Just a note before we start, as we get into centuries-old death curses and the punishment of a murderer in this episode, it is likely not suitable for our younger strangers.

I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing, the show where we search the nation's news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

Now, strangers, we know that you're no, well, strangers, to tales of curses. Over the past six years,

we have recounted stories of everything from unlucky phone numbers to a wine cabinet that holds

a grudge against pop star post Malone. Really, we've found more topics in the genre than we ever

imagines might exist.

And yet, there is still ground to explore.

This time, that means heading to one of our favorite places to research the weird.

England.

There's something satisfying about a mystery that purports to be a few centuries old

and is still kicking around

in the digital age. For instance, we would be remiss not to mention the dirty bottles of Annick.

That's a legend tied to Ye Old Cross Pub, now known as the Dirty Bottle Pub, a public house

nestled near Annick Castle in Northumberland. It is a very old

establishment, circa the 1600s, and according to the Northumberland Gazette, allegedly the most

haunted pub in their county. The Gazette wrote that in quote 1725, legend has it that the landlord

of the pub instantly dropped dead after moving two

bottles in the window. His widow swore that the bottles held a death curse. Now, apparently,

she forbade anyone else from touching them, so the bottles stayed right where her unlucky spouse

had left them, sitting on the

window ledge. At some point, another pane of glass was erected, either to protect the customers

or the legend, or maybe both. We think the bottles are still there today, and there are rumors

...