In 2004, lawmakers touring Oregon State Hospital found roughly 3,500 copper canisters of unclaimed ashes in a forgotten building. This episode walks through the documented history behind the hospital's ghost stories, from the 1883 opening to the discovery of the canisters, and separates the facts from the folklore.

SOURCES

Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health (oshmuseum.org) Perceptive Travel, "Compassionate Education Versus Dark Tourism at an Oregon Mental Hospital" Oregonian reporting on the 2004 canister discovery NBC News coverage of the remains and family reunification UPI Archives, 1983 obituary of the man involved in the 1942 poisoning

In 1949, the U.S. government secretly released the largest single dose of radioactive iodine in Hanford's history over Washington and Oregon — and classified it for 37 years. This episode traces the Cold War panic that caused it, exactly where it happened along Highway 240, and the decades-long fight for accountability that followed. #Hanford #GreenRun #TrueCrime #PacificNorthwest

SOURCED REFERENCES

- U.S. Department of Energy, "The Green Run" (Hanford.gov / energy.gov article, updated 2023)

- National Park Service, Manhattan Project National Historical Park — "The Green Run"

- Eastern Washington University Archives, "The Green Run" exhibit, Hanford Nuclear Historic Park Stories

- Wikipedia, "Green Run" (cross-check only — verify against primary sources above before recording)

- Hanford Health Information Network / Technical Steering Panel, Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project (NCBI Bookshelf)

- Associated Press via KOMO News, "Massive Hanford downwinders case is closing"

- Grist.org, coverage of 9th Circuit downwinders appeal

- Undark / Cancer Health, book review of "The Hanford Plaintiffs" by Trisha Pritikin

- Atomic Heritage Foundation / National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, "Hanford Downwinders' Struggle for Justice"

- Washington State Route 240 / Hanford Site geography: Wikipedia, WSDOT route descriptions, AARoads guide

In August 1951, the town of Pont-Saint-Esprit, France was overtaken by a wave of hallucinations, delirium, and death. This episode walks through the outbreak, the investigation, and the theories that still compete to explain it. Sources listed below.

1. Gabbai, Lisbonne & Pourquier, "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit," British Medical Journal, 15 Sept 1951, 2(4732):650-651. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2069953

2. Steven L. Kaplan, Le Pain Maudit: Retour sur la France des années oubliées, 1945-1958 (Fayard, 2008).

3. Hank P. Albarelli Jr., A Terrible Mistake (2009).

4. Mike Thomson, "Pont-Saint-Esprit poisoning: Did the CIA spread LSD?", BBC News, 23 Aug 2010. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10996838

5. Christophe Josset, "Did the CIA poison a French town with LSD?", France 24, 11 Mar 2010.

6. Mental Floss, "When the French Village of Pont-Saint-Esprit Went Temporarily Mad," 2018.

7. John G. Fuller, The Day of St. Anthony's Fire (1968).

8. Wikipedia, "1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning."

There's a legend in northeastern Oregon that's been told for well over a hundred years: something lives in Wallowa Lake, and it isn't a fish.

In this episode, we trace the full story of Wally, the Wallowa Lake Monster — starting with the Nez Perce origin legend of Wahluna and Tlesca, through the first documented sighting in 1885, decades of eyewitness reports into the 1940s, 50s, and 80s, and the scientific theories (sturgeon, surviving plesiosaurs, oversized crustaceans) that still haven't closed the book on what people are seeing in that lake.

Sources for this episode:

1. Cryptid Wiki (Fandom) — "Wallowa Lake Monster" — https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Wallowa_Lake_Monster

2. Creatures Unknown podcast, Episode 39: "Wallowa Lake Monster" — iHeart — https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-creatures-unknown-178712913/episode/episode-39-wallowa-lake-monster-273910861/

3. Oregon Genealogy — "Wallowa Lake Monster, Wallowa County, Oregon" (historical account) — https://www.oregongenealogy.com/wallowa/womack/monster.htm

4. Mythical Encyclopedia — "Wallowa Lake Monster" — https://mythicalencyclopedia.com/wallowa-lake-monster/

5. The Pine Barrens Institute — "Cryptid Profile: Big Wally" — https://pinebarrensinstitute.com/cryptids/2018/8/18/quick-cryptid-snippet-big-wally-aka-the-wallowa-lake-monster

6. Memoriam Development Podcast — "138 - The Wallowa Lake Monster" — https://memoriamdevelopment.com/podcast/138-the-wallowa-lake-monster/

7. Vamzzz Blog — "The Wallowa Lake Monster of Wallowa Lake in Oregon"

https://vamzzz.com/blog/wallowa-lake-monster/

8. Folk Bestiary — "Oregon Cryptids and Folklore" (citing Wallowa County Chieftain reporting) — https://folkbestiary.com/oregon/

#WallowaLakeMonster #Cryptids #OregonFolklore #LakeMonster #Wally #PacificNorthwestLegends

In September 1982, Sylvia Heitstuman — a mother of six from La Grande, Oregon — vanished while walking her dog along Morgan Lake Road. Five days later, a massive search effort found her body in a nearby stream. She had been shot, but harsh weather conditions destroyed nearly all the forensic evidence at the scene.

