The OTIS Club Newsletter Thing is one of the main perks for being a member of the OTIS Club. Every week, members receive a four-page newsletter with columns and anecdotes, behind-the-scenes items for OTIS, as well as exclusive photos from oddity hunts, and a round-up of oddity news from around the world. Join today. You can receive issues for as little as $1 a month, plus all kinds of other perks. Want to sample it first? Issue 7 is free to all. As is Issue 52. And issue 105. And issue 157.
Issue 269 (July 25, 2021): Lots of This Week in OTIS (books, a flood, writing, travel), photos from the 2019 OTIS Halloween Season, a look at the Witch of Pungo on the OTIS Map, some movie recommendations, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 268 (July 18, 2021): Updates on my writing world, photos from my jaunt to a haunted house attraction and a cryptid site, updates to the OTIS Map, a movie trilogy recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 267 (July 11, 2021): Updates on the stickers, a preview of my next trip and all the monsters I want to see, a bonus photo from this week's podcast episode, an OTIS Map update, podcast suggestions, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 266 (July 5, 2021): In this issue, photos from two oddity jaunts this weekend, updates to the OTIS Map, my next talk, some cryptid stuff, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 265 (June 27, 2021): An update on the preorder campaign, an October appearance announcement, my next trip, photos from my jaunt to the International Cryptozoology Museum yesterday, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at what I'm currently reading, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 264 (June 20, 2021): How to get an OTIS sticker and bookplate, my Saturday jaunt to Salem, the OTIS Map, a tease of next week's issue, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 263 (June 13, 2021): Some writing, swag, and appearance updates, I take you through a tour of some of the biggest statues I've ever seen, we look at the OTIS Map, I explain the map of the U.S. currently taped to the door of my study, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 262 (June 6, 2021): I catch you up on my writing life, add a Christmas-themed pip to the OTIS Map, tell you a story about a bear (or two stories about three bears), tease a new club perk, and post links to lots of oddity news items.
Issue 261 (May 31, 2021): A summary of my Lake Monster Road Trip, a bunch of photos, updates to the OTIS Map, a bon mot about Jimmy Stewart and a Nepalese Yeti, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 260 (May 23, 2021): This Week in OTIS, (multiple) Strange Stuff From My Study, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at the Halloween-y announcement that happened this week, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 259 (May 16, 2021): An update on my writing life, the story of how I destroyed the OTIS website last night, updates to the OTIS Map, a cryptozoology book recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 258 (May 9, 2021): A rundown of my 15-hour day (I think--the time zones are confusing) driving through the Dakotas, seeing cryptid oddity, other oddity, an odd landscape, and the odd storm.
Issue 257 (May 2, 2021): An update on my impending trip to the Dakotas next weekend, a look at our Halfway to Halloween night (as well as the first photo I ever posted to the OTIS Facebook Page), a documentary recommendation, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 256 (April 25, 2021): My vacation comes to an end, an update on my writing, a look at an oddity trek I took to New York on Saturday, a weird travel tip, updates to the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 255 (April 18, 2021): Writing updates, images from the French version of "Cursed Objects," a movie recommendation, OTIS Map updates (ghost towns!), and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 254 (April 11, 2021): Some good author news, a preview of my complete Sleepy Hollow Bathroom, a blast from my Poe past, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 253 (April 4, 2021): Updates on my book life, my Sleepy Hollow bathroom, my next talk, the graveyards of New Orleans, OTIS Map updates, a documentary suggestion, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 252 (March 28, 2021): My writing world, as well as what the hell I'm doing to my Sleepy Hollow Bathroom. I'm also giving you a sneak peek at my adult horror novel "The Clearwater Christian Horror" that kind of can't find a buyer. Also, updates to the OTIS Map, a piece on my travel for the rest of the year, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 251 (March 21, 2021): Updates from the week that include my writing, the Sleepy Hollow bathroom, and tidepooling; photos from an OTIS Club member on his trip to the still-surviving Tim Burton set-town of Spectre in Alabama, updates to the OTIS Map, a book review, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 250 (March 14, 2021): Updates from my writing life, a new podcast episode, Part II of "Pitching mysteries at a TV producer," an OTIS Map update, the Sleepy Hollow-ization of my bathroom, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 249 (March 7, 2021): The story behind the French edition of Cursed Objects, my trip on Saturday to the site of the creation of a mechanical Messiah, bonus photos, a witch rock turned memorial, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 248 (February 28, 2021): This Week in OTIS, the time I missed seeing Frankenstein's statue a couple of years back (which I learned about just a couple of weeks back), OTIS Map updates, an app that animates dead people, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 247 (February 21, 2021): Updates on the writing life, yearnings for travelling, our embarrassing adventure getting stuck in the snow at a cemetery, updates to the OTIS Map, the movies I watched this weekend, and lots of OTIS news.
Issue 246 (February 14, 2021): Writing/book updates. Photos and explanations of the seven oddities I saw yesterday on a coastal jaunt, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 245 (February 7, 2021): Writing updates, info on a TV appearance, a draft of the full cover jacket for The Smashed Man of Dread End, an article about how I failed to get to Salem's ice sculpture event, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 244 (January 31, 2021): A writing update, a look at cool mysteries I'm throwing at a producer, new pips on the OTIS Map, my trail cam project, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 243 (January 24, 2021): I research sites for a production company, take you to two oddities I've been to this week (an abandoned fort and a pop culture mural), show you an OTIS Map update, catch up with a New York oddity that has changed since I last visited, and list lots of oddity news items.
Issue 243 (January 24, 2021): I research sites for a production company, take you to two oddities I've been to this week (an abandoned fort and a pop culture mural), show you an OTIS Map update, catch up with a New York oddity that has changed since I last visited, and list lots of oddity news items.
Issue 242 (January 17, 2021): Updates on my writing, when movies and oddities I've been to collide, OTIS map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 241 (January 11, 2021): Book updates, what we found while tidepooling at the Drowned Forest this week, a TV shoot at an oddity I did today, a Halloween-flavored podcast I guested on, an update to the OTIS Map, and lots of news items.
Issue 240 (January 3, 2021): This Week in OTIS, my top five favorite oddities I visited in 2020, map updates, a macabre oddity on a kid's show, and lots of news items.
Issue 239 (December 27, 2020): This Week in OTIS, oddities I visited today, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, a fascinating update to an oddity I mentioned in last week's newsletter, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 238 (December 20, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a rundown of snow-covered oddities I've visited, New York updates to the OTIS Map, an odd Christmas special recommendation, and oddity news items.
Issue 237 (December 13, 2020): Some writing life stuff, podcasting news, an alternate universe oddity jaunt, Christmas oddity, OTIS Map updates, and oddity news items.
Issue 236 (December 6, 2020): This Week in OTIS, we dive into the oddity archive with bonus photos, we update the OTIS map with three new sites, I introduce you to my family's new pet, and I report on oddity news items for the week.
Issue 235 (November 29, 2020): Writing updates, bonus photos from my last oddity jaunt (including an oddity from it that I haven't talked about yet), updates to the OTIS Map, a rant, a dirge, and oddity news items.
Issue 234 (November 22, 2020): Updates from my world, another flying car sighting, the latest oddity Internet hole I went down, updates to the OTIS Map, an oddity from an OTIS Club member, and oddity news items.
Issue 233 (November 15, 2020): This Week in OTIS, the "revamped" cover reveal of The Smashed Man of Dread End, updates to the OTIS Map, gift suggestions, and oddity news items.
Issue 232 (November 8, 2020): Photos from an OTIS Club member's jaunt to Anoka, Minnesota, the "Halloween Capital of the World," you'll get updates on my world and my writing, new pips on the OTIS Map, some television recommendations, and oddity news items.
Issue 231 (November 1, 2020): Some updates on my writing world, a Halloween Season wrap-up, how my Halloween itself went, bonus photos, a graveyard I've been looking for for a decade, and oddity news items.
Issue 230 (October 25, 2020): Updates on the Halloween season, my book life, a witch's memorial mystery that has puzzled me for a year and now puzzles me even more, photos from Saturday's jaunt, OTIS business, and oddity news items.
Issue 229 (October 18, 2020): A peek at the rest of the OTIS Halloween Season, book and event updates, photos from my western Massachusetts jaunt, a Halloween photo mystery, how I saw a flying car take off yesterday, and oddity news items.
Issue 228 (October 11, 2020): Cover unveil of the book I have coming out next year, photos from yesterday's autumn jaunt o' oddity, writing and appearance updates, photos from a Poe-ish Pennsylvania oddity sent in by a club member, and oddity news items.
Issue 227 (October 4, 2020): Updates on the OTIS Halloween Season, a preview of this month's talks, photos from my Vermont jaunt and visit to Salem this weekend, a Halloween Countdown blog recommendation, a photo from the OTIS archives, and oddity and Halloween news items.
Issue 226 (September 27, 2020): Halloween Season updates, writing updates, bonus photos, a piece on my visit to the Salem Witch Trial artifacts exhibit in Salem, a look at my TBR list, and oddity news items.
Issue 225 (September 20, 2020): A special "On the Road" edition, where I tell you about all the creepy Cape Coddery I saw last week.
Issue 224 (September 13, 2020): Bonus photos from the OTIS Halloween Season, a couple of updates from my writing world, Halloween photos, a look at some of the oddities I'm hoping to go see this week while in Cape Cod, lots of pumpkins, and oddity news items.
Issue 223 (September 6, 2020): The first newsletter of the Halloween Season! In it, you'll find bonus photos, updates on the week, my hot-off-the-phone trip to Holy Land USA, a random thing with a slasher, and oddity and Halloween news items.
Issue 220 (August 16, 2020): This Week in OTIS, an exclusive peak at an entry from Cursed Objects, updates to the OTIS Map, photos from a hike in West Virginia, and oddity news items.
Issue 219 (August 9, 2020): A ton of writing updates (it was a fun week for me in that regard), OTIS Map updates, a rundown of my "Odd Things I've Seen in New Hampshire" talk, a preamble to this year's OTIS Halloween Season, and oddity news items.
Issue 222 (August 30, 2020): writing and speaking updates, map updates, I dig deeper into my mini-obsession with the Old Man of the Mountain, a review of the new Bill and Ted, and oddity news.
Issue 221 (August 23, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a rundown of the oddities I saw while in Maryland and Virginia last week, a sneak peek of the OTIS Halloween Season, OTIS Map updates, and oddity news items.
Issue 220 (August 16, 2020): This Week in OTIS, an exclusive peak at an entry from Cursed Objects, updates to the OTIS Map, photos from a hike in West Virginia, and oddity news items.
Issue 219 (August 9, 2020): A ton of writing updates (it was a fun week for me in that regard), OTIS Map updates, a rundown of my "Odd Things I've Seen in New Hampshire" talk, a preamble to this year's OTIS Halloween Season, and oddity news items.
Issue 218 (August 3, 2020): Writing and appearance updates, a trip to a Drowned Forest (and not just the historical sign), lots of photos, fun with the OTIS Map, a movie recommendation, and oddity news items.
Issue 217 (July 26, 2020): This Week in OTIS, an article about how to fit in oddity in your spare time (or at least how I do), updates to the OTIS Map and my upcoming virtual appearances, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 216 (July 20, 2020): the origin of OTIS, a trip to a ghost town, OTIS Map updates, virtual talk updates, driving beneath a cemetery, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 214 (July 5, 2020): This Week in OTIS, an interview, a video, the Halloween Season's bubbling up, photos from our recent tide pool adventure, OTIS Map updates, a Pennsylvania oddity in Odd Things You've Seen, and oddity in the news.
Issue 213 (June 28, 2020): This Week in OTIS, my Saturday oddity trek, Odd Things You've Seen, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 215 (July 12, 2020): This Week in OTIS, an OTIS article about my visit to an Arizona oddity, updates to the OTIS Club Map, info about my upcoming talks, and oddity news items.
Issue 214 (July 5, 2020): This Week in OTIS, an interview, a video, the Halloween Season's bubbling up, photos from our recent tide pool adventure, OTIS Map updates, a Pennsylvania oddity in Odd Things You've Seen, and oddity in the news.
Issue 213 (June 28, 2020): This Week in OTIS, my Saturday oddity trek, Odd Things You've Seen, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 212 (June 21, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a Strange Stuff From My Study piece (that's also technically an oddity visit piece), writing updates, OTIS Map updates, some movie suggestions, photos from an OTIS Club member, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 211 (June 15, 2020): Lots of publishing news, some bonus pics, my latest oddity jaunt, updates to the OTIS Map, a movie rec, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 211 (June 15, 2020): Lots of publishing news, some bonus pics, my latest oddity jaunt, updates to the OTIS Map, a movie rec, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 210 (June 7, 2020): This Week in OTIS, bonus pics, my ten favorite human skulls on display, an oddity sent in by a member, OTIS Map updates, and lots off oddity news items.
Issue 209 (May 31, 2020): This Week in OTIS, information on the Patreon tax, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at covers that I submitted as examples for the Smashed Man of Dread End cover, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 208 (May 25, 2020): In this issue, you'll find this week in OTIS, a new trip to a New England graveyard, bonus photos, some personal bits, and a particularly good list of oddity news.
