Experiment 31E is a Frankenstein-inspired, speculative fiction podcast set during an alternate version of the Victorian era that follows the recorded notes of a scientist who is performing a dangerous experiment. Visit www.experiment31e.com or follow us wherever you find podcasts.
Experiment 31E is a Frankenstein-inspired, speculative fiction podcast set during an alternate version of the Victorian era that follows the recorded notes of a scientist who is performing a dangerous experiment. As she seeks to perfect her formula and find a suitable specimen for testing, unexpected threats rear their heads while her own motives lurk in the dark.
Mixing elements of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror, the podcast explores issues of identity, ethics, and mortality, following a morally gray scientist who is autistic, asexual, and gender non-conforming as she pursues her goal of undoing the inevitable.
Written and performed by Lauren Triola, with music by Shannon Triola, season one consists of twelve episodes, all available now. Visit our website or follow us wherever you find podcasts.
We won Best Fantasy Podcast at the Hollywood Series! (They split the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category between two winners, one for Sci-Fi and one for Fantasy, and we won!)
This is a huge honor! Thank you, Hollywood Series, and congratulations to all the other winners!
This is the first award Experiment 31E has won, and it’s the perfect note to end the year on. FYI, season two is getting ever closer to being released. I know it's been a long time, but the episodes are finally written, and now it's just a matter of cleaning up the scripts and recording them. Huzzah!
40 years ago today, on August 10, 1984, a scientific team led by anthropologist Owen Beattie arrived on Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic. They intended to exhume and autopsy the three members of the Franklin Expedition buried there. They spent that first day setting up temporary living quarters and exploring the area. In a little over a week, they would come face to face with the preserved remains of John Torrington…
On August 12, Beattie and his team began digging through the ground of Torrington’s grave. The top 4 inches of gravel were removed in less than an hour, but under that they encountered cement-like permafrost. They had to resort to using a pick and shovel to excavate the frozen ground. A strange smell began wafting up from the grave as they went deeper. It would take two long days hacking through almost 5 feet of permafrost before the coffin could be glimpsed beneath a layer of ice…
At the end of the second day of digging, a dark blue material became visible through one last layer of ice and gravel. Beattie’s team knew they had finally reached the coffin, although they did not yet know what the blue fabric represented. Was it a flag? A shroud? They couldn’t be sure until they finished excavating, but having come so close, they now had to stop. They were still waiting on the exhumation and reburial permits that would allow them to open the coffin, as well as permission from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and clearance from the chief medical officer. So far, their work had been covered under a separate archaeological permit. Now, they had to wait until they received those pending permissions to continue, a setback that would waste several days…
On August 17, Beattie finally received a radio transmission that gave him permission to exhume, autopsy, and rebury Torrington. With relief, his team began removing the last layer of ice and gravel from the top of the coffin. Now it became apparent that the strange smell they’d noticed days before was from the blue wool draped over the coffin. (Later analysis by textile experts Barbara F. Schweger and Nancy Kerr showed that the wool was fearnought (also called dreadnought), a thick fabric often used to make coats.) Once the coffin lid was uncovered, the wind picked up as a dark thunder cloud rolled in overhead. The wind snapped violently at the tent they had erected over the grave. Some of the crew grew nervous, with one of the researchers commenting, “This is like something out of a horror film.” Beattie called an end to their work for the day. The wind continued into the night, eventually lifting up the tent and tossing it away from the grave...
On August 18, the weather had calmed, and Beattie and his team continued their work out in the open without the tent. With continuous sunlight, they lost track of time as they worked, their work “day” lasting 28 hours. As the coffin was cleared of ice and gravel, it was discovered that the blue fabric covered the lid and sides. White linen tape was tacked on the edges in a simple but decorative manner. An arrow on the foot of the coffin pointed to true north, and a hand-painted metal plaque was attached on the upper portion of the lid. The plaque said, “JOHN TORRINGTON DIED JANUARY 1ST 1846 AGED 20 YEARS.” When they removed the lid of the coffin, they found a block of ice inside. Using heated water, they slowly thawed the ice, the body inside gradually coming into view…
On August 19, Beattie and his team finished thawing the body. A piece of dark blue fabric, the same type as the fearnought on the outside of the coffin, was draped over the body’s face. As they carefully melted the ice, one of the researchers, Arne Carlson, peeled away the fabric, inch by inch with a pair of tweezers, until suddenly the face was exposed.
“He’s there, he’s right there!” Carlson said.
In awe, the researchers stared at the well-preserved face of John Torrington.
He looked as if he had just died. His blue eyes were half open, gazing back at those exhuming him. A kerchief, white with blue polka dots, was wrapped under his chin and over the top of his brown hair. The blue fabric that had lain over his face for 138 years had left a dark stain on his nose and forehead, but otherwise his skin was pale with a yellowish tinge.
Torrington wore grayish-white linen pants and a white cotton print shirt with thin blue stripes and a high collar. He lay on top of a bed of wood shavings. Strips of cotton bound his limbs to his body, presumably to have made it easier to move his body into the coffin.
Once the body was freed from the ice, Beattie and his team lifted him from the grave, placed him down on a tarpaulin, and began an autopsy that would last more than four hours. They kept Torrington’s face covered, giving him privacy as they opened him up. The organs inside were still frozen and had to be thawed one at a time. Beattie and Carlson had to keep warming their hands in a bucket of hot water.
After taking samples from his body and burial clothes for further testing, they re-dressed him and laid him back into his coffin. Geraldine Ruszula, one of the research assistants, placed a note into the grave. The note contained the names of the seven researchers and a description of their feelings and purpose there. The researchers gathered for silent prayers, then they refilled Torrington’s grave, leaving him once more to his quiet eternity beneath the ground.
Later analysis would show that Torrington most likely died from pneumonia brought on by tuberculosis. His emaciated state suggested that he had been ill for months. There was also a high level of lead in his bones and hair, which supported Beattie’s theory that lead poisoning had been the cause of the Franklin Expedition’s demise. However, subsequent research by others has poked holes in this theory.
During the next few days after Torrington’s reburial, Beattie’s team exhumed the second grave there, that of John Hartnell, but the weather forced them to abandon their plans to autopsy him. They left Beechey on August 26, 1984, and would not return until 1986, when they would finish the exhumation and autopsy of Hartnell. They would also exhume and autopsy William Braine, the third member of the expedition buried there. The results from these additional autopsies contributed yet more support to Beattie’s theory.
But that day on Beechey, when Torrington emerged from the ice, there was much more on the researchers’ minds than finding evidence of lead poisoning. The mood was somber, mournful, as if they had just held witness to Torrington’s death themselves. Returning him to the frozen earth, their thoughts turned to his ethereal, peaceful face, now immortalized in the photographs they had taken, a face that would be gawked at, admired, and obsessed over for years to come.
The creation of Experiment 31E owes a lot to my obsession with John Torrington. While the plot of the podcast clearly was inspired by Frankenstein, there are many other aspects that would not be there if Torrington hadn't taken up permanent residence in my brain three decades ago. I have researched him and the Franklin Expedition extensively for the past several years, and that led to Experiment 31E taking place in Manchester during the 1840s, albeit an alternate version of the 1840s. This research is also why there are numerous references to polar exploration, particularly James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition. It's why Captain Francis Crozier makes a brief appearance--he was second in command of the Franklin Expedition, and captain of HMS Terror, the ship Torrington served aboard. And then of course there is The Boy, aka John, a short and wiry stoker from Manchester with blue eyes, brown hair, and a persistent cough...
Without Torrington, it would be a very different podcast indeed.
