Episode 82 - With host Craig Norris, and Co-Host Taylor Lidstone.
First Broadcast on Edge Radio, 2nd August 2024.
We delve into a strange 'new' urban legend making the rounds about a 'haunted house' in 1980's West Hobart. We'll unpack its social media origins and discuss other local myths, including the tale of Old Zincy. Plus, we’ll cover the latest news, such as Deadpool & Wolverine propelling NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’ into Spotify’s Global Top 20, and the rise of virtual pop stars aiming to revive Australia’s struggling music industry.
Watch here:
Listen here:
Links
Deadpool & Wolverine Catapults NSYNC's 'Bye Bye Bye' Into Top 20 on Spotify's Global Chart - IGN
These pop stars are virtual. Can they save Australia's ailing music business? - ABC News
“Haunted house” in West Hobart - Urban legend or Datura poisoning? : r/hobart (reddit.com)
Old Zincy and other tall tales: Tasmania's weirdest urban myths - ABC listen
Listen live to “Media Mothership” every Friday 4-5pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) via YouTube, Twitch, and Edge Radio.
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TRANSCRIPT
This is an AI-generated transcript of the audio and it may contain errors. We may update or correct this transcript in the future. Please contact us if you have any questions about the information in this transcript. The audio is the official record of this episode.
CRAIG NORRIS
Welcome to media mothership broadcasting out of Edge Radio Studios in Nepal, Luna, Hobart. TAS. On the show, we explore how media can shape our understanding of the world around us. Through looking at some current news around media and entertainment. Pop. Culture and other media circulated oddities. I'm your host, Doctor Craig, and if you'd like, we're streaming across. Edgeradio.org dot AU as well as on YouTube and Twitch. Just search media. Mothership we're also. On the DAB, message us on the chat at YouTube or Twitch if you'd like. Or SMS US directly into the studio on 0488811707. On today's show, we're going to investigate some fascinating recent urban legends. Recently, old urban Legends maybe that are oddly specific about Hobart TAS, but before that we'll jump into. Some intriguing news. All right, before we play the odd bit of news, let's try and set the scene with a few seconds of this song. Can anyone guess? What these opening chords are for? What song? Yeah, yeah, there it is. That's enough. That, of course, is NSYNC's. Bye. Bye. Bye. Which you know, Gee, I I'm sure I'd really would love me to play the entirety of NSYNC's. Bye bye bye. But the rationale for me playing those first opening notorious chords is it's a fascinating case of a movie that has catapulted a long forgotten, maybe not song into the top 20 again. In this case, on Spotify's global chart, so this is linked to the recent movie Deadpool and Wolverine, the Marvel superhero universe. Movie Tadpole Wolverine, which features this. On in its opening few minutes and is performed by the Deadpool character in a very dramatic, amusing and comical way. And because of this highly choreographed. Dance scene that Deadpool or as it's referred to in the social media space dance pop. It it's it's. Unforgettable, Ness, I guess has has triggered this song to then become popular again, or at least listen to heavily on music streaming services such as Spotify. So this. 24 years after its original release, the song has suddenly amassed 3.827 million streams as articles such as the one I'm looking at now from IGN, the one to discuss. This isn't the first time this has happened. It's actually a really interesting phenomenon where a, you know, a a kind of. Bit of pop. History has suddenly reemerged as one of the big interesting. Top five, top 10 things that are circulating in a music charts. Or a book. Charts or a any other form of of of of metrics around the popularity of a piece of work. There was of course from Stranger Things. The Kate Bush song. Was it running up the hill? Which equally you know. 20 years or so, 30 years or so after it first launched suddenly was back in. What's interesting about these cases is, you know, is much like, I guess, a kind of celebrity endorsement or a kind of product placement in a movie. The more the main character is doing something with that object or meteor artefact, or the more it's pivotal to the plot. You know the the more likely it probably is to then become something that listeners in the case of music, want to go back to and explore. So in this case featuring it very heavily in the first few minutes of the movie has triggered this interest. I mean, there's plenty of of pop media. Pop music that ends up in movies, but not all of them suddenly get back into the top 20 after decades of. Of, you know, being largely forgotten or cringed about. So yeah. Why is that? Why is it that makes these pieces suddenly engaged again and significant? You know, so I'd say a part of it is how it's embedded within the new text. In this case, the new movie Wolverine, Deadpool and Wolverine. And then how within that it engages some form of of emotional. Uhm, you know engagement. I know in marketing they talk about this concept of the kiss mark. You know, that does the product leave a kiss mark on the individual in terms of an emotional attraction, kind of nostalgia or in this case, maybe a creative juxtaposition. I mean, Deadpool. Wolverine R rated movie violence mirth, mayhem. Yet here we have this very saccharine sweet boy Song boy band song from the 80S is that. Is that creative juxtaposition where the comedy comes from? The engagement anyway? Intriguing to think about next? Little bit of news again continuing with this idea of music. It was a piece from the ABC talking about. Virtual pop stars, and in particular focusing on the Japanese virtual. Artist uh vocaloid? Hudson 1 Miku and the