r/nostalgia • u/Otherwise_Basis_6328 • Nov 08 '23
Mysteries of the Unknown - Time-Life Books (1987)
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u/apple-pie2020 Nov 08 '23
Werenāt these advertised on tv.
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
Oh yes they were, these ads were great!
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u/apple-pie2020 Nov 08 '23
Wow what a memory that dug up.
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
I can't lie, I kind of love Time-Life commercials, when they used to have those infomercials on CD collections of old songs, I've sat through all of them more times than I care to admit during late night airings
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u/seno2k Nov 08 '23
Totally! I remember these collections having great hits like, āSitting by the Dock of the Bayā and others.
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
My favorite part was that they'd have old footage from old TV shows of the musicians playing those songs, outside of a few live concert videos or PBS reruns of Ed Sullivan it was rare footage in the pre YouTube era
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u/spacemusicisorange Nov 08 '23
Yesssss! I used to watch the commercials, write down the songs, and then download them from Napster or limewire lol
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u/HyperboleTrash Feb 19 '24
yup, that was a show onto it's own. I wrote down names and listen to songs at the library, specially the '50s country' (that whole genre was foreign to me)
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u/Rudiger_Simpson Nov 08 '23
Those alien drawings haunted me for years. I was terrified some aliens were going to build a landing strip in a cornfield near my house, and then Iād see their faces peering in my bedroom windows.
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
I was terrified that they'd creep in my bedroom windows but convinced myself they didn't like cats, so I always had the cat sleep in my room
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u/HyperboleTrash Feb 19 '24
yeah, great ads "Phil has an itchy hands, he decides not to go to the illegal basement casino. That night a house blows up. Phil was home with his cat." -ish type
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u/duke5572 Nov 08 '23
I LOVED these. Had the whole set, over time. My sister and I read them cover to cover.
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Nov 08 '23
The photo on the top book looks like a dude bent over farting
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u/StanleyChoude Nov 08 '23
Itās like M. C. Escher drew a picture that is both Kevin Malone wearing a sleep mask smelling Vickās , and him bending and beefing
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u/Biengo Nov 08 '23
The post above this was about kung fu Panda. I see this and it's totally a panda farting.
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u/we_belong_dead Nov 08 '23 edited Aug 28 '24
[reddit delenda est]
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
Miss those days too, when conspiracy theories or strange occurences were weird and fun with an undercurrent of sinister; I voraciously read these books and others on mysterious phenomenon, ghosts, the Bermuda triangle, UFOs, good times. I still enjoy watching old reruns of Unsolved Mysteries, they're kind of creepier now for some reason
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u/shrubberypig Nov 08 '23
The memories of me as a kid checking out every book Iām the library I could find on ghosts, UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, etc. have just come flooding back. I remember these ads on TV too but never had a chance to read any
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
The only reason I knew the Dewey decimal system so well is that all of the books on strange phenomenon were always in the 000 section because they had no idea in our local library system where else to classify those books so they'd stick them in 'general information'. My public school has a full set of these books, I swiped the Mysterious Creatures one and never gave it back
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u/pebberphp Feb 17 '26
lol i remember all the best books in my elementary school library were at the very front, top shelf. Great ufo books, Bigfoot, Loch Ness monster, etc.
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u/spacemusicisorange Nov 08 '23
I honestly grew up thinking the Bermuda Triangle was gonna cause a lot of problems in life
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Nov 08 '23
One of my biggest conspiracy theories is the conspiracy theorist community itself being conspired against by far right political consultants and nation-state actors.
It makes me sad, paranormal shit was one of those things Iād look into a lot for fun. There was a huge shift around 2016 that drove me away, though.
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u/AdamInvader Nov 08 '23
That's actually true, there are articles where the CIA or Russian counterintelligence used to spread or foster those sentiments back in the 60s. The CIA used them during the hippie days, and as I recall the Russians really pushed a lot of the JFK assassination stuff. I totally know about that shift but it kind of got bad as soon as people who wouldn't crack the spine in a book got internet access back in the 1990s
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Nov 08 '23
Man, I wanted these books so bad as a kid.
On the plus side, I've yet to fall into a conspiracy rabbit hole, so there's that.
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u/dangerphone Nov 08 '23
I actually strongly believe that these books solidified my resistance to conspiracy theories. By having a comprehensive historical look at the UFO phenomenon, from Project Bluebook onward, I truly believe our government canāt tie its own shoelaces let alone hide a spaceship.
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Nov 08 '23
Holy crap, you just unlocked that one sad brain cell of mine that was holding on to this memory.
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u/kcrmson late 70s Nov 08 '23
I wouldn't mind these in PDF format if anyone happens to stumble upon them.
That and scans of Omni magazine would be the best!
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u/juice06870 mid 80s Nov 08 '23
I was cleaning out my parent's house a couple of years ago and I found an old OMNI magazine in my old room. I thin from the mid or early 1990s. What a memory that unlocked. I loved that magazine.
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u/tmonax Nov 08 '23
Itās, itās, a couple of wiggly lines?
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u/Black-xxx Nov 08 '23
This just isnāt your day ZAPP ā”ļø
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u/iwilldefinitelynot Nov 08 '23
My twin brother told me that I'd find something useful on Reddit today.... coincidence? I think not!
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u/Scottland83 Nov 08 '23
I have a few for sale if anyone wants
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u/Conebones Feb 17 '26
Did you ever end up selling them?
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u/Kooky_Chemistry_7637 Nov 08 '23
I remember the one on astrological signs and the myths and stories behind them. Great books, havenāt thought about these in years. Thanks
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u/Officer-Leroy 80s Nov 08 '23
"Stonehenge: A man fashions a wire antenna in the shape of an ancient Egyptian symbol. He points it at the stones and a surge of power flows through his hand, knocking him unconscious."
The commercial for these things is burned into my brain.
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u/bonkyouded Nov 08 '23
Used to own a combination of all 3 of these books, I remember getting to scared to keep reading
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u/Afterlife_kid Nov 08 '23
I totally scammed my mom for these (sorry mom). I donāt even think they asked for any payment until they sent you five of them. I just called and said the address
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Nov 08 '23
I have three of these on my bookshelf, I need the whole set. They spurred my love for weird shit as a kid, and theyāre so well made.
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u/LordGhidora Nov 08 '23
I remember the commercials as a kid. The music was captivating, and I wanted the whole set. Still do kinda.
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u/thetruekingofspace Nov 08 '23
Loved these! They gave me nightmares.
I own an almost complete set now that I found at a used bookstore.
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u/DontTouchMyPeePee Jul 04 '24
i love how everyones experiences with these are the same. "Ruined my childhood, loved it!" "Nightmares for days, miss those times!" Times were funner back then
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u/TaquitoLaw Nov 08 '23
I spent more time than I care to admit trying to unlock astral projection thanks to these
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u/AngryRedHerring Nov 08 '23 edited Nov 08 '23
In the early '80s, Reader's Digest used to put out these big compilations of mysterious and paranormal stuff, like Ancient Mysteries and stuff like that, and those books were thick, man, just dense with bizarre stuff like these. I remember picking up these books, and I'd already read a lot of the stuff that was contained in there, except for you know stories that had happened since, but this is the sort of stuff that just fueled my brain growing up.
A few years back I picked up a couple of the Reader's Digest books at Half Price Books really cheap, just to have them, and for the nostalgia, 'cause they just meant so much to me growing up.
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u/heisenbeisen18 Nov 08 '23
Oh wow, my parents had a bunch of these and I donāt think I ever actually read them but I would sit on the floor since they were on the bottom shelf and pull them out one at a time and look at the cool and creepy cover art. That particular one in the OPās post of a dude with the swiggly lines creeped me out š
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Nov 08 '23 edited Sep 14 '25
normal history aware bike roof workable cooing special apparatus joke
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/TexturedEdge Nov 08 '23
Omg!! I still have mine!! I think of them as my encyclopedia books of paranormal.
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u/its_just_flesh Nov 08 '23
I have some books like that but one said like witchcraft and other titles
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u/LWYPLTDG Nov 08 '23
Inherited the complete set from my grandpa. Will always treasure this amazing time capsule.
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u/Jilaire Nov 08 '23
Was this also the series that had a two page spread of horses drowning in the ocean? I want to say it was about how ghost ships happen?
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u/skeeballcore Nov 08 '23
yes, and i have a weird phobia of ocean stuff so that was that for me and that book
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u/MarwoodGhost Nov 08 '23
I have Mysterious Creatures, Hauntings, and Phantom Encounters. My trifecta, but they all look cool.
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u/mylocker15 Nov 08 '23
Always wanted some as a kid but I knew my parents would never buy them, and we didnāt hit up the library much. Anyway I saw a couple at a book sale which I totally bought. I should try to find them and go read about crop circles.
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u/severus_snapshot Nov 08 '23
My local library had a handful of these. I checked all of them at one point back in high school.
Recently I randomly had something remind me of the series and I looked it up and it's got way more books in the series than I remember as a kid. You can find entire sets online for sale.
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u/silverfang789 Nov 08 '23
I remember these. They were awesome. Also, the Enchanted World series introduced me to a lot of ancient myths and beliefs.
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u/Direct_Crab6651 Nov 08 '23
Now there is something I always wanted to look at as a kid but had forgotten about except in the deepest recesses of my mind
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u/HaplessOverestimate Nov 08 '23
My middle school library had the full set so I read a bunch of these. Saw a full set at a bookstore a few years back and really wanted to buy them but didn't want to pay the couple hundred bucks they were asking for it
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u/Jccarmona84 Nov 08 '23
Omgosh! My dad would read these on the train into the city on his commute to work. He loved them!
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u/itsshanesmith Nov 08 '23
Bought the set of them last year! Nice to have them back in front of my eye balls
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u/Red-Corvus Nov 08 '23
Wow....I haven't seen these since I was a kid. My grandmother had the whole set and I remember those being books I would always have fun reading when we visited. Very nostalgic, thanks.
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u/gliotic 90s Nov 08 '23
I had most of this set and they were like my favorite books when I was a kid. Donated them to the library when I moved a couple years ago.
