S01 Episode 7: Ghosts in Time / April 21, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

For all the many elements that constitute the paranormal, there are few things quite as evocative as the notion of ghosts.

There are of course the ghosts that we carry with us in our daily lives, memories of those we have loved and lost or perhaps even wronged. Thoughts that sit in the deepest parts of the psyche, straining to become manifest.

But what of the apparitions that seem not to have been brought forth from our unconscious, those that have no connection to the observer but instead seem for all the world to be reaching out to us from a seemingly timeless space?

Featuring the intriguing mysteries of Borley Rectory

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

@unexplainedpod

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1. The History of Borley Rectory as compiled on the Harry Price Website, http://www.harrypricewebsite.co.uk/Borley/historyofborley-intro.htm

2. Mark, J.J. (2014), Ghosts in the Ancient World, Ancient.eu, http://www.ancient.eu/ghost/

3. Wisner, C. W., Thorne, K. S. & Wojciech, Z. H. (2009), John Wheeler, relativity and quantum information, Physics Today, http://authors.library.caltech.edu/15184/1/Misner2009p1638Phys_Today.pdf

6. Wheeler-DeWitt Equation, Wikipedia Entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler%E2%80%93DeWitt_equation

Borley Rectory, Borley, England c. 1920s

S01 Episode 6 Extra: The Ultimate Price / April 12, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

In last week’s episode, Demons in Suburbia, we looked at the tragic story of Michael Taylor and in the process touched on the notion of free-will.

The degree to which any of us can be truly held accountable for our actions is a complex and controversial subject.

For one man in particular, this idea became an obsession for which he would ultimately give his life.

Featuring the life of maverick academic George R. Price

@unexplainedpod

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1. Brown, A (1996), Altruistic equations that killed a good man, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/altruistic-equations-that-killed-a-good-man-1358399.html

2. The Price Equation Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_equation

3. Joliffe, T. (2015), The Homeless Scientist Who Tried to Prove Selflessness Doesn’t Exist, Vice, http://motherboard.vice.com/read/george-price-altruism

S01 Episode 6: Demons in Suburbia / April 5, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

The notion that free-will might be nothing more than an illusion is a little unnerving to say the least. For some, it might merely be seen as a fascinating quirk of life.

But for others, a lack of free-will might speak of something else entirely, something far more sinister.

For after all, if we aren’t in control of our minds, then just who, or what, is?

Featuring the chilling and tragic story of the exorcism of Michael Taylor.

@unexplainedpod

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1. Swancer, B. (2015), Demons and Death: The Strange Case of Michael Taylor, Mysterious Univers, http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/12/demons-and-death-the-strange-case-of-michael-taylor/

2. Zizzi, P. & Pregnolato, M. (2012), Quantum Logic of the Unconscious and Schizophrenia, NeuroQuantology, http://www.quantumbiolab.org/admin/files/Zizzi%20and%20Pregnolato%20-%20NeuroQuantology%202012%20%2810.3%29%20566-579.pdf

3. Quantum Mind, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind

S01 Episode 5 Extra: Can You Hear What I Hear / March 31, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

For last week's episode, What Hides Beneath, we looked at the infamous K-219 incident and wondered at the many mysteries of the vast ocean deep.

Some believe a strange underwater sound, known as a Quacker, may hold the key to unlocking the mystery.

However, in 1997 a sound known as the Bloop was picked up by hydrophones deep in the pacific ocean. The intriguing recording may yet prove to be the the most extraordinary underwater sound of them all…

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1. A collection of interesting underwater sounds recorded by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraton (NOAA):

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/sound01/background/seasounds/seasounds.html

S01 Episode 5: What Hides Beneath / March 24, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

For all the myths and stories that have sprung from the sea, fantastical tales of monsters and mermaids, there remain those that make no allusions to metaphor, whose place is not for the pages of the poet or the psychologists couch but exist merely as a matter of record.

Stories of hidden worlds and unknown creatures that may yet prove to be beyond our wildest imaginations…

Featuring the mysterious K-219 incident.

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

Aurora, V. (2001) Freudian Metaphor and Surrealist Metalanguage in Michel Leiris' Failles: The Unconscious and the Sea, Columbia University, http://litte.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/litte/article/download/29737/27325

Article on the the death of K-219 sub and Quakers, Pravda, http://www.pravdareport.com/society/stories/15-02-2013/123803-submarine_quakers-0/

Article on strategic nuclear mystery of Bermuda Triangle, Pravda, http://www.pravdareport.com/history/06-10-2010/115239-bermuda_triangle-0/

Wikipedia entry on K-219 Submarine Incident, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_K-219

Website measuring the current location of the Voyager Space Probe: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/

The Kraken, poem by A. L. Tennyson: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/kraken

S01 Episode 4 Extra: The Victorian Ghostbusters / March 17, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

For last week's episode, Where Darkness Plays, we touched briefly on the supernatural theories of the eminent Sir William Barrett.

In 1882 Sir William had been a founding member of a fascinating collective known as the Society for Psychical Research, a group considered by many to be the original Ghostbusters.

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some Useful Links:

Here you can find the full text of Phantasms of the Living:

http://www.esalen.org/ctr-archive/book-phantasms.html

The website for the fascinating Society for Psychical Research:

http://www.spr.ac.uk/

S01 Episode 4: Where Darkness Plays / March 10, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

Fear, it would seem, is a powerful primal emotion. So potent that it can even make us afraid of things that may not even exist. But then again, just because we can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there…

Featuring the terrifying Pontefract Poltergeist.

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

Physicist Brian Greene discusses the Double Slit Experiment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoQYnhHQ95U

The original footage of The Phillip Experiment:

https://vimeo.com/94576042

S01 Episode 3 Extra: Heaven's Gate / March 3, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

For last week’s episode, Do You See What I See, we came across a story that demonstrates the sheer power of belief and how one man’s interpretation of the arrival of the Hale Bopp comet led to the death of 39 people.

Featuring the extraordinary story of Heaven's Gate.

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

The original website of the group can still be found here:

http://www.heavensgate.com/

You can watch the final statements of the group members here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHz9it70TdI

S01 Episode 3: Do You See What I See / February 25, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

The crash that never was... Original article in The Sheffield Star, March 25th 1997

The stories we tell can often be said to reveal certain truths about ourselves, and yet, the notion of truth is the most elusive of things.

For the residents located near Howden Moor in the North East of England, the strange events that occurred on one spring night in 1997 would test their credulity to the limit…

They say the truth is out there, but does it even exist?

Featuring the extraordinary story of The Howden Moor Incident.

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

I’m indebted to the exhaustive work carried out on the subject of The Howden Moor Incident by Journalist and Research Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University, Dr. David Clarke.

You can read more about his highly sceptical interpretation of the events here:

http://drdavidclarke.co.uk/secret-files/howden-moor-incident/

You can listen to the extraordinary account of J. Allen. Hynek’s time working for Project Blue Book here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_OuoDNbjj8

And if you want to report a sighting yourself, where better than to report it to the J. Allen. Hynek centre for UFO studies:

http://www.cufos.org/org.html

Here’s a video of perhaps the most famous experiment to determine inattentional blindness, if you haven’t seen it I wont give it away…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo

Something I didn’t quite manage to squeeze into the episode but weirdly interesting nonetheless… This is the original and oddly fascinating website for the Heaven’s Gate cult preparing it’s followers for the arrival of Hale Bopp comet:

http://www.heavensgate.com/

S01 Episode 2: Resurrected Dreams / February 11, 2016 by Unexplained Podcast

Original Daily Mirror article from May 6th 1957

It could be said that all stories are ultimately about one thing – death. None more so than the stories we tell each other concerning what awaits us after life. It is a theme that can be found in stories told across every community and culture, from as far back as we can remember.

But what might our dreams have to do with it?

Featuring the unsettling story of The Pollock Twins.

Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.

Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

John and Florence Pollock discussing their daughters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhpuvUiQ2xA

K. J. Ressler and B.G. Dias’ original research paper:

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v17/n1/full/nn.3594.html

A fascinating organization dedicated to investigating evidence of reincarnation:

http://www.iisis.net/index.php?page=reincarnation-past-lives-evidence-case-studies&hl=en_US