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Astonishing Legends: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Astonishing Legends Productions
The world is more mysterious than most people are comfortable imagining. We cross paths with the mystical from time to time and may not even notice it. If we do, we quickly return to our usually mundane daily existence. But what if we not only acknowledged the unknown, we investigated it and spoke with those in the know? That's what co-hosts Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, and co-executive producer Tess Pfeifle do at Astonishing Legends. Over 100 million downloads and hundreds of thousands of listeners have discovered the thrill of exploring the mysteries of our world, showing that the unknown can be both captivating and intriguing.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 5 days ago40 min
S2 Ep35: The Benevolent Warning
In tonight's dead letter, our listener named Mark is driving through western Michigan at two in the morning in 1978, working off a paper map and handwritten directions to a house he's never been to. He comes up a hill and into a curve on US 131, and there are four people standing in his lane. Two of them are waving him over to the right, and the other two have their arms raised above their heads in an X. Had they not been there he may have had a fatal collision, and when he went to find them shortly after, they had vanished.Relevant Prior EpisodesEp 102: Resurrection Mary Part 1Astonishing Legends · Spotify · Apple Podcasts Ep 116: Small Town MonstersAstonishing Legends · Spotify · Apple Podcasts Links and Further ReadingLydia: The Ghost of Jamestown Bridge, NCpediaA History of the Vanishing Hitchhiker, Beardsley and Hankey, 1943The Bray Road Beast, Small Town MonstersJim Harold's Campfire: True Ghost Stories, Books 1 through 6 Note: We call it the National Highway Transportation Safety Association in the episode. The ‘A’ is actually for Administration. We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com!
- 1 weeks ago46 min
S2 Ep34: The Lady in the Rocking Chair
In tonight's dead letter, listener Mothmaiden remembers a time when she was four years old and an only child in a neighborhood with no other kids, and she had an imaginary friend named Cindy Cora who looked exactly like Betty Rubble from The Flintstones. Then on a sunny afternoon, in her own bedroom with the light coming through the window, she saw an elderly woman with white and gray hair piled high on her head, sitting in a rocking chair, calm and gentle and completely solid. Were these things connected?Relevant Prior EpisodesAbduction at Devil's DenDevil's Den: The Reckoning Part 1Chris McKinnell and the Warren LegacyDan, Susan, Micah Hanks and Missing TimeLinks and Further Reading Two-thirds of school-age children have an imaginary companion by age 7, University of WashingtonNote: We say about one in three for the invisible-only friends. In the study, about two thirds of kids have had an imaginary companion by age seven, and about one in three have one at the time they are asked. The psychological significance of play with imaginary companions in early childhood, Learning & BehaviorChildhood amnesia, WikipediaGhosts and Apparitions in Psi Research, the Society for Psychical Research's Psi EncyclopediaPhantasms of the Living (1886) by Gurney, Myers and Podmore, Internet ArchiveStrange Intruders by David WeatherlyDevils Den: The Reckoning by Terry Lovelace Contact (1997), WikipediaNote: We say David Morse was one of the doctors on ER. He played Dr. Jack Morrison on St. Elsewhere. Sesame Street debuts, November 10, 1969, HISTORYWall Street crash of 1929, WikipediaThe History of Bettys in Pop Culture, Refinery29Natalie and Tara on YouTubeWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com!
