it did.” – Christine Wicker, Lily Dale

 Lily Dale is a small community of spiritualists in upstate New York.  It is known as “The town that talks to the dead”.  People come here from all over the world hoping to connect with loved ones who have passed on.  Everyone who comes here thinks they will find “the truth” -- and know it when they see it.  Up or down, true or false, real or fake.  They’ll know.  Christine Wicker, religion reporter for the Dallas Morning News, comes to Lily Dale convinced she’ll find out the “truth”.  But the longer she stays, the harder it is to find…
In the summer of 2009, Richard and Susan find themselves on opposite sides of an issue for which there can be no compromise: having a second child.  All Richard wants is another TV show. A year later he’s in Shreveport, Louisiana producing ABC’s summer series The Gates.  But the dream job is rapidly turning into a nightmare.  What happens when the thing you thought would save you turns into something you can barely survive?  And what if embracing the thing you’re most afraid of might be the only path to happiness?
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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/

The Cumin Club – delicious, easy, authentic Indian cuisine delivered right to your door.  Use offer code RHPB to get 30% off on EVERY ORDER! https://www.thecuminclub.com/

Buy Lily Dale by Christine Wicker here https://bookshop.org/p/books/lily-dale-the-town-that-talks-to-the-dead-christine-wicker/40f0955a03d76fe0?ean=9780061153747&next=t

Learn more about the real town of Lily Dale, NY here https://www.lilydaleassembly.org/

“SOMETHING is making those goddamn footprints and I’m going to find out what it is!” – René Dahinden, Sasquatch

The 1970’s were prime “flesh-and-blood” Sasquatch years.  It seemed like everyone who was looking for Bigfoot was sure they were gonna find him (or her) any minute now.  Don Hunter and René Dahinden were no different.  After all, if something exists in the real world, it’s just a matter of time before you’re holding it in your arms – right?
In 1977 Richard was in search of a girl he barely knew.  She drifted through his school, his neighborhood, his dreams – always glimpsed in motion, in the corner of his eye -- but when would she become real?  As Don Hunter and René Dahinden scour the Pacific Northwest in their search for Sasquatch, will Richard’s hunt bring him any closer to his mystery girl?
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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/

Buy Sasquatch by Don Hunter and René Dahinden here https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=don%20hunter&ch_sort=t&cm_sp=sort-_-SRP-_-Results&ds=30&dym=on&rollup=on&sortby=1&tn=sasquatch

Buy Joshua Cutchins and Timothy Renner’s book Where The Footprints End, Volumes 1 & 2  here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/where-the-footprints-end-high-strangeness-and-the-bigfoot-phenomenon-volume-i-folklore-joshua-cutchin/09962a8798ca581c?ean=9798634992617&next=t

Today I am thrilled to bring you an episode of an all-new podcast by RHPB guest, fan and my good friend Dan Zetterstrom!  PATREON members will remember him from the episode where he shared his experience visiting spirit healer Michael Chapman – the son of George Chapman who was featured in the RHPB episode “Surgeon From Another World”.  Dan is a kind, intelligent and relentlessly curious guy and his show “What It Means To Be Human” dives deep into the mysteries of consciousness, humanity and the anomalous.  This episode features a fascinating conversation with comedian, actor and writer Michael Ian Black (Reno 911!, Wet Hot American Summer).  Their talk touches on everything from John Keel to orb sightings to near death experiences to the collective unconscious – to Michael’s growing discomfort with the politics and personalities orbiting “official disclosure”.  This is a fun and fast-moving interview that I think you guys will love.
You can find “What It Means To Be Human” on Spotify, Apple podcasts, YouTube and everywhere you get your Podcasts
Follow “What It Means to Be Human” here: https://www.tobehumanshow.com/

“A flight attendant was in the lower galley when she happened to glance into the glass window of one of the meal heating units. There was the face of Don Repo, the flight engineer who died in the Everglades crash. He said, “Watch out for fire on this airplane.” – from The Ghost of Flight 401

We’ve all heard of haunted houses -- but a haunted jumbo jet?  For over two years, author and journalist John G. Fuller investigated claims that the ghosts of Captain Bob Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo were appearing to Eastern Airlines flight crews and warning them of mechanical problems on their L-1011s.  But how do you prove a story when the airline's top executive’s close ranks -- and employees are threatened with termination for even talking about the supernatural sightings?
Richard never had a problem with airplanes until a particularly terrifying flight on the night of July 12th, 2002.  Just when his life should have been opening up, this new crippling fear of flying was shutting it down.  How do you overcome fear when you’ve spent a lifetime holding it deep inside?  And how does Richard navigate a landscape of paranoia, anger, desire and rebellion when everything in his life seems to be changing all at once – and way too fast?
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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/

Buy The Ghost of Flight 401 by John G. Fuller here: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=fuller&ch_sort=t&cm_sp=sort-_-SRP-_-Results&ds=30&dym=on&rollup=on&sortby=2&tn=ghost%20of%20flight%20401

“Nothing in my formal training prepared me for the events described in this book.  What I discovered defied everything I knew about treating patients suffering from grief and trauma, and it took me into an unfamiliar realm of human experience.  I and about 200 other trained psychotherapists have induced thousands of after death communications.  It appears to work with nearly everyone, nearly all of the time.” – Dr. Allan L. Botkin, author of Induced After Death Communication

What if communication with the dead was no longer a spontaneous occurrence but rather something anyone could access any time they liked?  In 1995, Dr. Allan Botkin chanced upon a treatment for grief and loss that appeared to deliver exactly that.  Botkin’s method is called “Induced After Death Communication” – and it is currently being practiced all over the world.  But is it true communication with the spirits of the dead -- or something else entirely?
Richard grapples with this question as he reads Dr. Botkin’s book in the aftermath of his mother’s death.  How does one process grief when the relationship being grieved is “complicated” at best?  And how can you trust a supernatural event that can be accessed as easily as a visit to a therapist’s office?
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/

Buy Dr. Allan Botkin’s Induced After Death Communication here https://bookshop.org/p/books/induced-after-death-communication-a-miraculous-therapy-for-grief-and-loss-allan-l-botkin-psyd/7d367a8ec38ec68c?ean=9781571747129&next=t