folklore The Bunny Man was a real hatchet-wielder in 1970 Virginia — but the internet turned him into something else entirely Ellsworth Toohey

Weird New Jersey has a road called Shades of Death and residents grease the sign to stop theft Ellsworth Toohey

History In 1803 a woman in a strange round vessel washed ashore in Japan Ellsworth Toohey

History How a raunchy love charm became an innocent nursery rhyme Ellsworth Toohey

History How a businessman's hunch became New Age gospel Ellsworth Toohey

History Two green-skinned children appeared in a 12th-century English village Ellsworth Toohey

mysteries 15 honey-drizzled bananas appear on a plate every month on a street corner Ellsworth Toohey

History The caganer: Catalonia's defecating nativity figure Ellsworth Toohey

History The folklore behind lone chimneys left standing in Appalachia Popkin

Science Counting sheep to fall asleep traces back to at least the 12th century Ellsworth Toohey

Japan If this masked woman asks if she's pretty, the correct answer is "average" Ellsworth Toohey

History Vermont's tilted "witch windows" were supposedly designed to stop witches Ellsworth Toohey

Culture Catalonia's Christmas tradition involves beating a log until it poops candy Ellsworth Toohey

folklore The Squonk is a creature from Appalachian folklore who cries a lot because it feels so ugly Popkin

folklore The Angel Crown: Appalachian death omen found in feather pillows Popkin

books "Weird Ireland" offers a wonderfully whimsical tour of the Emerald Isle Thom Dunn

Japan Strange statues and folklore haunt Japan's Yokai town Popkin

Delightful Creatures A handsome and rare deep sea creature washed up onto the shores of La Jolla this August Popkin

poetry Erotic Serbian folktales from the 19th century Natalie Dressed

gender Unofficial mascot not welcome at Japan's annual Iron Penis Festival Mark Frauenfelder