Zero Percent Scared

Ever found a Jesus on your grilled cheese? Toast with your mom's face on it? Well, these small-town Spaniards have faces popping up on their freaking floor! Just throw a rug on it people. Throw a rug on it. Very special thanks for today's topic suggestion to Michele W (paranormal investigator specializing in Chupacabras and Things That Go Bump In The Night). Email us! stories@zeropercentscared.com References:  Calm Meditation App  Co-Star Horoscope app (@zeropercentkelly, @zeropercentsarah) Faceblindness (aka Prosopagnosia) Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese!  Belmez Faces, Skeptics takes (boo!) Association of Paranormal Study's thoughts Skeptoid's take (they're kind of rude about it!) Belmez Faces, Believer's takes (yay!) Paranorms.com's thoughts Mysterious Universe article Dying Concrete Trip Advisor Thoughtography Ted Serios, alleged thoughtographer The digitized pics! Great article on the topic   Debunked?  

We've talked about pop culture vamps, and old school vamps, but what about modern-day blood drinkers? Well, good old Stephen Kaplan delved into this back in the 1970s in his Vampire Research Center, which really just seemed like a vampire dating service. Are you a vampire who found love through the VRC? Share your love story! Let’s make a rom com! Email us! stories@zeropercentscared.com Stephen Kaplan  Sandvik and Baerheim. Does garlic protect against vampires? (1994) Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen Schneider DS what can vampires teach us about immunology. (2016) Trends in immunology. Vampires Are  Elizabeth, crazy lady or real 400 year old vamp? Read and decide! 

Today we talk about our favorite listener stories! Guys, you’re THE best. Keep sending us your scary and paranormal experiences and Kelly will keep ranking the best things to haunt. Dolls, dogs, footballs, doors, lamps.

Does anyone actually believe in vampires? No, right? Well if you do, don’t worry, eBay and goop have you covered with vampire hunting kits and anti-vamp elixir! Thanks Gwyneth!  On this episode we discuss the insane vampire panics in Eastern Europe! FYI this is the last episode released Monday mornings -- we are moving to Thursday mornings! Keep it in mind and get pumped people. References: Vampire bats in Brazil Vampire moths Gwyneth's dumb anti-vampire elixir Vampire hunting equipment Lillith was a weird vampire, or something? Croatian Vampires! Cemetery full of vampires! Porphyria Catalepsy German Documentary about vampires (ugh) Lore TB Episode  

This went from a conversation about TV to a giant feminist rant so get excited people. Main question for the listeners: Are straight women actually super into being stalked by pasty emo dudes? Please tell us, we want to understand you! Reminder: We're going to be changing our release schedule, from Monday mornings to Thursday morning. Buffy top list:    Kelly's Faves: Tabula Rasa (S6 E8) Once more with feeling (S6 E7) Smashed (S6 E9) I only have eyes for you (S2 E19) Halloween (S2 E6) Dopplegangland (S3 E16) The wish (S3 E9) Hush (S4 E10)   Sarah's Faves:  Teachers pet (S1 E4) Puppet show (S1 E9) School hard (S2 E3) Innocence (S2 E14) Hush (S4 E10) Out of mind, out of sight (S1 E11) Chosen (S7 E22)   References:  Correction: Drusilla is a Capricorn. (January 19). Fun fact, ALSO Buffy summer's birthday CIA reading room link:https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/home FBI FOIA vault: https://vault.fbi.gov/ Buffy vs. Edward: Twilight Remixed: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/248652/buffy-vs-edwar

