Kinga Philipps is back with us for part two of our investigation into the legend of the lost city of Akakor.  In this episode, we look closer at the facts in this case, attempting to separate them from the fiction.  Kinga has a specific and knowledgeable insight into Tatunca Nara’s point of view as she and J.J. Kelley interviewed him at his home in Barcelos, Amazonas, in 2019 for their Travel Channel show, Lost in the Wild.  In the 1980s, at least three people hired Tatunca as a guide to find Akakor.  Two were never seen again, and one was found with a bullet hole in the back of their skull.  Did they insist on venturing into the jungle alone, as Tatunca claimed?  What became of the journalist Karl Brugger, whose book The Chronicle of Akakor could be considered the catalyst to this series of events?  Is this mystery more natural, supernatural, or criminal at its core?  Whatever the truth at the heart of this darkness, the fact is that an incredible account, a fantastic fable, mere words can spark quests and tragedy. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Typically, when the concept of a Lost City captures the public’s imagination, it’s because archaeologists have discovered evidence of its ancient existence or rumors have passed down generations and inspired expeditions.  But what happens when a single, modern man’s story, documented in a book, encourages a few adventurous souls to seek an elusive utopia in a treacherous locale?  This is the case with the legend of the lost city of Akakor.  In the early 1970s, journalist Karl Brugger met with a man who called himself Tatunca Nara, a self-proclaimed tribal chieftain and prince of the Ugha Mongulala tribe.  Tatunca told Brugger an incredible tale of Akakor, a Shangri-la-like city mostly underground and hidden in caves in the Amazon jungle.  Akakor was home to a magnificent and enlightened society, rich and resplendent with treasures and ancient wisdom thousands of years old.  Not only did Tatunca know the location of the secretive city, but he was also one of its royalty.  Although initially incredulous, Brugger became intoxicated with Nara’s story and decided to document it and publish a book about it in 1976 titled The Chronicle of Akakor. Exhilarated by the fantastic descriptions, amateur adventurers came from all over the world to try and find Akakor and see it for themselves, often hiring Tatunca to guide them there… but at least 3 of them would never make it back home.  Some believe they fell victim to the dangers of the environment, while others believe they were silenced to keep Akakor hidden from the world.  However, we can safely navigate this legend because we have the great fortune of being joined by Kinga Philipps, journalist, adventurer, Shark Week host, and fellow at the prestigious 120-year-old Explorer’s Club.  Kinga and her Explorer’s Club colleague JJ Kelley co-hosted a series called Lost in the Wild on the Travel Channel.  The show was dedicated to examining cases of missing persons that have taken place in exotic locations.  In one episode, the duo traveled to Brazil to investigate the story of Akakor and Tatunca Nara, and tonight, Kinga Philipps will share what they uncovered on that harrowing quest. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In part 2 of our series on the Ghosts of Versailles, we’re looking into what transpired in the years following the initial incident. Charlotte Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain conducted intense research to figure out who or what they may have been interacting with on August 10th, 1901. That research led them, among many other things, to discover there was an insurrection on that exact day in 1792, 71 years earlier to the day. The Tuileries Place is not in Versailles but in Paris, 11 miles away. Revolutionaries with weapons wanted the Monarchy abolished. They waged an intense attack on the palace that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were now living in on lockdown. On that day, 650 of the Swiss Guard were massacred by Jacobins and a group known as the Paris Commune. Once the Swiss Guard ran out of ammunition, they were slaughtered, and their bodies dismembered and paraded about the palace grounds. King Louis and Marie Antoinette had moved to a safer location in the Legislative Assembly Building. Moberly and Jourdain wondered if they might have somehow intersected with what no doubt would have been Marie Antoinette’s fearful and saddened state of mind that day. Is it possible she was reminiscing about happier times at her favorite place in the world, Le Petit Trianon? Could Moberly and Jourdain have somehow crossed paths with Antoinette's ghostly memories of happiness on the anniversary of the day that would mark the beginning of the end, not only for the King and herself but the Monarchy, too? We’ll discuss that and our theories about what may have happened and how the Ghosts of Versailles evolved into the story it is today. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In the late summer of 1901, two women journeyed to the renowned Palace of Versailles, a few miles west of Paris. This breathtaking royal home, once the epitome of the French Monarchy during the reigns of Louis XIV, XV, and XVI, was an unfamiliar territory to them. Yet, the palace grounds seemed eager to impart a history lesson they had not anticipated. While exploring the vast estate, Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain found themselves amidst various characters adorned in peculiar attire. They noticed buildings, structures, and anachronistic farm tools from a past era. It was as if they had inadvertently stepped through a portal into a bygone era. The highlight of their uncanny experience may have been an encounter with a spectral figure of what may have been Queen Marie Antoinette herself. The bewildering events of that summer day left Moberly and Jourdain perplexed. Over time, they gradually pieced together the puzzle of their extraordinary visit. Years were devoted to delving into Versailles' rich history, with additional visits undertaken to comprehend the mysterious occurrences they had witnessed. Despite being mocked by many, they remained steadfast in their quest to understand what they had seen in 1901. Today, their astonishing experience, known as the Moberly-Jourdain Incident or The Ghosts of Versailles, continues to fascinate fans of timeslips, time travel and encounters with ghosts of events that happened long ago. Tonight, Scott is joined by special guest co-hosts Richard Hatem and Marie Mayhew to dive into this bizarre tale. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Enjoy episode number 21 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer! 

Would you look at that? It’s already the end of 2023, and our second favorite annual holiday is upon us. We’re now into our 4th annual tradition of the Astonishing Legends All-Star Holiday Special, and it indeed has taken on a life of its own. This year, we’re welcoming back all of our guests from last year and being joined by a few new ones as well. This show was recorded and broadcast live on video to our Patrons at Patreon.com/astonishinglegends a few weeks ago and in fact, if you are a patron you can still access the uncensored and unedited version of it there. You’ll hear the audio from that presentation, slightly edited for length and propriety tonight. To the extent that’s possible, anyway. The Holiday Special topics are wide-ranging and generally unplanned; this year is no exception. We touched on everything from the ubiquitous UAP phenomenon to podcast production to some of our various guests’ favorite topics of the past year. Allison Jornlin talks about going on Shark Tank with her brother, and Micah Hanks invites us all to come and see the infamous Brown Mountain Lights in North Carolina for ourselves. So get the fire going, settle down under a warm blanket with some eggnog or even a holiday cocktail, and enjoy this wonderful tradition with our returning guests, Richard Hatem, Jim Harold, Micah Hanks, Paul Gledhill, and Allison Jornlin. And please join us in welcoming the hosts of the new Astonishing Legends Network podcast ‘Scared All the Time.’  Stay tuned after the closing credits for a special afterparty and toast to our other network show, ‘The Midnight Library’, and a wonderful visit from our own Tess Pfeifle. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In Part 2 of our examination of the strange and tragic case concerning the mysterious death of Zigmund Adamski, we dive into the coal pile of odd clues and loose ends discovered by Police Constable Alan Godfrey and debate the facts from a detective’s perspective.  Was Adamski’s fate a result of extraterrestrial meddling or an unintentional homicide by blundering inlaws?  Was the death somehow connected to Godfrey’s following encounter or a case of “post hoc, ergo propter hoc” thinking?  We’ll analyze each incident in greater detail individually and look for causal connections, emphasizing Godfrey’s experience and aftermath.  We then continue with Philip Mantle’s expert insights on the circumstances and learn about the cases vexing his storied career and personal experiences.  As we attempt to reach conclusions about one of the most bizarre series of events in paranormal lore, there’s no doubt that stories like these fuel the imaginations and quest for truth for those who entertain the extraordinary. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Zigmund Adamski, a Polish immigrant miner, left his house in Tingley, England, heading to the corner shop to buy some potatoes.  He would go missing for five days and turn up dead on a pile of coal over 25 miles away to the west in the village of Todmorden on June 11, 1980.  Police Constable Alan Godfrey was called to investigate and found puzzling clues at the scene.  No signs of foul play were detected on the body, with the only wounds being burn marks on the top of the head and a weeping wound at the base of the neck where it appeared a green salve had been applied.  Adamski’s dress shirt was missing, but in its place was a mesh undershirt he wasn’t wearing when he left.  Not only did he appear awkwardly redressed, but he seemed to have been given a crude haircut and a recent shave.  There were no signs of any disturbance in the coal pile from Adamski having crawled up it nor anyone having dragged him atop it in broad daylight at an active workplace.  Yet the most baffling clue may be that the coroner and toxicologists never identified what the green ointment was.  Most disturbing was that Adamski was found with eyes wide open, looking as though he died of sheer terror.  That may have been the end to an open and not-so-shut case, except for what happened to PC Godfrey five months later.  Around 5:00 a.m. on a wet November morning in Todmorden, Alan Godfrey was on patrol looking for stolen motorbikes when a bright, diamond-shaped object blocked the road.  Hovering about five feet off the pavement with its bottom half spinning, the craft was 20 feet wide and 14 feet high as Godfrey stopped to sketch it.  The next thing he knew, he was driving again, having gone past the craft with around 30 minutes of missing time.  While initially encouraged by his superiors to be publically interviewed about his encounter, he would soon face ridicule from his peers and a determined effort by police administrators to ruin his career.  So, is there an extraterrestrial connection between the mysterious death of Zigmund Adamski and the close encounter of Alan Godfrey?  We’re fortunate to get some help with this investigation from eminent and esteemed UFO researcher Philip Mantle, who grew up in the Tingley area.  Mr. Mantle lays out the case that while one event may have a weird yet commonplace explanation, the seemingly connected occurrence may still be out of this world.  As we’ve always thought, the ordinary and the extraordinary are not mutually exclusive and are often found together. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

On July 3, 1975, the Ministry of Justice in Japan responded to an inquiry by Amelia Earhart researcher and investigator Major Joe Gervais. Gervais had sent a letter to the Department of Immigration and Naturalization in Tokyo, operating on the hunch that Earhart had been taken prisoner and held on Saipan during WWII but under an assumed identity. The Ministry of Justice responded, saying the woman in their custody was known to them as Irene Craigmile. This was not a name mentioned by Gervais to the Japanese authorities. So, who is Irene Craigmile? Craigmile and Earhart were acquaintances and pilots who looked similar, but photos show they are two separate people. This begs the question for the “Japanese Capture” theory of Earhart’s disappearance: who then went down with the plane that was apparently ditched near Buka Island in Papua New Guinea? Were these two women connected via some secret mission, and is the plane at Buka a version of Earhart’s Electra 10-E? These questions and evidence are just a few of the puzzle pieces of the enduring mystery of Earhart’s fateful last flight, meticulously stitched together by William “Bill” Pennington Snavely, Jr. in his latest book, Lost in Flight: Amelia Earhart, Giving Cover as a Decoy for a Spy Plane. In 2018, Bill was a guest on our show, where he outlined his research leading to a startling theory of Earhart’s plane possibly having crashed near the coast of Matsungan Island near Buka, eventually sinking to a depth of 109 feet. Two main aspects of Bill’s investigation that remain novel are that, unlike the other researchers, he calculated his flight tracking starting from the last known location and then traced backward and that his team is the only one with an aircraft to investigate whose characteristics match the Electra. Bill’s multiple expeditions to Buka have yielded intriguing evidence supporting his claim, evidence which has previously been kept under wraps due to nondisclosure agreements. However, as his research in the intervening years continued, a new hybrid theory emerged from his discoveries that may solve the disconnect between “Japanese Capture” and the wreckage at Buka. Could it be that a failed reconnaissance mission led to one of the greatest coverups in US history? Bill Snavely is now free to disclose the shocking findings he revealed in his book. Also joining us is longtime friend and fellow podcaster Chris Williamson, whose podcast Chasing Earhart and its companion book, Rabbit Hole: The Vanishing of Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan, is the definitive interview collection. Prepare to suit up as we dive for the truth behind one of the world’s most famous and significant aviation enigmas. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Adam Livingston moved his family from Pennsylvania to a parcel of farmland near a village then known as Smithfield, West Virginia, sometime in the 1770s. The village’s name would evolve over the years to the more pragmatic name of Middleway. However, colloquially, it would also acquire the moniker of “Clip” or “Cliptown” for the bizarre events that would transpire there. A few years before 1790, the once-thriving Livingston family would begin to endure supernatural harassment so extreme that they were beleaguered and exhausted, leaving their neighbors and visitors bewildered. According to one popular account, a mysterious Irish stranger appeared at Livingston’s door seeking shelter one dark and stormy night. Livingston provided hospitality to the weary traveler until the stranger summoned his host when fearing his death was near, begging that he send for a priest to deliver last rites. While Livingston was generous in his accommodation, being a Lutheran and having a disdain for Catholic priests, he refused to send for one. The stranger died during the night and was buried in unconsecrated ground the next day. Soon after, it seems a curse had befallen the Livingstons. Progressing as many stories of prolonged poltergeist bedevilment do, the haunting started with strange and unexplained noises about the home. Then, unseen forces would smash their crockery, light their bedding on fire, and roll great balls of fire from the hearth across the floors, causing panic. Livingston’s cattle all died, and his barn burned down. The entity’s most noteworthy destruction was making a persistent sound of clipping as if by invisible shears and leaving any family or visitor’s cloth or leather sliced, often with crescent shapes cut into them. This peculiar practice would lend the phenomenon its name, the “Wizard Clip.” While we may never know the accurate details of the happenings, something otherworldly apparently did materialize at the Livingston homestead. We can more easily explore why such mystical occurrences transmogrify into enduring folklore. To help us with that challenge, we’re joined by author and intelligence analyst Michael Kishbucher, whose recent book, The Appalachian Legend of the Wizard Clip, thoroughly investigates this early American story. Aiding in the elucidation is Appalachian folklore expert, lead researcher, and producer for Small Town Monsters Heather Moser. Cautiously pull up a chair close to the fire as we examine the obscure yet harrowing tale of “America’s first poltergeist.”  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

The Mogollon Rim in northcentral Arizona is a geological landform that spans around 200 miles east to west, demarking the southern boundary of the Colorado Plateau in the state.  This topographical feature is classified as an escarpment where wide and steeply sloping cliffs and rock masses delineate the high pine-covered plateau on the northern side, which receives cold winter temperatures and light snow from the desert-like conditions below to the south.  This transitional nature provides a habitat for significantly varying types of plants and animals.  Perhaps because of Mogollon Rim’s liminal nature, this variance is claimed by many to also extend to creatures and phenomena that dwell beyond our understanding.  Accounts and legends of UFOs, supernatural occurrences, and even its own brand of a hominin-like beast known as the “Mogollon Monster” are familiar to the territory.  The supernatural element became all too real for our guest, Jay, who endured a terrifying encounter while working as a wildlife biologist for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.  While studying black bears in the rugged canyons and terrain of the Rim, Jay encountered an impossible stranger in a pretty unlikely place, one that insisted on getting a ride.  But who or what was this thing, and what was their intention?  An ancient spirit known to the Native American cultures of the region or a physical being with mystical powers masquerading as a weird human?  While it is never advisable to pick up strangers, it seems that one may be compelled to give a ride to a hitchhiker on Mogollon Rim, maybe as just a playful reminder that humans are not the apex of the paranormal food chain. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Join hosts Ed Voccola (Rick and Morty, Bless The Harts) and Chris Cullari (Blumhouse, The Aviary) for a wild trip through the world of what scares them.  In this episode, the boys discuss razor blade apples, the Man Who Killed Halloween, and the history of "Halloween Sadism." 

Enjoy episode number 5 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer! 

We hope your sleep has recovered after last week's round of creepy and unsettling accounts. Now, we aim to disquiet your peace with another three! Our first story comes from Megan, whose family has a history of experiencing items showing up in unexpected places. But when a letter is delivered to a vulnerable location, we wonder if it came from someone still Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Note. Our next guest, Chad, has stories showing that growing up in Ohio can be Weird on Both Ends, with High Strangeness in the Middle. In the final narrative, Rachal, a Hospice social worker, had a patient whose reconnection with a Life Leech proved to be an exhausting experience. Join us if you dare for Part 2 of Your True Halloween Stories II, and rest easy if your life is pleasantly unremarkable.  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Join hosts Ed Voccola (Rick and Morty, Bless The Harts) and Chris Cullari (Blumhouse, The Aviary) for a wild trip through the world of what scares them. In this first episode, the boys discuss shadow people, TikTok challenges, and the nightmarish being who ties them together: The Hat Man. Visit our show notes for a lot more information on this episode.

Introducing Scared All The Time, the newest show on the Astonishing Legends Network.

Well well, dear friends, Spooky Season is upon us once again, so it's time to regale and chill you with true Halloween tales from within our ranks!  Our first story, which we're calling "She is Ours," comes from Andy, whose recurring nightmare leads to a standoff with higher powers.  Later, a study of palmistry plunges her into a shared vision with a stranger.  The following frightening account comes from Maryann, who gets an unwelcome response when you "Speak of the Devil."  And finally, Persephone endures a harrowing encounter that may be a puzzle piece to a lifelong mystery that seemed to come from "No Place at All."  Light the candles, prepare the beverages, and settle in for an evening of eerie testimony from some Legenders.  May all your dreams be pleasant tonight! Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Enjoy episode number 5 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer! 

We took a survey a while back, and sweatpants were far and away the number one most requested new merch item, so here’s our first batch with a glow-in-the-dark Astonishing Al on the hip! They are available for pre-order as of right now! We will start printing them over the next few weeks for them to get to you by Halloween with any luck!

We need your scariest stories! Send them in! Like…now!

For whatever reason, 1952, the year of Truman Bethurum's encounters with saucer Captain Aura Rhanes and her crew, was a watershed year for UFO interactions and the Contactee movement.  The period is mainly known for marking an era of peaceable and friendly exchanges with aliens, deAL266: Bethurum Part 2 – UFOs and the Occult spite the predictable fears of the "other" depicted in 1950s Science Fiction and fueled by Cold War tensions.  Sometimes colloquially referred to as "Space Brothers" (which could include Bethurum's "Space Sister" Rhanes) or occasionally an alien race of "Nordics," these benevolent otherworldly visitors often urged humans to live in harmony, to care for our planet, and warned us of the dangers of the atomic age.  The overall message is they were here to protect us from ourselves.  But as welcoming and comforting as that sounds, there is a much-overlooked aspect of some of the personalities involved in this generation of heralds – a fair number of them had ties to occult beliefs and practices.  From Aleister Crowley's magick and Jack Parsons to the wackier exploits of George Hunt Williamson, MIB threats to Albert K. Bender, William Dudley Pelley's fondness for Nazism, to the more modern cult of Marshall Applewhite and the current belief by some officials that aliens are demonic, the themes grow darker and more sinister.  There is no doubt that a throughline has existed with the "Saucer Seers" from hopeful communions to the Dark Arts because it requires a belief in access to the mystical.  We're joined once again by Rob Kristoffersen and Rich Hatem for part two of our discussion as we explore the connection between UFOs and the occult. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

On Sunday night, July 27, 1952, Cement Batch Plant Operator Truman Bethurum took a little snooze during his break while working the swing shift on an Asphalt Mixing Plant project near Mormon Mesa, Nevada.  He awoke to hear unintelligible murmuring from eight to ten small-sized men who had surrounded his truck.  Initially startled by the diminutive beings who all seemed to be wearing uniforms, what would really make Truman's heart pound with excitement was that they appeared to be the crew of an enormous flying saucer that had landed just a few yards away.  He described the ship as about 300 feet in diameter and six yards deep at its center, with something akin to a burnished stainless steel finish.  Bethurum went aboard to meet the female captain of the ship and was able to ask her questions, to which he often received cryptic yet intriguing answers.  One visitation like this would be enough to question one's reality and sanity, but Bethurum was able to meet and converse with these interplanetary visitors on ten more occasions.  Unable to keep this earth-shattering secret to himself, Bethurum would end up talking about his close encounters with his coworkers and his bewildered and soon-to-be long-suffering wife, correctly suspecting there would be derision and concern for his mental well-being.  But even imagining how his life would turn upside down from his claims, he felt these exchanges were too important and wonderful to keep to himself.  So if this was all just a made-up story in the style of 1950s era SciFi to gain some notoriety and maybe sell some books, why would a seemingly clear-headed, hardworking man with a good job and family risk losing everything to become viewed by most as a "Saucer Seer" kook?  Was there something about Bethurum's personality that was unsound or foolish and unknown to his closest associates?  Perhaps he became an unwitting target of a government operation or a contactee of a broader metaphysical phenomenon that tailored his experience to his comprehension.  Join us for part one of a roundtable discussion with a couple of our closest associates, Rob Kristoffersen and Rich Hatem, as we follow Truman Bethurum aboard a flying saucer. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In the second part of our series on the mysterious visitor to Van Meter, Iowa, it’s time to wonder how so many credible people could see a creature so incredible and what that creature could be.  An extant pterosaur, your run-of-the-mill cryptid, a Keel-like “uttraterrestrial,” something like a tulpa or an egregore, or simply a transdimensional interloper from the sacred and mystical bowels of the earth?  Does a hoax that a whole town would have to be in on even make sense?  Could the gestalt be a little from all of these things?  We may never know precisely what the Van Meter Monster was, but we can learn how something clinically described as an unusual sensory experience affects the people who see it.  Something else we can bet on is that, like it or not, we must share our reality with the surreal, and as rare as it is, people will continue to see the impossible. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

When most folks hear about a fantastical cryptid sighting, they just assume it was a dubious, one-off, misinterpreted encounter by the town drunk, or overimaginative prankster kids, if they believe any of it at all.  But none of this applies to the incident where a mystical creature terrorized the small farming town of Van Meter, Iowa, in 1903.  For five nights starting September 29, an impossible visitor made its presence known to the townsfolk.  Upon returning at 1:00 am from a job out of town, implement dealer U.G. Griffith spotted a dark figure on a downtown rooftop, which seemed to be shining a bright spotlight around.  Thinking it may be a burglar, Griffith approached to inspect when suddenly, the large shadow leaped to another rooftop across the street and disappeared.  The following night, around the same time, the town’s doctor, Dr. Alcott, was also alerted to a bright light shining through his window and ran outside to investigate.  Dr. Alcott, though, got a better view of the intruder.  The figure was described by him and others as standing eight to nine feet tall, half-human, half-animal, with enormous, smooth, leathery wings, a beak, and most curiously, a blunt horn in its forehead from where this bright light was said to have shown.  Most disturbingly, the creature appeared immune to the bullets fired at it on multiple occasions.  Far from the town’s undesirables, these encounters happened to merchants, a doctor, and a bank manager – some of the community’s most prominent and well-respected members who didn’t care for the notoriety this story brought.  Having had their fill of fearsome appearances, a heavily armed posse confronted the antediluvian monster at its lair in a mine on the edge of town, intending to rid the earth of its existence.  Grab a pitchfork and a torch, and join us as we hunt down the Van Meter monster. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

There is a road in Warren County, New Jersey, that, according to many generations of locals, seems to be a vortex or at least a hotspot of all manner of paranormal and unsettling activity.  Tales of Native American spirits seen along the roadside, ghostly victims of vigilante justice dangling from “The Hanging Tree,” spectral deer running alongside cars, murder and highway robbery, UAPs and glowing orbs, the ghost from a 1950s Prom Date car accident still in her burned dress limping home, and even disturbing Polaroids of distressed people scattered in the woods are all part of the lore of this nearly 7-mile stretch of road officially and aptly named, Shades of Death Road.  But with such an ominous and foreboding name, does this country road live up to the hype, and how did it get its name?  Perhaps one could dismiss Shades of Death Road as just another random community locus that births Urban Legends, except that it’s not the only haunting and notorious landmark in the area.  Adjacent to the road are two other mysteriously named topographical features, Ghost Lake and Jenny Jump Mountain, each with their own disturbing stories.  So is the collection of incidents from these places merely a coincidence that fuels imagination and legends, or does this particular swath of earth generate the creepy activity that happens upon it?  Let’s find out as we deep drive down Shades of Death Road. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Staying alive in the most ridiculous situations keeps comedian Anthony Atamanuik up at night. If you’re attacked by a swarm of killer bees, do you lay on the ground and play dead? Climb up a tree? Jump into the nearest body of water with a little straw poking out as a breathing apparatus? We could find ourselves caught in a million wild situations, and if you don’t know what to do, you might not make it out alive! On Don’t Panic, Wondery’s new comedy show, super-worrier Anthony Atamanuik brings to life our most irrational fears and anxieties with some of the funniest people on the planet. Along the way, guests will also share what keeps them doom scrolling on their phones, and learn what to do in every ridiculous, worst-case scenario situation that couldn’t possibly happen in real life. Or could it? Enjoy Don’t Panic on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Don’t Panic early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts: Wondery.fm/DP_EIC

In December 2017, the New York Times published a ground-breaking article titled “Glowing Auras and Black Money: The Pentagon’s Mysterious UFO Program.” The report was noteworthy not only for what it brought to light about the earnest government/military study of the UAP phenomenon but also that such a storied and seemingly no-nonsense newspaper like the New York Times finally took the subject seriously as well. We followed up in January 2018 with a two-part episode called “Imminent Disclosure?”  The question mark on the title indicated we weren’t sure when FULL disclosure would arrive, but drips and drops of astounding revelations were indeed on the horizon. Five and a half years later, since that watershed coverage made a splash, two of its original journalists, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean, have done it again. On June 5th, 2023, they published an article about a former intelligence official and whistleblower named David Grusch. That article is called “Intelligence Officials Say US Has Retrieved Craft of Non-human Origin.” The title alone should speak to the world-changing implications. Because this story needed daylight quickly, it was published on an independent news website called TheDebrief.org. As it turns out, our good friend and colleague, Micah Hanks, also co-founded that news organization. Thanks to Micah, we were fortunate to be granted an interview with Ralph Blumenthal to get the story behind the story. Following our discussion, we’ll hear from Micah, the Editor in Chief at The Debrief, and Chrissy Newton, their head of Media Relations and a long-time podcaster herself, to consider where we all go from here. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

We were honored to be invited to the inaugural celebration of Monster Fest 2023, produced by our good friends Seth Breedlove and his crew at Small Town Monsters. Taking place at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Canton, OH, the evening of Friday, June 2, saw the premiere of STM’s latest documentary, On the Trail of Bigfoot: Land of the Missing, at the historic (and haunted) Canton Palace Theater. Saturday, June 3, was the main event which featured a packed and exciting ballroom full of vendors with the most creative and coolest wares on display, expert researchers, authors, artists, podcasters, filmmakers, speakers, special guests... and then there was us, along with legendary screenwriter Rich Hatem. No question, we loved catching up with friends in our fields and meeting new contemporaries. Still, meeting so many of our wonderful listeners was an even bigger highlight. And we’re all fortunate that several generously and bravely shared their stories of paranormal encounters for our live taping in front of an audience, which is what you’ll hear on tonight’s episode. We hope you’ll enjoy this first-of-a-kind show for us and take comfort or trepidation in knowing that when it comes to our weird world, we’re all in it together. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

We’re pleased and honored to present a special guest for this episode, Dr. Abraham “Avi” Loeb. Dr. Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University and received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at the age of 24. He has written nine books and nearly 1000 papers, led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative, and served as a long-standing member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, among many other achievements. Although his work with the Breakthrough Starshot project to send “light sails” speeding toward nearby stars may have initially gained him the most notoriety in science news, his study and theory of a recent anomalous visitor put him on the radar of the general public. In October 2017, a Hawaiian observatory detected the first interstellar object to pass through our solar system, which was subsequently named Oumuamua, meaning “scout” in the Hawaiian language. That fact alone may have registered a blip of mild interest to most. Yet the first artists’ conceptions of the object as a cigar-shaped asteroid put further curiosity of the masses to rest as it being, albeit odd, just another space rock. However, analysis of sensor data of Oumuamua, with no visual inspection obtained during its visit, led Dr. Loeb and his team to conclude that it was nothing like it was portrayed to the public. Instead, their research showed it was roughly the size of a football field, reflective, spinning, thin as a sheet of paper, and moving unusually. Dr. Loeb hypothesized that Oumuamua could likely be a probe, perhaps manufactured by an ancient alien civilization to gather information as star systems pass by. Not surprisingly, many of his peers met this open-minded thinking with dismissive resistance, hesitant or unwilling to entertain such bold and adventurous speculation. Join us for a fascinating discussion with one of the world’s leading astrophysicists on the challenges of searching for extraterrestrial life on the eve of his appearance at the upcoming annual Contact in the Desert conference taking place June 2 through 4, 2023, in Indian Wells, California. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Astonishing Promo Trailer 1 - 2023

Anyone familiar with UFO and alien abduction lore knows that all manner of creatures have been reported to be associated with the phenomenon.  While the "Grays" have dominated the popular culture imagination, some who claimed encounters recall things as fantastic and diverse as robots, androids, simians, reptilians, humanoid hybrids, and even Nordic-looking "Space Brothers and Sisters."  Yet one scary entity may be at the apex of strange intruders, an evolved lifeform with telepathic powers, a tall, biped body, and a triangular-shaped head resembling an earthly mantis insect.  But what if these insectoid organisms existed apart from the transportation technology we'd like to think they travel with?  What if they were a natural, independent species from another world that overlaps ours, unintentional visitors from another planet or dimension, or maybe they've been here all along and just developed a way to cloak themselves, but it sometimes fails?  While many tales of these characters connect to UFOs, a significant number of testimonies describe terrifying singular surprise appearances in wilderness settings.  Two such separate anecdotes come from fishermen along the same stretch of the upper Musconetcong River near Stephens State Park in New Jersey.  One interesting note is that the men strikingly felt that, whatever they were, the beings were just as shocked to see them as they were to see the beings.  So who are they, and what do they want?  Should we fear them, or with their advanced intelligence, are they apprehensive about us and feel they need to control us?  Wade with us into the frightening and mysterious waters of the Mantis Men. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In Part Two of our series on the mysterious hole in Tsarichina, Bulgaria, we take a closer look at the history of the legendary Tsar Samuel, whose legacy sparked the initial search and the likelihood of his treasure hoard.  We’ll also examine the role of the famous Bulgarian prophet, Baba Vanga, whose consultation decreed that the hole was a phenomenon mankind could not explain, along with a message from another world.  She also warned that if they continued digging, they would reach a suspended animation capsule containing some form of simian-like, asexual being that was not meant to be disturbed, asking, what would they do once it woke up?  Whether what was buried in Tsarichina was a cover story for toxic waste disposal, a government boondoggle, or truly reality-altering secrets of the universe we aren’t ready for, perhaps it’s best to let sleeping primordial protohumans lie. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In 1990 in the small village of Tsarichina in western Bulgaria, a resident kept having vivid dreams and what he claimed were psychic messages directed at him. Dimitar Kekemenov claimed that famous historical Bulgarian notables told him he was descended from the heroic Tsar Samuel of the First Bulgarian Empire in the 11th century and that it was his national duty to find Samuel’s lost treasures and restore prosperity to the country. A disembodied entity also told him that not only if he followed their instructions precisely would he find the buried treasure, but that other hidden mysteries would be revealed that would change the world. While this may sound outlandish to most, curiously, it was taken quite seriously by high-ranking military officers of the Bulgarian Defense Ministry, who decided excavation should commence immediately. From December 6, 1990, to November 19, 1992, heavily guarded tunneling proceeded day and night, spiraling down into the hard earth. Eventually, work was halted, and the hole was sealed with concrete, with the official explanation given as the rising costs, totaling over 16 million Levs in Bulgarian currency. That might be the final word on what would rationally seem like a fool’s errand spurred by ridiculous claims, except that the phenomena reported by authorities leading the dig were wild beyond belief. Body-piercing bolts of light, a mysterious stone tablet, a silvery chamber covered in unknown writing, and even combat with unseen entities deploying bullet-stopping forcefields were all claimed to have been encountered. Again, it would be easy to pass this off as fantastical gossip from a sleepy hamlet or internet fiction, except these accounts were detailed by one of the project leaders, Colonel Tsvetko Kanev, in his book, The Tsarichina Phenomenon. Along with Colonel Kanev, who was the Deputy Chief of the Military Scientific Department of the General Staff, the operation was also reported on by numerous European news outlets. Join us as we burrow down the rabbit hole for the truth about what was entombed in Tsarichina. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Listen to Scott and Forrest on Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast this April 3rd, 2023!

Forrest and Scott join their good friend Rob Kristoffersen over at Our Strange Skies for a special April 1st crossover show!

As stated in the book, Conjuring up Philip: An adventure in psychokinesis, written by Iris M. Owen, in the introduction written by her husband, Dr. A.R. George Owen, the “Group of 8’s” initial goals were to first find out whether seemingly interactive spirit communication could be produced in bright light. Secondly, they wanted to know if a spirit medium was necessary or if ordinary people could generate this phenomenon. Third, if this force was produced by a disembodied spirit or was caused by the experiment’s living participants. They also hoped for what they thought would be their pinnacle of success: to produce a collective hallucination of their imaginary friend Philip, which everyone could document and witness. Unfortunately, Philip never physically materialized, but amazingly their other objectives did. However, one question remains, perhaps to be answered by neuroscientists and metaphysicists of the future – what exactly is this phenomenon, and what is its cause? If this invisible psychokinetic force of “table-turning” is produced by living human consciousness via quasi-involuntary action, as famed scientist Michael Faraday was thinking, or the “ideo-motor principle” put forth by Dr. William B. Carpenter, then just how powerful are our brains and what else could be achieved? Or perhaps Philip was more like the concept of a tulpa or, more appropriately, to this situation, an egregore, and if so, does an element of Philip still exist somewhere in the ether, and what about the multitudes of manufactured entities throughout the ages? Maybe there is straight-up spirit activity in the mix? Most researchers who dabbled in this subject agreed that optimal success requires a firm belief in the possibility, eager anticipation of the interaction, and an unwavering expectation that results would be forthcoming. Although the Philip Experiment would eventually fade from scientific and public interest, there is renewed interest in the age-old wisdom that with focused intention combined with practice, the mind can create magic... or at least someone to talk to. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In 1972, the Toronto Society for Psychical Research, led by mathematical geneticist Dr. A.R. George Owen, assembled a group of volunteers from various backgrounds to try something never before attempted. For their experiment, they aimed to manifest a fictional ghost they named “Philip Aylesford” and would try to communicate with this fabricated entity through séance-like sessions conducted under laboratory conditions and bright lighting. A fictional biography was created for Philip that the group could focus on. He was to be born in England in 1624 and connected to real places and events but with intentional historical errors inserted as control markers. For over a year, the “Group of 8” met weekly, and for over a year… nothing happened. But then, upon the advice of two pioneering paranormal researchers, the group changed their tactics to make their attempts more in the style of seances from the turn of the 20th century. This made the meetings more like festive social gatherings, with singing and laughter, under dimmer lighting. Soon, they would experience tangible responses to their questions in the form of knocking for “yes” and “no.” But the psychokinetic activity didn’t stop there. The group also felt a presence in the room with palpable energy, unexplainable breezes, and vibrations of the card table they used, which would tilt and scoot across the room seemingly under its own power. This might seem like fanciful exaggerations from overly enthusiastic true believers or downright kooks, but this phenomenon was continually repeatable under various conditions and even captured by TV cameras. If it were a parlor trick, this result would be mind-blowing. Even more astounding, however, is considering the implications to our reality if an invisible, conscious force exists and is demonstrable. What is the source and nature of this ethereal influence? In other words, if Philip was wholly made up, who or what was this group communicating with? Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

On Christmas Eve, 24 December 1975, concert violinist Peter Gibbs was just finishing dinner with his girlfriend at the Glenforsa Hotel on the Isle of Mull in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The pair had traveled to this island in the Inner Hebrides four days earlier to look for hotels to purchase for his property investment company. Gibbs had rented an airplane to island hop during their holiday to use in his search, and the Glenforsa, with its adjacent airstrip, would serve as their base camp. But after dinner, Gibbs did something most of us would find odd, perhaps not for the bold World War II RAF Spitfire veteran fighter pilot; he decided to take a solo plane flight to demonstrate that night flights to the island were possible. It was supposed to be a 10-minute joyride while Gibbs' girlfriend, Felicity Grainger, waited on the unlit grass runway with two flashlights to guide him back in. No one would see Gibbs' Cessna F150H ever again. But, four months later, Gibbs' body would be found 400 feet up a rocky hillside and splayed over a fallen tree. Usually, finding the missing person in a disappearance means "case closed," but not in this case. The condition and location of Gibbs' remains would generate many more questions than answers. He didn't seem to suffer injuries consistent with falling or jumping while airborne. Nor was it likely that he would've made the arduous hike to that location after ditching in the freezing ocean. To add to the enigma, Gibbs appeared in an area thoroughly searched immediately following his disappearance and routinely patrolled by local shepherds. These baffling clues combine into what has become known as "The Great Mull Air Mystery." Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Forrest will be on History's Greatest Mysteries tonight at 9/8c talking about The Lost Colony of Roanoke!

In part two of our series on the Nazca lines, we examine some of the prevailing theories about their purpose.  From astronomical earthwork markers, maps of aquifer sources, and a gargantuan textile & mummy manufactory to processional pathways for worshippers, a conclusive and comprehensive explanation continues to elude researchers and the public.  Yet while most scholars and enthusiasts concentrate on the biomorphic geoglyphs of Nazca, perhaps the greater mystery lies in the older, more sophisticated, and complex lines in the Palpa region to the north.  Here, the multitude of amazingly long stretches of "runway" courses, zig-zags, and labyrinthine "paper clip" patterns suggest that this culture's motivations may have been technological as well as spiritual.  In addition, many of these lines were carved into what appear to be the leveled ridges of the mountainous geography, where tracks can lead to steep dropoffs.  Whatever the speculations, we may only be one new discovery away from finally solving the riddle of the Nazca lines. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

On a high desert plateau in southwestern Peru, only about 230 miles south of the capital Lima, hundreds of massive and mysterious artistic designs are scraped into the arid soil.  Technically known as geoglyphs, these figures range from straight lines and geometric shapes to biomorphic caricatures of animals, plants, and a humanoid.  Typically composed of single, continuous outlines, the earthworks can vary in size from 440 to 1200 yards across or between 400 and 1100 meters.  The lines combined measure more than 800 miles in length or 1290 kilometers.  The area containing the geoglyphs is roughly a whopping 170 square miles or 440 square kilometers.  Although the lines only measure from about twelve inches to six feet in width and four to six inches deep, many can be seen from space leading to hypotheses about their purpose.  The lines are believed to have been created by first the Paracas and then the Nazca cultures over a period from 400 BCE to 500 CE by removing a shallow layer of darker, oxidized topsoil to reveal the lighter clay-like dirt below.  So we may know the how of the lines, but what about the why?  Alternative researchers wonder about the purpose of the art if most couldn't readily be seen by their creators at ground level.  Were the Nazca peoples, like the Paracas culture before them, creating these designs for metaphoric rituals to gain self-control of their subsistence, or were these societies imploring the gods for help?  The more popular illustrations include creatures like a spider, a hummingbird, fish, a heron, and a monkey.  These could be seen as natural elements that may connect spiritually to symbols for fertility and agriculture seen in other Nazca art.  But one humanoid depiction called the "Owl Man" by some and "The Astronaut" by others particularly sparks the imagination of unconventional thinkers.  Join us as we begin to scratch the surface of the wonder and meaning of what has become known as the Nazca Lines. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Like so many stories and people that come our way, this is another one that seemed to be put in our path by some grander force for a higher purpose.  Recently, Scott and his wife Emily were out at dinner and struck up a conversation with the stranger sitting next to them, Lauren Hopper, who told them she worked as an end-of-life doula.  While many of us have heard of a Birth Doula, someone who provides advice, emotional support, and physical comfort to mothers during childbirth, Lauren’s job takes place at the opposite end of life’s journey.  She gives hope and guidance to those about to pass away and their loved ones in their grief.  The conversation between the three was profound, fascinating, and reassuring to such a degree that we felt it needed to be shared, and the sooner, the better.  While most of us will never experience the things we talk about on this show, there is one absolute certainty in that every one of us will pass eventually, and if you’re of a certain age, you’ll be dealing with the imminent departure of your parents or friends.  While you may not agree with Lauren’s beliefs or assessment of her experiences, we must all admit that we won’t know for sure until our end comes.  Please join us, Lauren, and our friend Rich Hatem for a discussion on the essential question in life, what happens after we die?  The easiest answer is to believe that nothing happens, but why not entertain the notion that something ineffably wonderful does, that no one ever really dies? Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Well, it's our second favorite time of year again, after Halloween, but that’s no reason not to invite all of our spooky friends over for some eggnog, stories, fun, and good conversation. The Astonishing Legends All-Star Holiday Special has become something of a tradition, and we were excited to do it again in 2022 for the third time. This year we are thrilled to be able to present the audio from a Holiday Party that was actually originally broadcast live on our YouTube channel on December 12th. So if you missed that broadcast, fear not, or maybe do fear, because we’re now presenting the audio from that show here for all of you. We are joined this year by returning regular guests Micah Hanks, Jim Harold, and Richard Hatem…and we’re thrilled to welcome new guests Paul Gledhill and Allison Jornlin. The conversation meanders from the spooky to the heartwarming as we all sit by the fire and even get a little live performance from Micah. It can be a lonely time of year, but remember, we are all in this together, and none of us have to face it alone, so join us for a little escape from what the rest of the world calls reality. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In Part Two of our series on the massacre at Duffy's Cut, we continue our discussion with investigating brothers, Drs. Frank and Bill Watson.  We examine the historical circumstances and the likelihood of these 57 workers all dying of cholera or being murdered out of fear and prejudice.  Also considered is the remarkable number of coincidences and hauntings connected to the paranormal nature of this tragedy's discovery.  Whether they fell victim to the harsh conditions of past eras or the brutality of callous ignorance, perhaps the restless spirits of Duffy's Cut can finally find peace and recognition. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In September of 2000, history professor Dr. William "Bill" Watson of Immaculata University stopped by the campus for a break with friend and fellow bagpipe musician Tom Connor during a long drive back from a performance.  While there, around 10:00 p.m. near the typically deserted faculty center lawn, both men witnessed a strange apparition that would later lead to a remarkable and meaningful coincidence.  Two years after this experience, Bill's twin brother, Reverend Dr. Frank Watson, by chance, came across a file once kept by their grandfather Joseph Tripician, a former secretary to the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1970s.  One official record in this file documented a tragedy connected to a ghost story their grandfather told annually at Thanksgiving dinner.  The report outlined a mass death of workers on an arduous stretch of the then Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad in the summer and fall of 1832.  Contractor Phillip Duffy had hired 57 Irish immigrants to lay the tracks for roughly a mile through thickset trees and over a deep ravine about 20 miles west of Philadelphia.  39 newly arrived immigrants, one of them a woman, and 18 others already working there would all be dead within ninety days of their hire.  Irish Catholic immigrants were often viewed with prejudice as unseemly and unwelcome intruders by established society and expendable workers by the railroad and mining companies profiting from their cheap and desperate labor.  When the second global cholera pandemic reached this work camp, the record suggested that all 57 had succumbed to the deadly disease.  Compelled by the discovery of this document, in August 2004, Bill and Frank Watson, along with two university associates, led an archaeological excavation to find the accurate burial site for these victims.  On March 24, 2009, it was announced that the first human remains had been found.  However, a curious twist was discovered by noted physical and forensic anthropologist Janet Monge, who analyzed the bones.  Her examination revealed that at least two of the skulls found first likely received perimortem blunt-force trauma and gunshot wounds.  This conclusion leads to the prominent theory that workers were either killed out of fear they would spread the contagion, to quell a rebellion or both.  Please join us for part one of a story that yearns to be told, the Massacre at Duffy's Cut. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

On Friday, September 4, 1964, Donald Shrum and two friends from his job at Aerojet made camp in a remote section of wilderness near the Loch Leven Lakes in an area called Cisco Grove, roughly 60 miles northeast of Sacramento, CA. The three men had planned a relaxing weekend of bow hunting for deer, but those plans would change later that evening as Shrum experienced an exhausting and terrifying UFO close encounter of the worst kind. As night approached, Shrum got lost and separated from his hunting buddies and found himself isolated on a bluff almost a mile from camp. An experienced woodsman, Shrum decided it would be wiser to spend the night in a tree safe from predators rather than trying to find his way back over rough terrain in the dark. Seeing an unusual moving light on the horizon, Shrum built three signal fires to attract what he thought were his rescuers. The fires did seem to attract this object’s attention, but not the kind anyone wants. Beyond his wildest imagination and expectations, he would soon find himself in an all-night battle to save his life or at least his freedom. As Shrum perched in his pine tree 12 feet off the ground and quietly observed this light, he realized it was something like a headlight on a massive cigar-shaped craft. A smaller ship emerged from one of this mothership’s large rectangular ports and took a position some distance to his north. Shortly after that, Shrum could hear rustling in the brush heading his direction. What emerged were a combination of beings he described as humanoid and wearing space suits and at least a couple of what appeared to him as clunky robots who seemed to be on a mission to study the flora. Once they had noticed Shrum in the tree, however, a few of these weird beings seemed intent on abducting him for reasons he feared to ponder. Until daybreak, Shrum would fight off these intruders with everything he had at his disposal. Shooting arrows and lobbing flaming personal items at them only seemed to delay their trying to climb his tree in between assaults with a mysterious white gaseous mist that would render him temporarily unconscious. Perhaps ironically, it was employing primitive means to counter advanced technology, but whatever the unfathomable cause, it worked. Donald Shrum lived to tell his tale but only after decades of PTSD and secrecy to protect his reputation. While this story may seem unbelievable to you, the United States Air Force certainly believed it and went so far as to rake away all the evidence, literally. What remains is one of the most bizarre and disturbing testimonies in UFO lore – one man’s battle against extraterrestrials at Cisco Grove. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Tonight's episode concludes this series of our listeners' most terrifying true tales for Halloween.  In the final Part Three of this anthology, we're proud to present five stories we believe were some of the most horrifying we've ever heard.  The collection covers a curated compilation of creepy creatures.  You may be tempted to classify them under the categories of a goblin, doppelgänger, genie, demon, and something that defies easy classification, but what are these things that people have encountered?  Do these beings even know what they are, or does it matter?  In our human desire to measure and rationalize, ask yourself: Does your "rational" explanation account for every detail offered in these reports?  Do you want to explain away these testimonies because of your confidence in a complete understanding of the natural or unnatural world?  Or could it be your fear of the unknown?   How do we know what's possible or impossible when we have such a limited and naive grasp of the true nature of our reality?  Whatever your stance, we wish to thank everyone who submitted a story for this series or has ever sent us an email detailing a personal paranormal encounter.  We've filed and cherished every one of them, and we hope to feature the ones we couldn't get to in some future offering.  And a message to all who have generously and bravely shared with us: while your experience may be uncommon and unsettling, just know that you're not alone. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

As we continue with Part Two of our Halloween series featuring our listeners' true accounts, tonight's episode presents another three eerie tales of the supernatural.  The first story tells of a haunted college rooming house with a spirit fond of movie catchphrases.  And it may have the power to compel humans to deliver poignant messages.  Our second interview details a forceful presence with the ability to invade your dreams and physically send you to a dark portal of a waking nightmare.  Our final story is about a random encounter with... well, let's just say, one of the most terrifying entities the audience hopes they never meet.  The twist here is that whatever this thing is, it wasn't content to let you merely run away. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Astonishing Legends is all about fascinating and mysterious topics. And within that category, the details we cover can be unsettling or downright terrifying. But you may not realize that some of the most chilling and creepy accounts we've ever encountered have come from our listeners! We've received thousands of emails over our eight years of podcasting, and we appreciate and value every one of them. We realize that it takes no small amount of courage to send such personal anecdotes to strangers out in the world, becoming vulnerable to ridicule or scorn. So to honor that conviction and trust and show our tremendous gratitude to our audience, we're proud to present your scariest true stories in three parts. Also, because the Spooky Season is upon us, and most of us enjoy a frightening Halloween tale, what better time to hear about the weirdness of our world? So we invite you to settle in, lock your doors and windows, suspend any disbelief you might have, and enjoy these narratives as entertainment, evidence, or cautionary tales. However you choose to consume them, if the urge to publicly debunk strikes you, please respect that our storytellers insist these reports are genuine. They really did happen to someone. Remember that sometimes the most chilling thing you can see at the beginning of any work of horror fiction are the words, "Based on a true story." Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In Part Two of our series on the Missing 411 phenomenon, we'll first examine a study conducted to determine which National Parks are the most dangerous in the United States.  The numbers and causes may surprise you.  We then take a closer look at a few more puzzling cases and, with a critical eye, examine the data presented by David Paulides and the CanAm Project vs. what's been reported by the news media.  Discrepancies raise questions when ascertaining the objective facts and judging if the evidence is remarkable.  There are plenty of errors and omissions from all parties, but what are the causes and intentions behind them?  With hundreds, perhaps thousands of incidents, it's understandable when a news outlet rushing to report under a deadline makes mistakes, but can the same leeway be given to Paulides?  Are they honest mistakes or the handy claim that details are "cherry-picked," overlooked, or embellished to prop up a narrative and sell content?  Will later discoveries change the investigations, are we being told everything, and what are the motivations of those doing the telling or omitting?  Are blunders in the reporting, whatever the intent, proof that nothing extraordinary is going on?  As we conclude the episode with an overall skeptical analysis and finish with our personal assessments, it's clear that what is deemed either a mundane tragedy or a mysterious phenomenon is in the eye of the beholder.  As far as any alarming pattern to these cases is concerned, if strange yet commonplace coincidences do occur, how many coincidences are too many? Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode. 

A former police officer turned writer David Paulides was taken aside by a National Park Ranger and told about a disturbing trend he'd realized. This Ranger asserted that some people were going missing in the woods under mysterious circumstances leaving only puzzling evidence of their fate. Of course, people often go missing in the wilderness in tragic yet explainable events but what was troubling to these Rangers in the field was the apparent pattern of the occurrences and the subsequent investigation efforts. This Ranger stated that during the first seven to ten days of a disappearance, an all-out Search and Rescue effort ensued with plenty of press coverage. However, after the first week of a rescue mission, it seemed to them that the media stopped reporting, the search for the missing was called off, and no further explanation from the authorities was provided. An additionally alarming trend was that there seemed to be a reluctance or inability on behalf of the National Park Service administration to collect and provide statistics on these disappearances to the public, either through inefficiency or secrecy. If this is true, perhaps it could be from a concerted effort to diminish negative publicity and undue fear about park visitation, or maybe there is something dreadful the officials don't want the public to know. Whatever the reason, this conversation launched Paulides on a now decade-long quest for answers. Initially, after over three years and 9000 hours of investigation, utilizing his 20 years of experience with law enforcement and the resulting connections, Paulides had gathered enough information to compile two books.  Missing 411 – Western U.S. was released on March 1, 2012, documenting the stories of people who have vanished in seemingly bizarre instances in the western half of the United States. The second book, Missing 411 – Eastern U.S., was published later that month and contains special sections on unusual outdoor activities that seem related and a master list of all missing persons. Currently, ten books have been published, with more on the way, two documentaries have been produced, and Paulides' ongoing popular YouTube channel continues to highlight cases. In addition, retired police officers, Search and Rescue experts, and other professionals are dedicated to continuing researching and investigating these cases with their CanAm Missing project. One worrisome aspect they've found is that in many situations, parents, relatives, and friends of the missing believe that their loved one was kidnapped or abducted, sometimes with them nearby. No matter the causal connections or whether you think these disappearances are sad but commonplace, a conspiracy lurks or is nonexistent; the fact is that these cases are real, and the victims' stories deserve and need to be told. The question remains, however – what is really going on out in the wilds, and is it something sinister we should all be worried about? Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode. 

Since antiquity, espionage and deceit have always been crucial weapons of warfare.  As technology and strategy have advanced over the centuries, methods for governments to deliver information and orders to their secret agents in the field have become more sophisticated.  Yet, one form of cryptic communication implemented in the early 20th century has proven ever effective and relatively simple.  With the advent of wireless telegraphy combined with a cipher technique called a "One-time Pad," militaries have been sending coded messages to their undercover operatives abroad since World War I.  It wasn't until shortwave and HAM radio enthusiasts started noticing eerie and enigmatic broadcasts of spoken series of numbers or strange electronic sounds that these coded communiqués aroused widespread curiosity during the height of the Cold War.  Although the use of public airwaves for clandestine messaging seems to have declined in recent years, listeners can still hear these top-secret instructions delivered to unknown spies, perhaps even your neighbor.  One can only wonder how these spooky transmissions saved or cost lives or what world-changing actions they triggered.  Join us as we delve into the mysterious world of spycraft and Numbers Stations. Visit our webpage on this episode for a lot more information.

On December 1, 1948, an unknown man was found lying dead on the sand on Somerton Beach next to the neighborhood of Glenelg, about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Adelaide, South Australia. He had no money or identification on him, the labels in his clothing were cut off, and his minimal possessions yielded no clues. Further adding to the mystery, a rolled-up scrap of paper with the Persian phrase "tamám shud," translating to "is over" or "is finished," was found in the man's watch pocket around the time of his autopsy. The scrap was later discovered torn from a copy of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a circa 11th-century collection of poems by Khayyam, known as "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia." The book found tossed into a car after a public appeal by the police appeared to have previous writing indentations on a page adjacent to the torn-out one, revealing a local phone number and text speculated to be a coded message. With no further clues as to the Somerton Man's identity other than an abandoned suitcase left at the Adelaide railway station, a plaster cast was made of the man's bust following the coroner's inquest, and the body was embalmed nine days after its discovery and buried. For almost 74 years, the mystery of the Somerton has intrigued authorities, amateur sleuths, and the general public, including physicist, Electrical and Electronic Engineering professor Dr. Derek Abbott. For over a decade, Dr. Abbott and his team of grad students at the University of Adelaide worked on cracking the code found in the Rubaiyat and attempting to arrange a genetic DNA analysis. In partnership with internationally recognized forensic genealogist Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, Abbott and Fitzpatrick announced on July 26, 2022, that they have finally uncovered the identity of Australia's most famous "John Doe." Extracting DNA from chest hairs found in the Somerton Man's plaster cast has led them to a name and an occupation. But will this name lead to solving the remaining puzzle pieces? Pathologists at the time believed he was likely poisoned, but why, and by whom? Was there a Cold War connection, and why did he spend his last day in Adelaide? Circling back to the alternate name for this case, tamám shud, is this mystery really over, is it finished? Visit our webpage on this episode for a lot more information.

