“CRASHED SAUCERS AND DEAD ALIENS IN ENGLAND” and More!

When a dry-goods robbery in a river town leaves one clerk shot dead and two thieves drowned, a down-at-heel Ravenmill private eye is called in to put a name to the lone survivor — a soft-spoken scholar who keeps walking out of cages no man should be able to open. EPISODE PAGE (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/noir-mancagescouldnthold THE REAL CASE BEHIND THIS STORY: This episode is inspired by the case of Edward H. Rulloff (1819–1871), a Canadian-born polymath who lived as both a respected scholar and a career criminal. A doctor, lawyer, schoolmaster, photographer, inventor, and self-taught philologist, Rulloff devoted his life to a language manuscript he believed would revolutionize the field — work he financed through theft and largely wrote in prison cells. In 1844 his wife, Harriet Schutt, and their infant daughter, Priscilla, vanished from Lansing, New York. No bodies were ever found despite repeated dragging of Cayuga Lake, and Rulloff was convicted of abduction rather than murder, serving ten years in Auburn Prison. A later murder conviction was overturned on appeal, and he was ultimately freed. He moved to New York City, where he and his associates Albert Jarvis and Billy Dexter robbed stores, specializing in hard-to-trace sewing silk. On August 17, 1870, the three men broke into Halbert's dry goods store in Binghamton, New York. A clerk and night watchman, Fred Merrick, was shot dead during the struggle. Jarvis and Dexter drowned in the Chenango River while fleeing; Rulloff was captured after giving false names and hiding in a farm outhouse. He was recognized as the long-suspected Lansing killer, tried for Merrick's murder, and convicted of first-degree murder. His case drew national debate — Horace Greeley argued his intellect was too valuable to waste, while Mark Twain mocked the sentiment in a satirical letter to the Tribune. Rulloff was hanged on May 18, 1871. Before his execution he confessed to killing his wife with a medicine pestle but never admitted to harming his daughter, who some believed survived and was raised by his brother. His body was displayed, a death mask was made, and his head was kept for study; his brain remains part of the Wilder Brain Collection at Cornell University to this day. WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness. Originally aired: May 28, 2026

Thirteen drops of blood spilled on three-hundred-year-old bones, and a footstep in the dark with only one foot to make it — the kind of Friday the thirteenth that earns the date its bad name. 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, “A Grain of Salt” (November 18, 1977) 00:46:07.148 = Witch’s Tale, “Devil’s Number” (December 12, 1935) ***WD (LQ) 01:11:46.898 = X Minus One, “Chain of Command” (November 21, 1956) 01:40:10.474 = Zero Hour, “The Villainous Verdict” (May 16, 1974) ***WD 01:56:50.784 = ABC Mystery Time, “Death By Proxy” (June 07, 1956) ***WD 02:20:51.751 = Strange Adventure, “Murder Takes Note” (1945) ***WD 02:24:06.540 = Appointment With Fear, “Morning Glory” (July 18, 1943) ***WD (LQ) 02:50:43.270 = BBC Radio 4/Radio 7 Ghost Story, “The Haunted Doll’s House” (January 1988) 03:05:10.194 = Beyond The Green Door, “Diver Fights For Life” (1966) 03:09:20.309 = The Black Book, “Different Readings, Parts 1 and 2” (November 21, 1951) ***WD 03:34:31.794 = Boston Blackie, “The Ghost of Flo Newton” (May 28, 1947) 03:59:38.473 = Box 13, “The Haunted Artist” (December 12, 1948) 04:26:28.295 = CBC Mystery Theater, “The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor” (December 1966) ***WD 04:55:16.589 = 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/WDRR0673

