Astonishing Legends
378 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 9K ratingsThe world is more mysterious than most people are comfortable imagining. We cross paths with the mystical from time to time and may not even notice it. If we do, we quickly return to our usually mundane daily existence. But what if we not only acknowledged the unknown, we investigated it and spoke with those in the know? That’s what co-hosts Scott & Forrest, and their producer Tess Pfeifle do at Astonishing Legends. Over 100 million downloads and hundreds of thousands of listeners have shown that exploring and embracing the wonders of our world can be not only enlightening but exciting. Welcome to Astonishing Legends!
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Episodes
Ghosts and Specters
March 27, 2024 23:31 - 40 minutes“Whether you believe in ghosts or not—these stories are true.” –Ghosts & Specters by Bruce and Nancy Roberts Being a kid can be scary. In the premiere episode of Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf, Richard takes us on a nostalgic journey back to his childhood discovery of the book that changed everything. Travel back to 1974 as he recounts the pivotal moment when Aunt Sally gifted him Ghosts & Specters by Bruce and Nancy Roberts. This slim hardback, filled with haunting tales and eeri...
The Third Man Syndrome Part 2
March 24, 2024 01:22 - 2 hoursIn part two of our exploration of the Third Man Syndrome, we continue recounting harrowing tales of survival in extreme and unusual environments or “EUEs,” such as Christopher Columbus’ 15th-century pilot taking the helm for Joshua Slocum during the first solo circumnavigation of the globe; and Aron Ralston’s excruciating canyon escape after becoming trapped for 127 hours. We then explore the scientific hypotheses as to why this surprisingly not-so-rare phenomenon occurs. As researchers an...
The Third Man Syndrome Part 1
March 10, 2024 04:01 - 2 hoursA strange occurrence often happens to people engaged in an adventurous activity or who fall victim to an unfortunate circumstance. They find themselves with a companion whose presence would typically be impossible. Usually, the person is at a critical moment in a life-or-death situation in an extreme and unusual environment. When they are weakened and dying from exposure, suffering privation of sustenance, lost and alone, when they are about to lose all hope and accept their demise, that’...
The Lost City of Akakor with Kinga Philipps Part 2
February 25, 2024 16:42 - 1 hourKinga 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 fin...
The Lost City of Akakor with Kinga Philipps Part 1
February 11, 2024 02:47 - 1 hourTypically, 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 wit...
The Ghosts of Versailles Part 2
January 28, 2024 22:15 - 1 hourIn 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. ...
The Ghosts of Versailles Part 1
January 14, 2024 13:45 - 1 hourIn 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 a...
Astonishing Junk Drawer 021 - Main Feed Edition
December 30, 2023 00:30 - 2 hoursEnjoy episode number 21 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer!
The Astonishing All-Star Holiday Special IV
December 23, 2023 23:14 - 2 hoursWould 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 p...
Zigmund Adamski – A Paranormal Cold Case Part 2
December 17, 2023 04:43 - 2 hoursIn 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’l...
Zigmund Adamski – A Paranormal Cold Case Part 1
December 10, 2023 03:14 - 1 hourZigmund 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 ...
Amelia Earhart - Decoy for a Spy Plane?
November 25, 2023 22:08 - 2 hoursOn 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...
The Legend of the Wizard Clip
November 12, 2023 23:02 - 2 hoursAdam 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...
The Hitchhiker of Mogollon Rim
October 28, 2023 22:29 - 2 hoursThe 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...
Booby-Trapped Halloween Candy
October 26, 2023 11:30 - 1 hourJoin 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."
Astonishing Junk Drawer 020 - Special Main Feed Edition
October 25, 2023 01:50 - 2 hoursEnjoy episode number 5 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer!
Your True Halloween Stories II Part 2
October 22, 2023 01:45 - 3 hoursWe 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 ...
Your True Halloween Stories II - Part 2
October 22, 2023 01:45 - 3 hoursWe 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 ...
The Hat Man
October 19, 2023 11:30 - 1 hourJoin 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
October 18, 2023 09:00 - 2 minutesIntroducing Scared All The Time, the newest show on the Astonishing Legends Network.
Your True Halloween Stories II Part 1
October 15, 2023 22:45 - 2 hoursWell 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, Pe...
Your True Halloween Stories II - Part 1
October 15, 2023 22:45 - 2 hoursWell 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, Pe...
Astonishing Junk Drawer 005 - Special Main Feed Edition
October 13, 2023 01:14 - 1 hourEnjoy episode number 5 of the Patreon-exclusive Astonishing Junk Drawer!
Astonishing Halloween sweatpants are LIVE in the store for pre-order NOW!
October 01, 2023 04:01 - 1 minuteWe 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!
Send in Your Scary Stories Now!
September 28, 2023 23:41 - 59 secondsWe need your scariest stories! Send them in! Like…now!
Bethurum Part 2 – UFOs and the Occult
September 24, 2023 02:35 - 2 hoursFor 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" (wh...
AL266: Bethurum Part 2 – UFOs and the Occult
September 24, 2023 02:35 - 2 hoursFor 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" (wh...
Aboard a Flying Saucer Part 1
September 10, 2023 03:01 - 2 hoursOn 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...
The Van Meter Monster Part 2
August 20, 2023 22:21 - 2 hoursIn 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 gestal...
The Van Meter Monster Part 1
August 05, 2023 20:00 - 1 hourWhen 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 ...
Shades of Death Road
July 23, 2023 17:30 - 1 hourThere 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, an...
Wondery Presents: Don’t Panic with Anthony Atamanuik
July 18, 2023 21:25 - 8 minutesStaying 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 br...
The Debrief on Disclosure
June 25, 2023 03:36 - 2 hoursIn 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 Disclosur...
Tales from Monster Fest 2023
June 11, 2023 02:29 - 1 hourWe 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 vendor...
Interstellar with Dr. Avi Loeb
May 28, 2023 00:08 - 2 hoursWe’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, ...
Mantis Men
May 14, 2023 03:03 - 2 hoursAnyone 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,...
Entombed in Tsarichina Part 2
April 30, 2023 03:05 - 1 hourIn 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 suspe...
Entombed in Tsarichina Part 1
April 16, 2023 01:10 - 1 hourIn 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 follo...
Let's Not Meet - A True Horror Podcast Crossover Promo
April 03, 2023 04:00 - 59 secondsListen to Scott and Forrest on Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast this April 3rd, 2023!
Our Strange Skies Crossover Promo
April 01, 2023 04:00 - 29 secondsForrest and Scott join their good friend Rob Kristoffersen over at Our Strange Skies for a special April 1st crossover show!
Conjuring Philip Part 2
March 26, 2023 00:50 - 1 hourAs 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...
Conjuring Philip Part 1
March 12, 2023 19:48 - 1 hourIn 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 ...
The Great Mull Air Mystery
February 26, 2023 02:11 - 1 hourOn 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. B...
Forrest on TV Tonight! February 20th 2023
February 20, 2023 17:40 - 12 secondsForrest will be on History's Greatest Mysteries tonight at 9/8c talking about The Lost Colony of Roanoke!
The Nazca Lines Part 2
February 13, 2023 03:13 - 1 hourIn 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 sop...
The Nazca Lines Part 1
January 29, 2023 02:01 - 1 hourOn 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 comb...
End of Life
January 14, 2023 09:19 - 1 hourLike 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...
The Astonishing All-Star Holiday Special III
December 22, 2022 22:03 - 2 hoursWell, 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 1...
Massacre at Duffy's Cut Part 2
December 10, 2022 21:11 - 1 hourIn 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 br...