WEIRD CIRCLE (1943): “Fall Of The House of Usher” #WeirdDarkness #RetroRadio

From a gallows that refused to open three times to children barricaded inside a burning orphanage with no way out — February 23rd has more than its share of stories that don't sit quietly. | The Morning Weird Darkness *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness. EPISODE PAGE: https://WeirdDarkness.com/MWD20260223 NOTE: Some of this content may have been created with assistance from AI tools, but it has been reviewed, edited, narrated, produced, and approved by Darren Marlar, creator and host of #WeirdDarkness — who, despite popular conspiracy theories, is NOT an AI voice.

A Scottish ferryman refused to take travelers across the water after dark — and the ones who stayed the night were never seen again. | #WDRadio WEEK OF FEBRUARY 22, 2026 ========== HOUR ONE: A 178-year-old mystery comes to the surface in a Philadelphia suburb. (Grandfather's Ghost Story Leads to Mass Grave) *** Recently a wrecking crew began tearing down and old building in Rhode Island. But the big burly men on the crew got so frightened they refused to continue the work. Does reconstruction of a home or building anger the souls who once lived there? (Does Remodeling Your Home Disturb The Spirits Who Died There?) *** The way life has grown on our planet requires that all living things feed off each other and must kill others in order to survive.  That’s the way of the world if you want to live for any more than a few days. But some people are now claiming they can live without food at all… indefinitely. (Life Without Food) *** Three men were in a shed selling gardening supplies when some strange powder suddenly hit the ceiling. Before they had time to react, a small jug on a shelf abruptly flew across the room. One man picked up the jug and placed it a covered box. Instantly, the jug was...somehow...back on the floor. And that was just the beginning of the strange haunting of a community’s garden shed. (The Poltergeist In The Allotment Shed) *** In the movie Salt, Angelina Jolie plays a double-agent who is mind-controlled by scary remnants of the USSR secret service. And in real life, the 1940s bombshell Candy Jones was apparently brainwashed with drugs and used as a CIA covert operative.  (The Supermodel Who Was Brainwashed Into Becoming a Spy) *** No one knows exactly when she was born. Some think, maybe, she was a gypsy. Others say she was the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. The life of Elizabeth Barnes is a mysterious one, filled with many loves, losses, and prognostications. (The Witch of Plum Hollow) *** Some travelers, arriving late at night to board Oliver’s Ferry the next day, stayed at Oliver’s house. But they were never seen making the ferry crossing the next morning. Is it possible that the rumors are true – that they never left the house alive? (The Frights of Oliver’s Ferry) ========== HOUR TWO: An eerie tombstone stands watch over one of Portland Oregon’s oldest cemeteries. And the story behind that tombstone is a strange one. (The Guardians of Lone Fir Cemetery) *** Don't take a gift from Little Gracie's grave... or her life-like statue might cry tears of blood. (The Ghost of Gracie Watson) *** When it came to her daughter’s Elsa doll, one mom was eager and ready to “Let It Go”. But the doll supernaturally refused to be let go! (Haunted Elsa Doll) *** An ancient stone cross is said by locals to be cursed, and the curse infects anyone who dares to disrespect it. (Curse of the Saxon Stone Cross) *** Christopher Slaughterford was seemingly a completely ordinary young Englishman – but he has earned an unenviable place in the legal books. (T
he Trials of Christopher Slaughterford) *** Two authors reported a very strange encounter with a mysterious entity they believed was not of this world. What did they see and why were they under the impression this being was not of this world? (An Author’s Encounter With A Not-Of-This-World Entity)========== SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: For Allen Taylor, January 15, 1919 was just another day on his farm near Prescott, Iowa. That is, until his 15-year-old neighbor Irene Hoskins came stumbling down the lane with a gash in the side of her head.  (The Hoskins Family Murders) *** How did someone get the job of an executioner in medieval times? We’ll find out! (To Become An Executioner) ========== SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW: “Schoolhouse Demon Attack” from Paranormality Magazine “Grandfather's Ghost Story Leads to Mass Grave” by Meghan Rafferty for CNN:

