Cheryl Eddy

Today is the 40th anniversary of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance, a case that’s become one of America’s biggest unsolved mysteries, and CNN has a piece about property owners who’ve become an unwitting part of the search over the years—and the insane publicity circus that inevitably follows. Top image: Jimmy Hoffa on July 26, 1959, in Washington.…

The True Story Behind This Famously Arresting 1945 Photograph

What’s going on here, exactly? The date is Oct. 17, 1945. The place is Pontiac, Mich. The woman is Deputy Sheriff Clemmia A. Hurst, of Lee County, Ky. The man in handcuffs is Raney Allen, 25 years old and wanted for murder—all four feet of him. This study-in-contrasts photo, taken just before Hurst and Allen…

Which Movie Has Been a Deal Breaker in Your Relationships?

So you’ve met an awesome person who has definite boyfriend or girlfriend or just friend-friend potential. Things are going great! Until the convo turns to favorite movies, and you realize not only do your tastes completely clash … the other person utterly hates the one film that’s most shaped your life. Could a person who…

Zoo Finally Admitted It’s Sort of a Comedy

Zoo, the show about mysterious animal attacks around the globe, has shown signs of taking itself too seriously—but deep down, this show knows it’s ridiculous. Exhibit A: the punny title of last night’s episode (“Blame It on Leo”), along with its somewhat lighter tone. Spoilers ahead. The search for clues is onnnn, as “Leo” dedicates…

Bookmark this: Young Jennifer Pan felt tremendous pressure from her parents to succeed. When she stumbled, one lie led to an elaborate false life she was willing to kill to protect. Or at least hire someone to kill, as this absolutely fascinating Toronto Life piece explores; it’s a must-read for true crime fans.

“Oldest Panda” Celebrates With an Ice-Sculpture Cake and World Records

We can’t call giant panda Jia Jia the oldest panda in the world, because there are around 1,600 wild pandas roaming around out there. We can, however, salute her new title as “Oldest Panda Living in Captivity,” which she does at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. She’s 37* today and that “cake” is made of flavored…

This Scandalous 1946 Small-Town Murder Helped Inspire Peyton Place

In 1956, Grace Metalious wrote Peyton Place, an immediate best-seller about the scandalous secrets of a small town in New England. One of its inspirations was the real-life case of 20-year-old Barbara Roberts, who shot her father in December 1946 while defending herself and her younger brother. Barbara and 17-year-old William had an unusually strong…

All the Ways True Detective Season 2 Should Have Worked, But Didn’t

We all knew that True Detective season two was going to be totally different than season one: new cast, new case, new setting. But it seemed hopeful that the new episodes would keep the weird magic—that thing distinguishing True Detective from a zillion other cop shows—alive. So far, not so much. That’s not to say…

In 1969, the Apollo 11 Astronauts Reunited With Their Families (Sort Of)

Neil Armstrong (blowing a kiss to his sons) is flanked by Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin on July 27, 1969 at Ellington Air Force base in Houston, Tex. On July 24, the Apollo 11 astronauts returned from their historic trip to the moon, but due to infection fears, they were quarantined for 21 days. Smithsonian…

Legendary and prolific true-crime author Ann Rule has died at age 83. Her real-life friendship with Ted Bundy (before anyone knew he was a serial killer) brought about her first book, best-seller The Stranger Beside Me; she also wrote Small Sacrifices, which was made into a Peabody Award-winning TV adaptation.

The “Tooth Fairy” Story Debuts on Hannibal, And It’s Bloody Fantastic

With Lecter behind bars, there’s room for a new handsome/sadistic/exquisitely bizarre killing machine to do his thing on Hannibal. And what an entrance Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage) makes! Welcome, sir, and your obsessions with William Blake, dentistry, fitness, and slaughter. After we get a wonderfully wordless intro to Dolarhyde, aka the Tooth Fairy, aka “The…

Knives, Ruined Lives, and Another Frustrating Week on True Detective 

“Church in Ruins” is episode six of True Detective’s eight-ep second season, which has yet to trigger the buzz of season one. (Without a magnetic lead character like Rust Cohle, and the lack of much spooky intrigue, it’s not surprising). But as the closed-loop approaches completion, a few surprises still await. Spoilers … Frank and…

Murders and executions: American Psycho: The Musical is heading to Broadway early next year, with Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) cast as serial killer/Huey Lewis fan Patrick Bateman. The Bret Easton Ellis adaptation debuted in 2013 in London, with Matt Smith (Doctor Who) on blood-spray duty.

Wayward Pines Ends With a Bang and a Whimper … And, Yes, a Twist

The association of producer M. Night Shyamalan made everyone assume that Wayward Pines would end with some kind of mind-blowing twist. And lo, there was a twist … but it wasn’t nearly as huge as the one that came midway through the show’s run. Spoilers follow! After 10 episodes, which wrapped up with last night’s…

In 1937, A Badass Old Lady Sued Her Neighbor For Calling Her a Witch

This is the Virginia home of “Aunt Jane” Dutton in 1937, when the 82-year-old was accused by her neighbor, “Rocky Joe” Stanley, 83, of being a witch—a slanderous accusation so low she sought a warrant for his arrest. The ensuing trial offered a fascinating mix of courtroom drama and local folklore. On October 5, 1937,…

Meet Captain Eli, the “One-in-Several-Million” Neon Orange Lobster

Fisherman Bill Coppersmith plucked this very rare orange lobster yesterday from the Gulf of Maine, but amazingly, it’s not his rarest-ever catch. That honor goes to the white albino lobster he snagged in 1997. Still, the critter he dubbed “Captain Eli,” in honor of his grandson, is unique indeed. According to Maine’s Portland Press Herald:…

A Daughter’s Faith and Persistence Help Solve a 43-Year-Old Mystery

Amos Shook was in his mid-40s when he went missing February 19, 1972. His daughter, Pamela, was just 14 at the time of his disappearance, and her father’s fate haunted her over the years. In June, she urged authorities to reopen the case. This time, the results were swift and startling. Reports the Caldwell County,…

Zoo‘s Animals Launch Their Cruelest Attack In Yet Another Insane Episode

Zoo’s ragtag group of humans has been assembled into a super team to investigate the worldwide animal attacks, so the episode title, “Pack Mentality,” does double duty here. Some key discoveries are made, alliances are forged, and OBVIOUSLY some angry-ass animals swoop in and steal every scene. Spoilers follow! In the Tokyo airport, Jackson admits…

Which Series Continued After a Long Hiatus… And Was Actually Good?

Films like Fury Road (which came 30 years after the previous entry in the Mad Max series, Beyond Thunderdome) and TV shows like Doctor Who (over a decade between old and new eras) proved that a series’ return after a long wait can be cause for much celebration. As we all sit with nervously gritted…

Meet the Authors of the Encyclopedia of Hypothetical Police Procedurals!

Yesterday, we raved about the Encyclopedia of Hypothetical Police Procedurals, a.k.a. our new favorite humor blog about goofy cop shows that don’t exist, but should (like the outer space-set NYPD Blue Moon!) We’re obsessed, and we had to reach out to authors Luke Burns and James Folta for more. io9: Where did the idea for…