Podcast
The Box of Oddities
Hosted by Kat & Jethro Gilligan Toth · EN
The Webby Award-winning “Box of Oddities" is a podcast that delves into the strange and mysterious aspects of our world, exploring topics ranging from bizarre medical conditions to unsolved mysteries, and from paranormal phenomena to strange cultural practices from around the world. With a focus on oddities, curiosities, and the macabre, each episode is a journey into the unknown, where hosts Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth share their love for unusual stories and inject their humor and commentary. From the strange history of medical practices to chilling true crime stories, to natural (and unnatural) events, "The Box of Oddities" satisfies your thirst for the weird and the unusual, offering an informative and entertaining look into the dark and mysterious corners of our world.
JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC-TV says, "Should you be the type who has an interest in weird stuff, this is a fun thing to allow in your head!"
“Truth is stranger than fiction, and the Box of Oddities is the strangest of all!” -SLUGGO, SIRIUS XM LITHIUM
“Kat & Jethro wring humor from bizarre, macabre and perplexing places.” -BOSTON MAGAZINE
79episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Great Piano Migration & Ancient Romans In Brazil?
1w ago00:33:49Tap to summarizeWhat do a piano frozen in the Yukon wilderness and a possible Roman shipwreck off the coast of Brazil have in common? In this episode of Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro uncover two historical mysteries that challenge what we think we know about the past. First, a strange dark object discovered beneath Arctic ice turns out to be something no one expected: a piano. That discovery leads to the remarkable story of the Klondike Gold Rush and the astonishing number of pianos hauled by hand across treacherous mountain passes into one of the most remote regions on Earth. Why would prospectors drag thousands of pounds of musical instruments through snow, ice, and wilderness in pursuit of gold? Then, the pair dive into one of archaeology's most controversial claims. In the waters of Brazil's Guanabara Bay, ancient Roman-style amphorae were discovered on the seafloor, sparking speculation that Roman sailors may have reached South America more than a thousand years before Columbus. Was it evidence of a lost chapter of world history—or an elaborate deception involving a businessman, reproduction pottery, and a very unusual aging process? Along the way: frontier optimism, buried artifacts, impossible journeys, accidental archaeology, questionable treasure hunters, and the surprisingly emotional reasons humans carry pieces of home into the unknown. If you love forgotten history, unexplained discoveries, archaeological mysteries, strange true stories, the Klondike Gold Rush, Roman artifacts, and the wonderfully bizarre corners of the human experience, this episode belongs in your queue. #BoxOfOddities #KlondikeGoldRush #Archaeology #RomanEmpire #AncientMysteries #GoldRushHistory #HistoryPodcast #WeirdHistory #Unexplained #LostCivilizations #StrangeHistory #OdditiesPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Acid Bath Killer & The Science of Dying
1w ago00:35:58Tap to summarizeWhat happens in the final moments before death? For generations, people who survived near-death experiences have described the same astonishing phenomenon: a vivid, panoramic replay of their lives—complete with forgotten memories, emotional revelations, and even the feelings of the people they affected along the way. This week, The Box of Oddities explores the science behind "life flashing before your eyes," including a remarkable brain study that captured activity in a dying human brain and raised new questions about consciousness, memory, and what may happen in the seconds after the heart stops beating. Then, Kat dives into the chilling true story of John George Haigh, better known as the Acid Bath Murderer. Charming, intelligent, and utterly ruthless, Haigh believed he had discovered the perfect crime by dissolving his victims in barrels of sulfuric acid. What followed was a shocking spree of fraud, deception, murder, and one of Britain's most notorious criminal investigations. From near-death mysteries to acid-filled barrels, life reviews to serial killers, this episode wanders into some very strange territory—and we wouldn't have it any other way. #BoxOfOddities #NearDeathExperience #LifeFlashingBeforeYourEyes #Consciousness #BrainScience #JohnGeorgeHaigh #AcidBathMurderer #TrueCrimePodcast #WeirdHistory #DarkHistory #MysteriesOfDeath #StrangeButTrue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Strange Genetics, Stranger Discoveries, and One Tiny Skeleton
2w ago00:36:25Tap to summarizeWhat happens when an entire family turns blue... literally? In this Freak Family Favorites episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro revisit one of the most fascinating medical mysteries in American history: the legendary Blue People of Kentucky. Deep in the isolated hills of Appalachia, generations of the Fugate family lived with a rare genetic condition that turned their skin shades of blue ranging from pale sky to deep indigo. The story sounds like folklore, but it's completely true. Discover how a chance genetic inheritance, geographic isolation, and a remarkable medical breakthrough created one of the strangest family histories ever documented. Then, the duo travels to the blistering Atacama Desert of Chile to investigate one of the most controversial archaeological discoveries of the 21st century. A tiny six-inch humanoid skeleton with an elongated skull, unusual rib structure, and unsettlingly human features