announcement that she is touring Australia not sadly coming to Tasmania, but she'll be going, I think Sydney, Melbourne, Perth off hand but it triggered a lot of interest around what are these virtual? Performance. I mean, they've been quite established in Japan for a number of decades where there's no physical performer. Instead, there's an animated or virtual performer you can go to a live. Big there could be a hologram image or some kind of movie screen image of them, and you engage with it knowing that while the music is crafted by humans and a bit of tech, nevertheless you're you're engaging not with the people behind the scenes that are putting together. Humans, but instead you're engaging with the virtual computer digitised. Avatar image and yeah, Hatsune Miku is one of the most well known and popular of these, but interestingly the article talks about how the impact of this virtual music and its current success. You know, points to a number of. Bands, for instance, during COVID, which incorporated these virtual performances in festivals, the article talks about a number of Justin Justin Bieber gigs that were held in kind of metaverse spaces or gigs that were in Roblox. Or other virtual community or game spaces. As well as the current heart throb virtual boy band called Pleve, and if. Our host from KPOP Unlimited pops into the show today. We might ask about virtual artists. I know he's been to a number of virtual K pop performances during COVID. Were you basically log in? You might have an avatar, you're allowed to see a concert live. But it's all kind of animated or digitised. The the thing they they propose, though, is what might be interesting about it is is. Not only does it potentially have benefits in terms of protecting the artist, I mean there's a number of you could point to a number of of controversies around ******** obsessive fan behaviour towards their real idol singers, which have resulted in. You know notorious cases of them being stalked. Or obsessed over by these fans. So you know, if it's a virtual object, then potentially that means the real human will be somewhat divorced from the. Risk as well as whether or not it could address the current problem that Australia is facing in terms of the challenge that a number of big musical performances have had here where. You know, a number of big festivals have had to be cancelled, such as like, I think, Splendour in the grass recently had to be. Cancelled. Umm. Yeah, I'll put you on to camera. And great news. So hold on, let me just set the scene. Sorry to to break the illusion of completely scripted. Thanks for joining us, Lou Taylor.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Oh, sorry. You gave that mic.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yes, hello.
CRAIG NORRIS
So actually I'm just at the moment going into the discussion around vocal Vocaloids in virtual artists, Hatsune Miku is performing here in Australia later on this year.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
OK. Yeah. She's doing a fan signing event.
CRAIG NORRIS
Can she do a fan signing event as a virtual object? I mean, imagine there's some kind of hologram, exactly. There might be an email you get from her. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm sure there's must be some fan satisfaction. I mean, many, I mean, certainly in Asia. And we've talked about this before.
Speaker
Ohh yes.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
In Asia, the the idle gigs I've been to the Pop Idol gigs, I've been to have all involved at the end of it, some form of of a handshake event or a kind of opportunity to get no I want a kick in the teeth.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Kicking the teeth event.
CRAIG NORRIS
No, a signing event like you get to sign something. So I mean, as opposed to Australia where I can't recall any moment where? You'll expect to see the band after the gig in some formal. Way of engaging.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah, I mean that they have they have like merch stands and things like that. But yeah nothing like.
CRAIG NORRIS
Of Nurse Sanford, definitely. That so yeah, yeah. I mean, sure, the virtual items do it. I mean, what's interesting about virtual idols is they talk about. Some of the. Current ones in Asia, have you heard about the heartthrob virtual Boy band? Please PLEVE please. Yeah.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
No.
CRAIG NORRIS
It's an 820 launched 2023 sold more than 1,000,000 records and earned billing next to Big Asian acts like Idol Radio live concerts.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
I mean The thing is, if you're gonna have a like a virtual band, then you need to have virtual fans. And so where every person.
CRAIG NORRIS
1. The real fans.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Where every fan has a virtual version of themselves that enjoys the fan.
CRAIG NORRIS
Well, I was going to ask because you during COVID, no, you went to a number of one. That's eight number. You went to one virtual gig, right? So this was what band was. This was one, of course.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
There's one I listen. I keep listening at 5:00, 2K Pop unlimited where there might indeed be some eyes on music.
Speaker
Then.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Of course.
CRAIG NORRIS
So you went to eyes one. What was that like? Like you, you had to pay a normal constant fee, right? Like 100 bucks.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yep, Yep. Normal concert fee they sent you like a little welcome pack sort of thing, where it had your.
CRAIG NORRIS
Or something bucks.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Ticket like an email? No, I really like a.
CRAIG NORRIS
In.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
A real one.
