Aloha, Tide Riders! Grab your flashlights and keep your eyes peeled, because we're clocking in for another shift among the dearly departed! In the third installment of the Graveyard Shift saga, Strange Tides heads south to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to explore La Recoleta Cemetery—an amazing above-ground necropolis packed with mega mausoleums, marble angels, tragic love stories, and enough ghostly folklore to make the afterlife feel like one seriously crowded neighborhood.

We'll meet Rufina Cambaceres, the young woman whose tragic death spawned chilling tales of premature burial, and encounter the mysterious White Lady, a spectral figure reportedly seen wandering near the cemetery gates. We'll also hear about David Alleno, the caretaker whose keys allegedly continue to jingle through the cemetery long after his final shift, a bronze dog whose nose has become a good-luck charm, and other creepy tales woven into La Recoleta's history. Then we'll venture into the modern sightings, exploring reports of strange figures, unexplained footsteps, disembodied voices, and even footage that some believe captures Rufina's statue moving on its own.

So, are these stories echoes of the past, restless spirits refusing to punch their final time card, or something even stranger lurking between the tombs? We'll tackle these queries in the Tinfoil Teepee, where history and hauntings collide, the folklore runs deep, and the veil between the living and the dearly departed might be thinner than we think. Grab a spot between the tombstones, Tide Riders, because this Graveyard Shift is about to get spooky!

Sources:

Wikipedia contributors “La Recoleta Cemetery.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed October 2026.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Recoleta_Cemetery

Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. “Mitos y leyendas del Cementerio de la Recoleta: el lado desconocido de Buenos Aires.” *Buenos Aires Ciudad*, 19 November 2024.

https://buenosaires.gob.ar/gcaba_historico/noticias/mitos-y-leyendas-del-cementerio-de-la-recoleta-el-lado-desconocido-de

Perfil. “Cementerio de Recoleta: su historia, los mitos y las leyendas del más allá.” Perfil, 21 June 2022.

https://www.perfil.com/noticias/cultura/la-historia-del-cementerio-de-la-recoleta-entre-leyendas-y-majestuosas-obras-arquitectonicas.phtml

Gómez, Silvia. “Doscientos años del cementerio de la Recoleta: mitos, leyendas y un paseo virtual por las tumbas más ilustres.” Clarín, 17 November 2022.

https://www.clarin.com/ciudades/docientos-anos-cementerio-recoleta-mitos-leyendas-paseo-virtual-tumbas-ilustres_0_1k0BH9GZt2.html

Turismo Buenos Aires. “Recoleta Cemetery.” Official English Website for the City of Buenos Aires, 21 April 2015.

https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en/otros-establecimientos/recoleta-cemetery

Roller, Sarah. “La Recoleta Cemetery.” History Hit, 24 November 2020.

https://www.historyhit.com/locations/la-recoleta-cemetery/

Gaffoglio, Loreley. “Insólitas historias que guarda el cementerio de la Recoleta.” *La Nación*, 8 January 2004 (updated 14 July 2020).

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/cultura/insolitas-historias-que-guarda-el-cementerio-de-la-recoleta-nid561929/

Infobae. “Fantasmas, leyendas, misterios y tragedias de las almas que yacen en el Cementerio de la Recoleta desde hace 197 años.” Infobae, 21 July 2019.

https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2019/07/21/fantasmas-leyendas-misterios-y-tragedias-de-las-almas-que-yacen-en-el-cementerio-de-la-recoleta-desde-hace-197-anos/

MDZOL. “Historia y curiosidades del Cementerio de la Recoleta, que cumple 200 años.” MDZ, 12 December 2022.

https://www.mdzol.com/sociedad/2022/12/12/historia-curiosidades-del-cementerio-de-la-recoleta-que-cumple-200-anos-298727.html

View Buenos Aires. “Recoleta Cemetery: History, Curiosities, and Personalities in an Open-Air Museum.” View Buenos Aires, 18 November 2024.

https://viewbuenosaires.com/recoleta-cemetery/

Aloha, Tide Riders! For the second installment of the Graveyard Shift saga, Strange Tides heads to the Czech Republic and one of the strangest final resting places on Earth: the Sedlec Ossuary.

Beneath the quiet town of Kutná Hora sits a chapel decorated with the bones of an estimated 40,000 people. But Sedlec isn't just famous for its macabre interior. For centuries, stories have circulated about miraculous bones, ghostly processions, restless dead, supernatural punishments, and even sacred soil said to separate the righteous from the wicked.

