Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

Long before Pazuzu terrorized audiences in *The Exorcist*, this ancient Mesopotamian demon struck fear into the hearts of the Assyrians and Babylonians—both as a harbinger of destruction and an unlikely protector against even greater evils.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/pazuzuFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: The Exorcist is widely regarded as one of the most influential horror movies of all time. Even now, half a century after its release, it continues to terrify audiences, in large part due to its horrifying practical effects and iconic antagonist: Pazuzu. (Pazuzu, The Demon ‘The Exorcist’ Made Famous) *** Latoya Ammons and her family claim to have experienced demonic possession that began when they moved into what became known as the “house of 200 demons” in 2011. (The Haunting on Carolina Street) *** In the eerie depths of 1920s Los Angeles, a sinister tale unfolded, shrouded in secrets and steeped in darkness. It all began with May Otis Blackburn and her daughter, Ruth, who claimed to receive divine revelations from the angels Gabriel and Michael. Thus emerged the enigmatic Blackburn Cult, a group entangled in a web of prophecies, tributes, and whispered mysteries. (The Blackburn Cult) *** 19th-century freak shows brought both the extraordinary and the macabre to captivated audiences far and wide. Among the peculiar spectacles of these exhibitions stood a man whose skeletal frame defied all norms of human anatomy… as his skeleton and skin appeared to be the only parts of his anatomy intact. (Seurat, The Living Skeleton) *** In the heat of summer in 2008, a mysterious creature washed ashore on a beach in Montauk, Long Island, sending shockwaves through the community. What began as a simple sighting by local resident soon exploded into a media frenzy, with wild theories and speculation running rampant. (Hot Montauk Summer) *** While epic Hollywood films often depict gladiators as men, the truth is far more captivating. We’ll step into the arena with the women who dared to defy convention and enter the gladiatorial games. (Gladiators Of The Fairer Sex)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:01:04.902 = Show Open00:03:56.963 = Pazuzu, The Demon ‘The Exorcist’ Made Famous00:12:38.281 = The Blackburn Cult00:18:05.924 = Haunting on Carolina Street00:23:19.429 = Seurat, The Living Skeleton00:29:34.090 = Gladiators of the Fairer Sex00:44:04.311 = Hot Montauk Summer00:52:59.948 = Show Close & Bloopers*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Pazuzu, The Demon ‘The Exorcist” Made Famous” by Austin Harvey for All That’s Interesting:https://tinyurl.com/3myts9h4“The Blackburn Cult” by Troy Taylor from the book “Taking Up Serpents: American Cults, Messiahs and Madmen”: https://amzn.to/4ak7SUG“The Haunting on Carolina Street” sources: https://tinyurl.com/2cvyfu46, https://tinyurl.com/bdzz467u,https://tinyurl.com/39u7b79f, https://tinyurl.com/35uvhbp6“Seurat, The Living Skeleton” by Kaushik Patowary for Amusing Planet: https://tinyurl.com/mr4xwp9k“Gladiators Of The Fairer Sex” by Paul Chrystal for Ancient Origins: https://tinyurl.com/ptzpv46v“Hot Montauk Summer” by TheGhostInMyMachine.com: https://tinyurl.com/2b74wzpx(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March 26, 2024

My new kitten, Pumpkin Marlar, gets her own podcast pilot episode — just for fun! I hope you have as much fun listening as I did putting this together.

A year after Rico's mother vanished in the Grayfall Nature Preserve, his father finally knows what really happened to her — and he's invited Lexi over for a backyard barbecue to honor her memory. But the burgers don't taste right, the hot dogs don't look right, and Mr. Alejandro has one strange instruction before the first bite: no matter what, keep it in.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1655277373Find more family-friendly frights and creepy games to play on our website at http://MicroTerrors.com!Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/microterrorsOther stories, novels, and more from author Scott Donnelly: https://amzn.to/3LymHaUOther narrations, podcasts, and audiobooks from voice artist Darren Marlar: https://WeirdDarkness.com= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Weird Darkness©, 2026Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids™, 2026#MicroTerrors #WeirdDarkness

