Unexplained

On June 4th 2014 Derek and Maria Broaddus bought a $1.3 millon mansion in the affluent town of Westfield, NJ. Then a sinister letter arrived in the post. Their purchase hadn't gone unnoticed and The Watcher was keeping tabs...Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplained or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening

In April 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the earth. What is less well known however is the story of those other animals who helped pave the way for his extraordinary feat, and one in particular who beat him to it, as the first sentient creature to orbit the earth – a stray dog plucked from the streets of Moscow.This is her story.  Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplained or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening

During one of the most turbulent and innovative decades in human history, four teenagers encounter something unexpected near the village of Saltwood in Kent, England, while making their way home from a dance. The year is 1963 and something strange is afoot. Is it a ghost?... Is it a UFO?... Is it the Mothman?...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In this week's extra episode we take a brief look back at the life of self-styled ghosthunter Eddie Burks and the case for which he is most remembered, the 'ghost' of Coutts bank.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

S04 Episode 1: Alone With Everybody (Pt 2 of 2)At the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons in the shadow of the Pen y Fan peak, sits a large stone house. Named Heol Fanog, or Road to the Peaks, for one couple who moved there in 1989 the house was everything they had ever dreamed of. Little did they know that, in truth, it would soon become the place of their worst nightmares.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

S04 Episode 1: Alone With Everybody (Pt 1 of 2)At the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons in the shadow of the Pen y Fan peak, sits a large stone house. Named Heol Fanog, or Road to the Peaks, for one couple who moved there in 1989 the house was everything they had ever dreamed of. Little did they know that, in truth, it would soon become the place of their worst nightmares.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Sometimes eerie, Sometimes strange, Sometimes terrifying. Always Unexplained. Join me Richard MacLean Smith, when we return for season 4, on January 11th 2019, as we continue to explore those, dark, unsettling spaces between what we think of as real and what is not.

2018's Unexplained Halloween Special is an extract from the new Unexplained Audiobook, settle in as as we follow a group of learned women and men on the hunt for ghosts...Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HxlqyY Amazon audiobook: https://amzn.to/2r1PbB3 Waterstones: https://bit.ly/2Jxlvnc

The elevation of the figure known as Jack the Ripper to perversely mythological proportions owes much to a new type of journalism that emerged around the same time as the Whitechapel murders; and there was one among all in the industry who for better or worse, had instigated it. This final episode in Unexplained Season 3 explores the extraordinary life of William Thomas Stead.

WARNING: This episode contains scenes of an extremely graphic and violent nature which may distress some listeners (not suitable for children).Part 2 of S03 Episode 12: The SquareOn the night of August 30th 1888, a great fire raged under storm clouds in an East London dockyard, turning the sky blood red. Bolts of lightning appeared like rips in the air; cracks that just might open up and let something abominable through. A few hours later, they did...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

WARNING: This episode contains scenes of an extremely graphic and violent nature which may distress some listeners (not suitable for children).On the night of August 30th 1888, a great fire raged under storm clouds in an East London dockyard, turning the sky blood red. Bolts of lightning appeared like rips in the air; cracks that just might open up and let something abominable through. A few hours later, they did...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

The beguiling Oak Island mystery brought to mind another much-publicised treasure hunt of an eminently more gentle variety, though it is a story no less interesting because of it. This is the extraordinary story of Masquerade...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

S03 Episode 11: Into the Abyss (pt.2)In 1795, Donald MacInnes is a farmer working on Oak Island, a small land mass just off the coast of Nova Scotia. While walking through a clearing one morning, he discovers a strange circular impression on the ground. What he finds underneath it, will spark one of the most bizarre and mysterious treasure hunts of recent times.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In 1795, Donald MacInnes is a farmer working on Oak Island, a small land mass just off the coast of Nova Scotia. While walking through a clearing one morning, he discovers a strange circular impression on the ground. What he finds underneath it, will spark one of the most bizarre and mysterious treasure hunts of recent times.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF INJURY. In last week's episode we looked at the beguiling case of Shanti Devi, a young girl from Delhi who believed she had lived before in a past life. For many, their sense of identity is tied up in a strong sense of Self. It may come as a surprise, therefore to learn that your Self might be nothing but a useful fiction...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

