History, Podcast, Unsolved Mystery, Urban Legend

Close Encounters

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Aliens… Do they really exist? Are we really all alone in the universe? Perhaps it depends on your definition of the term “alien”; perhaps your stereotypical small-bodied Grey or maybe something as simple as a microbe could define this term. But how could we know that aliens exist? Some think that crop circles are a sign that aliens not only exist but have visited earth. With reports dating back centuries, this concept is not foreign. Many crop circles are localized to southern England however they can be found all over the world.

While many suggest that they are all simply pranks or hoaxes performed by very creative and skilled artists, others think that at least a certain percentage are the result of otherworldly visitors.

Other evidence for the existence of extra-terrestrial life lies in personal reports of human abduction. Perhaps the oldest reports of these abductions occurred in 1961. “The Hill Abduction” is the story of Barney and Betty Hill who were an inter-racial couple were well educated and involved in professional organizations. These individuals would have much to lose and little to gain from fabricating a story of the sort. Nonetheless they share the tale of traveling down a country road in their car one night while following a mysterious light.

Hill abduction
As the light approached closer Barney stopped the car and got out wielding his trusty pistol. As he got closer he was able to spot “non-human” creatures inside what appeared to be a disk-shaped flying object. He screamed “They’re going to capture us!” as he ran back to the car, however shortly thereafter both of them report slipping into a strange trance. After waking up 35 miles south of where they had originally stopped the car, they would go on to continue their lives while being plagued by strange dreams and other odd occurrences.

Another alien encounter was reported by a “Dr. Jonathan Reed”. While out in the woods one day he came upon a strange humanoid creature fighting with his beloved dog, Suzy. When the alien got the upper hand and somehow reduced his dog to a pile of dust, Reed angrily approached the creature from behind and struck it in the head, killing it.

Reed Alien

The remains were captured in various photographs, however the authenticity of this story has been questioned.

Travis Walton, on the other hand was a logger who was in the presence of five of his buddies when he encountered aliens. Traveling in a truck down yet another country road after a long day’s work, the men spotted a strange glowing object in the distance. As they approached it, one man would describe it as “a luminous object, shaped like a flattened disk” and nearly 20 feet in diameter.

Walton aliens

Walton got out and approached the saucer but was immediately struck by a bright blue light emanating from the craft which knocked him back onto the ground. While the other men bolted, Walton would go missing for 5 days, only to return with a tale of alien abduction. Despite this wild tale, all the men would go on to pass polygraph tests suggesting that they were telling the truth. Tune in to this podcast episode and decide for yourself: are aliens really out there?

 

History, Podcast, Unsolved Mystery, Urban Legend

Ancient Mysteries II

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In this sequel to the original Ancient Mysteries, Eric discusses several mysterious cases from olden times. First is the legend of the screaming mummy. Gaston Maspero, the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service was inspecting various different mummies found at Deir El Bahri near the Valley of the Kings. Amongst the newly-discovered, legendary leaders of Egypt was an unmarked sarcophagus belonging to an unknown mummy. However this was no ordinary mummy. Upon opening the case he discovered this mummy’s face was locked in an eternal scream. This body had been bound by his hands and feet, so tightly that there were marks on his bones. But despite this apparent torture the remains were carefully mummified and preserved. The body had also been wrapped in sheep or goat skin which is considered by the ancient Egyptians to be ritualistically unclean. While many believe this individual to be the traitor son of Ramses III who was punished for his alleged betrayal of his father, others suspect him to be a prince from the nearby rival civilization of the Hittites. Modern advancements in technology have shed some light on the details regarding this unexplained anomaly however this mystery has yet to be confirmed.

Next up is the “Devil’s Footprints” which were a line of footprints left in the snow, discovered one morning in 1855 in Devon, England. These footprints were said to have stretched over 100 miles which is more distance than any earthly creature would be able to cover in a single night. Devils footprintsThese cloven hoof prints were said to have either scaled 14 foot walls or passed directly through them and continued on the other side, unimpeded. One report states that the trail passed a two-mile stretch of the River Exe and then continued on the other side. While clergymen were eager to jump on this opportunity and claim these prints belonged to Satan himself and that he was here to collect souls of sinners, others took a more reasonable approach and attempted to rationalize the anomaly as belonging to animals. One thing is for sure: these footprints caused a significant amount of unrest in Devon in the 1850s.

Our final investigation is the mysterious disappearance of James Burne Worson. This story of a shoemaker and established citizen in his community in Warwickshire, England tells of this boastful individual’s habit of getting involved in impossible wagers. His latest bet involved him running to a nearby town and back again — a total round trip of nearly 40 miles. After setting out on this venture, with two fellows following him in a carriage to vouch for his completion of the task, Worson began running without difficulty for several miles. Then suddenly with their eyes fully upon him, he stumbled and began to fall, let out a shrill gut-wrenching scream and immediately vanished without hitting the ground. There have been very few reasonable explanations for what could have happened here, however the truth of the story is in question. Is it possible for individuals to not only go missing but to disappear entirely?

Conspiracy, True Crime, Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

The Family Murders

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The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia.  This case includes mysterious attacks, brutal murders, and a dark conspiracy surrounding a secret group of elites that preyed on the young in the city.

Five young men were mysteriously abducted in different areas of Adelaide in a span from the late 1970s into the 80s.  Disturbingly, after going missing their bodies would soon turn up, often horribly mutilated.  Who was behind these attacks and what their motives were was unknown to the families, police, and the entire community.