- 2 weeks ago52 min
Special: Richard Hatem's Light in the Dark Tour 2026
Hey folks! We're gearing up to go to the Wet Hot Bad Magic Summercamp next week but after that we're back on our regular schedule! In the meanwhile here's a chat Scott and Richard had just a week ago about his new tour which is also CLOSE ABOARD!>>>>>>>>>>A special episode from our friend Richard Hatem. Richard is the screenwriter behind The Mothman Prophecies and a longtime friend of the show, and he hosts Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf. He invited Scott onto his podcast to talk about his upcoming Light in the Dark Tour 2026, a 10-day, six-city run of live shows in September that wraps up at the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. We liked the conversation enough that we're sharing it here on the main feed.Along the way, Scott and Richard get to such never-before-asked questions as: What scares our dogs? Where will Scott and Forrest be appearing live in September? Did Abbott and Costello get along? Can anyone find Scott's legendary "lost" appearance on Portlandia? Did Richard schedule too many shows on this tour, and will Susan ever forgive him? Find out the answers to these and many more questions on this episode.If you can make it to one of the tour stops, go. Tickets and dates are at the link below.LinksGet tickets to Richard Hatem's Light in the Dark Tour 2026 LIVE: https://www.richardhatemsparanormalbookshelf.com/eventsListen to Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf: https://www.richardhatemsparanormalbookshelf.com/Support RHPB on Patreon: https://patreon.com/RichardHatemCelebrate 2026 with 26% off all RHPB merch with offer code RHPB26. The discount is pre-applied at this link: https://richardhatem-shop.fourthwall.com/promo/RHPB26Need help with your personal writing projects? Richard is here to help. Get 20% off when you mention RHPB: https://www.richardhatem.com/NotesGet the answer to ALL of your Abbott and Costello questions here: Abbott and Costello Meet the PodcastIs your dog afraid of hiccups, just like Luna? Learn about your dog's weird fears here: Understanding Your Dog's Fear
- 2 weeks ago53 min
S2 Ep33: The Inn at Folck's Mill
In tonight's dead letter, listener Chris takes us back to the early 2000s, when he was the head brewer at a restaurant on the east side of Cumberland, Maryland, in a building so old it served as a Civil War field hospital. One night after close, he and three coworkers were having a beer in the basement bar when the loudest sound he'd ever heard slammed into the floorboards right above their heads, shaking dust from the ceiling and rattling every bottle behind the bar.Relevant Prior EpisodesNightmarchers of HawaiiLinks and Further ReadingThe Battle of Folck's Mill: Maryland Historical Trust Battlefield Documentation (PDF)Battle of Folck's Mill, WikipediaFolck's Mill (National Register of Historic Places site), WikipediaThe Battle of Folck's Mill, Western Maryland's Historical LibraryThe Invasion, Aug 1864: The Cumberland Alleganian's Original Account, Western Maryland's Historical LibraryFolck's Mill Marker, Historical Marker DatabaseThe History of Puccini Restaurant, Cumberland, MarylandThe Phantom Battle of Edgehill, Historic UKThe Spectral Army of Souther Fell, Mysterious Britain and IrelandThe Dieppe Raid Case, Mysterious Britain and IrelandThe Drummer of Tedworth, WikipediaPhantom Armies of the Night by Claude LecouteuxThe Rosenheim Poltergeist, by Tess Pfeifle at Astonishing LegendsWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com!
- 3 weeks ago2 min
Richard Hatem's Light in the Dark Tour 2026!
Our friend Richard Hatem is taking his Paranormal Bookshelf on the road! The Light in the Dark Tour 2026 is an all new live show playing six cities in seven days, September 13th through 19th, and it winds up at the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Richard and Susan Lambert will be at the festival both days selling Mothman and podcast merch, and on Saturday night, September 19th, he's performing an episode of the podcast picked especially for Point Pleasant.Hear Scott and Rich talk about the tour in his most recent post on the RHPB feed:SpotifyApple PodcastsTour Dates and TicketsSunday, September 13: Storm Crow Manor, Toronto, ONMonday, September 14: Padraigs Brewing, Minneapolis, MNTuesday, September 15: The Red Lion Pub, Chicago, ILWednesday, September 16: B Side Lounge, Cleveland Heights, OHThursday, September 17: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA (FREE SHOW!)Saturday, September 19: Trinity UMC Community Center, Point Pleasant, WV (The Mothman Festival)More from RichardAll Tour Dates and TicketsRichard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf on Apple PodcastsRichard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf on SpotifyParanormal Bookshelf MerchThe Mothman FestivalTickets for every show but Carnegie Mellon (which MAY not require them, TBD) are at richardhatemsparanormalbookshelf.com/events, or search Richard Hatem on Eventbrite. Come out and see Richard do his thing!
