Mysteries and Backstories

J.J.
  • 3.7 (3)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

History’s darkest moments, real-life survival stories, and strange happenings from our distant past. Mysteries and Backstories uncovers the eerie, forgotten, and gripping corners of true history. From lost expeditions and cannibalism to vanished lighthouse keepers and cryptic artifacts, each episode dives deep into a real event that blurs the line between fact and folklore.

  1. FEB 7

    Mutiny on the HMS Bounty: Survival, Betrayal, and the Impossible Voyage

    In April 1789, one of history’s most infamous mutinies unfolded aboard the HMS Bounty. Led by Fletcher Christian, a group of sailors turned on their commander and cast Captain William Bligh adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with almost no food, no charts, and little chance of survival. What followed was a brutal 3,600-mile open-boat voyage through storms, starvation, and uncharted waters . It was one of the greatest survival feats in maritime history. If you’re drawn to survival history, real human limits, and dark maritime mysteries, this episode is for you. 👉 For Our Latest Episodes Check out YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MysteriesAndBackstories 🔔 Follow the show for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.

    27 min

  2. 12/11/2025

    The Tragic Terra Nova Expedition: They Were Only 11 Miles Away From Survival

    Scott’s Doomed Terra Nova Expedition - In 1910, Captain Robert Falcon Scott led the British Antarctic Expedition, better known as the Terra Nova Expedition, determined to be the first to reach the South Pole. What began with high hopes and scientific goals soon collapsed into one of the most tragic stories in survival history.Battling storms, starvation, frostbite, and exhaustion, Scott and his men pushed farther into Antarctica than they should have — only to discover Roald Amundsen had beaten them to the Pole. The return journey became a slow-motion catastrophe. Edgar Evans fell, Lawrence Oates sacrificed himself, and Scott’s final diary plea still echoes through history: “For God’s sake look after our people."If you enjoy survival history, mysteries, and true accounts of people pushed beyond their limits, subscribe for weekly episodes.🔔 Subscribe for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.This video includes paid stock, public domain, or Creative Commons content used under fair dealing or fair use. If you have concerns please email us from the channel page.

    16 min

  3. 11/28/2025

    Last Woman Standing: In 1835 She Was Abandoned On A Remote Island

    Juana María was abandoned on San Nicolas Island stranded alone for 18 years. She became the last of the Nicoleño people, cut off from the world and forced to survive in total isolation. This is one of the most astonishing survival stories in history.With no family, no community, and no way off the island, she built whale-bone shelters, sewed clothes from bird feathers, and kept her fire alive with scraps of driftwood and rancid fat. For nearly two decades she endured storms, hunger, and solitude. If you enjoy survival history, mysteries, and true accounts of people pushed beyond their limits, subscribe for weekly episodes.🔔 Subscribe for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.This video includes paid stock, public domain, or Creative Commons content under fair dealing/fair use. For concerns, email us via the channel page.Illustration of Nicoleño woman, Juana Maria, from James M. Gibbons's "The Wild Woman of San Nicolas Island http://calliope.cse.sc.edu/lonewoman/home/108, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0Photo of Juana Maria Plaque -By Neal B. Johnson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nealy-j/365128128/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7405761

    19 min

  4. 11/20/2025

    The San João Shipwreck - 600 Survivors Driven Into a Death March

    In 1552, the Portuguese carrack São João shattered on a remote stretch of the South African coast, throwing more than 600 people into the surf. Those who survived the wreck were left stranded with almost no food or water , and faced a single impossible option.March north.Across a brutal coastline.Barefoot, starving, hunted, and collapsing one by one.What followed became one of the deadliest survival marches in history.

    22 min

  5. 10/23/2025

    The Tragic Story of the Lady Be Good Crew

    In April 1943, the Lady Be Good, a brand-new B-24 Liberator bomber, vanished after its first mission. Believing they had bailed out over the Mediterranean, her crew parachuted into the Libyan desert with almost no food, no map, and barely a canteen of water.For eight days, they marched north, convinced rescue was just beyond the horizon. Instead, they walked deeper into the Sahara. Their ordeal was preserved in co-pilot Robert Toner’s haunting diary, discovered years later when oil surveyors stumbled across the bomber, almost intact, in the sand.This is the tragic survival story of the Lady Be Good crew.🔔 Subscribe for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.This video includes paid stock, public domain, or Creative Commons content under fair dealing/fair use. For concerns, email us via the channel page.Special thanks to the U.S. Air Force for public domain photos used in this video.

    15 min

  6. 10/23/2025

    The Dark Story of the Mignonette Shipwreck

    When The Mignonette sank in the South Atlantic, it left four men adrift in a tiny open boat with no water and only two tins of turnips. Among them was 17-year-old Richard Parker. As days turned to weeks, starvation and thirst pushed the crew toward an unthinkable choice , to survive by sacrificing one of their own. 🔔 Subscribe for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.This video includes paid stock, public domain, or Creative Commons content under fair dealing/fair use. For concerns, email us via the channel page.

    16 min

  7. 10/10/2025

    Tromelin Island Tradgedy - Abandoned on a Barren Island for Over 15 Years

    This is the story of Tromelin Island. In 1761, the French ship Utile wrecked on a barren sandbank in the Indian Ocean. On board were nearly 150 Malagasy captives, chained in the hold, and over 140 French sailors. The wreck claimed dozens of lives, but what followed was even more haunting: betrayal, abandonment, and an unimaginable fight for survival. For fifteen years they endured storms, starvation, and silence. 🔔 Subscribe for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.This video includes paid stock, public domain, or Creative Commons content under fair dealing/fair use. For concerns, email us via the channel page.

    16 min

  8. 09/30/2025

    In 1815 A Shipwreck Stranded 12 Men in one of the Most Dangerous Places on Earth

    Shipwrecked captain James Riley faced the unthinkable when the brig Commerce ran aground off the African coast in 1815. Captured by desert tribes and forced to march through the brutal Sahara, Riley’s survival came at the edge of death. From the shipwreck’s chaos to desperate negotiations for freedom, his true story inspired generations and influenced history itself. Discover the real events that shaped Sufferings in Africa, a memoir that became a survival classic.🎧 Prefer audio? Listen on Spotify and other podcast apps.💬 What would you have done in this situation? Comment below.🔔 Subscribe for more real survival stories and historical mysteries.This video includes paid stock, public domain, or Creative Commons content under fair dealing/fair use. For concerns, email us via the channel page.

    17 min
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3.7
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About

History’s darkest moments, real-life survival stories, and strange happenings from our distant past. Mysteries and Backstories uncovers the eerie, forgotten, and gripping corners of true history. From lost expeditions and cannibalism to vanished lighthouse keepers and cryptic artifacts, each episode dives deep into a real event that blurs the line between fact and folklore.

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