The Shelton brothers rose from Wayne County farm boys to run one of the most powerful criminal empires in Illinois history — defying the Chicago Outfit, surviving ambushes, and collecting enemies until the bullets finally caught up with them, though the killers were never found, and at least one of the brothers apparently never left the bar where he died. *No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast* IN THIS EPISODE: On July 26, 1948, infamous Illinois gangster Bernie Shelton – by then acting leader of the Shelton Brothers gang – was shot to death at the Parkway Tavern, a roadhouse that he owned outside of Peoria. For years after, Bernie’s ghost was said to haunt the tavern, unable to move on after a lifetime of violence, murder, and regret. (Last Drink at the Parkway Tavern) *** Want to be sure you’ll have a paranormal experience? Simply walk into a known haunted house to spend a few nights, all the while saying out-loud “I don’t believe in no dang ghosts!” That’s what did it for one woman. (Cousin Evie And I Know The Truth) *** How would you react if your two-year-old came running into the room, saying he’s scared of a creepy image of a man in the mirror? (Creepy Memories) *** An innocent game of hide-n-seek at their grandparents’ house turns into terror. (Hide And Seek) *** Three children left for a sunny day at a south Australian beach and were never heard from again. (The Mysterious Disappearance of the Beaumont Children) *** American Airlines Flight 191 crashed in 1979, killing everyone on board – and it left something of the paranormal once the debris was cleared. (Flight 191 Disaster) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding 00:00:23.932 = Show Open 00:02:28.222 = Last Drink at the Parkway Tavern (Shelton Brothers) 00:18:09.998 = The Mysterious Disappearance of the Beaumont Children *** 00:23:28.749 = Cousin Evie And I Know The Truth 00:35:14.615 = Creepy Memories *** 00:39:14.410 = Hide & Seek 00:44:43.226 = Black Eyed Kids (from the audiobook) 00:49:38.546 = Flight 191 *** 00:57:45.310 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break HELPFUL LINKS & RESOURCES… https://WeirdDarkness.com/STORE = Tees, Mugs, Socks, Hoodies, Totes, Hats, Kidswear & More https://WeirdDarkness.com/HOPE = Hope For Depression or Thoughts of Self-Harm https://WeirdDarkness.com/NEWSLETTER = In-Depth Articles, Memes, Weird DarkNEWS, Videos & More https://WeirdDarkness.com/AUDIOBOOKS = FREE Audiobooks Narrated By Darren Marlar SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Black-Eyed Kids” by Gary Vasey from the audiobook of the same title, narrated by Darren Marlar: https://amzn.to/3PmqES2 “Last Drink at the Parkway Tavern” written by Troy Taylor: http://bit.ly/37dP1uy “Cousin Evie And I Know The Truth” submitted by Michell Morgan at WeirdDarkness.com “Creepy Memories” submitted by DMR at WeirdDarkness.com “Hide and Seek” submitted by Amy at WeirdDarkness.com “The Mysterious Disappearance of the Beaumont Children” by Steven Casale for The Line Up: http://bit.ly/2Qy7NXX “The Flight 191 Disaster” written by Troy Taylor: http://bit.ly/2NTiRwM =====

NASA admits 15,000 asteroids big enough to erase a major city are out there right now — untracked, unnamed, and aimed at Earth’s neighborhood — and the Bible has something to say about that. SERMON TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/15KCityKillers Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2026. #WeirdDarkness #COTU

A quiet English cottage, a devoted companion, and two childlike old women hide a dark secret — and as suspicion creeps closer, one desperate mind begins to crack under the weight of murder and fear. | #RetroRadio #WeirdDarkness | EP0591 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “A Matter of Customs” (May 19, 1977) 00:45:49.830 = Peril, “Squeeze Play” (1953) ***WD (LQ) 01:08:25.044 = Mystery Playhouse, Ladies In Retirement” (January 18, 1946) ***WD 01:31:06.581 = Phillip Morris Playhouse, “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” (August 19, 1953) ***WD 01:54:43.901 = Price of Fear, “Soul Music” (October 27, 1973) ***WD 02:22:51.568 = Ellery Queen, “Singing Rat” (January 09, 1943) (LQ) 02:52:20.919 = Quiet Please, “One For The Book” (November 21, 1948) 03:21:47.267 = Radio City Playhouse, “Tension In 643” (August 01, 1949) 03:50:41.111 = Adventures In The Supernatural, “The Mysterious Carriage” (1932) ***WD 04:15:06.894 = Sam Spade, “The Rowdy Dowser Caper” (April 20, 1951) 04:44:40.956 = (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. Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy. = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness. = = = = = CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0591