Astonishing Legends

This week, we return to the pitch-black depths of the Scole Experiment, where a sealed room in rural Norfolk became the testing ground for an impossible claim: that voices from beyond could speak through a crude, powerless device that shouldn’t have worked at all. What began as a strange experiment in energy and communication quickly drew the attention of the Society for Psychical Research — seasoned skeptics, scientists, and even magicians determined to expose any trickery. Instead, they found themselves confronting an event that challenged physics, belief, and their own assumptions. Was this the realization of a long-dreamed-of “spirit phone,” or a masterclass in deception?
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In tonight’s dead letter… we explore the unsettling possibility that our children are not the blank slates conventional psychology suggests. Listener, Tim, recounts the evening his toddler, Mason, claimed he "wasn't always" his kid before describing a past life that ended in a tragic house fire. It is a quiet reflection on the "old soul" phenomenon and whether our children bring a bit of luggage with them when they enter this world.
Reference Links
The University of Virginia: Division of Perceptual Studies
The Work of Dr. Ian Stevenson
Monarch Butterfly Migration and Genetics - National Geographic
Altered States (1980) - IMDB
Defending Your Life (1991) - IMDB
PLAINTEXT
The University of Virginia: Division of Perceptual Studies: https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/
The Work of Dr. Ian Stevenson:
https://a.co/d/0fMu7zrx
Monarch Butterfly Migration and Genetics - National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/monarch-butterfly/
Altered States (1980) - IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/
Defending Your Life (1991) - IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101694/
We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!

In a quiet Norfolk village, in the early 1990s, a seventeenth-century farmhouse became the setting for one of the most controversial paranormal investigations ever conducted. In the cellar of Street Farmhouse in Scole, a small group known as the Scole Experimental Group claimed they weren’t just contacting spirits — they were working with them. Over five years, under strict controls, they reported blue lights with apparent intelligence, physical phenomena, voices broadcast through powerless devices, and even photographic images appearing on sealed film, all allegedly guided by a collective of discarnate scientists calling themselves “The Team of Many Minds.” This episode kicks off a three-part deep dive into the Scole Experiment, beginning with the Norfolk Protocol and the impossible technology said to be designed from beyond the grave.

Bibliography

Books & Reports

Foy, Robin P. Witnessing the Impossible: The Diary of the Scole Experiment. Diss: Campion Books, 2008.

Keen, Montague, Arthur Ellison, and David Fontana. "The Scole Report: An Account of an Investigation into the Genuineness of a Range of Physical Phenomena Associated with a Mediumistic Group in Norfolk, England." Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 58, no. 220 (November 1999): 147–455.

Solomon, Grant, and Jane Solomon. The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death. Diss: Campion Books, 1999 (Updated 2006).

Multimedia

Drasin, Dan. "SCOLE: THE AFTERLIFE EXPERIMENT." YouTube video of Original Documentary. Uploaded by Dan Drasin.
Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

In tonight’s dead letter… Scott and Forrest explore the intersection of the safety of the suburbs and the primeval woods of the greater Akron area. Long before "Ohio" became modern slang for the weird, it was already earning that reputation through sightings of glowing red eyes that radiated their own light, but if you listen to Astonishing Legends, you already know that. Michael’s account details a terrifying standoff where when he was only 5 years old, he and his sister found themselves locked in the sanctuary of a childhood bedroom with something peering at them from outside. 
Reference Links
Small Town Monsters
Village of Mogador - Official History
Minerva Monster - Encyclopedia Arctica
The Ohio Valley UFO Flap of 1973
Mogador, Ohio - Wikipedia

We're looking for more stories! Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!

In tonight’s dead letter, a simple move to a quiet farmhouse turns into a bit of an accidental science experiment between two roommates who didn't want to sound "crazy" to each other. They both lived with the same unsettling experiences for months in total silence until a conversation on their final day changed everything. It’s a fascinating look at how our surroundings—and even the very ground beneath us—might be playing tricks on our senses, either organically or spiritually.

Reference Links

Recommended Reading & Resources

Ancient Aliens: The Alien Frequency (Season 12, Episode 8)
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - IMDB
Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar
NASA Technical Reports: Human Response to Vibration
Vic Tandy: The Ghost in the Machine
Geographic Landmarks

Ggantija Temples, Gozo
Hal Saflieni Hypogeum
Tarxien Temples
Gozo Island
Send your Dead Letter to [email protected]!