Category: Paranormal (Page 1 of 2)

Thoroughly modern Yeti

September 10, 2023 / sludgieboy / 0 Comments

Yeti review

Production company – BBC

Rating –

People have hunted monsters since the days of “here be dragons” appearing on the edges of maps. I can’t say I blame them, the field of cryptozoology is a fascinating one, depending on your worldview. Of all the strange beasties said to lurk around the world, there are two that surely stand head and shoulders over the rest. This is about the other one (I mean, you can see that from the title).

So what’s it about?

Andrew Benfield has been on a mission for decades. After reading a book about the Yeti (should that be capitalised?), he decided that he was going to be the one to discover it. Since then he has travelled all over the Himalayas in search of the elusive cryptid. The term “Yeti” is far from a catch all term. The area is so vast, and the descriptions are so varied, that if you ask the wrong question you could never find what you’re looking for. Most cases don’t involve giant bipeds with shaggy white hair wandering the snowy mountain peaks. A lot of these new sightings are in remote woodland areas, and the creatures themselves are more like brown haired apes, albeit seemingly with greater intelligence.

His latest expedition sees him teaming up with close friend (and sceptic) Richard Horsey, as they head off to the remotest areas of the Himalaya to investigate modern sightings of the Yeti. These aren’t just reports of distant, indistinct shapes though. There are stories of Yeti chasing people, and even attacking them.

Is it any good?

It reminds me a lot of other BBC mystery and paranormal shows, mostly Death In Ice Valley and Danny Robins‘ various spooky shows. In fact, the BBC seems to be on a bit of a run of paranormal shows at the moment, in part no doubt to Danny Robins’ runaway successes in the genre.

Being a BBC show, the production value is high. The music is evocative, and the binaural field recordings really put you in the far flung places that the guys explore. From remote villages clifftop temples and bustling marketplaces to terrifying journeys on narrow mountain passes, you feel as though you are right next to Andrew and Richard.

Final thoughts

The quest to prove the existence of the yeti is many decades old, and what sets this series apart is that it is investigating new sightings. It’s very easy for monster shows to dwell on the classic tales of this strange creature. It would be remiss of them to gloss over these stories, and they do get mentioned, but the main part of the investigation is following up leads on new encounters.

This series is short and sweet. While I don’t consider it being too much of a spoiler to say that you can probably guess how it ends, it’s enjoyable nonetheless. Having said that, I suspect that if this show had been any longer, then there is a real possibility that the actual hunt for the yeti would have taken a back seat to Andrew’s growing obsession with the quest. This is an equally interesting look at how friendships can suffer when one person’s enthusiasm escalates too far.

You can get Yeti here:

https://pod.link/1693988765

To Hellier and back

April 23, 2023 / sludgieboy / 0 Comments

The Haunted Objects Podcast

Rating –

Another queue jumper this week. I have just finished watching the season one of the brilliant series Hellier. This particular nugget of high strange came to my attention after hearing a discussion about it on Some Other Sphere. I duly dug it out, and couldn’t stop watching (apart from writing podcast reviews of course). Since then I started following Greg Newkirk on twitter and I saw that he had a podcast with his wife Dana and their researcher friend Connor. Obviously I subbed immediately and downloaded the entire series.

So what’s it about?

Apart from making outstanding documentaries and investigating the paranormal, Greg and Dana run the Newkirk Museum Of The Paranormal, and it is artefacts from their collection that make up the main part of each episode.

The oddities in question (as far as the podcast goes so far) range from a plank of wood from the Amityville house, to some 1930s goggles to help you see auras. These items are just a jumping off point for discussion though. As the episodes progress, there are deep dives into the histories of the objects and the people connected to them, and plenty of digressions too. Of particular interest to me was the episode on the “Dybbuk box”, a story that I found terrifying when I first read it. I won’t spoil it here, but it’s a very good tale and full of the mystery and misdirection that categorises the Newkirk’s output.

