About Mystplan

How it all started

I am a writer — an amateur one, to be fair — with a lifelong passion for science fiction and mystery stories. At some point, I began looking into real unexplained events in search of documentation and inspiration, and I found myself fascinated, much like Charles Fort was in his day when he started collecting the anomalies that would eventually give birth to Fortean Times.

There are plenty of mystery-related websites out there, but most of them are local, incomplete, or limited to a single language. My idea was different: to build a multilingual database that could bring together enthusiasts from all over the world. Because I am convinced that out there, scattered across every continent, there are marvellous brains passionate about these very same things — and my dream is to join their work, to create a collective mind and put it to work investigating this Mysterious Planet of ours.

What Mystplan is

Each mystery on this site has its own detailed page. Registered contributors can enrich it with data, observations, sources, and new information, helping the original author improve and expand the entry over time.

The fact that contributions come from around the globe is what makes this project truly unique. It allows us to break free from the self-referential bubble that so often plagues this field, and to draw from sources — both new and ancient — that may be completely unknown to people from different linguistic or ethnic backgrounds.

What Mystplan is not

Let me be clear: the purpose of this site is neither to prove what is often unprovable, nor to debunk hoaxes, nor to chase answers at all costs.

We won't be applying the scientific method in any strict sense — because the scientific method is often useless outside the mathematical sciences. My physics teacher at university used to say that only mathematics and physics are truly sciences, and maybe, partially, chemistry. It's not a paradox. If I tell you that yesterday I met my brother and we talked about the weather, I have no way to prove it using the scientific method. I'm just a man telling a story. I know it's true. You don't. Either you believe me… or you don't. And even if I call my brother to testify, you still have to decide whether you want to believe us or not. Of course, you can and must use logic when judging my story — act as a detective, search for clues. You can interrogate us separately and compare the two versions, looking for discrepancies, seek third-party testimony, or verify whether yesterday we were actually in town or at work. But still… we could have prepared it all beforehand. We could, still, be liars. Or madmen. This is closer to an ethnological and folkloristic endeavour than to the work of a mathematician. We gather facts, quotes, and sources so that each reader can form their own opinion and — I hope — have a good time doing it. But we must be prepared for the fact that "truth", even though it must exist, is often unreachable.

Hardened sceptics whose sole mission is to tear apart other people's sense of wonder are not welcome here. If your world is barren and devoid of dreams, I am sorry for you, but that does not entitle you to shred everyone else's to pieces.

Mystics and charlatans looking for followers are equally unwelcome. There are enough genuinely astonishing and surprising things in this world without ruining everything by fabricating outlandish new ones from thin air.

What we are looking for

We welcome any contribution that adds something meaningful to what has already been written: sources, citations, criticism, new research, deeper analysis. Some mysteries may, in the end, turn out to be not mysterious at all. That is perfectly fine — we have plenty more.

What we do not need

Insults, mockery, cheap humour. There is no quarrelling here. We are all ladies and gentlemen. You may disagree, but you do so politely and with proper arguments. If no common ground can be found, you simply walk away and look elsewhere. The world is big enough for everyone.

The rules of the house

Since this is "my house", as its keeper I reserve the right to decide who may stay and who shall be — courteously — shown the door.

All texts and all comments are moderated by me and, should the volume require it, by administrators I personally appoint who share my philosophy.

Anyone who violates basic rules of courtesy and good manners will be banned. False or disrespectful comments will not be approved. No explanation is owed by the moderator.

These are the rules of the game. If you do not find them fair, you are perfectly free to go elsewhere.

On authenticity

Anyone who submits fabricated material, content generated by AI, or content they do not own will be banned. When we say "no AI-generated content", we mean no articles whose research, ideas, or factual claims originate from artificial intelligence. Using standard tools — including AI-assisted ones — for grammar checking, translation support, and linguistic polishing is perfectly acceptable, just as any writer would use a spell-checker or consult a professional editor (which we always suggest as first option, by the way). I will carry out checks to the best of my ability but, in the event of plagiarism, false claims, or copyright infringement, the person who submitted the material in question shall always bear full responsibility.