In 1903, something strange descended on Van Meter, Iowa—a winged creature, part bat, part machine, with a blinding light on its head.

It terrorized the town for five nights… and then disappeared.

In this episode, Robert Barber unravels one of America’s most chilling and little-known paranormal stories—a case where folklore, fear, and eyewitness accounts collide.

🎧 Was it a cryptid, mass panic, or something we still can’t name?

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State of the Unknown is a documentary-style podcast tracing the haunted highways, forgotten folklore, and unexplained phenomena across America’s 50 states.

👁️‍🗨️ New episodes every Tuesday — with full-length stories every other week, and shorter mini tales in between.
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Some stories don’t stay buried.
We go looking anyway.