Weird

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

An Evening Seance Newspaper Illustration.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Turtle mating makes for some funny sound effects.

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

We’re currently living in the year 1725, not 2023. At least, that’s what adherents of the Phantom Time Hypothesis would have you believe. The historical conspiracy theory alleges that the years spanning from 614 to 911 CE never actually happened.