The Box of Oddities

In this darkly fascinating episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore the bizarre world of Victorian starvation contests and the tragic tales of the Starving Brides of Blackpool—young women who became public spectacles in a disturbing blend of endurance, showmanship, and societal obsession with purity. Then, Jethro takes us back to 17th-century England for the unsettling trials of Thomas Hogg and George Spencer, where superstition and Puritanical paranoia turned alleged sin into criminal conviction. Were these men victims of early witch-hunt hysteria—or living symbols of a community’s moral panic? Expect laughter in the darkness, uncomfortable truths, and that signature Box of Oddities blend of macabre history, weird culture, and unexpected humor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎃 A chilling Box of Oddities Halloween celebration!Kat and Jethro rewind time to revisit the very first Halloween Special, recorded on a dark and stormy Halloween night years ago. In this fright-packed collection of true listener encounters, we dive into some of the most unsettling paranormal moments ever shared by the Freak Family — including ghostly apparitions, haunted highways, Civil War spirits, and the terrifying Grey Lady of Tasmania. 👻 Featured encounters include: A spectral homeowner still roaming the halls after a fatal accident 😨 A “Utah backroad” where vengeful ghosts try to run travelers off the road A haunted Gettysburg field echoing with wagon wheels and marching soldiers San Diego’s notorious Whaley House — footsteps from beyond the grave Tasmania’s Grey Lady — and a night of screams, possession, and rotting-orange phantom stench With creepy first-person recordings, eerie real-life locations, and that signature blend of humor and horror, this is the perfect Halloween audio ritual. Whether you believe in ghosts or not… these stories just might believe in you. Grab your candy, dim the lights, and enjoy this spooky trip down memory lane with Kat and Jethro — and the ghosts who came with them… 👁️👁️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Box of Oddities: 8th Annual Halloween Special Step into the shadows for our 8th Annual Halloween Special—where the veil thins, the lights flicker, and the stories come straight from you, the Freak Family. This year, listeners share their most chilling real-life encounters: a music box that plays from beyond the grave, a midnight sprint through a haunted cemetery, a towering white figure that defies explanation, a windowless room hiding something unspeakable, and a Tucson hotel room that fights back. From eerie coincidences to full-blown paranormal panic, these tales remind us why October is our favorite time of year—and why some things are better left unexplained. Lock the doors, dim the lights, and prepare for a night of true listener-told horror—because in this episode, you are the Box of Oddities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Halloween week gets weirder than ever on The Box of Oddities as Kat and Jethro dive into the chilling mystery of electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) — and why some recordings might not come from the past… but from the future. 😱📼 From eerie predictions like “April 10th… fire” to spectral warnings whispered before tragedy strikes, this episode explores whether time-slipping ghosts are trying to send us messages across the timeline. Could hauntings be echoes from events that haven’t happened yet? Then, Kat reveals the deeply bizarre legacy of Italian scientist Elfizio Marini, whose life’s work involved petrifying human body parts into polished décor — including a stone-fleshed table he gifted to Napoleon III. Because nothing says power and prestige like enjoying a sandwich over someone’s literal brains and lungs. 🍽️🧠 Plus:• The EVP anomaly caught in a recent crossover episode• The haunting physics behind retrocausality• Halloween traditions that make zero sense (looking at you, horse-skull caroling)• A peek behind the curtain of the final stretch of the fall tour 👻🎤 Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or a beautiful freak somewhere in between — buckle up. The future might already be haunting you. 🎧 Listen now and keep flying that freak flag at TheBoxOfOddities.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