Is it any good?

Absolutely. This series is (like Mary Poppins) practically perfect in every way. The episodes are brilliantly researched and expertly presented. They are spooky in all the right places, and light hearted enough so that you don’t get that brain fog so typical of serious paranormal podcast binges. I say “light hearted”, I mean this show is absolutely hilarious. There have been many laugh out loud moments, especially Dana commenting on how thicc the mothman statue is. Actually, Dana commenting on anything is usually good for a laugh.

The team, (now recently joined by Keelin Mathews) have such a great connection with each other. I think this helps with the telling of the stories, and you really have the feeling that you are sitting in with a group of friends as they happen to be talking about cursed black mirrors and painting that will burn your house down.

I guess all those sigils that Dana has charged over the years are working, because I honestly love everything the the Newkirks are putting out. Maybe that’s because their sense of humour is the same as mine. I think that must be it really, because there are many paranromal podcasts out there that fall short of my complete admiration and fanboy drooling like this one recieves.

Final thoughts

I first heard of the Newkirks quite a while back after reading about their “most terrifying exhibits”. I can’t remember where this was, although I suspect it was while I was using the “stumbleupon” browser addon. Over the years, they drifted from my memory (sorry guys). Even after hearing mention of Hellier I didn’t make the connection. In fact it wasn’t until I actually went to the website to hunt for an email address I had that AHA! moment and realised that the museum was the same one I’d read about all those years ago.

I can’t really recommend this series highly enough, unless you really don’t like anything paranormal. But then I can’t recommend Hellier enough either. You should check both out immediately. So close this window on your browser and get on the case. DO IT. RIGHT NOW!

I’m gutted now that I’ve got through the whole series so far. The best thing about missing the launch of a podcast is being able to binge the whole lot. The bad part is I’ve got to wait for the next episode now. At least I’ve got half of series two of Hellier to binge.

You can get The Haunted Objects Podcast here:

https://www.hauntedobjectspodcast.com/

Or wherever you get your podcasts

A whole new world

April 2, 2023 / sludgieboy / 0 Comments

Some Other Sphere review

Rating –

Back to the world of the mysterious this week. I can’t remember how I heard about this show, but it probably cropped up on my twitter timeline. That seems to be how I usually hear about podcasts nowadays. Well that, and people interviewed on podcasts like this. But read on and we shall rend the veil between the magical and mundane.

So what’s it about?

Some Other Sphere is essentially an interview series focussing on some different, mysterious subject. Or “exploring our strange world, one conversation at a time” as the host puts it (in a much better and concise way if I do say so myself).

Each episode sees host Rick Palmer interview somebody in a different niche field. I can’t really make it any more specific than that, the interviewees range from authors, to occultists, from cryptozoologists to tarot readers and paranormal investigators.

Think of it as The Fortean Times, but as a podcast and you won’t go far wrong.

Is it any good?

I really like it. It reminds me somewhat of the old school programs we’d watch in the 80s, when the giant old TV would be wheeled into the classroom. This feeling of nostalgia is helped with the electronic theme song that really gives it that hauntological edge. There is still a part of me that waits for the instruction to “take out your workbooks”.

Rick’s enthusiasm for the subjects really comes through, and despite his knowledge of the subject matter, his excitement when some connection is made is obvious (and that makes two of us!)

So far the whole thing squeaks in at just under 100 episodes. I know that nearly 100 episodes can’t really be described as a “squeak”, but compared to a lot of the similar shows, it’s pretty fresh faced and I’m having no problems ploughing through it in 7 hour chunks.

There are a few subjects where there are a few real holes in his knowledge. The one that springs to mind was early on when he interviewed Matt Hopewell about discordianism. I was waiting for them to bring up the work of the KLF, or even Chris Morris’ TV show Brass Eye (which certainly falls into the ballpark of “Operation Mindfuck”, especially the episode about drugs). In other podcasts, I start thinking I’ve caught the host out, because I know something that doesn’t get brought up, but they’ll invariably mention it before the end. Not here though. I can’t expect someone to know everything about everything, so I won’t mark the show down for that. But seriously WATCH BRASS EYE!

