Autumn's Oddities

In the second half of Nikola Tesla's life, the brilliant inventor conceived inventions that were precursors to technology we use daily. What he lacked was funding and support for his visions. One idea that came just before WWI that Tesla believed would end war forever: his "peace beam". Of course, the particle beam was only theoretical, but that didn't deter several countries from trying to weapon...

The engineer and scientist Nikola Tesla's name is surrounded by mystery and conspiracy theories, with speculation that he created a death ray. The scientist also had a plan for a massive tower that would, if it worked, create free electricity for all but died before he could execute his vision. After his death, his papers were seized by the FBI, but for what purpose? SOURCES https://vault.fbi.gov/...

A man is found dead in the middle of a cornfield. The police are perplexed as to how he got there and what happened to him. Even more puzzling were the cryptic notes found in his pocket that no one, including the FBI, has been able to solve. SOURCES https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/help-solve-an-open-murder-case-part-2 https://www.kmov.com/2022/01/21/puzzling-case-help-solve-this-cryptic-cold-case...

In the cover of mandatory darkness, Gordon Frederick Cummins terrorized London during a six-day spree of murder and assault. A total of seven women were attacked, with four of them killed. Cummins, who had enlisted in the Royal Air Force, was stationed in northern London. Mainly attacking sex workers, the city became his hunting ground for a week. SOURCES The Blackout Murders: The Shocking True St...

Happy Halloween! I've got something a little different for you, it's an original horror story I wrote based partially on true events. Decide what's real and what's not for yourselves! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/autumn-s-oddities--5307439/support .

Darkcast Network presents an assortment of our favorite cryptids and monsters! I'll be telling the tale of the Goatman of Pope Lick! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/autumn-s-oddities--5307439/support .

Join me and some of my Darkcast Network family as we tell you the tales of some of our favorite witches... I'll be offering Hannah Cranna, the Witch of Monroe! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/autumn-s-oddities--5307439/support .

Darkcast Network presents true crime cases sure to send a shiver up your spine as part of our Wicked Week of Halloween! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/autumn-s-oddities--5307439/support .

Space is vast, cold, and dark which makes it the perfect setting for terrifying tales. Some of those who were brave enough to venture into the unknown had encounters that they couldn’t explain, but they sure tried to. SOURCES https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sad-story-laika-space-dog-and-her-one-way-trip-orbit-1-180968728/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978...

Enjoy this bonus treat of an episode from myself and other Darkcast Network members, but be warned, it's a scary good time! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/autumn-s-oddities--5307439/support .

The film The Exorcist has no shortage of lore surrounding its production. Strange deaths, injuries, and accidents plagued the film, but perhaps the most terrifying thing that happened on set was a scene that included a real-life killer. Paul Bateson killed at least one man and confessed to killing many more, but was he a serial killer or was he looking for a reduced sentence? SOURCES https://inmag...

Nearly 30 years ago, the streets of Bellaire, Ohio were eerily quiet on Halloween night. No children dressed as ghouls or goblins rang doorbells and asked for candy that night, trick or treat was canceled because of one young man and his horrifying actions. SOURCES https://dks.library.kent.edu/?a=d&d=dks19951006-01.2.52&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------- https://dks.library.kent.edu/?a=d&a...

In the late 16th century, the town of Bedburg, Germany was terrorized by a creature that slaughtered its cattle and stole its women and children, killing them with unspeakable cruelty. The horrified townspeople feared that they were being besieged by a demon, or, equally as bad, a vicious werewolf who lived among them. SOURCES The Werewolf in Lore and Legend (Dover Occul t); Montague Summers https...

Before Jack the Ripper began his reign of terror, there was another mysterious entity stalking the streets of London. His name was Spring-Heeled Jack. During the Victorian era, Jack quite literally leaped into the headlines. Described as an impish ghoul by some newspapers, he has inspired authors and even the DC Comics anti-hero, Batman. SOURCES The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack: Victorian Urban Fo...

In 1974, as his parents and four siblings slept in their three-story home in Long Island, New York, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. executed them. In the aftermath, the crime scene became the subject books and a hit movie series, "The Amityville Horror." Sources cited within the episode Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/autumn-s-oddities--5307439/support .

Every year, a local musician would throw a huge Halloween party in Frenchtown Township, Michigan. Between 600 and 1000 guests would flock in their costumes to dance and drink around a bonfire until the wee hours. This was a huge party for the small town and 22-year-old Chelsea Bruck was thrilled to go. After a series of unfortunate events, Chelsea was stranded and walked away from the party alone,...

Playing paranormal games is tempting to many, especially this time of year. Some are a rite of passage in our youth, just harmless fun, and some are terrifying games where the objective is to survive the night. Play at your own risk, but be warned, some of these games are not for the faint of heart. SOURCES Dangerous Games to Play in the Dark; By Lucia Peters Become a supporter of this podcast: ht...

If you say Candyman in the mirror five times, legend has it that he’ll appear and you’ll meet an unfortunate end. You’ve probably heard the urban legend and seen the movie, but you might not know that the movie is loosely based on a 1987 murder in Chicago when a killer came through a mirror. SOURCES https://www.chicagoganghistory.com/housing-project/grace-abbott-homes/ https://journals.sagepub.com...

We’ve all got one. The thing we saw in a movie or heard a scary story about that struck a nerve somewhere within us, perhaps in our youth, causing a fear we can’t quite explain that persists into adulthood. For me, it’s not a monster, but it’s body horror that really gets under my skin. But for so many, the movies they watched as children and the monsters within them have left lasting impressions....

The strip search phone call scam was a series of incidents, mainly in small US towns, that lasted for 10 years, beginning in 1994. An unknown male caller would phone a restaurant, claiming to be a police officer would convince managers to conduct strip searches of employees, and to perform other bizarre and humiliating acts on behalf of "the police". More than 70 such phone calls were reported in...

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a Halloween essential that has endured for centuries. Washington Irving's 1820 tale of a headless horseman who terrorizes the real-life village of Sleepy Hollow is considered one of America's first ghost stories. SOURCES The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/nyregion/who-was-the-real-ichabod-crane.html?rref=collection%2F...

The Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders remain some of the Bay Area’s most baffling unsolved crimes. At least six women and girls were killed in the span of a few years, all of their bodies dumped nude on the sides of roads in Sonoma County, and all of them missing some personal item. SOURCES Lost Cost Highway, by Gray George https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/239211 https://www.santarosah...

For three decades, the man born Christian Gerhartsreiter claimed to be someone else. He posed as a British baronet, a cardiologist in Las Vegas, a Hollywood producer, a bond broker in New York, and, finally, as a member of the famous Rockefeller family. Gerhartstreiter was arrested in 2008 after a weeklong FBI hunt for him and his daughter, whom he abducted during a scheduled custody visit. Within...

For 19th-century England, this was a tawdry tale of tragedy. But it has a supernatural twist that made it a sensational piece of newspaper fodder. It’s a bizarre and twisted tale of deceit and murder, seemingly solved by one woman’s dreams. SOURCES https://owlcation.com/humanities/Murder-in-the-Red-Barn An Authentic and Faithful History of the mysterious murder of Maria Marten; By J Curtis https:/...

On April 19, 1997, two men were lured to their deaths after a pair of teens ordered a pizza to be delivered to an abandoned house in Franklin, New Jersey. When asked why they did it, the teens said, “just for the thrill of it”. SOURCES https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/22/nyregion/2-held-in-thrill-killings-of-pizza-men.html https://www.njherald.com/story/news/2015/04/19/slain-son-s-memory-still/4043...