158: Specters, Skeptics, and Sleep Paralysis

Guest: Diana Doty — co-host of Homespun Haints

She’s back—and so are the ghosts.

This week, we welcome Diana Doty of Homespun Haints for her long-awaited return to TAC, and things get deliciously weird (again). From haunted mirrors that open into impossible green hallways to the eerie overlap between skepticism, storytelling, and sleep paralysis, we explore what happens when logic meets the paranormal—and what it means to keep laughing in the dark.

 In This Episode

·        Revisiting Diana’s famous basement haunting and what’s changed since she sold the house.

·        Her haunted bathroom mirror portal (yes, really) and why some objects refuse to behave.

·        The push-pull between science and spirit—how a Vulcan mathematician dad and a fairy-healer mom made her the perfect paranormal hybrid.

·        When storytelling becomes summoning—can talking about ghosts actually attract them?

·        A deep dive into sleep paralysis, shadow figures, and the line between dream and visitation.

If you like your ghost stories smart, your skeptics funny, and your haunted objects a little too familiar, this one’s for you. It’s an episode about curiosity, fear, and the fine art of not taking eternity too seriously.

So grab your favorite athletic cup and join us, where The Activity Continues.

Content Warning:

 We didn’t find anything we thought deserved a content warning, except that we use colorful language.

This episode was recorded on November 5, 2025 and released on November 27, 2025.

Chapter Markers

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:02 Welcome Diana!

00:05:48 Diana’s First Ghost Experience

00:28:15 Morgan’s Questions

00:35:25 Classroom Anxiety

00:38:11 Becky’s Violin Solo

00:43:33 Growing up Non-Competitive

00:51:57 Diana’s Ridiculously Overpriced Antique

00:58: 47 Are We Living in a Simulation?

Episode links:

Homespun Haints: https://homespunhaints.com/

Patreon-only episode where the ladies recreated "Innocent or Innuendo?" Delta blues spicy slang quiz they did at the Fernbank. https://www.patreon.com/posts/hoodoo-and-spicy-91720554

“I Never Knew What the Blues Were” (OK 8151, 72479-B, April 1924), Virginia Listan, lyric @ 2:50 "I'm gonna get my hambone boiled..."

https://open.spotify.com/track/0Zqir4NFAnEAdH6yyY5X7b?

Studies on movement before conscious thought:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34119525/

Dennis the Demon and the Meth Gators

https://homespunhaints.com/possessed-by-a-demon

Robert Johnson and Delta Blues

https://homespunhaints.com/the-devils-instrument

Have You Seen The Hat Man?

https://homespunhaints.com/the-hat-man

Our Top 5 Podcast Episodes About Sleep Paralysis With Demons

https://homespunhaints.com/demonic-sleep-paralysis-demons

The Dormitory Demon of Mumbai

https://homespunhaints.com/sleep-paralysis-demon

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Credits:

Hosted by: Amy Lotsberg and Megan Simmons

Guest: Diana Doty

Production, Artwork, and Editing: Amy Lotsberg at Collected Sounds Media, LLC.

Theme song. “Ghost Story” and segment music by Cannelle https://melissaoliveri.com

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Thank you for listening, take care of yourselves. We’ll see you next time!

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