Uncanny (BBC Programme / Podcast)

CharmerKamelion said:
Well put. That's how I feel. It is hard to credit so much of that episode, but... I can't dismiss it. Maybe some embellishments have been added. Shame, cos even the basic weirdness would probably have been interesting enough.

One reason I can't feel too dismissive is because of a couple of odd 'ghostly' experiences that I have had, which I can't explain to myself and always puzzle me when I sit and ponder them. In my case both are not so much "I know what I saw" as "I know what I heard". Both were
random, isolated, spontaneous instances, not suststained or repeated or in any way expected or predictable.

In addition to this, I have a good friend - a sensible, mature, eloquent guy in his 60s - whose mother grew up in what was a similarly 'haunted house' to that which featured in this episode. Events occurred frequently and sometimes regularly (similar noises at specific times of night) and were experienced by many family members and others, to the extent that over the years the family all became accepting of them (though they had tried to have the house cleansed by priests on 3 occasions, earlier on). My friend did not experience any of it himself, as the family had moved out by the time he was born. He fully believes all the things he was told went on there, as all his relatives were all so adamant about it. He is as puzzled about it all as they were. It was just a part of all their shared experience of that house and he can come up with no reason why they would have made it up. So that makes me conclude that - for whatever reason - weird stuff sometimes does happen. Whether a mirror with 666s and death threats written on the back is just too corny to swallow is a different matter.
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Well put.

I have posted on here about some minor poltergeist activity in a house we live din and also a 14th Century building that I worked in. So, yes, I do believe but unfortunately the paranormal (including UFOs) has always attracted attention seekers and fantasists (not saying this applies to our Uncanny witness...!).

I would just like to see and hear more evidence for the extraordinary claims in this latest Uncanny episode, such as an image of the 666s and threatening message and an interview with the other householders. I would also like to know more about the background of the primary witness: we cannot be blind to the reality that some people have ulterior motives for getting themselves on the tv and radio.
 
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GNC said:
The 666 mirror sounds like the work of the little brother, to be honest.
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Was he 4 years old at the time!!?? Probably not, but even so.... Did he write all the nasty stuff on the back and then yank it off the wall with a fishing line?? That is some truly messed up sh*t. Not saying he couldn't - never met the guy - but don't you think his family might have got him figured out if he was such a little b'stard?
 
CharmerKamelion said:
Was he 4 years old at the time!!?? Probably not, but even so.... Did he write all the nasty stuff on the back and then yank it off the wall with a fishing line?? That is some truly messed up sh*t. Not saying he couldn't - never met the guy - but don't you think his family might have got him figured out if he was such a little b'stard?
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I thought he was older by then? I might have misinterpreted it. But it does sound like a prank by one of the kids.
 
GNC said:
I thought he was older by then? I might have misinterpreted it. But it does sound like a prank by one of the kids.
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Yes, I think he was older by the time of the mirror incident. I was just having a bit of fun with the idea of a demonic child being behind the whole thing. IF the mirror incident happened as reported, and it was a prank, it was quite a nasty prank for a family member to play on their nearest and dearest, especially if they didn't own up to it after a suitable length of time. I accept it wouldn't be impossible for a determined prankster to behave like that, but I think if anyone I knew pranked me in such an alarming way I would be far from amused. It would be interesting to know how long the mirror had been undisturbed on the wall (by which I mean had anyone recently seen the back of it and was there anything written on it before the seeming poltergeist incident?). The whole episode raised so many questions which Danny should really have attempted to address. Obviously, they only have 30 minutes, but with tighter editing and a bit less of the atmosphere-building waffly stuff, they could have put a bit more info in.
 
CharmerKamelion said:
Yes, I think he was older by the time of the mirror incident. I was just having a bit of fun with the idea of a demonic child being behind the whole thing. IF the mirror incident happened as reported, and it was a prank, it was quite a nasty prank for a family member to play on their nearest and dearest, especially if they didn't own up to it after a suitable length of time. I accept it wouldn't be impossible for a determined prankster to behave like that, but I think if anyone I knew pranked me in such an alarming way I would be far from amused. It would be interesting to know how long the mirror had been undisturbed on the wall (by which I mean had anyone recently seen the back of it and was there anything written on it before the seeming poltergeist incident?). The whole episode raised so many questions which Danny should really have attempted to address. Obviously, they only have 30 minutes, but with tighter editing and a bit less of the atmosphere-building waffly stuff, they could have put a bit more info in.
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Nail on head. Ought to have been a two-part episode with the other family members involved and the opportunity for Danny to probe a little deeper
 
CharmerKamelion said:
Was he 4 years old at the time!!?? Probably not, but even so.... Did he write all the nasty stuff on the back and then yank it off the wall with a fishing line?? That is some truly messed up sh*t. Not saying he couldn't - never met the guy - but don't you think his family might have got him figured out if he was such a little b'stard?
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i get where you are doing from, although it seems the boy was older by then. The issue is that 666 was popularised by The Omen in the 70s and may be factually incorrect regardless:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...of-the-beast-it-s-a-devilish-616-5349692.html

It may be a mistranslation of 616.

