Your holiday fun is here: for the first time on the main feed, we present The Yule Cat (premium episode 68). The holiday season has its fair share of critters, cryptids, and lore. Some of it is meant to frighten children into good behavior. In Iceland, the Yule Cat falls into the latter camp — but is a giant, child-eating cat monster actually as old, or as frightening, as it sounds?

Hosted by Laurah Norton

Research by Melissa Gold and Maura Currie

Written, Engineered & Produced by Maura Currie

Works Cited:

Christopher Mother, "Forget Santa and..." The Boston Globe, 2022.

NA, "Its Satan's..." Daily Star, 2021.

NA, "We wish you a..." Daily Star, 2019.

Danny Lewis, "Each Christmas, Iceland's..." Smithsonian Magazine, 2016.

Sue Weaver, "The Yule Goat," Hachette Book Group, ND.

Lauren Oster, "Meet the Yule..." Travel Channel, 2019.

Regína Hrönn Ragnarsdóttir, "Grýla and Leppalúði..." Guide To Iceland, ND. 

NA, "All welcome when..." Reykjavik.is, 2024 (TRANSLATED)

Haukur S. Magnússon, "The Christmas Cat," The Reykjavik Grapevine, 2008.

Dustin Jones, "You've heard of Santa..." NPR, 2023.

Áki Guðni Karlsson, "The Yule Cat," University of Iceland/Icelandic Folklore, 2020.

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It's a very One Strange Thing Holiday as we count down to the season with re-releases of some of our favorite episodes--and a special treat awaits at the end. For two hundred years, a very famous poem has heralded the holiday season, and for some, the arrival of Santa Claus—but perhaps less known is the mystery it brings along with it. Whether you know it as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" or "A Visit from St. Nicholas," there's more to this one than mice and stockings and ho ho ho. This originally ran as Episode 81.

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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It's a very One Strange Thing Holiday as we count down to the season with re-releases of some of our favorite episodes--and a special treat awaits at the end. It's become a holiday tradition for us to tell you this one, strangers. . . though locals tell us that things have changed with the tree (see link below). Still, we enjoy the story: Episode 34—The Elves.

Arizona might not seem like the typical setting for holiday magic, but for decades, some mysterious local "elves" have turned a spherical, scrubby-looking desert juniper out on I-17 into what has to have been one of America's more unlikely Christmas spectacles; but who are they, and why are they so determined to light up the lonely landscape?

Hosted and Written by Laurah Norton

Researched by Bryan Worters and Laurah Norton

Engineered and Produced by Maura Currie

Christmas Tree update: https://www.kjzz.org/kjzz-news/2024-12-05/arizonas-i-17-mystery-tree-is-gone-the-state-balladeer-hopes-the-christmas-tradition-will-return

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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It's a very One Strange Thing Holiday as we count down to the season with re-releases of some of our favorite episodes--and a special treat awaits at the end. This week, it's Episode 79--The Angel. A cemetery in Iowa City is famous, not really for anyone laid to rest there, but for a statue. The Black Angel is mysterious and otherworldly — and her metamorphosis, both physical and in legend, leaves us with a lot of questions.

Hosted by Laurah Norton

Research by Maura Currie and Anna Luria

Written and Produced by Maura Currie

Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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On May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The tiny local police department launches an investigation but finds little physical evidence to lead them to a suspect. Eventually, outside pressure pushes them to charge someone with the killings, whether or not the evidence supports their conclusions.

American Scandal takes you deep into the heart of America's dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they're caught. Listen to American Scandal: The West Memphis Three: [LINK]

One Strange Thing: https://Wondery.fm/AS_OST

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In 2012, a corner of the internet was lit ablaze by a series of puzzles and codes… posted by a mysterious entity with an unclear agenda. What was Cicada 3301, and what were they recruiting for? And why, so many years later, do we seem to have less information than we started with? This episode was originally released as Premium Episode 62.

Hosted by Laurah Norton

Research by Anna Luria and Maura Currie

Written, Engineered & Produced by Maura Currie

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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Works Cited

Robert Cottrell, "Cicada 3301: The Internet…" BBC, 2013.

Chris Bell, "The Internet mystery that…" The Telegraph, 2013.

Chris Bell, "RIDDLE ME THIS: The…" National Post, 2013.

Kim Nursall, "Looking for the…" Toronto Star, 2014.

Chris Bell, "Internet puzzle with cult…" National Star, 2014.

Kim Nursall, "The hunt continues…" Toronto Star, 2014.

NA, "Want to be a spy?" Evening Standard, 2014.

Mike Rothschild, "Who is QAnon…" Daily Dot, 2018.

Inae Oh, "Anti-Abortion hackers claim…" Mother Jones, 2015.

N/A, "PDI advierte sobre nueva…" Los Andes Online, 2012.

3301 on PasteBin

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Midwest Bigfoot is back, strangers—this time in Central Illinois, with the nickname of CoHoMo (we don't pick these), a cryptid romp through the wilderness, and a suspicious number of teenagers allowed to investigate and provide tour-guide services to reporters and visitors alike. The 1970s seemed like a good time.

Written and Hosted by Laurah Norton

Researched by Anna Luria and Laurah Norton

Engineered by Southern Gothic Media/Rachel Boyd

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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In 2011, a beloved friend, father, and son passed away unexpectedly—and just a few months later, two of his closest friends began receiving emails from him that they couldn't explain. This episode was originally released as premium episode 55 in 2024.

Hosted and Written by Laurah Norton

Research by Bryan Worters and Laurah Norton

Produced and Engineered by Maura Currie

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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Works Cited

*Incorrectly referred to Times Leader as Times Herald in the episode. Why? NO IDEA.

John (Jack) Froese Obituary

Bill O'Boyle, "Family Receiving Emails. . ." The Times Leader, 2012.

N/A, "Emails from dead. . ." The BBC, 2012.

Dave Smith, "Loved Ones Get. . ." International Business Times, 2012.

Patrick Stokes, "How Can The Dead. . ." The Conversation, 2021.

Bill O'Boyle, "Emails From The. . ." The Times Leader, 2012.

Helen AS Popkin, "Emails From Dead. . ." Today, 2012.

Peter Fenton, "Email From The Dead," Getting It, 1999.

Lauren Effron, "Mysterious Emails Sent. . ." ABC, 2012.

Chiara Sottle, "Digital Services Send . . " NBC, 2017.

Fortinet, Email Spoofing

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Listeners, we KNOW the feed has been going absolutely haywire on you, and we're so sorry! They're working on fixing it. Trust us, we want it fixed too. Hang tight.

We take a spooky trek through history to explore the legend of Moll Dyer, Maryland's most famous witch—and the inspiration for a certain horor movie that took the late 1990s by storm.

Written Hosted, and Researched by Laurah Norton

Additional Research by Anna Luria

Engineered by Southern Gothic Media/Rachel Boyd

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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Strange lights captivated the people of Lubbock, Texas who happened to gaze skyward on a summer night in 1951. But what those lights actually were remains an object of contention… particularly because nobody involved, including the Air Force, seems interested in talking about it. This is a presentation of Premium Episode 60 on the main feed.

Hosted by Laurah Norton

Research by Bryan Worters and Maura Currie

Written, Engineered & Produced by Maura Currie

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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2025 All Rights Reserved One Strange Thing Podcast & The Fall Line Podcast LLC

Works Cited

NA, "Flying 'strings of beads…'" The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1951.

NA, "3 Texas Tech Profs…" The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1951.

NA, "Flashes in sky filmed…" The Austin American, 1951.

NA, "'String of beads' is…" The Odessa American, 1951.

Kenneth May, "Scientist At Texas Tech…" The Lubbock Morning Avalanche, 1952.

George Dolan, "This Is West…" The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1957.

Dave Knapp, "Area writes own chapter…" The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 1969.

History.com

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