Believing the Bizarre: Paranormal Conspiracies & Myths

When you're living in an old, century home, it's hard not to wonder whether or not spirits are occupying your space with you. In today's episode, we have two listener submissions about paranormal and creepy encounters that they have witnessed in their century homes (fun fact - one of these listeners is my wife!) But how believable are these hauntings? Listen now.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dark WatchersFor a long time, the mysterious tall figures known as the Dark Watchers have been part of the stories and legends of the Santa Lucia Mountains in Central California.These huge beings, anywhere from 8 to 15 feet tall, have captured the imagination of locals and historians, with their origins tracing back to the myths of native tribes like the Chumash people. While there's not much about them online, the first recorded sightings of these strange entities date back to the 1700s when Spanish settlers called them "los Vigilantes Oscuros."People who've seen them all describe three main things: their really tall human-like shape, their cloaked appearance, and the walking stick they carry. These shadowy figures with no facial features are often spotted during the golden hour before sunset, ominously overlooking the landscape.The legends say the Dark Watchers are picky about who they appear to - they seem to favor encounters with people hiking the old-fashioned way, without modern gear or guns.While their presence is spooky, witnesses say they're not threatening, just observing without interacting.  Famous writers like Robert Jefferson and John Steinbeck featured the Dark Watchers in their works, making them part of California's cultural heritage.Jefferson's poetic descriptions give an eerie, familiar feel, while Steinbeck's mentions show the reverence and caution people feel toward them.Some people try to explain the Dark Watchers with scientific phenomena like pareidolia or the Brocken Spectre effect. But these rational ideas don't really capture the mystique around these ancient beings and why they've stuck in Central California's collective memory.Interestingly, local customs like Olivia Steinbeck leaving gifts for the Dark Watchers hint at a spiritual connection with these elusive mountain guardians. Whether supernatural or natural, the mystery of the Dark Watchers fascinates people and reminds us of the enduring secrets in California's rugged landscapes.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 1st, 2024, law enforcement was notified that teenagers were causing a riot inside a downtown Miami mall with sticks and fireworks. However, what residents outside the mall witnessed was an intensive police response that many watchers claimed they'd never seen in their lives. It seemed that whatever was happening at the mall, which completely shut down the street with rows and rows of police cars, was bigger than just rioting teens. Then, word came out about 8 to 10-foot-tall creatures being seen around the mall. But, is this believable?Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do stars truly play a role in our fate? Is it possible for constellations to actually predict the future? In this episode, we dive into astrology and whether or not we believe celestial objects can affect events in our day-to-day lives.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mojave UFO IncidentSteve and Dawn Hess wanted to get away from their busy lives for a bit. They were a married couple looking for some peaceful alone time together. So they decided to go camping in the Mojave Desert. Their plan was to just chill out under the big desert sky without any noise or distractions. But little did they know, their little camping trip was about to get really weird and scary.They found a nice secluded spot between two mountains to set up camp.As they were laying out looking at the stars that night, they saw a tiny glowing ball drifting over one of the mountains. Steve felt uneasy about it but tried not to think too much of it at first.But then things started getting even weirder. That one light became nine lights, all moving in formation across the sky. Steve and Dawn figured maybe it was just military aircraft from a nearby base or something.But the lights started coming closer and closer until everything got really quiet and eerie.That's when the couple started to panic for real. Strange red-eyed creatures surrounded their camper. Steve had his rifle ready to defend them if needed. But Dawn had a gut feeling they shouldn't provoke whatever these things were.Next, they saw these tall see-through beings appear. The beings seemed to be putting pictures and visions directly into Steve and Dawn's minds.A blinding light flashed, and the next thing they knew, they woke up the next morning with no idea what happened after the light.The only evidence anything weird went down was some red marks on Dawn's neck. Completely freaked out, they decided to get the hell out of the desert right away. They were left with so many unanswered questions about their bizarre close encounter in the Mojave.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordShop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Legend of KrampusThe creepy legend of Krampus has been around for centuries, originating way back in southern Germany, the Swiss Alps, and Western Austria.He's like the chilling opposite of the jolly Santa Claus. Krampus is described as this devilish, horned figure with cloven hooves, symbolizing the harsh winters and struggles for survival in the Alps.Standing a towering 8 to 9 feet tall, with goat horns, fangs, and wild eyes, Krampus strikes fear into kids' hearts to scare them into being good during the holidays.  While Santa rewards well-behaved children with gifts, Krampus plays the disciplinary bad cop, punishing those who've been naughty. It's the good versus evil idea, with Krampus representing the punitive side deeply rooted in Christian beliefs about divine judgment - the good get rewarded, the bad get punished.Over time, Krampus has evolved from a folklore character into a full-blown cultural phenomenon, fueled by movies, media, and annual parades where people dress up as the demonic figure and roam the streets.This surge of interest has some folks theorizing Krampus might even be a "Tulpa" - a thought-form kept alive by collective belief and fear. As thousands focus on Krampus each year, his presence just grows stronger, feeding off that potent emotion of fear.On December 5th during the Krampuslauf or Krampus Run, people get drunk and dress as Krampus, running wild through the streets. It's believed that's when the real Krampus emerges to dish out his punishments, from playful spankings with birch branches to the terrifying threat of being kidnapped to eternal damnation.Armed with a black leather bucket for imprisoning his captives, Krampus embodies the darkest childhood - and adult - fears of being punished for misbehaving around the holidays.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Haunted Hoia Baicu ForestTucked away west of Cluj-Napoca in Romania's Transylvania region is the infamous Hoia-Baciu Forest, a creepy spot full of eerie happenings and supernatural vibes.It may just be a square mile big, but this forest gets a ton of attention for its otherworldly feel, earning it the nickname "Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania."Tourists and researchers alike are drawn in by the twisted trees and a bizarre dead zone where paranormal stuff rules. The forest's twisted-up vegetation looks like it's straight out of a fantasy, adding to the menacing atmosphere. The trees have these contorted shapes and burn marks that give you the chills, plus there are reports of faces appearing on the bark to freak you out even more.Weirdly, all the trees curve in a clockwise direction, making the landscape super surreal. Right in the heart is the creepy "dead zone" - an area empty of any life, where even the soil keeps its mysteries.Walking through Hoia-Baciu gives you an unsettling feeling, like you're being watched or aren't welcome.Shadows flicker at the corners of your vision, triggering primal fear. Visitors talk about feeling nauseous, getting headaches, inexplicable scratches - they blame it on a powerful curse blanketing the forest. Magnetic weirdness and electronics going haywire add to the mystique, making you think unearthly forces are at play.But the legends go beyond just superstition, with tales of ghosts, demonic beings, even alien encounters woven through the Hoia Forest's history. From that oppressive, watched feeling to compasses gone rogue, every visit unravels new layers of intrigue and dread. Whether rooted in myth or hiding real mysteries, the forest keeps beckoning brave souls willing to venture into its shadowy depths, forever tied to Transylvania's enigmatic, legend-filled landscapes.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it possible that shadow figures can be harbingers of bad news? In this listener submission, we discuss a young boy who witnessed a creepy, small shadow figure in his room. Not only did he see this eerie entity, but it appeared night after night. All of this activity led to a terrifying and dangerous event. Listen now.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spontaneous Human CombustionThe idea of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) has been puzzling and fascinating people since the 1600s. It got really popular after Charles Dickens wrote about a character dying from SHC in his novel "Bleak House."The theory claims that people can just burst into flames from the inside, without any outside spark or fire source. But scientists are pretty skeptical - they point out that the human body is mostly water, with only small amounts of flammable stuff like fat and methane gas.Plus, the crazy high heat needed to reduce a body to ashes doesn't match up with how little fire damage is usually seen around SHC cases.Scientific analyses keep poking holes in the likelihood of SHC. Our bodies are soaking wet on the inside, not exactly tinderboxes ready to combust.Even if someone did randomly catch fire, all that water would probably douse the flames pretty quickly. Comparing it to cremation, which takes temperatures over 1600°F for a long time, makes spontaneous combustion seem highly improbable based on things like tiny cigarette tips as the ignition source.While SHC tales are gripping in novels and urban legends, the scientific consensus leans hard against it actually being a real phenomenon - more like an unsolvable mystery than something that happens.So as fascinating as the whole spontaneous combustion concept is, most serious scientists think it's simply implausible based on human biology and the laws of combustion.Mysterious ashes and burn patterns alone don't override our physical reality. Still, that lingering "what if?" makes spontaneous human combustion an irresistibly spooky idea that will probably keep getting retold for centuries to come. Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Somerton ManIt was this fateful December morning back in 1948 when the calm Somerton Beach near Adelaide, Australia became the site of one bizarre and baffling discovery.A middle-aged man, looking dapper in a clean suit and shiny shoes, was found slumped against the sea wall - and it would ignite a mystery that had investigators stumped for decades to come. At first, folks assumed it was just natural causes, but a closer look revealed some sinister clues pointing to foul play instead.The man's strange circumstances coupled with some real head-scratchers from the autopsy painted it as one meticulously planned crime scene.Eyewitness accounts only added more complexity, with people reporting seeing the man on the beach the night before - making it seem premeditated. But it was the sharp eye of pathology professor John Burton Cleland that really cracked the case wide open.Cleland's scrutiny of the scene found inconsistencies suggesting this was an orchestrated murder, not a sudden death.From the pristine condition of the man's shoes to the lack of vomit that'd indicate poisoning, Cleland's analysis challenged earlier conclusions and steered the investigation in a new direction.Then there was the suitcase found nearby, seemingly belonging to the victim, that hinted at potential ties to maritime travel between Australia and America.Yet no matter how doggedly they traced leads by checking hotels and train stations, the man's true identity stayed a total enigma. With no wallet, no ID, no recognizable traits whatsoever, he became known simply as the "Somerton Man" - cloaked in anonymity and intrigue.Decades later, the mystery lives on, captivating amateur sleuths and forensics experts alike as they keep trying to unravel the secrets buried in those sands at Somerton Beach.Patreon: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon.For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media:InstagramFacebookTwitterDiscordWant to discuss the episode on the day it drops with Tyler and Charlie? Follow on Twitch and check out the extended Twitch streams every Tuesday.Shop Merch: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices