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Astonishing Legends

Astonishing Legends

Astonishing Legends Productions · Scott Philbrook

443 episodesEN

Show overview

Astonishing Legends has been publishing since 2014, and across the 12 years since has built a catalogue of 443 episodes, alongside 24 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 720 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence, with the show now in its 2nd season.

Episodes typically run over ninety minutes — most land between 55 min and 2h 10m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. It is catalogued as a EN-language Society & Culture show.

The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 30 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 69 episodes published. Published by Scott Philbrook.

Episodes
443
Running
2014–2026 · 12y
Median length
1h 45m
Cadence
Fortnightly

From the publisher

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. Welcome to Astonishing Legends!

Latest Episodes

View all 443 episodes

The Strange Death of Gloria Ramirez

May 10, 20262h 3m

S2 Ep17: The Sealed Room

May 5, 202643 min

S2 Ep16: The Mennonite Girl

Apr 29, 202646 min

UFO Insiders Iced?

Apr 26, 20262h 11m

S2 Ep15: The Fog, The Man, and The Golden Gate Bridge

Apr 21, 202637 min

The Lead Masks of Vintem Hill Part 2

Apr 19, 20262h 15m

S2 Ep14: The Elephant Slides of Sofia

Apr 14, 202639 min

The Lead Masks of Vintém Hill Part 1

Apr 12, 20261h 47m

S2 Ep13: No Human Could Throw Books Like This

Apr 8, 202642 min

S2 Ep 12S2 Ep12: The Carousel in the Ravine (Reposted)

In tonight’s dead letter, we hear a story from a listener who along with her husband encountered something bizarre hovering low near their land down in the southernmost part of the Australian mainland. They struggle to understand what they’re looking at and how it could even exist. Somehow it seems to control the outcome of their day in ways that they can’t quite remember. The guys branch out to explore similar phenomena throughout the episode, touching on the famous Frederick Valentich disappearance over the nearby Bass Strait, the mechanics of space-time warp bubbles, and the strange nature of screen memories.NOTE: File needed a revision so this is the 2nd posting to replace the first deleted one.REFERENCE LINKSWilsons Promontory National ParkAstonishing Legends: The Disappearance of Frederic Valentich Part 1Astonishing Legends: Abduction at Devil's Den (Terry Lovelace)Astonishing Legends: Devil’s Den the Reckoning Part 1Remote Viewing (TransDimensional Mapping) the Calvine UFO Part 1We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!

Apr 1, 202641 min

S2 Ep 11S2 Ep11: The Nightshift Protocol

In tonight’s dead letter, a routine room cleaning following a patient's passing turns into a puzzling technological glitch. A sensor alarm designed to protect patients from hurting themselves keeps going off. The solution to silencing the machine isn't found in a manual, but in a centuries-old tradition regarding the departure of the human soul.REFERENCE LINKSAppalachian Superstitions About DeathThe Custom of the Soul Window (Seelenfenster) (Requires translation)Why Do Nurses Hear Phantom Call Bells?We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]

Mar 24, 202640 min

The Disappearance of Jim Sullivan

In the lonely New Mexico desert, police discover an abandoned Volkswagen Beetle containing a 12-string guitar, a wallet, clothes, and a box of unsold records. Things a working musician would never willingly leave behind. The car belongs to Jim Sullivan, a talented singer-songwriter who had just made a strange call to his wife saying he’d been pulled over and that she “wouldn’t believe” what happened, before promising to call again from Nashville. He never did. What makes the story unforgettable is that those unsold records were his album called U.F.O., filled with songs about driving into the desert, leaving his life behind, and encountering something in the sky. In this episode, we dive into the eerie disappearance of a man who may have unknowingly written the soundtrack to his own vanishing.Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Mar 22, 20262h 31m

S2 Ep 10S2 Ep10: Stranger Danger

In tonight’s Dead Letter, Forrest and Scott read a submission from Stacey, which delves into the "Uncanny Valley" phenomenon in a true-life scenario. In a coastal town already known for its dark past and unusual coastal events, a silent, out-of-place stranger pays an unexpected visit to a college apartment. Sometimes the most chilling stories are those where the door remains locked and whatever was on the other side…is still out there somewhere.REFERENCE LINKSHistory of Bellingham, WashingtonThe Salish Sea Severed Feet PhenomenonKenneth Bianchi and Western Washington UniversityThe Uncanny Valley in PsychologyWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!

Mar 17, 202640 min

Live Junk Drawer Tonight on Patreon!

bonus

Tonight, Forrest and I are sitting down with Jeremiah Byron for an exclusive live video interview about the unprecedented, real-time flap of Bigfoot sightings currently moving through Northeast Ohio. This special broadcast is completely private and only available to Astonishing Legends Patreon members and Bigfoot Society Supercast subscribers. Grab your drinks and join us in the chat tonight at 9:30 PM Eastern, 8:30 PM Central, and 6:30 PM Pacific for all the breaking updates!

Mar 15, 20261 min

S2 Ep 9S2 Ep9: Another Bunny

In tonight’s dead letter from listener Amanda, the boundary between an adorable trusted holiday icon and nocturnal terror is tested in the deep woods near the Allegheny National Forest. A massive silhouette of something that shouldn’t exist peering over the hood of a car sparks a lifelong mystery. Amanda may have been a child when she saw this, but her mom and grandmother were both also eyewitnesses.References and Links:The History of Warren, PennsylvaniaThe Folklore of the Celtic PúcaFlemish Giant Rabbits: Facts and SizeThe Psychology of Childhood Memory and TraumaWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!

Mar 10, 202644 min

Through a Laser Darkly

This episode dives into one of the strangest modern consciousness experiments ever proposed. Starting with cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman’s provocative idea that reality may function like a computer desktop interface — an evolutionary illusion designed for survival rather than truth. We’ll explore a bizarre experiment popularized by Danny Goler in which participants under the influence of DMT have claimed that lasers can help random patterns resolve into stable, angular symbols under the right conditions — as if making the hidden code behind reality visible. Are these visions simply the brain’s hyper-connected visual cortex generating patterns, or could they represent the possibility that our everyday reality may be a carefully rendered illusion?Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Mar 8, 20262h 24m

S2 Ep 8S2 Ep8: The Camden High Street Haunting

In tonight’s dead letter… we travel back to 2010 to a hotel in the heart of Camden in the UK. Two brothers looking to soak up some local punk history find themselves sharing a room with something entirely unexpected. Sometimes the most mundane late-night activities—like eating pizza and watching TV—are the perfect backdrop for the impossible to slip through.Reference Links: Historical Hauntings of North LondonCamden's historyWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!

Mar 3, 202641 min

S2 Ep 7S2 Ep7: Mind Invasion

In tonight’s dead letter, we dive into a bizarre encounter that proves the unexplained doesn't always wait for a dark and stormy night on boot hill. Sometimes just an ordinary walk home from a university class can transform into an unforgettable and unsettling experience. Could a seemingly mundane moment on a city sidewalk be the cover for a highly advanced technological test, or is it something far more supernatural? Join us as we explore the invisible boundaries of our own minds and discuss what happens when an unseen force aggressively demands to cross them.Göbekli Tepe - BritannicaNoveto Systems 'SoundBeaming' - AP NewsHavana Syndrome - WikipediaNina Kulagina - WikipediaWeird or What? with William Shatner: Mind Control (Season 3, Episode 10) - IMDbWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]

Feb 25, 202638 min

The Scole Experiment Part 3: Endgame

In the final chapter of our Scole series, the story stops looking like a séance and starts feeling like science fiction. What began with classic Spiritualist phenomena — messages from the dead and movement in the dark—escalates into self-developing film, unexplained voices on sealed recorders, and a crystal device built for two-way contact. Then a black-eyed, Grey-like figure appears on video, and the entities claim to be inter-dimensional beings and time travelers. With ominous warnings and a sudden end to the experiment, we’re left with the question: did they prove life after death… or open something they couldn’t control?Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Feb 22, 20262h 0m

S2 Ep 6S2 Ep6: The Smiling Pillar of Avoca

In tonight’s dead letter, a routine hike along a converted railroad bed transforms into a standoff with the inexplicable for Patron and Listener Zed. Standing in an open clearing along the path is a solitary, towering object that seems to possibly be a tree, but for some reason it’s hard to tell. When Zed and his hiking partner attempt to rationalize the sight, they are met not with answers, but with a wave of paralyzing dread and the distinct impression that the object is aware of them.Reference LinksWadhams to Avoca Trail | Michigan TrailsThe Van Meter Monster - Astonishing LegendsMantis Men - Astonishing LegendsIndrid Cold (The Smiling Man) - Cryptid WikiCommunion (1989) - IMDbWe're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]

Feb 17, 202634 min
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