Arcane Station

Mike

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DOCUMENTARY

Arcane Station is a storytelling and research-driven podcast exploring cryptids, paranormal encounters, folklore, conspiracies, and high strangeness, blending historical accounts, modern sightings, and speculative theories into immersive narratives. Each episode invites listeners to journey into the mysterious and unexplained, where fact and legend often blur.

3 DAYS AGO

Episode 22 - Count Saint Germain

In this episode of Arcane Station, we investigate the life and legacy of Count Saint Germain, a documented eighteenth-century figure who appeared suddenly within Europe’s most exclusive courts, moved freely among kings and diplomats, and left behind almost no trace of origin. Saint Germain spoke multiple languages fluently, demonstrated mastery of music and science, and navigated political environments marked by suspicion and espionage. He survived scrutiny in England during the buildup to the Jacobite Rising, gained access to the court of Louis XV in France, and later withdrew into private patronage in the German states. Throughout his life, contemporaries remarked on his apparent lack of aging and his calm references to events long past. After his recorded death in 1784, reports of encounters did not immediately stop. Over time, Saint Germain’s story expanded, absorbed into folklore, occult traditions, and modern theories ranging from extreme longevity to time travel and vampirism. This episode doesn’t attempt to prove who Saint Germain was. Instead, it asks a different question: How does someone without a documented beginning, without formal authority, and without visible limits move so easily through the center of history? Support the show

37 min
28/12/2025

Episode 21 - The Supernatural and Occult Origins of Christmas

Christmas is often presented as a season of comfort, generosity, and familiarity. But beneath the modern imagery of nativity scenes, Santa Claus, and holiday traditions lies a much older structure shaped by fear, survival, and interaction with the unseen. In this episode of Arcane Station, host Mike Porter examines the paranormal and occult foundations of Christmas, tracing the season back to pre-Christian midwinter rituals, pagan enforcement figures, and belief systems that treated winter as a period of heightened spiritual risk. The investigation follows how early societies regulated behavior during midwinter through ritual, household inspection, and consequence, and how Christianity aligned itself with those existing structures rather than replacing them. From Yule and Saturnalia to figures like Krampus, Perchta, Grýla, and the Yule Lads, this episode documents how seasonal authority once operated through fear and enforcement before being consolidated into a single, non-threatening figure: Santa Claus. The episode also explores lesser-discussed elements of Christmas history, including altered states associated with winter ritual, the persistence of red and white symbolism, and why the season continues to feel psychologically and spiritually different even in a modern, commercial context. Rather than arguing belief or disbelief, this episode lays out how Christmas was constructed to manage instability, and what may have been lost as the season became safer, louder, and more transactional. Support the show

36 min
21/12/2025

Episode 20 - Haunted and Abandoned Tunnels

Abandoned tunnels have a way of unsettling people long after their original purpose has ended. Across different regions and eras, tunnels built for railroads, roads, and infrastructure have developed reputations for being haunted. Visitors report hearing voices, footsteps, and unexplained sounds. Some describe seeing apparitions, lights, or movement where no one should be present. Others leave with an overwhelming sense that they shouldn’t have been there at all. In this episode of Arcane Station, we investigate five tunnels with long-standing reputations for paranormal activity: the Crozet Tunnel in Virginia, the Stumphouse Tunnel in South Carolina, the Lakeview Drive Tunnel in North Carolina, the Arroyo Parkway Tunnel in California, and the Screaming Tunnel near Niagara Falls. We examine how these tunnels were built, why they were abandoned, and what people have reported experiencing inside them. We also look at how ghost hunting groups, tourists, and government agencies have responded to those reports, often avoiding investigation while keeping the sites accessible. From there, we explore several frameworks used to understand why these places feel the way they do, including the Stone Tape Theory, liminal space theory, kenopsia, and the possibility that some tunnels may genuinely be haunted. Drawing from science, psychology, theology, and witness testimony, this episode does not seek a single answer, but a clearer understanding of why abandoned tunnels consistently become places of fear and unexplained experience. Support the show

29 min
14/12/2025

Episode 19 - The Not Deer

Something is wrong in the woods of Appalachia. Hikers, hunters, and lifelong locals all describe the same eerie moment: a deer steps onto the trail… then moves in a way no deer should. Its legs bend at impossible angles. Its body is too tall, too thin, or shaped just slightly…off. And its eyes don’t reflect the soft amber glow you expect from normal wildlife. Instead, they stare back white and unblinking, like headlights in the dark. Tonight on Arcane Station, we’re diving into the phenomenon known as The Not Deer, a creature (or creatures) that appears familiar until you look just a little too closely. We’ll explore verified eyewitness accounts, cultural roots in Appalachian folklore, biological red flags, and the unsettling patterns that make the Not Deer one of the most convincing modern cryptid categories out there. We’ll also talk about what makes the behavior so disturbing, why biologists and folklorists disagree on potential explanations, and whether this entity fits into a wider pattern of shapeshifter legends, high-strangeness, and liminal wildlife encounters. If you’ve ever felt watched in the woods, or sensed that something standing in the tree line was almost natural, this is your episode. Have a Not Deer encounter of your own? Share it anonymously at arcane-station.com/report and it may be featured in a future episode. Support the show

35 min
07/12/2025

Episode 18 - Poveglia Island

Poveglia Island sits quietly in the Venetian Lagoon, but its history is anything but silent. Once a quarantine station during the deadliest plague outbreaks in Europe, and later the site of a psychiatric hospital with harsh experimental treatments, the island carries a documented past of suffering and isolation. Today, access is restricted, yet modern reports continue to surface, deep, fluid-filled coughing in the dark, dragging sounds near the old burn pits, sudden flashes of flame inside the asylum ruins, and a recurring male scream from the bell tower that matches unofficial accounts of the hospital doctor’s final moments. In this episode of Arcane Station, host Mike Porter examines the island’s documented history and the specific modern claims that mirror those events with unsettling accuracy. Through environmental acoustics, geological resonance, and spiritual theories of emotional imprinting, this episode explores why Poveglia Island still feels active, even decades after its last resident left. Some places don’t forget. Poveglia Island might be one of them. Support the show

39 min
30/11/2025

Episode 17 - The Supernatural Founding of the USA

What if the United States didn’t emerge through politics alone? What if the Revolutionary era was shaped by divine intervention, unexplained phenomena, and symbolic decisions that reached far beyond ordinary history? In this episode of Arcane Station, host Mike Porter investigates the supernatural side of America’s birth. We examine documented accounts from the Revolutionary War, including the mysterious fog that saved Washington’s army in 1776, the eerie stillness reported during Washington’s prayer at Valley Forge, and the Native American chief who later claimed Washington was “protected by the Great Spirit.” We also explore the strange symbolism woven into the Great Seal, the geomantic design of Washington, D.C., and the cultural beliefs that shaped how the Founders interpreted signs, visions, and improbable events. Through eyewitness testimony, battlefield records, early American sermons, and high-strangeness research, this episode asks a bold question: Did unseen forces guide the creation of the United States? Whether divine providence, quantum influence, or something older and harder to name, the supernatural threads woven through America’s founding are impossible to ignore. If you enjoy history, the unexplained, and grounded investigations into the stranger side of reality, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Support the show

32 min
23/11/2025

Episode 16 - Spiritualism

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Western world became obsessed with a single idea: that the living could communicate directly with the dead. In this episode, we explore the rise of Spiritualism, the séance boom, and the scientific figures who tried to test the limits of consciousness. From the Fox Sisters in upstate New York to the controlled experiments of Sir William Crookes and the philosophical systems of the Golden Dawn and Theosophical Society, this documentary-style deep dive traces how belief, technology, and curiosity collided in an era convinced it stood on the edge of discovering the unseen. We examine the birth of mediumship, the mechanics of séance rooms, the rise of occult orders, and the intersection between science and spirit that shaped the modern paranormal landscape. Whether you’re a skeptic, a believer, or simply fascinated by the history of the unexplained, this episode offers a grounded look at the moment when the Victorian world tried to investigate the afterlife with the same seriousness it gave to electricity, telegraphs, and astronomy. Support the show

36 min
16/11/2025

Episode 15 - The Jersey Devil

Arcane Station explores one of America’s oldest and most enduring legends: the Jersey Devil. In this episode, host Mike Porter revisits the classic story of Mother Leeds, the cursed thirteenth child, and the birth of a creature said to haunt the Pine Barrens for nearly three centuries. But instead of trying to prove or debunk the legend, this episode approaches the Jersey Devil as a thought experiment, examining how history, belief, environment, and human perception shape a story that refuses to fade. We look at the mundane explanations, from escaped exotic animals to misinterpretation of natural sounds. We explore the medical possibilities behind the original legend, the spiritual worldview of colonial America, and the political intrigue involving Titan Leeds and Benjamin Franklin that helped cement the Leeds name in folklore. We also examine the strange environmental qualities of the Pine Barrens and how they contribute to sightings that continue today. Support the show

30 min

Arcane Station is a storytelling and research-driven podcast exploring cryptids, paranormal encounters, folklore, conspiracies, and high strangeness, blending historical accounts, modern sightings, and speculative theories into immersive narratives. Each episode invites listeners to journey into the mysterious and unexplained, where fact and legend often blur.

Creator

Mike
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

22
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 Arcane Station
Show Website

Arcane Station