Things Are About To Get Weird

In December of 1872, a ship named the Mary Celeste was found adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When the salvage crew boarded the vessel, they discovered that it was in good shape, yet it was entirely deserted: a true ghost ship. But what on earth happened to the 10 souls who had been on board? And why had they abandoned the Mary Celste so far from shore? Chyaz explores one of the most bi...

Some of the most ordinary items we encounter on a daily basis may just be hiding a strange, bizarre or even dark history…join Chyaz Samuel as she explores the unusual stories behind even more everyday objects in the second part of this fascinating mini series. From beloved fashion accessories and popular food dishes to décor items and fizzy drinks, the origin tales of these seemingly inconspicuous...

Meet Helen Duncan, the Scottish psychic medium who became one of the most famous séance leaders in the nation…as well as the last person to be imprisoned in Britain under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. But if you thought this incident took place sometime in the 18th century, you’d be mistaken. Would you believe that Helen was actually locked up as recently as 1944? This is just one of the endless biz...

Is this the most haunted road in Britain? The Stocksbridge Bypass, located to the north of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, is associated with a shocking number of the most fascinating kind of ghost stories of all: corroborated ones. Multiple people, both in pairs and individually, have reported experiencing eerily similar paranormal apparitions and other happenings on the road, starting before it wa...

Did you know that many of the phrases we use on a daily basis have fascinatingly strange origins? In this episode, Chyaz explores the weird history behind the idioms and sayings that form part of our everyday conversations, and debunks some of the common explanations that aren’t quite as accurate as we might have thought. From the terrible practises that led some to appear ‘mad as a hatter’ to the...

The strange and mysterious death of Elisa Lam at the former Cecil Hotel in 2013 went from a local missing person case to a worldwide spectacle in a matter of days. When bizarre CCTV footage of some of Elisa’s movements in the hostel’s elevator went viral, internet sleuths quickly started forming increasingly outlandish theories as to what could have happened to her. But is the truth behind her tra...

The Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has one of the darkest histories ever discussed on the podcast. As a one-time home to serial killers including Richard Ramirez and the site of countless strange and terrible deaths, is it any wonder many guests have described the Cecil as feeling incredible haunted? Today, in Part 1 of this landmark 100th episode, Chyaz explores some of the most bizarre stor...

Was a supernatural being, resembling a spaceman, really caught on camera in the Solway Firth area of Cumbria in the 1960s? When firefighter Jim Templeton snapped a photo of his young daughter Elizabeth, he was shocked to spot a mysterious figure in the background of one of the pictures after they were developed. The story quickly caught the attention of paranormal enthusiasts from around the world...

The idea of a young child having vivid memories of a past life they claim to have led sounds like the premise of a supernatural movie. But did you know that a team at the University of Virginia have actually spent decades studying this very phenomenon? In this episode, Chyaz explores some of the most fascinating documented cases of children who say they have been on this earth before, as well as t...

When 46 year old Urooj Khan, a dry cleaning shop owner based in the US city of Chicago, won $1,000,000 on a lottery scratchcard, he immediately began asking himself the question many of us will only ever daydream about: how should I spend my lottery winnings? But just the day after his winning cheque was posted to him, Urooj tragically passed away after collapsing at home. Was his death as suspici...

Some strange facts are not only utterly fascinating, but completely mess with your perception of time too. Whether it’s finding out that two things you thought belonged to entirely different eras actually briefly existed at the same time or discovering some additional context that totally changes your view of a major historical event or person, these revelations can be truly mind-boggling. In this...

Is the ghost of Anne Boleyn one of the most well-travelled in history? Or is her legend so powerful that it’s inspired the creation of more than just a few myths about her adventures in the paranormal realm? Join Chyaz Samuel as she explores some of the most fascinating tales linked with the ill-fated Tudor Queen, including alleged hauntings at the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, along with ot...

Did Kate Bush really see a UFO (or three?) at Loch Ness back in the 1980s? What on earth is the story behind the ‘T-Rex leather handbag’ that went up for auction in Paris a few weeks ago? And do your fingernails really grow quicker in warmer weather? In this mini episode, Chyaz explores all three of these eclectic and fascinating questions, and some of the answers might just surprise you… Mental h...