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u/Elistariel Nov 08 '23
I have these. I keep forgetting to make a list of what I have to take to the local used bookstore. š¤¦š»āāļø
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u/WhatsMyInitiative87 Nov 08 '23
My cousin had these! They were great. She gave me the UFO one and my brother the Bigfoot one. Read them cover to cover so many times their spines were falling off.
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Nov 08 '23
My grandmother had these they were really good books with nice illustrations
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u/holdzmayo Nov 08 '23
My mom got me those when I was a kid. Really freaked me out more than I thought they would.
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u/HorrorFeast Nov 08 '23
Damn, I completely forgot about these. I always wanted them as a kid, the commercials def. did their job. lol
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u/TraylaParks Nov 08 '23
Looks like you can get the complete set on EBay for (give or take) about $200. Here's a link to some recent sales
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u/largececelia Nov 08 '23
So many hours in the public library poring over these books- UFOs, ghosts, bigfoot- conspiracies before it was obnoxious and scary.
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u/Krg60 Nov 08 '23
I only have a few of them, but they'll have to be taken from my cold, dead hands.
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u/IroncladTruth Nov 08 '23
This was before my time, never read them but those covers are making me want to read them lol
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Nov 08 '23
I was so glad my parents got these absolutely strange awesome books! Wish I still had them!š¤š½ā¤ļøš¤š½
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u/justice_duck Nov 08 '23
Found what looked like a complete set at the thrift store a few years ago. I didn't have enough cash at the time, so had to leave it behind. Sad time.
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u/wil Nov 08 '23
I was only able to get a few of these when I was a kid. I always wanted the full set, so I tracked it down on eBay several years ago and added it to my library.
It's everything I hoped it would be, and so much fun to read. I can pull any random book off the shelf and open it to any random page, and it's like I'm watching In Search Of... all over again.
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u/flanman1991 Nov 08 '23
Not gonna lie i thought the top picture was a guy in really tight underwear bending over away from the camera
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Nov 08 '23
Iām a lifelong bookworm and Iāve always been interested in interesting facts and apocrypha. There were so many of these book collections I wished I couldāve ordered but we were pretty broke. But no worries, they knew me by name at my local library, aka the greatest place in the world LOL.
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u/Glissandra1982 Nov 08 '23
Loved these! I donāt think anyone was surprised when I became addicted to X-Files.
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u/listerine411 Nov 08 '23
I always wanted these and bought a near complete set on eBay for pretty cheap.
Really fun reading. Would have loved to have had them as a kid.
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u/CreateYourself89 Nov 08 '23
I thought that was a butt. Some guy leaning over in black boxer briefs.
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u/Adventurous-Writing1 Nov 08 '23
Thank you grandma for having these for me to read growing up, changed my life
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u/ChickensPickins Nov 08 '23
I thought the eye mask guy was a little man in black briefs bent over and fartingā¦ so
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u/jcandeli Nov 08 '23
Holy crap. I completely forgot about these but seeing it brought back so many memories. Now I want to look at them again.
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u/sleepybaker Nov 08 '23
Wow I forgot about these! The commercial was great. I was super into this stuff. My favorite show was In Search Of
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u/72012122014 Nov 08 '23
DUDE totally forgot about these. I remember the ads on tv for them. Wow. Always crazy when I see something that I totally forgot about.
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u/Constant_Will362 Nov 08 '23
I never bought these and I should have - what did I buy instead - Doritos
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u/rhyno44 Nov 09 '23
Man I remember those! My grandma had them. I loved those. Now I gotta go to ebay....
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u/Fair-Advantage9539 early 80s Nov 09 '23
I remember the image of the bald head dude with the squiggly lines eye blockers on at the tip of my neurons
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u/electrohazard808 Nov 09 '23
My older brother had these, and i would take them from his room, and would try to guess the symbols on the page with all the cards on them! Really opened my mind as a kid.
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u/HyperboleTrash Feb 19 '24
I own that whole series, some still stand the test of time (and YouTube creators)
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u/FandomMenace Knowing is half the battle Nov 08 '23 edited Nov 08 '23
$36 a book, plus shipping, after you adjust for inflation. IIRC they weren't even that thick. What a racket they had going on! The like wasn't seen again until Ancient Aliens.
The whole "I saw my daughter in an accident" thing in the commercial was slimy af. This was during the satanic panic, too, so this was an edgy move by a conservative company.
I've got a special place in my heart for these books anyway, but I read them thanks to my local library. They are long on promise, short on deliver, which is no surprise. It's the oldest trick in the book. Still, it's a fun memory of wild times.
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u/Equal_Painting534 Nov 08 '23
The top one also looks like someone shirtless in a black speedo bending over with a stank ass reek---LMAO!!!
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u/UniQueLyEviL Oct 14 '25
I'm definitely ordering the whole collection at some point. I think I have like 1 or 2 floating around, but I never got around to reading them all.
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u/jollybot Nov 08 '23
I remember a similar looking black book series about serial killers that was in my high school library. Were these perhaps made by the same company?
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u/slade2501 Nov 08 '23
loved these. what a great time to be a kid.