Unpacking The Eerie

01/16/2024

It's been over 100 days since Israel's genocidal campaign against the Palestinians in Gaza began. At the writing of this post at least 23,469 Palestinians have been martyred in Gaza with 59,604 injured and almost 2 million displaced (85% of Gaza's population). Our Ghosty Giver Beneficiary for this winter is Anera ( )-- an organization that since 1968 has been helping refugees and other individuals impacted by conflicts taking place in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.

Anera is currently working with individuals located in the Gaza strip to mobilize resources for immediate emergency relief. They are doing this by delivering hot meals, food parcels, water, hygiene kits, blankets and mattresses. They are also organizing pop-up health clinics that are offering free medical supplies, activities for kids and distributing vouchers for winter clothing.

Anera staff are and have been doing this by buying food from within the Gaza strip itself as well as coordinating the little bit of aid that has been permitted to enter the area since October. They have teams in Egypt and Jordan that are supporting them in organizing shipments of essentials for those that are currently living under horrific conditions.

Thank you to our Patrons who allow us to make financial contributions to causes that are close to our heart.

If you haven't yet listened to our episode on how you can support those affected by the ongoing genocide in Gaza, we invite you to take a listen or to look at the resource list in that episodes description on ways you can plug in.

In solidarity. 🇵🇸🍉

12/20/2023

Have you peeped our Free Palestine Action Checklist? Curated with our fellow neurodivergent bi***es in mind, items are categorized into digestible sections & listed as a checklist for those who’d like to copy it & save to their Google drive 🍉 Wishing you all a holiday season filled with abundant care, restoration & resistance. And may we remind everyone celebrating Xmas that Jesus was Palestinian.

09/30/2023

Ever wondered what lies beneath the lakes you hang out at? Shaena does! And this week she takes us on an exploration under the depths of Lake Washington. Join us and learn about the ancient frozen forest that has existed deep under Lake Washington for decades. The eerie sunken dwellings of the largest lake in King County is sure to give you goosebumps.

09/16/2023

✨new minisode out✨
We’ve returned to Malaysia to explore an iconic urban legend and spiritual embodiment of feminine rage, The Pontianak. Join us as Akshi shares about her origin story and how the continuation of her lore offers significant commentary about patriarchal violence and survivor empowerment. She also takes time to discuss the utility of the horror genre as a medium to unpack the above and moooorree.

07/27/2023

❗️NEW EPISODE❗️
Melancholia, Menstrual Derangement & Bad Whiskey Pt. 1

In the late 1800s, America would become home to a new wave of “mental health” institutions we now know as asylums. The Weston State Hospital (aka The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) was one of many of these “state of the art” facilities. This episode Is all about how aspirations for palatial, elite experiences for (white) mentally ill patients quickly descended into the picture that you probably have of these places - carceral sites of unspeakable cruelty. There was so much information on this, we’ve decided to break it up into 2 parts. In part one, you’ll learn about why Weston State Hospital is considered one of the most haunted places in the country, the history of asylums as a whole and the social-political climate that led to the extreme rise of people incarcerated in these institutions.

Available anywhere you get your pods 🎧

12/06/2022

‼️FINAL EPISODE ‼️ OF 2022 & our Psychedelic Nightmare series just dropped! Our fifth segment of this series examines the story of a lesser-known, but absolutely fu**ed, Japanese cult that was responsible for the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in March 1995 that killed 14 and injured over 5,000 innocent civilians. Aum Shinrikyo was a cult led by Shoko Asahara, another narcissist externalizing all his issues on the world around him. This episode, we explore Shoko's childhood, the cults origins and also delve deep into its doomsday philosophies that combined a hodge-podge of religious philosophies with Nostradamus-esque beliefs. This story is a wild one with lots of twists and turns tied to religion, Japanese culture, chemical weapons development and more. We touch upon concepts of Shiva, Shakti, & karma in Hinduism, malignant narcissism in cult leaders, and highlight survivor stories and PTSD from the subway attack. You'll see how this story links back to all four others, creating an unlikely and disturbing tie that spans four decades, three cults and three countries while involving multiple government agencies and of course Albert Hoffman's Problem Child -- L*D

