coincidence – Beyond Beyond Belief

#44 Frakes and geeks [S4E12 with Samm Levine]

By Jesse Chapman | January 8, 2019

Kyle is sitting out but we have guest-host actor and podcaster Samm Levine. Samm has watched the show before, and also had a neighbor who bragged about acting in an episode of Beyond Belief.

Samm is a hardline skeptic of all things supernatural. A big believer of known skeptic James Randy and the million-dollar challenge.

Samm has appeared recently on the show Movie Trivia Schmoedown.

Story 1: Witness To Murder – A ghost hunter who captured ghosts on film meets a mysterious end.

Samm tries to unpack Chris’s belief in ghosts.
In talking about the integrity of true stories in BB, Samm tells us the actual true story of Cool Runnings.
Most people find this story too be ridiculous and very writery.

Story 2: Roulette Wheel – A down on his luck gamboling addict finds himself on a mysterious winning streak.

Samm does not believe that odds could allow this to happen. Also, the pit boss would have thrown him out way earlier.
Chris thinks there are so many gambling stories that this could have happened.

Story 3: The Phrenologist’s Head – A doctor given a Phrenologist’s Head finds a smudge on it that leads to a miraculous discovery.

Samm explains that the doctors would have figured it out eventually upon surgery…And a lawsuit.
Chris believes that something could have happened to lead the doctor down the right path.
Jesse wonders if Freud’s ghost is involved in the smudging.

Story 4: The Bridge – A hiker crosses a shaky bridge and is helped by a mysterious woman who turns out to be more than she appears.

Jesse thinks the woman had her mom’s name in her subconscious and projected onto the woman.
Samm thinks it’s a single-source story where the woman miss remembered the events. points to Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink.

Story 5: The Cigar Box – A girl buys an antique, which turns out to belong to a neighbor.

This segment stars Campbell Lane, who does VO for the second half of BB.
Jesse thinks there are one too many coincidences.
Samm walks through how it could have happened – he was just a bitter old man who died after being denied his antique box by a little girl.

Friend of the podcast, Misty Stinnett (who has a new podcast Go Help Yourself) shares some self-help tips. But some are fact and some are fiction.

The story results are revealed.

Samm tells us a story of when he “met” Jonathan Frakes.
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

#43 A good first draft [S4E11 with Jonathan Kite]

By Jesse Chapman | January 1, 2019

Kyle is out, but joining us is the comedian, actor, and writer Jonathan Kite. Who has a new movie out – All The Creatures Are Stirring.

Jonathan is familiar with the show, but hasn’t seen it until now.

Jonathan talks about Nightmare on Elm Street’s origins, and how he’s seen a ghost in a girlfriend’s video.

Story 1: The Mystery Of Douglas Hibbard – A man, sick with the cold, checks into a motel and mysteriously stashes something in a safe.

Tiffany feels like it’s an urban legend.
Maybe the clerk just messed up the timing of events.

Story 2: Wheelchair Man – A criminal with psychic abilities gives up his cronies after being pushed out of a heist.

Jesse doesn’t understand why a criminal would help the cops.
Jonathan doesn’t believe cops would give up a witness.
Tiffany just thinks burglars are dumb.

Story 3: The Vigil – A comatose woman about to be taken off life support finds a way to communicate with her boyfriend.

Everyone agrees it was a very forgettable story. But maybe that means it’s true?
Jesse thinks the boyfriend believed it enough, but it was just a coincidence.
Maybe it’s too fact to be fact?

Story 4: The Mandarin’s Bowl – After a family trip to China town, a young boy is revealed to be the reincarnation of an old pottery master.

Jonathan doesn’t understand why the master and student don’t ask more questions. Their reunion is very short.
Everyone agrees the parents would have freaked out more.
Tiffany thinks the most ridiculous stories are fact.

Story 5: Ghost Writer – A cruel man hires a ghostwriter who accidentally records a confession of a horrible crime.

Chris felt it was very similar to Batman Returns.
Chris pitches the boring theory. So boring that it’s fact.
Jonathan thinks it’s a good first draft but then it falls apart.

This week we call up a listener and have him play a game in which he needs to decide if our news headlines are real or made up.

The story results are revealed.

