This Week's Weird News 2/13/26

A puzzling beam of light photographed in Argentina, a gothic-themed coffee shop forced to close due to frightened community members, and a 'supernatural snake transformation' staged to avoid an arranged marriage were among the weird and wondrous stories to cross our desk this past week.

Two cases of peculiar aerial illuminations caught our attention this past week, beginning with a puzzling video from Mexico which showed a trio of mysterious fireballs that were filmed floating over a hilltop. Making the scene all the more bizarre were what seemed to be the sound of wailing that accompanied the curious lights, which led some to speculate that the inexplicable orbs could have been supernatural in nature, specifically witches. Later in the week, a witness in Argentina snapped a remarkable photo of a powerful beam of light that appeared to have come from some kind of craft and briefly lit up the night sky before vanishing after just a few seconds.

A gothic-themed coffee shop in North Carolina announced that it had closed this past week due to repeated harassment from community members concerned about the 'dark nature' of the business, which hosts psychic readings and a collection of esoteric curios. Nocturna Coffee & Oddities, which opened this past October in the city of Salisbury, became targeted by fearful residents after the shop created a Krampus-inspired float for a holiday festival. Since that time, the owner lamented, the eatery was subjected to an onslaught of threats from misguided individuals determined to drive the business out of the community. Sadly, the months-long campaign was eventually too much to bear with the shop finally shutting down in the hopes of moving to a more welcoming locale.

The weirdest story of the week came from India, where a woman staged a 'supernatural snake transformation' to avoid an arranged marriage and run off with her true love. The case began when the would-be bride went to bed one evening and, the following morning, was nowhere to be found. In her place were some clothes, jewelry, and a five-foot-long snakeskin. The chilling discovery sparked a panic in her village as residents suspected that the woman had become an ichchadhari nagin, a folkloric creature able to transform from a snake into a woman and back. Their fears were short-lived, however, as police soon determined that the 23-year-old hoaxed the supernatural event to sneak away with her boyfriend rather than participate in a marriage arranged by her family.

For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.