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Your guide to the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Kelly McEvers and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters transport you to a new wonder every day. Along the way, you'll meet fascinating people and hear their stories.
Writer and third-generation Floridian Becca Grimm discusses the history of Weeki Wachee Springs, a roadside attraction founded in the 1940s by former U.S. Navy frogman trainer Newton Perry, who cleared out an abandoned, overgrown spring to establish an underwater theater featuring synchronized swimmers known as mermaids.
Becca Grimm explains that in 1959, ABC TV purchased Weeki Wachee, injecting cash that allowed the park to expand its theater capacity from 18 to 400 seats, fund major advertising campaigns, introduce iconic 35-pound mermaid tails, and help establish Florida's mid-century tourism boom.
Jerome Campbell discusses an 1892 piece published in the New York Tribune that detailed vampire superstitions in Rhode Island related to consumption.
Tim Harford explains how the rural community of Exeter, Rhode Island, was stricken by consumption in the 1880s, which severely affected the Brown family.
Tim Harford describes how local doctor Harold Metcalfe observed the exhumation of family members in Exeter, noting that Lena's body was well-preserved due to sub-zero crypt conditions.
Tim Harford notes that the world changed rapidly as early antibiotics and a tuberculosis vaccine were developed, leading to one of the first clinical trials in the 1940s.
Atlas Obscura team members Jerome Campbell, Amanda McGowan, Manuela Morales, Camille Stanley, and Doug Baldinger announced the release of their new fall book titled 'America Obscura', which serves as a guide to hidden wonders, roadside museums, outsider art, and secret locations across the United States.
Manuela Morales highlighted the Panorama of the City of New York located inside the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadow Park, which is a detailed architectural miniature model of the entire city complete with moving miniature airplanes and lighting that simulates different times of day.
Doug Baldinger discussed the annual winter tradition on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis where an immersive pop-up village of artistic shanties and experimental installations is constructed directly on top of the frozen lake ice every winter.
Amanda McGowan detailed Enders Island off the coast of Connecticut, which is managed by a Catholic society called the Edmundites and houses the preserved forearm and hand relic of St. Edmund, the 13th-century Archbishop of Canterbury.
Jerome Campbell discussed visiting the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, noting that in 2019 the center opened an exhibit featuring the restored historic NASA Mission Control Room used during Apollo missions.
Camille Stanley highlighted Tarpon Springs, Florida, noting that the Greek Orthodox community holds an annual Epiphany celebration every January where teenage boys dive into a bayou to retrieve a thrown cross for a year of good luck.
Research from the Recreational Fear Lab has categorized horror fans into three distinct groups: adrenaline junkies who want to heighten their fear, white-knucklers who try to decrease their fear by looking away, and dark cobras who use horror experiences to deal with the anxiety of the outside world. Editor-in-chief Samir Patel and host Johanna Mayer discuss how these different groups report similar levels of satisfaction after visiting attractions like Denmark's Dystopia haunted house.
Researchers at the Recreational Fear Lab conducted a survey during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that people who enjoyed horror and pandemic-themed entertainments slept better, reported less anxiety, and had fewer concerns about the future, suggesting a psychological protective effect.
Studies conducted at the Dystopia haunted house revealed that visitors experience a specific range of heart rates and physiological responses called the 'sweet spot of fear,' where they maximize the fun and benefits of recreational fear without being bored or overwhelmed.
Writer and tour guide Christina Rae Stanton explains that James J. Walker Park in lower Greenwich Village sits on top of an estimated 10,000 bodies that were never removed when the former St. John's Burying Ground was converted into a park at the turn of the century.
Christina Rae Stanton discusses how New York City used a short-lived law called the Small Parks Act at the turn of the century to take over old cemeteries in immigrant and tenement districts and convert them into parks.
Christina Rae Stanton notes that St. John's Burying Ground contained multiple waves of burials, including prominent families like the Roosevelts and Motts, stage actress Naomi Vincent, and mass graves of people who died in an 1832 cholera epidemic.
Christina Rae Stanton highlights the efforts of John Watson, a church sexton who recorded and drew details of approximately 800 headstones in two large ledgers just weeks before the graves at St. John's were bulldozed.
Christina Rae Stanton details a violent event during the 1863 draft riots where a white mob severely beat and hanged a man named William Jones on a lamppost outside St. John's Burying Grounds.
Christina Rae Stanton points out that Washington Square Park and City Hall Park in New York City are other notable examples of public parks built over former burial grounds, with Washington Square Park estimated to hold 20,000 bodies.
Retired psychiatric nurse Barbara Hartsfield opened the Collectible and Antique Chair Gallery in Stone Mountain, Georgia, featuring thousands of decorative miniature chairs. Hartsfield began her collection roughly 35 to 40 years ago after buying a small chair to help inspire an academic article she was writing.
Barbara Hartsfield explains that she set a Guinness World Record in 2008 for having a collection of 3,000 miniature chairs. The verification process required her to unpack thousands of chairs from storage so witnesses could inspect them physically rather than looking at photo albums.
Host Kelly McEvers and podcast staff members discussed various historical time periods and places they would visit if time travel were possible, ranging from ancient Egypt and 1851 London to Dry Falls in Washington and Studio 54.
Carrie Barba, steward of Outer Limits Tattoo in Long Beach, revealed that a safe hidden behind a wall was discovered during renovations. She stated that they plan to hire an old-school safecracker to open it for the shop's 100th-anniversary celebration in April 2027.
Carrie Barba explained that Outer Limits Tattoo managed to survive the 1970s city-led demolition of the Pike amusement zone because the shop sits on the basement floor of a building that had been sold as individual condominiums, making mass acquisition difficult for the city.
Host Kelly McEvers announced that Carrie Barba and the board of the National Tattoo Museum are planning a display in Long Beach in time for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Host Sam O'Brien explores the current small scale of the spiritualist movement. According to the episode, there are about 17,000 Catholic churches in the U.S. compared to only 75 churches devoted to spiritualism.
Local historian and Air Force veteran Ron Nagy shares historical details about Lily Dale, including a visit by Susan B. Anthony. Nagy notes that Anthony was not a spiritualist and remarked after receiving a reading that she didn't like the person when they were living and certainly didn't want to hear from them when dead.
George Van Tassel, an airfield operator in the Mojave Desert, claimed he was visited by an alien named Solganda in 1953. Solganda allegedly instructed Van Tassel to build a machine capable of slowing down time and rejuvenating human life. Van Tassel then dedicated two decades to constructing the "Integratron" based on these extraterrestrial directives.
The Integratron, a wooden dome structure built by George Van Tassel, was constructed without nails or metal in its original design. The specific wood used for its construction was reportedly sourced from Howard Hughes' shipyards located in Washington.
George Van Tassel financed the construction of the Integratron by organizing and hosting UFO conventions, which were highly popular in the 1950s and 60s. These events attracted thousands of attendees and helped fund the project's development.
According to physicists, activating the Integratron as originally designed, with its massive Tesla coil acting as an unprotected energy generator, could create a pulse of energy capable of knocking out electricity for a 15-mile radius. This potential consequence was never tested as the machine was not completed.
After George Van Tassel's death, his family, including Michael Aquino and his mother Nancy Carl, took over the Integratron. While not a rejuvenation machine, they now offer "sound bath" experiences using crystal bowls in the structure's acoustically unique chamber. These sessions are said to have a calming, meditative effect.
Sue Aikens has lived nearly 200 miles above the Arctic Circle for over 20 years, in a location called Cavik, an old oil camp. Her closest town is 500 miles south, and there are no roads to get there, requiring her to fly. She describes a life where she has no electricity or running water unless she creates or collects it herself.
Sue Aikens' solitary life in Alaska was profoundly shaped by her mother's pattern of abandonment. At age 12, her mother left her alone at a campsite near Fairbanks, Alaska, triggering deep-seated fears of being forgotten and a belief that she could only rely on herself.
During a pivotal moment of being left alone at a campsite at age 12, Sue Aikens found an unexpected source of comfort in a raven. The bird's actions, including resting its head on her chest, provided what she described as the first genuine hug she had ever received.
After her mother left her in Alaska, Sue Aikens found refuge in an old miner's cabin, where she survived by foraging for berries and scavenging meat from animal carcasses. She also formed a bond with a raven named George, who brought her food and led her to the cabin that saved her life.
Sue Aikens describes the extreme conditions she faces in her Alaskan home, Cavik. Her thermometer regularly drops to 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, and winds can exceed 100 miles per hour, creating wind chills of 200 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on exposed skin.
In 2008, Sue Aikens faced a dangerous encounter with a young male grizzly bear that had begun to encroach on her territory near Cavik. The bear, driven by hormones, attempted to claim her land, leaving carcasses and growling nearby.
During a confrontation with a grizzly bear in 2008, Sue Aikens was attacked, suffering dislocated hips and a skull injury. After cleaning herself up, she attempted to call for help via radio, but faced a frustrating exchange with the operator who repeatedly asked 'What is it?' instead of responding directly to her pleas for assistance.
