One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries

The U.S. has many purportedly haunted highways; one is Florida's I-4, sometimes known as the most dangerous in the country, has a small stretch in Seminole County known as "The Dead Zone. . ." and the name refers to more than its proclivity for disrupting cell phones and CB radios. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical r...

Indiana's Beast of Busco set the tiny town of Churubusco abuzz way back in 1949—and set one farmer on the relentless pursuit of his personal 'white whale'. . . an enormous turtle. Hey, we all have dreams, right? One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stor...

A boy's unknown illness leaves him without the capability to feel hunger or thirst—and in a quest to find updates on his possible cure, information is unearthed on a very different kind of medical mystery. An enlightened leader, half a world away, had been baffling scientists not with his illness, but with his ability. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexp...

A Washington man named Jason Padgett loved partying, muscle cars, and getting buff at the local gym, and would have been content to live his life singing karaoke and chasing girls--until a fateful attack changed his worldview. . . quite literally. When he woke up the next day after receiving serious blows to the head, Jason realized that he could see things that others couldn't. And he didn't know...

A rural South Carolina town is struck by cryptid fever in the form of a seven-foot-tall lizard with a taste for cars. . . specifically, for chewing on them. Once a local teenager is chased down by the Lizardman, locals all over Bishopville and the greater Lee County area spot lizard tracks and possible Lizardman attacks. But is it all just a hoax? Or, perhaps, the work of another cryptid altogethe...

A Florida museum has trouble with one of its more disturbing displays. Then, surprisingly--the (haunted ?) antique baby may become the problem of someone else altogether--someone who was seeking a solution. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stories a...

A grand tropical resort took the burgeoning vacation destination of Florida by storm in the late 1920s. But it's not all sunshine and beaches: the hotel's founder built it as a monument to love… and, apparently, it's a great place to haunt. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to inves...

This is a special brief episode to introduce you to a podcast that we recently discovered, called What Was That Like. It's quite different from any other show you listen to. Each episode is a conversation with a regular person who has been through some type of extremely unusual situation, such as being shot in a mass shooting, surviving a plane crash, getting bitten by a rattlesnake, or getting a...

A Wisconsin family has a run-in with a terrifying spectral presence that seems to be haunting their. . . furniture. The Tallmann family must try and uncover the source of their trouble in this strange tale that made a now-unavailable appearance on Unsolved Mysteries. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a...

Amid the very earliest days of the midcentury flying saucer craze, two women in small-town Washington see something weird in the skies: men, in gray jumpsuits, whizzing around with space-age jetpacks that defy contemporary science. But nobody else will admit to seeing them… and the story somehow does get weirder from there. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the...

Arizona might not seem like the typical setting for holiday magic, but for decades, some mysterious local "elves" have turned a spherical, scrubby-looking desert juniper out on I-17 into what has to have been one of America's more unlikely Christmas spectacles; but who are they, and why are they so determined to light up the lonely landscape? One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores t...

In 1976, a quartet of campers in the Maine wilderness would have an experience that would transform them into the Allagash Four--known in UFO circles as some of the most famous "alien abductees' of all time. But when one of the men's stories ran counter to the others, well--then things got a little more complicated. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplai...

Since 1981, the story of The Mineral Point Vampire has been an established point of spooky pride in Wisconsin monster lore; on this episode, we sink our fangs in to explore the odder points of the alleged creature sightings. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supe...

What would you do if a singular moment changed your life forever? This is Actually Happening is a weekly podcast from Wondery that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. You'll hear from an Indian-American woman who was kidnapped at gunpoint by a masked man, and then assaulted by her kidnapper and an accomplice. Then, almost a year into her...

Small-town Illinois is hit by an airborne scourge, and a young boy claims to have taken flight; are the creatures high in the sky birdzillas, thunderbirds, common turkey vultures, or something else altogether? One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural storie...

This Halloween episode, we follow the phantom clown phenomenon to its beginning: the 1980s, where sightings cropped up in cities across the United States, and the fears of children caused quite the stir--and a serious problem for local van owners. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit t...

In this super-sized October treat, we explore the legend of one of the United State's more elusive cryptids: the Dover Demon, who made a one-night-only appearance in 1977. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stories and baffling mysteries that made hea...

On one frigid December night in 1980, a stranded Minnesotan named Jean Hilliard earned a title no one would ever want: the Frozen Girl. If this is your first episode with us, please take note that our intrepid narrator was dealing with a case of hoarseness, but powered through for recording. Try out a few episodes before you leave a weird review that spoils everyone's day. We love you, in our hear...

In Texarkana, it's said a mysterious creature roams the states' borderlands; whether you call it The Fouke Monster, It, or The Boggy Creek Monster, this reportedly reticent cryptid decided to stir up some trouble—and excitement—in 1971. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investiga...

In 1954, Washington state was hit by a mysterious plague—not of locusts, but of something far more concerning to insurance adjusters. Was the so-called "Seattle Windshield Panic" really a mass hysteria, or something altogether stranger. . . and more widespread? One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, s...

Boyce Gulley was a man with a deadly illness, and a vision: he would build a sandcastle in the desert, one that would never wash away. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stories and baffling mysteries that made headlines. Dive into our Episode Mystery...

Cats have always a reputation for magical affinity--for the ability to walk between worlds; so, is it so strange to imagine they might shepherd us between them, when it's our time to die? One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stories and baffling mysteri...

Nearly every region of the United States has its own lore surrounding supernatural "lights" that have no clear source—the Ozarks are no exception. Unlike most other phenomena, though, the Spook Lights of the Ozarks resist the usual explanations. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to...

Two small-town deputies' encounter with the unknown takes them on the ride of their lives. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blending rigorous historical research with a wry, skeptical wit to investigate true supernatural stories and baffling mysteries that made headlines. Dive into our Episode Mystery Archive — a curated, topic-organized source...

The residents of small-town Elkhorn, Wisconsin, have a very hairy problem. When a local reporter stumbles across rumors of a strange creature feasting on roadkill, her interest is piqued—but soon, Beast of Bray Road fever grips the town, and everyone—possibly even the Beast itself—wants in on the action. One Strange Thing: True Paranormal Mysteries explores the archives of the unexplained, blendin...