Oddity

Latest Episodes:

11: Edinburgh's Miniature Coffins Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

In June of 1836, a group of boys set out for Arthur's Seat looking for rabbits. In a small opening in the rock, almost hidden from view, they found something else. Seventeen miniature coffins, each one containing a small wooden figure, dressed in hand stitched clothes. But who put them there, and what did they represent?

Sources and further reading:

'Mystery of the Miniature Coffins', NMS: https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/mystery-of-the-miniature-coffins/

'Murder Dolls', Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/burke-hare-murder-dolls

Wikipedia - Arthur's Seat / Anatomy Act 1832 / Burke and Hare Murders / Grave Robbery

10: The Persian Mummy Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

When news of a Persian mummy emerged in October 2000, it became the focus of international attention. But the mysterious mummy held a secret that would shock the world...

Sources and further reading:

'The Persian Mummy', BBC Horizon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/persianmummy.shtml

'The Persian Mummy' episode transcript, BBC Horizon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/persianmummytrans.shtml

'Two Vatican Mummies Declared Fake', Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/02/vatican-mummies-faken6594622.html

Wikipedia - Persian Princess / Mummy Forgeries

'A Mummy Hoax', Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-mummy-hoax-might-be-wrapped-up-in-a-modern-murder

9: Spontaneous Human Combustion Sep 15, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Oddity, we examine the hotly debated phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion. For hundreds of years, there have been reports of people bursting into flames, seemingly without being set alight by any external heat source...

Sources and further reading:

Wikipedia - Spontaneous Human Combustion / John Irving Bentley / Mary Reeser / Wick Effect / Death of Michael Faherty

'Spontaneous Human Combustion', The Independent online: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/spontaneous-human-combustion-woman-who-suffered-burns-in-germany-spurs-debate-about-controversial-a6722166.html

'Spontaneous Human Combustion', How Stuff Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc.htm

8: The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Oddity, we'll be looking at a weird tale from Devon concerning a pair of disembodied hands which, for the last hundred years, have haunted one particular stretch of road across the moors.

Sources and further reading:

'The Hairy Hands Horror', Mysterious Universe: http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2011/11/the-hairy-hands-horror/ 'Dartmoor's Hairy Hands', We Are South Devon: http://wearesouthdevon.com/dartmoors-hairy-hands-evolving-myth/ 'The Horror of the Killer Hands' forum thread: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/frightday-eight-the-horror-of-the-killer-hands.18632036/ Wikipedia - Hairy Hands / HM Prison Dartmoor

7: Hinterkaifeck Aug 23, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Oddity, we'll be taking a look at an unsolved murder from the 1920s which continues to baffle people to this day - the Hinterkaifeck Massacre.

Sources and further reading: Wikipedia/de.Wikipedia - Hinterkaifeck 'Case of the month: Hinterkaifeck', Defrosting Cold Cases: https://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/case-month-hinterkaifeck/ 'Hinterkaifeck', Ranker: http://www.ranker.com/list/hinterkaifeck-murder-farm/cat-mcauliffe 'Hinterkaifeck', Armchair Detective: https://armchairdetective.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/hinterkaifeck/

6: Alien Big Cats Aug 07, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, we'll be considering the case for alien big cats or ABCs, also known as phantom cats. These anomalous felids are non-native species which appear in unlikely locations and rarely leave any concrete proof of their existence.

Sources and further reading: Wikipedia - British Big Cats / Phantom Cat / Beast of Bodmin 'Uncovering The Mysterious Tale of the Surrey Puma', The Surrey Mirror: http://www.surreymirror.co.uk/uncovering-the-mysterious-tale-of-the-surrey-puma/story-30408572-detail/story.html 'On The Trail of the Beast of Bodmin Moor', Glenda Cooper, The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/on-the-trail-of-the-beast-of-bodmin-moor-1574378.html 'Big Cats Still Stalk Britain', Paul Sieveking, p. 20 - 25, Fortean Times, FT 344 'ABC in Bedfordshire', Strange Days, p. 11, Fortean Times, FT345 'North Suffolk's Mystery Mutant Moggy, Matt Salusbury, p. 56 - 57, Fortean Times, FT 338 'Alien Big Cats', The Fortean Times Paranormal Handbook, p. 128 - 141.

5: The Island of the Dolls Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

This week on Oddity, we'll be looking at a tiny island with a tragic history, which has become something of a tourist attraction due to its eerie inhabitants; The Island of the Dolls.

Sources and further reading:

Isla De Las Munecas website: http://www.isladelasmunecas.com/

La Isla De Las Munecas, Slate: http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlasobscura/2013/06/17/laisladelasmunecasisanislandfilledwithhundredsofhangingdecomposing.html

La Isla De Las Munecas, Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/la-isla-de-las-munecas

Mexico's Creepiest Tourist Destination, Weburbanist: http://weburbanist.com/2010/10/06/mexicos-creepiest-tourist-destination-island-of-the-dolls/

Xochimilco, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochimilco

4: Spring-heeled Jack Jul 20, 2017

Show notes

This week on Oddity, we'll be taking a look at Spring-heeled Jack, a monster who terrorised the women of nineteenth century London decades before the other monstrous Jack stalked the streets.

Sources and further reading:

"The Haunted Landscape", Jacob Middleton, Fortean Times #310, p. 30 - 35 "New Jersey's Spring-Heeled Jack Scare", Theo Paijmans, Fortean Times #310, p. 28-29 Wikipedia - Spring-heeled Jack / Jack the Ripper Suspects

3: The Hand of Glory Jul 10, 2017

Show notes

This week on Oddity, we discuss an archaic charm which is a fascinating, albeit grisly, part of English folklore; the hand of glory.

Sources and further reading:

D. L. Ashliman's research on University of Pittsburgh website - http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/hand.html

The Whitby Museum - http://www.whitbymuseum.org.uk/collections/hogg.php

Folklore Thursday - http://folklorethursday.com/folklife/dark-folklore-hand-glory-dead-mens-hands-folk-magic/

Walsall.gov website downloadable pdf – The Hand of Glory and the White Hart

Wikipedia – The Hand of Glory / Walsall Museum / Mandrake pages

2: The Enfield Poltergeist Jul 05, 2017

Show notes

This week on Oddity, we look at a case which started in 1977 and lasted for over fourteen months, turning the lives of one ordinary family upside down and leaving an impact which can still be felt four decades later.

Sources and further reading:

Forum: The Enfield Poltergeist show, Guy Lyon Playfair, Fortean Times 329, p. 51

The Birth of the Poltergeist, Claude Lecouteux, Fortean Times 293, p. 38 - 41

Enfield Poltergeist, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield_Poltergeist

What Really Happened During The Enfield Haunting?, The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/06/13/the-conjuring-2-what-really-happened-during-the-enfield-haunting/

The Poltergeist That Plagued A North London House, Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-poltergeist-that-plagued-a-north-london-house-904

Podcast: The Unexplained With Howard Hughes #72, Guy Lyon Playfair

Eerie Enfield, Black Cab London: https://blackcablondon.net/2013/10/28/eerie-enfield-a-poltergeist-comes-to-north-london/

The Enfield Poltergeist, Flickering Myth: https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/06/the-enfield-poltergeist-the-true-story-that-inspired-the-conjuring-2/