The Voynich Manuscript

The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp In this episode, we dive deep into the swamps of South Carolina to explore the legendary Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp. We kick things off with the most famous encounter from 1988, when 17-year-old Christopher Davis was driving home from his McDonald's shift when his tire blew out near the swamp. What happened next became the stuff of local legend—a towering 7-8 foot tall creature with glowing red eyes, green scaly skin, and three-clawed fingers leaped onto his car as he desperately tried to escape. Davis's harrowing account, validated by a polygraph test and the local sheriff, sparked a media frenzy that drew everyone from Good Morning America to the Washington Post to this small South Carolina town. We explore multiple sightings from that intense summer of 1988, including terrified teenagers, mauled vehicles, mysterious three-toed footprints that baffled biologists, and even police officers who witnessed evidence firsthand. The footprint castings remain the most compelling physical evidence—14 inches long with three clawed toes that experts couldn't match to any known animal. 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. 🛸 ⁠⁠Have a paranormal encounter or story you'd like told on the podcast? ⁠⁠Submit it here.⁠⁠ 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Union Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been loving Curiosity Weekly, a great podcast from Discovery. Have you ever noticed how science and the paranormal often overlap? Check out Curiosity Weekly and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

The Voynich Manuscript This week is all about the strange Voynich Manuscript. We explored how this mysterious 240-page medieval book, written entirely in an unknown language and filled with bizarre illustrations, has baffled scholars for over a century. From its discovery by rare book dealer Dr. Wilford M. Voynich in 1912 at a Jesuit college near Rome to its current home at Yale University, we traced the manuscript's fascinating journey through the hands of alchemists, occultists, and royalty. The book features drawings of unidentifiable plants, unusual star charts that don't quite match Earth's perspective, and peculiar images of naked women bathing in colored liquids—all accompanied by elegant, flowing text that no one has ever been able to decipher. We discussed the leading theories about the manuscript's origins, from the possibility that it was an elaborate hoax created by medieval forger Edward Kelly to sell to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, to the idea that it's simply a coded language whose key has been lost to time. We also explored the most intriguing theory: that this could be an alien travel journal, documenting unfamiliar plants, star charts from another vantage point, and perhaps even the abduction process involving those mysterious liquid-filled tubes. 🛸 ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. 🛸 ⁠⁠Have a paranormal encounter or story you'd like told on the podcast? ⁠Submit it here.⁠ 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Union Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been loving Curiosity Weekly, a great podcast from Discovery. Have you ever noticed how science and the paranormal often overlap? Check out Curiosity Weekly and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

The Haunted Split Rock Quarry This week, we dive into three unsettling listener-submitted stories. Our first tale comes from Jenna, who recounts the terrifying experiences of her three-year-old sister Sophia, who claims to see a menacing shadow man in top hat and suit watching her through windows throughout their family home. What starts as typical childhood imagination quickly escalates when the mysterious figure begins whispering cruel messages about family rejection, leading to months of disturbing sleepwalking episodes that set off house alarms as the toddler attempts to wander outside in the dead of night. We then journey to the beaches of Egypt with another Sophia, who witnesses a bizarre encounter during a late-night snack run with friends along the Mediterranean coast. When a figure in glowing neon-white clothing appears from nowhere, taking impossibly long strides toward the water before vanishing completely, the teenagers find themselves searching desperately for answers. Finally, we explore the haunted Split Rock Quarry in New York with amateur paranormal investigators Matt and Kim, whose first foray into ghost hunting at the site of a tragic 1918 explosion yields immediate and intensely personal results that challenge everything they thought they knew about communicating with the other side. 🛸 ⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. 🛸 ⁠⁠Have a paranormal encounter or story you'd like told on the podcast? Submit it here. 🛸 ⁠⁠For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🛸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch 🛸 ⁠⁠Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Union Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been loving Curiosity Weekly, a great podcast from Discovery. Have you ever noticed how science and the paranormal often overlap? Check out Curiosity Weekly and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Our next Terrified Together is with friend of the podcast, Kaydra from Perplexity: A Mystery Podcast! During this collab, we dive into two compelling listener submissions that took us from the Mississippi countryside to New Jersey suburbs. Emma from Mississippi shared her incredible journey from being terrified of everything paranormal to becoming fascinated by it, starting with a dramatic UFO sighting in 2012 that had her mother calling both the police and their preacher. Her story spans nearly a decade of encounters, including mysterious couch-climbing sounds and shadow figures that left us questioning what forces might be following her through different homes. Our second story came from AI, who introduced us to "Hugh" - perhaps the most polite ghost we've ever encountered on the show. This shadow figure with a hat and briefcase seemed content to coexist peacefully with the family until a skeptical friend made some unfortunate comments during a graduation party. Check out Perplexity: A Mystery Podcast here: https://www.perplexitymysterypodcast.com/ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Uniontown, Ohio 44685 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we dive deep into one of the internet's most intriguing conspiracy theories: the Black Eye Club. We explore the curious pattern of celebrities, politicians, and influential figures appearing in public with prominent black eyes - particularly on the left side - and the theories surrounding what this might mean. From George W. Bush and Jay Leno to Adam Sandler and Elon Musk, we examine the extensive list of public figures who've been photographed with these mysterious injuries, along with their often unusual explanations ranging from bicycle accidents to microphone mishaps. We also discuss the potential symbolic roots of this phenomenon through ancient mythology, exploring connections to Odin's sacrifice of his eye for wisdom in Norse tales and the Eye of Horus from Egyptian lore. Finally, we look at various theories about what these black eyes might represent - from initiation rituals into elite secret societies and humiliation punishments to more sinister explanations involving adrenochrome harvesting and even alien parasites entering through the eye. Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Uniontown, Ohio 44685 Episode Keywords: black eye club, conspiracy theory, secret society, illuminati, celebrities black eyes, political figures black eyes, adrenochrome, initiation ritual, humiliation ritual, odin mythology, eye of horus, egyptian mythology, norse mythology, reptilian aliens, elite society, occult symbolism, freemasons, all seeing eye, pattern recognition, confirmation bias, social media conspiracy, celebrity injuries, left eye symbolism, mk ultra, remote viewing, believing the bizarre podcast, conspiracy theories, ancient mythology, sacrifice for wisdom, parasitic aliens, body snatchers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Smurl Family Haunting This week, we dive deep into one of the most documented cases of demonic oppression in modern history - the Smurl haunting. We explore how a working-class Catholic family's dream of stability turned into a 14-year nightmare when they moved into a duplex in West Pittston, Pennsylvania in 1973. What started as subtle oddities like an impossible-to-clean carpet stain and a mysteriously exploding television quickly escalated into violent physical attacks, levitation, and encounters with shadowy figures that would test the family's faith to its breaking point. We discuss the role of the infamous Ed and Lorraine Warren, who documented weeks of paranormal activity, including physical assaults, sexual encounters with demonic entities, and the presence of multiple spirits alongside a powerful demon. Patreon⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Uniontown, Ohio 44685 Episode Keywords: Smurl haunting, demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine Warren, West Pittston Pennsylvania, paranormal activity, haunted house, ghost stories, supernatural phenomena, poltergeist activity, Catholic exorcism, demonic oppression, paranormal investigation, true ghost stories, haunted duplex, demonic entities, spiritual warfare, paranormal podcast, horror stories, unexplained phenomena, paranormal encounters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our next Terrified Together is with Kassie, the awesome host of the Tell Me Your Ghost Story Podcast. Our first story comes from Mackie in Lubbock, Texas, who experienced a terrifying encounter that drained her and her boyfriend's energy for an entire week. What started as unexplained fatigue and loss of motivation escalated into a haunting night where they both witnessed a seven-foot shadow figure prowling outside their bedroom window, followed by mysterious tapping sounds that sent them scrambling to check every lock in the house. The second tale takes us to rural Ohio, where 13-year-old Calla and her friend Maddie decided to experiment with the Red Book game - a paranormal ritual involving a red hardcover book (they used a dictionary) and candles. What began as innocent curiosity quickly turned sinister when the spirits they contacted through the book refused to let them leave the game. The aftermath brought sleep paralysis, mysterious scratches, encounters with shadow figures, and the terrifying appearance of the "old hag" - experiences that followed both girls to their separate homes until they performed cleansing rituals to break free from whatever had attached itself to them. Check out Tell Me Your Ghost Story Podcast here: ⁠https://tellmeyourghoststorypodcast.podbean.com/⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Support Believing the Bizarre and get tons of extra content by joining our Patreon. For updates, news, and extra content, follow Believing the Bizarre on social media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shop Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: You can rep Believing the Bizarre and buy some unique merch Want to send BTB something? Ship it here: 3570 Executive Drive, Suite 218, Uniontown, Ohio 44685 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices