Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

Latest Episodes:

Katy Mother Vanished Six Weeks, Sent Uber Eats to Her Daughters | #WeirdDarkNEWS May 11, 2026

Show notes

Rayshawna Dowdell allegedly left her 11- and 6-year-old daughters alone in a cluttered Katy home for six weeks while ordering them meals from out of state.
PRINT VERSION OF THIS STORY: https://weirddarkness.com/uber-eats-mom-katy
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/1078714736
*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.
#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

The Devil Made Me Do It: Murderers Who Blamed Their Crimes on Demons May 11, 2026

Show notes

An English butcher murdered his wife the day his exorcism ended, the Son of Sam blamed his neighbor's dog, and a forked-tongued occultist who called himself Pazuzu buried bodies in his backyard — and every one of them swore it was the demon who did it. | #WDRadio May 10, 2026
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HOUR ONE: “The devil made me do it.” It’s an excuse that has been used so often by so many that it has lost its meaning, and its effectiveness. So only a fool or a madman would commit a horrible act and then try to blame it on the devil or a demon… unless, of course, that person truly believes that is exactly what happened to them. (A Demon Made Me Do It) *** The little Norwegian village of Bærum Verk still stands as an old foundry settlement, and is an active place, both as a place to work, and as a place to live – and as a place to keep living even after you’re dead. (The Most Haunted Village in Norway) *** There are more than a few stories from upright citizens around the world who claim to have seen tiny humans. I’m not talking about the diminutive human beings we used to classify as dwarves or midgets until we became more enlightened. I’m talking about short, maybe two-foot tall, perfectly proportioned people. (Big Stories About Little People)
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HOUR TWO: Like many desolate places, the Arctic has its share of ghost stories and haunted legends floating around the frigid, wild areas of its domain. It might be the frights rather than the cold that gives you goosebumps. (Ghostly Shivers of the Arctic Circle) *** You never know what might be lurking just out of sight – in the shadows, behind a door. I’ll share a few true stories that might make you double-check the locks at night and check the closet before going to bed. (Never Trust The Dark) *** When you think of the Salem Witch Trials, you typically think of women being burned at the stake, innocently accused of witchcraft. There are two incorrect assumption about that mental picture. First, most of the accused were hung, and none have been truly verified to be burned alive. And second, sorcery and Satan worship were not seen to be bound by gender, and so either a man, woman, boy, or girl could be a witch. And one of those unfortunate men was Giles Corey – but his punishment went beyond the norm, and into the gruesome. (The Most Dreadful Execution of The Salem Witch Trials)
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SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: When John and Eva were married they told their relatives that they planned to honeymoon on the Atlantic coast, but John had another plan, and it would not be his last deception. But it would be the first act in what ended up being a mystery that has still gone unsolved to this day. (The Lawrenceburg Shanty-Boat Mystery) *** Weirdo family member James Pierce brings a true story that he calls, “It Came Through the Screen Door”. *** A 5-year-old boy having the time of his life at a carnival suddenly goes missing – and when found later there is no evidence whatsoever as to how he got where he was, who took him there, or what happened to him before he was found. (The Disturbing Case of Little Stephen McKerron) *** Weirdo family member Joy Cruz remembers something her mother told her as a child… and it quite possibly saved her soul. (I’ve Seen The Devil)
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SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW:
“The Genesis of Geraldine” by David Jeremiah for Light Source: https://tinyurl.com/y7t7nuwx
“A Demon Made Me Do It” by Jacob Shelton for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/y2qedyjq, and Orrin Grey for The Line Up: https://tinyurl.com/yb8e6z25
“The Most Haunted Village in Norway” from Moon Mausoleum: https://tinyurl.com/ya8nuxur
“The Lawrenceburg Shanty-Boat Mystery” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder By Gaslight: https://tinyurl.com/yyod3q3j
“Big Stories About Little People” by Nick Redfern for Mysterious Universe: https://tinyurl.com/ycql47wq
“It Came Through the Screen Door” by Weirdo family member James Pierce
“Ghostly Shivers of the Arctic Circle” by Jodi Smith for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/yc9ymjyx
“The Most Dreadful Execution of The Salem Witch Trials” from Sometimes Interesting: https://tinyurl.com/y979qn8e, and Evan Corey for History: https://tinyurl.com/y7qt45kx
“I’ve Seen The Devil” by Joy Cruz for Weird Darkness: https://WeirdDarkness.com/submit
“The Disturbing Case of Little Stephen McKerron” from Strange Company: https://tinyurl.com/ydf4w6ce
“Never Trust the Dark” from The Line Up: https://tinyurl.com/y7bgdq5z
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Join the Weird Darkness Syndicate: https://weirddarkness.com//syndicate
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.
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PODCASTS I HOST:
Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/listen
Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag
Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors
Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio
Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead
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(Over time links seen above 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.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

A Lip-Reading Wife and the Alien at the Corner Table: The People of Sissora | #RetroRadio May 11, 2026

Show notes

An archaeology professor fixates on a stranger across the restaurant, his wife admits to a skill she's kept hidden for the twenty years they've been married, and what the two of them overhear at the man's table suggests he isn't from this planet.
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/OTR
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Mystery Theater, “The People of Sissora” (October 14, 1977)
00:45:53.743 = Murder By Experts, “It’s Luck That Counts” (August 29, 1949)
01:15:23.858 = Exploring Tomorrow, “Speak No More” (May 07, 1958)
01:34:57.034 = Faces In The Window, “Pit And The Pendulum” (January 24, 1953) ***WD
02:05:56.415 = Dark Fantasy, “Convoy For Atlantis” (March 27, 1942)
02:28:30.890 = BBC Fear on 4, “Survival” (March 19, 1989)
02:57:27.374 = Future Tense, “Tunnel Under The World” (May 22, 1974) ***WD
03:24:06.381 = BBC Ghosts From The Past, “Mortmain” (April 22, 1992)
04:08:08.795 = Ave Maria Hour, “St. Benedict of Nursia VS Poison And Witchcraft” (1939)
04:31:51.450 = Hall of Fantasy, “Death In The Bayous” (March 06, 1947)
05:01:47.886 = 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/WDRR0655

Alone on the Job: True Stories of What Lurks After Hours May 11, 2026

Show notes

From morgue freezer alarms tripping with nobody inside to a Scream-masked figure waving at the security camera, twenty-one workers describe the moments they realized empty buildings are rarely as empty as they look.
EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/AloneOnTheJob
FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Complete isolation sounds horrifying, but for people who work alone, it just becomes part of the process. *** Fog and mist are a staple of creating a perfect horror atmosphere. In some cases, such as movies like “The Fog” or “The Mist”, it is the creeping haze that is the danger itself. But then there is the true story from the Florida woods of a supernatural fog bank that appeared to eat people alive. *** How did The Devil's footprint get in a rock in North Carolina? *** One of our Weirdo family members didn’t used to believe in the supernatural – but that changed when he insisted that the ghost prove it exists. *** Mysterious fires and moving objects have terrified the residents of a house in central Morocco.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding
00:01:03.467 = Show Open
00:02:51.044 = Creepy Working Alone Stories
00:27:01.430 = A Strange Carnivorous Mist ***
00:35:48.414 = Devil’s Rock
00:39:48.078 = Demanding Proof ***
00:41:53.899 = Poltergeist in Morocco
00:48:58.487 = Show Close
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
LISTEN 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:
“Creepy Working Alone Stories” by Stefanie Hammond fore Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/tuxe6zd
“A Strange Carnivorous Mist” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://tinyurl.com/vyveg7a
“Devil’s Rock” posted at North Carolina Ghosts: https://tinyurl.com/trcpobe
“Demanding Proof” by Weirdo family member Christopher Gray, submitted directly to WeirdDarkness
“Poltergeist in Morocco” originally posted in Hespress of Morocco, translated by The Fortean:https://tinyurl.com/y8s7glte
(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.

Down the Rabbit Hole: A Note About This Week's #COTU Episode May 10, 2026

Show notes

This week's Church of the Undead (#COTU) pulled me down a rabbit hole. The further I worked on it, the more it asked of me — more material, more questions of my own that needed answers... honestly, if I kept going it could easily become a book, and maybe someday it will. But for now I'm working toward the podcast version, and even that may not be ready for the usual Sunday release. I'll keep at it, but this may be a mid-week episode! Thanks in advance for your understanding! In the meantime, you can hear previous messages from the Church of the Undead series at https://weirddarkness.com/church.

Trick-or-Treating At The Devil's House: He Didn't Give Me Candy May 10, 2026

Show notes

A man on our block sat between burning cauldrons in a devil costume every Halloween, and the year I was finally brave enough to trick-or-treat at his house, he gave me something that wasn't candy at all.
EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/TrickOrTreatDevil
FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: A local lake's water turned crystal clear overnight, every fish and plant gone from its depths, and the two university microbiologists who collected a sample to find out why brought something back to the lab that should never have left the water. (Amoeba) *** Two out-of-state hunters were found torn apart in a cabin north of town — one man's leg inside, the other's upper torso on the roof — and the night four friends gathered in a basement in the small mountain town of Linglestown to drink beer and laugh about the creature stalking the local woods, heavy footsteps started crossing the floor above them. (The Cycle) *** A secret modification had pushed Keck Observatory's telescope to 45 billion light-years — the very edge of the known universe — and when they called Caltech's astronomy chief for his opinion, what he saw wasn't a star, a galaxy, or a nebula, but something that appeared to be looking back. (A Scarecrow For God) *** In the 1970s suburban neighborhood where I grew up, every kid measured his bravery by whether he'd ever walked up the lawn of the man who dressed as the devil on Halloween, and the year my best friend and I finally took the dare, what was dropped into my candy bag turned a rite of passage into something far stranger. (Satan’s Fall)
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:15.425 = Amoeba
00:18:17.841 = The Cycle
00:37:01.840 = A Scarecrow For God
00:54:23.851 = Satan’s Fall
01:29:01.448 = Show Close
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
LISTEN 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:
“Amoeba” was submitted by Sabby Ray: https://www.facebook.com/ray.saibal
“The Cycle” - an original story submitted by Michael Dieb at http://www.WeirdDarkness.com
“A Scarecrow For God”: https://www.creepypasta.com/a-scarecrow-for-god/
“Satan’s Fall”: http://www.creepypasta.org/creepypasta/satans-fall#read
(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: October 15, 2017

The Burial of Alexander Jordan: The Coffin Bell That Rang Six Nights After the Funeral | #RetroRadio May 10, 2026

Show notes

Old Alexander Jordan, terrified of being buried alive during one of his cataleptic fits, rigs a bell from his crypt to his nephew's bedroom — so that if he wakes inside the coffin, he can ring for help. But his nephew Ramsey has been waiting a long time to inherit the Jordan place, and a bell that rings in the dead of night can be silenced more than one way.
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/OTR
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Case of the Chateau-Margaux” (October 12, 1977) ***WD
00:45:49.691 = Creeps By Night, “Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan” (July 13, 1944)
01:15:20.185 = The Crime Club, “Cupid Can Be Deadly” (October 16, 1947) ***WD
01:43:49.472 = Danger Dr. Danfield, “Mad Men Strike Swiftly” (January 05, 1947)
02:08:13.766 = CBC Deep Night, “Birth” (July 08, 2005)
02:39:10.152 = The Devil and Mr. O, “Vacation With Death” (November 26, 1971) ***WD
03:07:52.353 = Diary of Fate, “Joe Mattuck” (March 16, 1948) ***WD
03:36:20.390 = Dimension X, “Potters of Firsk” (July 28, 1950) ***WD
04:03:51.650 = The Strange Dr. Weird, “Stand-In For Death” (December 26, 1944) ***WD
04:15:18.925 = The Eleventh Hour, “Bad Day for Big Ben” (1960’s – Early 1970’s) ***WD
04:45:09.364 = Escape, “The Day The General Died” (April 16, 1949)
05:14:36.099 = 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/WDRR0654

“Sam This Is You”: The Lineman Who Got a Phone Call From His Own Future Self | #RetroRadio May 09, 2026

Show notes

When telephone lineman Sam Yoder picks up an impossible call from himself ten days in the future, the tips start paying off — until future Sam steers him straight into the middle of a bank robbery he's told to watch, but not stop.
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/OTR
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Actress” (October 10, 1977) ***WD
00:46:36.193 = X Minus One, “Sam This Is You” (October 31, 1956)
01:15:29.980 = Zero Hour, “An Arms Length” (May 13, 1940) ***WD
01:32:52.045 = ABC Mystery Time, “The Tale” (1956-1957)
01:56:19.779 = Strange Adventures, “Malay Magic” (1945) ***WD
01:59:34.349 = Appointment With Fear, “The Clock Strikes Eight” (May 18, 1944) ***WD
02:28:21.070 = BBC Radio4 Ghost Story, “Lost Hearts” (October 29, 1978)
02:42:35.566 = Beyond The Green Door, “Frederick Morton” (1966)
02:46:35.493 = The Man In Black, “The Price Of The Head” (February 02, 1952) ***WD
03:01:20.239 = Barry Craig, “Ghosts Don’t Die In Bed” (September 07, 1954)
03:29:53.534 = Box 13, Double Right Cross” (November 28, 1948) ***WD
03:56:39.464 = CBC Mystery Theater, “Mr Higginbothom’s Catastrophe” (1967) ***WD
04:25:34.811 = The Clock, “The Hunter And The Hunted’ (November 22, 1955) ***WD
04:51:37.696 = 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/WDRR0653

THE THING IN THE WALL: My First and Last Time House-Sitting May 09, 2026

Show notes

A twelve-year-old takes an easy weekend house-sitting job in a quiet rural neighborhood — until a thunderstorm knocks out the power and something starts scraping its way through an upstairs wall.
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/1655277373
Find more family-friendly frights and creepy games to play on our website at http://MicroTerrors.com!
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/microterrors
Other stories, novels, and more from author Scott Donnelly: https://amzn.to/3LymHaU
Other narrations, podcasts, and audiobooks from voice artist Darren Marlar: https://WeirdDarkness.com
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Weird Darkness©, 2026
Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids™, 2026#MicroTerrors #WeirdDarkness

They Came Through The Bathroom Mirror | Ruthie May’s Real Life Nightmare May 09, 2026

Show notes

Ruthie Mae McCoy fought her whole life to escape the violence and fear of Chicago’s public housing, but when intruders slipped through her medicine cabinet and into her apartment, her worst nightmare became horrifyingly real.
EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/TheyCameThroughTheBathroomMirror
FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Ruthie Mae McCoy was the type who talked to herself and cursed strangers on the street. When she called 911 to report that someone was coming through the medicine cabinet of her Abbott Homes apartment, she might have been hallucinating. But she wasn’t. (They Came Through The Mirror) *** Who was the mysterious woman who spoke a language no-one could understand? What was inside the box she held in her hands? What was the meaning of the markings on the round metal object she arrived in? Those are just some of the questions no one has been able to answer about a strange encounter near Tokyo in 1803. (The Alien Woman and the Hollow Ship) *** In a well-known area of southwest Texas that many believe to already be haunted, a woman dies in childbirth – but when she is found, her baby is missing, and wolf prints are everywhere. And that’s when sightings of The Wolf Girl of Devil’s River begin. (The Wolf Girl of Devil’s River) *** Throughout early 1800s Delaware and Maryland, Patty Cannon and her gang kidnapped as many as 3,000 Black Americans to sell into bondage in the South… and would often murder those slaves… and those that sold them. (Patty Cannon: The Slave-Trading Serial Killer)
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:02:03.759 = Patty Cannon: The Slave-Trading Serial Killer
00:12:09.850 = The Alien Woman and the Hollow Ship ***
00:15:47.640 = The Wolf Girl of Devil’s River
00:25:21.261 = They Came In Through The Bathroom Mirror, Part 1 ***
00:48:34.358 = They Came In Through The Bathroom Mirror, Part 2 ***
01:11:13.860 = They Came In Through The Bathroom Mirror, Part 3 ***
01:26:46.822 = Show Close & Bloopers
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
LISTEN 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:
“Patty Cannon: The Slave-Trading Serial Killer” by Emily Stringer for All That’s Interesting:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/a95a6zaz
“The Alien Woman and the Hollow Ship” by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient Pages: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/tvkvddc5
“The Wolf Girl of Devil’s River” by Brian Haughton: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5uf2utcc
“They Came Through The Mirror” by Steve Bogira for Chicago Reader: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/65pp5y96
(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: October 14, 2021

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