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State of the Unknown
True Paranormal Stories, Haunted History, and American Folklore
State of the Unknown is a weekly narrative podcast that takes you inside real stories of hauntings, legends, and unexplained encounters from across America. Each episode blends atmospheric storytelling with verifiable history — told in a grounded, conversational style designed to pull you straight into the moment.
Hosted by Robert Barber, the show explores haunted places, eerie encounters, forgotten folklore, and the events that shaped America’s most enduring paranormal stories. No sensationalism. No filler. Just clear, immersive storytelling built on research, eyewitness testimony, and the historical record.
If you’re drawn to haunted history, true paranormal accounts, and the mysteries woven into America’s folklore, you’ll feel right at home here.
New episodes every week.
🔗 www.stateoftheunknown.com
📸 @stateoftheunknownpodcast
41 Episodes
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A quiet home in Atchison, Kansas. A nursery that never felt empty. Scratches that appeared on skin — fresh, burning, and witnessed in real time. This is the true paranormal story of the Sallie House haunting, one of the most disturbing and well-documented cases in America’s haunted history. In this episode of State of the Unknown, we walk through the chilling events exactly as the family reported them: the footsteps, the cold spots, the toys that moved on their own, and the violent attacks th...
On the fourth floor of Wilson Hall at Ohio University sits a sealed dorm room no one has lived in for decades, Room 428. Students have whispered about it for years: pacing footsteps behind a locked door, lights flicking on in the middle of the night, and the story of a student whose experience inside the room changed everything. In this mini-episode, we explore the legend as it’s been told for generations — the strange behavior, the escalating disturbances, and the night of the scream, before...
In the early 1800s, a quiet Tennessee farmhouse became the center of one of the most chilling and well-documented hauntings in American history. For more than two years, the Bell family claimed they were tormented by an unseen voice, one that spoke clearly, answered questions, revealed secrets… and eventually promised to kill the family’s patriarch, John Bell. Join host Robert B. as he dives deep into the true story of the Bell Witch, exploring the noises, the whispers, the violent attacks on...
In the early 1980s, new homeowners outside Houston started finding coffins buried beneath their freshly built yards. Lights flickered, water ran on its own, and fear spread through the neighborhood—until they learned the truth. Their subdivision had been built over a forgotten cemetery known as Black Hope. The story of what followed—graves unearthed, strange activity, and a family tragedy—sounds eerily similar to the plot of Poltergeist, which hit theaters around the same time. But this wasn’...
In 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades—killing 101 people. Months later, flight crews across the country began reporting something impossible: the faces of Captain Robert Loft and Flight Engineer Donald Repo appearing aboard other jets built from the wreckage. What followed became one of the best-documented modern hauntings and a mystery that changed aviation forever. In this episode of State of the Unknown, host Robert Barber revisits the verified history o...
In the quiet town of Madison, Ohio sits a building with nearly two centuries of history and more than a few secrets. Once a school, a Civil War widows’ home, and later a state-run institution, Madison Seminary has become one of the most haunted locations in Ohio. In this episode, host Robert Barber explores the history and hauntings of the Seminary, including the Civil War wing watched over by Elizabeth Stiles, the shrine-like bedroom of Sarah who asked for money, and the top-floor Asylum whe...
Before The Conjuring 2 terrified moviegoers, there was a real family living through something no one could explain. In 1977, the Hodgson family of Enfield, London reported furniture moving on its own, voices echoing from the walls, and violent disturbances witnessed by police, reporters, and paranormal investigators. But what really happened inside that house? In this episode, State of the Unknown host Robert Barber uncovers the true story behind The Conjuring 2, the real Enfield Poltergeist ...
In 1981, a quiet Connecticut town became the center of one of the strangest murder cases in American history. When nineteen-year-old Arne Johnson stabbed his landlord, he claimed something no U.S. court had ever heard before, that he was possessed by a demon. This episode of State of the Unknown uncovers the true story that inspired The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Host Robert Barber takes you inside the real case, from the alleged possession of eleven-year-old David Glatzel, to the Wa...
In the world of paranormal encounters and urban folklore, few stories are more chilling than this one. Before The Conjuring turned her into a horror icon, Annabelle was real — a simple Raggedy Ann doll at the center of one of the most documented real hauntings in American history. In this episode of State of the Unknown, host Robert Barber explores the true paranormal story of Annabelle - from the strange movements witnessed by two nursing students in 1970s Connecticut to the terrifying inves...
Before Hollywood gave it a name, there was the real story. Between 1974 and 1989, Jack and Janet Smurl claimed their quiet Pennsylvania duplex had become a battleground of good and evil — a haunting so violent it drew the attention of famed investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. In this episode of State of the Unknown, Robert Barber revisits one of America’s most disturbing real-life hauntings - the true events that inspired The Conjuring: Last Rites. From unexplainable noises and levitations ...
This October, State of the Unknown presents a special haunted series: the true stories behind The Conjuring movies. Join host Robert Barber as we dive into the real cases Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated — the ones that became the inspiration for The Conjuring: Last Rites, Annabelle, The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Conjuring 2. From the Smurl Haunting in Pennsylvania to the infamous Enfield Poltergeist, we’ll separate fact from Hollywood and uncover the chilling truth behind the Conjuring...
St. Louis, Missouri. Once a mansion of chandeliers, marble, and fortune — now one of the most haunted houses in America. The Lemp family built their empire on beer, but inside their 33-room mansion, sorrow took root. Five suicides. A legacy of grief. And a house that refuses to let go of its past. Today, the Lemp Mansion is famous for more than history. Guests report footsteps in empty hallways. Staff hear boots crossing the ballroom after midnight. Paranormal investigators capture whispers -...
In September 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving through New Hampshire’s White Mountains when a strange light in the sky began to follow them. Hours later, they pulled into their driveway with two hours of missing time — and a story that would become America’s first widely publicized alien abduction. Torn clothing. Watches that would never tick again. A trembling dog that wouldn’t leave Betty’s side. And under hypnosis, Barney’s voice breaking as he screamed about “the eyes” — eyes he sw...
Just off the coast of Venice lies a place so feared that even locals refuse to go near it. Poveglia Island has been called the world’s most haunted island — a former quarantine zone and plague hospital where tens of thousands perished, and where the echoes of suffering seem impossible to silence. In this episode of State of the Unknown: Out of State, Robert Barber uncovers the true paranormal history of Poveglia — from plague pits and asylums to ghostly sightings and modern-day bans. It’s a h...
For centuries, the legend of Atlantis has captured our imagination — a powerful civilization said to have vanished beneath the sea. Was it a cautionary tale, a historical reality, or something else entirely? In this episode of State of the Unknown: Out of State, Robert Barber dives into the origins of the Atlantis myth — from Plato’s first writings to modern theories that place it everywhere from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. Explore the blend of fact, folklore, and mystery that continu...
Deep in the heart of Ireland stands Leap Castle — a centuries-old fortress known for bloodshed, betrayal, and the restless spirits said to haunt its halls. From secret dungeons and family murders to a malevolent presence known only as the Elemental, its story is one of Ireland’s darkest legends. In this episode of State of the Unknown: Out of State, Robert Barber explores the haunted history and true paranormal stories of Leap Castle — a place where history and horror intertwine, and where th...
Across the windswept Orkney Islands of Scotland comes one of the darkest legends in Celtic folklore — a creature born of sea mist and nightmare. Known as the Nuckelavee, this skinless, horse-like demon was said to spread plague, famine, and terror wherever it roamed. In this episode of State of the Unknown: Out of State, Robert Barber explores the haunted history and true cryptid lore of the Nuckelavee — from its roots in Scottish mythology to the chilling stories that keep its memory alive. ...
A river at night. A woman’s cry that chills the blood. La Llorona — the Weeping Woman — is Mexico’s most famous ghost. For centuries, she has haunted riversides and canals, searching for the children she drowned and lost. Some call her a grieving mother. Others, a curse born from betrayal. But all agree: her cry is an omen. If you hear it, death may follow. In this episode of Out of State, we travel beyond American folklore into the haunted history of Mexico. From Aztec goddesses to colonial ...
In this inaugural episode of Out of State — a companion to State of the Unknown — join host Robert Barber as we step beyond America’s borders to one of the most haunted places in the world. We explore haunted history and paranormal stories surrounding Aokigahara, Japan's infamous Suicide Forest. At the base of Mount Fuji lies Aokigahara, Japan’s infamous “Suicide Forest.” But beyond its tragic reputation, locals tell of something else: the ghost of a woman in white, seen drifting silently amo...
n the Mississippi Delta, they say a young man made a deal with the Devil at the crossroads — and changed music forever. Robert Johnson’s eerie legend has haunted American folklore for nearly a century, blurring the line between myth and reality. In this episode of State of the Unknown, Robert Barber traces the real story and haunted history behind the man who inspired the legend. From his mysterious rise to fame to his untimely death, we explore the truth, the folklore, and the lasting shadow...
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