STATE OF THE UNKNOWN
Stories That Exist at the Edge of Explanation
State of the Unknown is a documentary-style podcast exploring strange encounters, unexplained events, folklore, and enduring mysteries.
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.
Creature Encounter: The Flatwoods Monster | The West Virginia Encounter That Created an American Monster — Ep. 57
In September of 1952, a group of boys in Flatwoods, West Virginia looked up from a football game and saw something bright cross the sky. It appeared to come down beyond a nearby hill. What happened next became one of the most famous creature encounters in American paranormal history. Join host Rober...
Paranormal Encounter: Black-Eyed Children | The Witnesses Who Refused To Open The Door — Ep. 56
Join host Robert Barber as he examines one of the most unsettling modern paranormal phenomena: reports of Black Eyed Children. The story begins with a reported encounter in Abilene, Texas, where journalist Brian Bethel claimed two mysterious boys approached his car late at night and repeatedly asked...
UFO Encounter: The Levelland Incident | The Texas Sightings That Stopped Cars in Their Tracks — Ep. 55
In November of 1957, drivers on the rural roads around Levelland, Texas began reporting something strange. Their engines sputtered. Their headlights went out. Their vehicles stopped working near strange lights or glowing objects on or above the road. And when those lights disappeared, the cars and t...
Poltergeist Case: The Seaford Incident | The Long Island Disturbance That Drew National Attention — Ep. 54
In 1958, an ordinary family home in Seaford, Long Island became the center of one of America’s strangest poltergeist cases. Join host Robert Barber as he investigates the Seaford incident, the famous Long Island haunting remembered as Popper the Poltergeist, where bottles reportedly opened by themse...
Creature Encounter: The Enfield Horror | The Case That Turned a Small Illinois Town Upside Down — Ep. 53
Join host Robert Barber as he examines the Enfield Horror, also known as the Enfield Monster or Enfield Creature, one of Illinois’ strangest reported cryptid encounters. In April 1973, Henry McDaniel reported hearing scratching at the front door of his home in Enfield, Illinois. When he went to inve...
Haunted Object: Robert the Doll | Why Visitors Apologize After Taking His Photo — Ep. 52
Robert the Doll is one of the most famous haunted objects in the United States. For decades, the doll has been connected to stories of movement, strange sounds, changing expressions, camera malfunctions, visitor misfortune, and apology letters sent by people who believe they disrespected him. But be...
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery | The Place Where the Dead Don’t Stay Buried — Ep. 51
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery has a reputation, and it didn’t come from stories alone. Visitors have reported seeing figures moving between the headstones, unexplained lights in the trees, and one photograph that captured something no one could explain. Join host Robert Barber as State of the Unknown ex...
Bonus Episode | Beyond the St. Louis Exorcism: What Do Real Exorcisms Actually Look Like?
The St. Louis exorcism shaped what many people think possession is supposed to look like, but what do real cases actually report? In this bonus episode of State of the Unknown, Robert Barber steps back from a single case to look at the broader question of possession and exorcism. Drawing on document...
The St. Louis Exorcism: The Case That Inspired The Exorcist—and Shaped What People Think Possession Looks Like (Episode 50)
In 1949, a teenage boy in St. Louis became the center of one of the most documented exorcism cases in American history. What followed involved multiple priests, medical observation, and handwritten records describing events that have never been fully explained. Decades later, the case would inspire ...
The Snedeker Haunting | The Case Inside a Funeral Home That Investigators Couldn’t Explain — Ep. 49
In the 1980s, the Snedeker family moved into a house in Southington, Connecticut, looking for space and stability while their son Philip underwent cancer treatment. What they didn’t fully understand at the time was what the house had been before they moved in. It wasn’t just an older home. It had on...