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c-schroed · 1 year

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Podcasts I Adore - SPINES

This week, I finished the last Episode of the "Mirrors" podcast by ZoomDoom Stories. Which means that I have now heard all of their marvellous productions. And now I feel this need to tell everyone what great stuff they make! Meaning that I'll write some reviews for all the three podcasts they produced and post them on iTunes et al., but before I post them there, I might as well leave the reviews here. So, tune in for some rambling about three audio fiction productions that range from "very good but sadly incomplete" to "so very fricking close to perfection that I really can't call it anything but DARN PERFECT". We'll start with the DARN PERFECT one:

"Listen again: Grove. Mosaic. Trumpet. Listen, and remember. Because those three words, those are the most important words in the world. This is SPINES."

"SPINES" is a fictional audio drama, which, like all productions of ZoomDoom Stories, is written by Jamie Killen, and congenially so. It is told in the form of podcasts made by its protagonist, a young woman who named herself Wren. At the beginning of the story, Wren seeks to find out what happened in a bloody ritual that she barely survived, and which left her without any memories of her past life, but with supernatural powers that she slowly has to explore.

Think "X-Men" meets "Supernatural", with a nice dash of Lovecraftian atmosphere and some sweet bits of Cronenberg-esque body horror. "SPINES" is a truly unique experience, and it clearly is one of the best stories I ever heard. What I love most about it is that it perfectly understands and respects the strengths and limitations of the medium it chose to be told in: Podcasts enable a very intimate way of storytelling, and the very talented voice actor playing Wren just perfectly allowed me to quickly grow attached to her and everyone around her. Wren has lovely quirks like naming every informant that reaches out to her after characters of anime shows she just watched, she has to deal with terrible situations and huge losses, and she is granted one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever heard.

And being told in the form of a podcast really helps the story to flesh out Wren. She comments the stories she tells in clear and unfiltered language and often directly addresses her audience. We, the listeners, also know exactly who this audience is. Besides people that are similarly gifted as Wren, most of the episodes are addressed to Zachary, a man she quickly saw during the ritual that started everything, and whom she since then feels weirdly attracted to.

Of course, telling a story in the form of a podcast also entails some limitations, and "SPINES" respects and works with these limitations better than any other audio fiction I have heard so far. The show's author Jamie Killen is very aware how information is told when broadcast into the public, which makes "SPINES" an all the more fascinating listening experience. For instance, huge changes in the status quo are often announced right at the beginning of an episode, because when something important happens that has to be told immediately, than why wait until it slowly unfolds in the narrative? A broadcast is not necessarily about suspense; it sometimes is much more about giving the important info right away, and then adding all the details. Furthermore, Wren is very careful with the information she shares, and often leaves out details that might help her enemies too much. Details like these make "SPINES" very special; it is one of the most thought-out and self-aware productions I know.

The second best thing that I love about "SPINES" is how each of its three seasons has its very own feel and atmosphere. Season one feels a lot like an urban fantasy version of "Supernatural", with Wren, on her quest for the truth about the ritual, encountering urban legends and terrible secrets scattered everywhere across the city she lives in. Season two, on the other hand, involves a lot of changes, and feels much more like a late-80s action show, with Wren being sent to different places from week to week; hopefully helping the people there with whatever supernatural catastrophe is going on, very much like a MacGyver or an A-Team. But with superpowers, and with more ghastly antagonists. Season three finally is characterized much more by urgency and emergency, with Wren and her allies always being forced to react to an enemy that they can never allow themselves to underestimate.

What also impresses me greatly is that every season ends with a perfect equilibrium of frustration and hope. There's always some kind of terrible catastrophe, but this terror is balanced out with something equally beautiful, making Wren never the triumphant heroine she might deserve to be, but giving her just enough hope to go on. I admit it; sometimes this kind of ending is too close to home for me, sometimes I'd just direly want Wren to win, and live happily ever after, period. But on the other hand, this masterful balance is what will always keep this story in the back of my mind, and close to my heart.

One final thing I want to mention, and I'll make it quick this time: Besides being a nail-biting story about fascinating superpowers and secret societies that worked among us for centuries already (which are depicted in the most realistic way I have ever seen!), "SPINES" is also a perfectly wholesome love story. I know I already mentioned this some paragraphs before, but I really can't stress enough HOW DARN WHOLESOME this love story is!

So. "SPINES" is the perfect combination of urban fantasy, horror, and romance. It has a perfectly fleshed-out narrator, played by an incredibly talented voice actor, and it masterfully uses the possibilities of its medium. To me, "SPINES" is close to perfection, and its very few flaws should stop no-one from giving it a try. As long as one likes horror, of course. The show can get quite drastic, from time to time.

10 out of 10 points. Sheer perfection. And a lifelong love for Wren and Shan and Winry. And Akira, and Bilal (because who would not want the literal perfect moment as a friend?). And all the others.

Besides my general opinion about the show, I'd also like to go into detail regarding three episodes that I find especially noteworthy. All of them are part of Season 3, so please be aware of minor spoilers.

Season 3, Episode 6 (Episode 22 overall): The Trade

This is my favourite episode. It marks the second time that the narrator of an episode changes to Shan, whom I adore at least as much as Wren, and it might have one of the most dramatic beginnings of all episodes. But what really makes this episode stand out is how well-thought its time-travel plot is. It makes perfect sense, and it involves my favourite temporal paradox, the bootstrap paradox (I you don't know it, go look it up; it's so much cooler than some poor dead grandpa). Plus we get to know a supernatural brothel in Vienna. Which I didn't even know I desperately wanted to hear about, until I heard about it. But now I need a spin-off about Ilsa and her Gifted courtesans. :D

Season 3, Episodes 2 & 3 (Episodes 18 & 19 overall): Iris, Part 1 & 2

There's much about this two-part episode that I really love, be it that it gives satisfying answers that I wanted to hear for a long, long time, be it that we're given a very credible reason for this story being split into two parts (once more, "SPINES" shows how perfectly well it is aware of its podcast medium). So I really, really wanted to like these episodes. But still, they turn out as some episodes that I really have trouble with. This might maybe due to me being not a native English speaker, but I have terrible problems with understanding the narrator of these episodes. So if you, like me, have problems with listening comprehension during this episode, please be reminded that there are transcripts of each episode. Although they currently can only be reached via archive.org's ever-so-useful Wayback Machine.

2019 New Year's Special:

This is a crossover with "Mirrors", another marvellous audio drama made by ZoomDoom Stories. And because I listened to this right after finishing the final episode of "SPINES", I did not know that it contains some major spoilers for at least the first season of "Mirrors". Furthermore, the events at the end of the episode play an important role in the third season of "Mirrors", but that's not that important in my opinion. But should you not know "Mirrors" by now and maybe want to listen to it later (which, again in my humble opinion, YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD!), then maybe listen to this New Year's Special after finishing "Mirrors" season one.

The episode itself was a bit of a disappointment for me, if I'm honest. Both "SPINES" (in at least one episode; i. e. episode 22: "The Trade") and "Mirrors" usually deal perfectly with all matters related to time-travel and temporal paradoxes; to me they really are a paragon of how to tell stories that involve different interacting timelines. So the way that time-travel is treated here is just disappointing to me. Don't get me wrong, please. It still is a perfectly entertaining episode. It's lovely to hear more from Wren and Shan, and it is hilarious to hear about the events in "Mirrors" from their perspective. But as to the time-travel aspect, well, I'm spoilt by now. I'm used to it being told so much better than here, with much less paradox narration. So this special might be the biggest flaw in both series. I mean, I'd still give it 7 out of 10 points. So that says more about how fabulous the rest of "SPINES" and "Mirrors" is.

#SPINES #SPINES podcast #Mirrors podcast #ZoomDoom Stories #Jamie Killen #audio fiction #podcast #podcast review #horror #science fiction #urban fantasy #bootstrap paradox #bootstrap paradox is the best paradox #c-schroed has an opinion #schroed's thoughts

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wellhellotello · 2 years

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Wait, so if Mirrors and Spines take place in the same time line how does one lead to Z’s future and the other leads to Wrens? Like where do they diverge?

#mine #mirrors podcast #spines podcast #zoomdoom stories #zoom doom stories #i have questions

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oswednesday · 4 months

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do you have any podcast reccs

yes! we have a fine selection! might i recommend the house's podcast: creepypasta book club by myself and @withswords

if you have a craving for a narrative story, well, there are plenty in stock! but if you're new to this medium, you could start with knifepoint horror or the black tapes or welcome to nightvale ; i suppose if you're looking for something new and (have a strong stomach) then i rec the story must be told but if that's a bit much then the magnus archives and unwell would be my new to go to-s for introducing people to narrative podcasts; once you have acquired the taste for narrative podcasts, i love everything about zoomdoom: my recs listening order is mirrors, the six disappearances of ella mccray and then SPINES

if you're into batman things or open to getting into batman things then you Simply Must try rogues! the podcast

are you looking for something nonfictional? then i would rec nocturne a podcast about people who live their lives at night and the politics of nighttime, if you are into the personal, single moment memoir style then terrible, thanks for asking would be my go to for that!

if you have an interest in a sort of fusion cuisine, the museum of vanishing dog weaves topics of interest through a fictitious museum and snap judgement presents: spooked the stories are presented as true accounts of the paranormal by those who submit but i suppose thats up to the listener to decide!

if you are looking for tabletop podcasts well the most obvious one would be the adventure zone ah i feel like i should have more rec's for this, well if you want more i can pull that menu out later

and while i dont recommend starting if you dont listen to "true crime" now, it would be ignorant to act like it doesnt take up a sizable space of the podcastosphere but if youre already taking part then i would rec bear brook

#whats everyone listening to these days!

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flammenkobold · 3 years

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- You want me to kiss you. May I?

- Yes.

Dalton & Joseph from the Six Disappearances of Ella McCray Podcast

#the six disappearances of ella mccray #six disappearances podcast #six disappearances pod #zoomdoom stories #moodboard #zero creates

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podcasts-good · 3 years

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starting Mirrors and i like how this ghost is described but not sure how i feel about how similar it appears to be to what i woke up one morning and saw at the end of the couch i was sleeping on, but hey

#mirrors podcast #zoomdoom stories #liveblog

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arofili · 5 years

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podcast posters ★ MIRRORS

It didn’t have a clearly defined shape, this ghost. More like a tall, vague shadow. But its shape suggested someone in long, loose clothing. Maybe a nightgown, or a long shapeless dress. It was pale, and slightly translucent. I couldn’t make out any facial features. In fact, I think it was wearing some kind of veil, something covering the face. But something about it did give me the impression of being watched. At first I also thought she had long, trailing sleeves, like something from the Middle Ages. Then I realized those weren’t her sleeves at all. They were her fingers.

#mirrors podcast #zoomdoom stories #mirrors #audio drama #tefain nin #my edit #podcast posters

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thirteenthdyke · 4 years

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i started the mirrors podcast and all i have to say is. why are none of you talking about it. why haven’t more people listened to it

#its literally THE followup to tma that i’ve been searching for. im already halfway through s1 #but the tumblr tag is Empty. theres literally nothing there #there are lesbians. ghosts. time travel. why arent u all listening to it #anyway this is a psa then i guess. listen to mirrors by zoomdoom stories. thank u.#mine

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annabelle--cane · 3 years

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I still have just a couple of episodes of Mirrors left. I may have said this to you before. I listened all the way through Spines before I finished Mirrors and my fear of endings was enhanced.

I haven't listened to spines but it's on my list! zoomdoom stories productions are like "haha I am a normal podcast :) come closer :)"

#mirrors podcast #anons #answered

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tired-momfriend · 4 years

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GOOD PODCAST ALERT

There's a podcast I'm listening to called "Mirrors" by zoomdoom stories and honestly? More people need to listen to it. Please. I NEED AN OUTLET FOR EVERYTHING IT IS MAKING ME FEEL

ALSO SO MUCH WLW AND STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS OUT THE WAZOO

IN FACT

PRETTY MUCH ALL FEMALE CHARACTERS. AND THEYRE ALL AMAZING. Like the writing is phenomenal, the voice acting is *chef's kiss* and the story is so creative and interesting. Like please, PLEASE listen to it.

I think at the moment, there's 21 episodes and it's ongoing so like....ya

This is what it looks like on Spotify

Like, if you're into sci-fi mystery with horror elements, strong female characters, GREAT wlw rep, and a podcast that has some SHIT to say about how fucked up capitalism/big corporations are, along with the detrimental effects corporate greed has on the vast majority of people and the environment, then PLEASE check it out.

#podcast recommendations #sci fi podcast #sci fi #horror podcast #kind of a horror podcast but not entirely #mirrors podcast #wlw #i might think of more tags l8r but u kno ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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podracerbarrelroll · 4 years

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Podcast ratings*

*Suited to my specific tastes, that may or may not be useful to anyone who does not share my specific tastes.

I tend to like fiction podcasts ranging from deeply weird fantasy/sci-fi to horror, with the very occasional nonfiction podcast in a similar vein thrown in. There absolutely has to be an in-universe reason I’m hearing this, as in, the narrators/ characters need to be recorded, either with or without their knowledge. At best, they are purposely releasing this recording to the world as part of their job or because they need people to know about something important. But, I won’t listen to things that are essentially radio shows or audiobooks, because I prefer to read or watch those kinds of narratives. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Spines by ZoomDoom Stories (completed) 10/10: From the website, "Two months ago, Wren woke up covered in blood, suffering from memory loss, and surrounded by the remnants of some strange cult ritual. SPINES is the story of her search for answers, and the deadly, powerful people she encounters along the way.” The story is told in the form of podcasts she releases onto the internet, in the hopes that people can help her in her search. https://spinespodcast.com/

Mirrors by ZoomDoom Stories (ongoing) 10/10: Three women, on in the 1950s/60s, one in the 2010s, and one approximately 150 years in the future experience the same haunting and record their experiences. Throughout the show, you discover more about what they’re seeing and their relationship to each other. https://www.mirrorspodcast.com/

The Six Disappearances of Ella McCray (ongoing) 10/10: Six witnesses see the same woman disappear in six impossible ways. And then things only get weirder. Interdimensional hijinks and the development of some weird and scary superpowers. Story is told via recordings the six witnesses were asked to keep by a local detective. (One of the voice actors is meh, but I can overlook that.) Great story, just personally jarring for me because one of the character has my name, one has my boyfriend’s name, and one has my ex-boyfriend’s name. https://www.sixdisappearancespodcast.com/

Tanis by PNWS (ongoing) 10/10: We may not know what’s going on in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, or why people keep going missing, or dying, or showing up again with things like completely black eyes and a personality transplant. But we do know one thing--we’re going camping. Story is told in “docudrama” style as a podcast purposely released for us all to hear. http://tanispodcast.com/

Rabbits by PNWS (ongoing, I hope) 10/10: There’s this game. It’s very hard to play, very secretive, very exclusive. You have to be very good at following weird, esoteric clues around the world. Oh, and once you start playing it, you can’t stop. And if you lose, the world might end. Told from the perspective of a young woman whose friend went missing while playing the game, released as a podcast in the case that anyone who hears has news about what happened to her friend. The first season came out in 2017 and there still isn’t a second, but I’m hopeful that they’ll make more someday. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger or anything, though, so I’d still give it a listen. https://www.rabbitspodcast.com/

The Black Tapes by PNWS (completed) 7/10: I know a lot of people are not happy with how the Black Tapes ended, but it was the first podcast that I listened to that wasn’t Welcome to Night Vale, and I still have a soft spot for it. The last episode ended it weird and kind of abruptly, but I liked it up to that point. It tells the story of a journalist who was going to do a podcast series on weird jobs, but did the first one on ghost hunters, met this renowned skeptic with a room full of VHS “black tapes” containing material that he didn’t consider total proof of the supernatural, but he couldn’t quite disprove . . . yet. And then they hunt demons together, but he won’t admit they’re demons because of course he won’t. http://theblacktapespodcast.com/

