Is It Real?

Following the reports of mutilated farm animals in Puerto Rico, eyewitnesses began coming forward to describe the predator. Said to have glowing red eyes, the face of a gargoyle and the wings of a vampire bat, the culprit was named El Chupacabras, 'The Goat Sucker', by the press. Quickly, the creature made the leap to parts of the U.S. and Latin America. Some say it's simply the public's imagination running amuck. Others say the creature is a genetic experiment that escaped, a space alien, or a supernatural being.

Is sleepwalking a legitimate murder defense? Sleepwalkers are known to do some bizarre and often complex activities while sleeping, but generally these amount to little more than interesting stories to tell friends. But a few claim to have been asleep and totally unaware that they were killing someone. Is this even possible? Some juries have bought the controversial defense. Sleep experts and lawyers give their insight into several high-profile murder cases allegedly committed by sleepwalkers.

Throughout the centuries, a few rare souls have claimed to experience stigmata, the act of spontaneously developing bleeding wounds on their bodies. The location of these wounds correspond to the spots where Jesus suffered injuries on the cross: the forehead, hands, feet or sides. Believers feel that stigmata is a divinely inspired miracle. Skeptics claim it to be a fraud designed to attract attention or inspire the faithful. Several famous cases are profiled, including a priest who suffered with it for fifty years, and a young girl in a coma who currently attracts throngs of pilgrims.

A small ape-like man is said to inhabit the mountains of Sumatra. The "little man", or orang pendek, has been sighted for centuries, but so far, proof has been elusive. Researchers are placing cameras throughout the forests hoping for photographic evidence, while purported hairs and footprints from the creatures are analyzed by experts. The story of the British "Pilkdown man", perhaps the greatest missing link fraud ever perpetrated, is also told.

The followers of 16th century prophet Michel de Nostredame say he accurately foresaw events like the rise of Hitler and the 9/11 attacks. Skeptics say his writings are so vague that we can make them fit any event we want them to fit. Besides, on any coin toss, you're bound to be right some of the time.

Is it Real? explores Dan Brown’s controversial book, ‘The Da Vinci’s Code’. The best selling fiction novel has sold over 30 million copies, but it has raised huge controversy because the novel had made at least a couple of damaging claims that the author insist to be fact. The book claims that there exist a European Secret Society known as the Priory of Scion, whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo and Leonardo Da Vinci. The book also claims that the Vatican prelature known as the Opus Dei was under suspicions of involvement in conducting of brainwashing, coercion and other practices on its members. The documentary seeks to uncover the truth behind these claims including claims of whether Mary Magdalene may have been the wife of Jesus. The episode includes interviews with Father William Stetson, a member of Opus Dei who wishes to have the novel banned, and various authors of books like ‘Holy Blood Holy Grail’ which theorise on such similar possibilities.

Plato was the first to write about the advanced island civilization that suddenly disappeared from the surface of the planet. While the philosopher provided some very specific details about Atlantis' design and life of the people who live there, the mystery of the city's fate and location has endured. The leading potential sites for the remains of the city stretch around the world: ancient Egypt, where famed psychic Edgar Cayce claimed the island's "hall of records" was buried under the Sphynx, in the Caribbean near the underwater rock formations known as the Bimini Road, on the Yucatan peninsula amid the Mayan remains, or the Greek island Santorini, home of a long-active volcano.

Beginning with the publishing of Charles Berlitz's book The Bermuda Triangle in 1974, it became popular to blame the disappearance of planes and ships on supernatural events, but this episode takes a more skeptical look at the infamous patch of water. Dangerous storms can pop up suddenly, sinking vessels with no warning; dense clouds can easily disorient pilots causing them to doubt their instrument readings. More unusual theories are discusssed, including the possibility of a magnetic vortex that renders navigation tools useless.

Out of desperation, people go in search of a miracle to cure their chronic or deadly health problems. Their journey take them in many directions. Some attend miracle crusades conducted by TV evangelists like Rev. Leroy Jenkins. Millions flock to Lourdes, France for the curative spring waters, even though there have been very few verifiable "miracles". Still others travel to Brazil for the spiritual surgery practiced by a man known as John of God. The questions are many and obvious: Does faith and prayer actually cure? Can the human mind heal the body? Can simply hearing the words "you're healed" be enough to encourage recovery?

With the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, vampires entered mainstream consciousness. Prior to that, however, these supposedly undead blood-drinkers had been alive in folklore. For centuries, frightened people have been digging up their dead and destroying their hearts in an effort to kill these creatures. In fact, this activity still persists in modern-day Romania. But, is there a legitimate medical condition that could explain a person's need to consume human blood? Don Henrie, a man who identifies as a vampire, agrees to medical tests to see if doctors can pinpoint a physical reason for his blood need.

The seemingly unsolvable 1888 crimes of Jack the Ripper continue to fascinate. Even today, over a dozen new books on the subject are published each year. One such book makes the case for Walter Sickert, an artist with a dark side, being the actual Whitechapel killer. Even though many experts dismiss Sickert, claiming he was in France at the time of the murders, those claims are put to the test using handwriting analysis and modern DNA analysis.

Hauntings are often attributed to paranormal activity, ranging from bothersome poltergeists to possessive demons. How much of this activity is truly supernatural and how much exists only in our minds? An examination of the infamous Amityville, New York case shows that, outside of the horrific murders, the rest was clearly a fabrication. The eerie stories from Bobby Mackie's bar in Kentucky and the Luncaster Castle in England may have more natural causes. High carbon monoxide levels cause people to feel queasy and uneasy while strong magnetic fields which are known to cause hallucinations.

Neanderthals are known to have died out some 30,000 years ago, yet stories persist of a relic population, called Almas, still surviving in the mountains of Mongolia. Two investigators travel throughout the country hoping to gather clues from the locals about the rumored creatures. This leads to a stake-out of a rumored Almas cave dwelling. At the New York University lab, DNA samples are analyzed from two skulls said to be of Almases captured during the 1850s.

With the 1968 publication of Erich von Daniken's Chariot of the Gods, the flood gates were opened for some "experts" to declare that Earth was visited long ago by extraterrestrials. Some of the claims are quite outrageous (cavemen were used as slaves to mine gold for their ET captors) while others seem more reasonable (the design of pyramids employed a surprising knowledge of astronomy). A misshapen human skull found in Mexico in 1930, the "Starchild", is exhibited as proof of cross-breeding between aliens and humans. That cranium is subjected to DNA tests to hopefully put that claim to rest.

Mankind has been fascinated with our red planetary neighbor since the dawn of time. Years after the scare caused by Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast, we've dismissed the idea that Mars is inhabited by "little green men". Some imaginative Mars enthusiasts, however, point to the infamous "face" photograph as proof that an advanced race once prospered. Scientists do hold out hope that study of Martian meteorites and probes sent to the planet may uncover evidence of simpler life forms.

While stories of children being "raised by wolves" are exagerated, there have been a few documented cases of a child having grow up alone in the wild. Whether abandoned by parents or runaways from abusive households, these children often find reintegration into human society difficult. A common thread is their inability to learn language; having not been exposed to speech during a crucial time in their development, their brains have lost the ability to learn this most human of skills.

The legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is well known, having been told for centuries and immortalized in films and books. The questions, however, remain about the reality of the man; did he ever actually exist? There are scant mentions of him in historical documents and those references that do exist were written down centuries after he supposedly lived. In the quest to verify facts about his life, archeological remains are examined and historians give their theories about his would-be life.

Ocean-going vessels mysteriously missing their crews; ships long ago sunk damned to eternally sail the seas with the dead at the helm. Stories of ghost ships have been told by superstious sailors for centuries, but is there any truth to them? Modern science attempts to explain some of the more baffling cases like that of the Mary Celeste which was found without her crew and no signs of fowl play.