CRAIG NORRIS
Right.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
The real one with a ticket with a some sort of memorabilia. I can't remember. It was a pen or something like that. I don't remember. Or a card or something like that. UM and then? You went into this place and put your ticket number in? Yeah, I actually, I think I think I think they started doing it with the tickets because it was gonna be a real one. And then COVID happened. And so they still sent the tickets out to everyone. But then, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
So you logged in but I. Went. So you this URL. OK. Bit of a hybrid model, but it did result in going to a web page, putting in some number and then you're saying so. So you were the virtual audience member, but you had to then choose an avatar. No a bit like ohh.
Speaker
Yeah.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
No, nothing. That it was just like like.
CRAIG NORRIS
Nothing.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Which?
CRAIG NORRIS
Ohh.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Right. It's a it's a streamed 1. Yeah, streamed so.
CRAIG NORRIS
Stream those. There's a screen you were watching. Yeah. They're live performance. Yeah, but it was a performance to no one or or the stage hands or something. And there was a, like, a chat.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
There was a chat, yeah, but the chat was mirrored in the room that they were. In. Oh, so you'd type something or someone would type something and they would respond to it about 15 seconds later.
CRAIG NORRIS
During the song or the song. Breaks the song breaks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They could be trying to put it into lyrics. Would be tough, so a bit of audience participation probably, maybe even more audience participation than a normal.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Geek. Yeah, definitely. Actually, because people could say individual things and they would be able to respond to those individual things rather than a room of people yelling at them at once and then trying to pick who to.
Speaker
So.
CRAIG NORRIS
That's interesting.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Talk to did you?
CRAIG NORRIS
Chat did you type anything? What did you type? I'm not.
Speaker
Sorry.
CRAIG NORRIS
Saying Ohh wow marriage proposal was will you marry me with some really awkward? Bank account details. OK, sorry, I shouldn't joke. Did they engage with it? Did they engage with your? Yes. Ohh well, yeah. Great. How did that make you feel? Vindicated, verified. Validated.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Violated. No, no, it was. It was good because they could. They could. Respond to you, OK.
CRAIG NORRIS
Can you tell me their response then? If you're not going to? Tell me what you wrote. What did they respond this?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
I put it in Korean, they responded in.
Speaker
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Korean. Yeah. OK. You're not going to make it easier.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Translate. OK, well, I'll translate. I'll say I said, what is your favourite fruit?
CRAIG NORRIS
Ohh OK, it's harmless question or is?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
It and they said. Strawberry, strawberry. But I asked that of my favourite member as.
CRAIG NORRIS
Well, wow. And and did that change your relationship to stories, did you?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
No.
CRAIG NORRIS
Think wow, I could have buy strawberries now.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
No.
CRAIG NORRIS
Was that a surprise twist you were thinking? She's more of a banana girl.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
No. It was just it was just a. Question. It was really just a.
CRAIG NORRIS
Question just you were under pressure and you had.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
To come with some, it was really just a question to see if they would respond to to you pretty harmless innocuous, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
OK so. Want to choose?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Responded to us like.
CRAIG NORRIS
You could have asked about Edge radio.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Do you listen?
CRAIG NORRIS
Anyway, the article goes on to talk about how yeah, there's a lot of doom and gloom about the streaming music scene at the moment in terms of live gigs being cancelled and.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
What live gigs have been?
CRAIG NORRIS
Cancelled a number of big events, right? I mean, splendour in the grass, most big festivals. It was like this year got cancelled right. There was a period of like three of them in a row or something. Got cancelled within a short period.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
But yeah, aren't they ones that aren't going to come back though as well?
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, it appears they've just confirmed I'm not too informed. I know that there was a lot of bad press about what appeared to be a trend as to whether or not, I mean, it's winter at the moment. So I don't know if that's really music festival season.
Speaker
Hmm.
CRAIG NORRIS
But the thing, yeah, virtual geeks might be a way to address it. Hmm. Right. Twitch, twitch. Well, certainly our show is a great platform. Exactly. If you'd like to. And, you know, get us. On board, let us know.
Speaker 4
Minutes.
CRAIG NORRIS
And and then setting out the, setting up the next topic. All right, so. The next topic is kind of new new to.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Me. OK. Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Right. And and it came about through a YouTube clip, which was brought to my attention by a long time follower of the show.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
And it's, which means it's either you or me or a. Member of your family member.
CRAIG NORRIS
Of my family. Even legends and urban legends that turned. Out to be true. I'll. I'll play it to to put us in the scene and then we're going to kind of unpack it, OK? I mean, it's always interesting, I think when out. Of the blue, you. Stumble across some information about the location you drive by all the time. It's like, oh wow, something went down there decades ago. Is that true or not? So this is is what it seems to set the scene. Of course this is from a YouTube channel called chilling scares that pretty much, you know, signposts what this is.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Ohh wow.
CRAIG NORRIS
It's not creepy. It's not going to freak you out, so don't tune. Out. Well, look, it's it's urban legends that turned out to be true. So you know, these are going to be urban legends which have at least potentially a basis in real.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Exactly.
CRAIG NORRIS
So let's listen to the setup for this urban legend. Well, just to define first what what is an urban legend?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
A legend that happens urbanely.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, they're associated with kind of myths that are kind of city based or town based, so. You know, I think like you could put. The Mothman prophecy there.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
There there's a moth being or.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Some sort of creepy thing that's.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, like there's a house.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Put about through sort of like Chinese whispers against people and it all changes. Loch Ness months.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, so. OK, well, we'll listen to this alleged urban legend, and then we might unpack it a little bit. It's intriguing because again, you know, it's interesting to me on media mothership, how media shapes reality. Right. So this is a classic example of a little bit of media that if you don't live in. This location this would be, you know, you'd say, well, I guess this happened and we're going to look at why it's it's kind of unlikely to be the case.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
It's going well so.
CRAIG NORRIS
Far all right. Yeah. Well, hold on. If I played it from the. Right source, it would, OK. I've got too many monitors here, we. Go. Here we go.
Speaker 5
West Hobart haunted house. West Hobart is an inner city suburb located in Tasmania, Australia. Over the years, dozens of.
CRAIG NORRIS
Hey, can I just ask a question, do you reckon this is an AI voice? I mean, it's a good one if it.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Is that's difficult. It does sound kind of like it, but it also does sound like a person that calls themselves creepy legends on.
CRAIG NORRIS
You just feeling scares.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
She looks good.
CRAIG NORRIS
1.32 million subscribers search I mean this, this, this, this piece only came out two days ago. It's already got 387,000 views.
Speaker
That's pretty good.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, I'm thinking we're gonna get get some of that action anyway.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Wow, OK.
CRAIG NORRIS
Playing. So ask yourself, I mean, what we're looking for there? Basically, this is a story. How does it set the story up? Right. What are the types of setup and pay off that this story is offering us?
Speaker 5
West Hobart haunted house. West Hobart is an inner city suburb located in Tasmania, Australia. Over the years, dozens of allegations of supposed hauntings, ghost apparitions and other paranormal activity have been made by tourists and residents of West Hobart, and it's honestly not too hard to see why. As West Hobart is a pretty Old Town with a generally creepy vibe. As is usually the case, most of these stories have either turned out to be fake or the people making the allegations didn't have enough evidence to support their claims, which makes it almost entirely likely that their hoax is. But as it turns out, at least one of these stories actually has some amount of truth to it. Back in the late 80s and mid 90s, rumours started spreading of a house in West Hobart that was apparently so haunted. It drove its residents insane. At first, the rumours created a huge buzz all over town, with the locals doing everything possible to stay far away from the alleged haunted house. It wasn't until months later that the authorities got involved and finally got a clear picture of the situation. While it was true that the houses residents appeared to be going and saying that it didn't have anything to do with paranormal activity, but with the fact that a detour of Vine. Have been growing through the trees directly above the home and dropping leaves into the family's rainwater tank. For a long time, the family had been inadvertently consuming micro doses of the plan every single day, which made them slowly but surely start to lose their sanity as they sank further and further into delirium. In case you've never heard of it, the tour is.
CRAIG NORRIS
I'll just pause it there. So he goes into a little bit of a discussion there about the history of Detour. We'll drop into that. 2nd. Just to quickly unpack some of the imagery, I know people couldn't see it, it's.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yep. Quickly. Yep.
CRAIG NORRIS
I I couldn't some of the things I I I aren't Hobart, right? Some of the things to Launceston. I think I posted it up on Facebook and asked about my my collective. Conscious brain trust, and that's part of that network. And I had a a historian, local historian Tony Stagg message.
Speaker
Oh yeah.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Back does he? Does he own that? Let you know, OK.
CRAIG NORRIS
I don't know what was it you?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Were gonna ask the the restaurant that's here.
CRAIG NORRIS
So he he was saying, look, there's a couple of things which is surprising about this. So it talks about how, you know, there there's this house in West Hobart. None of the imagery is West Hobart. Some of it's taken from. The MOT horror movie. Right is the annual tiara. How suddenly is depicted as well as Launceston areas in Launceston, and then the fact that it's. Meant to be. From so the story goes, there's weird sounds that was being heard from this house. And the police investigated. Then later on it was revealed that this deterrent, Datura, also known as the Devil's Trumpet Flower. Power had been blossoming and had somehow been getting into their water tank. Right, which they were drinking from. And there's not many, if any, water tanks in. But in particular, it's not really a dry state in that sense, particularly West Hobart, which is right on near the rivulet anyway, and is going to have most of its drinking water through normal plumbing, so a not many water tanks in in kind of inner city. And B not many people would be using those water tanks as their drinking source, right? To begin with. So two things all have already been to be really unlikely about that story. The thing that I did find is true is that indeed the datura.
