BONUS EPISODE: “AGE OF ANXIETY” #WeirdDarkness

Long before the modern UFO craze, cowboys, trappers, and even future U.S. presidents reported eerie lights, sky-borne serpents, and crashed crafts with mysterious hieroglyphs—suggesting that the Wild West may have had more than just outlaws lurking in the night. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/CowboysAndAliens FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: If you have seen the film, Cowboys and Aliens then the idea of spacecraft in the Wild West will not be so, well, alien to you. Although the film, as enjoyable as it is, is one-hundred percent fiction, there are numerous accounts of UFO and alien encounters in the tentative years of the United States. (Real Encounters of Cowboys And Aliens) *** Michael and Janet wouldn’t report their UFO abduction for ten years out of fear of not being believed. But once they told the story, it would set the Ufology community on fire. (The Buff Ledge Abduction) (The Buff Ledge Abduction) *** What is the Bermuda Triangle? What’s going on in this mysterious patch of the Atlantic Ocean where dozens of ships, planes, and people have disappeared without explanation? (Inside the Bermuda Triangle) *** From the "little green men" of rural Kentucky to a string of lights over Arizona spotted by thousands of people, there are several convincing, real UFO sightings that not only remain unexplained, but might even suggest we’re not alone in the universe. (UFO Sightings That Remain Unexplained) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:01:41.674 = Show Open 00:03:36.481 = Real Encounters of Cowboys and Aliens 00:14:56.841 = Inside The Bermuda Triangle *** 00:25:04.794 = The Buff Ledge Abduction 00:35:30.437 = UFO Sightings That Remain Unexplained *** 01:00:56.192 = Show Close & 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: “Real Encounters of Cowboys And Aliens” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9b3f2s “Inside The Bermuda Triangle” by Kaleena Fraga for All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8shfn7 “The Buff Ledge Abduction” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9bwuhf “UFO Sightings That Remain Unexplained” by Austin Harvey for All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8wn67f (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: March 25, 2024

A man broke through a hospital wall and was found in a Pennsylvania park after telling police he needed a walk. Oh, yeah... and he was naked. SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/naked-punxsutawney-man 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 *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness. #WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Australian psychologists invented a secret army of genetically engineered super-raccoons to find out who was actually telling the truth on their conspiracy surveys. SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/fake-conspiracy-study 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 *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness. #WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Five words from a faceless machine end Walter Hayes's career — and send him down a spiral where the only solution he can see is to be worth more dead than alive. 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.tiny.us/OTR CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “Sorry To Let You Go” (October 21, 1977) 00:45:08.893 = MindWebs, “Letters From Underneath The Earth” (January 24, 1983) 01:15:14.587 = Two On a Clue, “The Case of the Silent Witness” (October 03, 1944) ***WD 01:29:41.774 = Mystery In The Air, “Black Cat” (September 18, 1947) ***WD 01:55:27.900 = Molle’ Mystery Theater, “Creeper” (March 29, 1946) 02:24:33.240 = Mr. Keen, “The Missing Witnesses” (January 13, 1944) ***WD 02:52:57.583 = Murder at Midnight, “Ape Song” (April 13, 1947) ***WD 03:19:33.899 = Black Museum, “Auto Service Card” (March 28, 1952) ***WD 03:45:30.365 = Mysterious Traveler, “It’s Only Money” (January 08, 1952) 04:14:43.412 = Mystery House, “Death Passed My Window” (March 31, 1946) ***WD 04:40:59.457 = Night Beat, “Sanctuary” (June 22, 1951) 05:08:08.740 = 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/WDRR0658

Centuries ago, fear and superstition led to bizarre and cruel witch trials, where the accused faced impossible tests—from floating in water to being weighed against Bibles — that often sealed their grim fate. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/CondemnedAsAWitch FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: We’ve all heard of the Salem Witch Trials – but accusations of witchcraft took place everywhere, not just Massachusetts. But who were these individuals, and were they guilty of what they were convicted of and killed for? (People Killed As Witches) *** Of course, not all those charged with witchcraft died in the 1600s during the witch trial mania – some died much much later, like the 21st century. Yes, it still happens even today. (Modern Witch Killings) *** The ways witches were tested during the mass hysteria of the witch trials resulted in some bizarre and cruel ways to determine if someone was a witch. And I’d bet most all of us would be deemed witches if forced to take the tests today. (How To Test a Witch) *** But before we get into the people who were accused, the tactics used to test them or make them confess, and how many of them were killed, we’ll look at some of the misconceptions of the Salem Witch Trials that you probably think are true. (Salem Witch Trial Misconceptions) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:01:00.501 = Show Open 00:03:00.571 = Salem Witch Trial Misconceptions 00:11:28.154 = People Killed As Witches *** 00:26:21.262 = How To Test a Witch 00:35:31.660 = Modern Witch Killings *** 00:47:41.080 = Show Close *** = 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: “Witch’s Brew” poem: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/n7p3j8us “Salem Witch Trial Misconceptions” by Tamar Altebarmakian for Weird History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/57ah3yw5 “How To Test a Witch” by Tamar Altebarmakian for Ranker’s Witchcraft: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/34vsfs9r “People Killed As Witches” by Laura Allan for Ranker’s History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3pejpv5c “Modern Witch Killings” by Greg Beneven for Ranker’s History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/rafzhksz (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: March 04, 2023