CHICKEN SKIN
[RADIO-SERIES]
“Between this world and the next hangs a paperthin curtain which sometimes blows gently up,
giving us glimpses into the realm of spirits. We all try to peer through the curtain, wondering
what awaits us when we pass into the darkness called death. Join us tonight as we seek to step
beyond the curtain, to explore the mysteries we all face as mortals in this brief moment called
life. Welcome to an evening of Chicken Skin.”
“The supernatural runs deep in Hawaii,” writes Kathy Durham in The Mining Company Guide
To Honolulu, and no one knew this better than Glen Grant (19??-2003), a folklorist and
storyteller who collected accounts of spectral sightings and visitations around the islands for over
twenty-five years. “Everyone thinks of Hawaii as simply a resort destination. I want to make
people realize the richness of the culture and the folklore.” To this end, he published several
books on the topic, organized ghost tours in Honolulu, and maintained a regular schedule as a live
performance artist at a large Honolulu emporium.
In 1996 Grant and fellow folklorist James Grant Benton started up the radio show Chicken Skin,
a unique mixture of storytelling, dramatizations, and listener call-ins. Listeners phoned in to ask
questions or to relate personal encounters with the supernormal. The plays aired by the group of
performers that comprised the Chicken Skin Theater were billed as “the only original radio drama
in Hawaii.”
[Honolulu Advertiser, January 25, 2002—“Supernatural shop becomes a gathering spot for
offbeat” by Derek Paiva] “On the last Sunday evening of each month, Grant does his KCCN 1420
AM Chicken Skin Radio Show live from The Haunt, allowing patrons to serve sound effects duty
for storytelling, or as commentators for International Supernatural News Network, a look at the
week’s stranger supernatural happenings around the world.”
Jill Staas, Grant’s former business partner: “Glen was just so talented, so brilliant, and he used
all he had. He could write, he could tell a story, he was mesmerizing and he was open and giving
with all of his talents.”
ORIGINATION: KCCN, Honolulu, Hawaii.
DURATION: July 7, 1996-???? ??, 2003.
PERSONNEL: James Grant Benton (host, narrator), Glen Grant (host, storyteller), Brother Noland (theme
song), Jill Staas (producer).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: Recordings of all broadcasts exist, but are not currently available for purchase. An
interview with Glen Grant can be heard on the April 1997 Dreamland program entitled “Ghostly Encounters
on Supernatural Hawaii,” which can be ordered at the Art Bell web site (www.artbell.com). Grant himself
also had two cassettes available of his ghostly storytelling, as well as an audio archives at the Chicken Skin
website (www.chicken-skin.com/CSRadio.html).