THE PAINTED SMILE: Inspired By a True Crime Case | #MurderNoir

Many celebrate April 30 as “Halfway to Halloween,” but Walpurgis Night is more than just spooky fun — it’s a night when witches rise, saints blur into goddesses, and ancient fires still burn. IN THIS EPISODE: “Walpurgis Night was when, according to the belief of millions of people, the devil was abroad—when the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. When all evil things of earth and air and water held revel.” – Bram Stoker, from “Dracula’s Guest”. Walpurgis Night is something most English-speaking listeners won’t know about – but it’s being celebrated at this precise moment. While others are currently celebrating “Halfway to Halloween” or “Half-o-ween” for short… in Germany, they’re celebrating a second Halloween which they call Walpurgisnacht – or “Walpurgis Night.” Plus, later in the show I’ll share a story that was intended specifically to be read on Walpurgis Night – it’s called “The Black Bargain” from PJ Hodge! CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate and Only Accurate For the Commercial Version)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:37.995 = Happy Walpurgisnacht, Everyone 00:32:55.468 = The Black Bargain (a Fictional Story To Be Told on Walpurgis Night) *** 00:48:10.168 = Show Close SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE… “Happy Walpurgisnacht, Everyone!” by Todd at GothicHorrorStories.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/a8svp23c “The Black Bargain” by PJ Hodge, posted at FreakyFolkTales.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/j49bd4 ===== (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.) = = = = = "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 ©2026, Weird Darkness. ===== Originally aired: April 30, 2021 EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/WalpurgisNight

From eerie vanishings and cryptic letters to chilling disappearances that defy explanation, we explore the most baffling unsolved mysteries where people seem to fade into thin air, leaving behind nothing but questions. FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Sometimes people disappear without a trace, while others leave behind evidence that is even stranger than the vanishing itself. (Strange Vanishings and Spooky Letters) *** In the summer of 1989 in the suburbs of Kansas City, three young women went missing – and they are still missing even now, decades later. Their killer refuses to say where they are buried. (The Missing Victims of Richard Grissom) *** Sometimes people disappear without a trace, while others leave behind On a fall evening in 2009, the Jamison family disappeared into the woods of Oklahoma, leaving behind a set of bewildering clues and a case that remains unsolved today. (His Said His House Was Haunted, Then His Family Disappeared) *** On March 19, 2004, 17-year-old Brianna Maitland left her shift at the Black Lantern Inn around 11:20 P.M. What happened next remains a mystery to this day. (The Chilling Disappearance of Brianna Maitland) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:00:55.893 = Show Open 00:02:48.146 = The Chilling Disappearance of Brianna Maitland 00:10:31.222 = The Disappearance of Sister Aimee *** 00:19:01.355 = The Missing Victims of Richard Grissom 00:26:11.221 = He Said His House Was Haunted, Then His Family Disappeared (Jamison Family) 00:31:56.617 = Strange Vanishings and Spooky Letters *** 00:49:49.276 = Show Close *** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break LISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other apps. Get the full list of options here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* SOURCES and RESOURCES: “Strange Vanishings and Spooky Letters” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: http://bit.ly/2kUp1Bd “The Missing Victims of Richard Grissom” posted at The Line Up: http://bit.ly/ 2m1Qq4x “The Disappearance of Sister Aimee” by Troy Taylor: http://bit.ly/2m0bFDG “The Chilling Disappearance of Brianna Maitland” by Orrin Grey for The Line Up: http://bit .ly/2m2cNqn “He Said His House Was Haunted, Then His Family Disappeared” by Aimee Lamoureux for All That’s Interesting: http://bit.ly/2m5lgJg (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: November, 2018 EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/MissingPersons

A dollar at a dusty curio shop buys a mummified foot — and the thirty-century-old princess who comes with it. Look for this podcast on YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and numerous other podcast apps. Get the full list of options 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 Wind And The Flame 00:46:57.579 = The Weird Circle, “Possessive Dead” (March 25, 1945) 01:14:18.931 = The Whistler, “Seascape” (January 22, 1945) 01:42:56.945 = Witch’s Tale, “Altar of Hate” (November 08, 1933) ***WD 02:08:42.316 = X Minus One, “Pictures Don’t Lie” (October 24, 1956) 02:36:06.053 = The Zero Hour, “The Violation” (May 10, 1974) ***WD 02:53:37.216 = ABC Mystery Time, “Suicide Club” (June 07, 1956) ***WD (LQ) 03:15:19.752 = Strange Adventure, “A Matter of Salvage” (1945) 03:18:35.175 = Appointment With Fear, “Speaking Clock” (April 13, 1944) 03:45:58.687 = BBC Radio 4/7 Ghost Story, “Lost Hearts” (December 28, 2007) 04:00:13.483 = Beyond The Green Door, “Dillingsworth Diamond Corp” (1966) ***WD 04:04:21.110 = The Black Book, “Vagabond Murder” (March 02, 1952) ***WD 04:18:50.973 = The Avenger, “The Subway Ghost” (March 07, 1946) 04:48:49.580 = Box 13, “Diamond In The Sky” (November 21, 1948) ***WD 05:15:38.566 = 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/WDRR0644

New survey data shows roughly 49 million American adults believe they have psychic abilities, with Gen Z reporting twice as many flashes as boomers. PRINT VERSION OF THIS STORY: https://weirddarkness.com/American-psychic Look for this podcast on YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and numerous other podcast apps. Get the full list of options 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

California's "Operation Bear Claw" nailed three men for staging fake bear attacks on luxury cars using a guy in a costume — and the biologists who watched the footage figured it out almost immediately. PRINT VERSION OF THIS STORY: https://weirddarkness.com/bear-suit-scam Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and numerous other podcast apps. Get the full list of options 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