WEIRD, WEIRD WORLD

WOMAN DEVOURED BY HER OWN PIGS
February 8, 2019

A Russian farmer who may have suffered an epileptic seizure and collapsed into her pig pen was eaten by her pigs, according to reports citing Russian media.

The woman, 56, was feeding the animals in a village in the central Russian region of Udmurtia when she fainted and fell into the pig pen, the BBC reported.

She reportedly died of blood loss.

The husband went to bed early the day before her death, because he was not feeling well, but he awoke to find his wife missing, the report said.

He then discovered her body in the pen.

An investigation into the incident has been launched, the UK’s Evening Standard reported.

The couple’s farm is in a village in the Malopurginsky district of Udmurtia, according to the BBC.

[SOURCE: Fox News.]

WIFE LIVES WITH MURDERED HUSBAND'S BODY PARTS FOR WEEKS
February 9, 2019

A woman who authorities say killed her husband and dismembered his body has been sentenced in an Ohio courtroom to at least 20 years in prison.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports 50-year-old Marcia Eubank, of Coventry Township, pleaded guilty to murder, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse charges in December. Eubank was sentenced Friday in Akron.

Prosecutors say she shot 54-year-old Howard Eubank during a domestic dispute in June 2017, used power and hand tools to cut up his body, and placed his remains in storage containers. The couple’s adult son found one of the containers the following December.

Family and neighbors thought Howard Eubank was driving a truck in Texas during those months.

A defense attorney said Eubank was physically and mentally abused by her husband.

[SOURCE: New York Post.]

MAN CRASHES CAR, BLAMES ALIENS
February 8, 2019

Authorities responding to a van rollover in California received an out-of-this-world explanation for the accident from the driver: aliens were to blame. The weird incident reportedly took place on Wednesday afternoon when a man cruising along Highway 18 in a mountainous area of San Bernardino saw his van flip over and land on the side of the road. He subsequently called 911 to report the accident and insisted to the dispatcher that it had been caused by extraterrestrials.

According to California highway patrol officers who arrived on the scene, the unnamed driver became argumentative with both the police as well as other motorists who had stopped to check out the strange scene. This, of course, is entirely understandable if his story of being pushed off the road by, presumably, a UFO is to be believed. While one might think that the man's ET tale is an indication that he may have possibly been impaired, that would appear not to be the case as he was not taken into custody nor cited for the accident.

[SOURCE: Coast 2 Coast AM.]

RAT-LIKE ANIMALS INVADE NEW ZEALAND KITCHEN
February 6, 2019

An odd piece of footage out of New Zealand allegedly shows some truly nightmarish mystery creatures allegedly found crawling around on a kitchen floor. The creepy discovery was reportedly revealed by an Auckland resident named Tim Clerke who claims that his mother spotted the weird bug-like beasties in her home. Curious as to what they may have been, the young man bravely picked some up in order to film them and posted the footage to Facebook.

In the video, four of the strange creatures, which seem to be almost furry or fuzzy, sit in the palm of Clerke's hand and one appears to still be alive as it twitches what we assume is its tail. As you can imagine, the footage sent shivers down the spines of the young man's friends on social media as no one could quite figure out what the oddities were, but the fact that they were extremely unnerving seemed to be beyond debate.

An attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery by a local media outlet proved to only further complicate matters as both the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum conceded that they were uncertain as to the nature of the creatures. Meanwhile, insect experts at Biosecurity New Zealand theorized that Clerke had found the detached legs of a moth that had presumably fallen victim to a cat or other household predator. Adding some additional intrigue to the video, the University of Auckland simply declared the video a hoax.

And another possibility put forward by an expert at the New Zealand Department of Conservation is that Clerke had encountered a rat-tailed maggot, which is a creature that found similar viral fame last summer when a horrified witness filmed the unnerving larvae in the United Kingdom.

[SOURCE: Coast 2 Coast AM.]

MAN SHARES OAK ISLAND ARTIFACTS
February 4, 2019

A Canadian man who owns a parcel of land on Nova Scotia's famed Oak Island has launched a new website which showcases the various artifacts that he has found on his property. The fairly small island has become world famous thanks to speculation that it contains a hidden treasure. Currently the subject of a hit TV series, Oak Island has yet to yield any riches despite being subjected to countless treasure hunting attempts, including one decade-long search of one particular spot at the site.

Back in 1996, Robert Young was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a piece of land on the island with the intention of pursuing the purported horde that some believe could have been hidden there by the Knights Templar. Armed with a treasure hunting license from the Canadian government, he spent ten years scouring his land on Oak Island looking for the lost loot. Young subsequently ended his hunt about ten years ago when renewing the paperwork would have subjected the property to possibly deleterious new regulations.

While he never found the long-sought-after treasure on Oak Island, Young did manage to unearth a number of curious objects over the course his searching, including a Spanish coin from 1851 and an ornate badge featuring cricket bats. Taken together, the pieces provide a glimpse into the various groups of people who visited the island in the distant past before the location became legendary for its alleged lost treasure. And, beyond their historic value, the artifacts just might provide some kind of clue as to who may have hidden the treasure, if it really exists, in the first place.

[SOURCE: Coast 2 Coast AM.]

GÖBEKLI TEPE SITE OF SKULL CULT
A new discovery at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey sheds some light on what the structure’s purpose might have been.
June 29, 2017

AT GÖBEKLI TEPE, AN ANCIENT site in southern Turkey, archaeologists have been digging and discovering things for years. First excavated by a German archaeologist in 1996, it was built around 12,000 years ago, possibly as some kind of a holy site, though until recently, archaeologists weren’t entirely sure.

But new research published Wednesday in Science Advances sheds some light on what the structure’s purpose might have been: to display skulls for a skull cult.

Archaeologists use “skull cult” to describe prehistoric peoples who venerated skulls to the point of worship, indicated most frequently by modified skulls left in their wake. Archaeologists recently found three such skulls at Göbekli Tepe, each bearing incisions along the sagittal axes of the head, or lengthwise down the center between one’s ears.

“Because no signs of healing could be detected, modifications were probably performed shortly after death,” the authors write in the study.

So what was the point? The authors float two theories, one of which—simple veneration of the dead—seems plausible. The other, though, is a bit more heavy metal.

The skulls could’ve been associated with, they write, “the display of dispatched enemies through either active ‘branding’ of individuals or functional modification of the skull for display.” It might’ve been a way to make them stand out among other skulls at the site, in other words, or just a way to attach them to something for an exhibit. Not unlike in a museum.

[SOURCE: Altas Obscura.]