Category: Podcast

The Watseka Wonder is the name given to the first documented American possession of 14-year-old Lurancy Vennum of Watseka, Illinois in 1878. It all started with Lurancy suddenly feeling ill with severe stomach pains, seizures, and loss of consciousness which they referred to as “trances”. She also wasn’t able to sleep well because she was being awakened at night by someone calling her name that wasn’t there. As time went on, her symptoms got even stranger when she would speak in different voices or speak of places that she had never been to.

After one of her last “trances”, Lurancy stated that she was now Mary Roff, a young woman who had died 13 years prior. She told them that she would retain control until Lurancy’s soul was healed. She knew the Roff family, all of their nicknames, and even how to play the piano, even though Lurancy had no knowledge. She lived as Mary, with the Roff family, for a few months before announcing that Lurancy’s soul was healed and would be returning soon. As promised, Lurancy did return and lived a happy, normal life from then on.

Did Lurancy suffer from a temporary psychological condition, or did she actually get possessed by the spirit of Mary Roff? Join us on episode 114 to hear more about this bizarre case of spiritual possession!

Sources: library.illinois.edu, bumpinthenight.net, daily-journal.com, morbidology.com, historyofyesterday.com, encyclopedia.com

We had a blast talking with filmmaker Zach Lamplugh about his new movie, 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot (#1 Will Blow Your Mind).

His film drops May 7 on VOD and is about a clickbait journalist sent to the Appalachian foothills to cover a Bigfoot Convention where he discovers there’s more to this listicle than meets the eye.

More about the film and ways to watch:
https://crankedupfilms.com/bigfoot

In Hackettstown, NJ near the Musconetcong River, there have been several encounters with a large bug-like creature resembling a praying mantis. This Mantis Man is about 7 feet tall with a dark green or brown exoskeleton, a triangular head, and large, slanted black eyes. Two of the encounters were with fishermen who were in the water and they both felt that the creature was surprised that they could see it, before it disappeared into thin air. Every encounter with this creature has been in or near the water, which is odd since praying mantis insects stick to dry ground.

In Iran, a unique rock carving was found of a creature with six limbs that has been described as part man, part mantis. The archeologists estimated that the carving could be anywhere between 4,000 and 40,000 years old, which suggests that ancient humans have possibly linked mantids to the supernatural since ancient times. 

Were these encounters a drug-induced hallucination? Or possibly, Mantis Man is an alien, with the ability to cloak itself and disappear into thin air, that even ancient humans have encountered. Join us on episode 113 to hear more about the Mantis Man!

Sources: cryptidz.fandom.com, nj.com, hackettstownlife.com, phantomsandmonster.com, cryptids-of-the-world.tumblr.com, sciencedaily.com, mysteriousuniverse.com, freaklore.com 

Ian Jaydid joins us to talk about his new book, MIGRATION. It’s all about the unifying “mechanics” behind a vast spectrum of paranormal phenomena such as astral projection, conscious time travel and telepathy. Join us!

Learn More on Ian Jaydid:

His new book – https://amzn.to/2PKq463
YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeeGfVCkblIXKANGj-bo8qQ

Over a period of two years, the Humphreys family dealt with a group of Bigfoot creatures that almost nightly would try to get into their cabin in Honobia, Oklahoma. At first it was just noises in the vicinity of their cabin that they would hear. One day they found that one of their freshly killed deer had been stolen from their outside freezer, so they cleaned out what meat was left in it and assumed that the problem had been solved. That is when they began to see the Bigfoot creatures on their porch, jiggling the doorknob and tapping on the windows, trying to get in. As the nights and days went on, they became more ferocious trying to get into the cabin.

In January 2000, Tim Humphreys was on his porch with a few friends and when one of the creatures got close enough to the cabin, he shot at it. The Bigfoot creature ran into the woods howling, and continued to scream the rest of the night. The next day they followed a trail of blood into the woods, but were never able to find the creature that was hit. The screams and mischief continued for a few weeks before the activity stopped altogether.

Why did Bigfoot attack their cabin? Join us on episode 112 to hear more about this strange story from Oklahoma!

Sources: tulsapeople.com, bfro.net, oklahoman.com, tulsaworld.com

On this episode we talk with Chaz of the Dead about his new book, Paranormal Expeditions: Hunt for the Friendship: A story of UFOs, Nazis, Psychedelics, and an Expedition to the Edge of the World.

Chaz’s Book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M8PK7KQ

On September 4, 1964, Donald Shrum went on a bow hunting trip in California with friends that turned into an adventure that he will never forget! At some point in the day, he got separated from the group because he was tracking a deer, and since it was almost dark, he decided to hunker down up in a tree and wait for first light. Right before he fell asleep, he saw a light zig-zagging in the distance and because he thought it might be a search party looking for him, he lit a flare to let them know where he was. Suddenly, the light rapidly moved towards him and he realized at this point that it was a large cigar-shaped object. Two beings and a robot appeared below him and began trying to shake him out of the tree, and even released a white gas that knocked him out. 

When he woke up, he was still in the tree but the beings and robot were still there trying to shake him out of the tree. This continued all night, with shaking of the tree and the white gas being emitted several times and him passing out. At dawn, after an emittance of the gas, he woke up but this time he was hanging from the tree by his belt and the entities were gone. When he finally returned to camp, he discovered that one of his friends had also seen the light the night before, but they hadn’t witnessed anything else strange.

Were these alien entities just trying to scare him, or were they the least competent abductors ever? Join us on episode 111 to hear more about this strange encounter!

Sources: Mysterious Universe, theironskeptic.com, paranormal-world.fandom.com, howandwhys.com, ufoweeklynews.com 

The Fairmont Banff Springs hotel, known as the Castle of the Rockies, is a 130+ year old resort and spa in a large castle located in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Because of a vision to bring the beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains to the rest of the world, William Cornelius Van Horne began construction in 1887 and officially opened on June 1, 1888. This location wasn’t just chosen for its scenic beauty, it was also by a railway and served as one of Canada’s grand railway hotels.  William knew that he couldn’t export the scenery, so why not import the tourists. The hotel has a few residents who’ve checked in throughout the years, but a few who’ve never checked out!

One of the most famous entities at the hotel is the ghost bride who fell down the grand marble staircase after her wedding and broke her neck. Since then, many have seen the figure of a woman in a wedding dress walking up and down the stairs. There is also Sam the bellman that is still performing his job by helping hotel guests when they are in need. One of the more terrifying paranormal experiences occur in room 873. Legend says that a mother and child were murdered in room 873 by the father and husband, and since then people have been woken in the middle of the night in the room by screaming. Once the lights come on, there are bloody handprints on the mirror that can’t be wiped off by the cleaning staff until they just disappear. Due to all the complaints, the room has been bricked up and closed off from guests.

What haunts this beautiful castle in Banff? Join us on episode 110 to hear more!

Sources: Avenuecalgary.com, fairmont.com, hauntedrooms.com, curiocity.com, the-line-up.com, banfftours.com, taximike.com, spookythingsonline.com

In September of 1931, the Irving family, James, Margaret and their 13-year-old daughter Voirrey, began hearing a persistent scratching, rustling, and animal-like noises behind the walls of their farmhouse located on the Isle of Man. It didn’t take long for a creature to introduce himself as Gef, and inform them that he was an “extra extra clever” mongoose from India that was born in 1852. He soon became part of the family and would tell them if they had a guest arriving soon, would turn the fire out in the stove at night if they forgot, or even wake those that had overslept in the morning. The Irvings would put bananas, chocolates and biscuits in a saucer that was suspended from the ceiling that Gef would take when no one was looking.

The story of Gef became very popular in the press, where many journalists tried to catch a glimpse of him, and in 1935, several psychic investigators and paranormal researchers investigated the case of Gef. In the end, not a single one saw or even heard Gef, which led them to believe that he was the result of a hoax perpetuated by the daughter, with the family assisting in it. There were also some who believed that Gef might be a ghost or poltergeist that was haunting the family.

Join us on episode 109 to hear more about the peculiar case of Gef, the talking mongoose!

Sources: The Mental Floss, wikipedia, fandom.com, gefmongoose.blogspot.com, burialsandbeyond.com

As NASA’s website says, ʻOumuamua is the first known interstellar object to visit our Solar System. It was discovered on October 19, 2017 when it was close to the sun, and is described as cigar-like shaped with a reddish hue. It is also tumbling end over end every seven hours or so. It has been classified as a comet, but it doesn’t have the signature tail that comets always have, which brings many, including scientists and astrophysicists to believe there is the possibility of it being something else, even extraterrestrial in nature. 

‘Oumuaua is now too far away for our telescopes to see anymore but the intrigue and wonder as to what it could be, is just as strong. Is it just an asteroid or comet? Is it an artificial relic floating in to our solar system from interstellar space? Or, is it an extraterrestrial  probe sent to explore us?

 Join us on episode 108 to hear more! 

Sources: solarsystem.nasa.gov, scientificamerican.com, newscientist.com, NYTimes.com, phys.org, newyorker.com