Why do horror stories often feature mysterious relics that often have information encoded in them, such as accursed old books, runes, etc.? What kinds of anxieties is this trope meant to express?
[more inside]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur
on Apr 4, 2013 -
34 answers
The dark months are approaching: it's late October and it's time to be scared, but not by your typical Halloween spooks and haunts. Help me discover all that's disconcerting and downright disquieting online (and possibly off).
[more inside]
posted by item
on Oct 24, 2012 -
26 answers
What are the mysterious, apparently non-sensical, religious-sounding words that are appearing as small white text on white background on Craigslist car+truck ads across several cities?
[more inside]
posted by Extopalopaketle
on Oct 10, 2011 -
3 answers
This iPhone app made it into the top ten grossing productivity apps list on iTunes for a day. It appears to be an app that shows text in various fonts on background colors of the user's choosing.
What am I not getting here? How is this worth $170?
[more inside]
posted by ignignokt
on Jun 29, 2011 -
17 answers
When I was a teenager in the 1980's, I noticed that if I turned the radio dial on my FM radio all the way to the end, I picked up this weird transmission of repeating tones.
[more inside]
posted by smoothvirus
on Jul 23, 2010 -
12 answers
Is this old print/painting we've found worth anything? How might I find out?
[more inside]
posted by geodave
on Jun 14, 2010 -
6 answers
My MacBook's keyboard mysteriously changed to Dvorak! How can I tell if someone messed with my computer?
[more inside]
posted by k.
on Mar 19, 2010 -
8 answers
I have a lead medallion (about 150mm dia) which has the following inscription : side #1 ESAVO MC SM [] SORDCMPUAESE {picture of a pikeman} SV side#2 PCM POMEVSAVSEBVCIM * 1309 * {picture of a king} ED The A/R and U/V are a bit interchangable and the last M has three loops.
Please find some scans here If anyone could translate or tell me more about it I would be very grateful.
All the best
Dren
posted by Dren
on Feb 21, 2010 -
7 answers
Tell me some scary and/or mysterious things that are local to your area, but not necessarily well-known to the rest of the world.
[more inside]
posted by amyms
on Sep 30, 2009 -
65 answers
I'm looking for fictional stories (books, movies, short stories, plays, comic books, TV shows, etc) which involve a search for the identity of a mysterious person.
[more inside]
posted by lockedroomguy
on Nov 3, 2008 -
41 answers
Some program on my new computer automatically makes a sound that kind of sounds like a broom sweeping every few minutes.
[more inside]
posted by andrewzipp
on Sep 5, 2007 -
8 answers
Mysterious bangkok street photos.
I was recently in Bangkok and took, on my camera phone,
two photos (one in focus one not).
Could anyone explain/wildly speculate what occured to create this scene? ie. What the ball is and why was it steaming/smoking? What is the sandy stuff on the floor? How did it come to crush a motorbike?
[more inside]
posted by selton
on Jun 1, 2007 -
10 answers
Someone I know is getting multiple phone calls per day to their cell phone from an unlisted "Private Number" (so says the cell screen). The caller hangs up after about 10 seconds without saying anything. Nothing can be heard in the background, except possibly a rustling sound. Because of the nonresponse, it is unclear whether a human is making the call or if it is somehow automated.
[more inside]
posted by _sirmissalot_
on Jul 24, 2005 -
20 answers
There's a funny smell in our hallway. It smells like fish. Mainly fish, almost coppery, but definitely fish-like. Our hallway is not much wider than the door, and 4 or 5 feet long. There is an entrance to the attic, a radiator, a rug, and our phone in there. It's not the rug. It's not the radiator. It's not the attic. It's not the phone.
[more inside]
posted by ralphyk
on May 29, 2005 -
15 answers