11/30/2022

we love you sm 🖤 can’t believe it’s been 2 years! thanks for supporting our humble project & staying w us. also love that most of you have the adventurer music personality (as we do).

pls tag us/shoot us a dm if we happened to make your Spotify wrapped 🤗

10/06/2022

⚡️NEW EPISODE RELEASED TODAY⚡️
Segment 4 of Psychedelic Nightmare brings us to one of the most well known cult murders in American history. We’re talking about Charles Manson’s racist, L*D fueled doomsday conspiracy and the young people he convinced to execute what we know now as the Tate Murders. Join us as we unpack the evolution of this cult, historical context of the time, the dynamics of grooming, and how mainstream media consistently positions the murder of these Hollywood elite above the horror of Manson's white supremacist agenda. We also take some time to uplift the legacy of the Black Panther Party (who the cult unsuccessfully framed for these murders).

Photos:
1) 3 Manson Cult members, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkel, and a photo of Charles Manson in a red tint
2) Members of the Manson cult
3) Site of the Tate Murders
4) newspaper headline highlighting Sharon Tate & the murders
5) crime scene photos at the LaBianca home
6) 2015: Manson, 80 years old, and his girlfriend, 26-year old Afton Elaine Burton

*d

07/29/2022

🗣NEW EPISODE OUT🗣
“The CIA needed a place to test dangerous and potentially addictive drugs. Isbell had a large sample of people who were in no position to complain. Participants were compensated with heroine and morphine - the same drugs for which they were supposedly receiving addiction treatment.”

Learn more about the roll out of these L*D-fueled experiments and how they came to a close in part 2 of our MKUltra series. We also talk about popular conspiracies tied to these experiments and the psychology behind conspiracy-based beliefs.
*d

06/14/2022

👀 exciting news 👀 unpacking the eerie merch available SOON on our website. stay tuned 😉

05/20/2022

✨these earrings delete billionaires✨ - .basement

v excited to scare men away at the bars w these bad boys - 💁🏻‍♀️shaena

05/18/2022

💥NEW EPISODE OUT💥 We’re back with a horrifying story and, this time, we’re taking you to the small town of Aberdeen in New South Wales Australia. “If I don’t show up to work, it’s because she killed me,” John Price told his co-workers as he prepared to separate from his relationship with Katherine Knight. The next day his neighbors rang the alarm when he never arrived at work without a call — Katherine had murdered….and cannibalized him. This episode, we trace back Katherine’s relationship histories that preceded the killing and explore the question “what the f**k happened to you, Katherine?” Join us as we discuss “personality disorders”, break down the impact of childhood DV and how patriarchy is still the devil in this story.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts 🎧

05/17/2022

New episode dropping tomorrow! The way we tried to cover something less heavy & found one of the most gruesome stories yet 😩 stay tuned wherever you get your podcasts 😮‍💨
Unpacking the Eerie is a podcast where dark ass s**t & liberatory values meet. Hosted by 2 politicized social workers in the PNW.

03/11/2022

This , we're bringing it back to our episode on Richard Ramirez. In addition to dissecting his story, we share the stories of survivors and the impact his terror had on their lives.

In December 2020, we released our Hotel Cecil series -- a 3-part collection that highlights cases somehow connected to this cursed-ass Los Angeles hotel. If you haven't already, take a listen to our Lethal Location series 🎧

03/04/2022

Is still a thing? Whatever, we're throwing it back to one of our earliest episodes. In December 2020, we released our Hotel Cecil series -- a 3-part collection that highlights cases somehow connected to this cursed-ass Los Angeles hotel. If you haven't already, take a listen to our Lethal Location series 🎧

03/02/2022

✨NEW EP OUT✨
When people hear “witch hunts” and “witch trials”, what often comes to mind are the Salem Witch Trials. What people don’t know is that what we know as “witch hunts” have occurred in many other parts of the world, and in some countries, are still happening today. In our second collaborative episode, Bex Carlos, host of the podcast , joins us as we explore lesser known stories about witches & witch hunts. Learn about the impact of colonialism in Mexico and it’s creation of brujería due to the Spanish Inquisition, the colonial persecution of yuta in the Ryukyu Kingdom (now known as Okinawa), as well as the horrors that women in rural parts of India are still experiencing as a result of witch hunts driven by greed and patriarchal violence. Join us as we explore how the insidious nature of capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy all play a key role in these three stories and the power of ancient spiritual traditions and community in resisting colonial and patriarchal oppression. .

