Olympia Oddities

Live from Odds & Ends in Olympia, Washington. I tell a revamped version of my Ogopogo episode, with updated sightings and new information. The wildly talented and creative Jonah Barnett does a reading of Boggy from their book Moss Covered Claws. We wrap the whole thing up with an informal sit down Q & A with each other. Thank you to Jonah for organizing this event, to Odds & Ends for opening up th...

I'm back! In this episode I recap all the ways I've been pulled in a million directions lately, from the fun (paintball! burlesque!) to the not so fun and everything in between. Once I'm done recapping my life recently, I dive into some very animal centric True Crime and Local News. Catch my exciting announcement at the end of this one. Feels good to be back!

today we’re taking a dive into a well known sticky, and slightly smelly, local oddity in Seattle. Loved by some, and absolutely hated by others, Seattle’s Gum Wall contains more than just wads of pre chewed, aging gum. Among strangers saliva, you can find history, myth, and even the occasional controversy. Let’s peel back some of those layers of gum together, and try to get to the bottom of what’s...

On this episode of Side Show I talk some recent bizarre news stories out of the PNW, share some strange Washington laws, and leave you with a brief life update.

Bernice Selby was 27 years old in 1962, living in a house on the shores of Lake Cassidy near Marysville, WA and finalizing the details of the divorce of her soon to be ex husband, Donald Selby. She was last seen in October of that year, but wouldn't be reported missing until 2 months later. Investigators had a pretty solid idea of who their main suspect was. Unfortunately, (natural) disaster c...

20 year old Amber Hoopes was funny, goofy, and absolutely devoted to the two kids she was a nanny for. She was also painfully shy and didn't like going places by herself. Because of this, her family immediately knew foul play was involved when she went missing from her grandparent's shop, where she would use their computer to stay in touch with friends. After another teen girl in the area was abdu...

I kick off this Side Show episode with an update to the Christopher Hart Bridgeman Jr. Case, then dive into all the random & fun stuff I've been up to the past few months, including face melting metal shows with robots, fangirling over a baby musk ox, and how murder mystery boxes have taken over my remaining brain space.

On April 1st, 1986 Archer Ray Johnson's truck was discovered with the door propped open on the side of the road near Oakville, Washington. When his brother & his brother's wife discovered the scene, they called out to him, but got no reply. In the years that have passed since his disappearance, Archer's case has gone nearly cold. In this episode I cover the circumstances around Arc...

In 2007, Jeramy Burt went missing from his father's home in Boise, Idaho. He was dressed nicely, and told his dad that he was going to meet with a friend to discuss hunting. However, his ex-wife received several strange phone calls and texts from him while on a business trip in Vegas. The calls and texts were so strange in fact, that she wasn't convinced that they were sent by Jeremy at all. In th...

For this episode of Side Show, I start the show by giving an update on Matthew Anfeldt's case, cover some updates to the podcast, then wrap the whole thing up with a PNW cryptid ranking list, some bizarre local crimes & news stories and fill you in on what's been going on in my life.

On December 21st, 2014 teenager Jarom Thomas decided to resolve a fight over a minor car accident with a single punch. That punch thrown by one of his friends ended up in Jarom Thomas' death. The next year, his parents revealed to the media that they had heard a different version of the story. The details they heard were upsetting, and conflicted with the original version of the story Jarom&#3...

Today I'm launching the start of a new series on the podcast, Haunted Hiking! Today I tell you about Scaponia Park in Oregon, which is rumored to be the haunting grounds of an 1800s horse thief and his dog, after they both faced their deaths on the banks of the Nehalem River at the hands of an outraged angry mob. From shadowy figures to strange sounds in the woods, this episode is the perfect star...

Today I tell you the story of Helen Doe, an unidentified woman hitchhiker who was discovered dead after the semi truck driver who picked her up was involved in a tragic wreck that killed both him, and his unknown passenger near Kalama, WA in 1991. I cover the details of the wreck, how investigators were able to trace the truck drivers route, and the methods that investigators have used to try to r...

