The Rise & Fall of the Airship Italia

North Korean sci-fi literature and cinema carry unique themes and messages that could only have originated in the Hermit Kingdom. This episode delves into how North Korea imagines a future of scientific and technological supremacy, often portraying the United States as the antagonist. It examines the historical context of North Korean science fiction, its role in promoting the state's ideology, and its imaginative narratives that range from space exploration to advanced robotics, all while emphasizing loyalty to the party and envisioning a utopian socialist future. Through stories and films, we discover a genre that serves both as propaganda and a lens into the hopes and dreams of a nation isolated from the world.

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In late 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese citizens are vanishing without a trace.  These are ordinary folks - a high school girl walking home from badminton practice, a couple on a romantic beach stroll, just regular people living their lives. 

For years, these disappearances are shrouded in mystery. Families are left wondering, the public is baffled, and there are all sorts of theories floating around but without substantiation.  

Fast forward to 2002. In a stunning revelation, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il admits, yes, North Korean agents had abducted these Japanese citizens. Why? This is where it gets chilling. North Korea was using these abductees to train their spies in Japanese language and culture.  You're taken from your homeland to become a living textbook for foreign spies.

The number of abductees is a bit murky. North Korea initially admits to 13, but Japan says it could be much higher. Five of these abductees were eventually allowed to return to Japan, but the fate of the others remains a matter of dispute and heartache. North Korea insists some have died or never entered the country, but Japan has long doubted these claims.

This whole saga creates a massive diplomatic storm. It strains North Korea's relations with Japan big time, not to mention the pain and uncertainty for the families involved. Even today, it's a sensitive and unresolved issue, with Japan still seeking answers and North Korea often brushing it off.

Listen to learn about the entire history of the North Korean Abduction Project. 

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It's probable that the same person committed a series of axe murders between 1898 and 1912 across the United States, including the infamous 1912 Villisca axe murders in Iowa.  And, this serial killer appears to have traveled by train to perform these heinous acts.  If it were the same person, he was responsible for at least 59 deaths, with the potential to have committed up to nearly 100.  

The theory of a single killer hinges on a pattern of behaviors and circumstances: the murders were typically carried out with an axe belonging to the victim, the majority of the murders took place near a train track, the killings were done at night, and the victims were often asleep in their beds.  

The Villisca axe murders are the most notorious of these cases; however, with the passage of over a century, definitive answers are likely out of reach, and the true identity of "The Man from the Train" remains a subject of speculation.

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Haunted Cemeteries.  Everyone knows of at least one.

It is not a coincidence that “Midnight” Mary Hart and “Crazy” Sarah Winchester lie within a short distance of each other in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven.  Both are daughters of New Haven, buried in the city that raised them.

These two women now, through no fault of their own, are associated with death and places of death.  The reality is, however, they were simple human beings who loved, lost, and died. We tell their stories – well, more accurately their legends – because they are different, and odd and exciting, and make the world a more magical place, which is fitting and proper around Halloween-time.  But maybe, for the rest of the year, we can let Mary and Sarah rest in peace, and not turn them into something they were not.

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On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM a magnitude-9.0 earthquake occurred in the western Pacific Ocean, 80 miles east of the Japanese city of Sendai.  The seismic activity caused significant displacement of the Pacific Plate, which, in turn, led to the generation of highly destructive tsunami waves.  A wave measuring 33 feet tall hammered the coast and submerged parts of Sendai, including its airport and  countryside.   At first, reports of casualties following the Tsunami indicated hundreds had died with hundreds more missing.  However, the numbers in both categories increased significantly over the following days as the magnitude of the devastation became apparent.  But as the search for victims continued, the official count of those confirmed dead or still missing ultimately reached over 19,300.

The survivors, to this day, recount seeing spectral figures—strangers, familiar faces, and departed loved ones.  Stories of hauntings emerged from homes, workplaces, public areas, beaches, and the devastated towns. 

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The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, with 61 streets and over 4,000 shops covering 330,000 square feet or about the area of 6 football fields.  Between 250,000 and 400,000 people visit it daily.  This may make it first among the world's most-visited tourist attractions, with about 91 million annual visitors.  The Grand Bazaar is also reputed to be the location of portals that can transport people around the world.  But despite the rumors, one fact is incontrovertible: in 1591 thieves stole 30,000 gold coins in one of the most surprising thefts in the history of Istanbul.  

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In 2007 Murat Yalcin Yalman was working in the holiday village of Kumburgaz Turkey as a night watchman. From this vantage point, he started seeing odd lights in the sky over the water. After seeing these objects on multiple evenings, he finally bought a video camera and started shooting.  In the series of videos taken over 3 years, several types of objects were captured.  All appear round or oval with a metallic structure.  Haktan Akdogan, who also appears alongside Yalman in most of his public appearances, noted something extraordinary, noting that the video captures images of “beings who are inside the object.  In the end, all this is one of the most extraordinary cases of all time.”

Almost 20 years later, the authenticity of the videos continue to be hotly debated.

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In 1974, archeologists discovered a junk, or a Chinese ship, that was abandoned sometime around 1270 in the port of Quanzhou.  Onboard was cargo that conclusively proved the ship had been up and down the east coast of Africa.   Subsequent investigations showed extensive contact between Africa and China from as early as 800.  Chinese coins and pottery have been found in archeological digs in East Africa from present-day Somalia to Tanzania, and even a few artifacts in present-day Zimbabwe. 

In 1414, during the Ming Dynasty,  the Chinese admiral Cheng Ho sailed into the Indian Ocean with a fleet that dwarfed Columbus’s meager ships 78 years later.  This voyage marked the third time the Admiral had sailed the Pacific and Indian oceans, exploring the world.  He brought back information, trade goods, and a Giraffe, a gift for the emperor of China.

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UFOs continue to be a worldwide conversation topic, with new footage of UAPs sparking debate about the origin of these images.  And truly, the investigation of unidentified flying objects is a global phenomenon.  Today, we'll investigate some of the most famous incidents from Mexico.

Mexico ranks seventh globally for the number of UFO sightings.  Today on My Dark Path, we will look at several UFO encounters, from José A. Bonilla’s photographs of a century and a half ago to sightings in Mexico from just this year.  In Mexico, a UFO is known as an OVNI [pronounced Ov-nee], an acronym for “Objeto Volador No Identificado” (Spanish for “Unidentified Flying Object”).  The U.S. Southwest and Mexico have long been a hotspot for strange sightings in the sky.  Roswell, Area 51, and all sorts of sightings of strange craft have been reported from the American Southwest.  These sightings do not stop at the border.  Mexico has also been a magnet, with dozens, if not hundreds, of OVNIs spotted every year.

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In the early hours of Monday, June 10, 1912, an unknown intruder entered a two-story wooden house through the unlocked back door. The small Midwest settlement had a population of around 2,000, where everyone knew each other by sight, and the residents did not worry about crime. 

But on that June night in 1912, once the killer had completed these grisly acts, he then did several things that mystified investigators at the time and then for decades thereafter.  

The killings shook Villisca to its core, and the failure to convict the murderer despite several attempts only added to the growing fear and unease in the community. The reality was that the killer had disappeared without a trace, leaving no clue as to their identity or whereabouts. It was possible that the killer had slipped back into their own home in the area, or even escaped on one of the 30 trains that passed through the town every day, with a head start of up to five hours. 

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