INBOX OF ODDITIES 062: Meat Popsicles & Zombie Squirrels In this edition of the Inbox, the Freak Fam checks in with existential snack food, sasquatch fashion dilemmas, and a parrot who might be possessed by a 1960s sketch comedian. A Tampa household has now fully adopted the worldview that we are all just anxious meat popsicles waiting for a mysterious demise. Christine experiences a full-blown BOO Effect and urgently requires a ruling on whether her new sweatshirt is for Sasquatches or designed by them. (Either way, Bigfoot has impeccable taste.) Brett sends photographic proof that Atlanta is teeming with new Freak Fam friends—some of them stuffed. We hear from someone who met a foul-mouthed African Gray who may or may not be Artie Johnson reincarnated (very interesting…). A listener in Iceland regrets missing the infamous Penis Museum (the ultimate tourist trap), while another fears Northern California’s new menace: an aggressive alpha squirrel that might be the patient zero of the rodent zombie apocalypse. Meanwhile, early-episode pug snortles lead to film history, someone swears off chicken for 36 whole hours after Mike the Headless Chicken, and a beloved friend is found again—this time as a museum skeleton exhibit. There’s Exploding Head Syndrome, cursed libraries, punk-band names that are too spicy for polite company, emotional support sandwiches, and sincerely enthusiastic reports of Kat physically picking up audience members. All this oddness and more—proof that the Freak Fam is thriving, terrified of birds, and proudly flying their freak flags wherever they go. Never change.Stay curious. Stay weird. Stay away from angry squirrels. Tickets And Live Show Information Here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The undead are real. They just have antlers. This episode uncovers the terrifying rise of Zombie Deer Disease—a real-life, prion-fueled plague turning deer into vacant-eyed, drooling husks. It's spreading fast. It's nearly indestructible. And experts say it might jump to humans. Then: a nudist cult leader who worshipped coconuts, lived naked on a tropical island, and tried to save humanity with fruit. Spoiler: it didn’t work. 🧟‍♂️ Brains. Coconuts. Horror. Fiber. 🎃 Get it? It’s Halloween.🎟️ Final fall tour dates + tickets: theboxofoddities.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last Chance to The Box of Oddities Live! Click Here! In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro return from the road with fresh tales that will absolutely ruin your lake plans. First, we dive into the haunted beauty of Lake Natron, Tanzania’s blood-red, bird-mummifying wonder. Is it a cursed portal to the afterlife? A hellish mirror that turns animals to stone? Or just a volcano’s extremely weird science experiment gone rogue? Then, things get… floppy. Meet the Atlantic Sea Hare—a gentle, squishy marine slug with the defensive capabilities of a goth ink-jet printer. It has no shell, 80 million babies, and it might be smarter than your ex. Along the way, Kat and Jethro ponder reflective death traps, romantic slug chains, and the perils of communal candy bowls. Plus: a live tour recap, hot glue burns, and a moment of deep appreciation for dappling. Whether you’re a long-time listener or just sea slug curious, this episode will glue your brain to your skull (not literally). Click play, embrace the bizarre, and let’s get weird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time on The Box of Oddities, JG takes a bite out of the dark world of clinical vampirism, exploring the psychology and strange obsessions of those who crave more than just metaphorical blood. Then, Kat ventures into the chilling shadows of Spain to unravel the mysterious Vallecas Case, where the unexplained death of Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro left more questions than answers—and a trail of terrifying phenomena that still haunts investigators today. From real-life bloodlust to ghostly disturbances, this episode delivers the kind of macabre intrigue only the Box of Oddities can serve. LIVE SHOW TICKETS HERE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s eerie episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat dives into the scandalous life of 17th-century Parisian fortune teller to the elite, La Voisin—witch, poisoner, and all-around dark delight. From secret rituals to deadly intrigues, La Voisin’s tale is as twisted as the streets of old Paris themselves. Then, brace yourself as the story takes a chilling turn to Cheeseman Park, where secrets lurk beneath the earth… and corpses aren’t just a metaphor. Jethro and Kat navigate the macabre mysteries, bizarre coincidences, and shocking revelations that make history stranger than fiction. Tune in if you dare—and maybe don’t wander alone through the park tonight. LIVE SHOW TICKETS AND INFORMATION HERE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 742: (with Christine Schiefer of "And That's Why We Drink) This Halloween, something spooky this way swaps. In this very special Paraween Host Snatchers edition of The Box of Oddities, Kat is joined by the delightfully haunted Christine Schiefer of And That’s Why We Drink—because JG has mysteriously vanished (probably abducted by science or a mothman, TBD). Together, Kat and Christine unpack the glowing enigma of the Brown Mountain Lights—the unexplained orbs that have haunted Appalachia for over a century. Are they ghosts? Aliens? Passive-aggressive lovers stuck in a centuries-long spat? Or just bioluminescent squirrels playing god? We explore all the theories—ball lightning, swamp gas, folklore, fungal rave dust—and somehow make room for 1913 dental ads and an impromptu John Denver roast. Whether you're a fan of high strangeness, ghost lore, or just want to hear Christine and Kat lose it over the phrase “globular form,” this crossover episode is a Halloween-season must-listen. 🔦 Featuring lore, laughs, and a whole lot of Appalachian weirdness.🎧 Press play and get your globular on. Perfect for fans of: And That's Why We Drink Paranormal mysteries Appalachian folklore Bioluminescent squirrel theories Spooky season shenanigans LIVE SHOW INFO AND TICKETS HERE! #ParanormalPodcast #BrownMountainLights #AndThatsWhyWeDrink #BoxOfOddities #Paraween #PodcastCrossover #WeirdHistory #GhostLore #TrueWeird #AppalachianMysteries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live Show Tickets And Information Here! Inbox of Oddities: Episode 61 – “Ghost Rides and Haunted Reflections” In this spine-tingling edition of The Inbox of Oddities, the Freak Family delivers another batch of strange, heartfelt, and hilariously unsettling tales straight from the beyond (and beyond belief). A listener from Austin swears his late uncle moonlights as an Uber driver—and somehow still knows all the family secrets. Connie from Philadelphia writes to thank Kat and JG for keeping the weird wonderfully normal while sharing stories from her psychic, braille‑tarot‑reading mother (and her dining‑room coffin). Lola from Chicago’s apartment keeps playing one lonely piano note at 11 p.m. sharp—every night. Meanwhile, a haunted library book in Rochester seems desperate for attention, and one unlucky thrift shopper finds a mirror that insists on celebrating “Alex’s” birthday. There’s also a touching tribute to Cheese the pug, who lived his best, most fashion‑forward life—and might still be gobbling from the other side. And Madam Kitty of the Lakes (Christy, if you’re nasty) sends cloud photos, cemetery encounters, and lake‑town weirdness from Minnesota. It’s a wild, heartwarming ride through spectral Ubers, stylish ghost dogs, and paranormal home décor—all lovingly wrapped in gratitude, laughter, and the peculiar magic that only the Freak Family can bring. 🎧 Pull up a haunted mirror, grab your pug‑sized cardigan, and join Kat and JG as they read from your weird, wonderful, and occasionally cursed inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Or: How to Dismantle a UFO Cult and Melt Your Hairbrush at the Same Time Before Kat and Jethro usher in a spooky new host-swap adventure for Paraween, they’re here to crack open a box full of unhinged history and semi-combustible materials. 🛸 First up, Jethro introduces us to Dorothy Martin, a mild-mannered 1950s suburbanite who claimed to be receiving alien transmissions from the planet Clarion. According to her, the world was going to end—on Christmas, no less—but a group of spiritually-chosen humans (her Facebook group before Facebook) would be rescued by aliens. The spaceship never showed, the apocalypse got postponed, and psychologists lurking in the background coined the term “cognitive dissonance” to explain why nobody changed their minds. 🔥 Then Kat takes us on a wild ride through the volatile origins of early plastics—from celluloid billiard balls that exploded on impact, to asbestos-infused radios, and styrofoam that probably still exists in a landfill near you. It’s the horrifying, chemically unstable backstory of the objects we once thought were glamorous, but were really just slow-burning environmental crimes. Also featured:🎃 A sneak peek at next week’s Paraween: Invasion of the Host Snatchers episode with Christine Schieffer from And That’s Why We Drink🎸 Band names so questionable they might qualify as minor felonies🏓 Ping pong balls that (thankfully) don’t explode anymore Because when belief systems collapse and plastics ignite, you know you’ve found your people. Vote Box of Oddities For People's Choice Award Here! Live Show Info And Tickets Here! #TheBoxOfOddities #PlasticHistory #UFOCult #CognitiveDissonance #PodcastRecommendations #WeirdHistory #ClarionAliens #ExplodingBilliards #Parapods #Paraween #AndThatsWhyWeDrink #CultPsychology #OddlyHuman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vote Box of Oddities For People's Choice Award