Bigfoot Collectors Club — "Real Vampires" w/ Ryan Gaul

Release Date: October 8, 2025
Hosts: Michael McMillian & Riley Bray
Guest: Ryan Gaul (actor, comedian)

Episode Overview

This Halloween-season episode dives into the historical and folk origins of "real vampires," blending high-energy banter with classic BCC paranormal storytelling. Regular guest Ryan Gaul joins to reminisce about autumn in Maine, argue over paranormal skepticism, and hear retellings of European vampire cases—especially the infamous Highgate Vampire. The trio explore skepticism, belief, vulnerability in the paranormal, and the evolution of vampire myths from grotesque monsters to modern sex symbols.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Clubhouse Banter: Months as Days of the Week

[01:25–09:00]

• The hosts and Ryan riff about what days of the week each month feels like, with lots of playful debate and tangents.
  • Michael: “August is the Sunday of the year”
  • Ryan: “Each season is a weekend—and each has a Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”
  • The discussion playfully devolves into confusion and contradiction, with everyone staking comedic claims.

Ryan's FOMO & Friendship

[09:00–12:40]

• Ryan expresses jealousy (with tongue-in-cheek sincerity) about missing the group’s haunted hotel overnight.
  • Ryan [09:16]: “I have to tell them. Next time—you must take me. You must take me!”
• The hosts reassure him: he’ll be tops on the invite list for future ghost-hunting endeavors.

Movie & Comedy Updates

[11:06–12:40]

• Ryan shares a quick update about his upcoming movie and casts, inviting listeners in Atlanta to the festival screening.

Opening Up: Paranormal Skepticism and Vulnerability

[26:56–35:23]

• Ryan, typically a self-described skeptic, reveals he’s warming up to the idea that some form of non-material human connection may exist—perhaps spurred by thoughts of family mortality.
  • Ryan [27:06]: “There's too much there in a human for it just to go, disappear... I want to experience something in that world.”
• A recent psychic reading challenged him to “open up” more genuinely to paranormal experiences.
• The hosts and Ryan discuss how earnestness, vulnerability, and intention are essential, not just cleverness or performative cool.
  • Riley [34:42]: “There’s a vulnerability there… when you earnestly talk to your grandma or a ghost... maybe you feel silly, but you’re breaking through that wall.”

Notable Quote:

“If you want to see some—because I was like, I want to see proof. I want—and [the psychic] was like, 'You'll never see it if you’re not open to it.' ...You have to do a little work…meditation, sitting, and when you sit there and ask a question… you have to mean it.”
—Ryan Gaul [30:12]

Tangent — “Geek/Nerd/Dork/Dweeb” Anthropology

[44:19–48:40]

• The hosts dissect the differences between terms like nerd, geek, dork, dweeb, and doofus as applied through the lens of ‘80s and ‘90s childhood, linking “cringe-vulnerability” to growing up.

Paranormal News: Black Triangle UFO over Texas

[13:50–21:39]

• Michael shares a story (from Express, 9/30/25) of a black, pyramid-shaped UFO filmed over Texas.
• The group analyzes the video:
  • Skepticism about eyewitness estimates of size and flight;
  • Video appears to show nothing more than “a trash bag filled with helium” ([19:25], Ryan: “You can kind of see the balloon knot”).
  • Conclude most “aliens” recently are just balloons or trash bags.
  • Memorable Quote:

    “All aliens lately have been plastic bags. This is making me sad. What is this, American Beauty?”
    —Michael [19:49]

Halloween Memories & The Power of Maine Autumn

[23:31–26:29]

• Ryan, whose birthday is October 29th, reminisces about Halloween growing up in Maine:
  • Fall parties with friends, wandering in the woods at night.
  • “It feels so haunted and great… the trees are literally, like, releasing their leaves all over you…”

Trick or Treat Game: Ryan’s Paranormal Classifications

[52:12–56:22]

• Halloween-ified speed round: Michael prompts, Ryan answers “Trick” for skeptical/disbelief, “Treat” for legit/open.
  • Notable Calls:
    • Ghosts: Treat
    • Bigfoot: Trick
    • UFOs: Treat
    • Witches: Treat
    • Vampires/Werewolves/Demons: Trick
    • Afterlife: Treat
• Discussion on why “curses” and “bad luck” may be real, via self-fulfilling prophecy.

Main Segment: "Terrifying Tale From Zombie Bigfoot’s Cryptid Crypt" – REAL VAMPIRES

[61:32–95:04]

Historical Vampire Lore & Case Studies

• Highgate Vampire (London, 1970):

  • Foxes found dead in Highgate Cemetery, suspected black magic.
  • Eyewitnesses describe a sinister, tall figure with glowing eyes.
  • Occult investigators descend; police and the public freak out.
  • Real human body found staked and decapitated ([83:55]).

• Classical Vampire Origins:

  • From Eastern Europe—Slavic and Balkan folklore, infected corpses, “bloated, purplish, lumbering” undead.
  • Protective measures: staking, scythes over the grave, burying face down.
  • Romanticization emerges in 19th-century English fiction (“The Vampyre,” Polidori; “Dracula,” Stoker).

• Historical "Vampire Plagues":

  • Wienericus (Poland, 1591): Committed suicide, deemed a vampire, dug up, and dismembered.
  • Johannes Kunz (Pench, 1592): Kicked “in the dick by a lusty gelding,” went mad, attacked by a cat, later rumored to rise as a vampire, haunt and grope villagers; body eventually dismembered and burned.
    • Ryan [73:54]: “How hard do you have to get kicked in the balls to go crazy—and then on top of it to have a cat go, 'that looks like a good guy to just rip to shreds'?”
  • Petar Blagovic (Serbia, 1725): Visited villagers and family after death; nine claimed he sat on their chest; villagers caught, staked, and burned him.
  • Arnold Paoli (Serbia, 1726–32): Mass hysteria led to dozens of corpses dug up and staked—officially recognized by authorities and military.

• Modern "Vampire Attack" (London, 1922):

  • Series of neck-bite attacks near Coventry Street; rumors of enormous bat; local media frenzy; supposed police-employed vampire hunter.

• Highgate, 1970s:

  • Rival occultists, media sensationalism, seances, arrests for “occultism,” vampire panic laced with political and pop-culture satire.

Reflections & Analysis

• The group marvels at how “real vampires” of folklore were more zombie-like, not romantic—unwashed, bloated, terrifying.

• Michael: “It wasn’t until the 18th century that they started to get sexy…for hundreds of years, vampires were just undead that feed off human blood and flesh.”

• Digging up bodies for "signs of vampirism" common, due to medical ignorance about disease and decomposition.

• Discussion of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies/Manifesting:

  • Curses and omens (like black cats) hold power mainly over those who believe.
  • “Isn’t that what Oedipus Rex is all about?” —Michael [56:52]

Notable Quotes

“What really sticks with me from this whole thing is just how much people were digging up and dismembering bodies… I think it's just this curiosity about death and biology—like, 'let's dig them up, chop them up.'”
—Riley [89:26]

“I still say [vampires are a] trick, but hearing all that—I think there's something, especially… what you were talking about earlier… the false deaths was probably a huge thing before.”
—Ryan [92:49]

Lighter Moments & Humor

• Geek/Nerd/Dork/Dweeb Taxonomy

  • Playful, extended riff breaking down 1980s/90s schoolyard social labels:
    • Ryan [44:55]: “A dork is like a socially and physically uncoordinated, unaimed, like force of nature…”
    • “Doofus is a temporary thing….”

• Recurring animal interruptions: Riley’s dog Nova, outside construction noise, comical background chaos.

Closing & Plugs

• Ryan plugs:
  • His Instagram (@rygal) and live shows at The Groundlings (LA)
• BCC plug: Halloween merch, BCC Clubhouse (bonus content and Discord)
• Last word: Everyone’s invited next time there’s a ghost hunt.

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Paranormal Banter (Months as Days): 01:25–09:00
• Ryan’s FOMO & Host Friendships: 09:00–12:40
• Black Triangle UFO News: 13:50–21:39
• Halloween Memories/Main Autumn Vibes: 23:31–26:29
• Ryan’s Paranormal Openness & Sincerity: 26:56–35:23
• Ouija Boards & Paranormal Tools: 35:35–41:28
• Nerd/Dork Taxonomy: 44:19–48:40
• ‘Trick or Treat’ Game: 52:12–56:22
• Vampire Lore Deep Dive & Stories: 61:32–95:04

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “You can kind of see the balloon knot.” —Ryan (on the UFO video) [19:25]
• “You heard it here. Ryan loves white.” —Michael (teasing a slip about “white cold”) [06:57]
• “It doesn’t cost anything to believe that.” —Ryan (on spiritual openness) [28:14]
• “The fear of cringe is the death of individuality.” —Riley [42:39]
• “It's one thing to get kicked in the nuts. It's another thing to go delirious, then a cat rips your face off. What a week.” —Ryan [73:54]

Overall Tone and Language

Lively, comedic, and affectionate. The hosts merge irreverence with serious deep-dives into folklore, encouraging listeners to find joy in the weird, to be open, but remain skeptical. Recurring inside jokes, playful fighting, and pop-culture asides keep things light during even the grisliest stories.

Useful for:

• Any listener wanting a breezy but thorough breakdown of vampire myth origins and their connection to folklore, skepticism, and modern paranormal thought.
• Fans of Halloween, 1980s nostalgia, and clubby, friendship-driven storytelling.
• Those interested in how belief, vulnerability, and skepticism interact in the world of the paranormal.

For further details, check out BCC Clubhouse for bonus content and connect with other “club scouts.”