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We humans have always been fascinated by the things that frighten us. In this episode of Weird Historian, Marc Hartzman speaks with psychologist Coltan Scrivner, author of Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can’t Look Away (Penguin Books), about why we are drawn to horror films, haunted houses, and true crime, what our fascination with the macabre reveals about human nature, and much more.  Learn more and order the book at ColtanScrivner.com Sign up for Coltan Scrivner’s Morbidly Curious Thoughts Substack . Visit WeirdHistorian.com for more of the weird and wonderful.

Meet George “The Giant” McArthur, a sideshow performer who swallows swords, eats fire, pounds nails into his nose—and collects oddities. Oh, and he was also in Tim Burton’s wonderful film, Big Fish. We first met more than 20 years ago at showman Bobby Reynold’s home while I was writing American Sideshow. As Halloween nears, he’s opening George the Giant’s Strange Museum of Oddities and Wonders for the 7th year in Bakersfield, California. Among those oddities and wonders are two-headed animals, breast milk soap, a killer bat, paintings made in human blood, true crime objects, and as you’ll hear from George, much more.  If you’d like to hear about how George got started in the world of sideshow, please check out my other podcast, co-hosted with sword swallower Dan Meyer, To The Hilt. Find George the Giant online: GiantsOddities.com Facebook Instagram

Is there life outside of Earth? More than a hundred years ago, there was widespread belief that intelligent Martians were an advanced civilization and contact with our interplanetary neighbors was inevitable. Science journalist and author David Baron explores this early fascination with Martians in his new book, THE MARTIANS: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America (Liveright: Aug. 26, 2025), and discusses the many strange and amazing extraterrestrial tales with Weird Historian.

Tim O’Brien is a photojournalist, publicist, and author who’s covered the odd and unusual throughout his career, from sideshows and carnivals to roller coasters and roadside attractions—and during his time with Ripley’s, just about everything in between. In this episode, you’ll hear about his strange adventures over the years, including his travels to capture America’s biggest and weirdest roadside attractions for his new book, Tim O’Brien’s Pics and Picks: The Huge, the High, the Half-Buried. See Tim’s books here: https://tinyurl.com/p2e8k6dr And for more weird stories, visit https://www.weirdhistorian.com

The Rev. Dr. David Adamovich is better known as The Great Throwdini—the world’s fastest and most accurate knife thrower. In this episode of Weird Historian, you’ll hear how he discovered his unusual talent for throwing knives, how he developed the Veiled Double Wheel of Death, how he gets through airports with bags of knives, and much more. You’ll also hear about his new venture as the curator of a massive serial killer murderabilia collection. See more at knifethrower.com and serialkillermurderabilia.com.

If you watched Season 15 of America’s Got Talent, you probably remember Brett Loudermilk—the guy with the pink hair who made Sofia Vergara freak out on stage when he asked her to pull a sword from his throat. Find out how Brett got started in the world of sideshow and how his talents took him on a journey to NBC’s national stage. Plus, for those who don't already know, you'll hear what it's like swallow live frogs—and bring them right back up, safe and sound.

In the late nineteenth century, a visit to a dime museum would offer all sorts of wonders, from magicians to sword swallowers to various human oddities. And if you were lucky, you might've seen Evatima Tardo get nailed to cross and bitten by poisonous snakes. Talk about entertainment. Tardo felt no pain nor suffered any ill effects from the venom. How might this have been possible? What led to this unusual and seemingly risky career choice? Find out as Weird Historian talks with Bess Lovejoy. Lovejoy is the author of “Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses,”and has written for the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and many other publications. Her recent story about Tardo's extraordinary life was published by the Wellcome Collection.

When we take our next giant leap and put boots on Mars, or launch space tourism, we’ll want to raise a glass and toast to the achievement. Hear about the last, present and future of alcohol in space from author and Explore Mars CEO, Chris Carberry.

In this interview with Lee Speigel, co-producer and co-writer of The Phenomenon, Weird Historian looks to the sky for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Recorded on Nov. 2, 2020.

In the late 1800s, Joseph Pujol took Paris by storm and ruled the Moulin Rouge. Known as Le Petomane, his entire act was performed with his anus. The man was a true fartiste. Keeping in theme, this episode will also introduce you to an 18th-century pooping duck automaton. Both are tales of rather unusual forms of genius. See images from these stories and read more weird history at WeirdHistorian.com.

In 1908, six cars set out on a race around the world, from New York City to Paris. They started in winter, at a time before cars even had windshields. Find out what happened and who won the Great Race in this episode of Weird Historian. You’ll also hear about a vehicle that came before these daring race cars — one that was designed to be friendly to passing horses. And not much more. It was called the Horsey Horseless. See images from these stories and read more weird history at WeirdHistorian.com.

Meet Robert Wadlow and hear the voice of the tallest man who ever lived. At 8 feet 11 1/2 inches tall, he towered over all other giants, including Ted Evans, who claimed to stand a ridiculous 9 feet 3 inches. You'll also meet a shorter, but far more massive man, Miles Darden, who was possibly the biggest human ever. See images from these stories and read about other weird moments in history at WeirdHistorian.com.

Meet Lady Wonder, the psychic horse who predicted Dewey wouldn’t defeat Truman in 1948, helped police find missing children, and even picked winning race horses. This episode will also introduce you to the screaming hen image seen in the artwork for this podcast. See images from these stories and read about other weird moments in history at WeirdHistorian.com.

Charles Blondin is one of history’s most famous and daring wire walkers. Hear about the time he had to fend off a suicidal volunteer riding on his back atop the wire. This episode also features Clifford Calverley, another wire walker who gleefully risked his life for the entertainment of the audience. You’ll also meet some other walkers who put on a rather unusual show. Not on a wire — but upside-down on the ceiling. See images from these stories and find more weird history at WeirdHistorian.com.

Sir Oliver Lodge attempted to prove mass telepathy was achievable in 1927, and Kuda Bux mystified audiences with his x-ray vision. Could such things have been possible? See images from these stories and read about other weird moments in history at WeirdHistorian.com.