Did we hear about the Somerton Man case being solved? Yes. And now you will, too, on August 13th, 2022.

As we continue our discussion based on Blake Lemoine’s assertion that the Large Language Model chatbot LaMDA had become sentient, we relay the rest of his conversation with the program and then some questions and answers with Lemoine himself. But as Lemoine has said, machine sentience and personhood are just some of many questions to be considered. His greater issue is how an omnipresent AI, trained on an insufficient data set, will affect how different people and cultures interact and who will be dominated or excluded. The fear is that the ultimate result of protecting corporate profits will outweigh global human interests. In light of these questions about AI’s ethical and efficient development, we highlight the positions and insights of experts on the state and future of AI, such as Blaise Agüera y Arcas and Gary Marcus. The directives of responsible technology development and the right track to Deep Learning are more grounded than the fantastical thoughts of killer robots. Yet hovering over all of the mechanics are the philosophies of what constitutes sentience, comprehending and feeling as a person does, and being human enough. The reality of Artificial Intelligence matching humans may be fifty years in the future, or five hundred, but if that day ever comes, let’s hope it’s an egalitarian future where we are the masters and not the servants. Visit our webpage on this episode for a lot more information.

On June 11, 2022, The Washington Post published an article by their San Francisco-based tech culture reporter Nitasha Tiku titled, "The Google engineer who thinks the company's AI has come to life." The piece focused on the claims of a Google software engineer named Blake Lemoine, who said he believed the company's artificially intelligent chatbot generator LaMDA had shown him signs that it had become sentient. In addition to identifying itself as an AI-powered dialogue agent, it also said it felt like a person. Last fall, Lemoine was working for Google's Responsible AI division and was tasked with talking to LaMDA, testing it to determine if the program was exhibiting bias or using discriminatory or hate speech. LaMDA stands for "Language Model for Dialogue Applications" and is designed to mimic speech by processing trillions of words sourced from the internet, a system known as a "large language model." Over a week, Lemoine had five conversations with LaMDA via a text interface, while his co-worker collaborator conducted four interviews with the chatbot. They then combined the transcripts and edited them for length, making it an enjoyable narrative while keeping the original intention of the statements. Lemoine then presented the transcript and their conclusions in a paper to Google executives as evidence of the program's sentience. After they dismissed the claims, he went public with the internal memo, also classified as "Privileged & Confidential, Need to Know," which resulted in Lemoine being placed on paid administrative leave. Blake Lemoine contends that Artificial Intelligence technology will be amazing, but others may disagree, and he and Google shouldn't make all the choices. If you believe that LaMDA became aware, deserves the rights and fair treatment of personhood, and even legal representation or this reality is for a distant future, or merely SciFi, the debate is relevant and will need addressing one day. If machine sentience is impossible, we only have to worry about human failings. If robots become conscious, should we hope they don't grow to resent us? Visit our webpage on this episode for a lot more information.

We're marvelously fortunate and extraordinarily grateful that so many listeners have sent us their personal stories of mysterious experiences over the years. While it's not possible to respond to all of them, we can and should present some for the entertainment and edification of all. So as thanks to those who've shared, and a treat for us that love to hear them, we're featuring three stories from a recent call for submissions. Our first account comes from Terra Greenleaf, who managed to capture audio of strange animal sounds while at a facility in a deeply wooded area. Those familiar with Bigfoot research might classify them as typical "calls." However, this encounter is incredibly eerie because there appears to be a large semi-circle of the creatures and they might be hunting prey. Our next anecdote comes from Dr. Dominic Boyer, whose family occupied a house in Chicago once lived in by eminent physicist Enrico Fermi, known as the "architect of the nuclear age."  Having died in the home, the Boyers believe his spirit haunted them while they lived there, as what they saw looked an awful lot like him, perhaps to Fermi's consternation. Our final interview is with Tom Delaney, who recalls several unnerving encounters with a mysterious force while hunting in the hills of central Pennsylvania. It seemed to stalk him and his hunting buddy, taunting with mimicry and snapping mid-sized tree trunks. Whatever this thing or things were, perhaps it was toying with them or delivering a stern warning.  We all know it takes no small amount of courage and confidence to publicly share a testimony that often leads to criticism and ridicule. We tend not to believe what we see on the internet because we're unsure of the source. On the other hand, we may doubt the narratives we hear from our family and friends. So in light of this losing proposition, we'd again like to thank our listeners for their bravery and generosity and let them know that they are not alone in their experiences. We all welcome them with open arms to our society of the strange. Visit our webpage on this episode for a lot more information.

As we dive further into the epic of Mel's Hole, we learn that in the third phone call to Art Bell on the Coast to Coast AM radio show on April 24, 2000, Mel reveals what had happened to him since his initial calls in 1997. After supposedly taking the deal from the US government to relocate to Australia and receive a compensation of $250,000 per month for the lease of the land he received in a divorce settlement from his wife, Mel was happy to continue his research with medicinal plants and efforts with wombat rescue near Perth. However, upon Mel's return to the US and helping his nephew move from Tacoma to Olympia on the day he was scheduled to return to the program for a follow-up interview, there was an altercation on the bus he was riding. Mel was detained for questioning and told he would be transported back to Tacoma once authorities concluded their investigation. The next thing Mel remembered is waking up in an alley in San Francisco, missing his wallet, keys, belt buckle, and all of his back molar teeth. There was evidence that Mel was administered an IV for the twelve days he was blacked out. He had also discovered that his land lease was revoked, ironically for improper use of the property while he was away. Now broke and struggling to continue his endeavors, Mel would call Art two more times with an update, on January 29 and December 20, 2002, and his story would only get weirder and wilder. In the time leading up to these calls, Mel was contacted by Native Americans in the northern Nevada region who offered to collaborate on medicinal herb research. While sharing knowledge, they made him aware of another mysterious hole that may have enhanced their plants, this time on federal property used as grazing land for a community of Basque shepherds. Mel would continue captivating Art with tales of fiery ice exhibiting cosmically dense properties and a sentient, otherworldly creature exiting the hole. Not only that, but Mel possessed US dimes that might be proof of a parallel reality, the same ones that he'd affixed to his stolen belt buckle. Like almost every unbelievable tale we've come across, there are a couple of logical assessments when we get to the bottom. If this was all a hoax, it was well-crafted, consistent, meted out with increasingly enthralling details over five years, and managed to engross one of America's premier presenters of the paranormal along with the broader audience. If all or any part of Mel's story is genuine, then the implications are astounding. But no matter if you believe "Mel" or his story made you roll your eyes and chuckle, for most of us who enjoy this kind of fare, it's proved to be a classic astonishing legend. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

One of the most enduring and pervasive tropes to ever capture the human imagination is the concept of a "bottomless pit." On Friday, February 22, 1997, a man calling himself "Mel Waters" had faxed Art Bell, the much-beloved and sadly now-passed host of the highly-rated, paranormal-themed radio talk show, Coast to Coast AM, claiming to have one on his property. Mel said his property is about nine miles west of Ellensburg, Washington, adjacent to Manastash Ridge. He and his neighbors and the property's previous owners had thrown their trash into the hole for decades. The 9' 9" in diameter hole had received everything from household waste and furniture to building debris to dead cows for as long as anyone could remember, yet it never seemed to fill up. Mel became self-admittedly obsessed with determining the depth of this curiosity. Being a former semi-pro shark fisherman, Mel had lowered three reels of 20 lb. fishing line with a one-pound weight at the end. After 1500 yards of monofilament and not hitting bottom, Mel began buying the fishing line in bulk reels to continue his experiment. When he expended 80,000 feet (24,384 m) of line and still not reaching the end as far as he could tell, Mel contacted Art to get explanations from his vast audience or ideas about what to try next. Aside from an undetermined depth, not much else was particularly strange about the pit to Mel except that dogs refused to get within 100 feet of it, and birds wouldn't sit on its stone retaining wall or metal cover. Also unusual was that no echo from the hole could be heard, nor anything crashing on its floor even when objects as unwieldy as refrigerators or television CRT tubes were tossed in. This description of what Mel thought might be the deepest hole on Earth intrigued Art, and he called Mel for an interview that night. During the discussion, Mel also relayed some other fascinating folklore he'd heard, such as a hunter tossing his deceased dog, only for it later to be seen running around but not answering his call. Another neighbor had told Mel that he once saw a "blacker than black" beam shooting up into the sky from the hole on a recent evening. This could just be another puzzling and amusing anecdote from one of the usual characters calling into the show, except Mel contacted Art on February 24 with some startling news. Mel claimed that the day after his first call, the land where the hole was located had been seized by armed military personnel who denied him access with veiled threats while heavy equipment was brought in. Mel Waters would call in for an update interview two more times in April 2000 and January 2002, but for 1997, the mystery of Mel and his hole would pause with a purported offer from the US Government that he couldn't refuse. Join us for Part 1 of this "Best of Art Bell" saga as we dive deep into the legend of "Mel's Hole." Visit our webpage for a lot more information on this episode.

Often when one hears about some group of people claiming to experience a highly strange event or similarly acting out in bizarre and irrational manners, it's easy and common to dismiss the episode as a case of "mass hysteria." Phenomena like the audience reaction to Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast, "The Dancing Plague of 1518," the "Windshield-Pitting Mystery of 1954," and "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" are considered by much of the public to be examples of mass hysteria. In the late 1930s and decades after, some sociologists used occurrences like those to help model their theory of "Social Contagion." Like the idea that one or several people claim to experience something unusual, others hear about it and start to see the same thing. Soon it all spirals into an epidemic of vast numbers of people all testifying to the same weirdness with no real, mystical cause. But is the potentially antiquated term of mass hysteria or even its modern descendant "mass psychogenic illness" accurate or helpful? When explaining how some collectives of people can declare to see the same impossible thing, or how communities usually react in predictable patterns when faced with the Fortean, are they all just "hysterical" or "ill?" Are these events all the same? With the Enfield Monster, sociologist David L. Miller used the incident as a case study for what seems a more suitable way to think about many of the stories we cover, not as contagion or hysteria, but as "Collective Action and Behavior." We may never know what these cryptic creatures and mysterious happenings genuinely are, but at least we can better understand how people react to them and each other when they show up. Regarding the experiencers, we can know what it wasn't. These are important considerations because, after all, what is the value to humans if a paranormal event occurs and no one is around to witness it? Visit our webpage for this episode for a lot more information!

On the evening of April 15, 1973, Enfield, Illinois, resident Henry McDaniel heard a scratching noise outside his door he thought might be a bear. He opened it to find a hideous creature he described as having "... three legs on it, a short body, two little, short arms coming out of its breast area, and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half feet tall and was grayish colored. It was trying to get into the house." McDaniel grabbed his pistol and a flashlight and fired four shots at the beast, which was only 12 feet away, sure that he had hit it with the first shot. The bullets had no effect on the beast, as it made a hissing sound at McDaniel "much like a wildcat's" before bounding 50 to 75 feet towards a brush-lined railroad embankment in just three leaps. A neighbor of McDaniel's, ten-year-old Greg Garrett, claimed that 30 minutes before this encounter, the same creature had accosted him in his backyard, stepping on his sneakers and ripping them to shreds before the boy ran inside terrified. However, as a team of sociologists from Western Illinois University interviewed witnesses and townsfolk, Greg and his parents would later tell them they had concocted the story to tease their eccentric neighbor McDaniel and put one over on an out-of-town newsman. McDaniel would spot the same or similar creature again on May 6, around 3:00 a.m., casually ambling down the railroad track. After McDaniel reported his second sighting to WWKI radio, the media, thrill-seekers, and the sociologists mentioned above all came to Enfield to investigate, including the radio station's News Director, Rick Rainbow. Rainbow and three associates had their own run-in with a monster near McDaniel's place. Also joining the investigation was noted cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, along with famed WGN radio host Richard Crowe. Both experienced men would hear what Coleman described as "the most ungodly, piercing shriek you can imagine." Whatever this being or beings were, it became known as "The Enfield Horror" or "The Enfield Monster." It would be easy enough to pass off this tale as the fanciful yarn of a crackpot and some eager cryptid hunters who were the only ones in town to claim a brush with the beast, but were these Enfield monster sightings an isolated event? According to Coleman, in his later book, Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America, there was a flap of different monster sightings in the Midwest before, during, and years after Enfield, yielding colorful names like "Momo" and "The Big Muddy Monster." Considering all these accounts that don't sound like the suggested kangaroos, bears, dogs, calves, deer, or escaped apes, could McDaniel have been right when he said, "If they do find it, they will find more than one, and they won't be from this planet, I can tell you that." Visit our webpage for this episode for a lot more information!

In the second part of our series on Charles Hoy Fort, we first return to the formative events of his adolescence that shaped his personality, career, and personal philosophies. Fort chronicled anecdotes from his youth in an unpublished manuscript titled Many Parts, written while in his 20s and of which only fragments remain. What can be gleaned from tales of his boisterous boyhood adventures, punctuated by harsh punishments from a strict father, is that it all instilled in Fort defiance of rules, dogma, and the expectations of hallowed establishments. He struggled to make sense of a childhood world that seemed rife with capricious events and outcomes, much as he later struggled to make sense of an adult world peppered with anomalous occurrences and their close-minded dismissal. We then examine Fort's journey from middle age to the end and his mindset towards and relationship with strange evidence. Just as he had been since he was a kid, Fort remained a collector. First of birds and rocks, then later stories of things that shouldn't happen yet still seemed to. And just as he had lost interest in labeling his natural finds in his teens, Fort perhaps lost interest in defining the enigmas he gathered and instead focused not on the labels and definitions but on the meaning and mechanics behind them. As much as Fort proved to be a "fly in the ointment" to hubristic scientists, critics, and clergy alike, his point was that the events themselves remained even more problematic, or as he wrote, "They will march." We must accept that the weirdness of our reality defies absolute conclusions. As we've also found with our research, any judgments on the impossible essentially boil down to belief. Or, as Fort summed up, "Here are the data. Make what you will, yourself, of them. . . . We have expressions: we don't call them explanations. We've discarded explanations with beliefs." If there is any conclusion we perhaps share with Charles Fort, it is this: if the paranormal and the supernatural genuinely exist, it certainly doesn't care what anyone believes. Visit our webpage for this episode for a lot more information!

Perhaps most everyone listening to this show is familiar with the term "Fortean," meaning something related to the paranormal, the supernatural, or just generally strange phenomena. But where did that term come from? How did "Forteana" come to describe many of the topics we cover on the podcast? We owe that cognomen and a good deal of our inspiration for our reportage to the work of one man, Charles Hoy Fort. Fort (b. August 6, 1874 - d. May 3, 1932) was a journalist, author, and researcher best known for his collection of accounts of extraordinary incidents and bizarre phenomena. These reports and Fort's commentaries and speculations on them mostly ended up in four books: The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo!  (1931), and Wild Talents (1932). Within these volumes of nonfiction are found testimonies of rains of meat, frogs, blood, manna, black rain, and unbelievably large stones, poltergeists and spontaneous human combustion, vampires, animal mutilations, UFOs, and alien abductions – anomalies we're familiar with nowadays. Fort is also widely credited for coining the term "teleportation." However, there were likely no other compilations of these incredible tales in Fort's time or before, aside from local newspaper reports. For that reason alone, those of us who are fascinated by such subjects owe him a debt of gratitude. For over 30 years, Fort pored over magazines, books, newspapers, and scientific journals in New York and London libraries and had amassed thousands of notes on odd occurrences. By his own account, Fort would become discouraged by the futility of his endeavors and purpose and claimed to have tossed into the wind around 48,000 notes once while sitting on a park bench at The Cloisters in New York City. Yet his defiance at the dismissal or ridicule from contemporary scientists, or the mystification by religious thinking about these happenings, kept him working until the end. Fort's theories about the causes of such impossibilities would evolve or vacillate throughout his oeuvre, sometimes even within the same book. Whether speculating that the paranormal is the prank of some kind of "Cosmic Joker," to these aberrations being the vestigial byproducts of extraordinary primordial human survival skills, Fort remained compelled by their occurrences regardless. As suggested by the title, The Book of the Damned, Fort postulated that the facts of these cases were "damned" to be excluded by science. Yet no amount of scoffing from anyone would keep the data from these baffling events from proceeding – "they'll march" on, and so did Charles Hoy Fort. We're glad that they, and he, did. Visit our webpage for this episode for a lot more information!

In tonight's Part Two of our series, we continue with the "Why?" of Tiwanaku and Pumapunku. As in, why was it all built? Why did Tiwanaku society spend so much effort and resources on it, and what did it mean to them? We then transition to the "How?" such a monumental architectural and cultural feat could be accomplished. What craftsmanship skills and construction technology did they possess to erect structures that continue to baffle present-day archaeologists and engineers? Could an organic technique of creating geopolymers, or essentially a type of concrete, explain the precise geometric shapes attained? Or was it a combination with a lost art of stone softening and shaping to achieve such exact tolerances? Perhaps they were just some of the best stonemasons in the world, with modern-quality chisels, drills, saws, and generations of labor at their disposal? And how did they come by their craft, through observation of nature and technical evolution, or some otherworldly source? We'll ask our good friend, Chemical Engineer Dr. Chris Cogswell, Ph.D., of The Mad Scientist Podcast, about the theoretical possibilities of ancient formulations as it applies to material sciences and their implications. Finally, we'll speculate on hypotheses and one aspect of the Tiwanaku enigma that is no less important than studying its stones – the legends and the beliefs that sparked its creation. For it is the folklore and spirituality of a culture that echoes through the ages, adding wonder about the mystery of Pumapunku. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

We’ve all heard of the mystical and wondrous ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica and South America: The Maya, Olmecs, Aztecs, and the Inca.  But one culture that developed on the southern end of Lake Titicaca in present-day western Bolivia near the border with Peru left behind ruins so monumental they continue to intrigue archaeologists and spark hypotheses of anachronistic, advanced technologies.  The Inca referred to Lake Titicaca as their origin place.  The culture that evolved in the region became known as Yaya-Mama, or “Father-Mother,” for the sculptures depicting dualistic Male-Female opposites.  The remains of the capital city for this society are now known as Tiwanaku, one of the most significant archaeological sites in South America.  Beginning as a small village in the BCE period, Tiwanaku grew to an enormous metropolis for its time.  Peaking around 700 to 1000 CE, with a population near 40,000 and as many as 500,000 people settling in the high plains valley, what remains is a little over one and a half square miles of artifacts such as impressively carved stone gates and monolith statues, artisan ceramics, and quality metalwork.  But perhaps the most awe-inspiring remnants are found at a particular spot within Tiwanaku called Pumapunku.  Translating as “Gate of the Puma,” archaeologists define Pumapunku as a ceremonial and elite residential complex constructed in the typical fashion of a sunken court surrounded by plazas and ramps, sitting on a terraced platform mound.  Yet what makes Pumapunku stand out from other similarly designed sites is the sophisticated masonry of its massive stone blocks ranging in size from 30 to 130 tons.  Baffling as it is to imagine how these stones may have been quarried and moved great distances, it’s even more unaccountable how the Tiwanaku were able to cut the blocks so precisely they fit like interlocking puzzle pieces.  This feat has some guessing the lost techniques were known only to them or even guided by otherworldly visitors.  With construction beginning between 500 and 600 CE and rebuilt over the following centuries, the city would fall just as mysteriously, sometime around 1000 CE.  Whether from natural disaster, withering from internal strife, or some violent end, Pumapunku and Tiwanaku leave us with one of the world’s great archaeological enigmas.  Tonight, we unearth the artifacts and culture of a city once known by the Aymara people of the Bolivian Andes as “stone in the center,” meaning the center of the world. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

In part two of our conversation with Remote Viewing instructor Lori Lambert Williams, we'll discuss what is known about how the process works and what is still unknown.  Including how the practice can get your non-local consciousness to work with your subconscious and how it can improve your daily life.  We'll also explore the mechanics and procedure of a Controlled Remote Viewing session.  Lori relays anecdotes and answers to frequently asked questions, such as about her successes and the types of challenges that a professional remote viewer must overcome when viewing operational targets.  Ultimately, if you believe that Remote Viewing doesn't work and that somehow the Stanford Research Institute was able to fool its CIA and DIA overseers in 23 years of repeatable demonstrations of its effectiveness, it doesn't matter to anyone who's tried it.  Perhaps an apropos response would be that of Sir William Crookes when asked to explain the psychic abilities of D. D. Home, responding, "I didn't say it was possible, I said it happened!"  Maybe a more relevant and profound observation comes from physicist Russell Targ near the end of his banned TED Talk about Psi and Remote Viewing, saying that you can use it to find your car keys, find a parking space, or make money in the Stock Market.  But in his opinion, the most important thing Remote Viewing can do for you is to discover who you are. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

We're honored and excited to present a conversation with our good friend and Remote Viewing sensei Lori Lambert Williams. Lori first started studying Remote Viewing back in 1996, mentored by her now longtime friend, Lyn Buchanan. Lyn was one of the original members of the military unit of Viewers created in 1972 at the Standford Research Institute by physicists Russell Targ and Hal Puthoff and sanctioned as Project Stargate by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. With Lyn's tutelage and enthusiastic blessing, Lori has become one of only a few certified instructors with a long professional and practical experience history. While adept in its various forms and applications such as Associative Remote Viewing and Extended Remote Viewing, Lori's emphasis is the technique of Controlled Remote Viewing, generally defined as "the controlled use of one's intuitive ability through a structured written protocol." Her latest book, Boundless: Your How-To Guide to Practical Remote Viewing, Phase One, is a thoroughly accessible and enjoyable easy-to-use manual for anyone to begin their journey in learning the process. In part one of our discussion, we'll cover Lori's experience with the practice, its guiding principles and concepts, and how it may be used to improve your daily life. Perhaps just as mind-bending as the verified result is that Remote Viewing is a skill that anyone can learn regardless of how much psychic ability you believe you possess. The most skeptical are often shocked and amazed by the success of their first attempt. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

One of the most baffling, disturbing, and popular subjects we've ever covered on the show is the mystery of Skinwalker Ranch. The groundbreaking book Hunt for the Skinwalker was the source for most of our research. And this is why we're honored and excited to discuss the follow-up book Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: An Insiders' Account of the Secret Government UFO Program, with two of its authors, Colm A. Kelleher, Ph.D., and George Knapp. Colm Kelleher is a biochemist specializing in cell biology and, since the early 1990s, has focused his work initially in the fields of cancer research and immunology. George Knapp is an investigative journalist based in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose probing into the secrets of Area 51 and related paranormal phenomena have garnered him accolades and authority for his 30 years of reporting. It's also secured him a recurring role for the past 12 years as a guest host for the legendary Coast to Coast AM radio program. Both men were tapped early on by hotel magnate and aerospace industrialist Robert Bigelow to lend their talents to his National Institute for Discovery Sciences (NIDS). The goal was to apply bona fide scientific study to the High Strangeness experienced on the Sherman property in northeastern Utah, now known popularly as "Skinwalker Ranch." With their sequel Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, Kelleher, and Knapp, along with James T. Lacatski, D. Eng. have revealed the startling connection between the Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) and its investigation into troubling interactions with military operations such as the infamous "Tic Tac video" and universal, trickster-like paranormal actors. Government investigators found that simply visiting the Ranch could spur UFO sightings, poltergeist activity, frightening visits from Shadow Beings and cryptids, and most chillingly, the encounters would follow them and spread like a contagion to family members and even their neighborhoods. From tonight's discussion, we can conclude that far from each phenomenon being unrelated, everything may very well be connected. And that implication is a profound shock to our complacent reality because there's nothing any of us can do about it. For a lot more information on this episode, visit our website.

We at Astonishing Legends love… well... legends of course, and myths, and traditions. The first two often lead to the latter. But none of it, no story we've ever come across or covered, happens in a vacuum. The one constant connection between all of it, which matters most to us, is people. And so continuing on with a new tradition of our own, we'd like to present another Astonishing All-Star Holiday Special. It's time to congregate with great friends, share stories and ideas, and reflect on things that keep us searching for answers in a spirit of wonder and imagination. Once again, we're joined by our paranormal cadre, in alphabetical order: Micah Hanks, Jim Harold, Richard Hatem, Rob Kristoffersen, a special segment from our own Tess Pfeifle, and our most cherished guest, YOU. As we relax and enjoy this new tradition of a virtual year-end party. Please keep in mind that as everything is connected, so is everyone, in a profound and meaningful way. We are all in this together, and none of us have to face it alone. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

More people have personal paranormal stories than you know.  Even some of your relatives or your closest friends.  They're not likely to share those stories because they know or suspect the telling will be met with, at the least, eye-rolling or good-natured ribbing, and at the worst, ridicule, scorn, and even anger.  Beyond confessions of seeing ghosts or cryptids, this seems to be even more true for claims of encountering UFOs or UAP.  And further still, as more people seem to be willing to consider that extraterrestrial vehicles exist, believing that there are beings that control these objects, ones that would logically have an agenda, is paradoxically too far of a leap for most to take.  But to hear someone else's paranormal anecdote, if you convince them that you'd be respectful and open-minded, or better yet, lead and open up with your own story, you'll often find they're glad or relieved to be able to share one of theirs.  Sometimes the reason for sharing can simply be the reassurance that they're "not the only one" and that they're "not crazy."  Terry Lovelace received an overwhelming response to his first book from readers whose own experiences "clicked" with his or who had deep-seated memories triggered by his account.  Since March of 2018, Terry received over 2000 emails from readers about their own extraordinary encounters, and 30 of the most intriguing testimonies compose the second half of his follow-up book, Devil's Den: The Reckoning.  In part two of our discussion with Terry, the three of us will take turns reading six of the most fascinating and compelling stories from his book, commenting on each.  One remarkable irony and takeaway upon hearing these accounts is that many of the most chilling, thought-provoking stories of UFOs and alien abduction don't even mention those two things. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

We're proud and pleased to bring back one of our most intriguing guests, Terry Lovelace, Esq., to talk about his new book, Devil's Den: The Reckoning.  Our first interview with Terry, episode 155: "Abduction at Devil's Den," which aired on October 13, 2019, is one of our most popular and one of the most talked-about. Surprisingly, not because of its controversial nature, but because Terry's unassailable character has imbued chilling credibility to his claims, leaving the listener to ponder the terrifying implications. Terry's first book chronicled his life-long encounters with extraterrestrial beings, culminating in a partially-suppressed, horrific abduction while camping with his best friend at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas. At the time, Terry and his friend Toby served in the USAF as EMTs stationed at Whiteman AFB in June of 1977. While the ordeal would sadly ruin Toby's life, Terry would go on to a successful career in law, eventually becoming Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Territory of American Samoa and a State's Attorney for Vermont's Board of Medical Practice. Currently working as a certified healthcare risk manager, the first half of Terry's follow-up book expands on his lifetime of experiences, including mind-blowing details he initially left out, thinking they would be too outrageous and incredible for the reader to believe. The second half of Terry's new book, which we'll cover in part two of our conversation, features stories sent to him by his readers who have had their own bizarre and impossible experiences. Join us tonight for some answers to a reckoning for an incident at Devil's Den. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

Now that we've heard the shocking details of Ronnie Hunkeler's exorcism, we're once again left to wonder at what point does a logical, scientific explanation become inadequate in accounting for all the extreme events that occurred?  Looking objectively at Ronnie's behavior before, during, and after the exorcisms, those who favor a psychiatric or medical diagnosis could explain them as the result of an ailment like Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Dissociative identity disorder, or perhaps Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis along with comorbidities.  For those who believe in supernatural possibilities, then a spiritual force of possession could explain the incredible actions, or maybe one in conjunction with a medical condition; for them, the two are not mutually exclusive.  Yet mental illness or a brain abnormality only goes so far in explaining Ronnie's lifetime of conduct.  While he may have had a difficult childhood with an overbearing mother and grandmother, there are no indications that he suffered any ongoing abuse severe enough to bring about PTSD that is often the gateway to the mental illnesses mentioned above.  After Ronnie's time with the priests and the rites, it seems he went on to lead a disorder-free life with a successful career.  Our current understanding of psychology states that these conditions don't go away on their own and are only manageable by the patient through ongoing behavioral therapy and medication.  And if the eye-witness testimony is correct, then psychological diagnoses can't begin to account for the poltergeist activity experienced leading up to and during the exorcisms.  In the end, whatever horrors that terrorized Ronnie and those around him in 1949 seemed to leave him once and for all, but they may not have left every place he experienced them.  In our final chapter on this series, we'll hear from our friend, popular St. Louis radio talk show host Dave Glover.  In 2008, Dave and his crew staged a contest for one of their Halloween Specials.  Three listeners won the chance to see if they could sit alone for an hour in the bedroom where Ronnie's exorcism began, in the former home of Ronnie's aunt and uncle, Doris and Leonard Hunkeler, on Roanoke Drive in Bel Nor, Missouri.  None of them made it past a few minutes.  Whether from overactive imaginations or a lingering presence of evil, either explanation for the primal fear and torment one feels matters as little to the person at that moment as it does to the Devil himself.  Neither he nor your senses care what you believe. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

We've probably all seen exorcisms performed in movies and TV, but how accurate are those portrayals? Are they really as ferociously terrifying as these shows would have us believe? Where did the writers get their ideas and details about what actually takes place during an exorcism? The Roman Catholic Church has only one sanctioned procedure, and it's in the 23 pages of "The Great Exorcism Rite" contained within the Rituale Romanum.  Compiled in 1614 at the request of Pope Paul V, with minor updates added in 1952 and 1999, it is still the only rite used to this day. With this sacrament guiding the Jesuit's efforts recorded in the "Exorcist's Diary" documenting the exorcism of Ronnie Hunkeler, it can be argued that this account is the inspiration for most everything portrayed in entertainment media. And therefore mostly informing what the general public has seen and knows about an authentic exorcism. Tonight in Part Two of our series, you'll hear about some of the actual occurrences that took place, and it is not for the faint of heart. While the priests can orchestrate the ritual, they cannot engineer the actions of the seemingly possessed, and the events are often intensely unsettling, no matter what one believes. For the skeptic and faithful alike, witnessing an exorcism in person would chill anyone to the core of their soul. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

We've probably all seen exorcisms performed in movies and TV, but how accurate are those portrayals? Are they really as ferociously terrifying as these shows would have us believe? Where did the writers get their ideas and details about what actually takes place during an exorcism? The Roman Catholic Church has only one sanctioned procedure, and it's in the 23 pages of "The Great Exorcism Rite" contained within the Rituale Romanum.  Compiled in 1614 at the request of Pope Paul V, with minor updates added in 1952 and 1999, it is still the only rite used to this day. With this sacrament guiding the Jesuit's efforts recorded in the "Exorcist's Diary" documenting the exorcism of Ronnie Hunkeler, it can be argued that this account is the inspiration for most everything portrayed in entertainment media. And therefore mostly informing what the general public has seen and knows about an authentic exorcism. Tonight in Part Two of our series, you'll hear about some of the actual occurrences that took place, and it is not for the faint of heart. While the priests can orchestrate the ritual, they cannot engineer the actions of the seemingly possessed, and the events are often intensely unsettling, no matter what one believes. For the skeptic and faithful alike, witnessing an exorcism in person would chill anyone to the core of their soul. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

What every horror film loves to boast, if possible, is the claim of "Based on a True Story." Because if the story is not just from some writer's imagination, if there is a thread to an actual event with real people, no matter how thin, then the fear becomes more real. William Friedkin's 1973 motion picture The Exorcist is considered one of, if not the scariest horror film of all time. At that time, no audience had seen a case of demonic possession dramatized so deftly and explicitly, and the resulting shock left a lasting mark on popular culture and our collective psyche. Not as widely known is that William Peter Blatty adapted his Oscar-winning screenplay for the movie from his novel of the same name. And perhaps even lesser-known to most is that Blatty based his book on a real-life case, what is more commonly known as the "1949 Exorcism," or "The Exorcism of Roland Doe," or of "Robbie Mannheim." The Jesuits of the Catholic Church who examined the 13-year-old boy exhibiting either severe mental and emotional disturbances or authentic spiritual possession referred to him at the time only as "R" in their journal about the investigation. This report, known informally as the "Exorcist's Diary," is the only complete documented account of the events, and it kept the boy's identity anonymous out of respect. Guiding our examination of the story is the exhaustive work of our friend and guest for the Villisca Axe Murder series, investigative author Troy Taylor. Troy's updated version of his book, The Devil Came to St. Louis – UNCENSORED," is the culmination of over 20 years of research and interviews with surviving witnesses to the incredible occurrences. Troy had kept a promise not to reveal "R's" real name and sensitive details until after his death. Now that "Roland Doe" had passed away in May of 2020, Troy was free to publish the 4th edition of his book in 2021, revealing previously unpublicized information, including his name. Troy's book and our presentation aim at getting to the facts behind an actual, largely forgotten case that haunted the mindset of a generation. But don't think that separating the myths from the facts will make this tale any less frightening. For if even the slightest supernatural happening in this record is accurate, and there is plenty of testimony to support that it is, it's enough to unsettle your beliefs. If the wildest and worst accounts are true, and you're unsure what to believe, then most disturbing may be the adage that not believing in the Devil won't protect you from him. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

As we continue with Part Two of our discussion with Richard Hatem of Ken Webster's book, The Vertical Plane, we find that "The Mystery of the Dodleston Messages" has become even more fantastical and bizarre.  As unimaginable as it would be to ostensibly communicate with a living person from hundreds of years ago, Ken and his friends now find themselves on something of a "Party Line" via their computer with beings or perhaps some form of intelligence from a distant future or existence.  Identifying itself as "2109," this individual or agency soon warns that Ken's meddling with the construct of space-time by continuing to communicate with Lukas, now known as "Tomas," could irreparably damage the fabric of our reality.  However, this 2109 and company don't appear to be very professional in conducting their lording over timelines.  Often petulant and annoyingly cryptic, 2109 teases to provide advanced knowledge yet lacks the wisdom or adroitness in controlling its faculties.  It also appears another agent of 2109 was working to confound their authority by providing Tomas the means to communicate into the future in the first place.  Who are the ghosts, the living, and the beings residing in the margins between the two?  If 2109 is telling the truth and a form of time travel is possible, this raises many interesting, often asked questions and even more concerns.  For instance, are there numerous, perhaps an infinite number of parallel timelines where versions of yourself exist, and what would happen if you were to interact with one negatively?  As unlikely as this may seem, even more disturbing is the thought that there may be semi-omniscient entities who might be fumbling with the levers of control over them.  Whether you believe The Vertical Plane to be factual or merely an entertaining new genre of "Science Non-fiction," the age-old adage holds fast – it's usually good practice not to talk to strangers. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Many of us enjoy a good ghost story. Many of us enjoy Science Fiction. But how many stories do you know that start off as one and evolve into the other? What's become known as "The mystery of the Dodleston messages" is precisely just such a case. And if the story is accurate, it comes with some of the most incredible, baffling, and mind-bending implications we've ever encountered. Towards the end of summer in 1984, teacher and musician Ken Webster was renovating his 16th-century home named "Meadow Cottage" when the strange activity began. Located in the village of Dodleston, four miles southwest of the town of Chester in northwest England near the border with Wales, life was taking its usual somnambulistic pace while dusted with the discomfort and drudgery of living in a small, historical residence during construction. But one day, while Webster's lodger friend Nicola helped to decorate, the pair noticed tiny, six-toed footprints going up the wall that would reappear even after repainting. Then, it seemed a poltergeist repeatedly stacked their pantry goods in a playful yet orderly fashion. Clearly to them, some acquaintance was having a laugh at their expense. But a bigger mystery unfolded after Webster brought home a BBC brand word processor from his school so Nicola could write comedy sketches. Ken Webster, Nicola, and Ken's girlfriend Debbie noticed that someone was leaving at first cryptic messages on the microcomputer, but seemingly written in the style of 16th-century English. Before long, the epistler, or as the trio first thought, merry prankster, had identified himself as "Lukas" and was wondering what all these strange but decent folks were doing in his farmhouse, mucking about. Through leaving text documents back and forth, an ongoing conversation and friendship developed. Lukas claimed to be the original owner of the cottage. Not only that, he said he was currently living under the reign of King Henry VIII and his queen of the moment, Catherine Parr, making Lukas' lifetime the 1540s of England. But as unbelievable as this more than 400-year-old correspondence appeared, the situation would become even more bizarre as Lukas, Ken, and his friends would find themselves embroiled in royal Tudor intrigue with trying to save Lukas' life. Complicating this otherworldly drama was the emergence of mysterious correspondents who claimed to be manipulating this portal through time. As relatively mundane as Lukas' messages often were, these new entities professed to be from the future, or perhaps a possible future, and warned that messing with the paradoxes of time travel could lead to terrible consequences with alternate timelines. Ken Webster documented this series of mind-blowing events in his book, The Vertical Plane, published in 1989. Tonight, we're joined once again by our great friend and paranormal oracle, Richard Hatem. Rich made us aware of this story by generously gifting us Webster's book, years before its now princely sum of over $500 for a used, out-of-print copy on Amazon. Part One of our series on this unimaginable occurrence will focus on how Webster and his friends got to know this true "Renaissance Man" and leading up to the possibility that there are overlords of time who can dabble in our destinies. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Now that we've covered the story essentials of the strange case of Mary Lurancy Vennum, known as "The Watseka Wonder," it's time to take a look at the possible causes and mechanics of this apparent miracle. Suppose Lurancy's possession was merely the imaginative prank of an attention-seeking impressionable teenager. How then did she know intimate, inscrutable details of her possessor Mary Roff and that of her family, when Mary had died over ten years before she was born and the Roff family were vague acquaintances? It's perhaps possible that this naive fourteen-year-old had mastered the manipulation techniques employed by experienced Mentalists and charlatan psychic mediums to fool desperate parents, but how likely is that? In Part Two of our series, we consider the investigation of a noted psychical researcher at the time, Dr. Richard Hodgson, who interviewed witnesses and studied case notes about thirteen years after the significant events in light of contemporary hypotheses. In a historical line between 1877 and 1908, we then look at the analysis of a psychology journalist, H. Addington Bruce, through the lens of his evolved understanding of that field 30 years later. In the greater context surrounding this case are the history of psychical research and a brief overview of some of the prominent figures involved in the Spiritist movement. We then round out the series with a more modern-day interpretation and our own conclusions. Even saddled with an antiquated title like The Watseka Wonder and recognizing the significant advancements in the field of abnormal psychology, this case remains wonderous indeed. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

An apartment complex hosts a big Halloween party with themed rooms and costumed partygoers. By the end of the night, one of the party’s hosts is murdered. And the partygoers are the main suspects in the eyes of the police: was it the guy in the devil mask, the guy dressed as Jesus, the bank robber, the construction worker? As a complex investigation winds its way through forensic evidence, witness testimony, DNA, and even a psychic, the police zero in on one suspect in particular -- but why? From Campside Media and Wondery, the makers of Chameleon and the Shrink Next Door, comes SUSPECT. Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (Over My Dead Body) return to the scene of the crime to uncover what happened, and speak with everyone about a party that still haunts them a decade later. It’s a series about cutting-edge science and mislaid justice, race and policing, and the kinds of weighty choices that cops and prosecutors make every day. Choices that, once made, are difficult to reverse. Suspect

We often wonder when was the first time a now well-known phenomenon first occurred or was recorded. In the instance of spiritual possession, at least in the United States, we may have an answer in the case known as “The Watseka Wonder.” Indeed, if such a condition exists, it’s likely people have been claiming or appearing to be possessed by a supernatural force since human beings existed. However, many cite the Watseka story as the first well-documented example of a person appearing to have been taken over by a deceased human spirit. This historical incident also benefits from the thorough documentation from a credible source. At the time, a physician and Spiritist, Dr. E. Winchester Stevens, treated his patient experiencing the possession and wrote about the bizarre events soon after they occurred in a book he titled, The Watseka Wonder. Stevens’ report details the story of Mary Lurancy Vennum, who began to suffer from cataleptic-like seizures at the age between thirteen and fourteen years old. On July 11, 1877, the first attack happened where Lurancy passed out on the floor and remained unconscious for five hours. The “fit,” as it was called back then, happened the next day as well, except that this time while in something of a trance, she spoke of being in heaven and in the company of various spirits. She described some of these spirits as angels and claimed to talk to a departed sister and a brother who died when Lurancy was just 3. Her episodes occurred in greater frequency by January of the following year, some lasting from an hour to eight hours and as many as twelve times per day. Her religiously orthodox parents and the numerous doctors that examined her feared she had become insane, and the only option left was to have her committed to an asylum. However, a respected, casual acquaintance of the Vennum family, Asa B. Roff, became intrigued by Lurancy’s condition and instead convinced her parents to let Dr. E. W. Stevens treat the girl using Spiritist methods. To everyone’s astonishment, Lurancy then started to behave like she was inhabited by the soul of Roff’s daughter Mary. Mary Roff had passed away more than a decade before Lurancy was born. Join us tonight for Part 1 of our series, where we cover the circumstances of perhaps America’s first acknowledged case of “spirit infestation,” known as “The Watseka Wonder.” Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

One question we often receive is, do we think the US Government will ever disclose the existence of UFOs? We believe the answer is, they've already begun. Since the groundbreaking, front-page article appeared in the December 17, 2017 edition of the New York Times with a title exclaiming "Real UFOs," the world has seen drips and drops of Pentagon-authenticated video clips and statements publically disseminated and officially validated. Add to this the testimonies of some of the most credible sources willing to come forward, such as Luis "Lue" Elizondo, former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program or AATIP at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Pentagon, Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and retired veteran US Navy fighter pilot Commander David Fravor. The claims become hard to dismiss as goofball flights of fancy. On June 25, 2021, the release of a report titled Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena by the Office of the Director Of National Intelligence was considered anemic by many who wanted FULL disclosure of what the government knows. However, it was another official admission that these encounters are certified and remain a mystery to our military. At least on the surface. And what is known currently by the general public above this surface owes a great deal to the efforts of our guest tonight, a field researcher and documentarian Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell. Jeremy's pursuit and publication of unclassified video from Naval electronic warfare targeting systems like the now-famous "Tic Tac" clip have stirred public imagination and debate. They may have even spurred congressional inquiry resulting in that preliminary report and future disclosures. But we owe our access to Jeremy to the facilitation from a long-time listener and now friend Adam. Adam and Jeremy became friends while investigating a cattle mutilation near Adam's storage property in the Texas panhandle region. Tonight, we'll discuss Jeremy's journey to becoming a clearinghouse for genuine UFO footage, his documentary work on the subjects of Bob Lazar and Skinwalker Ranch, and he and Adam's findings from their cattle mutilation case, and all the implications thereof. One curious and ironic conclusion when trying to connect all the dots is that the specific governmental disclosure on alien life, their motivations, abductions, and cattle mutilations seem like it could be another matter altogether. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Here's a question: What makes a haunted house spooky if you've never been there?  How scary can a haunted house be if no one has repeatedly investigated it?  In other words, what is more frightening, the honest anecdotes about experienced paranormal activity in a haunted location or the unverified legends and lore of a place that send the frights of our imagination into overdrive?  And what makes a house haunted?  Is it the house or land itself, the activities and energy of its inhabitants, or a reciprocal combination of both?  These are questions that would be apropos for tonight's subject, a house known as the Wilbur-Hahn manor in Spokane, Washington.  The craftsman-style mansion came to life in September of 1916, when the heiress to the Hecla Silver Mine fortune, Sarah Smith, married playboy Ralston T. "Jack" Wilbur.  Jack Wilbur had used Sarah's money to hire an eminent architect to build a three-story, seventeen-room house in Spokane's historied and tony South Hill neighborhood.  For the princely sum of $75,000, the estate, sitting on nearly four acres of land, flaunted imported marble, gold-leaf carvings, and mahogany paneling inlaid with mother of pearl brought from China.  However, the newly minted Mrs. Wilbur didn't fancy the home, and with this and other tumults in the marriage, Smith, and Wilbur divorced in 1918.  The following notorious couple to occupy the house was Rudolph A. Hahn and his second wife Sylvia, thirty-two years his junior.  Hahn purchased the manor in 1924 and spent $50,000 on additions, like a swimming pool and lavish gardens with fountains and statues, along with rumored secret panels and tunnels.  Obtaining a doctor's license through a correspondence course, Hahn made a fortune performing electroshock therapy and illegal medical procedures for Spokane's well-heeled.  The money, which some believe Hahn had stashed on the property, fueled his love of wild parties, fast cars, boats, and racehorses, much to the neighbors' dismay.  But the excess and extravagant lifestyle of this real-life "Great Gatsby" would eventually lead to his bizarre murder in a seedy hotel downtown known as The New Madison Hotel.  Perhaps it was the raucous, illicit activities and extreme emotions witnessed by the estate that imprinted somehow.  Reports of arguing phantom voices or boisterous laughter, vanishing bloodstains, shadow figures, the apparition of a woman at the top of the stairs, and even screams and mysterious noises heard by passersby are forever bound to the house.  The lesson of such an infamous place as the Wilbur-Hahn manor is that no matter how private any owners are, they cannot curb the spirits or the legend of a haunted mansion, and spooky is as spooky does. Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

It's much more comfortable for most of us to think of paranormal subjects as having their origins beginning only in recent history – an amusing byproduct of mid-twentieth century foolishness or the internet age.  Much easier to dismiss then.  Many people, persuaded by an uninformed media, believe UFOs only started appearing to the public after pilot Kenneth Arnold's famous sighting while flying near Mt. Rainier on June 24, 1947, or the incident in Roswell, NM, just fourteen days later.  Similarly, many people believe the Bigfoot or Sasquatch phenomenon only began in 1958 in Bluff Creek, California, after the family of Ray Wallace claimed he started it all by leaving large, fake footprints made with wooden carvings as a prank.  It's uncomfortable to consider that these unnerving intrusions into our comfortable reality had occurred for maybe hundreds, if not thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years before our sophisticated logic matured.  However, researchers who study paranormal phenomena know that reports of these things, especially Bigfoot, go back far beyond written history.  Unfortunately, yet not surprisingly, there seems to be an air of ethnocentrism and hubris when it comes to western scientists giving credence to the indigenous oral traditions of encounters with these massive, hairy ape-like beasts.  Yet, it stands to reason that if any of these beings truly existed, their origins likely go back further than the birth of Rock and Roll.  So, how far back do the sightings of Bigfoot and Sasquatch go?  Here's a hint: it's a lot more ancient and global than you probably imagined.  To help us explore this enigma, we're fortunate to have our dear friend, researcher, science enthusiast, author, and fellow podcaster Micah Hanks join us for a roundtable discussion.  We'll hear about his latest research into the earliest known writings and oral histories of the cryptic cousin creature we've come to know and love. Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

Our goal in covering the story of the Perron family's experience while living for a decade at the Arnold Estate, the inspiration for the motion picture, The Conjuring, was to uncover the real story behind the persistent hauntings. What we discovered once again was the actual truths at the heart of this, and other famous cases are as murky and nebulous as the spirits that do the haunting. The question that remains is, what is truth and what is real when it comes to supernatural activity? Skeptical researcher and writer Kenny Biddle investigated the historical people that the Perrons thought may have been the entities that lingered in their home. He found inconsistencies between the records of the lives and deaths of named locals and their claimed involvement with the farmhouse. But the attempt to cast doubt on the Perron story by focusing on historical inaccuracies is to go at the problem in an understandably linear, causal fashion, perhaps not one taken by a paranormal investigator. This leads us to the question, can the supernatural be analyzed with earthly rational thinking?  For example, does a person have to die in the same place that their ghost supposedly haunts (if one even believes in ghosts), or can they move about freely? Can spirits visit only some individuals or occupants, or would they have to haunt everyone in the same space equally? Can spirits identify as something they're not, or do they have to tell the truth about who or what they are? What are the rules for something so mysterious? While many of us would like to apply standard logic to understanding the numen world, those that have experienced it might tell you no ordinary rationale matters. Despite the "facts," what they have witnessed was real and true enough. Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

Whether you're a fan of horror films or not, you've probably heard of the 2013 motion picture, "The Conjuring." This film, starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, struck such a chord with viewers that it spawned a franchise of related films like The Conjuring sequels, The Nun, Annabelle, and The Curse of La Llorona. But the initial movie was inspired by real-life events, the roughly decade-long hauntings of the Perron family that started the moment they moved into the Arnold Estate in 1970, now called "The Farm on Round Top Road" in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The colonial farmhouse, built circa 1736, would be home to 9 generations of families, including the Perrons. It seems some of the residents would never be able to leave, and some new and terrifying entities would make an unwelcome appearance during the Perron occupancy. While a few of the spirits were viciously malevolent, some were benevolent, and Andrea Perron, the eldest daughter, comprehensively chronicled the entire experience in a three-volume set of books titled House of Darkness House of Light: The True Story. While Andrea loved the cinematic adaptation of her family's story in the film, she also realizes that a movie has its own set of rules for narrative compression. Its purpose is to entertain efficiently, and therefore was only "one percent of one percent of what actually happened at the farm." Also, the famous paranormal investigative couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren were only a lesser element to the overall story. So what were some of the more frightening yet fascinating occurrences that happened to the Perrons at clearly one of the most active haunted houses still in existence that most of us have never heard? Join us tonight for part one of our examination of the true story behind "The Conjuring."  Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

Many of us have taken an adventurous expedition to check out some local, notorious spot to see if we could witness or sense some evidence of a past famous or infamous incident. Most of the time, one only returns with a minor anecdote or pictures of an ordinary location bereft of anything noteworthy. The more realistic purpose is not so much to find a ghoulish memento but to imagine what it must've been like to have been there when it happened. But what if such an outing starts with strange coincidences and ends with the adventurers enduring a paranormal event seemingly unrelated to the original incident? This is the sort of tale we'll hear from our good friend, graphic designer, and illustrator Tommy Beaver about the time some friends went to check out the scene of a horrific crime that happened in Summerfield, North Carolina, almost 13 miles northwest of Greensboro. On June 3, 1985, the incident in question occurred when at the end of a murder spree and police pursuit, Fritz Klenner and his first cousin, lover, and accomplice, Susie Newsome Lynch, ended their standoff detonating a bomb in their Chevrolet Blazer. Klenner and Lynch had blown themselves up along with Lynch's already deceased two sons who were in the vehicle rather than face arrest. The site of this shocking finale was what the friends were hoping to explore, but their souvenir was an unsettling experience they'll never forget. Strangely, a mysterious white horse suddenly appeared to encounter the group, except that this creature may not have been a horse at all. Many people have claimed to see a spectral white horse, and the ancient Britons believed a sacred white horse was one's ride to the afterlife. Yet these friends may forever wonder, as will we, what was the connection of this beast to the tragedy if there is one? And if this wasn't a horse as we know it, what sort of monster haunts the location of one of North Carolina's most ghastly crimes? Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

So, as we close out our three-part series on Crop Circles, what have we all learned so far? Well, we've learned that Crop Circles are not just another fad from the 1980s and 90s. Generations of farmers going back at least to the turn of the last century have found them, and probably long before that if written accounts are accurate. They may have been the template or the inspiration for Standing Stone formations such as Stonehenge and rock paintings like the Gwion Gwion, often found in the sacred sites of our earliest ancestors. And they continue to be discovered to this day. While hoaxers have gotten more sophisticated with their designs and prodigious with their efforts over the years, simple logic and reason would suggest they couldn't have made all the now thousands that have been found all over the world. And many of these showing no signs of human touch. It applies especially to the massive and intricate patterns discovered within hours or less of their creation. Even more perplexing is the claim by many hoaxers that they felt strangely compelled to create their formations as if they had no choice. Some circle makers revealed a mysterious fog had shrouded their activities or aided by a sudden clearing of the weather or an alteration of perception by onlookers. And if an unknown entity made just one Crop Circle, then isn't the phenomenon genuine? But what is the point of all this effort and secrecy? If they are merely human-made decorations, they serve to nourish us the way all art does. Suppose they are messages from an otherworldly source. In that case, they contain a level of cleverness in their multiple layers of meaning functioning all at once, as we would expect from higher intellect. They speak to us with a mesmerizing beauty, using elements of Sacred Geometry that have always captured our imagination, with their deeper meaning residing in our unconscious. Each circle may have a particular message, with all of them combined to form an instructive narrative, and the key to unlocking this enigma may be in the circles themselves. If this is a new form of language or communication, then perhaps one clear and simple message is that the researchers, the hoaxers, the curious, and the clueless; our minds, bodies, and spirits are all connected along with the earth. Maybe it's the result of global human consciousness, an unseen intelligence, or a combination of both. Whatever the force behind Crop Circles, could it be that something tells us we need to evolve our awareness and understanding to take better care of all of it before we lose our way for good?   Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

As we dive deeper into exploring the phenomenon of Crop Circles, it seems that the story of its research takes on the shape of other histories of paranormal investigation.  Misinformation and misdirection from government and military agencies, hoaxes complicating genuinely anomalous evidence, and the phenomena itself presenting an ever-moving target for those that seek the truth are akin to the serious study of UFOs, for example.  And curiously, for being thought of by many as just prankish art installations in grain stalks, Crop Circles come with a Grab Bag of High Strangeness too.  For tonight's Part Two in our series, we first cover inexplicable occurrences associated with some circle formations.  We'll focus on one surveillance experiment in a crop circle dubbed "Operation White Crow" with bizarre and unsettling effects for Colin Andrews, Pat Delgado, Busty Taylor, Dr. Terence Meaden, and others.  Then we look at what appeared to be an attempt by the British military to discredit Andrews and other "cereologists" called "Operation Blackbird" that ironically may have generated its own enigmatic results and the question of why would they bother?  And lastly, we'll begin to examine the mindset and role of the hoaxer and the symbiosis they may participate in with earnest researchers, one that hoaxers may not realize they share as they do their part to keep the mystery alive. Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

On a July afternoon in 1983, Colin Andrews, an electrical engineer and officer employed by the British regional government, was driving between his offices near Winchester and Hampshire when something caught his eye. Seeing something unusual in a farmer's field next to the road, he felt strongly compelled to pull over and check it out. A strange physical and mental sensation came over him as he approached and realized it was a set of five large circles forming a traditional "Celtic Cross." Unbeknownst to Andrews, within days, he would partner with meteorologist Dr. Terence Meaden, NASA scientist Pat Delgado, and the three of them, along with pilot Busty Taylor, would become the only people in the world at the time researching the global Crop Circle phenomenon. In 1989, the first book on the subject, Circular Evidence, written by Delgado and Andrews, would become known as the "Crop Circle Bible." Not only did the book cause scientists and researchers to then take the matter seriously, but it also unleashed a deluge of Crop Circle hoaxes, complicating earnest study. When two older British gentlemen, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, came forward in 1990 claiming to have made all the crop circles in England, the media and the public seemed to take their word as reason enough to lay the mystery to rest. Yet, the examples they and other hoaxers have provided as evidence don't match the precision and completion times found in circles considered authentic. While the hoaxers' techniques have become more sophisticated and impressive over the years, the genuine formations display characteristics that seem beyond the reasonable capability for the short time in which real ones are created. Authentic Crop Circles have many stalks bent in 90º angles near the ground, with the stalks interwoven in a complex fashion, anomalies found in the soil, precise lines in massive formations, and no evidence of people walking to or around them. Strange physiological effects like dizziness, nausea, euphoria, time disturbance, and bizarre sounds, to name a few, have also been reported by many who step inside one. However, most Crop Circles, both real and faked, share in common one significant trait – artistically, they employ design elements found in "Sacred Geometry," with ratios composed with the "Golden Mean." They are also often located near areas with ancient archaeological sacred sites, and reports of their existence appear to go back hundreds, if not thousands of years. So if the creators, both earthly and beyond, remain a mystery, perhaps the meaning behind the circles can be more easily fathomed. Whether the lesson is a sociological or spiritual and metaphysical one, wondrous Crop Circles do continue to exist and have a purpose. They carry a message, which could be as simple as – pay attention because you could learn something that will affect your existence. Visit our website for a whole lot more information on this website, and seriously, we're talking a LOT more.

