Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

A young woman’s tragic death at a notorious cliffside sparks an investigation that uncovers far more than anyone expected.

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

READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yr54dvnb

FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: After receiving a series of devastating text messages, twenty-year-old Renae Marsden drove to a seaside cliff and was never seen again. What began as a tragic suicide after receiving heartbreaking text messages from the man she loved, soon unraveled into something far more disturbing. *** She thought her past was buried — until a stranger unearthed it and turned her life into a waking nightmare. (Unmasking Giovanni) *** She left her ex to reclaim her life — but he used the internet to haunt her from the shadows. (When Your Ex Becomes Your Digital Shadow) *** In a world where predators hide behind profiles, spotting the red flags of cyberstalking might be the only thing standing between safety and surveillance. We’ll look at some way you can keep yourself from becoming a victim – or perhaps help someone who is getting dangerously close to becoming one! (Digital Predator Red Flags) *** What if the most powerful force shaping your thoughts, choices, and future… isn’t human at all? (Is AI Controlling Us?)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding
00:02:18.837 = Show Ope
00:04:17.851 = The Case of Renae Marsden, Part 1
00:16:34.496 = The Case of Renae Marsden, Part 2 ***
00:27:20.823 = Unmasking Giovanni ***
00:34:48.017 = The Consultant Who Couldn’t Be Stopped
00:41:58.307 = When Your Ex Becomes Your Digital Shadow
00:50:57.772 = Digital Predator Red Flags ***
00:58:39.602 = Are AI Systems Secretly In Control Of Us?
01:07:25.724 = Show Close
*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break

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

SOURCES and RESOURCES:
“The Case of Renae Marsden”: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/20/coroner-condemns-catfisher-over-sydney-woman-renae-marsdens-suicide, https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/catfishing-renaes-parents-call-for-new-law-after-daughters-death/8b054266-dcd1-4e87-bb14-ed7896f8092e,https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/catfish-victim-told-mother-she-found-out-the-truth-inquiry-told-20200210-p53z9m.html, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10638977/Renae-Marsden-Grieving-parents-reveal-text-received-daughter-died.html, https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/tragic-final-text-to-mum-from-catfished-woman-renae-marsden/news-story/5019e2c0999a5768971b3b4ae1af6438, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUkDADMJ6o0&rco=1 | Footage of The Gap: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8pe8cm,https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p89dr9c
“Unmasking Giovanni”: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/woman-sentenced-for-cyberstalking,https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/miami-woman-sentenced-for-cyberstalking-on-facebook-and-instagram/1978996/, https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/miami-student-sentenced-cyberstalking-facebook-and-instagram, https://wsvn.com/news/local/woman-sentenced-to-22-months-in-prison-for-cyberstalking
“The Consultant Who Couldn’t Be Stopped”: https://www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/releases/2024/07/pernicious-cyberstalker-sentenced-9-years-prison-unrelenting-harassment
“When Your Ex Becomes Your Digital Shadow”: https://icts.uct.ac.za/services-security-security-resources-general-cyber-security/thandis-story-terror-cyber-stalking-based-true-story
“Are AI Systems Secretly In Control Of Us?”: https://weirddarkness.com/are-ai-systems-secretly-in-control-of-us/
“Digital Predator Red Flags”: https://www.stjohns.edu/news-media/johnnies-blog/cyberstalking-protect-online-identity
(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: April 10, 2025
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE HEARING? WEIRD DARKNESS posts episodes 7 DAYS A WEEK! Listen FREE wherever you get podcasts or visit https://weirddarkness.com/listen. • Paranormal • True Crime • Ghosts • UFOs • Cryptids • Unexplained • Want even more? Become an OFFICIAL WEIRDO for commercial-free episodes, bonus episodes, weeknight live chats, audiobooks & more at https://WeirdDarkness.com/OFFICIAL

Avi Loeb chairs the Trump administration's UAP Science Advisory Council, and he told an interviewer this week that anything crossing interstellar space to reach us would place almost no importance on which country it landed in or who happened to be running it.

SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/AliensDontCareAboutPresident

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

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE HEARING? WEIRD DARKNESS posts episodes 7 DAYS A WEEK! Listen FREE wherever you get podcasts or visit https://weirddarkness.com/listen. • Paranormal • True Crime • Ghosts • UFOs • Cryptids • Unexplained • Want even more? Become an OFFICIAL WEIRDO for commercial-free episodes, bonus episodes, weeknight live chats, audiobooks & more at https://WeirdDarkness.com/OFFICIAL

A man at the end of his rope keeps meeting a dead acquaintance out on his morning running trail, and by the time he notices his own reflection has gone missing, something on that trail has already started chasing him.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/mitm-thefinishline

SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Finish Line” by Mark Towse, submitted directly to WeirdDarkness.com. Visit Mark’s website at https://marktowsedarkfiction.wordpress.com/. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MarkTowsey12.

Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.

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

Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: August 30, 2026

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE HEARING? WEIRD DARKNESS posts episodes 7 DAYS A WEEK! Listen FREE wherever you get podcasts or visit https://weirddarkness.com/listen. • Paranormal • True Crime • Ghosts • UFOs • Cryptids • Unexplained • Want even more? Become an OFFICIAL WEIRDO for commercial-free episodes, bonus episodes, weeknight live chats, audiobooks & more at https://WeirdDarkness.com/OFFICIAL

A 911 call from a trailer on Hattie Lane brought paramedics to a fourteen-year-old girl who weighed thirty-five pounds, and a year later three of the four adults who lived in that home have been convicted.

SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/HattieLaneHorror20260829

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

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

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE HEARING? WEIRD DARKNESS posts episodes 7 DAYS A WEEK! Listen FREE wherever you get podcasts or visit https://weirddarkness.com/listen. • Paranormal • True Crime • Ghosts • UFOs • Cryptids • Unexplained • Want even more? Become an OFFICIAL WEIRDO for commercial-free episodes, bonus episodes, weeknight live chats, audiobooks & more at https://WeirdDarkness.com/OFFICIAL

A high school kid wakes from a near-fatal bike crash to find a strange, perfect dreamworld waiting behind his eyelids — and a familiar face there who's been waiting far longer for him to arrive.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/mitm-theonetheyneverletout

SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Mind Mirror” by Calvin Levitt: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p84zu89

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

Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: August 29, 2026

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE HEARING? WEIRD DARKNESS posts episodes 7 DAYS A WEEK! Listen FREE wherever you get podcasts or visit https://weirddarkness.com/listen. • Paranormal • True Crime • Ghosts • UFOs • Cryptids • Unexplained • Want even more? Become an OFFICIAL WEIRDO for commercial-free episodes, bonus episodes, weeknight live chats, audiobooks & more at https://WeirdDarkness.com/OFFICIAL