Podcast of the Year
Uncanny
Danny Robbins
BBC Sounds
Following the success of his adaptation/investigation of the Battersea Poltergeist case for the BBC, Danny Robbins, established comedy writer and presenter, has turned his attention to investigating a series of cases, some recent, some historical, but all with witnesses and all scary as hell. The opening episode – about a haunted student hall of residence – is truly unsettling, and has led to further people coming forward to complain about the halls, now sadly torn down. Further episodes discuss UFO cases, haunted houses and ghosts of the dying. The cases feature descriptions of experiences form those who experienced them, re-enactments and soundscapes taking us into the darkness they have seen.
What makes this series so compelling is the sound design, the music – by Lanterns on the Lake – which is perfect – and the even-handedness of the investigation. Scientists, psychologists, sceptics and the like are on hand to explain what has probably actually happened in each case and mediums, paranormal investigators and the like are also on hand to tell us what we secretly wish were true. I’m very much a sceptic and I am loving the series, a perfect reminder of the sort of thing I would have watched once, such as Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World, and similar, the sort of programme that doesn’t seem to exist now, taking a scientific but open-minded look at these phenomena and never patronising its audience.
Uncanny is available on BBC Sounds.
Essential Info
Uncanny on BBC Sounds