In this mini episode, Chyaz explores two of the most bizarre yet fascinating news stories of the year so far: the recently announced Mount Everest recovery mission aimed at bringing the famous ‘Green Boots’ home after almost 30 years, plus a look at the spooky time capsule prophecy which has stunned staff at the Crystal Palace Park regeneration project. To finish, we have a strange-but-true fact a...

The story of Elmer McCurdy is one of the most bizarre cases covered on the podcast to date. How does the tale of a train-robbing outlaw become stranger AFTER he passes away? Prepare to hear about the astonishing life (and afterlife) of ‘The Bandit Who Wouldn’t Give Up’, also known as the ‘Outlaw Mummy’. What’s the truth behind this case that sounds like something straight out of American Horror St...

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which took place on Boxing Day of that year, is one of the most devastating natural disasters on record. Over 228,000 people across multiple countries are thought to have perished as a result of the brutal wave surges, triggered by an enormous earthquake off the coast of the island of Sumatra. But amongst the chaos, numerous astonishing stories emerged; tales of unbe...

Did you know that some of the most seemingly boring, everyday things in our homes actually have stranger backstories than you could ever imagine? Join Chyaz as she explores a selection of the weirdest origin tales behind the items so ordinary, we wouldn’t usually give them a second thought. From bland breakfast foods and stationery supplies to medicine packaging, and much more in between. These ar...

Weird Fix is back! In today’s mini episode, Chyaz discusses two of the strangest news stories of the year so far: one concerning Jonathan the Tortoise, the ‘World’s Oldest Land Animal’, who found himself caught up in a cryptocurrency death hoax…and the other relating to new research into the potential links between Infrasound and the paranormal. Plus, a fascinating piece of Pope-related trivia. Th...

As Victorian ghost stories go, few are as bizarre as the case of the Hammersmith Ghost. How did the search for an elusive ghoul, in what was then a rural-feeling village on the outskirts of London, end up in a murder trial which would haunt the British legal system for over 180 years? This tale is full of strange twists and unexpected turns, and whilst some aspects of the case are considered offic...

Just before Christmas in 1982, a grim discovery was made in the cellar of a house in the Greater Manchester town of Bolton. Human remains, belonging to a woman, were found in a partially-mummified state. But how long had she been there? And why could no one work out who she was? This is the story of ‘Mary Ellen’, which grows stranger and more complex with every new detail and connection that emerg...

For centuries, the Green Children of Woolpit story was seen as little more than a folktale that took place in a small Suffolk village during the 12th century. But what if there was more truth to it than many had previously imagined? Over 800 years on, the debate about this fascinating case rumbles on, with explanations for the sudden presence of these green-skinned children in the village of Woolp...

In 2013, a team of divers headed down to a boat that had capsized 20km off the coast of Nigeria. It had been almost three days since the Jascon-4 vessel had sunk, after being hit by a freak wave in the early hours of the morning. The divers were expecting it to be a recovery mission, bringing the bodies of the poor souls who had lost their lives in the disaster to the surface until a hand reached...

In 1957, three men spotted something very unusual in the sky close to the village of Silpho in North Yorkshire. A glowing object, which appeared to crash land on a nearby moor. The strange item, which resembled a small flying saucer, was quickly located, and naturally the discovery made headlines. But whilst many locals were excited by the prospect of the area having its very own UFO, news about t...

Hetty Green, better known as the ‘Witch of Wall Street’, may just be one of the most unique and eccentric women you’ve never heard of. After growing her fortune through clever investments during the 1800s in New York City, she became a peer of the likes of Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan…despite the fact she wasn’t even allowed to vote. But rather than celebrating her achievements, the press becam...

How did a 1,600 year old ‘bog body’ help to solve a murder? In the early 1980s, near the affluent town of Wilmslow in Cheshire, several discoveries were made in a local peat bog which caught the attention of archaeologists from around the world. Incredibly well-preserved human remains were found within the peat, with one particular finding setting off a chain of events that led to answers in a 20+...