The X-Files is my favorite show of all time. I was on the couch for its debut on September 10, 1993. So when I found out a museum of original props had opened a mere three hours from me, I wasted only two years to get there.

• See photos from my visit here.
• Visit the museum website here.
• Read about my top eight favorite episodes here.
• Support this podcast and other of my oddity initiatives on my Patreon.
• Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
• Preorder my next book, Cult Following: The Extreme Sects that Capture Our Imaginations and Take Over Our Lives. (buying through my bookshop store maximizes support for me and for indie bookstores).
• Check out my other spooky books,

My fascination with serial killers comes with a heaping load of shame, except for in one instance: Ed Gein. That's because without Gein, we might not have Norman Bates. Or Leatherface. Or Buffalo Bill. Or the Firefly family. So my shame load was only a mild one as I visited sites related to him in his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin. With my wife and two kids.

• See photos from our visit to Plainfield here.
• Hardware Store Address: 110 S. Main St., Plainfield, WI.
• Plainfield Cemetery Address: 6590 5th Ave, Plainfield, WI.
• Property Address: Archer Avenue and Second Avenue.
• Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
• I also write spooky books, including my latest The Smashed Man of Dread End.

On February 3, 1959, a small plane carrying pop stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper crashed into an Iowa cornfield, killing all three instantly and inspiring Don McLean to write American Pie. We trudge into that cornfield, to see the place where the music died.

• See images from our jaunt to the death site here.
• Death site address: 315 St. and Gull Ave., Clear Lake, Iowa.
• More information on The Smashed Man of Dread End sticker offer.
• Want to learn about the oddities I visit in real time? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon.
• I also write spooky books.