Close Encounter Club

What if a dream of your own death wasn’t just a dream — but a memory from another lifetime?

In EP 6: I Forgive You, host Justin Gearheart sits down with Michael Clifford, a retired audio engineer whose life has been shaped by vivid dreams, powerful premonitions, and what he believes are glimpses of past lives. From a chilling black-and-white dream of being shot during a robbery in the 1940s to saying the words “I forgive you” with his last breath, Michael’s story weaves together themes of karma, synchronicity, and the unseen forces that ripple across generations.

Michael also shares his journey into spirituality, beginning with Christian Science self-healing practices, lucid dreams, and premonition dreams that later came true in extraordinary ways — including one that led to a $4,000 casino win. But the most startling moment came decades later at a DMV, when a chance encounter with a stranger seemed to confirm the karmic echoes of his past-life dream.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Michael’s eerie premonition dreams and how he tested them.
His vivid past-life dream of being murdered in front of his children.
The powerful moment he chose forgiveness, even in death.
How a real-life encounter decades later mirrored the dream.
Reflections on karma, reincarnation, and how our souls may be interconnected.

This conversation dives deep into reincarnation, forgiveness, and unexplained phenomena that challenge how we think about life, death, and consciousness itself.

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What if the UFO phenomenon isn’t benevolent at all — but something far darker?

In this Close Encounter Club bonus episode, host Justin Gearheart sits down with Matt Hurley, founder of BadAliens.info, one of the most controversial and unflinching resources on UFO research. Matt’s work focuses on the disturbing side of the phenomenon: abductions, cattle mutilations, missing persons, and even cases of human mutilation that echo the same patterns.

Joined by Josh Barretto (from EP 4), this conversation pushes into territory many ufologists avoid. From the unsettling overlap between paranormal “hitchhiker” effects and abduction cases, to the possibility of cryptids as holographic projections, Matt argues that UFOs are not purely interdimensional mysteries — they are physical beings competing for Earth’s resources.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why Matt shifted from ancient aliens research to investigating darker encounters.
Shocking parallels between animal and human mutilations.
How poltergeist activity and the hitchhiker effect may tie into abductions.
Theories about hybridization programs and implanted imagery.
Candid takes on disclosure, whistleblowers, and whether governments are complicit.

⚠️ Listener discretion is strongly advised — both in this episode and on Matt’s website — as graphic cases are discussed that may be disturbing.

This is not the “love and light” version of UFOs. This is the shadow side — and once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.

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What if the scariest moment of your life wasn’t a dream — but something sitting at the end of your bed?

In EP 4: Noble Park, host Justin Gearheart speaks with Josh from Melbourne, Australia — the very conversation that would later lead Josh to become the producer of Close Encounter Club. This is where it all began.

At just 18 years old, while alone in his family’s creaking, century-old home, Josh witnessed a shadow on his roof one night — and the following evening endured four hours of terror as an unseen presence entered his room, opened and closed his door, and sat heavily on his bed. When he finally looked at the clock, two hours had disappeared.

That night in Noble Park became the catalyst for Josh’s lifelong exploration of the paranormal, spirituality, and consciousness. In this episode, he reflects on growing up in an evangelical Christian household, leaving religion behind, and seeking truth through Freemasonry, philosophy, and firsthand experiences with UFOs in the remote Yukon wilderness.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Josh experienced the terrifying bed encounter that defies explanation, his reflections on missing time and its possible connection to abduction phenomena, and how this story eventually led him to connect with Justin — forming the creative partnership behind the Close Encounter Club.

This is not just a paranormal account, but the origin story of how the show came to be — a raw and compelling journey into fear, transformation, and the search for meaning in the unknown.

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What if a ghostly black dog could decide your fate?

In EP 3: Black Dog of Hanging Hills, host Justin Gearheart explores one of Connecticut’s most enduring legends with guests Tristan and Christina, who encountered something unexplainable on a hike near Castle Craig. The folklore says that if you see the Black Dog once, it brings joy. Twice, it brings sorrow. And the third time… it means death.

Tristan, a schoolteacher and avid hiker, had long been fascinated by the story. But when he and his wife Christina saw a strange, blurry, almost pixelated black dog cross their path, the legend became real. Both witnessed the figure, shimmering with an aura, yet behaving like no ordinary animal. It left no tracks, acknowledged no humans, and vanished as quickly as it appeared.

In this episode, you’ll hear Tristan describe his lifelong connection to folklore and hiking, Christina share her perspective as a natural skeptic who was stunned into belief, and how the experience changed their views on the paranormal. Their story, told side by side, raises unsettling questions: was it a ghost dog, a trick of perception, or proof that some legends walk among us?

This isn’t just local folklore. It’s a chilling glimpse into paranormal encounters, urban legends, and unexplained phenomena that refuse to stay buried in history.

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