In 1954, somewhere in the Nevada desert, an entire town is said to have disappeared.

No ruins.
No graves.
No photographs.

Just a name — Tremont — and the unsettling claim that it never existed at all.

In this episode, we explore the folklore surrounding Tremont, Nevada: a town rumored to have vanished during the height of Cold War nuclear testing. Drawing on real historical context — atomic detonations, restricted zones, altered maps, and official silence — this episode doesn’t try to prove the story true or false. Instead, it asks a different question:

How do myths form when secrecy becomes policy?

Tremont serves as a case study in Cold War folklore — a story shaped by fear, denial, and the quiet erasure of places deemed inconvenient to remember. From nuclear test sites in Nevada to communities displaced in the name of progress, this episode traces how history, silence, and imagination collide.

This isn’t a ghost town story.
It’s a story about absence — and why some places only exist in memory.

🎧 If you have your own story about a place that disappeared, or one that officially “never existed,” you can share it here:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adriana-harts/message

He rode beside Joan of Arc, a national hero made Marshal of France. But in the shadows of his castle, whispers told of something far darker. In this episode of The Paranormal Collective, we descend into the life and legend of Gilles de Rais — knight, child murderer, and occult conspirator. Did he really summon a demon named Barron? Was there a grimoire written in blood? Or have myth and history become inseparably tangled? Explore one of the darkest true stories of medieval France, where war, witchcraft, and legend collide.

🔹 Historical and Trial Sources

• Gilles de Rais, trial records (translation excerpts in: R. Hyatte, Laughter for the Devil, 1984)

• Bossard, Eugène. Gilles de Rais dit Barbe-Bleue, 1885.

• Trexler, M. “Sympathy for the Devil: Gilles de Rais and His Modern Apologists,” Fifteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 37, 2012.

• Bataille, Georges. Le Procès de Gilles de Rais, 1965.

• Huysmans, Joris-Karl. Là-Bas (Down There), 1891.

• Crowley, Aleister. Lecture: Gilles de Rais – Witchcraft and Politics, 1930 (reprinted archives).

• Murray, Margaret. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, 1921.

• Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers, 1994.

• Tatar, Maria. Secrets Beyond the Door: The Story of Bluebeard, 2004.

• Delarue, Paul. The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales, 1956.

• Encyclopaedia Britannica entry on Gilles de Rais.

• JSTOR archive entries on the Gilles de Rais trial and Bluebeard mythology.

• Brill & De Gruyter historical demonology texts (accessed via institutional databases).

🔹 Cultural and Occult Analyses🔹 Folklore and Myth Studies🔹 General Biographical and Historical Context

Deep in the mountains of Zhejiang, China, lies a place locals call the Dragon King’s Eighteen Ponds—a forested gorge of waterfalls, emerald pools, and bottomless depths. But behind the beauty is a chilling reputation: hikers vanish, ghostly lights flicker over the water, and villagers whisper that restless spirits lure the living to their deaths. In 2020, one woman disappeared here for 17 days and returned gaunt, dazed, and claiming she had been led by long-dead villagers. Was it exhaustion and hallucination—or a supernatural encounter with the Dragon King’s realm?

In this episode of The Supernatural Collective, we dive into the lore, the disappearances, and the unsettling blend of myth and reality that make the Dragon King’s Eighteen Ponds one of China’s most haunted landscapes.

If you’ve ever had an unexplainable experience—or if you’ve been to a place where the line between myth and reality disappears—we want to hear from you. Share your story with us at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adriana-harts/message.

And don’t forget: like, follow, and review The Supernatural Collective wherever you listen. Your support helps us bring more haunted history and paranormal mysteries to light. Every click, every follow, and every shared story keeps the supernatural alive.

References

• Taizhou Evening News (2020) – Coverage of 39-year-old woman’s disappearance and return.

• Sina News (2020) – Reports on search efforts and “ghost-guided” theories.

• Firsthand village lore (Longwang Village) – Legends of ghost lights, spirits seeking substitutes, and annual accidents.

• TwoBulu Hiking Forum (2020) – Summaries of accidents in 2014, 2017, and 2020.

• Zhihu & Bilibili (2020–2021) – Discussions on “ghost lead” phenomenon and parallel world theories.

• Trip.com Travel Guide – Scenic description of the Dragon King Eighteen Pools.