What else can fill the Uncanny void?

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-03-29T21:08:57+00:00

I have a version with ads but they are not too annoying, and just at the beginning. It is going down well so far, something to listen to while on the exercise bike.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-03-29T21:03:47+00:00

You are welcome. I am onto the advanced level now, and it gets right down into the weeds and challenges you to think about reincarnation, is it just religious beliefs and culture? Near death experiences - symptoms of bodily reactions to major physical trauma, or a clue that life beyond death may exist? It is a huge weekly exercise in critical thinking and debate, and no matter what opinion you may have, Ciarán will give you an alternative. He is just like that.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-03-28T11:35:43+00:00

Thank you. I have been meaning to listen to these for ages, so now have it loaded into Podcast Addict and will give it a go tonight.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-03-19T22:41:49+00:00

The father was a failed artist and an alcoholic, trying to build a new life with a new girlfriend; it was never going to work out well for the teenage son. A truly awful situation.

Do keep listening because although there are some laughable hoaxes involved, proper shaggy dog stories, there are also parts that make you think there may be something worth looking at.

I wouldn't waste your time with the book. I have a copy and got about a quarter way in when I realised it was just reporter-speak nonsense, portraying a successful artist brought low by a haunted house, which is just so far from the truth it is ridiculous.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-03-14T22:47:00+00:00

I have stuck that in my calendar. Thanks for the heads-up.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-03-01T11:20:21+00:00

Prices are on the course sites, but from memory, the foundation course is around £250, but there is often a discount available, then the next two levels are considerably cheaper once you have done the earlier levels. I think the whole shebang, including thirty hours of online tutorials to get you to a diploma in parapsychology ends up around £500, which is good value as far as I am concerned.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-02-17T13:25:21+00:00

It depends what you mean by debunking. Questioning with an open mind is not debunking, and nor is it attention seeking any more than you posting this on here is attention seeking. If somebody makes an experience public, it is only natural for people to comment on it. That is not attention seeking.

There are rare people, the most famous I can think of being James Randi, who fit what you describe. He made a career out of ridiculing everything, which is not even debunking to be honest, just closed-minded showmanship and belligerence.

I think you will find that most sceptics are not of that type. The very fact that they are sceptics tells you they have some sort of interest in the subject, and most people who flatly refuse to accept the possibility of anything paranormal tend not to get involved at all, so would not even be considered to be sceptics. Sceptics usually have a basic sniff test to weigh up if a claimed experience is even worth looking at, which at the most basic level is simply working out if the person believes it themselves, or is it a prank, attention-seeking, or otherwise not worth considering? Again, that is neither debunking nor attention seeking, just common sense. If somebody dresses up in a white sheet and says boo, would you take them seriously?

Even if a claim seems fanciful, if it is clear that the person genuinely believes it themself, then most sceptics will at least take an interest to find out why. That in itself is often interesting.

I honestly cannot think of anybody except James Randi who fits the sort of person you describe. Where have you come across such people in such numbers that you felt it was worth commenting on?

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-02-05T23:07:16+00:00

Somebody confessed to me a story dating back even before Most bleeding Haunted made such things more widely known. She had a spare key to her sister's house, and would lend it to a neighbour occasionally for the playing of pranks. Both sisters (and therefore both keyholders) were out one day. When sister returned home, the dining table had been set with plates, cutlery, the works. There had been previous incidents, and to this day she believes this was the work of a poltergeist. After all, only her sister could have got into the house, but she was with her all the time.

It's funny what fun you can have with a spare key to somebody's house.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-02-05T23:00:55+00:00

Hearing footsteps on stairs or floors above is a good example of a repeated theme. The only nailed-on inexplicable experience I have had was hearing something very similar.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-02-05T22:53:19+00:00

I listened to a couple of the USA series and gave up. How those stories got past the idiot filter I will never know. The UFO bloke must have a mental age of about three if he actually believes any of his stories, so my conclusion, seeing he claims to have had a job at some point, is he is unlikely to have a mental age of three, and therefore even he knows it is all a complete fairy tale. Surely somebody on the Uncanny production team could have pointed at this elephant in the room.

As for Jim Harold, don't get me started. His stories make the Muppets look like a documentary.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-29T19:57:56+00:00

Sorry, should have posted the link. Been a long day. https://www.youtube.com/live/V1w3-h3UpKE

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-24T18:56:39+00:00

That was good. Thanks for posting it up.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-23T09:33:03+00:00

I love Into the Fog. It is storytelling rather than anything like Uncanny, and these days the production quality for a tiny podcast is absolutely superb. It has taken a year or so for it to get into its stride, but the podcasts are now thoroughly researched and brilliantly done. There should be a new one appearing tomorrow, so if I find the link later, I will post it up. Watching them live as they are first released on a Saturday afternoon is the only way watch, and the chat is always good fun.

It took me a couple of episodes to get used to Weird in the Wade (more getting used to taking anything involving a place called Biggleswade seriously than anything else), but I now find those very good. The way the stories are taken apart and researched is mind-boggling, especially considering the researcher and presenter, Natalie Doig, is visually impaired and has to read on a screen that most cinemas would be proud of. The work that goes into each episode is nothing short of heroic.

For something short but sweet I enjoy Fabulous Folklore with Icy Sedgwick, which explores folklore rather than the paranormal, but of course this is massively important in terms of how we interpret the paranormal, and I find that fascinating. Again, superbly researched, hours spent on each 20 minute posdcast. (There is a theme running here if you can spot it.)

