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To gain more insight into the world of the bizarre and mysterious, we reached out to the hosts of All Things – Unexplained. All Things – Unexplained is a top-25, People’s Choice Award-nominated podcast that explores mysterious topics from Bigfoot to UFOs to astrophysics and everything in between. And lucky for us, the show’s hosts, CJ Dearinger, Smitty Neaves, and Dr. Mounce, were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda.
First, we wanted to know how the hosts became interested in unexplainable phenomena. “I grew up without knowledge of the paranormal, cryptid, or unexplainable world. I lived a relatively sheltered life where most of what I concerned myself with revolved around the tiny world I inhabited,” CJ shared. “It wasn't until I met my co-host for the All Things - Unexplained podcast, Dr. Tim Mounce, that I learned many people believed in what I always considered lore.”
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CJ says she was then brought onto the podcast as the resident skeptic. “It was supposed to be my job to question everything and trust nothing,” she explained. “After our first interview with a gentleman who had a UFO experience in Mississippi back in the 70s, something inside me shifted that could never be reset.”
“This man believed every word of what he said, and even more shocking was that I believed him, too,” CJ continued. “Since then, I have opened my mind to the limitless possibilities in this universe and had life-changing conversations with firsthand experiencers and some of the greatest minds in science. The blindfold has been taken off my eyes, and I now experience the universe in all its glory.”
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Dr. Mounce shared that he had a slightly different experience, noting that because he was born on Halloween, his “interest in unexplainable (anomalous) phenomena probably began at birth!”
“I was raised by a strict father who had served in the Army during World War II, and a religious, superstitious mother who played piano at the Baptist Church,” the host told Bored Panda. “We were at church every time the doors were open, and so I became intimately familiar with all the Bible stories, which just so happen to feature a lot of miracles, otherworldly beings, and yes, even UFOs.” He referenced Zechariah 5 verses 1-4 which speak about “a flying scroll, 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”
Dr. Mounce also noted that his mother’s side of the family had Native American relatives, and she always believed their bloodline enhanced her family’s sensitivity to dreams and paranormal intuitions. “She told us about many dreams she and her sisters had that came to pass, including one by my Aunt Hazel that foreshadowed the actual discovery of a deceased body near their home,” the host shared.
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Dr. Mounce also shared that one of the things he loved to do as a young teen was listen to the radio late at night. “I would scan the AM dial for whatever I could find. Often it was a hell and brimstone preacher or a Major League Baseball game, usually the Cardinals or the Braves,” he noted.
“One night in 1988, however, my life changed forever. That was when Coast to Coast AM, hosted by Art Bell, first hit the national radio airwaves. Airing on more than 500 radio stations with a weekly listening audience over 10 million strong, they would host guest experts on a wide range of unexplainable topics as well as regular folks with unusual experiences,” Dr. Mounce explained.
“In one of my favorite episodes, a man called in to the show as he was purportedly flying his airplane into the mysterious Area 51, where top-secret UFO reverse engineering was rumored to be taking place. Listening to the man talk about this situation live on the air for all the world to hear was more dramatic and tense than anything you could find on television or the movie theaters,” the host shared.
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There were just bricks lying about, a wheelbarrow, no fence or wall around the edge of the building, and a single small tree growing out of the ground in front of the elevator doors a few feet out.
There was also this impenetrable fog floating around, obscuring the sight of what would be the rest of the resort below, and it was quite windy. We both agreed it was weird and looked dangerous to be up here - we clearly weren’t meant to have access to the top floor since it wasn’t fully constructed.
We went back down to the ground floor and noticed that it was a sunny and clear day. We wondered where that fog and wind went. So we decided to go back to the unfinished rooftop level to check again, but when we did, it was perfectly fine and fully built. We couldn’t explain it and couldn’t find that half-built top floor again afterward.
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Smitty shared that, growing up in North Mississippi, he heard many stories of ghosts, cryptids, and other paranormal experiences that piqued his curiosity. “One of the stories from my childhood that stands out in my mind (a story that both Dr. Mounce and I heard before we ever met) is the story of Possumhead Man,” he told Bored Panda.
“With an abundance of opossums in the state, there was a rumor that a cryptid, known as Possumhead Man, roamed the woods with the head of a possum and the body of a man,” the host shared. “For the local kids, the story of Possumhead Man was both frightening and intriguing. This is why later in life I started to investigate not only Possumhead Man, but Bigfoot and other cryptids from around the world.”
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We also asked the hosts about any unexplainable experiences they’ve had themselves. Dr. Mounce shared that when he was young, he developed a tremendous fear of public speaking. So when he ended up in a Public Speaking course his first semester of college and was required to give a demonstration speech, he decided to do it on something he was quite comfortable with: cleaning a catfish.
“However, I knew there was no way I could stand up in front of a class of college students and my professor and do any demonstration, much less talk about it,” Dr. Mounce noted. “To say I was mortified is a major understatement. Out of sheer desperation, I told my mother about my speech and asked her to please say a prayer for me.”
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“The day of my speech, I walked up in front of the class. My heart was beating so fast I could not speak,” Dr. Mounce continued. “It felt like it would explode through my chest. I was sweating, shaking, and my mouth wouldn’t open. My eyes closed at the front of the classroom. No doubt about it, I was doomed.”
“Suddenly, something entered my body: a presence, a spirit. My pounding heart calmed down to an unnoticeable normal beat,” the host shared. “Fresh air filled my lungs. My body stopped shaking, and a breeze wafted across my sweaty skin. My eyes opened, and something happened. I do not recall anything I said or did the rest of that day, but I got an A on the speech. Unbeknownst to me, 40 miles away at the Ecru shirt factory, my mother and a group of co-workers had joined together in a prayer circle at the exact time of my speech. I fully believe their prayers lifted me up and allowed me to perform an impossible task that I never would have been able to do on my own.”
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Smitty also shared that he grew up down the road from a genuine haunted house that some of his friends lived in. “When they were doing the dirt-work to pour the foundation of their house, they unearthed a young male Native American skeleton whose ankle had been badly damaged, or he had been born with a deformity,” he explained.
“The house, which was built in the 1950s began to experience strange happenings such as paintings being removed from the wall and laid on the opposite side of the room during the night, pots and pans banging, rocking chairs rocking without anyone in them, doors being opened without anyone claiming to have done it, and the sound of the young Native American, who they dubbed Slough Foot, dragging his damaged foot across their hardwood floors,” the host continued. “Luckily for the family, Slough Foot was not a malevolent entity, just a mischievous one.”
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We were also curious about the hosts’ favorite stories that they’ve ever discussed on All Things - Unexplained. “The legendary Skinwalker Ranch is one of the most significant locations we have discussed,” CJ shared. “While there are endless fascinating stories that we have heard, the anomalies of Skinwalker Ranch were a turning point for me.”
“I was once again reminded that the ongoings of the universe are not just urban legends told by campfires but natural and current phenomena being researched by the most intelligent and respected names in science,” she continued. “Each of these individuals is attempting to answer the unexplained. Isn't that what science is all about? Many people who have owned and occupied Skinwalker Ranch have experienced everything from crop circles, UFO sightings, portals, electromagnetic anomalies, mysterious creatures, and apparitions.”
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Dr. Mounce says that one of his favorite guest stories that they’ve featured came directly from one of the most famous UFO abductees in history– Travis Walton. He noted that there are two things he finds particularly interesting about Travis’ story. “First, it’s how the movie Fire in the Sky sensationalized his experience on the ship into an incredibly frightening scene more akin to a horror movie than what Travis described to us,” the host explained. “Fire in the Sky portrayed the abduction as a very malevolent event, with abductors who were to be feared. Travis said he believed his incident outside the craft was an accident, and the aliens brought him on board to help. They had no cruel intentions whatsoever.”
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“Second, civilian UFO – UAP encounters, particularly abductions, are a part of the UFO phenomena that continues to be ignored by certain groups studying UFOs – UAPs, such as NASA and the AARO (the All-domain Anomalous Resolution Office),” Dr. Mounce continued. “We must keep in mind that behind the sensational headlines of military encounters and government inquiries lies a realm of deeply personal stories that have long yearned to be taken seriously. Travis Walton’s is just one story out of countless ordinary individuals who found themselves thrust into extraordinary circumstances.”