Otherworld – Episode 145: The Residency

Release Date: November 10, 2025
Host: Jack Wagner
Guest: Tim (artist, professor)

Episode Overview

This episode of Otherworld centers on Tim, a skeptical college professor and painter, who experiences a string of increasingly intense and inexplicable paranormal encounters during and after an artist residency in upstate New York. Despite his lifelong materialist worldview, Tim’s experiences challenge his beliefs and force him to seek unconventional solutions to reclaim his life. The episode explores themes of belief, the intersection of the creative and the supernatural, and the mysterious boundaries of consciousness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Tim and the Residency (00:09–06:00)

• Jack Wagner introduces Tim, explaining the significance of artist residencies and establishing Tim’s deep skepticism:
  • “Tim has lived his entire life as a staunch non-believer and materialist. ... Tim really clung onto that denial of his own experiences longer than most would.” (Jack Wagner, 01:04)
• Tim describes receiving a last-minute invitation to a residency in upstate New York and paints a picture of the idyllic, communal setting.
• Tim is quick to clarify he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the incident occurred.

2. The Night of the Encounter (06:01–18:30)

• Tim recounts the incident (around a week into the residency) when he wakes in the night with the sensation of not being alone:
  • “I sensed that I wasn't alone in the room. … I sat up out of bed and to my left…there was a figure that was walking from the door, from the kitchen, towards the door you would enter into to go into my studio.” (Tim, 09:40)
• Assumes it’s another resident, but the figure behaves unnaturally:
  • “It was in the shape of a tall, thin man. And that did not describe anybody at the residency except for me.” (Tim, 10:48)
• Overwhelmed with terror, Tim screams:
  • “Before I even realized it, a scream was coming up through my throat… never screamed like this in my entire life. It was blood curdling.” (Tim, 11:08)
• The figure, described as a black mass/void with moving edges, turns, reaches toward his feet, then suddenly "bursts into a ball of orange light."
• Tim’s acute physiological response: uncontrollable shaking, confusion.
• After a second, conscious scream, residents text and check on him; Tim escapes to another building for the night, feeling both frightened and embarrassed.

3. The Fallout and Group Response (18:31–23:18)

• At breakfast, Tim shares his story. Some residents suggest sleep paralysis or a dream; Tim insists this was different, having formerly experienced sleep paralysis.
  • Notably, one resident says, “He feels like this happened. Let's just believe him.” (Tim, 20:52)
• Another resident reveals that a previous occupant of Tim’s room called it ‘haunted’—days before Tim’s event.
• Third-hand stories emerge of others experiencing similar sightings—a tall, thin man—in the residency’s history.
• Tim feels increasingly isolated, both by the experience and the group’s skepticism. He struggles to sleep, is relegated to a different room, and ultimately is asked to leave due to ongoing tension.

4. Disturbances Continue in Brooklyn (24:17–32:50)

• After returning to Brooklyn, Tim develops a severe depression, feeling as though “I had taken something back with me.” (Tim, 25:10)
• Tim begins seeing the same void-like figure in his bedroom, describing “a void of space in a human form…a static-y look to [its edges].” (Tim, 27:25)
• The figure appears repeatedly, often disrupting his sleep—sometimes monthly, sometimes within days, always vanishing quickly.
• Tim details increasingly intense paranoia and “intuitive feeling like it was there to siphon energy off of me.”
  • “The more distressed I became…the stronger it became…it wanted me to be miserable and underslept and in a state of kind of heightened awareness…It felt like prey.” (Tim, 29:58)
• He tries various approaches to dispel it: saging, meditation, asking it to leave. Brief periods of respite are followed by its return.

5. Escalation: The Christmas Encounter (32:51–38:40)

• The situation peaks during Christmas 2024 at his parents’ house in New Jersey, when Tim sees a new apparition:
  • “A man…clothes that were tattered and flowing. It looked like a stereotypical ghost…missing its left leg…there was a blue tinge to it and it was very clearly a man.” (Tim, 35:52)
• The sight lasts 8 seconds—significantly longer and more vivid than prior events—leaving Tim convinced his experiences are objectively real: “Any doubt that I had…was completely gone. This is very, very odd, and all this stuff is real.” (Tim, 37:21)

6. Turning Point: Seeking Help from a Healer (38:41–52:20)

• Through a match on a dating app, Tim connects with someone who refers him to a healer named Julie.
• The session is conducted remotely; Julie instructs Tim to lie on his bed while she purportedly “projects” herself to his location and conducts a cleansing.
• Sensations during the cleansing: heaviness in forearms, sense of something moving through his body.
• Julie describes “removing clips and attachments” around his arms and spine, extracting something through his head, matching Tim’s sensations (even those he hadn’t mentioned).
  • Julie also claims there was a “portal underneath [his] bed” and that it was now “closed.” (Tim relaying Julie’s words, 50:10)
• After the session, Tim experiences a feeling of misalignment, detachment from his body, and intense tingling—but also relief and gradual realignment.
• Result: “I haven’t seen anything, and I haven’t woken up in the middle of the night. It’s been about three and a half months since the cleansing. … It definitely feels like a weight has been lifted.” (Tim, 53:10)
• Tim reflects on the experience as a catalyst for personal growth, humility, and increased connection to the world.

7. Host Reflections & Wider Perspectives (55:46–59:38)

• Jack Wagner recaps the story, expressing sympathy for Tim’s disrupted residency and isolation.
• Relates Tim’s visual experiences to his own history with hypnopompic hallucinations due to sleep deprivation, but notes, “As time has gone on and I've talked to more people…I've realized how mysterious and fascinating that state between wakefulness and sleep really is.”
• Discusses cultural and scientific perspectives on liminal states, referencing Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí’s creative use of these states.
• Wagner highlights the story’s journey from skepticism to open-mindedness and how unconventional solutions can be necessary for unconventional problems.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim (on first encounter):
  “I was flooded so quickly with the most fear I've ever felt in my life…it was like jumping headfirst into a cold plunge or an ice bath.” (12:40)

• Tim (after second scream):
  “I was just very confused. … I basically like, ran up the stairs to the second floor of the building, knocked on his door. He opened it, and he was saying, you know, are you okay? He was actually very comforting in the moment…” (15:55)

• Tim (on the recurrent presence):
  “The more distressed I became…the stronger it became and the more I sort of felt like it wanted me to be miserable and underslept…” (29:58)

• Tim (on the healer’s diagnosis):
  “She said it was really coiled around me and specifically around my spine. … She said there was a portal…underneath my bed to the right of me…she had closed this portal, that it was like an entrance where other things could possibly…come in and out of.” (50:00–51:00)

• Tim (after the cleansing):
  “I haven’t seen anything, and I haven’t woken up in the middle of the night. … It definitely feels like a weight has been lifted.” (53:10)

• Jack Wagner (on changing perspectives):
  “As time has gone on and I’ve talked to more people on the show…and learned more, I’ve realized how mysterious and fascinating that state between wakefulness and sleep really is…there’s a lot we don’t know.” (57:50)

• Tim (concluding):
  “I still have an ego, but…it's not in control in the same way that it was before. … It got me in touch with a part of myself that I would have not gotten in touch with if the event didn’t happen.” (54:05)

Important Timestamps

• 00:09 – Introduction to Tim and context for artist residencies
• 09:40 – Tim’s first encounter with the black figure
• 12:40 – Description of physiological fear response
• 17:10 – Immediate aftermath, confrontation with group
• 20:52 – Group’s response, skepticism, and support
• 24:17 – Tim back in Brooklyn, depression and hauntings begin
• 29:58 – Sense of being “prey,” emotional/psychological effects
• 35:52 – The detailed Christmas apparition
• 38:41 – Finding and connecting with the healer
• 50:00–51:00 – Healer describes portal and attachments
• 53:10 – Aftermath: major relief, end of paranormal experiences
• 55:46 – Host’s analysis and philosophical reflections

Tone and Style

The episode largely maintains a respectful, open-minded, and thoughtful tone, blending personal testimony with journalistic inquiry. Tim’s storytelling is vulnerable and detailed, marked by his background as a skeptic, which heightens the tension and impact of his eventual transformation. Jack Wagner’s commentary balances curiosity and skepticism, inviting listeners to reflect on the boundaries between science, belief, and unexplained phenomena.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

• The story is a compelling firsthand account of someone who did not want to believe in the paranormal but finds himself driven to seek spiritual help after repeated, traumatic encounters.
• The episode is notable for its introspective journey, the mounting evidence from third parties, and the unlikely but transformative solution.
• Both Tim's and Jack’s reflections leave listeners with open questions about consciousness, reality, and the limits of our understanding.

End of Summary