Oddity

In June of 1836, a group of boys set out for Arthur's Seat looking for rabbits. In a small opening in the rock, almost hidden from view, they found something else. Seventeen miniature coffins, each one containing a small wooden figure, dressed in hand stitched clothes. But who put them there, and what did they represent?

Sources and further reading:

'Mystery of the Miniature Coffins', NMS: https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/mystery-of-the-miniature-coffins/

'Murder Dolls', Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/burke-hare-murder-dolls

Wikipedia - Arthur's Seat / Anatomy Act 1832 / Burke and Hare Murders / Grave Robbery

When news of a Persian mummy emerged in October 2000, it became the focus of international attention. But the mysterious mummy held a secret that would shock the world...

Sources and further reading:

'The Persian Mummy', BBC Horizon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/persianmummy.shtml

'The Persian Mummy' episode transcript, BBC Horizon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/persianmummytrans.shtml

'Two Vatican Mummies Declared Fake', Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/02/vatican-mummies-faken6594622.html

Wikipedia - Persian Princess / Mummy Forgeries

'A Mummy Hoax', Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-mummy-hoax-might-be-wrapped-up-in-a-modern-murder

In this episode of Oddity, we examine the hotly debated phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion. For hundreds of years, there have been reports of people bursting into flames, seemingly without being set alight by any external heat source...

Sources and further reading:

Wikipedia - Spontaneous Human Combustion / John Irving Bentley / Mary Reeser / Wick Effect / Death of Michael Faherty

'Spontaneous Human Combustion', The Independent online: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/spontaneous-human-combustion-woman-who-suffered-burns-in-germany-spurs-debate-about-controversial-a6722166.html

'Spontaneous Human Combustion', How Stuff Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc.htm

In this episode of Oddity, we'll be looking at a weird tale from Devon concerning a pair of disembodied hands which, for the last hundred years, have haunted one particular stretch of road across the moors.

Sources and further reading:

'The Hairy Hands Horror', Mysterious Universe: http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2011/11/the-hairy-hands-horror/

In this episode of Oddity, we'll be taking a look at an unsolved murder from the 1920s which continues to baffle people to this day - the Hinterkaifeck Massacre.

Sources and further reading:

In this episode, we'll be considering the case for alien big cats or ABCs, also known as phantom cats. These anomalous felids are non-native species which appear in unlikely locations and rarely leave any concrete proof of their existence.

Sources and further reading:

This week on Oddity, we'll be looking at a tiny island with a tragic history, which has become something of a tourist attraction due to its eerie inhabitants; The Island of the Dolls.

Sources and further reading:

Isla De Las Munecas website: http://www.isladelasmunecas.com/

La Isla De Las Munecas, Slate: http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlasobscura/2013/06/17/laisladelasmunecasisanislandfilledwithhundredsofhangingdecomposing.html

La Isla De Las Munecas, Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/la-isla-de-las-munecas

Mexico's Creepiest Tourist Destination, Weburbanist: http://weburbanist.com/2010/10/06/mexicos-creepiest-tourist-destination-island-of-the-dolls/

Xochimilco, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochimilco

This week on Oddity, we'll be taking a look at Spring-heeled Jack, a monster who terrorised the women of nineteenth century London decades before the other monstrous Jack stalked the streets.

Sources and further reading:

"The Haunted Landscape", Jacob Middleton, Fortean Times #310, p. 30 - 35