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27 reviews for:
Unexplained: Real-Life Supernatural Stories for Uncertain Times
Richard MacLean Smith
3.5 AVERAGE
27 reviews for:
Unexplained: Real-Life Supernatural Stories for Uncertain Times
Richard MacLean Smith
3.5 AVERAGE
So I really enjoyed the 10 stories of unexplained events, but then the author goes on these weird explanations of science and I struggled to see how some of it was relevant. Maybe I’m not smart enough and missed the point but it felt like the stories were very well told, then the author wanted to make me feel dumb. Would have had 4 stars if not for this.
Very well researched. I appreciate that (unlike most podcasters that write books) these are new stories and not just a regurgitation of stories the author has already shared on the podcast.
It’s been a good read over the COVID quarantine period, since the Unexplained podcast is on indefinite hiatus.
Favorite chapters: The Nous Fear, Every Story is a Ghost Story
It’s been a good read over the COVID quarantine period, since the Unexplained podcast is on indefinite hiatus.
Favorite chapters: The Nous Fear, Every Story is a Ghost Story
A "non-fiction" collection of "real-life supernatural stories for uncertain times." The non-fiction adjective describes where this book can be found in a library or bookstore, and the "uncertain times" description on the front of the book hints that this author will be trying to explain how the spooky tales in this book can relate to our inner lives, technological advancements, scientific developments, ETC.
The stories themselves are spooky and fun. The horror devotee in me was pulled in by the stories themselves; Smith did an adequate job researching them, providing fun, flavorful language to spice up the structure of how he received the stories. What isn't fun is the steadfast serious tone of how he sticks to the stories. There is no room for skepticism or concrete explanation within. Only the scariest, most implausible explanation is what Smith will explore. And certain aspects of these stories (heck, most aspects) can probably be waved away as coincidence or fanciful imagination. Instead of acknowledging this at all, Smith plunges onward with a straight face.
Which might be tolerable and amusing, but then Smith uses the spooky tales to give meaning to our everyday reality. A story of reincarnation becomes an excuse to quickly sum up scientific experiments and then mold them to fit as a justification for how reincarnation can scientifically be plausible. Scientific findings shouldn't be presented and molded like this; it's a bold-faced lie and exaggeration to try to make these stories scarier. He then also delves into literary and cinematic criticism to lend further credence to supernatural happenings. Smith doesn't actually use the literary and cinematic criticism to further interpret the spooky story, test the boundaries of the spooky story, reimagine the spooky story (i.e. interesting and expansive). He more just references popular media to say, "look, it happened here too; so, it could happen in real life. There is no irony, no backpedaling, just a serious collection of "here's a story and the evidence to go with it," with the story being an enjoyable scare and the evidence as a loosely-compiled collection from wherever, as long as it vaguely relates to the scare.
Deeply unfocused, vague, and unfun.
The stories themselves are spooky and fun. The horror devotee in me was pulled in by the stories themselves; Smith did an adequate job researching them, providing fun, flavorful language to spice up the structure of how he received the stories. What isn't fun is the steadfast serious tone of how he sticks to the stories. There is no room for skepticism or concrete explanation within. Only the scariest, most implausible explanation is what Smith will explore. And certain aspects of these stories (heck, most aspects) can probably be waved away as coincidence or fanciful imagination. Instead of acknowledging this at all, Smith plunges onward with a straight face.
Which might be tolerable and amusing, but then Smith uses the spooky tales to give meaning to our everyday reality. A story of reincarnation becomes an excuse to quickly sum up scientific experiments and then mold them to fit as a justification for how reincarnation can scientifically be plausible. Scientific findings shouldn't be presented and molded like this; it's a bold-faced lie and exaggeration to try to make these stories scarier. He then also delves into literary and cinematic criticism to lend further credence to supernatural happenings. Smith doesn't actually use the literary and cinematic criticism to further interpret the spooky story, test the boundaries of the spooky story, reimagine the spooky story (i.e. interesting and expansive). He more just references popular media to say, "look, it happened here too; so, it could happen in real life. There is no irony, no backpedaling, just a serious collection of "here's a story and the evidence to go with it," with the story being an enjoyable scare and the evidence as a loosely-compiled collection from wherever, as long as it vaguely relates to the scare.
Deeply unfocused, vague, and unfun.
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
I had never heard of the Unexplained podcast until this, much less heard a single episode, so I was going in purely on the promise of spooky stories for Halloween season. And that is certainly on offer here, from haunted dybbuk boxes to reincarnated Luftwaffe pilots to possessed German schoolgirls to Native American skin walkers. The stories are all presented as factual histories, and none of them seem to be made up for this collection. You can go and Google the dybbuk box and get a lot more detail on one of the more famous ghost stories of the Internet age, if you want.
The stories themselves are a bit of an uneven bunch. Not all of them are scary in the strict sense of the word, but then the book doesn't claim that; they are merely supernatural and unexplained. Except they aren't, really, and that's where Unexplained gets real good.
Bookending each story is an essay, one which can offer a rational explanation to what is happening, or just present an interesting real world scientific theory or phenomenon, which is somehow related to the story at hand. It's slightly heady subject matter, tackling everything from the philosophical concept of the noosphere to the medical nocebo effect, or from the Gutenberg Parenthesis Theory to explaining just how the Internet is connected to the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. To me, this was pretty much the best part of the book, because as much fun as it is to hear about an evil spirit trapped in a Jewish wine cabinet, it's a lot more fascinating to consider the implications of String Theory or ponder the idea that the Internet phenomenon of creepypasta is just continuing the folkloric traditions that stretch back to the beginning of the human race.
Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, Unexplained is definitely a worthwhile listen (or I suppose a read, if you opt for the book instead of the audiobook), because in the proudest traditions of speculative fiction it presents a wide collection of ideas new and old, some of which are certain to fascinate just about anyone.
The stories themselves are a bit of an uneven bunch. Not all of them are scary in the strict sense of the word, but then the book doesn't claim that; they are merely supernatural and unexplained. Except they aren't, really, and that's where Unexplained gets real good.
Bookending each story is an essay, one which can offer a rational explanation to what is happening, or just present an interesting real world scientific theory or phenomenon, which is somehow related to the story at hand. It's slightly heady subject matter, tackling everything from the philosophical concept of the noosphere to the medical nocebo effect, or from the Gutenberg Parenthesis Theory to explaining just how the Internet is connected to the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. To me, this was pretty much the best part of the book, because as much fun as it is to hear about an evil spirit trapped in a Jewish wine cabinet, it's a lot more fascinating to consider the implications of String Theory or ponder the idea that the Internet phenomenon of creepypasta is just continuing the folkloric traditions that stretch back to the beginning of the human race.
Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, Unexplained is definitely a worthwhile listen (or I suppose a read, if you opt for the book instead of the audiobook), because in the proudest traditions of speculative fiction it presents a wide collection of ideas new and old, some of which are certain to fascinate just about anyone.
I think I was expecting something more along the lines of the podcast "Lore" instead of this pretentious shite. I just want to read some spooky stories, I'm not interested in some dude trying to show off how clever he is by going on about Jung and epigenetics and whatever else.
I’ve wanted to read this for a while, because I’ve listened to the podcast for a few years. The set up of the book is simple; each chapter focuses on a different unexplained mystery or phenomena, giving a detailed description of events followed by a summary discussing how this relates to humanity on a wider scale. For those who have listened to the podcast, this will be a familiar structure. I found this worked well as a format, because it enabled me to dip in and out of the book as I wanted to.
It’s an interesting book. The choice of stories is good; some of them are probably very famous to those interested in this sort of subject, whilst others I had never heard of. Each one is treated with the same level of attention and detail by the author. The writing is mostly very strong; his style is very pretty, and, as in his podcast, there are some very haunting and beautifully written passages.
That said, I do think the writing is at its best when the ‘stories’ themselves are being recounted. The writing when this happens is very engaging and readable. The writing gets a little bit flowery and complicated when he tries to make connections to the wider world, and some of his arguments got a bit lost to me. It’s a bit elaborate, sometimes, and the interesting part of this book is the stories themselves – not necessarily what this means for humanity in general.
If you’ve listened to the podcast before, then this is probably a good addition to it. If you’re not familiar, then this is quite a decent overview of some very interesting ‘unexplained’ mysteries, told in a creepy, unsettling fashion, and is very atmospheric. I think my issue with it is just that – I don’t think anyone is reading this because they want to do a deep dive into the psychology behind paranormal experiences and the human condition, so sometimes, the focus on that can get a bit boring and dry. But I still think it’s worth a read.
Content Notes:
Warnings:.
It’s an interesting book. The choice of stories is good; some of them are probably very famous to those interested in this sort of subject, whilst others I had never heard of. Each one is treated with the same level of attention and detail by the author. The writing is mostly very strong; his style is very pretty, and, as in his podcast, there are some very haunting and beautifully written passages.
That said, I do think the writing is at its best when the ‘stories’ themselves are being recounted. The writing when this happens is very engaging and readable. The writing gets a little bit flowery and complicated when he tries to make connections to the wider world, and some of his arguments got a bit lost to me. It’s a bit elaborate, sometimes, and the interesting part of this book is the stories themselves – not necessarily what this means for humanity in general.
If you’ve listened to the podcast before, then this is probably a good addition to it. If you’re not familiar, then this is quite a decent overview of some very interesting ‘unexplained’ mysteries, told in a creepy, unsettling fashion, and is very atmospheric. I think my issue with it is just that – I don’t think anyone is reading this because they want to do a deep dive into the psychology behind paranormal experiences and the human condition, so sometimes, the focus on that can get a bit boring and dry. But I still think it’s worth a read.
Content Notes:
Warnings:
Spoiler
References throughout to murder, death, violence, attempted murder, gun violence, knife violence, bullying, blood, suicide, mental illness, child abduction, missing persons, grief, animal injury, animal abuse, animal cruelty, attempted child murder, rape and sexual violence, war crimes, genocide.
dark
informative
medium-paced
An alright book. I didn't know this was linked to a podcast, so I'd probably have preferred to just listen to the podcast than read some of their episodes. The chapters were also tangential and sometimes I didn't get how one thing connected to another.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced