Bedtime Stories

Advances in DNA analysis and facial recognition technology have made it increasingly difficult for unidentified victims to remain anonymous. But for much of the twentieth century, investigators had far fewer resources at their disposal, and countless individuals whose identities could not be established were assigned little more than a generic name in official records. Some would remain unidentifi...

The Haunting of Bill Vaile   For as long as human beings have told stories of the supernatural, there have been accounts of malevolent entities that appear to take pleasure in tormenting the living. Forces said to manipulate and intimidate their victims, gradually wearing them down until their lives become consumed by fear. Most such tales belong to folklore, their origins lost to the passage...

We have previously explored cases in which entire families have been lost under mysterious circumstances, including the murders of the Miyazawa family in Setagaya and the disappearance of Bobby and Sherrilyn Jamison, who vanished with their daughter in October 2009. This week, we turn to France, where a doctor and his two young children disappeared during a sailing trip in September 1999. But as i...

Of the many cryptids said to inhabit the North American continent, few have featured in as many reported encounters as Michigan’s infamous Dogman. For well over a century, witnesses across the state have described remarkably similar encounters with a large, werewolf-like creature, often recounting its appearance in striking detail. Yet despite the consistency of these reports, the true nature and...

In many reported encounters with UFOs, those involved emerge from the experience apparently unharmed, suffering no lasting physical effects from what they claim to have witnessed. A smaller number of cases, however, tell a very different story. Some witnesses have reported developing sudden illnesses or unexplained injuries shortly after coming into close proximity with unidentified objects. Such...

In 1954, a European businessman arrived in Japan aboard an international flight, carrying documents that appeared to confirm his identity and extensive history of overseas travel. There was, however, one significant problem. The country which had issued his passport did not exist. The traveller himself seemed equally bewildered, insisting that his homeland was a centuries-old nation recognised thr...

In previous episodes, we have explored a number of alleged encounters involving animals of extraordinary and seemingly impossible proportions. These have included cases in which witnesses claim to have been attacked by enormous wolves, oversized sharks, and spiders considerably larger than any recognised species. This week, we will be adding another creature to this disturbing collection of oversi...

Following the end of the Cold War, numerous incidents once buried within classified military records have gradually entered the public domain, some of which continue to defy explanation. These include disturbing accounts of soldiers confronted by bizarre and seemingly hostile entities, whose appearance bore little resemblance to anything recognisably human. Alongside our sister channel and podcast...

In December of 1978, an Italian security guard was discovered by his colleagues in a visibly distressed and emotional state, claiming that he had been abducted by extra-terrestrial beings. Those who rushed to his aid that day could have had no inkling that this extraordinary incident would prove to be only the beginning. Over the years that followed, he would allege that he had been taken against...

The Missing 411 phenomenon centres upon a series of unexplained deaths and disappearances that have occurred within the boundaries of America's National Parks. Those who study these cases have proposed a number of possible explanations. Yet no single theory is capable of accounting for every incident. There is, however, a small group of cases that some believe may point towards one particular culp...

In previous episodes, we have explored a number of locations across the globe where reports of seemingly paranormal activity have emerged with unusual frequency. Amongst the most disturbing have been those associated with enclosed tunnel systems, including the Hoosac Railway Works and the London Underground. In this episode, we turn our attention to another pair of tunnels, where a succession of b...

Over the years, we have travelled to many places said to harbour an unusually high number of strange and unexplained events. Locations where multiple witnesses claim to have encountered bizarre phenomena, often under circumstances that continue to defy explanation to this day. In this episode, however, our journey takes us not simply to another place, but to another time. To an age of cattle drive...

Despite being a nation steeped in folklore and legend, Finland possesses surprisingly few modern accounts of the mysterious or paranormal. Yet during the early 1970s, the Nordic country became the setting for a series of bizarre UFO encounters that would leave a lasting impression upon those involved. The most disturbing of these incidents centred upon a strange humanoid figure reportedly seen in...

In this special episode, Bedtime Stories narrator Richard While sits down with T.G. Campbell of The Bow Street Society for an in-depth conversation covering a wide range of topics related to the paranormal, unexplained phenomena, and the creation of the channel itself. During the interview, Rich discusses several of his own personal experiences, the cases that have fascinated him most over the yea...

Stories of monsters lurking within the world's oceans are nothing new, having persisted in folklore and maritime tradition for centuries. In previous episodes, including our sister series Wartime Stories, we have examined some of the most notorious examples. Yet despite centuries of exploration, the deep remains one of the least understood environments on Earth. Vast stretches of the ocean floor h...

In previous episodes, we have explored cases in which alleged serial killers were never identified, nor convicted of the horrific crimes they were believed to have committed. The same would prove true in the case of a modern-day murderer thought to have been responsible for the deaths of at least seven female victims in rural Japan. A killer whose disturbing and highly distinctive methods would ul...

The North American continent is vast and often unforgiving, containing countless remote regions where visitors can all too easily come to harm. One such place lies deep within the American state of New Mexico, in a sprawling belt of wilderness situated between two immense national forests. It is a lonely and isolated landscape, harsh in both climate and terrain, where numerous people have disappea...

On the morning of 1st December 1987, a man walking alone across Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire claimed to encounter something he could not explain. Through the mist and silence of the moor, he reported seeing a strange, humanoid figure watching him from a distance. Acting on instinct, he raised his camera and captured a single photograph of the being before it vanished from sight. The image he produced...

Is the very essence of our reality shifting in ways we cannot comprehend? Are there subtle forces at work, altering events, memories, and the world around us without our awareness? Have you ever noticed details that seem familiar but different, moments you are certain happened one way, yet records say otherwise? Could something be quietly influencing the past, or is it a collective trick of percep...

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America’s turbulent past has left behind countless locations said to be haunted by those who lost their lives there. From the victims of catastrophic disasters and fatal accidents, to soldiers and civilians killed in times of war, and those who fell prey to notorious murderers, the country’s history is steeped in tragedy. Yet it is often the places where such killers were ultimately confined that...

During the Cold War, soldiers stationed on an army base in the German city of Celle began to report strange, unexplainable experiences. As time wore on, many of the men came to believe they were being terrorised by a sinister paranormal presence. These encounters proved so horrifying that some took their own lives rather than face another night on patrol. Whilst the incidents were largely dismisse...

In 1922, six people were brutally murdered at a remote German farmstead, their bodies discovered in bloodied bedclothes after suffering repeated blows to the head. The isolated nature of the property only deepened the mystery, leaving investigators struggling to determine who could have carried out such a savage attack. Was it the work of a deranged killer, an escalating family feud that turned de...

There have been countless reports of alleged encounters with extraterrestrial beings over the years. Most involve a single witness describing a strange sighting that lasted only a few fleeting moments before disappearing again. But the cases that attract the greatest attention are those in which multiple people, often unknown to one another, come forward with accounts that appear to describe the s...

Whilst cycling to work in the early hours of the morning, a young man found himself confronted by a chilling apparition near the dark waters of Trench Pool. What began as a single terrifying encounter soon escalated into something far more disturbing, as the figure continued to stalk him for weeks afterwards; a haunting presence he would come to know as The Wraith of Trench Pool. MUSIC  Tracks use...