Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

In 1930, Eva Dugan spent her last night at the Florence prison playing whist, and at dawn she went to the gallows. The drop took her head off, and three years later Arizona's voters replaced the noose with lethal gas.

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 16, 2026

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

In 1901, New Mexico Territory hanged Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum for holding up a train, and the drop was set at seven feet. When the trap fell, the rope took his head off.

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 16, 2026

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

Who were the shadowy men in black who stalked UFO researchers after the Rendlesham Forest incident — and what secrets were they so desperate to keep buried? What connects a deadly UFO encounter on Maury Island in 1947 to shadowy men in black and decades of chilling threats against those chasing the truth?

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

READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4y6byvu5

FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Major in the U.S. Air Force says they captured and held an extraterrestrial creature at New Jersey’s McGuire Air Force Base. (Alien Captured By Air Force) *** Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he was pulled from a flaming car by a paranormal entity. Did a ghostly specter save this NASCAR driver’s life? (The Race Car Angel) *** William Dunham was ill-tempered, ready to fight at all times – especially when drunk. He owned two less-than-reputable establishments. So it shouldn’t be a surprise people would want him dead. But when one has so many enemies, it’s not easy for police to find out who the person was that murdered you. (The Dunham Murder) *** I’ll share an account of something very disturbing seen in Michigan – a strange creature… a grayish-colored entity more man than beast, but more paranormal than normal. (Michigan Humanoid) *** Visiting haunted houses, cursed lands, driving on ghostly roads… they all can be scary. Stepping into a hospital at night is incredibly spooky. But image what kind of stories you’d have to tell if you were a night-shift employee at a cemetery. (Creepy Stories of Cemetery Workers) *** 
In all of their different incarnations, the Men in Black usually have one main purpose: to muzzle witnesses of strange, paranormal phenomena. That’s exactly what happened to one UFO hunter while researching what is now known as the Rendlesham Forest incident. (MIB Threaten UFO Hunter)
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding
00:02:12.231 = Show Open
00:04:44.703 = MIB Threaten UFO Hunter
00:10:07.253 = Alien Captured By Air Force
00:18:46.051 = The Dunham Murder ***
00:26:04.813 = The Race Car Angel
00:29:35.084 = Michigan Humanoid
00:38:37.238 = Creepy Stories of Cemetery Workers ***
00:58:23.284 = Show Close
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break
*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*
SOURCES and RESOURCES:
BOOK: John Guerra’s book “Strange Craft”: https://amzn.to/2QVW0RO
MEMO: Lieutenant Halt memo about the UFO incident: https://tinyurl.com/yj63gmzp
“The MIB Mythology” by Justin Sablich for History.com: https://tinyurl.com/y87o5ux9
“Alien Captured By Air Force” by Cynthia McKanzie for Message to Eagle: https://tinyurl.com/ygu8nrod
“The Dunham Murder” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder By Gaslight: https://tinyurl.com/yxju4wxk
“The Race Car Angel” by Brett Tingley for Mysterious Universe: https://tinyurl.com/yg9cpztw
“MIB Threaten UFO Hunter” by Laura Rowton for Paranormal Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/yhrefxoc
“Michigan Humanoid” by SG, posted at Phantoms and Monsters: https://tinyurl.com/yj8gdrj7
“Creepy Stories of Cemetery Workers” by Bailey Brown for Graveyard Shift: https://tinyurl.com/y37zbv6p(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: August 2020

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

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 immediately after inserted ad break

*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*

SOURCES and RESOURCES:
“The Mystery of the Mary Celeste” source: Austin Harvey, All That’s Interesting:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/44ax8rzt
“The Mysterious Vanishing And Reappearing Of Sherri Papini” source: Jacob Shelton, Graveyard Shift:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ycku4txj
“The Ghost That Solved Its Own Murder” source: Kaushik Patowary, Amusing Planet: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p842mvn
“A Match Made In Prison” source: Hannah Reilly Holtz, All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2py46xzu
“Did This Adventurer Locate The Ark of the Covenant?” source: Kerry Sullivan, Ancient Origins:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckj9xrf
“The Beast of Gévaudan – Fact or Fiction” source: Jake Carter, Anomalien: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4f7uhhjk
“Disappearance at Duck River” source: Robert Waters, KidnappingMurderAndMayhem.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/57xwj9n7(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: June 18, 2024

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