In 1959, a quiet missionary village in Papua New Guinea became the site of one of history’s most astonishing UFO encounters—where a priest and his flock not only witnessed a hovering craft but exchanged waves with the humanoid figures aboard.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/PriestAndUFOFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: The English and Americans aren’t the only ones with vampire problems – in China they have a nasty vampire that is also a master of disguise. (Jiangshi, The Vampire) *** Papua New Guinea had an avalanche of UFO sightings in the late 1950s – and one of the most infamous involved a priest and his parish. (Father William and the Flying Saucer) *** “It looked like a baby’s body with long arms and legs. It had a big head about the same size as the body, it was sort of melon shaped.” That’s how Bill Bartlet described the strange create he saw in 1977. (The Dover Demon Returns) *** Murdered in Montana in 1983, Marie Philbrick was killed in the days before DNA analysis. Bernard Pease Jr. was convicted of her murder, but was he really her killer? (The Murder Case of Marie Philbrick)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:36.878 = Father William and the Flying Saucer00:09:16.267 = The Murder Case of Marie Philbrick ***00:20:42.781 = The Dover Demon Returns ***00:39:08.409 = Jiangshi, The Vampire ***00:43:26.236 = Show Close & Bloopers*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Jiangshi, The Vampire” by A. Sutherland for Ancient Pages: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2tvsk3n7“Father William and the Flying Saucer” from Anomalien: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2cycfdnp“The Murder Case of Marie Philbrick” from CrimeTraveller.org: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/aez456w“The Dover Demon Returns” by Mark Sullivan for Boston.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/tbuu3vcw and Strange New England: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/jztfkrsn(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March 05, 2023

“Northern Lights”: Two scientists built a time machine, and the cold thing that crawled back into the laboratory had every intention of staying.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTRCHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Just To Keep Busy” (October 25, 1977)00:46:13.238 = Quiet Please, “Northern Lights” (January 30, 1949)01:15:51.524 = Radio City Playhouse, “Affliction” (September 25, 1949)01:44:22.690 = Mercer McLeod, “Blood On The Doorstep” (1946-1947)01:58:33.864 = Silver Theater: Dashiell Hammett’s “Maltese Falcon” (February 01, 1942)03:55:05.423 = The Sealed Book, “Death At Storm House” (April 22, 1945)04:25:16.859 = The Shadow, “The Phantom Voyage” (February 16, 1941)04:50:03.811 = Show Close(ADU) = Air Date Unknown(LQ) = Low Quality***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0660

Since August 2025, a crowdsourced tracking app has logged more than 9,000 sightings of unidentified objects within 10 miles of US shorelines, with clusters off California, Florida, and naval training zones.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/UnderwaterUFOsLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

A Belgian woman vanished from her Canary Islands home on a Sunday night in May, and four days later investigators were sifting through a landfill.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/oosterlinckLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Sharon Hoggatt came home to a planter she hadn't moved, a deadbolt no one had locked, and a growing sense that either her husband was losing his memory or someone else was inside their house.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/hoggatt-intruderLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

A writer is gifted the rope that hanged a notorious highwayman, and from that night forward, something with a face like impure wax begins following him through London — into his dreams, into his work, and finally into the jury box of a murder trial he was never meant to survive.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTRCHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Trial For Murder” (October 24, 1977) 00:48:20.210 = CBC Nightfall, “The Wedding” (April 15, 1983) ***WD01:18:54.528 = Nightmare, “Chance of a Ghost” (March 31, 1945) ***WD01:40:57.831 = Obsession, “The Hangman” (January 15, 1951) ***WD02:10:47.211 = Origin of Superstition, “Breaking The Wishbone” (1935)02:25:03.766 = Pat Novak For Hire, “Lydia Reynolds Case” (November 23, 1947)02:54:53.127 = Peril, “A Matter of Honor” (1953) ***WD03:21:57.779 = Mystery Playhouse, “Two Men In a Furnished Room” (September 27, 1946) ***WD03:45:48.955 = Philip Morris Playhouse, “Night Has a Thousand Eyes” (August 19, 1953) ***WD04:09:26.274 = Price of Fear, “Fish” (September 1973)04:38:04.873 = Adventures of Ellery Queen, “Nick Knife” (August 01, 1945) ***WD05:02:05.115 = Show Close(ADU) = Air Date Unknown(LQ) = Low Quality***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0659