01/01/2022

HAPPY 2022 from your hosts 🖤 We closed 2021 with an all time total of 3,900+ downloads from 28 countries and over 500 cities. In addition, we were able to donate over $400 to causes close to our hearts thanks to the generosity of our patreon patrons. We appreciate you sooo much for supporting & listening to our lil passion project 🛸👻

12/07/2021

Wowie this year we posted 10 episodes/minisodes & reached 10 countries! 21 of you listened to us more than any other podcast & we were lucky enough to be there w 4 of you on your birthdays 🎂 our streams went up over 300% and our followers went up over 250%. Thanks sooo much for all your support — we ♥️ you

11/08/2021

Live show audio will be available wherever you get your podcasts tomorrow 🎧 On Thursday, October 21st at 6:00pm PST we did a live recording with the University of Washington School of Social Work, our recent Alma Mater heyooo. Here, we unpack the Fremont Troll in Seattle, WA - its ghost stories, history, role in gentrification, and more.

You can view the live show for a limited time on YouTube (link in bio) or any time by becoming a Patreon patron (plus you'll get access to our live show drinking game ;)

10/31/2021

👻NEW HALLOWEEN MINI OUT NOW👻 Some of you guessed it! Today’s story is about the notorious Annabelle doll - a haunted object with tales so creepy they inspired The Conjuring franchise. Take a short and scary listen to find out why folks claim she is the host of a demonic possession 😈 Available everywhere you get your podcasts!

10/29/2021

New minisode releasing on Halloween 🎃 Short & not so sweet, this one’s gonna be demonic 😈Can you guess this infamous case?

10/27/2021

If you caught our live show, you saw that it was intro-ed with v warm welcome from our past instructor, Vern! See more of their brilliance at their leading lights lecture tomorrow at 3:30pm ⚡️ we’ll be there 😉

Join social work PhD candidate Vern Harner on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. for the next lecture in the School’s Leading Lights Speaker Series. As a nonbinary community-embedded activist, organizer and scholar, their research highlights ongoing efforts within trans and other marginalized communities to thrive while pursuing the disruption of structural oppression.

Harner’s presentation, “Critical Social Work and the Duty to Stay Present,” reflects on their role as a nonbinary German American scholar and shares a call to action for social workers to persist in the disruption of the status quo in pursuit of shared liberation for “multiply marginalized” communities.

The Leading Lights series, open to students, alumni, staff and the broader social work community, was created by Dean Eddie Uehara to introduce some of the School’s top scholars to entering MSW students. Register here: https://bit.ly/3irCSJV

10/26/2021

10/22/2021

We just had our first ever live show! Thank you to UW School of Social Work for providing us the opportunity to dig in to history of the Fremont Troll and the creeps that surround it

09/25/2021

Does this make us Social Work famous now? lol We are v excited to share we'll be hosting our first ever live recording with the UW School of Social Work 👻 Hope you'll join us! Big thanks to Katie Lamar for reaching out to us and coordinating all the event planning. We appreciate you!! ⁠
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We also get the opportunity to allocate $500 to a cause related to the topic(s) we cover in this episode which is p amazing. Stay tuned to find out 🎧⁠
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Join us on Thursday, October 21st at 6:00pm PST for a live recording of , the creepy podcast with a social justice lens from two UW School of Social Work alumni, Akshi & Shaena! ⁠
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This episode will unpack the Fremont Troll - its ghost stories, history, and role in gentrification.⁠
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This is a free virtual event, but registration is required for access to the event link. ⁠
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Sign up now by visiting the link in our bio or this link: https://bit.ly/3zE9dmu

09/24/2021

Hey all, Happy Friday! Have you all listened to our latest full episode? Over the summer, we partnered with Jill Zawisza from WOMAN, Inc. to unpack the conditions that led up to the widely covered night where Lorena Gallo (then Bobbitt) severed her husband's 🍆 and the court fiasco that ensued after. We took it as an opportunity to center Lorena, and to share about dynamics of domestic violence that often gets erased in sensationalized media headlines. Learn about her story and how you can show up for survivors in this collaborative episode hosted by Shaena & Jill. ⁠
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You can find Lorena, Our Queen on anywhere you get your podcasts (link in bio). 👑⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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*xualassault

