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

My new kitten, Pumpkin Marlar, gets her own podcast pilot episode — just for fun! I hope you have as much fun listening as I did putting this together.

A year after Rico's mother vanished in the Grayfall Nature Preserve, his father finally knows what really happened to her — and he's invited Lexi over for a backyard barbecue to honor her memory. But the burgers don't taste right, the hot dogs don't look right, and Mr. Alejandro has one strange instruction before the first bite: no matter what, keep it in. 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/1655277373 Find more family-friendly frights and creepy games to play on our website at http://MicroTerrors.com! Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/microterrors Other stories, novels, and more from author Scott Donnelly: https://amzn.to/3LymHaU Other narrations, podcasts, and audiobooks from voice artist Darren Marlar: https://WeirdDarkness.com = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Weird Darkness©, 2026 Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids™, 2026#MicroTerrors #WeirdDarkness

In 1959, a quiet missionary village in Papua New Guinea became the site of one of history’s most astonishing UFO encounters—where a priest and his flock not only witnessed a hovering craft but exchanged waves with the humanoid figures aboard. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/PriestAndUFO FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: The English and Americans aren’t the only ones with vampire problems – in China they have a nasty vampire that is also a master of disguise. (Jiangshi, The Vampire) *** Papua New Guinea had an avalanche of UFO sightings in the late 1950s – and one of the most infamous involved a priest and his parish. (Father William and the Flying Saucer) *** “It looked like a baby’s body with long arms and legs. It had a big head about the same size as the body, it was sort of melon shaped.” That’s how Bill Bartlet described the strange create he saw in 1977. (The Dover Demon Returns) *** Murdered in Montana in 1983, Marie Philbrick was killed in the days before DNA analysis. Bernard Pease Jr. was convicted of her murder, but was he really her killer? (The Murder Case of Marie Philbrick) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:36.878 = Father William and the Flying Saucer 00:09:16.267 = The Murder Case of Marie Philbrick *** 00:20:42.781 = The Dover Demon Returns *** 00:39:08.409 = Jiangshi, The Vampire *** 00:43:26.236 = 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: “Jiangshi, The Vampire” by A. Sutherland for Ancient Pages: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2tvsk3n7 “Father William and the Flying Saucer” from Anomalien: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2cycfdnp “The Murder Case of Marie Philbrick” from CrimeTraveller.org: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/aez456w “The Dover Demon Returns” by Mark Sullivan for Boston.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/tbuu3vcw and Strange New England: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/jztfkrsn (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 05, 2023

“Northern Lights”: Two scientists built a time machine, and the cold thing that crawled back into the laboratory had every intention of staying. 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, “Just To Keep Busy” (October 25, 1977) 00:46:13.238 = Quiet Please, “Northern Lights” (January 30, 1949) 01:15:51.524 = Radio City Playhouse, “Affliction” (September 25, 1949) 01:44:22.690 = Mercer McLeod, “Blood On The Doorstep” (1946-1947) 01:58:33.864 = Silver Theater: Dashiell Hammett’s “Maltese Falcon” (February 01, 1942) 03:55:05.423 = The Sealed Book, “Death At Storm House” (April 22, 1945) 04:25:16.859 = The Shadow, “The Phantom Voyage” (February 16, 1941) 04:50:03.811 = 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/WDRR0660

Since August 2025, a crowdsourced tracking app has logged more than 9,000 sightings of unidentified objects within 10 miles of US shorelines, with clusters off California, Florida, and naval training zones. SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/UnderwaterUFOs 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