In this episode, we explore the chilling legend of Sir Edwin Landseer’s ‘Man Proposes, God Disposes,’ a painting of polar bears scavenging the doomed Franklin expedition. Housed at Royal Holloway, University of London, students and staff believe it brings bad luck during exams, so it’s traditionally covered with a Union Jack. It has been responsible for multiple exam failures, feelings of intense fear and dread, as well as a purported suicide. We dive into the history, the folklore, and the eerie aura that keeps this painting shrouded in superstition. Superstition is one thing, but is it truly cursed?

-----------------

Head to the Strange Places home website, asylum817.com to keep up with all things Strange Places, as well as the host. Billie Dean Shoemate III is an author with over 40 novels published, a master-trained painter, and multi-instrumentalist musician with multiple albums released. To check out Billie's books, albums, paintings and other artistic ventures, head to asylum817.com. Official Strange Places merch is now available as well!

-----------------

This podcast can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and wherever you get your Podcast listening experience.

-----------------

If you like what you hear and wish to donate to this podcast to help keep it going, visit:

https://www.fiverr.com/s/WEY9lex

-----------------

Visit us on Patreon for ad free early access and exclusive content!!!

patreon.com/asylum817

Shout-out to our top tier patrons, Summer Rain Zen, DILLIGAF and Old School!

-----------------

In this episode of Strange Places, we dive into the controversial case of Billy Meier — a man who claimed decades of face-to-face contact with extraterrestrials, producing photographs, prophecies, and stories that split believers and skeptics alike. Was he a prophet, a hoaxer, or something in between? Let’s separate the facts from the noise.

-----------------

Head to the Strange Places home website, asylum817.com to keep up with all things Strange Places, as well as the host. Billie Dean Shoemate III is an author with over 40 novels published, a master-trained painter, and multi-instrumentalist musician with multiple albums released. To check out Billie's books, albums, paintings and other artistic ventures, head to asylum817.com. Official Strange Places merch is now available as well!

-----------------

This podcast can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and wherever you get your Podcast listening experience.

-----------------

If you like what you hear and wish to donate to this podcast to help keep it going, visit:

https://www.fiverr.com/s/WEY9lex

-----------------

Visit us on Patreon for ad free early access and exclusive content!!!

patreon.com/asylum817

Shout-out to our top tier patrons, Summer Rain Zen, DILLIGAF and Old School!

-----------------

In the swamps and skies of Africa’s remote river valleys, locals tell of the Kongamato — a massive, red-winged creature said to resemble a prehistoric pterosaur. From colonial explorers to modern-day eyewitnesses, this legend refuses to die, blurring the line between folklore and paleontology. Is it a living fossil, a misidentified bird, or something far stranger??

-----------------

Head to the Strange Places home website, asylum817.com to keep up with all things Strange Places, as well as the host. Billie Dean Shoemate III is an author with over 40 novels published, a master-trained painter, and multi-instrumentalist musician with multiple albums released. To check out Billie's books, albums, paintings and other artistic ventures, head to asylum817.com. Official Strange Places merch is now available as well!

-----------------

This podcast can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and wherever you get your Podcast listening experience.

-----------------

If you like what you hear and wish to donate to this podcast to help keep it going, visit:

https://www.fiverr.com/s/WEY9lex

-----------------

Visit us on Patreon for ad free early access and exclusive content!!!

patreon.com/asylum817

Shout-out to our top tier patrons, Summer Rain Zen, DILLIGAF and Old School!

-----------------