Danny Robins Tackles His First American Case As 'Uncanny' Returns
Photo: © Bryan Geraldo
Danny Robins is back with a new series of his hit paranormal podcast 'Uncanny', this time exploring the unusual and eerie tales of listeners from across America. The first episode, 'The Flood', now streaming on BBC Sounds, takes listeners to Georgia, where Danny meets with a man named Marcus to find out about the most terrifying night of his life.
Danny explains, "For our first three seasons, we've focused on cases from the UK, but the emails I receive are from all over the world." In response, Danny and his team are expanding their horizons by taking 'Uncanny' on a road trip across America.
Marcus's story begins with his childhood memories of visiting his Aunt Jean in New Orleans. Aunt Jean was a practitioner of what Marcus refers to as witchcraft, or voodoo. He tells Danny that his aunty owned a shop selling various mystical items, including a Ouija board inscribed with an African language. Marcus recalls a stern warning from his aunt about this board, "Don't touch it." His story takes a tragic turn with Hurricane Katrina, which led to Aunt Jean's death when the power outage caused her stairlift to stop working, trapping her in rising floodwaters.
Years later, Marcus and his cousin, while staying in their family home in Georgia, discover Aunt Jean's Ouija board among her belongings. Despite previous warnings, they decide to use it to attempt communication with her. Marcus tells Danny, "I remember saying, 'Aunt Jean, please come to us and show us how to use this board so that we can communicate with people who are no longer here.'" Immediately after, the power in the house cuts out, plunging them into darkness, and they hear loud banging noises that terrify them.
The situation escalates when Marcus sees a large, shadowy figure outside the window, which was raised off the ground. The figure appears to be about 10 feet tall, visible at the window level. In a panic, Marcus and his cousin attempt to defend themselves, but the rifle they find fails to fire. As the banging intensifies, they flee the house and are saved by a neighbour, who calls the police.
However, when the authorities and the neighbour investigate, they find no evidence of an intruder but discover the house inexplicably flooded, leading to further confusion and suspicion from the police. Marcus is left to ponder whether the events were supernatural, coincidental, or somehow connected to his aunt's protective spirit.
Reflecting on the experience, Marcus says, "Is it possible that I could have conjured something from this board that felt so real?" The ordeal leaves him questioning his beliefs, especially considering the eerie parallels to his aunt's own tragic end during Hurricane Katrina.
What The Experts Think
Danny and his panel of experts, Ben Radford and Evelyn Hollow, delved into Marcus's chilling experience. Ben, the episode's US expert, a writer and deputy editor of the Skeptic Inquirer magazine, pointed out a common mistake people often make in thinking - assuming that because one thing follows another, the first thing must have caused the second. He suggested that Marcus might think using the Ouija board caused the power to go out, simply because the outage happened right after they started using it. But Ben reminded us, "Keep in mind this is rural Georgia. The infrastructure is not great. So how often does power go out when you're not using a Ouija board?"
Evelyn, on the other hand, pointed out that while the power outage could be a mere coincidence, the context of numerous unusual events might suggest a paranormal opening. She told Danny, "If you believe that they have contacted something or opened up a door or a gateway, then you might be inclined to believe that the power blowing indicates the arrival of something."
Ben also addressed the loud banging sounds, suggesting a more mundane explanation. He thinks it's likely that what Marcus perceived as supernatural might actually have been neighbours checking in due to the power outage, "It could be that what he described as loud banging was knocking that is amplified in his mind for being terrified late at night."
Evelyn told Danny that she thinks Marcus's religious background and his aunt's warnings about the Ouija board could have had an impact on this experience, "I think we have huge potential for the placebo effect. In the use of Ouija boards. People are frightened, they're already putting themselves in a place of fear."
As the conversation turned to the mysterious figure seen at the window, which Evelyn thinks could be perceived as real and present, whether supernatural or not. Ben speculated on the possibility that the dark figure was an optical illusion, possibly caused by car headlights creating a large shadow on the window.
Lastly, Ben and Evelyn discussed the mysterious flooding within the house and the similarities with Aunt Jean's tragic death. Ben suggested practical steps like consulting a plumber, while Evelyn pointed out the implausibility of the house flooding so quickly without obvious signs of a burst pipe. She explained, "If you did have a burst pipe somewhere, the cops would go in and you would hear it. You would see a point in the wall where there's water gushing out and there's nothing."
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