Danny Robins Introduces 'Uncanny' Listeners To The Ghost Of 'Uncle Jack'
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Photo: © Kiwihug
The third season of the paranormal podcast 'Uncanny' continues as Danny Robins transports us to the picturesque yet mysterious hamlet of Horningtops in Cornwall in the latest episode, which is available on BBC Sounds now.
In the second episode, entitled 'Uncle Jack', we meet Tim and Jay, a couple living in an old cottage in need of renovation, where they soon witness a recurring and inexplicable sequence of noises. Tim tells Danny how the sequence starts with footsteps, then a window unlatching, and finally the sound of someone seemingly jumping out.
For Tim, an analytical and logical thinker, the nightly repetition of these sounds becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss. It isn't until Tim casually mentions the phenomena to his neighbour that he discovers there might be a story behind these disturbances.
The neighbour not only recognises the strange sequence of events but identifies the culprit as 'Uncle Jack'. According to local folklore, Uncle Jack is none other than Jack Short, a soldier who returned from the Boer War in the late 1890s and eventually died in the very house Tim and Jay now occupy.
The tale, as it is passed on, explains that Jack was a notorious rebel as a child, frequently escaping from his locked bedroom through the window, which of course is echoed in the nightly sounds Tim and Jay hear. Something which by now the couple are quite accustom to.
However, this sequence of events changed one stormy night, when the standard sequence of noises played out but the wind smashed the unlatched window. This forced Tim to temporarily nail the window shut, a seemingly trivial act that leads to a terrifying sequence of events.
Once Uncle Jack finds his exit through the window blocked, he breaks from his normal routine and is heard descending the stairs instead. Tim's story climaxes with the house shaking. The experience was so intense that Tim and Jay moved out of the cottage within a week, pondering whether they had unintentionally provoked Uncle Jack by altering the course of his nightly ritual.
What Danny's Experts Think
As always, Danny is joined by a panel of experts, which this week is made up of Deborah Hyde the former editor of The Skeptic magazine, and Paul Stevenson the editor of Haunted magazine.
Deborah suggests that the noises and incidents could be caused by natural phenomena. She also throws in a scientific curveball, suggesting that small earthquakes could be a plausible explanation for the unsettling occurrences. Deborah stresses the importance of not leaping to supernatural conclusions without first eliminating the mundane explanations.
On the flip side, Paul seems more open to the idea of a paranormal entity. He discusses the 'stone tape theory,' which suggests that emotional or traumatic events can leave an energetic imprint on an environment. However, he makes it clear that in this particular case, the phenomena appear to be evolving, indicating a more complex, possibly sentient, force at play. The idea that this force could be gaining 'intelligence' over time adds a layer of intrigue and even menace to the case.
Deborah questions the convenient narrative built around 'Uncle Jack,' framing it as a byproduct of human storytelling instincts, while Paul wonders whether a photo of Uncle Jack found in the property could be a haunted object — something containing paranormal energy.
You can listen to the first two episodes of the new season of 'Uncanny', as well as all of previous two seasons on BBC Sounds now.
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