The Strange History Podcast

Alfama: Ghost Streets of Old Lisbon explores the eerie legends, true tragedies, and haunted streets of Alfama, the oldest surviving district of Lisbon. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how Alfama survived the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon Earthquake while much of Lisbon was destroyed. Survivors fled uphill into its narrow lanes, where stories soon spread of wandering spir...

The Curse of the Sea Kings explores the dark side of Portugal’s Age of Exploration, when kings chased empire across dangerous oceans and sailors vanished into storms, mutiny, disease, and legend. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how Portugal became a global sea power through explorers like Prince Henry the Navigator, Gil Eanes, Bartolomeu Dias, and Vasco da Gama. We...

The Japanese Atlantis explores the strange underwater formation near Yonaguni Island that some call Japan’s Atlantis. Is it a lost city, an ancient monument, or a natural geological structure? In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we cover the discovery in 1986, theories from Masaaki Kimura, Ice Age sea levels, Ryukyu history, and why the debate continues. Become a supporter of this podc...

Why Naples Feels Different explores why Naples feels unlike any other city in Italy. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how Greek origins in Neapolis, Roman luxury, centuries of invasions, poverty, resilience, volcanic danger from Mount Vesuvius, and the famous Four Days of Naples shaped the city’s powerful identity. We also explore Naples’ world-famous food culture, p...

The Skull Lottery of Naples explores one of the strangest traditions in Naples and all of Italy. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how locals visited the eerie Fontanelle Cemetery, adopted anonymous skulls, prayed to forgotten souls known as anime pezzentelle, and believed the dead could send lottery numbers through dreams. We also explore the famous La Smorfia, the c...

Capri: Emperor Tiberius’ Island of Fear explores the dark Roman history of Capri, long before it became a glamorous vacation destination. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how Tiberius abandoned Rome and ruled the empire from Capri, turning the island into a center of spies, treason trials, fear, and imperial mystery. We also cover the dramatic ruins of Villa Jovis, s...

The Curse of San Gennaro explores one of the most famous religious mysteries in Italy. In Naples, the dried blood of San Gennaro is said to liquefy during public ceremonies each year inside Naples Cathedral. When the miracle happens, the city celebrates. When it delays or fails, fear spreads and many believe disaster may follow. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover the h...

Naples During World War II explores one of the most powerful and overlooked stories of World War II in Italy. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how Naples was devastated by Allied bombing raids, crippled by hunger and black markets, and occupied by German forces after the fall of Benito Mussolini. Then came the legendary Four Days of Naples, when civilians, women, stu...

Baiae: Rome’s Sin City Beneath the Sea explores the scandalous lost city of Baiae, once the most luxurious resort town in the Roman world. Located near Naples in the volcanic Campi Flegrei region, Baiae became the playground of emperors, senators, generals, and Rome’s elite. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover thermal baths, seaside villas, secret affairs, poisoning rum...

Pompeii Was Their Neighbor explores the forgotten story of Naples after the catastrophic Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. While Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried beneath ash and pyroclastic flows, nearby Naples survived and continued as a major Roman city beside the same deadly volcano. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover eyewitness accounts from Pliny the Younger...

The Ghosts of Naples explores the terrifying legends, true ghost accounts, and haunted history of Naples. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover eerie stories from Castel dell'Ovo, where guards reported chains and footsteps, Castel Nuovo and the ghost of Queen Joanna I of Naples, the prison hauntings of Castel Sant'Elmo, and the chilling tunnels of the Catacombs of San Gen...

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is one of the most chilling and fascinating legends in Japan history. In old tales from Kyoto, a supernatural procession of yōkai, spirits, cursed objects, foxes, goblins, and monsters marched through the streets after dark, bringing madness, misfortune, or death to anyone who crossed their path. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore the...

The Revenge Ghosts of Japan explores the real history behind Japan’s terrifying vengeful spirits. In old Japan, revenge ghosts known as onryō were blamed for lightning strikes, fires, disease, sudden deaths, and political chaos. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover the true stories of Sugawara no Michizane, whose exile was followed by disasters and a palace lightning strike,...

Naples and the Camorra explores the real history behind one of Europe’s oldest and most powerful criminal organizations. In Naples, poverty, political corruption, weak institutions, and social unrest helped give rise to the Naples and the Camorra, a decentralized network of clans that controlled neighborhoods, gambling, smuggling, extortion, construction, drugs, and public contracts across souther...

Naples: The Most Invaded City in Italy explores the extraordinary history of Naples, one of the most fought-over cities in Italy. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover how ancient Greeks founded Neapolis, how Rome turned Naples into a luxury retreat, how the city survived the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, and how Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, French dynasties, Spa...

The Skull Cult of Naples explores one of the strangest and most emotional traditions in Italy history. In Naples, locals visited the underground Fontanelle Cemetery, adopted anonymous skulls, cleaned them, decorated them, prayed for their souls, and asked for favors in return. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover the real history behind the practice of anime pezzentelle,...

The Monster of Vesuvius explores the terrifying myths, sightings, and folklore surrounding Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 CE. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover stories of giant black hounds seen on the slopes, dragons beneath the mountain, demonic shapes in ash clouds, fiery faces in volcanic smoke, ghostly cries from the crat...

When Japan Was Ruled by Monks explores one of the strangest chapters in Japan history, when powerful Buddhist monasteries became political forces, military powers, and rivals to samurai lords. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we dive into the rise of the sōhei warrior monks, the wealth and influence of Enryaku-ji, the armed leagues of the Ikkō-ikki, and the fortress of Ishiyama Hong...

The Underground City of Naples explores one of the most astonishing hidden places in Italy. Beneath Naples lies a second city made of ancient Greek quarries, Roman aqueducts, early Christian catacombs, royal escape tunnels, plague burial chambers, and World War II bomb shelters. In this mega episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover the real history of Neapolis, Roman underground water sy...

Naples and the Sleeping Volcano explores the incredible true history of Naples and its dangerous relationship with Mount Vesuvius, one of the world’s most famous volcanoes. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we uncover the catastrophic Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger, the death of Pliny the Elder, and...

The The Turkish Abductions were among the most shocking events in Iceland history. In 1627, Barbary corsairs raided Icelandic communities, killed residents, and kidnapped around 400 people into slavery. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore the raids on the Vestmannaeyjar and beyond, the fate of captives like Guðríður Símonardóttir, and the real history behind one of the stran...

The Human Pillars explores one of Japan’s most disturbing legends: the belief that living people were buried inside castles, bridges, and foundations to calm spirits or strengthen structures. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore hitobashira stories tied to Maruoka Castle, feudal construction, Japanese spiritual beliefs, folklore, and the truth behind one of history’s darkest...

The The Basque Whalers Massacre was one of the darkest events in Iceland history. After Basque whaling crews were shipwrecked in the Westfjords in 1615, local authorities organized hunts that led to the deaths of 32 stranded sailors. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore Basque whaling history, survival in the North Atlantic, fear, scarcity, and the legacy of a tragedy remembe...

The The Black Death in Iceland arrived decades after the main European pandemic, striking Iceland in 1402 CE after years of relative protection through isolation. The result was devastating mortality, social disruption, and lasting change. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore how the plague likely arrived by ship, why Iceland’s geography delayed the outbreak, and how medieval...

The Sturlung Era was one of the most chaotic periods in Iceland history. Between 1220 and 1264 CE, powerful families fought for influence, civil conflict spread across the island, and the old Commonwealth system began to collapse. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore the role of Snorri Sturluson, the Battle of Örlygsstaðir, the Sturlunga saga, and how internal conflict led Ic...