Odd Things I've Seen: The Podcast J.W. Ocker

My fascination with serial killers comes with a heaping load of shame, except for in one instance: Ed Gein. That's because without Gein, we might not have Norman Bates. Or Leatherface. Or Buffalo Bill. Or the Firefly family. So my shame load was only a mild one as I visited sites related to him in his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin. With my wife and two kids.
See photos from our visit to Plainfield here.
Hardware Store Address: 110 S. Main St., Plainfield, WI. 
Plainfield Cemetery Address: 6590 5th Ave, Plainfield, WI.
Property Address: Archer Avenue and Second Avenue.
Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
I also write spooky books, including my latest The Smashed Man of Dread End.

On February 3, 1959, a small plane carrying pop stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper crashed into an Iowa cornfield, killing all three instantly and inspiring Don McLean to write American Pie. We trudge into that cornfield, to see the place where the music died.
See images from our jaunt to the death site here.
Death site address: 315 St. and Gull Ave., Clear Lake, Iowa.
More information on The Smashed Man of Dread End sticker offer.
Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
I also write spooky books.

In this special on-location episode, I head to North and South Dakota to see a couple of gigantic cryptid statues. In Bismarck, North Dakota, a quartet of Thunderbirds glower above a lightning storm on the banks of the Missouri. Then I drive five hours southwest through snow and rain and flocks of pheasants to Keystone, South Dakota, to see the world's largest Bigfoot statue, right in the shadow of Mount Rushmore. Come with me.
See images of the world's largest wooden Bigfoot statue.
See images of the Thunderbird statue of Bismarck.
Bigfoot statue address: 121 Roy Street Highway 16A, Keystone, SD.
Thunderbird statue address: 1605 River Rd, Bismarck, ND
Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
I also write spooky books.
 

In this episode, I read from my latest nonfiction book, Cursed Objects, to talk about what exactly is a cursed object, as well as to tell the story of the time I bought one to see what would happen.
Buy Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items.
See bonus Cursed Objects materials that didn't make it into the book.
Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
I also write other spooky books.

We visit High Rock Tower Park, where nineteenth century spiritualist John Murray Spear built his New Motive Power, aka, the God Machine, aka, the Infant Motor, aka, the Mechanical Messiah, all based on plans that the ghosts of Benjamin Franklin and Socrates gave him. Then the story gets weird.
Photos from my visit to High Rock Tower Park
Address of High Rock Tower Park: 30 Circuit Ave, Lynn, MA.
A book about John Murray Spear.
My Cursed Objects book is out now!
Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
I also write other spooky books.

I’m a guy who digs the ghostly. I love the macabre. I obsessively search out spooky sites and objects like my afterlife depends on it. That means I always find myself in paranormal circles, be they crop, spellcasting, or fairy. I’m constantly absorbing other people’s takes on the paranormal. And I have a take on it, too. Actually, let’s get specific. Ghosts. I have a take on ghosts.
Here's the essay version of this topic.
My Cursed Objects book is out now!
My next book, The Smashed Man of Dread End, is on NetGalley!
Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
I also write other spooky books.