Épisodes

  • The Day the Sun Disappeared: New England's Terrifying Dark Day of 1780

    The Day the Sun Disappeared: New England's Terrifying Dark Day of 1780
    Oct 23 2026
    What would you do if the sun suddenly disappeared in the middle of the day? On May 19, 1780, residents across New England experienced something so terrifying that many believed the world was ending. The sky turned an eerie reddish color, daylight vanished, animals behaved as though night had arrived, and frightened communities lit candles in the middle of the afternoon.Known as New England's Dark Day of 1780, this bizarre historical event left thousands wondering whether they were witnessing Judgment Day, a supernatural phenomenon, or an unexplained disaster.In this episode of Strange History, Amy takes you back to colonial New England during the American Revolution, when an ordinary spring morning transformed into one of the strangest days in American history. Discover eyewitness accounts of the mysterious darkness, the unusual behavior of animals, the religious panic that swept through communities, and the Connecticut politician who famously refused to stop working even when others feared the apocalypse had arrived.What caused the sun to seemingly disappear? Was it an astronomical event, an unusual weather phenomenon, or something far more mysterious? Modern scientific research points toward massive Canadian wildfires, whose smoke may have combined with atmospheric conditions to plunge parts of New England into darkness.Join us as we investigate the science, superstition, forgotten eyewitness accounts, and fascinating historical mystery behind the day New England went dark.Because sometimes the strangest events in history don't happen under the cover of darkness. Sometimes darkness arrives in broad daylight.Subscribe to Strange History for more bizarre historical events, unexplained mysteries, forgotten disasters, strange science, and incredible true stories from the past.

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    18 min
  • Did a Cosmic Explosion Wipe Out an Ancient City? The Mystery of Tall el-Hammam

    Did a Cosmic Explosion Wipe Out an Ancient City? The Mystery of Tall el-Hammam
    Oct 16 2026
    More than 3,600 years ago, the ancient city of Tall el-Hammam suffered a catastrophic destruction. Buildings collapsed, fires burned through the settlement, and the once-thriving Bronze Age city never fully recovered. But what destroyed it?One controversial theory suggests the answer didn't come from an invading army or an earthquake. It came from the sky.Researchers have proposed that a cosmic object exploded in the atmosphere above or near Tall el-Hammam, creating an enormous airburst capable of producing extreme heat, powerful shock waves, and widespread destruction. Evidence from the site has been interpreted as showing materials exposed to extraordinary temperatures and pressures, leading some researchers to compare the event to the massive Tunguska explosion of 1908.But other scientists strongly dispute the evidence and the conclusions drawn from it. And then there is an even stranger possibility: could memories of a catastrophic event in this region have influenced the ancient story of Sodom and Gomorrah?In this episode of Strange History, Amy explores the destruction of Tall el-Hammam, the controversial cosmic airburst theory, what archaeology actually tells us, and the possibility that one terrifying day in the Bronze Age began with people simply looking up at the sky.

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    18 min
  • Mad Honey: The Ancient Greek Army Defeated by Bees

    Mad Honey: The Ancient Greek Army Defeated by Bees
    Oct 9 2026
    An ancient Greek army survived battle, betrayal, starvation, and a brutal march through enemy territory—only to be brought to its knees by honey.In 401 BCE, thousands of Greek mercenaries known as the Ten Thousand were fighting their way home through the ancient Persian Empire when they reached the Black Sea and discovered beehives filled with honey. The exhausted soldiers ate eagerly. Soon, men were vomiting, collapsing, staggering like they were drunk, and becoming completely unable to fight.The culprit was likely what we now call “mad honey,” produced when bees collect nectar from certain rhododendrons containing powerful grayanotoxins. But the story gets even stranger. Centuries later, an ancient account describes toxic honey being deliberately left for Roman soldiers, turning an unusual natural poison into a possible weapon of war.In this episode of Strange History, Amy explores Xenophon and the Ten Thousand, the mysterious honey poisoning recorded more than 2,400 years ago, the science behind mad honey, and the incredible possibility that ancient warriors learned how to weaponize something made by bees.Sometimes the strangest weapon in history isn't a sword, spear, or siege engine. Sometimes it's breakfast.

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    16 min
  • Vanished: Jennifer Kesse, the Faceless Stranger & the Unsolved Orlando Disappearance

    Vanished: Jennifer Kesse, the Faceless Stranger & the Unsolved Orlando Disappearance
    Oct 2 2026
    On January 24, 2006, 24-year-old Jennifer Kesse got ready for work at her Orlando, Florida condominium—but she never arrived. Two days later, her abandoned Chevrolet Malibu was discovered about a mile from her home, and investigators uncovered one of the most frustrating pieces of surveillance evidence in missing-person history.A camera had captured an unidentified person parking Jennifer's car and walking away. There was just one incredible problem: as the person passed a fence, the camera repeatedly captured images at the exact moments when fence posts obscured their face. Twenty years later, the person in those images still has not been publicly identified—and Jennifer has never been found.In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy examines the disappearance of Jennifer Kesse, the mysterious surveillance footage, the person of interest behind the fence, the abandoned Malibu, the Mosaic at Millenia condominium complex, construction-worker theories, the controversial "Chino" lead, workplace speculation, possible accomplices, human-trafficking theories, questions surrounding the original investigation, and the Kesse family's relentless search for answers.We also explore a question that is sometimes overlooked: what if the mysterious person captured on camera wasn't Jennifer's abductor? Could they have been an accomplice who was simply told to move the car? Why was Jennifer's vehicle abandoned only about a mile from her home? And could the person have walked back toward the condominium complex afterward?In 2022, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the investigation, and the search for answers continues. Twenty years after Jennifer vanished, investigators have a car, a timeline, thousands of pages of evidence, and photographs of a person who may know what happened.They just don't have the face behind the fence.

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    26 min
  • Vanished Into the Minnesota Night: The Brandon Swanson Disappearance

    Vanished Into the Minnesota Night: The Brandon Swanson Disappearance
    Sep 25 2026
    In the early morning hours of May 14, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson called his parents after getting his car stuck on a rural Minnesota road. He believed he was near the town of Lynd and asked them to come pick him up. But despite talking on the phone and flashing headlights in the darkness, Brandon and his parents couldn't find each other.
    Then came the discovery that changed everything: Brandon wasn't anywhere near where he thought he was.
    Brandon left his stranded car and began walking toward distant lights while remaining on the phone with his father. For approximately 47 minutes, he described crossing fields, climbing fences, and hearing running water. Then, without warning, Brandon reportedly exclaimed, “Oh, sh*t.”
    The call went silent.
    Brandon never answered his phone again.
    In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we investigate the baffling disappearance of Brandon Swanson, the search of the Minnesota countryside, the Yellow Medicine River theory, search-dog evidence, possible hypothermia and exposure, and the unanswered question of how someone could disappear while literally talking to his father.
    We also explore the stranger theories surrounding the case. Did Brandon fall into the river and survive, only to become lost afterward? Could he have encountered someone on a nearby farm or road? Could his remains be hidden somewhere searchers have never reached? Was there a cover-up—or is the real explanation much simpler?
    Brandon's disappearance eventually helped inspire Brandon's Law, changing how Minnesota responds to missing and endangered adults. But more than 18 years later, Brandon himself remains missing.
    What happened after the phone went silent?


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    22 min
  • Vanished: Asha Degree Walked Into the Night—and Never Came Home

    Vanished: Asha Degree Walked Into the Night—and Never Came Home
    Sep 18 2026
    On February 14, 2000, nine-year-old Asha Degree disappeared from her home near Shelby, North Carolina. Before dawn, motorists reported seeing a young girl walking alone along Highway 18 in bad weather. One concerned driver reportedly turned around to check on her, only to see her leave the roadway and disappear into the darkness. Asha was never seen by her family again.In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we examine the haunting disappearance of Asha Degree, the mysterious circumstances surrounding the night she vanished, the massive search that followed, and the discovery of her backpack more than a year later roughly 30 miles from home. We also explore the unexplained items associated with the investigation, including a school library book and New Kids on the Block T-shirt, the mysterious vehicle investigators sought information about, and the unanswered question at the center of the case: why did a nine-year-old girl apparently leave her home in the middle of the night?We also examine the major developments that emerged more than two decades later, including new searches, forensic evidence described in court documents, and the investigative theory that Asha was the victim of homicide. Despite decades of searching and renewed investigative activity, Asha's disappearance remains unresolved.More than 26 years later, one question remains more important than every theory, clue, and unanswered mystery: Where is Asha Degree?

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    18 min
  • He Invented the Movies—Then Vanished: The Unsolved Mystery of Louis Le Prince

    He Invented the Movies—Then Vanished: The Unsolved Mystery of Louis Le Prince
    Sep 11 2026
    In 1890, pioneering inventor Louis Le Prince boarded a train from Dijon to Paris—and vanished without a trace. No confirmed body, no luggage, and no definitive explanation for what happened to the man who had already captured some of the earliest moving pictures ever recorded.In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we investigate the unsolved disappearance of Louis Le Prince, the mysterious inventor whose groundbreaking work helped pave the way for modern cinema. We explore the Roundhay Garden Scene, his early motion-picture camera, his final train journey, the search for the missing inventor, and the strange photograph of an unidentified man found in Paris police archives.Was Le Prince the victim of an accident, robbery, suicide, or murder? Did he intentionally disappear? Was a family dispute involved? And why has Thomas Edison's name become connected to one of the most enduring conspiracy theories surrounding the birth of motion pictures?More than 135 years later, the disappearance of Louis Le Prince remains unsolved. The man who helped preserve some of the world's earliest moving images somehow left no record of his own final moments.

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    28 min
  • The Fear Gorta: Ireland's Hungry Ghost | The Forgotten Irish Famine Legend

    The Fear Gorta: Ireland's Hungry Ghost | The Forgotten Irish Famine Legend
    Sep 4 2026
    What if the most haunting figure in Irish folklore wasn't a monster... but a starving man asking for a piece of bread?In this powerful episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy continues the Tonight's Tale Was Once Told as Truth series by exploring the heartbreaking legend of the Fear Gorta, one of Ireland's most forgotten figures from Celtic folklore. Said to appear on lonely country roads during times of famine, the Fear Gorta was a mysterious wandering spirit who quietly begged travelers for food. Those who showed kindness were believed to receive unexpected blessings, while those who turned him away often found misfortune waiting just around the corner.But was the Fear Gorta really a ghost, a fairy in disguise, or something far more profound? Journey into the history of the Great Irish Famine, explore centuries of Irish mythology and folklore, and discover how one of Ireland's oldest legends may have grown from the unimaginable suffering experienced by millions during one of the darkest chapters in Irish history.Through historical accounts, Irish traditions, folklore, and compassionate storytelling, this episode uncovers the fascinating connection between myth and memory, revealing how legends sometimes preserve emotional truths that history books alone cannot capture.If you enjoy Irish history, Celtic mythology, folklore, ghost stories, strange history, haunted legends, historical mysteries, and forgotten tales from around the world, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Tonight's Tale Was Once Told as Truth...

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    22 min