“People were running up the aisles and into the lobby, some of them making it out to the street before vomiting, while others did it en route. […] Worse, a few reportedly had heart attacks, and one woman had a miscarriage.” How many of those reports of people who got sick or worse while watching The Exorcist were genuine? And 50 years later, can informants be trusted not to misremember or exaggerate?
https://nypost.com/2023/08/12/original-audience-reaction-to-the-exorcist-was-off-the-charts/
New York Post, 12 August 2023
The original audience reaction to ‘The Exorcist’ was off the charts
=========
“False claims about the deadly wildfires in Hawaii - including that shadowy forces orchestrated the disaster with a laser beam - have gained traction online.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66457091
BBC News, 14 August 2023
Hawaii wildfires: 'Directed energy weapon' and other false claims go viral
=========
“BEYONCÉ has her own loo seats flown out to each destination of her world tour. The superstar’s team has to ensure that she never sits on one that has previously used by anybody else. And our exclusive photographs from backstage show one container — part of her huge luggage haul ferried around to every concert — labelled ‘Beyoncé . . . toilet seats’.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/23334065/beyonce-toilet-seats-demands-tour/
The Sun [UK], 3 August 2023
CRAZY IN LAV Beyonce pays thousands to fly toilet seats around the world so she never has to sit on a used one
https://www.tmz.com/2023/08/14/tina-knowles-beyonce-no-toilet-seat-renaissance-tour-refutes-reports/
TMZ, 14 August 2023
No Personal Toilet Seats For Beyoncé ... That Story's Ridiculous
========
“The 27 Club is exclusive because you must be famous to join. The world mourned when Kurt Cobain shot himself in April 1994. But not many noticed when Kristen Pfaff, bassist with Hole (the band of Kurt’s widow, Courtney Love), overdosed on heroin just two months later – also aged 27.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/27-club-amy-winehouse-kurt-cobain-jimi-hendrix/
The Telegraph [UK], 18 August 2023
How the ‘cursed’ 27 Club became the group no rocker wants to join
========
“A United Airlines pilot has been charged in a bizarre ax attack earlier this month in which he savaged a parking arm at a Denver International Airport employee parking lot.” This is just the type of guy I’d want on my flight if the pilots were ever locked out of the cockpit.
KCNC-TV [Denver, CO], 18 August 2023
United Airlines pilot charged in bizarre ax attack caught on video in Denver International Airport lot
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pilot-axe-cockpit/
Did a Pilot Use an Axe to Reenter the Cockpit?
========
Wichita Falls “skyscraper.” “According to the oft-told tale, blueprints were measured in inches rather than feet. Eager to cash in on the boom quickly at the expense of reading the fine print, gullible investors ponied up $200,000, a grand amount at the time.”
Wichita Falls Times Record News, 20 August 2023
Is Wichita Falls' famous 'skyscraper' more tall tale than historical fact?
========
“Filmmaker Joseph LeBaron had never heard the stories about whales living in the Great Salt Lake.”
KSL.com, 22 August 2023
Did whales really live in the Great Salt Lake? New film explores the infamous legend
=======
“An eerie and ‘possibly cursed’ portrait of a little girl has been returned twice to a charity shop after customers complained of its ‘creepy aura’. The painting, featuring a child wearing a red dress with a somewhat asymmetrical and unnerving expression, was first donated to the Hastings Advice Representation Centre (HARC) shop in St Leonards-on-Sea.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/23/cursed-painting-returned-twice-charity-shop-st-leonards/
The Telegraph [UK], 23 August 2023
‘Cursed’ painting returned twice to charity shop after complaints of ‘creepy aura’
“THE owner of a “haunted” portrait has blamed it for her mum’s collapse, spooking her dog and eerie tapping in the dead of night.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/23661761/mum-collapsed-dog-spooked-britains-most-haunted-picture/
The Sun [UK], 26 August 2023
A NASTY BRUSH My mum collapsed and my dog was spooked after I bought Britain’s most haunted picture – I’m trying to break the hoodoo
========
“The Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) has categorically denied rumours being circulated regarding the death of a female student from a heart attack purportedly due to failing a course or having to repeat an academic year. The establishment confirmed that there is no record of any student by the purported name in any of the schools affiliated with the institution across the UAE. Further investigation by official authorities has also confirmed that no student by this name has been reported dead in the country.”
https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/uae-officials-refute-rumour-of-female-students-death-1.97811563
Gulf News, 30 August 2023
UAE officials refute rumour of female student’s death
Fake story alleges pupil died of a heart attack after failing a course
============
“An online video has been turning stomachs after a shocked takeaway customer found a mouse in his Chinese. Sam Hayward sat down on Tuesday evening to enjoy the meal brought home by his girlfriend. However, the 39-year-old, from Strood, opened his tub of mushroom noodle soup to discover the floating rodent, which was still twitching.”
