One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries

A group of Canadian paranormal enthusiasts came together in the ‘70s to make up a ghost story… and then try to bring it to life. And, in a twist that nobody really saw coming, it might’ve worked. But what was Philip, if not a ghost? Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to Quince.com Get free shipping on your order and 365-day...

Halloween month is here, strangers, and we’re diving right into its spooky history with a deep dive into the origins of jack o’lanterns, vegetable lanterns, and, of course, the folktale of Stingy Jack, a man so ornery and crafty that he tricked the Devil himself.  Find the fall pieces you’ll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to Quince.com Get fr...

Sports fans have superstitions. . . and believe in curses. For Japan’s Hanshin Tigers, a huge win led to their biggest regret: an alleged curse tied to an American fast-food icon from Kentucky.  Be sure to check the link in the show notes for an update! Update since our original premium release (2022):  https://www.mlb.com/news/the-japanese-team-cursed-by-colonel-sanders Hosted, written,...

Pennsylvania’s saddest, ugliest, and somehow most adorable cryptid, the squonk,  is here to teach you a valuable lesson. And to melt. There’s that, too.  Hosted and Written by Laurah Norton Research by Laurah Norton Produced by Maura Currie  Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder  Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code STRANGE at ch...

Folklore can be fun, can’t it, strangers? It can also be downright terrifying, especially when used to frighten children into being good: everyone from Dolly Parton to Thomas Jefferson seems to have heard of Rawhead Bloody Bones and the cautionary tales of dark woods, drafty attics, and even lakes. But where did all the monstrous behavior begin? We try to find out.  Get 20% off your DeleteMe...

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the science world was overwhelmed with strange new findings out of Australia. One particular species was assumed to be a hoax… and even when it was established that the platypus was, in fact, real? It didn’t make these strange creatures make more sense. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code STRANGE at ch...

We take a trip with Resurrection Mary, Chicago’s most famous hitchhiking ghost, down Archer Avenue and into the history that surrounds her endless treks to her eternal home: Resurrection Cemetery. As vanishing hitchhikers go, she might just be the most infamous. . . and perhaps the most beloved, too.  Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code ST...

In January 1996, the small Brazilian city of Varginha became the center of one of the most famous UFO stories in South American history. Multiple witnesses, including three young women, reported seeing a strange creature with a large head and red eyes lurking in the streets, while others claimed the military had captured one or more living beings and recovered a crashed craft. To this day, Varginh...

In the late 19th century, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the hodag—a monster that sprung up in the tall tales of local logging camps— made its national  debut when one was supposedly captured alive and put on display at a county fair. We are very sorry we missed it.  Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code STRANGE at checkout!    Hosted and Writte...

If you gave us a nickel how many goatmen we’ve covered on this show, we’d have 10 cents; it’s not a lot, but more than one might expect. This time, we’re visiting Maryland to dive into the story of a violent, possibly axe-wielding monster and the Prince George’s County  teenagers and pets it apparently enjoyed terrorizing in Bowie, along Fletchertown Road. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you g...

We’ve covered murderous clowns, motel clowns, and . . . honestly, we forget how many iterations have popped up, like jack-in-the-boxes, over the years. But this time, strangers, we’ve got what may be the most unique experience of all: a vintage story that combines UFOs, clownery, a possible robot, children with surprisingly good social skills, and the most unsettling berry-eating experience we’ve...

The lava beds of Central Oregon produced one of the most involved (and fascinating) creature features of the early 20th century: the mythic lava bear. And, of course, all of the humans who argued about it, hunted it, and attempted to have scientific discussions regarding its existence. We sure do love history, strangers.  Ready to clean out your closet and make some extra money? download the Vinte...

Some say that a werewolf once lived in Georgia -- a young woman, Emily Burts, who was born 20 years before the Civil War. Sound like an unusual set up for a lycanthropic tale? We thought so, too.  Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code STRANGE at checkout!   Hosted,  Written, and Researched by Laurah Norton Produced by Maura Currie  Engineered by...

Mercy Brown, Rhode Island vampire—allegedly so—is considered to be the last of the state’s unfortunate focal points in its 19th century vampire panics; but like so many other supernatural superstitions we dig into, there’s much more beneath the surface. The Exeter Vampire panic is more complex, and perhaps distorted, than we’ve been led to believe. . .all through the haze of the horror of the plag...

In rural North Carolina, there’s a circle of earth where nothing grows. It’s been there a long time — and why it exists is down to either the unexplainable… or the satanic. It’s called the Devil’s Tramping, or Tromping Ground. And locals claim there have been all sorts of strange things seen at the site.    Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code S...

In a dark period of American history, an unexpected hero lifted spirits and predicted the results of horse races. Lady Wonder, a chestnut-brown horse, could do it all: spell, read minds, and see into the future. And people went all in — even when she picked up some unusual extracurriculars.  Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE and use promo code STRANGE at checko...

Our favorite weird state, West Virginia, is home to one of the most fascinating (and disturbing) paranormal tales in American history: the testimony of a ghost that was discussed during a murder trial. At the turn of the 20th century, a young bride, Elva Zona Heaster Shue, died in what at first seemed to be an accident. Soon, though, someone very close to her was on trial for murder . . . after Zo...

Anyone plugged into the world of unexplained events and oddities is probably well aware of the Max Headroom broadcast hijacking. But a story that weird is worth diving into — especially since, roughly 40 years later, there’s been no real progress in efforts to c-c-catch those involved. Strange history at its finest!  Elevate your summer wardrobe! Go to Quince.com/OST f or free shipping on your ord...

A cursed chair in a North Yorkshire pub is said to have killed everyone who has sat in it? It’s something we must explore.  Thomas Busby was hanged for murder in 1702. His cursed chair became one of England's most infamous pieces of haunted furniture, linked to dozens of deaths over three centuries. But the truth of the Busby Stoop Chair may be stranger than any ghost story. Get 20% off your Delet...

A young man from England claims to have incredible paranormal gifts—but can it truly be proven? We all want to be special. . . and some of us even believe we might just have extraordinary powers. But that usually fades as we grow older. But for Matthew Manning, an alleged psychic, ghost whisperer, faith healer, and all-around phenom who came to prominence in the 1970s, international renown may hav...

Harry Houdini spent the last years of his life doing something unexpected for the world's greatest escape artist: relentlessly exposing fraudulent psychic mediums and publicly humiliating his famous friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the process. But for all his skepticism, Houdini carried a secret that would define the final chapter of his life. . . and haunt his widow for a decade after his death....

Spaghetti, like money, does not grow on trees. But it turns out that that may not have been common knowledge in ‘50s Britain… and the BBC, after putting together a whimsical April Fools’ segment, suddenly had some explaining to do. We begin our April Fools’ celebration with lots of tricks and fun. Be sure to follow all month! Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/STRANGE a...

Chestnut Hill is a desirable neighborhood in the deliciously weird city of Philadelphia. But there’s very, very old American history there, too – so is it all that big a surprise that a mansion there is haunted? The real question is: between the death chair, the ghost boys, and the screaming parrot… who would film a music video there? Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/...

This week we're sharing a special episode from Blood Will Tell , a gripping new podcast you won't want to miss. When a birthday party in suburban San Jose turns deadly, 18-year-old identical twins Trung and Anh are arrested for suspected murder. But when an eyewitness misidentifies the brothers in a lineup, one twin spends nearly two years in jail — and the wrong one. How could one brother let his...

In 1897, a Little Rock businessman claimed he tracked down and killed a 20-foot dragon-like creature with tusks, webbed feet, and a taste for human flesh in the caves of Searcy County, Arkansas. He even had a photograph. The tale of the Ozark Gowrow didn't end in 1897 — this cryptid legend took on a life of its own in mountain folklore and monster sightings across Arkansas. One Strange Thing: True...