Host Amanda McCowan discusses the old computer game 'Titanic: Adventure Out of Time,' which she discovered is available on Steam. The game, from around 1996, features a plot where the player must find a jewel-encrusted book called the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which is a real artifact that sank with the Titanic.
Amanda McCowan reveals that the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, featured in the game 'Titanic: Adventure Out of Time,' is a real book with a history that might be more interesting than its connection to the Titanic. She explains that the book's story involves its transformation from a medieval Persian mathematician's work to a famous English text.
Alton, Illinois is being recognized as one of the most haunted small towns in America, particularly in the Midwest. The town's history, deeply intertwined with the unpredictable Mississippi River, contributes to its numerous ghost stories and lore. This rich history is a key factor in maintaining the town's eerie reputation.
A parking lot in Alton, Illinois, once the site of the state's first penitentiary, is now known for paranormal activity. The prison, which experienced overcrowding, disease, and a high death rate, was eventually closed but later reopened during the Civil War to house prisoners of war, leading to further suffering and death.
Following its initial closure in 1860, the Alton penitentiary was reopened during the Civil War to manage an influx of prisoners of war. This reopening led to severe overcrowding and worsened conditions, culminating in a smallpox epidemic that caused hundreds of deaths among the inmates.
Alton, Illinois, boasts numerous allegedly haunted locations, including the Old Mill Company, where the owner's presence is still felt. The First Unitarian Church is said to be haunted by a former minister, and the 1920s Mineral Springs Hotel is reportedly still occupied by its past guests.
Troy Taylor, author of 'Haunted Alton,' recounts a ghost story from a local parking lot, which was once the site of the Alton penitentiary. A man walking his dog reported seeing a disheveled man approaching him, who then vanished when the man looked away.
Alton, Illinois, hosts one of the oldest Halloween parades in the United States, with its origins dating back to 1916. This long-standing tradition is part of the town's identity as a destination for those interested in the unusual and eerie.
A local legend in Alton tells of a phantom riverboat whose whistle, heard on a foggy morning without the boat being seen, portends a death on the docks within a week. This story is linked to the Mississippi River's history as a dangerous and unpredictable waterway, where shipwrecks were common.
A caller shared a story about a college romance with a neighbor during his time at UCSB. He described their relationship as a 'Jim and Pam from the office' dynamic, where they were often not single at the same time and their timing for a relationship was never right, despite having feelings for each other.
A caller from Baltimore shared her experience of having opera singers as neighbors in apartment buildings in both Chicago and New York. She described the unique experience of hearing professional arias sung daily, comparing it to the calls to prayer she heard while living abroad.
A Brooklyn resident recounted a peculiar experience from his childhood where his family was disturbed by loud snoring sounds emanating from an air conditioner. They eventually discovered that the noise was caused by a neighbor's guest who was sleeping on the porch, with the sound traveling through the unit.
A caller from Northern Michigan described a strange ongoing construction project: a 30-foot wooden statue of Jesus riding a unicycle. The caller noted that a halo was later added, confirming its identity as Jesus, but the purpose and builder remain a mystery as no one is ever present at the site.
A couple who moved to Seneca Falls, New York, received a generous gift from their new neighbors: a pair of vintage cocktail glasses that perfectly matched a crystal whiskey decanter they had purchased. The glasses, each worth a couple hundred dollars, were found among belongings left in the neighbors' home, and were gifted to the couple as they "belonged together."
Sephra Alexander, a renowned seed conservationist, highlights the critical loss of crop diversity, stating that approximately 75% of the world's crop diversity vanished between 1900 and 2000. She warns that relying on a limited number of crop varieties makes global food security dangerously vulnerable to disease and environmental changes.
Sephra Alexander explains that throughout most of human history, communities practiced 'seed sovereignty,' growing and saving their own seeds, which fostered unique heirloom varieties and diverse cuisines. However, this practice has declined as global food systems have become more dominant.
Sephra Alexander revealed her involvement in a new national seed strategy launched by the Garden Clubs of America. She serves on the expert advisory panel alongside significant figures in seed preservation, including the founder of the Global Seed Vault.
Sephra Alexander, who calls herself the 'seed huntress,' is working to establish local seed banks in the Northeast due to their current absence in the region. Her initiative involves collecting, regenerating, and creating seed libraries for resilient and biodiverse crops, collaborating with farmers and indigenous communities.
According to FAO data cited by Sephra Alexander, over half of the world's produce now comes from just 12 plant varieties, a stark decline from the diverse heirloom crops of the past. This reliance on a limited number of commercially viable crops is a significant risk to global food security.
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