Speaker
Hmm.
CRAIG NORRIS
Plants is an invasive species in Tasmania. In Australia. More generally, they're they're they're they're they're out there this this devil trumpet it's it's it's mainly also. Kind of people had planted it and collected it for its, you know, very ornate. Flour. Well, as I was talking about this to you yesterday, you claimed to have some in your.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
That's nice.
CRAIG NORRIS
Own garden, yeah. Of course, that that, you know, have been there.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Now I've got some Nightshade knocking about.
CRAIG NORRIS
When you bought it. This is all from from Lord Taylor, yeah. Well, we have it on air now. Yeah, they're recorded. So yeah, it is.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
By some of my potions and tinctures.
CRAIG NORRIS
It's definitely out there for me. Yeah, the the thing that's really intriguing about this is, is a as soon as I asked for any clarification about this story on social media, has anyone heard about this before? People said, yeah, no, there's no story they've never heard. Either from the 80s or now.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Sounds like you don't believe Mr Creepy wisps or whatever it is.
Speaker
A better case.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
He's cool.
CRAIG NORRIS
When I did look down deeper, you know just doing various Google searches. There are a number of Reddit posts on this story, right? The West Hobart haunted House, Devil's Trumpet microdosing.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Oh, OK. Do you reckon it? Do you reckon it was the fellow trying to get? Information in order to make this.
CRAIG NORRIS
Video he may have come across it originally because these Reddit posts were from seven months. Ago two of.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Alright.
CRAIG NORRIS
And both of them were, well, they were both talking about how parents like it's time for parents. So, you know, my daughter came home from school after watching a TikTok about this story, claiming that there's a West Hobart haunted house from the 1980s where people microdosed on devil's trumpet. And so it allegedly seems to have been a TikTok some time within the last year to seven months that circulated with the story of a West Hobart Haunted House in 1980s, where people microdosed on devils trumpet unknowingly.
Speaker
MHM.
CRAIG NORRIS
Then becoming kind of nightmarishly ill, so it seems to be very recent, and it seems that's the source this YouTube got its information from, but all of those sources have ended in a dead end in terms of the Reddit posts were there about parents saying, you know. You know, I never came across anything. I've never heard of this before and people chiming and saying no, I don't think this. I've never heard of this. Some people would have stories like there's a guy there that posted on Reddit saying, yeah, he had to cut down his dad's deterra plants and felt really sick all week after doing it. So, you know, again, there's there's a lot of corroboration around the fact that this plant exists and is out there and is highly poisonous and toxic.
Speaker
Hmm.
CRAIG NORRIS
But there's no truth, it seems, to an idea of of a haunted house. But what there is truth about is, is this part which is that this, this, this, this, this datura plant is, is, is. Is real, so we'll hear the next part of it where he basically talks about why, how it is this plant provides a plausible explanation as to this urban legend's supposed urban legend.
Speaker 5
He sees of planned within the Nightshade family, also known as Jims and Weed, the Devil's Weed or Devil's Trumpet, and you'll see why in a second, even though the plant itself looks pretty harmless, it's known for having extremely powerful hallucinogenic properties, which is why it was used for centuries by Native American tribes in coming of age rituals and other important ceremonies. The Aztecs also used the tour as a painkiller in certain rituals, namely in ritual sacrifices, and it's also commonly used as an ingredient in the ritual of zombification in the Haitian voodoo religion, where it's.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Wow. That is wow.
CRAIG NORRIS
You you kind of got a checklist there, you know, Native American Indian rituals as techs, right? You know, we all know about the sacrifices and stuff, right. And then trifecta Haitian zombie.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Stuff. Wow.
Speaker 5
Referred to as the devil's cucumber, as you can probably tell by now, a detour is in your typical recreative hallucinogen. And there's a reason why it's really only ever used in ******** spiritual rituals and ceremonies, and sometimes by naive people who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. In low to medium doses, the Tura causes extremely distressing, delirious experiences and in higher doses that can lead to paralysis and even death. Nowadays the tour is recognised by most tribes as a highly toxic and dangerous plan and have understandably stopped using it. Before we move on, I wanted to take a minute to talk about War Thunder this.
CRAIG NORRIS
OK oops, sorry. Not fast enough on the pause button now. Sorry, new radio.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Ohh dear.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah. Anyway, so what's, what's intriguing to? Me about that.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Is that it used to be used as a hallucinogenic form of of pastime by people. That's what. That's what interests me. About it.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, look.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
And it reminds me of of of a of a substance that is very common here in Tasmania, which is the Amanita muscaria, which is a little mushroom which is red. The red mushrooms you see around that have got the white sort of squares on them, got heaps of them around my house.
CRAIG NORRIS
OK.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
And they used to use them for hallucinogenic trips as well.
CRAIG NORRIS
Kind of.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Cults and and and patient society, but also people that were just doing science things and they're like, oh, I'll eat that, see what happens. It is so, so poisonous. It is so poisonous.
Speaker
Yes.
Speaker 1
Well.
CRAIG NORRIS
You know, and let's step back a bit. And of course do some. Disclaimers in terms. Of you know, obviously this show is not. At all from. Experts in toxicology or you know various forms of horticulture, do consult experts or don't do anything with odd things at all. What it reminds.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah, I'm an expert. Me though saying to do it.
Speaker
Is this?
Speaker 4
This is this series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. The producers purpose is to suggest some possible explanation, but not necessarily the only ones to the misreads we will examine.
CRAIG NORRIS
Did you ever watch this show in search of with Leonard Nimoy? No 1970s nineteen 7790. That's what that reminded me of. Like as a kid, I used to binge. Out on these in search of pseudo documentary pieces, taking these kind of like the curses.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Are you saying that we're pseudo documentary?
CRAIG NORRIS
Makers. No, I'm saying that that YouTube channel definitely is. I'm hoping we can step back a bit and not commit any of those. Grievous outrageous fabrications. But.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Well, The thing is, it's it's it's it's edible. This particular mushroom is edible. You just need to like boil it for ages and then soak it in vinegar and then you can actually.
CRAIG NORRIS
Have it, you know, as I was digging into this story, there's there's this one YouTube. It's it's a found footage. YouTube piece and it may or may not be true. What's really interesting about it, though, is it's kind of. You know it. It's it's very much speaking to this idea. So here's this guy. Yeah. So what we're hearing here is him on on camera talking about.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Well, sounds like he's eating the microphone at the. Moment.
Speaker
Uh. Some.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
So March 5th. 2008.
Speaker
Don't seem to be. Coming down.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
It's been about two months.
Speaker
Yeah. Can't really go out.
CRAIG NORRIS
So this guy goes on for another 2 minutes and again it's his found footage piece. Allegedly someone uncovered it or came across this, this, this recording and they're saying, yeah, look it, it seems that he had this substance that's allegedly is what the Serbian legends based on that.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah. The data rate, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
And. You know, no one knows what happened to him since you know it's very much Blair Witch project kind of vibe in terms of, you know, he's not heard of since and and it kind of adds to this, this danger that circulates around these stories. I guess that as you go deeper. To them, there's there's more mystery. There's more uncertainty as an interesting case of an urban legend. I think the the haunted house story in West Hobart, with its detour thing, makes an interesting move because it's not. Because it's circulating as a debunked urban legend that's based in a interesting, you know, truth in terms of an entry point into the toxicology of this plant species. But it's it's, it seems to not be true to begin with. As a story, right? So it's it's an interesting case of it's performing the acts of an urban legend. Through its denial of being an urban legend right, like, can it be an urban legend itself by saying here's an urban legend that's been proved that's turn out to be true.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
That's turned out to be an urban legend, so it's like an urban legend that's turned out to be true. That's turned out to be an urban legend.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
And and I mean, really, who in West Hobart isn't mad? Maybe the date you applied did happen and it was just a person that ended up being there was one person in the whole of West Hobart who ended up being just.
CRAIG NORRIS
Normal, maybe SMS now.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
0488811707.
CRAIG NORRIS
OK, so what's intriguing about this story is also that it triggered a whole discussion. Of other stories around, how about urban legends and myths? And I want to read through a couple of them now that have been posted two months ago on Reddit. The R Slash Hobart sub. That. This has been posted by hurried confidence in 1984. Oh, that's me who are looking for some spooky stories and myths about around Hobart. If anyone knows anything interesting, first one someone posted. Is that the spookiest story is that the Midlands Hwy project looks like it's going to get finished. This is this is amazing because it's a 10 year plan and it looks like it's actually running to schedule. So that's a kind of matter. Urban legend that, you know, Council is actually, you know, actually going to be on schedule for suburban. Development. I don't.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Believe it.
CRAIG NORRIS
The other one that really got me interested is this thing called old zinky AKA the zinc moth. So this is a story of a giant moth or moth like creature that's said to reside somewhere between the zinc works and the Bowen Bridge.
Speaker
OK.
CRAIG NORRIS
The the the, the now deleted. Person where he deleted his name from it after.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
The police.
CRAIG NORRIS
It posted it. Said it probably started from people seeing large owls hunting at night and not understanding what owls look like. But it's still fun. Yeah. So he's saying, you know, there's old zinky. So yeah, I SMS now 0488811707 if if you yourself have any legitimate old zinky signs.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Winky.
CRAIG NORRIS
There's old zinc key. There's other stories about.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Have you ever? Have you looked at the zinc work like gone on to the other side and looked on the at the zinc work?
