How a fictional missing girl led to a massive police search that terrified a community. My recent article takes a closer look at a recent child abduction rumor and panic in England... A mother recently claimed in a Facebook post that an eight-year-old girl had...
Folklore
Squaring the Strange #99: Movie Curses!
Squaring the Strange time! Join us for a deep dive into some popular movies of the past few decades and their associated curses . . . some that are due to genuinely tragic or strangely coincidental circumstances, others that have been a bit cultivated by those wishing...
Squaring the Strange: The Chase Vault Mystery
Squaring the Strange is out! This episode is a walk-through of my investigation into the facts, theories, and folklore of a mysterious burial vault on Barbados. Due to strange natural phenomenon, ghosts, or a curse, the dead are said to not be able to rest within its...
My appearance on Swedish Radio: Scary and Hospital Clowns!
I recently appeared on Swedish Radio with Johan Bergendorff talking about scary clowns and hospital clowns. You can listen to the interview here, though understanding Swedish will help a lot... You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin...
Quoted in a History Article on Lucky Rabbits Feet!
This is cool: I'm quoted in a new article about luck and rabbit's feet--which of course weren't lucky for the rabbit! You can read it HERE. You can find more on me and my work with a search for "Benjamin Radford" (not "Ben Radford") on Vimeo,...
Why Chupacabra Reports Only Go Back To 1995
I recently came across a blog by a fellow cryptozoology writer, Nick Redfern, which began with a well-deserved rant about armchair debunkers. The shabby state of research into Fortean topics is widely acknowledged by skeptics—and some “believers” (for lack of a better...
Squaring the Strange: Organ Theft Urban Legends
The new episode of Squaring the Strange is about organ theft urban legends, a favorite subject of mine. Richard Saunders of The Skeptic Zone joins us to discuss organ theft tales! The notion of waking up one day without a few organs, the biological equivalent of being...
94 Rock Morning Show Podcast!
I was on the 94 Rock Morning Show and we talked about a wide variety of things, ranging from social media fake news to Bigfoot sex. If for some reason you want to hear it, it's here (don't worry, you can listen anonymously, we won't judge):
Guest Appearance on ‘Destination Unknown’
I was recently in Puerto Rico shooting an episode of “Expedition Unknown.” I can’t give many details before the show airs, but here’s a photo of me with host Josh Gates interviewing an eyewitness to something weird....
Aladdin’s Genie–and its Jinn Origins
My new CFI blog is out! I take a brief look at the folklore behind the genie in 'Aladdin,' and explain how Disney's "genies" came from Arabic "jinn." With the much-hyped release of the new version of Disney’s Aladdin, I thought it would be interesting to take a...