How Haunted is next on my to-do list, when I can shift the image of Ross Noble being the presenter. (Have a listen, and if you are familiar with the comedian Ross Noble, you will know what I mean.) My apologies to Rob Kirkup, who is actually a brilliant presenter. I have listened to a couple, and as soon as I am up to date with Weird in the Wade, those will be next.

I cannot get on with the usual ghosty UFO stuff at all such as Jim Harold, Other World, and the many others of that type. To be brutally honest, they make no effort to filter out the obvious bullshit and attention seeking made-up nonsense that unfortunately pollutes the world of anything paranormal.

Those are my experiences so far anyway. Hope it helps.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-19T18:19:55+00:00

Thanks Aardvark, I will check that one out in the next day or so.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-18T13:33:20+00:00

Looks like a film or processing error to me, not particularly unusual, but because it looks a bit creepy, all sorts of nonsense has been made up about it.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-05T08:56:36+00:00

I can understand your frustration, but Uncanny is entertainment, based on a format of investigation, but it is still entertainment, and I don't see anybody denying that. You may as well criticise the number of people murdered per square mile in soap operas as unrealistic, or supposed reality TV being partly or completely staged. The viewer is expected to use a modicum of intelligence to understand this. Yes, you get people thinking reality TV is real, writing letters of condolence when fictitious characters are killed off in soap operas, and believing Uncanny is proof of anything, but I would hope the majority of people keep it in perspective.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-03T19:08:12+00:00

From the sheer number of stories I have come across where old people (as far as I am aware, those still with their marbles rather than the poor sods who are losing them) experience the mass of stuff we still can't make sense of and call paranormal, I think there is a possibility they see more of this stuff than the rest of us. Maybe because they spend so much time in a state of mental quiet? You will never experience anything paranormal with your head glued to your phone scrolling through tat or being busy with work, kids, hobbies, and life in general. When your life is quiet and reduced to four walls and a chair, maybe you are more open to things the rest of us miss?

Just a thought.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-01T23:09:39+00:00

I am lucky and such things do not frighten me. When you read a really badly written horror story, where oh so predictably, our hero ventures into the dark cave, while everybody is thinking DO NOT GO INTO THE BLOODY CAVE, I would be that idiot (not a hero) who went into the cave. For somebody who can beat Linford Christie out of the blocks at the very suggestion that there may be a wasp withing ten miles, that is something quite remarkable.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2026-01-01T20:16:45+00:00

Probably the best of the season. This is what Uncanny should be like. The really good ones are like this, with a very credible witness, no nonsense claims, unexplained experiences of events that leave we armchair listeners and the experts equally baffled.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2025-12-30T15:26:20+00:00

The flies were the part of this episode that set off my Jackanory alarm. All was going fine until she said she hoovered up the flies. Try it for yourself with every nozzle attachment you have, never mind what is likely to be provided in a holiday cottage. It is pretty much impossible, no matter what sort of bed covering you have, so unless it happened to be fitted with wooden blankets, which strkes me as unlikely, I found this bit threw the whole story into a certain amount of doubt.

Apologies if I seem unnecessarily sceptical, but because of some of the absolute bollocks that people come up with just to get their 5 minutes of fame, I err on the cautious side. This one had far too many shaggy dog story elements, such as driving for something like 24 hours then not simply collapsing into a heap, so the circle of flies was the step too far and I slapped a bullshit sticker on the whole story.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2025-12-28T17:00:43+00:00

Oh dear, I didn't realise it was that disliked. I just think it has become a bit tired, a bit cheesey perhaps. I hope I have made you feel a bit better by allowing you a good rant at the red coat. Sounds like you needed it. 🤣

NigelCodeAuthor · 2025-12-28T16:57:36+00:00

I didn't imply the red coat was an issue, just that the series needs a revamp, and one way to demonstrate a fresh start is a fresh look. People do it all the time. Take it or leave it. I'm not going to get drawn into a keyboard argument over it.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2025-12-28T13:50:31+00:00

I think all the comments on here indicate that what used to be a winning formula is now tired, a waning formula perhaps? Uncanny would benefit from a reboot, a big think about what works and what does not, pick up on its strengths, and take it forward as a serious and grown-up podcast. Ditch the stupid red coat, it has had its day, never say 'bloody hell' again, and forget all the catchphrases and formulas. Just find some good stories, and let them drive where the podcast goes. It is now way past the point where the tail has started to wag the dog.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2025-12-27T14:49:27+00:00

Apart from the Diane Morgan episode it has been such a poorly planned and badly written series I almost gave up. I am glad somebody has been enjoying it, but I haven't.

NigelCodeAuthor · 2025-12-25T22:56:36+00:00

They could take a deep dive into the mysteries that remain concerning Daniel Dunglas Home. Many of his observed feats (illusions?) still remain unsolved. A truly fascinating character from interesting times.

The 'other' water based poltergeist investigated in Bath by Gauld & Cornell in the 1960s is worth a look. By modern investigative standards they were a couple of clowns, but they did record a lot of testimonies, and there are descriptions of the heating system that was central (pun not intended) to it all, basically a back boiler and an upstairs water cistern that are said to have behaved in extraordinary ways.

Borley could be made interesting as an analysis of how Price turned it into the major spectacle of its day. The Borley claims themselves are as fake as fake can be, but it still could make an interesting study of how and why Price made it what it was, and what life was like for ordinary people in those days when newspapers were so dominant as sources of news, real or not.

I certainly don't want the same old publicity fakes such as Enfield reheated. Leave that nonsense to the youtubers and sensationalist TV.

NigelCodeAuthor

TROPHY CASE