In tonight’s dead letter, listener Chris and his wife venture to the highest point east of the Rockies for a night of stargazing under the Milky Way. While lying on the summit of Black Elk Peak, Chris decides to put out a silent, mental invitation to the universe to see if anything might respond. The atmosphere shifts dramatically during their descent, leading to an incident in the dark woods that leaves the couple questioning the nature of the "entities" Chris had called upon. Scott and Forrest discuss the spiritual history of this sacred Lakota location and whether Chris unintentionally followed a protocol that opened a door to the unexplained.

Reference Links

• Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition
• BFRO - Bigfoot Legends
• UFO Reality by Jenny Randalls
• In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen
• CE5 Protocols
• The Oz Factor
• Thunderheart (1992 Film)
• The Age of Disclosure

This week, we revisit one of the most compelling and unsettling UFO cases on record: the Shag Harbor Incident. Often called Canada’s Roswell, but with one crucial difference — the government openly admitted it didn’t know what happened. On October 4, 1967, airline crews, fishermen, and first responders all witnessed a strange craft descend into the waters off Nova Scotia, leaving behind no wreckage, no survivors, but a thick, sulfur-smelling foam that defied explanation. Every aircraft was accounted for, and the Royal Canadian Air Force officially classified the event as a “UFO Report,” not a meteor or misidentified plane. But the mystery deepens when decades of research uncover a buried military history tied to underwater encounters and secret NATO exercises. With fresh context from our recent USO investigation, and groundbreaking research by eyewitness and investigator Chris Styles, this episode explores the possibility that Shag Harbor wasn’t just a crash, but a coordinated recovery involving technology not of this world.

Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In tonight’s dead letter… listener Kevin, an overnight security officer at the time, faces an unsettling experience in the silent, abandoned wing of a psychiatric hospital. He encounters an entity that isn't misty or formless, but a shimmering, blue-lit figure. The encounter takes a turn when the presence seems to pause, acknowledge him, and continue its inexplicable journey. This is not your typical haunting.

Episode References & Further Reading:
Waverly Hills Sanatorium:
Official Site: Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Wikipedia: Waverly Hills Sanatorium - Wikipedia

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum:
Official Site: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Wikipedia: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum - Wikipedia

Kecksburg UFO Incident:
Wikipedia: Kecksburg UFO incident - Wikipedia

The Backrooms:
Know Your Meme: Know Your Memes: The Back Rooms

Corpse Candles:
Wikipedia: Corpse road - Wikipedia

Will-o'-the-wisps:
Wikipedia: Will-o'-the-wisp - Wikipedia

Fata Morgana (Mirage):
Wikipedia: Fata Morgana - Wikipedia
Wikipedia (General Mirages): Mirage - Wikipedia

"Skinwalkers at the Pentagon" by George Knapp and Colm Kelleher:
Amazon Link: George Knapp & Colm Kelleher: Skinwalkers at the Pentagon (Amazon)
Astonishing Legends Episode

Synesthesia:
Wikipedia: Synesthesia - Wikipedia

Jim Harold's Campfire Podcast:
Official Site: Jim Harold's Campfire

Color Symbolism in Esotericism (regarding light colors):
Wikipedia: Color symbolism - Wikipedia

Humans have always scanned the skies for the unknown, from Galileo’s first telescopic observations to modern instruments peering 13 billion years into the past, always assuming that if contact ever came, it would come from space. Yet while we obsess over the heavens, we largely ignore the vast, uncharted world covering 71% of our own planet. The deep ocean, less mapped than Mars, and hostile to human exploration, has long inspired reports from sailors of strange lights and massive, fast-moving shapes beneath the waters. Today, advanced sensors, radar, and military testimony describe objects that plunge from the sky into the sea without impact, maneuver underwater at extreme speeds, and defy conventional explanation. Known as Unidentified Submerged Objects (USOs), or “Fast Movers,” these verified encounters challenge our assumptions, raising an unsettling possibility: while we search the cosmos for visitors, something unknown may have been here all along.

Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In tonight’s dead letter, we head to Athens, Ohio, home of the Astonishing Legends Merch headquarters — Athens is a town steeped in history and according to some accounts, one of the most haunted places in America. When an anthropology student moves into an apartment inside a renovated church, mysterious knocks soon give way to the sighting of a bizarre, tiny entity that refuses to leave. This one is outside the paranormal box, and with the benefit of history, it would appear that whatever was there…refuses to leave.

LINKS:

The Athens Lunatic Asylum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Lunatic_Asylum

The Ridges - Ohio University History & Architecture
https://www.ohio.edu/ridges

Articles detailing the tragic story of Margaret Schilling and the stain she left behind, which Scott and Forrest discussed in detail.
https://2020.soulofathens.com/lore-of-appalachia/stain.html
https://factschology.com/mmm-podcast-articles/lost-lady-athens-asylum-ohio

Wilson Hall & Room 428: Information on the infamous "sealed" dorm room that the university supposedly closed off due to paranormal activity.
https://shopathensohio.com/blog/wilson-hall-and-room-428/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ohiouniversity/comments/11ntl8b/haunted_wilson_hall_room_428_ohio_university/

The Athens Pentagram Theory: A look at the theory mentioned by Scott regarding the five cemeteries that supposedly form a pentagram around the city (with Wilson Hall at the center).
https://www.athensnews.com/news/pentagram-theory-conjures-up-haunted-athens/article_f0c189c8-728e-11ee-bf6c-dbb66e699980.html

The Koons Spirit Room: Context on the historical spiritualism connection near Athens (Mt. Nebo) that Scott brought up.
https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/koons

Kirkbride Buildings History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkbride_Plan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Story_Kirkbride