About Uncanny Atlas

Uncanny Atlas is a directory of strange events, places and beliefs. Each entry says what kind of claim it is and links to where it is written down.

What you will find

Hauntings, lights in the sky, creatures that people say they have seen, folklore from every continent, and fiction that people have believed or borrowed. You can dive through the iceberg, browse the directory, or find a story on the map. The Listen and read section collects the podcasts, channels and books that retell these stories.

How an entry is made

Every entry is written from its sources and links to them. If a story has no source, it does not get an entry. The summary retells what the sources say, and each entry is checked against those sources before it goes up.

The labels

Each entry carries a label that says what kind of claim it is: a claimed sighting, folklore, a proven hoax, fiction, something disputed, a religious tradition, something on the record, or an official release of records by an agency. The label describes the claim. It never says whether the thing is true. Here is what each label means.

Beliefs people hold today

Some entries describe traditions that living people practise. They are marked as such and are never graded. Where a belief has hurt real people, the entry says so right beside the summary.

Corrections, stories and other messages

If an entry has something wrong, tell us on the contact page. If you know a story that is written down somewhere, send it in. For advertising, sponsorship or press, use the contact page as well.