In 1951, Mary Reeser sat down in her St. Petersburg, Florida apartment for what should have been an ordinary night. By morning, she was almost entirely gone—reduced to ash in a room that barely burned.

This episode examines one of the most disturbing and misunderstood cases ever associated with so-called “spontaneous human combustion.” We trace the known facts, the forensic contradictions, and the official explanation known as the wick effect—an explanation that solves the case on paper, yet leaves many people deeply unsettled.

Why did the fire stop where it did?

How could a body be consumed while nearby objects remained intact?

And why do cases like this continue to resurface, even after science weighs in?

This is not a paranormal endorsement, nor a debunking hit piece. It’s a case study in how ordinary circumstances can produce outcomes that feel impossible—and why that realization may be more frightening than any supernatural theory.

This episode is part of The State Files, a documentary series examining unexplained cases, historical anomalies, and the uncomfortable space where evidence, uncertainty, and human imagination collide.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````The State Files Website: https://thestatefiles.comThe Case File: https://thestatefiles.com/the-cinder-lady-the-mary-reeser-case/

On the slopes of South Mountain in Phoenix stands a structure that was never meant to be found.Built stone by stone in secret during the 1930s, the Mystery Castle is the life’s work of Boyce Luther Gulley — a man who believed he was dying, vanished from his family, and spent more than a decade constructing a castle no one knew existed.This episode examines the documented history behind the Mystery Castle, the man who built it, the daughter who inherited it without warning, and why the site continues to unsettle visitors decades later. There are stories of strange sensations, emotional weight, and lingering presence — but this case doesn’t rely on ghosts to be disturbing.Today, the Mystery Castle is closed to the public, its future uncertain, suspended between preservation and decay.This is not a story about what haunts the castle.It’s a story about why it was built — and what happens when a secret outlives its creator.

The J-Rod story doesn’t behave like most UFO cases.

There’s no crash site revelation.

No recovered craft.

No moment where everything suddenly makes sense.

Instead, there’s a scientist.

A sealed containment environment.

And a being that may not have come from the stars at all.

In this episode of The State Files, we examine the claims of Dan Burisch and Project Aquarius — a classified biological program allegedly focused not on technology, but on keeping something alive. Burisch claimed the entity known as “J-Rod” wasn’t extraterrestrial, but human… from a damaged future.

As the story unfolds, it moves away from familiar UFO narratives and into far more uncomfortable territory: illness instead of advancement, caretaking instead of control, and secrecy that feels less like protection and more like containment.

This case isn’t about proving what’s real.

It’s about why certain stories refuse to disappear — why ideas about secrecy, responsibility, and a broken future resonate long after evidence runs thin.

Whether J-Rod existed or not, the story persists because it speaks to something deeper:

Who holds power?

What do we owe vulnerable intelligence?

And what happens when the future looks back at us… too late?

This file remains open.

The San Marcos Hotel stands at the heart of Chandler, Arizona — a landmark born from ambition, design, and the early promise of the American Southwest. Built as part of the City Beautiful movement, the hotel was meant to represent order, elegance, and progress. But history doesn’t always unfold the way it’s planned.

In this episode of The State Files, we reopen the case of the San Marcos Hotel — exploring its origins, its role in shaping the city, and the stories that have followed it for more than a century. From architectural vision to lingering legend, this is a place where memory, myth, and meaning intersect.

This episode also marks the formal introduction of the State Files crew. Together, we examine what’s documented, what’s believed, and what may have been left behind as Chandler grew around one of its most iconic structures.

If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been following the journey, thank you for being part of it. These stories only matter because someone is willing to listen.

For thirteen months between 1966 and 1967, the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia experienced one of the most concentrated outbreaks of unexplained phenomena in American history.

What began as sightings of a winged, red-eyed humanoid—later named the Mothman—quickly expanded into a full “flap” of UFO reports, Men in Black encounters, electromagnetic disturbances, and ominous premonitions. The phenomenon culminated in the catastrophic collapse of the Silver Bridge, killing 46 people and forever binding the legend to real-world tragedy.

In this cinematic case file, The State Files investigates the origins of the Mothman, the witnesses who encountered it, the landscape that shaped the legend, and the competing explanations—from wildlife misidentification and mass psychology to interdimensional intelligence theories.

This is not a story about a monster.

It’s a story about fear, meaning, and what happens when the unexplained collides with catastrophe.

On January 8, 2008, something unusual crossed the night sky over Stephenville, Texas.

Hundreds of residents — including pilots, law enforcement officers, hunters, and families — reported seeing massive, silent lights moving in ways no conventional aircraft should be able to. What followed was one of the most credible mass UFO sightings in modern American history, involving radar data, shifting military explanations, and witnesses who still stand by their accounts years later.

In this State Files case file, Cooper leads a step-by-step investigation into the Stephenville Lights. Joined by Dee and Duncan, the episode reconstructs the timeline of the sightings, examines eyewitness testimony, analyzes the Air Force’s changing statements, and breaks down radar evidence obtained through civilian investigation.

Officially, the explanation was military training flights. Unofficially, that explanation never fully accounted for what was seen — or what appeared on radar.

This episode avoids speculation for its own sake and focuses on what can be verified, what remains unclear, and why the case still matters more than a decade later.

The Stephenville Lights remain unresolved.

Featured in later documentaries, the Stephenville Lights remain one of the most credible large-scale UFO sightings ever reported in the United States.