Tag Archives: Mystery

History, Unsolved Mystery, Urban Legend

Mystifying Structures Across the World

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For this episode we present a number of old and mystifying structures located at different locations around the world.  Mysteries surround each of these large constructions, as the reasons behind their construction and even how they were built is still being debated to this day.

The first topic of the episode is the Coral Castle, located in Florida, U.S.  The Coral Castle is a collection of large and uniquely carved stones placed around the grounds.  Some of the stones used in the Castle weigh as heavy as 30 tons, over 10 times the weight of the stones used in the Great Pyramids!  What is so bizarre about this case is that the story goes that no one had any idea how the creator Edward Leedskalnin actually moved the stones to create his castle. Whether it was magnetism, levitation, ancient Egyptian Secrets, or just plain old mechanical creativity, Edward managed to create not just a unique complex, but a lasting mysterious legacy.

Up next is the ancient city of Nan Madol.  The ruins of the city lay in Micronesia, in the western Pacific Ocean.  What is strange about Nan Madol is that it was built in the water of a lagoon, in which scores of artificial islands were created by the people in order to erect the buildings of the city.  How these people were able to pull of such a feat is still a mystery to this day.

Goseck CircleFinally we discuss the Goseck Circle.  Discovered in Germany, it is possibly the oldest large structure in the entire world, being several thousand years older than the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt.  The exact purpose of the Goseck Circle baffled archaeologist for years.  Some conjectured it was used as a fortification, or a place of worship, or even a setting for human sacrifice.  The newest theory behind the Goseck Circle however could completely change the way historians view the people of the Neolithic Age.

 

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True Crime, Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

The Original Night Stalker – Unsolved Serial Criminal

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In this Strange Matters Short, Sean presents the case of the Original Night Stalker, one of America’s most infamous and prolific unsolved serial criminals.  The Original Night Stalker (ONS) was a serial killer in Southern California who targeted lone women and couples, breaking into their homes at night and sexually assaulting and killing those inside.  Later DNA evidence proved that the ONS was also the East Area Rapist, a criminal responsible for over 50 rapes in Northern California.  After linking these two series of crimes, police discovered that this one man was responsible for dozens of rapes, attacks, and deaths, making him the worst unsolved criminal in California history.

The Original Night Stalker was one of the most brutal and terrifying killers in recent times.  Hundreds of police investigators and neighborhood watch patrols had no luck in finding or stopping this man, as he continued his attacks at will for several years.  The ONS was cunning and meticulous in his planning, he was known to prowl his target’s neighborhoods for weeks beforehand, and on several times even sneaked into his victims home’s and unloaded any guns, leaving them defenseless against him.

Original_Night_Stalker_Composite

Who the Original Night Stalker was is still unknown, no leads or suspects have ever been found that could be responsible for these crimes. It is not even known if the man behind these attacks is currently alive or not.  Whether the identity of this criminal will ever be found, remains a complete mystery to this day.

Cryptozoology, History, Unsolved Mystery

The Beast of Gevaudan

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In this Strange Matters Short, Sean discusses the man-eating creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan.   This violent animal terrorized a region in France for several years as it killed as many as a hundred men, women, and children.   During this time the local populace was nearly hysterical with fear, forced to venture outside to make a living knowing all along that there was a huge beast roaming the area attacking anyone it can across.   In an attempt to take down this violent creature, a French officer organized large hunting parties of thousands of soldiers to patrol the area.  Professional wolf hunters were hired to track down and kill the Beast.  Despite all this, the Beast of Gevaudan evaded any attempt to kill it and continued its reign of terror.

Gevaudan Statue

After three years of setbacks, embarrassments, and dozens of deaths, the Beast was reportedly finally brought down by a local farmer when he shot and killed a large wolf near his village.  Through the years there have been multiple accounts and theories as to what the Beast of Gevaudan really was.  Most think it was a pack of large and man-hungry wolves, while others believe it could have been an exotic or imported predator introduced into the region.  There has been more outlandish claims of a werewolf or an ancient species still roaming the land. Whatever the true identity of the animal actually was, the Beast of Gevaudan is one of the most unique and unusual cases in history of a creature that specifically enjoyed hunting and slaying humans.

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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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Unsolved Crime, Unsolved Mystery

The Mysterious Death of Elfrieda Knaak

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In this episode we discuss the mysterious and bizarre death of Elfrieda Knaak.  In the early hours of the morning Elfrieda was discovered alone and locked inside the basement of a police station, suffering from severe burns from the nearby furnace.  Investigators were baffled from the start, as Elfrieda claimed she had carried out the horrible act herself in order to purify herself for her ‘psychic lover.’

While she was slowly dying in her hospital bed, Elfrieda would make increasingly confusing and strange comments.  These statements lead to more questions than answers forCharles Hitchcock the police.  She claimed she burned herself to prove herself to her so called astral lover, Charles Hitchcock.  However Charles claimed he knew nothing about this situation at all.

 

Hitchcock would be ruled out as a suspect due to his broken leg, but many believe he still had something to do with her death, whether directly or indirectly is still unknown.  Elfrieda continued on, speaking of a mysterious woman who holds all the answers, an unknown man who threw her down, along with other weird and supernatural comments… However she was unable to answer further questions due to her increasingly worsening health.  Unfortunately Elfrieda Knaak would die from her burns before any solid leads or answers could be found, and to this day her death remains a complete mystery.

Did Elfrieda really burn and torture herself all alone?  Was somebody with her in that basement, either assisting or forcing her into the furnace? Listen and hear all about the strange twists and turns to the bizarre and disturbing death of Elfrieda Knaak.

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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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