To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

#41 Into the spider closet [S4E9 with Will Hines]

By Mark Walberg | December 18, 2018

Kyle is out this episode, but in his place we have guest host Will Hines! Will Hines is a comedian who performs at UCB LA and co-hosted the podcast “Don’t Get Me Started.”

Will hasn’t seen the original show before and is a hardline skeptic.

Story 1: The Wealthy Widow – A man marries a widow and goes looking for her late husband’s buried fortune.

Who tells this story?… since the man is dead and the other witness is a ghost? Will thinks maybe the widow murdered both husbands.
Everyone agrees the ghost taunting the husband is the best part.

Story 2: The Witness – A group of girls avenges their friend’s murder by summoning her spirit.

Tiffany thinks the girls just knew details about the suspect and relayed it to the police.
Will thinks it’s very similar to the movie The Craft.

Story 3: The Accident – A year after a man saves someone in a car accident, he finds himself in a similar situation.

The group debates the integrity of windshields.
The group uses the coincidence rule. Except for Will, who thinks it’s too obviously fact, that it must be fiction.

Story 4: Bad Dreams – A woman’s deadly predictions about her 30th birthday seem to be coming true.

All agree this is one of the better stories, with an actual twist ending.
Chris had a premonition about running to neighbors, and then seconds later ran into them. Is that really a premonition though?

Story 5: Mental – A couple pretending to have telekinetic abilities discover something incredible when they face real danger.

Is this just a story the couple told to drum up business?
It’s crazy to think she had powers but then could never use them again.

During our ad-break, we read and listen to audience-submitted stories that are very Beyond Belief…

The story results are revealed.

Our guest-host Will only guessed one correctly and 100 percent questions the integrity of Beyond Belief’s research.
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

#40 Leafing the witness [S4E8]

By Mark Walberg | December 11, 2018

We’ve returned with the back half of our fourth and final season. And if something feels oddly familiar about this week’s batch of stories… it’s because we watched this episode in the past and recorded an unreleased episode as a test pilot. And as a bonus, we will be releasing the pilot episode this Thursday in all it’s horrifying, awkward glory. Thankfully, we can barely remember what happened in last week’s episode, so this should be pretty fresh for us.

Story 1: Caitlin’s Candle – After being saved from a mugger by a candle with seemingly supernatural powers, a woman brings it home only to find out that it once belonged to her deceased mother.

Why would the mom hide jewelry in a candle? And WHY would a robber steal a candle?
Everyone thinks this is a ghost making elaborate plans. Kyle thinks maybe the mom did this all to teach the daughter to believe in herself.

Story 2: The Flower Jury – When a man is murdered in a flower shop, a detective uses an unconventional approach to solve the crime.

Chris and Mark have heard about plants being affected by positive and negative emotions.
Kyle thinks it’s ridiculous that we could believe in ghosts and spirits but not a plant.
Jesse thinks the detective made up the plant thing to trick the suspect into confessing.

Story 3: The Mentor – Magician brothers living in the shadows of Houdini attempt a new death-defying trick.

Jesse loved the unnecessary backflips in their routine.
Are these magicians real? No one knows. Maybe David Blaine was inspired by them?
The curse makes everyone feel like it could be written.

Story 4: The Old Bike – two brothers find an old bike and discover something mysterious inside the handlebar.

Everyone agrees hiding a note inside a handlebar is ludicrous.
Jesse thinks it’s mainly coincidental with some convoluted stuff added on.

Story 5: The Music Teacher – A renowned pianist has a creative block until he meets with his first piano teacher.

This is a classic dead the whole time story.
Everyone thinks the chocolate was added by the writers. Maybe he just had a mental block and the teacher used the chocolate to snap him out of it.

In lieu of a fake ad, for the remainder of the season, we’re asking the audience to be part of our show. Call or submit online your beyond belief stories. Or if you have any questions for us, ask away. Or just call and tell us you hate us. Anything goes! Leave us a voicemail at 818-254-9876, email us at info@beyondbeyondbelief.com, or send us a DM on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook @beyondbeliefpod.

The story results are revealed.

Chris gets an interesting score. The results are controversial.
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6rj1ur

#39 Car trouble [S4E7]

By Jesse Chapman | October 23, 2018

This is the season 4 mid-season break…and Jesse has karaoke voice.

Story 1: The Wreath – A detective investigating a hit and run case gets a break when another accident mysteriously occurs.

It’s very believable that city officials could get confused with their paperwork.
This could be a case of the complicated theory.
The parents of the deceased child were a bit too “handsy” given the scenario.

Story 2: Terror Night – A mysterious pipe leak leads to a life-changing event.

Chris just thinks this is about crappy apartments.
There’s been a running theme in season 4 –near death astral projection to save one’s own life.
Jesse thinks the “thanks” is too writery.

Story 3: Tants – An artist who’s inspired by an old woman at the park, makes a shocking discovery when she paints her.

No one thought this story would be named Tants. Which are actually pants with a table built into them…from The Regular Show.
No one saw the initial twist coming.
There is no way this story is fiction. The writers couldn’t make this story up.

Story 4: The Candidate – A politician’s conscience gets the best of him during a political debate.

Kyle would believe this it was from an older time.
Tiff points out that if it’s the spirit of Abraham Lincoln why didn’t he step in earlier?

Story 5: The Ring – A hairdresser having an affair with a client’s husband enacts a nasty plan to get what she wants.

Tiffany believes that people do crazy things for money.
No one understands why the ring is cursed.

Part 7 of our Ouija experience:

On this week’s installment Mark, Jesse, and Kyle finally use the Ouija and dive into the spirit word…

The story results are revealed.

To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

#36 Pickle [S4E4]

By Jesse Chapman | October 2, 2018

The group discusses how great the all-female episode was. Tiffany realizes how hard it is to host the podcast (but is it really? Try doing these show-notes every week).

Story 1: Second Sight – A blind woman who received a corneal transplant can’t help but stare at a certain suspicious looking man.

No one believes this story.
Jesse thinks the guy has Skeet-Ulrich-from-scream-hair.
Tiffany thinks it could have just been a coincidence.
Chris thinks she may just have had a psychic intuition

Story 2: The Fine Line – When one sister is miles away her twin gets a bad feeling…

Jewel Staite from Firefly was featured in this story. Jesse points out that, more importantly, she was in Space Cases.
Is there a beyond belief twin rule? …No.
Jesse doesn’t feel like there was any interesting twists in this story.
Jesse thinks it could be a complicated rule story.

Story 3: The Wrong Turn – A mattress deliveryman swerves to miss an old lady and ends up saving a little kid. But where is the old lady?

Mark gives us the story recap…Kyle criticizes Mark’s recap…Chris rates Mark’s recap a 99/100.
Kyle proposes a plausible theory about how this story could have actually happened involving people taking lots of drugs.
Chris makes a connection to last week’s story, “Out of Service,” where someone who is alive projects themself as a vision to seek help.

Story 4: Who Was I – A man suffering from claustrophobia sees a hypnotist and digs far back into the cause of this illness.

The group discusses personal stories about hypnotism.
Kyle thinks he may have heard about this other man then just forgot.
Jesse points out through his knowledge of hypnosis, that it’s more likely that a hypnotist would plant the idea or belief in the patient.

Story 5: You Are Next – When a man’s luck is turned around he tries to call off a hit he placed on his wife.

Everyone wonders – who told this story?
Kyle loves this story.
Tiffany doesn’t understand why he would still take her to the restaurant. Kyle thinks since they probably got engaged at a Chinese restaurant he probably just didn’t want to mess up the anniversary.
Everyone points out how cool this guy’s chair is.

Part 4 of our Ouija experience:

A caller leaves a voicemail that influences the group’s decision to move forward with the Ouija experience.

The story results are revealed.

The group tied at 3 correct!
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

#33 The journey of the ouija [S4E1]

By Jesse Chapman | September 11, 2018

This is the season 4 premiere! And apparently it’s already Chris’s favorite season… Kyle’s loving it too. The stories this season look like they’re shot with more cinematic direction. The group misses Don Lafontaine’s opening voiceover. There’s now a new voice to Beyond Belief, and that man’s name is Campbell Lane. There’s also so much Jonathan Frakes that Kyle feels like he’s in Frake-ception.

