Comedian and podcaster James Shakeshaft joins Andy and Dave on this episode of Scarred for Life From terrifying television puppets and demonic time travellers to the fallout from one of the world's worst nuclear disasters, this episode has a little bit of everything!
James is best known as one half of the brilliant folklore and local legends podcast Loremen, alongside Alasdair Beckett-King. We chat about their shared fascination with ghosts, folklore, urban legends, time slips and the strange stories that get passed down through generations. We also get into the mysteries of Liverpool's Bold Street, the conspiracy theories surrounding Denver Airport and why some of our favourite myths and legends stick around.
But what about the things that genuinely scarred James growing up?
First up, it's Terrahawks, Gerry Anderson's puppet-based sci-fi series, and the terrifying Zelda. We also get into childhood fears of puppets, the unsettling scarecrow from Round the Twist and how we're all affected by the uncanny valley of it all.
Then it's back to the 1990s with Quantum Leap. James revisits a particularly unsettling Halloween episode, “The Boogieman,” in which Sam Beckett discovers that his trusted companion Al, might not be quite who he seems. What happens when someone you trust turns out to be the devil? Apparently, it's enough to haunt you for years!
Finally, we revisit the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and James's earliest television memory: watching news coverage of radioactive fallout travelling across Europe and learning that sheep in parts of Wales had been barred from being moved or slaughtered because of radioactive contamination. It's a reminder of just how frightening real-world news could be for children growing up in the 1980s.
Along the way, we discuss Ghostwatch, nuclear anxiety, childhood television, Stephen King, time travel and the strange things that stick in your imagination long after you've grown up.
So settle in, join us for a trip back to the television nightmares of our childhoods, and remember: sleep well, do have nightmares!
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Produced and edited by Nikki Druce @NikkiMacabreLondon
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