“GERTRUDE BANISZEWSKI: THE TORTURE MOTHER” and More Horrifyingly True Stories! #WeirdDarkness

An anxious politician contacts a private detective, terrified by unexplained occurrences in his high-rise office building. As the detective investigates, he uncovers a chilling, supernatural terror! Hear “Skyscraper Mystery” from The Haunting Hour! | #RetroRadio EP0443 Join the DARKNESS SYNDICATE: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:50.000 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “What a Change in Hilda” (May 06, 1976) ***WD 00:46:12.344 = The Haunting Hour, “Skyscraper Mystery” (September 22, 1945) 01:11:21.277 = Have Gun Will Travel, “North Fork” (June 21, 1959) 01:35:29.495 = The Hermit’s Cave, “Notebook on Murder” (September 15, 1940) 02:00:08.097 = Mystery Is My Hobby, “Death of an Old Prospector” (July, 1947) 02:23:53.550 = Sherlock Holmes, “Case of the Demon Barber” (January 28, 1946) 02:53:25.470 = Incredible But True, “The Devil’s Diggings” (1950-1951) 02:57:11.722 = Inner Sanctum, “Dark Chamber” (December 11, 1945) 03:27:10.349 = The Key, “Escape Artist” (1956) 03:52:29.746 = Lights Out, “Death Robbery” (July 16, 1947) ***WD 04:21:41.318 = The Lineup, “Flighty Fulvous Finch Case” (July 12, 1951) 04:46:23.192 = 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. Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy. = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness. = = = = = CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0443

#WeirdDarknessRadio WEEK OF JUNE 22, 2025 = At the isolated crossing of Rideau Ferry in the 1800s, travelers who arrived after dark at Mr. Oliver's house were promised safe passage come morning — but many were never seen alive again, and when his buildings were finally torn down decades later, the horrifying truth of what happened to those missing souls was supposedly revealed beneath the floorboards. ========== HOUR ONE: A 178-year-old mystery comes to the surface in a Philadelphia suburb. (Grandfather's Ghost Story Leads to Mass Grave) *** Recently a wrecking crew began tearing down and old building in Rhode Island. But the big burly men on the crew got so frightened they refused to continue the work. Does reconstruction of a home or building anger the souls who once lived there? (Does Remodeling Your Home Disturb The Spirits Who Died There?) *** The way life has grown on our planet requires that all living things feed off each other and must kill others in order to survive.  That’s the way of the world if you want to live for any more than a few days. But some people are now claiming they can live without food at all… indefinitely. (Life Without Food) *** Three men were in a shed selling gardening supplies when some strange powder suddenly hit the ceiling. Before they had time to react, a small jug on a shelf abruptly flew across the room. One man picked up the jug and placed it a covered box. Instantly, the jug was...somehow...back on the floor. And that was just the beginning of the strange haunting of a community’s garden shed. (The Poltergeist In The Allotment Shed) *** In the movie Salt, Angelina Jolie plays a double-agent who is mind-controlled by scary remnants of the USSR secret service. And in real life, the 1940s bombshell Candy Jones was apparently brainwashed with drugs and used as a CIA covert operative.  (The Supermodel Who Was Brainwashed Into Becoming a Spy) *** No one knows exactly when she was born. Some think, maybe, she was a gypsy. Others say she was the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. The life of Elizabeth Barnes is a mysterious one, filled with many loves, losses, and prognostications. (The Witch of Plum Hollow) *** Some travelers, arriving late at night to board Oliver’s Ferry the next day, stayed at Oliver’s house. But they were never seen making the ferry crossing the next morning. Is it possible that the rumors are true – that they never left the house alive? (The Frights of Oliver’s Ferry) ========== HOUR TWO: An eerie tombstone stands watch over one of Portland Oregon’s oldest cemeteries. And the story behind that tombstone is a strange one. (The Guardians of Lone Fir Cemetery) *** Don't take a gift from Little Gracie's grave... or her life-like statue might cry tears of blood. (The Ghost of Gracie Watson) *** When it came to her daughter’s Elsa doll, one mom was eager and ready to “Let It Go”. But the doll supernaturally refused to be let go! (Haunted Elsa Doll) *** An ancient stone cross is said by locals to be cursed, and the curse infects anyone who dares to disrespect it. (Curse of the Saxon Stone Cross) *** Christopher Slaughterford was seemingly a completely ordinary young Englishman – but he has earned an unenviable place in the legal books. (T
he Trials of Christopher Slaughterford) *** Two authors reported a very strange encounter with a mysterious entity they believed was not of this world. What did they see and why were they under the impression this being was not of this world? (An Author’s Encounter With A Not-Of-This-World Entity) ========== SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: For Allen Taylor, January 15, 1919 was just another day on his farm near Prescott, Iowa. That is, until his 15-year-old neighbor Irene Hoskins came stumbling down the lane with a gash in the side of her head.  (The Hoskins Family Murders) *** How did someone get the job of an executioner in medieval times? We’ll find out! (To Become An Executioner) ========== SOURCES...

When John Edmonds began killing interdimensional aliens with a samurai sword at his Arizona ranch, he sparked one of the most controversial battles in UFO history — but the vanishing bodies and missing evidence raise disturbing questions about what really happened in the desert. Join the DARKNESS SYNDICATE: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy. DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. IN THIS EPISODE: In the remote desert of Rainbow Valley, Arizona, Stardust Ranch hides secrets that defy belief — glowing lights in the sky, strange beings lurking in the shadows, and unexplained phenomena that push the boundaries of reality. Are John and Joyce Edmonds the unwitting guardians of a portal to another dimension? Is their story a descent into madness? Or are we all fascinated by what is just an elaborate hoax? (Interdimensional Intruders: The Mystery of Stardust Ranch) *** In the abandoned halls of Gartloch Hospital, a century-old psychiatric facility on the outskirts of Glasgow, two nurses recount chilling encounters with spectral figures from the past. From mysterious footsteps echoing in empty corridors to a ghostly matron disappearing through locked doors, their stories paint a picture of a hospital where the line between the living and the dead blurs. Do the spirits of Gartloch's past still roam its wards? (The Ghosts of Garloch) *** In 1954, a wave of panic swept through Washington state as thousands of motorists reported mysterious damage to their car windshields. What began as a local curiosity in Bellingham soon exploded into a statewide phenomenon, sparking wild theories ranging from cosmic rays to hatching sand fleas. But was this truly an epidemic of vandalism and unexplained phenomena, or a textbook case of mass delusion fueled by Cold War anxieties? (The Seattle Windshield Pitting Epidemic) *** In the depths of Switzerland's Lake Brienz, a drowned man's body was found astonishingly intact — despite having been dead for over 300 years. Preserved by the rare and eerie process of saponification, his remains were encased in a waxy substance formed from body fat under the right conditions. This eerie phenomenon transforms bodies into waxy time capsules, defying the natural process of decay. We’ll look at the creepy but somehow natural reality of corpse wax. (Corpse Wax) *** For centuries, scholars and enthusiasts have speculated about hidden messages encoded within ancient texts, with recent claims suggesting that the Bible itself conceals secret prophecies waiting to be uncovered. From predicting historical events like World War II and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin to foretelling the Oklahoma City bombing, proponents of the "Bible Code" believe these codes reveal divine insights. Are these hidden...

When a stolen sculpture was placed in a Baltimore cemetery, it became the terrifying legend of Black Aggie—a statue whose glowing red eyes and deadly curse terrorized an entire city for decades. Join the DARKNESS SYNDICATE: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy. DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. IN THIS EPISODE: If you came of age in Baltimore during the 50s and 60s, you probably heard the talk about Druid Ridge Cemetery's most famous grave marker. Just about everyone knew about “Black Aggie,” the statue of a draped, melancholy and mysterious woman seated at the Agnus family plot in the south-facing side of the cemetery in Pikesville. Word was that her stony eyes turned red at night. Sit on her lap at midnight and you would meet your own end within two weeks. Teens, often fueled by beer and bravado, travelled to Druid Ridge at night to test the rumor. It was terrifying, exhilarating and the stuff of Baltimore urban legends for years. By 1967, she was she had disappeared. We’ll look at the legend of Black Aggie. (Black Aggie) *** The story of Morrow Road is one of Michigan’s oldest and most enduring legends. There are many versions of the legend – but all of them contain two disturbing elements… a missing child, and a ghostly mother desperately looking for him. But the tragedy doesn’t end there – as there have been some harrowing experiences for those who have gone searching for the spectral mother. (The Grieving Ghost of Morrow Road) *** Asylum 49, formerly the Tooele Hospital in Utah, is a place where the lines between the living and the dead blur in terrifying ways. Half abandoned medical facility turned haunted attraction, half functioning retirement home, this schizophrenic building is home to spectral nurses, mischievous child spirits, and a sinister man in black… and not just for Halloween – but all year round. The old hospital’s haunted reputation has even drawn ghost hunters and mediums who claim it hides a portal to another dimension. (Asylum 49 – A Haunted Haunted Attraction) *** A family moves into a new home only to find they aren’t alone. Items began disappearing, then reappearing later. The lights would turn on and off on their own. Typical poltergeist activity – but when they started to do renovations to the home, the paranormal activity escalated… and after some investigation, they found their ghost had a very sad story to tell. (A Lost Soul Searching The Afterlife) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Lead-In 00:01:18.900 = Show Open 00:04:36.360 = The Legend of Black Aggie 00:24:18.312 = Asylum 49 – The Haunted Haunted Attraction 00:50:30.175 = A Lost Soul Searching The Afterlife 00:59:00.597 = The Grieving Ghost of...

On a distant, seemingly peaceful planet, a team of space explorers observes an alien ritual that appears simple and serene — until subtle, unsettling details suggest something far older, darker, and more intelligent lies just beneath the surface. Originally published by IF Worlds of Science Fiction, January 1953