With five of the students' bodies now recovered from Kholat Syakhl mountain, rumours begin to circulate about just what exactly might have caused their deaths.
Meanwhile, with four of the students still unaccounted for, lead investigator Lev Ivanov is under increasing pressure to bring the the case to a swift and uncontroversial end...
Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod
It is February 25th 1959, and Igor Dyatlov and his team, due back in their home town of Sverdlosk on February 13th have not been seen since January 28th.
When their last movements are traced to a mountain known as Kholat Syakhl, or Dead Mountain, a gruesome discovery is about to be made...
Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod
On Friday January 23rd 1959, a story begins from out of the foothills of the Ural Mountains. A story that is perhaps the most extraordinary of all the stories featured on this show so far. A chilling and profound mystery that remains to this day Unexplained…
Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod
In last week’s episode, The Final Flight, we looked at the tragic story of Australian Training Corp pilot Fred Valentich and his mysterious disappearance one evening in October 1978.
In a famous last communication between Fred and Air Traffic Control it appeared that Fred was being tracked by a large UFO just prior to his disappearance. If, as some believe, Fred had in fact fabricated the event, it has been suggested that the Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind may have served as a possible source of inspiration.
Yet, only 6 months previously something far more fantastical had occurred that would no doubt have been noted by Fred, a young man with a keen interest in UFOs and the hunt for Alien life...
Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod
Sources
1. Tate, K (2015), SETI: All About the Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence, Space.com, http://www.space.com/30043-seti-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-infographic.html
2. Big Ear Memorial Website, http://www.bigear.org/
3. Reneke, D (n/a), Wow - The Big Ear, DavidReneke.com, http://www.davidreneke.com/wow-the-big-ear/
4. Pre-History of Radio Astronomy, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, http://www.nrao.edu/whatisra/hist_prehist.shtml
5. Redpath, M, (2012), Karl Jansky: The Father of Radio Astronomy, ArmaghPlanet.com, http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/karl-jansky-the-father-of-radio-astronomy.html
It has been calculated that likelihood of the human race being the only sophisticated life form in the milky way is a one in sixty billion chance. The milky way is one of 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe.
The following story is considered by many UFOlogists to be among the most compelling pieces of evidences of an alien visitation to our planet. Just what happened in the skies off the coast of Melbourne Australia in 1978 has never been fully accounted for. It is a mystery that remains to this day Unexplained.
Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod
Fred Valentich c. 1977
Sources
1. Original Case Files for disappearance of Fred Valentich available at National Archives of Australia, type VH-DSJ in the search box at: http://www.naa.gov.au/
2. Basterfield, K. (2013), The Valentich Radio Transmissions, UFOs Scientific Research, http://ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-valentich-radio-transmissions.html
3. Dunning, B. (2013), The Disappearance of Fred Valentich, Skeptoid, https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4385
4. Kemp, M (2012), Frederick Valentich – Truth Was Out There After All, Sott.net, https://www.sott.net/article/247700-Frederick-Valentich-Truth-Was-Out-There-After-All
5. Rhonda Rushton interviewed by Victorian UFO Action, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIyMpblIg88&t=719s
6. NASA Press Release announcing discovery of 7 Earth-Size planets, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-telescope-reveals-largest-batch-of-earth-size-habitable-zone-planets-around
In last week’s episode, Time Out of Joint, we looked at two incidences of a supposed time slip.
In both stories we find ourselves questioning the validity of someone’s belief that they unwittingly stepped back into the past.
But what, instead, if we were on the other side and it was us witnessing them arriving miraculously from the future. How could we possibly believe them?
Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod
John Titor's alleged military insignia
Sources
1. Archive of all things John Titor: John Titor Times, http://www.johntitor.com/
2. John Titor’s Story, http://www.johntitor.strategicbrains.com/
3. Dodds, L (2015), Who was John Titor, the time traveller who came from 2036 to warn us of a nuclear war?, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11945420/Who-was-John-Titor-the-time-traveller-who-came-from-2036-to-warn-us-of-a-nuclear-war.html
It has long been accepted that time as we know it, or at the very least in the sense that we experience it, is not what it seems.
There are two accounts of alleged time-slips that took place in Britain in the 1950s. Writer and long time member of the society of psychical research Andrew MacKenzie, documented both the events, in his 1997 book Adventures in Time. For MacKenzie the accounts were nothing less than two of the most convincing accounts he had ever come across.
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Kersey, Suffolk
Sources
1. Bem, D. J. (2011), Feeling the Future Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, p407-425
2. Fisher, M. (2013), What is Hauntology, Film Quarterly, Vol 66, No.1 (Fall 2012) pp 16-24, University of California Press.
3. Lehrer, J (2010), Feeling the Future: Is Precognition Possible, Wired, https://www.wired.com/2010/11/feeling-the-future-is-precognition-possible/
4. Mackenzie, A (1982), Hauntings and Apparitions, Heinemann: London
5. Koestler, A. (1982), The Ghost in the Machine, Last Century Media: UK
6. Dash, M (2009), Adventures in Time, Forteana, http://blogs.forteana.org/node/87
7. Dash, M (2011), When Three British Boys Travelled to Medieval England (Or Did They?), Smithsonian Magazine, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-three-british-boys-traveled-to-medieval-england-or-did-they-35698485/
8. Dunning, B (2012), The Versailles Time Slip, Skeptoid, https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4296
9. The Wire Salon, panel discussion: Revenant Forms: The Meaning of Hauntology, The Wire, https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/in-conversation/the-wire-salon_revenant-forms_the-meaning-of-hauntology
In last week’s episode, Whispers in the Trees, we looked at the unsettling mystery of the skeleton found inside the hollowed-out trunk of an old Wych Elm tree.
In 1945, Dr. Margaret Murray suggested a possible occult link to the crime.
As fanciful as the suggestion might sound, it certainly wouldn’t have been the first time that an occult ritual had been conducted in England during the second world war...
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Sources
1. Charters, D. (2004), Was Hitler Defeated by Witchcraft, Meta Religion, http://www.meta-religion.com/Esoterism/Magick/was_hitler_defeated.htm#ixzz4YYxX3pm6
2. Website dedicated to the history of Gerald Gardner, http://www.geraldgardner.com/
3. Metcalfe, T (2016), Operation Cone of Power: When British Witches Attacked Adolf Hitler, Mental Floss, http://mentalfloss.com/article/86145/operation-cone-power-when-british-witches-attacked-adolf-hitler
4. Cone of Power, The Mystica, https://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/c/cone_of_power.html
Early graffiti relating to the Hagley Wood Murder
Part Two of Episode 1: Whispers in the Trees.
Where we return to the midlands in the winter of 1943 as the Worcestershire police try to unravel the mystery of the skeleton found in an old wych elm tree.
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter at @unexplainedpod
Sources
1. Woman’s Body Found in 1943, The Manchester Guardian, Oct 4th 1949.
2. Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm, Series 7 Episode 4 of Punt PI, written by Steve Punt, BBC (2015).
3. Sparke, A. (2014), Bella In The Wych Elm: In Search of a War Time Mystery APA Publications: UK
4. Murray, M. (2010), Margaret Murray, England: The Other Within, http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/england/englishness-Margaret-Murray.html
5. Haughton, B (2008), Bella in the Wych Elm, Brian Haughton, http://brian-haughton.com/ancient-mysteries-articles/bella_in_the_wych-elm/3/
6. Josef Jakobs research website run by granddaughter of Jakobs, http://www.josefjakobs.info/
7. Strangeremains (2015), Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?, Strange Remains, https://strangeremains.com/2015/04/24/who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm/
8. Vale, A (2013), Is this the Bella in the wych elm? Unravelling the mystery of the skull found in a tree trunk, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-this-the-bella-in-the-wych-elm-unravelling-the-mystery-of-the-skull-found-in-a-tree-trunk-8546497.html
Traditionalists consider the real Black Country to only include the region just West of Birmingham where the 30ft coal seam comes to the surface - a product of once living trees, compressed and buried for millions of years, returning to the surface like an irrepressible secret.
There are some who say the trees can talk, and if they could, what secrets might they hold?
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Sources
1. Woman’s Body Found in 1943, The Manchester Guardian, Oct 4th 1949.
2. Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm, Series 7 Episode 4 of Punt PI, written by Steve Punt, BBC (2015).
3. Sparke, A. (2014), Bella In The Wych Elm: In Search of a War Time Mystery APA Publications: UK
4. Murray, M. (2010), Margaret Murray, England: The Other Within, http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/england/englishness-Margaret-Murray.html
5. Haughton, B (2008), Bella in the Wych Elm, Brian Haughton, http://brian-haughton.com/ancient-mysteries-articles/bella_in_the_wych-elm/3/
6. Josef Jakobs research website run by granddaughter of Jakobs, http://www.josefjakobs.info/
7. Strangeremains (2015), Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?, Strange Remains, https://strangeremains.com/2015/04/24/who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm/
8. Vale, A (2013), Is this the Bella in the wych elm? Unravelling the mystery of the skull found in a tree trunk, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/is-this-the-bella-in-the-wych-elm-unravelling-the-mystery-of-the-skull-found-in-a-tree-trunk-8546497.html
Ronald Hunkelar taken from his High School Year Book in 1953
The Exorcist, released on December 26th 1973, is for many the most iconic horror film of all time. From William Freidkin’s masterful direction, to Blatty’s profound and personal script to the intensely evocative use of Mike Oldfied’s tubular bells, it is a cinematic masterpiece.
But what many people don’t know is that William Peter Blatty’s nightmarish book, from which the film was adapted, was in fact based on a real life Exorcism.
This is that story.
@unexplainedpod
By 1952, the shadow of the Second World War continued to permeate deep into the fabric of British society. It had left many people changed and caused significant upheaval to a great many families. Families like the Glynn and Jones’ of number 1 Byron Street.
Like most typical working class families of the region, they had little choice but to keep calm and carry on regardless. But there was nothing that could prepare them for the extraordinary events that were soon to engulf their lives.
What exactly happened at number one Byron Street has never truly been accounted for. It is an event that has been described as being in one part the most sinister story of poltergeist phenomena in England.
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
In last week’s episode, The Spaces that Linger, we journeyed to the grounds of Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness in the highlands of Scotland. Although the house has long been the subject of dark intrigue, it is best known for its association with author and occultist Aleister Crowley who made a failed attempt to conjure his Guardian Angel at the property.
Four years later, in Cairo, Crowley claimed to have finally make contact with his Guardian Angel, it was an event that would change his life forever and one that has established Crowley in legend far beyond many of his peers.
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. The Wickedest Man In The World, (dir. Rawles, N.), Diverse Productions broadcast on Channel 4 (2002), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt9WJy6_XZU
2. Crowley, A. (1969), The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, http://www.thelema.ca, http://www.thelema.ca/156/Confessions/confess.html
3. MacGregor Mathers, S., L., (comiled by), The Lesser Key of Solomon http://www.hermetics.org, http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoire/goetia.pdf
4. Crowley, A. (1904), Liber AL Vel Legis – The Book of the Law, http://hermetic.com/legis/ccxx/
5. The Book of Abramelin Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Abramelin
6. Aleister Crowley Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley
7. Wallace, D., F., (2005), This is Water - Kenyon College Commencment Speech,
8. Hoff, K. & Pandey, P., (2004), Belief Systems and Durable Inequalities, An Experimental Investigation of Indian Caste, princeton.edu, http://www.princeton.edu/rpds/seminars/pdfs/hoff_indiancaste.pdf
The world of horror is littered with unnerving locations, places that both draw from and have in turn seeped into the public imagination.
For many there is one place in particular that continues to fascinate like no other in the UK. For its combination of mystery, intrigue and atmospheric location you couldn’t concoct a better setting, the place: Boleskine House.
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. The Wickedest Man In The World, (dir. Rawles, N.), Diverse Productions broadcast on Channel 4 (2002), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt9WJy6_XZU
2. Crowley, A. (1969), The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, http://www.thelema.ca, http://www.thelema.ca/156/Confessions/confess.html
3. MacGregor Mathers, S., L., (comiled by), The Lesser Key of Solomon http://www.hermetics.org, http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoire/goetia.pdf
4. Crowley, A. (1904), Liber AL Vel Legis – The Book of the Law, http://hermetic.com/legis/ccxx/
5. The Book of Abramelin Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Abramelin
6. Aleister Crowley Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley
With Unexplained on a short break until June 16th, here is something to fill the time...
A short story about a strange boy called William.
(Parental Guidance: some scenes of graphic horror)
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Throughout history we have attributed worth and sentiment to inanimate objects, things that when looked at out of context or without the language to understand their worth would otherwise appear completely insignificant.
But what of those objects that seem not to conform to the vagaries of the human conscious. Objects that seem to have a power all of their own…
Featuring the extraordinary mystery of The Hexham Heads
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
The original Hexahm Heads
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. Compilation of Hexham Heads resources, https://hexhamheads.wordpress.com/
2. The Urban Prehistorian (2014), The Hexham Heads Part 1, theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com, https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/the-hexham-heads-part-1-the-discovery/
3. The Urban Prehistorian (2014), The Hexham Heads Part 2, theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com, https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/the-hexham-heads-part-2-tested-and-contested/
4. Hexham Heads Wikipedia page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexham_Heads
5. Clarke, D. (2012), Heads and Tails, drdavidclarke.co.uk, https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2012/12/22/heads-and-tales/
6. Clarke, D. (2012), Twilight of the Celtic Gods, drdavidclarke.co.uk, https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2011/03/20/twilight-of-the-celtic-gods/
7. Clarke, D. (2011), Celtic Curse Tested, drdavidclarke.co.uk, https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2011/05/04/update-on-campaign-to-protect-celtic-shrine/
8. Boothman, N. (2005), The Wolf of Allendale/The Hexham Heads, taken from Fortean Times published on mysteriousbritain.co.uk, http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/northumberland/legends/the-wolf-of-allendale-the-hexham-wolf.html
9. Laycock, M. (2014), Famous Ghost Witness Harry Martindale Dies, yorkpress.co.uk, http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/11559578.Famous_ghost_witness_Harry_Martindale_dies/
10. Treasurer’s House Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasurer%27s_House,_York#Roman_soldier.27s_appearance
11. Thomas Lethbridge Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Charles_Lethbridge
Angelino Dulcert's portolan chart 1339
In last week’s episode, When the Light Fades, we looked at the haunting tale of the Lightkeepers of Eilean Mór.
The island was often referred to as ‘the other country’, a place where a mysterious otherworld had touched with our own mortal world. It is a sentiment reserved for a number of remote islands from around the world.
Though many will be familiar with the mythical Atlantis or the lost land of Lemuria, there is one island, once thought to be located a few hundred miles off the south coast of Ireland that may just prove the strangest of them all...
Featuring the mythical land of Hy Brasil
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. O’Connell, T. (2016), Hi Brasil or Hy-Brasil, www.atlantipedia.ie, http://atlantipedia.ie/samples/hi-brasil-or-hy-brasil/
2. Dennis (2012), Hi Brasil The Real Mysterious Islands, www.topsecretwriters.com, http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/02/hy-brasil-the-real-mysterious-island/
3. Brasil Wikipedia Page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasil_%28mythical_island%29
4. Lemuria Wikipedia page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_%28continent%29
5. Angelino Dulcert Wikipedia page, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelino_Dulcert
Of all the unexplained mysteries I have come across there is one that has for me left the most indelible impression. As far as mysteries go you couldn’t invent a better story. A story that has over time led to some of the most extraordinary of speculations and has since evolved a folklore all of its own.
This is that story.
Featuring the mystery of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
@unexplainedpod
Thomas Marshall, James Ducat and Donald McArthur
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. Dash, M. (1998), The Vanishing Lighthousemen of Eilean Mòr, Fortean Studies 4, http://www.mikedash.com/assets/files/Vanishing%20Lighthousemen.pdf
2. Flannan Isles Wikiepdia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannan_Isles
3. The Unexaplained Files (2014), S02E04, Science, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VXSIVR-cQk
4. Collin, D. R. (2010), The Ross Island Lighthouse Murder , Kirkcudbright.com, http://www.kirkcudbright.com/dynamic.asp?ID=66
5. Original wreck report for the SS Archtor, http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLibraries/WreckReports/17924.asp?view=text
6. The report submitted by Robert Muirhead, Superintendent, on the 8th January 1901: https://www.nlb.org.uk/HistoricalInformation/FlannanIsles/Report-by-Superintendent/
7. The Draupner Wave Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draupner_wave
In last week’s episode, Ghosts in Time, we looked at the strange occurrences that took place in the 1920s at Borley Rectory in Essex, England.
What intrigues me most about the story is its slight air of credibility due to the reputable character of the witnesses and the anodyne nature of the supposed hauntings.
But for others, a ghost story is nothing without something a little more sinister buried somewhere within...
Featuring the terrifying Hairy Hands of Dartmoor...
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
@unexplainedpod
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. HM Prison Dartmoor, Wikipedia Entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Prison_Dartmoor
2. Original Documents written by Charles King and Francis Seymour Larpent of the Brittish Navy pertiaining to the 1812 massacre at Dartmoor Prison, http://www.1812privateers.org/Riot.htm
For all the many elements that constitute the paranormal, there are few things quite as evocative as the notion of ghosts.
There are of course the ghosts that we carry with us in our daily lives, memories of those we have loved and lost or perhaps even wronged. Thoughts that sit in the deepest parts of the psyche, straining to become manifest.
But what of the apparitions that seem not to have been brought forth from our unconscious, those that have no connection to the observer but instead seem for all the world to be reaching out to us from a seemingly timeless space?
Featuring the intriguing mysteries of Borley Rectory
Research, writing, music and production by Richard MacLean Smith.
@unexplainedpod
Some interesting links:
(See transcript for full list of sources)
1. The History of Borley Rectory as compiled on the Harry Price Website, http://www.harrypricewebsite.co.uk/Borley/historyofborley-intro.htm
2. Mark, J.J. (2014), Ghosts in the Ancient World, Ancient.eu, http://www.ancient.eu/ghost/
3. Wisner, C. W., Thorne, K. S. & Wojciech, Z. H. (2009), John Wheeler, relativity and quantum information, Physics Today, http://authors.library.caltech.edu/15184/1/Misner2009p1638Phys_Today.pdf
6. Wheeler-DeWitt Equation, Wikipedia Entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler%E2%80%93DeWitt_equation
Borley Rectory, Borley, England c. 1920s