Issue 207 (May 17, 2020): Updates on my writing life, exclusive photos, my latest oddity jaunt, updates to the OTIS Map, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 206 (May 10, 2020): This Week in OTIS, some Patreon news that needs attention, Strange Stuff From My Study (multiple items), updates to the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 205 (May 3, 2020): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an oddity jaunt to a strange tomb, OTIS Map updates, a piece about a movie series I just rewatched, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 204 (April 26, 2020): This Week in OTIS (including a cool illustration), a to do list of everything I want to do after we figure out this virus situation, OTIS Map updates, a web series recommendation, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 203 (April 19, 2020): This Week in OTIS, some sneak peeks into upcoming projects and events, a visit to my latest and most nostalgic cemetery, a horror movie recommendation (from the 90s!), an OTIS Map update, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 202 (April 12, 2020): This Week in OTIS (including some exciting-to-me writing news), an oddity jaunt, exclusive photos, OTIS Map updates, a special virtual tour recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 201 (April 5, 2020): This Week in OTIS, updates on all my writing projects, the continued follies of chasing the Stone House, exclusive photos, my latest game obsession (and why), and lots of oddity news.
Issue 200 (March 22, 2020): This [really strange] Week in OTIS, our failed attempt at finding the Stone House, an OTIS Map update, a book recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 199 (March 22, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a look at plague oddities, OTIS Map updates, some book recommendations, and lots of oddity new items!
Issue 198 (March 15, 2020): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my visits to two different torture museums (as covered in the most recent episode of Odd Things I've Seen: The Podcast), a science fiction book recommendation, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 197 (March 9, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a run down of my scheduled appearances this year so far, my biggest disappointment of the month, exclusive pics, an 18th century graveyard, an 18th century ghost town, a sea serpent book recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 196 (March 1, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a sneak peek of the interior layout of my next book, a trip to a special cemetery, bonus photos, an OTIS Map update, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 195 (February 23, 2020): Writing updates, OTIS map updates, my encounter with a fisher cat, exclusive photos, an article about a Roman cemetery I visited a long time ago, and oddity news items.
Issue 194 (February 17, 2020): The FINAL cover for my next book (Cursed Objects), exclusive photos, info from my oddity jaunt to Dover, NH, OTIS Map updates, a new show review, and oddity news items.
Issue 193 (February 9, 2020): This Week in OTIS (including some writing and podcast updates), an account of this weekend's oddity jaunt (complete with exclusive photos), an OTIS Map update, an airport oddity, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 192 (February 2, 2020): A recap of my Fourth Grade talk experience, a teaser about the topic of the next podcast, a sneak peak at an early draft of the cover of my next book, OTIS Map updates, what I'm reading, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 191 (January 26, 2020): A relatively busy This Week in OTIS, a piece about an oddity I saw this week, new OTIS Map updates (Halloween-flavored!), I reveal one of my non-oddity obsessions, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 190 (January 19, 2020): This Week in OTIS, tips for the upcoming King Tut exhibit in Boston, a book recommendation, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, photos from my Edgar Allan Poe collection (in honor of his birthday), and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 189 (January 12, 2020): Writing updates, a link to last night's interview, an oddity visit, exclusive photos, an art exhibit recommendation, updates to the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 188 (January 5, 2020): A special edition newsletter edition wherein I tell the never-before-told tale of my one year-long (off and on, anyway) brush with television, complete with photos.
Issue 187 (December 30, 2019): In this last issue of 2019, we'll take a look at This Week in OTIS, break down some Goodreads stats, hunt three oddities virtually, check out a photo from the OTIS archive, I'll give you a movie recommendation, and I have lots of oddity news items for you, as usual.
Issue 186 (December 22, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a sneak peak of the next podcast episode, an X-Files collection, my thoughts on the entire new Star Wars trilogy (now that it's over), an OTIS Map update, and Disney's Haunted Mansion makes a cameo.
Issue 185 (December 15, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from both the latest OTIS article and our jaunt to Fright Kingdom's Fright Before Christmas event, the story of a giant jack-o-lantern, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 184 (December 8, 2019): This Week in OTIS, the strange art I saw in San Francisco this weekend, exclusive photos, new additions to the OTIS Map, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, lots of oddity news items, and lots of snow.
Issue 183 (December 1, 2019): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, news about the OTIS podcast, some new animal cam photos and other exclusive photos, an oddity article about a death site, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 182 (November 24, 2019): A sneak peak of one of my upcoming projects, This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, a look back into the OTIS archive, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 181 (November 18, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a preview of my next middle-grade horror novel, The Smashed Man of Dread End, a book recommendation, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 180 (November 10, 2019): This Week in OTIS, new pins in three different states on the OTIS Map of Oddities, an essay on all the reasons why one shouldn't oddity hunt, a seasonal movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 179 (November 3, 2019): This Week in OTIS, an account of our Novemberween (our city's postponed Halloween), all-Poe OTIS Map of Oddities updates, an opportunity to ask my wife questions for an upcoming podcast, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 178 (October 28, 2019): Happy Almost Halloween Itself, OTIS Club! In this issue, you'll find This Week in OTIS, a couple of Halloween memories from my time working malls in Florida, updates to the OTIS Map, a movie review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 177 (October 21, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my jaunt to a monster museum in Nevada, macabre updates to the OTIS Map, a Ray Bradbury book review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 176 (October 13, 2019): This Week in OTIS, capsule reviews of all the horror movies and shows I've watched so far this season, OTIS Map updates, a book recommendation for a book I appear in, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 175 (October 7, 2019): This Week in OTIS, photos from my Sleepy Hollow jaunt this weekend, a bonus photo from King's Chapel crypt, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 174 (September 29, 2019): This Week in OTIS (filled mostly with writing news), a Strange Stuff from My Study article, OTIS Map updates, a little bit of club business, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 173 (September 23, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from the past week, a From the OTIS Archive piece (which we haven't done in a while), a seasonal horror movie review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 172 (September 15, 2019): Updates on my writing life, bonus photos from both Lollipop Cemetery and our Saturday New Hampshire jaunt, updates on the OTIS Map of Oddities, appearance reminders, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 171 (September 8, 2019): This week in OTIS, bonus photos, an piece about the one oddity I got to see on my recent work trip, updates to the OTIS Map, a book suggestion (with monsters), and lots of oddity (and Halloween) news items.
Issue 170 (September 2, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my jaunts this weekend, updates on the OTIS Map of Oddities, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 169 (August 25, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a look back at the banners of the OTIS Halloween Seasons, updates on the OTIS Map of Oddities, oddity news items, bonus photos, and lots more.
Issue 168 (August 18, 2019): Writing updates, map updates, new oddities out of Sleepy Hollow, a spooky movie recommendation, a profile of me in Harvard Magazine, and lots of oddity news items. Also, accidentally, the first Halloween issue of the season.
Issue 167 (August 11, 2019): This Week in OTIS, an update on my possible Castle Rock desk, some bonus photos, OTIS map updates, a return to the diver grave of Pennsylvania, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 166 (August 4, 2019): My new writing room, my new desk that may, may, may have a tenuous connection to Stephen King, my three fall appearances, OTIS Map updates, OTIS News, and a very special statue being erected at the end of the month.
Issue 165 (July 28, 2019): Another special, "From the Road" edition, this time about the oddities I saw while spending 24 hours in Las Vegas.
Issue 164 (July 21, 2019): This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, a look at some really cool oddity that I tried to get to this weekend but failed, capsule reviews of Midsommar and Under the Silver Lake, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 163 (July 15, 2019): A special "From the Road" edition that details all the oddity I saw recently in Maryland, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Issue 162 (July 9, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, what I've been doing so far on my Maryland vacation, updates to the OTIS Map, a capsule review of Stranger Things Season 3, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 161 (June 30, 2019): Updates on the new OTIS Map of Oddities (both the new format and new sites), an announcement for a scheduled appearance, bonus photos, some talk about my DC trip, a look at where I'll be writing from the rest of my life, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 160 (June 23, 2019): OTIS Map updates, writing and travel updates, an oddity jaunt in Pennsylvania from a fellow club member, a book review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 159 (June 16, 2019): A TV series recommendation, my latest silly obsession, bonus photos from the Salem Halloween Museum, travel updates, OTIS Map of Oddities updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 158 (June 9, 2019): Photos from our trip to Salem this weekend, OTIS Map updates (including an update on the OTIS Map itself), a review of a spooky TV show, what's going on in my writing world, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 157 (June 3, 2019): This is a special edition of the OTIS Club Newsletter that is open to the public and features photos from a special on-location episode of Odd Things I've Seen: The Podcast (Ep 7: A Jaunting in Connecticut). You should probably listen to that episode first before reading, but you'll probably be fine either way.
Issue 156 (May 27, 2019): This Week in OTIS, preview of a plan for the next OTIS Podcast episode, more info on my Connecticut jaunt, odd things I've seen in airports, bonus photos, and lots of oddity news items, including a John Wayne Gacy painting signed by Cal Ripken, Jr., a vertical theme park, and the Tomball Pickle Man.
Issue 155 (May 19, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, ARC winners announced, a write-up of my day in Sleepy Hollow at the Sleepy Hollow Lit Festival, and lots of oddity news items, including Fukushima ghost towns, Canadian body farms, Cape Cod shark marketing, and much more.
Issue 154 (May 12, 2019): This Week in OTIS, writing and appearance updates, new oddities on the OTIS Map, a sneak peek at the next OTIS podcast, how to get the new OTIS enamel pins (spoiler: some of you are already getting them and the rest can get them easily), what Ripley's Believe It or Not! is now calling an oddity, and oddity news items, including an update on the Flintstone House, a roof shark, a haunted lake, and much more.
Issue 153 (May 5, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS map updates, a special cemetery visit, a preview of my appearance at the upcoming Sleepy Hollow Lit Fest, book updates, and oddity news items, including a recently discovered WW2 mortuary, a sci-fi movie vehicles exhibit, a giant trash monster, and much more.
Issue 152 (April 28, 2019): A special "From the Road" edition, highlighting all the oddities I saw in the past week during my trip to St. Augustine, Florida, and areas surrounding.
Issue 151 (April 20, 2019): This Week in OTIS, more info on my trip, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, the story of a horror movie and a gravestone, the only time I got to see Notre Dame (include a rare, late 1990s photo of me), and lots of oddity news items, including a classic monster shop, human sacrifice remains, a Minerva statue, and much more.
Issue 150 (April 14, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, an account of a unique oddity jaunt from the weekend, some info about my upcoming St. Augustine trip, and lots of oddity news items including a Game of Thrones graveyard, mummified mice, the Austin Weird Homes Tour, and much more.
Issue 149 (April 8, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a novel rejection letter, bonus photos, a look at how far I'm going for my Cursed Objects book, a show recommendation (with mummies!), and lots of oddity news items, including a wizard-themed pub, a traveling saint heart, a closing Komodo Island, and much more.
Issue 148 (March 31, 2019):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a piece on my tortuous climb up a Boston landmark this week, a sneak preview of a future OTIS Club Newsletter Thing piece, and lots of oddity news items, including the world's largest pearl, the dog suicide bridge, the "Rocky Horror Hotel", and much more.
Issue 147 (March 24, 2019): This Week in OTIS, writing and appearance updates, bonus photos, movie recommendations, a piece about the Washington Monument, and lots of oddity news items, including a Japanese demon festival, an embalmed turtle, a Harry Potter coffeehouse, and much more.
Issue 146 (March 17, 2019): This Week in OTIS (including the launch of the podcast and the unveiling of the cover of my next book), writing updates, bonus photos, my Saturday of oddity hunting and author meeting, an update on the Poe Paver, and lots of oddity news, including and Indian witch memorial, a Mississippi UFO encounter, the highest open observation deck in the western hemisphere, and much more.
Issue 145 (March 10, 2019): First look at the cover of my new novel Twelve Nights at Rotter House, plus this week in OTIS, bonus photos, writing and podcast updates, a series recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including a giant frozen crucifix, and underground garbage fire, mysterious green icebergs, and much more.
Issue 144 (March 3, 2019): This Week in OTIS, updates on my writing, bonus photos, my oddity hunting trek in snowy Portsmouth, OTIS Map updates, some Edgar Allan Poe business, and lots of oddity news items, including a ram-headed sphinx, green snow, the quietest room in the world, and much more.
Issue 143 (February 24, 2019):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from the Ravenous Edgar Allan Poe exhibit in Rhode Island, bonus photos from the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items, including witch marks in caves, an abandoned air terminal turned hotel, giant animal statues, and much more.
Issue 142 (February 17, 2019):This Week in OTIS, updates on various projects I've got going, a look at my trip to Geneva, OTIS Map updates, bonus photos, and lots of oddity news items, including a Star Trek exhibit, a mirrored house, a Viking ship burial, and much more.
Issue 198 (March 15, 2020): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my visits to two different torture museums (as covered in the most recent episode of Odd Things I've Seen: The Podcast), a science fiction book recommendation, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 197 (March 9, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a run down of my scheduled appearances this year so far, my biggest disappointment of the month, exclusive pics, an 18th century graveyard, an 18th century ghost town, a sea serpent book recommendation, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 196 (March 1, 2020): This Week in OTIS, a sneak peek of the interior layout of my next book, a trip to a special cemetery, bonus photos, an OTIS Map update, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 195 (February 23, 2020): Writing updates, OTIS map updates, my encounter with a fisher cat, exclusive photos, an article about a Roman cemetery I visited a long time ago, and oddity news items.
Issue 194 (February 17, 2020): The FINAL cover for my next book (Cursed Objects), exclusive photos, info from my oddity jaunt to Dover, NH, OTIS Map updates, a new show review, and oddity news items.
