True Weird Stuff
True Weird Stuff is an award-winning podcast hosted by Sheri Lynch. It features surprising, odd, bizarre, and sometimes insane stories that are always true. Each episode tells a unique and captivating true story.
Episodes
Revisiting Unholy City: The Cult Leader Who Built His Own Town
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting Unholy City: The Cult Leader Who Built His Own Town
His followers called him a prophet. Everyone else called him dangerous. In the hills of California, cult leader William E. Riker built a community known as Holy City...a town founded on racial segregation, strict control, and his own twisted interpretation of Christianity. What beg
The Phantom Barber
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Phantom Barber
In the summer of 1942, paranoia gripped the town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. An unknown intruder began sneaking into homes at night, not to steal valuables, but to cut the hair of sleeping children. As the attacks escalated into violence, mass hysteria took hold. A shadowy figure called “The Phantom Barber” terr
Bloody Bishop
Today's True Weird Stuff - Bloody Bishop
In 1976, a respected U.S. diplomat named William Bradford Bishop murdered his wife, mother, and three sons. He drove their bodies 275 miles to a swamp and set them on fire. Bishop vanished soon after, abandoning his car near the Great Smoky Mountains. He spent nearly 42 years on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and was nev
Revisiting The Living Corpse: The Man Who Made a Career Being Buried Alive
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting The Living Corpse: The Man Who Made a Career Being Buried Alive
Before modern mortuary science, being buried alive was a real and terrifying possibility. But in mid-century America, one man turned that fear into a career. Meet “Country” Bill White, aka "The Living Corpse." Country Bill spent over tw
The Morlok 4
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Morlok 4
In 1930, four identical baby girls were born against impossible odds. The medical marvel of the Morlok quadruplets brought hope to a society ravaged by the Great Depression. But what the world didn't see was the strict, authoritarian home life behind closed doors. As their fame grew, so did their father&rsquo
The Hello Girls: The Women Who Helped Win WWI...and Were Forgotten
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Hello Girls: The Women Who Helped Win WWI...and Were Forgotten
Before women could vote or officially serve in the Army, 223 American women were sent to the front lines of World War I to run battlefield communications. They worked under bombardment, wore gas masks at their desks, and connected 26 million calls that helped secure Alli
The Angel Makers: The Village That Poisoned Its Husbands
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Angel Makers
In a quiet Hungarian village with no doctor and no escape from abusive marriages, the women found salvation in a midwife called Auntie Suzy. She delivered babies by day and, by night, brewed arsenic from flypaper. Husbands, lovers, parents, even children began to die. For nearly twenty years, no one asked questions. My
Revisiting Beavers On The Moon
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting Beavers On The Moon
Claims that the Apollo 11 moon landing was a hoax have existed for decades. Meet the grandaddy of moon landing conspiracy theories, Bill Kaysing. He believed the Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 were faked. However, this isn't the only lunar conspiracy...The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 w
Amelia's SOS
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Today's True Weird Stuff - Amelia's SOS
In 1937, the world was told that Amelia Earhart simply vanished — swallowed whole by the Pacific, leaving nothing behind but silence. But what if there wasn’t silence? What if, in the
Revisiting Tripping Johns
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting Tripping Johns
One of our first episodes of True Weird Stuff was about the CIA dosing unsuspecting men with LSD and luring them to surveillance brothels. We're doing something a little different in this episode; we're providing live commentary as we listen back to "Tripping Johns."
Revisiting Talking To Heaven
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting Talking To Heaven
What happens when we die? Are you a person who believes that we flicker into and out of existence like earthbound fireflies, here and then gone? Or maybe you believe in an eternal soul that recycles itself lifetime after lifetime? What if you could know, what if you did know what happens when we die? In this epis
Killer Ouija Board
Today's True Weird Stuff - Killer Ouija Board
Some say the Ouija board is just a game. A toy. A harmless way to pass the time. But in 1933, Dorothea Turley—once celebrated as America’s ideal of beauty—found herself trapped in a life she no longer wanted. Isolated, restless, and searching for answers, she turned to a Ouija board. What she got back was a
Cursed Bread
Today's True Weird Stuff - Cursed Bread
In 1951, a quiet French village descended into chaos after people began hallucinating, screaming about monsters, and even jumping from windows—all after eating bread. Officially blamed on contaminated grain, the case took a darker turn when connections to CIA LSD experiments and the mysterious death of a government scienti
The Jumper
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Jumper
On November 28, 1953, a man crashed through a tenth-floor window at New York City’s Hotel Statler. His name was Frank Olson — a scientist working on some of the most disturbing top-secret programs of the Cold War. Days earlier, the CIA had secretly dosed him with LSD. The official story? A troubled man had a break
Open Wide
Today's True Weird Stuff - Open Wide
In the early 1900s, psychiatrist Dr. Henry Cotton claimed he could cure mental illness by removing hidden infections in the body. His theory led to a shocking medical practice at the New Jersey State Hospital for the Insane in Trenton—patients had all of their teeth pulled, tonsils removed, and even parts of their intestines su
Scarlett Sisters
Today's True Weird Stuff - Scarlett Sisters
Born into Southern privilege, sisters Ada and Minna Simms escaped violent marriages, stumbled into show business, and eventually pivoted into running what became the most luxurious brothel in America. The Everleigh Club catered exclusively to millionaires, politicians, gangsters, and royalty. Ada and Minna transformed prosti
Jeffrey Epstein, Vampire
Today's True Weird Stuff - Jeffrey Epstein, Vampire
How do you build a conspiracy theory? Start with a villain. Add power. Stir in mystery. True Weird Stuff examines the internet's bizarre claim that Jeffrey Epstein is an immortal vampire who once lived as President Andrew Jackson. We trace the ingredients: the suspicious timing of press releases, strange digital footpr
Swing Your Partner
Today's True Weird Stuff - Swing Your Partner
From 17th-century folk traditions to 20th-century propaganda, the square dance traveled a long road before landing in your elementary school gym. What looks like homespun Americana hides a secret: a powerful man’s fear that jazz was a threat to white America. Sometimes the most wholesome traditions carry the darkest
Chronovision
Today's True Weird Stuff - Chronovision
In 1972, a Vatican priest claimed he built a machine that could watch past events like a television...everything from ancient Rome to the crucifixion of Christ. Father Pellegrino Ernetti called his invention the Chronovisor, and Ernetti claimed the Vatican saw the machine, feared it, and hid it away forever. The Chronovi
Internal Sunshine
Today's True Weird Stuff - Internal Sunshine
William J.A. Bailey wasn’t a doctor, but he convinced the public to trust him anyway—selling radium-laced water as a cure for nearly everything. One of those believers was Eben Byers, a wealthy athlete who drank more than a thousand doses, slowly poisoning himself until his jaw disintegrated and his skull b
The Perfect Baby
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Perfect Baby
In 1919, a toddler known as one of America’s “Perfect Babies” vanished from his New Jersey home. Searchers scoured the woods. Accusations spread. Theories multiplied. When his remains were found deep in the swamp, they answered nothing. The disappearance and death of 2-year-old Billy Dansey spun a web of fear
Lynnewood Hall
Today's True Werid Stuff - Lynnewood Hall
Lynnewood Hall was built as a monument to wealth, power, and permanence—an American Versailles, commissioned by the Widener family, meant to last for generations. But tragedy struck the Widener family at the height of their fortune, tying the mansion forever to the sinking of the Titanic and a grief no amount of money coul
Tiny Pedro
Today's True Weird Stuff - Tiny Pedro
In 1932, a prospector blasting for gold in Wyoming uncovered something no one expected: a tiny mummified human seated upright in a cave. Scientists examined it. Crowds paid to see it. And then—like so many pieces of ancient history—it disappeared. Join us as we uncover the legend of Tiny Pedro.
The Award Winning "Doomsday Clock"
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Award Winning "Doomsday Clock"
True Weird Stuff is currently on hiatus, but Sheri and Max will be back with a brand new episode next week. Until then, we present to you another one of their award winning episodes. Winner of two Signal Awards for best history episode and best editing, "Doomsday Clock" explores the origins of the clock, and
The Award Winning "Once Upon A Shroom"
The Award Winning "Once Upon A Shroom"
Sheri and Max have placed True Weird Stuff on hiatus through the holiday season. Today, we present to you another one of their award winning episodes. Winner of a W3 Award for best history episode, Once Upon A Shroom dives into the story of the man who popularized shrooms in America.
