TRUE

In a German convent near the River Rhine in the 15th century, a nun started biting her fellow sisters who, in turn, began biting other nuns. Soon, the convent was full of holy servants uncontrollably biting each other. From there, it spread to other convents throughout the region. Physicians at the time could find no medical reason to explain the bizarre behavior and it would be a while before the term “mass hysteria” was coined. The biting eventually subsided, but that wouldn’t be the last time a large group of people experienced a collective psychological episode, nor would it be the strangest. Not even close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s the short con and there’s the long game. The short con is quick, over in the blink of an eye while the long con can take days or even weeks. Then there’s Christian Gerhartsreiter. The game he played was on a whole different level. His con took place over the course of three decades and involved one of the most famous and wealthy families in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On January 25, 1972, an explosion ripped through the baggage compartment of JAT Flight 367. The plane tore apart at 33,000 feet. Metal, luggage and people fell to the earth. When the fuselage was found moments later, people were stunned to hear a scream coming from inside. They found flight attendant Vesna Vulovic, broken and battered, but still alive. She has the distinction of surviving a fall from the highest recorded height. She’s not the only one, however, to have fallen thousands of feet and survived. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the world of medicine, there are plenty of curious cases that keep doctors guessing. Every now and then, however, there are things happening with a patient that simply can’t be explained. Such is the case of Gloria Ramirez, whose mysterious condition transformed her into a chemical weapon. With medical staff falling like dominos all around her, the patient would become known as “The Toxic Lady”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At first sight, Marilyn Hartman looks like the quintessential grandmother – white hair, petite, with a friendly smile and overall disarming disposition. You don’t really give her a second look. However, over the years, her unassuming natural camouflage has enabled her to sneak past security and onto numerous commercial flights, earning her the nickname “the serial stowaway”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since 1927, giant inflatable character balloons have been an iconic part of the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The balloons can be a staggering 6 stories tall and are maneuvered through the streets of Manhattan by groups of almost 100 strong people below. That may seem like a large number of people to handle a helium-filled balloon, until something goes wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say that funerals are for the living, not for the dead. While traditions may vary, the sentiment remains the same, sending departed spirits off to their next adventure. For some of these rituals, the only limit, beyond the law, is the imagination. From extreme embalming, otherwise known as corpse posing, to Tibetan sky burials, where the entire body is devoured by vultures, there’s no shortage of fascinatingly macabre practices. Oh, did we mention erotic funerals? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In January 1935, just 24 hours after Roland T. Owen checked into room 1046 at the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri, he was found beaten and tortured. His wrists and ankles were bound with a cord, he had a skull fracture on the right side of his head, and had been stabbed multiple times in the chest. He was only semi-conscious and barely able to speak when police asked him if anyone else had been in the room, but he did manage to say one word before dying, “nobody.” That was the beginning of one of the strangest and oldest murder mysteries in US history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In late December 1980, a series of unexplained lights appeared near a US military base in England. The events took place over two nights and were captured by security personnel in detailed written documents and audio recordings. The case has been dubbed ‘the British Roswell’, but unlike the events in New Mexico, what happened in Rendlesham Forest wasn't classified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Think the solid ground you’re on is safe? For thousands of years, water has been slowly eroding the rock beneath your feet creating a chasm underground. Over time, that chasm became so large that it couldn’t hold up its roof. The roof that used to be your solid ground. So, it collapsed in on itself, taking you and everything around you with it. This is a sinkhole. Terrifying, unexpected, and in some cases, deadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With over 53,000 world record categories, there’s no shortage of people wanting to be a title holder. Whether it’s stuffing hundreds of drinking straws in your mouth or free falling to earth from the stratosphere, there’s something for anyone looking to get their name in the record books. And these are just the tip of the iceberg for some of the coolest, most bizarre and incredibly ridiculous world records out there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Throughout history, there are reported cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion, but are these stories real? Can people simply burst into flames with no apparent source of ignition? In 1951, Mary Reeser’s body was found completely incinerated, with only a pile of ash, her skull, and her left foot still in her slipper remaining. Curiously, her apartment was untouched by the fire. Was she a victim of this bizarre phenomenon or is the truth too hot to handle? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2010, when eccentric art collector Forrest Fenn announced that he had buried a chest filled with precious gems and rare jewelry estimated to be worth millions, a modern-day treasure hunt began. The chest was located somewhere in the vast Rocky Mountains and with only 9 mysterious clues hidden within the lines of a poem, finding it wouldn't be easy. In fact, for some intrepid explorers, it would be their final earthly adventure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes there are clear reasons why a town is deserted. Perhaps it was a natural disaster like a drought or a flood. There may have been a man-made event, like a chemical spill. Maybe a once thriving economy dried up. However, sometimes it’s not always obvious why a place is deserted. Take Centralia, Pennsylvania, for example. You would never know from driving through this mostly deserted small town that a Hell-like inferno is roaring beneath the streets. The fire was started in 1962 and is expected to continue for centuries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fifteen years ago, there were only a handful of priests approved to perform exorcisms in the US. Today, there are almost 10 times that. One of the most famous possession stories is that of Anneliese Michel who, in the early 1970s, underwent almost 70 exorcisms. Despite doctors insisting she had medical issues, the priests performing the rites believed otherwise. In the end, casting out the demons would cost her life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who came up with the crazy idea of traversing a rope hundreds of feet above the ground? It’s all about balance, not only on the wire, but also between risk and reward, adventure and insanity, life and death. If you're going to try walking the tightrope, remember not to look down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s hard to imagine anyone regretting winning the lottery. For an unlucky few though, hitting the jackpot was a curse, a disaster, and a horrible twist of fate that resulted in bankruptcy, injury, and even death. As the saying goes, sometimes a lot of money can be very expensive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carlos Rafael, the largest commercial fisherman in the US Northeast, found himself at the center of an investigation involving Russian mobsters, duffel bags full of cash, and fish. Millions of pounds of fish. The media nicknamed this charismatic seafood kingpin “The Codfather”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Animals have been unwillingly dragged into human combat for millennia. Sure, you’ve heard of horses, dogs, and even dolphins fighting beside soldiers, but over the years there's been some curious out of the box thinking when it comes to animal warfare. Armored elephants, flaming pigs, bat bombs, and more. When we start involving animals in battle, things can get a little wild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s scary to hear the question “is there a doctor on board?” when you’re thousands of feet in the air. But it’s terrifying to hear someone ask “is there a pilot on board?”. It doesn't happen often, but when passengers with little to no piloting experience are forced to take the controls, they better stay calm, have a pretty good sense of humor, and, most importantly, figure out where the button for the radio is located. In April 2009, a passenger flying home with his family found out why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some people watch superhero movies and appreciate the story. Others walk away inspired to become a real-life crime fighter. Wearing a handmade costume and mask, these crusaders patrol the streets every night, fighting for justice and keeping crime at bay. For every homemade superhero there is a homemade supervillain seeking to control the city. The battle for good and evil could be happening right outside your front door. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Didn’t know there was big money to be made in pigeons? Yeah, neither did we. In one of the craziest money-making schemes ever, an unlikely mastermind known as the Pigeon King managed to swindle hundreds of millions of dollars from eager investors. Move over Wall Street, the scams are going to the birds! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From lawnchairs attached to giant balloons to homemade flying saucers, people have tried to fly in bizarre and creative ways. In this episode of TRUE, listen to the story of a 20ft wide flying saucer built by the Heene family that was launched while accidentally carrying their 6yr old son. As the balloon hit an altitude of 7000ft, the country watched in shock waiting to see what happened to the little boy everyone thought was on board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A podcast that features strange stories and bizarre tales that you won’t believe are real… but they are, because they’re TRUE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot of cool things have been happening behind the scenes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People quit their jobs all the time. Maybe it’s over money, or long hours, or maybe it’s because of a stressful work environment. Whatever the reasons, the process of quitting typically starts when the employee provides their employer with a notice of resignation. There may be some hugs and a few tears, but usually that would be the extent of any real drama. Then there are the not so normal departures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the 1970's and 1980's, you couldn't watch a televised sports game without seeing him. The most recognizable fixture in sports actually despised everything about it. He was there for the network cameras. He was there to deliver a message to the world, a dire warning of impending doom. But wearing a large multi-colored Afro wig and a fur loin cloth didn't help his credibility. However, the triple life sentence he received dramatically changed that image. The world would come to know him as Rainbow Man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every year, Santa leaves his base of operation to bring Christmas cheer to billions of people around the world. However, the holiday season can also lead to Santa going a little crazy. Here are some stories that will make you think twice about messing with Santa Claus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a wealthy Manhattan socialite turned her mid-town mansion into luxury apartments, famous writers, musicians, and politicians lined up. The palatial brownstone, with its attractive address near Central Park and Madison Garden, was a New York City landmark and valued at almost $10 million. For years, things had been going well until a mysterious, yet charming businessman showed up one day offering cash for a short-term lease. Three weeks later, New York City police would launch one of the largest and strangest missing person cases in its history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's all fun and games until someone unwittingly assassinates a world figure. That's exactly what happened in 2017 to a couple of people who thought they were on a reality television show. Turns out they had unknowingly been recruited by a foreign government to carry out a deadly mission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Dr. Michael Mastromarino lost his license to practice dentistry, he found a new calling in a dark corner of the medical world, modern-day grave robbing. He and his crew of organ and tissue harvesters set up a vast network to collect and sell as much bio material as they could find. Too bad none of the families of the deceased knew about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Jack Idema became a tour boat captain in Mexico, the self-described super soldier moved to Afghanistan where he started a private prison. He ran it out of his rented townhouse and his team, Task Force Saber 7, used it to detain and interrogate suspected terrorists. Idema told everyone who asked that he worked for the US government. Problem was.......he didn't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Swedish journalist Kim Wall began writing a story on amateur rocket building in Denmark, there was no way for her to know that it would lead to her death....inside a submarine. The bizarre circumstances and surreal conclusion captured headlines around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Using military-grade weapons and gear, two bank robbers turned the streets of North Hollywood, California into a war zone. For nearly 45 minutes, Los Angeles police faced one of the most violent and prolonged gun battles they had ever experienced. The police may have had them greatly outnumbered, but the gunmen had the police completely outmatched. As if taken right from a Hollywood movie, the drama was captured live on camera and quickly had a nation glued to the TV. This was reality television on a whole new level and would go on to forever change the way law enforcement operates in the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is a little different. It's a collection of bizarre stories not quite long enough for their own episodes, but are so strange that they deserve a place in the podcast. Most importantly, these stories were submitted by listeners like you! From a cross-dressing voodoo priest with major relationship issues to a Vatican cocaine-fueled orgy, these true crimes are truly bizarre. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The situation would have seemed absolutely normal had it not been for the location. Two women, casually walking together, both carrying bags. CCTV cameras followed the women on their precarious journey, six lanes of speeding cars and trucks just a few feet on either side. Without warning, the women jumped over the guard rail and ran straight in to the fast lane. One of them was immediately hit by a red sedan, and in the seconds of chaos that followed it’s amazing that the other was untouched. As the sound of screeching tires stopped, the one just hit by a car in the fast lane stood up and brushed herself off. Amazingly she had sustained only minor injuries in what should have been a fatal collision. When the police arrived, the situation appeared to be calm and under control. As the women chatted with an officer who stood between them and the highway, one of them suddenly made a dash into traffic. The officer managed to quickly grab a hold of her green jacket and, at least for a moment, was able to hold her back. She slipped out of her jacket and into the path of an oncoming transport truck. A moment later, the other woman, wearing a hat that read “Time to believe”, also inexplicably ran straight into traffic. The extraordinary events left authorities baffled. Incredibly, the strange and horrifying incident on the highway pales in comparison to what happened next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early morning hours of August 14, 2011, police were called to an apartment complex to investigate a reported assault. They arrived to find a man in the parking lot growling and hissing and wearing nothing but boxer shorts. When police attempted to restrain him the man took off running. As he tried to escape, he scaled two tall fences which, according to officers, he did with minimal effort. The man was cornered shortly after and taken into custody. Minutes before police arrived on scene, the man had broken into the apartment of a total stranger. The only occupant awoke to the sounds of hissing and growling right next to her and the moment she opened her eyes, the mostly naked intruder began biting her neck. Running for her life, the terrified woman was picked up by a passing car. As police were arresting the attacker, he yelled repeatedly that he did not want to feed on humans. When authorities put him in a jail cell, he told officers that they had to keep him handcuffed for their own protection. An officer was quoted saying, “He was begging us to restrain him because he didn’t want to kill us. He said he needed to feed.” He told them that he was a 500 year old vampire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As people in Chicago gathered around their TVs for the nightly news, sportscaster Dan Roan was reporting the day’s highlights when the screen suddenly went black. Seconds later, a new image appeared on the screen. There was no sound and viewers were no longer looking at Dan Roan. They were now looking at a strange figure in a rubber mask, sunglasses, a brown jacket, tie, and white shirt. Behind the figure was a corrugated metal sheet moving up and down giving the amateur effect of a 3D background. The figure moved erratically from side to side, back and forth, as if laughing hysterically. The lack of audio only added to the weird spectacle. It lasted for half a minute before station engineers were able to regain control of the broadcast. Two hours later their screens once again lost reception and turned black. The creepy masked figure took over the airwaves again. This