Unexplained Mysteries

Two days after three inmates broke out of Alcatraz prison, a crewman on a patrol boat spotted a homemade oar in the water. Authorities believed it was evidence that the trio drowned. But others think it was discarded once the inmates successfully reached the mainland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...

Alcatraz wasn't just a prison, it was a fortress designed to hold the most notorious criminals in the world. But prisoner Frank Morris had other ideas. Over many months in 1962, Morris and three other inmates worked in shifts to execute one of the most daring prison breaks in American history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

For years, conspiracy theorists probed and prodded the army’s official explanation for the debris they found outside Roswell. It’s hard to prove anything when you’re up against a machine as big as the U.S. military. But as the years go by, something shifts. The men who were on the base back then start to open up. Share details they’ve kept close all these years. None more so than First Lieutenant...

Could an unsealed affidavit reveal what really happened at Roswell? This week we’re sharing a special two-part episode from Deathbed Confessions on one man at the center of the mystery. First Lieutenant Walter Haut was one of a select group of people who attended closed briefings on the now-infamous UFO crash... Who saw the debris... Who for years after, would say very little on the matter. But Ha...

Nearly 150 years ago, two fishermen hauled to shore a sea monster they caught off the coast of Cornwall, England. As strange sightings of the creature continued over the decades, public curiosity turned into spectacle. Whatever it was — prehistoric remnant, or rare marine animal — perhaps it could be summoned… by a wizard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn...

For over two decades, the artist known as Banksy has vandalized private property, sold millions in antagonistic artwork, drawn a spotlight to society’s most egregious hypocrisies — and stayed anonymous through it all. In the finale of our Art Mysteries series, we’re peeling back the stencil to take in the whole of Banksy’s oeuvre, from covert street art to public provocations, and outlining the mo...

Before and during WWII, the Nazis stole a fortune in priceless art. Among them was a portrait that’s been called “the Mona Lisa of Austria” — a luminous piece by Gustav Klimt completed in 1907. Placed in the Austrian National Gallery, the artwork’s rightful heir fought for years to reclaim it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

In 1994 an art dealer representing an anonymous client sold a rare painting to a New York gallery. There was only one problem: It was a fake. Yet for years, the paintings kept coming, the deals kept closing, and no one was the wiser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Art dealer Yves Bouvier revolutionized the fine art business. His clientele included oligarchs, billionaires, or any other buyer who required discretion. Then he used the industry's need for secrecy and anonymity to steal a fortune without his clients noticing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an ethereal painting of Jesus Christ fetches a record-breaking bid in a 2017 auction, doubts about its authenticity shroud the work in controversy. Is “Salvator Mundi” a Da Vinci original, done by the hand of the master himself? How did it become so exorbitantly expensive? And with its present whereabouts unknown, where is the work now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

After years of research, Dr. Maria Reiche formed one mainstream idea about how and why the Nazca Lines were made. But who were they made for? In the 1960s, Swiss author Erich Von Daniken proposed a theory: that aliens visited our ancestors and imparted onto them the knowledge needed to create our greatest earthly treasures. Most experts ignored these claims. Others believed he was on to something....

Discovered in the early 20th century, the Nazca Lines are a group of vast, mysterious formations in Peru’s Nazca Desert. For years, archaeologist Maria Reiche researched the origins of these geoglyphs, ultimately determining how and why they were built. But who were they a message for? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

In Australia, the Aboriginals speak of a man-eating aquatic beast who will punish anyone who abuses its waters. Over the years, descriptions of the Bunyip’s appearance have varied wildly, calling into question: is this legendary creature an unseen threat... or just a myth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...

On the night of August 21, 1986, approximately 1,800 people died in the West African villages surrounding Lake Nyos. Surviving villagers battled a range of ailments, claiming to have seen a thick white blanket hovering above the lake before falling ill. In the wake of the tragedy, questions arose... Was this the result of a secret weapons test? A natural occurrence? Or a supernatural force? Learn...

The New York World’s Fair was intended to be an example of peace and unity between nations during a time of war. A year after the bombing, the police and FBI were still on the hunt for who caused the tragedy. Focus was now on international enemies... and supposed allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/...

With World War II intensifying, July 4th at the New York World’s Fair was supposed to be a day of unity and hope. It quickly turned deadly when a terrorist attack killed two and maimed several others. The NYPD had investigated bombings before. This one had the world’s attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

With all the seemingly miraculous healing happening, accusations of fraud weren’t far behind. Edgar Cayce was taken to court on charges of fortune-telling... But the jury’s still out on whether he was more healer or hoax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edgar Cayce’s supernatural ability made him one of the most famous hypnotists of the 20th century. With no formal training, Edgar could solve medical mysteries — diagnosing patients’ illnesses while in a self-induced trance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In one of the most bizarre unsolved mysteries in Brazil’s history, two bodies were found lying side by side on a hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro. They were wearing eye masks made of lead, and carried coded notes and electrical charts. Allegedly, they had set out to make contact with alien life. Autopsy reports and witness statements only added to the mystery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

In 1942, a forest ranger came upon a small lake in the Himalayas. Its shores were covered in hundreds of rotting skeletons. It’s been decades since his discovery, but scientists still struggle to explain how the bodies got there, or who they were. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever since his death in 1935, Dutch Schultz’s lost fortune has drawn treasure hunters to Phoenicia, New York — one of the most likely locations for the hidden loot. Most seekers left empty-handed. But clues have resurfaced that could end the mystery of Schultz’s riches for good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

In the early 20th century, a small-time crook grew to become the infamous “Beer Baron” of New York. Dutch Schultz’s fortune was legendary — even more so after it was lost. Rumored to be buried in a safe, the stash’s value could be worth up to 100 million dollars. If only someone could find it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

For over a century, Billy Gohl was thought to be the Ghoul of Grays Harbor. But a historian's fresh look at the case revealed that Gohl wasn't a serial killer, and there likely was never a Ghoul of Grays Harbor at all. If that’s so, then where were all the bodies coming from?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...

In the early 1900s, men were turning up dead by the dozens in the port of Aberdeen, Washington. Police constable George Dean suspected a serial killer was on the loose. If he was right, he’d be on the trail of one of the most prolific murderers in American history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

For so long, the government’s stance when it came to UFOs was to deny and debunk. But when declassified and new information started hitting the mainstream — thanks to the work of engineers, private investors, and even musician Tom DeLonge — a new era began. One that chipped away at the taboo surrounding ufology… and has paved a way for incredible new research. This is the last episode of our four-...