Hello, it's Richard McClain Smith here. As we take a break between seasons, I thought I'd revisit

some of my favourite episodes from the show, and where better to start than with our very first,

the one that launched it all back in January 2016. I'd been toying with the idea for a while

of creating a show that explored the strange and unexplained that everyone from skeptics to

believers could enjoy. When I came across the story of Netafonario, it all clicked into place.

Here was a story that had it all. The enigmatic Netta herself, an ancient mystical landscape,

the occult, and crucially, one of the most inexplicable mysteries ever featured on the show,

even after seven years of episodes. This is unexplained, season one, episode one, opening the gate.

For many, our greatest fear is that we are ultimately alone with no explanation as to why we are here.

And I don't just mean in the metaphorical sense, I mean literally, that the human race might

exist alone as the sole sentient being in the entire universe. Perhaps in a way to counter

this fear, we tell stories, so at the least we might share our experience of the world,

and in some way, feel less alone. And sometimes these stories might involve beings or entities from

other realms, or even from a time before time. There is certainly a strange comfort in contemplating

things beyond our everyday practical experiences. The thought that there are things we don't yet know

or understand, things unseen that might speak of something more. But I often think,

what if these weren't just stories? What if we weren't in fact alone? Might that be altogether

more terrifying? And what if all we needed to access these unseen worlds was some kind of gateway?

What price might we pay for opening it?

You're listening to unexplained, and I'm Richard McLean, Smith.

In discussing the horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft, the author, Michelle Wellbeck,

was struck by his utter materialism. You see, for Lovecraft, the ultimate horror is not to be

...