The Unexplained
Encyclopedia
The Unexplained is an American documentary
television series that originally aired from 1996 to 2000 on A&E
and was later broadcast by the Biography Channel. The program features various mysteries, paranormal
, psychic
phenomena, and other topics that are considered to be "unexplained." Earlier episodes of the series are narrated by Bill Kurtis
, and later episodes by Norm Woodel. The series was produced by Tom Golden a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent
who retired from the Army after spending 30 years detailed to the CIA. He owns Golden Phoenix Productions of Hot Springs, Arkansas
, which produces a number of award winning reality programs featured on Discovery Channel
, A&E Television Network, Investigation Discovery and the History Channel.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
television series that originally aired from 1996 to 2000 on A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
and was later broadcast by the Biography Channel. The program features various mysteries, paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
phenomena, and other topics that are considered to be "unexplained." Earlier episodes of the series are narrated by Bill Kurtis
Bill Kurtis
Bill Kurtis is an American television journalist, producer, narrator, and news anchor. He is also the current host of A&E crime and news documentary shows, including Investigative Reports, American Justice, and Cold Case Files...
, and later episodes by Norm Woodel. The series was produced by Tom Golden a former U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent
U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent
United States Army Counterintelligence conducts counterintelligence activities to detect, identify, assess, counter, exploit and/or neutralize adversarial, foreign intelligence and terrorist threats to United States national security, as well as other intelligence activities as directed by United...
who retired from the Army after spending 30 years detailed to the CIA. He owns Golden Phoenix Productions of Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, which produces a number of award winning reality programs featured on Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, A&E Television Network, Investigation Discovery and the History Channel.
Episode list
The following is a description of each episode listed alphabetically by title:- AlienExtraterrestrial lifeExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
Abductions original air date 30 October 1997 - Aliens from Mars
- Bonds of Survival original air date 21 January 1999: Looks at the influence and power of love. Family members in a life or death situation discover the desire to save a loved one stronger than the grip of death when a husband and wife and father and son survive despite tremendous odds.
- Buried AlivePremature burialPremature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally or intentionally...
original air date 14 January 1999: The incredible stories of people who have been buried alive, including two mine workers who survived a mine fire that killed 91 others, and two hikers who spent seven hours buried in snow and ice after an avalancheAvalancheAn avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
. Bill KurtisBill KurtisBill Kurtis is an American television journalist, producer, narrator, and news anchor. He is also the current host of A&E crime and news documentary shows, including Investigative Reports, American Justice, and Cold Case Files...
hosts. - CannibalsCannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
23 January 1997: From South Seas headhunterHeadhunterHeadhunter or head hunter may refer to:-General use:* Headhunting, the practice of literally taking a person's head after killing them* Headhunter, an informal name for an employment recruiter, sometimes referred to as executive searcher...
s to the chilling case of Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey DahmerJeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
, this is an unflinching investigation of the long, mysterious history of cannibalism. - Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Ghosts original air date 29 April 1999: It was America's bloodiest war...a war some believe is still being played out. We focus on paranormalParanormalParanormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
and spiritual activity at three Civil War sites: GettysburgBattle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
's Farnsworth HouseFarnsworth HouseThe Farnsworth House was designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe between 1945-51. It is a one-room weekend retreat in a once-rural setting, located southwest of Chicago's downtown on a estate site, adjoining the Fox River, south of the city of Plano, Illinois. The steel and glass...
, occupied by Southern sharpshooters; Mississippi's McRaven HouseMcRaven HouseMcRaven was built ca.1797 by Andrew Glass in a town called Walnut Hills, which is now Vicksburg, Mississippi. In the Civil War era, it was known as the Bobb House, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as such. McRaven got its current name from the street it is located on,...
, a field hospital during the Battle of VicksburgBattle of VicksburgThe Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...
; and Tennessee's ChickamaugaBattle of ChickamaugaThe Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
battlefield. - Close Encounters original air date 9 July 1998: Hard-core UFO believers called "Saucer Seekers" investigate reported sightings and landings of alien spacecraft.
- The Curse of King TutTutankhamunTutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
original air date 22 January 1998 - Dangerous ObsessionsObsessive loveObsessive love is a state in which one person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess another person toward whom they feel a strong sexual attraction, with an inability to accept failure or rejection...
original air date 3 September 1998: A probe into the twisted behavior of Robert John BardoRobert John BardoRobert John Bardo is an American man serving life imprisonment without parole after being convicted in October 1991 for the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer on July 18, 1989, whom he had stalked for several years beforehand....
, who murdered actress Rebecca SchaefferRebecca SchaefferRebecca Lucile Schaeffer was an American actress best known for her role in the sitcom My Sister Sam...
, and teacher Mary Kay LetourneauMary Kay LetourneauMary Kay Fualaau , formerly known as Mary Kay Letourneau, is an American schoolteacher who was imprisoned from 1997 to 2004 for having sexual intercourse with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated...
, who had a shocking affairAffairAffair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with a 13-year-old student. - DaredevilStunt performerA stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
s and Thrill Seekers original air date 12 September 1999 - Deadly Diamond: The Hope DiamondHope DiamondThe Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, , deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red...
is the most famous, not to mention infamous, diamond in the world. Its roots are tangled in a web of intrigue and mystery. Does bad luck come to all who own this precious gem? Explore the lives this ironically named stone has touched - from King Louis XVI to Washington socialite Evalyn Walsh McLeanEvalyn Walsh McLeanEvalyn Walsh McLean was an American mining heiress and socialite who was famous for being the last private owner of the Hope Diamond as well as another famous diamond, the Star of the East...
, from an American actress at the turn of the century to a world renown jeweler, see how the Hope Diamond's legendary curse has left a path of destruction through human frailty and greed. - DeathDeathDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
Cheaters original air date 5 December 1999: Incredible tales of people who cheated death, including a man who survived a plane crash that killed most other passengers, a trapped firefighterFirefighterFirefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
who endured a raging fire even after her air supply ran out, and a skydiver who withstood a 100-foot plunge to the concrete below. - The Druids and the Knights Templars original air date 4 March 1999
- ExorcistsExorcismExorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
original air date 13 March 1997: Discover the true story behind The ExorcistThe ExorcistThe Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
and hear interviews with priests who have performed the ancient ceremony in this astonishing examination of religion's most bizarre rite. - ExtraterrestrialsExtraterrestrial lifeExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
original air date 4 September 1997 - Extreme SacrificeSacrificeSacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
: Heroic measures or foolhardy death wishes? EXTREME SACRIFICE unveils the reasons people risk their lives to save others - sometimes at the ultimate peril. - Human Transformations original air date 3 December 1998: It has been said that the only constant in human life is change. But it is the stories of extreme transformation that sometimes defy our imagination. In this program, we'll explore the ways and the reasons that people transform themselves. First, the story of Cindy Jackson, an Ohio farm girl who became enchanted with the looks and imaginary lifestyle of the Barbie doll. Enchanted enough to spend nearly $250,000 over the last decade to change her appearance through nearly 30 cosmetic surgical procedures. Then the story of a Chicago man whose fascination with the Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe prompted him to transform his own life by leaving his marriage and family and taking a "higher calling", to become the leader of the International Federation of TrekkerTrekkieA Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the Star Trek franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise.-History:In 1967, science fiction editor Arthur W...
s. - Fantasies
- Hauntings original air date 8 May 1997: Explores the claims of people who say that their houses are haunted. They report butcher knives flying through the air and evil messages scrawled on their walls. One family even hired a ghostbuster.
- Human Transformations original air date 3 December 1998
- Modern Psychics original air date 8 August 1999: Can they read mindsTelepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
and see into the future? Do their dreams really come true? Join us as we meet today's psychics, including: an animal communicator who tells owners what their pets think of them, a psychiatristPsychiatristA psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
who uses visions to help treat patients, and a lawyer who teaches police officers how to get in touch with their intuitionIntuition (knowledge)Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
. - Multiple Personalities original air date 11 March 1999: Stories of four victims of Multiple Personality Syndrome (MPD). Includes Gary, who believes he's a woman named Mary and an infant named Baby; Valerie, who has had over 50 personalities; Chris, who was finally able to become a "whole person" at age 47; and "Sybil", whose famous case led to an epidemic of MPD cases.
