Gregory Burkart
Don’t Answer the Phone: The Twisted History of the “Red Numbers”
Urban legends and viral stories are filled with chilling warnings of “Death Calls,” which are rumored to kill anyone unfortunate enough to answer a telephone call from a specific number. There are countless variations on this theme but one of the earliest and most infamous examples is believed to have emerged on April 13, 2007 […]
Gregory Burkart
Southern California Cities Under Increasing Attack by “Squirrel Mobs”
Oh sure, you’re laughing now… but these fuzzy-tailed rodents ain’t playing. Experts are calling this bizarre invasion a potential threat to humans and many other species — not to mention the balance of ecosystems in California and other states. It’s also why authorities post all those “DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE” signs in public parks, trails […]
Witney Seibold
Remembering “The Snacktime Kid” — The Terrifying Doll That Eats Children’s Hair
The first “hot” Christmas toy I recall from my own distant childhood is probably the Cabbage Patch Kid. Cabbage Patch Kids were launched into the world in 1982, and have been a mainstay at toy shops ever since, having produced hundreds of variants over the decades. The gimmick behind the hard-headed, soft-bodied baby dolls was […]
Gregory Burkart
This Ritual Allegedly Enables You to Converse With the Dead… But Be Careful!
[NOTE: The images in this article contain nine ghostly human figures. Can you spot them all?] In the past, we’ve written in detail about creepy occult rituals and other mystical “games,” many of which imply lethal repercussions for those who fail to follow the rules, or refuse to take them seriously. This is another such […]
Gregory Burkart
This Zoo Wants YOU to Collect Venom From One of the World’s Deadliest Spiders
Did you read our story yesterday about the massive spider plague that’s about to overrun Australia? (I know what you’re thinking… in Australia, “spider plague” is probably just another term for “Tuesday”). Well, it seems a few fearless and/or possibly insane spider-wranglers might benefit from this doomsday scenario — because a zoo in New South […]
Alan Kelly
The Most Dangerous Man in America: The Violently Subversive Writing of Dennis Cooper
There is subversive, there is controversial… and there is Dennis Cooper. I can think of no other writer better acquainted with the language of violence. A latter-day Marquis de Sade, he scrutinizes the pain, guilt and fear of gay teens, amplified by human horror and the predatory older men who speak that language fluently. What […]
Howard Gorman
Nine of the Most Terrifying Mental Health Practices Through the Ages
While the stigma associated with mental disorders certainly still remains to this day, if we look back to the “bad old days” it’s clear that things have come a long way for the better. Since time immemorial, mental illness has been given a myriad of names, ranging from lunacy (based on the hypothesis that people’s insanity […]
Gregory Burkart
Giant Venomous Spider Sneaks Aboard New Zealand Flight
When an airliner departing from Australia touched down in New Zealand, airport officials in Auckland discovered an unexpected stowaway: a giant huntsman spider, one of the largest arachnids in the world. According to a report in Stuff New Zealand, security staffers at Auckland Airport found the huge creature hiding out inside a passenger’s bundled tent, […]