More than 40 years later, no one has ever been arrested. In this episode, we trace the disappearance, the search, the investigation's frustrating dead ends, and the ongoing effort by La Grande Police's cold case unit — including a recently age-enhanced composite sketch — to finally bring answers to Sylvia's family.

📌 If you have information related to this case, contact the La Grande Police cold case team: 541-963-1017 / jclever@union-county.org

#TrueCrime #ColdCase #Oregon #UnsolvedMystery

What happens when the wilderness takes hours instead of a life? This episode traces documented “lost time” accounts — the Missing 411 archive, over a century of consistent reports from Ben MacDhui in Scotland, and a 2008 Hocking Hills account where daylight collapsed into near-darkness in minutes. We weigh the science (hypothermia, altitude, infrasound) against folklore that’s been telling this same story for centuries. Sources below.

Missing 411

• Skeptical Inquirer, “An Investigation of the Missing411 Conspiracy” — https://skepticalinquirer.org/2017/07/an-investigation-of-the-missing411-conspiracy/

• Skeptical Inquirer, “Assessing the Missing 411 Conspiracy Theory: A Conversation with Data Skeptic Kyle Polich” — https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/assessing-the-missing-411-conspiracy-theory-a-conversation-with-data-skeptic-kyle-polich/

• Unexplained Sightings, “Missing 411: Paulides’ National Park Cases” — https://unexplainedsightings.com/missing-411-paulides/

The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui

• Spooky Isles, “What Is The Monstrous Big Grey Man Of Ben Mac Dhui?” — https://www.spookyisles.com/big-grey-man-ben-macdhui/

• Icy Sedgwick, “Who is the Grey Man of Ben Macdui?” — https://www.icysedgwick.com/grey-man-of-ben-macdui/

• Spooky Scotland, “Grey Man of Ben Macdhui” — https://spookyscotland.net/grey-man-of-ben-macdhui/

• ShukerNature, “The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui” — https://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-big-grey-man-of-ben-macdhui.html

• Connect Paranormal Blog, “The Enigmatic Big Grey Man of Scotland” — https://connectparanormal.net/2026/02/10/the-enigmatic-big-grey-man-of-scotland/

Hocking Hills time slip account

• “Curious TIME SLIP Experience Reported in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio” (account originally shared via Expanded Perspectives) — https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/23895575-curious-time-slip-experience-reported-in-hocking-hills-state-park-ohio

The Spooky Isles, Icy Sedgwick, and Spooky Scotland pages tell overlapping versions of the same Ben MacDhui accounts

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Warren Forrest was convicted of murder in 1978 — and for decades, that was treated as the end of his story. It wasn't.

This episode covers the 2015 identification of a second victim, Martha Morrison, and the 2023 DNA breakthrough that finally connected Forrest to her murder nearly 50 years after she disappeared. We also cover the cases that remain unsolved and actively under investigation by Clark County's cold case unit: Carol Valenzuela, Jamie Grissim, and Barbara Derry.

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. If you haven't seen Part 1, start there for the full story of Forrest's early crimes and 1974 arrest.

If you have information related to any of these cases, contact the Clark County Sheriff's Office cold case tip line — 564-397-2036

SOURCES

- The Columbian — "Survivor recalls night of terror" (2014)

- The Columbian — "Clark County jury finds Warren Forrest guilty in 1974 murder" (Feb 2023)

- KATU — "Cold case team says Warren Forrest may be tied to seven deaths in Clark County" (Feb 2026)

- Wikipedia: Warren Forrest

- Grokipedia: Warren Forrest (cross-referenced for court record details)

- KSL Podcasts — "Stolen Voices of Dole Valley" (episode descriptions, for factual cross-referencing only — not a source of quoted material)

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Today on Twisted Mysteries... Warren Forrest worked for the Clark County, Washington Parks Department. He was married, had two daughters, and by most accounts was unremarkable — which is exactly how he was able to move through his community for years while young women went missing.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series covering the case of Warren Forrest: his early life, the suspected early victims, the 1974 murders of Krista Blake and Martha Morrison, and the survivor whose escape from Lacamas Lake led to his arrest.

Part 2 is available Monday, 8/24, covering the 1978 trial, the decades of unresolved suspicion, and the 2023 DNA breakthrough that finally connected Forrest to a second murder.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.

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Sources for this episode:

- The Columbian — "Survivor recalls night of terror" (2014)

- The Columbian — "Clark County jury finds Warren Forrest guilty in 1974 murder" (Feb 2023)

- KATU — "Cold case team says Warren Forrest may be tied to seven deaths in Clark County" (Feb 2026)

- Wikipedia: Warren Forrest

- Grokipedia: Warren Forrest (cross-referenced for court record details)

- KSL Podcasts — "Stolen Voices of Dole Valley" (episode descriptions, for factual cross-referencing only — not a source of quoted material)