A spirit impersonating a teen, scaring their friend. A shadowy figure with blood-red eyes and sharp silver teeth stalks teens. A creepy voice operator asks someone if they want to speak to a dead loved one on a rotary phone and an evil spirit later emerges from the phone. Children and teens are attacked by a spirit. Scary music and sound effects. Characters go missing. People are sucked into a mirror and trapped on the other side. Adults try to keep children's disappearances under wraps. Police are largely considered ineffective at solving the mystery, prompting teens to conduct their own investigation.
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Teens find each other "cute." Reference is made to how a friendship between two girls was strained after one started dating a particular boy. A teenage girl brings a boy up to her room to talk, and the parents stress that she must leave her bedroom door open.
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Although the lead characters are teens who take it upon themselves to investigate supernatural occurrences, they do so with the best of intentions. The characters each have their own interests, strong points of view, and intelligence, even while in a crisis situation. They put their differences aside to work together with minimal to no adult help or supervision. Adults are portrayed as choosing to be ignorant or not caring.
Positive Messages
a little
Sometimes doing what's right means stepping outside your comfort zone. It's hard to let go of the past, but ultimately, we have to move on. Kids can see things and solve problems that adults either can't or refuse to acknowledge.
Diverse Representations
very little
The main characters are mostly kids and teens. Includes the perspective of other Copper Heights residents of different ages, even though they sometimes conform to archetypes.
Parents need to know that Origins Unknown is a scary podcast for older kids that features sequences in which children and teens are terrorized by malevolent spirits and ghosts. Although scenes are often brief, they're accompanied by scary music and sound effects that only enhance the spookiness. For the most part, the podcast is eerie more than it is frightening. While it's probably too scary for younger kiddos, it's great for older children – especially those who enjoy ghost or supernatural stories like Stranger Things.
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What’s It About?
ORIGINS UNKNOWN tells the story of 16-year-old podcaster Max Emerson. Max has moved with his mom and younger sister to the small town of Copper Heights, Ohio. It doesn't take long for Max to discover something strange is going on in his new neighborhood. Along with his friends Cassidy and Colby, he investigates the arrival of mysterious packages delivered to their neighbors and their possible connection to a string of recent disappearances. But these teens might not be the only ones hot on the trail of this seemingly supernatural mystery.
Origins Unknown is an engaging spooky mystery for fans of scary ghost stories. It adheres to the top-notch production standards fans of Pinna's library of audio content are used to. The initial setup – small-town teens investigating strange occurrences – feels like Scooby-Doo meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Stranger Things, but the story itself features plenty of twists and turns that keep it feeling frightfully fresh and new.
The scares live up to the hype, particularly for the age group Origins Unknown is targeting. Parents should listen before deciding if this podcast is appropriate for their kids and their specific sensibilities. Origins Unknown is the perfect stepping stone for budding horror fans, especially since it's audio only, with no scary images.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Origins Unknown depicts the dynamics between kids and adults. There's a general sense of mistrust between kids and their parents and certainly kids and the police. How does this theme raise the stakes of the story? Is there a negative impact to depicting authority figures as unreliable?
One theme running through Origins Unknown is grieving the loss of a loved one. What does the podcast say about the process of moving on with one's life after such a tragic event? How can you relate to this?
Origins Unknown features an evil spirit who enters the world through relics of the past. Is the show making a commentary about how these items might be haunting the present just as the spirits themselves do? Can you think of some cultures that celebrate items from the past and loved ones that have passed?
Pricing structure:
Free to try, Paid (Free sampling is available, as is the first episode of 'Origins Unknown.' Subscription plans start at $5.99 per month, billed annually.)
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.