Then you have the black metal scene:

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/wednesday13/trickortreatweregonnakillyou.html

Or how about that nice Mr Eminem:

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/killyou.html

“Bitch I'mma kill you!
Like a murder weapon, I'mma conceal you
In a closet with mildew, sheets, pillows and film you
Fuck with me, I been through hell, shut the hell up!
I'm tryna develop these pictures of the Devil to sell 'em”

So, adolescent scribblings as part of a sick joke that no one was meant to see…? Or a teenage boy raging at an injustice….? Or a poltergeist…?
 
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Well, we have an actual two-parter over the holidays! Apparently this was live on social media last night, but I missed it. Anyway, it sounds like an earthquake or something similar happened in the bothy, though the sceptic saying a stag's antlers made the footsteps noise was imaginative (!). Brave of the guy to go back, but it was obviously obsessing him, so we'll find out what he saw next time.

Disappointed that Danny called the Mary Celeste the Marie Celeste - I thought he was meant to know what he was talking about?
 
GNC said:
Well, we have an actual two-parter over the holidays! Apparently this was live on social media last night, but I missed it. Anyway, it sounds like an earthquake or something similar happened in the bothy, though the sceptic saying a stag's antlers made the footsteps noise was imaginative (!). Brave of the guy to go back, but it was obviously obsessing him, so we'll find out what he saw next time.

Disappointed that Danny called the Mary Celeste the Marie Celeste - I thought he was meant to know what he was talking about?
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I did also wonder whether the weather could have been causing all sorts of strange noises - I expect the bothy would be fairly exposed to the elements given its location.
 
Cloudbusting said:
I did also wonder whether the weather could have been causing all sorts of strange noises - I expect the bothy would be fairly exposed to the elements given its location.
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Plus there was plenty of snow about, maybe a small avalanche? Snowfall from the roof? Mind you, if he says others had weird stuff happen too, then who knows? Guess we'll find out next week.
 
Part two of the baleful bothy, kind of more of the same and a little anticlimactic, but impressive that the same "results" occurred every time he went there, more or less. I wasn't that impressed with his recent recording of the ruin. Oh, a rock fell over. Terrifying.

Next week it's listener correspondence and a return to the house with the almost all there boy and nightly entertainment for the sleepless in one of the rooms. Now that I'm interested in.
 
Certainly an intriguing couple of episodes. It would be useful to see any photographs of the bothy and especially the messages left by previous overnighters warning of the ghostly happenings. I'm going to listen to it again but at present my thoughts are 50% paranormal and 50% misinterpreted natural phenomena due to being scared sh*tless...!
 
I've just listened to The Bothy parts one and two. Interesting enough, if rather padded out (in contrast to a few of the previous ones, which could have been given a bit more time). A few things were a bit unclear to me. As always, there seemed to be some avenues of questioning that weren't explored by Danny. I might have to re-listen, giving it my full attention. As an example, after the hikers heard the initial series of noises from the room above (footsteps, the metal bed frame being assembled, the rolling boulder), surely, even if you were cr*pping yourself, you and your mate would have had to go up and investigate? I know they were scared - I would have been too. And I know there is such a thing as 'someone else's problem' - but I don't think I could have just rolled over to go to sleep. They were apparently completely certain that there couldn't have been anyone else in the building, so how could anyone shrug it off? Or is it just me?
 
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I think they did say they went upstairs at one point to check if there was anyone there, but found nobody.
 
GNC said:
I think they did say they went upstairs at one point to check if there was anyone there, but found nobody.
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I've just had chance to sit down and re-listen to the first part (of the two). No mention of Phil & Jim venturing upstairs to investigate the noises they had heard. Sure, you would have had to be very brave to do so! But surely you would have had to. The way the story is related, they lie in the darkness hearing A LOT of noise, including footsteps, from the room above. They don't investigate, even though they firmly believe there can be no-one else in the building. Instead, they drift off to sleep, only to be woken at 4am by the sounds of heavy objects flying around in the downstairs room where they are. Again, the way it is described, they seem to see only some books seemingly being dislodged from shelves. It doesn't seem that they saw (rather than heard) any other objects moving. They don't even say whether they looked around to see other objects strewn about. And then, even after hearing what they fully believed to be footsteps descending then ascending the stairs, they don't say anything about going upstairs to see if the bed frame had been disturbed or whether the boulder they had noted when they first explored the place had been moved. I will listen again later to part two, but as is often the case with 'Uncanny', it strikes me there are lots of interesting questions left unasked and intriguing details skipped over. I enjoy the series, but often find it a frustrating listen!
 
CharmerKamelion said:
I've just had chance to sit down and re-listen to the first part (of the two). No mention of Phil & Jim venturing upstairs to investigate the noises they had heard. Sure, you would have had to be very brave to do so! But surely you would have had to. The way the story is related, they lie in the darkness hearing A LOT of noise, including footsteps, from the room above. They don't investigate, even though they firmly believe there can be no-one else in the building. Instead, they drift off to sleep, only to be woken at 4am by the sounds of heavy objects flying around in the downstairs room where they are. Again, the way it is described, they seem to see only some books seemingly being dislodge from shelves. It doesn't seem that they saw (rather than heard) any other objects moving. They don't even say whether they looked around to see other objects strewn about. And then, even after hearing what they fully believed to be footsteps descending then ascending the stairs, they don't say anything about going upstairs to see if the bed frame had been disturbed or whether the boulder they had noted when they first explored the place had been moved. I will listen again later to part two, but as is often the case with 'Uncanny', it strikes me there are lots of interesting questions left unasked and intriguing details skipped over. I enjoy the series, but often find it a frustrating listen!
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I'm slightly stuck on this, too. one person on their own might not venture upstairs, but two adult men...?

But I appreciate this witness coming forward and am enjoying the series, so keep them coming...!
 
CharmerKamelion said:
I've just had chance to sit down and re-listen to the first part (of the two). No mention of Phil & Jim venturing upstairs to investigate the noises they had heard. Sure, you would have had to be very brave to do so! But surely you would have had to. The way the story is related, they lie in the darkness hearing A LOT of noise, including footsteps, from the room above. They don't investigate, even though they firmly believe there can be no-one else in the building. Instead, they drift off to sleep, only to be woken at 4am by the sounds of heavy objects flying around in the downstairs room where they are. Again, the way it is described, they seem to see only some books seemingly being dislodged from shelves. It doesn't seem that they saw (rather than heard) any other objects moving. They don't even say whether they looked around to see other objects strewn about. And then, even after hearing what they fully believed to be footsteps descending then ascending the stairs, they don't say anything about going upstairs to see if the bed frame had been disturbed or whether the boulder they had noted when they first explored the place had been moved. I will listen again later to part two, but as is often the case with 'Uncanny', it strikes me there are lots of interesting questions left unasked and intriguing details skipped over. I enjoy the series, but often find it a frustrating listen!
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No, I meant when they arrived they checked upstairs and found nobody, despite the half finished meal downstairs. I can believe two grown men not wanting to venture upstairs to see ghosts, however, you can be shit scared at any age!
 
I'm wavering about going to listen. I'm intrigued enough to read this thread, but all remarks which say that a lot goes unanswered puts me off. I like a good 'investigative' programme which attempts to go into all aspects of experiences, not something which handwavingly either accepts or denies without evidence being gathered.

It's what's put me off a good few 'paranormal' podcasts.
 
catseye said:
I'm wavering about going to listen. I'm intrigued enough to read this thread, but all remarks which say that a lot goes unanswered puts me off. I like a good 'investigative' programme which attempts to go into all aspects of experiences, not something which handwavingly either accepts or denies without evidence being gathered.

It's what's put me off a good few 'paranormal' podcasts.
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I would recommend you try one, catseye. What's the worst that could happen? In my personal opinion, it's occasionally a bit frustrating, with moments when a witness describes something and you think Danny (the interviewer) must then ask a screamingly obvious follow-up question - but he doesn't. But generally the cases investigated are dealt with quite well, with 'experts' commenting sensibly and suggesting possible explanations. No definite conclusions are ever reached, one way or the other. By and large, it's quite a superior programme - just not perfect. It does at least give listeners the chance to contribute their comments and theories, and they do have occasional episodes where they go over what has been sent in regarding previous episodes. Despite my reservations, it has become a 'listening highlight of the week' for me!
 
