Tales From the Inverted World investigates the mysteries that lie beneath the surface of everyday life. Shane Cashman searches for answers concerning UFO encounters, cryptids, ghosts, inter-dimensional beings, secret government experiments and more.
In the newest episodes, Shane discusses his recent trip to the South to investigate the ghosts of the Civil War. In Washington, Georgia -- which is the alleged site of the lost Confederate gold -- Shane's life is threatened and he encounters witches who perform blood magic on battlefields. This week, Shane investigates the mysterious lights in the sky. Listen to the latest episode here.
I had a chance to interview Shane to learn more.
Why did you create Tales from the Inverted World?
My hope is that the people who read or listen to Inverted World will bring the same amount of skepticism to the stories as I do. On one hand, I do truly want to believe there are things unknowable to the human eye. But it’s hard for me to make that leap of faith without more proof. What I promise to offer anyone who joins us in the Inverted World is that they will never look at the “real” world the same again. People who pick up a copy of the book or who tune into the illustrated series at timcast.com will follow closely alongside me as I try to make sense of people who claim to have been abducted by aliens, attempt to solve mysterious murders, and, most recently, search for lost gold in a supposedly haunted town.
Volume 1 of Inverted World is currently available at invertedworldbook.com
Shane Cashman is an accomplished writer. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, BBC Travel, Atlas Obscura, Penthouse, Catapult, Narratively, VICE, Salon, The Los Angeles Review of Books Blog, Jellyfish Review, Monkeybicycle, The Observer, Vol.1 Brooklyn, Fiction Southeast, The Common, and elsewhere. In 2015, he received first place in the PEN Center USA 500-word short story contest. He is a Glimmer Train short fiction finalist. His nonfiction has been featured as an Editor’s Pick at Longreads.com. Shane teaches Narrative Studies at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.
We created Inverted World so that I could investigate mysteries, strange encounters, crimes, and conspiracy theories that seemed outside conventional thought. I’m extremely skeptical of many paranormal stories, but I’m also obsessed with trying to understand them--why they happen, when they happen, and the frequency with which they happen. Inverted World has given me the opportunity to dive really deep into investigations and attempt, as best I can, to find some truth.
How do you choose your topics for each episode?
In the beginning, volume 1 of Inverted World featured a different story in nearly every episode. Most of those investigations came from my own experiences—they were all on my radar, more or less, whether it was trying to make sense of the “Rat utopia” experiments or how I got tangled up trying to find the Long Island Serial Killer. As far as volume 2 goes, we had actually received an email from a listener who told us about the lost Confederate gold. The story of the gold takes place in his town in Georgia. After my first visit to his town, we were certain this would be more than just a one-off story but rather a whole book. I thought I was going to spend one weekend there. I wound up visiting several times over the next six months.
Why will people enjoy Tales from the Inverted World even if they don't believe in the existence of things like cryptids or UFOs?
When I write about the paranormal, I’m really writing about people and their experiences—as strange as the experiences may be. The idea of monsters populate so many of the Inverted World stories. And, look, I’ve had my own experiences with strange things that I can’t fully explain. Even still, I’m skeptical of my own first-hand accounts because I’ve seen so many “otherworldly” encounters be explained away. However, I also have to leave some room open to dream… My hope is that the people who read or listen to Inverted World will bring the same amount of skepticism to the stories as I do. On one hand, I do truly want to believe there are things unknowable to the human eye. But it’s hard for me to make that leap of faith without more proof. What I promise to offer anyone who joins us in the Inverted World is that they will never look at the “real” world the same again. People who pick up a copy of the book or who tune into the illustrated series at timcast.com will follow closely alongside me as I try to make sense of people who claim to have been abducted by aliens, attempt to solve mysterious murders, and, most recently, search for lost gold in a supposedly haunted town.
Volume 1 of Inverted World is currently available at invertedworldbook.com
Shane Cashman is an accomplished writer. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, BBC Travel, Atlas Obscura, Penthouse, Catapult, Narratively, VICE, Salon, The Los Angeles Review of Books Blog, Jellyfish Review, Monkeybicycle, The Observer, Vol.1 Brooklyn, Fiction Southeast, The Common, and elsewhere. In 2015, he received first place in the PEN Center USA 500-word short story contest. He is a Glimmer Train short fiction finalist. His nonfiction has been featured as an Editor’s Pick at Longreads.com. Shane teaches Narrative Studies at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.
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