Secrets of the Dead - Season 15

Just in time for Halloween, Secrets of the Dead investigates why vampires have such a hold on our imagination, and whether the undead might still lurk among us.

In 1897, Bram Stoker penned his gothic novel Dracula and popularized the modern vampire myth with the introduction of Count Dracula. But the discovery of manuscripts dating back to medieval England suggests the belief that the dead could rise from the grave originated during a much earlier era. These accounts were written hundreds of years before Stoker created his nocturnal creature, long before the Eastern European legends gained popularity.

Follow scientists as they uncover "deviant" burials dating back to medieval England, pointing to a belief that the dead could rise from their graves. Predating Eastern European legend, these discoveries force a re-examination of modern vampire lore.

Jamestown, Virginia. The site of the first permanent English colony the Americas settled in 1607 and the home of the archaeological site "Historic Jamestowne" today. It has long been speculated that the harsh conditions faced by the colonists during the winter of 1609, often referred to as the "starving time," might have made them desperate enough to participate in the unthinkable, and perhaps even commit murder to do so.

Archaeologists have been excavating in Jamestown for more than 20 years. In April 2012, a team of Historic Jamestowne archeologists discovered something surprising in their excavation. In the trash layer of a cellar, among the butchered animal bones and household trash discarded by the Jamestown colonists, they found the mutilated skull and severed leg of a 14-year-old English girl dating back to 1609. What can these bones tell us about what really happened at Jamestown?

On June 11, 1962, bank robbers Frank Morris and Clarence & John Anglin launched a patchwork, raincoat raft into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay surrounding Alcatraz Prison. The men disappeared, leaving behind a cold case that has mystified law enforcement for over half-a-century. Now, three Dutch scientists have used 3D modeling technology to show that it may have been possible for the men to have survived, contradicting the original thought that they perished at sea. Putting their theory to the test, the Dutchmen are recreating the daring escape as closely to the original as possible, right down to launching their own raincoat raft into the bay. Will they make it through the treacherous waters to safety or be swept out to sea? And can they prove once and for all what happened to the escapees?

Join Kathleen Martinez, criminal lawyer turned maverick archaeologist, as she searches for Cleopatra's lost tomb. Very little evidence remains of Egypt's last queen, but a radical new theory has led Kathleen to look where no one else has dared — and her hunch is paying off as she stuns the archaeological establishment with her discoveries of incredible artifacts, a network of mysterious tunnels, and even a vast city of the dead dated to the time of the Queen and her Ptolemaic dynasty. Now Kathleen has made her biggest breakthrough so far: a 35-meter deep underground shaft that, according to the experts, has all the hallmarks of a royal burial shaft. Could Kathleen be closing in on Cleopatra's final resting place?

Following a team of international scientists, this film exclusively documents an archeological sensation: the exploration of royal tombs beneath the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacán. Despite many decades of research, not much is known about the long-lost Teotihuacán society. But when archeologists enter the newly discovered burial chambers, they find the clues that may finally tell us who these mysterious people were.

The film incorrectly states the city of Tikal is in Mexico when it is in Guatemala. Secrets of the Dead strives to get the facts correct and regrets the error.