Strange Matters Podcast

In this episode of Strange Matters we share a collection of unexplained and creepy listener stories that have been shared with us.  Each of these stories involved personal encounters and experiences that can not be easily explained. These tales range from possible UFO sightings, to direct Alien visits, creepy shadow figures, smelly co-hosts, and bizarre strangers.  Between all the different unexplained experiences shared with us, this episode will be sure to give you the chills. Thanks to Joan, Danielle, Dan, Fallon, and Samantha for sharing their personal creepy listener stories with us! Check out all the podcasts available at Dark Myths For conspiracy enthusiasts we recommend listening to The Lone Gunman podcast

Aliens… Do they really exist? Are we really all alone in the universe? Perhaps it depends on your definition of the term “alien”; perhaps your stereotypical small-bodied Grey or maybe something as simple as a microbe could define this term. But how could we know that aliens exist? Some think that crop circles are a sign that aliens not only exist but have visited earth. With reports dating back centuries, this concept is not foreign. Many crop circles are localized to southern England however they can be found all over the world. While many suggest that they are all simply pranks or hoaxes performed by very creative and skilled artists, others think that at least a certain percentage are the result of otherworldly visitors. Other evidence for the existence of extra-terrestrial life lies in personal reports of human abduction. Perhaps the oldest reports of these abductions occurred in 1961. “The Hill Abduction” is the story of Barney and Betty Hill who were an inter-racial couple were well educated and involved in professional organizations. These individuals would have much to lose and little to gain from fabricating a story of the sort. Nonetheless they share the tale of traveling down a country road in their car one night while following a mysterious light. As the light approached closer Barney stopped the car and got out wielding his trusty pistol. As he got closer he was able to spot “non-human” creatures inside what appeared to be a disk-shaped flying object. He screamed “They’re going to capture us!” as he ran back to the car, however shortly thereafter both of them report slipping into a strange trance. After waking up 35 miles south of where they had originally stopped the car, they would go on to continue their lives while being plagued by strange dreams and other odd occurrences. Another alien encounter was reported by a “Dr. Jonathan Reed”. While out in the woods one day he came upon a strange humanoid creature fighting with his beloved dog, Suzy. When the alien got the upper hand and somehow reduced his dog to a pile of dust, Reed angrily approached the creature from behind and struck it in the head, killing it. The remains were captured in various photographs, however the authenticity of this story has been questioned. Travis Walton, on the other hand was a logger who was in the presence of five of his buddies when he encountered aliens. Traveling in a truck down yet another country road after a long day’s work, the men spotted a strange glowing object in the distance. As they approached it, one man would describe it as “a luminous object, shaped like a flattened disk” and nearly 20 feet in diameter. Walton got out and approached the saucer but was immediately struck by a bright blue light emanating from the craft which knocked him back onto the ground. While the other men bolted, Walton would go missing for 5 days, only to return with a tale of alien abduction. Despite this wild tale, all the men would go on to pass polygraph tests suggesting that they were telling the truth. Tune in to this podcast episode and decide for yourself: are aliens really out there?  

In this sequel to the original Ancient Mysteries, Eric discusses several mysterious cases from olden times. First is the legend of the screaming mummy. Gaston Maspero, the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service was inspecting various different mummies found at Deir El Bahri near the Valley of the Kings. Amongst the newly-discovered, legendary leaders of Egypt was an unmarked sarcophagus belonging to an unknown mummy. However this was no ordinary mummy. Upon opening the case he discovered this mummy’s face was locked in an eternal scream. This body had been bound by his hands and feet, so tightly that there were marks on his bones. But despite this apparent torture the remains were carefully mummified and preserved. The body had also been wrapped in sheep or goat skin which is considered by the ancient Egyptians to be ritualistically unclean. While many believe this individual to be the traitor son of Ramses III who was punished for his alleged betrayal of his father, others suspect him to be a prince from the nearby rival civilization of the Hittites. Modern advancements in technology have shed some light on the details regarding this unexplained anomaly however this mystery has yet to be confirmed. Next up is the “Devil’s Footprints” which were a line of footprints left in the snow, discovered one morning in 1855 in Devon, England. These footprints were said to have stretched over 100 miles which is more distance than any earthly creature would be able to cover in a single night. These cloven hoof prints were said to have either scaled 14 foot walls or passed directly through them and continued on the other side, unimpeded. One report states that the trail passed a two-mile stretch of the River Exe and then continued on the other side. While clergymen were eager to jump on this opportunity and claim these prints belonged to Satan himself and that he was here to collect souls of sinners, others took a more reasonable approach and attempted to rationalize the anomaly as belonging to animals. One thing is for sure: these footprints caused a significant amount of unrest in Devon in the 1850s. Our final investigation is the mysterious disappearance of James Burne Worson. This story of a shoemaker and established citizen in his community in Warwickshire, England tells of this boastful individual’s habit of getting involved in impossible wagers. His latest bet involved him running to a nearby town and back again — a total round trip of nearly 40 miles. After setting out on this venture, with two fellows following him in a carriage to vouch for his completion of the task, Worson began running without difficulty for several miles. Then suddenly with their eyes fully upon him, he stumbled and began to fall, let out a shrill gut-wrenching scream and immediately vanished without hitting the ground. There have been very few reasonable explanations for what could have happened here, however the truth of the story is in question. Is it possible for individuals to not only go missing but to disappear entirely?

