The Anxiety Encyclopedia

Lorien and Jane Goodall tentatively believe in Bigfoot. Katharine definitively believes in bears. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/2026/03/09/bigfoot-sightings-reported-in-mantua-ohio-bigfoot-society/89063150007/ https://www.wdtv.com/2026/08/29/bigfoot-or-human-skinny-dipping-photos-mysterious-creature-dubbed-syracuse-figure-spark-debate/ https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/us-news/cornell-shuts-down-claims-of-60-neanderthal-ny-bigfoot-setting-off-fuming-sasquatch-hunter/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Iceman https://civicscience.com/bigfoot-is-real-for-11-of-u-s-adults/ https://www.nytimes.com/1974/01/20/archives/stalking-the-sasquatch-its-hard-to-prove-that-something-even-a.html https://web.archive.org/web/20210302050546/https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2018-10-26/so-why-do-people-believe-bigfoot-anyway https://www.science.org/content/article/bigfoot-samples-analyzed-lab?referrer=https://www.science.org/content/article/bigfoot-samples-analyzed-lab https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson–Gimlin_film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Krantz https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/forensic-expert-says-bigfoot-is-real https://www.newsweek.com/bigfoot-likely-bear-statistics-1776741

Katharine takes Lorien on a virtual tour of places she does not want to go. Sources: Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/30/extreme-haunted-house-masochists-mckamey-manor https://www.cracked.com/article_44002_5-actual-deaths-in-haunted-houses.html https://www.ranker.com/list/people-died-halloween-attractions/harrison-tenpas https://www.grunge.com/245113/disturbing-things-that-actually-happened-at-haunted-houses/ https://www.wbir.com/article/news/crime/real-life-nashville-nightmare-man-stabbed-at-haunted-house-in-madison/51-602773905 https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/tn-haunted-house-owner-charged-with-attempted-murder-rape/ https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2015/08/07/extreme-haunt-mckamey-manor-leave-san-diego https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_(horror_experience) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_McCurdy

Okay, but what if Walt Disney's head IS frozen under Pirates of the Caribbean?! (It's not.) Sources: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-a-strange-rumor-of-walt-disneys-death-became-legend https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/suspended-animation/ https://cryonics.org/cryonics-library/the-prospect-of-immortality/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryonics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryoprotectant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KrioRus https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/18/the-cryonics-dilemma-will-deep-frozen-bodies-be-fit-for-new-life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading https://cryonics.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcor_Life_Extension_Foundation https://cryonics.org/cryonics-myths/ https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/cryogenic-freezing-mouse-brain https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2020/03/what-happens-to-the-bodies-if-a-cryogenic-company-goes-bankrupt/ https://www.independent.com/2019/04/17/in-cryonics-lawsuit-son-fights-for-fathers-frozen-head/ https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-10814587/How-TV-repairman-thousands-freezing-bodies-immortality-disastrous-results.html https://cryonics.miraheze.org/wiki/Chatsworth_incident

You CAN sit with us while Katharine talks about groups you can't sit with. Sources: https://www.wired.com/story/leak-exposes-members-of-peter-thiels-secretive-dialog-society/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialog_(organization) https://www.history.com/articles/the-knights-templar https://www.history.com/articles/secret-societies-freemasons-knights-templar https://beafreemason.org/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/freemasons-history-conspiracy-secret https://www.history.com/articles/freemasons-facts-symbols-handshake-meaning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonic_conspiracy_theories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Masonic_conspiracy_theory https://www.britannica.com/event/Bilderberg-Conference https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/14/politicians-bilderberg-meeting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Meeting https://www.britannica.com/topic/illuminati-group-designation https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20171127-the-birthplace-of-the-illuminati https://www.history.com/articles/illuminati-origins-bavarian-secret-society

Lorien shares an anxiety that could keep people up at night. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_insomnia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmissible_spongiform_encephalopathy https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/brain-spinal-cord-and-nerve-disorders/prion-diseases/fatal-insomnia#Diagnosis_v8549039 https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/fatal-familial-insomnia/ https://neuroscientificallychallenged.com/posts/know-your-brain-fatal-insomnia https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1781276/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/04/team-hits-milestone-toward-prion-disease-treatment/ https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160118-the-tragic-fate-of-the-people-who-stop-sleeping https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160118-the-tragic-fate-of-the-people-who-stop-sleeping https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/health/fatal-insomnia-family-curse-somethings-killing-me https://www.livescience.com/43049-fatal-insomnia-teen.html https://news.inbox.lv/15000sm-insomnia-claimed-the-lives-of-35-people-from-one-family https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-prion-love-story https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23970-sleep-deprivation https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-effects-of-sleep-deprivation https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-long-without-sleep https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/sleep-deprivation-stages#takeaway