- PoltergeistPoltergeistA poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
original air date 30 October 1997: The name conjures up images of vengeful spiritSpiritThe English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s and chilling manifestations. They have been the subject of some of the most successful and memorable horror movies of all time. But what is a poltergeist are they demonDemoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, ghostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s or the manifestation of the psychic energy of a living person? POLTERGEIST investigates four very different cases of paranormal incidents looking for answers. In most cases, there is undeniable, physical evidence that something happened the real world was affected. But by what? Probe the minds of the people who have seen poltergeists firsthand and those who are trying to uncover the truth behind them. Dramatic re-enactments bring these terrifying encounters to life, and chilling interviews with victims detail exactly what happened. From Bobby Mackey's Music WorldBobby Mackey's Music WorldBobby Mackey's Music World is a nightclub and honky tonk that is currently owned by country singer Bobby Mackey and located on 44 Licking Pike in Wilder, Kentucky...
to ancient English universities, visit the sites where the phenomenon have occurred. As psychics and scientists grapple with the mystery of poltergeists, the real answers may lie hidden in the minds of those who have met them. - Power of PrayerPrayerPrayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
original air date 16 January 1997: This probing look at four real-life cases of "miraculous" healing includes testimony from scientists, ministers and people who claim to have been cured by faithFaithFaith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
. - Prophesies
- ProphetProphetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s and Doom original air date 19 June 1997: From the pages of the Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
to today, explore stories of prophecy with leading experts, including authors Eva Shaw (Eve of DestructionEve of Destruction"Eve of Destruction" is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in 1965. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by Barry McGuire. This recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965 and released by Dunhill Records. The accompanying musicians were top-tier LA session...
) and James RandiJames RandiJames Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
(Flim Flam). - Psychic Detectives original air date 9 January 1996: To many people it is a disgrace to justice. Others say that anything that might help break a case is justified. More and more police departments occasionally turn to psychics for assistance on cases that have gone cold. But is there any real evidence that these PSYCHIC DETECTIVES can help bring criminals to justice? The Unexplained; examines this phenomenon through actual case studies and interviews with psychics, police officers and skeptics. Meet a man who says that the emotional energy left behind by a traumatic event leaves a trace that can be detected years later. But skeptics claim that these psychics are charlatans, inventing realistic-sounding scenarios that the police want to hear - and that when they break a case it is merely coincidence. Whatever you believe, this is a thought-provoking look at one of the strangest trends in law enforcement today.
- Psychic Spies original air date 12 February 1998
- Questioning AstrologyAstrologyAstrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
original air date 10 March 1997 - Radical Cures 29 January 1999: Prompted by a medical profession that cannot always cure the sick, many Americans search for alternative treatments for what ails them. From the power of herbs to the transference of healing energy, healers claim they merely help the body mend itself. The healed and the healers take on debunkers from traditional medicine.
- ReincarnationReincarnationReincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
s original air date 17 September 1998: Some religionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s have always held that the soulSoulA soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
returns after death to inhabit a new body. With the rebirth of spirituality in the face of the approaching millenniumMillenniumA millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, more and more people are coming to believe in reincarnation but is there evidence to support this belief? THE UNEXPLAINED examines three very different cases which suggest that reincarnation may in fact happen. The first is the publicized account of a Canadian boy recognized by the Dalai LamaDalai LamaThe Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
as the reincarnation of a spiritual leader. Here, the boy and his parents talk of their belief and how it has changed their life. Then, trace the spiritual journey of Jenny CockellJenny CockellJenny Cockell is an English author who in the mid-1990s came to fame for her book about reincarnation called Across Time and Death: A Mother's Search for her Past Life Children . In the book, Cockell discusses her "past life memories" of life as Mary Sutton in early-20th century Ireland...
