When I moved to Seattle in 1992, the grunge scene was exploding and creativity of all sorts abounded. A new paper, called The Stranger, had just started up — and it contained three features I loved: a sex column by Dan Savage called “Savage Love,” an astrology column by Rob Brezsny, and a really out-there column called “Psychic Guy,” about the woo-woo experiences of writer Thaddeus Gunn, who at the time also did psychic readings.
In the name of investigative reporting, I felt compelled to make an appointment. The psychic who stood before me was tall, handsome, and amusing — at least until he went into his trance. Then his voice deepened, his face somehow lengthened, and his jaw jutted out — he looked and sounded entirely different.
But the weirder thing was: the guy was amazing. I went to him several times — and he was never wrong in the information he conveyed to me, despite the fact that several of his predictions entirely ticked me off. In fact, the first time I went to him I stormed out, vowing to never return.
But that bit of information that he yielded on that first visit turned out to be true, so of course I went back, again and again.
Upon relaunching “In the Dark by Babs Babylon” with an introductory Halloween week of spooky stories, I looked up Thaddeus to see if he had any bizarre incidents to share. The bad news: He’s no longer giving psychic readings. The good news: Of course he had a bunch of odd tales — and in this podcast he shares a few.
The other good news: he’s still writing — now working on a memoir and flash fiction, and winning writing fellowships and assorted awards. You can read some of his work at thaddeusgunn.com. And you can hear his story about “The Gas Station in the Forest” — and more — on the podcast linked above.
After Halloween is over, we’ll be focusing on other nocturnal matters — dreaming, sleeping, snoring — AND reminiscences about the Seattle Scene that was in full swing three decades ago.
Share this post