It's a solo Trista Side Show straight from Olympia Oddities new studio and I'm here to recap the end of summer, including my second ever burlesque show stage kitten experience, the Roy Pioneer Rodeo, and a camping trip. Ft. The coroner leaving the campsite as I show up, Oakville's bigfoot statue, and Trista's True Crime Roundup making it's return

In today's episode, Trista tells you the story of Richard Russell, an unassuming baggage handler at SeaTac who shocked the world and those who knew him by stealing a plane. I cover the flight path his comandeered plane took, the radio communications that transpired between those trying to get him to safety and keep others out of harms way, and the tragic end to his flight. Sources: Rolling Sto...

It's a solo Side Show episode and my return from my summer break! I talk the future of Side Show & some exciting plans coming up, recap my summer so far, including my trip to the Paranormal Circus, a podcast live show, and one of my favorite Washington establishments, Sharkys. Also in this episode: opinons on juggling, buildings shaped like coffee pots, and Godzilla pinball

Here's our recording of our first ever live show, recorded at the first ever PNW True Crime Fest. Matthew Anfeldt was just 20 years old when he disappeared from his family's home in Grand Mound, Washington under incredibly bizarre circumstances. After telling his sister he was going to grab his phone, he ended up in a nearby roadway in a panic, yelling at cars that his family had been killed and t...

Today we're covering a bizarre missing person's case from Lacey, Washington from January of 1963. 33 year old Christopher Hart Bridgeman Jr. was a country artist who just had a hit song hit the radio waves when he disappeared from a motel, leaving behind his 6 year old child. We get into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the mystery of trying to track down his song, and another myst...

On February 28th 2001, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the lower Puget Sound area, near Olympia. Trista shares her own story of experiencing the earthquake as a first grader in the lunchroom, we cover the type of earthquake it was, the damage caused by it, and how things have changed since then.  Ft. an Ember Goods shout-out, the worst Stevie Nicks impersonation you have ever heard, and bei...

Today we tell you all about the urban legend of Polybius. During 1981 strange new arcade game machines began popping up in Portland, Oregon arcades. The machines drew long lines, at first because they were brand new, but then because playing the game was starting to cause players to become aggressive and possessive over the machine. Players began suffering strange side effects, and people began to...

Today we tell you about a child star's reluctant return to his hometown, and his mysterious disappearance that followed. Joe Pichler moved to Hollywood as a kid to pursue an acting career in TV and movies. He moved back to Bremerton, WA to be closer to his family and graduate high school, and while the move was tough on him at first, he seemed to settle back in to life in his hometown. Shockingly,...

Today we kick off our episode by having Steven recount his time going to a Hell House and all the hellish hilarity that ensued. Then we tell you the story of Albert Ostman, a Canadian prospector who claimed to have been kidnapped by a family of sasquatch and held hostage for a week. We explore how he allegedly survived his time with the sasquatch family, his description of the bizarre creatures, a...

Today we travel back in time to tell you the tale of Joseph Henry Loveless, bootlegger, outlaw, and accused murderer. After escaping from jail after being arrested for the murder of his wife, Joseph Loveless disappeared without a trace. Decades later, a family searching for arrowheads in an Idaho cave discovered a headless torso in a burlap bag, and set off the events that would help solve a multi...

Today we tell you about how in the early 2000's claims of a multiple winged raptor-like creature said to roam the hills of California started to pop up on the internet. Today we get into the legend, where we think the origin of this creature came from, and our ideas on what this mysterious being could be, if it does exist. 

Today we tell you about the incredibly bizarre disappearance of Bryce Laspisa, a 19 year old college student living in California. After suddenly breaking up with his girlfriend, Bryce began to drive south. He sat in his car for hours, but appeared normal to everyone who interacted with him. Hours later, his car crashed over a 25 foot embankment but Bryce was nowhere to be seen after the car's dis...