Speaker
Trump.
CRAIG NORRIS
Only on the the Mona Ferry. Going there, I'll. I'll see it that side.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Alright, I don't know what it looks like from there, but if if you go on to the other side of the bridge and look back at the zinc works, it looks like some sort of. Steampunk Paradise is fantastic.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, it would be a. Great scene for some. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, maybe that's where old zinky is. Yeah, the zinc moth, the rivulet children is.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Ohh God, that is so creepy.
CRAIG NORRIS
Connect Dream 8062 says the river children. I haven't been down there in many moons, but I can remember people in and around my friendship group in the early. 2000s talking about children shadows you'd see running through the rivulets, but being but being just being far enough, you'd second guess yourself if you ever frequented down there, you'd understand. It can be hauntingly beautiful with all the graffiti, etcetera, and being under the city.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
If you if you let you also. Don't go down there. Don't. Go down there. No, exactly. Don't go down there. There's a lot of people that go. Down there and do that.
CRAIG NORRIS
Vendor junction Fred. The ghost from Theatre Royal? Yep. Yep, so this is. This is probably the one that's most well. Known. I see the theatre.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Royal royal. Yeah, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
This supposedly a thing that haunts the speakers chamber in Parliament House. There's a ghost called Beryl in the Kodak Building.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
He's heard that one as well, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Kona, what's the Kodak building?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
I don't like there. There used to be a Kodak building here. I don't know what. It is now, but this would be a place that would process.
CRAIG NORRIS
Kodak film I.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah, it had. It had a, it was pretty tall. It had a massive Kodak written on the side. Wow. I do remember it, but I don't know where it.
CRAIG NORRIS
There's allegedly an old woman who will who will appear in front of cars as they enter Campbelltown. Someones replied, yeah.
Speaker
That.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Reminds me. Actually sorry story that I remember. I was driving along at in the dead of night. It was like. 11 or 12 or. Something like that and just suddenly, like suddenly I saw someone in front of me like as a person, and they just stood in the middle of the road. Like with the double white lines there they were just stood.
Speaker
918.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
There.
CRAIG NORRIS
Ohh wow creepy.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Hold your candle.
CRAIG NORRIS
And. Just drove by them. Yes. Nice. Well for the for the person that proposed that there's supposedly a thing that haunts the speakers chamber in Parliament House. The reply was that, yes, the things the spirit of justice.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
It does haunt them.
CRAIG NORRIS
And it's really angry. There's meant to be secret tunnels. There's a lot of secret tunnel posts, so there's supposed to be secret tunnels from St. John's Car Park in Newtown to the. The Royal Royal Hospital or the Theatre Royal? I'm not sure where they transported the insane. Also, there are many children buried in St. John's Park.
Speaker
Hmm.
CRAIG NORRIS
Also, St. John's park. Sorry, not St. John's car park. St. John's park? Yeah, someones replied, saying the tunnel isn't real. But there is a mass graveyard there of bones from the orphanage and they know. Just near to where the edge. Radio studio is the Hutchins School. Yeah, was doing some excavating and. You know, there were articles circulating about, you know, yes, there. There was a graveyard there that had been relocated. But I was amazed at the number of of remains like in the thousands that have come out right now from the excavation works. So wow, you know, very much speeding towards poltergeist, right, to me, well.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah, like three things. Back onto the Theatre Royal Ghost. What was the theatre? Royal ghosts name again?
CRAIG NORRIS
Fred. Fred, I think it's Fred.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
'S well.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, Fred, the ghost at Theatre Royal.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Well, the Playhouse Theatre has also got a ghost. Called Fred. Really. Yeah. I wonder if it's. The same it might be, but a lot of the reason that because the the Playhouse Theatre used to be a Chapel and then it was redesigned into a movie theatre, then redesigned into a stage theatres. And so I can't remember.
CRAIG NORRIS
All right.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Who was that? Told me. But they were sort of like working on stuff downstairs and the lights were off. And then? The lights turned on. No one else in the theatre with them. And then I've heard other people have heard banging and stuff like that as well. Saying it's Fred. Fred knocking about?
CRAIG NORRIS
More tunnel posts. There was a tunnel between the lock up. I mean, what's interesting about Tasmania, of course, is that it was one of the main convict settlements in early British colonisation of Australia. So yeah, there's a lot of. Early convict related infrastructure. So these tunnels, so the tunnel between the lock up in the at the courthouse in Murray Street. Now the Treasury building. Yeah. This one's true. It was there. So prisoners convicts could be taken to court without going out in public. There's a myth about a tunnel running between the battery in Battery Point. And Anglesey barracks? There's also a story about a tunnel running between what is now Irish Murphys and Parliament House. Yeah, it's all these.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Tunnels. Yeah, I've heard that. And and. And I've been to Parliament house and they said we have done extensive searches and we could not find it. But that's what. That's what they're saying. But the interesting thing that I had I saw at Parliament House was if you go into the main sort of like drawing room that they've got there like before the either of the courts.
Speaker
It's very kind of. OK.
CRAIG NORRIS
They're saying.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Called the lower courts houses. Sorry, there's a indentation in the wall and it's where. A gun was fired through.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah. Ohh, right. Yeah. Yeah, I did hear this. Yeah. Yeah. So some truths there of of the things the grey hurt the grey nurse at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Apparently back in the 1800s. She hung herself after losing.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
And they've they've kept it there, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
One of her parents. Pat allegedly asked meant to be. Incredibly helpful with patients. Heaps of us have seen her and appreciate her hard work.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
So she just starts putting in like drip bags, putting replacing them.
CRAIG NORRIS
Or I like this one from 78 Tonys that says the Tasman Bridge flesh eating seals. OK, apparently emergency services. Trouble recovering bodies of people who jump off the bridge because the seals eat.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
OK. That sounds more like just something that happened.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah, yeah. Still, you know.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
I mean, seals are.
CRAIG NORRIS
Divo, the Unibar poltergeist and cultivate letters, what Stevo the Unibar poltergeist used to push glass off the overhead rack occasionally and scare us. I guess this person used to work there normal add 8600 as they knock off for a drink.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
So. Yeah. That just sounds like a drunk person. Knocking a glass over.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah. So it's quite nice. I mean, there's, there's certainly a number of stories. I mean, ABC even ran a. Piece on this on the 18th of June 2024 titled Old Zinky and Other Tall Tales, Tasmania's Weirdest Urban Myths. This is with Lucy Breeden. Yeah, the. The ones that they list there was. Old zinky, the giant moth creature, as well as the big Penguin, really being a sarcophagus containing mummified human remains.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
That's fun. That's always fun.
CRAIG NORRIS
Is that the big Penguin in Penguin?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
I've never been to Penguins, so I don't know that there's a.
CRAIG NORRIS
The other other ones.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Big Penguin or not?
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah. Yeah. So there. You go Yep. Media mothership.
Speaker 4
This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanation.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Well.
CRAIG NORRIS
Lot of conjecture. Possible explanations?
Speaker 4
But not necessarily the only ones that the mischief we will examine.
CRAIG NORRIS
These aren't the onions. Yeah. So that's medium ownership for another week. I just wanted to pose that thing, I know we've got a number of people going through it's radio, one of them from the University of Tasmania's media School that did a great project on the Tasmanian tiger trying to talk with people that have allegedly cited.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Hazy tie. So that's another kind of legend in the Tasmanian space. Tasmanian tiger, of course, notoriously a extinct animal. But you know, once a year at least, the Mercury newspaper ran an article about legislating of this. There's a with William Dafoe called the Hunter, which which portrays this. I mean you yourself are from UFO central. Yeah, the Kettering, there's even. I haven't seen it yet. We will do a field research trip out there. Yeah. There's a there's a plaque.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Right. Very true.
CRAIG NORRIS
What is the plaque of?
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
The plaque shows the Kettering incident.
CRAIG NORRIS
As a Kettering incident and.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Essentially the show. Yeah. On the Kettering. Yeah, but not particularly based on it. However, maybe they got like the ideas from it, but it just sort of like depicts the story of what happened. And it's it was sort of like a wheat field or something like that and the.
CRAIG NORRIS
There was a TV. Incident news. Was a fictional.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Middle of it had all been like compressed down, like something had sat on.
CRAIG NORRIS
Top of it. So a kind of crop circle.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Type thing, yeah.
CRAIG NORRIS
Yeah. Yep. Yep. So that's yeah, that's that's who they're. Catering. So it's a, it's. A. It's a fun place to live.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Yep. Here we go.
Speaker 4
It's presenting information based in part on theory and conjecture the producers.
CRAIG NORRIS
Alright, so that's me media mothership for another week. Keep listening to Edge Radio as we'll have K pop unlimited coming up next. Any spooky?
Speaker 4
The only one is the discreet with them.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
Songs I have had such trouble because I've left away Usbs at home, so I'm trying to. I'm trying to get a show together as. We speak. Ohh great. Might place him sigh.
CRAIG NORRIS
Well, next week on media mothership, we'll have some I'm going to bring in. The. Guest. Ohh yeah. Who will be talking about scale modelling, manufacturing and making and selling small miniatures? He was actually in the competition for the Warhammer. 40,000 ohh right. Yeah, that good games here. So yeah, that'll be fun. There's also the Hobart Model Rail exhibition that's happening. I think the weekend after that so.
TAYLOR LIDSTONE
All right.
CRAIG NORRIS
Well, thanks for everyone commenting on all those super legends and keep listening to Edric. We'll get some music going now. Yeah.
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