When 3-year-old Shanti Devi becomes convinced she has lived a past life, her parents naturally assume it is just a childish game. Today her story is considered by many to show nothing less than absolute proof of reincarnation.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Humans have long speculated on the concept of an afterlife, however it is only fairly recently that we have attempted to study the possibility of it scientifically. This week's extra dips a little toe into the intra-world of the Near Death Experience...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In the summer of 1958 in Mölnbo, Sweden, EVP pioneer Friedrich Jürgenson was attempting to record the sound of birdsong in his garden. What he captured instead would change his life forever.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

This week's Unexplained Extra takes a closer look at the phenomena known as Instrumental Transcommunication - the process of supposed communication with the dead or discarnate through electronic devices.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In the autumn of 1984, in the village of Dodleston on the border of England and Cymru, something peculiar is occurring. When Ken Webster brings a computer home as a favour for a friend, little did he know he would soon be communicating with an apparent farmer, living at the same location 450 years in the past...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

With Unexplained the book due out on October 25th 2018, a number of people have asked me what books have inspired me and the show. Rather than list them I thought, why not talk about them instead. In tandem with a question and answer session I review a small selection of those books...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Since the announcement of the unexplained book which is due out on October 25th, a few people have been asking me for a reading list of books that have inspired me and the show.So in place of an Extra episode for next Tuesday July 17th 2018 I thought why don’t I just review them on the show - which I’d like to combine with a Q & A session to make it a bit more interesting.If you have any questions about the show, or me or anything else that you’d like me to speak about please write to me at unexplainedpod@gmail.com or on tweet me @unexplaindpod and I will endeavour to answer. Please get your questions to me before Tuesday at the latest.Thank you.

The 2017 film Verónica, directed by Paco Plaza, tells the story of a teenage girl from a suburb in Madrid, who dies in terrifying circumstances after fooling around with a Ouija board. Many may have seen the film, but did you know it was based on a deeply unsettling true story? Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In last week’s episode, Shores of the Unknown we explored the west Wales flap of 1977. Amazingly, it wasn't nearly the most peculiar supposed UFO incident of that year.S03 Episode 6 Extra: Chupa Chupa features the extraordinary story of the Brazilian Government's first official military investigation into the UFO phenomenon...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

1977, in the village of Broad Haven in Wales, a bizarre episode at the local primary school sets off an extraordinary series of events, unparalleled in the history of the British UFO experience; a series of events that remain to this day, very much unexplained...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In the world of parapsychology, it has long be supposed that apparent poltergeist activity, if it were to exist at all, is not the malevolent workings of the deceased but rather the result of telekinesis – the potential ability of an individual to manipulate material things without physical contact.  Despite years of scientific research, there remains no widely accepted evidence that we can manipulate them with our minds alone. There is one individual, however, that came closer than most to suggesting otherwise….Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In January 1998 a curious set of events besieged the tenants of 90 Mcminns Drive in Humpty Doo, Northern Australia. It has been described as one of the country's most compelling and terrifying cases of a poltergeist haunt.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

As interest in all things ancient Egyptian grew in the wake of the rediscovery of Tutenkhamun's tomb in 1922, so too did the number of people claiming to have lived a previous life during the time of the Pharoahs.There was one person however whose peculiar story of reincarnation was a little different from all the rest...The story of Omm Sety, once known as Dorothy Eady was described by one New York Times reviewer as one of the world’s most intriguing and convincing modern case-histories of reincarnation. Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

It's 1922 and two men are on the hunt for something so incredible, if they were to find it, it would likely be considered the greatest archeological find the world had ever known. But at what price?S03 Episode 4: From Eternity to Here tells the extraordinary story of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvan and their hunt for the tomb of Tutankhamun.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

In last week’s episode Under the Asphalt, we came across some strange goings on taking place inside Frankham House - part of a south London housing estate - in the 1970s. It brought to mind another south London ghost that is alleged to have plagued a property in neighbouring Brockley, not more than a kilometre from Frankham House... Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Considering there have been settlers based around the area of London for over 5000 years, it's hardly surprising that under all that concrete we find many remnants of those that have come before us. But what comes of those whose remnants have been disturbed? This week’s episode looks at a series of strange goings that occurred between 1973-74 at Frankham House, an otherwise quiet housing estate in South East London.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Perhaps more than anything, what grips many people about the case of Johnny Frank Garrett 9as explored in S03 E02 is the revelation that shortly before Garrett’s execution he had written a visceral and passionate final letter placing a curse on all those who had helped to secure his conviction. One of the more unexpected curse stories I have come across, is that relating to silent movie star and one of Hollywood’s first great heart throbs, Rudolph Valentino. This is that story.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Part 2 of S03 Episode 2: Lex Talionis(Warning: contains scenes of a distressing nature)A 2014 study concluded that over 4% of people sentenced to death in the United States of America, have been convicted for crimes they did not commit;Some might consider this little more than an unfortunate consequence of en essential system. Others however, might think twice given how often support for capital punishment stems largely from that old maxim of an eye for an eye. After all, as some might say, just because those innocent people are now dead, it doesn’t mean they won’t still be seeking retribution... Lex Talionis tells the strange and tragic story of Johnny Frank Garrett, who some believe was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Others, think he may have had his revenge too.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

I’m extremely excited to share the news that over the last year I have been working on a book, featuring ten new real-life events from around the world which continue to evade explanation.Each chapter will go deeper than I have on the podcast into not just the story itself, but the science, theory and philosophy we can learn from it.What can an apparent demonic possession teach us about free will?What can the case of a poltergeist tell us about the human need to create stories?And what can a haunted box teach us about how we construct reality?Publishing on the 25th of October, you can pre-order your copy of Unexplained now on Amazon, Amazon Audiobook or Waterstones.See www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod for more information.

Part 1 of S03 Episode 2: Lex Talionis(Warning: contains scenes of a distressing nature)A 2014 study concluded that over 4% of people sentenced to death in the United States of America, have been convicted for crimes they did not commit;Some might consider this little more than an unfortunate consequence of en essential system. Others however, might think twice given how often support for capital punishment stems largely from that old maxim of an eye for an eye. After all, as some might say, just because those innocent people are now dead, it doesn’t mean they won’t still be seeking retribution... Lex Talionis tells the strange and tragic story of Johnny Frank Garrett, who some believe was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Others, think he may have had his revenge too.Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

For the last episode We Are the Witchcraft, we took an in-depth look into the extraordinary life and death of pioneering rocket scientist and magician Jack Parsons. In this week's Extra episode we take a closer look at the no less extraordinary life of Marjorie Cameron the focal point of his Babalon Working. Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

The final instalment of S03 Episode 1: We Are The Witchcraft(Contains adult themes)John Maynard Keynes described Isaac Newton as the last of the magicians; the last person of science for whom the gnostic mysteries still held some sway.In 1914 another scientist and magician was born. Jack Parsons would go on to help establish NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab developing a rocket fuel that will put the human race on the moon.In 1946, Parsons would also attempt a complicated magic ritual in the hope of manifesting the divine goddess Babalon. Some say he did it too.In 1952 Parsons was killed in a catastrophic explosion at his house in what many believe to be mysterious circumstances that to this day remain unexplained...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Part 2 of We Are The Witchcraft(Contains adult themes)John Maynard Keynes described Isaac Newton as the last of the magicians; the last person of science for whom the gnostic mysteries still held some sway.In 1914 another scientist and magician was born. Jack Parsons would go on to help establish NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab developing a rocket fuel that will put the human race on the moon.In 1946, Parsons would also attempt a complicated magic ritual in the hope of manifesting the divine goddess Babalon. Some say he did it too.In 1952 Parsons was killed in a catastrophic explosion at his house in what many believe to be mysterious circumstances that to this day remain unexplained...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

When Jack Parsons first heard the name Aleister Crowley he could scarcely have known how much it would change his life. But who was the man once dubbed the wickedest Man in the world?With pt. 2 of We Are The Witchcraft due out on Tuesday April 3rd, we take a look back at two of the more extraordinary moments of Crowley's life featuring Unexplained Episode 10 and 10 Extra from Season 01.Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

John Maynard Keynes described Isaac Newton as the last of the magicians; the last person of science for whom the gnostic mysteries still held some sway.In 1914 another scientist and magician was born. Jack Parsons would go on to help establish NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab developing a rocket fuel that will put the human race on the moon.In 1946, Parsons would also attempt a complicated magic ritual in the hope of manifesting the divine goddess Babalon. Some say he did it too.In 1952 Parsons was killed in a catastrophic explosion at his house in what many believe to be mysterious circumstances that to this day remain unexplained...Go to @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.

Join me, Richard MacLean Smith, as we return to the spaces between what we think of as real and what is not.Unexplained Season 03 begins Tuesday 20th March 2018.See @unexplainedpod or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more details

If on Halloween you come across a looped branch of briar-thorn sticking up from the ground, you might decide to creep through it three times in the devil’s name. Then afterwards cut a piece of it so that you might take it home and place it under your pillow. In so doing, it is said, that you will dream of the one you will marry. Perhaps it was just such a game that a young girl by the name of Bridget Boland played one Halloween afternoon down in Ireland’s County Tipperary. And perhaps that night, as she lay her head to rest, a man did come to her in a dream; his handsome face, his dark hair and his striking blue eyes, appearing to her from out of the flames of a fire, and his name, Michael Cleary whispered like a warning, but long forgotten by the first light of day…  Warning: Contains some graphic imagery that some may find upsettingMore info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

In the last episode Roads to Knowhere, we found ourselves circling a small, concreted patch of England on the southern boundary of Yorkshire, known as the Stocksbridge Bypass. This seemingly unassuming stretch of road is considered by some to be the most haunted in all of the UK. In this final part of Season Two we examine the ways in which landscape can both shackle and stir the imagination, and how the notion of haunting can become more than a simple invocation of the dead... Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

The A616 is a road in England running from the town of Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire to Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. In 1987 building began on a small stretch of the road that would later become known as the Stocksbridge Bypass, a stretch of road now generally regarded as one of the most haunted in the whole of the UK... Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

For the last episode, When the Snow Melts, we took an in-depth look into the unsettling mystery often referred to as the Dyatlov Pass Incident. The incident details the mysterious deaths of nine hikers as they attempted a challenging trek through the Ural Mountains. In this Extra episode we look at one final theory that might go some way to explaining just what exactly happened on that fateful night of February 1st 1959. Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

With five of the students' bodies now recovered from Kholat Syakhl mountain, rumours begin to circulate about just what exactly might have caused their deaths. Meanwhile, with four of the students still unaccounted for, lead investigator Lev Ivanov is under increasing pressure to bring the the case to a swift and uncontroversial end... Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

It is February 25th 1959, and Igor Dyatlov and his team, due back in their home town of Sverdlosk on February 13th have not been seen since January 28th. When their last movements are traced to a mountain known as Kholat Syakhl, or Dead Mountain, a gruesome discovery is about to be made... Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

On Friday January 23rd 1959, a story begins from out of the foothills of the Ural Mountains. A story that is perhaps the most extraordinary of all the stories featured on this show so far. A chilling and profound mystery that remains to this day Unexplained… Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

In last week’s episode, The Final Flight, we looked at the tragic story of Australian Training Corp pilot Fred Valentich and his mysterious disappearance one evening in October 1978. In a famous last communication between Fred and Air Traffic Control it appeared that Fred was being tracked by a large UFO just prior to his disappearance. If, as some believe, Fred had in fact fabricated the event, it has been suggested that the Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind may have served as a possible source of inspiration. Yet, only 6 months previously something far more fantastical had occurred that would no doubt have been noted by Fred, a young man with a keen interest in UFOs and the hunt for Alien life... Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

It has been calculated that the likelihood of the human race being the only sophisticated life form in the milky way is a one in sixty billion chance. The milky way is one of 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. The following story is considered by many UFOlogists to be among the most compelling pieces of evidences of an alien visitation to our planet. Just what happened in the skies off the coast of Melbourne Australia in 1978 has never been fully accounted for. It is a mystery that remains to this day Unexplained. Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

In last week’s episode, Time Out of Joint, we looked at two incidences of a supposed time slip. In both stories we find ourselves questioning the validity of someone’s belief that they unwittingly stepped back into the past. But what, instead, if we were on the other side and it was us witnessing them arriving miraculously from the future. How could we possibly believe them? Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

