The Whisperer in Darkness Episode 1

## Plot

At the beginning of the episode, Matthew Heawood plays the voicemail message that Kennedy Fisher left him at the end of the last season. He tells the audience that he tried to track her down using military contacts, even calling Sir Godfrey Tillinghast, but to no avail, in part because Godfrey died of a stroke. Ultimately, he decided to put the podcast on hold in Kennedy's absence.

At this point Kennedy cuts in to say that she is not dead. She tells us that she was hit by a motorbike and spent two weeks in a hospital in Mosul recovering from various fractures. By the time she got out, Barbara Sayers and the man in bandages were gone and the trail was cold. The two say that this means they are on to their next mystery now, courtesy of Dr. Eleanor Peck who has asked them to look into the disappearance of a mature student of hers named Henry Akeley.

Eleanor explains that Henry was a former student from when she taught folklore at Birkbeck in 2012, whom she describes as outspoken and odd because he believed fantasy creatures were real. She didn't see him after the course, but in March 2019 she received a letter from him. In the letter, Henry explains that he has moved back to Rendlesham Forest, where he grew up, and that his interest in folklore was the result of hearing local stories and being an eyewitness to the Rendlesham Forest Incident in 1980. He claims that he can prove what he believes is true and that there have been strange creatures trying to get into his house. He invites Eleanor to come to his home and help him study what's happening. Eleanor ignored the letter, but Henry found her phone number and from April to May started leaving erratic messages. In the messages and letter he claims that the creatures were killing his dogs, that he's recorded them and picked them up on his radio, and that his neighbour was limping after the dogs bit one of the intruders. Concerned, Eleanor called Henry's friend, vicar Albert Wilmarth, and asked him to check on Henry. After that she didn't from Henry again until September when she received a voicemail from him apologising for his behaviour, explaining that he was suffering from mental health problems and that he was better now. Three days later, she got a call from the police because Henry's son had been trying to get in touch with him but failed to do so, and therefore sent the police to Henry's house. According to the police, the Akeley house looked like it hadn't been occupied in months, two of his dogs were free in the back garden. and many more had been buried. Crucially, Henry was nowhere to be found. Eleanor tells Matt and Kennedy that the police have lost interest in the case and she hoped that they might investigate.

Matt and Kennedy discuss whether or not to investigate Henry's disappearance, but ultimately agree because they feel that they owe Eleanor for her help and they want to make sure Henry's safe. They get the key to the Akeley house from Henry's son and travel to Suffolk to visit it. They find that it's uninhabited, smelly, and anachronistic, but find a wi-fi doorbell that Henry used to observe visitors. While there, they hear a girl laughing and find the laughter is coming from a shortwave radio in Henry's office. In the office they find his luggage, suggesting he didn't plan on leaving, and a collection of newspaper clippings. One of which is an article about the Rendlesham Forest Incident, which shows a young Henry Akeley together with a few other people, including Amelia Fenner. The discovery of this causes Kennedy to swear for two minutes, and then yell that they should abandon the case before having a panic attack. Matt manages to calm her down, and they agree to go back inside and investigate Henry Akeley's disappearance, although Matt admits to the audience that there have been times when he wished they hadn't. They are calling the case *The Whisperer in Darkness*.

## Cast, Characters, Crew

* Barnaby Kay as Matthew Heawood
* Jana Carpenter as Kennedy Fisher
* Nicola Walker as Dr. Eleanor Peck
* David Calder as Henry Akeley
* Alun Armstrong as Ezra Weeden (on archive audio)

* Writer & Director: Julian Simpson
* Production Coordinators: Sarah Tombling and Holly Slater
* Sound Recordist and Designer: David Thomas
* Composer: Tim Elsenburg
* Producer: Karen Rose

## Notes and Trivia

* Julian Simpson had not originally intended for this season to connect so directly to The Case of Charles Dexter Ward until he put Amelia Fenner's picture on Henry Akeley's wall as a hook to get Heawood and Fisher interested in pursuing this new investigation.

## References

1. ↑ Night of the Living Podcast interview