All posts by Strange Matters Podcast

Conspiracy, History, True Crime, Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

The Mysterious Deaths of Elisa Lam and Edgar Allan Poe

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What do Elisa Lam and Edgar Allan Poe have in common? Both of these artistic individuals died in extremely mysterious ways and have since become well known on account of their mysterious passing. In this episode we discuss the details that shroud the mysterious deaths of Lam and Poe.

Elisa Lam was an extremely talented and ambitious young woman who suffered from anxiety and depression. Her body was found in a water tank atop a hotel in which she had been staying.  However many accounts suggest that it would be extremely difficult for her to gain access to this water tank much less actually get in on her own. Does this indicate she may have been murdered? Perhaps… however what makes this case even more bizarre is the security camera footage that shows Lam dancing around the hotel’s elevator in a mechanical and somewhat disturbing manner. What exactly caused this strange behavior? Drugs? Alcohol? A mental breakdown of some sort?

Watch Elisa’s bizarre elevator footage here!

PoeEdgar Allan Poe was a talented man who was no stranger to death growing up. After the passing of many of his loved ones, he developed an interest in writing dark and macabre stories.   Poe is well known for his famous poem known as “The Raven”. He was found in a delirious state on the side of the street strangely dressed in someone else’s clothes and later taken to the hospital. He was delirious and uttered only a few words during his stay in the hospital. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, he died leaving us with more questions than answers. Was his death related to his erratic drinking behavior? His attending physician was quite convinced otherwise. Tune in for this episode and hear the many theories regarding the mysterious deaths of these two individuals.

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Conspiracy, History, True Crime, Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

Unsolved Disappearances 2

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In this short, Eric discusses two intriguing and mysterious disappearances.

First, the story of Diane Augat… this 40 year-old woman has a history of bipolar disorder and drug and alcohol abuse. After losing custody of her children and later getting divorced her life began to spiral out of control. She was last seen in April of 1998, however a mysterious phone call, believed to be from Augat reached her mother’s answering machine. A few days later her severed finger was found. Later her belongings began to turn up all over town. Who could have murdered this woman and what was the motive?

In our second disappearance, an innocent 8 year old boy vanished while passing through a crowd of people in Britain. His remains were found over 80 miles away. His death was later linked to a place known as The Elm Guest House where rich VIP politicians and judges would go to partake in disturbing sexual parties involving young boys. However the police appear to have worked very hard to cover up evidence tying any particular individual to this guest house. Tune in to this episode and learn more details about these mysterious disappearances!

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Conspiracy, True Crime, Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

Shared Psychosis- The Folly of Two

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Shared psychosis: an extremely rare condition found in the DSM IV that describes psychotic behavior exhibited by a healthy individual who is under the influence of a close friend or family member with schizophrenia. There is a lot we don’t know about the mind; however we do know that people can act in irrational ways when the neurotransmitters in their brain are not functioning properly.

Erikkson twins

Could this explain the case of the Eriksson twins? These sister were behaving strangely before darting across one of the busiest highways in the United Kingdom, known as M6. Not only did they display super human resilience when hit by vehicles traveling at very high speeds, but they continued to be defiant to the police officers and paramedics that were trying to assist them. Are their behaviors simply a product of delusion? Or could there have been something more… drugs, conspiracy or even a suicide pact?

The-Gibbons-Twins-001

The story of the Gibson sisters is similar however significantly less violent and more strange. These sisters grew up in social isolation due to being victimized as the only black girls in their area in Wales, England. They quickly turned toward each other and inward for comfort. They developed an unhealthy dependence upon each other and began acting in bizarre ways. Sometimes they would move in-sync almost as if they were both puppets controlled by an invisible puppeteer. They spoke to each other in their own made-up language. This strange behavior progressed into violence and crime and eventually led to the demise of one of the sisters. But what really caused her death? Listen to this episode and find out for yourself!

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Apocalypse, History, Science & Technology, Unsolved Mystery

The Most Strange and Unexplained Audio Recordings

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In this episode we discuss some of the strangest sounds ever recorded starting with underwater recordings then moving to outer space and finishing up back on earth with several mysterious “sky-quakes”.

“The Bloop” is one of the more famous underwater recordings and is thought by many to be created by some still undiscovered, deep-ocean creature. “The Julia” is a slightly more sinister recording that resembles a muffled, underwater cry for help. “The Upsweep” also remains a mystery however all of these underwater recordings share the trait that they are far louder than any noise ever created by a known animal. Many more practical theories exist including that of icebergs fracturing and dropping massive chunks of ice into the ocean. Listen and decide for yourself!

Numerous recordings from outer space have fans debating whether this is the voice of an extra-terrestrial being or simply space dust colliding with the atmosphere of planets in our solar system. In this episode we also discuss the “Frantic Caller” who calls in to Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM radio station, warning of extra-dimensional beings that have infiltrated the United States’ military and government. Is this a simple hoax or does this terrified caller speak the truth?

Finally, we finish up with a discussion of “sky quakes” which are varying, trumpet-like sounds that seem to come from above. Many potential explanations exist for these terrifying noises; however many of them remain to be confirmed. These recordings are creepy beyond what words can describe… but what could they truly be? Are they man made noises or something more sinister? Listen to this episode and judge for yourself!

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Cryptozoology, History, Unsolved Mystery

The Navajo Legend of the Skinwalker

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In this episode we discuss the legend of the Navajo Skinwalker – a shapeshifting Native American witch that has reached the highest tiers of priesthood. These terrors are known to chase cars at remarkable speeds and are frequently seen spying through windows of homes in order to strike fear into their victims. The Navajo people almost universally accept the existence of these poltergeist-like creatures however sightings are rare and usually limited to those of the Navajo nationality. What is this strange menace? Is it fact or fiction? Tune into this episode and learn a little bit more about the Skinwalker!

Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

The Erdington Similarity Murders

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On this episode of Strange Matters we will be discussing two mysterious murder cases in Erdington, England. These particular murders share a striking number of similarities to each other.  The victims had the same birthday, were killed on the same day, died under similar circumstances, and whose bodies were discovered almost in the exact same area.  One might believe the murders would obviously be the work of a serial killer. However… the two murders took place 157 years apart.  

In 1817 Mary Ashford’s body was found drowned in a pit near her home.  The main suspect, Abraham Thornton, had been alone with her most of the night.  He was found with blood on his undergarments, his boots were a near match to those found at the scene of her death, and earlier suggestive comments made the night earlier led many to believe he had harmful intentions towards Mary.

In 1975 Barbara Forrest was dropped off at a bus stop to return home after a night of fun.  She never was seen actually getting on the bus however, and after a week of her missing Barbara’s body was found in a shallow ditch.  This time the main suspect was a man named Michael Thornton, a co-worker of Barbara.  He was also found with blood on him and a faulty alibi for that night.

Despite what looked like obvious motives and evidence, both men were acquitted of all crimes and let go.  The deaths of both young ladies remain a mystery in Erdington to this day.  What’s even stranger are the striking similar circumstances surrounding this case. Could there be some type of connection between these two murders?  Is this the work of a copy cat killer who was trying to duplicate the famous murder that happened over a century ago in the Erdington area?  We discuss all the possibilities to these two bizarre murder cases and why we think this mystery is so fascinating!

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