The Science of Fear: Why We Sometimes Want to Be Scared

Grab your heart rate monitor and your Halloween candy because today we’re getting a broader understanding of why we like being scared and the science behind fear itself. How can something that works almost as a survival mechanism also feel kind of good in the right situation? Are we sadists or are we helping ourselves survive? Sources: IFL Science, Fearhttps://youtube.com/shorts/_2W... Why We Love to Be Scared, PBShttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/a... The Science of Fear, Northwestern Medicinehttps://youtu.be/K1ITDysPHpc?s...Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab your clairvoyance and your credit card because today we're getting a broader understanding of celebrity psychics & scammers.  From Mary Todd Lincoln’s séances in the White House, tv infomercials for psychic hotlines, CIA psychic spy programs and modern day reality tv mediums- we are taking a look at the business of reading minds, flipping cards and seeing the future. Is anyone the real deal or was it all just a scam?And why has no one won that $1,000,000 psychic challenge? (originally released in December, 2023)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Get a box of tissues, and your strongest emotional armor, because today we’re getting a broader understanding of one the darkest kinds of killer- the family annihilator. Often pretending to be the perfect dad, the perfect spouse until they lose control and everyone pays the price. Chris Watts, Josh Powell, John List & the more recent horrifying crimes that continue. Why does this happen? How are there more annihilators than school shooters? And how do we change a system that blames women and children for their own deaths? CW: child abuse, child death, sexual assault, domestic violence, suicide Sources:Men Who Murder Their Families: What the Research Tells Ushttps://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/230412.pdfFamilicide: When Domestic Abusers Kill Their Families and Sometimes, Themselveshttps://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/identifying-abuse/familicide-when-domestic-abusers-kill-their-families-and-sometimes-themselvesThe Scandalous Truth about Nichol Kessingerhttps://youtu.be/QiJFUHELNCk?si=5zQgrfnRL2F2Wc0AAnnie Elise, 10 to LifeChris & Shannan Watts appeared to be in love https://youtu.be/QiJFUHELNCk?si=5zQgrfnRL2F2Wc0AABC NewsWhat are family annihilators https://youtu.be/kHhL0tUeojk?si=-vL1BJaxNMWuX0rFNetflix The Watts Family Tragedyhttps://youtu.be/dSI_5IuhsHI?si=3xYofOuqbNsHoN6eBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab your sage & your skepticism, because today we’re getting a broader understanding of doppelgängers, mimics, and the moments that make us question reality. What happens when we see someone who isn’t there? When someone (or something) else doesn’t just look like you but mimics you? Is it a form of hysteria messing with our minds? A glitch in our brains and in linear time or something more sinister? We’ve been documenting doubles for thousands of years, science must know something, right? Right? Let’s seeSources:Famous DoppelgängersBuzzfeed Unsolved13 Mimic StoriesLoey Lane, YouTubeWhat is a MimicThe Black Cauldron, YouTube What to Do When You See Your Doppelgänger, The Smithsonian MagazineBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab your binoculars and maybe don’t drive through any small towns alone at night, because today we’re getting a broader understanding of The Mothman: red-eyed omen? Government experiment? Or just another winged warning that we’re not alone?Sources:Sources:Mothman Legacyhttps://youtu.be/W0qE1xQ_Db0?s...John Keel & The Mothmanhttps://youtu.be/LUKDtRVVaOI?s...Smithsonian Center for Folklifehttps://folklife.si.edu/magazi...Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab a planchette and dust off that box from the back of the closet, because today, we’re getting a broader understanding (and a brief history) of Ouija boards. From Victorian séances to TikTok rituals, and parlor games to demonic warnings, we’re learning about the board that spells it all out and can make even a skeptic feel superstitious.Sources:Ouija Board History (Fox45 Boston)https://youtu.be/0P5vyfYp1n4?s...SciShow Psychhttps://youtu.be/IqE3YjstENg?s...Crimes Involving Ouija Boards (Readers Digest)https://www.rd.com/list/chilli...Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab a red balloon but avoid storm drains, because today we’re getting a broader understanding of clowns. The early history, the clown sightings of 2016, Pennywise and Stephen King’s IT, why clowns scare us, and how the monster that was John Wayne Gacy paraded around as Pogo. What happens when adults don’t believe kids? What happens when we don’t keep track of the missing and most vulnerable among us? Was it really all just hysteria? Maybe we have good reason to be fearful of clowns but if we’re playing by Stephen King’s rules good will always beat evil in the end. Sources:Pennywise: The Story of IThttps://youtu.be/_kE108SMEWU?s...1994 John Wayne Gacy Execution https://youtu.be/B1ter-x2VGY?s...2016 Clown Sightings https://youtu.be/0-MJORDa5TQ?s...https://youtu.be/gWT5h2Nj_is?s...Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab your sage bundles and your real estate disclosures, because today we’re getting a broader understanding of celebrity haunted houses- starting with the one Britney Spears sold to Brittany Murphy, and the tragic legacy that followed.Sources:Brittany Murphy’s Death, inside the Eerie House (Entertainment Tonight)https://youtu.be/l2wglu_PrLQ?s...The Haunting of Brittany Murphy House (Not My Stories)https://youtu.be/SC3IQOJ3nn8? si=Hr-1ojF4Fo5Jp_jXThe Dark History Behind Brittany Murphy's Home — Plus, What Happened to It After She Died There (People Magazine) https://people.com/home/the-da...Los Feliz Murder Mansion (Atlas Obscura)https://www.atlasobscura.com/p...15 Haunted Celebrity Mansions (Legacy News) https://youtu.be/kgwjYqpnPOo?s...https://thehollywoodhome.com/b...Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab your holy water & learn some Latin, because today we"re gaining a broader understanding of exorcism and demonic possession in pop culture.In this (release) episode we hear the true story behind the movie The Exorcist and how it shaped the way we see possession and exorcism on film.We’ll also hear about the 67 exorcisms of Annalise Michel that led to her death and the prosecution of her parents and the priests who performed the exorcism.Then we have Ed and Lorraine Warren and their involvement in both The Amityville Horror and The Devil Made Me Do It Case where Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s legal team tried to use demonic possession as a defense. Plus, the 2011 Ammons family haunting and demon house that was bought and destroyed by ghost hunter Zak Bagans.And finally we’ll explore some scientific and medical reasons that could be behind some of the most well documented cases of demonic possession and exorcism.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.

Grab your black cat and your VCR as we gain a broader understanding of 90’s movie witches from The Witches,The Craft, Teen Witch, Double Double Toil and Trouble, Hocus Pocus, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, The Crucible, Eve’s Bayou, Halloweentown, to The Blair Witch Projectwhy were witches so popular in the 90’s and why do they still hold a special place in our hearts and in our covens? (Originally released October 2023)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.