Final thoughts

There are many folklore and mystery podcasts out there. Unfortunately they vary wildly in quality of style and content. Some Other Sphere straddles both of these with ease. It’s never boring, and the choice of guests is varied enough to keep even the fussiest listener entertained for at least a few shows.

There’s a lot to be said for these cosy talking head style interview podcasts with no sound effects or adverts. Producing the show inthis way really give the guests a chance to shine without anhy distractions from the subject matter.

This podcast really reminds me of The Folklore Podcast by Mark Norman. Although, whereas that show veered more towards the academic, which is fine in its own way, it did tend to get a bit stuffy at times. This is a brilliantly accessible, entertaining and well made podcast that will have something for anyone with even a passing interest in the more leftfield subjects.

You can get Some Other Sphere here:

someothersphere.podbean.com

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

(insert theremin music here)

March 19, 2023 / sludgieboy / 0 Comments

How Haunted? review

Rating –

I stumbled across this podcast quite by accident recently on twitter. Somebody had complained that despite the early episodes being interesting, they were now too horrible and gratuitously gory. What more reason to subscribe did I need? Much like being young and trawling the Radio Times for horror movies to watch, I quickly realised that the ones that got two and three stars out of five were the best ones. Was I wrong in my assumption though? Read on and I’ll tell you.

So what’s it about?

How Haunted? is a paranormal podcast by Rob Kirkup, a ghost hunter based in Newcastle. That’s Newcastle, England, and not one of the other namesakes scattered across the former colonies. I wouldn’t normally bother with such clarification, but according to Google analytics, the majority of my meager readership is based in the US.

Each week he examines a different location from across the British isles, although owing to his location, there is a higher proportion in the north of England and Scotland. There is a lot of research involved in every episode. Even with well known locations, there is plenty of new information (for me at least) that adds much more depth to the locations rather than just repeating all the well known tales.

Is it any good?

Well, yes and no. I’m a big fan of paranormal podcasts, particularly ones that avoid needless hyperbole. Haunted Road springs immediately to mind as a good comparison to this show. Maybe get in touch with Amy Bruni in the future to swap stories?

Having said that, there are some parts of the stories discussed that really set my Sceptic-o-meter® buzzing. I do believe in ghosts, and I’ve had many strange experiences, but some stuff here has me asking questions about the validity of some claims. Unfortunately some events get glossed over with not much in the way of efforts to debunk, and some of the reports had me thinking, “yeah, but did that really happen?” To be honest, this doesn’t happen with Rob’s stories, but in the interviews with other people.

There are also some episodes that verge on being history lessons, with some ghost information tacked on at the end. In fact, the episode on the Colosseum in Rome doesn’t actually have any ghost story attached if I recall correctly. That’s not to say that it isn’t interesting, it absolutely is, but to say that a building is one of the most haunted in the world and then not offering up any actual paranormal information seems like a bit of a bait and switch.

Final thoughts

I really like this show, and because I usually listen to four or five different podcasts a day, I’m not as far through this one as I’d like to be. I really am looking forward to hearing how this develops as it goes on though.

When I was younger, I found a video called Billy Roberts Investigates The Paranormal. It was a low budget affair with Billy traveling to various haunted locations and seeing what was there. The investigations were interspersed with interviews, and despite being very low budget, and not what I was expecting, it was rather interesting. This podcast reminds me a lot of that. Don’t take that the wrong way Rob!

I think that nowadays, there is a real push for paranormal shows, and by extension ghost walks and suchlike to offer some “bang for your buck”. That way lies the path to “creating” a haunted experience. Every paranormal investigator I’ve heard says that a lot of the time absolutely nothing happens. I love that. Especially when they visit somewhere where the walls are supposed to drip blood and your hair will turn white with fear. The contrary part of me loves for the final report to be “absolutely nothing happened”.

If you are into paranormal podcasts though, this is definitely one you should check out very soon, particularly if, like me, you grew up on the Usbourne ghost book and the multitude of similar tomes that filled the libraries of the 70s and 80s.

You can get How Haunted? here:

https://how-haunted.com/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sleep Tight

October 16, 2022 / sludgieboy / 0 Comments

Haunted review

Production company – Chalk and Blade/Panoply

Rating –

Just a quick note before I begin. This review has lain half written for a long time, hence the opening paragraph below. This week though, Danny has announced the release of the sequel to The Battersea Poltergeist. This will be starting the day after this post is published, so I figure it’s a rather apt time to get this thing finished. I guess I’m no longer a completionist, at least until the end of the month anyway!

Consider me a completionist. I’ve now completed the Danny Robins trilogy of podcasts. I’d actually looked for this one back when I first heard The Battersea Poltergeist and couldn’t find it. Probably because I thought it was also released by the BBC. Thanks to a Facebook post, I found it and eagerly downloaded the whole series, ready to binge.

So what’s it about?

In a similar vein to the previously reviewed Uncanny, each episode features a different true story of ghosts and hauntings. People contact the show and get to tell their own creepy stories of the paranormal.

As with Uncanny, these aren’t run of the mill cliché type ghost stories. The stories told here are next level in the creepiness department. And the tension really ratchets up as the series progresses. The final story of the series is truly terrifying, and one that wouldn’t really be matched until halfway through Uncanny.

This series also features legendary Parapsychologist Ciarán O’Keeffe, a somewhat stabilising influence, as he has been since trying to lend legitimacy to the TV series Most Haunted. His critical mind usually finds some possible mundane explanation, and my personal thoughts on this aren’t really relevant. I’m not a Parapsychologist, so what do I know! His take on things though is always interesting, particularly his comments on false memories. I also just realised I’d always spelled his name wrong! I’ve now corrected this here, and in the Uncanny review. Sorry Ciarán!

Is it any good?

Absolutely. Danny Robins knows how to make a good podcast. His genuine amazement at the stories is infectious and really adds to the atmosphere. He also walks the fine line between believer and skeptic with great skill.

The main difference between this show and Uncanny is the lack of audience interaction, whereas Uncanny had lots of listeners contacting the show with extra information about the cases. This is probably because it was a totally new show and (please forgive me if I’m wrong), but Danny Robins was a rather unknown quantity when this podcast was released. It also means he has to trawl through library records to research the cases rather than crowd source it.

Final thoughts

Listening to this series after hearing Danny’s more recent work is like discovering the early albums of a favourite band. You can hear all of the familiar elements you know and love, but the production is not quite as polished and there is more of an “attitude” that changes as the band gets more established. But enough of the tenuous music analogies. This is another great podcast from Danny Robins, and as I’ve said before, I can’t wait to hear what’s coming up next. His involvement in a series is enough for me to immediately subscribe.

In the interest of getting my damn facts straight, I decided to listen to this series again. So I did. The whole thing in a day. It’s still as creepy as it was the first time I listened. If that’s not recommendation enough, then I don’t know what is.

You can listen to Haunted here:

https://www.dannyrobins.com/haunted

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Usborne Legacy

August 14, 2022 / sludgieboy / 0 Comments

As Yet Unexplained review

Rating –

I first heard of this podcast from Richard Daniels (of The Occultaria Of Albion fame). Unfortunately it wasn’t originally available on every podcatcher and in the interest of fairness, I avoid reviewing such shows. The reason for this is that not everyone has Amazon, or iTunes or Spotify, so I don’t want to review shows that not everyone can enjoy. However it seems that it’s being shared on all apps now, so with great eagerness I subbed and settled down to binge on the whole thing as quickly as possible.

So what’s it about?

This is probably best described as an audio version of the now beloved Usborne books on the unexplained. These were very popular when I was a child and are now experiencing something of a renewed popularity (by people my age, as it goes).

Each episode looks at a different subject. They range from ghosts to UFOs, and from folklore to strange military cover ups from the East and West. There are some very creepy stories here indeed and they are all very well narrated.

Whether intentionally or not, Westley Smith’s narration lends itself to the vintage patina of the show. I can almost imagine him like James Burke on some windswept moor accompanied by a hungry cameraman as he investigates ancient burial chambers, or strange lights in the sky. Also, his voice reminds me of a mix of the character James Hunter from Haunted: An Audio Drama and Jonathan Sims from The Magnus Archives.

Is it any good?

I love this show. The whole thing has a very retro feel. From the logo to the soundtrack, this is a very good pastiche of classic mystery books and shows from my childhood. To be honest, there won’t be any new information here for anyone with an interest in such things, but that really doesn’t matter. Westley Smith does such a good job telling the stories that you almost forget that you know the stories and get sucked into the tales being told. Surely that is a mark of a great orator.

Despite the lack of new information, there are some genuinely creepy moments in the series. The haunting of 50 Berkeley Square will never not be scary, but there are other tales to chill your blood too. The ghosts of Charterhouse, the San Pedro Haunting, and the stories of Russian Cosmonauts drifting off into space are terrifying. The latter especially so, because despite the transmissions being classified, there were people around the world who happened to stumble across them.

While a show like The Occultaria Of Albion wears its hauntological badge with pride, that show represents a fictional 1970s UK. This is more like the actual late 70s TV shows and books. In the episode on ancient UFO sightings, he’s describing woodcuts that I had studied as a child in my parents’ books on such things. That only reinforces the nostalgia factor, for me at least.

Final thoughts

I really can’t recommend this show highly enough. It’s easy to digest and very well produced. As I mentioned earlier, there aren’t any groundbreaking revelations here, but that’s ok. You can enjoy the show for what it is, and what it is is excellent. Almost immediately, this rose to the top of my favourite podcasts on such subjects.

***NOTE***

I apologise for the constant comparisons to Richard Daniels’ show, but they come as something of a package deal. Indeed, after every episode, that dastardly Richard Daniels manages to inject a subliminal advert for TOoA just to further his own nefarious agenda!

You can get As Yet Unexplained here:

https://asyetunexplained.wixsite.com/home

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Bloody Hell Harold

August 7, 2022 / sludgieboy / 2 Comments

The Battersea Poltergeist review

Production company – BBC

Rating –

I know I’ve already reviewed Uncanny, but this was my introduction to the brilliant Danny Robins. It cropped up in the recommendations in BBC sounds and it sounded interesting, so I gave it a go. As soon as the first episode started, I knew this was something special and I knew I was going to love it.

So what’s it about?

Everyone has heard of the film Poltergeist. Fewer people have heard of the real life case of The Enfield Poltergeist. Even fewer have heard of The Battersea Poltergeist. This is unfortunate, the Battersea case was somewhat overshadowed by the more infamous events at Enfield. While Enfield was certainly interesting, Battersea was equally terrifying and equally unexplainable. It was also nearly 20 years before Enfield.

This is probably the reason why it’s almost forgotten. By the 1970s, Britain was paranormal crazy. There were books, TV shows and films all cashing in, but in the post war society of the 50s there was a more pragmatic or sceptical approach to such claims.

In 1956, 15 year old Shirley Hitchings and her family started experiencing strange phenomena that would last an incredible 12 years. I say incredible, because the events at Enfield only lasted a few months. The case starts innocuously enough, as poltergeist cases usually do. Shirley found a silver key on her pillow, one that didn’t fit any locks in the house. Soon the whole family is being constantly terrorised, and the playful nature of the early events is gone.

The spirit (known as Donald) was responsible for moving furniture, throwing things and even starting a fire in the house. As the series progresses, it’s also heavily hinted that it was responsible for the death of Shirley’s Grandmother.

The podcast is a dramatisation of the events in question, interspersed with narration by Danny Robins. It follows the borderline obsessive investigation of the case by Harold Chibbett, played by the incredible Toby Jones. Dafne Keen, who has a long list of credits for someone so young, plays Shirley.

Is it any good?

Anything with Toby Jones is going to be excellent. I don’t think he’s done anything that was sub par. Also, anything by Danny Robins seems to be well worth your time too. As you’ll no doubt remember from my earlier review, I’m something of a fanboy.

Danny Robins actually has boxes of Chibbetts’ original case files and notes, and this is the basis of the series. During the course of the series Danny is holed up in his shed, surrounded by all the papers, and just like Chibbett decades before, the obsession is somewhat contagious. At one point Danny himself complains that his family are missing him due to the time he spends poring over the evidence.

The production values are high enough that you really get an immersive experience, and all the actors are doing an amazing job. The cast features lots of familiar voices, not just Jones’ and there is as much tension here as any good TV show or film. Actually there is more tension here, mainly because there aren’t any good TV shows or films being made. It seems that if you want a genuinely creepy experience nowadays, then you need to look towards podcasts and radio shows.

As well as the horror of the events, there is a real pathos here as well. There are a lot of people living in the house, and all the family members are put under an immense amount of stress. This is also very well portrayed by the cast, as is their suspicion of Harold when he first starts investigating. Poor Harold has to not only figure out exactly how to try and find out about the spirit, but he also has to try and gain the trust of some of the family.

Final thoughts

As with all BBC productions, it’s a joy to listen to. As is the case by now, Danny Robins’ excitement is contagious, as is his disbelief at the phenomena that occur.

If you’re interested in ghost stories, then you’ll love it. There is nothing not to like here. This is a great investigation into a little known (or rather, little known when this was originally released) case of poltergeist activity.

You can get The Battersea Poltergeist here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0940193

Or wherever you get your podcasts

Be open to all to all possibilities

May 29, 2022 / sludgieboy / 1 Comment

Dark Air with Terry Carnation review

Production company – Imperial Mammoth, Audioboom and Kelly&Kelly

Rating –

As you will have no doubt read in last week’s review. I’m a huge fan of Rainn Wilson’s curmudgeonly radio host Terry Carnation. When I discovered that he had his own show, I immediately subscribed. I wasn’t disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either (unless you don’t like the guy, but then I can’t help that).

So what’s it about?

Terry Carnation is a haunted man. An “expert” on the paranormal and the occult, he had his own late night radio talkshow that offered him some success. After the death of his wife, he had a breakdown and lost the only other thing he loved. The radio show. Now however, he’s back. He has a new intern, the puppy dog like uberfan Jeet, and he’s ready to answer any mysteries the callers can throw at him.

During his first show, he receives a strange call from someone who he believes is his dead wife. This sets him off on a mission to solve the mystery. Is she dead and calling from beyond the grave, or is she alive and being held hostage somewhere? He travels all over the country (within reason) desperately looking for clues.

Is it any good?

Absolutely. As I said in the Radio Rental review, Terry Carnation is a genius character. This show really expands on it though. In Radio Rental, he was just introducing each “tape” and passing judgement on some of the stories, my comparison to Crypt Keeper in Tales From The Crypt was justified I think. Here, he is a fully fleshed-out eccentric. The characters are brilliantly realised too, from the strange callers and the even stranger employees at the radio station. His nemesis (and ex-intern) Wes Popovitz now has his own radio show too. Wes is best described as Alex Jones turned up to 11 (if your brain could even fathom that). It’s a spot-on parody of right wing conspiracy shows so beloved of a certain section of society.

