Logo for Family Ghosts

Family Ghosts

WALT FM

Every house is haunted. In each episode of Family Ghosts, we investigate the true story behind a mysterious figure whose legend has followed a family for generations. Grandmothers who were secretly jewel smugglers, uncles who led double lives, siblings who vanished without a trace, and other ghostly characters who cast shadows over our lives in ways that might not be immediately obvious. We are all formed in part by our familial collections of secrets, intrigues, and myths. By engaging with each others’ legends, perhaps we can see each others’ realities more clearly. Hosted by Moth Grand Slam winner Sam Dingman, whose stories have been featured on NPR, Risk!, TBTL, and The Moth Radio Hour.

Copyright 2017-2021 WALT FM

Every house is haunted. In each episode of Family Ghosts, we investigate the true story behind a mysterious figure whose legend has followed a family for generations. Grandmothers who were secretly jewel smugglers, uncles who led double lives, siblings who vanished without a trace, and other ghostly characters who cast shadows over our lives in ways that might not be immediately obvious. We are all formed in part by our familial collections of secrets, intrigues, and myths. By engaging with each others’ legends, perhaps we can see each others’ realities more clearly. Hosted by Moth Grand Slam winner Sam Dingman, whose stories have been featured on NPR, Risk!, TBTL, and The Moth Radio Hour.

Copyright 2017-2021 WALT FM
58hr 10min
Thumbnail for "Season 1 Trailer: Every House Is Haunted".
Every house is haunted.
Thumbnail for "1: The Family Jewels".
One afternoon in 1961, a mysterious woman in sunglasses wandered into my grandfather's jewelry shop and stole his heart. Two years later, she vanished without a trace.
Thumbnail for "2: No Brown Spots".
Everything changed for Caila on June 22, 2010. On today's episode, she finally confronts the truth about what happened that night.
Thumbnail for "3: Sue's Clues".
When Nick's grandfather died in 1994, something bizarre happened: his aunt Susan stole the body and hid it.
Thumbnail for "4: A Spirit of Vengeance".
Jill grew up hearing the terrifying legend of "the crazy man from Mississippi." But as an adult, she starts to question her mom's version of the story.
Thumbnail for "5: Lookin' Good, Charlie".
Mark's only memories of his father are tender, stubbly hugs and an old leather shaving kit.
Thumbnail for "6: That You Should Be Happy".
Micaela is haunted by a recurring dream - a vision from her family's harrowing past.
Thumbnail for "7: None Of Your Business".
Sam discovers he has an uncle he never knew about.
Thumbnail for "Season 2 Trailer: We Never Really Talked About Our Past".
The official trailer for Season 2 of "Family Ghosts"
Thumbnail for "8: The Love Family, Part 1 - Love & Logic".
After a fateful acid trip in 1967, a man named Paul tries to build his ideal family.
Thumbnail for "9: The Love Family, Part 2 - Vision & Completion".
Love is real.
Thumbnail for "10: The Love Family, Part 3 - Constance & Composure".
Posey tries to uncover the connection between the loss of her mother and her parents' time in the Love Family.
Thumbnail for "11: His Minor Years".
A souvenir from from Meara's great-uncle turns out to be a clue about a scandal that almost tore her family apart.
Thumbnail for "12: The Chinese Food Incident".
A mysterious burglary has haunted the Falco family for 25 years.
Thumbnail for "13: June & George".
Kimberly's grandparents find themselves imprisoned without cause. When they're released, they refuse to talk about it.
Thumbnail for "14: The Sasquatch of Spring Valley".
After Asher's uncle dies, the family goes to clean out his apartment, and discovers a box of love letters from a woman they've never met.
Thumbnail for "15: A Settling in the Bones".
Kirya's childhood home is haunted by two elusive ghosts.
Thumbnail for "16a: Bone Hill - Act 1".
Martha's family has their land stolen, and then their identity.
Thumbnail for "16b: Bone Hill - Act 2".
Martha's family makes a home on Black Mountain, and reckons with the past.
Thumbnail for "Season 3 Trailer: A Circle of Ghosts".
The official trailer for Season 3 of our show.
Thumbnail for "17: The Clotilda Legacy, Part 1: The Descendants".
A community in Mobile, Alabama is haunted by a shameful secret.
Thumbnail for "18: The Clotilda Legacy, Part 2: The Stronghold".
Joycelyn and Darron try to escape the shadow of the Meaher family's pervasive influence in Africatown.
Thumbnail for "19: The Clotilda Legacy, Part 3: The Reckoning".
Ring the bell so the world will know.
Thumbnail for "20: A Boy In A Story".
David tells the story of three unlikely family members who shaped his life.
Thumbnail for "21: Collateral For Ten Million".
Kierran tries to figure out if any of her grandfather's stories were true.
Thumbnail for "22: The Trove".
Mariah travels to a country she's never been to in hopes that she can find a man she's never met: her father.
Thumbnail for "23: Your Ghost".
Three stories about the moment when the static dissolves, and a transmission from the past comes through loud and clear.
Thumbnail for "24: Little Stonehenges".
Following her father's death, a ghost appears in Natalie's childhood home, leaving a trail of troubling clues.
Thumbnail for "25: The Ambassador".
Mac and his mom have a lot to talk about: her relationship with her psychic, his brother's murder, and a life-altering betrayal that happened decades ago.
Thumbnail for "26: Spirit World".
Is it you? Are you there? I miss you.
Thumbnail for "27: The Mission".
Decades after her brother's mysterious disappearance, Toni finally learns the truth about what happened to him.
Thumbnail for "28: The Faith Exam".
Julian joins a church in Poughkeepsie, and discovers a decades-old secret about her uncle.
Thumbnail for "29: A Crane in the Bay - Part 1".
When an unnatural disaster befalls her family, Kate demands answers. But no one's willing to talk.
Thumbnail for "30: A Crane in the Bay - Part 2".
Kate flees the haunting silence of Baltimore - but no matter where she goes, Eddy's ghost isn't far behind.
Thumbnail for "31: A Crane in the Bay - Part 3".
After more than thirty years of following roads to nowhere, Kate carves her own path.
Thumbnail for "32: Unwell - A Midwestern Gothic Mystery".
Sam takes you on a trip to a mysterious boarding house in Mt. Absalom, Ohio - a community riddled with secrets and lost memories.
Thumbnail for "33: Rack & Cue".
Bradford and Paul come to terms with the people they wish their parents could be - and the people they actually are.
Thumbnail for "34: Foxes".
Kimberly King Parsons tells the story of a mother telling a story about her daughter telling a story.
Thumbnail for "35: Guests".
Mary Terrier tells the story of a woman who seems to hold all the keys.
Thumbnail for "38: The Reality Map (or The Faith Exam, Part 2)".
Andrew tells the family ghost story behind a "Family Ghosts" story.
Thumbnail for "42:  The Namesake - Part 1".
Jessie's name is the continuation of her aunt's story. But no one's ever told Jessie the real story of her aunt.
Thumbnail for "44: Forever Is A Long Time".
Everyone in Ian's family gets divorced. Now that he's been married for a few years, he wants to know if his relationship is doomed.
Thumbnail for "48: Superheroes".
Stories about unexpected impulses with deep generational roots.
Thumbnail for "49: City Folk".
Sam gets a ghostly answer to a decade-old question.
Thumbnail for "50: They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore".
Stories about coming to terms with the truth about our mothers.
Thumbnail for "51: You Know It's Wrong".
Stories about rediscovering home in unexpected ways.
Thumbnail for "52: Untitled Dad Project".
Janielle Kastner tries to get to know a man she never got to meet.
Thumbnail for "53: Something in the Wind".
Sam has a memory he can't explain.
Thumbnail for "BONUS: The Rumor".
A mysterious story has haunted the city of Baltimore for 25 years. Can Sam unravel the truth...before the truth unravels him?
Thumbnail for "36: Still Close".
Sam receives an unexpected message from the past, delivered by a Spiritualist medium in a mysterious town called Lily Dale.
Thumbnail for "39: The Old Block".
Jim grabs the baton, and Gastor sees the face behind the mask.
Thumbnail for "40: Motherland - Part 1".
The two of us became the embodiment of the Chinese phrase xiang yi wei ming - mutual reliance - for life.
Thumbnail for "41: Motherland - Part 2".
Part 2 of Jiayang Fan's story about her and her mother's intertwined quests for survival.
Thumbnail for "42: The Namesake - Part 2".
"You can open up a book and choose a sentence at random, and derive meaning from it."
Thumbnail for "43: The Namesake - Part 3".
"I feel really lucky that Danny is Danny."
Thumbnail for "45: A Hollywood Ending".
After his brother's tragic murder, Mac's family finds disparate ways of re-assembling their shattered lives.
Thumbnail for "46: A Dime for Mr. Fetterman".
Family stories that seem simple on the surface, but are actually the keys to understanding our entire personalities.
Thumbnail for "47: The Soft War".
Thi Bui tells producer Jennifer Lai about the delicate process of asking her parents about their worst experiences.
Thumbnail for "BONUS: Snatching Sinatra".
For the last few months, Sam's been hard at work with John Stamos (yes, that John Stamos) on a top-secret project...
Thumbnail for "37: The Walls of Jericho".
When Erin moves to England, her mother presents her with a life-altering choice.
Thumbnail for "54: The Fatal Nickel".
The wayward son of a manufacturing dynasty tries to sow fresh roots in his family tree.
Thumbnail for "55: Don't Look Directly At It".
Malcolm Gladwell shares a parable from the past, and Nick Markovich searches for the meaning of life.
Thumbnail for "56: Pioneer Stock - Part 1".
Craig grows up in hiding from his uncles' secret lives, fearful that his family will one day discover his own secret.
Thumbnail for "57: Pioneer Stock, Part 2: A Life Deferred".
Craig unlocks the mysteries of his Uncle Brent's life - literally.
Thumbnail for "58: Pioneer Stock, Part 3: Sacred Secrets".
Craig learns the truth about the end of his Uncle Larry's life - and finds a new beginning for his own.
Thumbnail for "59: How Will You Spend Your Time? (A Family Ghosts Mixtape)".
Seven songs from in (and around) our series that just might make you come unstuck in time.
Thumbnail for "60: Telling Our Stories To Ourselves".
Producer Veralyn Williams explores the power of subjective storytelling in the aftermath of her experience working on a particularly harrowing episode.
Thumbnail for "61: The Pretender & The Godfather".
As he passes a significant milestone, Sam reflects on two of his wayward early role models.
Thumbnail for "62: Manual Transition".
Mark embarks on a rollicking quest to find a Cool Dad.
Thumbnail for "63: Hard Eights and Husky Boys".
Stories about inscrutable older men with vital wisdom to share - if only we could figure out how to talk to them.
Thumbnail for "64: A Mississippi Story".
Guy Story finds out his father had a secret.
Thumbnail for "65: An Electric Dissatisfaction".
Josh Ritter tells Jayson De Leon about charting a course through the unknown.
Thumbnail for "66: Bone Hill Reprise".
An important update about Family Ghosts, and a reprise of a timely tale.
Thumbnail for "67. The Midnight Disease".
A special message about the past and the future, with gratitude from your Ghost Host.
Thumbnail for "Good Company".
Sam's quest to uncover a family ghost that lives in his radio.
Thumbnail for "FG Presents: The Burden".
Introducing "The Burden," from legendary investigative reporter (and longtime friend of the Ghost Family) Steve Fishman.
Thumbnail for "Pack One Bag".
A new series from Stanley Tucci, David Modigliani, Lemonada, and Gilded Audio - featuring Sam as story editor!
Thumbnail for "Sam's Breadcrumbs".
Sam's guest interview on the Breadcrumbs podcast, hosted by his oldest friend Allen.

61: The Pretender & The Godfather

Thumbnail for "61: The Pretender & The Godfather".
April 22, 202233min 59sec

On the occasion of a major life milestone, Sam reflects on two of his wayward role models.

Family Ghosts is made possible thanks to the generosity of the Kindred Spirits - our community of supporters on Patreon. For just $5 per month, Kindred Spirits hear our episodes ad-free, and they get exclusive bonus content. If you have the means, please consider joining them today at http://patreon.com/familyghosts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thumbnail for "61: The Pretender & The Godfather".
61: The Pretender & The Godfather
00:00
33:59