A phantom lumberjack on a reign of terror in England, an eerie dashcam video from Australia that may show a ghost child, and a bowler who threw a perfect game using a ball containing his late father's ashes were among the strange and unusual stories to cross our desk this week.
This past week saw a pair of puzzling videos make news and leave viewers scratching their heads. First, in Florida, a homeowner could not believe her eyes when her home security system captured video of a mysterious creature that seemed to resemble a baby dinosaur dashing through her yard. Meanwhile, down in Australia, a motorist cruising down the highway was shaken when he nearly hit what appeared to be a small child in the middle of the road. The unsettling incident, which was filmed by his dashcam, took a strange turn when it was revealed that police were informed of the near-miss and spent hours searching for the tot, but found no trace of the child, leading some to suspect that it could have been a ghost.
In a heartwarming story that popped up in the news this past week, a bowler in Illinois threw a perfect game using a ball that contained the ashes of his late father. The remarkable feat was accomplished by John Hinkle, who uses a two-handed playing style which requires that his bowling ball have no finger holes. In order to adhere to the rules of the sport as well as honor his dad, who introduced him to bowling and passed away a few years ago, he had one of the space filled in with the ashes of his father. Amazingly, the perfect game was actually the first time Hinkle had ever used the tribute ball.
A particularly weird crime spree currently unfolding in England features a 'phantom lumberjack' who is believed to be responsible for cutting down a staggering 48 trees in a group of neighboring communities over the last month. Dubbed 'Jack the Chipper' by some residents, the ne'er-do-well had somehow managed to evade capture despite an increase in police patrols and an informed public on the lookout for the miscreant. Operating under the cloak of darkness and apparently using a near-silent battery-operated chainsaw, the mysterious troublemaker appears to have no motive as they simply slice through trees and leave the severed limbs behind as a chilling calling card.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.