The Big Loop by a producer of The Black Tapes (ongoing) 7/10: Different stories told in first person by people who have a variety of weird shit happen to them. They’re all very well written, it’s just too episodic for me to rate it higher. https://www.thebiglooppodcast.com/

The Magnus Archives (ongoing) 10/10: I say ongoing, but it’s in its last season. Your friendly neighborhood stick in the mud works at an archive that catalogs supernatural phenomena and starts recording written statements left by people with close encounters of the weird as fuck kind. Some of the earlier episodes are scary or just gruesome enough that they were hard to get through, but it’s not that bad as it goes on. http://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-archives/

Welcome to Night Vale (ongoing) 7/10: You know what they say, you never forget your first one ;). Imagine the local news for a town in the twilight zone written by Douglas Adams and read out by an NPR host. That’s WTNV. I still go back and listen to some of the earlier episodes, but the show changed its premise--they decided to acknowledge how ‘weird’ the town was rather than just rolling with it like they had been--and that’s when I stopped listening. It is a kind of iconic in that I think it put podcasts like this on the map, so I can’t skip it. http://www.welcometonightvale.com/

Alice Isn’t Dead by the Night Vale people (completed) 10/10: From the website, “A truck driver searches across America for the wife she had long assumed was dead. In the course of her search, she will encounter not-quite-human serial murderers, towns literally lost in time, and a conspiracy that goes way beyond one missing woman.” Told in the form of her releasing recordings in the hopes her wife will hear. Good story, came to its natural and satisfying ending. http://www.nightvalepresents.com/aliceisntdead

Dreamboy by the Night Vale people (completed) 8/10: This is the closest thing to a radio show that I’ve listened to. The main character is speaking to “you”, but you also hear other people, and he’s not clearly recording in-universe or anything. But it’s very well-written with a very compelling sort of magical realism story featuring a guy sharing dreams with another guy he met on grindr and some girl scouts trying to save a murderous zebra. Fair warning--it’s EXTREMELY nsfw. http://www.nightvalepresents.com/dreamboy

Archive 81 (ongoing) 9/10: This one is harder to explain because season 1 is very different from what comes after. Season 1 narrator man (who sticks around in season 2) is your typical straight male navel-gazing emotionally repressed idiot, but given that the narrators in S3 are much better, I assume the decision to make him an idiot was a conscious one on the part of the creators. In S1, he’s digitizing the audio notes taken from cassette tapes of a 90s-era investigative reporter who was trying to find out why this one apartment building was so goddamn weird. Narrator man sent his friend a copy of his recordings in case he mysteriously disappeared, and the friend released them to the world in the hopes of finding his missing friend. Seasons 2 and forward are different, but go into some really cool fantasy-horror world building involving an alternate dimension. http://www.archive81.com/

Video Palace (ongoing) 7/10: “When video collector Mark Cambria watches a mysterious VHS tape, he begins talking in his sleep in a language that doesn't exist. Mark and his girlfriend Tamra set out to investigate the tape's origin and find themselves caught up in a web of conspiracy, occult, and dread surrounding a legendary video store with a sinister purpose beyond imagining.“ Honestly, a bit like Archive 81 but with VHS instead of cassette tapes, and a protagonist about as annoying. https://art19.com/shows/video-palace

Gone by Sunny Morraine (ongoing) 8/10: A woman wakes up to find that everyone has disappeared and the world outside is slowly shrinking around her, and suspects her wife’s mysterious job might have something to do with it. Give the author’s short fiction a read while you’re on this site, it’s some of my favorite. Told in the form of her recordings, sometimes addressed to her wife. https://sunnymoraine.com/gone/

The Message/Life.After (completed) 8/10: Two different stories released on the same feed. The first one is about a message from aliens that a group of scientists have to decode before the sounds in it start killing people--I like this one better. Life.After is basically about what happens to your digital identity after you die, and what might happen if someone used that data to try and construct a new “you”. No direct website link for this one, find it in your preferred app.

