About
OddStops.com is a website that lists unusual places.
It is owned and operated by Double You Media in Wexford, Ireland.
The site contains crime scenes, crash sites, serial killers' houses, filming locations, mob hangouts, and places where celebrities have died. It also serves as an educational guide, as it contains key information about missing persons and unsolved cases.
We have researched and written extensively about true crime in the past. Using our knowledge, we may provide insights and analysis in certain cases.
Should you really be listing these places?
Many of these places are swept under the rug because of their tragic histories. Understandably, many locals consider them to be a stain on their community. In their eyes, they represent a horrific moment in time that should be forgotten about.
Unfortunately, whitewashing the past seldom works. From our experience in researching these locations, it only muddies the details and creates confusion. This inevitably leads to rumors and urban legends, some of which seem far worse than the actual truth.
For example, in Utah, a number of locals are under the impression that serial killer Ted Bundy had a secret "murder cave" where he tortured all of his victims. However, if you take a look at our guide to Bundy's Utah locations, you will see that this story has no basis in reality.
In another case, we saw that someone's house was incorrectly identified as being the former home of Oregon serial killer Jerry Brudos.
While researching Ted Bundy's dump site at Taylor Mountain, we came across multiple examples of social media users trying to guess the GPS coordinates. Notably, all of these guesses pinpointed locations that were miles away from the correct area.
As you can see, being "hush hush" about a subject can create far more problems than it solves. All it does is lead to speculation.
OddStops.com is more than just morbid tourism
Although OddStops.com does cater to "morbid tourism", we offer more than just that.
If you have ever researched serial killers, murder cases, or other tragic events, then you will know that it can be difficult to find exact information about key locations. More often than not, newspaper reports and books will only provide a general description of the area.
This can be frustrating, as seeing these places and visualizing them is often vital if you need to understand a case.
Many of our website visitors do not intend on visiting any of these places. Instead, they are simply looking for a clearer picture. They've read about a certain location multiple times, and now they want to see it with their own eyes.
Early on in the development of OddStops, we realized that our site could be a useful tool for true crime fans, researchers, and websleuths. This is why many of our location guides contain detailed maps and aerial images.
It is hoped that these resources will help clear up misconceptions, factoids, and bogus theories.
For example, in the case of suspected LISK victim Valerie Mack, most sources claim that her body was dumped beside an intersection. However, this is misleading, as crime scene photographs indicate that her remains were found beside an access road that is off the beaten path. Making this distinction is important, as it suggests that her killer is somewhat familiar with the area.
When it comes to unsolved cases, we believe that precise information is extremely important.
For all we know, a local hunter saw a suspicious vehicle in that exact area and decided not to say anything because the local newspaper reported that her body was found elsewhere.
How do you find and verify these locations?
We make great efforts to verify that these locations are correct. We also ignore online forums and social media posts, as many of these are based on hearsay.
To verify these locations, we use:
- Books on the subject.
- Documentaries.
- Newspaper archives.
- Old news footage.
- Police reports and case files that have been released to the public.
- Aerial photographs.
- Census records.
- Property reports.
- Other online archives.
If there is a photograph or video with identifiable landmarks, we can use Google Street View to confirm the location. Because places tend to change significantly over time, we also use old satellite photographs.
To contact us, you can email us at [email protected]