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This week on Hysteria 51, we’re diving into the ocean’s two favorite hobbies: inventing bizarre new nightmares and hiding gigantic things in plain sight. First up: researchers are tracking a marine virus that appears to have jumped from aquatic animals to humans in China, with cases linked to things like handling seafood and potentially eating it raw. The weirdest part? The reported symptoms hit the eyes, causing a condition tied to high eye pressure and, in some cases, serious vision damage. It’s the kind of headline that makes you look at a shrimp cocktail and whisper, “We cool… or are we enemies?” Then we go full “planet is still mysterious” with an oceanography flex: a massive seamount along the Nazca Ridge has been mapped that rises 3,109 meters from the seafloor, taller than Greece’s Mount Olympus. And because the deep sea can’t just be normal, explorers also documented wild-looking lifeforms, including the so-called “flying spaghetti monsters” that sound like a joke until you remember the ocean has zero chill. So buckle in for a weird-news joyride through ocean discoveries, deep-sea monsters, emerging virus headlines, and the unsettling realization that Earth is basically a cosmic aquarium with secrets and jump scares. Links & Resources 📌Fishy Sickness 📌Wet Olympus Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is reality real… or are we all just characters in the universe’s weirdest video game? Join us as we explore the mind-bending ideas of sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick, who believed a mysterious pink beam of information blasted knowledge into his brain in 1974 and revealed a shocking truth: reality might be a simulation. Dick even suspected his classic novel The Man in the High Castle could contain memories from previous versions of the universe. Was he a visionary who glimpsed the code behind reality, or a brilliant writer following one very strange rabbit hole? We dive into Dick’s theories about VALIS, the idea that the Roman Empire never ended, déjà vu as timeline glitches, and how modern thinkers like Nick Bostrom are seriously debating whether we might actually be living in a simulation. So, reboot your brain as we ask the ultimate question: Is reality real… or just convincing software? Find out this week on Hysteria 51! Special thanks to this week’s research sources: Philip K. Dick’s Mystical Experiences (2-3-74) https://pkdick.com/literary-criticism/exegesis/ The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick (overview and background) https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780547549255 The Man in the High Castle – Background and Themes https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Man-in-the-High-Castle Philip K. Dick on Reality and Illusion (Famous Quote & Philosophy) https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/03/02/philip-k-dick-reality/ Nick Bostrom – Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? https://www.simulation-argument.com MIT Physicist Seth Lloyd – The Universe as a Quantum Computer https://web.mit.edu/~sethlloyd/ John Archibald Wheeler – “It from Bit” and Informational Physics https://www.edge.org/conversation/john_archibald_wheeler-it-from-bit The Holographic Principle Explained https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-holographic-principle-20130904/ Gerard ’t Hooft – Holographic Universe Research https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1999/thooft/facts/ Leonard Susskind – Black Hole Information and Holography https://theoreticalminimum.com Integrated Information Theory (Giulio Tononi) https://iep.utm.edu/int-info/ The Hard Problem of Consciousness – David Chalmers https://consc.net/papers/facing.html Wave Function Collapse – Quantum Mechanics Basics https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm-collapse/ Simulation Hypothesis and Physics Discussion (Scientific American) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-we-living-in-a-computer-simulation/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Help Support the Show: Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop: Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kevin Crispin from the Behind Beautiful Things Podcast fills in for Brent this week, and the universe rewards him with two gloriously broken news stories. First up, a bizarre and unsettling case involving prescription meds and behavior so reckless it sounds made up. Then it’s off to the Bahamas, where sharks have apparently been sampling the full human experience: cocaine, caffeine, and painkillers. Modern life is poison, the ocean is on drugs, and somehow this is still a comedy podcast! Links & Resources 📌Medical Gamble 📌Shark Party Follow Kevin and Behind Beautiful Things https://www.sadtimespodcast.com/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brent’s out this week, so we’ve summoned Kevin Crispin (Behind Beautiful Things Podcast) to the mic like a substitute teacher who immediately rolls in a TV cart labeled “EXTREMELY CURSED VHS.” And thanks to listener scouts James Polk and Lex Lake, we’ve got two fresh servings of “what in the absolute haunted ham sandwich” weird news. First stop: the University of Oklahoma, where a construction project hits an unexpected speed bump… made of human remains. 😬 Officials say the bones appear to be century-old cadavers likely used for educational purposes back in the early 1900s, which is both historically fascinating and also a sentence that makes your skin try to uninstall itself. We dig into the eerie archaeology, the academic backstory, and the unsettling vibes of finding yesterday’s lesson plan under today’s foundation. Then we hop across the pond to Britain’s paranormal buffet line, Cannock Chase, where Bigfoot stories apparently weren’t enough, so the universe hit “add DLC” and dropped a terrifying seven-foot ‘Pigman’ into the woods. Picture a man-shaped problem with a pig head and the confidence of something that knows you can’t run without wheezing. We break down the alleged sightings, the “evidence,” the expert takes, and the important scientific question: if it’s seven feet tall, does it snort in iambic pentameter? It’s true crime-adjacent history, cryptid chaos, and listener-powered nonsense the way nature (and your algorithm) intended. Strap in, Hysteria Nation: this episode has bones, boars, and bad decisions.  Links & Resources 📌Deadly Detention 📌British Oinker Follow Kevin and Behind Beautiful Things https://www.sadtimespodcast.com/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the biggest secret in UFO history isn’t alien… it’s angelic? Or demonic. Or somewhere in that awkward in-between where rockets and ritual candles share shelf space. This week, we plunge headfirst into one of the strangest rabbit holes in modern conspiracy lore: the alleged “Collins Elite” — a rumored faction inside the U.S. government that supposedly concluded UFOs aren’t extraterrestrials at all, but deceptive spiritual entities. We unpack where the story comes from, what believers claim insiders discovered, and why some say disclosure could be less about little green men and more about theological shockwaves. But that’s just the warm-up. Did Allied intelligence really brush shoulders with a British occultist during WWII? Was Aleister Crowley pitching magical countermeasures against Nazi symbolism? And how does rocket pioneer Jack Parsons’ sex-magic rituals tie into the birth of the modern UFO era? We explore the full fringe narrative — demons disguised as aliens, ritual “doorways,” Cold War psychic programs, and secret spiritual warfare in the Pentagon — while also laying out the documented history, the skepticism, and the very human tendency to mythologize the unknown. Is this a hidden chapter of national security history… or a masterclass in how conspiracies evolve when secrecy meets symbolism? Strap in. It’s rockets, rituals, remote viewing, and Revelation — this week on Hysteria 51. Special thanks to this week’s research sources: Congressional & Government Records U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.” Hearing, November 13, 2024. https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-exposing-the-truth/ U.S. Congress. “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth.” 118th Congress Hearing Record. https://www.congress.gov/118/chrg/CHRG-118hhrg57440/CHRG-118hhrg57440.pdf Shellenberger, Michael. Written Testimony. U.S. House Oversight Committee, November 13, 2024. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-Testimony-Shellenberger.pdf Central Intelligence Agency. “STARGATE Collection.” CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/collection/stargate Central Intelligence Agency. “An Evaluation of the Remote Viewing Program.” https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000200180005-5.pdf Central Intelligence Agency. “Project MKULTRA.” CIA FOIA Reading Room. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/06760269 U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “Project MKULTRA, the CIA’s Program of Research in Behavioral Modification.” Hearing, August 3, 1977. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-files-hearings-95mkultra.pdf U.S. Department of Defense. FOIA Reading Room Release referencing MKOFTEN and related research. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/NCB/02-A-0846_RELEASE.pdf Collins Elite & Demonic UFO Claims Redfern, Nick. Final Events: Demonic UFOs, Alien Abductions, the Government, and the Afterlife. Anomalist Books, 2010. “Final Events.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Events Milburn, F. “The Pentagon’s UAP Task Force.” BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,836, 2020. https://besacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/183-Milburn-study-final.pdf Occult & WWII Context Crowley, Aleister. Biographical overview. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley “V sign.” Wikipedia (Crowley and WWII ‘V for Victory’ claims). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign Parsons, Jack. Biographical overview. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Parsons “Sex-Cult Rocket Man.” JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/sex-cult-rocket-man/ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. The Occult Roots of Nazism. NYU Press. https://nyupress.org/9780814730607/occult-roots-of-nazism/ Media Coverage Medill on the Hill. “UAP Hearing Coverage.” November 2024. https://medillonthehill.medill.northwestern.edu/2024/11/uap/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Help Support the Show: Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop: Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re cracking open two stories that prove the world is basically a reality show hosted by archaeology and existential dread. First up: Easter Island (Rapa Nui), where a new moai statue turned up in a place researchers thought was already picked clean, the dried lakebed inside the statue quarry. A “how did we miss that?” moment so loud you can hear it across the Pacific. We dig into what was found, why it’s so weird, and what it might mean when climate and changing conditions start revealing secrets that have been marinating underground for centuries. Then we pivot hard into the unsettling: the case of Dr. George Kenney, a Florida high school principal who hypnotized students, and the haunting controversy that followed after three teens died in 2011 after undergoing hypnosis sessions. We walk through what happened, what investigators and lawsuits focused on, and why this story keeps resurfacing as one of the strangest true crime-adjacent headline spirals in recent memory. So queue it up for weird news, Easter Island mystery, and a hypnosis case that’ll make you say, “Nope,” while still leaning closer to the speaker. Links & Resources 📌Easter Surprise 📌Mind Terror Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1959, the U.S. Army drafted a serious plan to build a nuclear-powered military base on the Moon. Serious... They really did. With reactors. And personnel. On purpose. It was called Project Horizon. Then JFK pivoted to Apollo, astronauts planted flags, and history books closed the case… Or did they? This week, we break down the documented Cold War Moon plans, JFK’s race to beat the Soviets, MJ-12 whispers, and hacker Gary McKinnon’s claim that he stumbled onto evidence of a secret space fleet and the possibility this was never really mothballed. Was Horizon just a very ambitious binder? Or was Apollo the public show while something quieter happened in the background? Join us as we separate the record from the rumors, run a thought experiment on how a hidden lunar base could work, and ask the big question: Did we just visit the Moon… or did we move in? All that and more this week on Hysteria 51! Special thanks to this week’s research sources: Project Horizon (1959 U.S. Army Lunar Base Study) U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency. Project Horizon: A U.S. Army Study for the Establishment of a Lunar Military Outpost (1959). Declassified study outlining a proposed military lunar base. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB479/docs/EBB-Moon01_sm.pdfU.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. “Project Horizon History Overview.” https://www.army.mil/article/189129/smdc_history_project_horizon_abma_explores_a_lunar_outpost“Project Horizon.” Wikipedia overview with citations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Horizon JFK & The Decision to Go to the Moon John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. “Special Message to Congress on Urgent National Needs” (May 25, 1961). https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/special-message-to-the-congress-on-urgent-national-needs-19610525 John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. “Address at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort” (Sept 12, 1962). https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/address-at-rice-university-on-the-nations-space-effort-19620912 NASA History Office. “JFK and the Decision to Go to the Moon.” https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-president-kennedy-proposes-moon-landing-goal-in-speech-to-congress/ Majestic 12 (MJ-12) FBI Vault. “Majestic 12 Documents.” FBI files noting Air Force findings that core MJ-12 documents were fraudulent. https://vault.fbi.gov/Majestic%2012National Archives. JFK Assassination Records Collection. https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk Allen Dulles & Assassination Context Warren Commission Report (1964). https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-reportAssassination Records Review Board (Final Report, 1998). https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/review-board/report Gary McKinnon BBC News. “Gary McKinnon hacking case timeline.” https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-19946958 U.S. Department of Justice (archived release on McKinnon indictment). https://www.justice.gov/archive/criminal/cybercrime/mckinnonIndict.htm Cold War Classified Space Programs (Context) CIA. “The CORONA Satellite Program.” https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/studies-in-intelligence/the-corona-satellite-program/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show: Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop: Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re serving up a double feature where folklore meets… fecal science. First, we head to rural India, where a woman dodges an arranged marriage by leaving behind a perfectly curated “I turned into a snake” crime scene: a 1.5m shed snakeskin, her jewelry, and clothes arranged like a supernatural mic-drop, sending the village into full naagin panic while police gently remind everyone they’re hunting a person, not a serpent. Then we hop across the globe to Nantucket, where the island’s wastewater has been tested and the results are basically: “Historic charm, hydrangeas… and cocaine markers popping above national and regional averages.” Because nothing says coastal getaway like your sewer system quietly yelling, “PARTY’S NOT OVER.” Hit play for weird news, wild choices, and the kind of reality that makes you ask, “Are we okay as a species?” (Spoiler: probably not.) Links & Resources 📌Wed Shed 📌Party Tap Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nation, it's time we crank the volume on reality and chase the creepy, metallic noises known as Sky Trumpets and British Booms. From the infamous Durham “Hum” to thunderless skyquakes that sound like phantom artillery, we dig into the strangest “why is the sky honking?” reports across England and beyond. We break down the best scientific explanations, including temperature inversions, atmospheric ducting, meteors, infrasound, and other perfectly normal things that absolutely do not sound normal. Then we slide into the fun stuff: angel trumpets, aliens with rusty spacecraft, secret underground projects, and why the internet may be half documentation, half audio creepypasta. Is it nature, industry, the end times… or just the atmosphere doing an aggressive jazz solo? Hit play and decide for yourself this week on Hysteria51! Special thanks to this week’s research sources: UK “Hum” reporting (Woodland, County Durham) The Telegraph (Jun 9, 2011) “Tiny village is latest victim of the ‘The Hum’”https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8566281/Tiny-village-is-latest-victim-of-the-The-hum.htmlTIME (Jun 15, 2011) “Mysterious Night ‘Hum’ Plagues British Village”https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/15/mysterious-night-%E2%80%98hum%E2%80%99-plagues-british-village/The Christian Science Monitor (Jun 14, 2011) “Mysterious humming noise bedevils tiny English village”https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0614/Mysterious-humming-noise-bedevils-tiny-English-villageThe Guardian (Jun 9, 2011) “On the trail of the mysterious Durham hum”https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/09/hum-woodlands-durham-hamsterley-bristol-largs-gateshead-newcastle-cakebook-surteesSkyquakes / mystery booms explainers BBC Science Focus (Sep 28, 2024) “Mystery skyquakes are ripping through the world. And nobody knows why.”https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/mystery-skyquakes-are-ripping-through-the-world-and-nobody-knows-whyAmerican Academy of Audiology (Oct 27, 2023) “Skyquakes: did you hear it?”https://www.audiology.org/skyquakes-did-you-hear-it/USGS (authoritative references for booms, quakes, sonic booms) U.S. Geological Survey “Earthquake Booms, Seneca Guns, and Other Sounds”https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/earthquake-booms-seneca-guns-and-other-soundsU.S. Geological Survey (FAQ) “What are those ‘booms’ I sometimes hear before or during an earthquake?”https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-those-booms-i-sometimes-hear-or-during-earthquakeU.S. Geological Survey “Sonic Booms”https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/sonic-boomsSound travel / weather weirdness (why distant stuff can sound like it’s in your attic) “Inversion (meteorology)” (temperature inversions can change how sound travels)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(meteorology)Background on “The Hum” (global phenomenon overview) “The Hum” (overview, reported locations, proposed explanations)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_HumStratospheric infrasound (mysterious low-frequency signals recorded high up) Space.com (May 11, 2023) “Strange sounds recorded high in Earth’s atmosphere have scientists baffled”https://www.space.com/strange-sounds-stratosphere-balloon-infrasoundLive Science (May 13, 2023) “Mysterious, ultra low-frequency noises detected in Earth’s atmosphere…”https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/mysterious-ultra-low-frequency-noises-detected-in-earths-atmosphere-and-scientists-cant-explain-themPhys.org (May 11, 2023) “Solar-powered balloons detect mysterious sounds in the stratosphere”https://phys.org/news/2023-05-solar-powered-balloons-mysterious-stratosphere.htmlOcean-generated infrasound (microbaroms: the sea’s low-frequency heartbeat) Walker et al. (2012) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans “Evaluating the opposing wave interaction hypothesis for the atmospheric microbarom”https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2012JC008409Landès et al. (2014) Geophysical Journal International “Explaining global patterns of microbarom observations with wave action models”https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/199/3/1328/609610“Microbarom” (overview + links to primary lit)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicrobaromSkeptical commentary Sharon A. Hill (Doubtful News) “Mystery booms and skyquakes” (skeptical roundup + reporting tips)https://sharonahill.com/mystery-booms-and-skyquakes/ Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show: Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop: Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re pinballing between cartoon conspiracy corners and a middle-schooler casually building the future in his garage. First up: Simpsons sleuths are doing what Simpsons sleuths do, pausing a 25-year-old episode like it’s the Zapruder film and claiming it “predicted” the Epstein scandal. The episode in question (Season 12’s “The Computer Wore Menace Shoes”) features Homer stumbling into a creepy-island situation, and the internet has been connecting dots with the enthusiasm of a caffeinated detective with no bedtime. We’ll break down what the episode actually shows, what people are claiming, and why “The Simpsons predicted it” has become its own paranormal phenomenon. Then we hard cut to Dallas, where a 12-year-old has reportedly achieved nuclear fusion with a homebuilt setup and is aiming for a Guinness World Records title. Yes, at 12, some kids are mastering long division, and this one is out here speedrunning the sun. We’ll talk what “fusion” means in this context, why it’s a big deal, and how close he is to beating the current Guinness record. So buckle in for an episode loaded with Simpsons theories, weird news whiplash, Epstein-adjacent internet speculation, and kid-genius nuclear fusion. One story screams “someone call the FBI,” the other screams “someone call the science fair,” and somehow they both end up right here. Links & Resources 📌Simpson's Predict 📌Pre-Pubescent Fusion Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we dig into the Blurry Photos coffers for a cryptid adventure on the high seas! Man the oars and put yer backs into it, the Kraken surfaces! A legendary sea-beast the size of an island, the Kraken is said to swallow men whole and snap ships in half effortlessly, but what’s true and what’s a fish story? Join Flora as he braves the open seas of historical folklore for a deep dive on this fascinating fiend. The oceans are big, but are they big enough to hide a colossal cephalopod? David seeks answers to the questions on its origins, descriptions, and possible real-life species. So much culture has been inspired by this mega-monster, could there be a kernel of truth to the tales? Grab your trident and prepare to release this episode into your ears! Music Myst on the Moor, Big Eyes, Dark Fog, Dark Standoff, Danse Macabre, Evil Incoming, Infinite Peace, Some Amount of Evil, Spider Eyes, Temple of the Manes – Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Cornfield Chase, Lonely Mountain, Mothership – Rafael Krux Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Sources Anderson, Nate. Release the kraken! 2,000 years of tall tales (and a smattering of truth). ArsTechnica.com. Web. Jan. 9, 2013. https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/01/release-the-kraken-2000-years-of-tall-tales-and-a-smattering-of-truth/ Denys de Montfort, Pierre. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des mollusques. Paris: L’Imprimerie de F. Dufart. pp. 256–412 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library. 1801–1805. Haslam, Garth. Kraken: Myths, Legends, and History. Anomalyinfo.com. Web. 2017. http://anomalyinfo.com/Topics/kraken-myths-legends-and-history Jardine, Sir William. The Naturalist’s Library. Edinburgh. W.H. Lizars. 1833https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60177#page/398/mode/1up Pontoppidan, Erich. The Natural History of Norway. Copenhagen: Berlingske Arvingers Bogtrykkerie, 1752. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131226#page/520/mode/1up SALVADOR, Rodrigo B.; TOMOTANI, Barbara M. The Kraken: when myth encounters science. História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, v.21, n.3, jul.-set. 2014, p.971-994. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v21n3/0104-5970-hcsm-21-3-0971.pdf Wallenberg, J. Min son på galejan, eller en ostindisk resa innehållande allehanda bläckhornskram, samlade på skeppet Finland, som afseglade ifrån Götheborg i Dec. 1769, och återkom dersammastädes i Junii 1771. (5th ed.). Elméns och Granbergs Tryckeri, Stockholm. (in Swedish). 1835. Williams, Wendy. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid. New York. Abrams Image. Mar. 4, 2011. Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re serving up a double feature where nature chooses violence… and humanity chooses unhinged. First: Janesville, Wisconsin is apparently living inside a Thanksgiving-themed action movie. A flock of wild turkeys has been chasing people, hassling a postal worker, blocking traffic, and generally running the neighborhood like feathery little HOA enforcers with anger issues. One local even caught the chaos on camera. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be offering peace and goodwill to all… while a bird the size of a small child sprints at you with murder in its eyes, welcome home. Then we pivot from “street menace” to “please evacuate the entire building”: a man showed up at a hospital with a World War I artillery shell lodged in his rectum, prompting a hospital evacuation and a bomb squad response because, yes, it was reported as potentially live. Doctors had to remove it surgically, and everyone involved probably aged ten years in one evening. It’s the kind of headline that makes you whisper, “how” and then immediately decide you don’t actually want the answer. So buckle up for an episode packed with weird news, small-town terror turkeys, and ER chaos so intense it came with its own security perimeter. If you like your comedy dark, your science nonexistent, and your survival instincts activated by poultry… this one’s for you. Links & Resources 📌Jive Turkeys 📌Preparation H-Bomb Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nashville woke up to the strangest Christmas soundtrack imaginable in 2020: an RV parked on 2nd Avenue, a calm recorded warning to evacuate… and “Downtown” playing like a twisted holiday playlist no one asked for. We are going to walk through the accepted timeline of the Christmas Day bombing, what investigators say happened, and what the FBI concluded about the man behind it. Then we follow the story into the weird side streets, where reality starts to bend. Reincarnation loops. “High energy events.” Alleged reptilian watchers in the woods. A camping trip that turned into a front-row seat to paranoia, strange gear, and a belief that something evil was hiding in plain sight. We’ll separate confirmed facts from internet fog, explore what fringe and UFO circles claim it all really meant, and bring it home with the uncomfortable truth: sometimes the most unsettling part isn’t the conspiracy… it’s how fast a mind can build one when everything else is falling apart. All that and more this week on Hysteria 51! Special thanks to this week’s research sources: PRIMARY / OFFICIAL 1) FBI Nashville Field Office. “FBI Releases Report on Nashville Bombing.” March 15, 2021. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/fbi-releases-report-on-nashville-bombing 2) FBI Nashville Field Office. “Seeking Information Concerning Operator or Owner of RV Linked to Explosion.” December 25, 2020. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/seeking-information-concerning-operator-or-owner-of-rv-linked-to-explosion 3) FBI Nashville Field Office. “FBI Memphis Special Agent in Charge Announces Identity of Remains Discovered in Nashville Explosion Site; Multi-Agency Investigation Continues.” December 27, 2020. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/fbi-memphis-special-agent-in-charge-announces-identity-of-remains-discovered-in-nashville-explosion-site-multi-agency-investigation-continues 4) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). “SAFE-COM and NCSWIC Release Communications Dependencies Case Study: Nashville.” June 13, 2022. https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/safecom-and-ncswic-release-communications-dependencies-case-study-nashville   LOCAL / INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING 5) Finley, Jeremy (WSMV4 Investigates). “FBI: Nashville Christmas Day bomber wanted explosion to break ‘reincarnation loop’ (New photos show Anthony Warner’s device…).” December 22, 2025. https://www.wsmv.com/2025/12/22/fbi-nashville-christmas-day-bomber-wanted-explosion-break-reincarnation-loop/ 6) Hall, Ben & Wisniewski, Kevin (NewsChannel 5 Investigates / WTVF). “Nashville bomber’s bizarre writings reveal belief in aliens and lizard people.” January 4, 2021. https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/nashville-bombers-bizarre-writings-reveal-belief-in-aliens-and-lizard-people   NATIONAL / WIRE REPORTING 7) ABC News. “FBI report finds Nashville bomber wanted to kill himself, not motivated by terrorism.” March 15, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-report-finds-nashville-bomber-wanted-kill-motivated/story?id=76471078 8) PBS NewsHour. “FBI says Nashville bomber driven by conspiracies, paranoia.” March 15, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/fbi-says-nashville-bomber-driven-by-conspiracies-paranoia 9) Associated Press. “FBI: Nashville bomber sent material to ‘acquaintances’.” (Published January 2, 2021.) https://apnews.com/article/us-news-bombings-8d59b300ed4b41d050a8cc86f500351a 10) CBS News. “Nashville bomber sent writings espousing conspiracy theories to multiple people before explosion.” January 3, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nashville-bomber-anthony-quinn-sent-conspiracy-theories-to-people-before-explosion/ 11) Reuters. “Nashville bombing suspect may have believed in lizard people, aliens — source.” January 3, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/nashville-bombing-suspect-may-have-believed-lizard-people-aliens-source-2021-01-03/ 12) Reuters. “‘He was not on our radar’: authorities search for motive in Nashville blast.” December 29, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/he-was-not-our-radar-authorities-search-motive-nashville-blast-2020-12-28/ 13) Reuters. “Motor home explodes in Nashville, possible human remains found near site.” December 26, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/motor-home-explodes-nashville-possible-human-remains-found-near-site-2020-12-26/ 14) NBC (via NBC San Diego). “Feds probing if Nashville bomber believed in lizard people conspiracy.” December 30, 2020. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/feds-probing-if-nashville-bomber-believed-in-lizard-people-conspiracy/2483371/   FACT CHECKS 15) Reuters Fact Check. “Debunking conspiracy links between Nashville explosion and Dominion.” December 29, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/fact-check-debunking-conspiracy-links-between-nashville-explosion-dominion-and-idUSKBN2931AJ/ 16) PolitiFact. “No, AT&T was not conducting an audit of Dominion Voting Systems machines in Nashville.” December 29, 2020. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/dec/29/facebook-posts/no-t-was-not-conducting-audit-dominion-voting-syst/ 17) Associated Press Fact Check. “AT&T not conducting voting machine audit near Nashville after explosion.” December 28, 2020. https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-9898209641 18) WRAL. “Fact check: 3 conspiracy theories about the Nashville bombing.” December 30, 2020. https://www.wral.com/story/fact-check-3-conspiracy-theories-about-the-nashville-bombing/19450775/   CONTEXT / BACKGROUND 19) Business Insider. “Lizard-people conspiracy theory origins (and why it resurfaced after the Nashville bombing).” January 7, 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/lizard-people-conspiracy-theory-origin-nashville-bomber-qanon-2021-1 20) War on the Rocks. “The Nashville Bombing and Threats to Critical Infrastructure: We Saw This Coming.” December 31, 2020. https://warontherocks.com/2020/12/the-nashville-bombing-and-threats-to-critical-infrastructure-we-saw-this-coming/ 21) Domestic Preparedness (Kelly, Robert F. & Alexander, Dean C.). “Four Takeaways From the Nashville Christmas Bombing.” July 20, 2022. https://domesticpreparedness.com/cbrne/four-takeaways-from-the-nashville-christmas-bombing/ 22) DataCenterDynamics (Moss, Sebastian). “FBI does not believe Nashville bomber was targeting AT&T.” August 13, 2021. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/fbi-does-not-believe-nashville-bomber-was-targeting-att/ 23) Axios. “Girlfriend told police Nashville man was building bombs year before explosion.” December 30, 2020. https://www.axios.com/2020/12/30/nashville-anthony-warner-bombs Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show: Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop: Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Hysteria 51, we’re chasing two flavors of “are we alone?” and one of them is suspiciously nacho-adjacent. First, the skies over Area 51 served up a late-night special: a mysterious “Dorito-shaped” aircraft spotted cruising near the world’s most side-eye-worthy patch of desert. Was it a classified test flight, a stealth prototype, or the most aggressive brand sponsorship in aviation history? Either way, if it looks like a triangle and haunts the Nevada night, we’re legally obligated (by podcast law) to investigate. Then we rocket to Mars, where NASA says the Perseverance rover found a rock with intriguing “leopard spot” patterns inside Jezero Crater that could be a potential biosignature, meaning ancient chemical reactions that might be consistent with microbial life. Not “we found Martians,” but definitely “this rock is acting extremely sus.” So buckle up for an episode packed with UFO vibes, Area 51 sightings, Mars rover discoveries, and the eternal question: are we staring at evidence of secret tech… or secret life… or just humanity’s unstoppable urge to turn every weird shape into a headline? Links & Resources 📌Black Project Snacks 📌Mars Relatives Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brent & David are traveling this week so we are digging back into the H51 coffers for a retro episode. It's Satanic Panic time this week on Hysteria 61! Original Description: Remember that year or two in the 80’s when you weren’t allowed to do anything? Yeah – this week’s topic was pretty much the problem. The “Satanic Panic” was this all too real period mostly during the 80’s that America’s housewives knew their kid’s souls were being stolen by “beelzebub”, Ozzy, and anyone else they were listening to on that “devil machine”. The problem with this joke is real people suffered. Real lives were lost and the “devil” had nothing to do with any of it. We break out our black t-shirts, dye our hair, and get to the HYSTERIA (too obvious?) behind it all this week. Plus, C-Bot makes it as a comedian (he thinks), Brent goes chaotic neutral (an upgrade?), and the boys welcome a “pentagram” of guests (it really was an accident). All of that an more on the podcast that’s never been the victim of Satanic Ritual Abuse, but if they were they’re sure it would be at the hands…check that…pincers…of Conspiracy Bot – Hysteria 51. Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories: [email protected] Support the Show Get exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1 Shop Be the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51?ref_id=9022 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.