Well, Tide Riders… we’ve reached the final bell.

After traveling from California to England to India, our Schoolhouse Scares saga wraps up by heading even farther east — to Japan, where schools have their own supernatural ecosystem of ghosts, urban legends, rituals, and yōkai.

From the infamous Hanako-san haunting the school bathroom to Kuchisake-onna, Teke Teke, Kokkuri-san, the Seven Wonders of the School, and a whole classroom full of creepy characters, we’re diving into the folklore that has turned Japanese schools into some seriously spooky places.

We’ll explore where these legends came from, how generations of students have kept them alive, and how manga, anime, television, movies, and the internet have transformed schoolyard rumors into international paranormal icons.

Then, naturally, we’re heading into the Tinfoil Teepee to ask the really goofy questions: Are these stories simply the product of childhood fears and social psychology? Can collective belief create something of its own? Are ancient spirits just wearing modern masks? Could some encounters represent something stranger slipping through the cracks?

And for our final stop in the Schoolhouse Scares saga, we’re taking the biggest leap of all — into the possibility that some of these phenomena could be deliberately engineered or controlled.

So grab your backpack, check the bathroom stalls, and whatever you do…

Don’t answer the knock.

This is Schoolhouse Yōkai, the final installment of Strange Tides’ Schoolhouse Scares saga.

Sources:

Nippon.com — Horror at School: The Spread of Scary Stories Among Japanese Children and Teachers - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02322/

Yōkai Folklore Database — Hanako-san / Hand (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/YoukaiCard/0970081.html

Yōkai Folklore Database — Hanako-san / School Toilet (Shizuoka, 1998) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=0890009

Yōkai Folklore Database — School Seven Wonders / Underground Staircase (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=0970102

Yōkai Folklore Database — White mist / human figure (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=2470054

Yōkai Folklore Database — Thirteen Steps / Headless apparition (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=0970112

Yōkai Folklore Database — Floating severed head (Kanagawa, 1990) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=2210101

Nippon.com — Japanese Version (Yoshioka Interview) - https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/g02322/

Tōru Tsunemitsu (Author & Folklorist) - https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/GakkouNoKaidan

Matthew Meyer (Illustrator, Author & Folklorist) - https://matthewmeyer.net/artwork/yokai/

Michael Dylan Foster (Folklorist & Academic) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Foster_(folklorist)

Noboru Miyata (Folklorist & Scholar) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyata_Noboru

Yoshioka Kazushi (Education Researcher) - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02322/

Aloha, Tide Riders! This time on Strange Tides, we’re heading to Lucknow, India, and the legendary La Martinière College—where the halls of the historic Constantia campus have accumulated centuries of history... and more than a few Mart Yarns.

From the ghost of founder Claude Martin and spectral teachers to the Phantom Cavalry, Vanishing Horsemen, groaning trees, dancing statues, shadowy figures, and invisible forces that reportedly shove students around, La Martinière has no shortage of strange stories.

Then we head into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we explore everything from residual hauntings and time slips to psychic feedback loops and the possibility that Constantia itself could be one giant paranormal machine.

So grab your backpack, keep one eye on the hallway, and join us for another semester of Schoolhouse Scares—because at La Martinière, the bell may not be the only thing calling students to class.

Sources:

Well, Tide Riders, we’re crossing the pond for the second installment of our Schoolhouse Scares saga and heading to Egham, Surrey, where Royal Holloway, University of London looks less like a university and more like a Victorian architect’s fever dream.

Behind those huge red-brick walls and the straight-up French château vibes of the Founder’s Building, you’ve got a crazy history of big money, serious ambition, women breaking barriers, actual royalty, and a wave of heavy Victorian flex that makes Hogwarts look like a community college. But this place has another reputation—one with cursed paintings, spectral students, ghostly founders, mysterious footsteps, and a black cat that may or may not be Thomas Holloway himself.

We’ll explore the infamous Man Proposes, God Disposes, the apparitions said to roam Founder’s Building, the mysterious “Harry Called” encounters, and the other strange stories that have made Royal Holloway one of Britain’s more interesting haunted campuses.

Then, naturally, we’ll leave the well-lit corridors behind and step into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we’ll take those legends from grounded explanations to paranormal possibilities and finally into some seriously wild territory.

Class is officially in session—and this spooky school has some seriously strange lessons to teach.

Sources:

Official Royal Holloway University pages:

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/our-history/our-founders/  

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/art-collections-and-archives-homepage/picture-gallery/history-of-the-college/  

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/our-history/  

Royal Holloway, University of London - Wikipedia  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Holloway,_University_of_London  

Founder’s Building  - Wikipedia  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founder%27s_Building  

Bedford College, London  - Wikipedia  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford_College,_London  

Royal Holloway, University of London - The Victorian Web  - https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/holloway/1.html  

Thomas Holloway’s Two Legacies  - Egham Museum  - https://eghammuseum.org/thomas-holloways-two-legacies/   

Kate Rist, “We went on a Halloween ghost tour of Royal Holloway,” The Tab, 29 October 2015 - https://thetab.com/uk/rhul/2015/10/29/tour-rhuls-haunted-buildings-3809  

Megan Cormack, “RHUL rumours: True or false?,” The Tab, 3 December 2016 - https://thetab.com/uk/rhul/2016/12/03/rhul-rumours-true-false-11137  

“Man Proposes, God Disposes,” - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Proposes,_God_Disposes

“ ‘Man Proposes, God Disposes’: A Haunted Painting at the University of London,” Curious Archive, 27 June 2025 - https://www.curiousarchive.com/man-proposes-god-disposes-a-haunted-painting-at-the-university-of-london/

“ ‘Man Proposes, God Disposes’: A Cursed Painting’s Eerie Legend,” The Ghost in My Machine, 4 November 2024 - https://theghostinmymachine.com/2024/11/04/encyclopaedia-of-the-impossible-the-man-proposes-god-disposes-cursed-painting/

Austin Harvey, “9 Haunted Paintings Said To Be Cursed By Supernatural Forces,” All That’s Interesting, 23 October 2023 (updated August 2024) - https://allthatsinteresting.com/haunted-paintings/8

“Slashed and Hidden from Sight: The Strange Power of Cursed Paintings,” Hyperallergic, 12 November 2014 - https://hyperallergic.com/159739/slashed-and-hidden-from-sight-the-strange-power-of-cursed-paintings/

Harry Howard, “And you thought THAT painting was cursed!” Daily Mail, 25 August 2023 - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12445611/And-thought-painting-cursed-Artwork-Royal-Holloway-haunting-reputation-covered-enormous-British-flag-quell-students-fears-presence-make-fail-exams.html

“Thomas Holloway’s Feline Phantom,” Haunted Hosts - https://hauntedhosts.com/haunted-places/surrey/location/5145-thomas-holloways-feline-phantom

“Jane Holloway,” Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Holloway

September is here, which means Strange Tides is heading back to school, Tide Riders—and trust me, this is one campus you definitely don't want to visit after dark. For the first installment of the Schoolhouse Scares saga, we're rolling into Ione, California, to explore the strange, tragic, and seriously spooky history of Preston Castle. Built in the 1890s as part of the Preston School of Industry, the massive Romanesque Revival fortress housed generations of young wards—and over the decades, its halls witnessed illness, punishment, escape attempts, violence, tragedy, and eventually abandonment But that's only half the story. Today, Preston Castle has earned a reputation as one of California's most haunted historic sites. We'll cruise through decades of reported paranormal encounters, from phantom footsteps and shadow figures to mysterious voices, unexplained touches, strange sensory experiences, and some downright bizarre overnight investigations. And naturally, we'll be paddling straight into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we'll ask the big question: Are we dealing with ghosts, residual memories, environmental weirdness, something created by human belief... or something WAY stranger? Grab your flashlight, Tide Riders. Class is officially in session.

Sources:

Preston Castle Foundation. “About Preston Castle.” *Preston Castle Foundation*. https://prestoncastle.org/about-us/  

Preston Castle Foundation. “Preston Castle in Ione, CA.” Preston Castle Foundation - https://prestoncastle.org/  

City of Ione. “Preston Castle.” City of Ione - https://www.ione.ca.gov/about-ione/page/preston-castle  

“Preston School of Industry.” Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_School_of_Industry  

“What’s the story of spooky Preston Castle in Ione CA?” The Sacramento Bee, September 14, 2024 - https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/history/article291051915.html  

McManis, Sam. “Discoveries: Ione’s Preston Castle opens up about its harsh, haunting past.” The Sacramento Bee, June 27, 2015 - https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/sam-mcmanis/article25499146.html  

“The Harsh, Eerie History Of Preston Castle.” Merced County Times, January 5, 2025 - https://mercedcountytimes.com/the-harsh-eerie-history-of-preston-castle/  

“Explore Outdoors: Historic Ione castle, haunted or cool?” KCRA, November 1, 2024 - https://www.kcra.com/article/explore-outdoors-preston-castle-ione-amador-county/62764594  

“Historic Haunt.” San Joaquin Magazine, 2020 - https://sanjoaquinmagazine.com/2020/09/historic-haunt/  

“Preston Castle Haunt Marks 15 Years of Screams.” Ledger.news (On the Vine), October 2, 2025 - https://www.ledger.news/on_the_vine/preston-castle-haunt-marks-15-years-of-screams/article_d7eb6092-a6cb-4c1e-9929-55a7bced4796.html  

“Preston Castle.” Haunted US - https://hauntedus.com/california/preston-castle/  

Josh N. “The Haunted Preston Castle.” Beyond Haunted, September 23, 2025 - https://beyondhaunted.com/california/preston-castle  

“Lowe-cation: Preston Castle” A&E, July 27, 2017 - https://www.aetv.com/articles/lowe-cation-preston-castle  

“What Happened in the Basement of Preston Castle?” Distractify, November 5, 2025. - https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-in-the-basement-of-preston-castle

Aloha Tide Riders. It's been a minute but we're back!

What if the birth of the United States was a little weirder than the history books let on? Before America was all constitutions, liberty, and We the People, colonial society was swimming in astrology, alchemy, folk magic, grimoires, supernatural folklore, and unexplained phenomena. And right in the middle of it all stood Benjamin Franklin—printer, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and, to some of his contemporaries, basically an eighteenth-century wizard.

In this Colonial Curiosities finale, we explore the strange space where Enlightenment science and old-school magic were still riding the same wave. We'll dive into Franklin's experiments with electricity, his investigation of Mesmer's "animal magnetism," his interest in Hermetic philosophy, colonial astrology, folk magic, Indigenous spiritual traditions, and the supernatural world that shaped everyday life in early America.

We'll also take a quick trip into the Pine Barrens and the strange story of the Jersey Devil, where the controversial Leeds family, astrology, religious feuds, and Franklin's legendary publishing beef with Titan Leeds all collide. Franklin didn't create the monster—but he may have accidentally helped stir the cultural stew that allowed the legend to grow.

And when we hit the Tinfoil Teepee, we're kicking open the door to some seriously wild possibilities. Was Franklin America's first wizard? Did the Founders unknowingly harness ancient knowledge? Was the Revolution surrounded by forces we still don't understand? Probably not… but that's never stopped us before.

Grab your tricorne hat, Tide Riders, and let's go surfing through the Feycraft of the Founding Fathers!

Sources:

T.J. Tomlin, “The Protestant Astrology of Early American Almanacs,” JSTOR Daily, March 15, 2020.  -  https://daily.jstor.org/the-protestant-astrology-of-early-american-almanacs/ 

John George Hohman, The Long Lost Friend, Internet Archive (full text).  -  https://archive.org/details/the-long-lost-friend  

Joseph H. Peterson (ed.), The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, Esoteric Archives - https://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/67moses.htm  

Owen Davies, Grimoires: A History of Magic Books -   https://silo.pub/grimoires-a-history-of-magic-books.html  

Richard Godbeer, “Folk Magic in British North America,” in The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West, Cambridge University Press, 2015 - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-magic-and-witchcraft-in-the-west/folk-magic-in-british-north-america/1535220F933F8B47D7AC9E1272621C3C 

Michael Brian Schiffer, Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment, University of California Press, 2003 - https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pq02h  

“How Benjamin Franklin Brought His Scientific Experiments Into the Kitchen,” Smithsonian Magazine / Smithsonian Books blog, August 14, 2025 - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-books/2025/08/14/how-benjamin-franklin-brought-his-experiments-into-the-kitchen/  

Benjamin Franklin to John Franklin, 25 December 1750 (electrical shock letter), Founders Online, National Archives - https://founders.archives.gov/

Megan Piorko, “Benjamin Franklin and Alchemy,” Library Company of Philadelphia, October 14, 2020 - https://librarycompany.org/2020/10/14/benjamin-franklin-and-alchemy/

Brian Regal, “The Jersey Devil: The Real Story,” Skeptical Inquirer / CSI (archived)  - https://web.archive.org/web/20180406133128/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_jersey_devil_the_real_story

“Ritual Traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch,” Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University -https://www.pagerman.org/exhibitions/ritual-traditions-of-the-pennsylvania-dutch-braucherei-powwowing/ 

Benjamin Franklin, “Felons and Rattlesnakes,” The Pennsylvania Gazette, May 9, 1751 (Founders Online) - http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-04-02-0040

Aloha, Tide Riders, we are back with a question: What if the birth of the United States wasn't just a revolution against King George III, but part of a much stranger story hiding beneath the history books?

In this episode of Strange Tides, we're paddling back to colonial America to explore the real history—and enduring conspiracies—surrounding the Founding Fathers and secret societies. We'll take a look at the undeniable connections between figures like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin and the Freemasons, dig into the mysterious rise of the Bavarian Illuminati, and follow the rabbit hole all the way back to the legendary Knights Templar.

Were Masonic lodges simply gathering places for Enlightenment thinkers and influential colonists, or could they have provided a hidden network that helped shape the Revolution? Did the Illuminati somehow influence America's founding? And what about those centuries-old legends claiming the Knights Templar survived their medieval downfall, carrying secret knowledge, treasure, and ancient mysteries into the modern world?

We'll separate the documented history from the speculation—but once we step into the Tinfoil Teepee, all bets are off.

That's where we'll unleash the totally tubular theories and wild speculation: secret Templar bloodlines, Masonic master plans, Illuminati infiltration, occult symbolism, hidden treasure, ancient technology, prophetic timelines, and even the possibility that the Founding Fathers weren't merely writing history...

They were following a script.

So grab your tricorne hat, polish up that secret handshake, and get ready to paddle into one seriously strange chapter of American history.

Because this time, Tide Riders...

The founding fathers may have had a few secrets of their own.

Sources:

*Full List Available via DM or Email Request*

The True History of Independence Day and Freemasonry – Craftsmen Online  

  https://craftsmenonline.com/the-true-history-of-independence-day-and-freemasonry/

Faith of Our Fathers – John L. Cooper III, California Freemason Magazine  

  https://californiafreemason.org/2019/04/17/faith-of-our-fathers/

Famous Freemasons in American History – Free and Accepted Mason  

  https://freeandacceptedmason.com/famous-freemasons-in-american-history

Freemasonry & The American Revolution – MasonicFind  

  https://masonicfind.com/freemasonry-the-american-revolution

Fraternal Organizations – Monticello.org  - https://www.monticello.org/encyclopedia/fraternal-organizations

Founding Fathers Who Were Freemasons – Factually.co  

  https://factually.co/fact-checks/history/founding-fathers-who-were-freemasons-fda4f5

Meet the Man Who Started the Illuminati – Isabel Hernández, National Geographic  

  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/profile-adam-weishaupt-illuminati-secret-society

What Happened to the Illuminati After 1785? – IlluminatiGuide.org  

  https://illuminatiguide.org/what-happened-to-the-illuminati-after-1785/

George Washington and Freemasonry – Mount Vernon  

  https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/freemasonry

U.S. Membership Statistics – Masonic Service Association of North America (MSANA)  

  https://www.msana.com/services/u-s-membership-statistics/

Freemasonry and American Democracy: The Hidden Link – Spica News  

  https://spicanews.com/articles/lodge-and-republic

Debunking Adam Weishaupt / George Washington – The News Blender  

  https://thenewsblender.com/2018/04/debunking-adam-weishaupt-george-washington/

Knights Templar – Masonic Grand Lodge of Maine  

  https://www.mainemason.org/grand-lodge-of-maine-library/knights-templar/

Knights Templar: Still Loved by Conspiracy Theorists – Ancient Origins  

  https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/knights-templar-conspiracy-0013068

The French Revolution as Illuminati Conspiracy – JSTOR Daily  

  https://daily.jstor.org/the-french-revolution-as-illuminati-conspiracy/

Aloha Tide Riders, we're back riding the waves of history. The American Revolution wasn't just a bunch of soldiers lining up on battlefields. While muskets were firing and cannons were booming, a whole other war was quietly going down behind the scenes—one fought with coded letters, invisible ink, secret signals, and some seriously clever people who knew how to stay off the radar.

In the second installment of our Colonial Curiosities Saga, we're paddling into the world of George Washington's spies and the legendary Culper Spy Ring. Meet the unlikely crew of farmers, merchants, ferrymen, and everyday Patriots who helped feed Washington priceless intelligence from right under the British Army's nose, proving that sometimes the biggest victories come from the people nobody notices.

Then there's Agent 355.

One number. One code. More than 240 years later... and historians are still scratching their heads.

Was 355 a courageous woman spying from inside British high society? A boarding-house owner quietly collecting gossip? A network of female informants? A forgotten Patriot whose identity disappeared with time? Or has everyone been chasing a mystery that never actually existed?

We'll dive into the real history of the Culper Ring, unpack the ingenious tradecraft that helped keep the Revolution alive, and separate what's backed by the receipts from what's been blown up by legend.

Then we'll duck into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we'll rate the leading Agent 355 theories, from the historically plausible to the downright mind-bending, and see which ones actually hold water.

So grab your board and paddle into the shadows with us as we uncover America's original spy game and chase one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Revolution.

Because sometimes the biggest secrets in history aren't hidden on the battlefield...

They're hiding in plain sight.

🌊 Strange Tides Research Dock

Alexander Rose, Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring (2006)  - https://www.alexrose.com/washingtons-spies

John A. Nagy, George Washington's Secret Spy War (2016)   - https://allthingsliberty.com/2016/10/george-washingtons-secret-spy-war/

John A. Nagy, Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution (2010)  - https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/spying-and-espionage/spies-dead-drops-and-invisible-ink

Thomas Fleming, Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge (2005)  - https://archive.org/details/washingtonssecre00flem_0

Christopher Andrew, The Secret World: A History of Intelligence (2018) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/dec/28/secret-world-christopher-andrew-review

Founders Online (Library of Congress) – George Washington correspondence  - https://founders.archives.gov/ (search for Washington-Tallmadge letters, 1778–1782).

Benjamin Tallmadge, Memoir of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge (1838/1858 ed.) - https://archive.org/details/memoirofcolonelb0000tall

William Hull (via Maria Campbell), Revolutionary Services and Civil Life of General William Hull (1848)  - https://archive.org/details/revolutionaryser00camp

The Papers of George Washington (University of Virginia) - https://founders.archives.gov/

Library of Congress – George Washington Papers & Revolutionary Espionage Collection -https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/two-georges/about-this-exhibition/american-revolution/espionage/invisible-ink/

Library of Congress – Espionage Exhibition (Invisible Ink, Culper Ring & Codebook) - https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/two-georges/access-text/espionage/

George Washington's Mount Vernon - https://edit.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/

Museum of the American Revolution – Washington's Spies - https://www.amrevmuseum.org/read-the-revolution/washington-s-spies

National Security Agency – Revolutionary Secrets (PDF) - https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/about/cryptologic-heritage/historical-figures-publications/publications/pre-modern/Revolutionary_Secrets_2012.pdf

Aloha Tide Riders, and welcome to the first installment of our Colonial Curiosities Saga. In this Short Board Session of Strange Tides, we're heading to New York City in the tense summer of 1776, where General George Washington and the Continental Army prepared to face the largest British invasion force ever assembled. But the greatest threat to the Revolution might not've been sailing into the harbor—it might've already been guarding Washington's headquarters.

Today we're talking about the Hickey Plot, the alleged Loyalist conspiracy involving Thomas Hickey, a member of Washington's elite Life Guard accused of plotting with British agents to betray the Patriot cause. Was there truly a plan to assassinate or kidnap Washington before the Battle of New York, or did Patriot leaders exaggerate the threat to unite the colonies and justify a crackdown on Loyalists?

We'll sift through the evidence surrounding counterfeit money, secret meetings, double agents, and America's earliest counterintelligence efforts before crossing into Speculation Nation, where the theories get even stranger. Was Hickey merely the face of a massive Loyalist fifth column? Did Freemasons or other secret societies manipulate events behind the scenes? Or was America's birth part of a far greater struggle involving occult rituals, ancient bloodlines, extraterrestrial influence, and humanity's spiritual evolution?

Grab your board and paddle out with us as we separate documented history from Revolutionary legend and explore one of America's earliest—and most mysterious—conspiracies.

SOURCES:

McCullough, David. 1776. 2005.

https://www.amazon.com/1776-David-McCullough/dp/0743226720

Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing. 2004.

https://www.amazon.com/Washingtons-Crossing-Pivotal-Moments-American/dp/019518159X

Fleming, Thomas. The Strategy of Victory: How General George Washington Won the American Revolution. 2017.

https://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Victory-General-Washington-Revolution/dp/0306824965

Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. 2004.

https://www.amazon.com/His-Excellency-Washington-Joseph-Ellis/dp/1400032539

Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. 2010.

https://www.amazon.com/Washington-Life-Ron-Chernow/dp/1594202664

Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life. Random House, 2005.

https://www.amazon.com/General-George-Washington-Military-Life/dp/0812969502

Wikipedia - Thomas Hickey (soldier)

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hickey_(soldier)

Britannica - The Plot to Assassinate George Washington

  https://www.britannica.com/story/the-plot-to-assassinate-george-washington

Smithsonian Magazine - The Plot to Kill George Washington

  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/plot-kill-george-washington-180970729/

History.com - Did George Washington's Bodyguard Plot to Kill Him?  

  https://www.history.com/articles/george-washington-bodyguard-assassination-plot

George Washington’s Mount Vernon - This Week in History posts

  https://www.mountvernon.org/ (search for Hickey or 1776 conspiracy)

Encyclopedia.com - Mutiny of Hickey

  https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mutiny-hickey

Wethersfield History - Thomas Hickey article

  https://www.wethersfieldhistory.org/articles/thomas-hickey-george-washingtons-wethersfield-kidnapper/

Ephemeral New York - A Revolutionary War hanging near the Bowery.  

  https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2017/11/20/a-revolutionary-war-hanging-near-the-bowery/

Commander-in-Chief's Guard (Wikipedia)  

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chief%27s_Guard

NPR coverage of The First Conspiracy:  

  https://www.npr.org/2019/01/09/682924810/the-first-conspiracy-details-foiled-hickey-plot-to-assassinate-george-washington

For Washington’s general orders and primary documents, check the Founders Online archive (National Archives):  

https://founders.archives.gov/ (search “Hickey” or “mutiny” June 1776).

🎢👻 Theme Park Terrors comes to a chilling close at one of America's most infamous haunted amusement parks.

This week on Strange Tides, we're making our final stop in the Theme Park Terrors saga at the legendary Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in West Virginia—a place where history, heartbreak, and the paranormal seem permanently intertwined.

Long before roller coasters and carnival lights, the land was the site of frontier conflict and the tragic Cotton Bottom Massacre. Decades later, Lake Shawnee became a beloved family amusement park... until a string of devastating accidents cast a shadow that never truly lifted. Today, abandoned rides stand silent as ghost hunters, paranormal investigators, and curious thrill-seekers report encounters with shadow figures, mysterious voices, the Swing Girl, the Drowned Boy, and spirits that refuse to leave.

But are these hauntings real? Or is something even stranger happening?

When we enter the Tinfoil Teepee, we'll dive into theories ranging from psychological priming and environmental anomalies to cursed land, ley lines, genius loci, interdimensional rifts, and why West Virginia seems to be a hotspot for everything from cryptids to high strangeness.

So wax up your board, keep your EVP recorder rolling, and don't wander too far after sunset... because the tide is about to get very strange.

SOURCES

- Mercer County CVB / Visit Mercer County (Lake Shawnee History & Archaeology): https://visitmercercounty.com/lake-shawnee/

- David Emmons Johnston – A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory (1906): https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_Middle_New_River_Settlement.html?id=HT4VAAAAYAAJ

- West Virginia Division of Culture and History / Historical Marker Database (Clay Monument): https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=117993

- Clay Memorial Park (Mercer County): https://visitmercercounty.com/company/clay-memorial-park/

- Lake Shawnee Archaeology (The Clio): https://theclio.com/entry/20080

- Bluefield Daily Telegraph – Lake Shawnee Article: https://www.bdtonline.com/news/the-haunting-of-lake-shawnee-fateful-forlorn-history-of-amusement-park-draws-paranormal-enthusiasts/article_212d1b00-79ae-11e5-8941-679fefb075c8.html

- Ronald L. Lewis – Black Coal Miners in America (1987): https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_labor_history/2/

- Ronald L. Lewis – Black Coal Miners in America (University Press of Kentucky): https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813192741/black-coal-miners-in-america/

- Official Lake Shawnee Website: https://www.wvlakeshawnee.com/

- Visit Mercer County – Lake Shawnee Page: https://visitmercercounty.com/lake-shawnee/

- The Haunted History of Lake Shawnee Amusement Park (Road Unraveled): https://www.roadunraveled.com/blog/lake-shawnee-amusement-park/

- Wikipedia – Lake Shawnee Amusement Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Shawnee_Amusement_Park

- Philly Ghosts – Hauntings of Lake Shawnee: https://phillyghosts.com/hauntings-of-lake-shawnees-abandoned-amusement-park/

- Clay Family Society – Shawnee Indians Clay Family Massacre: https://clayfamilysociety.net/shawnee-indians-clay-family-massacre/

- Lost Amusement Parks – Lake Shawnee: http://lostamusementparks.napha.org/Articles/WestVirginia/Lake%20Shawne%20Amusement%20Park.html

- WBoy – The Eerie History Surrounding WV’s Lake Shawnee: https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/the-eerie-history-surrounding-west-virginias-lake-shawnee-amusement-park/

- Atlas Obscura – Lake Shawnee Amusement Park: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-shawnee-amusement-park

Aloha, Tide Riders, and welcome to the third installment of our Theme Park Terrors saga. This week on Strange Tides, we're crossing the pond to explore one of Britain's most iconic—and allegedly most haunted—theme parks: Alton Towers. Behind the record-breaking roller coasters and family attractions lies a landscape steeped in nearly 2,000 years of history, from Iron Age settlements and medieval intrigue to aristocratic curses, wartime secrets, and modern tragedy.

We'll trace the fascinating evolution of the estate before diving into chilling reports of ghostly children in Haunted Hollow, the mysterious Lady in Grey, unexplained voices, shadow figures, and the wave of paranormal claims that followed the 2015 Smiler roller coaster crash. Along the way, we'll examine eyewitness encounters, investigate the park's most enduring legends, and ask whether the hauntings stem from psychology, the Stone Tape Theory, lingering Talbot family spirits, ancient curses, dimensional rifts, technological "ghosts," or something even stranger when we enter the Tinfoil Teepee.

So grab your flashlight, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and paddle out with us as we uncover the eerie history and supernatural mysteries hiding behind the thrills of Alton Towers.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia – History of Alton Towers -   

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Alton_Towers

Victorian Web – A.W.N. Pugin at Alton Towers -   

  https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/pugin/24.html

Alton Towers Official Heritage Page -   

  https://www.altontowers.com/about-alton-towers/heritage/

Towers Times / TowersStreet Historical Articles -   

  https://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/the-history-of-alton-towers/

Official Alton Towers Website – About Section -  

  https://www.altontowers.com/about-alton-towers/

Staffordshire Live – Alton Towers History -   

  https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids/alton-towers-theme-park-history-1221060

Harry Tomkinson Links:

Alton Towers: From Iron Age Fort to Worldwide Fame

- eBay Listing (primary purchase option):  

  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/227262664092

Background on the Author:  

  https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/former-alton-towers-worker-turned-644421

Richard Felix Links:

Official Website:  

  https://richardfelix.co.uk/

YouTube Channel (extensive ghost tours & Alton Towers content):  

  https://www.youtube.com/@RichardFelixChannel

Ghost Walks / Tours Booking:  

  https://richardfelix.co.uk/ghost-walks/

Books by Richard Felix:  

  https://localvideo.co.uk/product-category/books/