Is This a Ghost? Podcast By Clayton Smith and Patrick Dean cover art

Is This a Ghost?

Is This a Ghost?

By: Clayton Smith and Patrick Dean
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A real podcast about real ghosts that's real funny.

Clayton Smith and Patrick Dean World
Episodes
  • 194. The Great Train Wreck of 1856

    194. The Great Train Wreck of 1856
    Apr 1 2026

    What began as a routine Sunday school excursion would become one of the deadliest railroad accidents in early American history. An overcrowded passenger train, running behind schedule, collided head-on with a locomotive traveling in the opposite direction on a single-track line. In the absence of modern signaling systems or centralized control, a series of small breakdowns in timing and communication led to catastrophic consequences. In this episode, we examine the events of that day, the operational failures behind the collision, and what this tragedy reveals about the risks of early rail systems.
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    49 mins
  • 193. The Wesley Poltergeist

    193. The Wesley Poltergeist
    Mar 25 2026

    Christians are weird, aren't they? Hit the music!

    This is the story of the Wesley poltergeist. Come for the ghost, stay for deep in the stink, I'm a mean girl now, nursery rhyme levels of children, just three bros, the hornery, and something for everyone.
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    52 mins
  • 192 .Olive Thomas

    192 .Olive Thomas
    Mar 18 2026

    In some ways, this is the story of an olive and a cocktail. But in some very important ways, it's not.

    This is the story of Olive Thomas. Come for the ghost, stay for the smart one on the podcast, a little bit romantic, Harry Van Dutch, Dick Gingham, the Camelot of Western Pennsylvania, poor Leo,, and gay baby vampire bats,

    Sources:

    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Thomas
    • https://boroughsofthedead.com/olive-thomas-broadways-flapper-ghost/
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    55 mins
All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed listening to this podcast over a long distance road trip I was doing alone. I'm not super into podcasts in general, because I often find podcaster people annoying and, mostly, I don't love having to listen to a conversation I can't take part in. But I loved Cartalk back in the day, so that's an example of a talk radio show I enjoyed. I'm guessing this is not really a show for super ghost obsessives, since they are very open about not doing tons of reasearch, but it is good enough to tell an absorbing story and they note the stuff that could stand more investigation, if you want to do it. They also tell a lot of stories I've never heard before, which is refreshing. They hit some of the big, famous ones, of course, but also go into a lot of smaller, more off the wall ones as well, which I really enjoy. I find ghost stories super interesting, but when I'm driving for hours alone, especially at night, I don't need to be freaked out. They go on so many tangents and get distracted by the randomest details, that it's very difficult to get genuinely scared. It is, however, entertaining and they have a friendly vibe. I subtracted a star on a less important rating because sometimes the meandering tangents are genuinely too long, especially the ones about their personal lives.

Other points of note: I appreciate Patrick's effort to "fix" some of the misguided phrasing of things, such as when a sexual relationship between a slave and her owner is termed an "affair" by a reputable news source and he insists on calling it assault. It is hopeful when people doing things in the public eye/media etc. learn to be better and call out mistakes like this (yes, it is generous to call them mistakes). Secondly, I very much enjoy Clayton's appreciation of the ridiculous. The more absurd and, frankly, dumb the situation gets, the more he savors it, which gives me vicarious chuckles. Third, they have serious geek cred, which they reveal incidentally, for the most part, like when Clayton makes a semi obscure He-Man reference or when he admits his celebrity crush is on Tatiana Maslany (She Hulk). I own a Bubbah Hotep dvd and saw it on the big screen in Chicago hosted by Bruce Campbell in person, so I feel like they're kinda my people (Patrick has a signed poster from the movie).

Overall, definitely five stars. My favourite story so far is the one about the ghost hole. I love that and think it needs to be a plot device in a mystery novel.

Ghost stories for interest, not scares

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This podcast makes me want to get drunk and have conversations with my friends 😂 I will listen with a headphone in while doing chores and my kids keep asking what I'm laughing at. A great podcast for anyone that enjoys paranormal/history stories but also has a dark humor.

makes me laugh out loud

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