We have a very special guest joining us tonight, metaphysical "astralnaut," philosopher of the liminal, "Pope of the Paranormal," and host of the AM Radio talk show Dark Air, Terry Carnation.  Terry first got his start in the paranormal radio genre when unexpectedly thrust into taking over for another show.  While working as a late-night rock n' roll Disc Jockey for an FM station in Buffalo, NY, in 1992, Reginald Wilcox, the host of the paranormal call-in show that aired after Terry's slot was mysteriously murdered while Terry was in the bathroom... or so he claims.  In his unflappable sense of duty, apparently stronger than his sense of legal obligation, Terry immediately took over the role of consigliere for listeners stupefied by the supernatural. And in Terry's words, "that's how a legend was created." Now, after a three-year hiatus, Terry Carnation returns with a new podcast, also called Dark Air, available starting April 1, 2021, wherever podcasts are given away for free.  While you may not have heard of him, there will be something uneasily familiar about his voice and visage.  And the audience will come to know his strange power for tearing off the head of disbelief and reaching down deep into our souls to yank out the viscera of our darkest fears and mysteries.  Wrapped around our interview with Terry, our good buddy Rich Hatem joins us once again to discuss his latest adventures and projects.  We'll also con him into playing our version of a game show, in the spirit of America's NPR radio program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and Britain's Would I Lie to You?  We'll tell Rich three outrageous paranormal stories, and he has to guess which one is fake.  Please join us for an episode of inscrutable levity. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

As legend would have it, or at least how the story goes from Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin's 1884 book, Legends of Le Détroit, on the evening of the 10th of March, 1701, a lively banquet took place in the castle of St. Louis, Quebec. The celebratory dinner host was the governor of "New France," Hector Louis de Callière. The guest of honor was Monsieur Antoine La Mothe Cadillac, Sieur de Douaguet, and Mont Désert, who had just been granted a commission of Commandant along with 15 square acres to locate a colony and build a fort wherever he saw fit at "le Détroit," or "The Straits." At the height of the merriment, the dinner party received a strange and mysterious visitor. A peculiar-looking woman called "Mère Minique, La Sorcière" offered to read the guests' fortunes. She would astound the officials with details of their lives she could not possibly know, yet La Mothe Cadillac remained skeptical, and against the advice of Mère Minique, bade her tell him of his future. She told him he would found a great city, but his policies and pride would cause his ruin, and his colony would be the scene of strife and bloodshed. Above all, she warned, to appease the Nain Rouge, beware of offending him! It would be six years of profitable growth for the settlement before Cadillac would be able to temp his fate. While on an evening stroll with his wife, the red devilish imp crossed their path as prophesied. And it takes no sibyl to guess that Cadillac let his impetuous temper get the better of him, and he lashed out at the goblin with a curse and his cane. The rest, it is said, is history, but certainly, history mixed with fact and folklore. So was the Nain Rouge nothing more than a cautionary tale of greed and undue ambition? Maybe an imagined scapegoat for the woes of this famed city or a tulpa-like harbinger of doom? Could it be that the Nain Rouge was, and is, an actual supernatural entity as possibly described in First Nations legends? If one is entertaining this last option, or when in doubt, perhaps it's always best to respect the specter, yet remember that our fate is always in our own hands.  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Jim Perry's Euphomet returns with a new season! Sneak preview. Subscribe now to Euphomet on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the years between 1764 and 1767, a real-life monster had brutally savaged the residents of the former province of Gévaudan in the highland region of south-central France.  While the creature's first attack was reportedly unsuccessful in killing its intended victim, it did provide a horrific description of it.  Some sort of massive, canine-like creature was stalking the villagers out in their fields of the Margeride mountains.  And it would remain as elusive as its killing spree grew nightmarishly effective.  In a three-year span, contemporary and modern estimates put the death toll anywhere from around 100 to 500 people, mostly women, and children.  To add to the fear and suffering, these were no ordinary large animal predator attacks.  Considering that only a small percentage of the victims were found partially consumed, with livestock untouched, the bodies of all were so shockingly mutilated that it could be surmised this abomination of nature was not killing out of hunger but for sport.  As news of the relentless slaughter spread throughout France, tens of thousands from every walk of life, peasants, soldiers, and noblemen alike, joined in the hunt to stop this menace.  Reports had even reached Versaille, where King Louis XV had placed a large bounty on its head.  When survivors and eyewitnesses had given their statements, a puzzling picture of the beast emerged.  Although many accounts described this creature as having some features like an abnormally large wolf, or wolf-dog hybrid, other details combined didn't fit any known animal.  It was also described as the size of a calf or donkey, with reddish hair and a black stripe down its back, giant, razor-sharp teeth set in the gaping mouth of a pig-like head, a tail with a tuft on its end, and talons on its feet.  This being was shot and wounded on several occasions at close range only to escape and kill again, adding a supernatural element to the legend.  Many believed then as they do now that this animal must have been a canine mutation of some sort.  However, without the descriptor of "werewolf" or "skinwalker" added to the story, saying it was just a vicious, big dog leaves an unsatisfactory conclusion.  With no remains or taxonomy to define this murderous freak, the only name that could be given to it then is the one that remains today: The Beast of Gévaudan. Visit our webpage for a lot more information on this episode.

Who among us hasn't wanted to know the future or have insight into the hidden, at least in passing?  From the first instance a human had a premonition that came true, it seems likely that the adventurous who were shocked and astounded wondered how those without the "gift" could duplicate this impossible experience.  Then, when someone stared too intently into a reflective pool of liquid, a glowing ember, or even the night sky, and experienced an extrasensory perception, a technique and its medium are discovered to tap into a sixth sense.  Practiced now for millennia, this procedure for obtaining occult information has become known as scrying.  One interesting observation is that although there are general guidelines for preparing oneself and performing a scrying session, many mediums can facilitate the phenomenon.  It appears that any object can be used that can capture the light and dazzle the eye, or a reflective surface that can offer deep introspection or a dark void that focuses the senses.  But then the burning question becomes, how does this process work, and from where does the information come?  Does this "second sight" materialize from deep within ourselves, external omniscience, or some combination of both?  In tonight's episode, we'll look at the elements, the history, and the concepts behind this ancient and mysterious means of knowing the unknowable. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

As we wrap up our coverage of the Frederick Valentich story in Part 3 of our series, we'll continue our conversation with Melbourne resident Chris Tyler about his research into the case and other possibly related UFO incidents around the same time and area.  We'll also examine the Australian Department of Transport accident report's remaining findings and discuss its conclusions.  As you begin to reach your own conclusions, it's essential to keep several factors in mind which make the usual mundane explanations seem inadequate.  The high number of independent sightings of aerial phenomena occurring in proximity to the disappearance suggests Valentich wasn't alone in witnessing it.  The distance a Cessna cowling was found from a potential crash site and the lack of definitive markings makes its discovery inconclusive.  Even if the cowling did come from Valentich's plane, it still doesn't account for what caused him to ditch, let alone other missing debris and Valentich himself.  Perhaps the most surprising revelation comes from the summary of the report itself.  Rather than dismissing the possibility of a UFO entanglement, an official government statement lists it as one of four likeliest scenarios.  Remember that Valentich himself never suggested he interacted with a UFO in his last transmission, despite being painted as obsessed with them by his skeptics.  When these factors and more are taken together, it's no wonder this incident is one of the most baffling and tragic in the phenomenon's history and leaves us all to wonder, what happened to Frederick Valentich and where did he go? Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

When the facts about a paranormal event yield no more answers, investigators and the public alike tend to turn their attention to the experiencer's character to ascertain its authenticity.  So what kind of person was Frederick Valentich?  A once-lost aircraft accident report from Australia's Department of Transport, which resurfaced in 2012, has shed some light on Valentich's behavior and state of mind leading up to the moment of his disappearance.  Through extensive interviews with his family, friends, associates, and the flight personnel he came into contact with, a picture emerges of Valentich's disposition.  Although there were some puzzling actions and statements by the young pilot, overall, he appeared to be a dedicated and serious student of aviation.  Yet if a paranormal cause of his disappearance is off the table of consideration, then the answer must lie in one of his shortcomings, right?  This has led to speculation that Valentich intended to abscond with the aircraft and start a new life, or he planned a mysterious suicide, or that as a UFO enthusiast, he simply mistook stars and planets for a UFO and crashed trying to avoid it.  As we delve further into the details and analysis from the official report in part two of our series, we're joined by listener and lifelong Melbourne resident Chris Tyler.  Being quite familiar with the case, Chris will lend his own insight into the mystery and illustrate this enchanting Australian backdrop's prevailing attitudes and characteristics. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

On Saturday, October 21, 1978, at 6:19 p.m., 20-year-old Frederick Valentich took off from Moorabbin Airport just south of Melbourne, Australia, for what was supposed to be a routine training and pleasure flight over Bass Strait to King Island.  A serious student aviator, Valentich had been flying for two years and had accumulated over 150 hours of solo flying time in his goal to one day become a commercial airline pilot.  Although rated for night flying by instrument, the sun was still up, and with clear visibility and good weather, there was no reason Valentich shouldn’t have easily completed this trip, which he’d taken several times before.  However, just over halfway through the flight at 7:06 p.m., Valentich contacted Melbourne Flight Service Unit and reported seeing an unidentified craft above him, traveling at high speed and shining four bright lights.  Valentich would radio back a few minutes later that it didn’t appear to be any known aircraft, and now it had even more unusual characteristics: it was long, shiny metallic, and a green light was emanating from it.  Even more unsettling, this craft he described was deliberately toying with him as it orbited above while his plane’s engine was sputtering.  At 7:11 p.m., the last statement anyone would hear from Valentich would be that the object was still hovering and that it was not an aircraft.  Valentich and his plane had vanished at that moment, but whether it was an elaborate hoax, a deliberate crash, or merely a misidentification combined with a mechanical failure, no investigation has been able to determine.  What is not in doubt is that the case of Frederick Valentich remains one of Australia’s biggest aviation mysteries, if not in all of UFO lore. Visit our website on this episode for a lot more information. 

Please join us for a very special Astonishing Legends episode – an All-Star holiday party featuring some of your favorite podcast personalities!  Along with consigliere Tess Pfeifle, we welcome our very own "Alexander Leek," sage, screenwriter and good friend Rich Hatem; podcaster, compadre, and casual archaeologist Micah Hanks; our Space Brother and To The Stars professor, Rob Kristoffersen; and our special guest, inspirational pathfinder, and podfather Jim Harold.  We'll engage in all the scintillating conversation and fascinating anecdotes you'd expect to hear at a holiday gathering attended by paranormal enthusiast friends and fueled by high octane egg nog, and Micah will treat us to a guitar performance near the end!  We hope you'll enjoy this virtual celebration and feel part of a fellowship as we find support and unity at the end of a trying year any way we can. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

Our friend Seth Breedlove has a new docudrama out about the Bell Witch and guess who's in it? Forrest!  http://www.smalltownmonsters.com/shop  https://tinyurl.com/markofthebellwitch

Tonight's episode starts with the coverage of a strange and funny case involving aliens and holiday pies.  On January 4, 1979, Mrs. Jean Hingely of the town of Rowley Regis in the West Midlands region of England was visited by three fishbowl-helmeted and friendly aliens with wings.  After some spiritually uplifting exchanges, her holiday visitors thrashed her Christmas tree and nicked three of her mincemeat pies.  The second part of our episode features heartwarming personal stories of hope from some of our listeners.  These stories may not be proof of an afterlife for some, but for others, they may bolster the belief that our existence doesn't end with our physical death and that somewhere there is a world where everything we cherish is waiting for us, and proof that love is eternal and boundless. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

In a rare dual-subject episode for us, we take a look at two somewhat Christmas-themed stories, the mysterious yet not-so-mysterious "Utah Monolith" and the Warminster "Thing." In the first part of the show, we discuss the recent discovery of a 9.5-foot-tall metal triangular prism-shaped pillar we've dubbed "The Christmas Monolith." This story made the rounds after state biologists from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources spotted the out-of-place-artifact while conducting a survey of bighorn sheep by helicopter over San Juan County in southeastern Utah on November 18, 2020. Two days later, the Utah Department of Public Safety posted a photo of the monolith on Instagram, with more pictures and videos of the puzzling pillar to follow. The internet and media outlets were soon abuzz with speculation about who, human, alien, or otherwise, would've illegally planted the iconic looking structure in such a remote red sandstone slot canyon in the middle of nowhere and why. Other metal columns have appeared in Romania and California, prompting the question, are these pranks, artworks, a message, or perhaps all three? The second part of our show tonight examines a freakish "flap" of High Strangeness that's so fantastic in its details and so widely experienced at the time that it's baffling why the story has mostly become forgotten. Generally considered to have gotten its start in the early hours of Christmas morning in 1964, this saga of shocking incidents in hindsight seems to have only publically peaked on December 25th and continued well into the following year, and only gradually declined in the decade to follow. The holiday literally started with a bang for the residents of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire County in southwestern England. Numerous citizens and British soldiers training nearby awoke to a medley of piercing, thundering, clattering, metallic noises in the sky and on their rooftops, the nature of which nearly defies description. The strange and untraceable sounds would continue to accost the townsfolk, with some reporting these sonic attacks were so violent it threw them to the ground and sickened their pets. As 1965 wore on, the unearthly rackets would eventually coincide with sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena and craft so unique they sound unusual even for a UFO wave. And what bouillabaisse of the bizarre would be complete without cattle disappearances, freaky interstellar messengers, and tall, humanoid-alien visitors? Warminster had it all. All told, this series of strangeness was so beyond comprehension, and with no vocabulary to satisfactorily describe it, the phenomena became simply known as the Warminster "Thing." For more information on this episode, visit our website.

In tonight’s Part Two of our discussion of Joe Fisher’s book, The Siren Call of Hungry Ghosts, with Special Guest Rich Hatem, we continue to examine the narrative of Fisher’s interactions with Spirit Guides through Channeling and their troubling results.  With the messages and guidance becoming increasingly confusing, frustrating, and seemingly misleading, Fisher and those in his Channeling group start to doubt the intentions and purpose of voices from the other side.  Even as the entreaties grew insistent and hopes turn to dubiety, the Guides would provide unknowable details beyond rational explanation, which only served to fuel the desire for understanding.  As Fisher followed just one more breadcrumb after breadcrumb down a blind alley, we’ll never know if he found his answers in the afterlife or if the truth was there all along amongst the living.  When it comes to finding meaning through channelling in Fisher’s case, the pertinent answer is that the medium is often the message. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Sure, maybe most of us would find it enticing to receive "inside information" from a mystical plane, our very own oracle of knowledge beyond what's possible in our earthly human existence. Who wouldn't want access to a Spirit Guide, one that could lend us valuable insight to better our lives and give a glimpse of what awaits us on the other side? Perhaps this supernatural soothsayer could also provide a longing companionship or, even better, prove to be a soulmate from a past life? It sounds like a delightful gift, right? But what if the source of this metaphysical communication ended up having as many foibles as any ordinary untrustworthy "frenemy?" What if the messages proved to be increasingly inaccurate or questionable, with the attitude of your once beatific benefactor becoming demanding, desperate, petty, contentious, and maybe even obsessive and possessive? Perhaps it wasn't looking out for your best interests, after all? This twist seemed to be the compelling and chilling experience of Toronto-based journalist and author Joe Fisher when he became entangled with a consuming investigation into Channeling and Spirit Guides. In Part One of our examination of Fisher's book, The Siren Call of Hungry Ghosts, we're joined by our own Spirit Guide and good friend, Rich Hatem, for a discussion about Fisher's enigmatic journey into a sometimes troubling relationship with Channeling and the personalities, once-human and otherwise, that come through a medium. What materializes is realizing that our expectations of wisdom and comfort from a Higher Source can gradually lead to suspicion, fear, and doom. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In tonight's continuation of our conversation with author and paranormal researcher David Weatherly, we discuss the rest of the creatures from the remainder of his book, Strange Intruders.  This unholy host of insidious beings include such wide-ranging descriptions as reptoids appearing as aliens or disguised as humans, black-eyed kids and adults, the Night Hag, Psychic Vampires, Slenderman, and David tells of his own encounter with a Grinning Man.  We'll hear not only of David's ideas about them but also stories from people who've suffered the consequences of their terrifying intrusions.  One recurring pattern throughout these cases is that it didn't seem to matter whether the individual believed in their existence or not.  Most of the victims didn't or were unaware of their definitions, that is until they encountered one for themselves.  It seems all some of these witnesses merely did was to notice them, and once they noticed being noticed, it never goes over well.  These are monsters you don't need to go out of your way to search for because somehow they find you. Visit our website for more information on this episode.

Visiting a spooky location can be scary because of the spirits and monsters which may await you there. However, one can avoid these horrors by merely not going to these places, right? But what if these frightening creatures came to visit YOU? What if they knew where you lived, your secrets, what terrified you the most, then used that knowledge and their supernatural powers against you? Native elders had always spoken of mighty beings who inhabited the earth before us and enjoyed their reign over it. When humans began to populate the land, they were displeased with our presence and our ways. They retreated or were banished to the realms beyond our reality, forever holding a grudge. They can visit us in our world as they please, but theirs is a dark place, and they can bring their darkness with them. This may sound like folklore or myth, but judging by the myriad of modern-day accounts, they have since been and will always be with us. So how do we know what we’re dealing with? What is going on, what do they want with us, and what can we do about it? Who is willing to investigate these sinister encounters and tell the rest of us about them? Tonight’s guest is one such fearless explorer of the unknown. David Weatherly has researched paranormal phenomena for most of his life. He’s traveled the world in search of the answers to ghosts, cryptids, UFOs, magic, and more. He’s visited ancient and mysterious sites where many would fear to tread and studied with masters of the mystic arts and shamanic traditions from many cultures. David has been a featured lecturer at numerous paranormal conferences, a frequent guest on shows such as Coast to Coast AM, and has nearly a dozen books dealing with Forteana to his credit. Although he’s written about subjects ranging from Black-Eyed Children to cryptozoology to haunted places and objects, tonight, we’ll be focusing on his compendium of creepy beings, Strange Intruders. As fascinating as it is disturbing, this book provides anecdotes from witnesses along with insights and context about some of the most dreadful and terrifying unwelcome visitors, you might have the misfortune to meet.  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

Last week's episode on the Ouija board's history and sociological context illustrated that its use was regarded mostly as a virtuous parlor game for over half its life.  But then, in the later period of the 20th century, the board's reputation changed from being an innocent way to contact the deceased to often being an oracle and instigator of supernatural dangers.  Which leads us to the question of whether it's merely that our cultural norms have changed, or is it that the communication and the resulting coincidental events have become more diabolical?  Have our attitudes about Ouija evolved because it got more sinister, or have we altered what comes through the board due to a change in ourselves?  In other words, is this "talking board" a window to a manipulative, omniscient intelligence, or more of a mirror reflecting our darker human essence?  Whether it's the fact that we're unaware of the more iniquitous interactions of Ouija's earlier years, or the nature of it has indeed changed, we now have no shortage of anecdotes where this "game" delivered terror rather than comfort.  In tonight's episode, we'll first examine some historical cases where there's a connection to Ouija and crimes.  We'll then hear stories from a few of our listeners where a session with the board took a turn for the worst.  The lesson here is that one should be extremely cautious if opening the door to the occult, as you never know what's waiting for you on the other side. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

Most of us are familiar with the name and iconic image of the magical Ouija board.  Many have dared to test it, either seeking answers from the great beyond or for spooky entertainment or both.  The Ouija board has always been advertised as a family-friendly game.  However, for about the last 50 years, Ouija became associated with the forbidden, a taboo tool of the occult.  But has it always had this reputation for unleashing evil, and when did this shift in perception occur?  Is it a variation of an ancient scrying device or portal for speaking with the dead, or is it a more modern amusement?  How could such a pop culture symbol that is so pervasive have such a mysterious background?  It seems the board's manufacturers have intentionally kept the details shadowed from the start, adding to the marketing appeal and popularity.  Although the practice of attempting communication with the spirit world is as old as philosophy, the board we recognize today had its beginnings with the Spiritualist Movement of the nineteenth century in America.  Yet in that era and into the first part of the twentieth century, using the board to contact spirits was seen as wholesome family fun and nothing to fear or shun.  Why did the Ouija board take a turn for the dark side, and what is its real story?  As we search for clues, tonight's guest will shed more light on its history and cultural relevance.  Brandon Hodge is one of the world's foremost researchers and historians of spirit communication devices.  His website, mysteriousplanchette.com, is a wealth of information on these instruments, and his Austin-based collection houses an astounding display of planchettes, "talking boards," dial plates, and psychographs, everything an adventurous Victorian soul searcher might use.   Please join us to discuss why a simple board with printed letters, numbers, and a pointer managed to inspire such enduring wonder and apprehension with its mystical nature. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

In Part Three, the commercial-free final "mega-sode" of our D. B. Cooper series, we continue with the FBI's profiling of the infamous skyjacker and learn of their Lead Agents' conclusions, Ralph P. Himmelsbach and Larry Carr.  While the FBI investigation would practically come to a dead-end stalemate with their inability to "prove culpability beyond a reasonable doubt," that hasn't stopped scores of amateur and some professional sleuths from continuing the chase, with scientific evidence surfacing as recently as August 2020.  One factor that has kept curiosity alive is that several likely suspects have emerged in the years since his disappearance, some having an uncanny number of bizarre coincidences to the case.  As we close out our coverage with an in-depth look at these candidates for Cooper's legacy, perhaps doubts about their suitability should remain.  One of the enduring aspects of his story for many is that a seemingly average guy may have gotten away with a mischievous and lucrative daydream.  For the sake of our fondness for legends, especially more modern ones, perhaps some mysteries are best left unsolved.  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

What makes the legend of D. B. Cooper so enduring is not so much the crime itself, but everything that happened after.  Cooper's skyjacking was just one of many during a wave in the era.  His method of escape was only somewhat novel.  Although he seemed to know about some commercial jet aviation aspects, a few of his choices left authorities questioning his skills, rationale, and, therefore, his background.  But what continues to capture the public's imagination is the mystery of his disappearance and speculation about his identity.  The two pieces of verified evidence found outside the plane to date, a placard for the Airstairs and a few ransom money packets, raised more questions than provided answers about where he landed and if he survived the jump.  Could a plan so daring and defiant have worked, or did cavalier confidence doom him?  Part two of our series will continue with the investigation that triggered one of the most extensive manhunts in U.S. history and lead to the final mystery – just who was D. B. Cooper?  Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode!

On the afternoon of Thanksgiving eve, November 24, 1971, a smartly dressed man approached the flight counter for Northwest Orient Airlines at Portland International Airport and purchased a one-way ticket to Seattle.  The name he gave was "Dan Cooper" as he paid cash to board Flight 305, a short 30-minute trip that would turn into one of the longest criminal manhunts in modern history.  Once aboard, Cooper's requests to Flight Attendant Florence Schaffner were simple: a bourbon and soda, and a note to be delivered to the captain demanding $200,000 in cash and four parachutes.  To add emphasis to his order, Cooper briefly showed Schaffner what appeared to be a bomb in the black attaché case he carried with him.  Calm and polite throughout the ordeal, Cooper was now instructing the pilots to take him to Mexico City during the refueling stop in Seattle.  However, it was never his intention to go that far.  Cooper's additional demands were now that the Boeing 727 fly not higher than 10,000 feet, with the landing gear still deployed, the wing flaps lowered, the cabin depressurized, and at the lowest airspeed possible without stalling the aircraft.  Around 8:13 p.m., the aft airstairs of the jet deployed, and Cooper would leap into a cold rainstorm of a western Washington night and popular culture forever.  Due to a name mixup with an early suspect by a local news reporter, the public would also forever know "Dan Cooper" as "D. B. Cooper."  The mystery of Cooper's true identity and fate, along with the whereabouts of most of the ransom money, would launch a 45-year investigation by the FBI.  His piracy would become a legend and the only unsolved skyjacking case in the history of commercial aviation. For a lot more information on this episode, visit our website!

In the continuation of our interview with the mastermind behind the infamous and legendary Alien Autopsy film, director, producer, conceptual artist, and magician, Spyros Melaris, we learn more about the process of its creation and the aftermath of its release upon the world.  But if you think this is just one more case of "Mystery Solved! Nothing to see here, folks!" you may not be considering its broader scope.  Because not only is this a rare case where the magician reveals how they did the trick, but its story reveals a glimpse into human nature, a peek behind the curtain of our beliefs and disbeliefs.  The smaller picture is the mechanics behind what we see in the frame.  The bigger picture is a contemplation of how and why we believe the things we do.  Keeping in mind that nothing in the film could be disproven at the time; if you didn't buy what you saw or didn't bother to look, ask yourself, was it because what you saw didn't look authentic in your estimation, or was it because you think the reality of it is impossible?  For those who demand proof of aliens before they accept the idea, why not look at all?  For those that believed, was it an open mind that entertained its veracity or merely wishful thinking, and what does it take to foment disbelief?  What keeps some believing even after revealing the trick?  With the word hoax being so currently prominent in our society, it certainly seems beneficial to examine one of the world's greatest hoaxes and the hoaxer's methods.  The Alien Autopsy film defined for many the adage "Seeing is Believing" to mean seeing in person, but how can we trust what we see?  The proof of alien life would be the biggest story on the planet.  What we would consider the evidence and how we would handle it is our own biggest mystery. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Indeed, there is no shortage of debatable evidence and probable hoaxes when it comes to the subject of UFOs and aliens. Yet as with any cultural phenomenon, there are those prime examples that rise to the top to become forever cemented into our collective consciousness. One such artifact is a 17-minute black-and-white film that became so iconic it is merely, and famously known only as "Alien Autopsy."  The film sequence purported to show government or military Medical Examiners performing an autopsy on an alien lifeform supposedly recovered along with debris from an equally famous event, the 1947 Roswell UFO crash.  One could argue that the film has become more well-known than the incident upon which it was supposedly based.  The first public screening of the film occurred on May 5, 1995, in a small theater at the Museum of London.  The organizer of the event who had possession of the film at the time, a music and television producer named Ray Santilli, had invited the Press, UFOlogists, and even clergy members to witness the extraordinary footage to generate buzz and controversy.  Accomplishing both aims, news outlets around the world picked up on the story.  But the biggest sensation sparked on August 28th of that year, when Fox Television aired a documentary Special featuring the footage titled, Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.  The Special was re-broadcast two more times, with each one generating millions of more viewers.  The backstory Santilli stated then was that he purchased the footage from a retired military cameraman who shot the film during the actual autopsy at the Roswell Army Air Field.  However, just before the release of a 2006 British comedy called Alien Autopsy, which dramatized the story of the events surrounding the film, Santilli admitted that the film he and his partner Gary Shoefield released was a recreation of the original footage he acquired in 1992. He claims that in the time he first viewed the 22 original reels and the 1995 release, the film deteriorated so severely that his team needed to recreate the shots based on what he had seen.  But Santilli also insists that they spliced frames from the original footage into the film they released – that an authentic, 1947 autopsy film existed.  But that is his story, and as we all know, there are always more sides to one.  Enter tonight's guest, magician and media producer Spyros Melaris.  Spyros has a convincing story of his own, that he and his friend, sculptor and Special Effects artist John Humphreys created the film and everything seen in it – that there is no authentic autopsy film.  Whatever you may decide after hearing part one of our interview with Spyros, one thing is sure: the Alien Autopsy film captured the imagination of the world and might be one of the greatest hoaxes of all time.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

In the continuation of our interview with esteemed UFO and paranormal investigator Stan Gordon, he relays case studies that indicate that the event at Kecksburg may have been merely one incident in a long and continuing saga of High Strangeness.  In his 61 years of research so far, beginning in 1959 at the age of ten, Stan has interviewed thousands of UFO witnesses and hundreds of people who've claimed to confront Bigfoot.  In the decades of data collection and analysis, reaching a crescendo with the Pennsylvania UFO "Flap" of 1973 and continuing to this day, a startling and incomprehensible pattern began to emerge.  Many of these accounts of two traditionally thought of as disparate types of phenomena, UFOs and Bigfoot, occurred in the same places and within days, hours, or minutes of each other.  In a few of the most bizarre cases, Bigfoots appeared to interact with a UFO encounter, as if one may be responsible for the other.  Yet reports over the years weren't limited to these two favorites of Forteana.  Stan had also investigated connected reports of other cryptid sightings, strange environmental phenomena, spirit activity, and had himself come across footprints of 3 and 4-toed unnatural creatures, along with classic Bigfoot tracks that inexplicably stop as if the being had vanished.  A significant number of reports originate in the Chestnut Ridge region, an approximately 75 mile-long westernmost ridge of the Allegheny Mountains extending into West Virginia.  However, incidents have spread out like a virus over the decades to cover most of Pennsylvania.  Some paranormal researchers would be hesitant to publicly consider an association between these marvels or even scoff at the notion.  But a lifetime of investigation leaves Stan with the conclusion that a mind-blowing connection between these cases indeed exists.  That these connections would be statistically unreasonable to ignore, and this camp of thinking is growing.  As we conclude this interview, one might be wondering, what are the implications if a correlation is real, and if it is, is Chestnut Ridge, the Skinwalker Ranch of Pennsylvania? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Tonight's show will be a special treat for those listeners who've been patiently awaiting a revamping of our coverage of the Kecksburg UFO incident.  Those unfamiliar with the case but entertain a curiosity with mysterious, non-organic objects falling from our skies meeting an equally mysterious fate will also find this episode fascinating.  In the late afternoon of December 9, 1965, thousands of citizens watched as a large, fiery object streaked through the skies over at least six to eight U.S. States and Ontario, Canada.  Many who observed its unusually slow path claimed it seemed to be under "intelligent control."  While astronomers continued to assume it was merely a meteor bolide entering Earth's atmosphere, some type of craft crash-landed in the woods near the town of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.  Local eye-witnesses and First Responders who descended onto the scene described the object as looking like a giant acorn, large enough for a human to stand in, and encircling a band near its base were strange markings some likened to Egyptian hieroglyphs.  Uncharacteristically for something as natural as a meteor landing, military authorities, purported NASA personnel, and State troopers immediately arrived and cordoned off the crash site and shooed away onlookers.  The object was loaded onto a flatbed truck along with multiple unknown containers, tarped and hauled away to some government facility, which would be the last time any unauthorized civilian would see it.  This was before initial reports that the U.S. Air Force and State troopers found "absolutely nothing" during their search.  There have since been speculations that the craft was a downed Soviet space probe called Kosmos 96, or perhaps a General Electric Mark 2 Re-entry Vehicle.  While we could've revisited the story with just these oft-told elements and our own speculations, we thought it was best to wait patiently to speak to an authority who's studied the case for decades for some much-needed insight.  We're finally fortunate enough to talk with Stan Gordon, a paranormal investigator from the area who's researched the Kecksburg crash since his teens, and has tracked all of the associated High Strangeness that has followed.  Also joining the conversation is Stan's friend Ron Struble, a witness to the original incident as a Kecksburg Volunteer Firefighter.  This a discussion that not only examines a plausible scenario through reported facts but one that has altered our assessment of one of the most well-documented cases in UFOlogy, one that has become known as "Pennsylvania's Roswell." For more information on this episode visit our website!

For children, the world is still new and full of wonder. Every day is a chance for an adventure, discovering exciting possibilities, and meeting interesting people. Sadly, today's world is a little less safe for kids to explore on their own than it was in the nostalgically idyllic year of 1973. In early May of that year, two kids would make a new friend that may have literally been out of this world. A 7-year-old girl known as "Fay" and her friend, a boy about the same age, took a walk near Lake Common, adjacent to the town of Sandown, on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England. Around 4:00 p.m., the pair heard a strange wailing sound coming from across the nearby golf course. They followed the noise until it ceased. The children were walking over a wooden footbridge that crossed a narrow stream when suddenly a hand wearing a blue glove appeared and out from under the bridge a most bizarre being emerged. After some initial slapstick-like fumblings, what eventually followed was an encounter and discussion with a creature whose actions and description seem beyond the imagination of even the most precocious child. Fay and her friend described its appearance as nearly seven feet tall and similar to that of a partly wooden, partly mechanical, partly flesh clown, and not like from any circus you're likely to see. It introduced itself as "...all colours, Sam." Seemingly friendly, and perhaps a little lonely and certainly misunderstood, the children began to ask "Sam" what he was, whether a man or if not that as best they could figure, a ghost. The cryptic answer they received was, " ...Well, not really, but I am in an odd sort of way." The two would spend around 30 minutes visiting with their new friend in his liminal, metal shack, which later vanished. Whether Sam was some "Ultraterrestrial" entity, a sentient cyborg from another world, or merely the "whimsy of a child," this is a story that is precisely the kind we like to talk about... nay, MUST be discussed. And that's what we're going to do in tonight's episode, with the help of our good friends Micah Hanks of the Micah Hanks Program and Rob Morphy from the Cryptonaut podcast. We may never understand what Sam indeed was, but there are enough weird and wonderful elements to this case that neither child nor adult could ever forget meeting Sam the Sandown Ghost Clown. For more information on this episode visit our website!

In the second & final part of our Question & Answer interview with the inimitable Rich Hatem, Scott & Forrest continue to babble & blather on & on about everything from UFOs & Ghosts to vampires & Yetis, and everything in-between.  Because, you know, everything is connected.  And if everything is indeed connected, then is anything really, a long, drawn-out, tedious tangent?  Why not dare to find out?!  Let's face it, if you've stuck with us this far, you might as well see it through to the end, and we'd be so glad to have you! For more information on this episode visit our website!

Believe it or not, we've always viewed this podcast as a journey.  Initially, we wanted the feel of the show to embody the spirit of why we wanted to start a podcast in the first place – because we enjoyed discussing the strange and mysterious stories of this weird and wonderful world of ours with good friends.  We hope that spirit of camaraderie, curiosity, and discovery remains.  We're still unsure where this adventure into the unknown will take us, perhaps to some enlightenment or just more questions, but we couldn't be more grateful and honored that you've decided to travel with us.  Along the way, many listeners have had questions for us or wanted to share an anecdote about their own experiences.  As we've said many times before, one of our few regrets is that we haven't had the time to answer or respond to all of them directly, but perhaps these next two episodes will help a bit with that.  We felt it was a good time to take a moment, well, two very long moments spread out over two episodes to address some of the most frequently asked questions and also engage in a little introspection on where we're all at since starting this show in October of 2014.  And what better host and moderator to guide us and embrace that feeling mentioned above than our good friend Rich Hatem.  We'll talk about our backgrounds, motivations, intentions, processes, thoughts on our topics, and how our beliefs have changed... or not.  We hope you'll join us for a reflection as we continue on this journey together. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Bonus show on the Hellfire Club of Dublin, originally posted to Patreon, now being shared on our main feed during this dark week. No associated webpage for this episode, but here is a link to Part 1 of the original Loftus Hall Series.

We are sharing 2h45m uninterrupted audio file of heavy surf at high tide from February 14th, 2020 late evening at Carolina Beach. Recorded with a Zoom H4N at a high sample rate. Use it for sleep, meditation, ambience or don't use it at all. Share with anyone you'd like, but not for profit. All rights reserved by Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC

It seems Lady Wonder was much more than a "One-trick Pony."  But even if you consider her one trick to be an abnormal aptitude for intuitiveness and the ability to express it, that's quite a trick for an animal.  Her impressive skills were at least intriguing enough to garner a scientific study of her phenomenon by a couple of leading researchers of the day.  Joseph Banks Rhine or "J.B." as he was known, and his wife Louisa E. Rhine were the founders of the branch of psychology known as parapsychology, with J.B. credited with coining the term Extrasensory Perception, or E.S.P.  In a week, they conducted around 500 experiments on Lady Wonder's powers.  While there was no conclusive proof that the horse had an individual and infallible psychic perception, the data collected was enough to astound the Rhines since no human trickery was detected.  In the following years, J.B. Rhine would come to doubt his initial conclusions, although he never expounded on his later thinking.  Still, he wondered if there wasn't instead a form of telepathy between Lady and her handler Claudia Fonda, which would be nearly as remarkable.  Skeptics have claimed that this mere parlor trick was performed by having Lady move over each letter on her "typewriter," at which point Claudia would somehow signal Lady to tap the correct key.  However, this would necessitate Lady having to step several feet in either direction to cover every possible letter and number, and the Rhines observed that when she was most effective, the horse was near motionless while in an almost trance-like state.  It would also not explain how Claudia then could have answers to questions she would not logically know.  If J.B. Rhine's rethinking of his conclusions was correct, it might be just as extraordinary if there was psychical cooperation between Lady and Claudia, one that perhaps Claudia was not even aware of herself.  Whether you believe psychic ability with any living creature is real or not, at the very least, the story of Lady Wonder illustrates the profound and special bond humans have with the animals they love. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Many folks simply don't believe in psychic abilities.  But those that have had a total stranger tell them something about themselves that the person couldn't possibly know have often had a change of heart.  But what if that impossible information came from a horse!  There have been quite a few trained animals over the years that have displayed an uncanny ability to perform human-like mental feats.  From counting numbers and communicating to predicting the outcomes of sporting events, these clever animals have delighted and entertained us with their tricks.  But none have come close to the prodigious prognostication of a horse named "Lady Wonder."  Lady Wonder was a mare raised by Claudia and Clarence Fonda on their farm in Richmond, Virginia.  From her beginnings as a weeks-old foal, it was clear to Claudia that Lady was special, as she demonstrated an almost supernatural ability for intuitiveness.  Claudia soon trained Lady to recognize the alphabet with the use of toy blocks.  As she grew, Clarence fabricated a sort of giant typewriter where Lady could tap out the answers to questions posed to her.  But Lady's answers weren't relegated to the obvious, incredible as that act alone would seem.  Lady also knew things about the inquisitor that no one else could know.  As soon as this ability became known to the public, Lady was soon seeing hundreds of visitors a week, answering questions about subjects such as personal advice, business, romance, and of course, lucky gambling picks.  But most mystifying of all were her predictions of future events and knowledge of missing people.  Although like most human psychics, Lady was sometimes wrong about her prophesies, she was right enough throughout her life to spark public fascination and scientific study, earning her the name of "Lady Wonder." For more information on this episode visit our website!

Many of us have seen all those ghost hunting shows on Cable Television and elsewhere. They usually feature an intrepid team of Paranormal Researchers trying to capture supernatural activity using electronic equipment like Night-vision cameras, audio recorders, and specially modified gear to aid in Instrumental Trans-Communication, or “ITC.” The evidence gathered is often compelling and entertaining, but usually frustratingly lacking in details. What we want to know is, who or what is this thing making its presence known, and most chillingly, what does it want? For those answers, some shows employ a psychic or a medium, and yes, there’s a difference. What these gifted individuals can tell us is what they can supposedly see that the cameras cannot, messages the recorders cannot hear, and sensations no device can detect. We’re fascinated by the insight because the answers lead to the more significant question, and that is, what happens to us after we die and what’s it like “beyond the veil?” And whether we believe in these claims or not, haven’t you thought how interesting it would be to speak with and ask questions of someone with these powers? So did we. Tonight’s guest is just such a conduit to the Other Side. Jim Hunt is an “Intuitive Life Coach” who uses his psychic abilities to help his clients understand their personal path. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jim was the resident Psychic Medium for the ghost hunting show Knock Knock Ghost, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. With a respectful and comforting manner, this on-camera approach, combined with seemingly uncanny confirmations of his observations through the ITC devices, made us think he might be fun to talk to, and we were right. In our conversation with Jim, he talks about his experiences in eastern Canada’s historically haunted locations and gives us both a bit of a “reading” where we just might gain a little insight into our own stories and that of the podcast.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

For nearly a month, the boys who originally discovered the "Kera Object" continued to search for and experiment with it, almost like a wild animal they hoped to tame.  The tale of their exploits with the bizarre item would be more comfortable to pass off as a childish prank if not for the corroboration of its existence by at least a couple of adults.  One of the boys, Yasuo, brought home the device to be examined by his father, Matsuo Fujimoto, who was then the director of the Center for Science Education in Kōchi City.  The boy's father, someone with scientific training, gave the object a cursory examination.  He determined that it appeared similar to an antique cast iron ashtray, but too light for the real thing.  Peering through the holes in the bottom, Mr. Fujimori noticed that the internal components were similar to a radio's.  However, he was unable to look any closer since it could not be opened and lost interest in the find.  He would later express regret for not having studied the object more closely.  Katsuoka Kojima's mother, Aiko, had also reported that the object glowed like fireflies, while Yasuo Fujimoto's mother had her own sighting of a small UFO about a month later.  In contrast to these possible confirmations of authenticity, a local astronomer interested in the phenomenon, Tsutomu Seki, had interviewed the witnesses and was impressed by them and their story, but still maintained doubts about various elements of the case.  To add to the mystery, at least two other reports of encounters with strikingly similar objects had occurred, one in 1976 about 25 miles to the west from Kera, and another as far away as Suonenjoki, Finland in 1979.  So what are we to make of all the varying details concerning these impossible objects?  If we are to believe ongoing reports, certain authorities already have extraterrestrial items in their possession, but they are strictly guarded secrets not meant for public knowledge.  If we are to believe the thousands of accounts from ordinary citizens, these alien articles are egalitarian in who they choose to appear to.  Perhaps one day, if one of these phenomenal objects can manage to be kept and operated by one of the "Little People," it will open up a new world of discovery and understanding for all of us.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

Some of the most extraordinary and interactive encounters with UFOs or anomalous objects are surprisingly the least well-known.  And yet elements of the tale once heard could seem to be quite familiar. Tonight’s subject appears to be just one of those cases.  Although there are variations in the details of the incident, the general narrative goes as follows.  In the afternoon or early evening of August 25, 1972, 13-year-old student Michio Seo was passing by a rice paddy in his neighborhood of Kera near Kochi City on Shikoku Island in southern Japan when something caught his eye.  A small, strange hat-shaped device was flying erratically several feet above the field.  With a dull silver metallic finish, and a wide brim sloping upward to a bell-shaped flat top, Michio would describe its flight pattern as like a bat zig-zagging to catch insects.  Mustering his courage, Michio cautiously approached the tiny UFO until it seemed to sense his proximity and shot a bright beam of light in his direction, chasing him away.  Michio Seo then did what any adventurous teenager would do, he rounded up his four best friends and returned to the scene, hoping to prove his wondrous discovery.  To their surprise, the craft eventually returned, this time pulsating with multicolored light as evening fell.  As one of the boys got closer, the gadget once again sensed the approach and sounded a loud pop and shone a blue glow, sending them all running.  Over the next several weeks, the boys would play a cat-and-mouse game with the incredible gizmo, photographing it, even capturing and experimenting with it, only to have it mysteriously escape each time.  While this account may sound like the inspiration for a Hollywood movie, there is shockingly little information about the incident outside of Japan.  To add to the uniqueness of this encounter, not only is the contact unusually spirited, it’s characterized by elements of Pop Culture, Urban Legend, and Japanese folklore.  However, with the tremendous research help of writers and podcasters Micah Hanks and Rob Morphy, we aim to get to the bottom of an amazing story about what’s become known as “The Kera Object.” For more information on this episode visit our website!

After a long and successful piratical career in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States government finally, and firmly, requested the Laffite brothers leave Galveston Island forever.  On May 7, 1821, Jean Laffite left without protest, but not before he had his men torch his Maison Rouge headquarters and all buildings within the settlement of his Campeche compound.  It’s also likely he took with him his massive hoard of ill-gotten booty, possibly loaded onto four ships, one of which was his vessel, the Pride.  But the corsair life was in their blood, and Laffite could not leave it nor the Gulf.  He and his men would continue to take prizes there and in the waters off Cuba and Central America until his debated end sometime between 1823 and 1826.  The mysteries of his legend would continue to live on, as the search for his millions never ceased.  Although no one has publicly claimed to find his treasure, our interview guest, Cody Hix, may have found tantalizing clues leading to Laffite’s lost ship.  Cody, his brother Chuck, and their cousin Jay Hix-Jones appeared in an episode of Expedition Unknown with Josh Gates.  During their segment, they not only outlined their theory on a family connection to Laffite’s lineage but also find evidence of a possible shipwreck in a promising location.   Join us tonight as we dive deeper into the background of Cody’s family history and the details of their amazing find.  We’ll also discuss the even more persistent and enduring tales than that of Laffite’s buried treasure, those of the ghost of his tormented soul.  One legend has it that due to Laffite’s eternal guilt over his crimes, his spirit searches for an honorable and beneficent seeker to whom he will reveal his treasure.  Perhaps he has finally found worthy heirs. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Some lost treasures are legendary because of what is hidden. Some are legendary because of who did the hiding. Both types of captivating tales are found in the book Coronado’s Children. Published in 1930 and written by Texas folklorist and author J. Frank Dobie, Coronado’s Children is an enthralling collection of stories about buried treasure, Old West capers, and the often dangerous quest for a fleeting fortune by adventurous characters. Usually a blend of documented events and dubious oral history, these stories are not merely Tall Tales but testaments of a pioneering spirit that furthered the exploration of the American southwest and was foundational to the United States as a country. One such account that stood out to us was the legend of Jean Laffite and his brother Pierre. Spelled “Laffite” by the brothers themselves, but recorded in contemporary official US documents as “Lafitte,” theirs is a chronicle that begins and ends in mystery and everything in-between became firmly entrenched in the early history of Louisiana and Texas, from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Arriving in New Orleans around the time of the Louisana Purchase in 1803 from debated origins, the Laffite brothers soon established a blacksmith shop in the French Quarter, which still stands today. Not long after, they realized the real profit would come from using the shop to “fence” pirated goods stolen by the privateers who preyed on Spanish merchant ships in Barataria Bay. Using their natural business acumen, the Laffites would expand their criminal enterprises enough to make themselves some of the richest and most powerful men in the region. Even when their flagrant operations had threatened the sovereignty of the US government, Jean Laffite was able to gain at least temporary pardon and acclaim by greatly aiding then General Andrew Jackson to victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans. In a career of contradictions and double-dealings, Jean Laffite would enjoy such occupations as a prominent businessman, smuggler, military hero, spy, slave trader, and criminal mastermind, but popular opinion regards him most generally as a pirate, a moniker he detested. Whatever his actual life story is and the fate of his amassed fortune, his legacy is perhaps best described by J. Frank Dobie as, “Legend, Paradox, Mystery.” For more information on this episode visit our website!

We’re all sequestered in our respective locations these Strange Days, with many of us using teleconferencing applications to connect with co-workers, friends, and family. It’s a tool we use in our regular production of the podcast since we’ve been separated by a continent. But now we thought it was time to put it to even better use to check in with our good friends Rich Hatem and Rob Kristoffersen. We first met Rob in 2016 when he graciously helped us research UFO subjects. He has since gone on to produce his own podcast, Our Strange Skies, a captivating and in-depth program on the phenomenon. Rich was introduced to us through a mutual friend when an uncanny discovery occurred. He was not only the screenwriter of The Mothman Prophecies, a film we often discussed, but he also had a vast knowledge of, and a shared passion for the paranormal. We’ve had both fine gentlemen on past episodes separately, but never with all of us on together. Tonight’s show will be a free-wheeling, casual conversation covering such topics as Charles Hoy Fort, the namesake of paranormal phenomena dubbed “Forteana,” recent developments at Skinwalker Ranch, and even our setups for podcast recording and teleconferencing at home. We hope you’ll find tonight’s episode to be in the same spirit that our show is meant to be for all of our audience. That is, an engaging discussion and enduring camaraderie no matter how strange things get. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Astonishing Legends presents the premiere of Season 2 of our additional show, The Midnight Library. The remaining 12 episodes can be found, dropping weekly on Sundays, on The Midnight Library's own feed. Please find and subscribe to it wherever you get your podcasts! Welcome back, Dear Guests! - Goddess Tree, Witch Tree, Bearer of a Gift Tree; Tonight we gather to learn what ancient magical powers can be found in a Rowan tree. Infused with myths, imbued with luck, and sacred to this day, the Rowan tree may be just the thing to bring joy to your garden, or it may even save your life! For more information on this episode visit our website!

Valid hypotheses about the Lost Colony of 1587 on Roanoke Island have existed since the settlers' disappearance.   In 1603, Bartholomew Gilbert attempted the last contemporary expedition to locate the colonists, but his search ended with the death of himself and four crewmen at the hands of Algonquian natives.  John Smith, an influential leader of the Jamestown Colony of 1607, had heard stories from Native American chiefs about villages where some of the men wore European-style clothing.  His search efforts would come up empty-handed, except for producing a map showing the locations of the suspected communities with walled housing.  It wasn't until 1701 with John Lawson's expedition to the then Province of Carolina that a European exploration would again check the Roanoke site along with the Croatoan area, which became Hatteras Island.  Lawson's examination of Roanoke yielded few clues except for the ruins of a fort and some English items.  His meeting with the Hatteras natives, however, provided a curious revelation: some of the Hatteras tribal members had gray eyes and claimed a few of their ancestors were white.  After Lawson's search, with inconclusive evidence and no forensic methodology at the time, interest in the Lost Colony's fate faded over the decades.  In the 430 years since the colonist's disappearance, hypotheses ranging from massacre and conspiracy to assimilation have remained unprovable.  Even with tantalizing finds through recent archaeology and DNA research, we are still one conclusive discovery away from declaring the story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, a "Mystery Solved!" For more information on this episode visit our website!

Few realize or remember that the very beginnings of English colonization in North America were fraught with tremendous hardship, peril, and connected to an enduring mystery.  A charter was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1584 to explore and colonize lands unclaimed by Christian kingdoms, south of Newfoundland, and north of Spanish Florida.  With hopes of finding vast riches as the Spanish Empire had done in Central and South America and a possible Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean, Raleigh had initiated two attempts at establishing an English settlement along the coast of present-day North Carolina.  The first colony was set up by Governor Ralph Lane in 1585 on Roanoke Island, located in the Outer Banks.  This enterprise would end in failure and evacuation from scare resources and hostile relations with the local Native American tribes.  A second attempt at a colony came in 1587 with Governor John White and around 115 men, women, and children who had agreed to settle in this wondrous but challenging new country.  Unfortunately, a curious order left these hapless planters on Roanoke Island, which had now become dangerous from the actions of the former colony.  The colonists persuaded White to return to England to plead for help, but due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances, he was not able to return to Roanoke until 1590.  When White and the relief mission finally made their way to their last known location, the settlers had vanished, including White's daughter and his infant granddaughter.  White's granddaughter Virginia Dare would be known as the first English child born in a New World English possession, but what happened to her remains unknown.  The only clue as to their whereabouts were the letters "CRO" carved into a tree and the word "CROATOAN" carved into the fort's palisade.  These enigmatic carvings and the strange disappearance of the Lost Colony at Roanoke would ensure that their fate would become one of the first and lasting mysteries of the English occupation in the New World. For more information on this episode visit our website!

On November 29, 1925, the tramp steamer SS Cotopaxi left port at Charleston, South Carolina, under the command of Captain William Meyer loaded with her usual cargo of coal, and headed for Havana, Cuba. The voyage was routine until the ship ran into a fierce tropical storm off the eastern coast of Florida near Jacksonville. On December 1, the Cotopaxi sent out a distress call saying it was taking on water and listing badly. A thorough search of the area found no trace of the vessel or its thirty-two crew members, and the Cotopaxi would become another entry in the long record of seafaring mysteries, with many believing it had also become a victim of the infamous Bermuda Triangle. Although a notable tragedy in its day, the story of the Cotopaxi would fade from the public's memory, that is until it made a surprising cameo in Steven Spielberg's 1977 motion picture, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. What would later become even more surprising was the discovery of a shipwreck matching the Cotopaxi's description sometime in the decade following the film. However, due to the sunken ship's concealment in ocean sands, no one would realize the similarity at the time. Laying in about 100 feet of water and 35 nautical miles east of the coast of the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida, the site became popularly known as the "Bear Wreck," an assumption of its association with another lost ship. It would take a nagging hunch and nearly 15 years of diving on the wreck for marine biologist and underwater explorer Michael Barnette to finally have enough of the puzzle pieces to make a solid connection to the Cotopaxi. While the wreck's dimensions, various recovered parts, and a position correlated with newly discovered insurance records make this site a strong candidate for the Cotopaxi, there is still a missing clue that could positively identify the doomed steamer. Please join us for a more casual conversation about the recent news that may be a rare occasion where the headline is earned, "Mystery Solved!" For more information on this episode visit our website!

As with any mysterious event, it’s often said that we should look to the simplest solution as being most likely the right one.  The idea that when presented with competing hypotheses that make the same predictions, the solution with the fewest assumptions should be chosen is usually attributed to the principle of “Occam’s razor.”  But what happens if we try to apply this cure-all of an axiom to explain a medieval legend that has few clues associated with it?  In Part Two of our series on The Pied Piper of Hamelin, we’ll explore several of the leading hypotheses on this bizarre event such as the plague and Murine Typhus, forced emigration, the “Dancing Madness” and ergotism, slavery, the Crusades and even alien abduction.  And if we return to applying “Occam’s razor” to this mystery from the Middle Ages and accept the contemporary accounts?  Then what remains is the disturbing thought that somehow, a nefarious charmer simply used a flute to tragically persuade a large group of children to follow him into oblivion.  They may be lost and their names are forgotten, but they and their Piper shall be forever remembered as one of the most famous legends of all time. For more information on this episode visit our website!

In the year 1284 CE, a remarkable and colorfully dressed young man came to the town of Hamelin in Lower Saxony, Germany.  There are two documentations of this wanderer’s visit, the originals of which have since been lost.  According to the contemporary Hamelin chronicle and a depiction in a stained glass window in a local church, this handsome stranger began to play his flute through the streets.  Enchanted by the notes, 130 children from the town followed him into the woods, never to be seen again.  In the hundreds of years since the supposedly real event occurred, the most significant addition to the story would be the reason for the mass kidnapping.  After successfully ridding the town of a plague of rats using his musical pipe, the payment the piper was promised was withheld by the mayor and the town leaders.  Furious at his being cheated, the magical visitor took their children as his payment.  This later variation of the narrative we have all come to know as “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” Today, we may think of this story as a children’s Fairly Tale.  But as the Brothers Grimm had noted themselves, and who are partly responsible for making it known to the world, this is a legend and not a Fairy Tale.  The difference is that legends are considered to be based on actual events, people, and places.  In relation, it’s also said that there is a kernel of truth to every legend.  If that is accurate, then the real Pied Piper event may be far more mysterious and tragic than we could have imagined, either as children or adults.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

In this episode, we revisit the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas – by way of The Dave Glover Show, as Scott's not quite ready to return in person. ; ) Being an Astonishing Legends listener himself, Dave has graciously invited Scott and Forrest to appear on his show several times.  Now it was time to repay the favor, especially since Dave and his crew had a chilling and emotional experience there themselves.  The Dave Glover Show has been driving St. Louis home for 20 years.  Airing regularly from 3 pm to 7 pm Monday through Friday on 97.1 Talk Radio, Dave and his co-hosts Rachel and Tony, along with their producer Ryan, get to discuss their curiosities during the "Paranormal Wednesday" segments.  For their Halloween Specials, the team will investigate a regional haunt, such as the famous Lemp Mansion or the "Exorcist House."  This past October 2019, had the DGS crew investigating the Sallie House, motivated partly because of the house's notoriety and our series on it.  It would be safe to say that many who visit the haunted house don't report much of a paranormal encounter except for coming away with feeling a very spooky vibe and some interesting history about the place.  However, it also seems that whatever unseen forces operate at the Sallie House, they will sometimes single out an individual or group and deliver to them an experience they will never forget, even if the details become mysteriously hazy.  This is what happened to Dave and some of his team, as interactions appeared to tap into thoughts, target their emotions, and affect their physical senses.  Of course, some might chalk this communication up to a series of coincidences.  But then Dave, as well as the rest of us, must consider how many coincidences are too many?  At what point does denying a formation of relevant meaning start to seem illogical or even foolish? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Most people today believe that the legendary lost continent of Atlantis is just that, an ancient legend buried by time and not the ocean. The first known mention of the fable comes from two of Plato's dialogues,  Timaeus and Critias, where mighty princes ruled the massive and prosperous island. However, Atlantis' glory faded as they were conquered and eventually became undone by their evil and impious ways until earthquakes destroyed this once utopian land, submerging it under the waves. But what if the legend of Atlantis is real, and the account of an advanced civilization thriving in the expanse of the Atlantic ocean is more fantastic, bizarre, and unbelievable than one could imagine? In approximately 2500 "life readings" given by Edgar Cayce for roughly 1600 different people between 1923 and 1945, just such a narrative began to emerge. Of around 700 of the reading's recipients, nearly 50%, had been told that their past-life incarnations in Atlantis had left characteristics that were influencing their present lives. After this revelation, questions focused on an Atlantean history generated details of warring factions with incredible technologies, such as ships that could fly through the air and undersea, particle beam-like weapons, global communication, and genetic engineering, and most controversial, the origins of human life. From a practical standpoint, perhaps just as extraordinary is the fact that none of the references to Atlantis given over two decades conflicted or contradicted one another. Ultimately, the purpose of the story of Atlantis would be to serve as a cautionary tale – that we must all learn from the mistakes and negative proclivities of our past lives so that a new age of peace and enlightenment might save us from our destruction. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The second half of Edgar Cayce's story would see more extraordinary experiences layered over an ordinary and humble man's life.  Even more unimaginable for his tastes was the non-medical information that would later come through him.  Though mostly remaining uncertain about the medical advice he'd been dispensing while in his sleep-like state, his answers to metaphysical questions distressed him, as they conflicted with his traditional Christian beliefs.  While suffering personal hardship and tragedy, Cayce was now also troubled by concepts his mediumship had introduced to him and would continue seeking philosophical reconciliation into his later years, which he would finally achieve.  But what remained constant throughout was Cayce's passion for helping others, and combined with the ever-increasing requests for treatment, it ironically wore down his health and shortened his life.  If we examine the Cayce phenomenon logically, there are several considerations.  If you believe it's impossible for a transcendental intelligence to exist, then Cayce was able to spend decades espousing folk remedies and comments on esoteric metaphysics, which he had merely picked up from voracious reading.  Some would view that as quite a trick for an average man with limited education.  If you believe an intelligence outside our physical reality could exist, then what is the nature of this force that communicated through him?  Who or what was it exactly, what are the mechanics of the process, and could it be trusted?  If omniscient, why did it seem to work with some subjects and not as well with others?  On the other hand, if Cayce was a total fraud, would he have not been found out years ago?  Was it all just a fault of human nature that so many claimed relief for their ailments, growing his popularity to global levels, and why are his readings still studied to this day?  While Cayce and his supporters attempted to conduct formal case studies for the treatments, the conditions for the experiments would not be rigorous or controlled enough to convince the scientific community.  Harder still would be to prove any veracity for his metaphysical teachings.  However, there may be one thing all sides can agree on, and that's Edgar Cayce's overall message to the world.  Rather than self-aggrandizement, his message was one of encouraging love and acceptance of our fellow human beings; of spiritual and personal growth, all of us united in universal truth, regardless of creed or culture.  Hopefully, that would be one "reading" of our shared condition that would be hard to argue against. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Edgar Cayce is often remembered nowadays as the "father of holistic medicine" and the rightful originator of many of the beliefs and practices of the "New Age" movement. Yet what is remarkable is that although you might naturally think Cayce was a pop-culture product of the 1960s and '70s, his mystical talents gained him worldwide attention beginning from just after the turn of the last century until his death in 1945. Even more astounding was that the valid diagnoses and cures for the ailing that he was first known for apparently came to him while in a sleep-like state and unbeknownst to his conscious mind. Yet Cayce was a hesitant and modest "medium."  Born in 1877 in a farming community just south of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, he experienced interactions with the supernatural throughout his life.  In his early childhood, Cayce claimed he played with invisible "little folk" and could communicate with his deceased grandfather. While in his early teens and suffering from learning disabilities, he said he was visited by an angel who told him his difficulties would be over.  Cayce soon realized he could thoroughly memorize entire books merely by resting his head on one as he slept. As a young adult, Cayce's medical condition led to the discovery that if he laid down and entered his meditative state, diagnosis and treatment would relay through him from a seemingly omniscient source. And not only did this work for himself, but the source could accurately diagnose and offer a remedy to others no matter the distance, with him only needing the name and location of the patient. Even more incredible was that this intelligence could also reveal answers about great mysteries like the Egyptian Pyramids, Atlantis, reincarnation, future wars, and prophecies, to name a few. Ironically, for many years of his life, he would remain skeptical and disturbed about the information that was coming through him regarding these topics.  He preferred to focus on curing the sick while reluctant to gain much profit from his abilities. Whether you believe Edgar Cayce was a gifted healer or a charlatan, there is no doubt his results made him one of the famous names in the subject of metaphysics and arguably the most documented psychic of the 20th century. His legacy lives on as "America's Sleeping Prophet." For more information on this episode visit our website!

Some time ago, we attempted a hybrid holiday special that combined a traditional episode with a call-in show. Unfortunately, it didn't really go as planned. Still, Scott seemed to think it had some value of some kind, so he talked Forrest into releasing it here and now in 2019. So tonight, the Astonishing Legends team is pleased to present a commercial-free, family-friendly Holiday episode for you to enjoy with or without your loved ones as you see fit. While it contains some fascinating background on the evolution of St. Nicholas, be warned, this is not like anything we've ever released before, but we figured now or never. Happy Holidays listeners, and thank you for your stalwart and ongoing support. We are so grateful to you. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Those skeptical of the existence of a spirit world will often cite that there is no credible evidence leading to proof, this being the basis for their disbelief.  Yet what constitutes as evidence or proof seems to be a personal decision, as there is an endless supply of visual and audio recordings and environmental data which at the least appear to be genuinely anomalous and unexplainable.  For the mainstream scientific community, these anomalies would need to be consistently repeatable under laboratory conditions for the implications of the data to be accepted.  But for paranormal researchers attempting communication with the "Other Side," although elusive, there are enough occurrences of contextual dialogue that their practices have become meaningful.  The phenomenon of contact with the unseen world via electronic devices is described generally as "Instrumental Trans-Communication" or ITC.  First defined in the 1970s by Ernst Senkowksi, researchers have been refining and evolving new techniques for ITC ever since, employing new technologies and modifying established methodologies.  One such creative experimentation resulted in the "Estes Method," developed by our last episode's guest, Connor J. Randall, and his investigation teammates Karl Pfeiffer and Michelle Tate.  Named for the place where it was first conceived, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, the Estes Method has not only added a layer of objectivity to Spirit Box ITC sessions but has also yielded some compelling "evidence."  Join us for another conversation with Connor as he discusses this and other ITC practices used at the Stanley Hotel, which then lead to the experiments seen in the Hellier documentary series. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, is not so famous for its beautiful surroundings and accommodations or its famed founder as it is for its connection to a book and a movie.  The Shining was Stephen King's third published novel and a bestseller.  This classic of horror fiction, in turn, inspired the iconic motion picture of the same name by Stanley Kubrick.  And these two works had cemented the idea in the popular imagination that the Stanley Hotel must have some dark history of troubled spirits in residence there.  But as we've all learned, works of fiction often color the actual history of a person or place.  So what is the real story of the Stanley Hotel?  It's best to ask someone who has personal experience, and that's what we've done.  Tonight's guest is Connor J. Randall, whose own childhood supernatural experience at the Stanley led not only to a passion for paranormal research but also to his work there as first a concierge and tour guide and then later as a resident investigator.  Please join us tonight as we hear from someone who had come to know the real spirits of the Stanley Hotel, as they had come to know him. For more information on this episode visit our website!

At 9:20 p.m. on December 29, 1972, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar commercial airliner, designated as Eastern Airlines Flight 401, departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, bound for Miami, Florida.  Onboard were 13 crew members and 163 passengers, 176 souls in all.  It was a routine trip for Flight 401 until 11:32 p.m. when the plane began its approach to Miami International Airport, and an indicator light for the nose landing gear had not lit up.  While the Flight Crew tried to troubleshoot the faulty indicator, the steering yoke was accidentally nudged, causing a function of the autopilot to begin a descent so gradually that no one had noticed.  Ten minutes later, Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing five crew members and 96 passengers.  It would be the first crash of a “Jumbo Jet” and have at the time, the highest number of fatalities from any one-plane accident in U.S. civil aviation history.  But this tragic story doesn’t end there.  A legend was born citing more than 20 accounts from EAL employees and passengers that they had interacted with the ghosts of Captain Bob Loft and Flight Engineer Don Repo who had perished in the crash.  These stories mostly involved other Eastern Airlines L-1011s that had refitted parts salvaged from Flight 401.  Whether out of guilt or an unstoppable sense of duty, these apparitions reportedly appeared to be quite lifelike and were trying to prevent further disasters.  Although Eastern Airlines management vehemently denied these claims, due to the prevalence of these tales in the airline community, one must wonder if there is any truth to them.  Whatever the case, whether from real testimony or a desire to entertain, the legend of the ghosts of Flight 401 helped to make sure the victims and survivors are not forgotten. For more information on this episode visit our website!

In your final visit to The Midnight Library of the season, and since we now count so many among you as our friends… we thought we might impart to you some rare and useful, magical knowledge. We’re going to tell you all about the powerful Runic alphabet. What you do with it after that is up to you… but we’ll know, so just keep that in mind...friend. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The accident that killed James Dean was the end of his life, but it was the beginning of a legendary story about the curse of his Porsche, ‘Little Bastard.’ Parts from the car salvaged by amateur racing enthusiasts caused numerous injuries and the death of at least one man on the track. The broken shell of the car traveled around the country as part of a safety exhibition curated by legendary car customizer George Barris. Along the way, several trucks that hauled it crashed, in once case, killing the driver. The car fell apart several times while on display as well and injured bystanders. In this final episode of this series, we’ll take a look at the Curse of James Dean’s Porsche, and when the show is over, you can decide whether or not you believe in it. Of course, the thing to remember about curses is that they don’t particularly care if you believe in them or not. For more information on this episode visit our website!

In 1931 a man and a machine were both created. James Byron Dean was born to a modest farming family in rural Indiana, and Ferdinand Porsche founded a company in Stuttgart, Germany, to build automobiles. These two men would never meet, but their egos would clash in a way that would redefine charisma, performance, and power that will never be forgotten. In 1955 both man and machine would die in a horrific crash. But is the legend of a curse in a story like this unavoidable? That’s easy for us to analyze in hindsight, but what’s not so easy is to understand are the machinations that caused it to happen. However, we can work towards that understanding tonight in part one of our two-part series on James Dean and Little Bastard. For more information on this episode visit our website!

What is at the heart of our fears?  We may be afraid to encounter a supernatural specter or a creature from beyond our reality and understanding, or an agent of evil from a more earthly realm, but in either case, what we actually fear is the potential for harm to come to us or our loved ones.  The deadly violence that visits randomly and one we are powerless to stop.  Ironically, our tendency as humans is also to become fascinated by what scares us.  We seek to glimpse into the darkness not only as a vicarious thrill but also as a means of coping.  It is why we find fun in traditions like Halloween and for some, indulging our curiosity in the exploits of serial killers.  As we put to bed the story of the Villisca ax murders, we find that it is a story that contains all the elements of our primal dread.  Acts so horrible they left scars and echoes in the worlds of the living and the dead.  Our guest tonight, author Troy Taylor, helps us piece together the facts and makes a strong case that the killer who committed the shocking murders in Villisca quite likely left a trail of death throughout the Midwest with as many as 30 victims or more.  In the end, what we learn is that there is more to fear from a monster made of flesh and blood.  This was a monster that randomly and wantonly tore flesh and spilled blood, one who was all too real, and one that was never caught. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Where's the one place in the world you'd like to feel the safest? Your bed, right? And in a secure home that surrounds that bed. We also become nostalgic for what we think was a simpler and more wholesome time. The atrocities we've become accustomed to hearing about on our current nightly news, we imagine inconceivable in bygone eras. But the truth is, we've always been vulnerable to the brutality of the waking world, no matter the times or the place. The darkest evil can come to find us wherever we lay our heads. One average family in America's Heartland at the turn of the century would experience this as their peaceful dreams turned into a nightmare. On the evening of June 9, or early morning hours of June 10, 1912, a depraved murderer had entered the home of the Moore family in Villisca, Iowa.  He savagely crushed the skulls of Josiah Moore, his wife Sarah, and their four children with an ax as they slept.  Also killed in the same fashion were Lena and Ina Stillinger, young sisters who just happened to be spending the night. The memories of this gruesome crime and the spirits who endured it would remain with the house.  This horrific act of violence would leave its mark on the town and the Moore home, forever branding it the "Villisca Ax Murder House." For more information on this episode visit our website!

The interview you’re about to hear is one of the most compelling, fascinating, and terrifying personal accounts we’ve ever come across.  We realize it may also be one of the most controversial subjects we’ve ever discussed.  Our guest tonight knows these sensations all too well. The wonder, terror, decades of trauma, and the consequences from coming forward after a lifetime of these experiences are all part of his story.  In June of 1977, Terry Lovelace was in the U.S. Air Force working as a medic and EMT while stationed at Whiteman AFB.  He and his EMT partner and close friend felt compelled to take a weekend camping to Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas.  What started out as a carefree trip to the great outdoors would end in a night of horror and pain as they encountered a massive unknown craft about five stories tall.  This experience would lead to not only nightmares and inexplicable panic attacks for Terry along with an intense investigation by the USAF Office of Special Investigations, but the tragic and premature death of his friend.  Terry would go on to a successful career in law as a felony prosecutor, eventually becoming an Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Territory of American Samoa and a State’s Attorney for Vermont’s Board of Medical Practice.  After retirement, a trip to the Emergency Room for a fall in 2012 would bring all those suppressed memories to the surface once again, memories that began in his childhood.  The radiologist had discovered an anomalous piece of square metal about the size of a fingernail with two wires attached, just above his right knee.  In the calf muscle below, a strange, flower petal-shaped object with the density of bone was also discovered.  To add to the mystery, there were no incision marks anywhere to be found.  This discovery and the objects’ purpose were enough to convince Terry that it was time to tell his story.  He believes we all have a right to know what’s really going on.  Some may find his account frightening or at least alarming, while others will dismiss it as fantasy.  Many won’t know what to think about it.  But consider this: if you don’t believe any of it, then you don’t have to worry, you and your rationale are safe.  If you do believe his story, even just some of it, then it may provide a glimpse into one of the biggest mysteries and threats humanity has ever faced. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The Astonishing Legends podcast is proud to invite you to The Midnight Library, -Not just a show, but a place you can go-. For your listening pleasure, tonight’s reading will be about The Paris Catacombs.  Once you’re inside, your Hosts, Miranda Merrick & Mr. Darling will do everything in their power to make you believe that you’re safe, so you can relax and hear the fascinating story of how 6 million skeletons made their way beneath the streets of Paris. (The Midnight Library cannot be held responsible for those who choose to visit of their own free will) For more information on this episode visit our website!

Many of us have seen all the ghost hunting shows on cable television and elsewhere, but are those accurate representations of what goes on during a paranormal investigation?  After all, TV shows, have to deliver as many instances of spooky "evidence" as possible, because we, the viewing audience, demand it.  In reality, like any hunting or fishing expedition, the experience is usually long stretches of waiting patiently and hopefully for brief moments of high excitement.  Well, tonight we're going to find out in detail what it's like to actually go on a ghost hunt as we welcome back the previous episode's guest, author and paranormal investigator James A. Willis.  We'll also be joined by our good friends Jill and Roger Pingleton, who are seasoned paranormal investigators themselves.  On July 22, 2019, during a "lockdown" from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. we had the privilege of following along with them as they investigated one of the most notoriously haunted buildings in the United States, if not the world, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, KY.  From 1910 to 1961, this massive and formerly abandoned medical facility saw more than its share of misery and death as it served as a treatment hospital for those suffering from the scourge of tuberculosis as it plagued the Louisville and Jefferson County area.  The building then witnessed another era of dwindling and death from 1962 to 1982 when it served as Woodhaven Medical Services, a nursing home for the elderly and those with severe mental disabilities.  Fortunately, however, this historic edifice has been undergoing restoration since 2001 when it was taken over by caring and dedicated new owners.  It's currently open for tours, investigations, and events.  Regardless of Waverly Hills' past, the future looks bright for this special place, a special place that's also especially haunted. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The ideal qualities of a paranormal investigator should include objectivity, a grasp of the relevant history and science, and a skeptical and inquisitive nature that’s balanced with a fair and open mind. Tonight’s guest has all of those traits and more. Author and paranormal researcher James A. Willis originally hails from the Hudson Highlands of upstate New York, the stomping grounds of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. After spending 15 of his formative years being intrigued by macabre media and all things ghostly, strange and spooky, Willis moved to Ohio to found the nationally recognized research organization, The Ghosts of Ohio. He has since grown the organization to over 35 members, representing the regions anchored by the cities of Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. In 2004, the founders of the popular line of Weird US books invited Willis to contribute and he has since collaborated on 6 volumes in the series. In 2012, Willis struck out on his own with the publication of Haunted Indiana. For 2013’s The Big Book Of Ohio Ghost Stories, Willis crisscrossed Ohio to bring readers over 75 of the Buckeye state’s most famous (and infamous) ghosts. In 2015, Willis released Ohio’s Historic Haunts: Investigating the Paranormal in the Buckeye State. Willis’ latest project, 2017’s Central Ohio Legends & Lore, had him chasing down some of the Buckeye State’s most legendary characters, including Johnny Appleseed, Annie Oakley, and Chief Leatherlips. Along the way, Willis took the time to explore some of central Ohio’s stranger legends, such as the Ohio Grassman and even UFOs. A sought-after public speaker, Willis has given presentations throughout the United States, during which he has educated and entertained tens of thousands of people of all ages in crowd sizes ranging from 10 to well over 600. He has also been featured in more than 75 media sources, including CNN, USA Today, Columbus Business First, Midwest Living, The Canadian Press, and even the Kuwait Times. Please join us as we hear about James’ approach to paranormal research and delve into some of his most weird and eerie cases. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Since its modern discovery, no other medieval manuscript has seen as much media attention or scholarly scrutiny as the Voynich Manuscript.  No doubt this is due to the fantastical strangeness of its mystery, which is also the same reason it continually captures the imagination of the public.  Because it would seem, the bigger the mystery, the bigger the reward for its solving.  Like with any enduring enigma, the manuscript has attracted its share of sleuths who have claimed they've been the ones to at least gain an insight into a solution.  Their confidence may be due to another mystical property of the manuscript.  If one looks hard enough for evidence to make their preconceived hypothesis work, they will find some within its pages.  However, why such interest and debate over this old book?  Other than as a specimen of 600-year-old "folk art," what is the worth of a book no one can read?  Because the Voynich Manuscript still holds the promise of revealing secret knowledge that could help humanity, and it has always been extremely satisfying to discover that which has been lost. For more information on this episode, visit our website.

At the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, there is a book with the catalog call number, MS 408. It is one of the most examined and researched manuscripts to date because it is one of the most enigmatic documents ever discovered. It was purchased in 1912 at Villa Mondragone in Italy by an antiquities dealer named Wilfrid Voynich, and since there is no discernible title for the book, it is more commonly known as the Voynich Manuscript. The text is written on around 240 pages of vellum and is comprised of over 170,000 characters in the form of a code that no cryptographer has yet been able to decipher from a known language. Equally puzzling are the illustrations which accompany the writing. Most seem to be botanical in content but mostly show no identifiable plants. Along with the drawings of strange flora are diagrams of astrological charts and primitive caricatures of nude women in ceremonial displays. However, is the purpose of this manual merely medicinal or could its secrets be of a more magical instruction? And who could be the author of such a baffling work, one who thought its knowledge was so precious or dangerous enough that it needed to remain secret to all but the truly enlightened, or only to themselves? Until a solution to the Voynich Manuscript is found, it contends for the title of the most mysterious book in the world. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Podcasters share a special bond, and this is especially true of those engaged with the pursuit of covering stories about the paranormal and unimaginable events.  It is perhaps because we know our pursuit of the truth behind these ineffable events will take us beyond the fringes of belief and acceptance.  It leaves us and our subjects vulnerable.  But those that manage to tell these stories well have also managed to capture and relay the vulnerability and humanity and behind them.  Because without it, there is little context to our own lives and therefore little empathy or meaning, and they may well remain as nothing but improbable tales.  One such storyteller is tonight’s guest, Jim Perry.  Jim and his critically acclaimed audio documentary podcast Euphomet, have explored the strange and our relationship to it.  The result is an intimate and fascinating look at how these encounters affect us on a personal level.  Tonight we talk with Jim about the stories and his own experiences that have shaped his perspective and his show. For more information on this episode visit our website!

As we often say on the show, if you haven't had a strange, paranormal experience, it's likely someone you know has.  This happens to be the case with two college friends of Forrest, Dan Povenmire and Susan Lambert.  In the mid-1980s, Susan was working as a reporter for the student newspaper of The University of Southern California, The Daily Trojan.  She had asked Dan if he wanted to accompany her to an interview with a movie director.  They set out on a drive that should only have taken no more than 40 minutes to complete.  But upon arriving at the hotel where the director was giving interviews, learned that they were somehow almost two hours late.  This seeming impossibility has baffled Dan ever since and fueled a search for answers.  But to add to the mystery, this wouldn't be the only unexplainable experience of missing time, as the pair would encounter another episode during a subsequent car ride together.  And like with the first trip, each would remember a few odd sights during it that the other didn't recall.  While unexplainable disruptions in time are rare, many people have reported experiencing a disturbing wrinkle in the fabric of time which we trust should always be smooth.  Just what is going on when something so seemingly fixed and unalterable as the passage of time fluctuates?  In the latter portion of the show, writer, field researcher, and podcaster Micah Hanks joins us for a discussion on some possible theories as to what might be happening scientifically with the phenomenon of Missing Time. For more information on this episode visit our website!

We love to hate our villains as much as we love to love our heroes.  And many of us have a morbid fascination with some of history's most sinister characters, perhaps as a means of understanding the darkest aspects of human behavior.  But as is regularly the case, the truth behind the real nature and actions of historical figures we can only glean from the reporting of others in that age and often many years after.  Even official accounts are just a widely agreed upon set of assessments by a group of people, each with their own biases and personal opinions.  In other words, one person's villain can be another's hero, or at least grossly misunderstood.  In the case of Elizabeth Báthory, the authorities finally took action against one of their own, leveling upon her a judgment that could appear both lenient and harsh, but in either case, revealing an investigation that would forever brand her as one of the evilest people in antiquity with her name living on in infamy.  Whether or not the testimony against her had any truth to it at all or what the real motivation for her incarceration was, is still debated by historians and researchers.  What is clear is that misery, violence, and torture were part of the norm for her time.  Some would argue that the stories about her were exaggerations, and her deeds merely accepted practice by the aristocracy of the day.  But does normalcy justify a person's acts of any era?  Where is the unacceptable line of behavior, regardless of the epoch or social status?  History has judged Elizabeth Báthory. How will you? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Countess Elizabeth Báthory was a Hungarian noblewoman and one of the most wealthy and powerful aristocrats in eastern Europe during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.  Together with her husband Ferenc Nádasdy, a military hero known as the Black Knight of Hungary, Báthory held numerous estates, lands, and villages.  She also currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the most prolific female serial killer and most prolific murderer of the western world.  Báthory had been accused in the testimonies of over 300 witnesses and survivors of some of the most horrific tortures and murders imaginable before she was arrested, even by medieval standards.  Her victims were her maidservants and lesser noble protégés, all girls, with some as young as ten years old.  Years after her death, a legend had formed that Báthory had even routinely bathed in and possibly drank the blood of her virginal victims, believing that the pureblood had retained her beauty.  Some claim that Báthory's story became the partial inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula, along with her more famous sanguinary neighbor, Vlad the Impaler.  But were any of the accusations against Báthory true?  Was she merely a victim herself of a political and gender-biased conspiracy aimed at confiscating her riches and properties?  As we'll learn once again, the truth behind our legends is often shrouded in a fog of conjecture misting through a forest of unknowns.  Join us tonight as we examine the case of Elizabeth Báthory who, regardless of her actual guilt or innocence, will be forever known as, "The Blood Countess." For more information on this episode visit our website!

To really study the paranormal, any good researcher will tell you one must get out in the field to investigate the sightings, and that is especially true when it comes to cryptozoology.  This is precisely what our interview guest has done.  Lyle Blackburn is a full-time author, musician, and cryptid researcher from Texas, whose life-long fascination with legendary creatures has led him to write several acclaimed books, including Momo: The Strange Case of the Missouri Monster, The Beast of Boggy Creek, and Lizard Man.  Lyle is a frequent guest on radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM and has been featured on numerous television shows like Monsters and Mysteries in America, Finding Bigfoot, and Strange Evidence, as well as other programs airing on the Animal Planet, Destination America, Discovery Science, and A&E channels.  In addition, Lyle is a regular contributor for the monthly horror magazine, Rue Morgue.  Lyle can also be heard as the frontman for his rock band Ghoultown, along with narrating/producing several Small Town Monsters documentaries, including Terror in the Skies, Boggy Creek Monster, The Mothman of Point Pleasant, and Bray Road Beast.  When he’s not chasing cryptids and writing about them or performing with his band, Lyle can be found speaking at various cryptozoology conferences and horror conventions around the United States.  Tonight, we sit down with Lyle to discuss his books and his thoughts about some of the most chilling encounters with bizarre and frightening creatures ever reported. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Does some element of us exist after we die?  Is it possible that a message in a dire time of need could reach a loved one across vast distances without the aid of electronic or mechanical means, with a form of psychic energy either just before or after death?  Could our emotional spirit be so intense in a moment of crisis that it leaves an imprint or echo that can reverberate in the ether and be heard, seen or sensed again and again?  There have been many reported cases where this seems to have happened, and you may have seen such stories in the news or even have one from your own family.  Don't you wish scientists would study these examples in a search for answers to some of the most significant questions of all?  Well, some scientists are because this type of occurrence falls under the field of parapsychology and we're fortunate enough this evening to speak with Brandon Massullo.  Brandon is a clinical therapist and parapsychologist with graduate degrees in clinical counseling from the University of Toledo and psychological research methods from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK.  His research at the University of Edinburgh centered on neurobiological correlates of ghostly encounters, and he studied within the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of author and international lecturer, Dr. Caroline Watt.  Brandon has been fascinated by paranormal phenomena for 20 years and has been a participant and featured speaker in numerous paranormal forums and events.  Join us for a fascinating discussion of his research into the possibility that our cries, or at least some form of our being, may linger beyond our earthly existence. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Whether you believe in Bigfoot or not, the story of the Patterson-Gimlin film remains a superb example of the scientific investigation of an anomalous event that falls within the realm of the paranormal.  Other documentation of things like UFOs, ghosts, and other cryptids have come under close examination throughout the years, but little has been of such relative quality and few examples if any have been able to provide such relatable data to examine.  This relatability is due to the corporeality of the subject in the film.  Whether an unknown primate or a man in a suit, it seems it is something from the world of which we know.  Perhaps it’s not any data which is so troubling and debatable amongst the authorities, but the implications that data leads to if the film is authentic.  In any case, it is a film and an event which deserves full reconsideration.  Although of little value to scientists, another component worth considering is the personal experience, because it is that which gives the rest of us context.  As we wrap up this series with our conclusions, we were fortunate to talk with one of the two men who were there, Bob Gimlin.  Maybe character shouldn’t be considered when trying to determine the validity of this incident, but we can attest that Mr. Gimlin is as real and genuine a man as you’ll meet.  After decades of remaining silent about his role, we’re grateful he’s finally agreed to tell his story because he deserves to be heard. For more information on this episode visit our website!

There are a few researchers for whom the Patterson-Gimlin Film has sparked a life-long quest to analyze its mystery and the possibility of Sasquatch. Concerning the preservation of the actual film itself, no one has done more to secure its integrity than William “Bill” Munns. While the original 16mm Kodachrome Color-Reversal film shot by Roger Patterson has since gone missing, Munns built a mobile High Definition digital film scanner and with exclusive permission from Patterson’s widow Patricia, has painstakingly scanned every frame of her first generation copy at 5K resolution, even discovering an additional two frames at the beginning, making the total count 954 frames in total. Bill Munns has spent most of his long career in filmmaking and creating special makeup effects, starting as a makeup artist with Universal Studios in 1969. He created full body suits for fictional creatures such as “Swamp Thing” and “The Beastmaster,” and so he brings to the PGF controversy well-established expertise in the fabrication of various creature costumes. Munns also has spent the last 22 years doing computer graphics, which positioned him well to do the image analysis of the PGF film frames. So he is uniquely well-qualified to analyze evidence consisting of 16mm film, and showing what many suspect is just a human in a fur creature costume. Tonight we sit down with Bill Munns for an interview in which he discusses his process, analysis and his conclusions which lead him to believe the film to be authentic. For more information on this episode visit our website!

It's easy for the uninformed, casual observer to make a declaration on a website's Comments Section, but what do the experts think about the Patterson-Gimlin Film? If we look to science to provide answers about the subject in the PGF, then we should consider the evaluations of physical anthropologists who specialize in primate morphology and authorities in biomechanics and bipedal locomotion. Fortunately, the academics and costume professionals who did weigh in ignored the gossip about character and focused only on the film. Unfortunately, most of the scientific community wouldn't bother giving the film any consideration and those that were asked to, dismissed it outright after limited viewing with no careful examination. What's interesting is that the few scientists who did analyze the film thoroughly and gave a favorable conclusion did so with a detailed report, while those that were doubtful about its authenticity had more superficial observations or disagreements about the other scientists' findings. This is to say there doesn't appear to be a point-by-point scientific argument disproving the creature's existence. Perhaps the most widely acceptable objective scientific review is akin to anthropologist David J. Daegling's assessment, generalized as, although the film's subject is compelling, the possibility of a hoax cannot be ruled out. But if it is a hoax, then the film must show a human in a suit, which then leads to the question, how could such a convincing costume be fabricated, especially by a layman? For that answer, who better to ask than the professionals in that field, the Film and TV Special Effects creature creators? Please join us for the fourth installment of our series on the PGF as we hear from the experts. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Tonight, we have a special bonus episode for you, a commercial-free interview with a very talented writer, director, and performer who has actually worn a sophisticated ape-like costume for a Hollywood feature film and lived to tell about it. You may know Jorma Taccone from the wildly popular comedy trio, “The Lonely Island.” Along with Andy Samberg and Akiva Shaffer, the three have gone on to produce some of the most memorable and hilarious “Digital Shorts” for Saturday Night Live and their feature films, comedy albums and live performances have garnered them millions of fans. But what you may not know about Jorma is that he portrayed the loveably goofy primate-like character “Chaka” for the 2009 film “Land of the Lost,” inspired by the original 1974 children’s television series. While you might think hopping around in a monkey suit for a movie would be fun (certainly Jorma thought so at first) it turns out the hours-long, daily application of the Special Effects makeup was mind-numbingly tedious, and the performance while wearing it was physically grueling and exhausting. We’ll hear from Jorma about his experience with a professional, expensive, skin-tight costume, some funny anecdotes about shooting the movie, and his thoughts on the appearance of the creature from the Patterson-Gimlin Film. As many experts have stated, if the subject in the PGF was actually just a man in a costume, that costume was one of the best that’s ever been made. For more information on this episode visit our website!

When indirect evidence of an extraordinary event defies conclusive debunking, then the easier route for some critics is to attack the presenter of the evidence. Naturally and unfortunately, Roger Patterson's integrity and thus his credibility came under scrutiny and assault as a means of discrediting the film itself. Another common tendency in dealing with an incredible incident is to accept outright the allegations of a purported hoaxer or associate as a way of comfortably coping with a disturbing possibility which can then be safely set aside. In the case of the Patterson-Gimlin Film, there are two central claims that suit this purpose for those who doubt the film's authenticity. Bob Heironimus claimed he was the one who wore an ape suit for the film, given to him and made by Patterson. Philip Morris of Morris Costumes claimed he sold his standard gorilla costume to Patterson, who may have modified it for the filming. These assertions were enough for many to put the matter to rest, except one must consider that there are significant discrepancies between the details of the Heironimus and Morris stories, leading to an improbability that they were describing the same outfit. So, the question remains, between these three gentlemen, who do you believe, or rather, whose story is more comfortable for you to believe? For more information on this episode visit our website!

What if you had spent years searching for something elusive, something you believe existed that most didn't, and then one day you finally happened to capture it on film? What would be your immediate next steps if you wanted to present it to the world? In the days before instant media uploads to the internet, where would you take the film and who would you show it to first if you wanted to be taken seriously? Roger Patterson had thought he and Bob Gimlin had captured irrefutable proof of Bigfoot, next to bringing the beast itself out of the woods. Little could he realize that every action and claim going forward from that moment of filming would be analyzed and criticized for the rest of his life, in addition to his integrity. Whether out to prove authenticity or a perpetrate a hoax, in either case, the reaction to the film was predictable. From the few scientists who bothered to look, to the curious public, some believed, some scoffed, some didn't know what to think. What we know now from Patterson and Gimlin's story, is that indirect evidence is not enough for most, you need to produce a body, but even then there are those who will refuse to believe. What we also know is that for Patterson, and in turn Gimlin, providing this film as evidence turned out to be much more trouble than a benefit and much more than they bargained for. Realizing what these men went through, if you were to one-day capture extraordinary evidence, would you think twice about sharing it? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Skeptics and believers alike will always demand proof of paranormal claims. But what happens when extraordinary and therefore controversial evidence is offered? When it comes to one of the most popular and enduring legends of a cryptid, that of North America's Bigfoot or Sasquatch, we have an answer. On October 20, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were about ten days into a horseback trip near Bluff Creek, northwest of Orleans, CA. Patterson had heard of Bigfoot activity in the area and hoped to film some evidence with a 16mm motion picture camera. Around 1:30 p.m. that day, Patterson got his wish, and much more than he bargained for in the long run. As the pair rode around an upturned tree stump, they suddenly spotted what appeared to be a massive, ape-like beast quickly walking away from them. As Patterson struggled to free himself from his startled and fallen horse, he managed to start filming while running towards it, capturing almost one minute of an unexplainable creature who has since been affectionately nicknamed "Patty." What resulted was a film clip that has been scrutinized nearly as much as the Zapruder film and became the iconic image of what the public envisions when they think of Bigfoot. Attempts have been made to call into question Patterson's character and in turn, the likelihood that he would perpetrate a hoax of this encounter. But this tactic doesn't address the heart of the matter and answer the question, just what is that creature on the film? The Patterson-Gimlin film has never been satisfactorily debunked, which is why it is still hotly debated to this day. There are only two logical conclusions about the film itself: either it remains one of the greatest hoaxes of all time, or the film actually captured a Bigfoot. For more information on this episode visit our website!

As it is said with legends, when you separate the wheat from the chaff, there is often a kernel of truth in them. So what is the truth about Loftus Hall? Whether the Devil himself came to visit this prominent family who can say with certainty, but it seems accurate that the real Anne Tottenham suffered so great an instance of emotional trauma that it left her to wither in a catatonic state for the rest of her short life. There may even be proof that she remained seated for years, staring out the window of her favorite room, waiting for her bewitching love to return. What is also known is that some occult force had disturbed the family and staff of the house so greatly and frequently thereafter, that Protestant nobility had broken with fierce tradition to seek help from a local Catholic priest. The much-beloved Father Thomas Broaders was called upon to exorcize the demonic presence and was successful, mostly. What remains true today is that Loftus Hall is a grand attraction, scarred by its history and haunted by a love lost. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Loftus Hall is considered one of the most haunted residences in Ireland. But what made it that way? If you believe the local legend, it started when a mysterious stranger visited the Hall one dark and stormy night. During a game of cards, he would enchant the young mistress of the house. But with his true nature discovered, he would flee most violently and mystically, leaving the woman scarred for life. They would both routinely haunt the house since. If you believe the legend, then what drew the dark visitor to the Hall? Was it the fate of this noble family or could it have been the history of bloodshed on this land for a thousand years or more? Tonight, we examine the charmed, Irish history of Loftus Hall and the tale of a handsome devil who comes to call. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Most everyone familiar with the tragedy of Dyatlov Pass believes that whatever mysterious and strange event occurred, not all of the details have been shared by the Russian government. Tonight, we speak with Keith McCloskey, author of two books about the subject, "Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident" and "Journey to Dyatlov Pass: An Explanation of the Mystery" who has also traveled to the site for his research. We'll hear about his hypotheses and the current state of his efforts to petition the Russian courts to reexamine the case and declassify any previously unreleased information. We first spoke with Keith for our coverage on the Flannan Isles Lighthouse mystery and trust that he will bring the same diligent investigation and keen observations into solving this unfortunate riddle once and for all. For more information on this episode visit our website!

When people see horrific apparitions of a supernatural nature, what are they really seeing and what could be causing these images to appear? Could it be that the demons and terrors some people have witnessed sometimes come from a strange symptom of a rare medical condition? This seems to have been the case with tonight's guest, Sarah, who was seeing beings and elements more associated with demonic possession, a haunting or even a psychological disorder, rather than with a physiological illness. It might seem easy to say all supernatural occurrences are nothing but a byproduct of a medical ailment, but many people have also reported seeing and interacting with horrific specters similar to what Sarah was seeing, who have no medical issues. We are left to wonder then, on a case by case basis if seeing something supernatural is from a medical cause, a spiritual cause, or perhaps a combination of both. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Our legends and folklore must begin somewhere, and if not from the creative imagination of a single individual then perhaps they are born from the collective experiences of a particular group. While it is difficult to trace the exact nascency of certain legends, we may be able to get a clearer idea of where a specific mystical being came to be known, the gremlin. The British pilots and aircrew of the Royal Air Force during the WWI and WWII eras began to experience baffling and inexplicable problems with their aircraft and missions. Wires that appeared to have been chewed through, sand particles found in machinery where none should be, punctures and damage that was incomprehensible were just some of the numerous mysterious problems they encountered. But with no known cause, blame fell to the gremlin a mischievous goblin-like entity said to inhabit the skies and aerodromes of the RAF and who delighted in causing trouble for airmen. Although rationality would suggest the gremlin was an invention of highly-stressed personnel looking for a comical and morale-boosting scapegoat for their problems, there are reports from veterans who claim to have seen these destructive imps in action. If true, then we must wonder if the creature creates the legend or if the legend creates the creature. Join us as we examine the discovery of a 20th-century folktale which just may be related to the ancient Wee Folk of nature. For more information on this episode visit our website!

As we close this final chapter on the story of the Betz Sphere, we've all been given a rare and exclusive glimpse into what happens when an impossible object becomes known to the world. We've seen what can happen to a regular family that only sought to find answers about its purpose. We've seen how authorities and officials behave when they too are mystified about an item that most are satisfied to dismiss as discarded industrial junk; their public stance hiding personal and professional curiosity. We've seen how the news media tries to answer the questions we all have but falls short, leaving the real story untold and yet retold again and again with incorrect or incomplete information because that's all the public is allowed. Most importantly, we've all now seen inside this mystery but are once again reminded that when it comes to High Strangeness, the answers we receive we may not understand. In the end, what we can safely conclude is that the Betz Sphere may or may not have come from an alien world, but it was evidently created in a secret place the populace is not allowed to know. For more information on this episode visit our website!

82 years ago Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan vanished. Since then millions of dollars have been spent at the behest of countless researchers in an attempt to find her. In all of that time, only one of those researchers has found an aircraft. Our audience knows that researcher as Bill Snavely. He was a guest on our show back in May of 2018 and now he's back to report on what the team he assembled found on their first in-depth expedition to Buka. For more information on this episode visit our website!

For something that many would claim was just a misplaced piece of industrial equipment, the Betz Sphere attracted a lot of serious attention, some official, some dubious and some a bit of both. Despite the initial vague or dismissive statements from the US Navy and noted scientists such as Dr. J. Allen Hynek that were reported by the news media, they were determined to continue seeking answers from it. The interest didn't stop with our government either, as mysterious foreign agents had shown up and expressed a keen interest in obtaining the orb. Subterfuge, manipulation both social and scientific, a disproportionate offer of a large sum of money, and even a possibly related assault all seem like a lot of effort to obtain an old discarded valve ball. Never before seen photos of the sphere posted with this episode on all of our social media. For more information on this episode visit our website!

With every paranormal event or object, there are the questions of how did this happen or what was this thing? But the equally important issue is, how would this affect me? Because when something seemingly impossible happens, we have no context unless it had interaction with somebody. It becomes meaningful when we ponder the implications to our own human experience. As much as the Betz Sphere created a scientific mystery it also created a family story. Tonight, we're fortunate to present an exclusive interview with a member of the Betz family who was there to witness the entire ordeal and who has generously agreed to share their family story and set the record straight. Someone or something secretive created this sphere and while its operation and purpose remain unknown to the public, how it became known to the world and how that affected their lives is their story alone. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Sometimes people come into our lives that change everything. Sometimes that change can come from an object. In March of 1974, the Betz family of Fort George Island, Florida found such an object, while investigating their property for wildfire damage. It appeared to be a shiny steel ball, measuring 7.96 inches in diameter and weighing 21.34 pounds. Being a simple, yet so out-of-place item in the middle of nowhere, it caught the attention of the eldest Betz son Terry, who took it home as a souvenir. The family, and eventually the rest of the world, would soon learn that this was no ordinary metal ball. The sphere would demonstrate highly unusual properties, like rolling that would indicate self-guidance, vibrating and emitting high-pitched frequencies, and a strange magnetic quality. These actions would be witnessed not only by the family but by the military, scientists and news media, all eager to determine who made this thing and why. While most authorities would go on record as believing the sphere was human-made, all would admit that it was no doubt weird, and no group could come forward to claim it was positively theirs. In the end, it would not be the sphere so much that would change the lives of the Betz family, but the people who were interested in it. As one might expect, if you possess an item that breaks the laws of physics, some organizations will go to great lengths to acquire it. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Researchers have now documented thousands of personal accounts from Near-Death Experiencers. Logic would suggest that it's unlikely that all NDE stories are fabrications and that at least some of these experiences are real and accurately described. And if so, then examining the commonly experienced features of the NDE seem to indicate that these defining perceptions are universal, while remaining a uniquely relevant and personal occurrence to the individual. Most NDE experiencers have described sensations like being in a tunnel leading to a brilliant light, floating away from our bodies, reuniting with deceased friends and loved ones, of a peaceful and loving communion with a higher power, while some have described a hellish event. On the other hand, skeptics would argue that these features are standard because the human brain is the same for everyone. Some researchers have claimed to produce these sensations by external stimuli, such as electric current, extreme G-force, and psychoactive drugs, or conclude that these perceptions are merely scenes of a final movie played by a dying brain starved of oxygen. In the second part of our discussion of the Near-Death Experience with Richard Hatem, we discuss the points of this debate, and whether the skeptical viewpoint can fully explain the phenomenon or if it falls short of an explanation of the personal context of these experiences. At the heart of this debate is the question of whether consciousness is a product of the physical brain or if it can reside apart from the body. If consciousness exists independently of the brain and this could be scientifically proven, then the possibility of living beyond our physical world – the reality of an Afterlife, changes the debate and how we think about our own lives. Perhaps this is something that can never be proven, something we are not meant to know, but those that have gone through an NDE will tell you that it has changed them, usually for the better. To them, the NDE was a message, and whether a good or bad experience, it was a message of hope or a reminder that redemption is possible, and that a greater awareness awaits us. And what message could be better at the close of an old year and the beginning of a new one? For more information on this episode visit our website!

The question that every one of us has at least wondered about at some point in our lives, is not if UFOs and aliens exist, or where's Bigfoot, or even if ghosts are real (although that question is connected) but a question about the biggest mystery of all: "What happens to us after we die?" You may not care about the other unknowns, but death comes for us all, and whether or not there's an afterlife, we'll all know in due time. It's the grandest question there is, because it may lead to all other answers. Any evidence of an afterlife may seem beyond our view to most of us; however, there seems to be a great abundance of credible accounts from people who may have seen a glimpse of what awaits us on the Other Side. These people have either been in a state of "Clinical Death" or some unusual physical circumstance and upon recovering, claim to have experienced something known as a Near-Death Experience, or, an "NDE." Tonight, we sit down with our good friend, screenwriter Richard Hatem, who has studied the subject extensively, to discuss the fascinating and distinctive characteristics of the phenomenon. In Part One of our two-part series, we first look at the researchers, definitions and a few case studies of the NDE. Before you think you can dismiss these numerous anecdotes as coming only from a particular type of attention seeker, consider that these testimonies come from the believer, the agnostic and the atheistic alike, from people of all faiths and walks of life, with stories of striking similarity from every culture, and going back to when people first started dying. These Experiencers were all profoundly affected, their lives changed, and the commonalities of their experiences would suggest that this ultimate truth doesn't care what you believe, and indeed a reality beyond the one we know does exist. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The Horror Movie genre, like any other genre of cinema, has its classics and its forgotten, its masterpieces, and its failures. But while the highbrow, serious films enjoy praise or at least critical analysis from the intellectual set, lowbrow horror offerings are often ignored by the academic-minded critics and in many cases even despised. Not so from our guest tonight, pop-culture icon, author, performer, and movie reviewer, Joe Bob Briggs. Joe Bob (John Irving Bloom) has made a name and a storied career for himself, starting first as a newspaper journalist and then finding himself adopting the persona of "Joe Bob Briggs." Joe Bob is a Texas "good ol' boy" who watches B-grade (and much lower) horror movies with you and as your "Horror Host," has a lot of funny and thought-provoking things to say about them, as well as commenting on what they reveal about our culture. What Joe Bob has taught us, is that watching even the most schlocky of shock cinema doesn't have to be a guilty pleasure, because even films below the grade of A can also reflect who we are as a society, and like it or not, have their place. Joe Bob Briggs is the movie critic for the rest of us. For more information on this episode visit our website!

What we'd heard is that witnessing a single paranormal event can change one's life. What we know now is that this is true and often it happens when you're least expecting it. It also doesn't matter if the experiencer receives validation from others of their encounter because they don't need anyone to tell them what they experienced. On the other hand, we'd all like to share our stories with like-minded individuals, partly to gain some comfort in thinking that we've not gone insane and also to learn more about what happened to us. In that regard, tonight, in the final installment of our series on the Sallie House, we'll hear from our last two interviewees. First, Dr. Sean Daley, a professor of anthropology who has done extensive paranormal investigations at the Sallie House will discuss the overwhelming evidence he and his team have collected there. Next, we'll also hear from Taylor Pickman, whose parents Tony and Debra were on the receiving end of the most intense activity while living there. It appears that the house isn't done with them yet. Our experience at the Sallie House has been a milestone for us on this podcast, and whatever your feelings about this story, we hope that you'll continue this journey of exploration and understanding with us, with minds a little more open to the possibility of the impossible. For more information on this episode visit our website!

When it comes to the Paranormal and Supernatural, everyone wants proof.  And yet, not everyone can seem to agree on what would constitute this proof.  So what about evidence that might lead to proving the existence of a spirit world?  Well, not everyone can seem to agree on what is considered actual evidence either.  Since the invention of technologies like photography, and audio & video recording, there have been many purported instances of these recording capabilities capturing occurrences of a spectral world interacting with our own.  For many, this is still not enough.  We certainly didn't expect to get any evidence ourselves when we visited the Sallie House on July 20, 2018.  But now that we've captured something that at least could be considered anomalous with our audio recorder, we want to know exactly what it is and how it got there.  While we may never get a definitive answer as to what that sound is we captured, what we know is how hearing it made us feel.  We've also received a wide range of responses from listeners who have told us how hearing it themselves has affected them.  Some have perceived within the audio file a sense of rage, frustration, and sadness, and some merely regard it as random static.  Those perceptions have spurred their own emotional responses, ranging from fear and queasiness to even anger because some listeners can't accept it as anything but noise.  In some ways, it doesn't matter to us what that audio may be or if there are no words in it because a message was felt, loud and clear. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Belief is a very personal thing. Challenging beliefs can lead to war amongst nations or a war within one's self. Having to reconsider what we believe about our spirituality or lack thereof, can be a very disquieting exercise but often a fruitful one as it leads to growth. But what obligation does the believer have to convince the non-believer of their story? Does it matter if the believer doesn't care what you think? In a way, our egos and skepticism protect us from feeling the discomfort when considering the impossible, because if the impossible is possible and we're not in control of our world, then who, or what is? If an experience like what you might find at the Sallie House can change your beliefs and thus change who you are as a person, how would you handle it? If one day you're challenged to stand up for your beliefs, what will you do then? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Houses are supposed to be warm and inviting, friendly, a place where we can feel safe in their presence, just like people are supposed to be. But as much as we would like to hope all people are shining examples of those qualities, we know all too well some people are not, and it is the same with houses. Houses can have personalities, just like people, and sometimes those personalities are a spirit of joy and sometimes those personalities house a spirit of darkness and mystery. And then there are unique houses, like the one in Atchison, Kansas which has had so much reported supernatural activity within it, that it has become notorious for being the most haunted house in the most haunted town in Kansas. But is it the house itself or what passes through it and keeps returning that gives it its character? The house in question is known as the Sallie House, getting its name from the spirit of an eponymous little girl that is said to dwell there. Sometimes it is thought that Sallie plays harmless pranks on visitors and sometimes, something more sinister than pranks. While we may not know what goes on in the spirit realm, what seems to be true is that once you experience the spirit of a place, you can feel drawn to return, and in turn, that spirit may want to revisit you. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Most of the encounters with Bigfoot that you hear about seem benign, frightening to be sure, but more awkward and penumbral than violent. However, as we'll soon learn, that's not always the case. Our guest tonight is UFO and Paranormal Field Investigator Chuck Zukowski. For the past 30 years, Chuck has been researching and investigating a wide range of phenomena within the realm of the paranormal, everything from UFO evidence & abductions, to animal mutilations, ghosts, and of course, Bigfoot. Utilizing his background as a former Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the El Paso County, Colorado Sheriff’s Department, "Chuck approaches every investigation from a skeptical point of view looking for any known possibility before claiming otherwise. He also implements new and innovative field experiments from time to time to enhance his investigations looking for new evidence." Having appeared on numerous radio and television programs to discuss his findings, Chuck has cataloged an astounding variety of experiences. But apropos of the Spooky Season, you're going to hear about a few that are so terrifying you may never go back into the woods again. GRAPHIC VIOLENCE PORTRAYED. LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The folkloric traditions of Japan are as rich and vibrant as the country itself, and this is especially true with their pantheon of supernatural characters collectively known as Yokai. The word Yokai in Japanese comprises two concepts: "Yo," meaning: bewitching; attractive; calamity; and "kai," meaning "a mystery, wonder or specter; apparitions; something mysterious or suspicious." There are so many types of Yokai, each with their own unique personalities, functions, and behaviors that it's assured both of those concepts are well-represented. Some Yokai are merely mischievous pranksters and can bring good fortune to those that encounter them. Others will surely bring a most gruesome death. Join us tonight as we speak with illustrator and author Matthew Meyer, creator of Yokai.com, as we explore the endlessly fascinating world of some of Japan's most popular and terrifying mythical creatures. But don't let your guard down too much, because as it's often said, there is some truth to the origin of most myths and deadly spirits know no borders. GRAPHIC VIOLENCE PORTRAYED. LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED. For more information on this episode visit our website!

When you hear the name, "The Grim Reaper," a very familiar image probably pops into your head. With the black robe and cowl, skeletal face and hands or the visage of a dour corpse, a threatening scythe, and hourglass at its last sands, this is the image the modern, western person thinks of when we personify death. But where did this visual come from? How do we know what death looks like? And since death has always been with us, isn't this image as old as that finality itself? One might think so, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Surely since there have been humans, we have wondered what becomes of us once we die, where do we go when we shuffle off this mortal coil, and how do we get there? What we have found is that yes, we have always created myths and put a face on death in order to help comprehend such an abstract and mysterious concept, but that face has morphed through the ages and varies by culture. In the ancient western world, the concept of a Grim Reaper was more of a psychopomp, a guide that takes the freshly departed to their place in the afterlife. But since we have doubts nowadays when it comes to a more universally accepted idea of an afterlife, perhaps the notion of a ghastly specter that merely extinguishes our spark when our time has come is more relatable. And he's just a mythic character, right? A cartoon? Well not if you ask some folks who claimed to have seen him and lived to tell about it. Whatever the truth, in one sense, in the end, it doesn't matter if you believe at the moment of death that we are whisked away to another realm or it's just "lights out." As the saying goes, whether king or pauper, a Grim Reaper comes for us all. For more information on this episode visit our website!

You might not believe in ghosts, but it would be difficult to ignore all the furtive and orchestrated actions that were going on throughout the years at 30 East Drive, which continue to this day. Certainly, in some famous poltergeist cases, incidents could have been manipulated to gain attention for the prankster. However, unless you're contending that pre-teens have somehow gained Hollywood Special Effects level skills in every case, then some of the more bizarre and baffling examples of poltergeist activity would be worthy of investigation. Then what exactly, are the defining factors between a run-of-the-mill poltergeist and other types of spirit activity? Is a poltergeist more paranormal than supernatural? What are the rules? There are theories that poltergeist activity may be a physical manifestation of intensely directed energy emanating from people, mostly youth. As "fringe" as that may seem, then in some cases it might possibly be explained by science one day, that is, if enough scientists would be willing to endure the ridicule and ensuing damage to their reputations from their peers. However, the strange activity at 30 East Drive seems much more than that, not only because it continued long after the Pritchards left the house, but also because this energy appears to have a personality behind it, and there are indications that there's more than one spectral personality residing around the property. Whatever you think The Black Monk or "Fred" is, whether disembodied spirits or mischievous kids, this "Mr. Nobody" might not be anybody, but it sure seems like it's something. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Poltergeists are all fun & games, that is until they try to strangle you.  The actions of whatever force was interacting with the Pritchard family at 30 East Drive in Pontefract, England had seemed playful in a way, albeit disturbing and churlish at times.  It seemed there was a primary personality that was the source of the mischief they were experiencing and so consistent were its stunts that the family became familiar with this presence they called "Fred."  However, no one really knows what someone or something is capable of until it gets angry.  The family saw another side to Fred, or The Black Monk, when it violently attacked the daughter Diane Pritchard on the stairs, leaving red marks on her throat.  But was this the doings of their ol' gadfly pal Fred, or something much more sinister?  Join us tonight as we examine this escalation of poltergeist activity at the house and try to analyze this darker, malevolent nature of the Black Monk. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The quote, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days" is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. We assume the esteemed Mr. Franklin was speaking only of human guests, but it could also apply to the subject of tonight's show. Because the uninvited guest of 30 East Drive in Pontefract, England would prove to be more than an annoying visitor oblivious to hints or uncaring that they'd overstayed their welcome, it would show itself as a threat to the family's safety and sanity. In the mid-1960s and 70s, the Pritchard family who lived at that address experienced a visitor who was not only unwelcome but unseen, a capricious prankster whose sense of humor was offset by its sometimes vicious and violent power. Human beings have an astounding ability to endure hardships they are powerless against and eventually, this poltergeist presence came to be somewhat accepted, with the mother of the family, Jean, giving it the nickname "Fred." But what was this force in supernatural terms? Was Fred merely poltergeist energy in the general definition, a collective of entities, a demon, or the vengeful spirit of a condemned man? A local legend that a 16th century Cluniac Monk was tried and executed for a horrific crime on those grounds is the source for that last idea. Some have seen a dark, shadowy figure wearing a black monk's robe around the property and it has reinforced that notion. If that is the case, perhaps the Pritchards were the unwelcome visitors to the home of "The Black Monk."  For more information on this episode visit our website!

We met filmmaker Seth Breedlove at the Kent Stage for the 2018 Kent Paranormal Weekend symposium, where our first event was a screening of his film, The Mothman of Point Pleasant.  Needless to say, we were very impressed by his documentary on the subject and then later by Seth himself.  After a very pleasant chat in the lobby, we knew we had met a kindred spirit and had to get him on the show to discuss other works by his film production company, Small Town Monsters.  Tonight we discuss Seth's oeuvre of well-researched, fascinating and enjoyable documentaries, covering such topics as the Minerva Monster, the Beast of Whitehall, the Boggy Creek Monster, Mothman of Point Pleasant, Invasion on Chestnut Ridge, the Flatwoods Monster, and his latest, The Bray Road Beast, as well as several upcoming projects.  We'll find out what captivates him about each incident and the creatures at their centers, what it was like to actually explore these towns, and what he thinks might be happening with all this High Strangeness.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

Anyone who has experienced what is considered a paranormal event will tell you that it's not easy to tell others about what you had witnessed, especially if that experience was dramatic and significant.  Testimony about such things is often met with ridicule, scorn and sometimes violence by those who feel threatened by such challenges to their reality.  Therefore it takes no small amount of courage and resolution to tell your truth and stick to it.  Such are the qualities that we believe make up the mettle of tonight's guest, David "Dave" Davies.  Davies has had to endure bullying and beatings since he first described what he witnessed for himself and what his classmates had seen landing on the playground of the Broad Haven Primary School in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1977.  For the 40 years since that close encounter, Davies has stood by his story with conviction and without embellishment or wavering, still ever willing to talk about his experience.  In fact, the sighting had made such an impact on him that he's spent the intervening years in a quest to find an explanation for what he'd seen.  Join us tonight as we hear from an eye-witness to one of the most well-observed UFO cases in history, The Broad Haven School UFO incident. For more information on this episode visit our website!

So many popular culture misconceptions abound with stories of UFO sightings; that it's always some farmer, alone in his fields when an unidentified flying object appears. The "hayseed farmer" is an easy target to dismiss with ridicule and hubris. Sure, sometimes it is a farm, as it was in 1977 at the Coombs family farm in southern Wales, but it is far from the norm. And it wasn't a singular farmer who witnessed a UFO then, prominent townsfolk and a group of schoolchildren also saw bizarre craft and phenomena during a series of events that would become known as the Broad Haven incident. The Coombs family would also go on to experience High Strangeness that would rival the happenings at Skinwalker Ranch. If you still think that remote farms are still the most likely places for such incredible tales to emerge, you might be surprised that schoolyards also seem to be just as common for alien interactions, with notable cases happening all over the world, in countries like Australia, Zimbabwe, and Russia. Decades later, questions about these cases emerge: Were the goings on in Broadhaven, this "Flap," connected to the incident at Berwyn Mountain, three years prior? Does a "Welsh Triangle" exist? Why do otherworldly visitors want to communicate with our children? Is it because they are more likely to learn lessons we adults are too proud or stubborn to heed? Join us tonight as we examine these cases with a friend and fellow podcaster, Rob Kristofferson, host of Our Strange Skies, as we go in search of answers to these fascinating questions. For more information on this episode visit our website!

On January 23, 1974, villagers in the community of Llandrillo in the Edeirnion area of Denbighshire, northern Wales, experienced a tremendous jolt and noise a little after 8:30 p.m., akin to a magnitude 3.5 earthquake.  Highly strange, colored lights were seen over the surrounding hills at the same time.  Another unusual occurrence was that the British Military was immediately on the scene as if they were tracking the "geological event" in real time.  The official Ministry of Defence conclusion was that the event was caused by a simultaneous earthquake and meteor impact, with the meteor being the cause of the freakish light show.  However, a meteor impact that would cause a shock of that magnitude would have left a visible crater, which was not found.  And of course, there were reports by witnesses on the scene of the military carting off bodies and wreckage.  Does this sound familiar to you?  It did enough to some tabloid papers at the time who dubbed it, "The Roswelsh Incident."  What's your conclusion? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Many people enjoy a good mystery.  However, mysteries often leave us slightly disturbed and unsettled, because we're also always searching for answers and when we look for answers, we're sometimes comforted the most by the simplest explanations.  With the case of the Flannan Isle Lighthouse Keepers, most are willing to accept that a massive "Rogue Wave" swept the three men into oblivion.  But what if meteorological science matched against clues left from the scene could show that this theory may not be the most plausible?  What if several simple, yet extreme events combined to plunge this mystery into the depths of the unexplained?  Join us tonight as we interview Keith McCloskey, author of the book, The Lighthouse: The Mystery of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers.  We'll discuss his in-depth research into the case and the possibility that the simplest explanations, while the easiest to accept, are often not where the real truth lies submerged. For more information on this episode visit our website!

In 1899, construction on the Flannan Isles lighthouse was completed, perched atop Eilean Mòr, one of the highest points in the Outer Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It would soon experience its first tragedy and an enduring mystery. For several days, it's light could not be seen and on December 15, 1900, the ship Archtor documented this concern in its log while heading to port in Leith. However, 11 days would pass before the lighthouse tending ship Hesperus would be able to dock at Eilean Mòr due to foul weather, for which the area is well-known. What they discovered, or rather, didn't discover, would lead to one of the biggest mysteries of this enchanted region. Serious storm damage was evident on the island, but nothing seemed amiss inside the lighthouse itself except for the fact that the three lighthouse keepers had vanished and would never be seen again.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

Something or someone of great importance and influence had convinced and motivated these neolithic hunter-gatherers to put their way of life on hold and come together as a group to undertake such a tremendous project as Göbekli Tepe. This is likely the first time hundreds of prehistoric peoples had formed an organized collective in order to build a religious sanctuary. The work would've taken years to accomplish and the temple would be built upon for many centuries more. The result of this work is believed to have spurred civilization as we know it today. But what beliefs or legends could have generated such a monumental task?  In Part Three of our series, we examine the hypotheses put forth in Andrew Collins' book, Göbekli Tepe, Genesis of the Gods: The Temple of the Watchers and the Discovery of Eden. With his comprehensive and detailed research, Collins goes beyond the boundaries of interpretation where Processual archaeologists would not stray. Could the memory of a global, natural catastrophe which nearly wiped out humanity be the impetus for creating a shrine to assuage the gods into sparing them more devastation? Could the builders have been directed by foreign and mysterious visitors who seemed to have knowledge of the heavens and history far beyond their own? If they did indeed fear destruction from the cosmos, then a connection from them to us could be made, because we're subject to those very same dangers.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

What we've learned so far about Göbekli Tepe, is what it appears to be, which is that it is possibly the world's oldest sacred temple.  We think we know who built it: a collective of hunter-gatherers, who had not yet learned the skills of farming.  We also think we know approximately when.  But the answers to the questions of how and why and what did it all mean to these Neolithic peoples may not be so easily obtained.  In fact, since the 1960s at least in American archaeology, a debate still rages as to how far and by what methods archaeologists should proceed to interpret what they have dug up.  How closely should archaeology be tied to anthropology, how much informed speculation about their beliefs should be allowed and by whom?  Processual and Post-processual archaeology are two schools of thought within the field that currently define this debate.   Tonight we take a closer look at the art, the architecture, and the symbolism from Göbelki Tepe, and what it's lead archaeologist, Klaus Schmidt, thought about what it may have represented to our prehistoric ancestors.  We also get closer to an even grander question, did these ancient peoples know of events in earth's past that would blow our modern minds?  For more information on this episode visit our website!

In 1963, archaeologists from the University of Chicago and Istanbul University examined a site known by locals as Göbekli Tepe, or "Potbelly Hill."  They dismissed the site at the time as merely a medieval cemetery due to the numerous slabs of stone thought to be grave markers.  However, in 1993, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, who was doing work at another Neolithic site in nearby Nevalı Çori, heard about the report and decided to investigate it for himself.  What Schmidt and his team would eventually discover would turn out to be one of the most astounding, mysterious and important archaeological discoveries in history.  Laying just below the surface was the earliest known sanctuary structure ever built by humans.  Somehow, a group of prehistoric hunter-gathers had managed to quarry massive slabs of stone from nearby outcroppings, some weighing as much as 7 to 10 tons with lengths of up to 18 feet.  They then moved them hundreds of feet into numerous circular configurations.  This was done without the use of wheels or animals and before the invention of metalworking, pottery or writing.  The earliest works found at the site date to over 11,000 years old, or around 9600 B.C., predating Stonehenge by at least 7000 years.  While we may not know yet what belief system would motivate these ancient, primitive peoples to undertake such a monumental task, the result of their unbelievable efforts may have led to a ground-breaking theory.  Instead of the previous view that the invention of the domestication of plants and animals led humans to develop civilization and with it, religious belief systems, the human desire to worship as a community may have led to farming and thus sparked civilization.  As researchers are still seeking answers as to what these people believed, there are those that think the answers may be far more mystical than what many are willing to imagine. For more information on this episode visit our website!

One of the highlights of our appearance at the Kent Paranormal Weekend was participating in our very first Ghost Hunt!  The event took place at the Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio which was first built in 1927 and since then has continued to host concerts, films, and various performances.  The theater is also host to a cast of characters who were once somehow connected to this historic theater and whose spirits remain there.  We explored the most haunted areas of the theater and tried our hand at documenting spirit activity, guided by experienced paranormal investigators Theresa Argie & Cathi Weber, known as The Haunted Housewives, Ray "Gooz" Goosby, Jeff and Susie from the North Canton Paranormal Detectives team, and theater owner Richelle Charlton.  One of the techniques we tried is trying to capture an "EVP" or an instance of Electronic Voice Phenomena, which some claim could be evidence of communication with the spirit world.  Electronic Voice Phenomenon are said to occur when a question is asked aloud in a haunted location, or even unprompted, and what sounds like a reply is heard in an audio recording.  Believe what you may, we're convinced this hunt captured something, and that when you call out into the void, you might get an answer.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

Of all the hypotheses of what happened to Amelia Earhart and her Electra 10-E, William "Bill" Snavely, Jr.'s may be the only one that starts with a found plane and traces her route backward towards her last known contact point. Operating on a hunch that due to low fuel, Earhart may have decided to turn back to a viable landing strip, which would have taken her directly over the path of Buka Island, east of Papua New Guinea. While in Buka searching for clues, Snavely received a tip that an airplane had crashed in 1937 and still lays submerged off the coast in 100' of water. According to Snavely, only roughly 30% of Earhart's route has been searched and has yielded nothing, so why not search the remaining 70%? Taking that approach has found a plane that so far, matches the description of Earhart's Electra. If an expedition could be mounted to identify this plane more thoroughly, could it be that one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th Century will be solved once and for all? For more information on this episode visit our website!

If Resurrection Mary is just an Urban Legend, merely another variation of the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" then her story is a common one, with similar descriptions found in folklore all over the world. If she is a spirit, then she's also not alone, because it seems people of every country have come forward with testimony of meeting a real "Lady in White." If these ladies are a myth, or if they're real, or some combination of both, why are they so universally elemental? Why is she so primal? Do we see her because of the folklore, or is there folklore because we've seen her? But whether spirits or an archetypal legend, what these women are eternally searching for is something lost, like a child or a future taken away too soon. What they want is to return to a happier time when all was right with their world, to return home, wherever and whatever that home may be, so they may finally rest in peace.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

How many reported sightings of a particular ghost would it take before you started to believe that perhaps people were indeed interacting with something supernatural? Hundreds? Over a thousand? But you're looking for proof, you say. Well, what would be convincing proof for you? What about mysterious, spectral handprints melted and scorched into bronze bars that have resisted repair and coverup? Tonight in Part Three of our series, we examine the possibility that Mary may have left her indelible mark not only on the front gates of Resurrection Cemetery but also in the imaginations of Chicagoans ever since.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

As you delve into the legend of "Resurrection Mary," you'll soon notice that the stretch of Archer Avenue from Resurrection Cemetery to the Willowbrook Ballroom is not the only piece of land that seems haunted, nor is it haunted just by "Mary."  It seems the entire locality has a supernatural quality to it, enough that Chicago's "Southwest Siders" have dubbed it "The Archer Triangle," in reference to the more famous one near Bermuda.  But what is it about this region that spurs so many reports of paranormal activity?  Is it the legacy of ancient Native American activity, the numerous cemeteries located here, or Ley lines and waterways?  Is it all an imagined coincidence or is there a more sinister force at play?  Tonight, we take a more thorough look at Mary's favorite haunts and examine why the spirits of the area appear to be so restless. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Legend has it, that sometime in the late 1920s or early '30s, a young couple was enjoying an evening of dancing at the Oh Henry Ballroom, later renamed the Willowbrook Ballroom & Banquets, located southwest of Chicago, IL. After an argument, the woman stormed out, deciding she'd rather walk home than spend another minute with her boyfriend. As she walked along Archer Avenue on a wintery night, she was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. Her bereaved parents buried her at nearby Resurrection Cemetery in the white ballgown and shoes in which she died. Ever since, people have reported either dancing with or giving a ride to a hauntingly beautiful young woman, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a white gown, who at some point vanishes from their midst. Accounts of these spectral encounters have been so numerous over the years that the legend of "Resurrection Mary" is perhaps Chicago's most famous and beloved ghost story.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

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As we wrap up our 100th episode celebration with "ARCapalooza! Part 2" we'd like to thank the terrific people who have come together to form the Astonishing Research Corps for their efforts, friendship, and sharing their personal stories, demonstrating their generosity and a fair amount of bravery. We'd also like to thank another crucial member of this project, and that is you, our listeners. We're astounded, humbled, and most importantly grateful for the support you've shown with your continued listenership. It's why we keep going. We've always meant for this podcast to feel less like a lecture and more like a conversation between friends who share an interest in fascinating topics. With that spirit in mind, we hope you continue to feel like a part of this group of friends and a cherished member of the team. And now on to the next 100 episodes! For more information on this episode visit our website!

Since it's no mystery that we can blather and prattle on for hours upon hours, it should come as no surprise that we ran long on Part One of our ARCapalooza 100th Episode Celebration!  The result is this commercial-free, Bonus Episode, where lead A.R.C. researcher Tess Pfeifle poses questions to us submitted by listeners.  We hope you enjoy this candid discussion where we talk about everything from our thoughts on show topics to producing the podcast. For more information on this episode visit our website!

This podcast wouldn't be as complete or as much fun to work on if it wasn't for the help of a special group of volunteer contributors, collectively known as the Astonishing Research Corps, or ARC for short, who have now become good friends as well as valued collaborators. So we figured it would be fitting to salute their efforts on our celebratory 100th episode by having some of the ARC's founding members tell their own strange and mysterious tales. We hope you find their stories entertaining and engaging, which we believe also serve to reinforce an Astonishing Legends adage, that if you personally haven't had an encounter with the paranormal, you probably know someone who has. For more information on this episode visit our website!

So, what have we learned about giants? Our current understanding of human biology finds limits as to how tall a person can grow and can still be relatively healthy while enjoying an advanced age. This knowledge then places limits as to what the majority are willing to believe about the tallest humans throughout all history, that no one could have existed beyond 8 to 10 feet tall at the most. In the still-nascent field of archeology in the 19th century, excavations do seem to provide accounts of unusually large individuals in Europe and significant numbers of taller than average Native American tribal members here in the U.S., so perhaps whole communities could have been seen as giants by contemporary standards. However, there are those researchers and writers who believe, possibly spurred by those findings and the subsequent, apparent mishandling of artifacts by some museums and academic institutions, that there exists a conspiracy to keep evidence of beings beyond that range from the public, and that the even more massive giants of yore were real, and some may even live to this day. If this is true, then one must think about our definition of a real giant, and would that giant be a real human? For more information on this episode visit our website!

What constitutes a "giant" in your mind? Certainly, people who are 6 to 7 feet tall are commonplace nowadays, unlike the Middle Ages, or even a hundred years ago. But what about someone who's seven feet tall or more? We may call them "giants" in jest, but it's not the same as when we think of the giants in our legends. A measurement of more than seven feet is rare, but there are plenty of healthy people living today in that range that prove it's not so legendary by our contemporary imagination. Rarer still is a human that's eight feet tall, but there has been one in recent history: Robert Pershing Wadlow stood 8' 11.1" tall (2.72 m) and weighed 490 pounds (220 kg) and showed no signs of stopping his growth at his untimely death in 1940 at age 22. So it's possible that a height for a human can approach nine feet, but could any height beyond that be sustainable? Because taller than that and it seems we venture beyond not only what is biologically viable for the human body, but also what is believable. It still leaves us with the question, "What makes a giant?" And if a skeleton is unearthed that appears to have horns? Well, that is another matter altogether.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

Please join us for a special, commercial-free BONUS episode featuring an interview with senior Astonishing Legends Research Corps member, Chemical Engineer and newly appointed Director of Research for MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, Dr. Chris Cogswell, Ph.D. We originally interviewed Chris for our of Imminent Disclosure? Part 2 episode, but felt this congratulatory announcement and interesting discussion deserved its own segment. Chris explains how MUFON operates, what its aims are, and how through solid, scientific methodology they may continue and deepen this quest to find the truth behind the strangeness many of us are seeing in our skies. If you're interested in joining this adventure, you can use the Coupon Code JOIN25 to receive 25% OFF a One Year Basic Level Membership worth $60. If you're a scientist or academic researcher, contact Chris at directorresearch@mufon.com to discuss collaborating with them with a Full Access Membership. Not only is Chris trying to help find the "Truth Out There," but he has his own show called the Mad Scientist Podcast along with his co-host and ARC "O.G." Marie Mayhew. For more information on this episode visit our website!

It's easy to imagine a version of ourselves that's gargantuan, magical, a hero that often plays the villain, a giant among the ordinary. Legends of giants doing as they please have been with us since the beginning and continue to fascinate us in cinema and sport. The idea of a giant is easy to entertain because either through genetics or rare disorders, extra-large humans have naturally lived throughout our existence. The idea that's not easy for the modern person to imagine, aside from a singular Goliath-like demigod here n' there, is the possibility of a race of giants having once existed, tribes of superhumans whose feats and physicality filled us with fear and wonder in antiquity. Yet with these tall tales being so pervasive worldwide, could it be that communities of giants were real or was it merely that the occasional taller than average human became the inspiration for myth? Join us tonight as we explore the mystery of legendary giants. For more information on this episode visit our website!

How "credible" does an eye-witness have to be before their account of an Unidentified Flying Object is taken seriously?  Whom would you think is the most credible sort of witness for this type of impossible craft, aside from the beings or forces that made them?  How about an elite jet fighter pilot from the US Navy, highly trained to identify every known aerial threat – known to a conventional military, of course.  Tonight, we sit down again for Part Two with our friend Rob Kristofferson, from the Our Strange Skies podcast to discuss in detail the eye-witness report and related consequences of David Fravor, USN Ret., former Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron VFA-41, who along with his Weapons Systems Officer Lt. Cmdr. Jim Slaight engaged a target that behaved like nothing they could imagine.  After hearing about Fravor's account, you just might start to believe that "Secret Machines" do indeed exist... and your next thought will be, "...well then, who, or what is controlling them?"  Get ready for some "Soft Disclosure" everyone. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The term "Disclosure" in the UFO community generally refers to the long-awaited event when the government, specifically the U.S. Government, finally tells the world that UFOs exist, along with everything they know about extraterrestrials, or so enthusiasts of the topic would hope. While we wouldn't suggest holding your breath until "Full Disclosure" happens, there has been an interesting, recent development worth noting. On December 17, 2017, the New York Times published a curious article titled, "Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program." Apart from the mild surprise that such a serious publication as the New York Times would bother running with any story that would give consideration to such a "preposterous" idea as UFOs being real, is the bigger surprise that from 2007 until 2012, $22 million dollars of U.S. taxpayer money was spent annually on something called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. Although funding for this program officially ceased in 2012, it was also revealed that the program still exists and continues to investigate credible reports of possible UFO encounters. Join us tonight as we sit down with friend, collaborator and fellow podcaster Rob Kristofferson, host of his own show called Our Strange Skies as we discuss the significance of a major revelation that there is a serious military effort to investigate what many believe is Science Fiction, but what some "in the know" think may be a threat against which we have no defense. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Like so many cryptid mysteries, what one realizes is that the deeper you search for the answer of what the creature might be, you find what it represents is so much more than just a singular beast. Such was the discovery of tonight's guest, Professor Daniel C. Taylor, PhD., author of Yeti: The Ecology of a Mystery. Dr. Taylor has spent 60 years of his life on a quest to solve the mystery of the Yeti, and that process has ultimately led to the foundation of a worldwide network and university dedicated to preserving not only the culture and ecology of the Himalayan region and beyond but it has also become a force for social change and preservation in other sensitive areas of the planet. But, if you just want to know if the Yeti is real or a legend, then consider the words of Dr. Taylor: "a legend doesn't leave footprints." The Yeti's prominence in the daily life of the peoples who inhabit the Himalayas makes it very real, and not just in a spiritual and cultural context. If you believe the Yeti exists, but just want to know what it is, you'll find that the question is lacking and that the answer indeed has more to do with the ecology of a mystery. For more information on this episode visit our website!

You've heard the eye-witness accounts of encounters with the Yeti, but can you believe them? The DNA of supposed Yeti "evidence" has been tested, and it's hard to argue those results, but how do we know those bits were really from a Yeti as locals know it? And speaking of what the locals know, the western world likes to take one answer and apply it to many questions, while the eastern world knows that there can be several answers to a question. The locals also know what they saw when it comes to the question of the Yeti, and if they are right, and we combine that with the results from the scientific analysis, could there then be several correct answers as to what a "Yeti" really is? For more information on this episode visit our website!

On November 8, 1951, noted mountaineer and adventurer Eric Shipton and Dr. Michael Ward were on an expedition to find an alternate route to ascend Mount Everest.  At approximately 17,500 feet and exploring a glacier near an Everest basecamp they came across a set of massive footprints that shouldn't have been there.  The only possible known creatures that they thought could have left such crisp footprints in the snow at that altitude were humans, bears or yaks, and they didn't look exactly like any of those to them, but more like a strange unknown barefooted hominoid.  Their Sherpa guides, however, knew exactly what had left those footprints, the legendary Yeti, known to the indigenous peoples of the region for at least hundreds of years, and was both feared and revered.  Shipton set the head of his ice ax next to the track, which measured about a foot long and 5" wide, and took a picture.  This photo, coming from such a well-regarded explorer, would help to forever leave an imprint in the collective imagination of the western world. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Join us tonight as we sit down with Chris Williamson, the project creator of Chasing Earhart. Chris, along with his wife Vanessa and their dedicated team of researchers and producers, has created a podcast and are working on a documentary all about legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart: her life, her persona, her fateful last flight and the controversy that surrounds her legacy. The result is that Chasing Earhart has rapidly become one of the definitive repositories of information and interviews of the authorities who continue to devote their lives to solving her disappearance. In our interview with Chris, we discuss the major researchers, their theories, and current investigations which aim to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th Century.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

Whether you choose to think of Black Eyed Kids as demonic entities or just unaccompanied children out by themselves late at night with full-sclera Contacts trying to scare people, one thing our research and the research of those who have written extensively on the subject has concluded, this is not just an internet hoax, no matter what you keep telling yourself.  Perhaps the only proof of their authenticity is also something that is unquantifiable: a deep down, primal fear upon meeting them that is so profound it is unrelatable and incomprehensible to those who have not experienced it.  In other words, when the real thing comes for you, you'll know.  Maybe, in the end, you don't believe any of the accounts of these encounters, or you choose to believe it's simply a misidentification leading to an exaggeration of unease.  That's fine.  Whatever you need to tell yourself to get to sleep.  But maybe one day you'll hear that late-night knock at your own door, and you'll wonder just what kind of evil awaits you on the other side. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The accounts of encounters with Black Eyed Kids vary with their observable details, except for two main factors: their dead, black eyes which you see and can never forget and the feeling of utter horror and doom which you will continue to feel every time you think about them. If the eyes truly are "windows to the soul" then these entities have no soul, or that soul resides in hell. Remember that the next time you hear a knock and think it's just a harmless kid or two, and all they want is some Halloween candy, or to use your phone, or a ride, or to come in and warm up, because what they will take is something you literally can't live without. For more information on this episode visit our website!

First, there's a knock. A very persistent knock, at your door, at your car window. Or maybe they stop you on a walk, on your way somewhere, when you're alone. They're just kids, right? And who doesn't want to help out kids in need? Except that these aren't like any kids you've met before. They're not like any humans you've ever met before, because what humans have you seen that have completely all-black eyes and fill you with an inexplicable dread? These kids don't want money (that's what humans want) and they really don't need to use your phone, even though that's what they mostly ask for. No. What they want is to get in. Into your house, into your car, into your space, to be near you. But, they need your permission first. Why? What are the rules? And what do they want when they get in? What they want is the only thing you possess of any real value – your soul.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

Folklore can simply be described as beliefs, customs or legends handed down and preserved among a people. Some believe they are merely made up tales designed to entertain, while others believe folklore may be based on truths that have been gilded over the years by the oral tradition, yet their truth survives as valuable instruction or even a warning. Whether the legend of the Bell Witch was based on a real poltergeist event with the details being accurately preserved, or somewhat true but padded for effect, or wholly a lie spun to cover more humanly misdeeds, we'll likely never know. But before you dismiss the Bell Witch story outright, first think about your own family's stories or even how your own true tales you've told will be perceived through the lenses of bias and time. Will you be remembered as a faithful narrator or a liar? The purported entity called "Kate" may have left her legend behind for later generations to make that judgment but there are many who live in the area today that claim something may still be lingering. So before you bravely disrespect the legend of whatever it may have been, remember there is nowhere you can hide from a force that will gleefully visit misfortune upon you to make its point. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Every family has their stories passed down from generation to generation, but most aren't as fantastical or have made as much of an impact on regional history as the legend of the Bell Witch. From about 1817 to 1821 in the Red River Community, now known as Adams, Tennessee, some sort of supernatural entity known as the "Bell Witch" was claimed to have terrorized the family of John Bell. The activity was not just confined to the Bells, but many in the area at the time reported instances of poltergeist annoyances like slapping and pinching that then progressed to pranks and premonition, then to beatings and even murder. If the story of the Bell Witch is just a family's "tall tale" then it's one of the most fascinating and enduring family legends in American history. If the Bell folklore is even remotely true, then the consideration of trying to keep your own family safe from an omniscient, deceitful, vengeful and violent entity that wants you dead, surely makes for one of the most frightening tales ever told. For more information on this episode visit our website!

There are two connected, yet distinct traditions of weirdness concerning Houska Castle: its mysterious, violent and spotty history of purpose and ownership, and the reported sightings of horrific creatures and terrifying specters since its founding. Regarding the castle's originally intended design; whether it was really built to keep something from escaping rather than defense from outside forces, the lack of any definitive or comprehensive historical records will only lead to debate and speculation. However, those that have been inside the walls of this fortress and others in the region will tell you that Houska's architecture clearly doesn't seem to fit with the standard intentions. Regarding the encounters with frightening phantoms, if you believe places can be haunted, Houska Castle seems to be just that.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

The descriptor "Hell Hole" can currently describe anything from your first apartment to the workplace you dread, but where do we get that term? Ages ago, could there have been a hole that people believed led straight to the depths of hell itself? There are several sites in our world that could lay claim to that title, where the "veil" to the underworld seems a little "thin," but a historically solid contender would no doubt be Houska Castle, about 40 miles north of Prague in the Czech Republic. Tales of demonic beasts issuing forth from the chasm and visiting violence upon villagers and ghastly specters scaring those who roam the castle grounds have been known since the Middle Ages to the present, but what of the edifice itself? No matter what you believe about the folklore, what can't be denied is that the castle was not built for the usual reasons – instead of a fortification to keep people out, it was built to keep things in. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Tonight's show is... well... we don't know what it is, frankly.  What we can tell you is that friend and screenwriter Richard Hatem stopped by the Astonishing Legends studio, we ordered pizzas, made more than a few "Dirty Martinis" (at Rich's resolute insistence, which he then sent back several times to the bar until they met with his exacting and cruel satisfaction) and talked with great ardor and exuberance about everything paranormal and supernatural from the sublime to the silly, and apparently, this is the result.  Oh, and we eventually talk about the recent spate of Moth-Owl-Bat-Man sightings in the Chicago, IL metropolitan area, which was the primary reason for inviting him over in the first place.  For those of you who can embrace a rollicking discourse as a fresh change of pace, please enjoy.  For those of you expecting more conventional and disciplined fare, please accept our apologies.  ; ) For more information on this episode visit our website!

It's easy to dismiss the entire Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter as the booze-fueled fantasy of a bunch of backward hicks who can't tell the difference between a goblin and an owl, or maybe you think it was an outrageous hoax perpetrated for cash. But before you begin telling people what they saw, or make assumptions based on character or class, just remember: unless you were there, you weren't there. These people didn't ask for this incident to happen to them, and they especially didn't ask for the notoriety or ridicule that followed. What the authorities at the time believed, and what many skeptics agree on in hindsight, is that the Sutton and Taylor families were genuinely terrified of something real, and yet even the most seasoned paranormal researcher can't definitively say by what or by whom. So maybe your educated reasoning doesn't allow for the possibility of otherworldly creatures? Well, that's fine, it's a natural human desire to make sense of the impossibilities of our strange world with rationalizations that we can comfortably live with. But as you do so, keep one more thing in mind: you can spend years or a whole lifetime developing and refining your rationale for disbelief, but it only takes one undeniable, paranormal experience to make you a believer. For more information on this episode visit our website!

In Part Two of our series on the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter, we analyze the elements of the Sutton and Taylor families' story. Is the tale that ended up in the media what actually happened or were certain descriptions exaggerated to make the story more sensational in order to sell newspapers? Perhaps some details were misreported due to anxiety, faulty memories and the phenomenon of the "Telephone Game?" Or was it all a hoax and for what gain? What we find is that the story in its original and accurate telling is so bizarre, any further embellishment would be pointless and believe it or not, that's the story the families stuck to, which only serves to add more mystery to an already mysterious world.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

The 1950s was awash with incredible UFO sightings and purported alien encounters, but the Kelly-Hopkinsville Incident remains a highlight for the field of Ufology.  The report was significant not only because of the long duration of the event and a large number of witnesses but also because the frightening contact sparked a one-sided gun battle.  On the evening of Sunday, August 21, 1955, one of the occupants of the Sutton farmhouse, in the unincorporated area of Kelly north of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, reported seeing a saucer-like craft land a short distance away in a gully to the rear of the property. Moments later, the two families staying there claimed that a number of "strange little men" approached the house and peered through the windows, and one even tugged the hair of Billy Ray Taylor, the man who had first seen the craft land.  Understandably bewildered and fearing for their lives, Taylor, and another adult male, "Lucky" Sutton, fired round after round at the unwanted visitors from close range, all to little effect.  After about four hours of this awkward alien interaction, the families saw their chance to escape and rushed to police headquarters to get help.  The unusually large police response which resulted in a flurry of sensational news reports for years to come would cast this incident as one of the most bizarre and intriguing "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" ever to be included in UFO lore. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Was Anneliese Michel truly possessed by demonic forces, or was she suffering from a more earthly psychological affliction such as an extreme case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Scrupulosity, epilepsy, PTSD or Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis? Tonight we examine this case from the solely scientific, clinical angle with our interview of Dr. Jennifer Sy, Ph.D. of the Houston OCD Program. Dr. Sy is a licensed clinical psychologist with training in cognitive-behavioral treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. She received a BA in Cognitive Science from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and her MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Wyoming. She has published on cognitive/behavioral mechanisms and exposure-based treatment of social anxiety, specific phobias, and panic. In the end, however, even with a diagnosis that seems to cover many of her symptoms, those who allow themselves to consider possibilities beyond flesh and blood may wonder if the truth of Anneliese Michel will remain forever hidden between the worlds of the natural and the supernatural. For more information on this episode visit our website!

When considering the answer to the question, "Who or what was responsible for the death of Anneliese Michel?" as with all mysteries it is best to consider every opinion, especially an informed one.  Tonight we interview Father John Duffey, author of the book, Lessons Learned: The Anneliese Michel Exorcism: The Implementation of a Safe and Thorough Examination, Determination, and Exorcism of Demonic Possession.  Father Duffey is a former priest for the New American Catholic Church and Chaplain for the American Legion and has been researching and investigating incidents of suspected demonic and other spiritual activity since 1999, and researching matters of human behavior and anthropology since 2002.  Father Duffey has formal training and experience in military law enforcement and anti-terrorism intelligence operations, general psychology, cultural anthropology, parapsychology, theology, and counseling.  He holds a degree in psychology from Auburn University (Honors) and will soon complete a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Wake Forest University. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The legal systems of Western societies have no place for, nor consideration of, the offenses of the spiritual world. Neither does the spirit world have regard for the laws of men. These factors make the case of the death of Anneliese Michel so fascinating, so compelling, so confounding and ultimately so tragic, that it remains one of the benchmark legal cases for determining negligent culpability in purported cases demonic possession. Anneliese was a German girl who was known in life for being very intelligent, shy, kind, generous and pious, but will always be known in death as an unfortunate soul who experienced a deteriorating malady so mysterious and devastating she ultimately succumbed to starvation. But who, or what, is to blame? Was it the severe affliction of an extreme case of epilepsy or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder having gone untreated, or was it the detestable work of the Devil himself? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Southern New Jersey is steeped in the legend of The Jersey Devil, with the eponymous rascal inspiring everything from the names of businesses to stickers and T-shirts for tourists.  But as one "South Jersey" native has informed us, The Pine Barrens themselves may be nothing like what outsiders envision, with most of it being "lush, green and beautiful" and a joy to explore.  Also, maybe almost no one from the area believes the myth themselves.  However, it seems in the case of the legend of Jersey Devil – there are two distinct yet connected phenomenal elements at play: the ye olde myth, and the otherworldly thing that more than a few people swear they've encountered.  So what do you say to them?  Are you sure all they saw or heard was an owl, a stray African bat, a mutant goat havin' a laugh, or that good ol' well-worn chestnut the Sandhill Crane?  Because now these accounts become much like any other testimony of the paranormal; those who have not experienced it probably won't believe it, but those that have can never forget it. For more information on this episode visit our website!

They say if you meet someone from New Jersey, Pennsylvania or New York, you don't ask them if they've heard of the "Jersey Devil," you ask them if they've had some kind of encounter with it. The legend of the curious cryptid is so prolific, they've no doubt heard of it, and if they've spent any time near the Pine Barrens of "The Garden State," more often than not you'll find they've experienced some evidence of the beast, or know someone who has. Folklorists say that there are more than 30 variations of the legend, but the main origin story of New Jersey's own "Official Demon" goes all the way back to 1735, and a Mrs. Leeds of Galloway, NJ, who upon a difficult delivery of her 13th child, exclaimed it might as well be a devil – which, if the tale is to be believed, you should never do. Since then, the story has been so popular that the idea of The Jersey Devil has made its way into movies, television, and video games, and is even the inspiration for the name of New Jersey's National Hockey League team. But why has this tale endured for at least 282 years? Is it because somehow the legend is just so fantastic that people can't forget it? Or is it because, as so many residents throughout the years have claimed, from New Jersey's eastern shores, through the mysterious Pine Barrens all the way to western Pennsylvania, something really is out there? For more information on this episode visit our website!

Most of us go on about our lives, enjoying the predictable routine of family, work, and if we're lucky, a little bit of leisure. Usually, nothing too out of the ordinary happens from day to day, and although it may seem dull, we forget it's also comforting. But if you're Orfeo Angelucci – aerospace worker, family man, thoughtful but average citizen, one day you get contacted by a race of advanced, extraterrestrial beings that reveal to you the secret of the universe, your purpose here, and the task ahead that would change his life forever. This was the incredible claim in Angelucci's book, The Secret of the Saucers, which tells the story of his contact with a pair of kind, ethereal entities, who want him to share their message of peace and love for the human race. But these warm greetings came with a warning: that we must change our harmful ways or else suffer the fate of the world that came before us. Spreading this message caused no small amount of ridicule and hardship for Orfeo and his family, but as the legends tell us, being a messenger to the world can be a blessing but also a curse and the challenge requires courage. Join us tonight as Rich Hatem returns to discuss Angelucci's wondrous story. Whether you choose to believe Orfeo or dismiss it all as a fanciful daydream, it's hard to deny that the message for Earth has real beauty in its truth. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Tonight we have a conversation with screenwriter and producer Richard Hatem, known for such Motion Picture and Television projects as The Mothman Prophecies, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Grimm, Damien, Supernatural, Witches of East End, The Gates and many, many others.  We discuss with Rich his approach to adapting John Keel's book, The Mothman Prophecies for the Big Screen, the larger concepts surrounding the events, his life-long interest in the paranormal and supernatural, as well as a lot of other cool stuff.   For more information on this episode visit our website!

BACKGROUND: The logging town of Pere Cheney, Michigan once showed a lot of promise as a place where hardworking men and women of the late 19th century could raise a family — that is until two epidemics of diphtheria and devastating fires reduced it to a ghost town. And if you believe the accounts of some visitors to the nearby cemetery, Pere Cheney's tragic fate doomed it to be an actual town of ghosts; the playful ghosts of the children who fell victim to the disease. But who's to blame for the sad ending of this once thriving village? Surely something, or someone, must be the cause of the town's bad luck, and if you believe the local legends, that someone was a witch who cursed it right before she was hanged and buried in that very cemetery. Or maybe she was burned? Or maybe it wasn't a witch at all, but a banished unwed mother who cursed the lot of it just the same? Whatever legend you choose to believe, whether the cemetery of Pere Cheney is a playground of the damned or no more spooky than your average graveyard, those that have felt its chill can tell you that it only takes a little bit of haunting to put the fear in you. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The case of Henry Plummer represents the gray area between due process and necessary action, depending on whether you view a rise in criminal activity as a matter for the justice system no matter how lacking, or local imperium no matter how brutal.  In an interview with Frederick Allen, author of A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes, we discuss his initial interest in the story, the motivations of the people involved, and the debate their actions spurred, then and now. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The dual nature of Henry Plummer's character would leave us questioning his legacy and the legitimacy of his ending.  Was he simply an honest lawman reluctantly entangled in the rougher aspects of frontier justice or a downright robber and murderer with a badge?  There are authors who believe he was solely one or the other but there also seems to be ample circumstantial evidence that he was likely some combination of both.  The problem of determining his guilt or innocence, set against the backdrop of a nascent legal structure for the American West, would stir a debate that we continue to struggle with today.  When it comes to the protection of our families and communities, what measures are we willing to accept to ensure our safety?  When does crime prevention and the ad hoc adjudication of those in authority become a miscarriage of justice?  Where is the line between the precepts of our more mature legal system and common sense and what measurement should guide our conscience to determine when a line has been crossed?  We all want what's fair in light of our personal convictions, but like every condemned man, all Sheriff Henry Plummer wanted was a little more time. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Henry Plummer was like so many young men who ventured into the frontier of mid-nineteenth century America; full of a spirit of adventure and eager to make their fortunes in the gold fields of the Old West.  Handsome, charismatic and ambitious, Plummer soon went from trying his hand at prospecting to a career in law enforcement and was even encouraged to enter California politics by his supporters.  Plummer's successes, however, were tainted by his foibles as it was noted that his evening activities sometimes put the wild in "Wild West."  A move to Bannack, Montana, and election as sheriff of the area promised to restore his career and reputation.  This fresh start at the bottom of Plummer's pan would prove to be just a flash, as the townsfolk would soon suspect his connection to the robberies and murders allegedly committed by a gang of Road Agents who came to be known as "The Innocents" and many speculated he might even have been the mastermind behind the purported crime wave.  But was Plummer actually guilty, or just guilty by association and a victim of circumstance and mob mentality?  Whatever the truth of the matter, Sheriff Henry Plummer eventually found himself at the end of his rope. For more information on this episode visit our website!

Despite what you may see in today's eye-catching, "Clickbait" internet headlines, so few mysteries are ever really "Solved!"  But what if we could get an image, an impression, a hint of a location even, some kind of clue as to what happened with some of the great mysteries of our world?  There might be a way.  We were fortunate enough to interview Remote Viewing instructor Lori Williams and one of her most gifted Viewers, Jed Bendix, who had some interesting insights into the last moments and possible final destination of Flight 19.  Of course, there are those who may scoff at Remote Viewing, relegating it to the outbox of the impossible along with anything associated with ESP, but the CIA and US Military didn't, spending 20 million dollars over 20 years to research and develop the technique.  No one may fully know why Remote Viewing works, but it's hard not to be astounded with some of the methodology's results.  In the end, however, for some, it doesn't matter what results are obtained if one doesn't believe the method to obtain them is possible. For more information on this episode visit our website!

The timeline of events leading up to the disappearance of Flight 19 suggest, as with so many tragedies, that it was not just one mistake responsible for the ultimate loss of 27 airmen, but a series of minor miscommunications and faltering.  This is perhaps due to the ordinary and routine nature of the training mission, one that was not far from home base and one that wasn't supposed to go so wrong.  But how could a seasoned flight instructor with combat experience and around 2500 hours of flying time to his credit become so disoriented, especially one who was familiar with the region?  Why couldn't a simple navigational error be corrected amongst the 5 pilots and crewmen?  Was there a general feeling of overconfidence in eventually correcting their course, or was there some unknown environmental force acting upon them, one that is suspected of the area?  We'll never know the answers to these questions, but what seems to be their most likely fate is that they finally ran out of fuel and ditched into the ocean.  However, we've discovered that the results of an imaging technique may provide a clue that this flight has a much more mysterious resting place than we can understand. For more information on this episode visit our website!

BACKGROUND At approximately 6:00 p.m. on 5 December 1945, an HF/DF signal fix was obtained for Flight 19, placing its location somewhere within a 100-mile radius off the east coast of Florida, but that would be the last trace of the squadron's existence.  It wouldn't be the last tragedy of this story.  Around 7:27 p.m., two Martin Mariner rescue planes were launched from NAS Banana River, FL to conduct a search.  Three minutes later, one of the planes, PBM-5 "Squadron Training No. 49" would send its "out report" over the radio, but it too would never be heard from again.  About 20 minutes later, a tanker cruising in the area, the SS Gaines Mills would report seeing an apparent explosion, with flames leaping 100 feet high and lasting for 10 minutes in the vicinity of where PBM-5 should have been.  The ship would search for survivors or floating wreckage but would find only a pool of oil and it is believed all 13 crew members aboard PBM-5 perished in that explosion.  At least with PBM-5, there is a likely explanation of their fate but with Flight 19, to this day there is none to be had.  The lingering question may sound simplistic, but it can be put before every speculative answer ranging from the commonplace to the paranormal -- "Where did they go?" Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: SQUARESPACE - It's what we used to make this cool looking website you're looking at right now!  Go to squarespace.com and use the promo code "LEGENDS" at checkout for 10% off any website subscription or domain purchase. Audible - Audible is a leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment on the Internet.  Just go to audible.com/AL to get your choice of any audiobook for FREE with a 30-day trial membership. The Great Courses Plus: Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of FREE, UNLIMITED access OR just take out your phone and text the word LEGENDS to the number 86329.  To get the reply text, standard message and data rates apply. Harry's - Get a close, comfortable shave that's convenient and affordable. Go to harrys.com/alp to get their most popular Trial Set for FREE when you sign up.  Just pay a small fee for shipping. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 66 - "Flight 19 (Part 2)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

BACKGROUND The fate of a US Naval training flight, designated as “Flight 19” remains one of the American military’s most enduring mysteries, but also one of the signature stories from the legendary region known as “The Bermuda Triangle.” On December 5, 1945, a squadron of five Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers departed Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 2:10 p.m. on what should have been a routine overwater navigation training exercise. After successfully completing their practice bombing runs and some course change maneuvers, the formation radioed that they were not sure of their location or heading. Several hours later it was clear that the squadron was lost and their situation was dire. Flight instructor Lt. Charles Taylor, USN would make his last transmission around this time and it would be the last he and his 13 airmen would ever be heard from again. A rescue operation was launched, but it too would suffer a terrible tragedy. Was this merely a series of unfortunate but explainable errors and Flight 19 simply fell victim to the natural danger of the sea, or would they be claimed by the purported treachery of the Bermuda Triangle? SURVEY! Please help us keep the show FREE! Go to podcast.study NOW and take this anonymous 5 minute survey. We're begging you! SPECIAL OFFERS FROM OUR SPECIAL SPONSORS: Blue Apron: Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to receive 3 MEALS FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING! The Great Courses Plus: Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of FREE, UNLIMITED access OR just take out your phone and text the word LEGENDS to the number 86329. To get the reply text, standard message and data rates apply. Please visit Podcast.study and take this 5 minute survey! It will help us keep the lights on! For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 65 - "Flight 19 (Part 1)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

BACKGROUND We know that Distance = Rate x Time but when one of the variables of that equation is altered beyond reason by some unimaginable force of nature, the result can challenge what we think we know about the natural world. This was the experience of pilot Bruce Gernon, who believes he encountered a rare, yet natural phenomenon during a routine flight from Andros Island in the Bahamas to Palm Beach, Florida. Minutes after taking off from Andros (which also happens to be located within the legendary “Bermuda Triangle”). Gernon, along with his father who was acting as co-pilot and navigator and another passenger who was their business partner, found themselves rapidly being enveloped in a strange and powerful storm. A bizarre tunnel of clouds chased and formed around them, and by all objective and rational observations, appears to have warped spacetime itself. Gernon would later write about his theory of the experience calling the phenomenon, “Electronic Fog.” Could a severe weather anomaly be the cause of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, or is there a greater supernatural force causing the extreme weather? For more information on this episode visit our website! Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access OR just take out your phone and text the word LEGENDS to 86329. To get the reply text, standard message and data rates apply. Make your next move in simple yet elegant website design with Squarespace. Go to Squarespace.com and use PROMO CODE - "LEGENDS" for 10% off any website subscription or domain purchase Find and hire the right people fast by posting to 200+ job sites and Social Media networks with ZipRecruiter. Go to ZipRecruiter.com/LEGENDS to post your job for FREE! The Dark Myths Collective Credits: Episode 64 - "Electronic Fog" Produced by Scott Philbrook& Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Background The mystery of “The Nazi Bell” or “Die Glocke” is only surpassed by its reported potential. The Germans had the knowledge to build an atomic weapon in Otto Hahn, the chemist who first split the uranium nucleus in 1938. The next year the Nazis had control of Europe’s only source of uranium ore when they acquired the mine at Joachimsthal while invading the rest of Czechoslovakia. But was The Bell a device to aid them in enriching uranium-238? Many researchers of The Bell believe it was it’s own research project and given an even higher Top Secret classification than their atomic weapons program. When Germany surrendered in 1945, it was evident they were not able to bring their atomic weapon development to a successful conclusion, but was this because they were much more focused on creating a machine that would be a far greater solution to their goal of world domination, and did they fully know what they were dealing with? The glimpse inside Pandora’s Box is always both wondrous and deadly. Of the many questions surrounding The Bell, the two most important remain: If it exists today, where is it? And if it’s still being researched, could it, like uranium, change the world as we know it? NOTE: Due to inconsistent character length restrictions across multiple podcast aggregator platforms, we are no longer publishing show note links with our actual audio files. However you will still be able to find all of them as well as pictures at our website as we move forward. Future postings will contain 1 direct link to the show page. For the reason there's not one with this posting, see the next paragraph. Our new website should roll out some time this weekend! So if you go to our website and don't see the posting for this episode, give us a day or two as we transition to our brand new Squarespace website! Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: 1) Try a Harry's shaving trial set for FREE! Just cover the shipping. Go to Harrys.com, enter code LEGENDS at checkout. 2) The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of FREE, UNLIMITED ACCESS to over 500 courses and 8000+ lectures on a wide range of subjects. 3) Make Your Next Move in simple yet elegant website design with Squarespace. Go to Squarespace.com and use PROMO CODE - "LEGENDS" for 10% off any website subscription or domain purchase For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 63 - "The Count of Saint Germain, Part 3" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved.

In August of 1997, Polish journalist, military historian, researcher and author, Igor Witkowski claims to have been shown classified prisoner interrogation transcripts of German SS General Jakob Sporrenberg by a Polish Intelligence agent. What Witkowski discovered seemed to be official evacuation protocols for a secret Nazi research project concerning a device named “Die Glocke” which he referred to as, “The Nazi Bell.” Given the highest top secret classification by the German WWII military of “Krieg Entscheidend” or “War Decisive” the Nazi Bell appears to have been a machine designed to produce nuclear energy or weaponry or become an engine for anti-gravity Field Propulsion, but with some startling, uncontrollable and lethal side-effects such as the disruption of the space-time continuum. Witkowski’s findings led him to write a seminal book on the subject, Prawda o Wunderwaffe or “The Truth About the Wonder Weapon” published in 2000. This, in turn, has led authors like Nick Cook and Dr. Joseph P. Farrell to expand on the subject in their own respective books. Tonight we speak with Igor Witkowski to discuss how he came about his research on The Nazi Bell, what he thinks it might have been capable of, and finally a hint as to what it might still become. Tonight's Quote: “It was classified from the very start as decisive for the war, and supposedly the most secret research project carried out during the entire war in Germany.”  —Igor Witkowski, Polish journalist, military historian, researcher and author on the role of the "Nazi Bell" in World War II Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Truth About The Wunderwaffe by Igor Witkowski http://a.co/30s9meC The Hunt for Zero Point: Inside the Classified World of Antigravity Technology by Nick Cook http://a.co/cisrU1y The SS Brotherhood of the Bell: Nasa's Nazis, JFK, And Majic-12 by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell http://a.co/gw8pGlb Hitler's Suppressed and Still-Secret Weapons, Science and Technology by Henry Stevens http://a.co/3fBBDcg "Die Glocke" on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2lBHQnt What is Zero-Point Energy? Let Wikipedia explain it. http://bit.ly/2lUnGJC Wormholes - in astrophysics http://bit.ly/1kK0J6s Field Propulsion http://bit.ly/2lX5aNC Mystery of "The Flytrap" - YouTube documentary: http://bit.ly/2kSM2ze Interview with Dr. Joseph P. Farrell on The Paranormal Podcast #91, by Jim Harold "Nazis and the Bell" http://bit.ly/2lgE2sS Secrets of the Nazi Bell with Tim Ventura and Dr. Joseph Farrell http://bit.ly/2lX909b Die Glocke - The Nazi Bell on Unsolved Mysteries of the World blog http://bit.ly/2lt8G4h The Nazi Bell on Me Time for the Mind http://bit.ly/2l4x1gc Nazi Bell Uncovered - Behind the Myth http://bit.ly/2m6rvHM Above Top Secret Forum - Nazi Bell Debunked? http://bit.ly/2m6AcSr Jeff Rense on Die Glocke http://bit.ly/2lglGs8 Uranium - Twisting the Dragon’s Tail PBS documentary, Part 1 of 2 http://bit.ly/2ltYEjG Operation Paperclip http://bit.ly/1mmEG31 Operation Epsilon http://bit.ly/2lUujvz Alsos Mission http://bit.ly/2kSXbzT Operation Big http://bit.ly/2lUtkLV Operation Harborage http://bit.ly/2lu1qWk Walter Gerlach http://bit.ly/2ltSkJc Wernher von Braun http://bit.ly/1JKgp2g Jakob Sporrenberg http://bit.ly/2ltWZuK Hans Kammler http://bit.ly/2kyAoxm Martin Bormann http://bit.ly/2m6ALM3 Heinrich Müller http://bit.ly/2ltR3lx Heinrich Himmler http://bit.ly/1DLxbyL Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Make your next move in simple yet elegant website design with Squarespace. Go to Squarespace.com and use PROMO CODE - "LEGENDS" for 10% off any website subscription or domain purchase Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING Find and hire the right people fast by posting to 200+ job sites and Social Media networks with ZipRecruiter. Go to ZipRecruiter.com/LEGENDS to post your job for FREE!  The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of FREE, UNLIMITED ACCESS to over 500 courses and 8000+ lectures on a wide range of subjects. The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 62 - "The Nazi Bell" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Sound Editing by Sarah Vorhees; Sound Design byRyan McCullough; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

There seems to be no doubt that the Count of Saint Germain existed, but how did he exist and for how long? There are levels to the incredulity of his story. It seems unlikely that one individual could possess so many varied talents, but the Count's most unlikely talent was living into his 80s while still looking to be in his 50s. If you're willing to go even further and believe the accounts of some of his contemporaries, then the Count was over 100 years old and lived well into the 19th century. Impossible you say? Then you might have even more trouble believing what many of those who had studied under him and some that continue to study his life believe, that the Count may have been hundreds or even thousands of years old, knew the ancient wisdom and secrets of life, and practiced the lost arts known only to the most enlightened beings. Whatever you choose to believe, a strong argument could be made that in his time and long after, he was actually the real 'most interesting man in the world'. Tonight's Quote: “He was, perhaps, one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived. The friend of humanity, wishing for money only that he might give to the poor, a friend to animals, his heart was concerned only with the happiness of others.”  — Prince Charles of Hesse-Cassel on the Count of Saint Germain from his book, Mémoires de Mon Temps Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Jessie Desmond's Finding Count St. Germain blog http://bit.ly/2j9GX5p Direct to: Travis J. Dow & Pete Collman's History of Alchemy podcast http://bit.ly/2jym9Fe Travis J. Dow's collection of podcasts on Podcastnik, with Pete Collman http://www.podcastnik.com/ Get Kevin Pollak's/The Count's book, How I Slept My Way to the Middle: Secrets And Stories From Stage, Screen, And Interwebs http://a.co/cz6ZQNZ Is the fantastic American actor and comedian Kevin Pollak The Count? Now we know! http://bit.ly/2iLrbRq Petter Amundsen and Erlend Loe: The Seven Steps to Mercy: with Shakespeare's Key to the Oak Island Templum http://a.co/5Z5XHQQ "The Real Doctor Who" excerpt from Tom Sleman's Mysteries of History and other works http://bit.ly/2kDewfO Thomas Sleman's book, Strange but True: Mysterious and Bizarre People, Who Were They and Where Did They Go http://a.co/d8ZQoBz Other books by Thomas Sleman http://amzn.to/2kbPqZi The Wandering Jew http://bit.ly/1WroKB4 Rabbi Isaac Luria, the father of contemporary Kabbalah http://bit.ly/2jz3Zob Kabbalah http://bit.ly/2jfBBZH The Tree of Life or the 10 Sephirot in Jewish Kabbalah http://bit.ly/2jzbHyx Theosophy http://bit.ly/2hgNZEE PDF of St. Germain's Most Holy Trinosophia http://bit.ly/2kcef6w PDF of St. Germain's Triangle Book http://bit.ly/2kcnJi3 Grimoire http://bit.ly/2joGWt0 Staff of Moses http://bit.ly/2kDuIOf The Invisibles: A History of Rosicrucians and How Elites Gained Knowledge... http://bit.ly/2kcoYxL Francis Bacon, The Count, the Supernova of 1604 and the 800 year spiritual cycle http://bit.ly/2kDLQrj Theosophy and Saint Germain on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2kdfp28 The Alchemy Web Bookshop http://bit.ly/2jfqqQK Ascended Master http://bit.ly/2imoeXb Rosicrucianism http://bit.ly/2jOiTbp Rosicrucian Trilogy: Modern Translations of the Three Founding Documents http://a.co/8PFlqR2 The alchemy website on levity.com http://bit.ly/2kbMCvs Alchemy on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2j9Bdc3 Prince Charles "Karl" of Hesse-Kassel http://bit.ly/2iLJ9Dh Franz Friedrich Anton Mesmer http://bit.ly/2jeO93t Paracelsus http://bit.ly/1dcj74e Giacomo Casanova http://bit.ly/2kDnZng Count Alessandro di Cagliostro http://bit.ly/2kCEUKS Affair of the Diamond Necklace http://bit.ly/2kcxn4p Madame Helena Blavatsky http://bit.ly/2ctFtmq Sirhan Sirhan http://bit.ly/2kDWpuc Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy http://bit.ly/2jfF4aK The Woman in the Polka Dot Dress http://bit.ly/2kwLEXl The Manchurian Candidate http://bit.ly/1Q5k39J Manly Palmer Hall http://bit.ly/2jGssW5 Edgar Cayce http://bit.ly/2k2DTbT Henry Steel Olcott http://bit.ly/2kdk7g9 Christian Rosenkreuz http://bit.ly/2kwQmVh Rudolph Steiner http://bit.ly/2957tHK Guy Ballard http://bit.ly/2kcPdUP Jiddu Krishnamurti http://bit.ly/1XbVhsP Elizabeth Clare Prophet http://bit.ly/2kdnlQW Frank Abagnale http://bit.ly/2kDS8qG Six Degrees of Separation http://bit.ly/1dtXYlJ David Hampton http://bit.ly/2jfCpOh Alan Conway - Colour Me Kubrick http://bit.ly/2joKTxD The Dread Pirate Roberts http://bit.ly/2kcJRci Age of Aquarius http://bit.ly/2jzfAUa Age of Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In from the musical, HAIR http://bit.ly/2k2va9r "Monatomic Gold" or "White Powder Gold" http://bit.ly/2kcoRT8 Some more claims of White Powder Gold http://bit.ly/2jyXP7H Discussion Group on David Hudson and White Powder Gold http://bit.ly/2jfD7eD The website for writer, researcher and "Alternative Historian" Laurence Gardner http://www.graal.co.uk/ Laurence Gardner on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2jGXH3F The Elixir of Life http://bit.ly/2ka0Cle The Philosopher's Stone http://bit.ly/2iLkr5U The Count of St. Germain, on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2jtpbK6 Saint Germain at the Theosophy Trust Memorial Library http://bit.ly/2kD1fUo The Polish Rider - did the Count sit for this possible Rembrandt? http://bit.ly/2kDBQ11 Iona Miller's website: The Triangle Book of St. Germain http://trianglebook.weebly.com/ The Count: The Adventures of St. Germain (fictional movie draft based on his lore) http://bit.ly/2kDF4Sg Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Try a Harry's shaving set for FREE! Just cover the shipping. Go to Harrys.com, enter code LEGENDS at checkout to also receive a FREE Post Shave Balm The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 8000+ lectures on a wide range of subjects Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING Critical Mass: The Young Adult Cancer Alliance - Text the word "CRITICAL" to 82623 to make a difference to an adolescent or young adult with cancer. Data rates may apply. The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 60 - "The Count of Saint Germain, Part 3" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

If you wished you could do all the things the Count of Saint Germain could do, meet all the people he had met, and learn all the secrets of life he seemed to possess, and on top of it all, have several lifetimes to employ your skills, what then? The question is, what would you do with these gifts? Would you be content to merely be the life of the party, or would you try and make a difference in the affairs of nations and enlighten humanity, even if it cost you your freedom or your once immortal life? Depending on your answer, the bigger question might be, does it take the right person to seek the mysteries, or do the mysteries seek the right person? Tonight's Quote: “I thought, with all due respect to Madame la Comtesse, that the devil had long since made a mantle out of the skin of this personage.”  — Madame d’Adhemar’s maid, as she explained that the Count of Saint Germain was waiting to see her. From d’Adhemar’s book, “Souvenirs de la Marie Antoinette” published in 1836. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Jessie Desmond's Timeline of the Count's appearances on her blog, Finding Count St. Germain http://bit.ly/2jhyNas Extraordinary savant, Daniel Tammett http://bit.ly/2jhuoEt The Oldest People in the World http://bit.ly/2ka0FgS Emma Morano, last person alive born in 1800s, turns 117 http://bit.ly/2ka1XIx Travis J. Dow's collection of podcasts on Podcastnik, with Pete Collman http://www.podcastnik.com/ Direct to: Travis J. Dow & Pete Collman's History of Alchemy podcast http://bit.ly/2jym9Fe Jessie Desmond's Finding Count St. Germain blog http://bit.ly/2j9GX5p The Elixir of Life http://bit.ly/2ka0Cle The Philosopher's Stone http://bit.ly/2iLkr5U The Count of St. Germain, on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2jtpbK6 Is the fantastic American actor and comedian Kevin Pollak The Count? - He kinda looks like him! http://bit.ly/2iLrbRq François-Marie Arouet, the man known as Voltaire http://bit.ly/1L0hapB The alchemy website on levity.com http://bit.ly/2kbMCvs Alchemy on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2j9Bdc3 Thomas Sleman's book, Strange but True: Mysterious and Bizarre People, Who Were They and Where Did They Go http://a.co/d8ZQoBz Other books by Thomas Sleman http://amzn.to/2kbPqZi Jacobite rising of 1745 http://bit.ly/2j4iY9B Major-General, Lord Robert Clive, aka "Clive of India" http://bit.ly/2ka14A2 Seven Years' War on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1Mm2WCo The Seven Years' War on The History Channel http://bit.ly/1LF0QLj Prince Charles "Karl" of Hesse-Kassel http://bit.ly/2iLJ9Dh Rosicrucianism on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2jOiTbp Étienne François, duc de Choiseul http://bit.ly/2ka4oea Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp http://bit.ly/2jhvuQR Catherine the Great http://bit.ly/1qaT3gM Biography of Catherine II, aka Catherine the Great http://bit.ly/1ELdg0B Peter III of Russia http://bit.ly/2jhAWmp Hotel de Ville, Paris http://bit.ly/1RW2U0W Napoleon III http://bit.ly/1FIvTFD Francis Rákóczi II, possible father of The Count of St. Germain? http://bit.ly/2jhwT9X The Bilderberg Group http://bit.ly/1N4LbqD Bilderberg Meetings' official website http://bilderbergmeetings.org/ Bohemian Grove http://bit.ly/1HZRwBF List of Bohemian Club members http://bit.ly/2ahiw5U Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge http://bit.ly/2iLFg16 The Ambrose Bierce Project http://bit.ly/1uoJBkH PBS Documentary: Uranium - Twisting the Dragon's Tail http://to.pbs.org/2jII66j Manhattan Project http://bit.ly/1K0ca3P Harry Shearer's film, Teddy Bear's Picnic http://imdb.to/2kahsQG Casebook on the Men In Black, by Jim Keith http://bit.ly/2jXmXmT Vlad III, aka "Vlad the Impaler" or "Vlad Dracula" http://bit.ly/1nkAxP0 Principality of Wallachia http://bit.ly/2j4sF7I Zuul the Gatekeeper, from Ghostbusters http://bit.ly/2jJgtdK Have Scientists Found a Way to Actually Reduce the Effects of Aging? http://bit.ly/2jXd4W1 Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 8000 lectures on a wide range of subjects Start 2017 off right for your business by getting the right people hired. Post jobs for free at ZipRecruiter.com/legends Critical Mass: The Young Adult Cancer Alliance - Text the word "CRITICAL" to 82623 to make a difference to an adolescent or young adult with cancer. Data rates may apply. The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 059 - "The Count of Saint Germain, Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

Who's the most interesting person you've ever met? Can they play a musical instrument? Do they speak a foreign language? Are they a fine art painter? Have they traveled the world? Are they descended from royalty? Sure, maybe only a couple of those. But what if they were a concert level violinist who could also compose music? What if they could speak ten languages or more? What if it seemed they could produce precious gemstones and on top of that, were a military tactician who brokered diplomacy between nations? Impossible you say, for all of these talents and accomplishments to be contained within one individual? And yet all of these are the qualities and accomplishments claimed to be witnessed by the contemporaries of the man known mostly as the Count of Saint Germain. He was known by many names and for his many remarkable feats, but perhaps his most astounding accomplishment, as more than a few would claim, was to remain alive for several generations from the 18th century or earlier, into the 19th century and maybe even to this day. Tonight's Quote: “He is a man who never dies, and who knows everything.”  — Voltaire, speaking about the Count of St Germain Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! PDF of The Count of Saint Germain by Isabel Cooper-Oakley (beware of typos) http://bit.ly/2imh7OD Finding Count St. Germain, a great blog by Jessie Desmond http://bit.ly/2j9GX5p Writer and mystic Manley P. Hall http://bit.ly/2jGssW5 Sanctus Germanus http://bit.ly/2jOa6Gy In Search Of episode, S2-E2 "The Man Who Would Not Die" http://bit.ly/1E4GzvT Louis XV, Friend to the Count http://bit.ly/2jGxlhK The Count of St Germain on Wikipedia (Decent Entry) http://bit.ly/2jtpbK6 Isabel Cooper-Oakley http://bit.ly/2jGnfNM Madame Du Pompadour http://bit.ly/2jgVQ8L The Great White Brotherhood (not rascist!) http://bit.ly/2jh3GPH Ascended Masters http://bit.ly/2imoeXb Alchemy http://bit.ly/2j9Bdc3 Chateau du Chambord http://bit.ly/1UNWiVv Rosicrucianism http://bit.ly/2jOiTbp Dreadcast - Hosted by our friend Shezhar Shah who guested on the show as Jude Law Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 8000 lectures on a wide range of subjects Start 2017 off right for your business by getting the right people hired. Post jobs for free at ZipRecruiter.com/legends The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 058 - "The Count of Saint Germain" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

Sometimes we get a second chance and sometimes it seems we had no chance at all. What we can count on getting is a cycle of the heartwarming followed by heartbreak, the mundane punctuated with despair and assuaged by moments of joy. But greater than our earthly concerns, the cycle of life continues. Birth follows death as spring follows winter. And within this cycle, every once in a while just to keep it interesting, the wondrous happens. Whether you view the seemingly impossible as merely a coincidence, as a mistaken observation, or as proof that miracles do happen and that love never dies the choice is up to you. Which one sounds like more fun? Tonight's Quote: “It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.”  — Voltaire Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Forrest's favorite version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol http://bit.ly/2hDWXP0 Rod Hull and his Emu on the Hudson Brothers' Razzle Dazzle Show http://bit.ly/2h3JSgX Rod Hull on Wikipedia and his Untimely Death http://bit.ly/2hWN8rW Astronaut John Glenn, the first American to Orbit Earth http://bit.ly/2hG8XMR Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer http://bit.ly/2hPfDM9 Greg Lake on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2gTiaD8 Kingman, Arizona, 20 Miles West of Where Scott Broke Down http://bit.ly/2hG37ex Alcides Moreno's Miraculous Survival after a 47 Floor Fall http://nyti.ms/2gTj5n2 Fox News report on Alcides Fall http://bit.ly/2gJzcQM Guardian Story on his Recovery http://bit.ly/2gSHhHY The Splat Calculator http://bit.ly/2h90LUS Highest Freefall Ever Survived http://bit.ly/22za9CY Skydiver Survives 12,000 Foot Fall http://dailym.ai/2hWVeAD How to Fall 35,000 Feet and Survive: Popular Mechanics http://bit.ly/25ao7fW Amazing Old 'Desert' Magazine Article on the Hatbox Baby http://bit.ly/2hDyRBk The Hatbox Baby from Our Favorite Show, Unsolved Mysteries Wiki http://bit.ly/2h96ASp Pro Crime Writer's Blog Entry on the Hatbox Baby http://bit.ly/2gTnV3N Fascinating Arizona Republic Interview with the Hatbox Baby http://bit.ly/2hWSO5d Wordsmith Blog on 'Tunket' http://bit.ly/2hDxjar More on 'Tunket' http://bit.ly/2hCLbEm Tophet, the Origin Word for Tunket http://bit.ly/2hsgFN3 Tophet on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2h99oP4 Ma Dana of Mesa, Arizona http://bit.ly/2gSPtrF Newsreel of United 610 Crash http://bit.ly/2hDBHXc Wreck Chasers at the Crash Site http://cbsloc.al/1uXBr56 NY Daily News on the Spanish Fork Car Crash http://nydn.us/1E7e26p Officer Beddoes' Bodycam Footage from Crash Site (Warning: Emotionally Intense) http://bit.ly/2hCQjZ9 Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 8000 lectures on a wide range of subjects HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING Shari's Berries – Go to Berries.com, click on the microphone in the top right hand corner of the webpage and type in, ALPod to get delicious, decadent Shari's Berries delivered to you or someone you love! The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 057 - "2nd Chances" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2016 (last one of the year!) Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

Life is fragile and an end comes for us all. But whether that end is labeled as mysterious, ironic, tragic, coincidental or altogether unremarkable, is something for those that survive us to decide. The path of life through the wilderness of our choices can be both rocky and smooth, so look where you're going because others will remember where you've been. Tonight's Quote: “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”  — Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)  Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! List of Unusual Deaths on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1PAOw1q The 27 Club http://bit.ly/1eCnVla Draco the lawgiver http://bit.ly/1dhB4ih Nomodeiktes: Greek Studies in Honor of Martin Ostwald http://a.co/0G5UfUs Lawrence of Rome http://bit.ly/1IxWS4c Earl Sigurd the Mighty - the first Earl of Orkney http://bit.ly/1zRZJkE Máel Brigte of Moray http://bit.ly/2hg2DvM OrkneyJar - the heritage of the Orkney Islands http://www.orkneyjar.com Louis the VI of France - or "Louis the Fat" http://bit.ly/2hobU89 Philip of France (1116–1131) http://bit.ly/2hvHGMl Pepin the Short http://bit.ly/2h7ju6c The Cassowary http://bit.ly/2h3L9op Rod Hull and his Emu on the Hudson Brothers' Razzle Dazzle Show http://bit.ly/2h3JSgX Kevin Hart on his Ostrich encounter - WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE http://bit.ly/2glqtsY Affidavit about Daniel and Jabez Spicer from Thomas's Mass. Spy No. 676, April 1784 http://bit.ly/2hs34C3 The Spicer Bros. story in the Weekly World News http://bit.ly/2hmoQva The Spicer Bros. story in the book, Incredible But True http://bit.ly/2hsb71V Shays' Rebellion http://bit.ly/1Em1zQ6 Overview of the Shays' Rebellion battle for the arsenal http://bit.ly/2gjxzOL Isadora Duncan http://bit.ly/2gkcnD2 Edna Mode from The Incredibles - NO CAPES!!! http://bit.ly/1LIX5Te Robert Williams - 1st reported human killed by a robot http://bit.ly/2gKCN1T R.U.R. - the 1920 science fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek http://bit.ly/1Ua78J2 Jimi Heselden - Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and owner Segway Inc. who fell off a cliff while riding one http://bit.ly/1SOZqSu Armin Meiwes and Bernd Brandes, a cannibal and his guest for dinner - WARNING: DISTURBING http://bit.ly/1ZH1BIl Gloria Ramirez - "The Toxic Lady" http://bit.ly/2geOFcp A possible chemical explanation for the death of Gloria Ramirez from FSI http://bit.ly/2gIl7E3 "The Toxic Lady" on Skeptoid by Brian Dunning http://bit.ly/2fYJdwB Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Find the right pair of glasses in the comfort and convenience of your own home, completely risk-free and with free shipping all around! Visit WarbyParker.com/LEGENDS MVMT Watches & Sunglasses - modern minimalism meets affordable quality. Go to mvmtwatches.com/legends to get 15% off with FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 8000 lectures on a wide range of subjects Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 056 - "Unhappy Endings" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

Astonishing Legends makes digital media and internet history with our first ever "live" YouTube streaming event! Frankly, we weren't sure any of it would work, so we really didn't announce we'd be doing it, but we thought it might be a fun way to interact with our listeners and answer some of their questions in a text chat stream, all while doing our usual rambling, digressing, and nervous stammering. We really appreciate our audience, so we hope you enjoy it. Depending on how much "flame mail we get, we might even try it again sometime! Tonight's Quote: "The internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had." — Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Images of the Black Knight Satellite on "Im-A-jur" *note to Scott ; ) http://bit.ly/2gMENu1 "The Ridges" Athens, OH Lunatic Asylum - story idea submitted by Andrew Murphy @MurphyRebels on Twitter http://bit.ly/2gsztLO The Ridges Mental Health Institution on Haunted Athens Ohio http://bit.ly/2gsudrr Dutch music promoter and his German girlfriend die of heatstroke in Joshua Tree desert http://dailym.ai/2gMGSGm Mystery Deepens Over Bones Linked to Amelia Earhart http://bit.ly/2fX5CrV TIGHAR's Earhart arm length analysis http://bit.ly/2enF2JR New Analysis Strengthens Claims That Amelia Earhart Died as a Castaway http://bit.ly/2gFN3Jb Gloria Ramirez - "The Toxic Lady" http://bit.ly/2geOFcp "The Toxic Lady" on Skeptoid by Brian Dunning http://bit.ly/2fYJdwB Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Anyone can make their own beautiful websites with Squarespace.com. Enter the Offer Code LEGENDS at checkout to receive 10% off MVMT Watches & Sunglasses - modern minimalism meets affordable quality. Go to mvmtwatches.com/legends to get 15% off with FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order - FREE SHIPPING ENDS ON DECEMBER 9, 2016 SO ACT NOW! The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 055 - "Astonishing TV 1" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

As we approach our Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, Astonishing Legends would like to thank our fantastic fans from all over the world with our final Part 4B of The Mothman series - the rest of the conclusions. Not only did we think this would make a good bonus for our listeners, but an undivided Part 4 would've been, shall we say, monstrous. Of all the things to be thankful for this holiday season, just remember that as weird as things are, they could always get weirder. Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Tonight's Quote: “I have adopted the concept of 'Ultraterrestrials' — beings and forces which coexist with us but are on another time frame; that is, they operate outside the limits of our space-time continuum yet have the ability to cross over into our reality. This other world is not a place, however, as Mars or Andromeda are places, but it is a state of energy.”  — John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! THIS JUST IN: MAN POSSIBLY PHOTOGRAPHS MOTHMAN OFF HWY 2 IN POINT PLEASANT! http://bit.ly/2fX5CrV Jim Harold's Paranormal Podcast and Campfire podcast http://jimharold.com/ Jim Harold's Paranormal Plus Club - a membership site that's worth it! http://jimharold.net/ Brad Steiger being interviewed on Jim's Paranormal Plus Club (membership required) http://bit.ly/2gaJnhF Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside by Brad Steiger http://a.co/3ACfzyL Episode 10 - Chernobyl on the Eastern Border podcast http://bit.ly/2gDRrwn AnCivs - a blog on ancient civilizations and world history http://ancivs.com/ Hans Decoz and Stacey Nicholas' Numerology blog http://bit.ly/2fyZk1h Monkey-man of Delhi http://bit.ly/2fLVu7Q The Dancing Plague of 1518 http://bit.ly/1N2bzhW Ergotism http://bit.ly/2b0KS55 Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft http://a.co/dqJm4J4 Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life http://a.co/j1gnlaw The legendary Fate Magazine http://www.fatemag.com/ True Magazine http://bit.ly/2gayLz6 John A. Keel http://bit.ly/2gfyX1y Brad Steiger http://bit.ly/2gfEmpi Ivan T. Sanderson http://bit.ly/1OBN7mu Gray Barker http://bit.ly/2gDBNkI Jack Hannah on Letterman http://bit.ly/2fjoTCF "Miners, not minors" from Galaxy Quest http://bit.ly/2fzF0wz Loren Coleman's list of people who have died in connection to Mothman http://bit.ly/2fXtuLw Gray Barker’s Book of Bunk Mothman, Saucers, and MIB by John C. Sherwood http://bit.ly/22xjKKJ Gray Barker's Secret by David Halperin http://bit.ly/2fXFcWp Mass Hysteria http://bit.ly/2fYZvpW Behavioral Contagion http://bit.ly/2fyu9py The Law of Vibration http://bit.ly/2g0pk7h Massive bird spotted in Alaska! http://cnn.it/2fH4HvP The legendary Piasa bird http://bit.ly/1UDEqwX Dalnegorsk, Russia http://bit.ly/2fYXpGH 11, 13 and 33 http://bit.ly/2f2hA25 Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs http://bit.ly/1lTtPgh Search for the Mothman documentary http://bit.ly/2fzoaPa Aperture hatch on the Millennium Falcon http://bit.ly/2fDuho9 NBC News article on Infrasound http://nbcnews.to/2g0fdkW Vic Tandy and infrasound on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2fzhEYP Vladimir Gavreau and his infrasound experiments http://bit.ly/2fEtCiO The Haunted Hum (infrasound) on Mythbusters http://bit.ly/2eMp1xr Adam Savage's Indiana Jones Sankara Stones stolen! http://bit.ly/2eE2vmM NICAP's The 1967 UFO Chronology - The Mother of All Sighting Waves http://bit.ly/2eUVIpL The Silver Bridge disaster - the collapse rendered in computer animation http://bit.ly/2eMl1gq Report on the Silver Bridge collapse by the West Virginia DOT http://bit.ly/2fExe4f Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse http://bit.ly/1VFh2T2 Colorized footage of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse http://bit.ly/2fExTma Radiolab episode on Dreams http://bit.ly/2eUWQK4 Wake Up and Dream on Radiolab - confronting your fears with Lucid Dreaming http://bit.ly/11CdB5C Project MKUltra http://bit.ly/1ihJLqO Could a sonic weapon make your head explode? http://bit.ly/1un5Uty "Gaslighting" on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1sUQyvs Gaslight the movie (1944) http://imdb.to/2fDurvM Origin of the "Time exists" quote http://bit.ly/2g0gDfA Weather report for the day of Mrs. Roy Grose’s 4:45 a.m. UFO sighting http://bit.ly/2fcSyCx Linda Scarberry's obituary on Cryptomundo, one of the 4 original teenagers to see Mothman http://bit.ly/2eW9DwQ Silver Bridge http://bit.ly/2flwFjC Riverside Golf Club where Connie Carpenter saw the Mothman, formerly the Mason Co. Golf Course http://bit.ly/2eMpLDl I Love Lucy entertains the cosmos http://n.pr/2eh2I0c How far have human radio broadcasts reached into our galaxy? http://bit.ly/1qAd9iI Can our TV signals be picked up by other planets? http://bbc.in/2eW80PC Actinic Conjunctivitis http://bit.ly/2dRkXIu Defense Logistics Agency website http://www.dla.mil/ Defense Logistics Agency on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dRmAWv Chief Cornstalk http://bit.ly/2eMmVhW Chief Cornstalk's curse http://bit.ly/2dRmDl2 Lord Dunmore's War http://bit.ly/2eXAs2l Fort Randolph, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2fcSDGp The late Beau Shertzer, whose Bloodmobile was almost carried off http://bit.ly/2eBAQqh Men In Black in a Niagra Falls hotel lobby? http://bit.ly/2eBCIiR The 1966 Cadillac De Ville http://bit.ly/2dRoxSM Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2eXF6NS Gallipolis, Ohio http://www.cityofgallipolis.com/ Morse Code, for when you want to communicate with a UFO using your flashlight http://bit.ly/1zxQZNV Mothman and Other Curious Encounters by Loren Coleman https://amzn.com/B00AWBQF88 The Mothman Prophecies - A True Story by John A. Keel https://amzn.com/0765334984 The Mothman Prophecies - The Movie https://amzn.com/B0000648X0 The Woodrow Derenberger interview with Ronald Maines, Gen. Mgr. of WTAP https://youtu.be/5HxY4suVjSo Point Pleasant, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2euHGdZ Gallipolis, Ohio basecamp for John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies movie crew http://bit.ly/2e3aZpU Visit the Mothman Museum! http://bit.ly/2enKY4d Attend the Mothman Festival in beautiful Point Pleasant, WV! http://bit.ly/1pjsSMO Scott always stays at the Lowe Hotel when searching for Mothman! http://www.thelowehotel.com/ Point Pleasant's "TNT Area" where the Mothman dwells http://n.pr/2drLM5A Explosion and munitions risk at the "TNT Area" http://bit.ly/2eIfuJD Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia on Wired http://bit.ly/2e8qeyV The Mothman and Indrid Cold story on WeekInWeird.com http://bit.ly/2eI4OuC Mothman on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dQ3dhn 1st sighting of the Mothman according to the WV Dept. of Commerce http://bit.ly/2drIzTK The Grinning Man on TheNightSky.org http://bit.ly/2ej1G76 The Case of Indrid Cold on Forteania http://bit.ly/2ej0hNV Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy on NPR http://n.pr/2elZZaH Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order Anyone can make their own beautiful websites with Squarespace.com. Enter the Offer Code LEGENDS at checkout to receive 10% off The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 6000 lectures on a wide range of subjects MVMT Watches & Sunglasses - modern minimalism meets affordable quality. Go to mvmtwatches.com/legends to get 15% off with FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS. The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 054 - "Mothman Part 4B" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

Do we only see what we can understand? And if we refuse or are unable to understand, are we then not seeing all of the elements of our reality? If beings and creatures from alternate realities truly exist, then what is their origin story? What is their purpose and what are we to them, or more to the point, what do they want with us? In Part 4A of our series on the Mothman of Point Pleasant, WV, we examine some of these questions and try to find conclusions of our own, outrageous though they may seem to be. Tonight's Quote: “I have adopted the concept of 'Ultraterrestrials' — beings and forces which coexist with us but are on another time frame; that is, they operate outside the limits of our space-time continuum yet have the ability to cross over into our reality. This other world is not a place, however, as Mars or Andromeda are places, but it is a state of energy.”  — John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Loren Coleman's list of people who have died in connection to Mothman http://bit.ly/2fXtuLw Gray Barker’s Book of Bunk Mothman, Saucers, and MIB by John C. Sherwood http://bit.ly/22xjKKJ Gray Barker's Secret by David Halperin http://bit.ly/2fXFcWp Mass Hysteria http://bit.ly/2fYZvpW Behavioral Contagion http://bit.ly/2fyu9py The Law of Vibration http://bit.ly/2g0pk7h Massive bird spotted in Alaska! http://cnn.it/2fH4HvP Dalnegorsk, Russia http://bit.ly/2fYXpGH 11, 13 and 33 http://bit.ly/2f2hA25 Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs http://bit.ly/1lTtPgh Search for the Mothman documentary http://bit.ly/2fzoaPa Aperture hatch on the Millennium Falcon http://bit.ly/2fDuho9 NBC News article on Infrasound http://nbcnews.to/2g0fdkW Vic Tandy and infrasound on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2fzhEYP Vladimir Gavreau and his infrasound experiments http://bit.ly/2fEtCiO The Haunted Hum (infrasound) on Mythbusters http://bit.ly/2eMp1xr Adam Savage's Indiana Jones Sankara Stones stolen! http://bit.ly/2eE2vmM NICAP's The 1967 UFO Chronology - The Mother of All Sighting Waves http://bit.ly/2eUVIpL The Silver Bridge disaster - the collapse rendered in computer animation http://bit.ly/2eMl1gq Report on the Silver Bridge collapse by the West Virginia DOT http://bit.ly/2fExe4f Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse http://bit.ly/1VFh2T2 Colorized footage of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse http://bit.ly/2fExTma Radiolab episode on Dreams http://bit.ly/2eUWQK4 Wake Up and Dream on Radiolab - confronting your fears with Lucid Dreaming http://bit.ly/11CdB5C Project MKUltra http://bit.ly/1ihJLqO Could a sonic weapon make your head explode? http://bit.ly/1un5Uty "Gaslighting" on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1sUQyvs Gaslight the movie (1944) http://imdb.to/2fDurvM Origin of the "Time exists" quote http://bit.ly/2g0gDfA Weather report for the day of Mrs. Roy Grose’s 4:45 a.m. UFO sighting http://bit.ly/2fcSyCx Linda Scarberry's obituary on Cryptomundo, one of the 4 original teenagers to see Mothman http://bit.ly/2eW9DwQ Silver Bridge http://bit.ly/2flwFjC Riverside Golf Club where Connie Carpenter saw the Mothman, formerly the Mason Co. Golf Course http://bit.ly/2eMpLDl I Love Lucy entertains the cosmos http://n.pr/2eh2I0c How far have human radio broadcasts reached into our galaxy? http://bit.ly/1qAd9iI Can our TV signals be picked up by other planets? http://bbc.in/2eW80PC Actinic Conjunctivitis http://bit.ly/2dRkXIu Defense Logistics Agency website http://www.dla.mil/ Defense Logistics Agency on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dRmAWv Chief Cornstalk http://bit.ly/2eMmVhW Chief Cornstalk's curse http://bit.ly/2dRmDl2 Lord Dunmore's War http://bit.ly/2eXAs2l Fort Randolph, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2fcSDGp The late Beau Shertzer, whose Bloodmobile was almost carried off http://bit.ly/2eBAQqh Men In Black in a Niagra Falls hotel lobby? http://bit.ly/2eBCIiR The 1966 Cadillac De Ville http://bit.ly/2dRoxSM Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2eXF6NS Gallipolis, Ohio http://www.cityofgallipolis.com/ Morse Code, for when you want to communicate with a UFO using your flashlight http://bit.ly/1zxQZNV Mothman and Other Curious Encounters by Loren Coleman https://amzn.com/B00AWBQF88 The Mothman Prophecies - A True Story by John A. Keel https://amzn.com/0765334984 The Mothman Prophecies - The Movie https://amzn.com/B0000648X0 The Woodrow Derenberger interview with Ronald Maines, Gen. Mgr. of WTAP https://youtu.be/5HxY4suVjSo Point Pleasant, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2euHGdZ Gallipolis, Ohio basecamp for John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies movie crew http://bit.ly/2e3aZpU Visit the Mothman Museum! http://bit.ly/2enKY4d Attend the Mothman Festival in beautiful Point Pleasant, WV! http://bit.ly/1pjsSMO Scott always stays at the Lowe Hotel when searching for Mothman! http://www.thelowehotel.com/ Point Pleasant's "TNT Area" where the Mothman dwells http://n.pr/2drLM5A Explosion and munitions risk at the "TNT Area" http://bit.ly/2eIfuJD Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia on Wired http://bit.ly/2e8qeyV The Mothman and Indrid Cold story on WeekInWeird.com http://bit.ly/2eI4OuC Mothman on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dQ3dhn 1st sighting of the Mothman according to the WV Dept. of Commerce http://bit.ly/2drIzTK The Grinning Man on TheNightSky.org http://bit.ly/2ej1G76 The Case of Indrid Cold on Forteania http://bit.ly/2ej0hNV Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy on NPR http://n.pr/2elZZaH Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order Anyone can make their own beautiful websites with Squarespace.com. Enter the Offer Code LEGENDS at checkout to receive 10% off The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 6000 lectures on a wide range of subjects MVMT Watches & Sunglasses - modern minimalism meets affordable quality. Go to mvmtwatches.com/legends to get 15% off with FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS. The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 053 - "Mothman Part 4A" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Special thanks to Emily Gorey, Ross Woodward and Blonadine. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

At 5:00 p.m. on December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge which connected Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed. Being rush hour in mid-December, the bridge was full of commuters on their way home from work and holiday shopping trips. The collapse sent 32 vehicles into the frigid waters of the Ohio river and 46 people lost their lives, with 2 bodies never to be found. The cause was as prosaic and understandable as it was tragic - a minute defect causing stress corrosion in a suspension eye-bar. However, what we may never understand is a connection some claim between the collapse and the first sightings of the Mothman, widely thought to be 13 months previously, to the day. Was there a warning that no one could comprehend? Even if a warning could be interpreted by someone who was starting to put all these strange puzzle pieces together, would their findings even be believed? Could this tragedy have been prevented, or was it inevitable? It might behoove us all to start taking notice, as correlations to sightings of bizarre creatures and catastrophes around the world continue to this day. Tonight's Quote: They’ve done it again. Those lousy bastards have done it again. They knew this was going to happen...and when. And they gave me all that bilge about a power failure. They knew. They just didn’t want me to be able to warn anyone. — John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs http://bit.ly/1lTtPgh Search for the Mothman documentary http://bit.ly/2fzoaPa Aperture hatch on the Millennium Falcon http://bit.ly/2fDuho9 NBC News article on Infrasound http://nbcnews.to/2g0fdkW Vic Tandy and infrasound on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2fzhEYP Vladimir Gavreau and his infrasound experiments http://bit.ly/2fEtCiO The Haunted Hum (infrasound) on Mythbusters http://bit.ly/2eMp1xr Adam Savage's Indiana Jones Sankara Stone stolen! http://bit.ly/2eE2vmM NICAP's The 1967 UFO Chronology - The Mother of All Sighting Waves http://bit.ly/2eUVIpL The Silver Bridge disaster - the collapse rendered in computer animation http://bit.ly/2eMl1gq Report on the Silver Bridge collapse by the West Virginia DOT http://bit.ly/2fExe4f Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse http://bit.ly/1VFh2T2 Colorized footage of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse http://bit.ly/2fExTma Radiolab episode on Dreams http://bit.ly/2eUWQK4 Wake Up and Dream on Radiolab - confronting your fears with Lucid Dreaming http://bit.ly/11CdB5C Project MKUltra http://bit.ly/1ihJLqO Could a sonic weapon make your head explode? http://bit.ly/1un5Uty "Gaslighting" on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1sUQyvs Gaslight the movie (1944) http://imdb.to/2fDurvM Origin of the "Time exists" quote http://bit.ly/2g0gDfA Weather report for the day of Mrs. Roy Grose’s 4:45 a.m. UFO sighting http://bit.ly/2fcSyCx Linda Scarberry's obituary on Cryptomundo, one of the 4 original teenagers to see Mothman http://bit.ly/2eW9DwQ Silver Bridge http://bit.ly/2flwFjC Riverside Golf Club where Connie Carpenter saw the Mothman, formerly the Mason Co. Golf Course http://bit.ly/2eMpLDl I Love Lucy entertains the cosmos http://n.pr/2eh2I0c How far have human radio broadcasts reached into our galaxy? http://bit.ly/1qAd9iI Can our TV signals be picked up by other planets? http://bbc.in/2eW80PC Actinic Conjunctivitis http://bit.ly/2dRkXIu Defense Logistics Agency website http://www.dla.mil/ Defense Logistics Agency on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dRmAWv Chief Cornstalk http://bit.ly/2eMmVhW Chief Cornstalk's curse http://bit.ly/2dRmDl2 Lord Dunmore's War http://bit.ly/2eXAs2l Fort Randolph, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2fcSDGp The late Beau Shertzer, whose Bloodmobile was almost carried off http://bit.ly/2eBAQqh Men In Black in a Niagra Falls hotel lobby? http://bit.ly/2eBCIiR The 1966 Cadillac De Ville http://bit.ly/2dRoxSM Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2eXF6NS Gallipolis, Ohio http://www.cityofgallipolis.com/ Morse Code, for when you want to communicate with a UFO using your flashlight http://bit.ly/1zxQZNV Mothman and Other Curious Encounters by Loren Coleman https://amzn.com/B00AWBQF88 The Mothman Prophecies - A True Story by John A. Keel https://amzn.com/0765334984 The Mothman Prophecies - The Movie https://amzn.com/B0000648X0 The Woodrow Derenberger interview with Ronald Maines, Gen. Mgr. of WTAP https://youtu.be/5HxY4suVjSo Point Pleasant, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2euHGdZ Gallipolis, Ohio basecamp for John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies movie crew http://bit.ly/2e3aZpU Visit the Mothman Museum! http://bit.ly/2enKY4d Attend the Mothman Festival in beautiful Point Pleasant, WV! http://bit.ly/1pjsSMO Scott always stays at the Lowe Hotel when searching for Mothman! http://www.thelowehotel.com/ Point Pleasant's "TNT Area" where the Mothman dwells http://n.pr/2drLM5A Explosion and munitions risk at the "TNT Area" http://bit.ly/2eIfuJD Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia on Wired http://bit.ly/2e8qeyV The Mothman and Indrid Cold story on WeekInWeird.com http://bit.ly/2eI4OuC Mothman on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dQ3dhn 1st sighting of the Mothman according to the WV Dept. of Commerce http://bit.ly/2drIzTK The Grinning Man on TheNightSky.org http://bit.ly/2ej1G76 The Case of Indrid Cold on Forteania http://bit.ly/2ej0hNV Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy on NPR http://n.pr/2elZZaH Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus — Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 6000 lectures on a wide range of subjects Anyone can make their own beautiful websites with Squarespace.com. Enter the Offer Code LEGENDS at checkout to receive 10% off HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order Blue Apron – Home cooking never tasted so good or was so much fun to make! Go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals FREE on your 1st order, with FREE SHIPPING The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 052 - "Mothman Part 3" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Special thanks to Adam McCutcheon, Jess Corbin, and Chris Saunders. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Mothman! Well, we're pretty sure "Mothman" isn't any of those things, neither a moth nor a man, or some unholy combination of the two. If the descriptions by over 100 witnesses are accurate and the symptoms of seeing such a sight are related, then whatever this creature is, it's abilities may go beyond even what is considered possible for an earthly cryptid. Magical flight, a burning, mesmerizing gaze, and haunting dreams are some of his reported traits, but is clairvoyance also one of them? What if Mothman knew your fate, but wasn't capable or allowed to tell you? And for an even bigger stretch of the imagination, what if Scott goes "off the chain" in this episode? Now, this may all seem like silly balderdash to your sophisticated and skeptical nature, but what kind of hosts would we be if we couldn't deliver a tale of a real monster in time for Samhain? After all, it is Halloween. Tonight's Quote: “UFO’s do not seem to exist as tangible, manufactured objects. They do not conform to the accepted natural laws of our environment. They seem to be nothing more than transmogrifications tailoring themselves to our ability to understand." — John A. Keel, author of The Mothman Prophecies Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Weather report for the day of Mrs. Roy Grose’s 4:45 a.m. UFO sighting http://bit.ly/2fcSyCx Linda Scarberry's obituary on Cryptomundo, one of the 4 original teenagers to see Mothman http://bit.ly/2eW9DwQ Silver Bridge http://bit.ly/2flwFjC Riverside Golf Club where Connie Carpenter saw the Mothman, formerly the Mason Co. Golf Course http://bit.ly/2eMpLDl I Love Lucy entertains the cosmos http://n.pr/2eh2I0c How far have human radio broadcasts reached into our galaxy? http://bit.ly/1qAd9iI Can our TV signals be picked up by other planets? http://bbc.in/2eW80PC Actinic Conjunctivitis http://bit.ly/2dRkXIu Defense Logistics Agency website http://www.dla.mil/ Defense Logistics Agency on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dRmAWv Chief Cornstalk http://bit.ly/2eMmVhW Chief Cornstalk's curse http://bit.ly/2dRmDl2 Lord Dunmore's War http://bit.ly/2eXAs2l Fort Randolph, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2fcSDGp The late Beau Shertzer, whose Bloodmobile was almost carried off http://bit.ly/2eBAQqh Men In Black in a Niagra Falls hotel lobby? http://bit.ly/2eBCIiR The 1966 Cadillac De Ville http://bit.ly/2dRoxSM Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2eXF6NS Gallipolis, Ohio http://www.cityofgallipolis.com/ Morse Code, for when you want to communicate with a UFO using your flashlight http://bit.ly/1zxQZNV Mothman and Other Curious Encounters by Loren Coleman https://amzn.com/B00AWBQF88 The Mothman Prophecies - A True Story by John A. Keel https://amzn.com/0765334984 The Mothman Prophecies - The Movie https://amzn.com/B0000648X0 The Woodrow Derenberger interview with Ronald Maines, Gen. Mgr. of WTAP https://youtu.be/5HxY4suVjSo Point Pleasant, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2euHGdZ Gallipolis, Ohio basecamp for John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies movie crew http://bit.ly/2e3aZpU Visit the Mothman Museum! http://bit.ly/2enKY4d Attend the Mothman Festival in beautiful Point Pleasant, WV! http://bit.ly/1pjsSMO Scott always stays at the Lowe Hotel when searching for Mothman! http://www.thelowehotel.com/ Point Pleasant's "TNT Area" where the Mothman dwells http://n.pr/2drLM5A Explosion and munitions risk at the "TNT Area" http://bit.ly/2eIfuJD Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia on Wired http://bit.ly/2e8qeyV The Mothman and Indrid Cold story on WeekInWeird.com http://bit.ly/2eI4OuC Mothman on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dQ3dhn 1st sighting of the Mothman according to the WV Dept. of Commerce http://bit.ly/2drIzTK The Grinning Man on TheNightSky.org http://bit.ly/2ej1G76 The Case of Indrid Cold on Forteania http://bit.ly/2ej0hNV Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy on NPR http://n.pr/2elZZaH Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: MVMT Watches & Sunglasses - modern minimalism meets affordable quality. Go to mvmtwatches.com/legends to get 15% off with FREE SHIPPING and FREE RETURNS. The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to over 500 courses and 6000 lectures on a wide range of subjects Anyone can make their own beautiful websites with Squarespace.com. Enter the Offer Code LEGENDS at checkout to receive 10% off Mack Weldon - the most comfortable and well-made underwear, socks, shirts, undershirts, hoodies and sweatpants you’ll ever wear. Go to mackweldon.com and get 20% off using the promo code LEGENDS The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 051 - "Mothman Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Special thanks to Kirsten Labrozzi, Josh Prosper, and Chris Childs (apologies for misspellings, we have audio only). Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

All legends are local in a way, and when one local person tells a tale of a strange encounter, it can be a cause for skeptical snickers from the townsfolk. When more than a hundred people from the same region all see the same thing, it can lead to books, a major Motion Picture and even an annual festival. Such is the case with Point Pleasant, West Virginia and the Ohio River Valley's own "Mothman" — whose local sightings turned into national legend. There are several elements that contribute to the intense curiosity that still surrounds the stories of the Mothman, himself described as a winged, humanoid creature with glowing red eyes and a sympathetic, if mysterious nature. One of them is the sudden appearance of a friendly, inter-dimensional road tripper named Indrid Cold who just wants to get to know you better and may be searching for a cryptid on the loose . Another is the unsettling thought that these encounters may have portended a disaster that took the lives of 46 people exactly 13 months later. Tonight's Quote: “Human beings are under the control of a strange force that bends them in absurd ways, forcing them to play a role in a bizarre game of deception.” - — Jacques Vallée, Computer Scientist, Venture Capitalist and noted Ufologist Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Mothman Prophecies - A True Story by John A. Keel https://amzn.com/0765334984 The Mothman Prophecies - The Movie https://amzn.com/B0000648X0 The Woodrow Derenberger interview with Ronald Maines, Gen. Mgr. of WTAP https://youtu.be/5HxY4suVjSo Point Pleasant, West Virginia http://bit.ly/2euHGdZ Gallipolis, Ohio basecamp for John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies movie crew http://bit.ly/2e3aZpU Visit the Mothman Museum! http://bit.ly/2enKY4d Attend the Mothman Festival in beautiful Point Pleasant, WV! http://bit.ly/1pjsSMO Scott always stays at the Lowe Hotel when searching for Mothman! http://www.thelowehotel.com/ Point Pleasant's "TNT Area" where the Mothman dwells http://n.pr/2drLM5A Explosion and munitions risk at the "TNT Area" http://bit.ly/2eIfuJD Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia on Wired http://bit.ly/2e8qeyV The Mothman and Indrid Cold story on WeekInWeird.com http://bit.ly/2eI4OuC Mothman on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/2dQ3dhn 1st sighting of the Mothman according to the WV Dept. of Commerce http://bit.ly/2drIzTK The Grinning Man on TheNightSky.org http://bit.ly/2ej1G76 The Case of Indrid Cold on Forteania http://bit.ly/2ej0hNV Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy on NPR http://n.pr/2elZZaH Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Post job offers to 100+ job boards and social media platforms with a single click. Try it for FREE at: ZipRecruiter.com/legends Anyone can make their own beautiful websites with Squarespace.com. Enter the Offer Code LEGENDS at checkout to receive 10% off The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects HARRY'S quality shaving essentials at an affordable price. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 050 - "Mothman" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Special thanks to Jordan Pickering, Rey Castañeda and Sarah Cozzemero. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved.

