Japanese folklore and popular culture are fond of ghost stories, often focusing on their tragic, melodramatic aspects. There is even a "big three" of Japanese ghost stories, which always includes Yotsuya Kaidan and Banchō Sarayashiki, while the third place usually goes to either Botan Dōrō or Kasane-ga-fuchi. With the exception of Botan Dōrō, which...

This story was originally published on SAPIENS and appears here with permission under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license. As recently as a few decades ago in the Western world, stars dazzled humans with their brightness and the Milky Way could be seen spanning the far reaches of the heavens as night deepened into an unspeakable darkness. In the 21st century,...

Named after Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, the first European to discover the Mississippi River, the DeSoto House opened in 1855 at a time of economic boom in Galena, Illinois. It billed itself “the largest hotel in the west.”   During its heyday, the red brick building served as a bustling home base for the many prospectors who came to strike...

From haunted dolls and funeral home artifacts to religious relics, Ouija boards, and strange sideshow items, all things bizarre fill the shelves of the American Oddities Museum. Located in the Mineral Springs Hotel, in the small (and, according to some, haunted) town of Alton, Illinois, the kitschy museum opened in the 1990s. It was originally dedicated...

The River Fleet, which ran from Hamstead in north central London into the River Thames near where Blackfriars Bridge now stands, was considered for centuries to be a disgusting waterway filled with sewage and garbage, including a substantial amount of waste from the butchers based at Smithfield Market. Consequently, in the mid-19th century, major efforts...

Tucked away in the charming town of Rabenau, the Deutsches Stuhlbaumuseum (German Chair Making Museum) is a hidden gem that celebrates the age-old craft of making chairs. Imagine stepping into a world where chairs aren’t just furniture, but works of art that tell a story. Rabenau, which is located just southwest of Dresden, has been producing wooden...