ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Hey Y'all,
In this episode, Trey and Jaz sit down with Scottish writer, broadcaster, and paranormal psychologist Evelyn Hollow — known for her work on Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist — for a wild, wide-ranging conversation about what ghosts might actually be, why consciousness is science's last great mystery, and whether the paranormal and the spiritual are closer than we think.
Evelyn takes us from the Battersea poltergeist case that became the number one podcast in the world, to modern-day ghost sightings (yes, there are ghosts in hoodies), to a fascinating theory that what we call ghosts might not be dead people at all — but glimpses through time. Along the way, the conversation moves into quantum physics, the politics of who gets to define the sacred, why so many women are drawn to paganism, and what it means that every culture on Earth seems to be accessing the same mysterious thing and calling it by different names.
Jaz also finally tells her abbey ghost story to an actual expert. The verdict? It's complicated.
Funny, mind-bending, and unexpectedly moving — this one will have you side-eyeing empty rooms for weeks.
Timestamps:
- 2:41 — Introducing Evelyn Hollow: paranormal psychologist and broadcaster
- 3:00 — Growing up in Scotland; swapping forensic psychology for parapsychology
- 5:05 — The Battersea Poltergeist and becoming the number one podcast in the world
- 7:46 — Why aren't there modern ghosts? (There are — one wears a Nirvana T-shirt)
- 11:28 — Do ghosts have an expiry date? The half-life of consciousness
- 12:59 — Jaz's abbey ghost story: the woman at the foot of the bed
- 15:00 — Sleep paralysis, the priming effect, and why Jaz's story is hard to explain
- 20:15 — The Salem witch trials: mass hysteria or something more calculated?
- 23:48 — Is everyone accessing the same spiritual reality?
- 27:34 — Could consciousness be quantum? Why ghosts make scientific sense
- 29:00 — Weighing the soul and the 0.7 gram preacher's tale
- 32:24 — Paganism: pre-Christian faith and the power of the land
- 34:56 — Feminism and faith: who wrote the book?
- 38:09 — Local gods vs. universal truth
- 41:29 — What comes after death? Where consciousness might go
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Guest: Evelyn Hollow
Find her: Instagram @EvelynHollow
Spill the Spirituality is a project of the Methodist Church in Britain. Produced by John Ryan and Rachel Matthews. Hosted by Trey Hall.
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