Ouija
German, Nerthus of Norderney, 2007
Interview with paranormal podcasters: "People confess experiences to us that they would never talk about with others"
6-3-2024
Translation: machine translated
Shadow creatures, rattling doors and the dead nephew who sends messages from the afterlife: Here, hosts Conny and Patrick explain why they are a safe place for their listeners and where they draw the line at swearing.
This interview begins with an outing: I love paranormal podcasts. The idea that there is more out there than what science can explain today has fascinated me since I was a child. But finding a good podcast about the supernatural is difficult. Many are too esoteric for me or drift into political spheres, which I never wanted and still don't want to go into.
Until I discovered "Aktenzeichen Paranormal" on Spotify. The presenters Conny and Patrick report twice a week on haunted phenomena and true crime. At the same time, they offer their Community a trustworthy point of contact for supernatural experiences.
The motto of the podcast is "Believe what you want, but feel entertained" - the same applies to this interview. Whether you can relate to the supernatural or not is up to your imagination.
Galaxus: What paranormal experiences have you already had yourself?
Patrick: I occasionally see a person standing next to my bed at night. At first I thought it was my girlfriend, but it's not her. She's always lying next to me. I don't know if I dream something weird every time or what it is ...
Conny: I also have shadow figures in my flat. I see them in the corner of my eye, but only when I'm alone. And I have a door that rattles loudly, even though no one pulls on it. Or I've had a chair fall over in a room where nobody was in. So, something is living with me in my flat.
Are you afraid of it?
Conny: I'm like that. I always say: "Ghost, annoy my neighbours one floor up", and then it's usually quiet.
Do you have a name for the ghost?
Conny: No, I don't know who it is. Otherwise I'd find that rude too.
There are tools that you can supposedly use to contact spirits, like the Ouija board. Have you ever tried it out or are you too afraid of it?
Conny: I'm too scared for that. My house ghost should leave me alone.
Patrick: As a teenager, I used to do glass moving with my cousins, it's a bit like that. But nothing memorable ever happened. What I do have a lot of respect for, however, are rituals like: "Stand in front of a mirror, take a candle in your hand and say Bloody Mary three times and then she will appear to you." Even if I don't believe in it even 50 per cent, I would never do it. If only because I would be afraid that she would really appear to me and I wouldn't know what to do then.
What topics do you talk about in your podcast?
Patrick: Actually all sorts of things that we find interesting: Haunted places, scary legends or classics like the "Men in Black", who supposedly like to appear on the scene after UFO sightings and tell eyewitnesses "You haven't seen anything, don't talk to anyone about it." But we also had a two-part interview with a young man who claimed to have clairvoyant abilities.
Which stories are best received by your listeners?
Patrick: Unsolved missing persons cases, UFOs, poltergeists and everything about Bigfoot. Bigfoot always works.
Why Bigfoot?
Conny: It's not just Bigfoot. Other cryptids, i.e. creatures from folklore or myths, are also super popular - such as the Mothman. This is said to be a two-metre-tall black figure with huge wings and glowing red eyes that wreaks havoc in the USA. There was even a cinema film about it in the early 2000s, "The Mothman Prophecies - Deadly Visions".
In addition to the main episode, which deals with one topic in detail every Monday, you publish the "Nachtgeflüster" on Thursdays with short experiences from your listeners. What experiences does your Community report on?
Conny: Some of the things we receive are quite intense. Many people talk about their sleep paralysis. So that after waking up, they are stuck in a state between sleep and waking consciousness, can't move and see spooky figures standing next to their bed, like the man in the hat. Or they have shadows on the walls or can talk to the deceased.
What sets you apart from other paranormal podcasts?
Conny: We meet people where they are. We would never presume to say that what our Community has experienced is rubbish. Some listeners tell us their worst and most intimate things. We get emails saying: "I haven't told anyone about my experience yet because I don't dare. But I dare to with you." But the fans don't even know us personally.
Patrick: Yes, we've become a kind of "safe space" for our Community. We're very honoured by that.
Do you have any specific examples?
Conny: We recently recorded an episode in which a woman reported that she was the only one in her family who was able to see her deceased nephew. She described how he was playing with a fire engine and jumping around. However, he had a severe disability when he was alive and couldn't walk at all ... Stories like this give me goosebumps. But near-death experiences and premonitions also get to me.
Patrick: One highlight for me was the story of a security guard who was working the night shift in a shopping centre and claimed to have seen a bent, grumbling figure between the shelves in a shop. The security guard even had the courage to approach her. But just before he reached her, the figure is said to have suddenly disappeared and stood far outside the shop, as if it had beamed itself there. Whew, I thought that was intense.
