Strange Area: The Story Behind the Curiosity
Strange Area was born from a love of exploration, curiosity, and the thrill of finding the unknown. For me, that curiosity began thanks to my mom—a truly amazing journalist for the Bryan College Station Eagle—who inspired me to seek out the weird, the wonderful, and the “what-ifs” of the world.
When I was a freshman in high school, we were living in Lenexa, Kansas, while my dad was on sabbatical. It was the perfect setting for adventure. One day, I stumbled across an article about Stull, Kansas—the so-called “Gateway to Hell.” For a kid already prone to imagination, this seemed like a can’t-miss destination. I mentioned it to my mom, and she didn’t just encourage my curiosity—she fed it. That spring break, she loaded me and a friend into the car, and off we went on a road trip to the eerie little town of Stull.
When we arrived, man, that place was strange. Whether or not it was a literal “gateway to hell,” something about it captured my imagination. The old church, rumored to have a tree growing through its floor, the crumbling graveyard, and the creepy quiet—it was everything an adventurer could hope for. My mom taught me that even if the story didn’t quite match reality, the journey was what made it worthwhile. Exploring weird places, finding hidden gems, investigating mysteries—it didn’t matter if they were real or not. What mattered was the fun of the search, the thrill of discovery.
Looking back, I realize she instilled in me a deep curiosity about people, places, and ideas. We could have documented and published our adventures, but at that time, it was all about the experience. We weren’t just driving to places—we were on a mission to uncover the strange, the hidden, and the forgotten.
That spirit is exactly what I aim to bring to Strange Area. Sure, some places are definitively strange, but in reality, “strange” is a matter of perspective. To some, it’s strange to leave their house; to others, it’s strange to stay in one place for too long. The world is full of oddities—some subtle, some obvious—and the beauty of it all is that each person gets to decide what’s strange to them.
I’ll have a blast producing the content—whether it’s a magical tree in the middle of a country church or a town with a quirky claim to fame. The question is: What will you find strange?