And the weirdness doesn't stop with the old legends. Modern visitors and alleged witnesses have reported whispers, unexplained sensations, cold spots, strange sounds, and encounters that leave plenty of room for speculation.

So, Tide Riders, what the heck is going on at Sedlec?

Are these stories simply folklore passed down through generations? Could the Ossuary preserve some kind of residual imprint of the dead? Are we looking at something spiritual, something temporal, or something far stranger?

We'll dig into the history, explore the legends and modern reports, and then head into the Tinfoil Teepee to consider just how weird this bone-chilling place might really be.

Sources:

- Official Sedlec Ossuary history page: https://www.sedlec.info/en/ossuary/history/

- Official Sedlec Ossuary main page (including symbolism and interior descriptions): https://www.sedlec.info/en/ossuary/

- Wikipedia entry on Sedlec Ossuary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

- VisitCzechia page on the Sedlec Ossuary: https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/landmarks/archeology/c-kutna-hora-sedlec-ossuary

- CNN Travel article “Sedlec Ossuary: Inside the Czech ‘Church of Bones’”: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/sedlec-ossuary

- Kutná Hora official tourism page on the Sedlec Ossuary: https://kutnahora.net/en/sedlec-ossuary/

- Ancient History Sites overview of the Sedlec Ossuary: https://www.ancient-history-sites.com/sites/sedlec-ossuary/

- Showcaves.com entry on Kostnice v Sedlci (with historical timeline): https://www.showcaves.com/english/cz/subterranea/SedlecOssuary.html

- The Dark Atlas article on the Sedlec Ossuary and František Rint: https://thedarkatlas.com/posts/sedlec-ossuary-bone-church

- IFLScience article featuring quotes from Paul Koudounaris: https://www.iflscience.com/why-the-bones-of-thousands-of-people-adorn-sedlec-ossuary-66441

- Springer Nature chapter abstract “The Cemetery and Ossuary at Sedlec near Kutná Hora: Reflections on the Agency of the Dead” (Horák, Weiss-Krejci, Frolík et al.): https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-03956-0_12

- Radio Prague International report on the archaeological discoveries (including quotes from Jan Frolík): https://english.radio.cz/over-1000-skeletons-discovered-during-renovation-kutna-hora-bone-church-8114131

- SpottingHistory entry on the Sedlec Ossuary: https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/5891/sedlec-ossuary/

- Time Travel Turtle visitor guide and history summary: https://www.timetravelturtle.com/czech-republic/sedlec-ossuary-kutna-hora/

- Alle.travel practical and historical overview: https://alle.travel/en/prague/sights/sedlec-ossuary/info

Aloha, Tide Riders!

It’s time to clock in for the Graveyard Shift.

For the first installment of this brand-new Strange Tides saga, we’re heading to the southwest suburbs of Chicago and Resurrection Cemetery, a sprawling historic burial ground with a reputation that goes way beyond its headstones and mausoleums.

This is the home turf of one of America’s most famous ghost stories: Resurrection Mary—the mysterious young woman said to hitchhike along Archer Avenue, accept rides from unsuspecting motorists, appear at local dance halls, and then vanish without a trace.

But Mary isn’t the only strange thing lurking around these grounds.

We’ll dig into the cemetery’s history, the tragic victims of the Eastland disaster, the spectacular Resurrection Community Mausoleum, the legendary Bending Gate incident, and the wider collection of ghostly encounters scattered along the haunted Archer Avenue corridor.

Then, once we've covered the history and the sightings, we’ll head into the Tinfoil Teepee to explore theories ranging from folklore and environmental effects to Stone Tape recordings, time slips, interdimensional bleed-through, non-human intelligences, and a seriously wild idea that all these layers may have combined to create something far stranger than a simple ghost story.

So grab your flashlight, keep one eye on the rearview mirror, and join us for the first stop on the Graveyard Shift.

Because around Resurrection Cemetery, you never know who—or what—you might pick up along the way.

Sources:

Catholic Cemeteries of Chicago – Resurrection Cemetery page - https://www.catholiccemeterieschicago.org/locations/resurrection/

Elizabeth Williamson, “Deathly Dancer,” Chicago Tribune, October 25, 1992 - https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-10-25-9204060394-story.html

“Justice: It’s the living end…,” Chicago Tribune, January 5, 2011 - https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/01/05/justice-its-the-living-end-tiny-suburb-is-home-to-4-cemeteries-and-more-than-200000-people-the-vast-majority-of-them-dead/

“For nearly a century, the village of…,” Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1998 - https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/05/26/for-nearly-a-century-the-village-of/

Nate Lielasus, “A Treasure Trove of 20th-Century Art: Resurrection Cemetery Mausoleum,” Chicago Modern, April 17, 2012 - https://chicagomodern.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/a-treasure-trove-of-20th-century-art-resurrection-cemetery-mausoleum/

Resurrection Cemetery (Justice, Illinois) – Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_Cemetery_(Justice,_Illinois)

Resurrection Mary – Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_Mary

Historical Marker Database – Resurrection Cemetery Marker - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=265060

Find a Grave – Resurrection Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleums - https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/107652/resurrection-catholic-cemetery-and-mausoleums

Well, Tide Riders… we’ve reached the final bell.

After traveling from California to England to India, our Schoolhouse Scares saga wraps up by heading even farther east — to Japan, where schools have their own supernatural ecosystem of ghosts, urban legends, rituals, and yōkai.

From the infamous Hanako-san haunting the school bathroom to Kuchisake-onna, Teke Teke, Kokkuri-san, the Seven Wonders of the School, and a whole classroom full of creepy characters, we’re diving into the folklore that has turned Japanese schools into some seriously spooky places.

We’ll explore where these legends came from, how generations of students have kept them alive, and how manga, anime, television, movies, and the internet have transformed schoolyard rumors into international paranormal icons.

Then, naturally, we’re heading into the Tinfoil Teepee to ask the really goofy questions: Are these stories simply the product of childhood fears and social psychology? Can collective belief create something of its own? Are ancient spirits just wearing modern masks? Could some encounters represent something stranger slipping through the cracks?

And for our final stop in the Schoolhouse Scares saga, we’re taking the biggest leap of all — into the possibility that some of these phenomena could be deliberately engineered or controlled.

So grab your backpack, check the bathroom stalls, and whatever you do…

Don’t answer the knock.

This is Schoolhouse Yōkai, the final installment of Strange Tides’ Schoolhouse Scares saga.

Sources:

Nippon.com — Horror at School: The Spread of Scary Stories Among Japanese Children and Teachers - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02322/

Yōkai Folklore Database — Hanako-san / Hand (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/YoukaiCard/0970081.html

Yōkai Folklore Database — Hanako-san / School Toilet (Shizuoka, 1998) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=0890009

Yōkai Folklore Database — School Seven Wonders / Underground Staircase (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=0970102

Yōkai Folklore Database — White mist / human figure (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=2470054

Yōkai Folklore Database — Thirteen Steps / Headless apparition (Tochigi, 1999) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=0970112

Yōkai Folklore Database — Floating severed head (Kanagawa, 1990) - https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=2210101

Nippon.com — Japanese Version (Yoshioka Interview) - https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/g02322/

Tōru Tsunemitsu (Author & Folklorist) - https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/GakkouNoKaidan

Matthew Meyer (Illustrator, Author & Folklorist) - https://matthewmeyer.net/artwork/yokai/

Michael Dylan Foster (Folklorist & Academic) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Foster_(folklorist)

Noboru Miyata (Folklorist & Scholar) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyata_Noboru

Yoshioka Kazushi (Education Researcher) - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02322/

Well, Tide Riders, we’re crossing the pond for the second installment of our Schoolhouse Scares saga and heading to Egham, Surrey, where Royal Holloway, University of London looks less like a university and more like a Victorian architect’s fever dream.

Behind those huge red-brick walls and the straight-up French château vibes of the Founder’s Building, you’ve got a crazy history of big money, serious ambition, women breaking barriers, actual royalty, and a wave of heavy Victorian flex that makes Hogwarts look like a community college. But this place has another reputation—one with cursed paintings, spectral students, ghostly founders, mysterious footsteps, and a black cat that may or may not be Thomas Holloway himself.

We’ll explore the infamous Man Proposes, God Disposes, the apparitions said to roam Founder’s Building, the mysterious “Harry Called” encounters, and the other strange stories that have made Royal Holloway one of Britain’s more interesting haunted campuses.

Then, naturally, we’ll leave the well-lit corridors behind and step into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we’ll take those legends from grounded explanations to paranormal possibilities and finally into some seriously wild territory.

Class is officially in session—and this spooky school has some seriously strange lessons to teach.

Sources:

Official Royal Holloway University pages:

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/our-history/our-founders/

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/art-collections-and-archives-homepage/picture-gallery/history-of-the-college/

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/our-history/

Royal Holloway, University of London - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Holloway,_University_of_London

Founder’s Building - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founder%27s_Building

Bedford College, London - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford_College,_London

Royal Holloway, University of London - The Victorian Web - https://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/holloway/1.html

Thomas Holloway’s Two Legacies - Egham Museum - https://eghammuseum.org/thomas-holloways-two-legacies/

Kate Rist, “We went on a Halloween ghost tour of Royal Holloway,” The Tab, 29 October 2015 - https://thetab.com/uk/rhul/2015/10/29/tour-rhuls-haunted-buildings-3809

Megan Cormack, “RHUL rumours: True or false?,” The Tab, 3 December 2016 - https://thetab.com/uk/rhul/2016/12/03/rhul-rumours-true-false-11137

“Man Proposes, God Disposes,” - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Proposes,_God_Disposes

“ ‘Man Proposes, God Disposes’: A Haunted Painting at the University of London,” Curious Archive, 27 June 2025 - https://www.curiousarchive.com/man-proposes-god-disposes-a-haunted-painting-at-the-university-of-london/

“ ‘Man Proposes, God Disposes’: A Cursed Painting’s Eerie Legend,” The Ghost in My Machine, 4 November 2024 - https://theghostinmymachine.com/2024/11/04/encyclopaedia-of-the-impossible-the-man-proposes-god-disposes-cursed-painting/

Austin Harvey, “9 Haunted Paintings Said To Be Cursed By Supernatural Forces,” All That’s Interesting, 23 October 2023 (updated August 2024) - https://allthatsinteresting.com/haunted-paintings/8

“Slashed and Hidden from Sight: The Strange Power of Cursed Paintings,” Hyperallergic, 12 November 2014 - https://hyperallergic.com/159739/slashed-and-hidden-from-sight-the-strange-power-of-cursed-paintings/

Harry Howard, “And you thought THAT painting was cursed!” Daily Mail, 25 August 2023 - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12445611/And-thought-painting-cursed-Artwork-Royal-Holloway-haunting-reputation-covered-enormous-British-flag-quell-students-fears-presence-make-fail-exams.html

“Thomas Holloway’s Feline Phantom,” Haunted Hosts - https://hauntedhosts.com/haunted-places/surrey/location/5145-thomas-holloways-feline-phantom

“Jane Holloway,” Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Holloway

September is here, which means Strange Tides is heading back to school, Tide Riders—and trust me, this is one campus you definitely don't want to visit after dark. For the first installment of the Schoolhouse Scares saga, we're rolling into Ione, California, to explore the strange, tragic, and seriously spooky history of Preston Castle. Built in the 1890s as part of the Preston School of Industry, the massive Romanesque Revival fortress housed generations of young wards—and over the decades, its halls witnessed illness, punishment, escape attempts, violence, tragedy, and eventually abandonment But that's only half the story. Today, Preston Castle has earned a reputation as one of California's most haunted historic sites. We'll cruise through decades of reported paranormal encounters, from phantom footsteps and shadow figures to mysterious voices, unexplained touches, strange sensory experiences, and some downright bizarre overnight investigations. And naturally, we'll be paddling straight into the Tinfoil Teepee, where we'll ask the big question: Are we dealing with ghosts, residual memories, environmental weirdness, something created by human belief... or something WAY stranger? Grab your flashlight, Tide Riders. Class is officially in session.

Sources:

Preston Castle Foundation. “About Preston Castle.” *Preston Castle Foundation*. https://prestoncastle.org/about-us/

Preston Castle Foundation. “Preston Castle in Ione, CA.” Preston Castle Foundation - https://prestoncastle.org/

City of Ione. “Preston Castle.” City of Ione - https://www.ione.ca.gov/about-ione/page/preston-castle

“Preston School of Industry.” Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_School_of_Industry

“What’s the story of spooky Preston Castle in Ione CA?” The Sacramento Bee, September 14, 2024 - https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/history/article291051915.html

McManis, Sam. “Discoveries: Ione’s Preston Castle opens up about its harsh, haunting past.” The Sacramento Bee, June 27, 2015 - https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/sam-mcmanis/article25499146.html

“The Harsh, Eerie History Of Preston Castle.” Merced County Times, January 5, 2025 - https://mercedcountytimes.com/the-harsh-eerie-history-of-preston-castle/

“Explore Outdoors: Historic Ione castle, haunted or cool?” KCRA, November 1, 2024 - https://www.kcra.com/article/explore-outdoors-preston-castle-ione-amador-county/62764594

“Historic Haunt.” San Joaquin Magazine, 2020 - https://sanjoaquinmagazine.com/2020/09/historic-haunt/

“Preston Castle Haunt Marks 15 Years of Screams.” Ledger.news (On the Vine), October 2, 2025 - https://www.ledger.news/on_the_vine/preston-castle-haunt-marks-15-years-of-screams/article_d7eb6092-a6cb-4c1e-9929-55a7bced4796.html

“Preston Castle.” Haunted US - https://hauntedus.com/california/preston-castle/

Josh N. “The Haunted Preston Castle.” Beyond Haunted, September 23, 2025 - https://beyondhaunted.com/california/preston-castle

“Lowe-cation: Preston Castle” A&E, July 27, 2017 - https://www.aetv.com/articles/lowe-cation-preston-castle

“What Happened in the Basement of Preston Castle?” Distractify, November 5, 2025. - https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-in-the-basement-of-preston-castle

Aloha Tide Riders. It's been a minute but we're back!

What if the birth of the United States was a little weirder than the history books let on? Before America was all constitutions, liberty, and We the People, colonial society was swimming in astrology, alchemy, folk magic, grimoires, supernatural folklore, and unexplained phenomena. And right in the middle of it all stood Benjamin Franklin—printer, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and, to some of his contemporaries, basically an eighteenth-century wizard.

In this Colonial Curiosities finale, we explore the strange space where Enlightenment science and old-school magic were still riding the same wave. We'll dive into Franklin's experiments with electricity, his investigation of Mesmer's "animal magnetism," his interest in Hermetic philosophy, colonial astrology, folk magic, Indigenous spiritual traditions, and the supernatural world that shaped everyday life in early America.

We'll also take a quick trip into the Pine Barrens and the strange story of the Jersey Devil, where the controversial Leeds family, astrology, religious feuds, and Franklin's legendary publishing beef with Titan Leeds all collide. Franklin didn't create the monster—but he may have accidentally helped stir the cultural stew that allowed the legend to grow.

And when we hit the Tinfoil Teepee, we're kicking open the door to some seriously wild possibilities. Was Franklin America's first wizard? Did the Founders unknowingly harness ancient knowledge? Was the Revolution surrounded by forces we still don't understand? Probably not… but that's never stopped us before.

Grab your tricorne hat, Tide Riders, and let's go surfing through the Feycraft of the Founding Fathers!

Sources:

T.J. Tomlin, “The Protestant Astrology of Early American Almanacs,” JSTOR Daily, March 15, 2020. - https://daily.jstor.org/the-protestant-astrology-of-early-american-almanacs/

John George Hohman, The Long Lost Friend, Internet Archive (full text). - https://archive.org/details/the-long-lost-friend

Joseph H. Peterson (ed.), The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, Esoteric Archives - https://www.esotericarchives.com/moses/67moses.htm

Owen Davies, Grimoires: A History of Magic Books - https://silo.pub/grimoires-a-history-of-magic-books.html

Richard Godbeer, “Folk Magic in British North America,” in The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West, Cambridge University Press, 2015 - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-magic-and-witchcraft-in-the-west/folk-magic-in-british-north-america/1535220F933F8B47D7AC9E1272621C3C

Michael Brian Schiffer, Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment, University of California Press, 2003 - https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pq02h

“How Benjamin Franklin Brought His Scientific Experiments Into the Kitchen,” Smithsonian Magazine / Smithsonian Books blog, August 14, 2025 - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-books/2025/08/14/how-benjamin-franklin-brought-his-experiments-into-the-kitchen/

Benjamin Franklin to John Franklin, 25 December 1750 (electrical shock letter), Founders Online, National Archives - https://founders.archives.gov/

Megan Piorko, “Benjamin Franklin and Alchemy,” Library Company of Philadelphia, October 14, 2020 - https://librarycompany.org/2020/10/14/benjamin-franklin-and-alchemy/

Brian Regal, “The Jersey Devil: The Real Story,” Skeptical Inquirer / CSI (archived) - https://web.archive.org/web/20180406133128/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_jersey_devil_the_real_story

“Ritual Traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch,” Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University -https://www.pagerman.org/exhibitions/ritual-traditions-of-the-pennsylvania-dutch-braucherei-powwowing/

Benjamin Franklin, “Felons and Rattlesnakes,” The Pennsylvania Gazette, May 9, 1751 (Founders Online) - http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-04-02-0040