The Family Murders is a well known and notorious series of crimes that occurred in Adelaide, Australia.  This case includes mysterious attacks, brutal murders, and a dark conspiracy surrounding a secret group of elites that preyed on the young in the city. Five young men were mysteriously abducted in different areas of Adelaide in a span from the late 1970s into the 80s.  Disturbingly, after going missing their bodies would soon turn up, often horribly mutilated.  Who was behind these attacks and what their motives were was unknown to the families, police, and the entire community. As the crimes went on, rumors began to circulate of an insidious conspiracy. Some members of the police, as well as the local media, began to talk about a group dubbed “The Family.”  This secretive group was made up of important members of society, who all shared the same sick and twisted violent desires.  This murderous collective was rumored to be responsible for kidnapping and torturing these young men, as well as shielding all of its members from police investigations. Did the Family actually exists? Was it possible that this secret group of high profile men successfully orchestrated this brutal crimes and get away with it? Or was it all the work of one psychopathic killer? Listen to this disturbing episode and hear all about the Family Murders.

In this episode we discuss a number of legendary and infamous cults, and the terrible atrocities they are known for. The People’s Temple, lead by the notorious Reverend Jim Jones, was a socialist minded, tightly knit religious congregation.  Though the People’s Temple and Jones himself was initially known for striving for social equality, this cult would unfortunately go down in history for a more sinister event.  Jim Jones would lead his dedicated, or brainwashed, followers into what he called an act of ‘revolutionary suicide’ against the cruelties of the outside world. He convinced over 900 people to “drink the kool-aid,” in reality a mixed concoction of poison, resulting in the largest instance of mass suicide in modern history. The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments was a strict religious cult that was based of the Roman Catholic church.  The Movement was what is known as a doomsday cult, known for predicting the apocalypse and preparing its members for it. When the date of the end times came and went, the leaders of the movement were forced to make a new plan to prevent their mass of members from fleeing.  Instead of admitting they were wrong, those in command would set plans in motion that would see that all of their followers would perish in a fiery trap that would claim the lives of over 300 innocent people. The Order of the Solar Temple was a secret organization that traced its origins to the Knights Templar.  This group celebrated a bizarre mix of ceremonies borrowed from Christianity, UFO religions, and the Freemasons.  Just as this group was starting to unravel from the inside, a tragic series of suicides and murders would cause it to leave its mark as one of the strangest cults in history. Scientology is a current religious group that has reached popularity over the years for its celebrity members and strange science fiction like beliefs. The darker side of this religious cult is its supposed use of brainwashing, fraud and financial means to force its members into submission and complete loyalty. Check out all the podcasts available at Dark Myths Dark Myths featured podcast of the Month: Pete’s Paranormal Chronicles

If a tree falls in the forest does it really make a sound? This philosophical conundrum raises questions about humans ability to perceive and interpret reality. What is reality? How much of what we are seeing is real and how much of it is simply our brains misinterpreting our senses? In this episode we discuss several different haunted forests around the world. The first of which is known as Hoia Baciu, also known as “The World’s Most Haunted Forest”, also known as “Romania’s Bermuda Triangle”. This forest has been known for its mysterious UFO sightings and apparitions since the 60s when a biologist went there to examine the strange curvature of the trees that grew on the land. Instead of finding an answer to his question, he snapped several photos of UFOs and also experienced the feeling that he was not alone in Hoia Baciu. Since then people who visit this small area of land complain of unexplained nausea and vomiting, rashes, scratches and feelings that they are being watched. The next haunted forest is known as Aokigahara which is a most beautiful 16 square mile patch of land located at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Many people from all over the world travel here to catch a glimpse of its splendor, however there is another more sinister attraction. It has become Japan’s number one suicide hot spot and over the last two decades hundreds of skeletons have been found in these woods. What is it about this area that attract so many desperate individuals and erodes there will to survive? Some come with the full intent of ending their lives while others come with a back up plan in case they change their mind and decide they wish to live. However one thing is for sure, and that is that this forest has an extremely treacherous terrain that could reduce your most avid hiker to nothing more then an incapacitated, lost hope. Our final haunted forest lands closer to our home in Virginia, United States of America. Along the Appalachian Trail many people have reported seeing the ghost of a young boy known as Ottie Cline Powell. This young boy went missing over a century ago, never to return. His body was found lifeless and frozen huddled at the top of Bluff Mountain where he had strayed over 7 miles from his schoolhouse. This sad story is believed to have resulted in his ghost wandering the AT for over a century in search of a way home to his family.   Visit Dark Myths to find other quality podcasts discussing mysteries, crimes, and more!

In this episode of Strange Matters, three cases are presented in which someone suddenly vanished without a trace.  In each of these unsolved mysteries, the victims would be going about living normal lives, until the next moment they were simply gone, forever. Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone were hanging at a bar late one night with some friends. At around midnight, the pair left the bar to head towards Richard’s truck. Neither of them would ever be seen again.  This case has puzzled police and the community for over a decade, as no one can see how its possible for two people and a truck could simply go missing without a shred of evidence. Angela Hammond was on a payphone late at night, talking to her fiance Rob. Suddenly, she screamed into the phone.  Her fiance ran to his car and raced towards to where she was, when a truck passed by with a woman inside screaming his name.  Unfortunately, Rob could not catch up and the truck would drive away, apparently taking Angela with it.  No signs of her would ever be found. In the last case, teenage Laureen Rahn was enjoying a day with two friends in her apartment.  Later that night, Laureen’s mother came home, to find that only her daughter’s friend was still at the apartment.  Her daughter was gone, with no signs of forced entry or a struggle, and all her belongings left behind.  It’s as if Laureen stepped outside and was suddenly gone, without a trace.  Though there were a few odd leads in this case, the police could find absolutely no clues as to what happened to the missing teenager.   Visit Dark Myths to find other quality podcasts discussing mysteries, crimes, and more! Episode music by: “Lightless Dawn”,  “Rains Will Fall” , “With a Creation” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this episode the crew of Strange Matters dives back into the realm of the paranormal and unknown, with four creepy tales of haunted artifacts, werewolves, angry poltergeists, and disturbed attic dwellers.  These stories of unwanted guests will be sure to send chills down your spine. The first story is that of the Hexham Heads, strange stone artifacts discovered that seemed to carry with them a dark curse. Several people who had ownership of these heads, and for a few unlucky individuals who just happened to be nearby, witnessed several unexplained and disturbing encounters.  There are claims of ghostly and poltergeist activity connected with the stone heads, not to mention sightings of a werewolf creature that seems to follow them everywhere. Next up is the infamous Man in the Attic, or the San Pedro Haunting.  This story involves a woman named Jackie who is experiencing a literal house full of horrors, including unworldly noises, moving objects, ghostly sightings, and even walls dripping human blood.  For those who agreed to investigate the house, their experiences would be much worse, and nearly fatal.  This case is one of the most famous cases of paranormal and poltergeist activity in the United States. The Jacksonville Clowns were a bizarre case that would terrify anyone who shares a phobia of clowns.  A series of men, dressed up as clowns, was caught on several surveillance cameras approaching houses.  Whether this was a meaningless prank or perhaps something more sinister is unknown to this day. The last case is that of the Woman in the Ceiling.  A paranoid man sets up a night vision camera in his apartment, in the process catching a woman descending from his loft’s attic space to eat his food and walk around his apartment while he slept.  Though some claim this might be a hoax, the man still swears this disturbing intruder actually dwelled in his place for some time, all the time unknown to him. Enjoy these stories of bizarre and creepy unwanted guests! For more podcasts discussing the paranormal and mysterious, check out all the shows over at Dark Myths Episode Music by: “Long Note One” , “Lightless Dawn” , “Long Note Two” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this story we present a collection of local myths, folklore, and urban legends that have been sent in to us by our listeners around the world! The origins of these stories range from Austria, England, Canada, and a few in the United States.  This episode is a mixture of tales and urban legends including  a sadistic murderer, a mythical suicide pool, the haunting of the water babies, the foul smelling Honey Island Swamp Monster, as well a number of other supernatural and paranormal events. Thanks to our listeners Raphaela, Thomas, Cody, & Kate for sharing your local urban legends with us! Also big thanks to fellow podcast hosts Jordan, Ryan, and Sam for sending in their own stories as well. Check out their podcasts and give them a listen when you have finished with this episode! Night Time Podcast  |  Rumor Flies Podcast  |  Inward Empire Podcast  

For a conspiracy of this magnitude we had to devote an entire episode… the Illuminati is likely one of the most famous conspiracies and any celebrity in popular culture is likely to at some point during their lifetime to have their name at least mentioned as being associated with this super secret organization. The Illuminati is believed to be a fraternal society with roots going back to 1776 in Bavaria where it was first established. Many believe that the Illuminati was involved in the foundation of America. This organization is thought by many to have been permanently disbanded, but many still believe it is alive and thriving in modern times. The purpose of the Illuminati is to achieve world domination through control of the world government, banks and media. The world’s ultra-rich are thought to be  the ones controlling this group however unfortunately there exists a tremendous lack of substantiated evidence to support the existence of this brotherhood. In this episode we discuss not only the details and symbols of the organization but also their alleged involvement in today’s society and popular culture. So does this organization really exist or is it nothing more than blurred shadow of a once great society? Tune in for this episode and let us know what you think! Be sure to visit other great podcasts over at Dark Myths!

In this second installment of Strange Matters Podcast’s series highlighting killers around the world, Sean discusses a pair of  particularly cruel and cold-hearted English serial killers. Harold Shipman, known as Dr. Death,  was a English General Practitioner and is currently the most prolific serial killer in recorded history.  Using his position as a doctor, Shipman was able to have access to an almost unlimited supply of unsuspecting victims.  His method was to give an overdose of diamorphine, or medical heroin, to his patients.  Harold Shipman was known to forge medical records as well.  Due to his position of power, Shipman was able to go undetected for years, killing hundreds of innocent patients.  Fortunately, a few people around the doctor started to recognize a pattern around his patient’s deaths.  Shipman was finally investigated, and tested done on several of his recently deceased patients proved that they had died of overdoses that he had himself administered. Mary Ann Cotton was a killer in the 1860’s and 70’s.  Mary was a poisoner, using arsenic to kill off multiple husbands, friends, and over a dozen children.  Her usual trick was to find a suitable man and quickly marry them, often times becoming pregnant right away.  Shortly after marriage, she would convince her husband to take a life insurance policy with her as the benefactor. Mary would then poison the husband, and usually several of the children involved as well.  This sadistic woman would repeat this process several times, until she had poisoned as many as 21 people before the authorities finally caught on to her act. You can find the first episode of this series Here  

In this episode, Eric takes you on a tour of some of the world’s sightings of Alien cryptids. The following stories walk a fine line between what is considered a cryptid and what is actually just evidence of extra-terrestrial life. The first encounter is that of the Enfield Horror. In 1973 in the town of Enfield Illinois multiple accounts of encounters with a strange 3 legged creature were reported all around the same time. This monstrosity, thought to be an alien, demon or genetic mutation, terrorized the town for days before disappearing never to be seen again. One individual tells how they heard a scratch at the door, and when they went to investigate, found a hideous hairy, yet slimy figure crouched at his front door with large glowing red eyes and miniature T-Rex like arms protruding from its narrow torso. As ridiculous as this sounds, multiple independent accounts describe the creature very similarly. Is this an alien? Or another cryptid? Or simply just a case of mistaken identity? The Musconetcong Mantis Man is another strange hybrid or genetic mutation that was sighted and described similarly within a fairly localized region in New Jersey. Some describe this 7-foot tall praying mantis as having inter-dimensional teleportation capabilities based on its ability to seemingly materialize and de-materialize in and out of thin air. However a slightly more logical explanation would be that this giant mantis is using natural capabilities, that it’s smaller bug brethren display commonly — the ability to take on the same color and pattern as its surroundings, also known as active camouflage. Some people believe that this giant beast is some mad scientists genetic experiment gone horribly wrong; and when this unnamed mad scientist realized he could not control this creature, he simply released it into the wild, where it has dwelled for years. Another popular theory draws similarities between the Mantis Man and another well known race of mantis-like aliens. Our final alien encounter is of a less extra-terrestrial form, however is alien in the sense of a creature that is non-native to the area in which it has been sighted. Alien big cats or “ABCs” are large black wild cats that have been sighted in Britain for almost a century. There have been several reports of people being attacked and some deceased corpses of smaller ABCs have been found. However the British government is skeptical given the existence of these beasts and believes them to be nothing more than hoaxes or misidentifications. Others take a more primitive and paranormal approach and believe that they are demons that have taken the form of panthers and leopards. However despite the demystification of thousands of photographs, there are still a handful that remain unexplained. Check out the other great podcasts over at Dark Myths!

For this episode we present a number of old and mystifying structures located at different locations around the world.  Mysteries surround each of these large constructions, as the reasons behind their construction and even how they were built is still being debated to this day. The first topic of the episode is the Coral Castle, located in Florida, U.S.  The Coral Castle is a collection of large and uniquely carved stones placed around the grounds.  Some of the stones used in the Castle weigh as heavy as 30 tons, over 10 times the weight of the stones used in the Great Pyramids!  What is so bizarre about this case is that the story goes that no one had any idea how the creator Edward Leedskalnin actually moved the stones to create his castle. Whether it was magnetism, levitation, ancient Egyptian Secrets, or just plain old mechanical creativity, Edward managed to create not just a unique complex, but a lasting mysterious legacy. Up next is the ancient city of Nan Madol.  The ruins of the city lay in Micronesia, in the western Pacific Ocean.  What is strange about Nan Madol is that it was built in the water of a lagoon, in which scores of artificial islands were created by the people in order to erect the buildings of the city.  How these people were able to pull of such a feat is still a mystery to this day. Finally we discuss the Goseck Circle.  Discovered in Germany, it is possibly the oldest large structure in the entire world, being several thousand years older than the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt.  The exact purpose of the Goseck Circle baffled archaeologist for years.  Some conjectured it was used as a fortification, or a place of worship, or even a setting for human sacrifice.  The newest theory behind the Goseck Circle however could completely change the way historians view the people of the Neolithic Age.   Check out the other great podcasts over at Dark Myths!

For this episode of Strange Matters we share a number of spooky and creepy stories and encounters that have been sent into us by listeners.  These disturbing paranormal listener stories include possible hauntings, unexplained phenomena, and strange encounters. Thanks to everyone who sent us in their personal stories!  For our next listener based episode we are looking for local myths and urban legends from all over the world.  If you know of any interesting or strange legends or stories from where you live, please feel free to share it with us at our email, or send us a message on our Facebook Page or Twitter! Check out the rest of the podcasts that are a part of the Dark Myths Collective

The story of the “Boy in the Box” was a tragic yet intriguing unsolved mystery that took place in the 1950’s. A young boy, not much older than 3-4 years, was found placed in a box and tossed on the side of the road. This young lad was carefully placed inside the box and left in the ditch of a country road in Philadelphia. Medical examination revealed that the cause of death was multiple blows to the head however a brown substance that coated the boys esophagus raises many questions. Despite almost 60 years of investigations the identity and story behind this boys death remains shrouded in mystery. Despite many theories, some more convincing than others, many of the investigators have died without knowing what really happened to this boy       The “Moving Coffins of Barbados” tells of a massive tomb built to house the bodies of the Chase family on the island of Barbados. This seemingly inexplicable story states that upon opening of the tomb the massive led caskets were found tossed about within the tomb without any explanation. Government officials became involved, inspected and sealed the tomb with additional layers of security but to no avail. Years later when the tomb was opened again, the coffins had been violently thrown about the inside of the tomb. Without any possible explanation, the bodies were exhumed and laid to rest in a separate location. What could possibly explain this? Could it be supernatural or possibly some sort of logical explanation exists? Perhaps we will never know, however it seems likely that this mystery could have been fabricated from the beginning. Tune in and learn all about these mysteries in our latest episode.