The Award Winning "Cokey & Lucky"
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Award Winning "Cokey & Lucky"
Sheri and Max have placed True Weird Stuff on hiatus as we enter the chaotic crunch time of the Christmas season, In their stead, we present to you one of their award-winning episodes. Winner of a W3 Award for best history episode, Cokey and Lucky explores the rise and fall of the architect of the modern m
The Phantom Killer
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Phantom Killer
In 1946, the twin cities of Texarkana were gripped by terror; an unknown person began attacking couples in the night, murdering five people over the course of weeks. As the murders mounted, fear and paranoia consumed the community. Despite an exhaustive investigation fueled by endless false tips, bogus confessions, and hundr
Dopey & Sad: The Year In Review
Today's True Weird Stuff - Dopey & Sad: The Year In Review
It's been quite the year for the True Weird Stuff crew. We won awards and spent countless hours writing and editing dozens of stories that may or may not have been lost to time. We don't have a story for you in this episode, per se, but it is the tale of how we've managed to build True Weird Stuff into some
Revisiting The First War On Christmas
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting The First War On Christmas
We're off for the Thanksgiving holiday, so in honor of Christmas here's a tale about a group of Grinches who hated the holiday. The Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th Century, people like Governor William Bradford and Reverend Increase Mather, hated Christmas so much that they chose to
Road Zoo
Today's True Weird Stuff - Road Zoo
As cars and family road trips exploded across America in the early 20th century, hundreds of mom-and-pop zoos sprang up along the highways, promising exotic animals, cheap thrills, and quick profits. But behind the quirky billboards and hand-painted signs, many of these zoos operated with little to no oversight. Lax regulations open
The Fall of Fatty
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Fall of Fatty
In 1921, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars—beloved, bankable, and untouchable. But a wild party at San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel changed everything. When young actress Virginia Rappe fell mysteriously ill and later died, Arbuckle was accused of murdering
Gorillas in the Myth
Today's True Weird Stuff - Gorillas in the Myth
Long before Bigfoot roamed through modern folklore, there was another giant said to haunt the jungles. For centuries, explorers called it a monster, a savage man-beast that couldn’t possibly exist. Then one day, proof was uncovered. From cryptid legend to reality, this is the tale of the gorilla and its emergence fro
Bright Lights, Big Sleepy Revisited
Today's True Weird Stuff - Bright Lights, Big Sleepy Revisited
This was one of the first True Weird Stuff episodes we did...it's a deeply personal story for Sheri, who shared the time she and her family experienced a "lost time" phenomenon. This episode has been updated to include a newly recorded Post-Mortem, in which Sheri reveals new i
Flat Earth City
Today's True Weird Stuff - Flat Earth City
Wilbur Glenn Voliva was a self-proclaimed prophet, flat-earth crusader, and autocratic ruler of Zion, Illinois. This fiery preacher took over John Alexander Dowie’s religious utopia in the early 1900s, ruling with an iron fist, Volivabanning everything from whistling to reading newspapers on Sundays. But his most infamo
The Littlest Survivor
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Littlest Survivor
In 1846, the Donner Party set out westward seeking new land and opportunity, but their journey turned into a nightmare when they became trapped by snow in the unforgiving Sierra Nevada. Starvation, freezing temperatures, and impossible choices claimed the lives of many members of the Donner Party. Eliza Donner Houghton, t
A Demon Named Bob
Today's True Weird Stuff - A Demon Named Bob
In 1878, a quiet town in Nova Scotia became the stage for one of the most chilling hauntings in North American history. After a near-death experience, a young woman named Esther Cox began to suffer strange attacks — unseen forces that scratched messages into walls, set fires, and hurled objects through the air. Was sh
Liar, Liar, Plants on Fire
Today's True Weird Stuff - Liar, Liar, Plants on Fire
In 1966, Cleve Backster, an interrogation specialist for the CIA, claimed to have discovered something shocking: plants seemed to respond to human thoughts and emotions. He came to this conclusion by hooking up plants to a polygraph machine to measure their response. His controversial experiments with polygraphs su
The Terrordome
Today/s True Weird Stuff - The Terrordome
Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia became notorious for unethical medical experiments conducted on inmates from the 1950s through the 1970s. Prisoners, many of them poor and Black, were lured into participating with small payments; doctors also lied to prisoners about the risks. Under dermatologist Albert Kligman, inmates were
Wild Child
Today's True Weird Stuff - Wild Child (Airdate 9/19/2025)
In 1797, a young boy was discovered in the woods of France. He would eventually be found and taken into towns to be cared for by the locals. This boy, known as Victor, couldn't speak, was covered in scars, and behaved like a wild animal. Victor would escape many times, but he was eventually taken in b
Our Lady Of The Attic
Today's True Weird Stuff - Our Lady Of The Attic
Blanche Monnier’s story is one of the most chilling true tales from 19th-century France. Once a vibrant young woman from a respected family, Blanche mysteriously vanished—only to be discovered 25 years later, imprisoned in a dark, filthy room by her own mother. Malnourished, covered in filth, and hidden away f
Sin Eater
Today's True Weird Stuff - Sin Eater
The practice of people eating a meal after a loved one's funeral is common, but the combination of eating and death used to have a morbid relationship in some religions. Certain people were called upon to place bread on the deceased's body, then eat the bread as a way to "consume" the person's sins. They were known as Sin Eaters
Madames of Mayhem - A True Crime Marathon
Today's True Weird Stuff - Madames of Mayhem - A True Crime Marathon
We have four chilling tales of women you don't want to cross. Nannie Doss loved her husbands...until she got tired of them and decided to murder them. Baba Anujka, the world's oldest serial killer, used her scientific knowledge to poison her victims. Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were a mother/daug
Ghost Ship
Today's True Weird Stuff - Ghost Ship
A bizarre distress signal. A vessel discovered adrift. An entire crew found deceased with their faces frozen in terror. Since the 1940s, the legend of the SS Ourang Medan has been shrouded in mystery. Different accounts tell different stories. How did the crew die? Did the Ourgang Medan even exist at all? Only the souls of th
The Living Corpse
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Living Corpse
Taphophobia is the fear of being buried alive. During the Victorian Era, people being mistakenly buried alive was so common that extensive measures were taken to prevent it. But throughout history, there have been individuals like "Country" Bill White, a man who made a career out of burying himself alive for the fame and noto
Vanished
Today's True Weird Stuff - Vanished
In 1768, Owen Parfitt was a crippled, old man sitting on his front porch like usual. When his sister returned to bring him inside, he was gone. It was impossible that he'd left on his own, and no one had seen a thing. Every search turned up empty-handed, and Owen Parfitt was never seen again. Was he kidnapped? Was he a victim of the s
Human Livestock
Today's True Weird Stuff - Human Livestock
In the 20th century, the American Eugenics Society promoted its ideas of "racial betterment" through publications, lectures, and even at state fairs. Entire families would jump at the chance to be scrupulously evaluated at these exhibits. The prize for winning these "Fitter Family" contests? Being deemed worthy of passing on
People Chow
Today's True Weird Stuff - People Chow
Webster Edgerly was the creator of a social movement known as Ralstonism. His self-promoted pseudoscience was based upon his advocacy of racial eugenics and strict health and hygiene habits. That's why in 1902, Edgerly's Ralstonism movement would end up partnering with popular food brand Purina, whose whole-grain cer
The Hobo King
The Hobo King
In the decades before the Great Depression, it was common for folks known as hobos to wander from town to town searching for work, dangerously hopping on and off moving trains to reach their next destination. A man named Jeff Davis believed that hobos deserved a chance to care for themselves, and in 1913, he opened a hotel where hobos would provide fo
Revisiting Sea Demon
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting Sea Demon
You’re at the beach, standing at the water’s edge. Shielding your eyes from the sun glaring off the water, you gaze out at the far horizon. Did you see it? Was it a trick of the light or was it...a fin? You’re about to hear a shark tale unlike any other. One that makes Jaws look like Finding Nemo. T
Revisiting We The People
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting We The People
In honor of the 4th of July, here's the episode we did about Gouverneur Morris, the man who coined the term "We the People."
Nazi Farm Part 2
Today's True Weird Stuff - Nazi Farm Part 2
In Nazi Farm, Part 1 we discussed the origin of Colonia Dignidad, the Nazi religious cult established by Paul Schäfer in Chile. In this episode, we dive deeper into Colonia Dignidad's relationship with Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Schäfer's alliance with Pinochet's regime led to Coloni
Nazi Farm Part 1
Today's True Weird Stuff - Nazi Farm Part 1
Paul Schäfer was a Nazi who, after World War II, would go on to become a minister. When Schäfer was accused of abusing two young boys at his orphanage, he fled to Chile and started a community called Colonia Dignidad. Though this 53-square-mile compound looked peaceful on the outside, Colonia Dignidad was a
Order of the Pug
Today's True Weird Stuff - Order of the Pug
The rise of Freemasonry in 18th century Europe led to conflict within the Catholic Church. Their disdain of these secret fraternal orders led to Pope Clement XII banning Catholics from joining them. However, that didn't stop a group of Catholics from creating their own secret society, one based o
Revisiting A Killer Pool
Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting A Killer Pool
With Sheri feeling under the weather this week, we thought it'd be a good time to re-release the first episode of True Weird Stuff. Sheri shares the details of growing up with a neighbor down who was as nice as could be...until the day he snapped and went on a killing spree.
Killer Eyes
Today's True Weird Stuff - Killer Eyes
Fritz Angerstein was a German mass murderer who killed his wife and 7 other people on November 30 and December 1, 1924. For centuries, people wondered if it might be possible for the human eye to record the last image it saw before death, leading to the practice of forensic optography. Even though it would eventually be debunk
Murder Farm
Today's True Weird: Murder Farm (Airdate 5/23/2025)
Mammoth Feast
Today's True Weird Stuff - Mammoth Feast (Airdate 5/16/2025)
In 1901, an expedition team in Siberia discovered a nearly perfectly preserved mammoth locked in permafrost for 44,000 years. Various tales of the consumption of mammoth meat have been around for centuries, but none like the Explorers Club's 47th Annual Dinner in 1951. The exclusive m
Adam & Eve Declassified
Today's True Weird Stuff - Adam & Eve Declassified
In the 1960s, the CIA classified a book called The Adam and Eve Story. The book claims that Earth undergoes catastrophic events approximately every 6,500 years, leading to the destruction and rebirth of civilization through disasters like pole shifts and mass extinctions. The book became declassified in 2013
Casket Girls
Today's True Weird Stuff - Casket Girls
In the 1700s, the French colony in Louisiana had a population problem: there weren't enough women. And so the French government rounded up and shipped over hundreds of women across the Atlantic to marry male settlers and help “civilize” the growing colony. The women carried what little belongings they had in small&n
Doomsday Clock: 89 Seconds To Midnight
Today's True Werid Stuff - Doomsday Clock: 89 Seconds To Midnight
Created in 1947, the Doomsday Clock was established by a group of atomic scientists to represent to the public the likelihood of a human-made global armageddon, whether it's the looming threat of nuclear war, bioterrorism, or cyberwarfare. Over the years, the Doomsday Clock has found itsel
The Arkansas Ghost
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Arkansas Ghost
January, 1929. A man named Connie Franklin moved to Stone County, Arkansas. The alleged 20-something began courting a 16-year-old girl named Tiller Ruminer, and on March 9th, 1929, the two were on their way to obtain their marriage license when a group of men attacked them. Tiller survived the brutal assault, but Franklin
Reliving The Black Eyed Kids
Today's True Werid Stuff - Reliving The Black Eyed Kids
In 1996, reporter Brian Bethel said he had an encounter with two children that left him terrified. Sitting in his car in a parking lot late at night, Bethel was approached by two young boys whose eyes were as black as coal. In the decades since Bethel shared his story, others have claimed to have similar encount
Another Icepick To The Brain
Today's True Weird Stuff - Another Icepick To The Brain
Rosemary Kennedy was part of the powerful and highly esteemed Kennedy Family. Rosemary was born with intellectual disabilities at a time when children with special needs were highly stigmatized. When she was 23 years old, Rosemary's father ordered her to have a lobotomy. The procedure left her permanently incapa
Headless Valley
Today's True Weird Stuff - Headless Valley
The Nahanni Valley in the Northwestern Territories of Canada is a beautiful area that's home to strange and deadly tales, including the story of Frank and William McLeod. The two brothers set off into the Nahanni Valley in hopes of discovering a fortune in gold. Years later, their skeletons were found at an abandoned ca
The Last Duel
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Last Duel
The most famous duel in American history was between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804. The premiere way of settling disputes and upholding unwritten codes of honor, the act of dueling would gradually fall out of favor over the 19th Century. However, dueling was still commonplace in Southern states like South Carolina. Th
Jill the Ripper
Today's True Weird Stuff - Jill the Ripper
In 1888, the people of the Whitechapel district of London were terrorized by someone on a ruthless killing spree. Over 100 suspects were named, including a woman named Mary Pearcey. In 1890, Mary was convicted of brutally murdering her lover's partner and child, and Mary was sentenced to death. The brutal nature of the ki
Mirror, Mirror
Today's True Weird Stuff - Mirror, Mirror
Margaretha von Waldeck was the real-life inspiration for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Born to a noble family during the Holy Roman Empire, Margaretha's mother passed away when she was 4 years old. Her father, Count Philip IV, would go on to remarry a woman named Katherina von Hatzfeld. Katherina despised her stepdaught
Brain In A Jar
Brain In A Jar
Phineas Gage was an American railroad foreman who survived a traumatic brain injury. In 1848, an iron rod shot through his skull and destroyed a chunk of his left frontal lobe. Though he survived the accident, the damage to his brain drastically altered his personality. Gage's story became a catalyst for modern neuroscience, which has advanced to th
The King's Rhinoceros
Today's True Weird Stuff - The King's Rhinoceros
In the 1500s, King Manuel of Portugal gifted Pope Leo a beautiful, white elephant as a gesture of obedience to the Vatican. Unfortunately, the majestic beast passed away after only two years. To make up for it, King Manuel tried to ship Pope Leo a rhinoceros named Ganda; however, the rhino met its demise in a shipwre
The Appetite
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Appetite
Tarrare was a French Showman in the 1700s who had an insatiable appetite. His eternal hunger terrorized him to the point he literally tried to consume everything: live animals, garbage, inanimate objects, and even human flesh. The curious case of the 100lb Tarrare baffled even the greatest medical minds, and the medical findings o
The Bunker
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Bunker
In the 1950's and '60s, fallout shelters were all the rage. Tensions due to America's Cold War with Russia led to a looming fear of nuclear disaster. These underground bunkers, equipped with a living space and food rations, were a civil defense strategy aimed at reducing casualties in a nuclear war. And no fallout shelter was more e
A Real Stiff
Today's True Weird Stuff - A Real Stiff
Elmer McCurdy was an American outlaw who couldn't pull off a smooth heist to save his life. He tried to use his Army training with nitroglycerin to rob banks and trains, often to no avail. After accidentally robbing the wrong train in 1911, a drunken McCurdy met his demise after firing at the deputy sheriffs searching for him
Human Cloning
Today's True Weird Stuff - Human Cloning
In the previous episode of True Weird Stuff, we told the story of Raëlism, the religious UFO cult led by Claude Vorilhon. We're now diving into one of their core beliefs: that Jesus was resurrected through cloning and humans need to perfect human cloning to achieve immortality. That would lead to a claim made in 20
The Messenger
Today's True Weird Stuff - The Messenger
This is the story of a man who created a religion around UFO's. Claude Vorilhon was a journalist who claimed he was abducted by aliens in 1973. He said they told him humans were created by extraterrestrial species using advanced technology, and then they renamed him Raël and sent him back to Earth to serve as
Coconut Cult
Coconut Cult
In the early 1900s, a German author named August Engelhardt packed up his library of books, moved to the South Pacific island of Kabakon, and started a sun-worshipping coconut cult. He believed the way to become closer to God and gain immortality was by consuming coconuts and nothing else. Engelhardt convinced dozens of people to join him on the island
A Curse on You
Today's True Weird Stuff - A Curse on You
Alchemist. Astrologer. Magician. Georg Faust was considered a heretic in medieval Europe, primarily because he practiced black magic and summoned the spirits of the dead. Through legend and literature, Faust was hated by many, not just because of his fraudulent ways, but because of his pact with the devil for knowledge and
Once Upon A Shroom
Today's True Weird Stuff - Once Upon A Shroom R. Gordon Wasson was an author, and worked in banking for J.P. Morgan. He was also responsible for popularizing shrooms in America...you know, the ones with psychedelic properties. Even the CIA got in on the action, covertly funding Wasson's expedition to study and collect hallucinogenic species of mushrooms for&nb
Asylum Ladies
Today's True Weird Stuff - Asylum Ladies In the 1800s, women could be placed in mental institutions simply for not behaving the way society believed they should. Mental diagnoses at the time were simple: you were either deemed a lunatic, a moron, an imbecile, or feeble-minded. Like many others, a woman named Josephine Shaw Lowell believed poor women who lived in almshouses w
Forbidden Island
Today's True Weird Stuff - Forbidden Island In the early 1900s, a woman known as Typhoid Mary was identified as patient zero for a series of typhoid outbreaks in New York. As a result, she was forced into quarantine on North Brother Island and lived the rest of her life in exile. Not only was the island a quarantine zone, it was the location of the General Slocum steamboat d
Dark Twinning
Today's True Weird Stuff - Dark Twinning Stewart and Cyril Marcus were identical twin gynecologists. Though regarded as brilliant men in their profession, the Marcus twins' personal lives were shrouded in darkness. In 1975, the 45-year-old brothers' partially-decayed bodies were found inside a locked apartment littered with garbage and pharmaceuticals. An investigation led t
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