A murderous clown spotted on Google Maps, a call to close the "Gates of Hell," and the 2022 forecast from none other than Mexico's Grand Warlock are among the strange and unusual stories to cross our desk this week.
As they tend to be this time of year, psychics of all stripes were in the news this past week by way of a trio of decidedly different stories. First, in England, a woman who lost an amazing 230 pounds credited the change to an unsettling visit to a fortune teller who claimed to be unable to see her future. Then, in Mexico, the country's 'Grand Warlock' issued his 2022 forecast, which was more of a mix of political musings and warnings about climate change than a list of specific predictions. Finally, a New York City man made news when he filed a lawsuit against his former 'spiritual advisor' after the self-proclaimed faith healer allegedly swindled him out of more than a million dollars.
Photo: Google Earth
This past week saw a pair of very peculiar photos pop up in the news and leave observers scratching their heads. First, a Google Maps street view image from Montreal showed what appeared to be a knife-wielding clown lurking in a doorway. Fortunately, after the picture went viral, it was determined that the haunting harlequin was merely a Halloween decoration. Later in the week, an anomaly hunter studying Google Earth images of Antarctica stumbled upon a curious shape that bears a striking resemblance to the face of Jesus! Is the oddity a trick of light and shadow or evidence that an ancient and advanced civilization once resided on the frozen continent? We'll let you decide.
A fiery crater that has been burning for decades in Turkmenistan may soon be extinguished if the country's president has his way. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced this past week that he was ordering officials to find a way to put out the inferno at the literal hot spot which has become a popular tourist destination known as the "Gates of Hell." The origins of both the crater and the inferno within it are something of a mystery to experts and, it would seem, so too is how to put out the fire as this is actually the second time that Turkmenistan's president has issued the decree. Berdymukhamedov's 2010 order proved to be futile, however, so there's a chance that the "Gates of Hell" may remain ablaze long into the future.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.