Some Other Sphere

Episode 20 - Matthew Meyer - Yokai and Japanese Folklore

Folklore is a wonderful thing. It is deep rooted in the human experience and is a vital component of countless cultures throughout time. There are some startling similarities in the beings and legends  encountered across the globe, but also unique differences that set apart a cultures mythic landscape. A wonderful example of this is Japan, a land long shrouded in mystery and hidden from the west, which developed a storytelling tradition replete with a menagerie of unusual entities ready to leap from subconscious and into the real world.
These beings are usually classed as Yokai, which is a term that itself can encompass a whole range of familiar creatures – goblins, ghosts, monsters, as well as humans and animals that possess an unusual talent or quality but it also includes urban legends and various paranormal phenomena.
My guest for this episode is illustrator and author, Matthew Meyer. Matthew is an expert on Yokai and has published three books on the subject. He is also an accomplished artist and you can find examples of his work and writing on his wonderful website Yokai.com, which is a comprehensive A-Z guide to the phenomena.
For further details about Matthew's books and artwork, as well as his blog and Patreon page, please visit http://matthewmeyer.net/
 
 
Music for Some Other Sphere theme is from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martin/Geoff Harvey
 

Episode 19 - Garrett Kelly & Jeremy Puma - The Liminal Earth project

This episode begins with a quote from my guests:
“Spooky things happen every day all around us! Instead of brushing these peculiar moments and bizarre encounters off as chance, or mere coincidence, what if we talked about them, mapped them, and tried to decode the message?”
Well, that’s what Garrett Kelly and Jeremy Puma have done with the Liminal Earth Project, which they describe as a map of the strange, wonderful, weird and unexpected.  They both have a background in researching and investigating the unusual and this led them to come up with the idea of putting their experiences on a map, and then opening that up to the general public, allowing the project to be crowd sourced.
Experiences can be recorded on the map under a wide range of categories, including ghosts, cryptids and UFOs but also more unusual subjects like Dark Forces, Time Distortions, and ‘Thin’ places.  It’s a really novel idea and is one which I think has amazing potential. As soon as discovered the map I knew I should get these guys on and discuss their adventures in Liminal Cartography.
To find out more about the map, go to https://liminal.earth/, where you can add your own experiences, become a Patreon of the project, or even volunteer to become an ambassador for your local area.
Garrett and Jeremy also talked about the project recently in an interview with journalist MJ Banias for VICE magazine which you can read here.
 
Intro Music:
Music from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martyn/Geoff Harvey.

Episode 18 - Amanda Edmiston - Botanica Fabula

Recently, whilst out on a run, I went too near some stinging nettles and OUCH! – got stung. Luckily, I immediately knew what to do.
I found a dock leaf of course,  and rubbed the affected area. Pain over and my run was saved!
I feel like I’ve always known that cure and I’m sure it’s something that most of you will have been told as a child as well.
It is a very old piece of knowledge that has lasted over countless generations, just one of many nuggets of wisdom about plants which has survived, along with things like carrots being good for your eyes, and mint aiding digestion, through story, song and at learned at the knee of a family elder. It comes from a time when it was vital to have an understanding of the botanical world around you..of those plants which were nice, and those that were not so nice.
My guest for this episode is Amanda Edmiston. Amanda is a professional storyteller, with a background and ancestry steeped in knowledge of Herbal Medicine. Her stories involve a wide range of characters from myth and legend and their encounters with and uses of herbs, flowers, trees, weeds..and a whole lot more.  Plants and herbs have always been an important to her and it was fascinating to talk to about their folklore, and the wisdom contained there, not just about what they can be used for, but also how to treat them with respect, and work with them to a mutual advantage. In a time when modern society faces some of it’s greatest ever ecological challenges, these stories are more relevant than ever and offer a chance to connect with nature on a whole new level.
In the interview, we also discussed the use of certain plants in sympathetic magic, as well as the current growing popularity of permaculture. It was excellent stuff all round.
For more details on Amanda's work, her wonderful website can be found here.
 
Intro music:
Music from https://www.purple-planet.com/
'Hubbub' by Chris Martyn/Geoff Harvey.
 

Episode 17 - Aleksandar Petakov - Lake Monsters and Lions

When it comes to cryptids, one of the most famous of all is the Loch Ness Monster. However there are many other lakes around the world where it is believed creatures from Earth’s distant past have survived, even thrived – and some of these could well have more evidence to back them up than dear old Nessie.
A great example is Champ – the mysterious denizen of Lake Champlain in the United States. Sightings of an unusual creature have been reported for hundreds of years, as well as phenomena such as UFO sightings, and ghostly pirates.
My guest for this episode is cryptozoologist and filmmaker, Aleksandar Petakov. Aleksandar is a native of New England and in 2018 made a documentary called 'On the Trail of Champ', where he visited the lake, the communities that sit on its shore, and met some of the people who have seen the creature, whatever it may be.
In his next documentary he investigates the numerous mysterious sightings of mountain lions in the North Eastern United States, a species long thought to be long extinct in that area.
I talked with Aleksandar about how he has combined his loves of film making and cryptozoology, and the insights he has gained from his projects as to what sort of creatures might be out there, yet to be discovered.
For more information on his film projects, you can visit his website here.
If you'd like to view the news clip that started the episode, you can find it on Youtube.
 
Intro music: 'Hubbub' - Purple Planet Music.
 

Episode 16 - Aaron Gulyas - Flying Saucers and Folklore

My guest for this episode is Aaron Gulyas, author of books such as Extraterrestrials and the American Zeitgest and The Chaos Conundrum as well as being the creator of The Saucer Life podcast, where he examines the folkloric aspect to the Flying Saucer phenomenon and explores the history and lore of Ufology through the lens of individual stories of encounters, sightings, concepts or events.
I think he’s one of the most insightful voices exploring the history of UFOs right now and we had a really interesting conversation about his interest in this subject and the novel approach adopted to exploring it’s many fascinating characters. Albert K Bender, John Keel, Mothman, Hellier and a whole lot more were discussed.
You can find The Saucer Life podcast here and his books are available on Amazon.
For the full clip of the 1947 Kenneth Arnold radio interview click here.
Podcast Image: Thinkstock
Intro Music: 'Hubbub' from Purple Planet Music.
 
 

Episode 15 - Siân Esther Powell - Lady Charlotte Guest and the Mabinogion

This weeks episode is about a remarkable woman from Victorian Wales called Lady Charlotte Guest and her quest to preserve the folklore and legends of her adopted homeland, which would be published as the Mabinogion, widely regarded today as one of the most important collections of medieval prose literature in Europe. The stories it contains began life as part of an oral storytelling tradition in Britains ancient past, featuring political intrigue, bickering royalty, warring armies, noble warriors, brave princesses, wizards, magical technology, trickster like anti heroes, monsters and many other archetypal characters and settings. Before it’s publication there was no such genre of fantasy fiction and it’s influence on our understanding of Arthurian legend as well as other works by authors such as J.R.R Tolkien, Evangeline Walton, Alan Garner and Robert Holdstock cannot be taken for granted.
My guest is Siân Esther Powell. Siân is studying for Masters in Celtic Studies and is the creator and host of the excellent Celtic Myths and Legends Podcast. We talked about Lady Charlotte and the scale of the project she undertook to locate and preserve the stories that would make up the Mabinogion, explore what these stories can tell us about ancient Britain and the use of stories in that time to engage with the imagination, and of course look at one of the fantastic stories that make up this incredible work.
You can find Siân on Twitter here.

Episode 14 - Kellye McBride - The Haunted Worlds of Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson’s novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, written in 1959 is considered one of the best ghost stories of the 20th Century and is seen as highly influential in the depiction of hauntings in literature in modern times.
The protagonist of the story is Eleanor Vance. The novel opens with her travelling to the titular house to be part of a scientific investigation she has been invited to by Dr Montague. Eleanor is a troubled character and her arrival at Hill House instigates a series of unsettling events, that defy rational explanation. We’re never quite sure who or what is really behind the occurrences that happen at the house. It’s a fascinating portrayal of a haunting and was prescient in its depiction of how such events could be investigated scientifically, and how people would go on to theorise about the nature of ghosts and hauntings.
My guest for this episode is Kellye McBride. Kellye is a writer and journalist  and an expert on Shirley Jacksons work. We talk about The Haunting of Hill House and the events in the authors real life that may have inspired some elements of the story, and in other of her novels such as The Lottery and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.  These highly imaginative stories all contain troubled characters trapped in an unfriendly setting, which prompts disturbing events which are hard to fully understand.
Although works of fiction, it is clear that Shirley Jackson drew inspiration from real life and this episode is ultimately a discussion of how the ideas and themes in her works can be used to explore the weirdness of the real world today.
Kellye's excellent articles on the Sublime Horror website can be found here:
https://www.sublimehorror.com/books/legacy-shirley-jacksons-hill-house/
https://www.sublimehorror.com/books/the-lottery-banality-of-evil/

Episode 13 - Matt Frederick - Exploring the Occult

Interest in the Occult is a strong as ever in the 21st Century. When you consider that these subjects are usually those that sit outside of acceptance by mainstream science or organised religion but can have a deep connection to human experience, it’s easy to understand the appeal – and I say that as someone who is very interested. It’s interesting that a lot of these idea are devalued by the mainstream as much as they every were. Why is that?
To get a better understanding of this, my guest for this episode is Matt Frederick. Matt is a practicing magician and expert in all things hidden. We talked about his own introduction to the Occult, explore the makeup of modern day Occulture and why these ideas are valuable to help deal with the materialistic mainstream we all have to negotiate daily. It was a fascinating chat.
To find out more about Matt you can find him on Twitter here.
For more information on the book 'Condensed Chaos' by Phil Hine which was discussed in the episode click here.
I also highly recommend Carl Abrahamsson's Occulture website if you enjoyed this episode.
 
 

Episode 12 - Mark Bell - Mentalism, Magic and Mystery

When you think of magic, two things will usually come to mind; an artist on stage, performing fantastic acts such as card tricks, illusions, mind reading and hypnosis; or a more esoteric practice – someone, usually by themselves, enacting a ritual in an attempt influence their world by invoking supernatural assistance. In some ways, there would seem to be some similarities between these two scenarios.
My guest for this episode is Mark Bell, who has performed all across the world as the ‘magical mystery artist’ Mark Obscura. He is an expert in Hypnosis, Mentalism and Illusion among many other talents and has led a life regularly interrupted by unusual incidents featuring ghosts, unexplained lights in the sky and a range of puzzling synchronicities. As such he has an open minded approach to understanding the relationship between his career and these odd life experiences that made for a really interesting conversation.
To find out more about Mark, you can follow him on Twitter or visit his website here.
(James Randi clip provided from Wikipedia)

Episode 11 - Matt Hopewell - A beginners guide to Discordianism

In the late 1950’s, two high school friends, Greg Hill and Kerry Thornley would regularly meet at their local bowling alley in East Whittier, California to hang out and talk long into the night about the issues of the day and the limits of the world that they lived in – one they felt was based all to willingly on order and control. What if there was a different way of engaging with the world, something more chaotic, unpredictable and fun?
These conversations and an affection for a certain Greek Goddess led them to create the joke religion – or religious joke, depending on your perspective – called Discordianism, which included a text called the Principia Discordia. It’s creation would see Greg and Kerry become entangled with Lee Harvey Oswald and the aftermath the JFK assassination, confuse the authorities with ‘Culture Jamming’ and play a pivotal role in influencing conspiracy theory culture as we know it today.
My guest is paranormal researcher Matt Hopewell, who is an aficionado of Discordianism and it’s prodigiously strange history.This is probably as unusual a Sphere as we’ve explored so far.
Matt's blog is now up and running and can be found here.
For more information on Discordianism, I recommend visiting Adam Gorightly's excellent website 'Historia Discordia'.