In this special Halloween Edition of the Changed Podcast, co-hosted with Eric Nepom, we've invited Kevin Miller to talk to us about ghosts, tell stories.... and see if maybe we can relate things back to making things better for the living before we all transition to the ultimate life change... death.
Kevin Miller is an 18 year veteran of the improvised theatre and classroom with several commercial appearances under his belt, including as a storyteller on The Mortified Guide (he's the one with the big ol' Starship Enterprise).
In his spare time, he also gives the occasional ghost tour in his home base of Austin, Texas. This year we were lucky enough to tag along (and so can you!) because, thanks to a global pandemic making travel and gatherings super-risky, he did his ghost tour digitally!
Halloween is a mega-event in my household... but not because of me. Every year my husband, Eric Nepom, decks our house out with creepy decor, Halloween lights, and a giant inflatable pumpkin... with ghosts inside!
Eric Nepom is also a fantastic performer, storyteller, and interviewer in his own right, so for this episode where I invited Kevin to tell me scary stories from murder past...it was a no-brainer to invite him to co-host with me! AND it's definitely not because ghost stories scare me. I swear!
Does this episode have takeaways? YES!
First, making a direct connection between ghosts stories and the meaning of change... may be pushing it. BUT there are still valuable lessons to be learned from sharing ghost stories
It is okay to be skeptical. But as Kevin suggests, skepticism can interfere with letting these stories be fun and interesting. "Join us in the fun place!"
Ghost stories, don't just serve as chilling scare-ticklers for our brains... they also teach us history and add to the richness of life and assign meaning to the places where they are set.
Getting scared is kinda fun... when our lives aren't actually in jeopardy. Perhaps our fascination with the unnatural and uncanny is that they give us micro-survivor experiences by causing our hearts to beat more rapidly, and merely walk away giggling.
Links! You want 'em... and we got 'em!
Support your local arts organizations, and please consider offering support to one of ours!
Our favorite local to us arts organization is the Funhouse Lounge in SE Portland... and currently they cannot afford to operate. Typically Eric Nepom and I both can be found in the improvised Scooby-Doo meets the Saw thriller: Murder Mystery Machine. You can support the Funhouse Lounge by donating, or buying fun and hilarious merchandise CLICK HERE
Austin Ghost Tours... where Kevin Miller got his ghost story start used to operate out of The Hideout Theatre... where he got his improv start. The Hideout is continuing to chug along with digital content and you can support them, by simply buying a ticket to one of their digital shows. CLICK HERE. Recently they learned that they may lose their historic downtown building... and could use all the help they can get.
Do you have a ghost story??
I want to hear it!! Shoot me an email to podcast@artofchange.com with the subject line: Here's My Story..., and I might even record it to share with the rest of the podcast listeners!
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Kevin Miller Tells Us Ghost Stories