When I think of horror, the supernatural, and noir in audio fiction, there are certain conventions I think of. These aren’t bad things, but blueprints that have been set my forerunners in those genres.
When it comes to Kane and Feels: Paranormal Investigators, an audio fiction podcast about the two a pair of PIs (both private and, of course, paranormal) looking into the strange and surreal, those conventions are simultaneously upheld and uprooted all at once.
In a city that never sleeps, the veil between waking and dreaming can fray at the edges.
Enter Lucifer Kane, an academic whose knowledge of the other side is unparalleled, and Brutus Feels, an empathic ex-cop with fists of iron.
If you’ve strayed where you shouldn’t; heard what you oughtn’t; or looked where you mustn’t, you may require the services of Kane and Feels: Paranormal Investigators.
Taking inspiration from works like Twin Peaks and landing somewhere between What’s the Frequency? and The Penumbra, Kane and Feels: Paranormal Investigators still feels incredibly novel and unique. Each episode follows a different investigation, and like any good mystery, they take twists and turns the listener won’t see coming. Part of this is because, at its core, Kane and Feels is made up of tight, brilliant writing that always leaves you two steps behind. And part of this is thanks to the show’s strange sense of the supernatural, which weaves into episode through its production.
Kane and Feels is one of the podcasts I listen to several times over each episode, both because I want to live in the space for as long as I can, and because it’s a necessary process to pick apart everything happening. Each first listen of an episode, I find myself so captivated by the editing and design, I wind up spending so much time appreciating its meticulous nature I accidentally miss crucial lines and performances. For listeners who like being pulled into immersive storytelling, it’s difficult to find a better audio fiction than Kane and Feels. From the jazzy, percussive score in each episode to the perfect sense of space and setting (without ever explaining a setting), each episode is a feast for the ears.
But it’s on those second, third listens that Kane and Feels goes from something that sounds incredible to something that is incredible. The tight writing doesn’t just apply to the mysteries; it also applies to the dialogue. Lines flit easily between literary and brashly colloquial, and scenes weave the devastating in with the shockingly hilarious. The horror in each episode is less jump scare, more an underlying sense of dread, plus wild supernatural elements that make everything feel just left of reality in a way that feels both imaginative and too close for comfort. The result is a feeling on unease that sits with the listener long past listening in a way horror fans will find absolutely gratifying.
All of this is solidified by the two lead performances, Jack Fitzpatrick as Kane and Oliver Morris as Feels, as well as the podcast’s large ensemble cast. The two leads have a perfect, symbiotic timing, feeling like people who have worked alongside each other for years. The ensemble cast feels so natural in their deliveries, even with the combination of classic and contemporary writing styles.
Kane and Feels: Paranormal Investigators is the perfect listen for if you want a supernatural horror noir that truly blends all three of those concepts in every part of each episode. It’s a podcast unlike any other, one that sweeps the listener into its rich word of the surreal.
Wil Williams Writes 
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