Kent Online, 31 August 2023
Man from Strood shares nightmare Chinese order as mouse is filmed twitching in noodle soup
==========
“A mythical creature dubbed ‘The Goat-Sucker’ is feared to have killed 30 sheep. All the woolly animals were missing their eyes and brains. They also all had tiny holes in their heads. The dead sheep were found on two separate farms. […] The sheep were killed in Ocobamba, Peru.”
The Mirror [UK], 1 September 2023
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/thirty-sheep-found-dead-no-30839299
Thirty sheep found dead with no eyes or brains as fears mythical 'Goat-Sucker' to blame
==========
“The rumour that the Earl of Snowdon’s first
word as a baby was ‘chandelier’ is true, Gyles Brandreth has said. David
Armstrong-Jones, the son of Princess Margaret and the 2nd Earl of Snowdon, knew
the word because that is what his nanny called the mobile hanging over his cot,
the broadcaster said. Mr Brandreth, a close friend of the Queen and a trustee
of her Reading Room charity, said on his new podcast series, Rosebud, that it
remains his ‘favourite’ first word story. Speaking on the first episode with
Dame Judi Dench, Mr Brandreth, 75, said: ‘I have been told by the people
involved that it is true.’”
The Telegraph [UK], 4 September 2023
Rumour that Earl Snowdon’s first spoken word was ‘chandelier’ confirmed by Gyles Brandreth
=========
“Fear has enveloped several communities in the Kano metropolis over a trending report of blood-sucking syndicates going about in the communities. The alleged syndicates, comprising mainly women, are said to be entering residential areas in Kano City either asking for alms, water to drink or restroom to use, but that their benefactors would suddenly lose their consciousness and blood, leading to their death.”
https://dailytrust.com/fear-as-rumour-of-blood-sucking-syndicate-hits-kano-communities/
Daily Trust [Nigeria], 9 September 2023
Fear as rumour of blood-sucking syndicate hits Kano communities
----
“Kano Police Command announce say dem don arrest some pipo for di state wey almost lynch some visitors for dia area afta dem suspect say dem be witches wey come ‘suck blood’. Na last week one fake rumour begin spread across some states for northern Nigeria wey tok say some strange women dey visit houses beg for water to drink before sucking di blood of di occupants.”
https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/cn3723nlvdko
BBC News Pidgin, 4 September 2023
Police make arrests as tori of ‘witches wey dey suck blood’create fear for Kano, oda states
==============
“In the past two weeks, there have been several cases of male organs disappearing by some male residents at handshake or body contact with strangers.”
Vanguard News [Nigeria], 11 September 2023
Anxiety in Calabar over alleged disappearance of male private organs
----
“In recent weeks, reports of male genitals magically disappearing after handshakes have been on the increase in Calabar.”
CrossRiverWatch [Calabar, Nigeria], 11 September 2023
BREAKING: Police Intervene As Man Loses Penis, Testicles In Calabar
------
“Following the recent claims of ranging manhood snatching in Calabar metropolis, the Government of Cross River State has debunked such claims, warning against peddling falsehood.”
CrossRiverWatch [Nigeria], 13 September 2023
No Manhood Snatching In Calabar – Cross River Government Debunks, Warn Against False Alarm
========
“Cops are appealing for sex party guests to get in touch after a man was charged with deliberately transmitting HIV. […] Luke Davis, 29, of George Street, Kidderminster has been charged with the criminal transmission of HIV.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sex-party-guests-urged-speak-30922265
The Mirror [UK],12 September 2023
Sex party guests urged to speak to cops as man charged with deliberately transmitting HIV
===========
Likely a prank. “Two signs appeared next to each other on the Edgar Road roundabout yesterday afternoon. The first is from a mystery romantic asking a woman called Rachel to marry them. […] A neighbouring sign reads: ‘No! You slept with my brother.’”
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/moray/6151144/elgin-roundabout-marriage-proposal/
The Press & Journal [Scotland], 14 September 2023
Roundabout marriage proposal in Elgin takes a dramatic twist
-----
The Mirror [UK], 16 September 2023
Public proposal on roundabout goes horrendously wrong with brutal six-word reply
===========
“Apprehension, anxiety and palpable fear have gripped the residents of Calabar, Cross River State capital over preponderance of claims of disappearance of male private organs.”
Saturday Vanguard [Nigeria], 16 September 2023
Men walk with bitter kola, alligator pepper as fear grips Calabar residents over genitals’ ‘disappearance’
===========
“The legend of the Donkey Lady is hyperlocal—hegemonic in San Antonio, practically unheard of in other parts of the state. […] Barrera, who gained a following for pieces celebrating Tejana identity, has been performing as the Donkey Lady for five years now.”
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/donkey-lady-san-antonio-talk-show/
Texas Monthly, 18 September 2023
The Donkey Lady Has Haunted Generations of San Antonians. She Has Her Own Talk Show.
========
A thief snatched the genitals of an officer at the Nigerian Naval Barracks. “Following the alarm raised by the naval officer, the young man was accosted and beaten up with instructions to return the missing genital immediately. The alleged genital thief did not say if he was going to return the missing organ and did not deny being responsible for the disappearance of the genital.”
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/09/naval-officers-private-part-allegedly-missing-in-calabar/
Vanguard [Nigeria], 18 September 2023
Naval officer’s private part allegedly missing in Calabar
=========
“DELPHI, Ind. (AP) — Attorneys for a northern Indiana man [Richard Allen] charged with killing two teenage girls contend in court documents filed Monday that their client had nothing to do with the crimes and that the girls actually died as part of a ritual sacrifice.”
US News & World Report, 18 Sep. 2023
Attorneys for Man Charged With Killing 2 Teenage Indiana Girls Argue They Died in Ritual Sacrifice
By Associated Press
============
“The Cross River State Command of the Nigerian Police Force has charged a 30-year-old man, Kufre Edet Daniel, with felony and other two count charges over alleged false manhood disappearance alarm.”
CrossRiverWatch [Nigeria], 19 September 2023
Police Charge Man Of Felony Over Alleged False Manhood Disappearance In Calabar
========
Architect Louis Naidorf again explains that the Capitol Records building in Hollywood, “the world’s first circular office building,” was not “designed to look like a stack of records with a rooftop antenna resembling a phonograph needle.”
Los Angeles Times, 21 September 2023
The architect of L.A.’s iconic Capitol Records building sets the record straight — again — on that needle
==========
“According to the statement, Abdulsamad accused the unidentified staff of the Polytechnic of stealing his manhood after taking his Post-UTME examination in the main campus of the institution, on Wednesday, 20th September, 2023.”
Daily Post [Nigeria], 21 September 2023
Man lands in police net in Lokoja for raising false alarm over missing manhood
=========
“The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, Omoyele Sowore, […] said all that is needed in Nigeria now to get someone lynched is to accuse them of ‘stealing’ another person's manhood.”
Sahara Reporters, 21 September 2023
Sowore Condemns Lynching Of Man In Kogi Over Alleged ‘Theft’ Of Manhood, Calls For Probe, Dismissal Of Police Personnel Fuelling Penis ‘Thievery’ Panic
============
“THE BRONZE STATUE of Molly Malone in Dublin city centre has been vandalised with green paint, just weeks after being cleaned following a similar incident. […] The words ‘Please don’t T.Y.’ were painted across the fictional fishmonger’s chest, in an apparent message to snap-happy tourists. ‘T.Y.’ is an abbreviation of thank you. Posing while grabbing the Suffolk Street statue’s ‘lucky’ breasts has become a popular photo opportunity in recent years.”
https://www.thejournal.ie/molly-malone-vandalism-dublin-6171746-Sep2023/
The Journal [Ireland], 18 September 2023
'Please don't' message painted on Molly Malone statue - but tourists undeterred
----
“The iconic cast, which is one of Ireland’s most photographed statues, has had its bosom – which has become shiny from tourists touching it – covered in paint three times in the last two months. […] The legend among tourists and tour guides is that caressing the bosom of the statue would bring ‘good luck’ for seven years, seven days, seven nights, seven hours and seven minutes.”
Irish Independent, 20 September 2023
‘We don’t mind anybody touching it’ – but son of Molly Malone sculptor asks for people to stop painting over her chest
================
“A mob on Thursday attacked a yet-to-be-identified man in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory over an alleged disappearance of a male organ.”
https://punchng.com/mob-lynches-man-over-alleged-organ-disappearance-in-abuja/
Punch [Nigeria], 22 September 2023
Mob lynches man over alleged organ disappearance in Abuja
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“The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has warned residents against sharing false information about the alleged disappearance of male organs in Abuja.”
https://punchng.com/police-warn-fct-residents-against-spreading-missing-manhood-rumour/
Punch [Nigeria] | 22 September 2023
Police warn FCT residents against spreading missing manhood rumour
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“There has been a troubling increase in a rather peculiar and dangerous street scam – the disappearance of manhood. This is a very old street trick but it is gaining popularity again as it is now being employed by criminals to carry out robberies and extortion.”
GQBuzz [Lagos, Nigeria], 23 September 2023
EXPOSED! The Truth About Disappearing Manhood… The Trending Dangerous Street Scam Now
