The Black Tapes is a mystery-horror pseudo-documentary podcast created by Paul Bae and Terry Miles. Published by Pacific Northwest Stories, it is part of their series of podcasts set in the same fictional universe (such as Tanis and Rabbits) which, despite being works of fiction, are presented as legitimate true stories both within the podcast and outside of it; the podcast has no credited writers or performers, as the events and characters are framed as real.[1]
| The Black Tapes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Alex Reagan |
| Genre |
|
| Language | English |
| Updates |
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| Production | |
| Audio format | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | May 21, 2015 – November 7, 2017 |
| Provider | Pacific Northwest Stories |
| Related | |
| Website | The Black Tapes Podcast |
In-universe, The Black Tapes is hosted by Alex Reagan (voiced by Lori Henry) and produced by Nic Silver (voiced by Miles). Reagan narrates a serialized story exploring the life and work of paranormal investigator Dr. Richard Strand (voiced by Christian Sloan), an "evangelical skeptic" on a mission to debunk all claims of the supernatural, and his collection of unsolved cases, the eponymous "Black Tapes".[2][3]
Production
editEpisodes vary in length, from thirty-five to fifty minutes. New episodes were originally available weekly, but partway through the first season the schedule was revised to every other week.
The original run of The Black Tapes was from May 21 2015 to September 7 2017. The show ended with a six episode wrap-up and the creators stated that was the end. Then on March 20 2018 it was announced on the official Twitter account for The Black Tapes that the show would return for another season.[4]
On January 13 2020 season 3 of The Black Tapes was re-released with no changes to the audio. However, the episode description of the final episode "Into the Black" was changed to denote that it is the "Season Three Mid-Season finale".[5]
The show uses investigative journalism as a framing device, having Alex Reagan document her investigations into the paranormal and the work of Richard Strand; the template is used by other by other Pacific Northwest Stories podcasts such as Rabbits and Tanis.[6]
Episodes
editThe first season of The Black Tapes premiered May 21, 2015. The last episode, the mid-season finale, was released November 7, 2017.[7]
Season 1
edit| Episode | Title[7] | Release date[7] | Production code[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Tale of Two Tapes Part I" | May 25, 2015 | 101 |
|
While hosting the pilot of a podcast focusing on interviewing people with interesting jobs, Alex Reagan is roped into a paranormal investigation of an abandoned and allegedly haunted credit union. Over the course of the investigation, she contacts well-known paranormal investigator and skeptic Dr. Richard Strand to analyze the haunting. He uncovers evidence apparently proving that the haunting is a hoax, but Alex chooses to shift the focus of the podcast to a documentary on Strand after being intrigued by his collection of unsolved cases, a series of black VHS tapes nicknamed "the Black Tapes". | |||
| 2 | "A Tale of Two Tapes Part II" | May 26, 2015 | 102 |
|
Alex and Strand travel to San Francisco to follow up on one of the Black Tapes, which centers around the apparent haunting of the Torres family by a malevolent, shadow-like spirit. | |||
| 3 | "The Unsound" | June 2, 2015 | 103 |
|
After the suicide of the lead singer of popular Seattle underground rock band Hastur Rising, Alex and Strand are contacted by the band's guitarist, who claims that his suicide was caused by a recording of the Unsound, a mysterious piece of audio alleged to have been created by the Devil himself. | |||
| 4 | "Turn that Frown Upside Down" | June 9, 2015 | 104 |
|
After receiving a video tape of a young woman apparently being frightened to death by an unseen figure, Alex and Strand are drawn to the small town of Charlesworth, Maine, and its local legend: the Woman with the Upside Down Face. | |||
| 5 | "The Devil You Know" | June 16, 2015 | 105 |
| 6 | "The Devil's Door" | June 23, 2015 | 106 |
| 7 | "Cabin Fever" | August 4, 2015 | 107 |
| 8 | "Board to Death" | August 18, 2015 | 108 |
| 9 | "Name that Tune" | September 9, 2015 | 109 |
| 10 | "Their Satanic Monastery’s Request" | September 15, 2015 | 110 |
| 11 | "The Codex Gigas" | September 29, 2015 | 111 |
| 12 | "Shadow Dancing" | October 13, 2015 | 112 |
Season 2
edit| Episode | Title[7] | Release date[7] | Production code[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sleepless in Seattle" | January 19, 2016 | 201 |
| 2 | "Speak No Evil, Think No Evil" | February 2, 2016 | 202 |
| 3 | "Hush Little Baby" | February 16, 2016 | 203 |
| 4 | "Voices Carry" | March 1, 2016 | 204 |
| 5 | "Cheryl" | May 10, 2016 | 205 |
| 6 | "All in the Family" | May 24, 2016 | 206 |
| 7 | "Personal Possessions" | June 7, 2016 | 207 |
| 8 | "Riverview" | June 21, 2016 | 208 |
| 9 | "The Brothers of the Mount" | July 5, 2016 | 209 |
| 10 | "Welcome to the Machine" | July 19, 2016 | 210 |
| 11 | "About a Boy" | August 2, 2016 | 211 |
| 12 | "The Axis Mundi" | August 16, 2016 | 212 |
Season 3
editThis season was re-released on 13 January 2020 with changes to the description of episode 6 "Into the Black" to describe it as the "mid-season finale".[8]
| Episode | Title[7] | Release date[7] | Production code[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Sins of the Father" | August 29, 2017 | 301 |
| 2 | "The Musica Mundana" | September 12, 2017 | 302 |
| 3 | "A Family Gathering" | September 26, 2017 | 303 |
| 4 | "Songs and Signs" | October 10, 2017 | 304 |
| 5 | "Worlds Collide" | October 24, 2017 | 305 |
| 6 | "Into the Black" | November 7, 2017 | 306 |
Music
edit'The Kingdom of the Universe', which is played near the start of each episode, was written by Ashley Park. Terry Miles wrote the podcast's theme. The series uses free royalty-free music by Kevin MacLeod.[9]
Reception
editThe podcast has received generally favorable reviews for its writing, production, and intricacy. Melissa Locker in The Guardian described the podcast as taking place in "a world where math, musical theory, obscure points of history, and science become either clues of a possible demonic invasion – or just random events linked only by an active imagination."[10]
See also
edit- Tanis, a sister show to The Black Tapes in which Alex Reagan sometimes appeared
- Horror podcast
References
edit- ^ Grant, Drew (12 July 2016). "Top 10 Creepy, Fictional Podcasts: What to Listen to When Reality Becomes Too Scary". Observer. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (13 October 2015). "'The Black Tapes' is a 'Serial'-style podcast that will scare your socks off". Daily Dot.
- ^ Osberg, Molly (24 February 2016). "'The Black Tapes' Is 'Serial' Meets Creepypasta". Motherboard. Vice.
- ^ "The Black Tapes on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "The Black Tapes". theblacktapes.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
- ^ Kobus, Aldona (2022). "I Am in Eskew: Soundscape, Cityscape and Mindscape of Hostile Architecture". Literatura Ludowa. 66 (2): 50. doi:10.12775/LL.2.2022.004. ISSN 2544-2872.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Black Tapes by Pacific Northwest Stories on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "The Black Tapes". theblacktapes.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
- ^ "The music of The Black Tapes Podcast", theblacktapespodcast.com, retrieved 11 May 2021
- ^ Locker, Melissa (11 December 2015). "The 10 best new podcasts of 2015 (that aren't Serial!)". The Guardian.