Tangible Smells with Pam Murphy

In the Season 10 premiere of The Neighborhood Listen, hosts Paul F. Tompkins and Nicole Parker welcome guest Pam Murphy as Emily, a new homeowner plagued by a mysterious, shifting smell in her ranch-style house that defies explanation. The smell evolves from baked cookies and lavender candles to dog poop, mud, film developer, and ultimately a nauseating blend of rotting mice, sewer gas, and Drakkar Noir. As Emily recounts 18 visits to the house—each with a different scent—her family members become increasingly absent, unresponsive, or seemingly nonexistent. Her husband Danny only grunts, her teenage son Fonda doesn’t speak, and her 34-year-old daughter Bernice is hostile. Emily’s visions include a baby with an old man’s face walking up walls, a cocoon of monarch butterflies, and a sense of being watched. The hosts, initially skeptical, grow increasingly convinced the house is cursed or haunted. They suggest consulting Tim Coghlan, a former priest turned 'showman exorcist,' and consider Possessor's Row in Sicily. The episode ends with a surreal twist: when the hosts attempt to contact Emily’s family, they speak to Bernice, then Danny, and finally Emily—only to realize the family may be a collective consciousness or possession. The episode blends absurdist humor with psychological unease, culminating in a meta-commentary on perception, reality, and the fragility of identity. The hosts also tackle a bizarre job post from Deanna offering $500 weekly to someone to manage her rental listings with no experience, mocking the absurdity of 'turbo tenant' software and the exploitation of labor. Key takeaways include: 1) Trust your instincts when something feels off in a home—especially if smells change unpredictably; 2) Unexplained family silence or absence may signal deeper psychological or supernatural issues; 3) Never sign contracts with your blood—especially if the realtor is Betty Kaiserhoff; 4) If you hear Big Bad John on a bad system, it might be a portal to another dimension; 5) The most dangerous thing in a house might not be a ghost—it could be your family.