(Bonus Episode) “AMATEUR IN CHANCERY” by George O. Smith (Short Sci-Fi Story) #WeirdDarkness

A three-year-old visiting Johnson's of Old Hurst ended up inside the crocodile enclosure, was pulled out by a member of the family that runs the zoo, and the stranger arrested over it was assessed as unfit for police interview. SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/croc-enclosure-boy 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.

Five drivers were shot along Interstate 70 the evening Kansas City opened its World Cup, and the man police are hunting has not been found. SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/kc-world-cup-shootings 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.

On a bright July afternoon in 1986, twenty-five-year-old London estate agent Suzy Lamplugh left her office to show a house to a client her diary noted only as "Mr Kipper," and she was never seen again. ========== HOUR ONE: It is considered by many, Britain’s most well-known disappearing person case. Even now, over three decades later, people in the UK are still fascinated and intrigued by the unexplained vanishing of Suzy Lamplugh. (The Suzy Lamplugh Mystery) *** John List planned the murders of his own family so carefully, he almost got away with it. In fact, it took 18 years to catch him. (The Family Man Who Murdered His Family) *** We’ll look at what it was like to be a woman in the 17th Century… and accused of witchcraft. (Witchly Accusations) *** If you drink whiskey, or even if you don’t, you’re likely familiar with “Jameson Irish Whiskey.” But did you know that cannibalism played a part in its history? (Whiskey and Cannibalism) *** A strange phenomenon takes place in Arkansas, and despite the numerous sightings and investigations, there is still no explanation for it. (Unexplained In Arkansas) ========== HOUR TWO: Seeing a lifelike human skeleton in a doctor’s office, especially in the past couple of centuries, was – and in many cases still is - commonplace. But where did one go to get such lifelike skeletons if you were a doctor in the 1800s? Why, a skeleton factory, of course! (The Skeleton Factory) *** The story of Kate Watson is a grim one – living as a prostitute in the Old West, and when that wasn’t enough she took up cattle rustling. Her husband wasn’t any better. So it’s probably no surprise that she was strung up until dead. But maybe you should wait to pass judgement until you hear the whole story. (The Lynching of Cattle Kate) *** In March of 2004, teenager Brianna Maitland left work in the late evening hours and was never seen again. To this day it is still one of Vermont’s most infamous mysteries. (The Vanishing of Brianna Maitland) *** Plus, “The Haunted Adirondack Mountains” ========== SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: Parents always feel their child is special in some way – something that makes their child better in some way than other children. Parents of indigo children are no different, with some parents thinking their children have psychic abilities. Doctors say that these children have ADD or ADHD, but one parapsychologist says indigo children have something even more special – possibly even paranormal - inside them. (Supernatural Indigo Children) *** When you think of a mad scientist you most likely think of Victor Frankenstein – but it’s rumored Mary Shelley took inspiration for the character from a real mad scientist by the name of Andrew Ure. (Andrew Ure: A Real Life Mad Scientist) *** The story of Kate Watson is a grim one – living as a prostitute in the Old West, and when that wasn’t enough she took up cattle rustling. Her husband wasn’t any better. So it’s probably no surprise that she was strung up until dead. But maybe you should wait to pass judgement until you hear the whole story. (The Lynching of Cattle Kate) ========== SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW: "The Suzy Lamplugh Mystery” by Amelia Gentleman for The Guardian: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2v2z6tp6 “The Family Man Who Murdered His Family” from The Line Up: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/392yt322 “Witchly Accusations” by Jessica Nelson for the UK’s National Archives: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/j7nnd3ax “Whiskey and Cannibalism” posted at The Scare Chamber:

Centuries before Hollywood dressed it in a nun's habit, the demon Valak prowled the pages of forbidden grimoires as a winged boy astride a two-headed dragon, commanding legions of serpents to do his bidding. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources):https://weirddarkness.com/valek READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/24s8nzb9 FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Although Valak is depicted in the films "The Nun" and in “The Conjuring 2” as a habit-wearing spirit, the real demon appears as a child riding a two-headed dragon — at least according to a 17th-century demon-hunting manual. (The Reality Behind The Demon, Valak) *** The Vatican is one of the most well-guarded areas in the world. But if rumors are to be believed, all that security isn’t only to protect the pontiff… but some dark, disturbing secrets… and a machine that could change everything we know to be true. (The Vatican’s Secret Machine) *** We’ll look at that time a force field was accidentally created at a 3M plant. (3M’s Accidental Force Field) *** In 1872 George Wheeler met and married May Tillson in Boston. He made a home for May and her younger sister Della, first in New York, then in California. Along the way, George fell in love with young Della and when she planned to marry someone else he was faced with a dilemma: he could not marry her himself and he could not bear to see her wed to another. The solution he chose pleased no one. (Thus She Passed Away) *** In the 1800s scientists and doctors needed cadavers to study human anatomy and practice their skills. To help accommodate the need, it was made legal to sell dead bodies. What could possibly go wrong? (The Unsettling Anatomy Act) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:01:16.547 = Show Open 00:03:31.777 = The Reality Behind The Demon Valak 00:11:37.807 = The Unsettling Anatomy Act *** 00:24:33.689 = 3M’s Accidental Force Field 00:34:11.149 = Thus She Passed Away *** 00:44:01.086 = The Vatican’s Secret Machine 00:53:13.339 = 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: “The Reality Behind The Demon, Valak” by Gina Dimuro for All That’s Interesting:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/43vu356n “3M’s Accidental Force Field” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3vvnwbpv “Thus She Passed Away” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder By Gaslight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yyztmnat “The Unsettling Anatomy Act” by SM for ListVerse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8vdns9 “The Vatican’s Secret Machine” by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient Pages: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8kxxz8 (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: December, 2021 This episode of Weird Darkness moves from a centuries-old demon mistaken for a nun, through the Victorian trade in stolen corpses and a force field that appeared inside a 1980 factory, to a San Francisco trunk murder and a Catholic priest who claimed to have built a machine that could film the past.It opens with the demon Valak, who reaches modern audiences...

A young doctor returns to her childhood slum to open a free clinic, but when a dying patient vanishes from her examination room and his grieving cousin swears the boy has simply gone home, she begins to wonder what kind of people she's really been treating. 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, “All Unregistered Aliens” (February 09, 1978) ***WD 00:45:43.486 = Calling All Cars, “Burma White Case” (December 06, 1933) ***WD (LQ) 01:14:27.499 = Casey Crime Photographer, “Clue In The Clouds” (February 26, 1944) ***WD 01:45:06.776 = CBC Mystery Theater, “The Cable Car Incident” (1967) ***WD (LQ) 02:11:42.746 = Chet Chetter’s, “Biloxi And the Bogus Beavers From Bornac” (1990-1992) ***WD 02:40:43.122 = The Clock, “Ghost Story” (December 13, 1955) 03:07:11.394 = Creeps By Night, “Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan 03:36:40.775 = SONG: Static Wax, “The Dead Man’s Bell” (based on the Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan): https://weirddarkness.com/music 03:43:07.328 = The Crime Club, “Dead Man Control” (March 20, 1947) ***WD 04:11:24.922 = Crime Classics, “Peaceful Pass T. Edwin Bartlett Grocer” (June 22, 1953) 04:40:59.478 = Danger Dr. Danfield, “Little Meteorite Wanted To Be a Star” (February 02, 1947) 05:07:17.930 = 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/WDRR0694