Issue 193 (February 9, 2020): This Week in OTIS (including some writing and podcast updates), an account of this weekend's oddity jaunt (complete with exclusive photos), an OTIS Map update, an airport oddity, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 192 (February 2, 2020): A recap of my Fourth Grade talk experience, a teaser about the topic of the next podcast, a sneak peak at an early draft of the cover of my next book, OTIS Map updates, what I'm reading, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 191 (January 26, 2020): A relatively busy This Week in OTIS, a piece about an oddity I saw this week, new OTIS Map updates (Halloween-flavored!), I reveal one of my non-oddity obsessions, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 190 (January 19, 2020): This Week in OTIS, tips for the upcoming King Tut exhibit in Boston, a book recommendation, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, photos from my Edgar Allan Poe collection (in honor of his birthday), and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 189 (January 12, 2020): Writing updates, a link to last night's interview, an oddity visit, exclusive photos, an art exhibit recommendation, updates to the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 188 (January 5, 2020): A special edition newsletter edition wherein I tell the never-before-told tale of my one year-long (off and on, anyway) brush with television, complete with photos.
Issue 187 (December 30, 2019): In this last issue of 2019, we'll take a look at This Week in OTIS, break down some Goodreads stats, hunt three oddities virtually, check out a photo from the OTIS archive, I'll give you a movie recommendation, and I have lots of oddity news items for you, as usual.
Issue 186 (December 22, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a sneak peak of the next podcast episode, an X-Files collection, my thoughts on the entire new Star Wars trilogy (now that it's over), an OTIS Map update, and Disney's Haunted Mansion makes a cameo.
Issue 185 (December 15, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from both the latest OTIS article and our jaunt to Fright Kingdom's Fright Before Christmas event, the story of a giant jack-o-lantern, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 184 (December 8, 2019): This Week in OTIS, the strange art I saw in San Francisco this weekend, exclusive photos, new additions to the OTIS Map, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, lots of oddity news items, and lots of snow.
Issue 183 (December 1, 2019): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, news about the OTIS podcast, some new animal cam photos and other exclusive photos, an oddity article about a death site, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 182 (November 24, 2019): A sneak peak of one of my upcoming projects, This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, a look back into the OTIS archive, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 181 (November 18, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a preview of my next middle-grade horror novel, The Smashed Man of Dread End, a book recommendation, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 180 (November 10, 2019): This Week in OTIS, new pins in three different states on the OTIS Map of Oddities, an essay on all the reasons why one shouldn't oddity hunt, a seasonal movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 179 (November 3, 2019): This Week in OTIS, an account of our Novemberween (our city's postponed Halloween), all-Poe OTIS Map of Oddities updates, an opportunity to ask my wife questions for an upcoming podcast, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 178 (October 28, 2019): Happy Almost Halloween Itself, OTIS Club! In this issue, you'll find This Week in OTIS, a couple of Halloween memories from my time working malls in Florida, updates to the OTIS Map, a movie review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 177 (October 21, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my jaunt to a monster museum in Nevada, macabre updates to the OTIS Map, a Ray Bradbury book review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 176 (October 13, 2019): This Week in OTIS, capsule reviews of all the horror movies and shows I've watched so far this season, OTIS Map updates, a book recommendation for a book I appear in, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 175 (October 7, 2019): This Week in OTIS, photos from my Sleepy Hollow jaunt this weekend, a bonus photo from King's Chapel crypt, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 174 (September 29, 2019): This Week in OTIS (filled mostly with writing news), a Strange Stuff from My Study article, OTIS Map updates, a little bit of club business, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 173 (September 23, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from the past week, a From the OTIS Archive piece (which we haven't done in a while), a seasonal horror movie review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 172 (September 15, 2019): Updates on my writing life, bonus photos from both Lollipop Cemetery and our Saturday New Hampshire jaunt, updates on the OTIS Map of Oddities, appearance reminders, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 171 (September 8, 2019): This week in OTIS, bonus photos, an piece about the one oddity I got to see on my recent work trip, updates to the OTIS Map, a book suggestion (with monsters), and lots of oddity (and Halloween) news items.
Issue 170 (September 2, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my jaunts this weekend, updates on the OTIS Map of Oddities, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 169 (August 25, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a look back at the banners of the OTIS Halloween Seasons, updates on the OTIS Map of Oddities, oddity news items, bonus photos, and lots more.
Issue 168 (August 18, 2019): Writing updates, map updates, new oddities out of Sleepy Hollow, a spooky movie recommendation, a profile of me in Harvard Magazine, and lots of oddity news items. Also, accidentally, the first Halloween issue of the season.
Issue 167 (August 11, 2019): This Week in OTIS, an update on my possible Castle Rock desk, some bonus photos, OTIS map updates, a return to the diver grave of Pennsylvania, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 166 (August 4, 2019): My new writing room, my new desk that may, may, may have a tenuous connection to Stephen King, my three fall appearances, OTIS Map updates, OTIS News, and a very special statue being erected at the end of the month.
Issue 165 (July 28, 2019): Another special, "From the Road" edition, this time about the oddities I saw while spending 24 hours in Las Vegas.
Issue 164 (July 21, 2019): This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, a look at some really cool oddity that I tried to get to this weekend but failed, capsule reviews of Midsommar and Under the Silver Lake, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 163 (July 15, 2019): A special "From the Road" edition that details all the oddity I saw recently in Maryland, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Issue 162 (July 9, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, what I've been doing so far on my Maryland vacation, updates to the OTIS Map, a capsule review of Stranger Things Season 3, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 161 (June 30, 2019): Updates on the new OTIS Map of Oddities (both the new format and new sites), an announcement for a scheduled appearance, bonus photos, some talk about my DC trip, a look at where I'll be writing from the rest of my life, and lots of oddity news.
Issue 160 (June 23, 2019): OTIS Map updates, writing and travel updates, an oddity jaunt in Pennsylvania from a fellow club member, a book review, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 159 (June 16, 2019): A TV series recommendation, my latest silly obsession, bonus photos from the Salem Halloween Museum, travel updates, OTIS Map of Oddities updates, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 158 (June 9, 2019): Photos from our trip to Salem this weekend, OTIS Map updates (including an update on the OTIS Map itself), a review of a spooky TV show, what's going on in my writing world, and lots of oddity news items.
Issue 157 (June 3, 2019): This is a special edition of the OTIS Club Newsletter that is open to the public and features photos from a special on-location episode of Odd Things I've Seen: The Podcast (Ep 7: A Jaunting in Connecticut). You should probably listen to that episode first before reading, but you'll probably be fine either way.
Issue 156 (May 27, 2019): This Week in OTIS, preview of a plan for the next OTIS Podcast episode, more info on my Connecticut jaunt, odd things I've seen in airports, bonus photos, and lots of oddity news items, including a John Wayne Gacy painting signed by Cal Ripken, Jr., a vertical theme park, and the Tomball Pickle Man.
Issue 155 (May 19, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, ARC winners announced, a write-up of my day in Sleepy Hollow at the Sleepy Hollow Lit Festival, and lots of oddity news items, including Fukushima ghost towns, Canadian body farms, Cape Cod shark marketing, and much more.
Issue 154 (May 12, 2019): This Week in OTIS, writing and appearance updates, new oddities on the OTIS Map, a sneak peek at the next OTIS podcast, how to get the new OTIS enamel pins (spoiler: some of you are already getting them and the rest can get them easily), what Ripley's Believe It or Not! is now calling an oddity, and oddity news items, including an update on the Flintstone House, a roof shark, a haunted lake, and much more.
Issue 153 (May 5, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS map updates, a special cemetery visit, a preview of my appearance at the upcoming Sleepy Hollow Lit Fest, book updates, and oddity news items, including a recently discovered WW2 mortuary, a sci-fi movie vehicles exhibit, a giant trash monster, and much more.
Issue 152 (April 28, 2019): A special "From the Road" edition, highlighting all the oddities I saw in the past week during my trip to St. Augustine, Florida, and areas surrounding.
Issue 151 (April 20, 2019): This Week in OTIS, more info on my trip, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, the story of a horror movie and a gravestone, the only time I got to see Notre Dame (include a rare, late 1990s photo of me), and lots of oddity news items, including a classic monster shop, human sacrifice remains, a Minerva statue, and much more.
Issue 150 (April 14, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, an account of a unique oddity jaunt from the weekend, some info about my upcoming St. Augustine trip, and lots of oddity news items including a Game of Thrones graveyard, mummified mice, the Austin Weird Homes Tour, and much more.
Issue 149 (April 8, 2019): This Week in OTIS, a novel rejection letter, bonus photos, a look at how far I'm going for my Cursed Objects book, a show recommendation (with mummies!), and lots of oddity news items, including a wizard-themed pub, a traveling saint heart, a closing Komodo Island, and much more.
Issue 148 (March 31, 2019):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a piece on my tortuous climb up a Boston landmark this week, a sneak preview of a future OTIS Club Newsletter Thing piece, and lots of oddity news items, including the world's largest pearl, the dog suicide bridge, the "Rocky Horror Hotel", and much more.
Issue 147 (March 24, 2019): This Week in OTIS, writing and appearance updates, bonus photos, movie recommendations, a piece about the Washington Monument, and lots of oddity news items, including a Japanese demon festival, an embalmed turtle, a Harry Potter coffeehouse, and much more.
Issue 146 (March 17, 2019): This Week in OTIS (including the launch of the podcast and the unveiling of the cover of my next book), writing updates, bonus photos, my Saturday of oddity hunting and author meeting, an update on the Poe Paver, and lots of oddity news, including and Indian witch memorial, a Mississippi UFO encounter, the highest open observation deck in the western hemisphere, and much more.
Issue 145 (March 10, 2019): First look at the cover of my new novel Twelve Nights at Rotter House, plus this week in OTIS, bonus photos, writing and podcast updates, a series recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including a giant frozen crucifix, and underground garbage fire, mysterious green icebergs, and much more.
Issue 144 (March 3, 2019): This Week in OTIS, updates on my writing, bonus photos, my oddity hunting trek in snowy Portsmouth, OTIS Map updates, some Edgar Allan Poe business, and lots of oddity news items, including a ram-headed sphinx, green snow, the quietest room in the world, and much more.
Issue 143 (February 24, 2019):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from the Ravenous Edgar Allan Poe exhibit in Rhode Island, bonus photos from the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items, including witch marks in caves, an abandoned air terminal turned hotel, giant animal statues, and much more.
Issue 142 (February 17, 2019):This Week in OTIS, updates on various projects I've got going, a look at my trip to Geneva, OTIS Map updates, bonus photos, and lots of oddity news items, including a Star Trek exhibit, a mirrored house, a Viking ship burial, and much more.
Issue 141 (February 3, 2019): A special "From the Road" edition of the newsletter about my short time in London this week, and what is without a doubt the best day of this trip (best day = plenty of oddities).
Issue 140 (February 3, 2019):This Week in OTIS, updates on the new secret project, books updates, OTIS Map updates, a look at the oddity I want to see most in London, a reminder an awesome Poe exhibit in Rhode Island, and lots of oddity news items, including Ted Bundy's glasses, a half-male, half female cardinal, the suddenly uncovered grave of an explorer, and much more.
Issue 139 (January 27, 2019): This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, new images from my wildlife cam, more information about my podcasting ambitions, a recap of my DC trip, an announcement for my first appearance of 2019, writing updates, and lots of oddity news items, including Beothuk skulls, the restoration of Tut's tomb, a day in the life of a witch shop, and much more.
Issue 138 (January 20, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates on the podcast and my writing, a book recommendation, a messed-up thing that happened to me this week, and lots of oddity news items, including an artificial meteor shower, sacred caves, a devil statue, and much more.
Issue 137 (January 13, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, writing, updates, my experiments with a wildlife cam in my backyard, a documentary recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including more sleepovers at the "Scream" house, a German sub washing ashore, an office based on Disney's Haunted Mansion, and lots more.
Issue 136 (January 6, 2019): This Week in OTIS, my upcoming TV appearance, OTIS Map update, bonus photos, my visit to a reptile expo, a movie review, and lots of oddity news including a Flayed God, the Dalnegorsk Incident, a sci-fi structure in Malta, and much more.
Issue 135 (December 31, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, map updates, a wrap up of my New Jersey trip, a look at some of my favorite oddities in that state, and lot of oddity news, including a new mascot hall of fame, a Tim Burton Exhibit, Boston Viking sites, and much more.
Issue 134 (December 23, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a recap of a TV shoot I was on, a Christmas oddity, and lots of oddity news items, including the discovery of guillotined aristocrat remains, mutant sharks in a volcano, a ship graveyard on the movie, and much more
.
Issue 133 (December 16, 2018): This Week in OTIS, a movie review, bonus photos from the Bing Crosby House Museum, updates to the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items, including a Medusa statue, a pyrosome, 45 human skulls in a graveyard, and lots more.
Issue 132 (December 9, 2018): This Week in OTIS, a deeper dive into the two book projects that were announced this week, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, some more Washington Irving Christmas stuff, and lots of oddity news items, including Guatemalan devil effigies, a Firebird Festival, a white puma, and much more.
Issue 131 (December 3, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, the oddities I saw this week, my one strange George H.W. Bush memory, a book update, and lots of oddity news items, including a fake UFO abduction memorial, an old skeleton with a bird skull in its mouth, one of Canada's oldest cemeteries, and much more.
Issue 130 (November 25, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at my most recent oddity jaunt, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at that man who gave us Christmas (Washington Irving!!!), and lots of oddity news, including a wooden troll that is dividing a town, a school bus graveyard, the original Statue of Liberty Torch, and much more.
Issue 129 (November 18, 2018): A long This Week in OTIS that includes Christmas and publishing updates and OTIS updates, bonus photos, my trip to a robotic warehouse, the site of a fellow oddity traveler, and lots of oddity news items, including a Danny DeVito bathroom shrine, modern cavemen in the UK, Lizzie Borden's other house, and much more.
Issue 128 (November 11, 2018): This Week in OTIS, an update on my upcoming book contracts, a review of Solo: A Star Wars Story, a sneak peak at some Christmas oddities I'll be writing about, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items, including ghost sculptures, cat mummies, hostile architecture, and much more.
Issue 127 (November 4, 2018): This Week in OTIS, exciting news about my books, bonus photos, my visit to a corpse flower, a book review, an OTIS Map update, and lots of oddity news items, including serial killer art, suing Satanists, gangster shrines, and much more.
Issue 126 (October 28, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus MoPOP horror movie prop photos, updates to the OTIS Map, the arrival of my new daughter, and lots of oddity news items, including a breathing forest, a killer doll house, Notre-Dame gargoyles, and much more.
Issue 125 (October 21, 2018): This Week in OTIS, an update on Baby Wait 2018, a movie suggestion complete with filming locations on the OTIS Map, a novel update, and lots of oddity news items, including a headless chicken monster, a hurricane-unearthed shipwreck, a new world's most expensive movie poster, and much more.
Issue 124 (October 14, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a true-crime podcast suggestion, a throwback photo to the pre-OTIS Halloween Season, and lots of oddity news items, including the truck from the original Pet Sematary, a tentacled building in Philadelphia, a map of 26 historic cemeteries around Boston, and much more.
Issue 123 (October 7, 2018):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my recent day trip, new pins on the OTIS Map, a book recommendation, writing updates, and lots of oddity news, including an homage to Stephen King's "The Raft," illuminated mausoleums, cryptid-tourism, and much more.
Issue 122 (September 30, 2018): This Week in OTIS, writing updates, bonus photos, how I ran afoul of Patreon terms of service, Thriller poster winner announcement, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items, including the Cottingley Fair photos being up for auction, photos of White House Halloweens past, a reappearing church skeleton, and much more.
Issue 121 (September 23, 2018): This week in OTIS, writing updates, bonus photos from the Ripley's museum in Wisconsin, OTIS Map updates, the winner of last week's giveaway, a brand new giveaway, and lots of oddity news items, including a Yogi Bear Graveyard, glowing beach rocks, a Hocus Pocus haunted house, and much more.
Issue 120 (September 16, 2018): This Week in OTIS, a Halloween giveaway, an OTIS Map update, bonus photos from my road trip this week, writing updates, and lots of oddity news items, including a magical items exhibition in England, a cremation exhibition in Texas, and a mysterious tunnel in Vermont.
Issue 119 (September 9, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, Strange Stuffy from my Study, a look at this year's events for Sleepy Hollow's Legends weekends, and lots of oddity news items, including a mass grave of mummy penguins, abandoned warplanes in Texas, a scientific study of a Ouija board, and much more.
Issue 118 (September 2, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, what book project working on now, the site and artifact list of a famous New Hampshire murder, you're getting a book review, and lots of oddity news items, including hunger stones, robot dinosaur hotel staff, a devil-worshiping church (in the classic sense), and much more.
Issue 117 (August 26, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my visit to Salem, update on the pitch process for my haunted house novel, a movie review, and lots of oddity news items, including ancient Spanish caves, bog snorkeling, a 5,000-year-old graveyard, and much more.
Issue 116 (August 19, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a writing update, a look at all the podcasts I listen to, a big opportunity I missed this week, and lots of oddity news, including a strange Fukushima monument, Viking bones, a recreated unsolved murder site, and much more.
Issue 115 (August 12, 2018): This Week in OTIS, an exclusive wrap up of my trip, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a blast from the past, and lots of oddity news items, including a "Golden Man" mummy, fishing boat caskets, the original Aerosmith van, and much more.
Issue 114 (August 6, 2018): Another On the Road edition! In this issue, I recount Days 5-10 of the cross-country trip....which is officially over as of today. I'm still coming to terms with that.
Issue 113 (July 30, 2018): In this special On the Road edition, I recount my first four days of a 10-day cross country trip, which had us going from New Hampshire all the way to South Dakota.
Issue 112 (July 22, 2018): This week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, a preview of my cross-country itinerary, a cool oddity I recently learned about, and lots of oddity news, including the skeleton of a witch, a rose pyramid, a newly discovered Irish tomb, and much more.
Issue 111 (July 15, 2018): This Week in OTIS, the ultimate OTIS Map update, bonus photos, a look at the 24-hour Joe Bob Briggs Last Drive-In, a book tip, and lots of oddity news, including a hair museum, a robot hotel, a lavender labyrinth, and much more.
Issue 110 (July 8, 2018): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, details of my next big trip, information about appearances, writing updates, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including a history of rat kings, an Addams Family painting, blood rains, and much more.
Issue 109 (July 1, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a look at some of my side trips over the years, my favorite television series, and lots of oddity news items, including how to hang out at the Scream house this October, how to beat a bodysnatcher, how to earn a few thousand bucks by finding information about a mysterious giant glyph in Australia, and much more.
Issue 108 (June 24, 2018): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, oddities I saw in Alabama, my lightly Stephen-King-themed, week, and lots of oddity news items, including giant drug spoons, the world's smallest desert, a ship graveyard, and much more.
Issue 107 (June 17, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my latest lecture, a story of a monster in my yard, OTIS Map updates, upcoming travel for me, lots of oddity news items, and much more.
Issue 106 (June 10, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, my upcoming appearances, a look at a funereal oddity I visited this week, a capsule review of "Hereditary," and lots of oddity news items, including a Bigfoot festival, artifacts from a family of hangmen, giant statues, and much more.
Issue 105 (June 4, 2018): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a piece about my recent jaunt to Salem, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items including the Living Statues Festival, a couple of sea monsters, the volcanic phenomenon of something called Pele's Hair, and lots more. This issue is open to the public.
Issue 104 (May 28, 2018): This issue marks our two year anniversary as a thing on this planet! And it's a special "From the Road" edition! From the Maine coast! Exclamation points for everyone!
Issue 103 (May 20, 2018): This Week in OTIS, map updates, bonus photos, upcoming trip plans, a piece about the one oddity I saw this week, an interesting movie filming site in a recent movie, and lots of oddity news items, including an exhibit on death by natural causes, a horse in Pompeii, a robot restaurant, and much more.
Issue 102 (May 13, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, info about my next appearance, how not to find a ghost town, and lots of oddity news items, including Georgia's Nessie, firefly mating, an Orson Welles statue, and much more.
Issue 101 (May 7, 2018):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from our Disney trip, OTIS Map updates, giveaway winners announcement, and lots of oddity news items, including saint bones, Turkish ghost towns, the Creepshow puppet, and much more.
Issue 139 (January 27, 2019): This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, new images from my wildlife cam, more information about my podcasting ambitions, a recap of my DC trip, an announcement for my first appearance of 2019, writing updates, and lots of oddity news items, including Beothuk skulls, the restoration of Tut's tomb, a day in the life of a witch shop, and much more.
Issue 138 (January 20, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates on the podcast and my writing, a book recommendation, a messed-up thing that happened to me this week, and lots of oddity news items, including an artificial meteor shower, sacred caves, a devil statue, and much more.
Issue 137 (January 13, 2019): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, writing, updates, my experiments with a wildlife cam in my backyard, a documentary recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including more sleepovers at the "Scream" house, a German sub washing ashore, an office based on Disney's Haunted Mansion, and lots more.
Issue 136 (January 6, 2019): This Week in OTIS, my upcoming TV appearance, OTIS Map update, bonus photos, my visit to a reptile expo, a movie review, and lots of oddity news including a Flayed God, the Dalnegorsk Incident, a sci-fi structure in Malta, and much more.
Issue 135 (December 31, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, map updates, a wrap up of my New Jersey trip, a look at some of my favorite oddities in that state, and lot of oddity news, including a new mascot hall of fame, a Tim Burton Exhibit, Boston Viking sites, and much more.
Issue 134 (December 23, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a recap of a TV shoot I was on, a Christmas oddity, and lots of oddity news items, including the discovery of guillotined aristocrat remains, mutant sharks in a volcano, a ship graveyard on the movie, and much more
.
Issue 133 (December 16, 2018): This Week in OTIS, a movie review, bonus photos from the Bing Crosby House Museum, updates to the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items, including a Medusa statue, a pyrosome, 45 human skulls in a graveyard, and lots more.
Issue 132 (December 9, 2018): This Week in OTIS, a deeper dive into the two book projects that were announced this week, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, some more Washington Irving Christmas stuff, and lots of oddity news items, including Guatemalan devil effigies, a Firebird Festival, a white puma, and much more.
Issue 131 (December 3, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, the oddities I saw this week, my one strange George H.W. Bush memory, a book update, and lots of oddity news items, including a fake UFO abduction memorial, an old skeleton with a bird skull in its mouth, one of Canada's oldest cemeteries, and much more.
Issue 130 (November 25, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at my most recent oddity jaunt, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at that man who gave us Christmas (Washington Irving!!!), and lots of oddity news, including a wooden troll that is dividing a town, a school bus graveyard, the original Statue of Liberty Torch, and much more.
Issue 129 (November 18, 2018): A long This Week in OTIS that includes Christmas and publishing updates and OTIS updates, bonus photos, my trip to a robotic warehouse, the site of a fellow oddity traveler, and lots of oddity news items, including a Danny DeVito bathroom shrine, modern cavemen in the UK, Lizzie Borden's other house, and much more.
Issue 128 (November 11, 2018): This Week in OTIS, an update on my upcoming book contracts, a review of Solo: A Star Wars Story, a sneak peak at some Christmas oddities I'll be writing about, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items, including ghost sculptures, cat mummies, hostile architecture, and much more.
Issue 127 (November 4, 2018): This Week in OTIS, exciting news about my books, bonus photos, my visit to a corpse flower, a book review, an OTIS Map update, and lots of oddity news items, including serial killer art, suing Satanists, gangster shrines, and much more.
Issue 126 (October 28, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus MoPOP horror movie prop photos, updates to the OTIS Map, the arrival of my new daughter, and lots of oddity news items, including a breathing forest, a killer doll house, Notre-Dame gargoyles, and much more.
Issue 125 (October 21, 2018): This Week in OTIS, an update on Baby Wait 2018, a movie suggestion complete with filming locations on the OTIS Map, a novel update, and lots of oddity news items, including a headless chicken monster, a hurricane-unearthed shipwreck, a new world's most expensive movie poster, and much more.
Issue 124 (October 14, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a true-crime podcast suggestion, a throwback photo to the pre-OTIS Halloween Season, and lots of oddity news items, including the truck from the original Pet Sematary, a tentacled building in Philadelphia, a map of 26 historic cemeteries around Boston, and much more.
Issue 123 (October 7, 2018):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from my recent day trip, new pins on the OTIS Map, a book recommendation, writing updates, and lots of oddity news, including an homage to Stephen King's "The Raft," illuminated mausoleums, cryptid-tourism, and much more.
Issue 122 (September 30, 2018): This Week in OTIS, writing updates, bonus photos, how I ran afoul of Patreon terms of service, Thriller poster winner announcement, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items, including the Cottingley Fair photos being up for auction, photos of White House Halloweens past, a reappearing church skeleton, and much more.
Issue 121 (September 23, 2018): This week in OTIS, writing updates, bonus photos from the Ripley's museum in Wisconsin, OTIS Map updates, the winner of last week's giveaway, a brand new giveaway, and lots of oddity news items, including a Yogi Bear Graveyard, glowing beach rocks, a Hocus Pocus haunted house, and much more.
Issue 120 (September 16, 2018): This Week in OTIS, a Halloween giveaway, an OTIS Map update, bonus photos from my road trip this week, writing updates, and lots of oddity news items, including a magical items exhibition in England, a cremation exhibition in Texas, and a mysterious tunnel in Vermont.
Issue 119 (September 9, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, Strange Stuffy from my Study, a look at this year's events for Sleepy Hollow's Legends weekends, and lots of oddity news items, including a mass grave of mummy penguins, abandoned warplanes in Texas, a scientific study of a Ouija board, and much more.
Issue 118 (September 2, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, what book project working on now, the site and artifact list of a famous New Hampshire murder, you're getting a book review, and lots of oddity news items, including hunger stones, robot dinosaur hotel staff, a devil-worshiping church (in the classic sense), and much more.
Issue 117 (August 26, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my visit to Salem, update on the pitch process for my haunted house novel, a movie review, and lots of oddity news items, including ancient Spanish caves, bog snorkeling, a 5,000-year-old graveyard, and much more.
Issue 116 (August 19, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a writing update, a look at all the podcasts I listen to, a big opportunity I missed this week, and lots of oddity news, including a strange Fukushima monument, Viking bones, a recreated unsolved murder site, and much more.
Issue 115 (August 12, 2018): This Week in OTIS, an exclusive wrap up of my trip, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a blast from the past, and lots of oddity news items, including a "Golden Man" mummy, fishing boat caskets, the original Aerosmith van, and much more.