I am currently writing the scripts for season two, which will pay homage in a way to the events that sparked my fascination with this random Victorian sailor. The writing is going much slower than I would like due to some financial/mental health issues I'm dealing with, but I am making progress on it. You can follow that progress through my monthly newsletter. (It's easier to do newsletter updates instead of individually updating half a dozen different social media accounts.) Also, if you have some money you're not using, it would be a huge help right now if you donated to my Ko-fi. I know it feels like everyone is asking for money these days, and many of them are in much more desperate situations than I am, but if you like this podcast and want to help season two get made at a slightly less glacial pace, please consider donating. Thank you!
40 years ago today, on August 10, 1984, a scientific team led by anthropologist Owen Beattie arrived on Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic. They intended to exhume and autopsy the three members of the Franklin Expedition buried there. They spent that first day setting up temporary living quarters and exploring the area. In a little over a week, they would come face to face with the preserved remains of John Torrington…
On August 12, Beattie and his team began digging through the ground of Torrington’s grave. The top 4 inches of gravel were removed in less than an hour, but under that they encountered cement-like permafrost. They had to resort to using a pick and shovel to excavate the frozen ground. A strange smell began wafting up from the grave as they went deeper. It would take two long days hacking through almost 5 feet of permafrost before the coffin could be glimpsed beneath a layer of ice…
At the end of the second day of digging, a dark blue material became visible through one last layer of ice and gravel. Beattie’s team knew they had finally reached the coffin, although they did not yet know what the blue fabric represented. Was it a flag? A shroud? They couldn’t be sure until they finished excavating, but having come so close, they now had to stop. They were still waiting on the exhumation and reburial permits that would allow them to open the coffin, as well as permission from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and clearance from the chief medical officer. So far, their work had been covered under a separate archaeological permit. Now, they had to wait until they received those pending permissions to continue, a setback that would waste several days…
On August 17, Beattie finally received a radio transmission that gave him permission to exhume, autopsy, and rebury Torrington. With relief, his team began removing the last layer of ice and gravel from the top of the coffin. Now it became apparent that the strange smell they’d noticed days before was from the blue wool draped over the coffin. (Later analysis by textile experts Barbara F. Schweger and Nancy Kerr showed that the wool was fearnought (also called dreadnought), a thick fabric often used to make coats.) Once the coffin lid was uncovered, the wind picked up as a dark thunder cloud rolled in overhead. The wind snapped violently at the tent they had erected over the grave. Some of the crew grew nervous, with one of the researchers commenting, “This is like something out of a horror film.” Beattie called an end to their work for the day. The wind continued into the night, eventually lifting up the tent and tossing it away from the grave...
On August 18, the weather had calmed, and Beattie and his team continued their work out in the open without the tent. With continuous sunlight, they lost track of time as they worked, their work “day” lasting 28 hours. As the coffin was cleared of ice and gravel, it was discovered that the blue fabric covered the lid and sides. White linen tape was tacked on the edges in a simple but decorative manner. An arrow on the foot of the coffin pointed to true north, and a hand-painted metal plaque was attached on the upper portion of the lid. The plaque said, “JOHN TORRINGTON DIED JANUARY 1ST 1846 AGED 20 YEARS.” When they removed the lid of the coffin, they found a block of ice inside. Using heated water, they slowly thawed the ice, the body inside gradually coming into view…
On August 19, Beattie and his team finished thawing the body. A piece of dark blue fabric, the same type as the fearnought on the outside of the coffin, was draped over the body’s face. As they carefully melted the ice, one of the researchers, Arne Carlson, peeled away the fabric, inch by inch with a pair of tweezers, until suddenly the face was exposed.
“He’s there, he’s right there!” Carlson said.
In awe, the researchers stared at the well-preserved face of John Torrington.
He looked as if he had just died. His blue eyes were half open, gazing back at those exhuming him. A kerchief, white with blue polka dots, was wrapped under his chin and over the top of his brown hair. The blue fabric that had lain over his face for 138 years had left a dark stain on his nose and forehead, but otherwise his skin was pale with a yellowish tinge.
