Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

This episode of Strange Matters covers the dark and disturbing series of deaths known as the Bridgend Suicides.  Over the course of several years, dozens of people, mostly young adults and teens, would suddenly and without warning take their own lives.  Almost of all these deaths were caused by hanging.  The story of the Bridgend Suicides spread globally due to the heavy media  involvement, as news spread across the world of the mysterious and deadly trend that was plaguing this small Welsh town.

Starting in early 2007,  a number of teens were found dead,  apparently from hanging themselves in areas around Bridgend, located in South Wales.  No one could figure out why the suicides continued one after another.  Worried parents grew concerned about their children, scared that they could be next.   Making matters worse, the media stirred up more attention and popularity for the events that were occurring in Bridgend, to the point of nearly glamorizing the deaths and making the recently deceased famous in the area.  Some believe that all this attention from the media may have led to even more suicides.

Over the years,  many have wondered at the cause behind the deaths.  Some blame an internet death cult of some kind.  Others state the boredom caused by the small town caused depression in the youth.  Still more came up with more outlandish explanations.   Whatever the cause, the deaths at Bridgend remain one of the most infamous suicide clusters in the modern world.