Episode 78: The Slice of the Paranormal team loves to travel, and when we hit the road we can't resist stopping at places that dive deep into cryptids, UFOs, ghosts, and seriously dark artifacts. In this episode we head to Elizabethtown in Lancaster County to explore the strange and unforgettable House of Oddities and Curious Goods.
Owner Jeremiah Crowther has been collecting bizarre artifacts since the 1980s, and his shop is packed with items that blur the line between history, sideshow oddities, and the paranormal. Inside you will find everything from a human skull and a repossessed tattoo to Blackbeard's booger and Martyr Blood balls. The shop also features classic sideshow gaffs from the closed Gettysburg Dime Museum, including Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy and Edgar the Alligator Man. Turn a corner and you might come face to face with a statue of John Wayne Gacy dressed as Pogo the Clown, or see a preserved sample of Charles Manson's hair.
We also talk about another fascinating Lancaster County location that sadly no longer exists. The town of Columbia is famous for a local cryptid known as the Albatwitch, a small Bigfoot like creature said to steal apples from orchards. The legend is so popular that the town hosts the annual Albatwitch Festival, which attracts cryptid hunters and folklore fans from all over.
Local paranormal researcher Rick Fisher once operated the National Museum of Mysteries and Research, which displayed his personal collection of artifacts connected to Bigfoot, Mothman, UFO sightings, and the Albatwitch. The museum also held more than 1500 books, posters, and newspaper clippings covering decades of paranormal research.
While the museum itself is gone, Rick is currently restoring the historic Columbia Market House Dungeon and offers tours of the site. He is also the author of Ghosts of the River Towns, a must have for anyone exploring the haunted history and strange legends of Lancaster County.
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