It has long been accepted that time as we know it, or at the very least in the sense that we experience it, is not what it seems. There are two accounts of alleged time-slips that took place in Britain in the 1950s. Writer and long time member of the society of psychical research Andrew MacKenzie, documented both the events, in his 1997 book Adventures in Time. For MacKenzie the accounts were nothing less than two of the most convincing accounts he had ever come across. More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

In last week’s episode, Whispers in the Trees, we looked at the unsettling mystery of the skeleton found inside the hollowed-out trunk of an old Wych Elm tree. In 1945, Dr. Margaret Murray suggested a possible occult link to the crime. As fanciful as the suggestion might sound, it certainly wouldn’t have been the first time that an occult ritual had been conducted in England during the second world war... More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

Part Two of Episode 1: Whispers in the Trees. Where we return to the midlands in the winter of 1943 as the Worcestershire police try to unravel the mystery of the skeleton found in an old wych elm tree. More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter at @unexplainedpod

Traditionalists consider the real Black Country to only include the region just West of Birmingham where the 30ft coal seam comes to the surface - a product of once living trees, compressed and buried for millions of years, returning to the surface like an irrepressible secret. There are some who say the trees can talk, and if they could, what secrets might they hold? More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

The Exorcist, released on December 26th 1973, is for many the most iconic horror film of all time. From William Freidkin’s masterful direction, to Blatty’s profound and personal script to the intensely evocative use of Mike Oldfied’s tubular bells, it is a cinematic masterpiece. But what many people don’t know is that William Peter Blatty’s nightmarish book, from which the film was adapted, was in fact based on a real life Exorcism. This is that story. @unexplainedpod

By 1952, the shadow of the Second World War continued to permeate deep into the fabric of British society. It had left many people changed and caused significant upheaval to a great many families. Families like the Glynn and Jones’ of number 1 Byron Street. Like most typical working class families of the region, they had little choice but to keep calm and carry on regardless. But there was nothing that could prepare them for the extraordinary events that were soon to engulf their lives. What exactly happened at number one Byron Street has never truly been accounted for. It is an event that has been described as being in one part the most sinister story of poltergeist phenomena in England. More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

I'm very excited to announce that I'll be appearing at this year's London Podcast Festival for more info about this special live version of the show and to buy tickets go to: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/unexplained#.V7yiN46TNho

In last week’s episode, The Spaces that Linger, we journeyed to the grounds of Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness in the highlands of Scotland. Although the house has long been the subject of dark intrigue, it is best known for its association with author and occultist Aleister Crowley who made a failed attempt to conjure his Guardian Angel at the property. Four years later, in Cairo, Crowley claimed to have finally make contact with his Guardian Angel, it was an event that would change his life forever and one that has established Crowley in legend far beyond many of his peers. More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

The world of horror is littered with unnerving locations, places that both draw from and have in turn seeped into the public imagination. For many there is one place in particular that continues to fascinate like no other in the UK. For its combination of mystery, intrigue and atmospheric location you couldn’t concoct a better setting, the place: Boleskine House. More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

With Unexplained on a short break until June 16th, here is something to fill the time... A short story about a strange boy called William. (Parental Guidance: some scenes of graphic horror) More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

Throughout history we have attributed worth and sentiment to inanimate objects, things that when looked at out of context or without the language to understand their worth would otherwise appear completely insignificant. But what of those objects that seem not to conform to the vagaries of the human conscious. Objects that seem to have a power all of their own… Featuring the extraordinary mystery of The Hexham Heads More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

In last week’s episode, When the Light Fades, we looked at the haunting tale of the Lightkeepers of Eilean Mór. The island was often referred to as ‘the other country’, a place where a mysterious otherworld had touched with our own mortal world. It is a sentiment reserved for a number of remote islands from around the world. Though many will be familiar with the mythical Atlantis or the lost land of Lemuria, there is one island, once thought to be located a few hundred miles off the south coast of Ireland that may just prove the strangest of them all... Featuring the mythical land of Hy Brasil More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

Of all the unexplained mysteries I have come across there is one that has for me left the most indelible impression. As far as mysteries go you couldn’t invent a better story. A story that has over time led to some of the most extraordinary of speculations and has since evolved a folklore all of its own. This is that story... Featuring the mystery of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