**Does it ever happen that someone contacts you and needs help because they can't cope with a paranormal phenomenon on their own?Conny: Yes, rarely. We refer these cases to the parapsychological counselling centre in Freiburg. Or to a psychological emergency hotline.
Source: Anika Schulz
Why did you choose the humorous approach "Believe what you want, but feel entertained" for your podcast?
Patrick: Firstly, we can't and don't want to tell the Community what they should and shouldn't believe. Conny and I differ on some topics ourselves, but that also makes the whole thing exciting. And our comments column is a great place to discuss how each and every one of us feels about it.
Your topics have the potential to drift off into the sweary corner. Where do you draw the line?
Conny: We definitely steer clear of conspiracy theories such as supposed shadow governments, new world orders, chemtrails, flat earth and so on. We don't offer lateral thinkers a political platform. And we also don't handle requests for topics from minors.
Patrick: And if we do touch on such a topic in passing because it fits the story at the time, we'll add a big disclaimer saying "aluminium hat alarm".
Where do you find reputable sources for your programmes? I imagine that's difficult in your field.
Conny: We scour forums, competitor podcasts or well-made YouTube channels like "The Why Files" for topics. And then we go into more in-depth research, for which I sometimes order books or magazines from England or the USA. Or I look for reports in local newspapers or from local organisations. In the Alpine region in particular, there are many small associations that have documented legends and unsolved crime cases. Sometimes I also ask the AI to find sources that I wouldn't have come across myself.
Patrick: And even if we don't get any further with our research, it's no big deal. After all, a horror podcast also thrives on cliffhangers.
Conny: But you have to be careful. The YouTube channel "Gaia", for example, is a ten out of ten for a rational person like me in terms of entertainment. You get an endless amount of UFO and ghost content. But you have to see it as entertainment. If you believe everything you see there and drift off, you'll quickly have a problem.
Editor's note: The following "non-fiction" books should also be taken with a pinch of caution or humour.
How do those around you deal with the fact that you talk about the paranormal so casually? Do you get offended by it?
Patrick: I'm a musician by profession and I've never had any stress about it. My girlfriend, who is actually very rational, listens to the podcast from time to time. As long as the episodes aren't too scary for her. And my mum too.
Conny: It's similar for me. I'm an educator and my private environment is already used to me having wacky hobbies. Only my therapist was quite critical of me when he listened to an episode of the podcast. But well, that's his job too.
Source: Aktenzeichen Paranormal
Conny, you also do a UFO podcast, "AlarmstUFO". In it, you discuss topics such as UFO crashes, aliens and the legendary and isolated Area 51 in the Nevada desert. How credible do you think all this is?Conny: Former secret service employee David Grusch testified before the USA Congress in July 2023 that we have long had parts of crashed UFOs and that the USA government is investigating them. I think that's credible. And the whistleblower Bob Lazar, who claims to have recreated alien technology near Area 51 on behalf of the US government, is also interesting. Recreating alien technology?\Conny: "Reverse engineering" - or "backwards development" - is about finding out how UFO propulsion works. How aliens manage to hurtle millions of kilometres through space without taking an infinite amount of time. The aim is therefore to overcome gravity and thus outsmart time. Don't you think these people are just trying to show off? Bob Lazar, for example, has some inconsistencies in his CV. That scratches at his credibility.\ Conny: Grusch testified under oath. That's proof enough for me. In the case of Bob Lazar, there is indeed no evidence that he studied physics at MIT. However, the television documentary "Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers", in which he himself speaks at length, was made by the well-known US journalist George Knapp. In this respect, I don't think what Lazar says is complete rubbish. A philosophical question at the end: Assuming that humanity manages to recreate alien technology and can travel to distant galaxies - what does that mean for us earthlings?\Conny: Firstly, that we have access to infinite energy. Because if we can build spaceships, we will also have found a way to free ourselves from fossil fuels. Otherwise, you'll hardly get any further than Mars. And maybe we'll even meet aliens who will teach us to be nicer to each other and take better care of our home planet. I think that would be pretty cool.
Header image: Shutterstock//Jakub Krechowicz
Anika Schulz
Teamleader Editorial
Anika.Schulz@galaxus.deAs a child, I was socialised with Mario Kart on SNES before ending up in journalism after graduating from high school. As a team leader at Galaxus, I'm responsible for news. I'm also a trekkie and an engineer.