The Strange and Unusual Podcast

A companion to the Appalachian woods episode: ten strange, eerie, and true things lurking in the forests of New England. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s an old rule in the Appalachian Mountains, if you hear your name called from the woods, don’t answer. This week, we’re delving into the hills to find out why. We cover folklore  from a 200-year-old Tennessee haunting that killed a man, to a 10-foot creature that emerged in West Virginia in 1952, to the thing in the trees that learns your voice. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

Join Alyson for a work of folk horror fiction she wrote in honor of the new spring season. In this episode, we follow Fiona, who has gone to the village of Eldergrove after the death of her aunt, to claim her inheritance of Aunt Erin's cottage. However, this inheritance came with an obligation that Fiona never saw coming. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informatio...

In 1895 Ireland, Bridget Cleary was killed by those who believed she had been replaced by a fairy changeling. In this episode we explore the eerie folklore of the Aos Sí, the fear that fueled her murder, and how superstition turned deadly in modern Ireland. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advert...

In this episode, we examine the haunting true story of the Radium Girls, the young women in the early 20th century hired to paint luminous watch dials with radium-laced paint. Believing their employers' assurances that their work was safe , these dial painters were unknowingly exposed to toxic radiation. We'll go through  their devastating health consequences, including  a condition later called “...

From the monstrous Yule Cat of Iceland to the cannibal Wendigo of North America, in this episode I explore seven eerie winter legends from around the world. You’ll meet Japan’s ghostly Yuki-Onna, China’s New Year beast Nian, Greece’s chaotic Kallikantzaroi, the rhyming ghost-horse Mari Lwyd of Wales, and the shape-shifting Ijiraq of the Arctic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https:/...

Between garlands of garlic on doorways, wolves finding their voice in the dark, and the undead rising from their graves,  Romania’s celebration of St. Andrew’s Eve (November 29th-30th) blurs the line between the living and the dead. Join Alyson in exploring this magical and uncanny Romanian holiday. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

On All Hallows’ Eve, the veil thins and the folklore gets...fun. In this episode, I  count down 10 strange superstitions, from turnip jack-o’-lanterns and mirror magic to dumb suppers, bat omens, and haunted crossroads. Light a candle and let's begin! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From whispered charms and buried witch bottles to torture chambers and Salem’s gallows, this episode of The Strange and Unusual Podcast traces the haunting story of the witch as  healer, heretic, and scapegoat. I explore the folklore, the fear, and the witch hunts of Pendle, Würzburg, Bamberg, and Salem. Through historical accounts and chilling firsthand testimonies, in this episode I  go into  ho...

On this episode we trace the vampire’s long, shadowy journey, from 18th-century graveyard panics and Slavic strigoi to the seductive aristocrats of Gothic fiction and the conflicted immortals of modern pop culture. We also will go into how the  myth evolves on screen, from Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi to Anne Rice, Buffy, and beyond. We explore why the vampire keeps returning to embody everything we...

In this episode, we head back to school, but not the way you remember it. From abandoned high schools and haunted classrooms to urban legends whispered in bathrooms and tragedies that linger in lecture halls, autumn brings with it eerie campus lore. We’ll uncover chilling, and often sad, tragic tales from New Jersey, Texas, Africa, Cambodia, and Mexico. These are the stories that blur the line bet...

For this episode we're exploring harvest folklore throughout the world, and how it connects to the genre of folk horror. From the sunlit dread of Lady Midday stalking the fields of Eastern Europe to the vengeful rice paddy ghosts of Japan, nearly every farming culture told tales of spirits among the grain. We’ll wander those stubbled fields and deserted farms, listening for the whispers of harvest...

In this episode, we'll explore the folklore of the night, from the Sandman to Sleep Paralysis demons, and more. We'll get into the history of the lore, the scientific studies, and how these creatures manifest around the world. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, we dig into the topic of urban legends come to life, These are legends that either others have actually brought to life and urban legends that are surprisingly based on fact. These legends include: The Bunny Man, Cropsey, Hook man, Slender Man, Polybius, The Babysitter Murder, Body in the Bed, Charlie No Face, and Laced Halloween Candy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. Se...

Join me on this summer road trip to some of the world's creepiest abandoned amusement parks. Our stops include: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, Pripyat, Ukraine, Land of Oz, Gulliver’s Kingdom. And Honorable Mentions: Berlin’s Spreepark, Diversiones Grano de Oro, Western Village. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

In this episode in the Haunted Waters series, we explore ghost ships from around the world, which include The Carroll A. Deering, The Mary Celeste, The Flying Dutchman, El Caleuche, S.S. Valencia , The Baychimo, Eliza Battle, and MV Joyita Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of the Haunted Waters series, we explore sea monsters of myth from around the world. These frightening creatures include the Lusca, Umibōzu, Akhlu, Morgawr, and Ningen, as well as the 1734 account of a sea monster off the coast of Greenland by Hans Egede. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

On this episode in the Haunted Waters series, I cover lighthouses with haunted reputations, as well as the history of lighthouses. We explore Smalls lighthouse in Wales, Pharos of Alexandria, Tower of Hercules, Big Bay Point in Michigan, South Manitou lighthouse in Michigan, South Solitary lighthouse in Australia, and St. Augustine in Florida. Stirrings: https://www.youtube.com/@StirringsStories H...

Join me for a new 'Haunted Waters' series. In this first episode I explore lakes, marshes, and ponds and their legendary ghosts. Our stops in this episode include Bell Island in Canada, Haunted Lake in New Hampshire, White Rock Lake in Texas, Deadman's Pond in Canada, Big Moose Lake in New York, and Lake Lanier in Georgia. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informati...

In this episode, I explore the Nahanni Valley of the Northwest Territories in Canada, which has been given the nickname Valley of the Headless Men. This due to a series of deaths of goldhunters and fur trappers after they entered the valley. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the conclusion to this series on Russian Hill, I delve into the events which affected Pat Montandon and her friends and family at 1000 Lombard Street, as well as the occult resurgence in the 1960s, including the role of Anton LeVay. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the second episode of this series, I tell the story of a young, widowed migrant during California's Gold Rush, and the horror of what she found in her new home on Russian Hill. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode we explore some of the strange goings-on in the earlier days of Russian Hill in San Francisco, including the ill-fated union of a Russian count and Spainish maiden, the first legal execution in California history, seances, the arrival of Fanny Stevenson to the hill, the earthquake of 1906 and more. In part 2, we get into the experimental '60s, Anton LeVay, mysterious deaths, and ma...

A short series coming to the strange and unusual podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1991, the New York State Supreme Court decided on a case that would set a legal precedent for house haunting in the state for years. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.