Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

A clerk at the American consulate in Hong Kong turns down a marriage proposal from the wealthy woman who's been bankrolling his roulette system in Macau, then agrees to one last ride with her in the big yellow rickshaw her family has kept for years.

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Power Of Evil” (December 22, 1978) ***WD
00:45:41.645 = The Black Museum, “Calibre Bullet” (January 08, 1952) ***WD
01:09:49.608 = Mysterious Traveler, “The Accusing Corpse” (April 16, 1944) ***WD
01:39:31.376 = CBC Nightfall, “Buried Alive” (October 17, 1980)
02:04:14.112 = Nightmare, “Coincidence” (November 26, 1953)
02:25:56.696 = Obsession, “Raised From The Dead” (February 19, 1951) ***WD
02:49:34.633 = Origin of Superstition, “Picking Up a Pin” (1935) ***WD
03:03:24.598 = Pat Novak For Hire, “Geranium Plant” (May 14, 1949) ***WD
03:32:59.307 = Peril, “The Sidewalk Empire” (May 15, 1947) ***WD
03:58:43.627 = Mystery Playhouse, “Death Is Caused” (October 12, 1945) ***WD
04:23:01.946 = Price of Fear, “Family Album” (June 13, 1983) ***WD
04:50:11.046 = Beyond The Green Door, “Tyner And The Ape” (1966)
04:55:56.317 = Tales From The Tomb, “The Lick” (1960s)
04:59:17.885 = 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.

More episodes, additional podcasts, books, original music, in-depth paranormal and true-crime articles, and much more at https://weirddarkness.com.

CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0801

What really happened aboard the Mary Celeste — the ghost ship found drifting at sea with no crew, no lifeboat, and no answers?

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/MaryCeleste

READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mxz7xmku

FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: The Mary Celeste was discovered abandoned near the Azores Islands on December 5, 1872 — and to this day, experts are unsure about what happened to its crew. (The Mystery of the Mary Celeste) *** On April 29, 2022, a female corrections officer snuck a convicted felon out of Lauderdale County Jail, kicking off an 11-day manhunt that would end in the prisoner’s re-arrest and the death of the woman he loved and who broke him out. (A Match Made In Prison) *** The Ark of the Covenant, a sacred chest believed to hold the original Ten Commandments. In the 1980s, Ron Wyatt claimed to have found this legendary relic beneath Jerusalem. Did he truly find it? We’ll some of the theories that captivate believers and skeptics alike. (Did This Adventurer Locate The Ark of the Covenant?) *** A young girl's fishing trip turns into a tragic mystery when she vanishes without a trace. As the community searches for answers, a shocking confession leads to a murder trial that left many questioning the truth. (Disappearance at Duck River) *** The Beast of Gévaudan, a mysterious creature that terrorized a small French province in the 1760s with gruesome attacks. Believed by many to be an actual werewolf, it resulted in a frantic hunt for the monster – and even now, over two centuries later, the story still captivates us. But is there any truth to the tale? (The Beast of Gévaudan – Fact or Fiction) *** Frederick Fisher, an English shopkeeper, vanished in 1826 – only to reappear as a ghost to help solve the mystery of his disappearance and death. (The Ghost That Solved Its Own Murder) *** The puzzling case of Sherri Papini’s 2016 kidnapping shocked northern California and led to years of speculation. After her sudden return and subsequent arrest in 2022 for faking the incident, many questions remain unanswered. (The Mysterious Vanishing And Reappearing Of Sherri Papini)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding
00:01:34.943 = Show Open
00:04:33.644 = The Mystery of the Mary Celeste
00:22:47.637 = The Mysterious Vanishing And Reappearing of Sherri Papini
00:30:34.570 = The Ghost That Solved Its Own Murder
00:38:37.169 = A Match Made In Prison
00:46:18.862 = Did This Adventurer Locate The Ark of the Covenant?
00:53:50.235 = Disappearance at Duck River
01:03:12.671 = The Beast of Gévaudan – Fact or Fiction
= Show Close
*** = Begins imme

A classic tale by M.R. James adapted for radio theater. On a stormy night by the fire, a grandmother forbids her grandchildren to pick a single blackberry in the little lane past Collins's cottage, and when they beg for the reason, she tells them about the hill at the top of it.

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Show Open
00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “It Has To Be True” (December 20, 1978) ***WD
00:46:09.566 = The Black Mass, “An Evening’s Entertainment” (October 31, 1964)
01:17:10.741 = Michael Shayne, “Museum Theft” (July 30, 1945)
01:48:19.048 = Beyond Midnight, “Hobart” (May 09, 1969) ***WD
02:15:32.318 = MindWebs, “When We Went To See The End Of The World” (November 12, 1976)
02:38:15.669 = Hollywood Theater, “Sitting Duck” (December 17, 1952) ***WD
03:07:11.952 = Mystery In The Air, “Horla” (August 21, 1947) ***WD
03:38:06.693 = Molle Mystery Theater, “Kenny Angles And The Queen of Diamonds” (April 18, 1947)
04:06:58.224 = Mr. Keen, “The Man Who Invented Death” (October 06, 1949) ***WD
04:36:14.018 = Murder at Midnight, “Red Wheels’ (September 13, 1946)
05:03:21.642 = 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.

More episodes, additional podcasts, books, original music, in-depth paranormal and true-crime articles, and much more at https://weirddarkness.com.

Elliot leaves his phone charging on the kitchen counter and takes the stairs down from his fifth-floor Chicago apartment to pick up a package in the lobby, and there's no door at the bottom.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/TheStairway

SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Stairway” by Keith Conrad (originally published at http://www.auditoryanthology.com)

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: October 15, 2026

More episodes, additional podcasts, books, original music, in-depth paranormal and true-crime articles, and much more at https://weirddarkness.com.

In 1894, Will Purvis dropped through the trapdoor at Columbia, Mississippi, and the noose let go, leaving him alive on the ground. The crowd voted to postpone the hanging, and in 1917 a dying farmer confessed to his part in the murder and said Purvis had nothing to do with it.”

From the book “BOTCHED EXECUTIONS: Four Centuries Of Failed Hangings, Electrocutions, Gassings, Injections And Firing Squads” by Darren Marlar at https://weirddarkness.com/botchedexecutions

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Originally aired: October 14, 2026


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HM3LZM9M/

On February 22nd, 1964, Boston hypnosis specialist Benjamin Simon regressed Barney Hill to the night of the drive while Betty sat out in the waiting room, and over ten taped regression sessions, five apiece, each of them described being taken aboard a craft and examined. Betty also drew a map of stars she said she'd been shown, and in 1968 an Ohio schoolteacher named Marjorie Fish began five years of building models out of beads and thread, looking for the point in space that would reproduce Betty's drawing.

From the book “TWO LOST HOURS ON ROUTE 3: The Betty And Barney Hill UFO Abduction, 65 Years Later” by Darren Marlar at https://weirddarkness.com/TwoLostHours

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Originally aired: October 14, 2026

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Lost-Hours-Route-Abduction-ebook/dp/B0HJY8N8CT

From hearing your own blood and battling endless earworms to noseless societies, double-faced men, and the deadly myths of virgin cures, tonight we dive deep into the eerie, bizarre, and tragic extremes of the human body.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/AnatomicalAnomalies

READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckmjxrb

FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: A woman in Scotland has never heard silence. Not because of the noise around her – but because of the noise in her! (Never a Moment of Silence) *** We’ve all had a song stuck in our heads – but one woman has had the same song playing on a loop in her brain for the past four years, non-stop. (The Ear Worm) *** From too much noise – to none at all. We’ll meet Ezekiel Eads, a man who had no ears and learned to hear the outside world through his mouth! (The Man With No Ears) *** Syphilis is a nasty disease, especially when it eats your nose. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a social life, as many noseless have learned from personal experience. (The No Noses Club) *** Is it possible that it’s better to have no nose at all than to have an extremely long one? We’ll look at a real-life Pinocchio named Thomas Wedders with a giant proboscis! (A Short Story About a Long Nose) *** Imagine living through life with two and a half faces. No, not like a politician – that’s simply two-faced. I mean living with two noses and three eyes. You’re either an extraterrestrial, or you are William Durks. (Two-And-A-Half Faces) *** What exactly is so alluring about those who cherish virginity? Is it about virtue or is it about something else? (Virginity Tests and Cures)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding
00:02:27.670 = Never a Moment of Silence
00:07:01.991 = The Ear Worm
00:11:51.821 = The Man Without Ears
00:14:08.540 = The No Nose Club
00:18:05.818 = A Short Story About a Long Nose
00:22:08.493 = Two And a Half Faces ***
00:27:17.987 = Virginity Tests and Cures
00:41:39.048 = Show Close
00:43:07.302 = 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:
BOOK: “American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers” by Marc Harzman:

Betty and Barney Hill left Howard's Restaurant in Colebrook, New Hampshire at 10:05 on the night of September 19th, 1961; a light kept pace with their car down U.S. Route 3, and by the time the kitchen clock in Portsmouth read shortly after five, neither of them could remember a thirty-five-mile stretch of the drive. Betty called Pease Air Force Base two days later, and in November two NICAP members who drove up to Portsmouth worked through a sum nobody had done yet: Colebrook to Portsmouth is about a four-hour drive, the Hills had left at ten and gotten home after five, and neither of them could say where the other hours had gone.

From the book “TWO LOST HOURS ON ROUTE 3: The Betty And Barney Hill UFO Abduction, 65 Years Later” by Darren Marlar at https://weirddarkness.com/TwoLostHours

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Originally aired: October 14, 2026

Her nephew sent her exotic plants from every port of call across the solar system, but there was something about his latest gift from Venus that made the old captain uneasy.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/FloweringEvil


SOURCES and RESOURCES: “Flowering Evil” by Margaret St. Clair (Planet Stories Summer 1950)

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: October 14, 2026

On August 6th, 1890, William Kemmler became the first man put to death in the electric chair. After seventeen seconds, a doctor said he was dead, and then the witnesses saw his chest rising and falling.

From the book “BOTCHED EXECUTIONS: Four Centuries Of Failed Hangings, Electrocutions, Gassings, Injections And Firing Squads” by Darren Marlar at https://weirddarkness.com/botchedexecutions

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Originally aired: October 13, 2026 


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HM3LZM9M/