- 3 weeks ago52 min
S2 Ep32: But We didn't Break the Glass
In tonight's dead letter, a teenager in rural Arkansas in the late 2000s goes poking around an abandoned schoolhouse and comes home with a mirror she likes the look of. Years later it's hanging in her first Los Angeles apartment, and one evening while she's in the bath she catches the towel on the back of the door swinging wildly but the moment she turns to look, it stops dead. But that’s only part of the story. Relevant Prior EpisodesThe Bell Witch Part 1The Scrying GameMel's Hole Part 1Abduction at Devil's DenNightmarchers of HawaiiThe Ghosts of Flight 401 Links and Further ReadingAmerican Hauntings — Troy Taylor's books, podcast, and live eventsReunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones by Raymond MoodyNote: We say 1933 in the episode — Reunions was published in 1993.Oculus (2013), dir. Mike FlanaganWhat is a "dybbuk" in the prologue of the Coen brothers' A Serious Man?Ghosts On A Plane? The Story Of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com!
- Aug 20, 202659 min
S2 Ep31: DLO-231: The Kids in the Parking Lot
In tonight's dead letter, in the summer of 1996, two college kids from New Jersey were road-tripping to Gen Con when they got off I-80 near Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, looking for food and a place to stay. Around 11:30 PM, at a gas station that turned out to be closed for the night, three blonde kids in bathing suits were standing under a light, saying something to them that neither of them could make out. Relevant Prior EpisodesBlack Eyed Kids Part 1Strange Intruders with David Weatherly Part 1Sam the Sandown ClownDan, Susan, Micah Hanks and Missing TimeAbduction at Devil's DenSkinwalker Ranch Part 1 Links and Further ReadingStrange Intruders by David WeatherlyThe Gift of Fear by Gavin de BeckerDeath as a Child: The Modern Legend of the Black-Eyed Children (Atlas Obscura)8 local spots you didn't know were haunted (northcentralpa.com — the "Otzinachson"/Demon's Den lore) We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com!
- Aug 11, 202650 min
S2 Ep30: DLO-230: A Finger Down the spine
In tonight's dead letter, listener John is nineteen, home from his freshman year and a few shifts into a summer dishwashing job at a grand old house on Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula that has been a restaurant since the 1950s. The staff there blame anything strange in the building on a ghost they call Genevieve, and John doesn't believe in any of that. One warm night he goes upstairs to change out of his kitchen clothes, and the bulb pops the second he flips the switch. Strange enough on its own, but what happens next is why this particular night stuck with him.Note: The room referenced at Waverly in the Episode is 503. It should have been 502.Relevant Prior EpisodesGreyfriar's Kirkyard Halloween SpecialThe Sallie House – Ghost in the Machine Part 1Lockdown at Waverly SanatoriumThe True Story behind the Conjuring Part 1A Live Reading with Jim Hunt - Psychic MediumLinks and Further ReadingThe Mission Table Restaurant of Bowers Harbor: A Splendid Building, But Not a Residence for a Ghost — Julie Schopieray, Grand Traverse JournalWould the Real Mrs. Stickney Please Stand Up? Setting the Old Mission Ghost Story Straight — Northern ExpressThe Haunting of Bowers Harbor Inn – Is It Genevieve Stickney's Ghost? — Old Mission GazetteBowers Harbor Inn — Wikipedia, on the 1927 fire and the house built around the old farmhouseMission Point Lighthouse — History, the light at the tip of Old Mission Peninsula near the 45th parallelOccupational Folklife — American Folklife Center, Library of CongressMeet the Mackenzie Poltergeist of Greyfriars Kirkyard — Icy Sedgwick, on the grabs and marks reported on the toursWaverly Hills Sanatorium — American Hauntings, on Room 502 and the nurse storyThe Buxton Inn — Wikipedia, the Granville, Ohio inn Forrest visitedWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to deadletteroffice@astonishinglegends.com!
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About Astonishing Legends
The world is more mysterious than most people are comfortable imagining. We cross paths with the mystical from time to time and may not even notice it. If we do, we quickly return to our usually mundane daily existence. But what if we not only acknowledged the unknown, we investigated it and spoke with those in the know? That's what co-hosts Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess, and co-executive producer Tess Pfeifle do at Astonishing Legends. Over 100 million downloads and hundreds of thousands of listeners have discovered the thrill of exploring the mysteries of our world, showing that the unknown can be both captivating and intriguing.
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