Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery

1,935
Fiction #35Drama #11

Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery is a new audio drama from HartLife NFP.
Releases every other week during season.
Lillian Harper moves to the small town of Mt. Absalom, Ohio, to care for her estranged mother Dorothy after an injury. Living in the town's boarding house which has been run by her family for generations, she discovers conspiracies, ghosts, and a new family in the house's strange assortment of residents.

Recent Episodes
Episodes loading...
Recent Reviews
  • bbvvcccfgghh
    Wow!!
    I’m just starting this series… and man oh man, season 2 Ep10!!!! Had me balling🥹🥹! When I say she acting??? She was acting… was so good!!!
  • My x Your o
    A beautiful modern gothic story
    I just finished the last episode of this 5 season story and will miss the characters now that they’ve moved on.
  • SkyJ14
    Well-earned & much-awaited season finale
    I just finished this series after following for a number of years, and I’m satisfied with the outcome. Kind of a rarity in audio drama to wrap up all the loose ends and complete the story, so kudos to the team for sticking the landing. Was it the best fiction pod I’ve listened to? No. Was it the worst? Not by a long shot. I’ve loved these characters, even when the story lagged, which is why I stuck around thru to the end. The sound production is immersive, if a bit difficult to place now and again. Good voice actors, diverse cast of characters, including BIPOC, queer, autistic, and non-binary folks. A good listen if you enjoy small midwestern towns, queer romance, slow-reveal mysteries, complicated family relationships, supernatural stories, and themes around memory, loss, grief, belief, and community.
  • Old Mintie
    A different kind of supernatural story
    Well, it’s been a long, gentle journey that finally ended. No spoilers, but I do want to say the payoff is very well-thought out and executed. If you prefer your supernatural stories to dial back on the horror and (for once) not involve the Biblical Apocalypse, this is for you.
  • Sirly1one
    A hard listen
    To anyone who wants to go on this five season journey, this is not a normal ghost story. It’s a story about family and pain, community of laughter, growth and change and stasis. It’s about all of these forces, interplaying and struggling with each other. It’s a love story, both realized and unrequited. It’s about justified anger and unjustifiable actions. And more than anything, it’s about how humans can adapt to any circumstances. I don’t listen to, or watch stories about dementia. Both because it is an overriding fear of, and, more recently, because my mother is experiencing it due to age and illness. This is the first story that I have completed that features a character experiencing severe dementia. I finished it because it was worth. Thank you for the story
  • diana 1229
    goodbye Mt Absalom
    what a satisfying ending. i laughed, i cried, i realized i would miss these people. thank you all for the story and the hard work it took to bring it to us. i will remember it and them (and therefore you) for a long time
  • boots on the floor
    Sad it’s over!! Enjoyed every minute!!
    Great talent here!! Thanks for sharing the dedicated and passionate community of this podcast. Accolades well deserved . Going to miss all of you,and the Mt.A .family. Cheers 🥂 🏆. Keep traveling Ms.Dot 🌎 .
  • oldladyterry
    So so good
    Don’t say it’s over so beautiful
  • Ketelone13
    I really enjoyed this
    I loved this whole podcast. Thank you so much for existing even the episodes that didn’t have anything going on. I enjoyed and I teared up when Lily and Wes had to say goodbye. Thank you very much.
  • WidowOfAWarFighter
    Wow….This would be great on TV
    Excellent job ya’ll! Loved the story and I couldnt wait for each episode. The last one….WOW, just WOW! Hope to see more!
  • Digforthedevil
    Wait for whole season
    A good mix of light and heavy and happy and heartfelt. Episodes are short and sometimes not super plot pivotal. I like to wait for the whole season to come out and listen to it in a day.
  • My3loves08
    Omg
    The way this show has got me trapped in a chokehold!!!! Rudy just died and I’m in tears!!! My favorite podcast!!! Thank you all
  • Ddang1257436
    Latest Season is Terrible
    Really liked it for the first couple of seasons. However it started going downhill later on. This season, season 5, was a challenge to listen to. Entire episodes where it seems like nothing is happening, and all the character interactions that used to be interesting just aren’t there anymore. In earlier seasons there were episodes that focused on characterization and development that were interesting. Now there are episodes where it seems like nothing is really being accomplished. I could literally skip like 75% of this season and still won’t miss a thing. Sad considering I liked the beginning. Anyways thanks for the earlier seasons they were a joy to listen to.