CharmerKamelion said:
I would recommend you try one, catseye. What's the worst that could happen? In my personal opinion, it's occasionally a bit frustrating, with moments when a witness describes something and you think Danny (the interviewer) must then ask a screamingly obvious follow-up question - but he doesn't. But generally the cases investigated are dealt with quite well, with 'experts' commenting sensibly and suggesting possible explanations. No definite conclusions are ever reached, one way or the other. By and large, it's quite a superior programme - just not perfect. It does at least give listeners the chance to contribute their comments and theories, and they do have occasional episodes where they go over what has been sent in regarding previous episodes. Despite my reservations, it has become a 'listening highlight of the week' for me!
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Thank you, Charm, I'll give it a try on your recommendation.

I just have very little patience these days for shows where (I feel) the obvious explanation is staring everyone in the face and NOBODY addresses it. If Uncanny doesn't fall (too often) into this trap, I may be able to cut it some slack.
 
catseye said:
Thank you, Charm, I'll give it a try on your recommendation.

I just have very little patience these days for shows where (I feel) the obvious explanation is staring everyone in the face and NOBODY addresses it. If Uncanny doesn't fall (too often) into this trap, I may be able to cut it some slack.
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There is usually an expert contributor from both the sceptic/Scully and believer/Mulder standpoints, and theories are tossed around. If you take a listen and think an obvious angle or explanation has been missed, you can always contact the show by email (or however) and offer it up for inclusion in one of the follow-ups. The bottom line for me is anything that encourages reasonably intelligent and balanced discussion of weird phenomena is welcome. The witnesses who contribute to 'Uncanny' do mostly come across as honest and genuinely puzzled by their experiences, and there seems to be a policy of at least giving them a fair hearing without anyone ridiculing them. That is an important factor in my enjoyment of the series' approach.
 
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catseye said:
Thank you, Charm, I'll give it a try on your recommendation.

I just have very little patience these days for shows where (I feel) the obvious explanation is staring everyone in the face and NOBODY addresses it. If Uncanny doesn't fall (too often) into this trap, I may be able to cut it some slack.
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Don't worry, it is a sound programme that tries very hard not to show any bias. None of the cases thus far have had an obvious explanation that everyone decides to overlook (I'm thinking here of Expedition Bigfoot :headbang:)
 
WeirdExeter said:
Don't worry, it is a sound programme that tries very hard not to show any bias. None of the cases thus far have had an obvious explanation that everyone decides to overlook (I'm thinking here of Expedition Bigfoot :headbang:)
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Agree with this - it bends over backwards to be even-handed, so quite Fortean in its way, maybe to a fault. Also, I like that the mysteries aren't solved, if they were, they wouldn't be mysteries, after all.
 
A bit of catching up this week, and a new case presumably not big enough to fill a regular episode. Had to laugh at the people who suggested the beastly bothy was the result of LSD traces left by the hippies! But the Victorian preacher over the baby monitor was a good one, how many Victorian sermons were broadcast in the last few decades anyway?

As for the premonition of the accident, it could have been a black spot for them, but she might have hit someone with her van who got up and scurried away, if she wasn't going that fast.
 
GNC said:
A bit of catching up this week, and a new case presumably not big enough to fill a regular episode. Had to laugh at the people who suggested the beastly bothy was the result of LSD traces left by the hippies! But the Victorian preacher over the baby monitor was a good one, how many Victorian sermons were broadcast in the last few decades anyway?

As for the premonition of the accident, it could have been a black spot for them, but she might have hit someone with her van who got up and scurried away, if she wasn't going that fast.
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That was a weird one this week. Although I think you would notice the difference between running over an animal and a human especially when she said she saw him on the bonnet. Didn’t sound like she braked straight away. But if it was a premonition then guy meant to run him down.
 
The hit and run that had happened recently before was an act of murder, or if not murder then definite intent to injure that ended in death, so it could be something that dramatic had a powerful effect on the area and created a ghost. It's significant the lady driver didn't know about the death before she had her encounter. Don't ask me for the physics of this!
 
The latest episode mentions Aberfan disaster premonitions. There is a case of such a premonition on pages 226-227 of the book 'Deliverance' by Jason Bray, Anglican Priest in Wrexham, which came out in 2020. I enjoyed the book although arguably it's inconclusive. A man driving to Aberfan sees a line of hearses blocking his route, which then suddenly vanish. This happened about six months before the disaster.
 
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