, a young woman who does not believe in rebirth, yet whose memories of another life in Ireland led her to search for children from that past existence! Finally, a young child is miraculously cured of a birth defect when he claims to remember the moment of his death in a previous life. - Secret Societies original air date 8 January 1998: Each summer, white-robed pagans descend on StonehengeStonehengeStonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
in England and pray to long-forgotten gods. In ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, a secret order over a 1,000 years old continues to practice medieval rituals. Join us as we explore the worlds of two ancient societies—the DruidDruidA druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s and Knights TemplarKnights TemplarThe Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, as we try to understand why they still attract followers. - Secrets of the Pyramids original air date 11 February 1999: An intriguing look at ancient pyramids that have found in North America—even the U.S.! Journey to WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, where pyramids are believed to have been found in the bottom of the lake, and the ancient ruins of TeotihuacanTeotihuacanTeotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
and Chichen ItzaChichen ItzaChichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
in Mexico. We'll also travel to EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to compare the structures. - Secrets of Water Survival original air date 26 February 1998
- Sexual AttractionSexual attractionSexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
original air date 17 April 1997 - Speaking with the Dead original air date 25 March 1999: Three stories explore the phenomenon of mediums and channelersMediumshipMediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
including the tale of James Van PraaghJames Van PraaghJames Van Praagh is a self-proclaimed medium who has written several books on spirituality and spirit communication.-Early life and career:Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York and is the youngest of four children...
, a psychic who has become America's most famous medium. - Spontaneous Human CombustionSpontaneous human combustionSpontaneous human combustion describes reported cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition...
original air date 18 September 1997 - Strange Disappearances original air date 7 May 2000: Strange tales of the disappearance of Philip Taylor KramerPhilip Taylor KramerPhilip Taylor Kramer was a bass guitar player for the rock group Iron Butterfly during the 1970s. After this he obtained a night school degree in aerospace engineering, worked on the MX missile guidance system for a contractor of the US Department of Defense and later in the computer industry on...
and the case of the U.S. Navy ship and crew that disappeared in the famous "Philadelphia ExperimentPhiladelphia ExperimentThe Philadelphia Experiment is the name of an alleged naval military experiment said to have been carried out at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA sometime around October 28, 1943. It is alleged that the U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge was to be rendered...
". - Struck by LightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
2 October 1997: Lightning strikes indiscriminately and without warning. Unsuspecting people are hit hundreds of times each year. THE UNEXPLAINED: STRUCK BY LIGHTNING examines the many experiences of lightning-strike survivors. Some victims tempted fate by hiking in the high Sierras or taking storm photos in an open field, but others were struck doing everyday activities such as talking on the phone, making dinner or walking to the post office. One survivor claims to have been healed by the experience. All the victims interviewed agree that their lives were changed forever. Experts and leading researchers from the medical and scientific communities also share their viewpoints and opinions about this unexplainable force of nature. - SuperstitionSuperstitionSuperstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
s: Unlucky 13 original air date 12 March 1998 - Surviving Pain and TortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
original air date 9 October 1997: Pain is an invisible traveler that can race through our bodies, consume our minds and separate us from everything around us. It cannot be seen, photographed, X-rayX-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
ed or measured. Terrible pain leaves permanent scarScarScars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin after injury. A scar results from the biological process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound results in...
s in its wake. Torture is inflicted on the body to destroy the mind. It destroys hope, humanity, faith and trust. Severe torture leaves the victims altered forever. Examine these all-too-common human experiences with in-depth looks from those who know them firsthand: a fireman who was so badly burned that he wasn't expected to live through the night; a Vietnam P.O.W. who was tortured and humiliated for seven years inside the Hanoi HiltonHanoi HiltonHỏa Lò Prison, later sarcastically known to American prisoners of war as the "Hanoi Hilton", was a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for prisoners of war during the Vietnam War....
; a UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
n schoolteacher who was imprisoned, beaten, tortured, intimidated and forced to witness mutilation and murder by Idi AminIdi AminIdi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
's militia; a woman who experienced the most difficult and excruciating pain of all - childbirthChildbirthChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. The ordeals of pain and torture are as unique as the human beings who suffered them and how they survived remains unexplained. - The Death Zone: Men and women can perform extraordinary feats—if they push their minds and bodies to the limits. We'll relate stories of remarkable people, including one who made a solo summit of Mt. Everest in record-breaking time, and a woman who transforms herself into a human dolphinDolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
. - The Moon Madness original air date 27 May 1999
- The Twin Connection original air date 11 September 1997: From the beginning of time, twin have claimed to possess a powerful bond a bond which many believe links them from the womb throughout life. Yet to believe in this connection one must accept much more the ability to read minds, to psychically transfer pain and to be conscious of another person's presence before you've even met. This penetrating program examines three extraordinary stories of "twinship" in search of answers to THE TWIN CONNECTION. Trace the path of twins separated at birth in 1930s Germany one was raised a Jew, the other a Nazi sympathizer. Meet Lori and Dori Schappell, conjoined twins who lead independent lives despite being physically connected at the head! And see how a photographer's longtime obsession with twins connects him to a secret from his past.
- The VampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
Myth original air date 7 May 1998 - UFOs: Testing The Evidence original air date 8 April 1999: World premiere documentary that looks at the possibility of alien contact through the eyes of the UFO community, mainstream scientists and religious theologiansTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. - UFO Cults and Groups original air date 20 November 1997: Studies show that almost 20 percent of Americans believe in UFOs. And, as the much publicized Heaven's Gate incident pointed out, some of these people will go to extreme lengths in the name of their belief. UFO CULTS AND GROUPS traces the history of Heaven's Gate and compares it to another UFO group, the Unarius Academy, looking for insight into this growing phenomenon. Why do people join these groups, and why do some abandon all logic and reason in doing so? Interviews with former and current members of the groups offer a first-person view of what they are like, and point out the vast differences among them. Some are truly cults, which indoctrinate members and force them to embrace new beliefs and behaviors, while others are simply people joined together by a common interest. From the tragedy of Heaven's Gate to the remarkable number of people who belong to UFO groups of all descriptions, this is a thought-provoking look at a ""fringe"" belief that may not be as far from the mainstream as most think.
- UFOs vs. The Government original air date 2 January 1996: For years, people have claimed that the government has covered up proof of the existence of UFOs. For years, the government has denied the rumors as groundless. SpaceshipSpacecraftA spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
s versus weather balloonWeather balloonA weather or sounding balloon is a balloon which carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde...
s. Aliens versus mannequinMannequinA mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
s. Both sides claim the other is lying or misguided; both sides present considerable evidence. Examine some of the most famous UFO cases of all time in an attempt to get to the bottom of this ongoing debate. Does the secret military base in Nevada known as Area 51Area 51Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
house the bodies and vessel of aliens who crashed in the desert 50 years ago? What happened in the night skies over Rendlesham ForestRendlesham ForestRendlesham Forest is a 1500-hectare mixed woodland in Suffolk owned by the Forestry Commission with recreation facilities for walkers, cyclists and campers. Catering to enthusiasts of the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident, there is a special UFO trail....
, near London? Numerous interviews provide a balanced look at these and other famous cases. Witnesses including highly decorated military pilots tell of their encounters with craft that they could not identify, while the world ís most experienced UFO investigators offer their opinions of what really happened. - Wilderness Survival original air date 8 October 1998: Each year in the majestic Colorado PlateauColorado PlateauThe Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 km2 within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico,...
, thousands of hikers, climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the splendor, peace and beauty of America's largest wilderness area. But not all of their excursions are restful. WILDERNESS SURVIVAL is a white knuckle trip that details three real-life cases where people suddenly found themselves facing death. In Rocky Mountain Park, two climbers were caught in a winter hurricane at 14,000 feet. One was literally blown off the mountain. Here, the survivor shares memories of the toughest climb of his life. In the Colorado wilderness, firefighters fought a fire that burned out of control and killed 14 men and women. Why did some outrun the fire, while others died a few feet from their comrades? In Arizona's Grand CanyonGrand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, a sixty-year-old man was lost for six days in the middle of a deadly heat wave. He defied the odds, managing to remain calm, find water and wait for his rescue. These stories explore how experience, stress and intelligence play a part in deciding who lives and who dies in critical situations. - ZombieZombieZombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s original air date 2 April 1998
External links
- TV Schedule Listings on The Biography ChannelThe Biography ChannelThe Biography Channel is an American digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. A version of the channel also airs on ONO and Telefónica in Spain and on Sky Digital and cable television in the United Kingdom, a version of the channel also...