Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has eight rumours for that setting. The rumours, which are similar to the Hearsay that can be found in the official books, can be used as adventure hooks or as simple misinformation.

1. Bands of human nomads roam the Plains of Kataru. Recently, some of the bands have taken to raiding other tribes and settlements of the plains. This is reportedly starting to become more serious, as one tribe is adding members of those it defeats in battle to its own strength, which will quickly make it the most powerful tribe in the region, if not stopped one way or another, able to conquer everyone else.
2. In the middle of a field of white stones on the Plains of Kataru is a structure called the Orgorek. On occasion, those who fiddle with the hatches of the structure are attacked by whiplike tendrils that come out of the interior. The touch of the tendrils burns flesh, and some say that, if they kill a living creature, that creature will be turned into something neither alive nor dead, neither organic nor machine, but under the control of the Orgorek.
3. Needlestorms are winds of the Plains of Kataru that gather up shards of glass, and those exposed to such storms can get cut to ribbons by the needles and fragments. There’s a rumour that needlestorms are not entirely random in their nature; that they seem to follow some sort of pattern, almost as if they were, at least partially, under the control of something.
4. Small towns and aldeia dot the Plains of Kataru, primarily farming communities that occasionally trade with caravans from the Steadfast. Recently, there have been reports that a number of the smaller communities have been destroyed, though it isn’t known who by. At best, all that has been left are smoking ruins. At worst, the settlement has vanished completely, with no sign it ever existed.
5. The Ausren Woods of the Plains of Kataru are a forest of purple trees found nowhere else. The trees have a purple fruit that travellers are advised not to eat. There’s a rumour that someone went into the woods to harvest this fruit and bring it out, for some unknown, but probably inadvisable, purpose.
6. The Beanstalk on the Plains of Kataru is a tower of metal and glass that continues up into the sky as a thin stalk, 10′ wide but only a few inches thick. The stalk seems to disappear into the sky. Recently, there have been rumours that the stalk has been vibrating, as if something unimaginable was shaking it, and that the vibration seems to be increasing as if something is getting closer.
7. The Empty Machine on the Plains of Kataru is a huge structure embedded in the ground. Many hatchways exist and more entrances have been cut inside, though the interior lacks anything but the leftovers of those who have made a home in the machine over the years. Recently, though, there have been rumours of changes in the machine, of lights blinking on and off both inside and out, and the occasional sounds of mechanisms trying to start up.
8. The Plains of Kataru are known for their terrible storms that engulf the land, particularly in spring months. It’s rumoured that both the frequency and severity of these storms has been increasing over the past few years, making the land far more dangerous than it used to be.

Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.