Astonishing Legends

Valid hypotheses about the Lost Colony of 1587 on Roanoke Island have existed since the settlers' disappearance.   In 1603, Bartholomew Gilbert attempted the last contemporary expedition to locate the colonists, but his search ended with the death of himself and four crewmen at the hands of Algonquian natives.  John Smith, an influential leader of the Jamestown Colony of 1607, had heard stories fr...

Few realize or remember that the very beginnings of English colonization in North America were fraught with tremendous hardship, peril, and connected to an enduring mystery.  A charter was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1584 to explore and colonize lands unclaimed by Christian kingdoms, south of Newfoundland, and north of Spanish Florida.  With hopes of finding va...

On November 29, 1925, the tramp steamer SS Cotopaxi left port at Charleston, South Carolina, under the command of Captain William Meyer loaded with her usual cargo of coal, and headed for Havana, Cuba. The voyage was routine until the ship ran into a fierce tropical storm off the eastern coast of Florida near Jacksonville. On December 1, the Cotopaxi sent out a distress call saying it was taking o...

As with any mysterious event, it’s often said that we should look to the simplest solution as being most likely the right one.  The idea that when presented with competing hypotheses that make the same predictions, the solution with the fewest assumptions should be chosen is usually attributed to the principle of “Occam’s razor.”  But what happens if we try to apply this cure-all of an axiom to ex...

In the year 1284 CE, a remarkable and colorfully dressed young man came to the town of Hamelin in Lower Saxony, Germany.  There are two documentations of this wanderer’s visit, the originals of which have since been lost.  According to the contemporary Hamelin chronicle and a depiction in a stained glass window in a local church, this handsome stranger began to play his flute through the streets. ...

In this episode, we revisit the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas – by way of The Dave Glover Show , as Scott's not quite ready to return in person. ; ) Being an Astonishing Legends listener himself, Dave has graciously invited Scott and Forrest to appear on his show several times.  Now it was time to repay the favor, especially since Dave and his crew had a chilling and emotional experience there...

Most people today believe that the legendary lost continent of Atlantis is just that, an ancient legend buried by time and not the ocean. The first known mention of the fable comes from two of Plato's dialogues,  Timaeus and Critias , where mighty princes ruled the massive and prosperous island. However, Atlantis' glory faded as they were conquered and eventually became undone by their evil and im...

The second half of Edgar Cayce's story would see more extraordinary experiences layered over an ordinary and humble man's life.  Even more unimaginable for his tastes was the non-medical information that would later come through him.  Though mostly remaining uncertain about the medical advice he'd been dispensing while in his sleep-like state, his answers to metaphysical questions distressed him,...

Edgar Cayce is often remembered nowadays as the "father of holistic medicine" and the rightful originator of many of the beliefs and practices of the "New Age" movement. Yet what is remarkable is that although you might naturally think Cayce was a pop-culture product of the 1960s and '70s, his mystical talents gained him worldwide attention beginning from just after the turn of the last century un...

Some time ago, we attempted a hybrid holiday special that combined a traditional episode with a call-in show. Unfortunately, it didn't really go as planned. Still, Scott seemed to think it had some value of some kind, so he talked Forrest into releasing it here and now in 2019. So tonight, the Astonishing Legends team is pleased to present a commercial-free, family-friendly Holiday episode for you...

Those skeptical of the existence of a spirit world will often cite that there is no credible evidence leading to proof, this being the basis for their disbelief.  Yet what constitutes as evidence or proof seems to be a personal decision, as there is an endless supply of visual and audio recordings and environmental data which at the least appear to be genuinely anomalous and unexplainable.  For th...

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, is not so famous for its beautiful surroundings and accommodations or its famed founder as it is for its connection to a book and a movie.  The Shining was Stephen King's third published novel and a bestseller.  This classic of horror fiction, in turn, inspired the iconic motion picture of the same name by Stanley Kubrick.  And these two works had cemente...