Story 1: The Devil’s Signature—after being found not guilty in court, a man admits to killing his wife, but then karma catches up to him when he slips and gets impaled by a pen.

Tiffany wonders how this story would even get out.
Kyle’s on the “it seems so possible” bandwagon.
Everyone pretends to be in the South for a minute.

Story 2: Mail Order Degree—a scam artist gets his comeuppance when a voodoo doll portends his death. Turns out, the place he hides his money causes him to get deadly radiation poisoning.

Mark forgot that the voodoo doll was part of the story.
If the guy dies because of radiation poisoning from the nearby radiology department, Chris wonders what the people who work IN the radiology department look like.
Mark compares this slow death to the transformation in the movie “The Fly.”
Kyle’s problem is the lead component. What?
Is this Beyond Belief’s first body horror story? No.
Chris locks in the wrong vote!

Story 3: The News Stand—a homeless kid gets assistance from a news stand owner, who later dies & passes along the business to the kid. The kid then finds out it was his biological father.

The group criticizes Chris for basing his predictions on past episodes. What’s wrong with that?
Tiffany points out that the 15-year-old kid plays Steve in Showtime’s Shameless. Meanwhile, Chris thought he looked like “Malcolm in the Middle of a Garbage Can.”
Jesse thinks the dad might just be lying about being his father. Chris and Mark think this can get complicated.

Story 4: The Murder of Roy Hennessey—two teens witness a murder… and realize that it happened two years prior.

Finally Chris can bring in some Ghostly Rules into this show! …And he might also have a really obviously fake book coming out about it.
Kyle brings up the fact that he’s a published forward author, which we do indeed confirm! You can check out his forward in the book Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors.
Jesse wonders why the ghost of the victim didn’t just tell authorities two years ago.

Story 5: Mysterious Strangers—two mysterious strangers encounter and old woman and change the course of her life forever.

Kyle admits that he didn’t know Frank James (brother of Jesse James) was real… then everyone else admits they didn’t know either.
Tiffany points out that we all thought Zerelda was going to turn out to be evil. Jesse agrees, pointing out that her campy acting made her seem disingenuous. Kyle had a coven of witches flashback.
Jesse brings up the kernel of truth: “Did anyone else think this was a prequel to The Legend of Zerelda: A Bank to the Past…?” Mark and Jesse nerd out over Zelda’s lullaby.
Mark and Jesse discuss: who told this story? Mark thinks that this story was talked about on the news. Jesse pushes back: THE NEWS? Was Walter Cronkite reporting on train robberies?
Tiffany thinks this story stems from a family folk tale.

In this episode we begin our Journey of the Ouiji.

The story results are revealed.

To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z6JAYbOHn4

#32 The anomaly [S3E13]

By Mark Walberg | August 7, 2018

This is the season 3 finale! Will Mark win season three as he has with the previous two seasons? Will Chris get all five stories correct, as he’s never done in the history of this show?

Story 1: The Dealer—a shady blackjack dealer discovers the cards are stacked against him when a soldier sits down at his table.

Jesse doesn’t understand why the ghost would go through with this elaborate plan #GMEP
Chris doesn’t buy that the ghost would wait decades to come back and seek his revenge.

Story 2: Gratuity—a cab driver installs an insult machine for people who do not tip well, but fate steps in alongside a particular passenger.

The group discusses the pros and cons of tipping.
Everyone is surprised why this man isn’t fired.

Story 3: The Cake—a baker witnesses a frightening premonition after a mobster orders him to bake a special cake.

It’s very possible that this is just based on a mob hit.
Kyle thinks the baker is just stressed due to his dealings with the mob.

Story 4: 1st Time Offender—when a boy is arrested for theft, the judge lets him off with a warning, but only until a moment that’s beyond belief changes his mind.

This could just be a coincidence-based story.
Kyle thinks maybe this happened a long time ago.

Story 5: The Mirror of Truth—a beautician curses a vain woman, causing her to appear hideous.

Could be a psychological issue.
Could be a story that takes place in a different time.
Could be ripped off from The Twilight Zone.

The story results are revealed.

Chris is a statistical anomaly.
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime.

The Season 3 results are revealed.

Chris wins season 3! And the coin is a close second.

#26 You had me at haunted barbecue [S3E7]

By Jesse Chapman | May 15, 2018

Tiffany is back from her vacation to India. She didn’t see any ghosts though. Also she may have an infectious rash on her hand or just a henna tattoo.

Story 1: Connie—a dead woman’s spirit or essence lives on in her husband’s new wives.

Jesse wonders what happened to the other women’s spirits. Did they just get booted out? Tiffany thinks the man was murdering his wives.
Who told this story? There are no witnesses.
Jesse thinks all the women are dying from some bird disease.

Story 2: Positive I.D.—a man is accused of a robbery that he didn’t commit, only to make a shocking discovery.

This is a perfectly reasonable story. But maybe too reasonable?
Tiffany sees it as an interesting example of nature vs. nurture.
Chris tries to utilize The Southern Rule.

Story 3: Trucker—a hitchhiker gets help from a mysterious truck driver.

Kyle is a fan of stories where people get super human strength in dire moments.
Kyle points out that this story is similar to another Beyond Belief story called The Tractor (which was fiction).
Tiffany thought Big Joe was the hitchhiker’s future self trying to teach him a lesson.
Chris dives into the ghostly rules: he doesn’t think a ghost can drive a vehicle. “Sounds like angel territory.”

Story 4: Cook Out—a dead relative’s grill saves lives at a family bbq.

Everyone agrees this is now the craziest story of Beyond Belief.
This could be a case of TFTBF.
Maybe the writers just elaborated the BBQ going crazy moment.

Story 5: The New House—a spirit intervenes when a fire starts in a new family’s home.

Tiffany thought it was a story about a mother’s instinct, but then it went in a wildly different direction.
Jesse thinks the info dump at the end could be the writer’s way of explaining all the factual details.
Kyle hoped the woman in the painting would have been moving around, Harry Potter style.

The story results are revealed:

The group plans on taking a mid season break, but agree thus far season 3 has been one wild ride.
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime

#21 Stop saying Willem Dafoe [S3E2]

By Jesse Chapman | April 10, 2018

Turns out no one knows know how pawn shops work. Jesse points out that in season 3, Jonathan Frakes doesn’t do intro lines before the opening credits. No one else seems to care.

Story 1: One For The Road—a truck driver meets a friend at their usual spot, only to later make a chilling discovery.

Jesse points out that if this was pre-Sixth Sense, we would have all been blown away.
Mark thought all the set-ups revealing Hal was a ghost could have just been due to production issues.
Chris dives into the ghostly rules and wonders when exactly did Hal die?
Mark decides to go with a strategy this episode: supernatural = fiction/coincidence = fact.

Story 2: The Music Box—a woman wanting to buy a music box discovers something even more unexpected in the shop.

The group agrees this story doesn’t handle women well.
Tiffany thinks the story probably originated from a wedding announcement or engagement story that gets passed around.
If the friend Gale set the whole thing up, then it’s not a beyond belief story at all.
Jesse points out that Frakes is more aggressive with potential realistic possibilities in season 3.

Story 3: Two to One—a man strapped for cash has a dream of a robbery gone wrong at a pawn shop he frequents.

The group discusses how pawn shops work.
Chris believes in premonition. Mark believes we can dream the future.
Tiffany doesn’t know who can corroborate the man’s story. But what else is new?

Story 4: Damsel—when a woman visits a fortune teller in the search for Mr. Right, she learns that appearances can be deceiving.

Jesse and Mark believe this is all a scam set up by the psychic.
Tiffany doesn’t understand why someone would want to start a relationship after a violent encounter. Kyle points out the movie Speed as an obvious counter argument.
After talking about Willem Dafoe, Kyle cannot stop laughing for some reason.

Story 5: The Horn—a mortician visits an antique dealer and discovers a special item called a death horn, which may just save one of their lives.

Jonathan Frakes thinks the horn could have been blown by air from the AC. Really, Jonathan?
Chris points out old coffins that had bells attached for accidental deaths.
The group wonders if there was sexual tensions between the two leads.

Break: This week Chris tries to tell Mark about his fascinating experience with a psychic, but is interrupted by a mysterious sound.

The story results are revealed.

Turns out Mark’s coincidence theory worked!
To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below or on Amazon Prime!