Welcome to issue 7 of isle of wéired news – bringing you the weirdest news from around the world.
In this issue: a psychic detective has a bad day in court; AI-Satanism to be discussed at an exorcism conference in Rome; the missing US Air Force general mystery gets more mysterious; a party hat found on Mars; Trump goes telepathic; a cold shoulder for Etsy witches; a movie star exorcises a child at a school in Nigeria; and the Philipines gets a new Exorcism centre.
TikTok Psychic Detective Not About to Stop
On 13 November 2022, four University of Idaho students – Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen – were stabbed to death.
Almost immediately, Ashley Guillard, a “self-styled TikTok tarot psychic,” began posting videos accusing Rebecca Scofield, a professor at the University of Idaho, of being behind the murders. According to Guillard, Scofield had been having an affair with one of the victims and had hired someone to kill the students to cover it up.
Guillard would make over 100 videos repeating her accusations.
On 30 December 2022, Bryan Kohberger was arrested and charged with the murders. Scofield, it was revealed, had never been a suspect, and the police issued a statement to that effect.
But Guillard’s accusations continued – even after Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025.
Scofield took Guillard to civil court and has been awarded $10 million in damages.
Source(s): The Oregonian, 6 March 2026
AI-Fuelled Satanism at the Exorcism Conference
About 170 exorcists, from a number of religious denominations, are expected to attend the “Course on the Ministry of Exorcism and Prayer of Deliverance” to be held in May at Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, the Vatican-affiliated university.
The course is run annually, and this year there is a particular focus on “AI-fuelled satanism.”
According to Father Luis Ramirez Almanza, who runs the course, there’s growing fear that “devil worshippers” are using AI (artificial intelligence) to create materials for their rituals. “Artificial intelligence is a great power,” he said. “A force for both good and evil – and can therefore be used for devil worshipping.”
The university hopes the course will offer attendees “a solid foundation of theological, canonical, medical, and psychological knowledge for those who work or wish to collaborate in discernment and liberation ministry.”
Source(s): Daily Mail, 4 March 2026
Missing General Linked to Another Disappearance
On 27 February, William McCasland, a retired US Air Force general left his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, without his phone, watch or glasses – and hasn’t been seen since.
In the days leading up to his disappearance, McCasland had been experiencing brain fog, a term used to describe difficulties with being able to think clearly or concentrate.
However, Lt Kyle Woods of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has dismissed this as a possible contributing factor in McCasland’s disappearance. “There’s no indication, and we are not putting forward that Mr McCasland was disoriented or confused,” he said. ‘Arguably, he would still be the most intelligent person in the room that that any of us would be in. Highly intelligent. Highly capable.”
About 600,000 people go missing each year in the USA. McCasland’s disappearance has drawn attention because he was previously commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the notorious Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been a central part of the UFO story from the beginning. Serving as the headquarters for the Air Force’s Project Sign (1947 – 1949), Project Grudge (1949 – 1952) and Project Bluebook (1952 – 1969) UFO investigations – it’s also believed to be the place where the US Air Force stores crashed UFOs and the bodies of their pilots.
McCasland’s wife has publicly denied that there’s any connection between her husband’s career and his disappearance.
However, McCalsland’s disappearance is being linked to another missing person case.
Monica Reza disappeared while hiking in Los Angeles Forest on 22 June 2025. The 60-year-old was walking just 30 feet behind her hiking partner – when she just disappeared. Despite days of searching, rescue teams failed to find her – and her body has never been recovered.
Monica Reza was a former colleague of William McCasland.
Source(s): Independent, 13 March 2026; Express, 18 March 2026
Curiosity and the Martian Mystery Object
Back in 2022, NASA’s Curiosity rover photographed a shiny, party hat-shaped object in Gale Crater, near Mars’ crater. And Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes NASA should now go back and take another look at it.
