WELCOME TO ISSUE 10 of isle of wéired news – bringing you the weirdest news from around the world.
In this issue: a Catholic priest fears the demons he exorcised will return following the closure and sale of his church; Bigfoot returns to Ohio; the remains of the Stronsay Beast go on display in Stromness; the best places to see Nessie; a ghost proves to be a key witness in its own murder; another ghost gets physical with an unwelcome house guest; and in old news, a lesser known moving statue incident from 1990.
Enjoy!
Lingering Demons
Retired Catholic priest Father Michael Maginot, who carried out over 500 exorcisms during his career, believes that demons may still be present in his former parish church.
The church, St Stephen Catholic Church in Merrillville, Indiana, has just been sold and – according to Maginot – “all the holy protections” have been removed. This, he believes, is a dangerous situation.
“If the building was going to be used as a church, that would be different,” said Maginot. “But I’m told it is being sold to become a secular business for a mental health counselling center. All of those vulnerable people could be in danger of existing demons.”
During his time as a priest, Father Maginot established quite a reputation as an exorcist. And there are some – including Father Maginot – who believe that it’s his reputation as an exorcist that’s behind the closure and sale of his church.
According to parishioner Jackie Swike: “We believe, as does Father Maginot, that the real reason St Stephen’s was closed has nothing to do with finances and priest shortages and everything to do with exorcisms. Father Maginot believes that publicity about those exorcisms has created jealousy in the Church, leading to St Stephen’s being closed.
“Why does the Catholic Church pretend that exorcisms don’t exist and that local priests can’t perform them? To be Catholic is to believe in the supernatural. Jesus expelled demons from people. If a local priest wants to do the same, let him, and don’t try to take away his church.”
The Diocese of Gary deny that the closure of the church is related to Father Maginot’s exorcisms. However, back in March 2022, the church issued a statement to say that Maginot was not authorised to perform exorcisms – or speak on behalf of the diocese in relation to exorcisms.
Father Maginot and his supporters had hoped to have the decision to close the church overturned – but it was sold on 3 April.
“This very holy site is important to me,” said Father Maginot. “But now there is nothing here for protection against, possibly, legions of demons that were once here. They need humans to move about, and this still bothers me for anyone who will use this property in its next use.
“I’ll be honest, it worries me.”
Source(s): NWI.Com, 19 April 2026
Bigfoot’s Back
Residents of Northeast Ohio believe Bigfoot has returned to the region following an increase in sightings since March this year.
And some believe that a whole Bigfoot family may have arrived.
A number of pictures of Bigfoot footprints have been circulating. The prints are approximately 17 inches long, suggesting the creature may be seven feet tall.
Those who claim to have seen the actual creature say it is between six and ten feet tall and covered in dark fur.
So far, no one has managed to get a photo. However, Mike Miller, of the Ohio Nightstalkers Bigfoot Research Group, believes he has captured recordings of the creature’s howls.
“Some of those screams pegged higher than a baboon on the spectrograph,” he said, “and that is evidence.”
Source(s): New York Post, 3 May 2026
The Stronsay Beast
Remains of the Stronsay Beast have gone on display at Stromness Museum, in Orkney, Scotland.
The Beast was found washed up on a Stronsay beach following a storm in 1808. It was 55 feet long, had a small head and a snake-like neck and body. It had some kind of mane that ran down its back and three pairs of appendages that may or may not have been flippers.
Locals believed it was a sea monster – as did many of the experts at the time. Edinburgh’s Wernerian Hatural History Society, believing it was a new species, named it Halsydrus Pontoppidani.
Today, it’s widely believed that the Stronsay Beast was just the decomposing remains of a basking shark.
Either way – it’s an interesting story.
Source(s): The Sunday Times, 25 April 2026
Surface Watch
This year’s Loch Ness Quest – an annual event that brings together Nessie experts and enthusiasts – will run from 28 to 31 May.
Organised by The Loch Ness Experience, the four-day event will have a little bit of everything for anyone with even a passing interest in Nessie.
The highlight for many, though, will be the Surface Watch on Saturday, 30 May.
Ahead of the event, the organisers have identified some of the best vantage points for those hoping to get a glimpse of Scotland’s most famous cryptid. These include: Urquhart Castle; Urquhart Bay; Fort Augustus and Lochend.
“The Quest has become a real highlight in the Loch Ness calendar, bringing together people from around the world who are fascinated by the mystery, magic and stories of the loch,” said Nagina Ishaq, of The Loch Ness Experience.
“This year, we’re excited to invite budding monster hunters to get even more involved by joining our Surface Watch from selected viewpoints around Loch Ness. Whether you are a lifelong Nessie believer, a curious sceptic or joining us for the first time, every pair of eyes adds to the search.”
“The Surface Watch is a brilliant way for the public to be directly involved in the search,” said Alan McKenna of Loch Ness Exploration. “We’ll be briefing volunteers on what to look for, how to record their findings and how to record anything unusual, so they can play a meaningful part in the quest.”
More information about Loch Ness Quest 2026 can be found at The Loch Ness Experience website.
Source(s): The Herald, 7 May 2026
Ghost Helps Solve Mystery
Skeletal remains have been found in the Vatva area of Ahmedabad, in India.
The remains are believed to belong to a woman called Farzana, who disappeared in 1992 shortly after arriving in Ahmedabab to meet her partner, a man called Shamshuddin.
Farzana’s arrival in the city is believed to have caused tensions with Shamshuddin’s family – that culminated in Shamshuddin disposing of Farzana’s body in a well in his house.
However, Farzana’s disappearance was only ever treated as a missing person case – and no murder investigation was ever carried out.
That only changed recently when – reportedly – Farzana’s ghost started appearing to members of Shamshuddin’s family.
According to a police spokesperson: “Subsequently, they approached persons offering occult remedies to address this. During these interactions, information about the killing and disposal of the body surfaced and was passed to police.”
“The remains have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police. “If the identity matches, a murder case will be registered.”
Source(s): Hindustan Times (Chandigarh), 30 April 2026
Scratched in the Sallie House
Brocarde – the “rock singer, ghost hunter and horror content creator” – claims to have been scratched by Sallie, the ghost of a young girl who haunts the infamous Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas, during an overnight stay in the premises.
According to her account, Brocarde had a very strong reaction when she first entered the house. “The house is eerie as hell,” she said. “When you arrive, it instantly drains every ounce of energy from you.”
She had a particularly strong reaction in the nursery. “The most terrifying room is the nursery – I arrived at a circle of dolls conducting a séance. I stood in the centre of the circle and could instantly feel my legs get heavy, like they were being sucked into the ground.
“My limbs started to ache, a strange sensation entered my body, and I just wanted to leave. This was in the afternoon and I still had the whole night to get through.”
After exploring the rest of the house, Brocarde returned to the nursery at 3:00 am. “I tried to communicate with ‘Sallie.’ I grabbed a pink crayon, but something snapped it in my hand. I thought perhaps pink wasn’t her colour, so I picked up a black crayon and asked what she wanted to say.
“‘Go home’ was the message, and then the crayon snapped in two. At that moment, something grabbed me from behind and I felt a stabbing pain in my arm. I pulled back my sleeve to reveal five scratch marks, almost like tally marks, on my arm.
“I felt sick, feverish, and very dizzy, and the apparition of a young girl appeared.”
Brocarde says that the apparition bore no resemblance to the picture of Sallie displayed in the kitchen of the Sallie House.
“She was messy, in a medical gown, distorted, and she definitely didn’t have a pretty bow in her hair.”
Source(s): Mirror, 8 May 2026
Old News: Glencree Apparition
In May 1990, pilgrims began arriving in Glencree, a small mountain village in north Wicklow, Ireland.
They came in response to rumours that a statue at a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary, near St Kevin’s Church, had begun moving.
No one knows how the rumours got started. And no one knows the names of anyone who saw the statue move. Regardless, hundreds of pilgrims were arriving, to pray and leave flowers.
According to one Glencree resident: “It seems that the first report of a vision was about a week ago. The next thing was that the place was being invaded by large numbers of visitors as word got around.”
Not a lot more was written about the incident. And to the best of my knowledge, no one ever got to the bottom of the rumours.
I’ve also been unable to find any reports of subsequent activity at the shrine.
Source(s): Bray People, 11 May 1990