In 1903, the residents of tiny Van Meter, Iowa, were faced with a terrible and fascinating sight: a strange and glowing creature—a visitor, perhaps—that seemingly manifested from the abandoned mines. 

Order Laurah’s book, LAY THEM TO REST: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/laurah-norton/lay-them-to-rest/9780306828805/

Hosted and written by Laurah Norton
Researched by Laurah Norton and Anna Luria 
Written and Produced by Maura Currie
Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder 

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/
Join us on Patreon for early release and ad-free episodes, exclusive stories, and bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OneStrangeThing
You can also subscribe to premium episodes on Apple Premium and Supercast!
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OSTPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onestrangethingpod/
 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/One-Strange-Thing-114307627035607
Interested in advertising on our show? Contact Glassbox Media: https://glassboxmedia.com/contact-us/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Van Meter Visitor

Paranormal, unexplainable, and uncanny stories aren't just in the fiction section. They happen every day, to people just like you.
One Strange Thing brings you family-friendly stories from America's newspaper archives. And they all have something in common: an element that can't be explained by logic alone.
Join us on our trek through small town U.S.A.'s oddities — and prepare to wonder what oddities are hiding in your hometown, too.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

True crime

Laurah’s traveling all month — so while we cook up some strange new offerings for you, please enjoy this episode from our archives.

West Virginia isn’t the only region to boast its very own Mothman; since the mid-20 century, Chicago and the Lake Michigan area has had reports of flying humanoids, and those sightings have only picked up since 2011. Why have sightings of the Chicago or Lake Michigan Mothman increased, and what’s behind the mysterious wings in the sky? 

Hosted and Written by Laurah Norton
Researched by Bryan Worters and Laurah Norton 
Produced and Script-Edited by Maura Currie 
Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder 

Interested in advertising on our show? Contact Glassbox Media: https://glassboxmedia.com/contact-us/

Copyright One Strange Thing Podcast LLC 2022

---------------------

Seth Breedlove, Dir. On the Trail of the Lake Michigan Mothman, 2020.
Tobias and Emily Wayland, “USPS Employee Reports. . .” Singular Fortean, 2020
Tobias and Emily Wayland, “Chicago Mothman Timeline. . . “ Singular Fortean, 2017.
Lon Strickler, Phantoms and Monsters, Chicago Mothman Sightings 2011-2017
Josh Terry, “People Keep Seeing. . .” Vice, 2018.
Robbie Telfer, “The Case of the. . .” WBEZ, NPR, 2019. 
Ted Slowik, “Chicago’s Mothman. . .” The Chicago Tribune, 2017.
Ryan Smith, “The Mothman Cometh?” The Chicago Reader, 2017.
Josh Vince, “Wing Freak Terrorizes. . .” The Chicago Patch, 2017.
Christopher Borelli, “Fantastic Beasts. . . “ The Chicago Tribune, 2019. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Classic Episode: The Moth

Centralia, Pennsylvania was a busy mining town until a fire of unclear origins started — and swept its way beneath the town. To this day, the mine shafts that built Centralia are destroying it. But could a curse be to blame for everything? 

Hosted by Laurah Norton
Research by Bryan Worters and Maura Currie
Produced and Written by Maura Currie 
Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/
Join us on Patreon for early release and ad-free episodes, exclusive stories, and bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OneStrangeThing
You can also subscribe to premium episodes on Apple Premium and Supercast!
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OSTPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onestrangethingpod/
 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/One-Strange-Thing-114307627035607

Interested in advertising on our show? Contact Glassbox Media: https://glassboxmedia.com/contact-us/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mine Fire

Back in 2007, the world was thrilled to discover there was a new cryptid—or alien—or something—on the scene: The Fresno Nightcrawler. And even better, it was absolutely adorable (as long as you have a fondness for walking pants). But what evidence exists for this mysterious new creature? 

Check out NetSuite.com/STRANGE to get your own free KPI Checklist.


Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/
Join us on Patreon for early release and ad-free episodes, exclusive stories, and bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OneStrangeThing
You can also subscribe to premium episodes on Apple Premium and Supercast!
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OSTPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onestrangethingpod/
 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/One-Strange-Thing-114307627035607

Interested in advertising on our show? Contact Glassbox Media: https://glassboxmedia.com/contact-us/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Nightcrawlers

This week, we’re bringing you a full-length bonus crossover episode with our friends Corrine and Sabrina, hosts of Two Girls One Ghost -- AKA, the most haunted podcast in America.  

 We visited their show to tell one of your favorite unexplained stories, so be sure to go check it out! You can find Two Girls One Ghost wherever you listen to podcasts—listen if you dare. You can find their show on Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-girls-one-ghost/id1271249164 

Head to Factormeals.com/ost50 and use code ost50 to get 50% off your first month plus 20% off your next month!

Go to NetSuite.com/STRANGE now through April 15 for a one-of-a-kind flexible financing program.

Sources on our website: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/
Laurah’s book: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/laurah-norton/lay-them-to-rest/9780306828805/
Join us on Patreon for early release and ad-free episodes, exclusive stories, and bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/OneStrangeThing
You can also subscribe to premium episodes on Apple Premium and Supercast!
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OSTPod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onestrangethingpod/
 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/One-Strange-Thing-114307627035607

Interested in advertising on our show? Contact Glassbox Media: https://glassboxmedia.com/contact-us/


Copyright One Strange Thing LLC 2024
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Very Haunted Crossover: Two Girls Tell Us About One Strange Ghost

In the 1960s, one hopeful British psychiatrist hoped he could prevent disaster—not with science, but with the supernatural. For a number of years. Dr. John Barker’s “Premonition Bureaus” collected psychic visions with a single goal: stopping tragedy before it could strike. 


Hosted by Laurah Norton 
Researched by Anna Luria 
Edited by Laurah Norton and Maura Currie 
Produced and Engineered by Maura Currie 


Works Cited:
Bastian, Jonathan. “Predicting the future: The true story of the Premonitions Bureau.” KCRW [Santa Monica, California], 16 Jul. 2022, Accessed May 2023. 
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Nicosia.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Jan. 2023, Accessed May 2023.
Cope, Michael. “Premonition: Royal Family to Face Scandal?” The Des Moines Register, 21 Nov. 1972. Accessed May 2023. 
Cummins, Anthony. “The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight review - the press, psychiatry and the paranormal.” The Guardian, 03 May 2022. Accessed May 2023. 
Freeman, Sue. “A woman’s intuition…” Liverpool Echo, 05 Feb. 1973. Accessed May 2023. 
Gladstone, Bill. “Future Watch.” The Gazette [Montreal, Canada], 12 Jan. 1980. Accessed May 2023. 
Harrison, Dave. “Does Mr. Spock figure in your dreams?” Leicester Chronicle, 01 Jun. 1979. Accessed May 2023. 
Irwin, Theodore. “Can Some People See into the FUTURE?” The Pantagraph, 04 May 1969. Accessed May 2023. 
Knight, Sam. “The Psychiatrist Who Believed People Could Tell The Future.” The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2019. Accessed May 2023. 
Mail Reporter, Evening. “The ‘early-warning premonition bureau.’” Birmingham Evening Mail, 06 Feb. 1968. Accessed May 2023. 
Post Reporter, Birmingham. “A Bureau to avert disasters?” The Birmingham Post, 28 Feb. 1968. Accessed May 2023. 
Spraggett, Allen. “Was the premonition a dream or truth?” The Victorian, 06 May 1974. Accessed May 2023. 
“4 Britons among 124 dead in plane crash.” Birmingham Evening Mail and Despatch, 20 Apr. 1967, p. 18. Accessed May 2023. 
“Hitching Hopes To the Stars.” Muncie Evening Press, 10 Jun. 1969. Accessed May 2023. 
“Miss Future…” Evening Post, 06 Feb. 1973. Accessed May 2023. 
“Peering into the future - some just have the knack.” Calgary Herald, 13 Dec. 1972. Accessed May 2023. 
“Royal Puppies.” Evening Standard [London, Greater London, England], 23 Sep. 1971. Accessed May 2023. 
“Soyuz 1.” NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, NASA Official, 28 Oct. 2022. Accessed May 2023. 
“The future is theirs to see.” Evening Post, 07 Jan. 1975. Accessed May 2023. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Van Meter Visitor

Download our free app to listen on your phone