For two months in the summer of 1972, a club-wielding, hair-covered creature stalked the railroad tracks of Defiance, Ohio — and the local police took it seriously enough to open an official file. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/WerewolfCentral AUDIOBOOK: “The Black Eyed Kids” by G. Michael Vasey: https://amzn.to/4fIg2vW FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: It’s one of the most gruesome ways movie and television villains dispose of their victims… the acid bath. The body being tossed in a tub, barrel, or bin, slowly dissolving into soup – leaving no evidence behind. But the truth of acid baths is far more gruesome – even more so those who choose to use the method to get rid of a body. (Acid Bath Horrors) *** Defiance, Ohio was the location for one of the best true werewolf stories most people never talk about. (Welcome to Werewolf Central) *** If you’re looking for some creepy places to visit this Halloween season, you can’t get much creepier than cemeteries and graveyards. I’ll share some of the most haunted ones that you might want to check out if you have ice in your veins. (The World’s Most Haunted Graveyards) *** The scenery may be beautiful when driving this road, but locals have nicknamed it la carretera de la muerte (the highway of death). We’ll look at Mexico’s La Rumorosa Highway. (The La Rumorosa Hauntings) *** Many considered Edward Rulloff to be a genius – a man ahead of his time. Others had quite the opposite opinion of him, thinking him a fraud or a conman. But nobody expected they would also be adding the word “killer” to his description. (Genius, Conman, Killer) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:02:11.573 = Welcome to Werewolf Central 00:08:48.888 = The World’s Most Haunted Graveyards *** 00:15:39.282 = Acid Bath Horrors 00:28:47.923 = La Rumorosa Highway **** 00:35:23.927 = Genius, Conman, and Killer 00:46:26.735 = 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: “Welcome to Werewolf Central” by Nick Redfern for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2c3p59aa “The World’s Most Haunted Graveyards” from RealParanornalExperiences.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/39z4fyaf “Acid Bath Horrors” by Abraham Rinquist for ListVerse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/znvcuzps “The La Rumorosa Hauntings” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5xj9sewk “Genius, Conman, and Killer” by Robert Willhelm for Murder By Gaslight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/dy9fmky5 (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,...

In a city of three million where every window glows with the flicker of a television screen, one man steps outside to walk the empty streets — and discovers that in 2053, a simple stroll after dark is enough to draw the attention of the law. 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, “Hunted Down” (November 17, 1977) 00:45:28.123 = The Saint, “Miracle Tea Party (Audition Episode)” (July 25, 1945) 01:10:39.087 = Theater Five, “City Manager” (November 16, 1964) ***WD 01:32:13.773 = Theater 1030, “The Pedestrian” (1968-1971) ***WD 01:57:57.483 = Tales From The Tomb, “Comfort Lies In The Dark” (1960) 02:02:15.537 = 2000 Plus, “Green Thing” (September 27, 1950) ***WD 02:31:55.279 = The Unexpected, “Voodoo Night” (1947-1948) 02:44:00.712 = Unsolved Mysteries, “Lizzie Borden Case” (1936) ***WD 02:57:50.107 = Columbia Workshop, “Carmilla” (July 28, 1940) (LQ) 03:27:16.413 = Dark Venture, “The Man in 206” (December 02, 1946) ***WD 03:56:36.806 = The Weird Circle, “Shadow” (April 15, 1945) 04:23:51.471 = The Whistler, “Murder Opens a Gate” (February 06, 1945) 04:53:25.838 = 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/WDRR0672

For twenty-five years, Janet Wishart let all of Aberdeen believe she was a witch — until the day the authorities finally decided to find out what she was capable of admitting under questioning. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources and full transcript): https://weirddarkness.com/AberdeenWitch FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Janet Wishart loved practicing her evil Satanic magic – and equally loved boasting about it; something you really shouldn’t do if you happen to live in the days of the Great Scottish Witch Hunt. (Janet Wisharts’s Witchy Ways) *** Have you ever seen the movie “Going In Style” about some retired elderly men deciding to do one last robbery just to see if they had the stuff? Whether you watched the 1979 original or the 2017 remake, the premise is hilarious and fun. But apparently several men in 2015 decided to do it for real – and almost walked away with $200-million in cash and jewels! (The Grandpa Gang Jewel Robbery) *** The encounter of Gerry Anderson is one of the most intriguing claims of alien abduction in the United Kingdom. Not least as he wouldn’t fully recall the incident that occurred in the early 1950s when he was a 12-year-old boy until decades later under hypnotic regression. (The Alien Abduction of Gerry Anderson) *** In November, 1980 the MGM Grand in Las Vegas caught fire, claiming numerous lives. Decades later we learn what went wrong, how it can be avoided in the future, and we hear the haunting details of what happened during the fire – as well as the hauntings that are taking place even now so many years later. (A Grand Fire in Las Vegas) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:02:08.563 = Janet Wishart’s Witchy Ways 00:11:32.783 = The Grandpa Gang Jewel Robbery *** 00:33:21.490 = Alien Abduction of Gerry Anderson *** 00:41:49.281 = A Grand Fire in Las Vegas 00:56:32.355 = 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: “Janet Wisharts’s Witchy Ways” from Strange Company: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4rakh24p “The Grandpa Gang Jewel Robbery” by Laura Allan for Unspeakable Times: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yuu3bxnc, and Jon Rogers for The Sun: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/27esvy74 “The Alien Abduction of Gerry Anderson” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2zznednd “A Grand Fire in Las Vegas” by Rachel Souerbry for Weird History: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/fwzhe9js, Vegas.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/z7krdayv, VegasForAll.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2hj566nw, and TripAdvisor: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3vez7tvm,