The Black Tapes is a mystery-horrorpseudo-documentarypodcast 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 The Black Tapes 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]
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
Episodes 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]
Episodes
The first season of The Black Tapes premiered May 21, 2015. The last episode, the mid-season finale, was released November 7, 2017.[6]
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.
This 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".[7]
'Ghostpocalypse - 6 Crossing the Threshold' is one of several tracks by Kevin MacLeod used in The Black Tapes.
'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.[8]
Reception
The 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."[9]
See also
Tanis, a sister show to The Black Tapes in which Alex Reagan sometimes appeared