Here! Live Show Info And Tickets Here! What do ancient Egyptians, Romanian grandmas, and angry Pac-Man ghosts have in common? They all want a bite to eat—from beyond the grave. This episode of The Box of Oddities serves up a global smorgasbord of traditions where feeding the dead isn’t just a metaphor—it’s a full-course afterlife buffet. From wine funnels into Roman tombs to a perfectly seasoned rotisserie chicken in New Orleans, we explore the bizarre and touching ways humanity has kept its ghostly loved ones well-fed. Then things get... heated. We dive deep into the strange world of arousal non-concordance—when your body throws a party your brain didn’t RSVP to. You’ll meet people who climax during ab workouts, from brushing their teeth, or from reading a particularly spicy footnote. It’s not consent. It’s just neurology being weird again. Two tales. One episode. Ancient snacks, ghost etiquette, and involuntary fireworks. You’ll laugh, cringe, and maybe never look at funeral biscuits or fitness routines the same way again. 🕯️👻🥖💀🧠💦The Box of Oddities: Curiously bizarre. Weirdly informative. Always hungry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vote Box of Oddities For People's Choice Award Here! Live Show Info And Tickets Here! Real emails. Unreal stories. Welcome to the Inbox of Oddities, where the freaks write in and the universe delivers receipts. Inside Kat & Jethro’s inbox, the stories are weirder than fiction and more human than a wax museum marriage meltdown. Listeners write in with tales of time capsules that issue ominous relationship advice, McDonald's orders that align perfectly with the Boo Effect, and ghosts that wait until just after the photo op to let the camera work. This is where: 🦴 A family suggests a romantic day trip to a museum of bones and an immersive fever dream called Factory Obscura.🎧 A listener finds out about her breast cancer thanks to a podcast tangent and a snowball metaphor.🍔 A woman named Debbie from a real place called Tittybong, Australia, gets a McDonald’s code that literally spells “BBOO” while listening to Box of Oddities in a hospital parking lot.📚 A grammar snob gets absolutely humbled by Merriam-Webster.📦 A man rediscovers a cassette tape he buried in 1996, warning himself not to marry someone who hates museums.🐟 A boy once caught a trout with his nose, apparently.🧀 And someone wants to dress as “Shelly’s aunt” for Halloween, glowing blue and handing out cheese curds. No further context provided. And none needed. These are the unfiltered dispatches from the cult of curiosity, the church of weird, and the global freak family of The Box of Oddities. It’s like rummaging through a haunted junk drawer filled with love notes, medical mysteries, and cryptid keychains. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll maybe question the space-time continuum.This is Inbox of Oddities. 📬 Want in? Share your strange life stuff with Kat & Jethro here: curator@theboxofoddities.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vote Box of Oddities For People's Choice Award Here! Live Show Info And Tickets Here! Why does the Peoria Public Library seem to come with a return policy on souls? And what chilling new clues have surfaced in the decades-old vanishing of the Martin family in Oregon? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro dig deep into two mysteries that refuse to stay buried. First, explore the haunted stacks of one of America’s eeriest libraries—where more than just overdue books linger in the shadows. Then, journey into the Pacific Northwest as fresh evidence reopens the haunting cold case of a family that seemingly vanished into thin air over 70 years ago. Ghosts, disappearances, and just enough dark humor to make your spine giggle—this episode has it all. Tune in for tales that are spooky, bizarre, and 100% alphabetized for your paranormal convenience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are up for a Listener's Choice Award! Vote Here! What happens when you dig up Charlie Chaplin 11 weeks after his death? In this episode, Kat and Jethro wade into the bizarre tale of Chaplin’s posthumous kidnapping—complete with a ransom plot and a phone call that started with, “We have Charlie.” Spoiler: It’s not a prank if the coffin is real. Then, ever looked at your fingers and thought, “Why... these?” We crack open the secrets of evolutionary biology to uncover the latest strange DNA findings about how human fingers evolved—and why fish might deserve credit for your ability to do jazz hands. A corpse goes on tour and your thumbs have a fishy backstory. It’s another day in the Oddiverse. Tickets and Info on The Box of Oddities Live Tour Here! #BoxOfOddities #CharlieChaplin #GraveRobbery #TrueWeird #EvolutionFacts #ScienceIsWeird #ComedyPodcast #HumanEvolution #JazzHandsFromFish #WeirdHistory #OddlyFascinating #BonesAndBuffoonery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

REM Sleep, Clock Curses, and Alien Heat Lightning Vote Box of Oddities For People's Choice Award Here! Live Show Info And Tickets Here! In this listener-powered episode of The Box of Oddities, JG and Kat crack open the inbox and out pour... auditory hallucinations, ghost clocks, spontaneous astral projection, and the shocking truth about “heat lightning.” (Spoiler: it’s probably aliens.) First, a listener shares how her dreams are so vivid and reality-bending due to Narcolepsy that she’s genuinely not sure which world is real—relatable, terrifying, and yes, somehow still funny. Then, a cursed wall clock starts ticking every time someone dies. No batteries. No mercy. Just 12 minutes of tick-tock you're next. Meanwhile, someone else swears that a strange sky phenomenon isn’t just distant thunder—it’s the government covering up UFO joyrides. (Can’t argue with that logic.) You’ll also hear about a haunted hallway birth involving Richard Simmons, dolphin-whale linguistics, astral projection lessons, and what happens when massage therapists listen to BoO during bodywork sessions (spoiler: they cry, and so do you). Whether it’s clock-based death omens or the weirdly uplifting side of functional neurological disorders, this Inbox delivers what your brain craves: weird, real, and unreal tales from the wonderfully odd corners of the BoO family. Listen now... or risk becoming the sixth tick of the clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vote Box of Oddities For People's Choice Award Here! Live Show Info And Tickets Here! What do a 100-million-year-old hammer and the equator’s midlife crisis all have in common? This episode, obviously. JG takes a swing at the London Hammer—a tool encased in ancient rock that either proves time travel, or that geology just likes messing with us. Then, Kat walks us through the wild world of misplaced landmarks, where entire places are technically in the wrong spot thanks to 18th-century surveyors eyeballing things like “latitude” and “reason.” We also visit the equator... and then shift 179 feet to the left because, oops, science did it again. It’s an episode full of mislocated facts, ancient anomalies, and the sobering realization that the Earth is bad at geometry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Click To Learn More About The Box of Oddities Fall Tour Now Underway! Imagine remembering every single day of your life in crystal-clear detail — sounds like a superpower, right? Well, in this episode of The Box of Oddities, we dive headfirst into the rare and unsettling condition known as hyperthymesia, where the human brain refuses to forget anything. (Spoiler: it’s not as fun as it sounds — birthdays, bad haircuts, and all). Then, buckle up for a trip into the wild world of the Bush dog — a pint-sized predator that looks like an otter, smells like vinegar, and leaves biologists scratching their heads. Why does nature keep inventing creatures that seem like inside jokes? Tune in for laughter, weird science, and the kind of trivia that will make you both the life of the party and a little unsettling to sit next to. #WeirdFacts #StrangeAnimals #PodcastDiscovery #TheBoxOfOddities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tickets for our live show here! INBOX OF ODDITIES: The Cat, the Cursed Doll & the Powerline PhallusNow streaming: A listener episode so delightfully bizarre it made our cat salute an old war photo. 🕵️‍♂️ Is your cat channeling classified WWII intel? 🫣 Did your porcelain doll bury forks in your yard? 🔵 Has your aunt started glowing blue near deep fryers? 📮 And is it weird that a mailman on Cape Cod delivered mail to a McCraken the exact moment we said McCraken? (Spoiler: Yes.) 📸 Plus: raining dildos, haunted tattoos, spontaneous human luminescence, and a deeply emotional story involving three margaritas, a live show, and someone being cradled like a baby by Kat. 🚨 This Inbox of Oddities is a hall of fame mash-up of the freaky, the funny, and the forehead-slappingly bizarre. Listener tales that defy explanation, reason, or basic OSHA guidelines. 📬 No topic is off-limits—from interdimensional feline agents to maple vodka root beer floats and the international hunt for Mr. Pibb. You need this in your brain. 📲 Listen now. Let the odd wash over you. #BoxOfOddities #InboxOfOddities #HauntedCat #PorcelainDollProblems #MailmanMagic #SpontaneousGlowUp #TattoosBeyondTheGrave #WWIIWhiskers #RainingDildos #BooEffect #StayFreaky #PodcastLife #TrueWeird #FreakFlagFly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices