Mysteries and Backstories

In 1912, the Russian ship St. Anna became trapped over 1,000 km from land. For nearly two years, it drifted through the Arctic as the crew faced scurvy, starvation, and total isolation.

One man made a desperate 500 km journey across the ice to find help. Only two men survived. The rest were never seen again.

This is the haunting true story of the Brusilov Expedition—one of the Arctic’s greatest survival mysteries.

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In 1864, the Grafton and the Invercauld were wrecked on opposite ends of Auckland Island, a desolate patch of land in the sub-Antarctic. Stranded just miles apart, the two crews fought to survive the same brutal environment—but in total ignorance of each other’s presence.

What followed was a stunning divergence in fate. One crew built shelter, rationed supplies, and held together. The other descended into disorder, starvation, and d...

Survival was his only option. Marooned in 1704, Alexander Selkirk endured four years alone on a Pacific island — a true story that would later inspire Robinson Crusoe.This is the harrowing tale of what it means to survive not just nature... but time, silence, and solitude. From chasing goats by hand to befriending feral cats for protection, Selkirk didn’t just endure the island — he was transformed by it.Watch as we uncover one of ...

In 1741, HMS Wager wrecked off the remote coast of Patagonia. Stranded and starving, the crew faced not just the elements—but each other. When leadership collapsed, a mutiny split the survivors. Some followed Captain David Cheap. Others followed gunner John Bulkeley. What happened next would challenge the laws of command, loyalty, and survival.

This episode unpacks one of the most brutal and overlooked naval disasters in British his...

In 1513, an Ottoman admiral drew a map that shouldn’t exist.

The Piri Reis Map charts parts of South America, Africa—and possibly even Antarctica—centuries before they were officially discovered. Based on lost sources and ancient knowledge, the map has baffled historians, geographers, and conspiracy theorists alike. How could a 16th-century sailor map lands no one had explored? Was it guesswork, ancient science... or something delib...

When the USS Jeannette was crushed by Arctic ice, her crew didn’t just face shipwreck—they faced a frozen death sentence. Trapped in the polar sea for nearly two years, the men set out on foot across hundreds of miles of ice and Siberian wilderness, dragging their boats and dwindling supplies behind them. What began as a bold expedition ended in hunger, madness, and a desperate fight to survive.

In this episode of Mysteries and Back...

In 1860, Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills set out to lead the first expedition across the Australian continent — from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Backed by public funding and national attention, their journey was supposed to be historic.

Instead, it became a slow-motion disaster.

This episode tells the true story of how miscommunication, bad decisions, and cruel timing turned a moment of promise into one of the mo...

In 1913, the Karluk set sail on a bold Arctic expedition. Within months, the ship was locked in ice and abandoned — left to drift helplessly across the Chukchi Sea. This is the true story of survival, leadership, and betrayal in one of the coldest and most brutal environments on Earth.Led by Captain Robert Bartlett, the crew fought to survive frostbite, starvation, and the madness of isolation, while their expedition leader, Vilhja...

This special compilation brings together four of the darkest and most intense shipwreck stories we’ve ever covered — curated and remastered for our podcast audience.

From the eerie disappearance of the Mary Celeste, to the mutiny and murder aboard the Batavia, to the whale attack that inspired Moby-Dick, and finally the horror of the Méduse raft — each story reveals what happens when survival pushes people beyond the limits of human...

What do ancient crystal skulls, Mayan prophecies, and a mysterious pre-Columbian manuscript have in common?

In this episode, we explore one of the most enduring legends in archaeology and fringe science: the mysterious crystal skulls. Linked to the ancient Maya, these eerie artifacts have sparked stories of healing powers, doomsday prophecies, and even extraterrestrial origins. But the truth may lie in something far older—the Dresde...

In 1897, Swedish explorer S.A. Andrée set out on a daring mission to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon—a bold plan doomed from the start. What began as an ambitious flight into the Arctic skies turned into a horrifying struggle for survival against the brutal forces of nature. When Andrée and his crew vanished, they left behind one of the greatest polar mysteries in history. It wasn’t until decades later that their chilling ...

In 1993, seven experienced hikers set off into the remote Khamar-Daban mountains. Days later, six of them were found dead—collapsed in agony, eyes bleeding, foam at their mouths.

Only one survivor, Valentina Utochenko, made it out alive. But even decades later, she refuses to talk about what really happened.

🔹 What caused this horrifying disaster?
🔹 Did nature turn against them, or was something else lurking in the wilderness?
🔹 And...

Survival challenges are fun… unless you’re on an island where the prize for losing is never being seen again. This isn’t MrBeast’s Last to Leave—this is real history, and it gets much darker.

In 1629, the Batavia, a Dutch East India Company ship, wrecked off the coast of Australia. Hundreds of survivors reached a barren island, believing their greatest challenge was the open sea. They were wrong. The real danger was one of their own...

In 1872, the Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean—completely intact, fully stocked, but without a single soul aboard. The crew had vanished without a trace. No signs of struggle. No distress calls. Just an empty ship sailing on.

Was it a sudden disaster? A mutiny? A terrifying mistake? Or something far stranger?

In this episode, we unravel one of the greatest maritime mysteries of all time, diving into the Mary Celeste...

In this episode, we delve into theBook of Abramelin, an ancient grimoire shrouded in mystery and associated with dark rituals. We explore its origins, the powerful figures who attempted its perilous rites, and the consequences they faced. Join us as we uncover the secrets of this forbidden text and its impact on those who dared to engage with its occult practices.

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Two green-skinned children appear out of nowhere in 12th-century England, speaking an unknown language and claiming to come from a land bathed in eternal twilight. Were they lost souls, victims of a fairy abduction, or travelers from another dimension? This eerie medieval mystery has puzzled historians, scientists, and paranormal researchers for centuries.

More Episodes HERE! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsAlinhfhzG3kUoCo-pylrQ

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In August 1966, two men were discovered lifeless on a remote hillside in Niterói, Brazil, wearing bizarre handmade lead masks and clutching a cryptic note with instructions that defy understanding. Manoel Pereira da Cruz and Miguel José Viana left behind no injuries, no signs of struggle, and no clear cause of death—only unanswered questions.

More Episodes⁠ HERE!⁠ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsAlinhfhzG3kUoCo-pylrQ

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