You will happily follow Terry as he upsets everyone he meets, tests the patience of his long suffering therapist, makes illegal adverts in exchange for out of date food, and generally acts like a tornado of profanity and bad habits. Despite this, there is (occasionally) a genuine pathos to him. He is a man adrift. He’s lost the only person he ever loved, and he’s lashing out at the world trying to stay relevant (and sane), despite the efforts of the world to knock him down continually.

Final thoughts

This is a show that I can’t recommend highly enough. It is laugh out loud funny (if you have a reasonably dark sense of humour) and it’s very well produced. As I said, the voice acting is top notch, as is the sound design.

As I had mentioned in my review of A Voice From Darkness, this is the opposite (and yet equally perfect) mix of darkness and humour. That is 90% humour, 10% darkness. It’s really a mirror image of that show, and also of Radio Rental. Very few podcasts have that ability to warrant more than one playthrough. This is one of those.

Just do yourself a favour and subscribe to this right now.

When I was looking for the logo image and some production company info, I visitied his website. I only mention it because it is such a perfect design for a man like Terry Carnation that it really deserves a mention (and a visit too). You can find it here.

You can get Dark Air With Terry Carnation here:

https://audioboom.com/channels/5046661

Or wherever you get your podcasts

Stranger than fiction

May 22, 2022 / sludgieboy / 2 Comments

Radio Rental review

Production company: Tenderfoot TV

Rating:

This podcast was recommended to me by a work mate, so thanks Sam! To be honest it had been languishing in my “unplayed” list for a while now (as so many shows ultimately do). A few weeks ago I needed a change though. I decided to take the plunge into the strange and spooky tapes of the Radio Rental video store.

So what’s it about?

Radio Rental is a series of true stories sent in by listeners. Now don’t for one moment think that these are the same tired old ghost stories that get trotted out elsewhere. These are some very strange stories indeed. I think I had to get halfway through season 3 before I actually heard a “proper” ghost story. That said, there are stories that would be decidedly less scary if it was an actual ghost responsible! There are tales of odd timeslips, deja vu, close calls with murderers, and a few stories of a very particular fear of mine (but I’m not telling you what they are!)

Each episode is introduced by the brilliant Rainn Wilson as his character Terry Carnation. He is a delightful blend of Al Ridenour from Bone and Sickle (who isn’t a fictional character), and Dr. Malcolm Rider from Voice from Darkness (who is). His dulcet tones and curmudgeonly manner add some comic relief to the rather dark content of the episodes themselves.

Unlike other similar (albeit fictional) series out there, there is no main story arc or even a Terry Carnation meta plot here. I mean, all the stories are from different people, and Carnation is simply a host. It’s a grab bag of stories, some that beggar belief.

Is it any good?

Absolutely. I LOVE THIS SHOW! Terry Carnation is a brilliant host, and has some real laugh out loud moments. So much so that as soon as I’d finished this series, I immediately subscribed to his other podcast Dark Air. This will also be getting reviewed here very soon indeed. Next week in fact.

The stories are all very diverse and it seems that the producers try not to have lots of similar stories cropping up in each episode, so they always feel fresh. The production quality is also high, and each tale gives the impression of one of those spotlit talking head type interviews so beloved of paranormal TV shows.

Having Terry Carnation present each story, and adding his own little skits between really helps too. He’s like a less cadaverous (though no less humourous) version of the Cryptkeeper from Tales From The Crypt.

A (very minor) criticism is that the concept of a video rental store is a weird one. Each story is a “video tape” played by Carnation, and these tapes are the “under the counter” type illicit tapes not shown the the general public. I wonder if there would have been a better way of doing it, especially as Terry Carnation is a radio host. I suspect that the only reason is to use the cockney rhyming slang of the title (radio rental = mental). I’m not even sure if there were “radio rental” stores in America like there were here in the UK.

Final thoughts

My only problem with this show is whether some of these stories are actually true or not. These people either get in touch with the podcast directly or are found on Reddit. Now I can believe that someone had a close call with a murderer, or met some creepy person, but my Skeptic-O-Meter® starts to beep when people have the stranger, matrix like glitches in reality. None of these particular stories can be proved one way or the other and so have to be taken on face value.

Don’t let this put you off though. I don’t think there’s a single story that hasn’t totally gripped me, and now I’m caught up I really can’t wait for the next episode to launch.

You can get Radio Rental here:

https://radiorentalusa.com

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Like She, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread…

April 3, 2022 / sludgieboy / 2 Comments

Haunted Road review

Production company – Grim And Mild

Rating –

Another spooky one this week, and one that I feel follows nicely from last week’s foray to the other side. This week though we’ll be travelling to the other side of the pond to review an American paranormal podcast.

Paranormal tv shows have been something of a guilty pleasure for over twenty years now. From videotaping episodes of Most Haunted every week, to the demonic hyperbole of Ghost Adventures, I’ll watch (almost) any ghost show out there. I know it’s all put on, I’m not an idiot, but I enjoy watching draughty windows and motes of dust get misconstrued.

When I saw that Amy Bruni, of Ghost Hunters and Kindred Spirits fame was releasing a podcast, I knew I had to listen. So is it worth you listening? Well read on and find out.

So what’s it about?

In each episode of Haunted Road, Amy Bruni discusses a well known paranormal hotspot in the USA. She starts out with a history of the location, then recalls some of her experiences there. The second half of the episode is an interview with someone (usually) connected to the place. Here, they take more of a deep dive into the ghostly goings on. They also debunk some of the more popular myths that get retold by lazy researchers.

These locations can vary wildly. From the usual haunted hotels, prisons and asylums to ships and even entire towns. I mean, it’s probably harder to find somewhere in Gettysburg PA that isn’t haunted.

Her research is well done and thorough. It’s also nice to hear someone who will call out and disregard the more far fetched stories that can be the bread and butter of lesser podcasts. The Alcatraz episode springs to mind here, as almost every story that people know about the place is shot down. Having said that, the actual true stories of the place are even more unbelievable than the fictional ones.

Is it any good?

On the whole, yes. There is one thing I don’t like though. I almost feel like a bastard for saying it, but here we go. In the first half of the episode when Amy is recounting the history of the location, she’s obviously written everything out first, which is fine. The thing is is that she has that sing song way of reading out loud that is so cliché of Americans. Imagine the way that people say the “30 days hath September” rhyme, and you’ll be close. As I said, I feel bad for criticising this as the habit can’t be helped. Much like Australians ending sentences as though they are asking a question and people starting answers with “so”. It does start to grate a bit when you listen to three or four episodes in one go, like I do. There we are , I said it. Sorry Amy!

Honestly though, this really is the only thing I can fault here, and it’s not even a big deal. Especially if you’re an American I guess. It’s surely a show of appreciation that the only fault I can find is something so nitpicky as that.

The interviews themselves are very interesting. On the TV shows, these are often pruned down to a few juicy soundbites before the team uncover “demonic entities” or some such Hollywood influenced nonsense. Here though, the people are given more room to discuss the location and the phenomena in more detail, and this is where Amy comes into her own. She is charming and her genuine interest in the subject really comes across.

Final thoughts

If you have even a passing interest in the paranormal or ghosts in general, then you’ll love this show. Even if you’ve seen all the visits by all the TV shows to all the locations, Amy will unearth some interesting snippets of knowledge to whet your appetite.

I’ll be perfectly honest here, I don’t actually listen to that many paranormal podcasts. Therefore my opinions here might be somewhat ill informed. Once my list of podcasts to review starts getting a little lean though, I think I’ll have to start delving into this genre. All it usually takes is one or two good shows to set me down the path, as it did with true crime podcasts.

After listening to this show, I feel bad for not giving her new TV show a chance. I think I’ll have to change that very soon.

You can get Haunted Road here:

https://www.grimandmild.com/hauntedroad

Or wherever you get your podcasts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

So what’s it about?

Is it any good?

Final thoughts

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