As the crimes went on, rumors began to circulate of an insidious conspiracy. Some members of the police, as well as the local media, began to talk about a group dubbed “The Family.”  This secretive group was made up of important members of society, who all shared the same sick and twisted violent desires.  This murderous collective was rumored to be responsible for kidnapping and torturing these young men, as well as shielding all of its members from police investigations.

Did the Family actually exists? Was it possible that this secret group of high profile men successfully orchestrated this brutal crimes and get away with it? Or was it all the work of one psychopathic killer? Listen to this disturbing episode and hear all about the Family Murders.

History, True Crime

Cults

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In this episode we discuss a number of legendary and infamous cults, and the terrible atrocities they are known for.

The People’s Temple, lead by the notorious Reverend Jim Jones, was a socialist minded, tightly knit religious congregation.  Though the People’s Temple and Jones himself was initially known for striving for social equality, this cult would unfortunately go down in history for a more sinister event.  Jim Jones would lead his dedicated, or brainwashed, followers into what he called an act of ‘revolutionary suicide’ against the cruelties of the outside world. He convinced over 900 people to “drink the kool-aid,” in reality a mixed concoction of poison, resulting in the largest instance of mass suicide in modern history.

The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments was a strict religious cult that was based of the Roman Catholic church.  The Movement was what is known as a doomsday cult, known for predicting the apocalypse and preparing its members for it. When the date of the end times came and went, the leaders of the movement were forced to make a new plan to prevent their mass of members from fleeing.  Instead of admitting they were wrong, those in command would set plans in motion that would see that all of their followers would perish in a fiery trap that would claim the lives of over 300 innocent people.

Order of the Solar temple

The Order of the Solar Temple was a secret organization that traced its origins to the Knights Templar.  This group celebrated a bizarre mix of ceremonies borrowed from Christianity, UFO religions, and the Freemasons.  Just as this group was starting to unravel from the inside, a tragic series of suicides and murders would cause it to leave its mark as one of the strangest cults in history.

Scientology is a current religious group that has reached popularity over the years for its celebrity members and strange science fiction like beliefs. The darker side of this religious cult is its supposed use of brainwashing, fraud and financial means to force its members into submission and complete loyalty.

Check out all the podcasts available at Dark Myths

Dark Myths featured podcast of the Month: Pete’s Paranormal Chronicles

History, Paranormal, Podcast, Urban Legend

If a Tree Falls in the Forest

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If a tree falls in the forest does it really make a sound? This philosophical conundrum raises questions about humans ability to perceive and interpret reality. What is reality? How much of what we are seeing is real and how much of it is simply our brains misinterpreting our senses?

In this episode we discuss several different haunted forests around the world. The first of which is known as Hoia Baciu, also known as “The World’s Most Haunted Forest”, also known as “Romania’s Bermuda Triangle”. HB UFOThis forest has been known for its mysterious UFO sightings and apparitions since the 60s when a biologist went there to examine the strange curvature of the trees that grew on the land. Instead of finding an answer to his question, he snapped several photos of UFOs and also experienced the feeling that he was not alone in Hoia Baciu. Since then people who visit this small area of land complain of unexplained nausea and vomiting, rashes, scratches and feelings that they are being watched.

The next haunted forest is known as Aokigahara which is a most beautiful 16 square mile patch of land located at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Many people from all over the world travel here to catch a glimpse of its splendor, however there is another more sinister attraction. It has become Japan’s number one suicide hot spot and over the last two decades hundreds of skeletons have been found in these woods. What is it about this area that attract so many desperate individuals and erodes there will to survive? SF JapanSome come with the full intent of ending their lives while others come with a back up plan in case they change their mind and decide they wish to live. However one thing is for sure, and that is that this forest has an extremely treacherous terrain that could reduce your most avid hiker to nothing more then an incapacitated, lost hope.

Our final haunted forest lands closer to our home in Virginia, United States of America. Along the Appalachian Trail many people have reported seeing the ghost of a young boy known as Ottie Cline Powell. This young boy went missing over a century ago, never to return. OCPHis body was found lifeless and frozen huddled at the top of Bluff Mountain where he had strayed over 7 miles from his schoolhouse. This sad story is believed to have resulted in his ghost wandering the AT for over a century in search of a way home to his family.

 

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Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

Without a Trace

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In this episode of Strange Matters, three cases are presented in which someone suddenly vanished without a trace.  In each of these unsolved mysteries, the victims would be going about living normal lives, until the next moment they were simply gone, forever.

Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone were hanging at a bar late one night with some friends. At around midnight, the pair left the bar to head towards Richard’s truck. Neither of them would ever be seen again.  This case has puzzled police and the community for over a decade, as no one can see how its possible for two people and a truck could simply go missing without a shred of evidence.

Angela Hammond was on a payphone late at night, talking to her fiance Rob. Suddenly, she screamed into the phone.  Her fiance ran to his car and raced towards to where she was, when a truck passed by with a woman inside screaming his name.  Unfortunately, Rob could not catch up and the truck would drive away, apparently taking Angela with it.  No signs of her would ever be found.

In the last case, teenage Laureen Rahn was enjoying a day with two friends in her apartment.  Later that night, Laureen’s mother came home, to find that only her daughter’s friend was still at the apartment.  Her daughter was gone, with no signs of forced entry or a struggle, and all her belongings left behind.  It’s as if Laureen stepped outside and was suddenly gone, without a trace.  Though there were a few odd leads in this case, the police could find absolutely no clues as to what happened to the missing teenager.

 

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