  Who doesn't love a newspaper horoscope? You know you read them. Don't even pretend. We're all bff here. Once you're done reading your horoscope, make an opposite friend! Also, Evangeline Adams is the podcast's official queer role model, so get on board. ---- The People's Choice Podcast Awards - click here (https://www.podcastawards.com) to register and vote for a ton of cool casts. ----   References: Astrology.com Buzzfeed astrological quizzes - go crazy people! Birth Season affects your mood in later life, 2014.Gauquelin's Mars effect Multiple comparison problem Spurious correlations Relative Age Effect Malcom Gladwell: Outliers Barnum effect Paranormal Beliefs and the Barnum Effect (Tobacyk et al, 2010): Adel et al. Favored zodiac for celebrity births. Genovese JE. A failed demonstration of sun sign astrology. Comprehensive Psychology (2013) Lili Kolisko Evangeline Adams Tree Marriage

We all know by now that Dr. Kelly loves a good tarot card reading. And being a "gifted psychic", she can tell you that your future holds a lighthearted overview of tarot cards AND a heated fight about statistics.  Oh and also, you're all going to have a super awesome life. Promise. The cards told her.  Email us! stories@zeropercentscared.com Full show notes at www.zeropercentscared.com References:  p-values and statistics!  Wasserstein RL, Schrim AL, Lazar, NA.Moving to a World Beyond "p 0.05". The American Statistician (2019) Amrhein V, Greenland S, McShane B. Scientists rise up against statistical significance. Nature (2019) Precognition Science   Bem D et al.,Feeling the future: A meta-analysis of 90 experiments on the anomalous anticipation of random future eventsF1000 Research (2015) Engber D.Daryl Bem Proved ESP Is Real. Slate (2017) Ritchie SJ, Wiseman R and French CC.Failing the Future: Three Unsuccessful Attempts to Replicate Bem's 'Retroactive Facilitation of Recall' Effect. PlosONE (2012) French C

Guys. Middle school is the actual worst. Slenderman, a creepy suit-wearing string bean, has apparently figured out how to fill the middle school emotional void causing full on murder-spree inspiring obsessions. Join us to hear all about the darkness lurking just over...wait what's that behind you???? Email us! stories@zeropercentscared.com References: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Gentlemen Episode Beware the Slenderman HBO Documentary The Slenderman Murders Kitchen knife Slenderman mom attempted murder The Miller murder spree Smiley Coast to Coast Lacy's creepy story from the book "The Slenderman Mysteries" by Nick Redfern. Story here Boyer et al., 2013 The Anatomy of a Monster: The Case of Slender Man. Folkloresque, and the Implications of Belief What the heck is a tulpa? Slender man suicides Guadagno et al., 2013 What makes a video go viral? An analysis of emotional contagion and Internet memes. Baker et al., 2019 A distinct inferential mechanism for delusions in schizophrenia Kiran and Chaudhury, 2

On this mini-episode, we discuss several haunted elevators across the nation, what the deal is with skipping floor numbers in elevators, and Kelly's secret weirdo love for elevator engineering. Conclusions: Apparently, elevators are really safe although they are also creepily haunted.  Bonus material: We talk through the Elisa Lam mystery death, and the super creepy elevator footage right before she disappears. Email us: stories@zeropercentscared.com References: Eerie Haunted elevators The Haunted Algonquin Hotel The Haunted Avalon Theater The Adolphus Hotel's ghosts The Haunted Kennesaw House University of Maryland Denton Hall, the haunted dorm Elevator Group-think Experiment Unlucky floor numbers in elevators The tragic and mysterious death of Elisa Lam The Elisa Lam elevator footage (warning - this is disturbing and creepy as all hell)    

Most people believe in ghosts, but is it just wishful thinking? Or are we all just living in moldy, infrasound ridden houses with a creepy neighbor who pops in to freak out children? Email us: stories@zeropercentscared.com References: Massapequa Hell House The super duper haunted Borley Rectory "The most haunted house in England" Has the Large Hadron Collider Disproved the Existence of Ghosts? The Ghost in the Machine  Villisca Ax Murder House EVPs from the Ax Murder House Fear Frequency - a youtube channel featuring infrasound! Carbon Monoxide and Haunted Feelings Shane Rogers, Mold/Ghost hunter The "Haunt" Project The Science and Logic of Ghosts

Email us: stories@zeropercentscared.com This is more of a medium-sode but whatever, right? There are a lot of cursed things out there, people.  Dolls are creepy AF. Apparently so are giant diamonds. Kelly will take all the cursed diamonds off your hands (but none of your haunted dolls! Send those to Sarah).  References:  The Busby Chair: Sit in the chair and DIE! The cursed Hope diamond The cursed Dehli purple sapphire Valentino's cursed ring The curse of the Ice Man! Annabelle (the scariest raggedy ann doll in the world) Robert the (creepy horrible) Doll Greg and Dana Newkirk (curators of the traveling museum of the occult, also week in weird) Crone of the Catskills (this is truly frightening) Billy the Idol of Nightmares    

Has Kelly been cursed by her murderous ancestor, Bathsheba? And if so did her over the top witch ceremony lift the curse for her and all the Ruggles women? For once we both agree - definitely real! Also, we spill the tea on epigenetics!  References: Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner! Noah the creepy drunken grandpa  Nepalese royal family curse - seriously WTF!!  The Kennedy Family Curse Lore (the TV version) lobotomy episode (Season 1, Episode 2), "Echos" Bruce Lee's Curse Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Bowers and Yehuda 2016 review: Intergenerational Transmission of Stress in humans Horstheemke 2018 A critical view on transgenerational inheritance in humans  

Email us: stories@zeropercentscared.com Do you think you're a lucky person? Apparently, we both think we are! Sarah is clearly lucky because of her commitment to superstitions and lucky charms and Kelly's luck is I guess is just because she's Irish?  Stuff we discuss: Irish people and luck: Apparently it comes from the fact that many of the most successful minors during the gold and silver rush were Irish and Irish American. Also apparently the phrase is meant to ridicule Irish folks since it had to be luck and not smarts. Screw you 19th-century racists! Bill Morgan and his crazy luck rollercoaster.  Luck lab and the lottery Roy Sullivan Human Lightning Rod (so weird and also sad). Frane Selak, is he lucky, unlucky, we can't figure it out?!? Superstition Science! Damisch et al. 2010 Hot hand fallacy: Xu and Harvey 2014 The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind (Richard Wiseman) Why are these people lucky? It's A SIMULATION! Well at least this one is. Luck simulation science!  

GUYS. This is SO exciting. Mermen, mermaids, dugongs, manatees. This is the topic that started it all people.  Join us today as we discuss Sarah's real life Merman sighting, plus all the evidence for or against aquatic humanoids!!! Email us: stories@zeropercentscared.com Little St. Simons Island Merpeople folklore Mermaids & Mermen: Facts & Legends by Benjamin Radford Are Mermaid's Real? By Joseph Castro Myths in the Museum: The Dugong and the Mermaid Marine Mammals FAKE DOCUMENTARY: Mermaids: The Body Found Guinness world record for breath holding by Tom Sietas Underwater Sight: Gislen et al., Superior Underwater Vision in a Human Population of Sea Gypsies Dolphin Sex Professional mermaids  

This experimental minisode has us live watching the documentary "The Bray Road Beast". We have a cute dog in attendance and wine on hand, so listen up then go get the dang thing and watch!  We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode (like it, hate it, love it, never do it again?) so email us: stories@zeropercentscared.com Link to the documentary: https://smile.amazon.com/Bray-Road-Beast-Lyle-Blackburn/dp/B07H9C6BHL Lyle Blackburn, kind of a big deal:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Blackburn Linda Godfrey links: Her blog And her Amazon page What do Americans believe about Satan? https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/10/us/is-satan-real-most-people-think-not.html    

Email us, stories@zeropercentscared.com This week, we try and recover from the bummer of satanic panic with superpowers! Super smellers, folks who are strong AF, bones that never break, perfect memories and mega-athletes to name a few. We also talk about a whole mess of genetics, get excited people.  Stuff we talked about: Melissa McCracken: Songs as Paintings Strongman Louis Cyr, real life superman Liam Hoekstra and Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy Daniel Kish, Bat Man! Wallmeier and Weigrebe "Self-motion facilitates echo-acoustic orientation in humans" 2014 Joy Milne, Woman who can smell Parkinson's Disease Gene Editing on Last Week Tonight Radio Lab, Limits Radio Lab, CRISPR The Myth of Genetic Superbabies Josiah Zayner - biohacker and CRISPR experimenter Kim Peek, the Human Microfiche! Veronica Seider, Eagle Eyes! 

Email us, stories@zeropercentscared.com This episode was sort of a bummer, sorry folks. Major take homes: the Satanic Panic was bonkers, go nuts with the heavy metal and DnD, and our memories, for the most part, suck.   On this minisode, we talk about the 80s Satanic Panic and how insane and unjust it was. Also, some deeply cool science about memory and the risks of listening to smooth jazz. Stuff we discussed: Vox article on the Satanic Panic Heartbreaking Texas Monthly article on Dan and Fran Keller The Satanic Temple (a political advocacy group) Totally ridiculous videos of backmasking Enstrom and Schmaltz “A walk on the Wild Side: The Impact of Music on Risk-Taking Likelihood” Baker and Brown “Suicide, self harm and survival strategies in contemporary heavy metal music: a cultural and literary analysis” 2016 The Devil Wears Headphones: A Brief History of Baskmasking by Bill Demain A Short History of the Rise, Fall and Rise of Subliminal Messaging by Victoria Stern False Memory of Dr. Elizabeth Loftus

Sorry for the technical difficulty, our episode was screwed up, but it's all fixed now -- redownload it if you need to! Email us, stories@zeropercentscared.com Everyone wanted to be a witch in middle school, am I right? Also, who wants to help design a science experiment to measure the global consciousness effects on reality? Come on! You know you want to. This episode Sarah and Kelly discuss magical spells and whether they have any effect on reality. Sarah uses science words to prove MAYBE! 4:57 -- it's called a paper fortune teller, chatterbox or cootie catcher (what!?). Here's how to make em! Witches binding Trump: https://www.vox.com/2017/6/20/15830312/magicresistance-restance-witches-magic-spell-to-bind-donald-trump-mememagic Real Magic by Dr. Dean Radin: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551604/real-magic-by-dean-radin-phd/9781524758820/ Drowning with Gillyweed: https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/jist/article/view/809 Magic of Skelegrow: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/27/

New episodes every sunday! Email us, stories@zeropercentscared.com What do Nicolas Cage and serial killer Delphine LaLaurie have in common? A shared (haunted) residence in New Orleans, of course! On Today's minisode, hear a recap of Sarah's spooky trip, the best of New Orleans paranormal and quality Nic Cage trivia.  Stuff we discussed: Nic Cage terrorized by a fudgesicle Nic Cage's weird Letterman interview (please don't dose pets, people, for the love) Great tours in New Orleans! Highly recommended! Marie Laveau, one of the coolest ladies in history. The horrible and haunted LaLaurie Mansion

New episodes every Sunday night! Email us! stories@zeropercentscared.com We honestly would love to hear from you guys! Or check out the website: www.zeropercentscared.com On this week's episode, we talk about something we actually agree on - how awesome Harry Houdini is!  Hardcore skeptic and illusionist extraordinaire, listen to hear why we love him so -- with ADORABLE ANIMAL STORIES!    Shout out! Adventure zone D&D podcast:  https://www.maximumfun.org/adventure-zone/ep-1-here-there-be-gerblins-chapter-one   Houdini Drunk History episode:  https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2975674/   Harry Houdini museum:  http://www.houdinimuseumny.com/visit/   Harry Houdini wand ceremony:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPjBtgfcTH8&app=desktop   A magician among the spirits (by none other!):  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/442799.A_Magician_Among_the_Spirits   Wild about Houdini blog:  https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/?m=1