Torrington wore grayish-white linen pants and a white cotton print shirt with thin blue stripes and a high collar. He lay on top of a bed of wood shavings. Strips of cotton bound his limbs to his body, presumably to have made it easier to move his body into the coffin.
Once the body was freed from the ice, Beattie and his team lifted him from the grave, placed him down on a tarpaulin, and began an autopsy that would last more than four hours. They kept Torrington’s face covered, giving him privacy as they opened him up. The organs inside were still frozen and had to be thawed one at a time. Beattie and Carlson had to keep warming their hands in a bucket of hot water.
After taking samples from his body and burial clothes for further testing, they re-dressed him and laid him back into his coffin. Geraldine Ruszula, one of the research assistants, placed a note into the grave. The note contained the names of the seven researchers and a description of their feelings and purpose there. The researchers gathered for silent prayers, then they refilled Torrington’s grave, leaving him once more to his quiet eternity beneath the ground.
Later analysis would show that Torrington most likely died from pneumonia brought on by tuberculosis. His emaciated state suggested that he had been ill for months. There was also a high level of lead in his bones and hair, which supported Beattie’s theory that lead poisoning had been the cause of the Franklin Expedition’s demise. However, subsequent research by others has poked holes in this theory.
During the next few days after Torrington’s reburial, Beattie’s team exhumed the second grave there, that of John Hartnell, but the weather forced them to abandon their plans to autopsy him. They left Beechey on August 26, 1984, and would not return until 1986, when they would finish the exhumation and autopsy of Hartnell. They would also exhume and autopsy William Braine, the third member of the expedition buried there. The results from these additional autopsies contributed yet more support to Beattie’s theory.
But that day on Beechey, when Torrington emerged from the ice, there was much more on the researchers’ minds than finding evidence of lead poisoning. The mood was somber, mournful, as if they had just held witness to Torrington’s death themselves. Returning him to the frozen earth, their thoughts turned to his ethereal, peaceful face, now immortalized in the photographs they had taken, a face that would be gawked at, admired, and obsessed over for years to come.
The creation of Experiment 31E owes a lot to my obsession with John Torrington. While the plot of the podcast clearly was inspired by Frankenstein, there are many other aspects that would not be there if Torrington hadn't taken up permanent residence in my brain three decades ago. I have researched him and the Franklin Expedition extensively for the past several years, and that led to Experiment 31E taking place in Manchester during the 1840s, albeit an alternate version of the 1840s. This research is also why there are numerous references to polar exploration, particularly James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition. It's why Captain Francis Crozier makes a brief appearance--he was second in command of the Franklin Expedition, and captain of HMS Terror, the ship Torrington served aboard. And then of course there is The Boy, aka John, a short and wiry stoker from Manchester with blue eyes, brown hair, and a persistent cough...
Without Torrington, it would be a very different podcast indeed.
I am currently writing the scripts for season two, which will pay homage in a way to the events that sparked my fascination with this random Victorian sailor. The writing is going much slower than I would like due to some financial/mental health issues I'm dealing with, but I am making progress on it. You can follow that progress through my monthly newsletter. (It's easier to do newsletter updates instead of individually updating half a dozen different social media accounts.) Also, if you have some money you're not using, it would be a huge help right now if you donated to my Ko-fi. I know it feels like everyone is asking for money these days, and many of them are in much more desperate situations than I am, but if you like this podcast and want to help season two get made at a slightly less glacial pace, please consider donating. Thank you!
What's the Franklin Expedition? Who's the person telling me about it? What's happening? Is that a cat in the background? These questions answered in more in this amuse-bouche before the series begins!
If you enjoy the polar exploration references in Experiment 31E, then you'll probably enjoy this podcast. I haven't had a chance to listen to the teaser episode yet, but I've been following DJ's research for years, and they're a brilliant writer, so I'm looking forward to it. Check it out!