  • comomalolo
    Started out great but…
    Started out really great. If you like short episodes this is for you. Best to binge in my opinion. Now that I am caught up I can see that almost nothing happens in these very short episodes. I am only still listening to finish what I started.
  • JenRipple
    Meh
    I really wanted to like this, but it gets so confusing and hard to follow that I’m over it. Also, this is a very woke podcast which feels like it’s just ticking boxes off for the sake of a favorable ESG score, which contributes to it being difficult to follow with all the“them-theys”. While it has potential, it unfortunately falls way short.
  • Papa John Is King
    Vitamin Z
    A complete snooze fest. Spread thin pointless dialogue. Very boring podcast
  • Omegarex24
    A fantastic series
    I recently picked this series at semi-random to help me stay awake on a long road, but was ultimately hooked. As of writing this, I’ve just finished S5E8, so there’s still plenty to go. I will admit, some of the reviews made it seem like the show dragged on or never went anywhere, or that it burns so slowly you don’t even know if there’s a fire. These reviews are wrong. It is a slow burn, but it’s always burning. There’s almost never any kind of “filler” material, and most of that filler stuff is just character building and development. I read complaints about the characters being mean or abrasive or jerks, but no one is written in a way as to make them “unlikeable” as a character. Everyone is well written and well acted. I’ve never felt total disgust or dislike for anyone of them, even the antagonistic characters. People fight and argue sometimes, but so do real life people. Overall, the series has been a surprising delight so far and I can’t wait to see how it ends. Props to the the entire team for putting something like this together.
  • GipsieGurl
    Addictive Podcast
    This podcast was a little bit of a tough listen at first, due to the initially abrasive and unlikable characters, but the character arcs are fantastic and redeeming, the writing and acting are superb, and the nods to historical and social issues are icing on the cake for a history buff like me. And, I just ugly cried near the end of season four, something that I have never done while listening to any other podcast. That is just how moving the characters and story are!
  • TBR1117
    Betty Jean
    Loved it at first. Interesting & unpredictable. But by season 5 it felt like Alice fell down the rabbit hole and it no longer made sense and was hard to follow. Feels like there is no resolve. A little disappointed.
  • Samantha Keathley
    Too woke!
    I hate that this is another thing that is pushing the pronoun crap and gays. I just want a good podcast without all this crap. Stop trying to force this down peoples throats. 😩
  • madison hartzell
    Too woke
    Can’t we just get a normal podcast with normal people not trying to push the whole agenda. “They/them” how “gay”. The world is such a joke these days.
  • amazing!!!*
    Lost its steam
    I loved, like absolutely loved the first three seasons. It’s gotten a little hard to follow since then. I wish they did recaps or something between seasons or had a timeline/summary.
  • 499899
    Great Podcast
    Great story and fantastic acting! I appreciate the turn toward recognizing that Gender is different than Sex, and that people have the right to choose their own pronouns. They have carried a good story through many seasons.
  • Roseyy
    One of my literal faves
    This podcast builds a rich world in Mount Absalom to get lost in. The writing, acting, & sound design are 10/10 Don’t listen to the weird negative reviews people are leaving. This show is definitely worth the listen.
  • Mvaternick
    Sooo good
    Love it
  • sarpod44444
    Could not finish
    And I really tried. I wanted to like this. I don't dislike it because of anyone's sexuality or gender identity, I don't like it because it's full of irritating characters, dull storylines, and I could not be convinced to care about anything happening. It's exhausting to listen to a bunch of wieners argue about philosophical drivel when there's literally no story moving forward. Chronically online energy to this one, id pick something else.
  • Accesette
    A bit creepy…
    And a great story, writing & acting.
  • Podcast Schmodcast
    Ehhhhh
    Entertaining, the story telling was ok held my interest for a bit. Tons of unnecessary details that take away from the story… predictable and did the job in the crunch of a road trip.
  • Am_Tr
    Ignore the 1-star reviews, this is worth it
    Wow, this does not deserve all the bad reviews! The voice acting and creative story telling are stellar, and I’ve loved the twists and turns as the seasons go on. It’s also really nice to see yourself represented in a story, and to see that story told in a thoughtful, respectful way. And guess what - people who aren’t your basic straight white conservatives dudes exist in southeast Ohio! Shoutout to all my other Appalachian lgbts :)
  • Mommy tsunami
    Intriguing
    Easy listen with great voice actors and nice plot twists. Awesomely inclusive and diverse. Always good for a re-listen.
