In a remote Norwegian valley known as Hessdalen, strange glowing lights have appeared for decades under direct scientific observation. Thousands of miles away, Skinwalker Ranch has become famous for unexplained lights, electromagnetic anomalies, and data that refuses to behave. Are these phenomena connected — or are they simply two examples of nature acting in ways science hasn’t fully mapped yet? In this episode of Unsolved-ish: A Strange History Podcast, we strip away the hype and compare the data, the geology, and the human stories behind both locations. We explore what scientists actually know, where speculation begins, and why these mysteries remain officially “explained enough” while still feeling deeply unfinished. No aliens required.
No easy answers offered.
Just real phenomena sitting uncomfortably at the edge of understanding. Not proven.
Not dismissed.
Just… Unsolved-ish.

In the mid-1880s, a wave of brutal murders terrorized Austin. Women were attacked in their homes at night, often while sleeping, struck with axes, knives, or blunt objects. Most of the victims were servant women — poor, working-class, and largely ignored by the system meant to protect them.
The killer became known as The Servant Girl Annihilator, one of America’s earliest suspected serial murderers. As panic spread, citizens armed themselves, newspapers demanded answers, and authorities raced to restore calm.
A suspect was eventually arrested. A confession was announced. The case was declared solved.
But the evidence never quite fit.
In this episode of Unsolved-ish: A Strange History Podcast, we take a deep, Victorian-era dive into the murders, the flawed investigation, the role of class and race, and the uncomfortable possibility that justice was declared — not because it was achieved, but because it was needed.
This is a story about violence without accountability, confidence without proof, and how some crimes fade into history not because they were solved… but because they were inconvenient.
Not solved.
Not proven.
Just… Unsolved-ish.

In Victorian London, human torsos began appearing in and around the River Thames. Carefully dismembered, deliberately unidentified, and quietly dismissed by authorities, these cases became known as the Thames Torso Murders. At the same time, the city was gripped by fear over another unsolved series of killings — the crimes attributed to Jack the Ripper. In this episode of Unsolved-ish: A Strange History Podcast, we explore whether these two mysteries could be connected, and why Victorian investigators were so determined to insist they were not. We examine the differences in method, the overlap in time and place, and the institutional pressure to contain panic during one of London’s most unstable periods. Rather than asking who the killer was, this episode asks a different question: what happens when authorities decide not to look too closely? Was the separation of these cases based on evidence — or convenience? This is a story about Victorian crime, investigative failure, and the dangers of confidence without proof. Not solved.
Not ruled out.
Just… Unsolved-ish.

On Christmas Eve 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder family home in rural West Virginia. Five children were believed to be trapped inside — yet when the ashes cooled, investigators found no remains. No bones. No teeth. No evidence the children had died at all. Despite this, authorities quickly declared the case closed, insisting the fire burned hot enough to erase every trace. The Sodder family never accepted that explanation. In this episode of Unsolved-ish: A Strange History Podcast, we explore one of the most haunting disappearances in American history. We examine the unanswered questions surrounding the fire, the strange witness sightings, political threats made against the family, and the decades-long effort by the parents to prove their children survived. Was this a tragic accident?
A kidnapping hidden by chaos?
Or a case quietly closed because the truth was too complicated? This is a story about missing children, convenient conclusions, and what happens when an official explanation replaces evidence. Not solved.
Not disproven.
Just… Unsolved-ish.

In the summer of 1944, residents of a small Illinois town began reporting terrifying nighttime attacks. People woke up unable to move, nauseous, dizzy, and convinced a mysterious figure was releasing gas into their homes. Some claimed to see a shadowy man outside their windows. Others reported strange smells and physical symptoms that doctors couldn’t fully explain.
The town was Mattoon, and the mystery became known as The Mad Gasser of Mattoon.
In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore one of America’s strangest crime waves — a case that was never truly solved, but instead officially explained away as mass hysteria during World War II. We examine the historical context of wartime fear, chemical weapon anxiety, conflicting medical reports, and why the attacks stopped as suddenly as they began.
Was the Mad Gasser a real criminal exploiting panic?
Was it a psychological phenomenon fueled by stress and suggestion?
Or was it something authorities couldn’t explain — or didn’t want to?
This episode dives into an overlooked chapter of strange history where fear itself may have been the most powerful weapon, leaving behind no arrests, no evidence, and no clear answers.
Not solved.
Not disproven.
Just… solved-ish.

In 1966, two Brazilian electronics technicians were found dead on a remote hill near Rio de Janeiro — lying side by side, wearing crude lead masks, and carrying a notebook filled with cryptic instructions. There were no signs of violence.
No clear cause of death.
And no explanation that made sense. We dive deep into The Lead Masks Case, one of the most unsettling and overlooked mysteries in modern history. We explore who these men were, why they believed they were preparing for “contact,” and how Brazilian spiritualism, Cold War paranoia, early electronics culture, and ritual experimentation all collided in one inexplicable event. Was it a failed spiritual experiment?
A misunderstood scientific ritual?
Accidental poisoning?
Or something that authorities couldn’t — or wouldn’t — investigate fully? This case wasn’t solved.
It wasn’t proven a crime.
It was quietly filed away. And that’s what makes it so disturbing. A strange history story involving unexplained deaths, cryptic notes, altered states, and a mystery that still has no ending — told with deep research, atmospheric storytelling, and the occasional darkly funny fake ad.

Sister podcast to The Strange History Podcast