Cryptids

Matt, Katie, and EJ continue their investigation of Mothman. We dial back to 1950 and the foundation of the International Flying Saucer Bureau, under the direction of Albert Bender. The IFSB's West Virginia representative is Gray Barker, a paranormal investigator with a keen sense of humor and a love of science fiction. When a mysterious object crashes in Flatwoods, West Virginia, Barker is on the scene. But his investigation is distorted and rewritten by pulp magazine publisher Raymond Palmer, punched up to sell zines. As Barker embraces more science fiction instead of science fact, his reporting becomes even more outrageous, leading to the creation of one of the most famous cryptids in history. 
 
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Matt, Katie, and EJ tackle the latest in weird news, talking vampire burials, and drilling into Noah's Ark. Plus, we examine ghost-repelling potions, the weird history of a lake monster video, and the unofficial beverage of Bigfoot researchers. 
 
Archeologists analyze a vampire burial found in Poland 
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/21/science/vampire-burial-young-woman-poland
 
Filmmakers studying viral Champ footage
https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/communities/filmmakers-who-captured-viral-champ-footage-to-appoint-panel-for-full-analysis/
 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1995/05/07/truth-decay/acc35bb5-70db-4fe0-a56c-477ebd4d9834/
 
Drilling begins at Noah’s Ark site
https://nypost.com/2026/09/22/lifestyle/drilling-begins-at-noahs-ark-site-as-researchers-probe-turkeys-controversial-durupinar-formation/
 
Hazmat needed after anti-ghost spell goes awry
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article317071644.html
 
Hard Mountain Dew offers cast prize for bigfoot
https://nypost.com/2026/09/21/us-news/hard-mountain-dew-offers-1m-for-proof-that-bigfoot-exists/
 
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On a cold December day in 1967, a suspension bridge in West Virginia collapsed. The accident happened at rush hour, plunging automobiles into the chilly Ohio river. In the years that followed the tragedy, strange stories began to emerge. Some residents claimed that they had seen a bizarre, winged creature on the nights leading up to the collapse. Described as a huge, flying animal with glowing red eyes, this creature was quickly linked to the ill-fated bridge, and the deaths of nearly fifty motorists.
 
Dubbed “Mothman,” this strange entity would become one of the most popular figures in all of cryptozoology. Existing in the grey area between real animals and spiritual guardians, Mothman has become a harbinger of doom. If you see the red eyes, tragedy is coming.
 
But the origins of Mothman are even stranger. The creation of this myth dips into so many buckets of Fortean science, that Mothman is almost a mascot for the field. You can’t talk about this cryptid without talking about alien visitation, men in black, hollow earth, clairvoyance, and the bizarre, swirling pot that brewed mid-century esotericism.
 
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Matt, Katie, and EJ break down the latest in Fortean news. A modern-day witch trial unfolds in Hanover, PA as a New Age shop challenges a 160 year old law. Ufologists investigate a possible weapon on Mars. And a newly-identified squid shows up in the most unlikely place. Plus, an Australian-themed exorcism. 
 
Hanover witch trials
https://www.witf.org/2026/07/18/pennsylvania-tarot-reading-lawsuit-advances-after-judge-denies-motion-to-dismiss/
https://www.wgal.com/article/york-county-lawsuit-challenges-pennsylvania-165-year-old-fortune-telling-ban/73369978
 
Cindy Crawford’s daughter was possessed and had an exorcism  
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/kaia-gerber-claims-she-had-exorcism-as-a-possessed-child/
 
Alien object on Mars
https://www.gbnews.com/science/space-breakthrough-object-mars-life
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/mysterious-mars-object-stirring-extraterrestrial-143101720.html
https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2026/07/nasa-mars-rover-finds-alien-missile.html
 
New squid found in 70 year old collection   
https://spacedaily.com/t-sperm-whale-stomach-new-squid-family-mobydickia/
 
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Matt, Katie, and EJ conclude their investigation into Mokele-Mbembe and the living dinosaurs of Africa. New investigator William Gibbons experiences a terrifying attack in the jungle, and converts to Christianity. Now empowered by God, he leverages Young Earth Creationism and cryptozoology in his future expeditions. Meanwhile, more and more researchers fail to capture evidence of dinosaurs, even as Werner Herzog and Steve Boyes track mysterious ghost elephants in Angola. What do these real animals tell us about the living dinosaurs of the Congo? And are there any surviving sauropods out there? 
 
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Matt, Katie, and EJ tackle the latest in Fortean news. This month, we dive into the New Apostolic Movement, as small town church wages war with their neighboring bookstore, claiming that it's full of demons. Plus, an alien steals James Franco's lunch, and Jimothy the raccoon continues his antics. 
 
The Demon Next Door
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/charismatic-christian-church-tennessee/687624/
 
James Franco's alien: 
https://www.irishstar.com/culture/entertainment/james-franco-addresses-alien-footage-37437551
https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/07/16/james-franco-alien-footage/
 
Jimothy the raccoon: 
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/meet-jimothy-seattles-internet-famous-raccoon/
 
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