(Side note, I've recently been rereading DJ's blog posts about the Hartnell family because a certain mad scientist is going to be visiting the Hartnells' hometown in season two...)
ok fine maybe i DID come back wrong. what are you going to do about it. kill me? put me back in the ground? after all this effort? all this pain and suffering only to find out bringing me back wasn't worth it after all? you worked so hard. are you going to waste all of that just because im not what you wanted? just because i belong only to myself? are you going to let me pick out my own coffin
The NZ Web Fest is over, and while we didn't win any awards, we do have the debatable honor of having been one of the most popular podcasts at the festival! That is exciting enough for me!
I just want to say, congratulations to all the award winners!!! And if I can get season two finished sometime soon (it's, um, well, I'm definitely working on it...), I look forward to participating in more web fests next year!
Congratulations to our cast and creators on their TWO wins at NZ Web Fest—for Best Performance and Best Concept! We are truly honored and promise to not let this ruin the whole bitter underdog vibe we’ve had going on.
Experiment 31E is currently (so far) the most popular fiction podcast at the NZ Web Fest!!! Huzzah!!!
I know, I know, this could change at any time, and it doesn't really mean anything, blah, blah, but you see, I didn't think anyone would actually listen to us at either of the web fests we're participating in. I had hoped people would, obviously, that was the point of submitting to the fests in the first place, but we are a very small, independent podcast (it's just me, really, with my sister composing the music) with very small download numbers. We are not a big, fancy production, and I had never made a podcast before when I started out. I hesitated at first about submitting to any web festivals because I didn't think we would make it in. I eventually submitted to a few of them (I wasn't really aware how many were out there at first--there's an Audio Fiction World Cup??), but we were not selected by the first one I submitted to, which was a huge disappointment. We did later make it into both Baltimore and NZ, but--maybe it was the anxiety or the depression or the lack of downloads or a combination of all three--I figured we would just be ignored. But we're not being ignored! People are listening to us! I don't know how many (does "most popular" mean 3 whole people listened, lol? I don't know the actual numbers/metrics), but it's something!
Anyway, this is just a long, rambling way to say that I am so, so grateful for someone other than my mom listening to us. (Not that I don't love my mom, too, but y'know...) So to everyone who has given us a listen--at NZ or Baltimore or at any other time--THANK YOU!!!
Also, shout-out to Fawx & Stallion @224bbaker! Y'all are awesome (and might just overtake us soon lol)!
Just an FYI, the NZ Web Fest runs through November 13, and the Baltimore Next Media Web Fest ends tomorrow, November 10. Check 'em out while they last!
Everything…everything I’ve been working towards, it…
[soft laughter turns maniacal]
I was right…all along…
It almost didn’t…there were complications but…
It worked!"
It's November 7, the day Episode 12, "Attempt Number Nine," takes place. Listen again to the finale of season one to experience the events in real time with our Scientist!
I hesitated over how to designate this set of notes. When I began Phase E of Experiment 31, I had decided this phase would be devoted to human experimentation, and anything less would not count as part of the primary sequence of attempts, hence the designation secondary for animal attempts. However, today’s attempt feels as if it deserves to be called something more than secondary…"
It's November 4, the day Episode 10, "Secondary Attempt," takes place. Listen again to experience the events in real time with our Scientist!
Experiment 31E has been nominated for an award at the Baltimore Next Media Web Fest! We've been nominated for Best Sci-fi / Horror / Fantasy / Thriller / Mystery Podcast, which is actually a huge category (it looks like most of the podcasts selected to attend were nominated for this), but thankfully it will be split up into multiple awards.
So that means we've been nominated for two awards—one for each web fest we’ve been selected for. Huzzah!
This is an amazing honor, especially looking at all the other awesome podcasts we’ve been nominated alongside. We’re up for the same award as @re-dracula?? How??? I don’t expect to win (lol, no, not with this competition), but it is kinda funny—Experiment 31E is inspired by Frankenstein, and Re: Dracula is a chronological version of Dracula, which means that the BNM Web Fest has set up a showdown of Frankenstein versus Dracula. It’s monster against monster this weekend in Baltimore!