At 9:20 p.m. on December 29, 1972, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar commercial airliner, designated as Eastern Airlines Flight 401, departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, bound for Miami, Florida.  Onboard were 13 crew members and 163 passengers, 176 souls in all.  It was a routine trip for Flight 401 until 11:32 p.m. when the plane began its approach to Miami International A...

In your final visit to The Midnight Library of the season, and since we now count so many among you as our friends… we thought we might impart to you some rare and useful, magical knowledge. We’re going to tell you all about the powerful Runic alphabet. What you do with it after that is up to you… but we’ll know, so just keep that in mind...friend. For more information on this episode visit our we...

The accident that killed James Dean was the end of his life, but it was the beginning of a legendary story about the curse of his Porsche, ‘Little Bastard.’ Parts from the car salvaged by amateur racing enthusiasts caused numerous injuries and the death of at least one man on the track. The broken shell of the car traveled around the country as part of a safety exhibition curated by legendary car...

In 1931 a man and a machine were both created. James Byron Dean was born to a modest farming family in rural Indiana, and Ferdinand Porsche founded a company in Stuttgart, Germany, to build automobiles. These two men would never meet, but their egos would clash in a way that would redefine charisma, performance, and power that will never be forgotten. In 1955 both man and machine would die in a ho...

What is at the heart of our fears?  We may be afraid to encounter a supernatural specter or a creature from beyond our reality and understanding, or an agent of evil from a more earthly realm, but in either case, what we actually fear is the potential for harm to come to us or our loved ones.  The deadly violence that visits randomly and one we are powerless to stop.  Ironically, our tendency as h...

Where's the one place in the world you'd like to feel the safest? Your bed, right? And in a secure home that surrounds that bed. We also become nostalgic for what we think was a simpler and more wholesome time. The atrocities we've become accustomed to hearing about on our current nightly news, we imagine inconceivable in bygone eras. But the truth is, we've always been vulnerable to the brutality...

The interview you’re about to hear is one of the most compelling, fascinating, and terrifying personal accounts we’ve ever come across.  We realize it may also be one of the most controversial subjects we’ve ever discussed.  Our guest tonight knows these sensations all too well. The wonder, terror, decades of trauma, and the consequences from coming forward after a lifetime of these experiences ar...

The Astonishing Legends podcast is proud to invite you to The Midnight Library, -Not just a show, but a place you can go-. For your listening pleasure, tonight’s reading will be about The Paris Catacombs.  Once you’re inside, your Hosts, Miranda Merrick & Mr. Darling will do everything in their power to make you believe that you’re safe, so you can relax and hear the fascinating story of how 6...

Many of us have seen all the ghost hunting shows on cable television and elsewhere, but are those accurate representations of what goes on during a paranormal investigation?  After all, TV shows, have to deliver as many instances of spooky "evidence" as possible, because we, the viewing audience, demand it.  In reality, like any hunting or fishing expedition, the experience is usually long stretch...

The ideal qualities of a paranormal investigator should include objectivity, a grasp of the relevant history and science, and a skeptical and inquisitive nature that’s balanced with a fair and open mind. Tonight’s guest has all of those traits and more. Author and paranormal researcher James A. Willis originally hails from the Hudson Highlands of upstate New York, the stomping grounds of the Headl...

Since its modern discovery, no other medieval manuscript has seen as much media attention or scholarly scrutiny as the Voynich Manuscript.  No doubt this is due to the fantastical strangeness of its mystery, which is also the same reason it continually captures the imagination of the public.  Because it would seem, the bigger the mystery, the bigger the reward for its solving.  Like with any endur...

At the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, there is a book with the catalog call number, MS 408. It is one of the most examined and researched manuscripts to date because it is one of the most enigmatic documents ever discovered. It was purchased in 1912 at Villa Mondragone in Italy by an antiquities dealer named Wilfrid Voynich, and since there is no discernible title fo...

Podcasters share a special bond, and this is especially true of those engaged with the pursuit of covering stories about the paranormal and unimaginable events.  It is perhaps because we know our pursuit of the truth behind these ineffable events will take us beyond the fringes of belief and acceptance.  It leaves us and our subjects vulnerable.  But those that manage to tell these stories well ha...