Structured archive

Case Files

Sourced and structured entries for strange reports, historical puzzles, folklore, hoaxes and anomalies.

Structured case files40 entries
The Shroud of Turin: An Evidence Problem Wrapped as a Relic feature image

Anomalous Science & Fringe Claims

The Shroud of Turin: An Evidence Problem Wrapped as a Relic

The Shroud of Turin is valuable to the archive because it forces every question about provenance, authentication and interpretation into the same room.

disputedpublicTurin, ItalyDocumented from the 14th century; later scientific tests
The Bennington Triangle: Missing People, Missing Context feature image

Strange History

The Bennington Triangle: Missing People, Missing Context

The Bennington Triangle is less a single event than a regional pattern built from disappearances, local lore and the human need to connect coincidences.

uncertainpublicSouthwestern Vermont1945-1950 and later retellings
The Fiji Mermaid: A Fake That Made Barnum Famous feature image

Hoaxes & Debunks

The Fiji Mermaid: A Fake That Made Barnum Famous

The Feejee Mermaid became an object lesson in showmanship because the hoax was never just the object; it was the lecture around it.

hoaxpublicNew York and international exhibition circuitsPromoted in the 1840s; earlier object tradition