Welcome back to Something Strange! We’re starting off our January episodes with one heck of a doozy. Join us as we learn about the 1970’s hijacking and kidnapping of a school bus filled with school children.

**TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS EPISODE**

Being buried alive, child abuse, kidnapping

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Send us a gmail! somethingstrangepod24@gmail.com

References:

• 48 Hours. “Remembering the Chowchilla Kidnapping: www.youtube.com/watch?v=daWpvRbTsIw.

• ABC30. “Last Man in Prison for Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping in 1976 to Be Released, Officials Confirm.”: abc30.com/chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-1976-frederick-newhall-woods-fred-children/12133826

• CBS News. “Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping: Rare Photos from One of the Largest Abductions in U.S. History - Frederick Woods Case.”: www.cbsnews.com/pictures/chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-frederick-woods-rare-photos-from-one-of-the-largest-kidnappings-in-u-s-history/27/

• “Edward Ray - a Local Hero: www.cityofchowchilla.org/301/Edward-Ray---A-Local-Hero

• The New York Times, “26 Children Found Safe after Being Kidnapped from Bus in California.”: www.nytimes.com/1976/07/17/archives/26-children-found-safe-after-being-kidnapped-from-bus-in-california.html?_r=0

• CBS News, “Chowchilla Bus Kidnapper Frederick Woods Ran a Gold Mine and Christmas Tree Farm from Prison - CBS News.”: www.cbsnews.com/news/chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-frederick-woods-ran-a-gold-mine-and-christmas-tree-farm-from-prison/

• City of Mountain View, “Rengstorff House .”: www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/community-services/shoreline-at-mountain-view/facilities-and-amenities/rengstorff-house

• Wayback Machine, “How Mountain View’s Oldest House Became a Motive for the 1976 Chowchilla Kidnapping”: web.archive.org/web/20231216062348/www.paloaltoonline.com/real_estate/2023/12/14/how-mountain-views-oldest-house-became-a-motive-for-the-1976-chowchilla-kidnapping.

• • Wikipedia, “1976 Chowchilla Kidnapping”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Chowchilla_kidnapping
  • CNN “26 Kids Were Buried Alive in California. A New CNN Film Shows How One Plotted Their Escape – and What Happened Years Later”: www.cnn.com/2023/12/02/us/chowchilla-kidnapping-escape-cnn-film/index.html

Welcome back to Something Strange! Today we continue our holiday season specials with the legend of the talking animals! Have you ever heard of the legend of how animals gain the power of speech on Christmas Eve? Listen on to learn more!

Click here to listen to the music referenced in this episode:

• Orientis Partibus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn--eGxF8p4
• The Friendly Beasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A2ypZcRD1w

**TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS EPISODE**

Animal abuse, murder, death.

Follow us on Instagram! @something_strangepod

Send us a gmail! somethingstrangepod24@gmail.com

References:

• Mental Floss Article: Talk is Sheep: Behind the Christmas Eve Myth that animals speak at Midnight: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/72843/how-talking-animals-became-christmas-legend

• Wikipedia article on: THe Night the Animals Talked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_the_Animals_Talked

• The Krakow Post: https://www.krakowpost.com/18439/2017/12/polish-animals-talk-christmas

• Lancaster Farming News: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/country-life/family/how-familiar-are-you-with-these-christmas-legends/article_9f6e8062-173c-5b45-b069-c16c32992e9a.html

Welcome back to Something Strange, and happy holidays to all our listeners! Today we’ll be about the history of the Big Man himself, Jolly Old St. Nicholas!

Click here to listen to Dan Smith’s reading of “The Night Before Christmas.”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJON57sU_nc

**TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS EPISODE**

Mentions of forced sex work, child death, mutilation of a corpse, cannibalism

Follow us on Instagram! @something_strangepod

Send us a gmail! Somethingstrangepod24@gmail.com

Resources:

• ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: https://poets.org/poem/visit-st-nicholas

• St. Nicholas - Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Nicholas

• Saint Nicholas - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas#

• Who is St. Nicholas? - St. Nicholas Center: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas

• Lycia et Pamphylia - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycia_et_Pamphylia

• St. Nicholas Church, Demre - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nicholas_Church,_Demre

• Historiae Ecclesiasticae Tripartitae Epitome - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiae_Ecclesiasticae_Tripartitae_Epitome

• St. Nicholas Day - Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Nicholas-Day

• Santa Clause - History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus

• Santa Clause - Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Santa-Claus