Reviewed by Fred Andersson
It's been a lot of Danny Robins for me lately. This might not be strange for those who live in the UK, but for someone in Sweden, like me, it was an intensive chain of clues that led me to finally reading his book, Into the Uncanny: A Real-Life Investigation Into the Paranormal. From friends posting about the recent Swedish stage adaptation of 2:22: A Ghost Story in Stockholm to a buddy almost getting upset at me for not listening to Robins' podcast with the same name, constant posting on Twitter (erm … X) about the TV-series version of the podcast, and then came an offer to review the book. All of this during the span of a week or so. How could I say no to this? Danny Robins was unfamiliar to me until these (dare I say) synchronicities happened. Well, outside the Don't Look Now-style raincoat PR material effectively sticking out amongst the massive amount of information being thrown at my eyes each day on social media. However, I'm always up for stuff referencing Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, which meant I was already interested.
What strikes me first about the book is the humour. I know, for you who already knew about Mr. Robins, it's not a surprise. However, it was to me, and it's something I've longed after in this field. I've often said that what the paranormal world needs is humour because what we're researching and investigating is often so absurd, so bizarre, that a laugh (or two) is needed. Robins manages to balance an utmost respect for the folks he's interviewing with a slightly sharp, witty humour and a lot of it in a very self-deprecating way. Can you imagine Zak Bagans doing something like that? Yep, a highly unlikely situation. Robins use plenty of footnotes, more often than not in a funny way - like extending the joke, creating another layer of dimensional cake to the story. Much like the constant flashbacks in Family Guy. The book is divided into four major cases, including a fifth follow-up to the first one: the Rome Poltergeist, the Ghost Horses of Averham, the Predictable Death of Sheila Manson, the Alien in the Snow, and the sequel to the above-mentioned porcelain stacking poltergeist in Rome, the English Colleague. The Enfield poltergeist also make an appearance.
While all of these are great and sport witty writing and intriguing stories, I'd say my favorites, at least those that stood out most to me, are the Ghost Horses of Averham and the Alien in the Snow. Here's the thing, most of the time I'm falling asleep as soon as I hear a story about ghost horses. However, the stories told by Vee and Maureen - and their neighbours, John, Judy, and their daughter Jenny - gave me (and this is very rare for me) goosebumps. It's such a fascinating series of events, from the thunder of galloping horses to a creepy shadow person and, what seems like, a ghost from the English civil war. The Alien in the Snow is extra close to my heart as it deals with aliens and UFOs. As a researcher in the sometimes very questionable field of ufology, I've read my share of utterly strange encounters with even stranger humanoids, and the one Peter meets in Middlesbrough… I'd count it as maybe the weirdest one I've heard of in quite a while (not counting the frog-humanoids outside a church in Sweden some years ago). While the observation itself is cast in shadows and snow, which leaves the interpretation of the witness open to all kinds of things, it's also one of those cases where it's quite difficult to actually understand what he could have seen - if it wasn't just another ultraterrestrial (John Keel's term) being literally rolling into our realm to unfold and sneak into the garden of an unsuspecting family. Who knows? Anyway, it's eerie enough for me, and told in such a cinematic way, I'm giving it at least one thought every day at the moment. Thank you for that Danny (and Peter)!
I got to be honest. I didn't expect much from Into the Uncanny - just another cash-in on a podcast and TV series I thought. I've seen (and read) it before. Blame it on my lack of knowledge of the Uncanny-o-rama happening in the UK, or my ever-growing cynicism when it comes to the paranormal world. What matters now is that I absolutely adored it. I laughed, I cried.* Danny Robins has a true knack for writing. I've learned that by now, so please stop complaining of my ignorance. And yes, I've subscribed to that darn podcast. Please, can someone put the TV series on Swedish TV now?
*To be honest, I didn't cry. But it felt good writing it.
Fred Andersson is a Swedish researcher, television freelancer, author and ufologist.