Avi Loeb came to public attention when he suggested that Oumuamua – the strange interstellar object that passed through our solar system back in 2017 – could be artificial. Since then, he has founded the Galileo Project, which looks for technological evidence of extraterrestrial life.
In a post on Medium, Loeb wrote: “Should we just assume that the mysterious cylinder is human-made and move on or turn back the rover to figure out whether its origin is different?”
Currently, Curiosity is only five miles away from Gale Crater.
“In my opinion,” he told the New York Post, “NASA should prioritize going back to examine the cylinder relative to the more mundane tasks the Curiosity rover is pursuing.”
He added: “NASA is funded by the taxpayers and if we poll taxpayers they would likely agree with me that understanding the origin of the mysterious cylinder should be the top priority of Curiosity.”
Source(s): New York Post, 14 March 2026
Telepathic Trump
In a post on X, Uri Geller claims to have taught US president Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu how to communicate telepathically.
“Iranian friends,” he wrote. “Telepathy between Trump and Netanyahu really exists and they master it extremely well and precisely. And the person who taught Donald and Bibi how to activate their supernatural powers is you know who! He owns Lamb Island in Scotland.”
Geller, the owner of Lamb Island, found fame in the 1970s with televised demonstrations of his psychic abilities – including telepathy.
But in more recent years, he’s become known for claiming responsibility for several significant – and not so significant – events. When the clock mechanism of Big Ben mysteriously stopped for three hours in 1989, Geller claimed to have been responsible. When England beat Scotland at the UEFA European Football Championship in 1996, Geller claimed to have moved the ball with his mind as Gary McAllister took a penalty for Scotland. And when Boris Johnson won the 2019 General Election, Geller claimed to have swayed the result by giving Johnson a spoon “energised with positive psychic energy.”
As “evidence” of his current claim, Geller’s post includes an AI-generated propaganda film – that begins with Trump and Netanyahu communicating telepathically.
Source(s): Daily Star, 11 March 2026
Purge of the Etsy Witches
Back in 2015, Etsy banned witches and anyone else selling spells or “supernatural services” on the platform.
But despite the ban, many witches continued selling their services on the site. And why not? Apparently, the psychic services industry is worth about $2.8 billion per year in the USA alone.
However, it seems another purge may have begun. According to Etsy witch Beatrix: “Suddenly, and quietly, they have removed us with no real explanation, whether it’s an immediate ban or slowly taking down our listings.”
So far, Etsy has not commented on the alleged purge.
Source(s): INC, 28 February 2026
Exorcism – The Answer to Bad Parenting?
During a visit to Junior Secondary School, Durumi II, in Abuja, Nigeria, actress Tonto Dikeh reportedly performed a “deliverance” ritual on a child.
The principal of the school denied the events happened on school grounds. However, videos of the incident – which show Dikeh performing an exorcism-like ritual – strongly contradict the principal’s denials.
It’s also been established that Dikeh was at the school as part of a religious outreach programme.
The principal has partly blamed the parents for the incident – accusing them of failing to properly raise or care for their children.
Education and child protection agencies have been asked to investigate the incident.
Source(s): Sahara Reporters, 15 March 2026
New Exorcism Centre Comes for the Philipines
On 23 February, a new exorcism centre was opened in Makati City in the Philippines.
At the inauguration, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula said: “It is a public proclamation that the Church continues to take the reality of spiritual struggle seriously, and that she stands with a sure and unshakeable confidence and hope in the victory of Christ over all forms of evil.”
According to the chief exorcist of Manila, Father Jose Francisco Syquia, the opening of the center comes at a time of rising cases. “Especially now, cases of diabolical oppression, obsession and possession are increasing. We usually receive about two cases a day,” he said.
Father Syquia added that most of the cases they see involve “spiritual oppression” rather than “full possession.”
“It is not simply about driving out the demon, but more specially to reanimate the relationship that the person has with God,” he said.
Source(s): CBCP News, 24 February 2026; Politiko, 25 February 2026