Issue 114 (August 6, 2018): Another On the Road edition! In this issue, I recount Days 5-10 of the cross-country trip....which is officially over as of today. I'm still coming to terms with that.
Issue 113 (July 30, 2018): In this special On the Road edition, I recount my first four days of a 10-day cross country trip, which had us going from New Hampshire all the way to South Dakota.
Issue 112 (July 22, 2018): This week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, a preview of my cross-country itinerary, a cool oddity I recently learned about, and lots of oddity news, including the skeleton of a witch, a rose pyramid, a newly discovered Irish tomb, and much more.
Issue 111 (July 15, 2018): This Week in OTIS, the ultimate OTIS Map update, bonus photos, a look at the 24-hour Joe Bob Briggs Last Drive-In, a book tip, and lots of oddity news, including a hair museum, a robot hotel, a lavender labyrinth, and much more.
Issue 110 (July 8, 2018): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, details of my next big trip, information about appearances, writing updates, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including a history of rat kings, an Addams Family painting, blood rains, and much more.
Issue 109 (July 1, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a look at some of my side trips over the years, my favorite television series, and lots of oddity news items, including how to hang out at the Scream house this October, how to beat a bodysnatcher, how to earn a few thousand bucks by finding information about a mysterious giant glyph in Australia, and much more.
Issue 108 (June 24, 2018): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, oddities I saw in Alabama, my lightly Stephen-King-themed, week, and lots of oddity news items, including giant drug spoons, the world's smallest desert, a ship graveyard, and much more.
Issue 107 (June 17, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my latest lecture, a story of a monster in my yard, OTIS Map updates, upcoming travel for me, lots of oddity news items, and much more.
Issue 106 (June 10, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, my upcoming appearances, a look at a funereal oddity I visited this week, a capsule review of "Hereditary," and lots of oddity news items, including a Bigfoot festival, artifacts from a family of hangmen, giant statues, and much more.
Issue 105 (June 4, 2018): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a piece about my recent jaunt to Salem, OTIS Map updates, and lots of oddity news items including the Living Statues Festival, a couple of sea monsters, the volcanic phenomenon of something called Pele's Hair, and lots more. This issue is open to the public.
Issue 104 (May 28, 2018): This issue marks our two year anniversary as a thing on this planet! And it's a special "From the Road" edition! From the Maine coast! Exclamation points for everyone!
Issue 103 (May 20, 2018): This Week in OTIS, map updates, bonus photos, upcoming trip plans, a piece about the one oddity I saw this week, an interesting movie filming site in a recent movie, and lots of oddity news items, including an exhibit on death by natural causes, a horse in Pompeii, a robot restaurant, and much more.
Issue 102 (May 13, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, info about my next appearance, how not to find a ghost town, and lots of oddity news items, including Georgia's Nessie, firefly mating, an Orson Welles statue, and much more.
Issue 101 (May 7, 2018):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from our Disney trip, OTIS Map updates, giveaway winners announcement, and lots of oddity news items, including saint bones, Turkish ghost towns, the Creepshow puppet, and much more.
Issue 100 (April 29, 2018): In this special "On the Road" issue, I give you my newly formed impressions of the four main parks of Disney, tell you the most unique experience I had here, and give away two keys to the Haunted Mansion (which was my favorite experience).
Issue 99 (April 22, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my time at a writing conference, Strange Stuff from My Study, a cool presidential assassination monument, and lots of oddity news items, including the alien on the Met, a suicide machine, a pub robot, and much more.
Issue 98 (April 15, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at how we celebrated Friday the 13th (including what happened when I showed my 9-year-old "Night of the Living Dead"), a look at the spooky-true story behind the movie "Veronica," and lots of oddity news items, including an Indian skull in an English Pub, a stolen heart, a death awareness cafe, and much more.
Issue 97 (April 8, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at the new Dr. Seuss Museum, the house of a science fiction author, the Museums on Us program, an update on my latest writing projects, new pins in the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items, including ghost marriages, pirate burial grounds, English charnel houses, and much more.
Issue 96 (April 1, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of the oddities I visited this week, a look at my new favorite show, and lots of oddity news items, including a Volkswagen graveyard, a Burning Man exhibit, a ghost town turned resort, and much more!
Issue 95 (March 25, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a look at the oddities I visited this week, my review of the last (and horrible) episode of The X-Files, and oddity news, including orange snowstorms, cemetery slums, a Kirkbride retirement home, and much more.
Issue 94 (March 18, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a look at my oceanside oddity failures from Saturday, a review of the penultimate episode of this season's X-Files, and lots of oddity news, including ghost islands, living bridges, Charles Manson's body, and much more.
Issue 93 (March 11, 2018): This Week in OTIS, lots of bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, Disney World trip news, my latest oddity jaunt, a review of the newest The X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news items, including a murder tombstone, the Debosnys Ciphers, the 350th anniversary of the Seven Gables house, and much more.
Issue 92 (March 4, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, movie capsule reviews, a discussion of the latest The X-Files episode, my next appearance, and lots of oddity news items, including Hitler's Bell, the Loch Ness Monster, the upcoming Frozen Dead Guy Days, and much more.
Issue 91 (February 25, 2018): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, a writing update, an explanation of my Disney Debacle, and lots of oddity news items, including a 500-foot-tall clock in a mountain, a Swiss witch museum, an opportunity to visit the campground from the original Friday the 13th movie, and much more.
Issue 90 (February 19, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, the story of my only wild bear encounter, a look at an East Coast Poe site I've never visited, updates to the OTIS Map, my reading list so far this year, and lots of oddity news items, including a man-dog statue, a screaming mummy, UFO debris, and much more.
Issue 89 (February 11, 2018):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at OTIS videos, updates to the OTIS Map, a review of the latest The X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news, including a Planet of the Apes exhibition, infamous pirate remains, literary bars, and much more.
Issue 88 (February 5, 2018):This Week in OTIS, some for-your-eyes only New York Grimpendium photos, a review of the latest episode of The X-Files, and lots off oddity news items, including a viking army mass grave, Gorini the Petrifier, Jack the Ripper letters, and much more.
Issue 87 (January 28, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddities, a kick off to this week's The New York Grimpendium Redux, a review of the latest (and brilliant) X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news items, including Robert Burns' skull, the Berlin Wall, the last American slave ship, and lots more.
Issue 86 (January 21, 2018): This Week in OTIS, sneak peeks at the next OTIS articles, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, a review of the most recent episode of The X-Files, news of my next big trip, a look at the OTIS archives, and lots off oddity news items, including the frozen burial mound of a prince, underwater tunnels related to the Mayans, the status of the Evermore park, and lots more.
Issue 85 (January 14, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, lessons learned from 24 hours in Florida, a look at Thoreau's cabin, a review of this week's X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news items, including a Game of Thrones-themed ice hotel, a traveling religious relic, deep sea fish washing ashore, and lots more.
Issue 84 (January 8, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, tips for oddity hunting in the snow, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at Ep 1 of the new The X-Files season, and lots of oddity news, including a Universal Monsters exhibition, a Lucifer statue, bullet-ridden bibles, and much more.
Issue 83 (January 1, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, oddities I visited this week, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddities, a look at the fate of the Connecticut cabin from Friday the 13th, Part 2, and lots of oddity news items, including Alaska's swampy cemeteries, mermaid auditions, secret messages in mummy cases, and lots more.
Issue 82 (December 25, 2017): This (festive) Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of the oddity I failed to visit this month, my "to visit" list of year-round Christmas oddity, an update on the New Hampshire Witch House, and lots of oddity news items, including the moving of the Salem Witch Trials documents out of Salem, top cryptozoology stories of the year, ice castles, and much more.
Issue 81 (December 17, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, some of my (non-spoilery) thoughts on The Last Jedi, a peek at some Star Wars stuff in my study, and lots of oddity news items, including an art installation of giant skulls, Star Wars autographs, the first war horse grave, and much more.
Issue 80 (December 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, Star Wars thoughts, my statement on the Patreon controversy, and lots of oddity news items, including portrait mummy x-rays, ice age caves under a Canadian city, a Krampus shindig, and much more.
Issue 79 (December 3, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at a novel that uses a real-life oddity as its central mystery, some other books I've been reading, OTIS Map updates, writing updates, and oddity news items, including a murder house for sale, a fake sphinx found in the desert, an underground city full of wine, and much more.
Issue 78 (November 26, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a piece on a Winter Holiday Stroll I attended, a call for beta readers, and lots of oddity news items, including a relocated Poe Statue, the uncovering of a giant ominous stone swastika, and a tour through Ray Bradbury's childhood home in...Arizona, and much more.
Issue 77 (November 19, 2017): This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, bonus photos from the Guillermo del Toro exhibition, a peek at my Christmas, and lots of oddity news, including the remains of a Stellar's sea cow, King Tut's treasure chest, and a hundred horse skeletons in a tomb, and much more.
Issue 76 (November 12, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a tour of the books in my library, a morbid book review, a gravestone with a beard, and lots of oddity news items, including a cave restaurant, a parasite collection, a Hitler statue that was apparently a bad idea, and much more.
Issue 75 (November 6, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, ruins in Staten Island, a look at the research that went into Death and Douglas, a mini-review of Stranger Things 2, and lots of oddity news items, including skeleton dioramas, great photos of the H.H. Holmes exhumation, the racism behind alien mummy hoaxes, and much more.
Issue 74 (October 29, 2017):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from Haunted Overload, a look at how November might look for me writing-wise, an update on the OTIS Map of Oddities, and lots of oddity news items, including a Scottish witch trials monument, a spacecraft junkyard, an alien-infested ranch, and much more.
Issue 73 (October 22, 2017): This Week in OTIS, Theo Jansen's Strandbeests, the #1 tip for visiting Salem, contest winner announcement, Death and Douglas news, and lots of oddity news items including a moon cave, paranormal museum artifacts, the Winchester Mystery House, and lots more.
Issue 72 (October 15, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at the first quarry in the U.S., an OTIS Club giveaway (Vincent Price-themed), and lots of oddity news items, including vampires, fire devils, haunted out buildings, and much more.
Issue 71 (October 8, 2017): This Week in OTIS, details of my trip to Kinderhook, NY, bonus photos, a deeper dive into Salem's It's Alive! exhibit, lots of Headless Horseman stuff, and lots of oddity news items, including a witchcraft museum in Cleveland, Jeremy Bentham's body coming to the states, an Edgar Allan Poe made of peeps, and much more.
Issue 70 (October 1, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a Halloween movie suggestion, an announcement for an upcoming giveaway, a summary of my recent talk, and lots of oddity news items, including a blue tarantula, an Australian skull controversy, Hitler's underwear, and much more.
Issue 69 (September 24, 2017): This Week in OTIS, never-before-seen photos, a Halloween book review, and lots of oddity news items, including an OTIS Club member's trek into Japan's suicide forest, Europe's largest collection of painted skulls, a landscape of dead pigs, and much more.
Issue 68 (September 17, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my actual Halloween music playlist, the winner of a Death & Douglas ARC, and lots of oddity news items, including what's beneath a Mayan pyramid, the opening of a haunted museum, the discovery of St. Peter's bones, and much more.
Issue 67 (September 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a chronicle of the five oddities I saw this week down south, exclusive photos, an exclusive look at the dust jacket for the hardback Death and Douglas, my short take on IT, and lots of oddity news, including a newly translate devil letter, a ghost lobster, a new vampire theory, and much more.
Issue 66 (September 3, 2017): A Halloween-y This Week in OTIS, a sad update on our pumpkin patch, the story of a witch-themed restaurant in Boston, a monster costume, and lots of oddity news items, including a blobby Canadian monster, the ex-John Dillinger Museum, a macabre painting exhibition, and much more.
Issue 65 (August 27, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a preview of the 2017 OTIS Halloween Season, bonus photos, a British series recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including floating houses, a tour of Crystal Lake, a museum dedicated to Europe's last witch, and much more.
Issue 64 (August 20, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a look at ten of the strangest statues I've visited, the oldest inn in England, plenty of photos, a reading suggestion, and lots of oddity news items, including an abandoned asylum turned hotel, newly discovered tombs in Egypt, eclipse-predicting petroglyphs, and much more.
Issue 63 (August 14, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my experience hanging out with a movie monster maker, a quick survey about the newsletter, and the latest oddity news items, including new oarfish sightings, the Return of the Living Dead house, traces of cannibalism in Britain, and much more.
Issue 62 (August 8, 2017): Special “On the Road” edition detailing my trek exploring the roads and coasts of Nova Scotia.
Issue 61 (July 30, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at my trips to Canada in anticipation of my next trip, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news, including a murder island for sale, mothmen in Chicago, turf houses, and much more.
Issue 60 (July 23, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at my summer day in Salem, a giant snake, a British docu-series about road-trippin' all of the U.S., and lots of oddity news items, including a spell book that needs translating, a giant squid off Ireland, the tomb of Tut's wife, and much more.
Issue 59 (July 16, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a new entry in Strange Stuff from My Study (one of my favorite things in my study, in fact), some capsule movie reviews, and lots of oddity news items, including a monster in a North Carolina lake, a mummy in a church, a black hole in the Future Circular Collider, and much more.
Issue 58 (July 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a deeper dive into the OTIS archive, a look at movies I've seen this week, and lots of oddity news items, including a graveyard of giants, moonlight markings in monoliths, why UFOs are about to go big, and much more.
Issue 57 (July 3, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of my visit to an amazing personal collection, bonus photos, an update on my next book, and lots of oddity news items, including skull cults, new islands, a Lovecraft statue, and much more.
Issue 56 (June 25, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of my visit to a 115-year-old amusement park--complete with ancient coasters and a dark ride--my current reading list, and lots of oddity news items, including the newest Stephen King filming site, ancient witch markings, an underwater forest, and much more.
Issue 55 (June 18, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a peek at the OTIS Backlog, my adventures with a drone, and lots of oddity news items, including a stolen brain, a Chernobyl hostel, bears holding Dracula's castle hostage, and much more.
Issue 54 (June 11, 2017): A very random This Week in OTIS, a look at my attempt to woo bats, exclusive photos, some TV talk, and lots of oddity news items, including the Hypogeum reopening, a Harryhausen exhibition, a map of buried ships, and much more.
Issue 53 (June 4, 2017): This Week in OTIS, road trip photos, dinosaurs, Vincent Price, and lots of oddity news items, including faceless fish, Three Mile Island, HearseCon, and much more.
Issue 52 (May 29, 2017 - Free Issue): This Week in OTIS, an embarrassing account of my worst book appearance ever, exclusive photos from the OTIS archives, and lots of oddity news items, including a newfound cemetery, an insane asylum turned library, a dancing skeleton, and much more.
Issue 51 (May 21, 2017): This Week in OTIS, whale skeletons, dark rides,exclusive photos, a monster travel show review, and lots of oddity news items, including extraterrestrial dust, a cyclops goat, and Toynbee Tiles. Oh and a sneaky peak at...THE COVER OF MY NEXT BOOK!
Issue 50 (May 14, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, some Ghostbusters vs. Cthulhu, a cement shark, my recent cemetery jaunts, and lots of oddity news items, including mummies, dinosaurs, giant arms rising out of the canals of Venice, and much more.
Issue 49 (May 8, 2017): This Week in OTIS, how an agent is changing my writing schedule, exclusive photos, an unfortunate update on the mileage of my Civic, my personal hunt for the shard of a vampire's coffin, and lots of oddity news items, including H.H. Holmes, the Mud Men of New Guinea, Yemen mummies in danger of decay, and much more.
Issue 48 (April 30, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, some news about my writing life, a look at my Oddity-Hunting Machine, an example from my oddity backlog, and lots of oddity news items, including dolls at Chernobyl, the Loch Ness Monster, the Venice Beach Freakshow, and much more.
Issue 47 (April 23, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a personal essay looking back at the past ten years, giveaway winners announcement, and lots oddity news items, including newly discovered mummies, giant shipworms, a Halloween-themed cafe, and much more.
Issue 46 (April 17, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a recounting of some of the oddities we found this weekend, a book recommendation, a giveaway, and lots of oddity news items, including neon skulls, Jesus's DNA, the albino Muse brothers, and much more.
Issue 45 (April 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, oddities I saw in South Carolina this week, oddities I wanted to see in South Carolina this week, lessons from the Emily Dickens House, and lots of oddity news items, like a cemetery of hanged men, mourning statues, and a newly discovered Egyptian pyramid, and much more.
Issue 44 (April 2, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, 10 surprises from my UK trip, OTIS Miscellany, and lots of oddity news items, like megafauna tunnels, the caves of Blackheath, Bela Lugosi's house, and much more.
Issue 43 (March 27, 2017): Special “On the Road” edition detailing my trip so far in England, which involves famous graves, 13th century monasteries, and lots of pubs.
Issue 42 (March 19, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, Strange Stuff from My Study (vampire fangs from "Buffy"), a sneak peak at the next OTIS post, and lots of oddity news items, including a restaurant that dissects humans, coffins at a Philly construction site, a Harry Potter Forbidden Forest attraction, and much more.
Issue 41 (March 13, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of my second trip to the Winchester Mystery House, movie suggestions, and lots of oddity news items, including a wildflower superbloom, skeletons under a wine shop, a Hyperloop test track, and much more.
Issue 40 (March 5, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a rundown of my California trip, exclusive photos, info on a new Joe Coleman exhibit, and lots of oddity news items, including Antarctica tourism, Siberia's Doorway to Hell, the Paris underground, and much more.
Issue 39 (February 26, 2017): This Week in OTIS, details about my next public appearance, a road trip movie recommendation, the secret to turning a two-day weekend into a three-day weekend, an exclusive photo, and lots of oddity news items, including a cemetery circus, a six-foot long carnivorous worm, Hitler's phone, and much more.
Issue 38 (February 20, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a chronicle of my seven-hour South Shore day trip and the oddities we found, never-before-seen photos, a look at a movie about oddity-hunting, and lots of oddity news items, including an oarfish corpse, a Japanese hearse, a cannibal map, and much more.
Issue 37 (February 12, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at what's changed in Salem since my stay there, a tiny preview of my next book, and lots of oddity news items, including Bigfoot exhibitions, Stalin's holiday home, a Golden Girls-themed cafe, and much more.
Issue 36 (February 5, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look into my writing life, an obscure movie suggestion, and lots of oddity news, including items on a glass beach in Russia, a lava firehose in Hawaii, robot bats, ice instruments, Deadman's Island, and much more.
Issue 35 (January 29, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, the story of my aborted oddity hunt this week, the winner announcement for the "No, You Throw It Away" giveaway, and lots of oddity news, including items on Judy Garland's remains, Europe's first forensic cemetery, a rare E.A. Poe photo, and much more.
Issue 34 (January 22, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a look at the best comment threads on the site, a contest giveaway straight out of my collection, and lots of oddity news, including a road trip of horror filming sites, a hidden Buddha, a tunnel under Stonehenge, and much more.
Issue 33 (January 15, 2017): This Week in OTIS, the continuing saga of my collection, exclusive photos, updates on the club, and lots of oddity news, including ruby seadragons, ancient middle eastern windmills, ice castles, and much more.
Issue 32 (January 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a look at my strange collection over the years, The OA on Netflix, and lots of oddity news, including the death of a famous sequoia, the remotest national park, an Egyptian bird mummy that turns out not to be a bird mummy, and much more.
Issue 31 (January 2, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive oddity photos, a look at a private writing project of mine, some haunted house talk, and lots of oddity news, including a macabre jewelry show, an English werewolf, new museums of the weird, and much more.
Issue 30 (December 26, 2016): This Week in OTIS, California on the OTIS Map of Oddities, my take on Rogue One, an exclusive photo, some of my strange Christmas haul, and lots of oddity news, including a lost medieval city in North America, Zak Bagan's latest addition to his creepy museum, plans for the world's largest statue, and much more.
Issue 29 (December 19, 2016): This Week in OTIS, my new experience in front of the camera, an exclusive photo from an oddity visit, a meandering review of The Arrival, and lots of oddity news, including an abandoned Russian air force base, spiders made of light, a ghost shark, and much more.
Issue 28 (December 11, 2016): This Week in OTIS, OTIS oddities that no longer exist, an exclusive photo of a mythical beast, a review of a book about a dead kid, and lots of oddity news, including mysterious sea blobs, Fidel Castro's tomb, the rusty fate of the world's longest limo, and much more.
Issue 27 (December 4, 2016): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, OTIS Club surprises for me so far, a breakdown of membership by state, exclusive photos, and lots of oddity news, including Disney creating a Death Star, a place to rent in a British cemetery, an underwater resort room, and much more.
Issue 26 (November 27, 2016): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, my trek to abandoned houses and battlefields and executions sites, exclusive photos, strange stuff from my basement, and lots of oddity news, including a secret Nazi Arctic base, a ghost rainbow, a Krampus parade, and much more.
Issue 25 (November 20, 2016): This Week in OTIS, exclusive OTIS photos, an account of one of the first people to enter Prince's Paisley Park after it opened to the public (bonus: Prince's ashes), a spooky travel book recommendation, and lots of oddity news, including the discovery of a new mummy in Egypt, a mysterious skeleton in a cylinder, a new Dr. Seuss Museum, and much more.
Issue 24 (November 13, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a jail turned restaurant, a tribute to Leonard Cohen, a sneak peek of next week's issue, and lots of oddity news, including the skeleton of a giantess, a 600-year-old tree, and the reinvention of spiritualism, and much more.
Issue 23 (November 6, 2016): This Week in OTIS, Manhattan owl gargoyles, the story of my next book, a look at Charles L. Grant novels, and lots of oddity news, including giant earthworms, witch marks, ice monsters, and much more.
Issue 22 (October 30, 2016): This Week in OTIS, my history of Halloween costumes, a visit to Haunted Lake, and lots of oddity news, including Zak Bagans's Haunted Museum, a bloody stake memorial, how Hollywood and Halloween are altering Mexico's Day of the Dead, and much more.
Issue 21 (October 25, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an account of my Poe talk at the opening of a Poe exhibition in Baltimore, an autographed Vincent Price script, McDonald's Halloween pails, and lots of oddity news, including an atheist graveyard in Sweden, the finally opened Sloane Catacombs in London, why Halloween stores love a bad economy, and much more.
Issue 20 (October 17, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a chronicle of my finds on Saturday's Autumn road trip, a photo from the archives from an Autumn road trip past, a look at the animated movie Over the Garden Wall, and lots of oddity news, including a look at the history of haunted house attractions, the grave of the priest who inspired The Exorcist, the skull of Nat Turner, the now-open gas station from TXCM, Ivan the Terrible's first statue, and much more.
Issue 19 (October 10, 2016): This Week in OTIS--which is basically lots of Salem--, the October I did 25 haunts in 4 different states, a moral from the Bone Church, a look at the horror books of Charles L. Grant, and lots of oddity news, including a cannibal buffet, a magician auction, a glowworm cave, a new Poe exhibition, and much more.
Issue 18 (October 2, 2016): This Week in OTIS, monster corn, how I spent my Florida Halloweens, a horror nonfiction recommendation, the winners of the Bookmark of the Beast giveaway, and lots of oddity news, including prisoner bones found in backyards, a fake giant octopus attack memorial, a town haunted by radio waves, and much more.
Issue 17 (September 25, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a corpse flower, Ray Bradbury week, prep work for the debut of my new book, Connecticut's Witch's Dungeon, a giveaway, and lots of oddity news, including a new H.G. Wells statue, a human skeleton in the Antikythera wreck, a Satanic temple in Salem, and much more.
Issue 16 (September 18, 2016): This Week in OTIS, the story of the time I thought a killer was in my house, a coffin made out of a car, Herman Munster's grave, and lots of oddity news, including a ghost forest, the site of the biggest witch trial in history, a derelict mansion with the car crusher from Superman III, and much more.
Issue 15 (September 13, 2016): This Week in OTIS, the great and frustrating travelogues of Bill Bryson, one of the strangest OTIS Archive photos ever, and lots of oddity news, including the Arctic shipwreck of the HMS Terror, a Mexican cave filled with bones, a driverless hearse, and much more.
Issue 14 (September 4, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an overview of my nine-hour road trip on Saturday with some extremely primo oddities including a saints arm and a derelict horror movie site, Rob Zombie's ex-mansion, a trick to doing long road trips in your spare time, and lots of oddity news, including a Labyrinth exhibit, a magical elf stone, a newly found Irish castle, and much more.
Issue 13 (August 28, 2016): This Week in OTIS, my Jack the Ripper-themed week and how that involves a bridge in Arizona and David Hasselhoff, a look at a haunted house-themed eatery in Canada, a giveaway winners announcement, and lots of oddity news, including an Addams Family restaurant in India, Voynich Manuscript publication plans, the spooky Ancient Ram Inn in England, and the strange hunt for a rumored wild python in Maine, and much more.
Issue 12 (August 21, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a Strange Stuff from My Study article on probably the strangest object in my study (that I kind of wish I didn't own), an OTIS Club giveaway starring Elvira the Mistress of the Dark, and lots of oddity news, from the newly christened oldest European organism to the newly discovered second oldest Great Lakes shipwreck to the latest Loch Ness Monster photo, and much more.
Issue 11 (August 14, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a preview of the 2016 OTIS Halloween Season, a look at a movie about a guy who likes to visit serial killers sites and a look at my own resume in that area, and lots of oddity news, including an estate haunted by a naughty ghost ape, newly discovered Serbian magic spell scrolls, a planned Lovecraft statue, a Poe film festival, and much more..
Issue 10 (August 7, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an article about what happens the week after a road trip (and how much it sucks), a look at some of the oddities I didn't get to en route, and lots of oddity news, from the Ray Bradbury statue design and a Gravity Falls discovery to Mormon bones, an archaeological find beneath the Times Square Toys R Us, and much more.
Issue 9 (July 31, 2016): The second special “On the Road” edition detailing Days 4-9 of our Great Lakes road trip, which ended up throwing a grand total of 3,620 miles at our odometer. For context, the U.S. itself is about 2,700-miles wide.
Issue 8 (July 24, 2016): Special “On the Road” edition detailing the first three days of our 9-day Great Lakes road trip–everything we’ve seen, done, and the condition of my car after about 1,000 new miles on it (spoiler: stuff is falling off of it).
Issue 7 (July 18, 2016 - Free Issue): This Week in OTIS, a story about the most morbid thing I've ever done, exclusive photos, my OTIS-y take on the new Ghostbusters movie, and lots of oddity news, from a Halloween asteroid to a Jewish pirate grave to a town being transformed for the new Stephen King's IT adaptation.
Issue 6 (July 10, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a preview of the massive road trip I'm taking at the end of the month, an ironic movie filming location, a look at an Albert Brooks road trip movie, and lots of oddity news, from a Frankenstein exhibition in Geneva to the destruction of an odd and iconic earthquake fault marker in Los Angeles to a writer-in-residence office atop a bridge in Seattle.
Issue 5 (July 4, 2016): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddity, how OTIS got an audience, Civl War soldier bones, new perks announcement, and lots of oddity news, from Lost Colony of Roanoke artifacts in North Carolina to a hand-dug Holocaust escape tunnel in Lithuania to a Godzilla footprint in Japan.
Issue 4 (June 26, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an exciting book pre-announcement, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddity, what it's like to visit weird, morbid stuff with kids in tow, the Jersey Devil, the first ever OTIS Club giveaway winner is announced, and lots of oddity news, from cannibal skulls in Pennsylvania to Men in Black in Iowa.
Issue 3 (June 19, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a new column that focuses on OTIS's many influences (this issue, the show Mystery Hunters), giant metal bugs, my least well-received book, a giveaway, and lots of oddity news, from the oldest witch shop in New York to a tourist cave contaminated by a Superfund site.
Issue 2 (June 12, 2016): This Week in OTIS, the top ten oddities on my bucket list, a review of a book on monster hunting, a unicorn sighting, and lots of oddity news, from the future fate of the Arecibo telescope and an iconic evil clown sign in New Jersey to holy relic theft and a paranormal museum live-feed.
Issue 1 (June 5, 2016): This Week in OTIS, Strange Stuff from my Study, bonus photos from the week's OTIS articles, a Bigfoot sighting, how OTIS has ruined movies for me, and lots of oddity news, from a gravedigging contest to a mansion full of religious iconography
Issue 99 (April 22, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my time at a writing conference, Strange Stuff from My Study, a cool presidential assassination monument, and lots of oddity news items, including the alien on the Met, a suicide machine, a pub robot, and much more.
Issue 98 (April 15, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at how we celebrated Friday the 13th (including what happened when I showed my 9-year-old "Night of the Living Dead"), a look at the spooky-true story behind the movie "Veronica," and lots of oddity news items, including an Indian skull in an English Pub, a stolen heart, a death awareness cafe, and much more.
Issue 97 (April 8, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at the new Dr. Seuss Museum, the house of a science fiction author, the Museums on Us program, an update on my latest writing projects, new pins in the OTIS Map, and lots of oddity news items, including ghost marriages, pirate burial grounds, English charnel houses, and much more.
Issue 96 (April 1, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of the oddities I visited this week, a look at my new favorite show, and lots of oddity news items, including a Volkswagen graveyard, a Burning Man exhibit, a ghost town turned resort, and much more!
Issue 95 (March 25, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a look at the oddities I visited this week, my review of the last (and horrible) episode of The X-Files, and oddity news, including orange snowstorms, cemetery slums, a Kirkbride retirement home, and much more.
Issue 94 (March 18, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, a look at my oceanside oddity failures from Saturday, a review of the penultimate episode of this season's X-Files, and lots of oddity news, including ghost islands, living bridges, Charles Manson's body, and much more.
Issue 93 (March 11, 2018): This Week in OTIS, lots of bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, Disney World trip news, my latest oddity jaunt, a review of the newest The X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news items, including a murder tombstone, the Debosnys Ciphers, the 350th anniversary of the Seven Gables house, and much more.
Issue 92 (March 4, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, movie capsule reviews, a discussion of the latest The X-Files episode, my next appearance, and lots of oddity news items, including Hitler's Bell, the Loch Ness Monster, the upcoming Frozen Dead Guy Days, and much more.
Issue 91 (February 25, 2018): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, a writing update, an explanation of my Disney Debacle, and lots of oddity news items, including a 500-foot-tall clock in a mountain, a Swiss witch museum, an opportunity to visit the campground from the original Friday the 13th movie, and much more.
Issue 90 (February 19, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, the story of my only wild bear encounter, a look at an East Coast Poe site I've never visited, updates to the OTIS Map, my reading list so far this year, and lots of oddity news items, including a man-dog statue, a screaming mummy, UFO debris, and much more.
Issue 89 (February 11, 2018):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at OTIS videos, updates to the OTIS Map, a review of the latest The X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news, including a Planet of the Apes exhibition, infamous pirate remains, literary bars, and much more.
Issue 88 (February 5, 2018):This Week in OTIS, some for-your-eyes only New York Grimpendium photos, a review of the latest episode of The X-Files, and lots off oddity news items, including a viking army mass grave, Gorini the Petrifier, Jack the Ripper letters, and much more.
Issue 87 (January 28, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddities, a kick off to this week's The New York Grimpendium Redux, a review of the latest (and brilliant) X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news items, including Robert Burns' skull, the Berlin Wall, the last American slave ship, and lots more.
Issue 86 (January 21, 2018): This Week in OTIS, sneak peeks at the next OTIS articles, updates to the OTIS Map, bonus photos, a review of the most recent episode of The X-Files, news of my next big trip, a look at the OTIS archives, and lots off oddity news items, including the frozen burial mound of a prince, underwater tunnels related to the Mayans, the status of the Evermore park, and lots more.
Issue 85 (January 14, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, lessons learned from 24 hours in Florida, a look at Thoreau's cabin, a review of this week's X-Files episode, and lots of oddity news items, including a Game of Thrones-themed ice hotel, a traveling religious relic, deep sea fish washing ashore, and lots more.
Issue 84 (January 8, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, tips for oddity hunting in the snow, updates to the OTIS Map, a look at Ep 1 of the new The X-Files season, and lots of oddity news, including a Universal Monsters exhibition, a Lucifer statue, bullet-ridden bibles, and much more.
Issue 83 (January 1, 2018): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, oddities I visited this week, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddities, a look at the fate of the Connecticut cabin from Friday the 13th, Part 2, and lots of oddity news items, including Alaska's swampy cemeteries, mermaid auditions, secret messages in mummy cases, and lots more.
Issue 82 (December 25, 2017): This (festive) Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of the oddity I failed to visit this month, my "to visit" list of year-round Christmas oddity, an update on the New Hampshire Witch House, and lots of oddity news items, including the moving of the Salem Witch Trials documents out of Salem, top cryptozoology stories of the year, ice castles, and much more.
Issue 81 (December 17, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, some of my (non-spoilery) thoughts on The Last Jedi, a peek at some Star Wars stuff in my study, and lots of oddity news items, including an art installation of giant skulls, Star Wars autographs, the first war horse grave, and much more.
Issue 80 (December 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, OTIS Map updates, Star Wars thoughts, my statement on the Patreon controversy, and lots of oddity news items, including portrait mummy x-rays, ice age caves under a Canadian city, a Krampus shindig, and much more.
Issue 79 (December 3, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at a novel that uses a real-life oddity as its central mystery, some other books I've been reading, OTIS Map updates, writing updates, and oddity news items, including a murder house for sale, a fake sphinx found in the desert, an underground city full of wine, and much more.
Issue 77 (November 19, 2017): This Week in OTIS, OTIS Map updates, bonus photos from the Guillermo del Toro exhibition, a peek at my Christmas, and lots of oddity news, including the remains of a Stellar's sea cow, King Tut's treasure chest, and a hundred horse skeletons in a tomb, and much more.
Issue 76 (November 12, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a tour of the books in my library, a morbid book review, a gravestone with a beard, and lots of oddity news items, including a cave restaurant, a parasite collection, a Hitler statue that was apparently a bad idea, and much more.
Issue 75 (November 6, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, ruins in Staten Island, a look at the research that went into Death and Douglas, a mini-review of Stranger Things 2, and lots of oddity news items, including skeleton dioramas, great photos of the H.H. Holmes exhumation, the racism behind alien mummy hoaxes, and much more.
Issue 74 (October 29, 2017):This Week in OTIS, bonus photos from Haunted Overload, a look at how November might look for me writing-wise, an update on the OTIS Map of Oddities, and lots of oddity news items, including a Scottish witch trials monument, a spacecraft junkyard, an alien-infested ranch, and much more.
Issue 73 (October 22, 2017): This Week in OTIS, Theo Jansen's Strandbeests, the #1 tip for visiting Salem, contest winner announcement, Death and Douglas news, and lots of oddity news items including a moon cave, paranormal museum artifacts, the Winchester Mystery House, and lots more.
Issue 72 (October 15, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at the first quarry in the U.S., an OTIS Club giveaway (Vincent Price-themed), and lots of oddity news items, including vampires, fire devils, haunted out buildings, and much more.
Issue 71 (October 8, 2017): This Week in OTIS, details of my trip to Kinderhook, NY, bonus photos, a deeper dive into Salem's It's Alive! exhibit, lots of Headless Horseman stuff, and lots of oddity news items, including a witchcraft museum in Cleveland, Jeremy Bentham's body coming to the states, an Edgar Allan Poe made of peeps, and much more.
Issue 70 (October 1, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a Halloween movie suggestion, an announcement for an upcoming giveaway, a summary of my recent talk, and lots of oddity news items, including a blue tarantula, an Australian skull controversy, Hitler's underwear, and much more.
Issue 69 (September 24, 2017): This Week in OTIS, never-before-seen photos, a Halloween book review, and lots of oddity news items, including an OTIS Club member's trek into Japan's suicide forest, Europe's largest collection of painted skulls, a landscape of dead pigs, and much more.
Issue 67 (September 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a chronicle of the five oddities I saw this week down south, exclusive photos, an exclusive look at the dust jacket for the hardback Death and Douglas, my short take on IT, and lots of oddity news, including a newly translate devil letter, a ghost lobster, a new vampire theory, and much more.
Issue 66 (September 3, 2017): A Halloween-y This Week in OTIS, a sad update on our pumpkin patch, the story of a witch-themed restaurant in Boston, a monster costume, and lots of oddity news items, including a blobby Canadian monster, the ex-John Dillinger Museum, a macabre painting exhibition, and much more.
Issue 65 (August 27, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a preview of the 2017 OTIS Halloween Season, bonus photos, a British series recommendation, and lots of oddity news items, including floating houses, a tour of Crystal Lake, a museum dedicated to Europe's last witch, and much more.
Issue 64 (August 20, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a look at ten of the strangest statues I've visited, the oldest inn in England, plenty of photos, a reading suggestion, and lots of oddity news items, including an abandoned asylum turned hotel, newly discovered tombs in Egypt, eclipse-predicting petroglyphs, and much more.
Issue 63 (August 14, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, my experience hanging out with a movie monster maker, a quick survey about the newsletter, and the latest oddity news items, including new oarfish sightings, the Return of the Living Dead house, traces of cannibalism in Britain, and much more.
Issue 62 (August 8, 2017): Special “On the Road” edition detailing my trek exploring the roads and coasts of Nova Scotia.
Issue 61 (July 30, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at my trips to Canada in anticipation of my next trip, a movie recommendation, and lots of oddity news, including a murder island for sale, mothmen in Chicago, turf houses, and much more.
Issue 60 (July 23, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at my summer day in Salem, a giant snake, a British docu-series about road-trippin' all of the U.S., and lots of oddity news items, including a spell book that needs translating, a giant squid off Ireland, the tomb of Tut's wife, and much more.
Issue 59 (July 16, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a new entry in Strange Stuff from My Study (one of my favorite things in my study, in fact), some capsule movie reviews, and lots of oddity news items, including a monster in a North Carolina lake, a mummy in a church, a black hole in the Future Circular Collider, and much more.
Issue 58 (July 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a deeper dive into the OTIS archive, a look at movies I've seen this week, and lots of oddity news items, including a graveyard of giants, moonlight markings in monoliths, why UFOs are about to go big, and much more.
Issue 57 (July 3, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of my visit to an amazing personal collection, bonus photos, an update on my next book, and lots of oddity news items, including skull cults, new islands, a Lovecraft statue, and much more.
Issue 56 (June 25, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of my visit to a 115-year-old amusement park--complete with ancient coasters and a dark ride--my current reading list, and lots of oddity news items, including the newest Stephen King filming site, ancient witch markings, an underwater forest, and much more.
Issue 55 (June 18, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a peek at the OTIS Backlog, my adventures with a drone, and lots of oddity news items, including a stolen brain, a Chernobyl hostel, bears holding Dracula's castle hostage, and much more.
Issue 54 (June 11, 2017): A very random This Week in OTIS, a look at my attempt to woo bats, exclusive photos, some TV talk, and lots of oddity news items, including the Hypogeum reopening, a Harryhausen exhibition, a map of buried ships, and much more.
Issue 53 (June 4, 2017): This Week in OTIS, road trip photos, dinosaurs, Vincent Price, and lots of oddity news items, including faceless fish, Three Mile Island, HearseCon, and much more.
Issue 52 (May 29, 2017 - Free Issue): This Week in OTIS, an embarrassing account of my worst book appearance ever, exclusive photos from the OTIS archives, and lots of oddity news items, including a newfound cemetery, an insane asylum turned library, a dancing skeleton, and much more.
Issue 51 (May 21, 2017): This Week in OTIS, whale skeletons, dark rides,exclusive photos, a monster travel show review, and lots of oddity news items, including extraterrestrial dust, a cyclops goat, and Toynbee Tiles. Oh and a sneaky peak at...THE COVER OF MY NEXT BOOK!
Issue 50 (May 14, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, some Ghostbusters vs. Cthulhu, a cement shark, my recent cemetery jaunts, and lots of oddity news items, including mummies, dinosaurs, giant arms rising out of the canals of Venice, and much more.
Issue 49 (May 8, 2017): This Week in OTIS, how an agent is changing my writing schedule, exclusive photos, an unfortunate update on the mileage of my Civic, my personal hunt for the shard of a vampire's coffin, and lots of oddity news items, including H.H. Holmes, the Mud Men of New Guinea, Yemen mummies in danger of decay, and much more.
Issue 48 (April 30, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, some news about my writing life, a look at my Oddity-Hunting Machine, an example from my oddity backlog, and lots of oddity news items, including dolls at Chernobyl, the Loch Ness Monster, the Venice Beach Freakshow, and much more.
Issue 47 (April 23, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a personal essay looking back at the past ten years, giveaway winners announcement, and lots oddity news items, including newly discovered mummies, giant shipworms, a Halloween-themed cafe, and much more.
Issue 46 (April 17, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a recounting of some of the oddities we found this weekend, a book recommendation, a giveaway, and lots of oddity news items, including neon skulls, Jesus's DNA, the albino Muse brothers, and much more.
Issue 45 (April 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, oddities I saw in South Carolina this week, oddities I wanted to see in South Carolina this week, lessons from the Emily Dickens House, and lots of oddity news items, like a cemetery of hanged men, mourning statues, and a newly discovered Egyptian pyramid, and much more.
Issue 44 (April 2, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, 10 surprises from my UK trip, OTIS Miscellany, and lots of oddity news items, like megafauna tunnels, the caves of Blackheath, Bela Lugosi's house, and much more.
Issue 43 (March 27, 2017): Special “On the Road” edition detailing my trip so far in England, which involves famous graves, 13th century monasteries, and lots of pubs.
Issue 42 (March 19, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, Strange Stuff from My Study (vampire fangs from "Buffy"), a sneak peak at the next OTIS post, and lots of oddity news items, including a restaurant that dissects humans, coffins at a Philly construction site, a Harry Potter Forbidden Forest attraction, and much more.
Issue 41 (March 13, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, an account of my second trip to the Winchester Mystery House, movie suggestions, and lots of oddity news items, including a wildflower superbloom, skeletons under a wine shop, a Hyperloop test track, and much more.
Issue 40 (March 5, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a rundown of my California trip, exclusive photos, info on a new Joe Coleman exhibit, and lots of oddity news items, including Antarctica tourism, Siberia's Doorway to Hell, the Paris underground, and much more.
Issue 39 (February 26, 2017): This Week in OTIS, details about my next public appearance, a road trip movie recommendation, the secret to turning a two-day weekend into a three-day weekend, an exclusive photo, and lots of oddity news items, including a cemetery circus, a six-foot long carnivorous worm, Hitler's phone, and much more.
Issue 38 (February 20, 2017): This Week in OTIS, a chronicle of my seven-hour South Shore day trip and the oddities we found, never-before-seen photos, a look at a movie about oddity-hunting, and lots of oddity news items, including an oarfish corpse, a Japanese hearse, a cannibal map, and much more.
Issue 37 (February 12, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look at what's changed in Salem since my stay there, a tiny preview of my next book, and lots of oddity news items, including Bigfoot exhibitions, Stalin's holiday home, a Golden Girls-themed cafe, and much more.
Issue 36 (February 5, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, a look into my writing life, an obscure movie suggestion, and lots of oddity news, including items on a glass beach in Russia, a lava firehose in Hawaii, robot bats, ice instruments, Deadman's Island, and much more.
Issue 35 (January 29, 2017): This Week in OTIS, bonus photos, the story of my aborted oddity hunt this week, the winner announcement for the "No, You Throw It Away" giveaway, and lots of oddity news, including items on Judy Garland's remains, Europe's first forensic cemetery, a rare E.A. Poe photo, and much more.
Issue 34 (January 22, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a look at the best comment threads on the site, a contest giveaway straight out of my collection, and lots of oddity news, including a road trip of horror filming sites, a hidden Buddha, a tunnel under Stonehenge, and much more.
Issue 33 (January 15, 2017): This Week in OTIS, the continuing saga of my collection, exclusive photos, updates on the club, and lots of oddity news, including ruby seadragons, ancient middle eastern windmills, ice castles, and much more.
Issue 32 (January 10, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive photos, a look at my strange collection over the years, The OA on Netflix, and lots of oddity news, including the death of a famous sequoia, the remotest national park, an Egyptian bird mummy that turns out not to be a bird mummy, and much more.
Issue 31 (January 2, 2017): This Week in OTIS, exclusive oddity photos, a look at a private writing project of mine, some haunted house talk, and lots of oddity news, including a macabre jewelry show, an English werewolf, new museums of the weird, and much more.
Issue 30 (December 26, 2016): This Week in OTIS, California on the OTIS Map of Oddities, my take on Rogue One, an exclusive photo, some of my strange Christmas haul, and lots of oddity news, including a lost medieval city in North America, Zak Bagan's latest addition to his creepy museum, plans for the world's largest statue, and much more.
Issue 29 (December 19, 2016): This Week in OTIS, my new experience in front of the camera, an exclusive photo from an oddity visit, a meandering review of The Arrival, and lots of oddity news, including an abandoned Russian air force base, spiders made of light, a ghost shark, and much more.
Issue 28 (December 11, 2016): This Week in OTIS, OTIS oddities that no longer exist, an exclusive photo of a mythical beast, a review of a book about a dead kid, and lots of oddity news, including mysterious sea blobs, Fidel Castro's tomb, the rusty fate of the world's longest limo, and much more.
Issue 27 (December 4, 2016): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, OTIS Club surprises for me so far, a breakdown of membership by state, exclusive photos, and lots of oddity news, including Disney creating a Death Star, a place to rent in a British cemetery, an underwater resort room, and much more.
Issue 26 (November 27, 2016): This Week in OTIS, updates to the OTIS Map, my trek to abandoned houses and battlefields and executions sites, exclusive photos, strange stuff from my basement, and lots of oddity news, including a secret Nazi Arctic base, a ghost rainbow, a Krampus parade, and much more.
Issue 25 (November 20, 2016): This Week in OTIS, exclusive OTIS photos, an account of one of the first people to enter Prince's Paisley Park after it opened to the public (bonus: Prince's ashes), a spooky travel book recommendation, and lots of oddity news, including the discovery of a new mummy in Egypt, a mysterious skeleton in a cylinder, a new Dr. Seuss Museum, and much more.
Issue 24 (November 13, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a jail turned restaurant, a tribute to Leonard Cohen, a sneak peek of next week's issue, and lots of oddity news, including the skeleton of a giantess, a 600-year-old tree, and the reinvention of spiritualism, and much more.
Issue 23 (November 6, 2016): This Week in OTIS, Manhattan owl gargoyles, the story of my next book, a look at Charles L. Grant novels, and lots of oddity news, including giant earthworms, witch marks, ice monsters, and much more.
Issue 22 (October 30, 2016): This Week in OTIS, my history of Halloween costumes, a visit to Haunted Lake, and lots of oddity news, including Zak Bagans's Haunted Museum, a bloody stake memorial, how Hollywood and Halloween are altering Mexico's Day of the Dead, and much more.
Issue 21 (October 25, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an account of my Poe talk at the opening of a Poe exhibition in Baltimore, an autographed Vincent Price script, McDonald's Halloween pails, and lots of oddity news, including an atheist graveyard in Sweden, the finally opened Sloane Catacombs in London, why Halloween stores love a bad economy, and much more.
Issue 20 (October 17, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a chronicle of my finds on Saturday's Autumn road trip, a photo from the archives from an Autumn road trip past, a look at the animated movie Over the Garden Wall, and lots of oddity news, including a look at the history of haunted house attractions, the grave of the priest who inspired The Exorcist, the skull of Nat Turner, the now-open gas station from TXCM, Ivan the Terrible's first statue, and much more.
Issue 19 (October 10, 2016): This Week in OTIS--which is basically lots of Salem--, the October I did 25 haunts in 4 different states, a moral from the Bone Church, a look at the horror books of Charles L. Grant, and lots of oddity news, including a cannibal buffet, a magician auction, a glowworm cave, a new Poe exhibition, and much more.
Issue 18 (October 2, 2016): This Week in OTIS, monster corn, how I spent my Florida Halloweens, a horror nonfiction recommendation, the winners of the Bookmark of the Beast giveaway, and lots of oddity news, including prisoner bones found in backyards, a fake giant octopus attack memorial, a town haunted by radio waves, and much more.
Issue 17 (September 25, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a corpse flower, Ray Bradbury week, prep work for the debut of my new book, Connecticut's Witch's Dungeon, a giveaway, and lots of oddity news, including a new H.G. Wells statue, a human skeleton in the Antikythera wreck, a Satanic temple in Salem, and much more.
Issue 16 (September 18, 2016): This Week in OTIS, the story of the time I thought a killer was in my house, a coffin made out of a car, Herman Munster's grave, and lots of oddity news, including a ghost forest, the site of the biggest witch trial in history, a derelict mansion with the car crusher from Superman III, and much more.
Issue 15 (September 13, 2016): This Week in OTIS, the great and frustrating travelogues of Bill Bryson, one of the strangest OTIS Archive photos ever, and lots of oddity news, including the Arctic shipwreck of the HMS Terror, a Mexican cave filled with bones, a driverless hearse, and much more.
Issue 14 (September 4, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an overview of my nine-hour road trip on Saturday with some extremely primo oddities including a saints arm and a derelict horror movie site, Rob Zombie's ex-mansion, a trick to doing long road trips in your spare time, and lots of oddity news, including a Labyrinth exhibit, a magical elf stone, a newly found Irish castle, and much more.
Issue 13 (August 28, 2016): This Week in OTIS, my Jack the Ripper-themed week and how that involves a bridge in Arizona and David Hasselhoff, a look at a haunted house-themed eatery in Canada, a giveaway winners announcement, and lots of oddity news, including an Addams Family restaurant in India, Voynich Manuscript publication plans, the spooky Ancient Ram Inn in England, and the strange hunt for a rumored wild python in Maine, and much more.
Issue 12 (August 21, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a Strange Stuff from My Study article on probably the strangest object in my study (that I kind of wish I didn't own), an OTIS Club giveaway starring Elvira the Mistress of the Dark, and lots of oddity news, from the newly christened oldest European organism to the newly discovered second oldest Great Lakes shipwreck to the latest Loch Ness Monster photo, and much more.
Issue 11 (August 14, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a preview of the 2016 OTIS Halloween Season, a look at a movie about a guy who likes to visit serial killers sites and a look at my own resume in that area, and lots of oddity news, including an estate haunted by a naughty ghost ape, newly discovered Serbian magic spell scrolls, a planned Lovecraft statue, a Poe film festival, and much more..
Issue 10 (August 7, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an article about what happens the week after a road trip (and how much it sucks), a look at some of the oddities I didn't get to en route, and lots of oddity news, from the Ray Bradbury statue design and a Gravity Falls discovery to Mormon bones, an archaeological find beneath the Times Square Toys R Us, and much more.
Issue 9 (July 31, 2016): The second special “On the Road” edition detailing Days 4-9 of our Great Lakes road trip, which ended up throwing a grand total of 3,620 miles at our odometer. For context, the U.S. itself is about 2,700-miles wide.
Issue 8 (July 24, 2016): Special “On the Road” edition detailing the first three days of our 9-day Great Lakes road trip–everything we’ve seen, done, and the condition of my car after about 1,000 new miles on it (spoiler: stuff is falling off of it).
Issue 7 (July 18, 2016 - Free Issue): This Week in OTIS, a story about the most morbid thing I've ever done, exclusive photos, my OTIS-y take on the new Ghostbusters movie, and lots of oddity news, from a Halloween asteroid to a Jewish pirate grave to a town being transformed for the new Stephen King's IT adaptation.
Issue 6 (July 10, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a preview of the massive road trip I'm taking at the end of the month, an ironic movie filming location, a look at an Albert Brooks road trip movie, and lots of oddity news, from a Frankenstein exhibition in Geneva to the destruction of an odd and iconic earthquake fault marker in Los Angeles to a writer-in-residence office atop a bridge in Seattle.
Issue 4 (June 26, 2016): This Week in OTIS, an exciting book pre-announcement, updates to the OTIS Map of Oddity, what it's like to visit weird, morbid stuff with kids in tow, the Jersey Devil, the first ever OTIS Club giveaway winner is announced, and lots of oddity news, from cannibal skulls in Pennsylvania to Men in Black in Iowa.
Issue 3 (June 19, 2016): This Week in OTIS, a new column that focuses on OTIS's many influences (this issue, the show Mystery Hunters), giant metal bugs, my least well-received book, a giveaway, and lots of oddity news, from the oldest witch shop in New York to a tourist cave contaminated by a Superfund site.
Issue 2 (June 12, 2016): This Week in OTIS, the top ten oddities on my bucket list, a review of a book on monster hunting, a unicorn sighting, and lots of oddity news, from the future fate of the Arecibo telescope and an iconic evil clown sign in New Jersey to holy relic theft and a paranormal museum live-feed.
Issue 1 (June 5, 2016): This Week in OTIS, Strange Stuff from my Study, bonus photos from the week's OTIS articles, a Bigfoot sighting, how OTIS has ruined movies for me, and lots of oddity news, from a gravedigging contest to a mansion full of religious iconography