A Porch-Powered Time Vortex
In 1995, Mike Marcum, a 21-year-old electronics buff from Stanberry, Missouri, earned the nickname Mad Man by building a time machine on his porch. Using a Jacob’s Ladder and a jury-rigged CD laser, he claimed to create a vortex that made objects disappear. His wild experiments landed him in jail for stealing power transformers. After vanishing in 1997, he resurfaced, claiming a two-year time jump. Social media in 2025 buzzes with his tale, calling him a time-travel pioneer. Get ready for a cosmic dive into Marcum’s spooky saga!
Marcum’s story, shared on Art Bell’s radio show, feels like a sci-fi blockbuster. His bold claims and bizarre setup grip the imagination. Let’s unravel this time-bending tale with a timeline to guide us.
Timeline: Marcum’s Time-Travel Quest
- Early 1995: Mike Marcum, inspired by Back to the Future, builds a time machine in Stanberry, Missouri, using a Jacob’s Ladder from two welding rods and a modified CD player laser.
- Mid-1995: Marcum tests his device, powered by a car battery and transformer. A screwdriver vanishes in a shimmering vortex, sparking his obsession. Neighbors report odd lights.
- Late 1995: Marcum steals six 3,000-pound power transformers from a utility company to boost his machine, leading to his arrest and a five-month jail stint.
- February 1996: Marcum appears on Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM, sharing his time machine story. He claims objects like pens and coins vanished in tests.
- 1996: Marcum builds a larger device with a 3-kilowatt transformer, aiming to send himself through time. He reports partial success but lacks funds for more tests.
- Early 1997: Marcum returns to Coast to Coast AM, discussing plans to travel to 1999. He vanishes soon after, with friends unable to reach him.
- 1999: Marcum reappears, claiming he time-traveled two years forward, though he offers no proof. He fades from public view.
- 2025: Mike is still around, but prefers to remain private.
The Time Machine: A Spark of Madness
Imagine a Missouri porch lit up by a Jacob’s Ladder, its electric arcs dancing like lightning. Marcum’s time machine was a wild setup: two welding rods creating a high-voltage spark, a CD player’s laser tweaked to focus energy, and a car battery for juice. In 1995, he claimed a screwdriver vanished in a shimmering vortex, leaving a faint hum. Later tests with pens and coins reportedly did the same, baffling neighbors who saw odd lights in his yard.
Social media in 2025 buzzes with users calling Marcum’s device a DIY portal, possibly tapping into zero-point energy or UFO tech. The setup feels like a backyard DeLorean, minus the flux capacitor.
The Art Bell Connection: A Cosmic Stage
Marcum’s fame exploded on Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM in 1996. At 22, he described his time machine with boyish excitement, claiming objects vanished in a vortex. Listeners were hooked, some sending him money to fund bigger tests. In 1997, he returned, boldly planning to jump to 1999. His disappearance soon after fueled wild theories. Did he time-travel or just skip town? Social media users in 2025 debate, tying his story to secret government projects.
Art Bell gave Marcum a cosmic stage, making him a folk hero among paranormal fans. His earnest voice still echoes in online discussions.
The Arrest: Power Theft and Porch Chaos
Marcum’s quest hit a snag in 1995 when he stole six massive power transformers from a Missouri utility company. Needing more juice for his time machine, he thought the 3,000-pound units would do the trick. Instead, he landed in jail for five months, earning the “Mad Man” nickname. The arrest didn’t stop him; he built a bigger device post-release, using a 3-kilowatt transformer. Social media in 2025 calls him a rebel genius, defying the system for science.
The theft, while illegal, adds a rogue charm to Marcum’s tale, like a modern-day Tesla with a wild streak.
The Disappearance: A Two-Year Jump?
In 1997, after his second Art Bell appearance, Marcum vanished. Friends couldn’t find him, and his trail went cold. In 1999, he resurfaced, claiming he’d jumped two years forward using his device. He offered no proof, and skeptics called it a stunt. Yet his story gripped listeners, with some believing he tapped into a real vortex. Social media posts in 2025 speculate he stumbled on Montauk Project technology, with users digging up old radio clips.
The disappearance remains Marcum’s biggest mystery, a cosmic cliffhanger that keeps fans hooked.
The Montauk Connection: UFOs and Secret Projects
Mikes’s vortex experiments sparked comparisons to the Montauk Project, a conspiracy theory about secret government time-travel tests. His claim of a shimmering portal and vanishing objects mirrors Montauk’s alleged tech. In 1996, he mentioned wanting to see the Montauk Air Force Station, hinting at a connection. Social media in 2025 runs wild, with users tying his work to UFO propulsion or zero-point energy, possibly reverse-engineered from alien craft.
While unproven, the Montauk link adds a spooky layer, making Mike’s porch a possible cosmic hotspot.
A Call to the Cosmos
Mike Mad Man Marcum’s time machine, with its sparking Jacob’s Ladder and vanishing objects, bends reality. His 1995 experiments, jail stint, and 1997 disappearance fuel a legend that still hums in 2025. Social media buzzes with thousands of posts linking him to Montauk and UFOs. Could his porch vortex have cracked time travel? As one user put it, the truth is out there, sparking in that Missouri night.
So, what do you think? Was Mike a mad genius who had cracked time travel?