In tonight's episode, Scott interviews journalist, author, and Paranormal Investigator Linda S. Godfrey. We discuss her latest book, Monsters Among Us: An exploration of otherworldly Bigfoots, Wolfmen, Portals, Phantoms, and Odd Phenomena. Linda has appeared on numerous TV shows such The History Channel's Monster Quest, Inside Edition, Sean Hannity and of course as a guest on the Coast to Coast AM radio program. She is the author of over a dozen books, such as Real Wolfmen: True Encounters in Modern America, American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends and Sightings in America, and Weird Michigan. If after considering all of the encounters Linda has researched and all of the witnesses she's interviewed, you conclude that monsters are indeed among us, you must also come to terms with the idea that they're everywhere, and it might just be a matter of time until you see one yourself. Tonight's Quote: “The beast grabbed my ankle tightly, but I managed to slip away from his fingers that were turning into longer, more strong nails or paws of some sort.”  — Linda S. Godfrey sharing the story of "The Torrance Werewolf" from her book, Monsters Among Us Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Linda S. Godfrey's website & blog https://lindagodfrey.com/ Pre-order Linda's book, "Monsters Among Us" from the publisher, Penguin Random House http://bit.ly/2duil6I Pre-order Linda's book on Amazon http://amzn.to/2dzg60o Pre-order Linda's book at Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/2dNaRhl The Beast of Bray Road http://bit.ly/2e4baDy Tracking the Tulpa - Exploring the “Tibetan” Origins of a Contemporary Paranormal Idea http://bit.ly/2dtK6ih Native American Water Mythology http://bit.ly/2dwIv7y Linda featured on a segment of Sean Hannity's show http://bit.ly/2d4IM25 "The Legend of Michigan's Dogman" website http://bit.ly/2dN0QRe "The Michigan Dogman: Evidence 2008" from YouTube http://bit.ly/2dLZQYn Anubis on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1lMIoXb Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects MVMT Watches & Sunglasses - http://www.mvmtwatches.com/ Modern style and quality at an affordable price. Listen to the episode for details on a special offer for our listeners Post jobs for free at ZipRecruiter.com/legends The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 049 - "Monsters Among Us" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2016 Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess. All Rights Reserved. 

Tonight we are joined by an old friend of Scott's, David Sullivan, or Sully to his friends. Sully has had some interesting things happen in his life, especially when heard through the filter of Astonishing Legends. He relays a few stories that start out pretty light and get progressively darker and darker as the show continues, and by darker we mean real dark. So if you're in the mood for an episode that evokes images of rabies, fate, the forgotten dead and sociopathic behavior, tonight's episode is just for you. Tonight's Quote: “A scarecrow is just a hoodlum who marked the cards that he dealed, and pulled a gypsy switch out on the edge of Potter’s field.  —Tom Waits, Potter’s Field 1977 Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing clickable URLs of each link to make things easier for our listeners! http://bit.do/cdcrabies http://bit.do/rabieswikipedia http://bit.do/milwaukeeprotocol http://bit.do/jeannaswebsite http://bit.do/jeannageise http://bit.do/radiolabrodneyvsdeath http://bit.do/nightwingmovie http://bit.do/cujomovie http://bit.do/toxoplasmosis http://bit.do/FrighteningRabiesVideo http://bit.do/BatSounds http://bit.do/BatSoundLibrary http://bit.do/SullysFormerApartment http://bit.do/WikiOnSullysOldCondop http://bit.do/story-of-John-Howland http://bit.do/ganache http://bit.do/Make-Ganache http://bit.do/BikePath-DUI http://bit.do/DavidWarner http://bit.do/The-Omen http://bit.do/wikipedia-HartIsland http://bit.do/Hart-Island-Project http://bit.do/Amazing-NYTimesArticle-HartIsland http://bit.do/10Things-Typhoid-Mary http://bit.do/TyphoidMary http://bit.do/Hart-Island-Old-Newspiece http://bit.do/DesecrationPenalCode http://bit.do/AmazingHartIslandPicts http://bit.do/1975NYTimes-Article Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Harry's shaving essentials. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Check out Remarkable Lives, Tragic Deaths on iTunes, at Parcast.com/lives or anywhere you get your podcasts! Post jobs for free at ZipRecruiter.com/legends The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 048 - "Choose Your Own Adventure" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design, Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "ARC." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

Could it be that impossible creatures and craft from unimaginable worlds are able to intrude upon ours at will? Real Estate magnate Robert T. Bigelow thought so and assembled a team of scientists and researchers to find out if "Skinwalker Ranch" could be a portal to all manner of weirdness. In order to obtain verifiable data, accepted scientific methods were applied to observation and analyzation at the Sherman family property, by Bigelow's newly formed National Institute for Discovery Science. Although they encountered a significant number of anomalies, ultimately they could provide no conclusive explanation for these bizarre events - as far as we know. It leaves us to wonder if the Scientific Method can be applied to paranormal events, however, a possible explanation regarding the origin of these incursions into our world might be found in the models currently being worked out in the field of Theoretical Physics and "The Theory of Everything." While our best minds "do the math" on the mechanics of our universe and existence, consider this: as frightening as any monster you could encounter at Skinwalker Ranch is the realization that there are aspects of our reality that are beyond our comprehension and control. Tonight's Quote: “Haven’t you ever had a dream?” — Billionaire Robert Bigelow, the current owner of Skinwalker Ranch and Bigelow Aerospace in an August 24th, 1999 Reno Gazette-Journal interview, after he was asked why he would invest hundreds of millions of dollars into space travel. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Robert Bigelow's History http://bit.do/bigelowhistory The Valée-Davis Model http://bit.do/valleedavis George Knapp speaks at MUFON http://bit.do/georgeknappMUFON Flying Triangle Sightings http://bit.do/flyingtriangle MUFON vs Skinwalker http://bit.do/MUFONvsSkinwalker Bigelow Aerospace https://bigelowaerospace.com/ Bigelow Next Step Program http://bit.do/bigaeronextstep Bigelow BEAM Project http://bit.do/bigelowBEAM Jesse Ventura's Skinwalker Show http://bit.do/JesseVenturaSkinwalker The Redding War Ranch http://bit.do/ReddingWarRanch More on the Redding War Ranch http://bit.do/ReddingWarRanch2 The Black Forest Haunting http://bit.do/blackforesthaunting The Paracast Skinwalker Episode http://bit.do/paracastSkinwalkerEp Dr. Eric Davis http://bit.do/drericdavis Prof. Michio Kaku explains The Theory of Everything http://bit.ly/2cWKUvx Prof. Kaku: Michio Kaku: The universe is a symphony of vibrating strings http://bit.ly/1GTWo4a Prof. Michio Kaku explains the universe in a nutshell http://bit.ly/1g1Yl1i MUFON LA presents guest speaker George Knapp, 6-17-08 http://bit.ly/2c9IMKC Former MUFON Int'l Dir. James Carrion questions NIDS' intentions http://bit.ly/2cPtfRH The Strange History of Robert Bigelow, Who Just Sold NASA Inflatable Space Station Modules by Ken Lane http://bit.ly/2d1cu9v Pixies - Wave of Mutilation http://bit.ly/2cZlkBL Interview with US Army Colonel, Ret. John Alexander from OpenMinds.tv http://bit.ly/2cbHZMf Colonel Alexander's Amazing Website http://bit.do/colonelalexanderwebsite Werewolf, Wolfman, or Skinwalker? One man's account from CryptoMundo.com http://bit.ly/2cum3KH The Ranch from Hell by David Perkins on aliendave.com http://bit.ly/2bUhCan Photos of the abandoned Ute hotel & convention center at Bottle Hollow http://bit.ly/2c6yuNu Contact - The Movie: Talking with Hadden - Finding the Key http://bit.ly/1Qp5riL Contact - The Movie: "Want to take a ride?" http://bit.ly/2cagBM3 Peter Weyland's 2023 TED Talk http://bit.ly/1DnM7QD The Native American Puebloan people's ceremonial Kiva http://bit.ly/2cbI02I Skinwalkers - Who or What are They? from paranormal-encounters.com http://bit.ly/2cjh0Rs Chupas http://bit.do/chupas The Phoenix Lights http://bit.do/phoenixlightswiki Propaganda and Persuasion http://bit.do/propagandapersuasion Pseudocommunication http://bit.do/pseudocommunication Stuff You Should Know - Satanic Panic http://bit.do/sysksatanicpanic Orbs at Skinwalker http://bit.do/skinwalkerorb George Knapp Reddit AMA http://bit.do/knappAMA Waterbabies http://bit.do/waterbabies Bottle Hollow News http://bit.do/bottlehollownews Bottle Hollow Homicide http://bit.do/bottlehollowhomicide Fort Duchesne http://bit.do/FortDuchesne The 9th Calvary http://bit.do/ninthcalvary Hunt for the Skinwalker by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp https://amzn.com/B000FCKKXU Skinwalker Ranch by Ryan Skinner and D.L. Wallace https://amzn.com/B00KBDFYKW Why Do UFOs Love This Utah Ranch So Much? Brief overview from The Daily Beast http://thebea.st/1JDtjBt Comprehensive overview of Skinwalker Ranch from Altered Dimensions website http://bit.ly/1FnfiES Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber https://amzn.com/0061474185 Is A Utah Ranch The Strangest Place On Earth? Part 1 of 2 from an article by George Knapp http://bit.ly/2bTkwl8 Is A Utah Ranch The Strangest Place On Earth? Part 2 of 2 from an article by George Knapp http://bit.ly/2cgqwny Navajo Skinwalker legend http://bit.ly/2bL2L4l Skinwalker Ranch on Wiki http://bit.ly/2c2q3Vf 13 Stories of Encounters with Navajo Skinwalkers http://tcat.tc/2bKYvl8 Skinwalker Ranch: Apocalypse Close Encounters - a documentary by Marc Coppell http://bit.ly/2bSrceY Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Stamps.com - Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS Indochino - Go to Indochino.com and get ANY PREMIUM SUIT for just $389! That's up to 50% off. Enter LEGENDS at Checkout. Blue Apron - go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals free on your 1st order, with free shipping! The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 047 - "Skinwalker Ranch (Part 3)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; All Original Artwork by Chad Lewis, All Rights Reserved, Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

If there are truly supernatural forces at work on the “Skinwalker Ranch,” they do not seem to have your best interests at heart. At the least, they seem to be indifferent to human concerns and endeavors, content to go on about their mysterious business and not above the occasional, seemingly magical prank, no matter the consternation or cost. At the worst, some entities may just want your animals or they may want the spark that gives you life. What the purpose is for their deeds and interactions we may never know nor ever fully understand, for it’s clear that their reasons are their own. Tonight's Quote: “In the end, I suspect that this intense concentration of 'paranormal' activity could point us all toward a new understanding of physical reality, something that is already being debated at the highest levels of modern science."  — Colm A. Kelleher, co-author along with George Knapp of The Hunt for the Skinwalker Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Interview with US Army Colonel, Ret. John Alexander from OpenMinds.tv http://bit.ly/2cbHZMf Colonel Alexander's Amazing Website http://bit.do/colonelalexanderwebsite Werewolf, Wolfman, or Skinwalker? One man's account from CryptoMundo.com http://bit.ly/2cum3KH The Ranch from Hell by David Perkins on aliendave.com http://bit.ly/2bUhCan Photos of the abandoned Ute hotel & convention center at Bottle Hollow http://bit.ly/2c6yuNu Contact - The Movie: Talking with Hadden - Finding the Key http://bit.ly/1Qp5riL Contact - The Movie: "Want to take a ride?" http://bit.ly/2cagBM3 Peter Weyland's 2023 TED Talk http://bit.ly/1DnM7QD The Native American Puebloan people's ceremonial Kiva http://bit.ly/2cbI02I Skinwalkers - Who or What are They? from paranormal-encounters.com http://bit.ly/2cjh0Rs Chupas http://bit.do/chupas The Phoenix Lights http://bit.do/phoenixlightswiki Propaganda and Persuasion http://bit.do/propagandapersuasion Pseudocommunication http://bit.do/pseudocommunication Stuff You Should Know - Satanic Panic http://bit.do/sysksatanicpanic Orbs at Skinwalker http://bit.do/skinwalkerorb George Knapp Reddit AMA http://bit.do/knappAMA Waterbabies http://bit.do/waterbabies Bottle Hollow News http://bit.do/bottlehollownews Bottle Hollow Homicide http://bit.do/bottlehollowhomicide Fort Duchesne http://bit.do/FortDuchesne The 9th Calvary http://bit.do/ninthcalvary Hunt for the Skinwalker by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp https://amzn.com/B000FCKKXU Skinwalker Ranch by Ryan Skinner and D.L. Wallace https://amzn.com/B00KBDFYKW Why Do UFOs Love This Utah Ranch So Much? Brief overview from The Daily Beast http://thebea.st/1JDtjBt Comprehensive overview of Skinwalker Ranch from Altered Dimensions website http://bit.ly/1FnfiES Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber https://amzn.com/0061474185 Is A Utah Ranch The Strangest Place On Earth? Part 1 of 2 from an article by George Knapp http://bit.ly/2bTkwl8 Is A Utah Ranch The Strangest Place On Earth? Part 2 of 2 from an article by George Knapp http://bit.ly/2cgqwny Navajo Skinwalker legend http://bit.ly/2bL2L4l Skinwalker Ranch on Wiki http://bit.ly/2c2q3Vf 13 Stories of Encounters with Navajo Skinwalkers http://tcat.tc/2bKYvl8 Skinwalker Ranch: Apocalypse Close Encounters - a documentary by Marc Coppell http://bit.ly/2bSrceY Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Stamps.com - Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS Harry's shaving essentials. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 046 - "Skinwalker Ranch (Part 2)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; All Original Artwork by Chad Lewis, All Rights Reserved, Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

Where do you go for your One-stop Shopping for the supernatural? Why the "Skinwalker Ranch" in northeastern Utah of course! It's got it all, including, but not limited to: Skinwalkers (naturally), UFOs, powerful poltergeists, deadly orbs, cryptids, cattle mutilation, interdimensional portals, disembodied voices, shadow beings and other assorted aliens, reptilian creatures, and hybrid wolf beasts, to name just a few. And all this for the low, low price of your grip on reality. It was a cost that would nearly be paid in full by the Sherman family, who owned the ranch for what must have seemed like an interminable two years, from 1994 to 1996. It was during this time that the Shermans not only lost 14 head of cattle and all of their pets but also their sleep and their understanding of the impossible. Join us for a trip to one of the most paranormal places on earth, won't you? Tonight's Quote: “We have to leave this place. We have to leave this place.” — Gwen Sherman, co-owner with husband Terry, of what became known as "Skinwalker Ranch." Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Hunt for the Skinwalker by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp https://amzn.com/B000FCKKXU Skinwalker Ranch by Ryan Skinner and D.L. Wallace https://amzn.com/B00KBDFYKW Why Do UFOs Love This Utah Ranch So Much? Brief overview from The Daily Beast http://thebea.st/1JDtjBt Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber https://amzn.com/0061474185 Is A Utah Ranch The Strangest Place On Earth? Part 1 of 2 from an article by George Knapp http://bit.ly/2bTkwl8 Is A Utah Ranch The Strangest Place On Earth? Part 2 of 2 from an article by George Knapp http://bit.ly/2cgqwny Navajo Skinwalker legend http://bit.ly/2bL2L4l Skinwalker Ranch on Wiki http://bit.ly/2c2q3Vf 13 Stories of Encounters with Navajo Skinwalkers http://tcat.tc/2bKYvl8 Skinwalker Ranch: Apocalypse Close Encounters - a documentary by Marc Coppell http://bit.ly/2bSrceY Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Stamps.com - Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS Indochino - Go to Indochino.com and get ANY PREMIUM SUIT for just $399! That's up to 50% off. Enter LEGENDS at Checkout. Mack Weldon - Go to MackWeldon.com and use the PROMO CODE LEGENDS for 20% off of your order! For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 045 - "Skinwalker Ranch (Part 1)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

Whatever the confluence of unfortunate events that caused those on board the Mary Celeste to abandon her, one can surmise two possible final fates for them: either they perished in a maelstrom of sudden violence, or they died a languishing death of attrition. These two perils every sailor must acknowledge for the sea is a merciless mistress, but too cruel to imagine for the likes of a mother and child. If you wish to contemplate the mystery of the Mary Celeste, you would do well to remember the saying, the sea does not give up her secrets and as we've seen, she will often not part with her dead. Tonight's Quote: “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.” — Lord Horatio Nelson Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Valletta Malta Tornado http://bit.ly/2belsPc Waterspouts http://bit.ly/2aX34ez Surface currents of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean http://bit.ly/2b0LWzP Ergotism http://bit.ly/2b0KS55 The Dancing Plague of 1518 http://bit.ly/1N2bzhW Dancing plagues and "Mass Hysteria" http://bit.ly/2b0KNZ6 Another article on the Dance Craze of 1518 http://bit.ly/1PWJp9V From The Lancet: A forgotten plague: Making sense of dancing mania http://bit.ly/IOJ4HQ The Trouble with Tribbles http://bit.ly/2b0HQYp The Stubby Squid - the cutest, googly-eyed squid you've ever seen! http://cnn.it/2beHcYo The ARC's Chris Cogswell's experiment with alcohol ignition - DO NOT ATTEMPT! http://bit.ly/2bunvME Chris Cogswell's The Mad Scientist Podcast http://bit.ly/2bzathn Solved! Chemist Dr. Andrea Sella and the Mary Celeste explosion http://bit.ly/2b0MK7C An Isopropyl Alcohol Explosion http://bit.ly/2b0KBJv Ancestry of Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs http://bit.ly/2aXR1tx From Animal Planet - Diver attacked by Man-eating Super Squid! http://bit.ly/2bupQqU Giant squid attacks submarine - NOT Jules Verne's Nautilus http://fxn.ws/2bgkdy1 Giant squid attacks Russian fishing boat http://bit.ly/2bD76c8 Giant Squid (Architeuthis) footage, January 27, 2013 http://bit.ly/1UdNQgH Guy Fieri's recipe for Rhode Island Calamari http://bit.ly/2aU7MZg The mystery of the Australian sailboat The Kaz II http://bit.ly/2betpDL Australian Coroner ends the mystery of the Kaz II "Ghost Ship" http://bit.ly/2aXaxdI The ARC's Chris Cogswell's favorite ship graveyard http://bit.ly/1jPSTr9 Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea - http://bit.do/MaryCelesteBook The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries (Mysteries and Secrets) - http://bit.do/worldsgreatestmysteries Capt Kirk and the Zumwalt - http://bit.do/captainkirk The Smithsonian’s Take on the Mary Celeste - http://bit.do/smithsonianCeleste HMS Friday - http://bit.do/hmsFriday Maritime Superstitions - http://bit.do/maritimesuperstition The Captain of the Polestar by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - http://bit.ly/2avJYrN The Ship’s Cat - http://bit.do/shipscat Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Blue Apron - go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals free on your 1st order, with free shipping! Stamps.com - Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS Indochino - Go to Indochino.com and get ANY PREMIUM SUIT for just $399! That's up to 50% off. Enter LEGENDS at Checkout. The Great Courses Plus - Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 044 - "The Mary Celeste - Ghost Ship (Part 3)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

The mysterious disappearance of ten souls would not be the last of the misfortune to befall the ill-fated Mary Celeste. Insurance fraud, lost revenue, madness, and suicide would all become dreadful notches in the gunwale of her sad history, along with the premature deaths of three of her captains. Whether you believe in curses or not, often the best insurance is to leave fate untempted. Tonight’s Quote: “The sea has never been friendly to man. At most, it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.” — Joseph Conrad, novelist Show Links: We’ve found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Ancestry of Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs http://bit.ly/2aXR1tx Giant Squid (Architeuthis) footage, January 27, 2013 http://bit.ly/1UdNQgH Guy Fieri’s recipe for Rhode Island Calamari http://bit.ly/2aU7MZg The ARC’s Chris Cogswell’s favorite ship graveyard http://bit.ly/1jPSTr9 Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea – http://bit.do/MaryCelesteBook The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries (Mysteries and Secrets) – http://bit.do/worldsgreatestmysteries Capt Kirk and the Zumwalt – http://bit.do/captainkirk The Smithsonian’s Take on the Mary Celeste – http://bit.do/smithsonianCeleste HMS Friday – http://bit.do/hmsFriday Maritime Superstitions – http://bit.do/maritimesuperstition The Captain of the Polestar by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – http://bit.ly/2avJYrN The Ship’s Cat – http://bit.do/shipscat Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Casper Mattresses – Go to CasperMattresses.com/AL and use the PROMO CODE AL to get $50 towards any mattress purchase. Terms and Conditions Apply Stamps.com – Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS The Great Courses Plus – Go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends and get one month of free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Mack Weldon – Go to MackWeldon.com and use the PROMO CODE LEGENDS for 20% off of your order! For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 043 – “The Mary Celeste – Ghost Ship (Part 2)” Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or “A.R.C.” for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

The Mary Celeste is perhaps the most famous case of a "ghost ship." However, when it was discovered adrift on December 5, 1872, no ghosts were found nor any human form for that matter, not Captain Briggs, his wife, his two-year-old daughter, nor the seven crew members. They remain forever missing. But what caused them to vanish? Theories range from seaquakes to hazardous cargo, to a giant squid attack, and even aliens... yes, aliens. We're not saying it was aliens because we'd rather believe it was a giant squid. No matter what it was, the ship may have been doomed from the start, when seafaring superstitions were broken. Tonight's Quote: “The craft seemed possessed of the Devil to begin with, but where she got it I don’t know. I am sure it couldn’t have been from any of our good people.”  — Dr. John W. Dewis, son of Joshua Dewis, the builder of the Mary Celeste, from The Story of the Mary Celeste by Charles Edey Fay Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea - http://bit.do/MaryCelesteBook The World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries (Mysteries and Secrets) - http://bit.do/worldsgreatestmysteries Capt Kirk and the Zumwalt - http://bit.do/captainkirk The Smithsonian’s Take on the Mary Celeste - http://bit.do/smithsonianCeleste HMS Friday - http://bit.do/hmsFriday Maritime Superstitions - http://bit.do/maritimesuperstition The Captain of the Polestar by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - http://bit.ly/2avJYrN The Ship’s Cat - http://bit.do/shipscat Dogs know when the shakin's about to go down! - http://bit.ly/2aYEaIu Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: Harry's shaving essentials. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: LEGENDS at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order The Great Courses Plus TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends - One-month free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Stamps.com - Get a $110 Bonus Offer with postage and a digital scale! Click on the microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in LEGENDS Blue Apron - go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals free on your 1st order, with free shipping For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 042 - "The Mary Celeste - Ghost Ship (Part 1)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

Is it just a quirky rock sculpture garden, or a megalithic mystery that baffles engineers and scientists to this day? It seems to be both. How was a diminutive man in ill health able to accomplish such a monumental feat all by himself? Ed Leedskalnin, builder of the Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida would never say and he took the answer with him. We know of a few reasons why he made The Coral Castle his life's work, but as for how he made it, we may never know. Tonight's Quote: “I know how the Pyramids were built.” — Ed Leedskalnin, Builder of the Coral Castle Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Coral Castle's own website http://coralcastle.com/ Kristaps Andrejson's The Eastern Border podcast http://theeasternborder.lv/ Edward Leedskalnin and his Coral Castle in Florida from latvianhistory.com http://bit.ly/2a65Qyx Peter the Painter - Latvian gangster, revolutionary and purported comrade of Ed Leedskalnin http://bit.ly/2a8MTuP The 1905 Revolution in Latvia http://bit.ly/2alNXaZ The Incredible Mystery of Coral Castle by By Christopher Dunn From Atlantis Rising http://bit.ly/18uEvA3 Billy Idol's Sweet Sixteen http://bit.ly/18uEvA3 "Eds Coral Castle Quarry and Flywheel, Engineering Mystery Solved," by Scott Russell http://bit.ly/29OkvMt Episode of In Search Of - The Castle of Secrets http://bit.ly/29TmOhI Coral Castle: The Mystery of Ed Leedskalnin and his American Stonehenge https://amzn.com/098421321X David Carr's Take on The Castle at Graham Hancock's Site http://bit.ly/2a6kxlp Coral Castle Busted - Interesting, But Not Magic by Sterling D. Allan http://bit.ly/2alLj5l Mapping The World Grid by David Hatcher Childress http://bit.ly/2a17xKR The Bimini Road http://bit.ly/29N8iUM Earth's Grid Systems - Science and Pseudoscience http://bit.ly/2alNRQC Metaphysics and Grids http://bit.ly/2a0kG8e Vile Vortex http://bit.ly/2alNXaZ Cymatics http://bit.ly/2a6CJYx Coral Castle's 9-ton revolving gate in action http://bit.ly/29Fsqx3 Secret of the Sumerian Tablet, Part 1 http://bit.ly/29GVfW2 Lost Stone Cutting Technologies of Ancient Egypt - The Granite Box http://bit.ly/29Nb8tb Levitating Stones! http://bit.ly/29OvHZt Coral Castle Mystery 100% Solved with 1930's Film Footage! http://bit.ly/29GWHrJ Tom Waits - What's He Building? http://bit.ly/29OmPTC Pixies - Levitate Me http://bit.ly/29PxJVT Prof. Michio Kaku - "The Universe is a Symphony of Vibrating Strings" http://bit.ly/1GTWo4a Special Offers from our Special Sponsors: The Great Courses Plus TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/legends - One-month free, unlimited access to hundreds of courses on a wide range of subjects Harry's shaving essentials. Go to harrys.com and enter the promo code: ALP at checkout to receive $5.00 off your order Blue Apron - go to blueapron.com/astonishing to get 3 meals free on your 1st order, with free shipping Casper mattresses & bedding - go to casper.com/AL and enter promo code AL at checkout to receive $50 towards your mattress Mack Weldon - Men's undergarments and more. Go to mackweldon.com and enter promo code LEGENDS to receive 20% off your order Parachute bedding & bath. Go to parachutehome.com/alp and enter promo code ASTONISHING at checkout to receive $25 off your first purchase The Dark Myths Collective  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 041 - "The Coral Castle" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

There's no greater fear for a parent than their child being harmed and when that child faces a threat, they'll do whatever they have to to protect them, from this world into the next. Whatever that threat is, it had better beware. Tonight's Quote: “We had been through this step before. We know what it’s like to get into that fight or flight mechanism and when it comes to your children, you fight. — "John" the father of "Jack" from The Sludge Entity, Part 1 Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The original interview with John and Deborah on HGR's Higher Consciousness Radio http://bit.ly/2a2Zv2R Who ya gonna call? James Sangster's team at Houston Ghost Research! http://bit.ly/2a34sJb Spirit Remediation Consultants - Training & Certification for dealing with Spiritual Crisis in Paranormal Investigation http://bit.ly/29DPOts Help! I'm Haunted!: Dealing with Ghosts: Ghost Hunter Edition by James Sangster http://bit.ly/29e3isC Lori Lee Nelson, Spiritual Medium, Paranormal Investigator and member of the HGR team http://bit.ly/29tqJ26 Debi Chestnut, the Paranormal Researcher and author whom John first contacted http://bit.ly/2a3wYdv John's Favorite Book from their Recommended Reading. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) http://bit.do/JohnReco Other recommended reading and viewing by Houston Ghost Research, the team that worked to help Jack. http://bit.do/HGR_RecoReading Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven https://youtu.be/XycBLF6kWuY "My name is Legion, for we are many." http://bit.ly/29J0BVz For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 040 - "The Sludge Entity, Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Original artwork by Chad Lewis; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

When your loved one is seriously ill, you take them to the doctor. But what do you do when you've taken them to every doctor, specialist and holistic healer you could see, ran every recommended test and all the professionals can tell you is something is definitely quite wrong, but no one can tell you why or what to do about it? This was the case with our guests John and Deborah, whose son Jack was so sick and getting worse that they sought answers where most wouldn't consider looking. Tonight's Quote: “In this generation, like so many others, people have been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea, the idea of evil. But the devil exists and we must fight against him.” — Pope Francis Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! John's Favorite book from their recommended reading, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book). http://bit.do/JohnReco Help! I'm Haunted!: Dealing with Ghosts: Ghost Hunter Edition by James Sangster http://bit.ly/29e3isC Other recommended reading and viewing by Houston Ghost Research, the team that worked to help Jack. http://bit.do/HGR_RecoReading The Dark Myths Collective: For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 039 - "The Sludge Entity, Part 1" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Original artwork by Chad Lewis; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

What happens when a single event turns out to dominate your life, and for everyone else who isn't a close friend, it's all they want to know about you? Only the Johnson family knows what happened or didn't happen to them, and regardless of what people believe or don't believe, all you can do is to go on living your life as best you can. Except you'll never look at the world the same way again. Tonight's Quote: “Mrs. Johnson noted an immediate numbing at her fingertips. She rubbed her hand against her leg in an attempt to remove the dirt, and that portion of her leg also became numb.” Ted Phillips in his Case Histories report of the Flying Saucer Review, February 1972. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Twitter Account for Odd X, a fun follow! https://twitter.com/OddX 1984 HBO Documentary on UFO’s which discusses the Cash Landrum Incident and more, featuring Dr. Stanton Friedman as well as J. Allen Hynek http://bit.do/HBOUFO_Doc UFO Casebook on the Lonnie Zamora Incident http://bit.do/zamoraufo Spontaneous Shark Pregnancy http://bit.do/pregnantvirginshark The Delphos Wolf Girl http://bit.do/wolfgirl The Dark Myths Collective:  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 038 - "The Delphos Ring, Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

When it comes to the paranormal, people always say they want proof. Well, on Friday, November 2nd, 1971, evidence of what many believe to be "proof" of an Unidentified Flying Object touching down on the Johnson family farm in Delphos, Kansas appeared on the ground and would remain for a very long time. A crusty "ring" in the dirt and damage to the adjacent flora was left behind after the Johnsons described seeing a strange, brightly lit and noisy hovering craft of some kind leaving their property and disappearing into the night sky. This ring and the broken branches apparently in the path of this object would exhibit forensic properties that were not entirely explainable. The incident is still considered one of the best instances of a Close Encounter of the 2nd Kind: "A UFO event in which a physical effect is alleged." Whatever it was that left whatever it left, we can be certain of this — Ron Johnson will always remember this 2nd of November. Tonight's Quote: “Ronald Johnson doesn’t know what it was, but it rumbled, whistled like a jet or the high whine of tires on the freeway and shot into the sky and left a glowing ring behind on the ground.” — Page 2 of the Salina Journal, Friday, the 5th of November, 1971 Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The account from NICAP - the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena http://bit.do/nicapdelphos Journalist Robert Trussell's report of the incident in the Kansas City Star http://bit.do/trussell Excerpt from the book The Utah UFO Display: A Scientist Brings Reason and Logic to Over 400 UFO Cases http://bit.do/UtahUfoDisplay The Delphos case in the Flying Saucer Review - only 20 Pence! - in 1972 http://bit.do/flyingsaucerreview The Delphos landing: new evidence from the laboratory by British chemist Erol A. Faruk, Ph.D. http://bit.do/drfarukarticle The Compelling Scientific Evidence for UFOs by Dr. Erol A. Faruk http://bit.do/drfaruksbook Elvis sighting in Kansas! http://bit.do/elvisinkansas Article on the Delphos Ring from the Salina Journal newspaper, part 1 http://bit.do/delphosarticle1 Salina Journal article, part 2 of 3 http://bit.do/delphosarticle2 Salina Journal article, part 3 of 3 http://bit.do/delphosarticle3 The Delphos incident on the Science Channel http://bit.do/sciencechanneldelphos "Delphos has a wealth of interesting stories" from the Capital-Journal http://bit.do/delphosfacts Article on the Delphos Ring from the ufoevidence.org website http://bit.do/ufoevidenceorg Overview of the Delphos incident from the ufocasebook.com website http://bit.do/ufocasebook The Dark Myths Collective:  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 037 - "The Delphos Ring" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Edited by Sarah Vorhees, Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

In death, The Somerton Man remains a mystery. But what was he in life? A Russian spy? Was he a black market racketeer, a professional dancer on holiday, an estranged lover saying goodbye one last time, or perhaps a combination of all of the above? Tonight in our final episode on the mystery of The Somerton Man, we look at most of the major theories put forth, and until that day a breakthrough in the case comes to light, we say, Tamám Shud… It is finished. Tonight’s Quote: “Please be advised that a search of these prints through the Identification Division of the FBI has failed to disclose any record. Sincerely Yours, John Edgar Hoover.” — Excerpt from a January 1949 Letter to the Adelaide Police Commissioner obtained by Professor Abbott through the Freedom of Information Act regarding the Somerton Man’s Fingerprints. Show Links: We’ve found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Dark Myths Collective: The Dark Myths Collective! http://darkmyths.org SIGN THIS PETITION FOR EXHUMATION OF THE SOMERTON MAN SO HE CAN BE PROPERLY LAID TO REST! http://bit.do/somerton For more information on this episode visit our website! Show Links: The website for the fantastic historical action novels of A. L. Sowards http://bit.ly/1WCcM7k Professor Derek Abbott’s primary source material on the Somerton Man case http://bit.ly/1pOYPVf Malcolm Gladwell’s article in the New Yorker on Kim Philby http://bit.ly/1uf1gAO Kim Philby, British double agent, reveals all in secret video http://bbc.in/1V3bFw7 Thomas Boghardt’s article on the Cambridge 5 on spymuseum.org http://bit.ly/1rQC4Bo The Cambridge 5 end up as “hopeless drunks” http://bbc.in/1Oz4vxS Article on Cold War Australia, The Petrov Commission, and Operation VENONA http://bit.ly/1TmRJCI Description of the roles of the GRU and the KGB as Soviet intelligence agencies http://bit.ly/1TeVnk7 Miliary Tuberculosis on Wiki, which may have caused some of Somerton Man’s symptoms http://bit.ly/1qsKbmu Profits Over Patriotism: Black Market Crime in World War II Sydney by Timothy Blum http://bit.ly/1Xlttm7 The Grave of the Tamám Shud Man on Atlas Obscura http://bit.ly/1YxwQoL The California Sunday Magazine article featuring Professor Abbott http://bit.ly/1JwbxhD The South Australia Police Historical Society’s newsletter Hue and Cry – scroll down to see their blurb on TSM http://bit.ly/1TWKvEd Christopher Andrew and the Strange Case of Roger Hollis on Quadrant Online http://bit.ly/1TWKvEd Gordon Cramer’s Blog on the Tamam Shud Mystery featuring the technique of “Micro Writing” http://bit.ly/1NwhtMK Nick Pelling’s blog on the Somerton Man – Note: his servers are being updated due to high traffic so check back if currently unavailable! http://bit.ly/1TYEh73 Pete Bowes’ blog on The Somerton Man http://bit.ly/1WC6PXw Adelaide’s The Advertiser article examines Micro Writing and the code http://bit.ly/1TjSKvo AV Club’s article on “Tamán Shud” http://avc.lu/22evm4L ABC documentary on the case, Part 1 of 3 (click on other YouTube links to get parts 2 & 3 once finished) http://bit.ly/1Xw5kcR Mike Dash’s article The Body on Somerton Beach on Smithsonian.com http://bit.ly/1xUb8kV The UK’s Daily Mail article with a Somerton’s “Love Child” angle http://dailym.ai/24WjvtQ Huffington Post – On the Trail of the Somerton Man http://huff.to/1ID8nqM A little bit about the code and Abbott on Phys.org http://bit.ly/1KDq8qj The New Yorker article on The Science of Ricin http://bit.ly/1qpOMWo Could You Diagnose Ricin Poisoning? on MedPage Today http://bit.ly/1ThsX3A The Sarin Gas Attack in Japan and the Related Forensic Investigation http://bit.ly/1YxFK5E Acute Liver Failure Caused by Amanita phalloides Poisoning http://bit.ly/200iYDS Australia’s Most Poisonous Plants on Australian Geographic http://bit.ly/1NwlJM8 “Lady Killers” article in The New Yorker by Emily Anthes http://bit.ly/1qpQx6b Credits: Episode 036 – “The Somerton Man, Part 3: The Theories” Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or “A.R.C.” for short. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved. 

We wrap up most of our interview with Professor Derek Abbott in Part 2B of The Somerton Man series, where we learn that when you engage a mystery, the mystery can engage you. Tonight's Quote: "Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,Before we too into the Dust descend;Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie,Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and—sans End!" Quattrain 23 from Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Dark Myths Collective:  The Dark Myths Collective! http://darkmyths.org SIGN THIS PETITION FOR EXHUMATION OF THE SOMERTON MAN SO HE CAN BE PROPERLY LAID TO REST! http://bit.do/somerton Show Links - Links are the same as Part 1 as similar material is covered. New Links will appear for final Part 3 on Theories. For more information on this episode visit our website! Link to purchase Gerry Feltus' book, "The Unknown Man: A Suspicious Death at Somerton Beach" http://bit.ly/1YGiX7m One of the better of MANY websites devoted to the case http://bit.ly/1UEn83I A HuffPo Article on the case by Professor Abbott who's interview will be heard in Part 2! http://huff.to/1ID8nqM Another solid article at Phys.org about the case that discusses DNA findings http://bit.ly/1KDq8qj Much of Professor Abbott's collected knowledge on the Case http://bit.ly/1pOYPVf Audio Book versions of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam http://bit.ly/1pOZ42P There are many more links to come, but we are saving some for the other parts of the series http://bit.ly/1R2hTZi Part 1 of Littlemore Special http://bit.do/bYXLj Part 2 of Littlemore Special http://bit.do/bYXLC Part 3 of Littlemore Special http://bit.do/bYXLN

As with any great mystery, it can turn some individuals into steadfast researchers and citizen detectives, dedicating years to a quest for answers.  We were lucky enough to interview one such person, Professor Derek Abbott of the University of Adelaide in Australia.  In addition to teaching Electrical Engineering at the University, Professor Abbott also has a background in Physics, biomedical engineering, complex systems, and probability theory, which can involve the fields of cryptography and forensics.   He first became interested in the Somerton Man case around 1995, and then fully immersed himself in an effort to crack the cryptography aspect in 2007, even enlisting the aid of some of his students as a school project.  In Part Two of our series, Professor Abbott gives us an overview of the story, then shares some of his findings and conclusions.   Tonight's Quote: “Yes, this man has someone to love him.  He is known only to God.”  — Captain E.J. Webb of the Salvation Army at The Somerton Man’s Funeral, as cited in Gerald Feltus’ book, The Unknown Man Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Dark Myths Collective:  The Dark Myths Collective!  http://darkmyths.org SIGN THIS PETITION FOR EXHUMATION OF THE SOMERTON MAN SO HE CAN BE PROPERLY LAID TO REST! http://bit.do/somerton Show Links - Links are the same as Part 1 as similar material is covered. New Links will appear for final Part 3 on Theories. • Link to purchase Gerry Feltus' book, "The Unknown Man: A Suspicious Death at Somerton Beach"  http://bit.ly/1YGiX7m • One of the better of MANY websites devoted to the case   http://bit.ly/1UEn83I • A HuffPo Article on the case by Professor Abbott who's interview will be heard in Part 2! http://huff.to/1ID8nqM • Another solid article at Phys.org about the case that discusses DNA findings http://bit.ly/1KDq8qj • Much of Professor Abbott's collected knowledge on the Case http://bit.ly/1pOYPVf • Audio Book versions of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam http://bit.ly/1pOZ42P • There are many more links to come, but we are saving some for the other parts of the series http://bit.ly/1R2hTZi • For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 034 - "The Somerton Man, Part 2" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a,k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short.  Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.  #somertonman #tamamshud 

Of the six questions — who, what, when, where, how and why — we only know three when it comes to the mystery of "The Somerton Man." What and where: a middle-aged man found dead on Somerton Beach, which borders the Adelaide, Australia, suburb of Glenelg. When: he was found by passersby at 6:30 a.m. on December 1, 1948. As for the remaining questions, authorities, academics, authors, Australians and curious citizens the world over have been seeking answers ever since. The mundane yet mysterious items found on his person and in an unclaimed suitcase (thought to be his) at the Adelaide railway station would yield few clues and many more questions. He had no wallet or identification, and all the tags on his clothing were meticulously removed. Investigators had virtually nothing to go on, except for one intriguing thing: a scrap of paper torn from the last page of a first edition translation of eleventh-century poetry, the Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam, which was found rolled up in the man's watch pocket. On it were the words, "Tamám Shud," meaning "ended" or "finished" in Persian, and giving this mystery its other renowned moniker: "The Tamám Shud Case." When the book from which the page was torn surfaced some time later, there appeared to be an unbreakable coded message written on one of the last pages. Further adding to the mystery, there was the assessment by a senior pathologist that the victim most likely died from an untraceable poison. Whether "The Somerton Man" was just a napping tourist with a degenerative disease, a jilted lover out to end it all, or a Cold War spy whose mission had been terminated, we may never know. This is Part 1 of our our 3 Part in-depth series on The Somerton Man Tonight's Quote: 'Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays.  A selected quatrain from Edward Fitzgerald’s 1st edition translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! For more information on this episode visit our website! The Dark Myths Collective! http://darkmyths.org SIGN THIS PETITION FOR EXHUMATION OF THE SOMERTON MAN SO HE CAN BE PROPERLY LAID TO REST! http://bit.do/somerton One of the better of MANY websites devoted to the case http://bit.ly/1UEn83I A HuffPo Article on the case by Professor Abbott who's interview will be heard in Part 2! http://huff.to/1ID8nqM Another solid article at Phys.org about the case that discusses DNA findings http://bit.ly/1KDq8qj Much of Professor Abbott's collected knowledge on the Case http://bit.ly/1pOYPVf Audio Book versions of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam http://bit.ly/1pOZ42P There are many more links to come, but we are saving some for the other parts of the series http://bit.ly/1R2hTZi Credits: Episode 033 - "The Somerton Man" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

New Episode Friday 3.18.16! Audio of a quick promo of our pending episodes on The Tamam Shud: Somerton Man Mystery. Associated Video of Promo here - http://bit.do/somertonpromo2

What's down there? Lost treasure? Legend has it. 20% of the world's unfrozen freshwater sitting on 4.3 miles of sediment? Science confirms it. What about humanoid creatures almost 10 feet tall, wearing silvery suits with helmets out for a deepwater swim, who don't care to be messed with? Well... yes — if you believe a report from the Soviet military. Unbelievable as this sounds, this story is only one of many frequently occurring reports of supernatural events at this magnificent body of water. Lake Baikal has a long history of being known as Russia's hotspot for all manner of unexplainable anomalies, like UFO & USO sightings (Unidentified Submerged Object), glowing orbs, spirits, Bermuda Triangle-like phenomena, melted rings in the ice three miles wide which are seen from space, and of course, a lost race of amphibian giants. But what else would you expect from the oldest, deepest, and most voluminous lake on earth, known as "The Pearl of Siberia?" Tonight's Quote: “It reflects like an optical instrument and responds to changes in the weather so sensitively that it seems like a part of the sky rather than of the land.” Author Ian Frazier on Lake Baikal from his book, Travels in Siberia. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! For more information on this episode visit our website! FIRST The Dark Myths Collective:  The Dark Myths Collective! http://darkmyths.org The Nighttime Podcast http://apple.co/1LO2fMz The Eastern Border http://apple.co/1RxKyFk Our Fake History http://apple.co/1TfWe3e Show Note Links: Lake Baikal on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1OCfb88 Lake Issyk-Kul on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1RuwkVH Article from the Siberian Times: "Aliens and UFOs at world's deepest lake" http://bit.ly/20YMFoj Mysterious giants inhabit Eurasian lakes (part I) http://bit.ly/1TJl4rY Mysterious giants inhabit Eurasian lakes (part II) http://bit.ly/1oNUvp8 Seagull Magazine "Newcomers from the depths of Lake Baikal" - Use Google Chrome to translate this Russian website http://bit.ly/1peoWEQ Another Mark Steinberg article for Seagull Magazine - Use Google Chrome to translate this Russian website http://bit.ly/1pepgn3 Anomalies, mysteries and places of Lake Baikal - Use Google Chrome to translate this Russian website http://bit.ly/1OCeFa2 Russian website overview on Lake Baikal highlights - use Google Chrome to translate page http://bit.ly/1QMqUZw "Dead alien found in UFO hotspot in Russia" http://bit.ly/1T2ugYv CNN Slideshow: "Lake Baikal, the jewel of Siberia" http://cnn.it/1n3eluI Underwater bases and ancient civilizations http://bit.ly/1OCgfc8 "Metallic spheres found in Siberia are of alien origin?" http://bit.ly/1WPG0M8 "Thirsty UFOs" http://bit.ly/1XQFEpu Will o' the Wisp http://bit.ly/24tPvWO Categories of a "Close Encounter" http://bit.ly/2112DOD Dr. J. Allen Hynek - UFOlogist pioneer http://bit.ly/1TEJgua The legend of "Ihtiander" http://bit.ly/1QjiJ4N A Journey to Lake Baikal http://amzn.to/21yrtaQ The Study of UFO's in the Soviet Union http://bit.ly/1WPH6rf Remember Tunguska? http://bit.ly/2113fDY Lost Treasure in the Lake? http://bit.ly/1XQGl2b Threats to the Pearl http://bit.ly/1QMtdeQ Jeremy Hsu's Article about the Rings http://bit.ly/1Td54yJ Some Amazing (if not verified) Facts about Baikal http://bit.ly/1TJnve3 See Episode 4 of 'What on Earth?' http://amzn.to/1oNYGBx Do Whirlpools Really Change Direction in the Opposite Hemisphere? http://huff.to/1WPHNRn UFO's in Siberia http://bit.ly/1oNYQc3 The Underwater UFO Base in Malibu. Real or not? http://huff.to/1ssaSY8 The Legend of Lake Baikal Hotel http://bit.ly/1QmvWpT Something We Didn't Mention, But Worth Considering! http://bit.ly/21oM1WE A Solid Scientific Article on Baikal http://bit.ly/1KRFUmt On Russian Naval Reports of USO's http://bit.ly/24tQeYf The Fires http://bit.ly/1S7FFVU Did Christopher Columbus See a USO/UFO? http://bit.ly/1Lkd1PM A Scientific Paper on Magnetic Anomalies in the Baikal Rift Zone http://bit.ly/1Ruz4CH Will Baikal Become an Ocean? http://bit.ly/1VJJmzS The Nerpa http://bit.ly/1VJJvmW A Stonehill Article On It All http://bit.ly/1T2xPxH Prof Anthony Lights Methane on Fire in Alaska http://bit.ly/1Nbope7 Credits: Episode 032 - "Lake Baikal" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing Astonishing Research Corps. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.  #lakebaikal #uso #ufo #siberia #mysteries

Our ancient ancestors spoke of a legendary place -- where the young and young at heart could test their skills against a magical, electronic device, using strategy, and their reflexes at 25¢ a pop. These wondrous havens were called "Video Arcades" and these hulking machines were called "Video Games." Believe it or not kids, it was the only place you could play a decent-looking, somewhat sophisticated video game, housed in a heavy, laminated wooden cabinet, because at the time the only thing you could play on your "push-button" phone was the tune, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." There is another legend however, that at least in one or more of these Video Arcades in Portland, Oregon in 1981 A.D., there lurked a mysterious Arcade Game called "Polybius" and it had a much more nefarious purpose than to provide amusement and rook a kid out of a short stack of quarters -- it may have been there to try its hand at brainwashing you, and then report its findings to a sinister government agency. There were reports of players who suffered terrible side effects from the visual phantasmagoria of the gameplay, like severe headaches, nausea, memory loss, nightmares, an aversion to playing any video games afterwards and in some extreme cases, suicide. But were these reports true? Did this diabolical game ever exist? Was the legend of Polybius just an "Urban Legend?" One thing we do know is true, prior to the legend of Polybius, a secret government agency really did try to zap unsuspecting people's brains and take notes.  Tonight's Quote: “The obvious objective of video games is to entertain people by surprising them with new experiences.” Miyamoto Shigeru, the "Father of Modern Video Games" and Co-creator of The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Brothers and many more. For more information on this episode visit our website! Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! "The Cosmos' Most Ridiculously Implausible Videogames: Polybius - the most mysterious game of all time?" an article by Jason Helton http://bit.ly/1JZlNST "Polybius: Video Game of Death" by Brian Dunning from his Skeptoid Podcast #362 http://bit.ly/1SZ8eFN "Polybius: Portland's Own Seizure-Inducing Mystery Game" an article by Richard Grunert in Willamette Week http://bit.ly/1PVKKRB Polybius, the real Greek historian http://bit.ly/1Pjh2Aa Text of Original Polybius Comments from Steven Roach and Cyber Yogi http://bit.ly/20HOSpY The Simpsons and all it's Math http://bit.ly/1mqpuEw Duane Weatherall's Interview with Steven Roach http://bit.ly/20s6U2K Power Gloves & Tinfoil Hats: Case #001 http://bit.ly/1S1SnWB Download the Supposed ROM of the Game. PC Required http://bit.ly/23Ka7tA Interview with Ed Rotberg about Battlezone and the Military http://bit.ly/1SZaGMi Vector vs Raster http://bit.ly/1UMB2Pr Another Good Summary Article http://bit.ly/1NRnZXj Halcyon Days The Book http://bit.ly/1nOykP7 TEMPEST http://my.ign.com/atari/tempest BATTLEZONE http://my.ign.com/atari/battlezone Episode 031 - "Polybius" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016. All Rights Reserved.

On March 12, 1909, The Arizona Gazette published an article titled, "G. E. Kincaid Reaches Yuma." It was a short, mildly interesting announcement that Mr. "Kincaid" was only the second person to make the perilous boat trip down the entire course of the Colorado River, starting from Green River, Wyoming and eventually reaching Yuma, Arizona. A feat worthy of mention in the papers of course, but aside from stating that he took over 700 photographs and "Some interesting archaeological discoveries were unearthed," there was not much indication of the news which was to come next. Twenty four days later, on April 5, 1909, the newspaper ran a follow-up to their first article on the adventurous Mr. Kincaid, except this time it was full, front-page coverage on just what discoveries he'd unearthed previously. This article (also uncredited) reported that along with "G.E. Kinkaid" (his name now spelled with a "k") a "Professor S.A. Jordan" and a team from the Smithsonian had investigated what appeared to be a large network of tunnels and rooms, some filled with ancient mummies and artifacts that did not appear to be from the Western Hemisphere. And that was the end of the story. No further stories were printed by the newspaper, no knowledge by the Smithsonian about any such expedition, and no one knows if "Kinkaid" or "Jordan" ever existed, let alone the cave itself. That leaves us with two questions: is this story real, and if real, what would be the implications to world history? Tonight's Quote: "First, I would impress that the cavern is nearly inaccessible. The entrance is 1,486 feet down the sheer canyon wall. It is located on government land and no visitor will be allowed there under penalty of trespass." "G.E. Kincaid," Explorer, referring to a cave full of anomalous artifacts he discovered in the Grand Canyon. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! For more information on this episode visit our website! THE DEVIL IN THE DINER - http://bit.ly/1T0vNNv -- An animated short by Peter Sabatino & Zeke O'Donnell and the first video on our newly launched YouTube channel as mentioned in the intro of this episode. Blog entry containing a photocopy image of the first AZ Gazette article to mention "G.E. Kincaid" http://bit.ly/1V2PzGA Text of the 1st Arizona Gazette article that mentions "Kincaid's" trip, from The Isis Journals website http://bit.ly/1JVQkkc Text of the 2nd AZ Gazette article describing "G.E. Kinkaid's" find http://bit.ly/1PiJnpk "Canyonitis: Seeing evidence of ancient Egypt in the Grand Canyon" by Philip Coppens http://bit.ly/1NgNPnc Article on io9 about Kinkaid's Cave http://bit.ly/1nuIUdH David Hatcher Childress' article on the Kinkaid Cave http://bit.ly/1JdJlTw "The Location of Kincaid's 'Cave' Revealed" by Jack Andrews http://bit.ly/1KnT70v Ancient American magazine http://bit.ly/1P1s28C "Egyptian Grand Canyon Connection" - article by CNY Artifact Recovery http://bit.ly/1Qaakig “Looks Like a Mulhatton Story” from the Grand Canyon Historical Society newsletter by Don Lago http://bit.ly/1SZozt3 Hoaxes of Joseph Mulhattan http://bit.ly/1OBATdI "Joe Mulhatton" article in The Chicago Tribune, dated April 22, 1891 http://trib.in/1PBSSR0 Larry Walters, the "Lawn Chair Pilot" http://bit.ly/23aOMt7 Reprints of the Gazette's articles and brief commentary from Jason Colavito http://bit.ly/1RQ0tBQ Jason Colavito's critical view of the legend http://bit.ly/1JdJlTw John Wesley Powell http://bit.ly/1Zx3Ht0 Brief history of the Smithsonian Institution http://s.si.edu/1OtSVBA Cataldo Mission http://bit.ly/1Kodc6M The El Tovar Hotel http://bit.ly/1OsSbvz The Mississippian Culture of North America http://bit.ly/1ZxDbzy Russell Burrrows' Cave http://bit.ly/1P1KJt3 Aztalan State Park in Wisconsin http://bit.ly/1OsSbvz Ivan Terence Sanderson, biologist and adventurer http://bit.ly/1OBN7mu Scott Wolter talks about trying to find "Burrows Cave" http://bit.ly/1Ot31lb The Missoula Floods, a.k.a. The Spokane Floods http://bit.ly/1KnF0YS "Beringia" or the Bering Land Bridge http://bit.ly/1Qa6S7j * Little Ice Age http://bit.ly/1Qa6S7j Discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb http://bit.ly/1JyH3rg Bes, Egyptian Nile Valley deity http://bit.ly/1P1sh3I "Ancient Egypt in America" by Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer http://bit.ly/1Qk6Bkk "American Drugs in Egyptian Mummies" by S. A. Wells http://bit.ly/1uCZt4J Ancient Egypt and King Joseph in America? http://bit.ly/20aWfG4 Credits: Episode 030 - "Kinkaid's Cave" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016, All Rights Reserved. 

They had lawyers, guns and money, as well as cartographers and engineers, tradesmen, politicians and professionals of all station, all embedded in American society and the money in the earth itself. One day these would all be needed by the Knights of the Golden Circle and if the people, their skills and their ideals would not survive the generations then their amassed fortune would. And here is where one legend intersects with another: The Lost Dutchman Mine and the Knights of the Golden Circle. Was the Lost Mine a massive KGC treasure cache? It's treasure may never be found, but those that have gone looking may have found its sentinels, and along with it, an often mysterious demise. Tonight's Quote: "...The secessionists of (El) Monte are only awaiting the withdrawal of troops from Los Angeles before they commence operations..." For more information on this episode visit our website! Edwin A. Sherman, San Bernardino County Newspaper Editor in a letter to Union Army General E. V. Sumner, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Division  Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URL's, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URL's next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Tom Kollenborn Blog - http://bit.ly/1UMwc4Y Kollenborn on Elisha Reavis - http://bit.ly/1UMwyIR James Tufts, Inventor of the Arctic Soda Fountain - http://bit.ly/1TVwLII El Monte RV - http://bit.ly/1IeYe7K Adolph Ruth - http://bit.ly/1RYItni Jacob Waltz 1 - http://bit.ly/1T7HxeU The Lost Dutchman Mine - http://bit.ly/1KXM1UN The Peralta Stones - http://bit.ly/1T7HCiI Don Miguel Peralta (not a real person) - http://bit.ly/1T7HFej The Baron of Arizona - http://bit.ly/1QRvi6V James Addison Reavis - http://bit.ly/1UMxEnS

The Confederate Army’s losses at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July 1863 marked a turning point in America’s Civil War, one that was not favorable for furthering the cause of “Southern Independence.” With the hopes of an overall military victory for the Confederacy now beginning to fade, the clandestine leaders of the KGC took the movement fully underground, secreting not only their commands and communications, but also their amassed wealth and weapons. There is sufficient circumstantial evidence to suggest that significant amounts of gold and silver as well as armaments had been collected by the KGC from agents, members and sympathizers, but that then begs the question, where did it all go? If a vast, non-centralized network of money and guns needed to be kept from the hands of a dominant and soon to be victorious Union government, what methodology could a secret organization use to hide it all, and who and what system could be trusted to find it again when it was needed? Part Two of our series on the Knights of the Golden Circle takes a look at where they may have gotten their gains, and what legendary names, famous and infamous, may have helped them. Tonight’s Quote: “It’s my damn story, and if they don’t believe it I’m not gonna worry about it, damn it. Pardon my French.” – Bob Brewer Show Links: We’ve found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URL’s, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URL’s next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Maximilian I, of Mexico - http://bit.ly/1IOid7P Jesse Woodson James - http://bit.ly/1CLN084 J. Frank Dalton - http://bit.ly/1OJm4JY Forum on the KGC from treasurenet.com - http://bit.ly/1IOrDAp Link to Del Schrader’s “Jesse James Was One Of His Names” on Amazon - http://amzn.com/B0006CEQ4I Article on Betty Dorsett Duke and Jesse James - http://bit.ly/1m62IDv Blog entry on Orvus Lee Howk, a.k.a. Jesse James III - http://bit.ly/1YT3y4C “Was Orvus Lee Howk Really a Barnhill, as Dalton Claimed?” by Philip Kromer - http://bit.ly/1m63nF1 “What You Didn’t Know About John Wilkes Booth & Jesse James” by Mark Owen - http://bit.ly/1OcKEy5 For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 028 – “Knights of the Golden Circle – Part 2” Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

America in the mid-nineteenth century was still a very young nation in the process of finding its own identity, its states not yet fully or harmoniously united. Differing ideas on what methods of production and government its inhabitants should employ were fomenting into a house divided and would lead to one of the bloodiest and devastating civil wars any country could experience. Leading up to America's Civil War, various factions were coalescing into numerous political parties and regional movements, with ideological lines drawn largely on the issue of slavery. The struggle for America's southern states' self-determination gave rise to a secret society known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, whose members were determined to gain power, wealth and influence for their cause either within the Union, or if necessary as their own autonomous territory. The birth of the United States as a nation would indeed be a painful and traumatic experience, the pangs of which would be felt and remembered to this day, and the hopes for the rise of the South kept alive perhaps more than the average American knows. Tonight's Quote: “No matter what secrets may be given to me by a 57, if given as the secret of a 57 and because I am one, I will hold the same sacredly in my own knowledge, and never re-communicate it, even to a 57, unless authorized so to do by the brother whose secret it is.” KGC Initiation rites for their 3rd degree, within which membership was kept from all other members of the organization. (Published anonymously in 1861) Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URL's, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URL's next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! Knights of the Golden Circle on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1NjC5aa Article on the KGC from the Texas State Historical Association http://bit.ly/1XjMJNt "An Authentic Exposition of the Knights of the Golden Circle" by a Member of the Order http://bit.ly/1OaGZ8m Report of the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army on the Order of American Knights, from 1864 http://bit.ly/1kP9A87 "Solving Lincoln's Assassination" - a blog posting by Steven Hager http://bit.ly/1ScpjbM Albert Pike, Freemasonry and the KGC http://bit.ly/21c7zTJ Albert Pike http://bit.ly/1QCVbIJ Clement Vallandigham http://bit.ly/1PIYQ7K Robert Rhett http://bit.ly/1I9xO1r John A. Quitman http://bit.ly/1jf5rIL Benjamin McCulloch http://bit.ly/1NKI81Y William Walker http://bit.ly/1PUzDFS Copperhead political faction http://bit.ly/1QZ59U9 The Young America political movement http://bit.ly/1HheKUa The Fire-Eaters political faction http://bit.ly/1P1GQW5 For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 027 - "Knights of the Golden Circle" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.

They watch us. They wait. Lurking in the shadows or in bright daylight, from afar, in the corners of our eyes or in our very own bedrooms, staring directly at us, sometimes with eyes of red fire. They observe us and learn our behavior or they try to choke the breath and souls from our bodies. But why are they here and what do they really want with us? Or are their sightings and interactions just a physiological or psychological anomaly, Hypnogogic or Hypnopompic Isolated Sleep Paralysis, a trick of the light, perhaps a wayward spark causing an electrical stimulation of the brain's left temporoparietal junction? Maybe this phenomenon is only one of the many unfortunate side-effects of a methamphetamine bender, but then why do sober and healthy people also see them? Join us tonight as we explore what these uninvited paranormal intruders might be, perhaps either interdimensional or bioelectrochemical and why they seem to enjoy the abject terror they instill in us in our 2nd Annual Halloween Special. If these spectral watchers are real, one thing is certain: they feed off our deepest, darkest fear. Tonight's Quote: “The boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins?” Edgar Allen Poe Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URL's, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URL's next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! A very general overview of Shadow People on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1jH5sGz Induction of a Shadow Person via local electrical stimulation in the brain http://bit.ly/1kDGEPX Art Bell radio episode on YouTube about Shadow People http://bit.ly/1jHfGqs The Daily Mail Article Scott Referenced on the Documentary, 'The Nightmare' http://dailym.ai/1Ly2QDW The Film, The Nightmare http://bit.ly/1MPGDiz An article from the website Odd Xtreme on Black Eyed Kids http://bit.ly/1NteSz5 "Floaters" in the eye's vitreous humour http://bit.ly/1PK7PFq The Grinning Man and Indrid Cold http://bit.ly/1bX3Y0f The Tulpa - a Tibetan Buddhist thoughtform creature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa The Golem http://bit.ly/1kDKRD8 David Weatherly's books "Strange Intruders" and "Black Eyed Kids" http://bit.ly/1LUTSSA Ghost Hunters International star Susan Slaughter describes her encounter with a Black Eyed Kid to David Weatherly. http://bit.ly/1Rw4qaD The Slender Man http://bit.ly/1OOrbsI Jason Offutt's Shadow People Blog http://bit.ly/1OT5vfk Shadow People article by author Jason Offutt http://bit.ly/1O0iaNa Accounts by 15 people on their encounter with the "Sleep Paralysis Demon" http://tcat.tc/1qflsNu Interesting letter from a scientist named "Alex" on his SP encounters http://xfin.tv/1KxCzS8 Shadow People and the Djinn from Psychology Today website http://bit.ly/1MiutV3 A critical look at the Shadow Person phenomenon from SKEPTOID http://bit.ly/1Miv2y7 reddit thread about a current encounter possibly with Indrid Cold http://bit.ly/1Miv2y7 Webpage on how to deal with Shadow Person encounters http://bit.ly/1Wbmgqf The Horla - a short horror story by Guy de Maupassant http://bit.ly/1LQlIMf For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 026 - "Shadow People" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Some tales are tall tales, and some tales involve an ape-like creature that stands over 7 feet tall and weighs around 700 pounds. Such was the tale of Albert Ostman, who claimed that in 1924, while on a leisurely prospecting trip in British Columbia, Canada, he was kidnapped in the middle of the night by a Sasquatch, or what is more commonly known as "Bigfoot." While some folks might be quick to dismiss Mr. Ostman's story as a stretch of the truth by no small means, it's hard to deny the folksy charm and curious wonder his tale invokes, whether tall tale or sober testimony. Tonight's Quote: “ I have learned from experience that a modicum of snuff can be most efficacious.” Fictional Character Hieronymus Carl Friedrich von Münchhausen on escaping from a monster. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URL's, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URL's next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! The Original Ostman Article - http://bit.do/OstmanArticle Albert Ostman's tale as told to author John Green, on a great site with other "Bigfoot Classics" - http://bit.do/ostmanstory An Actual Interview with Ostman on YouTube - http://bit.do/ostmanyoutube Russian Yeti at Dyatlov? - http://bit.do/dyatlovyeti Snowboarder Bigfoot Incident - http://bit.do/snowboarderbigfootincidentbc The Story of Muchalot Harry (also kidnapped!) - http://bit.do/muchalotharry Mike the Dog, Bowser Hotel Barmaid - http://bit.do/mikethedog A Mike the Dog Bowser Geocache - http://bit.do/mikethedogGEOCACHE Bowser, BC - http://bit.do/bowserbc Bowzer from Sha Na Na - http://bit.do/bowzer Toba Inlet, BC - http://bit.do/tobainletbc Baron Munchausen - http://bit.do/munchausen Gigantopithecus - http://bit.do/Gigantopithecus Why Bigfoot CAN'T Be Gigantopithecus - http://bit.do/ArgumentAgainstGigantopithecus Grover Krantz Talks About Cripplefoot - http://bit.do/KrantzCripplefoot Great Berkeley Museum Exhibit of Cripplefoot Casting - http://bit.do/CripplefootCast Patterson-Gimlin Shoot Location - http://bit.do/PattersonGimlinGoogleMaps Patterson-Gimlin Coordinates (not clickable, cut and paste to Google Earth): 41.4402000°, -123.7019167° Patterson-Gimlin Film Stabilized (The BEST one) - http://bit.do/PattersonGimlinStabilized Bad Bob the Albino from Judge Roy Bean (Adult Concepts) - http://bit.do/BadBob For more information on this episode visit our website! Episode 025 - "Kidnapped by Bigfoot: The Albert Ostman Story" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.  #bigfoot

Background: Part 2 of our Special on Dyatlov Pass:  On January 27, 1959, a group of outdoor enthusiasts, known as "tourists" in Russia, consisting of seven men and two women, mostly students and graduates of the Ural Polytechnical Institute (which is now the Ural Federal University) left the village of Vizhay in the northern Ural Mountains on a two-week ski trek, through a region called Sverdlovsk Oblast, the "gateway to Siberia" in Russia.  In Russia a "tourist" is a serious outdoorsman. The goal was to reach Otorten Mountain at the end of their journey.  Their planned route would rank as a "Category III," the most difficult classification for a hiking expedition in winter, which if successful, would qualify them as "Masters of Sport."  On February 1st as they started to move through a mountain pass on their last leg of the trip, bad weather and decreasing visibility forced them off course, and the group decided to make camp on the eastern slope of a small mountain called Kholat Syakhl by the indigenous Mansi peoples, which translates to "Dead Mountain" due to the area's lack of wild game.  Sometime during the night of February 2nd, the group suffered an unimaginably terrifying ordeal, sealing their fate.  When they hadn't been heard from by February 20th, a search party was formed to look for the missing youths.  On February 26th the search party reached their camp and what they found would bring more questions than answers.  It appeared as though something had scared the hikers so badly, that they panicked and ripped a hole in the side of their tent in order to escape, shoeless, into - 20º F (-29º C) snowfall.  It was determined by Soviet authorities that the group had met with a "compelling unknown force" causing them all to flee and ultimately die of exposure with some also suffering significant internal injuries such as broken ribs and fractured skulls.  There have since been many theories put forth as to what this force actually was, but we may never know what was so horrific that it caused this group of experienced adventurers to take leave of their senses and take their chances in the deadly wilderness.  Following the incident, the mountain pass was named "Dyatlov Pass" in honor of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov. Tonight's Quote: "An unknown compelling force should be considered the cause of the hiker's deaths." - Lev Ivanov, Lead Prosecutor, Dyatlov Pass Incident Show Links: (Links work best in iOS on iTunes or on our webpage at astonishinglegends.com) Archive of a very comprehensive website about the whole Dyatlov story Supplemental documentation and analysis of the incident Dyatlov Pass on Wiki Terrific archive of all the photos from the group, in English and Russian Forum on the Dyatlov incident - in Russian - you'll need a browser that can translate Donnie Eichar's "Authors at Google" interview about his book, "Dead Mountain" Book Review of "Dead Mountain" Song: Pixies "Wave of Mutilation" from the album, "Doolittle" YouTube vid about Dyatlov - text pulled from Wiki entry but has good photos Interesting story about a family living isolated for 40 years in Siberia Russian Yeti at Dyatlov? Snowboarder Bigfoot Incident Nazi UFO's Foo Fighters More on the Foo Fighters Even more on Foo Fighting The Actual Foo Fighters (Because you were expecting that right?)  For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 024 - "Dyatlov Pass (Part 2)" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle.  Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Background: On January 27, 1959, a group of outdoor enthusiasts, known as 'tourists' in Russia, consisting of seven men and two women, mostly students and graduates of the Ural Polytechnical Institute (which is now the Ural Federal University) left the village of Vizhay in the northern Ural Mountains on a two-week ski trek, through a region called Sverdlovsk Oblast, the "gateway to Siberia" in Russia.  In Russia a 'tourist' is a serious outdoorsman. The goal was to reach Otorten Mountain at the end of their journey.  Their planned route would rank as a "Category III," the most difficult classification for a hiking expedition in winter, which if successful, would qualify them as "Masters of Sport."  On February 1st as they started to move through a mountain pass on their last leg of the trip, bad weather and decreasing visibility forced them off course, and the group decided to make camp on the eastern slope of a small mountain called Kholat Syakhl by the indigenous Mansi peoples, which translates to "Dead Mountain" due to the area's lack of wild game.  Sometime during the night of February 2nd, the group suffered an unimaginably terrifying ordeal, sealing their fate.  When they hadn't been heard from by February 20th, a search party was formed to look for the missing youths.  On February 26th the search party reached their camp and what they found would bring more questions than answers.  It appeared as though something had scared the hikers so badly, that they panicked and ripped a hole in the side of their tent in order to escape, shoeless, into - 20º F (-29º C) snowfall.  It was determined by Soviet authorities that the group had met with a "compelling unknown force" causing them all to flee and ultimately die of exposure with some also suffering significant internal injuries such as broken ribs and fractured skulls.  There have since been many theories put forth as to what this force actually was, but we may never know what was so horrific that it caused this group of experienced adventurers to take leave of their senses and take their chances in the deadly wilderness.  Following the incident, the mountain pass was named "Dyatlov Pass" in honor of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov. Tonight's Quote: "I wonder what awaits us in this hike? Will anything new happen?" - Zina Kolmogorova from her last diary entry. Show Links: (Links work best in iOS on iTunes or on our webpage at astonishinglegends.com) Archive of a very comprehensive website about the whole Dyatlov story Dyatlov Pass on Wiki Terrific archive of all the photos from the group, in English and Russian Russian website about Dyatlov Forum on the Dyatlov incident Donnie Eichar's "Authors at Google" interview about his book, "Dead Mountain" Book Review of "Dead Mountain" Song: Pixies "Wave of Mutilation" from the album, "Doolittle" YouTube vid about Dyatlov - text pulled from Wiki entry but has good photos Interesting story about a family living isolated for 40 years in Siberia Russian Yeti at Dyatlov? Part 1 of "Golden Symphony" Ellorsith on BandCamp For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 023 - 'Dyatlov Pass (Part 1)' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle.  Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Background: While having lunch near the Los Alamos National Laboratory one day with the likes of Edward Teller, "father of the nuclear bomb" Nobel Prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi wondered out loud (after the topic of recent UFO sightings came up) "Where is everybody?"  Basically what he meant was, if the universe is so seemingly infinite and old, and it's mathematically probable that other star systems have developed intelligent life like ours has, and it's also theoretically possible that an alien civilization with tens or even hundreds of thousands of years of technological advancement could have made it to our galaxy by now, even with sub-lightspeed travel, why haven't we seen any aliens yet?  Tonight, in one of our more conversational shows, we take a broad look at the paradox that bears his name.  By the way, supposed UFO sightings are commonly reported around atomic activities. Tonight's Quote: “It is surely unreasonable to credit that only one small star in the immensity of the universe is capable of developing and supporting intelligent life. But we shall not get to them and they will not come to us.”― P.D. James, The Children of Men Show Links: Jon Stewart Interviews Elizabeth Kolbert In a Nutshell – Kurzgesagt's YouTube video on "The Fermi Paradox" Enrico Fermi The Fermi Paradox Frank Drake The Drake Equation Arecibo Message Song: Frank Black - "Parry the Wind High, Low" (WARNING - F Bomb!) Jill Tarter The Hubble Deep Field Image The TED Blog: "Peering Into Space" The TED Radio Hour featuring Jill Tarter and Brian Greene Jill Tarter's full TED Talk regarding SETI Space Travel in Ancient Art (Site is in German so visit with a browser that does translation.) "Why Aren't The Aliens Here Already?" - an article by Adam Frank on NPR's 13.7 blog Former Lockheed "Skunkworks" director Ben Rich and some interesting confessions Tardigrades/Water Bears Above Black: Project Preserve Destiny The CARET Documents Ezekiel and the Wheel The Nuremburg UFO Battle The Basel Switzerland Incident Seth Shostak's Piece in the NY Times about Contacting Other Civilizations For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 022 - 'The Fermi Paradox' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design.   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural geological processes forming a sinkhole, plain and simple?  These are just some of the theories of what could be down in the infamous and mysterious "Money Pit" on Oak Island, Nova Scotia -- thought by many to be one of the greatest archeological mysteries of North America, and possibly the world. Background: Now that you've heard Parts 1 through 3 (hopefully!) covering the entire history and timeline of the Oak Island Money Pit, Part 4 covers most all of the theories out there of who could've built it, what they put down there and why. Tonight's Quote: "...I’ll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book." ~ Prospero, from William Shakespeare's (or Sir Francis Bacon's?) The Tempest; Act 5, Scene 1, Page 3 If you can't click on these links, visit our website. Apologies for this show being late, our computer died. In an effort to get it posted asap, we've published it even though we are still adding links to the show notes. Visit our webpage for this episode in a few hours for more links than you see listed below! For more information on this episode visit our website! Captain William Kidd The Knights Templar Pope Clement V The Kensington Runestone Nicolas Poussin The First Nations tribe of the Mi'kmaq of Canada's Atlantic Provinces A skeptical investigation of Oak Island by Joe Nickell Christian Rosenkreuz Rosicrucianism The pillars of Solomon's Temple, Boaz and Jachin Robert Fludd Lecture on Spiritual Alchemy and The Great Work Sir Francis Bacon Credits: Episode 021 - 'Oak Island Money Pit Part 4' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design , Special Thanks Tess Pfeifle  Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural geological processes forming a sinkhole, plain and simple?  These are just some of the theories of what could be down in the infamous and mysterious "Money Pit" on Oak Island, Nova Scotia -- thought by many to be one of the greatest archeological mysteries of North America, and possibly the world. Background: Part 3 of our series picks up from where we left off in Part 2, which covered the years between 1867 and 1965.  Part 3 starts after the tragic accident that befell the Restall crew on August 17, 1965 and continues with the history of the Money Pit up until the present day.  Now that you'll know the entire timeline of the events of the Money Pit's mysterious history, Part 4 will cover all of the major theories of what is or was, down there. Tonight's Quote: "This project, when we get through with it, may or may not make us rich.  But at least we will have solved one of the world's greatest mysteries." ~ David Tobias, one of the founders of the Triton Alliance, Ltd. in 1969 along with Dan Blankenship. For more information on this episode visit our website! Nova Scotia Ashley Morgan's website that covers the main points of the Oak Island story Oak Island Treasure website Google Maps Location of Oak Island The Reader's Digest Article that Inspired the Current Treasure Hunters Ken Polsson's Chronology of the Oak Island Treasure Hunt In Search Of on Oak Island Is Oak Island A Hoax? Credits: Episode 020 - 'Oak Island Money Pit Part 3' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural geological processes forming a sinkhole, plain and simple?  These are just some of the theories of what could be down in the infamous and mysterious "Money Pit" on Oak Island, Nova Scotia -- thought by many to be one of the greatest archeological mysteries of North America, and possibly the world. Background: Part 2 of our series on the elusive Money Pit on Oak Island continues from where we left off in Part 1, which covered the initial discovery of the pit in 1795 up to 1867.  Part 2 covers the dissolution of The Oak Island Eldorado Company (later known as the Halifax Company) in 1867 up until a fateful day in 1965, when the island would claim its next four victims in just a matter of minutes.  Tragic as this was, this did not deter the line of treasure seekers from that moment until the present day, even though local legend claims the island will take one more life before it will give up its secrets. Our App on iOS at the App Store - Here And on Google/Play - Here For more information on this episode visit our website! Nova Scotia Ashley Morgan's website that covers the main points of the Oak Island story Google Maps Location of Oak Island The Reader's Digest Article that Inspired the Current Treasure Hunters Ken Polsson's Chronology of the Oak Island Treasure Hunt In Search Of on Oak Island Is Oak Island A Hoax? Credits: Episode 018 - 'Oak Island Money Pit Part 2' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.   

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural geological processes forming a sinkhole, plain and simple?  These are just some of the theories of what could be down in the infamous and mysterious "Money Pit" on Oak Island, Nova Scotia -- thought by many to be one of the greatest archeological mysteries of North America, and possibly the world. Background: In 1795, a young Nova Scotia resident named Daniel McGinnis rows out to Oak Island, not far from the mainland to check out what he thinks are strange green lights floating amongst the non-native oak trees that cover the island.  By most accounts, his attention is drawn to a sawed-off limb on a large tree in a clearing, from which a ship's block and tackle are hanging.  Directly below the pulley he finds a 12 foot circular depression in the soil, and immediately thinks this must be a location for buried pirate treasure. Even though the boys related the details of their remarkable discovery to friends, neighbors and relatives, they could find no one to help them with their quest, because of local legends and superstitions. The hunt continues to this day, and many tantalizing clues have emerged from the multitude of holes in the ground as well as the island's surface.  Theories abound as to what enlightened mind could devise such an ingenious feat of engineering, and what group of dedicated souls sworn to secrecy could carry it out.  One thing is certain, some folks went to a lot of trouble to hide something pretty important. For more information on this episode visit our website! Nova Scotia Ashley Morgan's website that covers the main points of the Oak Island story Google Maps Location of Oak Island The Reader's Digest Article that Inspired the Current Treasure Hunters Ken Polsson's Chronology of the Oak Island Treasure Hunt In Search Of on Oak Island Is Oak Island A Hoax?

Have you ever collected anything?  Have you ever been a fan of anything or anyone?  If so, how serious were you about it, how far would you go to obtain a collectible and what would be your most treasured "gets?" Background: After our cold open on Charly Charlie, Scott sits down for a discussion with Astonishing Legends' own intrepid reporter in the field, "Master" Marc D'Andre (you'll find out who called him "Master" later in the episode) to find out about two of his passions: movies and the occasional autograph, letter or interaction from some of his favorite actors and personalities.  Some of Marc's memorable encounters include: the great Robert DeNiro; a phone call from 80s & 90s heartthrob Kelly LeBrock (The Woman in Red, Weird Science); from Star Wars - Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing & Anthony Daniels, and a heartfelt and inspiring correspondence with character actor, Steve James (To Live and Die in L.A., the American Ninja series). Tonight's Quote: "I hope this doesn't sound pompous, but I don't think of myself as famous.  Whatever fame I've got has come through what I've done and associations of things I've done." Peter Cushing If you can't click on these links, visit our website.  Charly Charlie The Catholic Church's Position on Charly Charlie Vidiots Vidiots Saved 3 Days After Marc's FB Post (Pictured at our Website) Shishito Peppers Night of the Creeps Tom Atkins Kelly LeBrock Peter Cushing Steve James Steve's Website Final Observations:  Fame and celebrity in our culture are curious things.  On the one hand being famous can make an actor seem quite familiar to the average citizen, while at the same making a personal interaction with them a rare and exclusive occurrence for us mere mortals, especially in the days before the internet.  However, much like the world of the paranormal, if you cast an inquiry out into the void, you just might get a response, whether it's Kelly LeBrock or Charlie Charlie. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 017 - 'Collections and Connections' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Have you ever taken a camping trip by yourself? A trip to get away? Were you alone? Are you sure? Background: Tonight we interview retired Emergency Room Physician and now published author Dr. Richard J. Goldstein who took a simple little camping trip by himself a while back and found that he was not welcome at the campsite he chose. Tonight's Quote: “Ghosts could walk freely tonight, without fear of the disbelief of men; for this night was haunted, and it would be an insensitive man who did not know it.” ~ John Steinbeck, Tortilla Flat If you can't click on these links, visit our website.  Haunted Places in New Mexico Jemez Mountains Holy Ghost Campground Chaco Canyon National Geographic's Goo Rain Video  Gutenberg Project Link of The Elephant's Child by Kipling Maria's of Santa Fe Final Observations:  Years ago, Richard J Goldstein encountered something that he cannot explain and that still haunts him to this day. Do you think that we know all that there is to know about life, death and what exists beyond the realm of our comprehension? If this story doesn't make you second guess whatever you already believe then you are way ahead of the rest of us. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 016 - 'Are We Ever Alone?' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Legend: In 1837, someone or something leapt into history in nine foot bounds, assaulting women and men, breathing fire and tearing at their clothes. What exactly was Spring-Heeled Jack? Background: Tonight we're diving into the history of Spring-Heeled Jack. We're going to take a look at one of the most detailed research papers ever done on him and try to figure out just who or what he might have been. Join us as we unravel the various sightings and take a look at all the plausible explanations that have been put forth over the years and then you can decide for yourself if Spring-Heeled Jack was super natural or a cunning hoax followed by copycat hoaxing for over 150 years. Tonight's Quote: "He also has spring-heeled or india-rubber soled boots, for no man living could leap so lightly, and, I might say, fly across the ground in the manner he did last night.’ ~ GHR Davidson (Greater London Citizen, 1872) If you can't click on these links, visit our website.  Mike Dash Mike's Definitive Paper on Spring-Heeled Jack Spring-Heeled Jack on Wikipedia Was Mass Hysteria Responsible for Jack? A Recent Case of Mass Hysteria You Might Remember from the News The Wikipedia Entry on Steampunk and it's Anachronism's as Mentioned by Forrest Spiritualism, an Influence on the Zeitgeist and Mindset of the Time The Industrial Revolution, Another Possible Influence on the Minds of Witnesses The Red Barn Murder The Incredible Mystery of the Coral Castle A Gutenberg Link to a 1903 Book Detailing A Spring-Heeled Jack Assault (scroll to page 27 as annotated in the right column) Final Observations:  Even if some of these sightings can be explained as exaggerated or explainable by other means, what is at the root of what witnesses first saw all of those years ago that could jump over nine feet in the air? Perhaps that first sighting or the first few were the only real sightings and if so what was it? I lean towards a mechanical contraption of some kind, although I can't imagine it's design and Forrest leans in the direction of something super natural. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 015 - 'Spring-Heeled Jack' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.  Photos: All images Public Domain. Various Spring-Heeled Jack Photos from Penny Dreadful Covers and Portrait of the Marquess of Waterford, a possible Suspect.

Legend: Technically an invasive species has to kill off a pre-existing species to meet the definition of being invasive. After you hear this episode, we'll be you'll agree there are some things though that should be classified as invasive no matter what. Background: Tonight we talk with two guests. One who may never spend the night in New York City with a window open again, and another who although his Texas doctor was ultimately shot to death by a jealous husband, has a story about a visit to his practice a few years earlier that eclipses that event. Tonight's Quote: "Two-legged creatures we are supposed to love as we love ourselves. The four-legged, also, can come to seem pretty important. But six legs are too many from the human standpoint. ~ Joseph W. Krutch (Author, Critic, Naturalist) If you can't click on these links, visit our website.  It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Super Cockroach! The Emerald Cockroach Wasp The Ceti Eel of Star Trek Fame, or Khan's Best Friend Candiru The European Chafer Guinea Worm Disease (Not For the Faint of Heart) The Earwig Worm Removed from Woman's Brain after Eating a Pork Taco? That Thing We Seem to Never Get To   Interesting Facts Jerry Browning's father was Master Chief Petty Officer on the USS Forrestal (CV-59) for 3 years. The Forrestal was named for the first Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal. Mr. Forrestal was the gentleman who multiple witnesses claimed showed up on Saipan to either rescue Amelia Earhart and her navigator, or if determining they were dead, perpetrate a colossal cover-up. Listen to our two part special on Amelia Earhart if this intrigues you. Jerry's doctor, Dr. Kenneth Dooley was gunned down on July 4th, 1984 by Fort Worth District Fire Chief Joe Dinkins after he found out Dr. Dooley was having an affair with his wife Paula, whom he also shot and killed. Dinkins is set to get out of prison soon, and Dr. Dooley's widow just passed away in February of this year. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits Episode 014 - 'What's Eating You?' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. Photos: Jerry Browning, copyright Astonishing Legends 2015 - All rights reserved, New York's Super Cockroach - AP, Candiru PD, Ceti Eel Courtesy Khan Noonien Singh, Earwig and European Chafer (June Bug) - PD, Article on Dr. Dooley's Murder (Newspaper Archives)

Legend: There are many different levels of torment that some ghosts seem to offer, but what could be worse than mocking? Background: When our guest was 12 years old and home alone in upstate New York he experienced an encounter with something heard but not seen. Was it real? What would you have done? Listen to his tale and try to decide if you could have handled it differently. Stories If you can't click on these links, visit our website.  Woodstock, New York The Lenape Tribes of the Eastern US The Mahican Tribes The Magic Meadow An Article on The Magic Meadow A Blog Entry on the Magic Meadow (The Campfire) The Buddhist Monastery Neighboring the Magic Meadow  Interesting Facts: There is a Buddhist Monastery neighboring the Magic Meadow. The woods surrounding the meadow are filled with Buddhist shrines were many offerings are routinely made. For well over 100 years, people have been making journeys to the meadow to make offerings of all different kinds. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 013 - 'The Laughing Indian' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Legend: Time traveler stories have abounded throughout history, but one of the most enduring ones of the past hundred years is the legend of John Titor, a man from the year 2038 who's story of how time travel works proves to be plausible. Background: There are more than few recent stories of folks appearing out of town in old photos or even a Chaplin film and we will visit the most famous of them. Even the guy who found a wormhole while fixing his kitchen sink. If you can't click on these links, visit our website.  The Blue Dress The 25 Best Time Travel Movies Stories of Time Travel - Including John Titor The Solway Firth Spaceman JohnTitor.com The Patent for Titor's Time Machine The Y2038 Problem Schrodinger's Cat Definition of Akimbo Is Everyone a Time Traveler When They're On a Plane? John Titor on Pinterest The C204 Time Displacement Machine Some Background on the 5100 More on the 5100 Current Day Info on IBM's Project Chameleon? More on Chameleon Interesting Facts: There are many UNIX embedded systems that do not keep track of time as it is not relevant to their operation. These machines are not threatened by the Y2038 problem. I was completely wrong about the pronunciation of IMGUR. I apologize to Forrest. Imgur (pronounced /ˈɪmədʒər/like image-er; imager[2] and stylized as imgur) For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 012 - 'John Titor and Other Time Travelers' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved. 

Legend: In the 1890's an illicit affair centered around a hotel in Norway ends badly. Are the departed lovers still hanging around the original section of the hotel's top floor? Background: Marc Brugnoni and Marisol McIlvain work for a large travel and entertainment company in their marketing department. This means they frequently are sent to exotic locations around the world to produce high-end filmed content to inspire people to come and visit. On this 2013 trip to the Geiranger Fjord in Norway, they both experience something unexplained in their rooms and their denial of the events drop away when it comes up just prior to the beginning of the next shooting day at breakfast, and that wasn't the end of it. Stories: For more information on this episode visit our website! The Geiranger Fjord Geiranger, Norway The Hotel Union Geiranger More on the Hotel The Hotel Union Oye The Munch Museum in Oslo The Maya Illusion The Radiolab Episode - Seeing in Tongues Credits: Episode 011 - 'The Flirting Ghosts of Norway' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.   

Legend: A spirit visits two siblings multiple times a week for several months during their highschool years. Neither one of them knew it was happening to the other. Background: Comedy and Improv performers, writers and producers, Liz and Craig Cackowski were both visited by something almost nightly for over a year when they were in highschool. It visited them in nearly the identical way several nights a week. They never spoke of it to anyone until 10 years later when they were both out with friends telling ghost stories and Liz found out that her brother had been visited by the same spectral being that haunted her 8 years after him. Stories: For more information on this episode visit our website! Woodbridge, Virginia History of Woodbridge Welcome to the town of Occoquan Wikipedia on Occoquan The House on the Hill in Occoquan Liz Cackowski on Wikipedia Craig Cackowski on the Thrilling Adventure Hour Website Craig doing an interview at Comic Con Sleep Paralysis Hypnagogia Hypnopompic The Intruder from the Dream Dictionary A Stanford Professor's take on Intruders in Dreams Credits: Episode 010 - 'The Cackowski Intruder' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.  photos: The Cackowski Home Copyright Astonishing Legends 2015 All Rights Reserved, The Poltergeist Movie House, The Hallway Outside the Kid's Rooms, Copyright Astonishing Legends 2015 All Rights Reserved, The Cackowski Mirror Wall, Copyright Astonishing Legends 2015 All Rights Reserved, Liz Cackowski Photo by Joe Pugliesi for The Hollywood Reporter, Craig Cackowski photo from Box Angeles Podcast Episode #13, Featured Image - 'The Nightmare' by John Henry Fuseli; Public Domaiun

Legend: Bird flies at the window, death knocks at the door. According to legend, if a bird crashes into a window in your house and dies from the collision, it is a portent that someone close to you is going to die. Background: Can someone who's passed away send the living messages by manipulating our world and even other living things in it? That's what Eric Robinson says happened to him and his entire family and when you hear the details, you'll have a hard time drawing a different conclusion. Stories: If you can't click on this link, visit our website.  Eric's story starts out with the passing of his mom in 2004 and the events that lead up to that and followed it as well. A Great List of Eerie Bird Superstitions Bird Flies at the Window, Death Knocks at the Door Moses Maimonides The Wikipedia Page on Maimonides Hervey Medellin The Crime The Arrest of the Perpetrator Interesting Fact:  On the day that Lucille Ball's dad passed away from Typhoid Fever, a bird flew into her house becoming trapped and knocking down a picture. After that event, she had a fear of birds (ornithophobia) for the rest of her life. She didn't even like to see them flying outside and forbid the use of wallpaper with birds on it everywhere she went. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 009 - 'The Birds, the Psychic and Ollie the Crime-Fighting Dog' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design   Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.  photos: Bird Smack by Scott Philbrook Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved, Robinson Family photo (from Left, Eric's sister, Eric, and his mom about a month before she passed, Copyright Eric Robinson 2015 All Rights Reserved, Eric's Dad's Barbershop via Google Streetview, Moses Maimonides public domain, Ollie the dog, Copyright Eric Robinson 2015 All Rights Reserved, Hervey Medellin and the man who killed him.

Background: Have you ever encountered someone other-worldly? Someone who seemed to exude a dark charisma that frightened you with their ability to be so magnetic? Legend: Talented comedy writer, Paula Pell, joins us in this episode for a glimpse over her shoulder at an event from her past that while fleeting, was so poignant it stuck with her for the rest of her life. A chance crossing of paths with what on the surface seemed to be a man, but upon closer inspection felt like much, much more than that. Stories: If you can't click on this link, visit our website.  This story is a personal one and it took place years ago so there are not many images to offer with this particular posting, but we are including at least a link Paula's IMDB page. The crux of this story is in the interview. We hope you enjoy! Happy New Year! Paula's IMDB page with her credits. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 008 - 'The Devil in the Diner' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design, Scott Philbrook Editing. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights Reserved.   

All pictures from The Running of the Butt Mandle in Bertchesgaden, Germany, Dec 6th 2014. Photos property of Astonishing Legends/Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2014 - All Rights Reserved Background: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Krampus? Every part of the world has different traditions at the end of the year. Have you ever stopped to think about the origins of those traditions? Ever stop to think they might be Pagan in nature? Well we not only stopped to think about it, we dove into it and came back with some amazing information, bolstered with an iPhone movie taken only days ago in Germany at one of the strangest, but most interesting traditions of them all, The Krampus! Legend: Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring except for The Krampus on the front porch waiting for the bad kids so he could kidnap them in the basket on his back and take them away. Stories: If you can't click on these links, visit our website. We've got some good stuff for this one.  Chuck Jones, born in the regions of Mr. F.M. Burgess. Perry Futard (yes I mispelled that on purpose to aggravate Forrest) A link to one of our inspirations, Jim Harold and Scott's favorite show of his, Campfire. Friends of the show, George and Ashley have agreed to share their video from The Running of the Butt Mandle, shot just days ago on December 6th, 2014, clicking this link will put it in your downloads folder, don't worry, it's only 20MB and about 1 minute long. Kindle version of Mary Beth Crain's book, 'Haunted Christmas'. The Venture Brothers - A Very Venture Christmas For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 007 - 'A Krampus Christmas' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design, Scott Philbrook Editing. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2014, All Rights Reserved.  photo sources: All photos by Astonishing Legends, Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Background: Marc D'Andre our Correspondent at Large, is back with one of his special tours of the final resting place of not only Marilyn Monroe, but countless Hollywood icons of film and television. Put your headphones on and be transported to the park with Marc as he tells you a little bit about its residents who are probably all going to be glad to know you still care about them. Legend: A large collection of some of the most famous people in the world have been put to rest in this small, unassuming cemetery that is nearly impossible to find if you don't know exactly where it is. Stories: Links for this episode, compiled and curated by Marc D'Andre. If you can't click on these, visit our website. The Park on Wikipedia On Natalie Wood Rebel Without a Cause Trailer w/Natalie Wood A recent article looking into Natalie's death On Bob Crane The Private Passions of Bob Crane Bob's Official Website On Eddie Albert The Green Acres Opening Interesting Fact: While we weren't looking for him, we also stumbled across Jay Sommers at Pierce Brothers. He is buried a short walk from the star of the show he created, based somewhat on an old radio show that he worked on 15 years prior, called "Granby's Green Acres". On Richard Conte Godfather Wiki On Roy Orbison Roy performs 'Pretty Woman' not too many years before he passed away at a concert backed by music giants On Jim Backus Jim's last TV appearance, as Mr. Howell, in an Orville Redenbacher commercial with 'Lovey' from Gilligan's Island Backus as Mr. Magoo On Frank Zappa Frank talks about drugs On Dorothy Stratten Dorothy on Carson from 1980 A people magazine article on Peter Bogdonavich and Dorothy (We linked to both of these in our first show as well) On Carl Wilson Carl performs 'God Only Knows' in a small setting. On Dominique Dunne A People Magazine article on Dominique from 1983 A Vanity Fair article from 1984 about her dad and the case On James Coburn Bruce Lee training at home with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Coburn. James Coburn on The Muppet Show On Peggy Lee Peggy Lee, 'Is That All There Is?' Peggy Lee and the Benny Goodman Orchestra, 'Why Don't You Do Right' 1942 Peggy Lee on the Judy Garland show singing 'I Like Men' in a duet with Judy On Janet Leigh 1995 Article on Janet Leigh in the New York Times about Psycho The infamous 'Psycho' shower scene On Ray Bradbury His official website The Wikipedia page on him A short film on Mr. Bradbury On Carrie Hamilton The Wikipedia page on her An anti-drug PSA she made when she was younger On Eric Douglas The Wikipedia page on Eric An Interview with Eric On Karl Malden An Interview with Karl Malden Karl Malden's monologue from 'On The Waterfront' On Walter Matthau The Trailer for 'The Bad News Bears' Walter's monologue for Jack Lemmon when Jack received the AFI lifetime achievement award On George C. Scott A HuffPo piece on Mr. Scott The movie trailer for 'Patton' On Merv Griffin The Wikipedia page on Merv Buy 'The Merv Griffin Show' An LA Times article from the Wednesday before this posting (12.10.14) Don Rickles and Mr. T on the Merv Griffin Show On Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett: A Life in Pictures (Time Magazine) Vanity Fair on Farrah On Rodney Dangerfield Rodney on bio.com Some of Rodney's best jokes The movie trailer for 'Ladybugs' On Peter Falk A great article on Falk and Cassavettes Falk from 'The In-Laws" On Carroll O'Connor The 'Dean Martin Celebrity Roast' of Carroll O'Connor An article about the death of Carroll's son On Billy Wilder 'The Paris Review' on Billy Wilder The end of 'Some Like It Hot', written and directed by Wilder On Jack Lemmon Roger Ebert interviews Jack Lemmon What role Walter Matthau really wanted to play A great scene from 'Grumpy Old Men' On Sage Stallone An article about Sage and Sly The Wikipedia page on Sage On Dean Martin Martin and Lewis, 'Singin' in the Rain' Dean Martin, Ted Knight & Tim Conway On Burt Lancaster Roger Ebert interviews Burt Lancaster Movie trailer for 'Birdman of Alcatraz' On Marilyn Monroe Vanity Fair on Marilyn Monroe Crime Library on her death Her Life Magazine covers from '52 to '62 On Richard Poncher The bid on the slot above Marilyn at Pierce Brothers Crypt remains unsold On Buddy Rich Buddy's appearance on 'The Jerry Lewis Show' Buddy on 'The Muppet Show' On Christopher George A great review of 'Pieces' A scene with Christopher from 'Pieces' On Mel Torme´ The Wikipedia page on Mel Mel's music streaming On Swifty Lazar A Hollywood Reporter piece on Swifty Cher and Swifty at the Oscars in 1986 On John Cassavettes The New York Times on Cassavettes Roger Ebert on Cassavettes On Eva Gabor Some great quotes by Eva Eva as Mystery Guest on 'What's My Line?' with Jim Backus as a bonus! On Armand Hammer The Straight Dope on Armand Hammer and Arm & Hammer The Wikipedia page on Armand Hammer On Don Knotts The New York Times on Knotts bio.com on Knotts Don Knotts as The Nervous Weatherman On Truman Capote A Vanity Fair Article on Truman And another Capote and Groucho Marx on Dick Cavett On Heather O'Rourke Snopes.com report on the strange deaths surround the 'Poltergeist' movie Bio.com on the 'Poltergeist Curse' On Groucho Marx Some great Groucho quotes Cemetery Guide on Groucho   Interesting Fact: People often leave tokens of love and appreciation on gravestones. Sometimes they leave change. Although the origins of this are muddy, some believe that if you leave some change, the deceased will grant you a wish. Others believe in the change as an offering that dates back to being able to pay the toll to be ferried across the River Styx by Charon (Greek Mythology). For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 006 - 'Celebrity Cemetery' Produced by Scott Philbrook,Forrest Burgess, & Marc D'Andre, Ryan McCullough Sound Design, Scott Philbrook Editing. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2014, All Rights Reserved.  photo sources: all photos by Scott Philbrook for Astonishing Legends. 

Legend: Did Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan live short lives as castaways, or were they lost at sea after running out of fuel and ditching their Lockheed Electra 10E? Maybe they were taken prisoner, interrogated and eventually executed by the Japanese in Saipan? If none of those are right, maybe Amelia changed her identity and lived her days out as a woman named Irene Bolam who settled down in New Jersey? This episode is part 2 of a special about aviation's most famous disappearance of all time, that of Amelia Earhart. Stories: Normally we break these down a little more, but it's Thanksgiving Day and I've got to get in the kitchen. All links as promised from this episode are below. If you can't click on these, visit our website. Triangulating Amelia's last radio signals, Youtube. TIGHAR's Smoking Gun, Artifact 2-2-v-1, The Aluminum Panel The 1991 LA Times Article by Paul Dean discounting 2-2-v-1 Earhart and Noonan's Take-off from Lae, Papua New Guinea. TIGHAR's Wire & Rope Movie Mike Campbell's Blog, Earhart Truth. TIGHAR's Debris Field Analysis TIGHAR on the Bevington Object Prepping the Electra for the trip. The In Search Of on Amelia Earhart The SS Norwich City The Consolidated PBY on Wikipedia TIGHAR's PBY Rebuttal, posted just days ago TIGHAR's page on the Norwich City shipwreck. TIGHAR on feasibility of Betty Klenck hearing Amelia. A diagram of Betty Klenck's shortwave radio antenna. Betty Klenck's notes from the day she thought she heard Amelia. SKIP on CB Radios. Documentary, Earhart's Electra. World of Mysteries Documentary supporting Elgen Long's hypothesis. The Chater Report. Flight Route Map Nauticos Mike Campbell's Book, The Truth at Last on Amazon. Richard Martini's Film, Earhart's Electra on Amazon. Earhart on Saipan, Martini and Mike Harris' website. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 005 - 'Amelia Earhart Vanishes (Part 2)' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design, Scott Philbrook Editing. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2014, All Rights Reserved. 

Background: Amelia Earhart is one of the most famous aviators in the world and she flew into the history books in July of 1937 when she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off from Lae, Papua New Guinea for Howland Island. They never made it. Come with us on part 1 of this 2 part special while we take you back to what her life was really like in the years leading up to her vanishing. Legend: There are dozens of theories about Amelia's disappearance, most of which don't hold water, but there are three or four that any one of which proven true would make for one of the most fantastic tales ever told. This episode is about aviation's most famous disappearance of all time, Amelia Earhart. Stories (Links work best in iOS on iTunes or on our webpage at astonishinglegends.com) On Amelia Earhart: The Wikipedia Page on Amelia Her Official Website A great History Channel Page on Amelia The 99's Her Lockheed Electra 10E Special Her Lockheed Vega 5B Interesting Facts: Contrary to popular belief, Amelia was considered by many, including close friends, not to be a great pilot. Paul Mantz supposedly cited pilot error after their failed take-off in Hawaii (he later died of pilot error himself). Her lack of finesse was also apparent on various occasions when she would compete in air races and finish far in the field with a bouncy landing in front of all the spectators. No one on Earth ever doubted her courage however.  On Fred Noonan: The Wikipedia Page on Fred A History Channel Page on Fred Interesting Facts: Noonan had reportedly wanted to open a navigation school and saw his participation in the circumnavigation as a way to generate interest. Unfortunately he was lost at sea.  On Paul Mantz: Wikipedia Page on Mantz Youtube Video showing Paul Mantz's final fatal accident. Interesting Facts: Paul Mantz became a movie stuntman and died filming 'Flight of the Phoenix'. For more information on this episode visit our website! Credits: Episode 004 - 'Amelia Earhart Vanishes (Part 1)' Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design, Scott Philbrook Editing. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2014, All Rights Reserved. 

Welcome to episode 3 of Astonishing Legends! This episode is about the most well documented ongoing physical haunting in the world at the legendary Greyfriars Kirkyard Links for folks who are interested! (Links not clickable in all podcast apps, visit our website if they aren't working for you.) The Kirkyard - The Wikipedia entry on Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars Bobby - The Wikipedia page on Bobby. The Disney Movie. Covenanter's Prison - On Covenanters. A memorial to the battle. Bloody George Mackenzie -  The Wikipedia page on Bloody George. Interesting Fact about Mackzenzie: He had several male children, but every single one of them died before they could father a child.  The Black Mausoleum - Pictures of the source of evil.  The Battle of Bothwell Brig - Wikipedia page on the battle. St. Giles Kirk - The High Kirk of Scotland, where it all started.  Plague Masks - Fun visit from the Doctor? City of the Dead Tours - Website Outstanding Book if you're interested in this story - The Ghost that Haunted Itself, by Jan-Andrew Henderson      AL003 For more information on this episode visit our website!

Welcome to episode 2 of Astonishing Legends! This episode is about the floating hotel that the RMS Queen Mary has become and how she treats a couple of guests who've selected her for a romantic Valentine's Day getaway.  Links for folks who are interested! (Links not clickable in all podcast apps, visit our website if they aren't working for you.) The RMS Queen Mary - The Wikipedia entry on the Queen Mary.. The award for the fastest Atlantic crossing by a cruise ship, the Blue Riband. A timeline of her history from the Hotel website.  Some amazing older photos of her. The Queen Mary during World War II from the Hotel Website. A great article on rogue waves, including the one that hit the Queen Mary. A brief page on hauntings aboard her. There are many hundreds of websites on this. Here's a page detailing WWII troop crossings, aboard her. More amazing photos of her history.   John Pedder & Watertight Door 13 - A brief site discussing the death of John Pedder at watertight door #13.   The Munich - The Munich and the story as it's understood about her sinking.   The HMS Curacoa - Here's the wikipedia entry on the HMS Curacoa.   Indrid Cold -  A good page on Indrid Culd.   The Poseidon Adventure (original 1972) - One of the best original disaster movies there is, inspired by the Queen Mary and her brush with capsizing.    AL002 For more information on this episode visit our website!

Welcome to the first episode of Astonishing Legends! This episode is about what The City of Angels gives back when you come here seeking fame and fortune and includes a death tour among the Hollywood Hills with a visit to a particularly macabre destination at the end.  Links for folks who are interested! (Links work best in iOS only on iTunes or on our webpage at astonishinglegends.com) Full URL's shared at bottom of text if your podcast app doesn't show them as clickable. On Dorothy Stratten -  A fan site dedicated to Dorothy.  The Wikipedia entry on Dorothy. An interview with Peter Bogdanavich from People Magazine in 1989 about Dorothy. Dorothy on Johnny Carson in 1980. Pictures of Dorothy and Paul Snider, the loser pimp and her murderer.  More on Dorothy and Paul and her Death. Interesting Fact: Sleazeball Paul Snider had to get Dorothy's mom to sign a waiver so he could have her professionally photographed nude when he 'discovered' her in Canada because she was underaged. Paul, strangely, was also friends with Max Baer (Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies), and Max, at one point dated Sharon Tate.  On the Manson-Tate Murder and 10050 Cielo Drive - 10050 Cielo Drive, the infamous house. The Wikipedia entry on Sharon Tate. This day in History (History Channel) Sharon Tate. Find-a-death on Sharon Tate. Interesting Fact: Trent Reznor was the last resident of the house before it was torn down and the address was changed. He recorded 'The Downward Spiral' here in fact, in a studio he named 'Le Pig' as an homage(?) to the murder. He reportedly had not thought much of being in the house past it being a part of 'American Folklore', in his words, until he met Tate's sister by chance and she asked him point blank if he was trying to capitalize on her death. He ultimately moved out before the house was torn down, but he took the front door with him and uses it at the new version of his recording studio to this day. On Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato - The Wikipedia entry on Lana Turner. The Wikipedia entry on Johnny Stompanato. The Wikipedia entry on Lana's daughter, Cheryl. Lana & Johnny - Crime Library Link The Daily Mirror Newspaper from that day.   On Yvette Vickers -  The Wikipedia entry on Yvette Vickers.  A People Magazine Article on Yvette. HuffPo on Yvette's cause of death. A good blog entry on Yvette. Another article. An amazing intimate portrait with Yvette as told by someone who knew her personally. Interesting Fact: Paul Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward was none too pleased with Yvette's on set chemistry with Newman during the filming of HUD and saw to it that she was nearly cut out of the film entirely. This happened to Yvette more than once, who herself confessed to being flirty, but most certainly not a tramp and completely monogamous when she was with someone. Jealousy in Hollywood can be a true monster and it's fair to say that it contributed to the death of all of the starlets featured in this episode of our show.  Connections: Max Baer was friends with and briefly dated Sharon Tate. Sharon Tate was murdered in the house that Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon lived in after they got married. Cary broke up with Yvette Vickers to marry Dyan.  http://www.dorothystratten.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Stratten http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119405,00.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SahoSvAAbH4 http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/s/Dorothy%20Stratten/dorothy_stratten.htm http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/stratton.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10050CieloDrive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Tate http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/actress-sharon-tate-found-murdered http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/t/tate/tate_murders.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lana_Turner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Stompanato http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheryl_Crane http://www.crimelibrary.com/notoriousmurders/famous/lanaturner/8.html http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/04/johnny-stompana.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvette_Vickers http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20487308,00.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/yvette-vickers-cause-of-dn861762.html http://www.pitch.com/FastPitch/archives/2011/05/09/kansas-citys-yvette-vickers-from-playmate-to-mummy http://www.theweek.co.uk/people-news/5801/%E2%80%9850-foot-woman%E2%80%99-starlet-may-have-been-dead-year http://www.john-odowd.com/writings/remembering-my-friend-yvette-vickers-page-2/  AL001 For more information on this episode visit our website!