Unsolved Mysteries volume 4 has a few standout episodes in a very short season

On July 31, Netflix released its latest batch of Unsolved Mysteries episodes in the fourth volume of the series, itself a continuation of the original series created by Terry Dunn Meurer and John Cosgrove that ran from 1987 to 2010 before Netflix revived it in 2020. The last volume to air was back in November 2022, so it has been a while since we've gotten new episodes.

The fourth volume contains five new installments, exploring alleged paranormal phenomena, Mothman sightings, and other mysterious cases. A few of the episodes are compelling, specifically the second episode, "Body in the Basement," about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Calgary woman Amanda Antoni. Episode 3, "The Severed Head," revisits the case of the Beaver County Jane Doe, whose embalmed head was discovered in the woods by a middle schooler while walking home from a nearby bus stop in December 2014.

There's also an episode centered around the brutal murder of 25-year-old Sigrid Stevenson at a New Jersey college in 1977. I was hesitant about this episode because it does get into alleged hauntings at the school, but it does a decent job of going into detail about Sigrid and her tragic story without falling prey to the more sensational aspect of ghost stories. What happened to her was horrific, and I appreciated that the episode focused more on the grounded nature of the case than the supernatural element, though that's also present.

The remaining two episodes from volume 4 include one about the infamous 19th-century serial killer Jack the Ripper and the creature of folklore known as the Mothman.

The Jack the Ripper episode, in particular, felt pretty pointless. It doesn't inform viewers of anything groundbreaking or new, especially if you have read or seen any of the myriad of other Jack the Ripper content that has been produced. Some aspects were quite grim as the subjects of the episode spent significant time going into detail about how he mutilated his victims.

The Mothman episode will only appeal to those who believe in the paranormal. I don't think it will change your mind if you're a non-believer like me. Exploring cryptids, aliens, and ghost stories has always been an Unsolved Mysteries staple, one I generally just skip over and move past. I appreciated that this season's "ghost" episode attempted to explore the actual case with more depth than, say, the Jack the Ripper episode, but the Mothman one felt like a waste of time. Again, though, I don't believe in cryptids or the paranormal, so I fully acknowledge and respect some people will be more open-minded to those installments.

I'll be curious to read what other people think about them, particularly the Mothman episode. With that one featured in such a short season, I wish Netflix had cut the Jack the Ripper story in favor of something with more substance, something like Amanda or Sigrid's story that really could shed light on a case with the potential to be solved.

I'm not saying that it would be impossible for us to unmask Jack the Ripper, but that case happened over 135 years ago and has already received significant coverage. It would have been nice to give that hour to a lesser-known mystery, especially with the reach of a show like this one. The Amanda Antoni episode was a standout in the bunch, as heartbreaking and tragic as it was informative.

All five episodes of Unsolved Mysteries volume 4 are now streaming on Netflix. To stay up to date on thrillers, sci-fi, and horror, bookmark 1428 Elm and follow our Facebook page and Twitter account!