Podcast
A Study of Strange
Hosted by Convergent Content, LLC · EN
A Study of Strange is for lovers of true crime, mysteries, and high strangeness. Each week, host Michael May investigates the unknown, from bizarre crimes and unsolved murders to hauntings, urban legends, lore, cryptids, and unexplained phenomena.
The mission is simple: debunk common misconceptions, uncover hidden details, and explore the most unusual unsolved stories from history. Along the way, listeners hear from occasional guests like writers, entertainment industry insiders, and the occasional random oddball who all add fresh perspectives to these strange and dark histories.
Michael May is a filmmaker and performer known for producing films like Ghosts of the Ozarks and Fun Size Horror, and for hosting the true-crime automotive series Auto/Biography and Auto/Biography: Cold Cases on Motortrend TV.
25episodes
Episodes
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Strange Files: The Man Who Claimed to Be 137
2d ago00:11:05Tap to summarizeCharlie Smith claimed to be 137 years old, a former enslaved man from Liberia, a Civil War vet, and the oldest man in America. For a time, people believed him. But after his death in Bartow, Florida, the records told a different story.In this Strange Files episode, we look at the strange, charming, and very human tale of Charlie Smith, and why stories of impossible age become folklore, even when the truth catches up.Dive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →5 UFO Mysteries Before Roswell
1w ago00:18:41Tap to summarizeBefore flying saucers became part of modern thought, people were already reporting strange lights, impossible machines, and unexplained objects in the sky. From the 1561 Nuremberg phenomenon to the 1896 mystery airship wave and the Aurora UFO crash, these are five strange cases that helped shape the myths and lore surrounding alien visitors.Send us your true scary stories and be featured on the podcast! Email astudyofstrange@gmail.comTheme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →Chasing the Marfa Ghost Lights | With Adam Stilwell
2w ago00:30:33Tap to summarizeFilmmaker Adam Stilwell shares his experience seeing the Marfa Lights, and his attempt to find their source while accidentally driving to Mexico. His experience raises the same question that has kept this mystery alive for generations: what are people really seeing outside Marfa?For decades, people have reported strange lights appearing in the desert outside Marfa, Texas. Known as the Marfa Lights, Marfa Mystery Lights, or Marfa Ghost Lights, these glowing orbs have been seen near Mitchell Flat and Paisano Pass, where they seem to hover, drift, split apart, or vanish in the darkness. Many sightings may be connected to distant headlights, atmospheric effects, and the strange visual conditions of the West Texas desert. But the story is not quite that simple.Send us your true scary stories and be featured on the podcast! Email astudyofstrange@gmail.comTheme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →The Redpath Mansion Murder Mystery | with Jesse Ikeman
3w ago00:58:57Tap to summarizeRe-Release of a classic episode. In 1901, one of Canada’s most wealthy and powerful families found themselves players in a real murder mystery. Ada Redpath and her son, Jocelyn Clifford Redpath, were found shot to death in their home. The murder weapon (or weapons) were found near the bodies, and it was concluded to be a murder-suicide. Why then is this a mystery? Police never investigated, the bodies were hastily buried, and the Redpath family never spoke of that night. It’s a story filled with secrets and, maybe, lies. With special guest, filmmaker Jesse Ikeman from the Business of Film Podcast!Theme Music by Matt Glass https://www.glassbrain.com/Instagram: @astudyofstrange Website: www.astudyofstrange.comHosted by Michael May Email stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com! ©2026 Convergent Content, LLC ----- Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvdCKGN3pZ0 https://mcgillnews.mcgill.ca/s/1762/news/interior.aspx?sid=1762&gid=2&pgid=1224#:~:text=In%20the%20Redpath%20manor%2C%20servants,He%20perished%20hours%20later. https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/redpath/interpretations/indexen.html https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_Redpath https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/mcr/article/view/18717/20459 https://www.mysteryquests.ca/quests/31/indexen.html https://www.amazon.com/Redpath-History-Sugar-House-v/dp/0920474675 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-redpath-canadian-bakebook-redpath-sugar-ltd/1125315060 https://medium.com/unsolved-canadian/was-there-a-murder-at-the-redpath-manor-84d7223ddc60 https://www.jhmoncrieff.com/r-is-for-redpath-mansion-murders/ https://www.frsthand.com/story/the-redpath-mansion-mystery https://dailyunsolvedmysteries.tumblr.com/ https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/the-other-redpath-mansion-mystery https://www.google.com/maps/place/1065+R.+Sherbrooke+E,+Montr%C3%A9al,+QC+H2L+1L5,+Canada/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x4cc91bb64216fb15:0xc38a048146b94303?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjbnMvl7fn8AhUKOkQIHQ1vBVEQ8gF6BAgSEAIDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →The Hinterkaifeck Murders
4w ago00:30:04Tap to summarizeIn 1922, on a farm in the Bavarian countryside, six people were killed in one of the most strange unsolved murders in history. Whoever the killer was, he might have been hiding inside the house for a day or more before the attack. Afterwards, he might have stayed. And while there are many terrifying aspects of this case, one that can be overlooked is the family’s personal turmoil that continues to fuel rumors and theories.Send us your true scary stories and be featured on the podcast! Email astudyofstrange@gmail.comTheme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCLINKS!https://www.hinterkaifeck.net/Dive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →The House That Drips Blood
May 1900:14:47Tap to summarizeIn 1987, an elderly couple in Atlanta called police after finding weird red droplets in multiple rooms of their home. The substance appeared on the floors, low on the walls, and under furniture in the basement. Lab tests confirmed the strangest detail: it was human blood, and it did not match either person living in the house.This episode of A Study of Strange investigates the infamous Atlanta “Blood House” case, separating verified facts from urban legend. Nearly forty years later, the mystery of 1114 Fountain Drive remains one of Georgia’s strangest unsolved stories.Send us your true scary stories and be featured on the podcast! Email astudyofstrange@gmail.comTheme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →The People Who Shouldn’t Have Been There | Three Tales of Time Travel, Teleportation, and Impossible Visitors
May 1200:19:45Tap to summarizeA woman washes ashore in a mysterious hollow ship, carrying a box no one is allowed to open. A Spanish soldier instantaneously transports to Mexico City from Manila. And a Missouri inventor claims he built a time machine, then vanishes.In this episode of A Study of Strange, we investigate three eerie tales of alleged time travel, teleportation, or treks across dimensions. Are these stories evidence of people slipping through time and space, or folklore shaped by fear, rumor, technology, and the human need to explain the impossible?Send us your true scary stories and be featured on the podcast! Email astudyofstrange@gmail.comTheme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →
Gareth Williams "The Body in the Bag"
May 500:28:52Tap to summarizeThe death of Gareth Williams in 2010 has become one of the most unusual and cryptic mysteries after his nude body was discovered padlocked inside a duffel bag. Williams was a "codebreaker" who worked for MI6. A lot of theories are still debated, including an accident during a sexual activity, or an elaborate hit carried out by foreign spies. Will we ever learn the truth behind this bizarre, unsolved death?Send us your true scary stories and be featured on the podcast! Email astudyofstrange@gmail.comTheme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →The Lost Bugatti | With Tim Donahue
Apr 2900:35:15Tap to summarizeRe-release of a classic episode! One of WWII's lost treasures was the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic "La Voiture Noire", and it is estimated to be worth over $100 million USD if it's ever found. Unlike other famous cars hidden during the war to keep them out of Nazi hands, "The Black Car" stays hidden, teasing treasure hunters with hopes that they might find fortune and glory.The world's most expensive car requires the world's tallest man. So, joining the podcast for this episode is Tim Donahue. The very tall co-host of Motor Trend TV's Auto/Biography and Auto/Biography: Cold Cases. Visit our Substack for more strange content! https://astudyofstrange.substack.com/Theme Music by Matt Glass Instagram: @astudyofstrange Support: astudyofstrange.substack.com Website: www.astudyofstrange.com Hosted by Michael May Email stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com Support our new Substack https://astudyofstrange.substack.com/ ©2022 Convergent Content, LLCLINKS:https://mph.com/news/53/the-mystery-behind-the-missing-100-m-bugatti-type-57-sc-la-voiture-noirehttps://www.drive.com.au/news/mystery-surrounds-160-million-bugatti-atlantic-la-voiture-noire-find/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uo1fQ5oVIMhttps://jalopnik.com/we-asked-an-expert-if-pictures-posted-on-reddit-are-rea-1848145147https://www.thedrive.com/news/43358/the-story-behind-the-alleged-ultra-rare-bugatti-shell-posted-to-redditDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcribe →The Bathroom Mirror Murder: The True Story Behind Candyman
Apr 2100:14:57Tap to summarizeThe chilling strange crime said to have inspired the original horror film Candyman is the 1987 murder of Ruthie Mae McCoy in Chicago. McCoy called 911 and said someone was coming through her bathroom mirror. But this is more than the story behind a horror movie. It’s a deeper look at the terrifying idea that the places we trust most may not be as safe as we think. Theme Music by Matt GlassInstagram: @astudyofstrangeHosted by Michael MayEmail stories, comments, or ideas to astudyofstrange@gmail.com©2026 Convergent Content, LLCDive deeper into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and tales of high strangeness each week on A Study of Strange. Hosted by filmmaker Michael May, exploring the dark crossroads of history, folklore, and the unexplained.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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