As a kid I was always fascinated by the paranormal. Bigfoot/Yeti/Abominable Snowman, Chupacabra, Loch Ness Monster, Bermuda Triangle, aliens/UFOs, ESP, telekinesis, ghosts/spirits/demons, witchcraft/sorcery/magic, vampires/werewolves/zombies, etc, etc, etc.... I absolutely loved The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Karl Kolchak, etc. As a young man, the X-Files was among my favorite shows.
So imagine my delight one late night many years ago when I found Art Bell and Coast to Coast AM. "East of the Rockies, you're on Coast to Coast AM." I was always fascinated and sucked into the "what-if" possibilities. Even when the subject matter seemed completely outrageous, Art Bell always seemed to take it seriously enough to make me ever-so-slightly doubt my skepticism. There was something about the sound of the show coupled with the hour of its airing and listening to it on an empty highway that just hit me exactly right. When Bell said he was in real-life mortal danger because of the things he was "revealing", I wondered if he just might be telling the truth. I didn't actually full-on believe any of the topics of the show, but the possibilities were always tantalizing to me - on some things like "remote viewing" my mind was open - but regardless of my belief level, the show fed my lifelong boyish interest in the paranormal.
During the last several years of his tenure on the show (late 90s / early 2000s), I noticed a change. I don't know if it was me changing, or Bell. But I began to hear in his voice many instances where it seemed obvious to me that he didn't believe what he was saying. Many instances of him treating a guest seriously in words, but with a tone of condescension, patronizing, or disbelief in his voice. I still listened from time to time (usually on weekend nights on the way home from gigs), but I found it increasingly ridiculous.
One night, I heard him talking to a guy who said something to effect of, "The hooded monk creatures were far more influential than the lizard people." Art Bell treated this man seriously in words, but with disdain dripping from his voice. At that point I think it dawned on me that it was all complete shtick - utter BS peddled for ratings - and that Art Bell likely didn't even believe any of it himself. All that time, I at least thought I was listening to someone who believed what he was saying, whether it was real or not.
Then Noory took over and that was the end of it for me. It's still entertaining to listen to the late-night reruns of the old Art Bell C2C AM shows from the late 90s every once in a while if I happen to be in the car late at night driving on some dark road...