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Hairy Hands FM
by Hannah Parsons and Joe Strickland

Click here to go to the experience

Scroll down for more information about the experience and troubleshooting

(Please note that the experience may not be compatible with iPhones/iPads)

Hairy Hands FM is an immersive audio experience with interactive elements designed to transform your home into something exciting and unfamiliar.


The experience begins with you trying to enter a radio phone-in contest, listening to a local legends segment, and witnessing something otherworldly. But when the paranormal turns its attentions to you, how will you flee from and overcome this supernatural being in your own home.


Requiring just a smartphone and a pair of headphones, prepare to hide and be chased by the Dartmoor legend of the Hairy Hands with only a radio host for guidance.

Hairy Hands FM is a Calling The Shots production for New Creatives,

supported by Arts Council England and BBC Arts.

FAQs and Troubleshooting:


Q: Why do I need headphones for this experience?

A: The audio used in the piece is only immersive (spatialised) if you listen through a pair of headphones - we recommend over-ear, non-bluetooth headphones for the best experience.


Q: Does this work for iOS or Apple Devices?

A: At this stage, this experience isn’t compatible for Apple mobile devices (iPhones or iPads), but is accessible from Google Chrome on laptops and desktops.


Q: Why do I need to grant the experience access to my microphone?

A: This experience has interactive elements, and talking to the experience when prompted, as if it were a real phone call, will allow the story to progress. In order for this to work we need you to grant us access to your microphone while the experience is playing. 


The experience only listens to you while it is playing and when you are talking. It does not understand what you are saying, you are not being recorded at any point during the experience, and the experience no longer has access to your microphone once you’ve finished it.


Q: The experience isn’t responding when I speak, what do I do?

A: If the experience doesn’t continue once you’ve responded, this indicates the experience has not been granted microphone access.


You can see when the experience is detecting your mic from the message “The experience is listening to you” appearing on screen when you speak on the bottom right under the phone keypad. If this text doesn’t come up when you’re speaking, this indicates the experience has not been granted microphone access. 


If no popup asking for permission to access mic appeared at the start of the experience, try accessing the experience in a Private/Incognito browser tab or clearing your cache and refreshing the page .


Q: The experience has begun but it seems out of synch. What do I do?

A: Refresh the webpage for the experience and this should resolve the issue.


Q: The audio doesn’t sound immersive, what do I do?

A: The binaural audio requires two channels (both headphones) to be listened to at the same time for the audio to be effective. Please ensure your headphones are connected properly and that you’re listening through both left and right headphones throughout.


This type of audio also has a varied response from different types of headphones. With smaller and less powerful headphones (i.e. earbuds or other in-ear phones) this will come across less effectively, whereas over-ear headphones plugged directly into your device (or interface) will wield better results in terms of spatialising the audio.


If listening through bluetooth headphones with an integrated microphone (i.e. Bose QuietComfort), be aware that your mic may filter into the audio you’re receiving, which will majorly affect the experience. Similarly, noise-cancelling headphones will severely affect the immersive audio, so please listen without any noise-cancelling if possible.


We recommend you listen to the experience with over-ear headphones through a wired connection to your device.

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