Long before the modern UFO craze, cowboys, trappers, and even future U.S. presidents reported eerie lights, sky-borne serpents, and crashed crafts with mysterious hieroglyphs—suggesting that the Wild West may have had more than just outlaws lurking in the night.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/CowboysAndAliensFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: If you have seen the film, Cowboys and Aliens then the idea of spacecraft in the Wild West will not be so, well, alien to you. Although the film, as enjoyable as it is, is one-hundred percent fiction, there are numerous accounts of UFO and alien encounters in the tentative years of the United States. (Real Encounters of Cowboys And Aliens) *** Michael and Janet wouldn’t report their UFO abduction for ten years out of fear of not being believed. But once they told the story, it would set the Ufology community on fire. (The Buff Ledge Abduction) (The Buff Ledge Abduction) *** What is the Bermuda Triangle? What’s going on in this mysterious patch of the Atlantic Ocean where dozens of ships, planes, and people have disappeared without explanation? (Inside the Bermuda Triangle) *** From the "little green men" of rural Kentucky to a string of lights over Arizona spotted by thousands of people, there are several convincing, real UFO sightings that not only remain unexplained, but might even suggest we’re not alone in the universe. (UFO Sightings That Remain Unexplained)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:01:41.674 = Show Open00:03:36.481 = Real Encounters of Cowboys and Aliens00:14:56.841 = Inside The Bermuda Triangle ***00:25:04.794 = The Buff Ledge Abduction00:35:30.437 = UFO Sightings That Remain Unexplained ***01:00:56.192 = Show Close & Bloopers*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Real Encounters of Cowboys And Aliens” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9b3f2s“Inside The Bermuda Triangle” by Kaleena Fraga for All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8shfn7“The Buff Ledge Abduction” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9bwuhf“UFO Sightings That Remain Unexplained” by Austin Harvey for All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8wn67f(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March 25, 2024

A man broke through a hospital wall and was found in a Pennsylvania park after telling police he needed a walk. Oh, yeah... and he was naked.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/naked-punxsutawney-manLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Australian psychologists invented a secret army of genetically engineered super-raccoons to find out who was actually telling the truth on their conspiracy surveys.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/fake-conspiracy-studyLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Five words from a faceless machine end Walter Hayes's career — and send him down a spiral where the only solution he can see is to be worth more dead than alive.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTRCHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Sorry To Let You Go” (October 21, 1977)00:45:08.893 = MindWebs, “Letters From Underneath The Earth” (January 24, 1983)01:15:14.587 = Two On a Clue, “The Case of the Silent Witness” (October 03, 1944) ***WD01:29:41.774 = Mystery In The Air, “Black Cat” (September 18, 1947) ***WD01:55:27.900 = Molle’ Mystery Theater, “Creeper” (March 29, 1946)02:24:33.240 = Mr. Keen, “The Missing Witnesses” (January 13, 1944) ***WD02:52:57.583 = Murder at Midnight, “Ape Song” (April 13, 1947) ***WD03:19:33.899 = Black Museum, “Auto Service Card” (March 28, 1952) ***WD03:45:30.365 = Mysterious Traveler, “It’s Only Money” (January 08, 1952)04:14:43.412 = Mystery House, “Death Passed My Window” (March 31, 1946) ***WD04:40:59.457 = Night Beat, “Sanctuary” (June 22, 1951) 05:08:08.740 = Show Close(ADU) = Air Date Unknown(LQ) = Low Quality***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0658

Centuries ago, fear and superstition led to bizarre and cruel witch trials, where the accused faced impossible tests—from floating in water to being weighed against Bibles — that often sealed their grim fate.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/CondemnedAsAWitchFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: We’ve all heard of the Salem Witch Trials – but accusations of witchcraft took place everywhere, not just Massachusetts. But who were these individuals, and were they guilty of what they were convicted of and killed for? (People Killed As Witches) *** Of course, not all those charged with witchcraft died in the 1600s during the witch trial mania – some died much much later, like the 21st century. Yes, it still happens even today. (Modern Witch Killings) *** The ways witches were tested during the mass hysteria of the witch trials resulted in some bizarre and cruel ways to determine if someone was a witch. And I’d bet most all of us would be deemed witches if forced to take the tests today. (How To Test a Witch) *** But before we get into the people who were accused, the tactics used to test them or make them confess, and how many of them were killed, we’ll look at some of the misconceptions of the Salem Witch Trials that you probably think are true. (Salem Witch Trial Misconceptions)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:01:00.501 = Show Open00:03:00.571 = Salem Witch Trial Misconceptions00:11:28.154 = People Killed As Witches ***00:26:21.262 = How To Test a Witch00:35:31.660 = Modern Witch Killings ***00:47:41.080 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Witch’s Brew” poem: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/n7p3j8us“Salem Witch Trial Misconceptions” by Tamar Altebarmakian for Weird History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/57ah3yw5“How To Test a Witch” by Tamar Altebarmakian for Ranker’s Witchcraft: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/34vsfs9r“People Killed As Witches” by Laura Allan for Ranker’s History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3pejpv5c“Modern Witch Killings” by Greg Beneven for Ranker’s History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/rafzhksz(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March 04, 2023