Limetown (ongoing?) 7/10: An entire town centered around an unknown, experimental technology disappeared ten years ago. This is an investigative reporter’s attempt to find out why. I liked season one much better than season two, honestly. There were also some pretty intense moments in season one, making this the first podcast that genuinely scared me a bit. https://twoupproductions.com/limetown/podcast

Lore (ongoing) 6/10: Nonfiction. Narrator tells you about folklore and the historical incidents surrounding certain stories. I stopped listening because the episode descriptions are vague as hell and I do not care about spiritualism or to hear another liberal, sanitized story about the founding fathers and how great they were. All I want from this is cryptid content, but the got damned descriptions and episode names will not just say “click for werewolves lol”. Still, the episodes that do end up being about cryptids are fuckin rad. https://www.lorepodcast.com/

The White Vault (ongoing) 7/10: Found footage horror podcast organized by a narrator. This is what you get for going to Svalbard in the winter. A team is sent to repair an antenna at a research station and discover an archaeological site down caves they all agreed it was a good idea to explore because none of them have ever watched a horror movie. Then something starts hunting them. GENUINELY a horror podcast, as in, I had trouble sleeping one night when my boyfriend wasn’t home before I went to bed. But, the story and acting are very good. https://thewhitevault.com/

DUDS:

The Blood Crow Stories: I think subsequent seasons may tell other stories, but the first one is about a guy writing his thesis about some weird luxury submarine that went down during WWII. There’s an opener told by a different narrator that addresses you as if you’re institutionalized and doesn’t match with the rest of the story at all. The grad student narrator goes way off the rails way too quickly and the characters on the submarine are all just . . . over the top, and that’s before a demon starts possessing them. Also, it goes into class differences in the 1940s, but says not a word about race? What? Why? I listened to about half a season before stopping.

The Bright Sessions: I know a lot of people like this one, and it started out solid, with a therapist recording her superpowered patients’ sessions without their knowledge. It moved away from that as people found out what was happening and it slowly stopped explaining how a scene was being recorded/ why you could hear it. And then there was a musical episode set in peoples’ dreams? Also most of the characters ended up friends by the end, like it leaned way too hard into the “found family” trope when I couldn’t wrap my head around this happening to these characters. This was sort of a slow process and I did stick around until the end of the series, but I definitely have no desire to pay for the sequel series they’ve put out.

#podcasts #podcast recs #long post

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tweetsongs · 4 years

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Podcast Recs: ZoomDoom Stories

i think i’ve babbled a LOT about these podcasts here and there, but in honor of starting mirrors i kind of want to make a more proper post on what each podcast is about, and hopefully get more people to listen to them! they’re kind of criminally undermentioned when people talk about fictional podcasts, especially horror/mystery podcasts, and i just think that a lot of people (esp if you’re on my blog because of tma) would be super into their stuff if given a chance!

so, here is a list of every podcast by zoomdoom stories, and a short pitch on why you should give it a listen.

SPINES

Two months ago, Wren woke up covered in blood, suffering from memory loss, and surrounded by the remnants of some strange cult ritual. SPINES is the story of her search for answers, and the deadly, powerful people she encounters along the way.

i’ve made a podcast rec for spines before, but for the uninitiated, spines is an amazing horror podcast that i’d recommend to anyone who likes tma. it touches on a lot of the same conventions of making the mundane horrifying, free will and destiny, people with inexplicable powers, etc. there’s a lot of body horror in it, about on par with or a little more graphic than tma, but it never seems gratuitous or exploitative. the framing of the episodes is sort of an audio journal by wren, as she searches for someone she doesn’t remember but knows she loves.

the characters of spines are uniformly amazing, from the deadpan snark of wren (who has a very ‘this might as well happen’ vibe about the whole ‘waking up amnesic, with powers, and having supernatural bullshit happen all around her’ stuff) to the bright-eyed enthusiasm of winry, to the tempest under a veneer of calm that is shan. everyone is queer and everyone is complicated and imperfect and wonderful. the ending, especially, is one of my favorites.

it’s only about 30 episodes long and extremely tightly written, so you can breeze this through a day or two- it’s absolutely worth a binge.

The Six Disappearances of Ella McCray

On March 20th, 2014, Ella McCray disappeared. There were six witnesses to her disappearance. Six conflicting accounts of what happened to her. Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? And what really happened to Ella?

six disappearances only has one season out right now, but oh man what a season. you can’t quite tell by just looking at the summary, but this is also more a supernatural than a mystery podcast, though it DEFINITELY is a mystery podcast. the six witnesses to her disappearances all have different accounts of ella vanishing, but all these accounts are of the supernatural sort, from alien abduction to reality-bending apocalypses. each of the witnesses are related to ella in some way, and they’re all fascinating characters. the episodes skip between perspectives, in the form of logs that each character carries to try to remember more about the events that they saw.

again, the cast is super duper queer, and i’d say that if you like elias you might want to give this a listen, since it has a romantic subplot of ‘manipulative old gay antagonist seduces other middle aged gay. also, retro dances in gay jazz clubs’. since it’s only one season long (with a pretty buckwild ending holy shit), there are still a lot of questions re: the plot, but from what’s out so far it’s going to be a wild ride.

Mirrors

Meet Helen, Sierra, and Z. They have never met. They live in three different cities, in three different centuries. So why are they being haunted by the same creatures?

i’ve only just started mirrors, but so far it’s been as riveting as all the other podcasts zoomdoom stories has created. each episode is segmented between the three protagonists, all of whom are being haunted by ghost-like creatures in different centuries. it’s a lot more contemplative than the other ones, with the plot often taking a back seat to the more personal issues that each of the women faces- though, soon enough, it becomes evident that the ghosts that they see are inextricably woven into the fabric of who they are.

all of the women are extremely different, but they’re all clever and competent and very curious. they’re all scientists in their own right, and use every resource available to them to discover what they’re being haunted by, from stealing recording equipment from their asshole boss’ office, to watching ghostbusting videos online, to talking it out with an AI. if you like historical horror or scifi horror, you’re going to enjoy this podcast.

#it's 9am and i just. love these podcasts a lot #spines #the six disappearances of ella mccray #mirrors #podcast #podcast recs

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c-schroed · 4 months

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New Podcast One-Shots Written By Jamie Killen

If you, like me, are a huge fan of the podcasts "Spines" and "Mirrors" but, unlike me, do not read the Email-newsletter of Jamie Killen, the author of these gorgeous podcasts, than Gosh do I have good news for you:

There’s more!

There's at least a lovely little bit of new content, in the form of four standalone contributions to anthology-style podcasts. I'll go present all four of them, with a short review of each:

"Echoes" ("Hidden Signal" Podcast by QCode, Season 2 Episode 1)

A new technology enables people to access the memories and personalities of their ancestors. A young woman uses this technology to interview an infamous murderer, who was her great-great-grandmother.

This is my absolute favourite of the four! I don't want to get too much into detail, but the whole story has perfect "Mirrors" vibes for me, mainly because it is another marvellously told story of transgenerational female support. 8 out of 10 points.

"Pinnacle" ("Hidden Signal" Podcast by QCode, Season 2 Episode 2)

A young woman tries a new app to improve her nutrition and eventually become her best self. But the things she has to do are… curiouser and curiouser.

This has such a marvellous "The Magnus Archives" feeling to it! A classical downward spiral plot, but the end refreshingly defies the usual stereotypes of this kind of stories. Instead it's a lovely little bit of social commentary and criticism of capitalism that I still find myself thinking about from time to time. 8 out of 10 points.

"Into the Hills" ("Stories from: The Low Season" Project by Wolf at the Door Studios and Poolside, Episode 1)

A collection of mission reports from an expedition to a foreign world documents a medical emergency situation that goes increasingly out of hand.

Given the dramatic story, I find this tale surprisingly soothing. It's rather short and lovely to listen to. 7 out of 10 points.

"Behind the Hatch" ("Dust" Podcast by Gunpowder & Sky, Special Episode)

A young woman is interviewed after an incident at a research facility. Her job was to get behind a hatch. But she never remembered what happened there. Until she started to find secret messages.

Aww, this is frustrating! Such a marvellously told story, with perfect suspense, but the end falls so darn short. I wish there would have been more to it, but the way it is, it's my biggest disappointment of the four. It's still worth a listen, but maybe brace yourselves for an unsatisfying ending. 6 out of 10 points.

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