time however, there was audio and what happened over the 90 seconds that followed is still described as one of the most bizarre television hacking crimes in broadcasting history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 year-old Terra Newell parked her car on the top level of her apartment building’s lot. Collecting her dog and purse, Terra exited her car and walked to the rear. The 5'2" tall Terra was immediately confronted by the 6'2" tall man who had been a few spots over only moments earlier. The large man put one of his hands over her mouth revealing a long knife in the other. He stabbed at her repeatedly, slicing deep into her forearm and another into her chest. She was able to knock the knife from his grip and the blade landed within her reach. Blade in hand, Terra went into all-out survival mode and attributed the popular TV show The Walking Dead for her sudden kill-or-be-killed mentality. She began stabbing wildly at the man, inflicting 13 wounds in all. If she learned one thing from the end of the world zombie show, she understood that the only way to kill a zombie is to destroy the brain. The final strike went right through his left eye, the long knife driven deep into his brain. As the man lay unconscious and convulsing on the parking lot pavement, the injured Terra called her mother and said “I’m really really sorry. I think I killed your husband.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One day in October 1997, several police stations across the US received phone calls from a youth center in Spain. The caller identified himself as the director of the facility and stated that a teenage boy from America was there asking for help. The police in the US put the caller in touch with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The caller from Spain went on to give a brief physical description of the boy and asked if there were any missing teenagers matching their records. The agent checked the database and provided the caller with the name of a teenage boy who had been reported missing several years earlier. The descriptions were similar enough to be a possible match, so the case details were sent over right away. Not long after the file arrived, the center for missing children received a follow-up call from the person claiming to be the director of the youth facility. He told the agent that the missing boy in the file and the scared boy standing in his office were in fact the same. When the call ended, the man calling himself the director studied the missing boy’s file carefully. It wouldn’t be long before he would have to convince the world that he was the missing teenager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

31 year-old Gareth Williams was, by all accounts, an incredibly private person who disliked office small talk and did his best to avoid social events. In 2001, Williams went to work for the British intelligence agency known as the Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ. Nine years later, Gareth Williams would become the focus of an extraordinary mystery. His intensely private life became very public when the government agent was found dead inside a padlocked duffle bag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the mental disorder defense, otherwise known as the insanity plea, to the more common ones like self-defense, judges and juries are tasked with deciding if these arguments are believable. They listen to experts and witnesses, pour over exhibit A and exhibit B, and ponder whether or not there’s reasonable doubt. They do this for every case brought before them. Even more so, perhaps, for those few who claim they killed while sleeping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The story of the Barefoot Bandit continues. More stolen planes. More stolen speedboats and luxury cars. How much longer could he possibly elude authorities? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The legend of the Barefoot Bandit is the story of an epic crime spree involving hundreds of burglaries and millions of dollars of stolen luxury cars, planes, and boats. The crimes went on for years and crossed state and international borders. The crimes earned the Barefoot Bandit the unenviable title of FBI’s Most Wanted. But what makes the story legendary is that the Barefoot Bandit - was a teenager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ahhhh maple syrup! The perfect addition to a stack of pancakes. Tapped from the good old maple tree, this sweet condiment is poured over millions of breakfasts every single day. Add to that the countless tasty treats and delicious recipes that use maple syrup and its popularity becomes crystal clear. With popularity comes demand and with every commodity comes a black market. Like moonshine during the dry days of prohibition, maple syrup is no different and with a value over 10 times that of crude oil, the market has become highly regulated. So when a group of thieves decided to steal some sweet liquid gold from a storage warehouse in Quebec, Canada, they weren’t about to stop at a couple of bottles or cases. Far from it. This would go down as one of the most lucrative and perhaps most unusual robberies in Canadian history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On a grey rainy morning, a white car drove up the driveway to a house in a quiet South Florida neighborhood. The driver parked and casually walked to the front door carrying balloons and a bouquet of flowers. When 40 year old Marlene Warren greeted the stranger in the bright orange wig, red foam nose, and painted face, she smiled pleasantly. Marlene had loved clowns since she was a child. When the grinning stranger handed her the festive balloons and flowers, Marlene remarked, “Oh, how pretty.” A second later, Marlene was dead and the clown bearing gifts would calmly walk back to the car, drive away, and disappear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the afternoon of June 4th 2004, the small mountain town of Granby, Colorado would bear witness to a destructive scene that would last over two hours and leave their streets in ruins. Find more information about this episode: www.beyondbizarretruecrime.com Follow us: www.facebook.com/beyondbizarretruecrime/ twitter.com/BeyondBizarreTC Contact us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices