Astonishing Legends

They had lawyers, guns and money, as well as cartographers and engineers, tradesmen, politicians and professionals of all station, all embedded in American society and the money in the earth itself. One day these would all be needed by the Knights of the Golden Circle and if the people, their skills and their ideals would not survive the generations then their amassed fortune would. And here is wh...

The Confederate Army’s losses at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July 1863 marked a turning point in America’s Civil War, one that was not favorable for furthering the cause of “Southern Independence.” With the hopes of an overall military victory for the Confederacy now beginning to fade, the clandestine leaders of the KGC took the movement fully underground, secreting not only their c...

America in the mid-nineteenth century was still a very young nation in the process of finding its own identity, its states not yet fully or harmoniously united. Differing ideas on what methods of production and government its inhabitants should employ were fomenting into a house divided and would lead to one of the bloodiest and devastating civil wars any country could experience. Leading up to Am...

They watch us. They wait. Lurking in the shadows or in bright daylight, from afar, in the corners of our eyes or in our very own bedrooms, staring directly at us, sometimes with eyes of red fire. They observe us and learn our behavior or they try to choke the breath and souls from our bodies. But why are they here and what do they really want with us? Or are their sightings and interactions just a...

Some tales are tall tales, and some tales involve an ape-like creature that stands over 7 feet tall and weighs around 700 pounds. Such was the tale of Albert Ostman, who claimed that in 1924, while on a leisurely prospecting trip in British Columbia, Canada, he was kidnapped in the middle of the night by a Sasquatch, or what is more commonly known as "Bigfoot." While some folks might be quick to d...

Background: Part 2 of our Special on Dyatlov Pass:  On January 27, 1959, a group of outdoor enthusiasts, known as "tourists" in Russia, consisting of seven men and two women, mostly students and graduates of the Ural Polytechnical Institute (which is now the Ural Federal University) left the village of Vizhay in the northern Ural Mountains on a two-week ski trek, through a region called Sverdlovsk...

Background: On January 27, 1959, a group of outdoor enthusiasts, known as 'tourists' in Russia, consisting of seven men and two women, mostly students and graduates of the Ural Polytechnical Institute (which is now the Ural Federal University) left the village of Vizhay in the northern Ural Mountains on a two-week ski trek, through a region called Sverdlovsk Oblast, the "gateway to Siberia" in Rus...

Background: While having lunch near the Los Alamos National Laboratory one day with the likes of Edward Teller, "father of the nuclear bomb" Nobel Prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi wondered out loud (after the topic of recent UFO sightings came up) "Where is everybody?"  Basically what he meant was, if the universe is so seemingly infinite and old, and it's mathematically probable that other st...

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural...

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural...

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural...

Legend: Pirate treasure?  English, French or Spanish military plunder? The secret Rosicrucian works of Sir Francis Bacon and therefore also the possible original missing folios of Shakespeare?  Or perhaps the greatest sacred antiquities lost to history, such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus or the menorah from King Solomon's temple?  Or maybe it's all just natural...

Have you ever collected anything?  Have you ever been a fan of anything or anyone?  If so, how serious were you about it, how far would you go to obtain a collectible and what would be your most treasured "gets?" Background: After our cold open on Charly Charlie, Scott sits down for a discussion with Astonishing Legends' own intrepid reporter in the field, "Master" Marc D'Andre (you'll find out wh...

Have you ever taken a camping trip by yourself? A trip to get away? Were you alone? Are you sure? Background: Tonight we interview retired Emergency Room Physician and now published author Dr. Richard J. Goldstein who took a simple little camping trip by himself a while back and found that he was not welcome at the campsite he chose. Tonight's Quote: “Ghosts could walk freely tonight, without fear...

Legend: In 1837, someone or something leapt into history in nine foot bounds, assaulting women and men, breathing fire and tearing at their clothes. What exactly was Spring-Heeled Jack? Background: Tonight we're diving into the history of Spring-Heeled Jack. We're going to take a look at one of the most detailed research papers ever done on him and try to figure out just who or what he might have...

Legend: Technically an invasive species has to kill off a pre-existing species to meet the definition of being invasive. After you hear this episode, we'll be you'll agree there are some things though that should be classified as invasive no matter what. Background: Tonight we talk with two guests. One who may never spend the night in New York City with a window open again, and another who althoug...

Legend: There are many different levels of torment that some ghosts seem to offer, but what could be worse than mocking? Background: When our guest was 12 years old and home alone in upstate New York he experienced an encounter with something heard but not seen. Was it real? What would you have done? Listen to his tale and try to decide if you could have handled it differently. Stories If you can'...

Legend: Time traveler stories have abounded throughout history, but one of the most enduring ones of the past hundred years is the legend of John Titor, a man from the year 2038 who's story of how time travel works proves to be plausible. Background: There are more than few recent stories of folks appearing out of town in old photos or even a Chaplin film and we will visit the most famous of them....

Legend: In the 1890's an illicit affair centered around a hotel in Norway ends badly. Are the departed lovers still hanging around the original section of the hotel's top floor? Background: Marc Brugnoni and Marisol McIlvain work for a large travel and entertainment company in their marketing department. This means they frequently are sent to exotic locations around the world to produce high-end f...

Legend: A spirit visits two siblings multiple times a week for several months during their highschool years. Neither one of them knew it was happening to the other. Background: Comedy and Improv performers, writers and producers, Liz and Craig Cackowski were both visited by something almost nightly for over a year when they were in highschool. It visited them in nearly the identical way several ni...

Legend: Bird flies at the window, death knocks at the door. According to legend, if a bird crashes into a window in your house and dies from the collision, it is a portent that someone close to you is going to die. Background: Can someone who's passed away send the living messages by manipulating our world and even other living things in it? That's what Eric Robinson says happened to him and his e...

Background: Have you ever encountered someone other-worldly? Someone who seemed to exude a dark charisma that frightened you with their ability to be so magnetic? Legend: Talented comedy writer, Paula Pell, joins us in this episode for a glimpse over her shoulder at an event from her past that while fleeting, was so poignant it stuck with her for the rest of her life. A chance crossing of paths wi...

All pictures from The Running of the Butt Mandle in Bertchesgaden, Germany, Dec 6th 2014. Photos property of Astonishing Legends/Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2014 - All Rights Reserved Background: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Krampus? Every part of the world has different traditions at the end of the year. Have you ever stopped to think about the origins of those traditions? Ever stop to...

Background: Marc D'Andre our Correspondent at Large, is back with one of his special tours of the final resting place of not only Marilyn Monroe, but countless Hollywood icons of film and television. Put your headphones on and be transported to the park with Marc as he tells you a little bit about its residents who are probably all going to be glad to know you still care about them. Legend: A larg...

Legend: Did Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan live short lives as castaways, or were they lost at sea after running out of fuel and ditching their Lockheed Electra 10E? Maybe they were taken prisoner, interrogated and eventually executed by the Japanese in Saipan? If none of those are right, maybe Amelia changed her identity and lived her days out as a woman named Irene Bolam who settled down in New...