sparked worldwide claims of extraterrestrial life. Was it proof of aliens? A medical anomaly? Or something even stranger? Follow the twists, scientific investigations, DNA testing, and ethical controversies surrounding the mysterious "Atacama Skeleton" and the shocking truth researchers eventually uncovered. From blue-skinned mountain families to alien-looking desert mummies, this episode explores how reality often proves far stranger than fiction. If you love bizarre history, unexplained mysteries, strange science, medical oddities, archaeology, genetics, UFO controversies, and true stories that sound impossible, this is an episode you won't want to miss. #BoxOfOddities #BluePeopleOfKentucky #AtacamaSkeleton #MedicalMysteries #GeneticDisorders #WeirdHistory #StrangeScience #Archaeology #UFOMysteries #Appalachia #TrueOddities #FreakFamilyFavorites Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Ghosts of the Death Coach & The Woman In Stone
2w ago00:33:17Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro climb aboard one of America's most infamous haunted railroad relics: The Death Coach. After a devastating 1943 train collision near Wayland, New York, passengers who survived the impact found themselves trapped inside a railcar filled with superheated steam. The horrifying tragedy claimed dozens of lives and left behind a passenger coach that still exists today. Visitors, volunteers, and paranormal investigators claim the coach is haunted by footsteps, voices, screams, and shadowy apparitions connected to one of the most disturbing railroad disasters in American history. Then the journey takes a very different turn with the mysterious medieval carvings known as Sheela na Gigs. Found on churches, castles, and ancient structures throughout Ireland and the British Isles, these strange stone figures have puzzled historians for centuries. Were they warnings against lust? Protective symbols meant to ward off evil? Survivals of ancient fertility traditions? Or something else entirely? The answer remains one of history's most enduring mysteries. From ghostly railroad legends and historical tragedies to medieval symbolism, forgotten folklore, and the strange ways humans assign meaning to the past, this episode explores the places where history, mystery, and the unexplained collide. This Box contains: The Death Coach, haunted trains, railroad disasters, Wayland train wreck, paranormal history, ghost stories, Sheela na Gig, medieval mysteries, Irish folklore, ancient symbols, haunted locations, strange history, and unexplained phenomena. Because the world is stranger than fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Mississippi's Most Chilling Legend Was Real
2w ago00:34:03Tap to summarizeThe Mississippi River has always carried more than cargo. For generations, river workers reported a chilling sight emerging from the fog: coffins drifting silently downstream. The stories became part of Mississippi folklore, but the truth behind them may be even stranger. Floods regularly washed away riverside cemeteries, steamboat disasters scattered victims for miles, and entire communities were forced to recover the dead from the riverbanks. In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Jethro explores the real history behind the legend of the Floating Coffins of the Mississippi and the deadly world of nineteenth-century steamboat travel. Then, Kat investigates some of the longest prison sentences ever handed down in modern history. From inmates who spent more than seventy years behind bars to criminals sentenced to thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of years in prison, you'll learn why courts impose punishments that no human being could ever fully serve. The Mississippi River's floating coffins, steamboat disasters, prison sentences measured in centuries, bizarre nineteenth-century slang, and more weirdness from history await in this episode of The Box of Oddities. #BoxOfOddities #MississippiRiver #FloatingCoffins #SteamboatDisasters #RiverGhostStories #PrisonHistory #TrueCrimeHistory #WeirdHistory #AmericanFolklore #LongestPrisonSentences Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Inbox Of Oddities #90
3w ago00:23:09Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Inbox of Oddities, where the Freak Family takes over the show. This week, Kat and JG dive into a collection of hilarious, bizarre, and unexpectedly heartfelt listener stories. You'll hear about a hidden message painted beneath a bathroom floor declaring that Toby is not the Scranton Strangler, a dog-grooming boo effect involving unfortunate timing and an even more unfortunate canine gas attack, and a listener who uses a real human skull named Esther to motivate children to do their chores. The Freak Family also shares strange sandwich creations, debates the wisdom of squeeze jelly versus homemade preserves, discusses eerie stories from hospice care and apparent returns from the dead, and explores the odd psychological phenomenon of imagining what podcast hosts look like before seeing them in real life. Along the way, there are stories about haunted houses, Dorothea Puente's infamous Sacramento boarding house, hidden messages left for future generations, anglerfish romance, ghost writers becoming actual ghosts, and a surprisingly successful rhyme for "gaping flesh wound." As always, Inbox of Oddities delivers a strange mix of humor, weird history, listener oddities, accidental paranormal moments, and the wonderfully peculiar stories that make the Freak Family unlike any audience on Earth. If you enjoy unusual true stories, weird listener experiences, dark humor, paranormal curiosities, folklore, strange history, and delightfully odd human behavior, this episode is for you. The Box of Oddities is hosted by Kat and JG, celebrating the weird, the wonderful, and the unexplained one odd story at a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Ice House Deaths
3w ago00:29:08Tap to summarizeBefore refrigeration changed the world, entire communities depended on winter itself. Every year, workers ventured onto frozen lakes and rivers to harvest massive blocks of ice destined for ice houses, homes, and businesses across America. The work was brutal, dangerous, and often deadly. Men drowned beneath the ice, vanished into freezing waters, and were crushed by shifting blocks weighing hundreds of pounds. Over time, those tragedies gave rise to haunting legends of ghostly figures beneath frozen rivers, phantom footsteps in abandoned ice houses, and eerie encounters that still linger in local folklore. Then, discover one of the strangest and most heartwarming stories of World War I. Amid the mud, artillery fire, poison gas, and unimaginable hardship of trench warfare, hundreds of thousands of cats found themselves serving alongside soldiers. Some hunted rats, some reportedly provided early warning of gas attacks, and many became cherished companions who brought comfort to men living through one of history's darkest conflicts. From haunted ice harvests in Maine to feline heroes on the battlefields of Europe, this episode explores two remarkable stories where history, hardship, folklore, and unexpected companionship collide. The Box of Oddities is a podcast for those who know that the strangest stories are often the true ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Sea Monster & The Last Citizen
3w ago00:26:53Tap to summarizeFor a few strange weeks in the summer of 1817, hundreds of New Englanders gathered along the Massachusetts coast to watch something moving through the Atlantic. Experienced fishermen, ship captains, and merchants all described a massive creature unlike anything they had seen before. Some compared it to a giant serpent. Others insisted it resembled a turtle, a snake, or even a horse. More than two centuries later, the mystery of the Gloucester Sea Serpent remains one of America's most fascinating unexplained sightings. Then, journey to the tiny Nebraska village of Monowi, where one woman keeps an entire town alive. Meet Elsie Eiler—the mayor, clerk, librarian, tax collector, tavern owner, and sole resident of America's smallest incorporated community. While most ghost towns fade into history, Monowi survives through the determination of one remarkable woman who literally votes for herself in every election. From legendary sea monsters and historical mysteries to disappearing towns and extraordinary human perseverance, this episode explores two stories that prove reality is often stranger than fiction. The Box of Oddities is a podcast for the curious, the weird, and those who know that the world's most fascinating stories are often the hardest to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Inbox Of Oddities #89
4w ago00:20:02Tap to summarizeThe Freaks Take Over: Mall World Dreams, Ghostly Habits & One Last Joke from Mom This week on Inbox of Oddities, the Freak Family responds in force. Kat and Jethro dive into a flood of listener stories inspired by the mysterious phenomenon known as Mall World—those oddly familiar dream landscapes filled with changing hallways, amusement parks, empty schools, and impossible destinations. Listeners share recurring dreams, eerie coincidences, and personal theories about what these strange places might mean. Along the way, you'll hear about a thrift store discovery that triggered a childhood memory, a dream that unexpectedly quoted Shakespeare, a raccoon that returned years after being released into the wild, and a sealed box left behind by a mother who managed to deliver one final practical joke after her passing. Plus: the Great Anglerfish Debate continues, Freaks choose sides in the ongoing Team Kat vs. Team Jethro battle, and a listener describes the unsettling moment they saw a deceased neighbor standing in his usual window weeks after his funeral. Dream worlds, synchronicities, strange memories, pasture puppies, and stories that blur the line between coincidence and something more—it's another wonderfully weird collection of listener mail from the Inbox of Oddities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Graveyard Panic of 1862
4w ago00:33:06Tap to summarizeWhat happens when an entire city becomes convinced the dead are being stolen from their graves? And what if the rumor turns out to be both wrong... and horrifyingly right? In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro uncover the bizarre true story of the Wardsend Cemetery Riot of 1862, when thousands of terrified Victorians stormed a cemetery in Sheffield, England, fearing grave robbers were selling corpses to medical schools. The truth behind the scandal revealed a disturbing burial scheme, public outrage, and one of the strangest riots in British history. Then, travel from a Victorian graveyard to the freeways of Los Angeles, where a frustrated artist secretly installed his own highway sign to fix a dangerous traffic problem. For months, nobody noticed—and the unauthorized sign may have helped save lives. Was it vandalism, public service, or a brilliant act of guerrilla urban design? From resurrection men and cemetery conspiracies to stealth infrastructure and accidental civic heroism, this episode explores the strange intersection of fear, ingenuity, and the unexpected ways ordinary people can change history. The Box of Oddities is a podcast dedicated to the weird, the wonderful, and the wildly true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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