William the Conqueror's Dining Stone is a large stone that overlooks the beach of St Leonards. Legend says that William, Duke of Normandy, used this ancient stone as a dining table after landing his Norman invasion of England in 1066. However, some suggest that this stone may have instead been part of King Harold Godwinson's tomb, who was killed by...

The beast-fish was terrifying. It stretched at least 14 feet long—or maybe 18. Its enormous head was shaped like a leopard, or a dog, or an otter, depending on who you asked and when. It used its strong, wide tail to steer through the currents of East Africa’s rivers. Some reported it had the long, white tusks of a walrus and an armadillo’s impenetrable...

In the heart of Colchester stands the Jumbo Water Tower, considered a striking architectural wonder. The tower reaches 131 feet high and is made up of 1.2 million red bricks. The structure earned the nickname "Jumbo," after an elephant at the London Zoo. In 1883, surveyor and engineer Charles Clegg built the water tower in a Romanesque Revival campanile...

Yuigahama is one of Kamakura’s most popular hangouts, a scenic crescent-shaped beach flanked by mountainous headlands. It gets quite busy on weekends, with many families, couples, and tourists lounging about on the soft sand and soaking their feet in the calm waves. Despite its peaceful atmosphere, the beach is also known as one of the spookiest...

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we present a tale from Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. On their show, they’ve explored topics such as the sounds of other...

In September 1922, Swedish filmgoers settled in for the most expensive Scandinavian film of the era: Häxan, later known as Witchcraft Through the Ages. At the Stockholm premiere, audiences enjoyed a live orchestra and illustrated playbills introducing the film’s cast and creative process. This level of pomp and circumstance was typical for high-profile...