A Louisiana father shot seven of his own children and their cousin dead inside two Shreveport homes on the morning of April 19, 2026, then drove to his former Army mentor's doorstep to die.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/elkinsLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Between March 6 and March 10, eight witnesses across Portage County reported the same thing — an upright figure, eight feet tall, moving through the river corridors east of Akron.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/ohio-bigfoot-flap-2026Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

A curving Mississippi lake road after sundown, a wedding present on the passenger seat, and a quiet island resort across the water where the ferryman takes fifty cents — exact change only.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTRCHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Island on Silvertree Lake” (October 19, 1977) 00:46:15.152 = Lights Out, “the Projective Mr. Drogan” (January 26, 1943)01:15:39.621 = Lux Radio Theater, “Return of Peter Grimm” (February 13, 1939)02:17:22.687 = Macabre, “Crystalline Man” (January 01, 1962) ***WD02:45:43.599 = Philip Marlowe, “Bid For Freedom” (January 21, 1950)03:14:29.567 = Results Inc, “Mummy’s Walk” (December 03, 1944)03:42:38.776 = Black Mass, “Shidah And Kuziba” (October 16, 1973) ***WD03:56:34.198 = Michael Shayne, “Date At Cliff House” (April 16, 1945)04:26:13.554 = Beyond Midnight, “Marble Room” (September 26, 1969) ***WD04:53:52.211 = Show Close(ADU) = Air Date Unknown(LQ) = Low Quality***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0657

Two pairs of everything — body parts — turn up in three southern counties before anyone thinks to ask the quiet woman on the hog farm what was buried out behind the barn.EPISODE PAGE (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/noir-twopairsofeverythingTHE REAL CASE BEHIND THIS STORY: THE VIOLA HYATT CASE (1959, ALABAMA)Viola Hyatt was a 30-year-old farm woman living with her father Martin on a hog farm near White Plains, Alabama. Raised by a cruel, sickly mother who told her daily she was a curse, Viola grew up isolated, heavy-set, and physically strong from butchering the family's hogs herself — a job she took over from her father as a teenager. When her father rented a small trailer on the property to two construction workers — brothers Emmett and Lee Harper, both WWII veterans (one a Bataan Death March survivor) — the arrangement turned ugly. The brothers sexually abused Viola, beat her father when he objected, and treated the family with contempt. Viola endured it for months. On the morning of June 27, she loaded her father's 12-gauge shotgun, walked to the trailer, and shot both men in the face. She then used the double-bit axe from the barn to dismember the bodies, loaded the parts into the brothers' own 1957 Ford, and drove all night through three Alabama counties — Calhoun, Etowah, and Cleburne — scattering arms, legs, and torsos along roadsides, in briar patches, and in the Tallapoosa River. The bodies were so disfigured that police couldn't identify them for 17 days. They called the victims "Mr. X" and "Mr. Y." The case broke when the construction foreman recognized police sketches and connected them to a phone call Viola had made claiming the brothers were tending to a sick mother. Police found blood in the trunk of the car, the buried axe, and damage to the trailer door — and after a six-hour interrogation, Viola confessed. She was evaluated at Brice Mental Hospital, found sane, and pled guilty in March of the following year to avoid the electric chair. She received a life sentence. She never explained her motive beyond saying the abuse "wasn't the main reason" — it was "worse than that." She refused interviews for the rest of her life. Paroled in 1970, she lived quietly in a trailer park until her death in 1992, taking whatever the full story was to the grave.WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: May 12, 2026

A self-proclaimed witch in 1800s England used fake magic and poison to con her victims - until one murder too many brought her deadly schemes crashing down.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/YorkshireWitchFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: What if we just discovered we're sharing Earth with another intelligent species? Scientists have found something mind-blowing, and if they are right, nothing is ever going to be the same. (When They Arrive – Earth’s First Contact Playbook) *** When a young boy stumbled upon a cave ritual in rural Mexico, he uncovered a terrifying cult led by a self-proclaimed goddess who had turned village farmers into willing executioners. (Blood Priestess of Yerba Buena) *** In the case of an 1816 murder, an old security guard recognized the attacker just by voice - but when the suspect ended up on death row, he swore they got the wrong guy. (Murder At The Pottery) *** When strange noises in an old farmhouse turned out to be a mongoose who could sing, spy on neighbors, and speak multiple languages, the Irving family's quiet life on the Isle of Man would never be the same. (The Strange True Tale of Gef The Talking Mongoose) *** There's something seriously strange about Saturn - a giant hexagon storm at its north pole that's got both NASA scientists and conspiracy theorists buzzing about what it could mean, strange radio signals that are unexplainable, and the odd history of how it was seen and interpreted by humans through the years. (The Science, Secrets, Strangeness, and Songs of Saturn) *** In 1800s England, Mary Bateman posed as a powerful witch to con desperate people out of their money - until her "magical cures" turned to murder. (The Cunning Crimes of The Yorkshire Witch)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:01:40.399 = Show Open00:04:03.792 = The Cunning Crimes of the Yorkshire Witch00:14:31.135 = When They Arrive: Earth’s First Contact Playbook ***00:33:09.022 = Blood Priestess of Yerba Buena00:43:19.864 = Murder At The Pottery ***00:46:23.172 = The Science, Secrets, Strangeness, and Songs of Saturn00:53:45.030 = The Strange True Tale of Gef the Talking Mongoose ***00:59:43.434 = Show Close & Bloopers*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“The Cunning Crimes of the Yorkshire Witch”: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/577601/mary-bateman-witch-yorkshire-murder, http://winsham.blogspot.com/2016/05/murder-and-lies-mary-bateman-yorkshire.html,https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/bateman-mary.htm“Blood Priestess of Yerba Buena”: https://the-line-up.com/magdalena-solis-high-priestess-of-mexico,https://murderpedia.org/female.S/s/solis-magdalena.htm, https://vocal.media/criminal/magdalena-solis-s-cult,https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/magdalena-sol%C3%ADs-the-high-priestess-of-blood-1278a81dea48“Murder At The Pottery”: https://hauntedpalaceblog.com/2024/11/29/the-ouseburn-murder-and-the-macabre-afterlife-of-charles-smith/“The Strange True Tale of Gef The Talking Mongoose”: http://gefmongoose.blogspot.com/p/the-story-of-gef.html,https://www.weirdhistorian.com/things-said-about-the-talking-mongoose-of-the-isle-of-man/,https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/gef-the-talking-mongoose-true-story-nandor-fodor,https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2024/03/the-strange-and-deeply-unlikely-tale-of-gef-the-talking-mongoose/,https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/vh35kXxrrqPRYn1mMJJb17/the-curious-case-of-the-talking-mongoose“The Science, Secrets, Strangeness, and Songs of Saturn”: https://www.ufoinsight.com/conspiracy/historical/saturn-not-what-we-think, https://www.space.com/30608-mysterious-saturn-hexagon-explained.html,https://www.space.com/11205-saturn-strange-radio-signals-cassini.html,https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/hercolobus/esp_hercolobus_34.htm, https://www.mazzastick.com/saturn-moon-matrix/, http://www.atlanteanconspiracy.com/2008/07/saturn-satan-and-666.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWHLCHv4PiI (sounds of Saturn)“When They Arrive: Earth’s First Contact Playbook”: https://anomalien.com/guide-what-to-do-if-non-human-intelligence-is-confirmed-on-earth/, https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/, https://www.cnes-geipan.fr/en/node/58792, https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project,https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/116282/text, https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3965403/dod-examining-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena/,https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190390376/ufo-hearing-non-human-biologics-uaps,https://thedebrief.org/intelligence-officials-say-u-s-has-retrieved-non-human-craft/,https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4008836/reports-of-drone-incursions-taken-seriously-dod-spokesman-says/, https://www.congress.gov/amendment/118th-congress/senate-amendment/2610/text,https://anomalien.com/aliens-sending-three-word-nuclear-warning-claims-ex-army-official/#google_vignette,https://anomalien.com/the-ongoing-interplay-between-non-human-intelligence-and-humanity/#google_vignette,https://anomalien.com/ufos-hacked-nuclear-codes-russia-and-usa-were-near-the-brink-of-nuclear-war/,https://www.christianity.com/wiki/angels-and-demons/are-aliens-demons-what-does-the-bible-say.html,https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-does-the-bible-say-about-aliens.html, https://weirddarkness.com/if-aliens-are-real-can-i-still-be-a-christian-churchoftheundead/(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

A mother in Jonesboro called the sheriff's office on April 17, 2025, about her 13-year-old's autism school - and a search warrant pulled video the prosecutor would eventually play in open court.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/jonesboro-fight-clubLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS