Welcome to the first issue of isle of wéired news – bringing you the wéirdest news from around the world.
In this issue, we have pale ghosts from England, black cats from Spain, fainting students from the Philippines, and underwater flying saucers and aggressive hitchhikers from the USA.
USOs in the USA
Since its launch in 2023, Enigma, the UFO reporting app, has recorded more than 9,000 sightings of Unidentified Submersible Objects (USOs) in US waters.
USOs are not a new phenomenon – but some may be surprised at the high number of sightings in a relatively short space of time.
Congressman Tim Burchett, who has taken a keen interest in USOs, says that some of them are as big as football fields and capable of travelling at over 200 mph. At least, that’s what he’s been told by a “very high-ranking” naval chief.
“Enigma is the #1 destination for UFO sighting alerts. Every day, thousands of people see something they can’t explain in the skies. Seen something unusual in the sky? Share your UFO sighting story and read accounts from thousands of other witnesses.”
App Store blurb for the Enigma app.
Given the incredible speeds these objects are capable of, Congressman Burchett doesn’t believe they are man-made. “We have naval personnel telling me these underwater craft go hundreds of miles an hour, and the best we got is something that does maybe a little under forty miles an hour.”
But despite their superior performance, Burchett doesn’t believe they pose a threat. “With those capabilities they could have barbecued us a long time ago,” he says.
Source(s): Daily Star, 30 Sep 2025; Irish Daily Star, 15 October 2025; New York Post, 27 October 2025
Pale But Interesting
A pale figure wearing dark clothes and a hood that has been haunting Chester Castle, Cheshire, England, was recently captured by CCTV cameras.
The cameras were triggered in the middle of the night and a security guard and his canine companion were sent to investigate.
The security guard said that when he arrived at the castle, he felt “a hundred eyes on him” and he was “genuinely terrified.” His dog, described as being “the size of a small bear”, was similarly terrified and refused to get out of the van.
Regardless of how terrified he was, those back in the safety of the CCTV control room, convinced that there was an actual intruder on site, insisted that the security guard “investigate thoroughly.”
He found no signs of an intruder – corporeal or otherwise.
Source(s): The Guardian, 24 October 2025; Daily Star, 25 October 2025
Black Cat Adoptions Ban
Officials in the town of Terrassa, in north-eastern Catalonia, Spain, have banned the adoption of black cats until after Halloween, fearing that they may be used in “rituals.”
“We have issued instructions to stop the adoption and fostering of black cats on Halloween,” says Noel Doque, the town’s deputy mayor. “In Terrassa, if you want to adopt a black cat, it will have to be after Halloween. You will have to prove that you are going to take care of it and love it.”
Apparently, the town sees a spike in the adoption of black cats at this time of year. And this Halloween was gearing up to be no different. “We are aware of an increase in people calling up to adopt and putting the cat’s physical appearance first, which seems suspicious,” said Doque.
“In cases like these, which we know exist, we want to ensure that there are no macabre practices behind them.”
According to the Terrassa Animal Welfare Service, the adoption ban, which began on 1 October, will end on 10 November.
Terrassa isn’t alone in taking this kind of action. In Madrid, the animal welfare group La Posada Felina has closed its adoption process for all cats during October. “At this time of year, we don’t give away a single cat for adoption, said a spokesperson for the organisation. “Not black, not white, not any other colour.”
Source(s): Irish Independent, 20 October 2025; Midweek Sport, 22 October 2025
Panic in the Philippines
At a private school in Barangay Sagua Banway, in the municipality of Valladolid, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines, 21 students fainted in what is believed to have been a case of mass hysteria.
“Mass hysteria, also known as mass psychogenic illness (MPI), is a social and psychological phenomenon where groups of people experience similar physical symptoms without an identifiable medical cause. It is often triggered by stress, fear, or a perceived threat, and symptoms spread through a population via social and visual transmission, with a rapid onset and often benign, though unsettling symptoms like dizziness, nausea or hyperventilation.”
Google AI Overview
On Wednesday, 22 October, about 200 students took part in the school’s intramural games, consisting of a parade in the morning followed by a day of sports and games.
At the end of the event, in what appears to have been a last-minute change, teachers informed the students that they would be spending the night in tents instead of travelling back to their own campuses.
At 8pm, local rescuers received a call for help after several students reported feeling “dizzy and unwell.”
All of the affected students were taken to hospital – but were discharged the next day.
Some of the remaining students were evacuated to a nearby church.
Al John Gegonia, Operations and Warning Manager of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said: “Based on our findings, the incident was classified as a mass hysteria episode. It appeared to be a domino effect triggered by emotional stress, fatigue, and fear, which led to panic among the students.”
It appears the incident was triggered by a power cut at the campsite following heavy rain.
Source(s): Manila Bulletin, 24 October 2025
The Pale Pender County Pickup Passenger
An incident that happened four years ago has come to prominence recently after being featured on the Carolina Case Files YouTube channel.
Just after midnight on 31 July 2021, according to the story, a young man driving his pickup along a country road in Pender County, North Carolina, came across a blood-covered man standing at the side of the road and staring blankly ahead.
He kept on driving – but called 911.
He was speaking to the 911 operator and travelling at 50mph when a pale skinned monster dropped into the bed of his pickup truck.
“What the ****?” he can be heard to say on the recording of the 911 call. “That’s not human! That’s not human!”
“Sir, are you OK, sir?” asks the 911 operator.
“There’s something in the bed of my truck,” he exclaims.
The driver braked hard; the creature, whatever it was, flew over the roof of the pickup and into the night.
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene – but, strangely, did not file a report. North Carolina Highway Patrol took over the case – but found no evidence of a monster.
The incident, unsurprisingly, has generated a lot of discussion: many believe that the driver had a genuine encounter with a creature like West Virginia’s Mothman; some think the pickup driver was just the victim of a cruel prank; while others believe the whole thing was a hoax, designed to boost tourism in the area.
“I don’t know for sure what he saw or what he experienced that night, but it’s obvious that he was distraught,” said Pender County Sheriff Alan W Cutler.
“I’m afraid it’s just one of those things in this world that we may not ever know the answer to.”
Source(s): The News & Observer, 27 October 2025