A Krampus Christmas

As with any mysterious event, it’s often said that we should look to the simplest solution as being most likely the right one.  The idea that when presented with competing hypotheses that make the same predictions, the solution with the fewest assumptions should be chosen is usually attributed to the principle of “Occam’s razor.”  But what happens if we try to apply this cure-all of an axiom to explain a medieval legend that has few clues associated with it?  In Part Two of our series on The Pied Piper of Hamelin, we’ll explore several of the leading hypotheses on this bizarre event such as the plague and Murine Typhus, forced emigration, the “Dancing Madness” and ergotism, slavery, the Crusades and even alien abduction.  And if we return to applying “Occam’s razor” to this mystery from the Middle Ages and accept the contemporary accounts?  Then what remains is the disturbing thought that somehow, a nefarious charmer simply used a flute to tragically persuade a large group of children to follow him into oblivion.  They may be lost and their names are forgotten, but they and their Piper shall be forever remembered as one of the most famous legends of all time. For more information on this episode visit our website!

23 Helmi 20201h 53min

In the year 1284 CE, a remarkable and colorfully dressed young man came to the town of Hamelin in Lower Saxony, Germany.  There are two documentations of this wanderer’s visit, the originals of which have since been lost.  According to the contemporary Hamelin chronicle and a depiction in a stained glass window in a local church, this handsome stranger began to play his flute through the streets.  Enchanted by the notes, 130 children from the town followed him into the woods, never to be seen again.  In the hundreds of years since the supposedly real event occurred, the most significant addition to the story would be the reason for the mass kidnapping.  After successfully ridding the town of a plague of rats using his musical pipe, the payment the piper was promised was withheld by the mayor and the town leaders.  Furious at his being cheated, the magical visitor took their children as his payment.  This later variation of the narrative we have all come to know as “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” Today, we may think of this story as a children’s Fairly Tale.  But as the Brothers Grimm had noted themselves, and who are partly responsible for making it known to the world, this is a legend and not a Fairy Tale.  The difference is that legends are considered to be based on actual events, people, and places.  In relation, it’s also said that there is a kernel of truth to every legend.  If that is accurate, then the real Pied Piper event may be far more mysterious and tragic than we could have imagined, either as children or adults.  For more information on this episode visit our website!

16 Helmi 202057min

In this episode, we revisit the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas – by way of The Dave Glover Show, as Scott's not quite ready to return in person. ; ) Being an Astonishing Legends listener himself, Dave has graciously invited Scott and Forrest to appear on his show several times.  Now it was time to repay the favor, especially since Dave and his crew had a chilling and emotional experience there themselves.  The Dave Glover Show has been driving St. Louis home for 20 years.  Airing regularly from 3 pm to 7 pm Monday through Friday on 97.1 Talk Radio, Dave and his co-hosts Rachel and Tony, along with their producer Ryan, get to discuss their curiosities during the "Paranormal Wednesday" segments.  For their Halloween Specials, the team will investigate a regional haunt, such as the famous Lemp Mansion or the "Exorcist House."  This past October 2019, had the DGS crew investigating the Sallie House, motivated partly because of the house's notoriety and our series on it.  It would be safe to say that many who visit the haunted house don't report much of a paranormal encounter except for coming away with feeling a very spooky vibe and some interesting history about the place.  However, it also seems that whatever unseen forces operate at the Sallie House, they will sometimes single out an individual or group and deliver to them an experience they will never forget, even if the details become mysteriously hazy.  This is what happened to Dave and some of his team, as interactions appeared to tap into thoughts, target their emotions, and affect their physical senses.  Of course, some might chalk this communication up to a series of coincidences.  But then Dave, as well as the rest of us, must consider how many coincidences are too many?  At what point does denying a formation of relevant meaning start to seem illogical or even foolish? For more information on this episode visit our website!

10 Helmi 20201h 52min

Most people today believe that the legendary lost continent of Atlantis is just that, an ancient legend buried by time and not the ocean. The first known mention of the fable comes from two of Plato's dialogues,  Timaeus and Critias, where mighty princes ruled the massive and prosperous island. However, Atlantis' glory faded as they were conquered and eventually became undone by their evil and impious ways until earthquakes destroyed this once utopian land, submerging it under the waves. But what if the legend of Atlantis is real, and the account of an advanced civilization thriving in the expanse of the Atlantic ocean is more fantastic, bizarre, and unbelievable than one could imagine? In approximately 2500 "life readings" given by Edgar Cayce for roughly 1600 different people between 1923 and 1945, just such a narrative began to emerge. Of around 700 of the reading's recipients, nearly 50%, had been told that their past-life incarnations in Atlantis had left characteristics that were influencing their present lives. After this revelation, questions focused on an Atlantean history generated details of warring factions with incredible technologies, such as ships that could fly through the air and undersea, particle beam-like weapons, global communication, and genetic engineering, and most controversial, the origins of human life. From a practical standpoint, perhaps just as extraordinary is the fact that none of the references to Atlantis given over two decades conflicted or contradicted one another. Ultimately, the purpose of the story of Atlantis would be to serve as a cautionary tale – that we must all learn from the mistakes and negative proclivities of our past lives so that a new age of peace and enlightenment might save us from our destruction. For more information on this episode visit our website!

27 Tammi 20202h 36min

The second half of Edgar Cayce's story would see more extraordinary experiences layered over an ordinary and humble man's life.  Even more unimaginable for his tastes was the non-medical information that would later come through him.  Though mostly remaining uncertain about the medical advice he'd been dispensing while in his sleep-like state, his answers to metaphysical questions distressed him, as they conflicted with his traditional Christian beliefs.  While suffering personal hardship and tragedy, Cayce was now also troubled by concepts his mediumship had introduced to him and would continue seeking philosophical reconciliation into his later years, which he would finally achieve.  But what remained constant throughout was Cayce's passion for helping others, and combined with the ever-increasing requests for treatment, it ironically wore down his health and shortened his life.  If we examine the Cayce phenomenon logically, there are several considerations.  If you believe it's impossible for a transcendental intelligence to exist, then Cayce was able to spend decades espousing folk remedies and comments on esoteric metaphysics, which he had merely picked up from voracious reading.  Some would view that as quite a trick for an average man with limited education.  If you believe an intelligence outside our physical reality could exist, then what is the nature of this force that communicated through him?  Who or what was it exactly, what are the mechanics of the process, and could it be trusted?  If omniscient, why did it seem to work with some subjects and not as well with others?  On the other hand, if Cayce was a total fraud, would he have not been found out years ago?  Was it all just a fault of human nature that so many claimed relief for their ailments, growing his popularity to global levels, and why are his readings still studied to this day?  While Cayce and his supporters attempted to conduct formal case studies for the treatments, the conditions for the experiments would not be rigorous or controlled enough to convince the scientific community.  Harder still would be to prove any veracity for his metaphysical teachings.  However, there may be one thing all sides can agree on, and that's Edgar Cayce's overall message to the world.  Rather than self-aggrandizement, his message was one of encouraging love and acceptance of our fellow human beings; of spiritual and personal growth, all of us united in universal truth, regardless of creed or culture.  Hopefully, that would be one "reading" of our shared condition that would be hard to argue against. For more information on this episode visit our website!

20 Tammi 20203h 2min

Edgar Cayce is often remembered nowadays as the "father of holistic medicine" and the rightful originator of many of the beliefs and practices of the "New Age" movement. Yet what is remarkable is that although you might naturally think Cayce was a pop-culture product of the 1960s and '70s, his mystical talents gained him worldwide attention beginning from just after the turn of the last century until his death in 1945. Even more astounding was that the valid diagnoses and cures for the ailing that he was first known for apparently came to him while in a sleep-like state and unbeknownst to his conscious mind. Yet Cayce was a hesitant and modest "medium."  Born in 1877 in a farming community just south of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, he experienced interactions with the supernatural throughout his life.  In his early childhood, Cayce claimed he played with invisible "little folk" and could communicate with his deceased grandfather. While in his early teens and suffering from learning disabilities, he said he was visited by an angel who told him his difficulties would be over.  Cayce soon realized he could thoroughly memorize entire books merely by resting his head on one as he slept. As a young adult, Cayce's medical condition led to the discovery that if he laid down and entered his meditative state, diagnosis and treatment would relay through him from a seemingly omniscient source. And not only did this work for himself, but the source could accurately diagnose and offer a remedy to others no matter the distance, with him only needing the name and location of the patient. Even more incredible was that this intelligence could also reveal answers about great mysteries like the Egyptian Pyramids, Atlantis, reincarnation, future wars, and prophecies, to name a few. Ironically, for many years of his life, he would remain skeptical and disturbed about the information that was coming through him regarding these topics.  He preferred to focus on curing the sick while reluctant to gain much profit from his abilities. Whether you believe Edgar Cayce was a gifted healer or a charlatan, there is no doubt his results made him one of the famous names in the subject of metaphysics and arguably the most documented psychic of the 20th century. His legacy lives on as "America's Sleeping Prophet." For more information on this episode visit our website!

13 Tammi 20202h 26min

Some time ago, we attempted a hybrid holiday special that combined a traditional episode with a call-in show. Unfortunately, it didn't really go as planned. Still, Scott seemed to think it had some value of some kind, so he talked Forrest into releasing it here and now in 2019. So tonight, the Astonishing Legends team is pleased to present a commercial-free, family-friendly Holiday episode for you to enjoy with or without your loved ones as you see fit. While it contains some fascinating background on the evolution of St. Nicholas, be warned, this is not like anything we've ever released before, but we figured now or never. Happy Holidays listeners, and thank you for your stalwart and ongoing support. We are so grateful to you. For more information on this episode visit our website!

23 Joulu 20191h 49min

Those skeptical of the existence of a spirit world will often cite that there is no credible evidence leading to proof, this being the basis for their disbelief.  Yet what constitutes as evidence or proof seems to be a personal decision, as there is an endless supply of visual and audio recordings and environmental data which at the least appear to be genuinely anomalous and unexplainable.  For the mainstream scientific community, these anomalies would need to be consistently repeatable under laboratory conditions for the implications of the data to be accepted.  But for paranormal researchers attempting communication with the "Other Side," although elusive, there are enough occurrences of contextual dialogue that their practices have become meaningful.  The phenomenon of contact with the unseen world via electronic devices is described generally as "Instrumental Trans-Communication" or ITC.  First defined in the 1970s by Ernst Senkowksi, researchers have been refining and evolving new techniques for ITC ever since, employing new technologies and modifying established methodologies.  One such creative experimentation resulted in the "Estes Method," developed by our last episode's guest, Connor J. Randall, and his investigation teammates Karl Pfeiffer and Michelle Tate.  Named for the place where it was first conceived, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, the Estes Method has not only added a layer of objectivity to Spirit Box ITC sessions but has also yielded some compelling "evidence."  Join us for another conversation with Connor as he discusses this and other ITC practices used at the Stanley Hotel, which then lead to the experiments seen in the Hellier documentary series. For more information on this episode visit our website!

22 Joulu 20192h 3min