The Lunatics Project

07/17/2025

This is the Churchyard of St. Andrew’s Church on Staten Island. The church was first established in 1708, making it 314 years old. Several members of congress and naval captains are buried here, along with members of notable Staten Island families. In addition to this historic graveyard, the church has also opened a Pet Sematary on the grounds, creating a beautiful space for locals to honor their beloved pets.

07/14/2025

Three years before Frankenstein was published, Mary Shelley traveled through Europe. While in Germany, she passed near Frankenstein Castle, which may have influenced her novel. The castle was home to Johann Conrad Dippel, an alchemist who created a tar-like substance called Dippel’s Oil. Folklore about Dippel’s experiments possibly inspired Shelley, though she never mentioned this in her journals.

Three years before Frankenstein was published, Mary Shelley traveled through Europe. While in Germany, she passed near Frankenstein Castle, which may have influenced her novel. The castle was home to Johann Conrad Dippel, an alchemist who created a tar-like substance called Dippel’s Oil. Folklore ...

07/13/2025

This is New York City's Little Red Lighthouse. It sits at the base of the George Washington Bridge. In the 1800s a red pole was placed here, to warn ships of this dangerous section of The Hudson River called Jeffrey's Hook. In 1889 this pole was replaced by two lanterns and later, after barge captions requested a brighter light, The Little Red Lighthouse was moved here from Sandy Hook, New Jersey (where it had been previously taken out of commission.)
About ten years later the George Washington Bridge was built, which meant that the lighthouse was no longer necessary. It was officially decommissioned in 1948. Now, the lighthouse is officially part of the NYC Parks system, a gift from the Coast Guard. There was even a children’s book written about the lighthouse in 1942.

07/12/2025

We continue our exploration of superhero horror with three excellent and terrifying stories. Lunatics Radio Hour, anywhere you listen to podcasts. https://www.lunaticsproject.com/episodes/episode/7cb28090/lunatics-library-48-superhero-horror-stories

🦸‍♀️ Interminable was written by Warren Benedetto and performed by Mike Macera.

🦸‍♀️ Heffalumps and Ozzles was written by Nikki Blakey and performed by Sara Luke, follow Sara on IG at .

🦸‍♀️ The Undertaker was written and performed by Denali Bartell.

07/10/2025

Imagine the chilling solitude of being marooned on a tiny island amidst the frigid grip of winter. Welcome to Boon Island, a place distinguished as Maine's tallest lighthouse and steeped in eerie and gripping tales of shipwrecks and isolation.

Imagine the chilling solitude of being marooned on a tiny island amidst the frigid grip of winter. Welcome to Boon Island, a place distinguished as Maine's tallest lighthouse and steeped in eerie and gripping tales of shipwrecks and isolation.During the 16th and 17th centuries, Boon Island bore witn...

07/09/2025

In honor of the state of the world, and our series on the science behind alien phenomena, let’s talk through some of our favorite films about aliens. The Thing from 1982, is a beloved fan favorite. Directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, it’s a perfect 80s movie.
And of course, Alien from 1979. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film stars Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. It’s an iconic horror movie that did a lot of the space horror genre. Most recently, Nope from 2022, from Jordan Peele is an excellent, fresh take on UFOs. I’m such a fan of this movie, the visuals are so beautiful and terrifying. I also have to mention Contact from 1997, one of my favorite films of all time.

For more, listen to episode 149 of the Lunatics Radio Hour podcast.

07/07/2025

McCurdy was an American Outlaw, but that’s not why he’s famous. After his death, his co**se went on to live in infamy. https://www.lunaticsproject.com/post/the-history-of-outlaw-elmer-mccurdy

07/06/2025

This is Most Holy Trinity Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. The first thing you probably notice about this cemetery is that all of the gravestones are made of metal. This is because originally, it was meant to even the playing field between classes so that all stones looked uniform. Some were metal; others were wood-painted gray. But you can see they have not aged very well. A lot of these stones are over 170 years old. Many of the wood stones have not survived. Many of the metal headstones were also stolen over the years and used for scrap metal.

It was originally established in 1841 after the land was bought from the Meserole Farm.
In 1851 the cemetery was actually moved to where it is now; the church bought a section of land from the neighboring Evergreens Cemetery as a way to expand. All previous burials were respectfully transferred.

07/05/2025

Jeane Dixon gained notoriety when she predicted the asasination of JFK. In the May 13th 1956 issue of Parade Magazine, Dixon wrote that the 1960 election would go to a democrat, and be dominated by labor. She continued that the democrat would either die in office or be assassinated but not necessarily in his first term. The Jeane Dixon effect is a term that came from John Allen Paulos at Temple University, who pointed out that Dixon and her followers seemed to only promote her accurate predictions and ignore her many, many false predictions. Dixon died of a cardiac arrest in 1997, before passing she is said to have uttered the words “I knew this would happen.”

For more, listen to episode 156 of the Lunatics Radio Hour podcast. https://www.lunaticsproject.com/episodes

07/03/2025

The earliest version of John Milton’s Paradise Lost was published in 1667. The poem consists of over 10,500 lines of text. Paradise Lost tells the story of the fall of humanity. The moment when Eve eats the fruit in the garden of eden. It remains an important historical work to this day, I even took an entire class dedicated to Paradise Lost when I was in college. One of those reasons is that this poem marks a distinct change in poetry.
Milton went blind in 1652, and Paradise Lost was written by dictation to scribes. He was also suffering at the time of its composition, both physically from gout and emotionally. He had just endured the loss of his second wife and their baby. The poem is written in Blank Verse, which usually uses iambic pentameter with unrhymed lines.

07/01/2025

Lady Liberty is copper clad, and was a gift to the United States from the people of France.
It was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. She is a symbol of freedom, liberty and so much more. A shackle on her ankle is meant to represent the abolition of slavery. She was also known as a welcoming figure for immigrants coming to the United States through Ellis Island. Lady Liberty was constructed in France and shipped to the US in crates. She herself, being an immigrant. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28th, 1886.

For more on the history of New York, listen to episode 139 of the Lunatics Radio Hour Podcast.

06/30/2025

Scenes from Roosevelt Island.