Hysteria 51

Before the X-Files, before Bigfoot reality shows, before your uncle went down a YouTube rabbit hole and now won’t shut up about lizard people—there was Charles Hoy Fort. A man who spent his life collecting the weirdest, wildest, and most WTF-worthy stories that science tried (and failed) to explain. From raining frogs to UFOs before they were even called UFOs, Fort cataloged it all and basically invented the field of Forteana—aka the study of all things bizarre,

spooky, and questionably sane. AKA our bread and butter!

But who was Fort? A misunderstood genius? A professional weirdo? The first-ever Reddit or 4 Chan mod? Join us as we dive into the life, work, and general badassery of the man who made the strange, well… stranger. Spoiler alert: he burned a lot of his own work: was it because even he couldn’t believe what he was writing? Or it was all true and the powers that be made him do it? That’s for you to decide...

Buckle up, because this week we’re getting Fortean as hell on Hysteria 51.

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:

Essays

Strange Gods: Charles Fort’s Book of the Damned (1919) - https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/charles-fort-and-the-book-of-the-damned/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Books

The Book of the Damned | Charles Fort (1919)

Websites

Skeptic’s Dictionary - https://skepdic.com/fortean.html

University of Florida - https://people.clas.ufl.edu/tharpold/

Washington University in St. Louis - https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=wushta_spr2018&utm_source=chatgpt.com

University of Chicago - https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/showers-blood-cosmology-charles-fort-p-genesius-durica?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience

at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's time for us to put tpgether a Best of Volume 2 and that's where you come in. Go to Hysteria51.com and send us you clip picks for the next best of show. Provide epiosde titles and clip descriptions for them and we will get to work on your picks!

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s another Beautiful Blurry Hysteria as Kevin Crispin of Behind Beautiful Things joins us for a journey through the weirdest headlines the internet has to offer! First up, the European Union says yes to mealworm powder in food—because nothing says "sustainable future" like a little extra crunch in your croissant. Then, we dive into the tale of a man who lost millions in Bitcoin to a landfill and is still trying to dig his way to crypto redemption. Finally, we close with a real stinker—a woman sending fart jars to her boyfriend’s ex. Because, as they say, revenge is a dish best served… gassy? Buckle up for absurdity, laughter, and the kind of investigative journalism that only Blurry Hysteria can deliver.

News Stories Mentioned: 

EU Worm Powder: https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/02/04/eu-approves-mealworm-powder-in-food/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3Z_KP-lFiSnxGQ94pWZCihEGzekOBisxiRTSdgkk8MWXVfPHm-QCnLojM_aem_FE8AAFYi1m_kPU3wdQ_UXg

Dump Coin: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/world/europe/bitcoin-wales-james-howells-landfill.html

Illegal Farts: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rhiannon-evans-sent-farts-to-boyfriends-ex_n_679bb76ae4b0db2051ad1efd

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brace yourself for a whiff of the bizarre on this week’s Beautiful Blurry Hysteria! Guest Kevin Crispin of the Behind Beautiful Things Podcast joins Brent & David to sort through a trifecta of surreal news. First, we take a fragrant detour to Brooklyn, where the famously foul-smelling corpse flower is drawing both fans and flies. Then we venture Down Under, investigating rumors of a Queensland teacher who’s been acting downright catty—literally! And because life just isn’t weird enough, we also dig into a beach-balling mystery: why did lumps of “something special” wash ashore in Australia? Prepare for a ride through the strangest stories on the planet!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Stinky Plants: https://apnews.com/article/new-york-corpse-flower-brooklyn-f7f6efd71e8d1d07d7bb810335060996

Aussie Purr: https://nypost.com/2025/02/08/lifestyle/queensland-teacher-allegedly-behaving-like-a-cat-in-class/

Poop Treasure: https://news.sky.com/story/mysterious-balls-which-washed-up-on-australian-beaches-contained-faecal-bacteria-13293709

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A cold, barren rock in the North Atlantic—isolated, windswept, and lifeless. Perhaps it was

never meant for human presence. Perhaps the superstitions whispered through generations, warnings of curses and otherworldly forces, weren’t just ghost stories to ignore. Three men vanished without a trace from the Eilean Mor Lighthouse in 1900, leaving behind only eerie questions and a lighthouse that stood empty, as if even it knew something was wrong. Was it foul weather? Madness? Or something far stranger hiding in the thick fog that surrounds the

Flannan Isles?

Despite decades of investigation, every theory—no matter how grounded or bizarre—seems to end where it begins: with a mystery as haunting as the waves that crash against its lonely shores. Today on Hysteria 51, we dig into the story of Eilean Mor, the theories, the legends, and the strange clues left behind. Will we find answers, or just more shadows in the mist and bad jokes by a sadistic robot? Let’s find out...

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:

Books

McCloskey, K. (2014), The Lighthouse: The Mystery of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers,

The History Press

Websites

Eilean Mor Summary: http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/curious-disappearanceeilean-mor-lighthouse-keepers-scottish-mystery-004820?nopaging=1

Poem: http://www.potw.org/archive/potw230.html

RationalWiki: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Flannan_Isle

Original wreck report for the SS Archtor, http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLibraries/WreckReports/17924.asp?view=text

Rogue Wave - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave

The report submitted by Robert Muirhead, Superintendent, on the 8th

January 1901: https://www.nlb.org.uk/HistoricalInformation/FlannanIsles/Report-by-Superintendent

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience

at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do you get when you cross a wannabe-Neo trying to dodge bullets in Utah with a Russian court that seems to think Google has more money than the entire planet combined? Pure, unadulterated Blurry Hysteria, that’s what!

This week we unpack the bizarre saga of a man caught on camera attempting some next-level Matrix moves—spoiler alert: real life doesn’t come with slow-motion bullet time. Then, we jet over to Mother Russia, where a court has slapped Google with a penalty so colossal you’d need a calculator that can handle a galaxy’s worth of zeros. Buckle up and brace for weird as we deliver double the strange, double the fun, and 100% more hysteria than you can shake a bulletproof vest at!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Bullet Boys: https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/arrest-dodge-bullets/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1w4br1idJOwrINti9Yf7PmgbDXbb1M65q1SDnTlKu6D3Xr5xeW2EtS_3E_aem_H05pP3DMxbU7IZ58MulnUQ

Russian Payday: https://united24media.com/latest-news/russian-court-slaps-google-with-a-fine-larger-than-all-the-money-on-earth-5443?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1Z6D-KXzDYnZPuoS_AeZldyRQ3SzEQIO4q0fK12dpOBXrc5rlj5kBF978_aem_PqxXHJTUazMtFa-Yvo9IEg

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join us this week on Hysteria 51 as we welcome back Chris Rupert and Tyler Transue of Doc Side Media for their 4th appearance! The dynamic duo dives into their latest documentary, Surrounded by Spirits, exploring chilling stories, paranormal investigations, and the lingering mysteries of the afterlife. From eerie encounters to their filmmaking journey, it’s a spirited conversation you won’t want to miss.

Special thanks to this week’s sources:

Follow Doc Side Media

Website -https://www.docsidemedia.com/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@docsidemedia2106

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/docsidemedia

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/docsidemedia/

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@docsidemedia

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria-51?ref_id=4106  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Prepare for a double dose of techno-weirdness as Blurry Hysteria dives into the world of artificial intelligence! First, we glow up with the story of an AI-invented molecule that nature would’ve needed half a billion years to cook up. Is AI outpacing evolution? Then, things get dark (and oddly philosophical) as scientists propose testing AI sentience by making it suffer. Yes, that’s right—pain for progress! Join the crew as they decode the wild and wacky intersection of science and sci-fi in this illuminating and borderline sadistic episode.

News Stories Mentioned: 

Glow in the Dark AI: https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/new-glowing-molecule-invented-by-ai-would-have-taken-500-million-years-to-evolve-in-nature-scientists-say

S&M AI: https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/scientists-propose-making-ai-suffer-to-see-if-its-sentient

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Blurry Hysteria, we're hitting you with a double dose of bizarre! First up, someone decided CAPTCHA wasn't annoying enough and created one where you play Doom on Nightmare difficulty. Can you rip and tear your way to proving you're not a robot? Spoiler: most of us are doomed.

Then, we head to Houston, where the police evidence lockers have been infiltrated—not by master thieves, but by junkie rats with a taste for confiscated drugs. Who’s the kingpin of the rodent cartel, and do they have a tiny, whiskered Walter White? All that and more this week on Blurry Hysteria!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Doom: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/01/someone-made-a-captcha-where-you-play-doom-on-nightmare-difficulty/

Rat Party: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/01/21/Houston-Police-evidence-lockers-drugs-rats/6941737480214/

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hold onto your tinsel, folks! This week on Blurry Hysteria we dive into the weird and wacky with stories you never knew you needed in your life. First, we head to the stomach-turning world of fertility rituals gone very wrong—complete with a live baby bird found in a dead man’s belly... or maybe throat. (Yeah, you read that right.)

Then, it’s a two-part yuletide warning: Ever considered nibbling on your Christmas tree? Belgium says, "DON’T!" Sweden on the other hand says otherwise. We unravel the science behind toxic Christmas tree needles and why your festive feast shouldn’t involve the fir, or maybe it should... Join us for a late holiday episode packed with laughs, gasps, and the weirdest news to ever deck the halls!

News Stories Mentioned: 

Bird Job: https://www.latintimes.com/baby-bird-found-alive-inside-dead-mans-stomach-after-being-swallowed-during-fertility-ritual-569420

Tree Treats: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/dont-eat-christmas-tree-warns-182651558.html & https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/sweden-says-christmas-tree-needles-173426923.html

Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:

[email protected]

Support the Show

Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1

Shop

Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.