Howdy and welcome to this weeks blog!! As I mentioned last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing two of my favourite podcasters from one of my all time favourite podcasts Astonishing Legend’s, so this week we are covering the one, the only Forrest Burgess!!
Forrest has a voice like velvet and is an absolute pleasure to listen to. He really is a talented voice actor too, he can make you feel super interested and ready for the topic, like the intro of Gobekli Tepe Part 2. He can also make you feel super creeped out. I know there have been one or two episodes where I have been super creeped out and Forrest saying “good night” in the end has just given me goosebumps. I believe it was one of the Sallie House episodes where I was hoping he wouldn’t say “goodnight” but he did and I literally shivered.
I love how Scott is the person who isn’t sure, a little on the fence and Forrest is the believer and more open to the strange being real. It really adds to the dynamics of the show and conversation. Certain phrases of Forrest’s have definitely famous such as “If you believe any of this at all” (which is available on AL merchandise) “I know what I saw” and my personal favourite “woo woo”. As a professional psychic, I use the word “woo woo” a lot and I swear every time I use it, I hear Forrest say it in my head haha!!
I love how respectful and understanding Forrest is of people who have had strange and unexplained situations. Forrest is the one who basically said that “people know what they saw, it may well have been swamp gas but to them it looked like what it looked like” which is so true, because despite what the actual explanation may be, peoples experiences are as they experienced it are real to them; and really shows a sense of respect for the people who's stories they cover.
There is also a bit of a AL mystery around where Forrest is actually from. He hasn’t openly said and he won’t but he’s dropped plenty of hints. I believe there is an earlier episode, where be basically says where he’s from or gives enough information you could have a look on Google and figure it out. But no one, that I know of, has figured it out yet. So lets get into Forrest’s interview and get to know him a little better!!
What are you day jobs?
Luckily, podcasting full-time now, but I used to be a video editor and have worked on corporate media and events more recently.
Where are you based?
Los Angeles
How long have you been listening to HHS?
Since the fall of 2016. One of the first HHS episodes I listened to was their coverage of The Myrtles Plantation and in August of 2018, I was actually fortunate enough to hang out in New Orleans with Jerry and Tracey and we visited the Myrtles Plantation! They’re really terrific people and excellent travel and Legend Tripping companions!
How did you hear about HHS?
I think first through social media like Twitter suggestions, and then we also became friends with Adam and Matt from Graveyard Tales who mentioned them, so a few podcasters in this paranormal genre turn each other on to other shows out there.
Do you believe in aliens?
Sure, why not? At least some form of “alien” being, whether physical or something else. It seems egotistical to think we’re the only intelligent creatures inhabiting the universe, or the Multiverse for that matter.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes. I’ve never seen or felt one personally, yet, but there are accounts from too many credible people I know for me to disregard them, along with visual, audio and other trace evidence.
Do you believe in Big Foot?
Yes. Grew up hearing stories here n’ there about them from acquaintances of friends and family. Not many, but enough to make me open to the idea from an early age. Then our recent re-examination of the Patterson-Gimlin Film has solidified that belief. If you don’t believe that Sasquatch is a supernatural entity, then it could just be an elusive type of unknown ape, so what’s the big deal? I think the fact that it’s reported as seeming more human-like than an average ape is what freaks people out.
What got you guy interested in the paranormal?
My family has always thought the mystical, supernatural and paranormal were interesting things to talk about, so we never shied away from discussing it on occasion, or reading, watching movies and TV with those themes. I’ve been fascinated by those subjects and all things mysterious since I was a kid.
How did you two come up with the idea of Astonishing Legends?
As Scott has mentioned, whenever we would get together through mutual friends, the conversation would eventually lead to the sort of topics we cover on the show. He was also only one of a few friends that enjoyed talking about this genre, and one that didn’t roll his eyes! So when we learned that there was even such a thing as podcasts, we thought, now there’s a creative project that we could produce ourselves, and feature stories we already enjoyed discussing.
What inspired you to choose podcasting as a medium?
Again, it was something we could produce ourselves and we could do whatever show we wanted to, however we wanted to, because we weren’t relying on financing or distribution from a network or studio. Any organization that gives you those two things are going to tell you how they want it done. Before we even thought of doing a show, I had been listening to podcasts since about 2008 and had enjoyed that type of on-demand audio programming and we figured that with our backgrounds and a lot of hard work, we could produce something that was at least entertaining and would provide a creative outlet.
AL researches, explores and takes on a “on the fence” approach to some of the strangest occurrences. How did you two come up with this format?
From the beginning, we aimed to reach the broadest segment of the listening audience, so from the believers to the skeptics, we hoped we could provide a show that would not only entertain and engage those two opposing groups at the same time, but also everyone in-between. When you have people on one hand claiming you’re too credulous and on the other hand too incredulous, you might be doing something right. We may tell you what we believe to be what’s going on with a subject, but we’d rather present all the relevant elements of a story and hopefully the listener will consider all the possibilities and decide for themselves.
Out of all the topics you’ve covered which has been your favourite?
That’s a hard question to answer! Because there has been some aspect of every episode that I’ve enjoyed or found fascinating, or I guess we wouldn’t have chosen it. The ones that I’ve probably found the most rewarding are the ones like the Betz Sphere, where you think it’s going to be a smaller story and there turns out to be so much more to it or you find out something you never knew before. Podcasting also gives you an excuse to find out more about a subject like The Count of St. Germain or Göbekli Tepe which you’ve heard about for a long time, but always wanted to know more.
Which topic would you say has had the most impact on you and really rattled your beliefs?
I can’t say any topic so far has really rattled my beliefs, because I’ve always been open to the idea that any strange and mysterious thing may be possible, and who am I to say what’s impossible? Recently though, our latest series on the Patterson-Gimlin Film has made me take a closer look and not just consider the probability that the film is genuine, but then also the implication that what it shows actually exists.
Does pineapple belong on pizza?
I do enjoy a good Canadian Bacon and pineapple pizza now n’ then. Pineapple n’ chocolate pizza? Not so much.
Your personal paranormal/unexplained story:
I don’t really have one, except that a friend and I once heard an unexplainable, lion-like growl while out in the open Joshua Tree desert from a close and invisible source; that shouldn’t have happened. What I can say is that once you really start to try and remember if anything strange has happened to you, you do think about the true nature of small, weird occurrences and wonder if they were more than coincidence or a misinterpreted oddity. That unusual noise you heard may not be just the house settling and that shadow you saw moving out of the corner of your eye may be much more than a trick of the light.
So that was Forrest’s interview!! I don’t know about y’all but I definitely read that in his voice!! It’s been an absolute pleasure and an honour to interview both the Astonishing Legends boys. If you’re after a podcast that does not skimp on research then Astonishing Legends is for you!! Some of their earlier episodes are longer (around the 2 hour mark) which is great. I remember when I used to work part time, the longer episodes made the feel super quick because it was only one or two AL episodes long. So give them a listen, especially on topics you have heard before because I can guarantee no one else will have that much depth, information and cover all the different perspectives on a situation.
Y’all come back now hear!! Goodnight…..