Season 01 Episode 01: Opening the Gate (Rerun)

of Netta for Nario, 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 Maclin Smith. In discussing the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, the author Michelle Welbeck was struck by his utter materialism. You see, for Lovecraft, the ultimate horror is not to be found in the psyche. His monsters aren't manifestations of a suppressed, unconscious or malicious supernatural energies. His monsters were independently real, made of flesh and blood. That we can't see them doesn't render them

figments of the imagination. It merely suggests that they are occupied of another dimension that we have not sufficiently evolved to see. Indeed, when Lovecraft writes that on completing the repugnant Necronomicon, its ill fated author Abdullah has read, was shortly after devoured in broad daylight in a market square and Damascus by invisible monsters. And if this all sounds

a little far fetched, its worth bearing in mind. The Many World's theory, a leading theory of quantum mechanics widely accepted by some of the finest minds humanity has ever produced. Although the theory has many interpretations, it allows for the implication that we are, at any one time surrounded by an infinite amount of other dimensions, all stacked up and existing right on top of each other. It is a theory adopted by some eupologists to explain the sighting of UFOs

and aliens. In answer to the question what possible technology could exist for them to travel across space to deifying all concepts of time and space expansion, they might merely reply, perhaps they don't come from outer space at all. The famous occultist Alista Crowley once claimed to have made contact with an unearthly being after completing a sacred ritual known as the Amalantra. Working with it, Crowley claimed to have

invoked the spirit of an entity known as Lamb. Crowley made a drawing of the entity, which, with its large eyes and elongated forehead, bears a striking resemblance to the familiar gray alien of Law only. This drawing was made in nineteen eighteen, a good thirty years before such images entered the public consciousness. The much loved thinker and psychoonaut Terence McKenna frequently discussed his experiences of taking the drug

dimethyl tript meine, also known as DMT. The hallucinogenic is believed to stimulate the piineal gland, a gland at the base of the brain that is considered responsible for near death experiences. It is also thought by some to be the location of the third eye, a sort of biological

gateway into other dimensions or states of consciousness. On the experience of taking the drug, McKenna describes the sensation of being propelled through an unknowable space into a place beyond time, only to be greeted by strange looking entities who had been waiting for him. Or long. He called these beings clockwork elves. It is an experience that has been shared by many uses of the drug. Yet for all these different examples, might these entities in fact be the same thing.

Perhaps over the years we have just labeled them in different ways, sometimes angels, sometimes demons, sprites and aliens, and maybe even The island of Iona lies just off the western coast of Scotland. Measuring barely three and a half miles long. It is known for its white, sandy beaches and its wild and rugged beauty. It is also known as the final resting place of many ancient kings of Scotland,

including Shakespeare's own Macbeth. Like many of the Scottish islands, it has a rich history of folklore, paganism, and even witchcraft. An island where the past seems forever to lurk in the shadows, it has often been described as a thin place, a place where heaven and Earth are thought to be

separated by only the finest of vales. Back in the autumn of nineteen twenty nine, a beautiful, young occultist named Netafornario told her friends in London that she was planning a trip to the island Drawn by Iona's mystical past, she told them that she planned to make contact with the island's ancient spirits. Netta made it to the island, but what exactly she found there we will never know. For less than two months after her arrival, Netta would

be found dead in the most mysterious of circumstances. It is a mystery that remains to this day unexplained. Nora Emily Fanario, known as Netta to her friends, was born in Cairo in eighteen ninety six. After the premature death of her mother, she was abandoned by her father and sent to live with her grandfather in London. Her childhood was, by all accounts, an unhappy one, characterised by a restlessness

of spirit and a seemingly unrequited desire to belong. In nineteen twenty two, having tried to settle down in Italy, Netta returned to the UK to the town of Bishop Stafford in Hertfordshire. The town had recently developed a reputation as somewhat of an occultist hotspot, being as it was the location of the Grange, an institute run by Irish

occultist and prominent freemason Theodore Moriarty. At some point, Netta was initiated into a secretive magical order known as the Alpha and Omega Temple, a branch of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn that had remained loyal to its original founder, Samuel Mathers. Members of the Golden Dawn were devoted to the study of hermetic magic and other esoteric traditions, and countered among them the likes of the poet W. B.

Yates and Alistair Crowley. Followers believed that beyond our world of the senses lay other worlds and entities that we might contact if only we had the requisite knowledge and training, and that in turn, with their knowledge, they would gain a better understanding and control of our own world. By nineteen twenty nine, Netta had moved again, relocating to Richmond in London. There is a photo of her taken around this time, showing a striking, dark haired young woman in

a long, handmade silken tunic. In her eyes one might discern a certain sense of knowing, or perhaps the awareness of something beyond our everyday understanding of things. A few months after this photo was taken, Netta made her journey to the island. Upon arrival, to Iona, Netta took up lodgings with a woman named Missus McCray in the small village of Treymoor. Missus McCray, a lifelong resident of the island,

was instantly smitten with her new lodger. Over the coming weeks, Netta would fascinate her host with knowledge of the occult and her mystical practices, and in return, Missus McCray would delight Netta with her own tales of mysterious happenings and Hebridean folklore. By day, Netta would roam the beaches and moorlands. Then at the coming of night, she would attempt to make contact with the spirits of the island, falling into

lengthy trances in order to do so. Netta had confided in Missus McCray that shortly before her visit she had fallen into such a trance that had lasted over a week. She gave express instruction that should she again enter any such state, she should be left alone, and that no doctor should be called for. Before long, strange things began to occur. Netta began to speak of visions, things she had seen in the heavens, and of messages that she had received from the spirit world. Her host and fellow

lodgers became increasingly concerned for her well being. Only that far away look in her eyes that had been at first so charming, now seemed instead to suggest a sort of madness, or maybe even something far worse. On the morning of Sunday, seventeenth of November nineteen twenty nine, Missus McCray found Netta unusually restless and agitated. She began packing up all her belongings while muttering to herself that certain

people were disturbing her. Telepathically, she spoke of a mysterious ruddless boat that sailed across the sky and messages she had received from another world. She had decided to return to London without delay. Unfortunately, no boats operated on the island that day, and Netta was forced to change her plans. After finally calming down, she decided to stay after all, and promptly retired to her bed. The next morning, morning,

Netta was nowhere to be found. As the hours wore on and she did not return, the people of the town became alarmed for her safety. They sent out a search party to scour the bays and inlets for any sign of the young woman. They searched the rocks and moorlands, becoming increasingly desperate as the short November day turned steadily to night. After a long and fruitless search, they returned reluctantly to their beds. The following day, the search was renewed,

but again they found nothing. About two and a half miles away from Missus mc cray's cottage, by the side of Loch's Stanage, were the remains of an ancient village in which Netta had expressed interest in visiting. As dawn approached, two local men were searching the surrounds of the ruins when they made a shocking discovery. There, lying sprawled across the top of a small mound, naked except for a

large black cloak, was the dead body of Netta. For Nario, a black and silver cross hung about her neck, and by her hand lay a small silver dagger. Underneath her body, a large cross had been carved into the turf, presumably with the same dagger. Her body was covered in unaccountable scratch marks. The soles of her feet were torn and had bled a great deal, while her heels remained unscathed. But perhaps strangest of all was the location of her body. Netta had been found lying on top of what is

often known as a fairy mound. The fairy mount or fort is thought to be imbued with Druidic magic, and is considered to be a gateway between the realms of magic and our own human world. The precise cause of her death proved inconclusive, though was later recorded as death by exposure to the elements. She was thirty three years of age. Needless to say, there has been a great deal of speculation about the nature of Netta's death. Had she made her way to this remote spot in response

to some mysterious urge. Had she attempted some sort of magical ritual and merely underestimated the chill of the night, or was it something else entirely? Had Netta in fact achieved what she had set out to do and opened a door to another world, a world that perhaps she had not been entirely ready to discover. It has been suggested that the precise reason Netta had traveled to Iona was to perform a ritual to bring peace to a fairy woman who had long ago been burned alive by monks.

The monks had been followed as a Saint Columba, who established a monastery on the island in five sixty three a d It was Columber's intention to rid the Kingdom of Scotland of its pagan past and replace it with the new face of Christianity. Further reports from the knight of Netta's death speak of strange blue lights coming from the location of her body, and a cloaked man seen close to the area. A number of letters of strange character were also believed to have been taken by the police,

but were never later released. Had Netta somehow made contact with the fairy woman, had she somehow burst through into her world, but found herself unable or unwilling to return to our earthly realm, Perhaps a clue can be found in the writings of Fiona MacLeod. MacLeod was the pseudonym of William Sharp, a Scottish poet and fellow occultist whom

Netta greatly admired. In an article titled Sharp relates a story for when he lived on the island as a child, he had traveled to his friend Elsie's house, only to be met by her distraught mother. She told him that Elsie had somehow made contact with a monk from the seventh century. She believed the monk had been hostile to Elsie, afraid of what he might do. Elsie was now hiding on the only part of the island that she felt safe. Her mother continued, the monks are still strong.

strong pineal sensitivity. The supposed seat of the third eye our own gateway into other dimensions, this being the same gland so stimulated by d mt as to reveal clockwork. Elves to Terence McKenna. Perhaps it was also this gland that Crowley affected when conducting the amalantra working that revealed to him the strange entity he called Lamb. In truth, we will never know. The Friday after Netta was discovered,

the Islanders laid her body to rest. They placed on top a rough tombstone etched with the letters M E. F for Marie, Emily for Nario. Finally, I want to just draw attention to an essay written by Netta that you can actually find online. The essay is an attempt by Netta to make clear to people the true meaning of an opera written by her favorite writer, Fiona MacLeod. The opera, called The Immortal Hour tells the story of an immortal race of fairies who are feared by humans

for the interference they can bring to mortal lives. Reading the essay, I was struck by one part, in particular concerning the finale of the opera. De Lure, an agent of unseen and fateful powers whose touch brings madness and death to mortals, has stolen the wife of the hero King Yokaid. In a desperate bid to be reunited with his queen, Yoch eight begs of Delure, my dreams, my dreams, give me my dreams, to which de Lure replies, there

is no dream save this, the dream of death. At this point, Delure touches your cad and he is instantly removed from this world. As Netta notes, it is the moment implying that death itself is only a dream and that the ultimate reality for your aid lies in the other world, where all life is one life. Had Netta two come to the same realization that death was merely just a dream. This episode of Unexplained was produced by

me Richard mclin smith. Unexplained, the book and audiobook, featuring stories that have never before been featured on the show, is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes, and Noble Waterstones, among other bookstores. Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have

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