True Weird Stuff

Today's True Weird Stuff - Open Wide In the early 1900s, psychiatrist Dr. Henry Cotton claimed he could cure mental illness by removing hidden infections in the body. His theory led to a shocking medical practice at the New Jersey State Hospital for the Insane in Trenton—patients had all of their teeth pulled, tonsils removed, and even parts of their intestines surgically removed in an attempt to eliminate bacteria believed to cause insanity. What started as a revolutionary medical theory quickly spiraled into one of the most disturbing chapters in psychiatric history.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Scarlett Sisters Born into Southern privilege, sisters Ada and Minna Simms escaped violent marriages, stumbled into show business, and eventually pivoted into running what became the most luxurious brothel in America. The Everleigh Club catered exclusively to millionaires, politicians, gangsters, and royalty. Ada and Minna transformed prostitution into an elite, curated luxury experience that also brought controversy to their front door.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Jeffrey Epstein, Vampire How do you build a conspiracy theory? Start with a villain. Add power. Stir in mystery. True Weird Stuff examines the internet's bizarre claim that Jeffrey Epstein is an immortal vampire who once lived as President Andrew Jackson. We trace the ingredients: the suspicious timing of press releases, strange digital footprints after Epstein’s death, the uncanny resemblance to the face on the $20 bill — and society's refusal to accept an unsatisfying ending.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Swing Your Partner From 17th-century folk traditions to 20th-century propaganda, the square dance traveled a long road before landing in your elementary school gym. What looks like homespun Americana hides a secret: a powerful man’s fear that jazz was a threat to white America. Sometimes the most wholesome traditions carry the darkest fingerprints.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Chronovision In 1972, a Vatican priest claimed he built a machine that could watch past events like a television...everything from ancient Rome to the crucifixion of Christ. Father Pellegrino Ernetti called his invention the Chronovisor, and Ernetti claimed the Vatican saw the machine, feared it, and hid it away forever. The Chronovisor promised answers that no religion or government could survive. Was it the greatest secret ever buried, or a warning about wanting proof too badly?

Today's True Weird Stuff - Internal Sunshine William J.A. Bailey wasn’t a doctor, but he convinced the public to trust him anyway—selling radium-laced water as a cure for nearly everything. One of those believers was Eben Byers, a wealthy athlete who drank more than a thousand doses, slowly poisoning himself until his jaw disintegrated and his skull began to rot before his death. The death of Eben Byers forced the world to finally confront the cost of pseudoscience that goes unchecked.

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Perfect Baby In 1919, a toddler known as one of America’s “Perfect Babies” vanished from his New Jersey home. Searchers scoured the woods. Accusations spread. Theories multiplied. When his remains were found deep in the swamp, they answered nothing. The disappearance and death of 2-year-old Billy Dansey spun a web of fear, superstition, prejudice, and failed justice.

Today's True Werid Stuff - Lynnewood Hall Lynnewood Hall was built as a monument to wealth, power, and permanence—an American Versailles, commissioned by the Widener family, meant to last for generations. But tragedy struck the Widener family at the height of their fortune, tying the mansion forever to the sinking of the Titanic and a grief no amount of money could undo. As decades passed, the house was stripped, sold, misused, and left to decay, becoming a silent witness to hubris, loss, and the slow collapse of a gilded dream.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Tiny Pedro In 1932, a prospector blasting for gold in Wyoming uncovered something no one expected: a tiny mummified human seated upright in a cave. Scientists examined it. Crowds paid to see it. And then—like so many pieces of ancient history—it disappeared. Join us as we uncover the legend of Tiny Pedro.

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Award Winning "Doomsday Clock" True Weird Stuff is currently on hiatus, but Sheri and Max will be back with a brand new episode next week. Until then, we present to you another one of their award winning episodes. Winner of two Signal Awards for best history episode and best editing, "Doomsday Clock" explores the origins of the clock, and its lingering flirtation with striking midnight.

The Award Winning "Once Upon A Shroom" Sheri and Max have placed True Weird Stuff on hiatus through the holiday season. Today, we present to you another one of their award winning episodes. Winner of a W3 Award for best history episode, Once Upon A Shroom dives into the story of the man who popularized shrooms in America.

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Award Winning "Cokey & Lucky" Sheri and Max have placed True Weird Stuff on hiatus as we enter the chaotic crunch time of the Christmas season, In their stead, we present to you one of their award-winning episodes. Winner of a W3 Award for best history episode, Cokey and Lucky explores the rise and fall of the architect of the modern mafia. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/trueweirdstuff #rulapod

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Phantom Killer In 1946, the twin cities of Texarkana were gripped by terror; an unknown person began attacking couples in the night, murdering five people over the course of weeks. As the murders mounted, fear and paranoia consumed the community. Despite an exhaustive investigation fueled by endless false tips, bogus confessions, and hundreds of possible suspects, the actual perpetrator was never found. They'd vanished without a trace and will forever be known as the Phantom Killer.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Dopey & Sad: The Year In Review It's been quite the year for the True Weird Stuff crew. We won awards and spent countless hours writing and editing dozens of stories that may or may not have been lost to time. We don't have a story for you in this episode, per se, but it is the tale of how we've managed to build True Weird Stuff into something we're really proud of. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/trueweirdstuff #rulapod

Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting The First War On Christmas We're off for the Thanksgiving holiday, so in honor of Christmas here's a tale about a group of Grinches who hated the holiday. The Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th Century, people like Governor William Bradford and Reverend Increase Mather, hated Christmas so much that they chose to ban it. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/trueweirdstuff #rulapod

Today's True Weird Stuff - Road Zoo As cars and family road trips exploded across America in the early 20th century, hundreds of mom-and-pop zoos sprang up along the highways, promising exotic animals, cheap thrills, and quick profits. But behind the quirky billboards and hand-painted signs, many of these zoos operated with little to no oversight. Lax regulations opened the door for questionable practices: cramped cages, animal mistreatment, and even the smuggling of dangerous species that sometimes resulted in serious injuries—or worse.

Today's True Weird Stuff - The Fall of Fatty In 1921, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars—beloved, bankable, and untouchable. But a wild party at San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel changed everything. When young actress Virginia Rappe fell mysteriously ill and later died, Arbuckle was accused of murdering her, igniting one of the first major celebrity scandals in American history. The tabloids turned the tragedy into a feeding frenzy, but the truth of what really happened that night remains murky over a century later.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Gorillas in the Myth Long before Bigfoot roamed through modern folklore, there was another giant said to haunt the jungles. For centuries, explorers called it a monster, a savage man-beast that couldn’t possibly exist. Then one day, proof was uncovered. From cryptid legend to reality, this is the tale of the gorilla and its emergence from the mythical shadows.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Bright Lights, Big Sleepy Revisited This was one of the first True Weird Stuff episodes we did...it's a deeply personal story for Sheri, who shared the time she and her family experienced a "lost time" phenomenon. This episode has been updated to include a newly recorded Post-Mortem, in which Sheri reveals new information she recently learned while visiting her mom.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Flat Earth City Wilbur Glenn Voliva was a self-proclaimed prophet, flat-earth crusader, and autocratic ruler of Zion, Illinois. This fiery preacher took over John Alexander Dowie’s religious utopia in the early 1900s, ruling with an iron fist, Volivabanning everything from whistling to reading newspapers on Sundays. But his most infamous crusade was against science itself: Voliva loudly declared that the Earth was flat, even offering thousands of dollars to anyone who could prove it was round.