Welcome to issue 2 of isle of wéired news – bringing you the weirdest news from around the world. In this issue, we have flying saucer spooks and psychic scoundrels from the USA; venting UFOs from Ireland; a haunted school from Scotland; a haunted lockup from England; and a canonised Satanist from Italy.
Flying Saucer Espionage
Researchers from Stockholm University, Sweden, and Vanderbilt University, USA, have found evidence that flying saucers spied on nuclear weapons tests.
The researchers analysed photos taken by California’s Palomar Observatory between 1949 and 1957 and spotted flashes in the sky over the sites in the US where above-ground nuclear weapons tests were taking place.
Image by Ken Freeman//Shutterstock
The researchers called the flashes “transient star-like objects.”
These “transient star-like objects” appear and disappear within a single exposure. And if the photos had been taken at a later period, the objects would probably have been written off as satellites reflecting sunlight. However, the photographs were taken before the first satellites were launched.
The photos also tally with UFO sightings made at the time.
While the researchers haven’t said what the flashes could be, they do say that they have found a strong statistical connection between the flashes, above-ground nuclear tests and UFO sightings.
“The magnitude of the association between these flashes of light and nuclear tests was surprising, as was the very specific time at which they most often occurred – namely, the day after a test,” said Stephen Bruehl, one of the researchers.
“What they represent is a very fascinating question that needs further investigation.”
Source(s): Detroit Free Press, 1 November 2025
The Irish UFO Vent Event
On the evening of 29 October, thousands across Ireland watched and videoed a bright UFO moving across the sky.
Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather says he began receiving reports from 6pm. According to these reports, “it was like a big object with light in front but no noise and moving very quickly.”
A witness in Athlone contacted The Irish Sun: “I looked up and saw the lights and I immediately put my phone on and just stood there and looked at it. It was very strange. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was massive, there was no noise.
“I don’t know what it was. It had distinctive lights, it looked like it had proper lights. It looked like strings of several lights. It became fuzzier because of what look like fog in between.”
Another witness was in the cockpit of a plane flying into Cork. They said it was “almost triangular in shape with the bottom of the triangle quite bright, almost like lights. Slightly varying speed.”
They added: “Not a believer in UFOs but quite shocked by this.”
Thanks in no small part to social media, the UFO caused quite a stir.
But according to experts and amateur experts, the incident was caused by the ejection of fuel from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had been launched that day. Once ejected, the fuel freezes and reflects light, which can, under the right conditions, create a spectacular display.
According to space commentator Leo Enright: “If they keep the fuel in the rockets there is a danger that it will explode and shower debris, so it is a standard practice now for space companies to vent fuel.
“It does look spectacular if it happens at a particular time of the day, when the viewer down on Earth is in darkness or near darkness and the rocket stage is in light.”
When asked why this had not been seen before in Ireland, Enright said: “The lighting, that’s the reason. It’s all to do with lighting, and also honestly seeing anything from Ireland is a challenge. So I’m sure it’s happened in the sky and we just couldn’t see it because of cloud.”
Source(s): The Irish Sun, 29 October; Irish Daily Star, 30 October 2025; Belfast Telegraph, 31 October 2025
Psychic Scoundrels
On 7 October, Gina Marks And Steve Nicklas of Jenkintown Psychic Visions, in Philadelphia, were arrested for allegedly stealing $613,959 from two clients over a period of two years.
According to one of the clients, Gina Marks had convinced her that she was under the influence of evil and that to fight this evil she needed to buy Marks expensive gifts and send her large sums of money.
Marks has previous convictions for similar crimes. In Florida, she stole $400,000 from clients. In Maryland, she took $340,000 from clients to rid them of curses. Marks claimed that the Maryland prosecutors were motivated by racism against the Romani people and argued that she was an authentic psychic.
In response to the current charges, Nicklas’ lawyer said: “We intend to challenge the accusations vigorously in court, where the facts – not assumptions or headlines – will speak for themselves. I urge the public and the media to withhold judgement and respect the presumption of innocence that every person is entitled to under the law.”
Source(s): The Philapelphia Inquirer, 12 October 2025
Amy’s Crypt Crib
An Australian couple – Amy Waine and Jarrad Cutting – who recently purchased Britain’s “most haunted house”, The Cage, in St Osyth, Essex, say that their renovation work has triggered paranormal activity in the building.
“There is a theory that when you undertake a restoration, it can spike the activity,” said Amy. “We’ve had strange noises and strange smells. Doors open and close on their own.”
The Cage, according to the St Osyth Museum website, “is a former village lockup where drunks and villains would be kept overnight. It is claimed that Ursula Kempe was detained here in 1852 whilst being interrogated over false accusations of withcraft. We know of no evidence to support this, but she certainly was interrogated in St Clere’s Hall. Ursula was hanged in Chelmsford together with another St Osyth woman Elizabeth Bennett.”
Buying a haunted house would be bad news for most people, but not Amy. She travels the world to visit its most haunted locations and posts videos of her adventures on her Amy’s Crypt YouTube channel.
Source (s): Irish Daily Mirror, 30 October 2025
Haunted High
Strange lights and strange noises – such as “pained screams and ethereal moans” – have been reported at Arran High School, in Lamlash, on the Isle of Arran.
Arran High School is near the site of Lamlash Community Hall, which had a long history of strange activity.
It was built during the First World War and used as a military base and then as a hospital. And at the end of the war, the hall was handed over to the community and used for everything, from dances and plays to meetings and toddler groups.
People have experienced all manner of strange experiences in the hall: from apparitions to poltergeist activity and the feeling of a presence in certain parts of the hall.
Image by David Falconer//Shutterstock
But the most frequently reported experience is that of hearing a man “with a slow, heavy gait” walking across the main hall.
Lamlash Community Hall was closed in 2008 and demolished in 2010.
Some locals believe that this resurgence in strange activity is connected to the old hall. Others believe it’s just kids having a laugh.
Source(s): The Arran Banner, 31 October 2025
Satanic Saint
On 19 October, Pope Leo XIV created 7 new saints. In addition to a “lay catechist”, a “doctor of the poor” and three nuns who dedicated their lives to the poor and sick, the pope canonised a former Satanic priest, Bartolo Longo.
DyziO//Shutterstock
Born in 1841 to wealthy, devout Catholic parents, Longo went to the University of Naples in 1861 to study law. During his time there, he was ordained as a Satanic priest.
Seemingly, this had a detrimental effect on his physical and mental health. With some help, he renounced Satanism and returned to the Catholic church, subsequently dedicating his life to the Virgin Mary and the Rosary.
Source (s): Gulf News, 20 October 2025