  • ShePens
    Good Story
    Don’t let the number of salty people leaving bad reviews because their butt hurt about “ideology” and “pronouns” put you off, this is a good podcast. It’s an interesting and weird story about a haunted (possibly cursed?) town and the complicated nature of family, home and place. If the mere existence of queer or non-binary people is going to put you off, this may not be for you. Yeah, Abby, Lily, and Dot are all a bit much in the beginning, they are each difficult, condescending, and rude (mostly to each other) in their own way. But they grow and part of the character drama is experiencing them change. A good story doesn’t needed to make every single protagonist “likable”. This may come as a shock to some, but you actually have to pay attention to multiple episodes if you want to follow the plot. The show is entertaining, a little spook, a little weird humor, a dash of the occult and malevolent supernatural. If that’s your thing, just enjoy it and don’t over think it.
  • JLDNFGBGG
    Pronouns…. No thank you
    Could’ve been a good story. Abby is annoying enough of all the progressive bull****. Lilly is just as annoying
  • TammieLee3
    Amazing!!
    Unwell is a amazing podcast!! I have loved every season and hope there is more coming!!!
  • December_Love
    So intriguing
    This show is so intriguing and so fun. Th actors are phenomenal and it's a great immersive experience! Cannot wait for more! I secretly hope it never ends I'm so emotionally invested 😂 Becky
  • flusteredbookkeeper
    I wish I liked it more.
    The first few seasons were really interesting, made you want to learn more about the town and what’s going to happen. I’m in the last season now, and it feels like there is no actual plot. (Aside from killing off my favorite characters. Shocker.) There’s so many writers to this who are just not moving the plot forward for me personally. I don’t understand where it’s going. Almost every episode there’s an argument or philosophical debate. Which at first I didn’t mind, as long as there was progression for character development and story. And I find that was sorely lacking each time. Or even worse, the characters went back to their same negative traits to make it feel like progress is always stagnant. What I find most of a turn off is the main characters inability to regulate her emotions towards a seemingly nice and sweet sixteen year old kid (or is he? We still don’t really know? AND it’s the last season?? Yikes.) It was fine in the beginning of the series, but it’s now the last season, and we’re still having vicious vocal sparring matches. It tends to get exhausting.
  • mjb0411
    Episodes
    Keep getting notifications saying it’s updated but there are no new episodes
  • Beezee848484
    Long time lover!
    I really can’t wait until the next seasons are released, when they are, I re-listen to old episodes, like a TV show. I love the incorporated cast and multiple story lines. The amount of effort that was pulled into this free pleasure… it’s all really great. I suggest it to all the people!
  • ecd5
    Exactly what i have been looking for
    This podcast is great! It is a great story that keeps me involved. It is produced well. The characters are developed well and have good depth. This is what I have been looking for in a modern fictional podcast. It is reminiscent of classic radio shows but is modern enough to make it interesting. Everyone doing this is doing a great job!!
  • nopedubnope
    A lot of potential, but…
    There is so much arguing that I can’t get past episode 8. I love the idea of where this story can go, but the bitterness, pettiness, and arguing is so off putting that I just can’t continue.
  • DJ Nickname for reviews
    It’s good.
    This isn’t going to be a perfect review just my thoughts, I love this story! I like that it changes from past to present, the episodes are always from every characters POV, and each character has been fleshed out well but still left mysterious. I love the sounds effects but sometimes in the car characters voices are so low I can’t hear them bc of the effects. I love that it’s not overly trying to scare you all the time and provides lessons throughout but isn’t pushing any agenda. I do wish some side stories would get fleshed out more, like: Abby working at the diner, the Delphic order, The secret collection of books that Hazel holds access over, the Revelator, Abby and Dot at Christmas, the secret passageway, etc. I know people hate some of the characters ie Abby but I enjoy them all for what they are and they all provide greatly to the story. I dislike the ads changing placement randomly.
  • *The Masked Reviewer*
    This ain’t it.
    Why does everything now a days have to involve pronoun correlation and gay love lol
  • FuzeOne
    Soooo??
    This shows characters have very nasty dispositions on their parts.. Abby is rude obnoxious and acts like she knows everything.. Lilly is rude ignorant and a butthole, mom is just as weird n nasty and always yelling for no reason then breaks down to apologize afterwards.. Wes is very cool and only raises his temperament when needed . Ruddy is very very nice and his temperament is LOW and very non existent. Abby now believes in ghosts but dint believe in the equipment that Lillian has bought off of Spoodle that will contact ghosts ..🥴🥴🙄🙄🙄😩😩😖😖😖😖👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾.. MAKE IT TO MAKE SENSE..
