Astonishing Legends

The timeline of events leading up to the disappearance of Flight 19 suggest, as with so many tragedies, that it was not just one mistake responsible for the ultimate loss of 27 airmen, but a series of minor miscommunications and faltering.  This is perhaps due to the ordinary and routine nature of the training mission, one that was not far from home base and one that wasn't supposed to go so wrong.  But how could a seasoned flight instructor with combat experience and around 2500 hours of flying time to his credit become so disoriented, especially one who was familiar with the region?  Why couldn't a simple navigational error be corrected amongst the 5 pilots and crewmen?  Was there a general feeling of overconfidence in eventually correcting their course, or was there some unknown environmental force acting upon them, one that is suspected of the area?  We'll never know the answers to these questions, but what seems to be their most likely fate is that they finally ran out of fuel and ditched into the ocean.

BACKGROUND At approximately 6:00 p.m. on 5 December 1945, an HF/DF signal fix was obtained for Flight 19, placing its location somewhere within a 100-mile radius off the east coast of Florida, but that would be the last trace of the squadron's existence.  It wouldn't be the last tragedy of this story.  Around 7:27 p.m., two Martin Mariner rescue planes were launched from NAS Banana River, FL to conduct a search.  Three minutes later, one of the planes, PBM-5 "Squadron Training No. 49" would send its "out report" over the radio, but it too would never be heard from again.  About 20 minutes later, a tanker cruising in the area, the SS Gaines Mills would report seeing an apparent explosion, with flames leaping 100 feet high and lasting for 10 minutes in the vicinity of where PBM-5 should have been.  The ship would search for survivors or floating wreckage but would find only a pool of oil and it is believed all 13 crew members aboard PBM-5 perished in that explosion.  At least with PBM-5, there is a likely ex

BACKGROUND The fate of a US Naval training flight, designated as “Flight 19” remains one of the American military’s most enduring mysteries, but also one of the signature stories from the legendary region known as “The Bermuda Triangle.” On December 5, 1945, a squadron of five Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers departed Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 2:10 p.m. on what should have been a routine overwater navigation training exercise. After successfully completing their practice bombing runs and some course change maneuvers, the formation radioed that they were not sure of their location or heading. Several hours later it was clear that the squadron was lost and their situation was dire. Flight instructor Lt. Charles Taylor, USN would make his last transmission around this time and it would be the last he and his 13 airmen would ever be heard from again. A rescue operation was launched, but it too would suffer a terrible tragedy. Was this merely a series of unfortunate but explainable errors

BACKGROUND We know that Distance = Rate x Time but when one of the variables of that equation is altered beyond reason by some unimaginable force of nature, the result can challenge what we think we know about the natural world. This was the experience of pilot Bruce Gernon, who believes he encountered a rare, yet natural phenomenon during a routine flight from Andros Island in the Bahamas to Palm Beach, Florida. Minutes after taking off from Andros (which also happens to be located within the legendary “Bermuda Triangle”). Gernon, along with his father who was acting as co-pilot and navigator and another passenger who was their business partner, found themselves rapidly being enveloped in a strange and powerful storm. A bizarre tunnel of clouds chased and formed around them, and by all objective and rational observations, appears to have warped spacetime itself. Gernon would later write about his theory of the experience calling the phenomenon, “Electronic Fog.” Could a severe weather anomaly be the cause of

Background The mystery of “The Nazi Bell” or “Die Glocke” is only surpassed by its reported potential. The Germans had the knowledge to build an atomic weapon in Otto Hahn, the chemist who first split the uranium nucleus in 1938. The next year the Nazis had control of Europe’s only source of uranium ore when they acquired the mine at Joachimsthal while invading the rest of Czechoslovakia. But was The Bell a device to aid them in enriching uranium-238? Many researchers of The Bell believe it was it’s own research project and given an even higher Top Secret classification than their atomic weapons program. When Germany surrendered in 1945, it was evident they were not able to bring their atomic weapon development to a successful conclusion, but was this because they were much more focused on creating a machine that would be a far greater solution to their goal of world domination, and did they fully know what they were dealing with? The glimpse inside Pandora’s Box is always both wondrous and deadly. Of the man

In August of 1997, Polish journalist, military historian, researcher and author, Igor Witkowski claims to have been shown classified prisoner interrogation transcripts of German SS General Jakob Sporrenberg by a Polish Intelligence agent. What Witkowski discovered seemed to be official evacuation protocols for a secret Nazi research project concerning a device named “Die Glocke” which he referred to as, “The Nazi Bell.” Given the highest top secret classification by the German WWII military of “Krieg Entscheidend” or “War Decisive” the Nazi Bell appears to have been a machine designed to produce nuclear energy or weaponry or become an engine for anti-gravity Field Propulsion, but with some startling, uncontrollable and lethal side-effects such as the disruption of the space-time continuum. Witkowski’s findings led him to write a seminal book on the subject, Prawda o Wunderwaffe or “The Truth About the Wonder Weapon” published in 2000. This, in turn, has led authors like Nick Cook and Dr. Joseph P. Farrell to

There seems to be no doubt that the Count of Saint Germain existed, but how did he exist and for how long? There are levels to the incredulity of his story. It seems unlikely that one individual could possess so many varied talents, but the Count's most unlikely talent was living into his 80s while still looking to be in his 50s. If you're willing to go even further and believe the accounts of some of his contemporaries, then the Count was over 100 years old and lived well into the 19th century. Impossible you say? Then you might have even more trouble believing what many of those who had studied under him and some that continue to study his life believe, that the Count may have been hundreds or even thousands of years old, knew the ancient wisdom and secrets of life, and practiced the lost arts known only to the most enlightened beings. Whatever you choose to believe, a strong argument could be made that in his time and long after, he was actually the real 'most interesting man in the world'. Tonight's Qu

If you wished you could do all the things the Count of Saint Germain could do, meet all the people he had met, and learn all the secrets of life he seemed to possess, and on top of it all, have several lifetimes to employ your skills, what then? The question is, what would you do with these gifts? Would you be content to merely be the life of the party, or would you try and make a difference in the affairs of nations and enlighten humanity, even if it cost you your freedom or your once immortal life? Depending on your answer, the bigger question might be, does it take the right person to seek the mysteries, or do the mysteries seek the right person? Tonight's Quote: “I thought, with all due respect to Madame la Comtesse, that the devil had long since made a mantle out of the skin of this personage.”  — Madame d’Adhemar’s maid, as she explained that the Count of Saint Germain was waiting to see her. From d’Adhemar’s book, “Souvenirs de la Marie Antoinette” published in 1836. Show Links: We've fo

Who's the most interesting person you've ever met? Can they play a musical instrument? Do they speak a foreign language? Are they a fine art painter? Have they traveled the world? Are they descended from royalty? Sure, maybe only a couple of those. But what if they were a concert level violinist who could also compose music? What if they could speak ten languages or more? What if it seemed they could produce precious gemstones and on top of that, were a military tactician who brokered diplomacy between nations? Impossible you say, for all of these talents and accomplishments to be contained within one individual? And yet all of these are the qualities and accomplishments claimed to be witnessed by the contemporaries of the man known mostly as the Count of Saint Germain. He was known by many names and for his many remarkable feats, but perhaps his most astounding accomplishment, as more than a few would claim, was to remain alive for several generations from the 18th century or earlier, into the 19th century a

Sometimes we get a second chance and sometimes it seems we had no chance at all. What we can count on getting is a cycle of the heartwarming followed by heartbreak, the mundane punctuated with despair and assuaged by moments of joy. But greater than our earthly concerns, the cycle of life continues. Birth follows death as spring follows winter. And within this cycle, every once in a while just to keep it interesting, the wondrous happens. Whether you view the seemingly impossible as merely a coincidence, as a mistaken observation, or as proof that miracles do happen and that love never dies the choice is up to you. Which one sounds like more fun? Tonight's Quote: “It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.”  — Voltaire Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section

Life is fragile and an end comes for us all. But whether that end is labeled as mysterious, ironic, tragic, coincidental or altogether unremarkable, is something for those that survive us to decide. The path of life through the wilderness of our choices can be both rocky and smooth, so look where you're going because others will remember where you've been. Tonight's Quote: “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”  — Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)  Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable description of each link to make things easier for our listeners! List of Unusual Deaths on Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1PAOw1q The 27 Club http://bit.ly/1eCnVla Draco the lawgiver http://bit.ly/1dhB4ih Nomodeiktes: Greek Studies in Honor of Martin Ostwald http://a.co/0G5UfUs

Astonishing Legends makes digital media and internet history with our first ever "live" YouTube streaming event! Frankly, we weren't sure any of it would work, so we really didn't announce we'd be doing it, but we thought it might be a fun way to interact with our listeners and answer some of their questions in a text chat stream, all while doing our usual rambling, digressing, and nervous stammering. We really appreciate our audience, so we hope you enjoy it. Depending on how much "flame mail we get, we might even try it again sometime! Tonight's Quote: "The internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had." — Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google. Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing actual URLs next to the clickable descr

As we approach our Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, Astonishing Legends would like to thank our fantastic fans from all over the world with our final Part 4B of The Mothman series - the rest of the conclusions. Not only did we think this would make a good bonus for our listeners, but an undivided Part 4 would've been, shall we say, monstrous. Of all the things to be thankful for this holiday season, just remember that as weird as things are, they could always get weirder. Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Tonight's Quote: “I have adopted the concept of 'Ultraterrestrials' — beings and forces which coexist with us but are on another time frame; that is, they operate outside the limits of our space-time continuum yet have the ability to cross over into our reality. This other world is not a place, however, as Mars or Andromeda are places, but it is a state of energy.”  — John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickabl

Do we only see what we can understand? And if we refuse or are unable to understand, are we then not seeing all of the elements of our reality? If beings and creatures from alternate realities truly exist, then what is their origin story? What is their purpose and what are we to them, or more to the point, what do they want with us? In Part 4A of our series on the Mothman of Point Pleasant, WV, we examine some of these questions and try to find conclusions of our own, outrageous though they may seem to be. Tonight's Quote: “I have adopted the concept of 'Ultraterrestrials' — beings and forces which coexist with us but are on another time frame; that is, they operate outside the limits of our space-time continuum yet have the ability to cross over into our reality. This other world is not a place, however, as Mars or Andromeda are places, but it is a state of energy.”  — John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless t

At 5:00 p.m. on December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge which connected Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed. Being rush hour in mid-December, the bridge was full of commuters on their way home from work and holiday shopping trips. The collapse sent 32 vehicles into the frigid waters of the Ohio river and 46 people lost their lives, with 2 bodies never to be found. The cause was as prosaic and understandable as it was tragic - a minute defect causing stress corrosion in a suspension eye-bar. However, what we may never understand is a connection some claim between the collapse and the first sightings of the Mothman, widely thought to be 13 months previously, to the day. Was there a warning that no one could comprehend? Even if a warning could be interpreted by someone who was starting to put all these strange puzzle pieces together, would their findings even be believed? Could this tragedy have been prevented, or was it inevitable? It might behoove us all to start taking notice, as corre

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Mothman! Well, we're pretty sure "Mothman" isn't any of those things, neither a moth nor a man, or some unholy combination of the two. If the descriptions by over 100 witnesses are accurate and the symptoms of seeing such a sight are related, then whatever this creature is, it's abilities may go beyond even what is considered possible for an earthly cryptid. Magical flight, a burning, mesmerizing gaze, and haunting dreams are some of his reported traits, but is clairvoyance also one of them? What if Mothman knew your fate, but wasn't capable or allowed to tell you? And for an even bigger stretch of the imagination, what if Scott goes "off the chain" in this episode? Now, this may all seem like silly balderdash to your sophisticated and skeptical nature, but what kind of hosts would we be if we couldn't deliver a tale of a real monster in time for Samhain? After all, it is Halloween. Tonight's Quote: “UFO’s do not seem to exist as tangible, manufactured objects. They do no

All legends are local in a way, and when one local person tells a tale of a strange encounter, it can be a cause for skeptical snickers from the townsfolk. When more than a hundred people from the same region all see the same thing, it can lead to books, a major Motion Picture and even an annual festival. Such is the case with Point Pleasant, West Virginia and the Ohio River Valley's own "Mothman" — whose local sightings turned into national legend. There are several elements that contribute to the intense curiosity that still surrounds the stories of the Mothman, himself described as a winged, humanoid creature with glowing red eyes and a sympathetic, if mysterious nature. One of them is the sudden appearance of a friendly, inter-dimensional road tripper named Indrid Cold who just wants to get to know you better and may be searching for a cryptid on the loose . Another is the unsettling thought that these encounters may have portended a disaster that took the lives of 46 people exactly 13 months later. To

In tonight's episode, Scott interviews journalist, author, and Paranormal Investigator Linda S. Godfrey. We discuss her latest book, Monsters Among Us: An exploration of otherworldly Bigfoots, Wolfmen, Portals, Phantoms, and Odd Phenomena. Linda has appeared on numerous TV shows such The History Channel's Monster Quest, Inside Edition, Sean Hannity and of course as a guest on the Coast to Coast AM radio program. She is the author of over a dozen books, such as Real Wolfmen: True Encounters in Modern America, American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends and Sightings in America, and Weird Michigan. If after considering all of the encounters Linda has researched and all of the witnesses she's interviewed, you conclude that monsters are indeed among us, you must also come to terms with the idea that they're everywhere, and it might just be a matter of time until you see one yourself. Tonight's Quote: “The beast grabbed my ankle tightly, but I managed to slip away from his fingers that were turning

Tonight we are joined by an old friend of Scott's, David Sullivan, or Sully to his friends. Sully has had some interesting things happen in his life, especially when heard through the filter of Astonishing Legends. He relays a few stories that start out pretty light and get progressively darker and darker as the show continues, and by darker we mean real dark. So if you're in the mood for an episode that evokes images of rabies, fate, the forgotten dead and sociopathic behavior, tonight's episode is just for you. Tonight's Quote: “A scarecrow is just a hoodlum who marked the cards that he dealed, and pulled a gypsy switch out on the edge of Potter’s field.  —Tom Waits, Potter’s Field 1977 Show Links: We've found that some sites are not showing these links as clickable unless they are URLs, so until those outlets improve their show notes section, we are providing clickable URLs of each link to make things easier for our listeners! http://bit.do/cdcrabies http://bit.do/rabieswikipedia http://

Could it be that impossible creatures and craft from unimaginable worlds are able to intrude upon ours at will? Real Estate magnate Robert T. Bigelow thought so and assembled a team of scientists and researchers to find out if "Skinwalker Ranch" could be a portal to all manner of weirdness. In order to obtain verifiable data, accepted scientific methods were applied to observation and analyzation at the Sherman family property, by Bigelow's newly formed National Institute for Discovery Science. Although they encountered a significant number of anomalies, ultimately they could provide no conclusive explanation for these bizarre events - as far as we know. It leaves us to wonder if the Scientific Method can be applied to paranormal events, however, a possible explanation regarding the origin of these incursions into our world might be found in the models currently being worked out in the field of Theoretical Physics and "The Theory of Everything." While our best minds "do the math" on the mechanics of our unive