“THE AXEMAN OF NEW ORLEANS” and More True and Macabre Stories! #WeirdDarkness

WDRadio Week of October 26, 2025 | The night is coming. Porch lights and decorations won't change what moves through the darkness on October 31st. Every plastic skeleton dangling from a suburban tree, every polyester witch costume hanging in a store window, every carved pumpkin glowing on a doorstep - they're echoes of something that began long before any of us were born, something older and more terrifying than most people realize. SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW: https://weirddarkness.com/HalloweensHeinousHistory The podcast version of the syndicated weekend radio show posts Sunday night/Monday morning at midnight after the show has aired nationally on radio stations Sunday evening.  #WeirdDarkness #HalloweenHistory #TrueHalloweenStory #DarkHistory #Samhain #CreepyHistory #HalloweenOrigins #SpookyHistory #HorrorHistory #TrickOrTreatHistory

In a world where handmade art is humanity’s last stand against the machine, the unveiling of a mysterious new artist named Orville threatens to shatter everything — because Orville isn’t human. “Mr. Replogle's Dream” by Evelyn E. Smith (Fantastic Universe December, 1956) Fully Produced version: https://www.auditoryanthology.com/2025/03/20/mr-replogles-dream-by-evelyn-e-smith/

In 1656, Croatian stonemason Jure Grando was buried alive after defying powerful monks, only to rise from his grave and terrorize his village for sixteen years—knocking on doors that meant death would soon follow, violating his widow night after night, and when villagers finally opened his coffin in 1672, they found him grinning with tears streaming down his face, immune to wooden stakes, screaming as they sawed through his neck in what became Europe's first documented case of vampirism. Support our Halloween “Overcoming the Darkness” campaign to help people with depression: https://weirddarkness.com/HOPE IN THIS EPISODE: Before Dracula ever set foot in Transylvania, the village of Kringa, Croatia, was haunted by Jure Grando—the first recorded vampire in European history. For sixteen years, his undead reign brought terror to the living and torment to his widow. But when the villagers finally rose against him, they unearthed a horror beyond imagination. (Jure Grando: The First Vampire) *** For nearly a millennium, a monstrous black dog with eyes like burning coals has stalked the foggy coastlines and ancient churches of East Anglia, leaving death and terror in its silent wake. From its first recorded appearance in 1127 where it led a spectral hunting party through Peterborough, to its most infamous attack in 1577 when it allegedly killed four churchgoers, the creature known as Black Shuck has become far more than just another ghost story. Through centuries of sightings and evolving folklore, this massive demon hound has transformed from a Viking guardian spirit into one of Britain's most enduring legends - one that some locals insist still prowls the shadows of Norfolk and Suffolk to this day. (Black Shuck: East Anglia’s Demon Hound) *** In 1857 London, the Bacon family's home became the center of supernatural chaos when mysterious sounds and flying objects drew crowds of over a thousand spectators to their modest Bermondsey residence. But when thirteen-year-old Caroline confessed to creating the ghostly disturbances using strands of hair to topple objects, her deception was revealed as an act of rebellion against her father and new stepmother. This tale of a fake haunting offers a poignant glimpse into Victorian family dynamics and the desperate measures one girl took to assert her independence. (The Bermondsey Poltergeist) *** In October 1975, what began as a late-night drive for two young men in rural Maine turned into an encounter that would haunt them forever. David Stephens had no memory of being taken aboard a massive UFO by mushroom-headed beings until months later, when hypnosis sessions revealed the terrifying truth about the hours he lost that night – an experience so profound that it would drive his friend Glen to flee the state and change both their lives forever. (Night of the Mushroom Men) *** Could the Moon's perfect positioning—exactly 400 times smaller than the Sun and precisely placed for total eclipses—be more than cosmic coincidence? Authors Christopher Knight and Alan Butler propose a mind-bending theory: that future humans (or their advanced robots) traveled back in time 4.6 billion years to construct the Moon, creating the exact conditions needed for life on Earth to emerge. Their provocative hypothesis suggests we might be caught in an infinite loop, with humanity traveling to the past to ensure its own creation, much like the ancient symbol of Ouroboros—a snake eternally consuming its own tail. (Did Time Travelers Build The Moon?) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Lead-In 00:01:30.774 = Show Intro 00:05:48.071 = Jure Grando: The First Vampire 00:16:50.110 = ***The Bermondsey Poltergeist 00:29:33.917 = Black Shuck: East Anglia’s Demon Hound 00:45:53.712 = ***Night of the Mushroom Men 00:52:53.165 = Did Time Travelers...

EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: https://weirddarkness.com/mothmanharbingerofdoom/ SYNOPSIS: Hosts Ghost and Ghoul Friend conduct an in-depth analysis of Darren Marlar's Weird Darkness episode "Mothman: Harbinger of Doom," exploring the concentrated year of terror that gripped Point Pleasant, West Virginia between November 1966 and December 1967. The discussion examines over 100 credible witness accounts of the seven-foot winged creature with glowing red eyes, beginning with the harrowing high-speed chase of the Scarberry and Millat couples, the mysterious disappearance of Newell Partridge's dog Bandit, and Marcella Bennett's traumatic close encounter. The hosts analyze the creature's consistent physical descriptions, its connection to UFO sightings and "men in black" encounters in the area, and the tragic Silver Bridge collapse that killed 46 people in December 1967—questioning whether Mothman was a harbinger of the disaster or directly responsible for it. The episode expands beyond Mothman to explore related phenomena including 19th-century mystery airships, 1960s UFO encounters with missing time, psychic abilities and their psychological toll, Steven Stayner's kidnapping survival story, and the absurdly dangerous 1908 Great Race from New York to Paris. Throughout, the hosts examine how unexplained encounters create lasting psychological trauma—fear without memory, dread without explanation—that fundamentally changes those who experience the unknown.

A dog vanishes chasing glowing red eyes in the darkness, couples are pursued at over 100 miles per hour by something with massive wings, and a terrified mother watches a gray humanoid creature shuffle onto her porch and peer through the windows—all in the same night that would mark the beginning of Point Pleasant's year of terror. Support our Halloween “Overcoming the Darkness” campaign to help people with depression: https://weirddarkness.com/HOPE IN THIS EPISODE: “I see dead people.” Today it’s a meme seen in every corner of the internet. It began, however, as an incredible idea for a film - “The Sixth Sense” – and the reason the meme is so prevalent today, is because the film blew our minds with the unexpected twist ending forcing us to watch the film again. But what if your child were to truly tell you they were seeing dead people. Not imaginary friends, and not even the occasional monster in the closet… but actually seeing dead people. One woman in the UK is pondering that question with not one, but two children who are adamant they are seeing those who have already passed on. (My Children See Dead People) *** Steven Stayner was only seven years old when he was kidnapped and held for over seven years, being sexually molested by the man who grabbed him. But when another boy was brought in as the man’s next victim, Steven turned from victim, to rescuer. (I Know My First Name is Steven) *** Stories of people in the past looking to the skies to see UFOs are becoming more and more common as we learn more of our history. But there was some very strange goings on in 1896 and 1897 with some flying contraptions, weird looking people, bizarre languages, and even a close encounter of the third kind. (America’s Mystery Airships of 1896-97) *** From UFOs in 1896-97… to UFOs in 1966-67. But this time we add another element. Not only did a young man see a UFO, but the encounter appears to have taken him outside of time – and even changed his personality in the process! (Missing Time in 1966) *** In Blake Edward’s 1965 classic comedy film, ‘The Great Race’, the heroic Leslie and the despicable Professor Fate, engage in an epic automobile race from New York to Paris in the early 1900s. The film is actually based on a real race that took place in 1908 – and as hilarious as the ‘The Great Race’ movie was, the actual race took stupidity to a whole new level. (The Great Race to Stupidity) *** As far as we know, it was the very first sighting of what we’ve come to know as The Mothman – and it was seen not by a single person or even a single couple – but by four people. Actually, “sighting” probably isn’t the right word for it… as it ended up in a high-speed chase between the four people in one car, and Mothman giving chase. (Mothman Attacks) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:03:41.569 = Mothman Attacks 00:15:09.312 = ***I Know My First Name Is Steven 00:26:45.426 = My Children See Dead People 00:33:35.320 = America’s Mystery Airships of 1896-1897 00:48:34.169 = ***Missing Time in 1966 00:58:05.624 = The Great Race To Stupidity 01:09:59.860 = Show Close *** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break SOURCES and RESOURCES: “Coast To Coast AM” radio interview re: missing time, aliens, etc.: https://youtu.be/LWMYf0ijb_A “America’s Mystery Airships of 1896-97” by Troy Taylor: https://tinyurl.com/y6yqdnzd “Missing Time in 1966” by Marcus Lowth for UFO Insight: https://tinyurl.com/y4kptacw “The Great Race to Stupidity” by Setareh Janda for Weird History: