Bedtime Stories

The course of history never follows a straight line. These are the epic stories that have shaped the world we now live in. From Ballen Studios, join us - for the most heart pounding podcast in history.  New episodes every Wednesday. Listen now: ⁠https://ballen.lnk.to/atwistofhistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, paranormal researchers have heard tales of a strange anomaly in the hills of central Washington - a hole so deep that it devours everything thrown into it, and which seems to possess supernatural powers. In the late 1990s, a man named Mel Waters came forward, claiming to own the land upon which the bottomless pit resides. But after going public, he found himself at the centre of a conspiracy involving top branches of the US government that ultimately led to his disappearance. Was it all a hoax, or is there more to the curious case of Mel’s Hole? MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August 1993, a group of kayakers from Ukraine travelled to Irkutsk in Southern Siberia. Whilst enjoying the river and scenery south of Lake Baikal, they came across something haunting: a 17-year-old girl, covered in blood and mumbling incoherently about a tragedy that had befallen her and her friends. Her name was Valentina Utochenko, and the terror she survived still baffles experts, who refer to the event simply as the Khamar-Daban Mountain Deaths. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plenty of towns have disappeared over the years. In most cases, the explanations range from economic problems to government initiatives to resources drying up. But what about the towns that truly and quite literally vanished without a trace? It’s not as rare a phenomenon as some people might think. And for thousands of people in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, it’s a perplexing reality. Given the presence of so many vivid memories, how can we possibly explain the vanishing of Doveland? MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The Manchester Pusher Over the past decade, close to a hundred people have lost their lives in the canal network of one northern English city. In this chapter, we examine evidence, which suggests that a significant number of these deaths were the work of one person, the Manchester Pusher. Story Two – The Uniondale Hitchhiker The N9 is one of South Africa’s longest roads, running from the golden shores of the Southern Coast, right up into the heart of the Northern Cape Province. It is also home to one of the country’s most famous ghostly apparitions. Listen, as we take a ride with the Uniondale Hitchhiker. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the closing stages of 2009, a family residing in Oklahoma vanished under suspicious circumstances, leaving little clue as to what had happened to them. When evidence of their tragic fate did eventually surface five years later, it only prompted further questions as to what exactly had transpired, rather than providing any useful answers. Join us as we attempt to unravel what really happened to the Jamison family. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – Drawn by Conflict When the movie Predator released in 1987, audiences were captivated as they watched an unseen, extra-terrestrial interloper stalk and kill a highly trained team of US special forces. Little did we know that during the Vietnam war, the militaries on both sides had been attacked by something just as frightening and just as bizarre, a true to life enemy unknown which seemed to be drawn by conflict. Story Two – The Burning Man of Brazil The men and women who devote their lives to working in hospitals across the world quickly become accustomed to treating the worst injuries that a human being can sustain. But every so often, a case comes along that is so gruesome, that it succeeds in shocking even the most hardened of medical professionals. In this story, we look at the haunting tale of the Burning Man of Brazil. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – There is Something in the Forest Abandoned towns can be found scattered across the globe and are usually the epilogue of natural disaster or ever-changing economic factors. But every so often, an established settlement can turn into a ghost town for much more sinister reasons. The one featured in this story was allegedly abandoned because of something in the forest. Story Two – There is Something in the Mountains For more than a century, a steady stream of treasure hunters and thrill-seekers have lost their lives under mysterious circumstances whilst searching for a legendary cache of gold, hidden away somewhere in Central Arizona. The headless bodies of those who have eventually been located have made it clear that there is something in the mountains. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ocean has always captured mankind's imagination. But where some saw endless potential for travel, trade, and exploration, others could only imagine what untold terrors might be lurking in its depths. Ask any sailor, modern or ancient, and they’ll tell you that the sea is not only a natural force but a supernatural one. As more people begin to confront the thousands of firsthand accounts of mysterious terror of the deep, it becomes clear that there are things above and below the waves that may never be explained. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scotland’s Highlands are among the most beautiful and remote places in the world. But to many, this stunning landscape of mountains, lakes, and coastal villages also bears a notable air of mystery and foreboding. Even today, these ancient lands remain steeped in folklore and supernatural tales. Once one begins to dig into the stories of High Strangeness in the Scottish Highlands, it becomes clear why it is often considered one of the most haunted places on earth. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – Our Lady of Fatima In the Autumn of 1917, as the brutality and savagery of the First World War threatened to finally overwhelm Portugal’s borders, seventy thousand people gathered near a rural township to witness an appearance by the Virgin Mary. What exactly happened during The Fatima Event? Story Two – The Legend of the Bell Witch Whether tales of cryptids or ghostly apparitions, every community has its own folklore. Here, we pay a visit to a small town in Tennessee, which was plagued by a spirit so vengeful that it was the first in US history to receive blame for an actual recorded death, the legendary Bell Witch. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The forests of North America are dense, tall, and foreboding. So it may come as little surprise that as long as people have lived on the continent, there have been sightings of all manner of beasts and cryptids. Some, like the Canadian Wood Bison, were later discovered to be real. Others, like Bigfoot and the Thunderbird, remain in the grey area where myth, fact, and misidentification meet. But there is one creature so elusive and so bizarre in its appearance that those who’ve seen it claim it can only come from the depths of hell. With stories dating from today back to before America’s founding, how can we possibly explain The Jersey Devil? MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The Charterhouse Guest The English county of Somerset possesses a rich and colourful history which is steeped in tales of myth and legend. It has been the scene of many a mysterious and unexplained occurrence, one of which is known as The Charterhouse Guest. Story Two – Spirits of Devil’s Pool After a string of deaths at a remote beauty spot in Queensland, Australia, many people began to wonder if the area was cursed. Legend told of a woman’s ghostly face appearing just below the surface of the waters there, luring young men to their deaths. In this chapter, we go in search of the spirits of Devil’s Pool. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The San Pedro Haunting During the summer of 1988, a young mother residing in an unassuming Los Angeles neighbourhood reported having been subjected to a horrifying and relentless series of attacks within her home. She claimed that these assaults had been carried out by a mysterious supernatural entity, but just how much truth is there behind the San Pedro Haunting? Story Two – Doppelgängers and the Strange Case of Emilie Sagée In 1845, a school in Latvia became the scene of some disturbing paranormal activity as a newly employed teacher began to appear in two places at the same time. We now recount the strange tale of Emilie Sagée. And ask the question; could we all have a doppelganger? MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The Skies Over Kecksburg On the afternoon of 9th December 1965, the residents of a small village in rural Pennsylvania became the unwitting recipients of their very own legend. A mysterious event which captured the imaginations of an entire generation. What exactly happened in the skies over Kecksburg? Story Two – The Trucker’s Wife Whilst attending a conference in Las Vegas, noted UFO researcher, Stan Hernandez, was approached by a forlorn looking individual who had a tragic and harrowing story to tell. The man had recently lost his wife, who left behind a disturbing mystery regarding the events which led to her death. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – Footprints in the Snow The Antarctic region is notorious for being as unforgiving as it is beguiling. For those who work there, the psychological dangers associated with their posting can often be more dangerous than any physical hazard. In this chapter, we will examine the fate befalling one such soul. A man who disappeared in May 1965, leaving nothing but a set of footprints in the snow. Story Two – The Boys from Yuba City On a cold evening in February, five young men inexplicably left the safety of their car and struck out into the woods in the dead of night. It would be months beforetheir bodies were found. Known as America’s own Dyatlov Pass Incident, we’re left wondering what happened to the boys from Yuba City. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The CrossWade Interlopers In the Spring of 2013, what seemed to be a straightforward emergency call out for two police officers would turn out to be anything but. Not only would this experience chill them to the core, but it would have them questioning their own sanity for years afterwards as they tried to solve the riddle that was the CrossWade interlopers. Story Two – The Belfast Crossover In October 2016, a nurse working a day shift at a busy hospital in Northern Ireland was involved in an unsettling turn of events, which left him questioning everything he thought he knew about the world we inhabit. What happened during the Belfast crossover? MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The Lead Masks of Vintém Hill During August of 1966, the dead bodies of two men were found on a hillside in Brazil. Much of what was discovered at the scene would leave authorities baffled and has never been fully understood. What we are left with is a fifty-year-old mystery known as the Lead Masks of Vintém Hill. Story Two – The Watervale Runner Somewhere in South Australia, a small town holds a mystery in the palm of its hand. The disappearance of a young woman in October 2016 would turn the community upside-down and leave residents and local police questioning what happened to the Watervale Runner. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smartphones and texting have caused many of us to forget that until the early 2000s, complete strangers could call you at any time, for any reason. And if they said the right things to keep you from hanging up, you could find yourself subjected to all manner of psychological manipulation. This tale is one in which several calls are featured, but – in reality – they are just one part of a much larger story. And try as they might, nobody has ever found a suitable explanation for the bizarre events surrounding the Sudbrink Phone Calls. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Story One – The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19 In December 1945, five torpedo bombers on a routine patrol over the Bahamas vanished without trace. It was an incident that would kickstart the notoriety surrounding the infamous Bermuda Triangle and even now, more than 70 years later, we are still questioning what caused the mysterious disappearance of Flight 19. Story Two – The Disappearance of Flight MH370 In January 2017, authorities solemnly called an end to the global effort which had occupied the minds and the prayers of millions for the past three years. Over 120 thousand square kilometres of Indian ocean had been combed around the clock with cutting- edge technology, but despite all this effort, we're still no closer to solving the disappearance of flight MH370. MUSIC  Tracks used by kind permission of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Tracks used by kind permission of CO.AG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices