State of the Unknown | True Paranormal Stories, Haunted History, and American Folklore
Hosted by Robert Barber, State of the Unknown is a cinematic podcast exploring true paranormal stories, haunted history, and American folklore.
Each episode uncovers a forgotten corner of the country — where eerie legends, strange encounters, and dark myths refuse to stay buried. From haunted highways to cryptid encounters, these are the stories that blur the line between truth and legend.
New full episodes every other week, with short stories and special features in between.
If you believe some mysteries were never meant to be solved, you’ve found the right place.
🔗 www.stateoftheunknown.com
📸 @stateoftheunknownpodcast
Episodes
37 episodes
Ghosts of Flight 401 | The Haunting That Changed Aviation Forever
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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27:15
The Haunting of Madison Seminary | The Investigation That Spoke Back
In the quiet town of Madison, Ohio, stands 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 mo...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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28:28
The Enfield Poltergeist: Unraveling the True Haunted History Behind The Conjuring 2
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 w...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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32:08
The Devil Made Me Do It | True Haunted History Behind America’s Most Shocking Possession Case
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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32:02
Annabelle | The True Story Behind America’s Most Haunted Doll
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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27:13
The Smurl Haunting — The True Paranormal Story Behind The Conjuring: Last Rites
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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27:42
Promo: The Real Conjuring Stories Are Coming This October
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 th...
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Season 1
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0:56
The Haunted Lemp Mansion: One of America’s Most Haunted Houses (Mini Story)
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 lega...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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17:39
The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Abduction: The Story of America’s First Alien Encounter
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 w...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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30:50
OUT OF STATE | Poveglia Island: The True Paranormal Story Behind the World’s Most Haunted Island
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 perish...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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21:46
OUT OF STATE | Atlantis: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Search for a Lost Civilization
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 o...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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29:20
OUT OF STATE | Out of State — Leap Castle: The True Paranormal Stories Behind Ireland’s Most Haunted Fortress
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 E...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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16:50
OUT OF STATE | The Nuckelavee: A True Cryptid Legend from Scotland’s Haunted Folklore
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 ter...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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16:38
OUT OF STATE | La Llorona: The Weeping Woman of Mexican Folklore
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. S...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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13:58
OUT OF STATE | The White Lady of Aokigahara: Paranormal Stories of Japan’s Most Haunted Forest
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 paran...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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14:21
Devil’s Bargain — The True Legend and Haunted Legacy of Bluesman Robert Johnson
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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33:18
Bigfoot, Black Goo, and the Monster We Keep Chasing (Part 2: Folklore, Fact & America’s Paranormal Obsession)
What happens when mystery collides with science?In this episode, Robert Barber and returning guest Dr. Brian Parsons dig deeper into America’s strangest cryptid cases—like the Murfreesboro Mud Monster, black goo evidence, and unexplained...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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27:17
Monsters in the Mist: Bigfoot, Mothman & America’s Cryptid Lore (Part 1 with Cryptozoologist Dr. Brian Parsons)
What if the monsters we tell stories about… are still out there?In Part 1 of this special interview, Robert Barber talks with cryptozoologist Dr. Brian D. Parsons about the eastern U.S.'s most persistent legends—Bigfoot, Mothman, the Bea...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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42:12
Teaser | Eastern Cryptids and Urban Legends: Myths & Monsters of Appalachia with Dr. Brian D. Parsons
In the next episode of State of the Unknown, host Robert Barber sits down with cryptozoologist and paranormal researcher Dr. Brian D. Parsons to discuss the strange creatures explored in his book, Eastern Cryptids. From the Beast of Bl...
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Season 1
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1:41
Possessed Dolls, Haunted Houses, and the True Paranormal Legacy of Ed and Lorraine Warren
Few names in paranormal history are as well known — or as debated — as Ed and Lorraine Warren. From the case of Annabelle to the hauntings that inspired The Conjuring films, their investigations shaped how the world sees the supernatur...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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32:16
Teaser | The Real Story of Ed & Lorraine Warren: Haunted Legends, Urban Myths & Controversy
Explore haunted legends and paranormal stories in this haunted places podcast episode all about Ed and Lorraine Warren. From the Amityville Horror to the case of Annabelle, we uncover the real-life investigations that inspired Hollywood's most ...
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Season 1
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1:35
The Conjuring House — The True Paranormal Story Behind America’s Most Haunted Home
Before the films — before Ed and Lorraine Warren — there was something already waiting inside the Conjuring House.In this episode of State of the Unknown, Robert Barber unearths the true paranormal story behind one of America’s ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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31:56
Teaser | The Real Story Behind the Conjuring House Haunting
Host Robert Barber takes you deep into one of America’s most chilling haunted places—the Conjuring House. This haunted places podcast unpacks the urban legends, true crime connections, and real paranormal encounters that inspired The Conjur...
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Season 1
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1:46
Dead Man’s Hollow — A True Paranormal Story from Pennsylvania’s Haunted History
In the woods outside Pittsburgh, the trees don’t forget.Dead Man’s Hollow is a place where American folklore, mystery, and true paranormal stories intertwine — a forest filled with ghostly legends, unexplained deaths, and echoes that refuse...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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30:37
Dead Man’s Hollow Preview | Haunted Legends and Urban Myths in Pennsylvania
Discover haunted legends in this eerie podcast preview, focusing on chilling urban myths from Dead Man’s Hollow—one of Pennsylvania’s most mysterious and infamous forests.Host Robert Barber sets the stage for an episode that explo...
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Season 1
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1:51