Creature Encounter: The Pender County 911 Call | “That’s Not Human!” — Ep. 66
July 31, 2021 starts like a straightforward emergency: a driver on Highway 210 in Pender County, North Carolina sees someone standing on the...

State of the Unknown is a host-narrated documentary paranormal podcast about real people who encountered something they couldn't explain.
Each episode follows the story first—through the people who lived it—before examining the evidence, the explanations, and the questions that remain.
From UFO sightings and creature encounters to haunted objects, disappearances, and local legends, these are stories that exist at the edge of explanation.
It’s made for listeners who enjoy paranormal and unexplained stories but still want grounded research, careful storytelling, and room to make up their own minds.
OUR PODCAST
In the late 1960s, fairgoers were invited to look through the glass at a strange figure frozen inside a refrigerated coffin. It was tall, humanlike, and covered in dark hair. The exhibit became known as the Minnesota Iceman. In this episode of State of the Unknown: Fragments, Robert Barber explores ...
Some Ouija board stories disappear as soon as the planchette stops moving. Others keep returning, attached to the same strange name. In this episode of State of the Unknown: Fragments, Robert Barber explores the Zozo demon legend, a modern paranormal story involving Ouija boards, alleged demonic enc...
The Eliza Battle ghost ship legend is one of the most enduring paranormal stories connected to the American South. Along Alabama’s Tombigbee River, people have passed down a story about a steamboat, a terrible night, and something that may still appear on the water. In this episode of State of the U...
The Ryan Hammons reincarnation case is one of the most compelling paranormal stories involving a child who claimed to remember a past life. Beginning in Oklahoma around 2008, four-year-old Ryan started asking his mother to take him home. But he didn’t mean the house where they lived. He meant Hollyw...
On July 31, 2021, a driver traveling along Highway 210 in Pender County, North Carolina, spotted what appeared to be an injured man standing beside the road. There seemed to be blood running down from his head. Concerned that the man needed help, the driver called 911 and continued down the highway ...
In 1996, Jonathan Reed said he went hiking in Washington’s Cascade Mountains with his golden retriever, Susie. What he claimed happened in those woods would eventually become one of the strangest UFO stories of the 1990s. Reed said he encountered a small humanoid creature, discovered a mysterious bl...
FROM THE BLOG
July 31, 2021 starts like a straightforward emergency: a driver on Highway 210 in Pender County, North Carolina sees someone standing on the...
Philip K. Dick is famous for science fiction about false memories, artificial worlds, and the creeping suspicion that reality is unstable, b...
Around midnight on July 10, 1969, a quiet fishing trip near Lake Worth, just outside Fort Worth, Texas, turns into one of the state’s most e...

I got my start in broadcasting while still in high school, working on-air at a local radio station where I introduced big band music and learned the fundamentals of audio production. That experience sparked a lasting interest in narration, recording, and the power of sound to create atmosphere. I'm also a guitarist, and over time, those creative threads have stayed central to my work.
By day, I lead training projects in the corporate world. But outside of that, I’ve always been drawn to the strange and unexplained—haunted places, forgotten history, and the kinds of stories that linger in the background. State of the Unknown brings all of that together. It’s where I explore what’s just out of sight—usually with my yellow lab Rosie close by.
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
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The stories are told with respect to those who lived them. I really like the way Robert narrates! His voice is perfect and he gives the truth. He doesn’t try to add what the story doesn’t need. Just the little sounds added actually makes it feel creepier ! He understands the whole “less is more” deal. I joined the Patreon to support the show , so we don’t have to hear ads. I truly hope more people do the same! Thanks Robert and your team if you have one !
Just found you. Only listened to 1 episode so far. Very good ! I’ll be catching up . They all sound interesting. Thank you.
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