If you landed here expecting a warm welcome, gentle encouragement, or a safe space for your delicate feelings, keep clicking. We’re fresh out. My name is Thurston Mabeus Penwick III, and I have taken it upon myself — alone, apparently — to be the last, best line of defense between humanity and the rising tidal … Read more
Somewhere near Sparrow’s Hollow, Massachusetts, wedged between an abandoned corn maze and a souvenir stand that only sells dreamcatchers and beef jerky, you’ll find the Smooching Stone. According to legend — and a very enthusiastic handwritten sign — anyone who kisses the stone will be “blessed with eternal love, lifelong luck, and possibly spiritual enlightenment, … Read more
Somewhere in the misty foothills of questionably named Mystic Valley, you’ll find the Crystal Caverns Healing Grotto — a site proudly advertised as “a rare confluence of natural energies, sacred vibrations, and ancient cosmic alignments.” What it actually offers is a damp cave, a thinly veiled gift shop, and an excellent opportunity to question your … Read more
If you ever find yourself driving through the wooded hills of eastern nowhere and spot a hand-painted sign for the Whispering Pines Haunted Hotel— keep driving. Especially if the sign welcomes you to “Stay If You Dare.” Not dissuaded? Fine, but temper your expectations. The only thing you’re likely to encounter is peeling wallpaper, passive-aggressive … Read more
There are many ways to spend a weekend. You could take a nap. You could clean your gutters. You could alphabetize your spice rack. Or, if you hate yourself and have an extra $500 burning a hole in your pocket, you could attend something like The Ascension Gathering, a weekend festival devoted to raising your … Read more
Small towns love their ghost walks. It’s tourism gold: a handful of half-remembered tragedies, a few atmospheric alleys, and a tour guide in a polyester cloak dramatically whispering about restless spirits while secretly checking the time on their phone. Hollow Hill’s offering promised an “authentic paranormal experience,” featuring “chilling tales,” “real haunted sites,” and “verified … Read more
There are museums you visit because they house the treasures of human civilization. Then there are museums you visit because you made a series of bad life choices and now you’re standing under a flickering “OPEN” sign, questioning everything. The Museum of Mystical Oddities is housed in a former discount mattress store. You can still … Read more
If you ever want to understand human optimism at its worst, visit a “haunted” lighthouse on a foggy afternoon. Specifically, visit The Broken Lantern Lighthouse — proudly advertised as “The Most Active Paranormal Site on the Coast” by a town whose tourism slogan might as well be “We’re Still Here!” The Broken Lantern dates back … Read more
Cemetery ghost tours have a certain morbid charm, in theory. The promise of tragic love stories, unsolved mysteries, shadowy figures lurking just beyond the flicker of a lantern — it’s all very atmospheric if you squint hard enough and forget that ninety percent of cemetery ghost tours take place in cemeteries where the only spirits … Read more
There are many ways to suffer for one’s craft. Some men trek through the Amazon. Some freeze in Antarctic tundra. I, however, took on an assignment far more harrowing: spending the night aboard the HMS Perseverance, a rotting, listing corpse of a ship whose greatest supernatural feat to date is continuing to pass safety inspections … Read more