I won the 2011 Jeff Rense-Brad Steiger Ghost Story Contest
Story Background and 2011 Interview with Me (Youtube version)
by Scott Teeters
My interest in all things “Far Out” goes back to my childhood. I vividly remember how on certain nights of the week, there were two TV shows I loved watching with my big brother. Bob is seven years older than me, so he was always my “big” brother. We’d spread out a blanket on the floor, turn all the lights out, and enjoy “One Step Beyond” and “The Twilight Zone.” Of the two shows, I liked “One Step Beyond” the best. Twilight Zone was cool, but they were obviously “stories,” works of fiction. But One Step beyond was different. This was REAL STUFF!
We knew that for a fact because the host, John Newland said so. And he looked very convincing. Actually, for the most part, the stories were based on claimed real accounts. Would people have hoaxed things back in the good old days? Well, of course that was possible. But perhaps not as much so as today. At least I like to think so. After all, this was before Andy Worhol talked about everyone’s “15-minutes of fame.”
But the strange, far out stories instilled in me an interest in unusual things. I’ve never seen a ghost or a UFO, but I keep looking. My brother Bob, on the other hand, has had some what seemed to me to be amazing experiences, but he’s sort of “ho-hum” about it. Easy for him!
Although Bob lives in Florida and I’m in New Jersey, we talk on the phone at least two to three times a week. Bob works in security and in 2001 he was working the graveyard shift at the Harley-Davidson / Ford test Track in rural Naples, Florida. One day he called me and said, “You’ll never guess what I saw last night. A ghost!” He told me his story and we both had a “Hmmm…” moment.
Fast forward ten years to Autumn 2011 when I was listening to The Jeff Rense Program one evening, when Jeff and his special guest Brad Steiger, announced that their annual Halloween art and ghost story contest was on. Not that I’d forgotten Bob’s experience, it just never occurred to me to write out his story. So I coaxed him to tell me the story again so I could write it up as best I could. So I wrote and wrote and edited and edited to get his story well wordsmithed. After Bob reviewed the copy and I made a few adjustments, I sent off his story to Jeff and Brad.
The contest winners were announced on the air and I was blown away when my story and our names were called out as the first place winner! I have written hundreds of technical car stories, a metaphysical book, and numerous political blog posts, but this was my first shot at writing out an experiential story. While it was just a ghost story contest, it was a moment to savor. And I got a really nice Brad Steiger book and $50 bucks!
So I invite you to play the video above – the November 2011 interview with me recounting my winning story on the Jeff Rense Radio program (Youtube version).
Also, here is the link to my actual winning “Rense & Steiger Halloween 2011 Ghost Story,” for your reading pleasure.. Enjoy and BOO!!! – Scott