For the 100th anniversary of the Macy's Parade, we are looking at the chaos energy that has always animated this... more

This episode will give some context for our upcoming episode about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, its unbelievable chaotic origins... more

Perry Carpenter is the author of the new book FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes,... more

This episode was originally released right before the 2020 presidential election and is even more relevant as we face the... more

In the 19th century, America and Europe experienced a panic over premature burial, believing that anyone could be accidentally declared... more

This is a preview for "Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder." On April 22, 1987, 52-year-old Ruthie... more

'Buried Alive,' our upcoming Halloween special, looks at the American fear and fascination with premature burial. We'll explore the panic... more

What could possibly go wrong when two skeptical podcasters try to summon a ghost? Join Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong... more

Today Sarah Marshall transports us to the old world of British Hysteria to reveal the mysterious story of the Enfield... more

Generation Alpha has made the uncanny, creepy, and chaotic YouTube series 'Skibidi Toilet' into a viral YouTube sensation, so much... more

The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. On this new... more

Our upcoming episode is about the massively successful and deeply uncanny YouTube series Skibidi Toilet, the first content that Generation... more

Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika is a Peabody Award-winning audio journalist and an assistant professor of journalism at New York University. His... more

Brittany Spanos is a senior writer for Rolling Stone Magazine who has taught a course at NYU called Topics in... more

The life of the conspiracy theory that claims Elvis Presley faked his death is an almost unbelievable journey through gimmick-crazy... more

The idea that Elvis Presley did not die in August of 1977, that he instead faked his death, has become... more

Our paranormal correspondent Jim Perry is back to tell us about his recent ghost hunt inside the Queen Mary ship,... more

For part two of our series, we are returning to the phenomenon called 'Tarantism' that began in the Middle Ages... more

The phenomenon called 'Tarantism' began in the Middle Ages in southern Italy where the bite of a local spider caused... more

Rod Crawford is the curator of the arachnids and related research collections at Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.... more

For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are dissecting the myth that the average person swallows a certain number of... more

This is an update on the new developments surrounding one of my favorite movies of all time, The Blair Witch... more

For this episode, the hosts of the new podcast Pretendians, Robert Jago and Angel Ellis, explain Indigenous Identity Fraud, the... more

Fur and Loathing is a new investigative podcast from Nicky Woolf about an unsolved 2014 chlorine gas attack on the... more

Reporter and Radiolab producer Matthew Kielty and musician Chad Matheny (AKA Emperor X) were both part of a 2014 episode... more

How do we warn people 10,000 years in the future about nuclear waste sites that will remain extremely dangerous for... more

For some context for our upcoming series that we have not yet revealed, we will revisit excerpts from our past... more

Amanda Montell is the host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult as well as the author of the new... more

Sarah Marshall joins me to chat about how, in 1968, one unsuspecting young woman’s bustline almost caused a stock market... more

In the late 1950s, an organization known as SINA started a campaign with the mission of clothing naked animals for... more

Journalist and author Tom Risen is here to tell me about some of the real conspiracies that the CIA and... more

John O'Connor is the author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, a cross-country... more

For the second part of this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are continuing to explore various tall tales of ruthless... more

For this Urban Legends Hotline episode, we are answering a listener message about a story of street gangs initiating wannabes... more

'Gang Initiations' is the topic of our upcoming series, and this episode will provide extra context using excerpts from three... more

Live at SF Sketchfest, Sarah Marshall tells me about the urban-legendary alligators in the sewers of New York City. But... more

Today I'm joined by paranormal corespondent Jim Perry of the podcast Euphomet and Sapphire Sandalo of the podcast Stories With... more

In this episode I tell podcaster Sarah Marshall a truly wild story I uncovered about the first recognized case of... more

Pop culture correspondent and major Pro Wrestling fan BJ Colangelo and I discuss the quirky history of this manly soap... more

Author of the book Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, historian Wendy Woloson joins me to discuss the... more

The novelty pets known as Sea Monkeys have delighted and disappointed millions of American children since they were first marketed... more

This is a rerelease of last year's holiday special! Find our new merch at americanhysteria.com/merch They usually go something like this:... more

This is a story from a recent episode of our exclusive Patreon/Apple + talk show Hysteria Home Companion, where producer... more

(explicit content warning) This *Urban Legends Hotline* episode dives deep into the viral myth that 90s shock rocker Marilyn Manson... more

To celebrate five long years of American Hysteria, our producer Miranda Zickler interviews Chelsey about the origins of the podcast... more

For our very special two-part Halloween conversation, Sarah Marshall and I are going to be sharing the less serious things... more

Home Depot's 12 ft. Skeleton decoration first premiered in the fall of 2020 and sold out immediately, the nationwide obsession... more

Our Halloween special will cover the 12 ft. Skeleton craze and the history of skeleton decorations in America. This episode... more

Please enjoy this rewind of last year's Halloween special called Haunted Dolls. Coming up next week we'll start our Halloween... more

Justin McHenry, author of the forthcoming book Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place, tells me an expansive tale... more

To unpack the movie trope of the Murderous Man in a Dress, prolific horror film analysts and writers BJ and... more

For part two of our series, we are starting in the anti-gay moral panic of the 50s and 60s to... more

This series will cover the moral panics and cultural crazes that have long followed the controversial art form once called... more

Our upcoming series, Early Drag Queens, will cover the surprising relationship between "female impersonation" and American masculinity in the time... more

As the social media and the news got word of the new cases of leprosy found in Florida, a slew... more

BJ Colangelo is an editor at Slash Film and the writer of “The Only Guide To Barbie Lore You Will... more

This is a collaborative look at the panics around Furby with the podcast Unspookable, a show much like ours that... more

Jamie Loftus is the author of the recent New York Times bestselling book 'Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot... more

*Urban Legends Hotline* The inbred cannibal pig people who are said to inhabit Pig Hill in Meadville, PA attack teenagers... more

Harmony Colangelo is one of the hosts of This Ends at Prom, a podcast that analyzes coming of age teen... more

In the year 2000, a group of rowdy skateboarders and loosely defined "performers" came to MTV with a pitch that... more

This episode will give context for our upcoming series on Jackass, an early reality show starring a group of skateboarders... more

Blake Pfeil is the host of 'abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast,' a multimedia travelogue exploring abandoned spaces across the United... more

*Urban Legends Hotline* Lauren's story: On a rural road outside Chicago, the ghosts of children killed in a school bus-train... more

For part two of my conversation with Sarah, I finish telling her about a satanic panic era "memoir" published by... more

Over the next two episodes, I tell Sarah the story of another one of Jack Chick's occult experts using his... more

Who was Jack Chick, really? For the final episode in our series we will explore his childhood, his time in... more

An ex-druid grand priest for the illuminati, an undercover Jesuit agent of destruction, a woman married to the devil, and... more

Cartoons of satanic witch cults, Illuminati world domination, demonic homosexuals, and the pressing choice of hell or salvation were the... more

Chick Tracts, what are they? You'll find out in our upcoming three-part series that covers a fundamentalist comic artist who... more

Are we being invaded?? I sure thought so. Today we are talking quite animatedly to our official paranormal correspondent Jim... more

In 2014, an urban legend formed around a cartoon cat chatbot when rumors spread across social media that a child... more

For this episode we chat about the sensational tales of cyberspace, from Slenderman to the Momo suicide game, with the... more

Nope, it's not an urban legend! Today we are talking to journalist and filmmaker Robin Washington who, like a huge... more

In 1974, running naked in public became a major fad led by students on college campuses across the nation. This... more

This episode will give context for our upcoming topic called The Streaking Craze using excerpts from previous shows including: Terrorism Pt.... more

Tickle Me Elmo, Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pokemon cards. These trendy toys all inspired parental parking lot brawls and... more

Because so many Hallmark writers and directors also make horror movies, I called in podcasters Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed... more

They usually go something like this: A cranky career woman from the big city who has lost the true meaning... more

This episode gives context to our upcoming series on Hallmark Christmas Movies using excerpts from previous topics including The War... more

Colin Dickey is one of American Hysteria's biggest influences—our episodes called Talking to the Dead and Alien Abductions relied on... more

Paranormal podcast host (and major buddy) Jim Perry of Euphomet returns to discuss a couple of the many experiences that... more

Featuring poems, fiction, nonfiction, AND A GROUP SONG with work by Sarah Marshall (You're Wrong About, You Are Good), Alex... more

Here’s a preview from a podcast that's right up your dark alley! On Cautionary Tales, bestselling author Tim Harford finds... more

We'll see how possessed playthings have crept their way into the dark attic of America: Thomas Edison's little monsters, a... more

To get you ready for our upcoming episode called Haunted Dolls, we have selected some excerpts on Furby urban legends,... more

Our most classic American urban legend is back with a vengeance, promising to ruin Halloween yet again. With an updated... more

To get an extended director's cut of this episode, become a patron: patreon.com/americanhysteria For this Halloween Party, we are joined by... more

Not unlike the bubble markets of Beanie Babies and Cryptocurrency, the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s was a chaotic... more

The Florida Man meme, with its bizarre crime headlines and mugshots, has become one of our most popular and long-lasting... more