09/23/2021

⚕️NEW MINISODE ⚕️.
Catch our newest minisode where Shaena tells us about the bizarre death of Gloria Ramirez, a 31 year old mother of two from Riverside, California. In a strange sequence of events, following Gloria’s arrival at Riverside General Hospital, several hospital workers started to become ill after being exposed to her body and blood. Join us as we unpack the theories that have been put forth as explanations to this mystifying unsolved medical mystery.
Link in bio!

Photos:
1) Gloria Ramirez
2) Collage with the photo of Gloria, and newspaper headlines about the incident
3) Biohazard team outside the hospital
4) DMSO, a topical cream popularized in the 60s/70s as a cure-all for muscle pains/body aches; tied to one of the theories surrounding Glorias “toxic blood”

09/10/2021

Uplifting this amazing report by the Young Women's Empowerment Project - “Girls Do What They have to to Survive”, a participatory research study created for and by young people in the s*x trade & street economies. (cited in Ep 2: An As***le Aquarius)
https://ywepchicago.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/girls-do-what-they-have-to-do-to-survive-a-study-of-resilience-and-resistance.pdf

09/10/2021

Today marks the one year since we released our second episode, an As***le Aquarius, in which we covered how misogyny, white privilege and violence against women and girls in the s*x trade made it possible for Gary Ridgeway to get away with murdering over 45 young people over a 20 year span. We honor their lives.

Wendy Lee Coffield 16
Gisele Ann Lovvorn 17
Debra Lynn Bonner 23
Marcia Fay Chapman 31
Cynthia Jean Hinds 17
Opal Charmaine Mills 16
Terry Rene Milligan 16
Mary Bridget Meehan 18
Debra Lorraine Estes 15
Linda Jane Rule16
Denise Darcel Bush 23
Shawnda Leea Summers 16
Shirley Marie Sherrill 18
Rebecca "Becky" Marrero 20
Colleen Renee Brockman 15
Sandra Denise Major 20
Wendy Stephens 14
Alma Ann Smith 18
Delores LaVerne Williams 17
Gail Lynn Mathews 23
Andrea Marion Childers 19
Sandra Kay Gabbert 17
Kimi-Kai Pitsor 16
Marie M. Malvar 18
Carol Ann Christensen 21
Martina Theresa Authorlee 18
Cheryl Lee Wims 18
Yvonne "Shelly" Antosh 19
Carrie Ann Rois 15
Constance Elizabeth Naon 19
Kelly Marie Ware 22
Tina Marie Thompson 21
April Dawn Buttram 16
Debbie May Abernathy 26
Tracy Ann Winston 19
Maureen Sue Feeney 19
Mary Sue Bello 25
Pammy Annette Avent 15
Delise Louise Plager 22
Kimberly L. Nelson 21
Lisa Yates 19
Mary Exzetta West 16
Cindy Anne Smith 17
Patricia Michelle Barczak19
Roberta Joseph Hayes 21
Marta Reeves 36
Patricia Yellowrobe 38
Unidentified (Jane Doe B-17)
Unidentified (Jane Doe B-20)

09/09/2021

🖤NEW EPISODE OUT🖤

On June 23, 1993, Lorena Gallo (then, Bobbit) would come to be known as the woman from Manassas, Virginia who, in a rage, severed her husband’s p***s and threw it out the window of her car. What was missing from this story, in all of the sensational media coverage, is the extreme abuse she had endured from him the years leading up to this. In our first collaborative episode ever, Shaena and Jill Zawisza*, Co-director at Woman, Inc. - Women Organized to Make Abuse Nonexistent, cover this incident, and most importantly, Lorena’s story.

Join in as we uncover the details and political context of this case, break down dynamics of domestic violence, and the role we all can play in supporting survivors. Find us on your preferred podcast platform here: https://unpackingtheeerie.buzzsprout.com

Photos:
1) Cover of the Lorena documentary
2) The carving knife used during the incident
3) Lorena & JW Bobbit
4) Lorena featured in Vanity Fair, 1994
5) Lorena today