I used to listen to this guy as a kid. Thought all the stuff was so cool was hyped up about all the weird shit that was out there. Mind powers, aliens, ghosts, energies, was so interesting; when I was 12. I grew out of it but I still have fun memories of listening to him in the middle of the night. Sucks that now my parents started believing the shit I found cool back then and doubled down on conspiracies and alternative medicine.

Interesting note. I didn't have headphones so I would put my radio on quite and close to my head. I would fall asleep on it sometimes, and wake up with the pattern of the speaker's grill on my face. It would last for days. I would just tell people that I slept funny.

This one hits pretty hard, like losing a favorite uncle. I listened to Coast to Coast AM every night for more than 10 years starting in the early 90s. I even made it on the air once, during a segment where listeners were invited to call in with their one-sentence predictions for the future. (Mine was, "In the future, all politicians and celebrities will be chosen at random through a lottery system.")

My favorite Art Bell memory, and one that I think sums up his show nicely, is this: in 1997, when Hale Bopp was all the rage, he would happily entertain any caller's crackpot theories about how the comet was an alien spacecraft or whatever, but would instantly hang up on and make fun of anyone who referred to it as "Hale Bob".

RIP Art.

You ruined my life.

He's the guy that exposed me to the wide, wonderful world of conspiracy theory. A tremendous blessing and a terrible curse.

Thank you for sharing.

I could never get into conspiracy theories because they required so much to go right, so little to go wrong, and (worst of all) no human element to spill the beans before “it” came to fruition. As humans we’re awful at all of that.

However, I can imagine once you open the door on it, the “drink” itself would prevent you from closing it. We’re very good at finding something we like and not being able to stop.

Have you ever given up on any of them? Have any fallen apart?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an obsessive like Eddie Bravo or a lot of other people, just more of an enthusiast.

I rate them from highly plausible (9/11 being an inside job) to practically impossible (faked moon landing, chemtrails).

My personal favorite is the Dulce conspiracy but I readily admit it rates very low on the plausibility scale. It makes for some incredibly fascinating reading though if you ever decide to take the plunge on that one.

As for one I used to believe could be pretty plausible that failed the test of minor scrutiny is HAARP.

Finally, as an opposite example, I'll mention the X-37B. That fucking thing is being used for some seriously bizarre stuff that people are all too slow to question.

Heh, my introduction to conspiracy theory was Robert Anton Wilson and GURPS Illuminati, so luckily I was never tempted to take any of it too seriously.

He was a great presence on a long night-time drive. A political conservative, but not like the frothing haters that came later. Number one source for chupacabra and Sasquatch sightings.

We are living in a time when the "Number one source for chupacabra and Sasquatch sightings" is now considered a saner conservative.

I used to listen to this every night when I was out delivering newspapers in my early college days. Got me through many a godawful late night/early morning trying to earn a buck to pay rent.

My wife and I used to listen to him when he was on terrestrial radio - we would put his show on as we drifted off to sleep. I have fond memories of the many odd guests and even odder callers to the show.

My favorite memory was listening to a guest describe why Bigfoot has never been found - turns out they live on the astral plain and only visit us occasionally. That's why you don't find bones or other remains, just sightings by witnesses in remote locations. That was what the best of Art Bell was like - batshit crazy stuff that had some remote chance of being true, or at least could not be proved to be false.

When my wife and I first met, we would go down to the reservoir listening to Art. He played in the background of our many makeout sessions. Very fond memories.

I think Art was the first radio show to put a webcam in the studio and live broadcast pics to his website.