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Mysteries & Folklore

Folklore encompasses age-old customs, stories and beliefs passed down, often orally, within a culture or community. Discover the truth behind mysteries, legends and paranormal curiosities such as UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, zombies, witches and more.

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Illustration by Eduardo Ramón Trejo. Photos from Getty Images.

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Friday the 13th has inspired countless superstitions—as well as a 19th-century secret society, an early 20th-century novel and horror films.

The witch flying on her broomstick is a Halloween icon, possibly based on pagan fertility rituals, hallucinogenic herbs and church doctrine.

It remains one of the most perplexing mysteries in aviation history. Some blame the Bermuda Triangle.

A small news item in 1958 led to the modern version of the mythical wild man.

Loch Ness

Loch Ness Monster: Fact or Fiction?

Loch Ness expert Adrian Shine discusses his involvement with the Loch Ness Project and recaps his decades spent working to uncover the truth behind the Loch Ness monster.

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Mysteries & Folklore
Mysteries & Folklore

Bloody Mary The Woman in the Mirror

Bloody Mary is the legendary figure said to appear when her name is repeated into a mirror. But who or what is she, where did the ritual come from and why have generations of children dared each other to summon her?

Vampires are mythological beings who roam the world at night searching for people whose blood they feed upon.

Count Dracula was inspired by Central European folktales as well as historical accounts of the 15th-century Romanian prince Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler.

Mysteries & Folklore

The President Who Refused to Leave the White House

Abraham Lincoln died in 1865, but some say he never left the White House. From eerie premonitions of his own death to ghostly sightings during national crises, could the 16th president still be watching over America?

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Mysteries & Folklore

The Woman Who Named the Ouija Board and Later Feared Its Power

In 1890, medium Helen Peters helped give the Ouija board its name. But after the board accused a relative of theft and tore her family apart, she spent the rest of her life warning others that its answers might not be truthful.

Mysteries & Folklore

No One Escapes Alcatraz, Not Even the Dead

Alcatraz was built to hold America’s most dangerous criminals, but some say its dead never escaped. From phantom footsteps to haunted cells, do the spirits of inmates and guards still linger inside the prison known as The Rock?

Here’s how Mothman’s frightening origins gave way to a playful new image.

Mysteries & Folklore

The World’s Most Peculiar Places

Discover places across the country where strange phenomena are common in this clip from The UnBelievable.

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Mysteries & Folklore

The Ghost of Lizzie Borden

Did a ghost move a MonsterQuest camera at the Lizzie Borden home in Salem, Massachusetts?

Witches have historically been people—mostly women—who practiced witchcraft, using spells and calling on spirits for help.

The Codex Gigas, or Devil's Bible, has a large illustration of a demon, making the medieval manuscript a source of fascination and fear.

The legendary philosopher's stone was alchemy's ultimate prize—even Isaac Newton devoted years searching for it.

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A small news item in 1958 led to the modern version of the mythical wild man.

Here's how the undead took over modern pop culture.

From birds of prey with fearsome strength to rooster-snake hybrids capable of killing with their eyes, find out more about six legendary beasts from history.

Ancient people may have been crafting an archetypal villain.

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