  • Quack quackery
    Not great
    I am 5 episodes in and nothing correlates. An entire episode was devoted to a missing phone. Ghosts are supposed to be part of the show but so far it’s a lot of characters just talking. There does not seem to be a true storyline. It’s hard to keep track of what’s happening, just when you think it’s going to get exciting they add a bunch of filler that has nothing to do with the story.
  • we*ARE*the*JESTERS!
    Nothing ever happens
    I gave this a very generous chance and made it half way thru season 3 before giving up. After all these hours, I do not really know what the actual main plot is. The story jumps around from episode to episode and no thought is continued or fully fleshed out. It’s supposed to be a horror podcast, so what is the deal with the whole town being comedically obsessed with celery? There are a lot of ads and they switch up where they are located within the episode. At some point in season 3, I realized that they had started putting more of the story after the 2nd round of ads and I had been skipping thru it. The characters were like a bingo card of progressive ideologies. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest and it ain’t that diverse. There was a declaration about operating on “occupied land” on every single episode. Just a declaration, no tie in to the story, no pitch to support native Americans or educate about history, just a huge virtue signaling waste of recording time, yet I plowed thru to try to figure out what was going on under the surface of the town. THEN the last ad I heard before I gave up bragged about how 56% of the characters (of what seemed to be a hyper inclusive erotica podcast) were voiced by people of color. They actually specified 56%. I’m not the target audience for these ads, I get that. However, I can’t help but be amused at the thought that there are people out there who 1) want to listen to erotica in podcast format while 2) judging the value of said podcasted erotica on the whiteness of its voice actors. “I like to listen to smut, but it’s a selective sort of diverse smut.” The final nail in the coffin is that I just can’t hear some of the characters when listening in the car. It’s probably better with earbuds, but that’s not great when driving for 8 hours. The sound effects drown out some voices and then sometimes it’s like the volume was set extra low for dramatic effect. I do think this story had a lot of potential, but had too much going on. Wish it had been a well edited audiobook read by one voice. I did really like the Nora character. I’m sorry she had to be stuck in this story. She deserved better.
  • Jk100580
    Ok but agenda and adds ruin it.
    I’ve listened to all of the show, definitely a few good shows with some expansive lulls. Good production quality. But it gets almost entirely unlistenable at this point are the extensive adds and ‘splaining that takes place in every show.
  • Timothy Mallon
    Constant Yelling
    I have finished the first 5 episodes of season 1, and to be honest, I don’t know if I can keep going. I always try to give a podcast a chance, unless it’s absolutely horrible, but this one is bordering on it. The cast seems like they need to have constant conflict and fighting with each other in order to move the plot along. Some of the dialog seems childish and the story development so far, seems weak. Example: a cell phone missing so there’s an assumption among the lead characters that 1) the cell isn’t important so let it go 2) the cell got taken by a dove, yes a dove 3) the cell was taken by a ghost. This causes a lot of yelling between the characters and it just goes on and on for an unnecessary amount of time.
  • Kazmierski
    S’ok
    There is a lot of bickering and mean sarcasm. I’m not really into that. Plus the Lily character is so nasty to the mother character
  • Pathgghhh
    Very solid
    Another podcast that thinks all its listeners are from LA so they talk about pronouns and being non binary way too much, but glad I stuck it out cuz it’s getting good! Lily’s character can be quite annoying, Altho I think that’s the point. Also so so so odd to talk about working on occupied land. Maybe the most bizarre stuff I’ve ever heard on a podcast. Update-of course Abby is now trans instead of non-binary
  • NatalieRae444
    Love this podcast but…
    I absolutely love this podcast. I feel like I’m a part of this little family every time I listen and I’m stoked for season 5. I’m gonna be completely honest though Abby as a character has zero redeeming qualities and I find that I roll my eyes every time they speak. They are rude to everyone and truly are such a bummer to the story. I really think there needs to be some sort of revision on how they respond and their dialogue with others. At this point they aren’t adding anything to the story for me and are almost ruining some parts of the story. Everything else is just perfect. The story is riveting and has my attention the entire time. Always. Keep up the good work!
  • Gojuryu24
    What is this?
    On episode 4.4 (5:05) , I’m curious what is “White-splaining” and why is that a thing in the story?
Similar Podcasts
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork on this page are property of the podcast owner, and not endorsed by UP.audio.