The Quite Unusual Podcast is, well, just that! Hosts and best friends Nicole and Noelle go into depth on various topics regarding the paranormal, true crime, cults, and cryptids. I’m glad they reached out to us because I’m always looking for new podcasts to listen to at work, and I love these long-format shows that span well over an hour-long and even multiple episodes. It shows how much time and dedication goes into research and recording to bring us a quality podcast!
Anthony:
Nicole and Noelle, thanks for reaching out to us for an interview! Let’s dive right in. It sure has been a crazy year so far. What have you been doing in your free time to cope with this dumpster fire we’ve been living through?
Noelle:
Oh man, dumpster fire somehow seems like an understatement. I’ve been baking a lot, and then of course eating almost everything I bake, which my body doesn’t appreciate.
Nicole:
Wine. Lots of wine. Also a lot of crafting. I’ve been starting a lot of crafts and then never finishing them so there’s that. Also, we started a Podcast!
Noelle:
YES! The podcast! Truly, having the podcast has been an absolute lifesaver. At 3 am when the existential dread of being forced to live like a hermit for the rest of our lives creeps in, I just pop on my computer and google things that definitely put me on some kind of watch list. Stuff like “What kind of acid dissolves human bones,” or “Can you blame a ghost for murder.” But it’s OK because it’s technically just research for the podcast!
Anthony:
Let’s talk about how you two met. You’re obviously very close to each other and it shows in the podcast that you two are best friends.
Nicole:
We met in our Sophomore year of high school in Gym class. We were doing our swimming unit and we did NOT want to swim that day. So, instead of lining up with the rest of the class to get ready to jump in the pool, we for some reason thought we could just hide in the bathroom and no one would notice we were gone… we were wrong.
Noelle:
Hahaha! Yes, this is literally the first time we spoke, and we instantly formed a bond over lying about why we didn’t want to swim. I knew then Nic was my ride or die.
Nicole:
I fake cried to get us out of it and it totally worked! We’ve been besties ever since!
Anthony:
Can you tell our readers a little about your show? When did you two start the show and what is it about?
Noelle:
Quite Unusual is about just that, all the things we find quite unusual in the universe. Crazy murders, unsolved crimes, UFOs, cryptids, the paranormal (we love a good ghost story) magic, death cults, basically anything that fall outside of that little box checked “Normal.”
Nicole:
We’d been talking about starting a podcast for FOREVER. Finally, when COVID-19 hit and everyone had copious amounts of free time, we decided it was the time to start. Since we’re both spooky weird girls, we thought why not start a true crime, paranormal/weird stuff podcast!
Anthony:
What got you into cryptids, killers, and the paranormal? I can imagine Unsolved Mysteries was a big inspiration.
Nicole:
You are correct! I remember watching Unsolved Mysteries reruns every morning during summer break as a kid. I’ve always been into the paranormal and anything creepy for basically my entire life. Growing up, I was the girl who brought scary movies scavenged from my older brother’s movie collection to sleepovers. I’ve been into weird stuff for as long as I can remember.
Anthony:
You’re 42 episodes into your show; how did you get started? Have you done anything else like this before or did you two just decide to go for it and see how it went? Do you do this full-time or hope to at some point?
Noelle:
It was actually Nicole’s idea to start a podcast. We have always been into weird stuff. My life is plagued by the paranormal. Nicole is very witchy. Weird just runs through our veins. So, when Nicole was like “Dude, why don’t we record this stuff?!” It was the natural next step. We have never done anything like this before, but we absolutely love it. Nicole has a full-time job, I did too until recently, and now this has inadvertently become my full-time job for the time being. It’s always the goal to turn your passion into your full-time job, right?
Nicole:
Yes, the dream is to one day be able to do this full time but until we get to that point, I still have to have another job to pay my bills.
Anthony:
You two are obviously very passionate about what you do and there’s a sea of other similar types of shows out there. How are you managing to find your way through a seemingly endless ocean of podcasts?
Noelle:
I think two things set us apart. One- we are absolutely best friends and could chat about cryptids and murderers for hours anyways. I think that makes our show easy to listen to and we already have a natural rhythm. Two- We do so much research and try to focus on getting all the information we can about a topic to present to our audience.
Nicole:
Definitely the research part. We go IN-DEPTH on all our stories. We’ll do something in 3 parts, 1 hr, and half episodes while other podcasts do the same story in 30 mins. I think that aspect sets us apart from the rest.
Anthony:
A lot of people seem to like this question and I love asking it. What kind of hardware and software do you use to produce your show? Can you take us through the process of what it’s like to record and produce your show?
Noelle:
We actually have some pretty basic equipment. We use cheap Audio-Technica microphones, some $10 microphone arms, a couple of old laptops, and early on we splurged on a one hundred and something dollar Behringer mixer. That’s what really brought our audio quality out of the dumpster and into the non-offensive to your eardrums range. Nicole does all the editing and knows so much more about that side than I do. She’s our saving grace.
Nicole:
I use Audacity to edit. It’s a free download and I had no idea what I was doing when we started. I’m VERY thankful for YouTube tutorials; they taught me everything I know! We record in Noelle’s attic (which is VERY haunted) but it’s also our studio so we’ve made friends with the ghost.
Anthony:
You guys make a TON of movie and TV references during your episodes. What are your favorite horror movies and TV shows? What other passions do you have?
Nicole:
Oh man, I’m obsessed with movies and could probably have a whole conversation in movie quotes alone! How much time do you have? My two favorite movies of all time are Fight Club and Garden State. My favorite horror movie has to be Evil Dead, but I’m also a huge fan of the Friday the 13th franchise. For TV, I feel like my favorite show is constantly changing. I recently got into Twin Peaks (I know, late to the party) but I’ve been obsessing over that show for the last couple of months. I have to say Breaking Bad is my favorite TV show of all time. Start to finish, it’s just perfection.
Noelle:
We always say it, but movies are life. I like all horror movies, especially the campy fun ones. My current favorite is a new one called Psycho Goreman. It came out a few weeks ago and I swear I have watched it 10 times already. I just truly love all movies- I have never seen a movie and felt it was a waste of time, as they all have something to offer. As for shows, if you haven’t seen Wellington Paranormal, it is absolutely incredible. I feel like New Zealand and England do comedy so right. Like Nicole said, Twin Peaks is killer. I love it all. Anything you watch will change your perspective or slightly influence anything you create in the future, so it’s all worth watching.
Anthony:
So, this is my first interview with podcasters who are exclusively into paranormal and cryptids. With that being said, do the two of you have any personal experiences you’d like to share with us?
Noelle:
We are honored to be your first, thank you! I have so many ghost stories, it’s exhausting. Every house I have ever lived in has been haunted and I am so scared of ghosts…I could tell stories for days but I will try to control myself. We record in the attic of my house, which is haunted. Nicole and I have seen glimmers of the ghost that lives there, kind of like out of the corners of our eyes and we both look at each other like, “Yeah…I saw her too…” Sometimes, I will hear footsteps coming from up there when I’m on the lower level of the house.
Nicole:
I am so into ghosts and want to be haunted SO BAD, it’s a dream of mine. I’ve been ghost hunting a few times and I have pictures of orbs (possibly dust) and felt some really strange feelings to the point where it almost made me sick. I was ghost hunting once and we were down in a basement of an old building and we heard voices coming from a room. We just thought it was another group, but when we walked into the room no one was there. It felt like we weren’t welcome in the space, almost as if we had interrupted someone’s conversation and they wanted us out!
Anthony:
Do you have any places that you want to go to once COVID calms down and things start to open up again? I’ve been to Charleston, South Carolina but unfortunately didn’t get a chance to do any ghost tours.
Nicole:
Yes! We have so many plans once COVID is over. We’ve met some awesome people in the paranormal community and have made a lot of friends. We have friends in Cornwall, England that we’re planning to go ghost hunting with. Also, the Michigan Paranormal Convention, Point Pleasant for Mothman Festival, Vegas to visit Zak Bagans Haunted Museum, the list goes on! We want to plan a paranormal road trip, and each time we cover a story or a haunted place, we add it to the list.
Noelle:
Yes, everything Nicole said and more. We also talked about going to Edinburgh, Scotland which is supposed to be the most haunted place in the world, I guess. I’m just so keen to go anywhere honestly. Leaving my zip code sounds thrilling at this point!
Anthony:
Like I mentioned earlier, you have 42 episodes out now. So, is there any advice you’d like to give to anyone who may want to get into podcasting?
Noelle:
My advice would be to just do it. You have an idea that you think people might like or you’re really passionate about, just hit record. Also, put in the work to research your topic. The more you know, the better your show will be.
Nicole:
Yeah, honestly just do it. Who cares if your audio is bad the first couple of episodes; you learn as you go, we did! Put in the time and effort, and it’ll show in your work.
Anthony:
I listen to all sorts of true crime, cryptid, paranormal, strange, and creepy podcasts. What are some of your favorites that you listen to?
Nicole:
I’m a really big fan of Last Podcast on the Left. Their information and research are amazing. My Favorite Murder is another one I enjoy. Also Astonishing Legends. Have to give a shout out to Slack Jaw Punks too; they’re not paranormal but they review horror movies and we love the guys over there!
Noelle:
Oh my God, if you love horror movies and you haven’t listened to Slack Jaw Punks, they are the dopest movie podcast in the game. Highly recommend! I love Last Podcast on the Left, they are my idols. I also got really into that Teachers Pet podcast when it came out. They have a new one called The Night Driver that’s really addicting. Oh and Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know is great.
Anthony:
Nicole and Noelle, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. Is there anything else you’d like to add or say before we finish up?
Nicole/Noelle:
Thank you so much for taking the time to interview us. We really appreciate the love and it was so fun to chat with you! I guess we should add…remember to celebrate the strange and keep it unusual! Bye!
Dig this? Check out the full archives of A.M. Radio, by Anthony Montalbano, here: https://vwmusicrocks.com/a-m-radio-archives/
