In the wake of the Aberfan disaster of 1966, psychiatrist Dr. John Barker set up the Premonitions Bureau. This extraordinary idea sort to collate apparent precognitive dreams in an effort to save lives from future disasters. Some believe it may have inadvertently contributed to Barker’s own premature death only a few months later…Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Aristotle pointed out as far back as the 4th century BCE, in his treatise “On Prophesying in Dreams,” perhaps it is merely because so many believe their dreams to ‘possess a special significance’ that we are minded to give them that significance. Yet in 1966, even a credible academic was given pause for thought when a series of peculiar occurrences, emerging in the wake of a horrifying tragedy, led him to believe in the possibility of precognitive dreams...Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it is generally agreed that absolute death for humans comes only when the brain has irreversibly ceased to function.However, a remarkable paper authored by a team of neuroscientist from Yale School of Medicine and published in April 2019, has reignited the debate over just what is and what isn’t irreversible.Could what appears to be a dead brain, in fact still remain one with potential to regain consciousness?Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two of S04 Episode 08: Death's Pale FlagIn 1980, a stranger walked into a village marketplace in Haiti claiming to be a local landowner named Clairvius Narcisse. After interviewing the man and his family, local authorities confirmed that he was indeed who he said he was. The only problem was that Clairvius had been dead and buried for 18 years. Two year’s later, inspired by Clairvius’ story ethnobiologist Wade Davis was sent to Haiti on a mission to find out just how exactly this could have happened. What he eventually discovered was far more bizarre than anything he could have possibly imagined. Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1980, a stranger walked into a village marketplace in Haiti claiming to be a local landowner named Clairvius Narcisse. After interviewing the man and his family, local authorities confirmed that he was indeed who he said he was. The only problem was that Clairvius had been dead and buried for 18 years. Two year’s later, inspired by Clairvius’ story ethnobiologist Wade Davis was sent to Haiti on a mission to find out just how exactly this could have happened. What he eventually discovered was far more bizarre than anything he could have possibly imagined. Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A quick search online will throw up a host of individuals, who’s apparent psychic abilities have helped to crack police cases, but there is one who stands out a little more than the others.Known variously as the Dutchman with the X-ray mind, The Radar Brain and The Wizard of Utrecht, Gerard Croiset is thought to have been the most effective of them all. Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second and final instalment of S04 Episode 7: Called to the ForestIn February 1978, five men from the Yuba-Sutter Area in Northern California, took a short trip to watch their favourite basketball team play in a local derby. The heartbreaking story of how the men never returned home is not in doubt. What exactly happened to them however, remains to this day, unexplained...Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In February 1978, five men from the Yuba-Sutter Area in Northern California, took a short trip to watch their favourite basketball team play in a local derby. The heartbreaking story of how the men never returned home is not in doubt. What exactly happened to them however, remains to this day, unexplained...Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week's episode about the infamous ghost ship Mary Celeste put me in mind of a story about influential artist Bas Jan Ader. In 1975, Ader was lost at sea after attempting a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. In this extra episode we learn more about Ader's trip and the extraordinary ideas that inspired him to attempt it in the first place.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 4th 1872, the crew of the cargo ship Dei Gratia, came across a ghost ship set adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, 400 miles to the east of the Azores. The fate of the vessel, Mary Celeste, and that of its crew has since become known as perhaps the greatest maritime mystery of all time.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In last week’s episode, Pre-Sense, a young girl claimed to see people who had long since died. This story was used as the basis for the 2013 film, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia.  The film played on the idea that these spirits were ghosts of dead slaves who had died while trying to escape the region back in the mid 1800s.This week's Extra looks at the incredible story of Ellen and William Craft, who also attempted to escape the region around the same time.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In M. Night Shyamalan’s iconic 1999 film The Sixth Sense, a young boy named Cole Sear, claimed to be able to see dead people.Back in 1989, in a small town just outside the city of Columbus in Georgia, in the United States, another young child was claiming exactly the same thing... Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplained or www.unexplainedpodcast.com for more info.Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In last week's episode, Always Already, we journeyed deep into the Amazonian rainforest with the Mayoruna tribe and acclaimed photojournalist Loren McIntyre, who hoped to be the first person to photograph them.To some, McIntyre's ambition to locate the Mayoruna despite their desire to avoid all contact with outsiders speaks to a bygone age of colonial self-importance. In this episode we look at the perils of such contact, cultural erasure and what happened when missionary John Allen Chau attempted to reach the islanders of North Sentinel Island in November 2018.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part 2 of S04 Episode 4: Always AlreadyIn 1969, National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre travelled deep into the Amazon in search of the Mayoruna tribe who were said to maintain no contact with the outside world. What happened next left him wondering for the rest of his life whether it had really occurred or not.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1969, National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre travelled deep into the Amazon in search of the Mayoruna tribe who were said to maintain no contact with the outside world. What happened next left him wondering for the rest of his life whether it had really occurred or not.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In last week's episode, we learned how one couple's dream move to the Boulevard in Westfield, NJ, was scuppered by a series of sinister letters written by an anonymous scribe, known only as the Watcher.Incredibly however, for such a quiet and seemingly pleasant town, that chilling tale pales in to comparison with that of Westfield’s most infamous resident…Featuring the story of John List.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.  To learn more about how to help a stray dog please go to:https://www.animalauthority.com/how-to-help-stray-dogs/Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/2JxlvncGo to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Square.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, it seemed they did...Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, it seemed they did...Go to @unexplainedpod, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 [email protected] or on tweet me @unexplaindpod and I will endeavour to answer. Please get your questions to me before Tuesday at the latest.Thank you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast or unexplainedpodcast.com for more info. Thank you for listening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.