In last week’s episode, Ghosts in Time, we looked at the strange occurrences that took place in the 1920s at Borley Rectory in Essex, England. What intrigues me most about the story is its slight air of credibility due to the reputable character of the witnesses and the anodyne nature of the supposed hauntings. But for others, a ghost story is nothing without something a little more sinister buried somewhere within... Featuring the terrifying Hairy Hands of Dartmoor... More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

For all the many elements that constitute the paranormal, there are few things quite as evocative as the notion of ghosts. There are of course the ghosts that we carry with us in our daily lives, memories of those we have loved and lost or perhaps even wronged. Thoughts that sit in the deepest parts of the psyche, straining to become manifest. But what of the apparitions that seem not to have been brought forth from our unconscious, those that have no connection to the observer but instead seem for all the world to be reaching out to us from a seemingly timeless space? Featuring the intriguing mysteries of Borley Rectory More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and @unexplainedpod

In last week’s episode, Demons in Suburbia, we looked at the tragic story of Michael Taylor and in the process touched on the notion of free-will. The degree to which any of us can be truly held accountable for our actions is a complex and controversial subject. For one man in particular, this idea became an obsession for which he would ultimately give his life. Featuring the life of maverick academic George R. Price More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

The notion that free-will might be nothing more than an illusion is a little unnerving to say the least. For some, it might merely be seen as a fascinating quirk of life. But for others, a lack of free-will might speak of something else entirely, something far more sinister. For after all, if we aren’t in control of our minds, then just who, or what, is? Featuring the chilling and tragic story of the exorcism of Michael Taylor. www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

For last week's episode, What Hides Beneath, we looked at the infamous K-219 incident and wondered at the many mysteries of the vast ocean deep. Some believe a strange underwater sound, known as a Quacker, may hold the key to unlocking the mystery. However, in 1997 a sound known as the Bloop was picked up by hydrophones deep in the pacific ocean. The intriguing recording may yet prove to be the the most extraordinary underwater sound of them all… More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

For all the myths and stories that have sprung from the sea, fantastical tales of monsters and mermaids, there remain those that make no allusions to metaphor, whose place is not for the pages of the poet or the psychologists couch but exist merely as a matter of record. Stories of hidden worlds and unknown creatures that may yet prove to be beyond our wildest imaginations… Featuring the mysterious K-219 incident. www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

For last week's episode, Where Darkness Plays, we touched briefly on the supernatural theories of the eminent Sir William Barrett. In 1882 Sir William had been a founding member of a fascinating collective known as the Society for Psychical Research, a group often said to be the original Ghostbusters. More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod

Fear, it would seem, is a powerful primal emotion. So potent that it can even make us afraid of things that may not even exist. But then again, just because we can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there… Featuring the terrifying Pontefract Poltergeist. www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

In Unexplained Extra episodes we look at the stories that for one reason or other didn't make it onto our show. For last week’s episode, Do You See What I See, we came across a story that demonstrates the sheer power of belief and how one man’s interpretation of the arrival of the Hale Bopp comet led to the death of 39 people. Featuring the story of the Heaven's Gate group. www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

The stories we tell can often be said to reveal certain truths about ourselves, and yet, the notion of truth is the most elusive of things. For the residents located near Howden Moor in the North East of England, the strange events that occurred on one spring night in 1997 would test their credulity to the limit… They say the truth is out there, but does it even exist? Featuring the extraordinary story of The Howden Moor Incident. www.unexplainedpodcast.com @unexplainedpod

It could be said that all stories are ultimately about one thing – death. None more so than the stories we tell each other concerning what awaits us after life. It is a theme that can be found in stories told across every community and culture, from as far back as we can remember. But what might our dreams have to do with it? Featuring the unsettling story of The Pollock Twins. Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com or on twitter @unexplainedpod

Since the dawn of communication we have shared stories about imaginary beings; entities such as demons, angels, monsters and fairies. But what if they weren’t stories at all? What if these entities were real, existing right next to us, right now, walking invisibly among us? What if all we needed to see them was some kind of gateway? What price might we pay for opening it? Featuring the story of the mysterious death of occultist Netta Fornario. Find out more at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod