S02 Episode 2: Time Out of Joint

It has long been accepted that time as we know it, or at the very least in the sense that we experience it, is not what it seems.  

There are two accounts of alleged time-slips that took place in Britain in the 1950s. Writer and long time member of the society of psychical research Andrew MacKenzie, documented both the events, in his 1997 book Adventures in Time.  For MacKenzie the accounts were nothing less than two of the most convincing accounts he had ever come across.  

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

Kersey, Suffolk

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Sources

1.    Bem, D. J. (2011), Feeling the Future Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, p407-425

2.    Fisher, M. (2013), What is Hauntology, Film Quarterly, Vol 66, No.1 (Fall 2012) pp 16-24, University of California Press.

3.    Lehrer, J (2010), Feeling the Future: Is Precognition Possible, Wired, https://www.wired.com/2010/11/feeling-the-future-is-precognition-possible/

4.    Mackenzie, A (1982), Hauntings and Apparitions, Heinemann: London

5.    Koestler, A. (1982), The Ghost in the Machine, Last Century Media: UK

6.    Dash, M (2009), Adventures in Time, Forteana, http://blogs.forteana.org/node/87

7.    Dash, M (2011), When Three British Boys Travelled to Medieval England (Or Did They?), Smithsonian Magazine, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-three-british-boys-traveled-to-medieval-england-or-did-they-35698485/

8.    Dunning, B (2012), The Versailles Time Slip, Skeptoid, https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4296

9.    The Wire Salon, panel discussion: Revenant Forms: The Meaning of Hauntology, The Wire, https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/in-conversation/the-wire-salon_revenant-forms_the-meaning-of-hauntology

S02 Episode 1 Extra: Operation Cone of Power

In last week’s episode, Whispers in the Trees, we looked at the unsettling mystery of the skeleton found inside the hollowed-out trunk of an old Wych Elm tree.  

In 1945, Dr. Margaret Murray suggested a possible occult link to the crime.

As fanciful as the suggestion might sound, it certainly wouldn’t have been the first time that an occult ritual had been conducted in England during the second world war...

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

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Sources

1.    Charters, D. (2004), Was Hitler Defeated by Witchcraft, Meta Religion, http://www.meta-religion.com/Esoterism/Magick/was_hitler_defeated.htm#ixzz4YYxX3pm6

2.    Website dedicated to the history of Gerald Gardner, http://www.geraldgardner.com/

3.    Metcalfe, T (2016), Operation Cone of Power: When British Witches Attacked Adolf Hitler, Mental Floss, http://mentalfloss.com/article/86145/operation-cone-power-when-british-witches-attacked-adolf-hitler

4.    Cone of Power, The Mystica, https://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/c/cone_of_power.html

S02 Episode 1: Whispers in the Trees pt.2

Early graffiti relating to the Hagley Wood Murder

Part Two of Episode 1: Whispers in the Trees.  

Where we return to the midlands in the winter of 1943 as the Worcestershire police try to unravel the mystery of the skeleton found in an old wych elm tree.

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter at @unexplainedpod

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Sources

1.    Woman’s Body Found in 1943, The Manchester Guardian, Oct 4th 1949.

2.    Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm, Series 7 Episode 4 of Punt PI, written by Steve Punt, BBC (2015).

3.    Sparke, A. (2014), Bella In The Wych Elm: In Search of a War Time Mystery APA Publications: UK

4.    Murray, M. (2010), Margaret Murray, England: The Other Within, http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/england/englishness-Margaret-Murray.html

5.    Haughton, B (2008), Bella in the Wych Elm, Brian Haughton, http://brian-haughton.com/ancient-mysteries-articles/bella_in_the_wych-elm/3/

6.    Josef Jakobs research website run by granddaughter of Jakobs, http://www.josefjakobs.info/

7.    Strangeremains (2015), Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?, Strange Remains, https://strangeremains.com/2015/04/24/who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm/

8.    Vale, A (2013), Is this the Bella in the wych elm? Unravelling the mystery of the skull found in a tree trunk, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-this-the-bella-in-the-wych-elm-unravelling-the-mystery-of-the-skull-found-in-a-tree-trunk-8546497.html

S02 Episode 1: Whispers in the Trees pt.1

Traditionalists consider the real Black Country to only include the region just West of Birmingham where the 30ft coal seam comes to the surface - a product of once living trees, compressed and buried for millions of years, returning to the surface like an irrepressible secret.  

There are some who say the trees can talk, and if they could, what secrets might they hold?

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

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Sources

1.    Woman’s Body Found in 1943, The Manchester Guardian, Oct 4th 1949.

2.    Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm, Series 7 Episode 4 of Punt PI, written by Steve Punt, BBC (2015).

3.    Sparke, A. (2014), Bella In The Wych Elm: In Search of a War Time Mystery APA Publications: UK

4.    Murray, M. (2010), Margaret Murray, England: The Other Within, http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/england/englishness-Margaret-Murray.html

5.    Haughton, B (2008), Bella in the Wych Elm, Brian Haughton, http://brian-haughton.com/ancient-mysteries-articles/bella_in_the_wych-elm/3/

6.    Josef Jakobs research website run by granddaughter of Jakobs, http://www.josefjakobs.info/

7.    Strangeremains (2015), Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?, Strange Remains, https://strangeremains.com/2015/04/24/who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm/

8.    Vale, A (2013), Is this the Bella in the wych elm? Unravelling the mystery of the skull found in a tree trunk, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-this-the-bella-in-the-wych-elm-unravelling-the-mystery-of-the-skull-found-in-a-tree-trunk-8546497.html

Unexplained Halloween Special 2016

Ronald Hunkelar taken from his High School Year Book in 1953

The Exorcist, released on December 26th 1973, is for many the most iconic horror film of all time.  From William Freidkin’s masterful direction, to Blatty’s profound and personal script to the intensely evocative use of Mike Oldfied’s tubular bells, it is a cinematic masterpiece.  

But what many people don’t know is that William Peter Blatty’s nightmarish book, from which the film was adapted, was in fact based on a real life Exorcism.

This is that story.

@unexplainedpod

Unexplained Live at The London Podcast Festival

By 1952, the shadow of the Second World War continued to permeate deep into the fabric of British society.  It had left many people changed and caused significant upheaval to a great many families.  Families like the Glynn and Jones’ of number 1 Byron Street.  

Like most typical working class families of the region, they had little choice but to keep calm and carry on regardless.  But there was nothing that could prepare them for the extraordinary events that were soon to engulf their lives.

What exactly happened at number one Byron Street has never truly been accounted for.  It is an event that has been described as being in one part the most sinister story of poltergeist phenomena in England. 

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

S01 Episode 10 Extra: Who Aiwass

In last week’s episode, The Spaces that Linger, we journeyed to the grounds of Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness in the highlands of Scotland. Although the house has long been the subject of dark intrigue, it is best known for its association with author and occultist Aleister Crowley who made a failed attempt to conjure his Guardian Angel at the property.    

Four years later, in Cairo, Crowley claimed to have finally make contact with his Guardian Angel, it was an event that would change his life forever and one that has established Crowley in legend far beyond many of his peers.

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

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

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Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1.    The Wickedest Man In The World, (dir. Rawles, N.), Diverse Productions broadcast on Channel 4 (2002),  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt9WJy6_XZU

2.    Crowley, A. (1969), The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, http://www.thelema.ca, http://www.thelema.ca/156/Confessions/confess.html

3.    MacGregor Mathers, S., L., (comiled by), The Lesser Key of Solomon http://www.hermetics.org, http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoire/goetia.pdf

4.    Crowley, A. (1904), Liber AL Vel Legis – The Book of the Law, http://hermetic.com/legis/ccxx/

5. The Book of Abramelin Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Abramelin

6. Aleister Crowley Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

7. Wallace, D., F., (2005), This is Water - Kenyon College Commencment Speech,

8. Hoff, K. & Pandey, P., (2004), Belief Systems and Durable Inequalities, An Experimental Investigation of Indian Caste, princeton.edu, http://www.princeton.edu/rpds/seminars/pdfs/hoff_indiancaste.pdf

S01 Episode 10: The Spaces That Linger

The world of horror is littered with unnerving locations, places that both draw from and have in turn seeped into the public imagination.

For many there is one place in particular that continues to fascinate like no other in the UK. For its combination of mystery, intrigue and atmospheric location you couldn’t concoct a better setting, the place: Boleskine House.

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

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

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Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1.    The Wickedest Man In The World, (dir. Rawles, N.), Diverse Productions broadcast on Channel 4 (2002),  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt9WJy6_XZU

2.    Crowley, A. (1969), The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, http://www.thelema.ca, http://www.thelema.ca/156/Confessions/confess.html

3.    MacGregor Mathers, S., L., (comiled by), The Lesser Key of Solomon http://www.hermetics.org, http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoire/goetia.pdf

4.    Crowley, A. (1904), Liber AL Vel Legis – The Book of the Law, http://hermetic.com/legis/ccxx/

5. The Book of Abramelin Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Abramelin

6. Aleister Crowley Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

Unexplained Bonus Episode: William, An Origin Story

With Unexplained on a short break until June 16th, here is something to fill the time...

A short story about a strange boy called William.

(Parental Guidance: some scenes of graphic horror)

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

S01 Episode 9: The Dawn of the Head

Throughout history we have attributed worth and sentiment to inanimate objects, things that when looked at out of context or without the language to understand their worth would otherwise appear completely insignificant.   

But what of those objects that seem not to conform to the vagaries of the human conscious.  Objects that seem to have a power all of their own…

Featuring the extraordinary mystery of The Hexham Heads

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

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

The original Hexahm Heads

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Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1.    Compilation of Hexham Heads resources, https://hexhamheads.wordpress.com/

2.    The Urban Prehistorian (2014), The Hexham Heads Part 1, theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com, https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/the-hexham-heads-part-1-the-discovery/

3.    The Urban Prehistorian (2014), The Hexham Heads Part 2, theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com, https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/the-hexham-heads-part-2-tested-and-contested/

4.    Hexham Heads Wikipedia page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexham_Heads

5.    Clarke, D. (2012), Heads and Tails, drdavidclarke.co.uk,  https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2012/12/22/heads-and-tales/

6.    Clarke, D. (2012), Twilight of the Celtic Gods, drdavidclarke.co.uk,  https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2011/03/20/twilight-of-the-celtic-gods/

7.    Clarke, D. (2011), Celtic Curse Tested, drdavidclarke.co.uk, https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2011/05/04/update-on-campaign-to-protect-celtic-shrine/

8. Boothman, N. (2005), The Wolf of Allendale/The Hexham Heads, taken from Fortean Times published on mysteriousbritain.co.uk,  http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/northumberland/legends/the-wolf-of-allendale-the-hexham-wolf.html

9. Laycock, M. (2014), Famous Ghost Witness Harry Martindale Dies, yorkpress.co.uk, http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11559578.Famous_ghost_witness_Harry_Martindale_dies/

10. Treasurer’s House Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasurer%27s_House,_York#Roman_soldier.27s_appearance

11. Thomas Lethbridge Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Charles_Lethbridge

S01 Episode 8 Extra: Into the Myst

Angelino Dulcert's portolan chart 1339

In last week’s episode, When the Light Fades, we looked at the haunting tale of the Lightkeepers of Eilean Mór.

The island was often referred to as ‘the other country’, a place where a mysterious otherworld had touched with our own mortal world.  It is a sentiment reserved for a number of remote islands from around the world.

Though many will be familiar with the mythical Atlantis or the lost land of Lemuria, there is one island, once thought to be located a few hundred miles off the south coast of Ireland that may just prove the strangest of them all...

Featuring the mythical land of Hy Brasil

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

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

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Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1.    O’Connell, T. (2016), Hi Brasil or Hy-Brasil, www.atlantipedia.ie, http://atlantipedia.ie/samples/hi-brasil-or-hy-brasil/

2.    Dennis (2012), Hi Brasil The Real Mysterious Islands, www.topsecretwriters.com, http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/02/hy-brasil-the-real-mysterious-island/

3.    Brasil Wikipedia Page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasil_%28mythical_island%29

4.    Lemuria Wikipedia page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_%28continent%29

5.    Angelino Dulcert Wikipedia page, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelino_Dulcert

S01 Episode 8: When the Light Fades

Of all the unexplained mysteries I have come across there is one that has for me left the most indelible impression.  As far as mysteries go you couldn’t invent a better story. A story that has over time led to some of the most extraordinary of speculations and has since evolved a folklore all of its own.

This is that story.

Featuring the mystery of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers

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

@unexplainedpod

Thomas Marshall, James Ducat and Donald McArthur

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Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1.    Dash, M. (1998), The Vanishing Lighthousemen of Eilean Mòr, Fortean Studies 4, http://www.mikedash.com/assets/files/Vanishing%20Lighthousemen.pdf

2.    Flannan Isles Wikiepdia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannan_Isles

3.    The Unexaplained Files (2014), S02E04, Science, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VXSIVR-cQk

4.    Collin, D. R. (2010), The Ross Island Lighthouse Murder , Kirkcudbright.com, http://www.kirkcudbright.com/dynamic.asp?ID=66

5.    Original wreck report for the SS Archtor, http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLibraries/WreckReports/17924.asp?view=text

6.    The report submitted by Robert Muirhead, Superintendent, on the 8th January 1901: https://www.nlb.org.uk/HistoricalInformation/FlannanIsles/Report-by-Superintendent/

7.    The Draupner Wave Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draupner_wave

S01 Episode 7 Extra: Hands Off

In last week’s episode, Ghosts in Time, we looked at the strange occurrences that took place in the 1920s at Borley Rectory in Essex, England. 

What intrigues me most about the story is its slight air of credibility due to the reputable character of the witnesses and the anodyne nature of the supposed hauntings. 

But for others, a ghost story is nothing without something a little more sinister buried somewhere within...

Featuring the terrifying Hairy Hands of Dartmoor...

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

@unexplainedpod

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Some interesting links:

(See transcript for full list of sources)

1. HM Prison Dartmoor, Wikipedia Entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Prison_Dartmoor

2. Original Documents written by Charles King and Francis Seymour Larpent of the Brittish Navy pertiaining to the 1812 massacre at Dartmoor Prison, http://www.1812privateers.org/Riot.htm

S01 Episode 7: Ghosts in Time

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

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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

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.

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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

George R. Price

S01 Episode 6: Demons in Suburbia

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.

Daily Express article March 25th 1975

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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

Sketch of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

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.

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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

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.

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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

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.

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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

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.

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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