Her Strange Hour

On New Year’s Eve in 1812, Theodosia Burr Alston boarded a ship bound for New York. She never arrived. In this episode of Her Strange Hour , we explore the storm, the rumors, the pirate stories, and the haunting mystery of the woman who vanished at sea.

Dorothy Forstein vanished from her Philadelphia home in 1949, and the strangest detail came from her 9-year-old daughter. According to Marcy, she woke up in the middle of the night and saw a stranger inside the house. Dorothy appeared unconscious, and the man reportedly told Marcy not to worry before carrying her mother away. Dorothy was never seen again. But four years earlier, Dorothy had alread...

In Part 3 of The Family cult story, one girl’s escape helps expose Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s hidden world. The raid begins, the truth comes out, and the cult Anne built finally starts to collapse.

In Part 2 of our series on lThe Family , we look at the children trapped inside Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s secretive cult world — a world of control, obedience, and stolen lives. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 , go back and start there first, as this will be a 3-part series .

Anne Hamilton-Byrne was a glamorous yoga teacher with a growing circle of loyal followers. But behind the peaceful image was something far darker: a secretive group known as The Family, children taken into her world, and a woman who believed she had a divine mission. In Part 1, we begin the disturbing story of how one teacher became the center of one of Australia’s strangest cult cases.

In 1974, a woman was found in the dunes near Provincetown, Massachusetts. For nearly 50 years, no one knew who she was. She became known only as the Lady of the Dunes. Then DNA finally gave her back her name: Ruth Marie Terry. In this Bizarre Lunchtime Tales episode, we look at the mystery that haunted Cape Cod for decades, the theories that surrounded the case, and the chilling truth investigator...

Three real mysteries where ships and planes were found, but the answers never fully made sense. In this episode, we explore the Mary Celeste, the Star Dust disappearance, and the Joyita ghost ship — three strange historical cases filled with missing people, eerie clues, and unanswered questions.

In 2013, 21-year-old Elisa Lam vanished while staying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Her final known moments were captured in strange elevator footage that spread across the internet and turned her disappearance into one of the most discussed mysteries online. Nearly three weeks later, Elisa was found in a rooftop water tank above the hotel. In this Echoes & Oddities podcast-style episode,...

Deep in Australia’s Victorian High Country, hikers have whispered about a mysterious bushman known as The Button Man . Was he truly someone to fear, or did rumor, isolation, and wilderness folklore turn a real man into a mountain legend? This shorter episode is part of Bizarre Lunchtime Tales — bite-size strange stories from Echoes & Oddities that you can listen to on your lunch break. What do...

In 1966, two men were found dead on a hill in Brazil wearing homemade lead masks. No injuries. No clear answers. Just cryptic notes, strange instructions, and one of the most unsettling mysteries ever recorded. Was it a failed experiment… or something far stranger?

In 1987, a routine police call led to the discovery of two men traveling with six neglected children — and what followed became one of the strangest cases of the decade. The investigation led to a secretive group known as The Finders , a communal organization tied to unusual beliefs, hidden properties, and a man named Marion Pettie. As disturbing claims surfaced and authorities searched for answer...

In 1922, six people were brutally murdered on a remote farm in Germany. But what makes the Hinterkaifeck case so terrifying is not just the crime itself — it is everything that happened before and after. There were strange footprints in the snow leading to the farm but none leading away. Family members heard unexplained noises in the attic. A key went missing. Then, after the murders, it appeared...

The Roman Empire is remembered for power, glory, and grandeur… but behind Nero’s golden façade were the people he broke, used, and destroyed. This episode dives deep into the disturbing and tragic story of Sporus — a young victim whose life was twisted by the emperor’s cruelty — along with the heartbreaking fates of Poppaea, Octavia, Britannicus, and Agrippina. These are the lives history tried to...

In this episode of Echoes & Oddities, we explore seven of the darkest and most disturbing true stories buried in history — from the infamous Lizzie Borden case to the mysterious life of Kaspar Hauser, a man with no past. We revisit: 🪓 Lizzie Borden and the murder that divided a nation 🧩 Kaspar Hauser, the boy who appeared out of nowhere 🍽️ Tarrare, whose hunger defied human limits ⚰️ The Cad...

On March 24, 1998, twenty-three-year-old Amy Lynn Bradley vanished from a Caribbean cruise ship without a trace. No splash. No note. No goodbye. What happened aboard Rhapsody of the Seas that night? Was it an accident, an abduction, or something far darker? In this episode of Echoes & Oddities , I dive into the chilling case that’s haunted investigators and her family for over two decades. We’...

Dorothy Arnold vanished while shopping on Fifth Avenue. Violet Charlesworth faked her death on a cliffside in Wales. Both women lived in luxury—and both became legends of deception and loss. 🎙️ A cinematic true story from The Midnight Ledger , where history’s strangest mysteries are told in haunting detail.

In this episode of The Midnight Ledger , I dive into two of the strangest and most disturbing stories in history. First — a pope dug from his grave, dressed in full robes, and put on trial before horrified clergy in what became known as The Cadaver Synod . Then — a man whose appetite defied reason: Tarrare , the 18th-century performer who could devour anything in sight… and never be full. These ta...

Three haunting true stories from the 1800s — where faith, desperation, and control all took deadly turns. In this episode of The Midnight Ledger Podcast , we uncover:• The women of Hungary’s “Angel Makers” — who quietly poisoned those they called oppressors.• The failed prophecy of the Millerites — and how it reshaped modern religion.• The self-proclaimed Prophet Matthias — whose “Kingdom of God”...

In 1809, British diplomat Benjamin Bathurst stepped outside to check on his horses— and vanished without a sound. His carriage waited. His assistant was only moments behind him. But Bathurst was gone, leaving behind one of the strangest mysteries in history. Decades later, another man appeared out of nowhere: Kaspar Hauser , a boy who claimed he’d spent his life locked in a dark cell. Two men sepa...

In 1892, the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts was shaken by a brutal double murder. Andrew and Abby Borden were found hacked to death, and all eyes turned to their quiet, church-going daughter — Lizzie. Was she a cold-blooded killer who fooled an entire courtroom, or a misunderstood woman trapped in a web of suspicion and Victorian gossip? 🎧 In this episode of The Midnight Ledger (by Echoe...

In this episode of *The Midnight Ledger*, we dive into Three chilling cold cases: Tammy Jo Alexander, Asha Degree, and the Fort Worth Trio.— These are strange and unsettling cold cases that are of history that still leaves us with more questions than answers. If you know anything about these cases, please contact the agencies below or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.📞 Tip Lines & ContactsTammy J...