Episodes

  • 42: A Gathering of Shadows

    42: A Gathering of Shadows
    Aug 12 2025
    In tonight’s dead letter, listener Jerri-Kay recounts a story from her childhood when her mother witnessed multiple shadow figures entering their bedroom in broad daylight. Later that night, while seemingly half-asleep, when her mom enters her room she yells that she's not her mother and points to lights that only she can see in the room, leaving the family shaken and searching for answers. Were these events positive or negative?

    Astonishing Legends' Shadow People Episode:
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/7wNUanfRFXoQ0QOhy5l58L?si=62193edf57854ec0
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astonishing-legends/id923527373?i=1000355594797

    Myth Fits Podcast with Kari Byron and Tori Belleci from MythBusters:
    https://www.youtube.com/@MythfitsPod
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mythfits/id1813405582
    https://open.spotify.com/show/6SOvzD9Rc52Is6qHm0ivJt?si=f479aac0675644f8

    David Weatherly's Work:
    https://eerielights.com/
    https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01N59JC6U/allbooks

    David Weeatherly on Astonishing Legends (Spotify/Apple Podcasts Links)
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RWx4nYQNZZ9b3qd04Dj8y?si=0353dbf9a2324ae1
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/5p5GxpIqVX43RQwvtmTdwz?si=35384b2e23404b63
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astonishing-legends/id923527373?i=1000495952492
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astonishing-legends/id923527373?i=1000497668831

    Documentary - The Nightmare:
    https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-nightmare

    Missing 411:
    https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-Paulides/author/B002ALI9AA?
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/3TRVhzSYDB6NKiU69L5c9A?si=e6fe2e83dfe84069
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Q0pc5e8JlBoZzDrgY1Evp?si=b451bd4ae98841be
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astonishing-legends/id923527373?i=1000579063545
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astonishing-legends/id923527373?i=1000580601049

    Article on Light Emission After Death:
    https://www.sciencealert.com/we-emit-a-visible-light-that-vanishes-when-we-die-says-surprising-new-study

    Email your stories to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • The Hatem Files 2

    The Hatem Files 2
    Aug 9 2025
    This week, Scott and Forrest welcome back Richard Hatem of Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf to Astonishing Legends! Join us as we delve into Richard's unique insights on paranormal literature, including odd details in famous experiences like Whitley Strieber's book, Communion and others. We'll explore Rich’s favorite episodes and get a sneak peek into his upcoming season. Plus, we'll hear about his pending tour across the US, including a stop at the Mothman Festival in just a few weeks!

    Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 47 mins
  • 41: The Fisherman's Ghost and the Homunculus

    41: The Fisherman's Ghost and the Homunculus
    Aug 5 2025
    In tonight’s dead letter, we hear from our listener Sam, who shares two spooky stories. The first involves two hauntings at an aquarium in the UK. An old lady ghost with a penchant for floral perfume, and as one might expect…a fisherman. While the second features a mysterious, hunched-over shadow figure lurking in a South Carolina home. Sometimes these shorter letters are the most freaky. As we often remind our listeners, the real experiences don’t occur with a three-act structure or poignant message all the time. Instead they are just glimpses of something that you may never understand.

    North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher:
    https://www.ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher

    Phantosmia (Phantom Smells):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantosmia

    Clairalience:
    https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/enlighten/clairalience-to-clairvoyance-your-psychic-gifts/

    Gorton's Fisherman:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorton's_of_Gloucester

    Trilogy of Terror (1975):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilogy_of_Terror
    https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/trilogy-of-terror

    Homunculus:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homunculus
    https://www.britannica.com/science/homunculus-biology

    Astonishing Junk Tour:
    https://www.patreon.com/posts/astonishing-junk-85805858?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

    Email your stories to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • 40: Skinwalkers in Iraq

    40: Skinwalkers in Iraq
    Jul 29 2025
    In tonight’s dead letter listener Henry, a marine, recounts his experiences on guard duty in Iraq, where his platoon was stationed at an abandoned hotel near the Jordanian border. During a late-night watch, he and another marine hear footsteps in the stairwell, but a search of the building yields nothing but an unsettling encounter with glowing eyes in the boiler room. The mystery deepens when a fellow marine suggests the presence of a skinwalker, leaving the group to ponder the true nature of what they encountered in the desolate hotel.

    Navajo Culture
    https://discovernavajo.com/navajo-culture/
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo

    Skinwalkers (In the Context of Navajo Culture)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin-walker
    https://nativeappropriations.com/2016/03/magic-in-north-america-part-1-ugh.html

    The Monroe Institute
    https://www.monroeinstitute.org/

    Jim Harold’s Campfire
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jim-harolds-campfire/id310656913

    Trebil, Iraq
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebil
    https://web.archive.org/web/20050716034614/https://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2088

    The Monte Vista Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona
    https://hotelmontevista.com/
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • 39: The Hat Man Takes a Seat

    39: The Hat Man Takes a Seat
    Jul 22 2025
    In tonight’s dead letter… Josh shares a chilling encounter with a being we’ve discussed on the show numerous times. The Hat Man. For Josh he appears as a shadowy figure sitting in his bedroom in the middle of the night. What would you do in this situation? It’s easy to answer that until you’re confronted with it yourself. Josh gave into paranormal apathy, something we’ve identified at Astonishing Legends as a common reaction to the unexplainable. Is the Hat Man a harbinger of doom or change or just something that happens in our mind?

    Jim Harold’s Campfire
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jim-harolds-campfire/id310656913

    Our Strange Skies (Rob Kristoffersen)
    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-strange-skies-ufos-throughout-history/id1546735571

    Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/

    Hypnopompic State
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnopompia

    Hypnogogic State
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia

    Send your story into deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • 38: A Gray Walks in LA

    38: A Gray Walks in LA
    Jul 15 2025
    In tonight’s dead letter, listener Renee shares a strange encounter in Los Angeles. Late one night, while walking her dog, she saw what appeared to be a gray alien. After a moment of shock, she looked again and saw a middle-aged African-American woman. Renee was left wondering if she had seen a psychic mask slip or if it was just a trick of the light.

    Send your story to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • The Green Monster of Flatwoods

    The Green Monster of Flatwoods
    Jul 13 2025
    On September 12th, 1952, in Flatwoods, West Virginia, five boys witnessed a fiery object slowly descend from the sky and land nearby, seemingly under intelligent control. What followed became one of the strangest UFO encounters in American history. Joined by a 32-year-old mother and a National Guard member, the group were allegedly pursued by a towering, mist-shrouded, humanoid figure that emitted strange lights and sounds. And with seven direct witnesses and reports from several states, this was no isolated event. With some eyewitness still speaking up as recently as 2018.

    Misunderstood and mythologized for decades, the Flatwoods Monster deserves a closer, more accurate look — and that’s exactly what we’re here to do.

    Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.
    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 22 mins
  • 37: Jacob City Miners

    37: Jacob City Miners
    Jul 8 2025
    In tonight’s dead letter, Cody shares a chilling experience from a trip to Jacob City, a ghost town in Utah. While camping with friends and their dogs, they captured eerie EVPs, including one that called out Cody’s name. As the night grew darker, the dogs became unusually frightened, and a sudden, strong wind forced them to pack up and leave before their campfire got out of control. This is history, mystery, and a reminder to trust your instincts.

    Send your story to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com

    Show note links!

    Jacob City - Utah Ghost Town
    https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ut/jacobcity.html

    Jacob City - Utah Outdoor Activities
    https://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/jacobcity.html

    Snapshots of Mentioned Newspaper Articles
    https://postimg.cc/gallery/SCkxPjw

    Bannack, Montana - Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannack,_Montana

    Southwest Montana History: Bannack
    https://southwestmt.com/specialfeatures/history/bannack/

    The Sheriff and Outlaw Henry Plummer Series at Astonishing Legends (Available on all podcast platforms as well and YouTube)

    Astonishing Legends - Sheriff and Outlaw Henry Plummer Part 1
    https://astonishinglegends.com/al-podcasts/2017/4/21/ep-68-the-sheriff-and-outlaw-henry-plummer-part-1?rq=henry%20plummer

    Astonishing Legends - Sheriff and Outlaw Henry Plummer Part 2
    https://astonishinglegends.com/al-podcasts/2017/4/28/ep-69-the-sheriff-and-outlaw-henry-plummer-part-2?rq=henry%20plummer

    Astonishing Legends - Sheriff and Outlaw Henry Plummer Part 3
    https://astonishinglegends.com/al-podcasts/2017/5/10/ep-70-the-sheriff-and-outlaw-henry-plummer-part-3?rq=henry%20plummer

    Jacobs Smelter - Superfund Site
    https://www.toxicsites.us/site.php?epa_id=UT0002391472
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins