WEIRD

The St. Augustine globster washed ashore in 1896.

7 Bizarre Globsters That Have Washed Ashore

Though these marine mysteries are often solved, globsters—unidentified organic masses that wash up on beaches—continue to capture the public’s imagination.

100 Facts That Will Make You Go “WTF”

Weird but fascinating facts about everything from the guy who dragged cars with his nipples to frogs shedding (and eating!) their own skin.

"They want someone to spray the trees so the leaves stop falling."

New York City’s 20 Weirdest 311 Complaints From the Last 20 Years

NYC311 has fielded calls involving everything from goats to ghosts.

11 Surprising Facts About Vampire Bats

Only three bat species, out of some 1100 in the world, actually have a taste for blood.

How Does Sword Swallowing Really Work?

The ancient art of sword swallowing may seem like some sort of elaborate trick—but it’s very, very real (and very, very dangerous).

Joan Rivers, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Keanu Reeves have all had ghostly encounters.

8 Famous Figures, Past and Present, Who Claimed to Have Encountered Ghosts

Being rich, famous, or influential has plenty of perks—but escaping the spirit world’s torments isn’t necessarily one of them.

Why does Friday the 13th inspire such superstition?

13 Fascinating Facts About Friday the 13th

Cut through the half-truths and urban legends to find out more about Friday the 13th, the unluckiest day on the calendar.

Victor Hugo, Anne Rice, and Thomas Hardy were all believers.

9 Authors Who Believed in Ghosts

Some, like Harriet Beecher Stowe and Victor Hugo, believed they had communicated with spirits directly; others, like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Thomas Hardy, had ghostly encounters they couldn’t explain.

21 Old and Odd Directional Words

The rich history of the English language is full of similar directional words that are cool but uncommon, like ‘pancakewards,’ ‘couchward,’ and ‘pocketwards.’

Still from 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' (1951) beside illustration of a theremin.

Audio Invasion: How the Theremin Went From Soviet Labs to Hollywood

The theremin—a spooky instrument that scored the biggest sci-fi films of the 1950s—was invented by accident.

The Eerie Legend of the ‘Old Leatherman,’ Connecticut’s Silent Wanderer

For decades, a man dressed head to toe in leather moved through Connecticut and New York. Who was he, and what did he want?

A Brief History of the Ouija Board

The Ouija board has terrified countless slumber party children and served as a plot vehicle in a number of Hollywood films. Here’s where it came from.

16 Cryptids That Might (Or Might Not) Exist

Almost every country has its own cryptid, from giant bats in Java to enormous water hounds in Ireland.

Skeletons are good for more than just Halloween.

Watch Plastic Skeletons Being Made in a 1960s Factory

We're glad skeletons are usually made of plastic now.

An Evening Seance Newspaper Illustration.

10 Facts about the History of Spiritualism

From spiritualism's beginnings at the Fox cottage to ectoplasm, so-called spirit photography, and beyond, here's what you need to know about this controversial cultural phenomenon.

The United States is host to a number of wild and weird urban legends.

The Spookiest Urban Legend in All 50 States

From classics like the vanishing hitchhiker to creepy cryptids, ghostly vehicles, deadly curses, and some stuff you’ve probably seen on Facebook.

How an Unfortunate Misunderstanding Spawned a Medieval Mummy-Eating Fad

Eating centuries-old mummies was a hot health trend in medieval Europe.

Guided by Voices: 7 Books Supposedly Written by Ghosts

From famous authors to a Roman emperor, these spirits sure had a lot to share.

Artist’s rendition of Betty and Barney Hill’s alien encounter in the White Mountains.

Close Encounter: When Betty and Barney Hill’s Alien Abduction Story Shocked the World

In 1961, an ordinary New Hampshire couple claimed to have been abducted by aliens. Betty and Barney Hill's tale still reverberates through pop culture today.

10 Wonderfully Weird Muppet Duets

The Muppets have squared off against everyone from Johnny Cash to Celine Dion.

‘Sound Effects No. 13 – Death & Horror’ is downright spooky.

Death & Horror: How BBC’s Controversial Sound Effects Album Became a Surprise Hit

The campaign to ban “Sound Effects No. 13 – Death & Horror” didn’t stop it from becoming the first sound effects album to break the UK Top 100 charts in the 1970s.

Rock-hard cookies are bad enough without the presence of actual rocks.

How Do Rocks, Metal, and Other Foreign Materials Get Into Our Food?

A bacteria-related food recall is troubling but understandable. It’s a little weirder when one involves golf balls.

When Ernest Hemingway Walked Away From Two Plane Crashes Just Hours Apart

The novelist endured a crash in East Africa. Then his 'rescue' plane went down, too.

Turtle mating makes for some funny sound effects.

10 Surprising Facts About Animal Sex

From turtle mating to what really turns big cats on, animal sex can be a lot weirder (and funnier) than you probably expected.

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