Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

The Bell Witch became one of America's most famous hauntings, but the truth behind the violent spirit that allegedly tormented a Tennessee family for years remains shrouded in mystery and debate. IN THIS EPISODE: The tale of the Bell Witch has gone on to become one of the most well known hauntings in American history and an iconic historical horror story, but of course it has left us to debate and speculate on whether any of it is true, and if so just what was the Bell Witch? (The Disturbing Case of the Bell Witch) *** The pentagram is most often seen in film and television as a symbol of Satan, or dark witchcraft – but that is not the reality of pentagram. The symbol has a much wider and richer history than what is portrayed in today’s entertainment mediums. While the practices and beliefs of Wicca, gnostics, and druids use the pentagram in their practices, as do Satanists, the pentagram was (and sometimes still is) used by Christian believers as well – which I’m sure comes as quite a shock to those who don’t know the full history behind this five pointed star. (The Paranormal Pentagram) *** I have told innumerable stories involving the death of someone, be it brutal, mysterious, or even darkly humorous. But it is high time I share a few stories of people who died… but then returned to the living. Not as ghosts, but as regular flesh-and-blood human beings who just happened to survive their own death. (They Survived Their Own Deaths) *** The Lake Bodom murders may well be the most famous unsolved homicide in Scandinavian Criminal History. Occurring in 1960 and claiming 3 victims with 1 injured survivor it is a Finnish zeitgeist that at one time or another had the whole of Finland enraptured. It is now a buzzword for murder and mystery in the small country. (The Lake Bodom Murders)  CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Lead-In 00:00:59.204 = Show Open 00:03:41.991 = The Disturbing Case of the Bell Witch 00:26:18.524 = ***They Survived Their Own Deaths 00:40:39.551 = ***The Paranormal Pentagram 00:53:51.534 = ***Murders At Lake Bodom 01:03:55.846 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break SOURCES and RESOURCES: “They Survived Their Own Deaths” by Gary Pullman for List Verse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3cp587jz “The Paranormal Pentagram” by A. Sutherland for Message to Eagle: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2674t2ss, and Alice Cook-Nelson for MYDNYTBLU: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/d234tb8m ***BOOK: “Power of the Pendulum” by Tom Lethbridge: https://amzn.to/3cd6Jmr “The Disturbing Case of the Bell Witch” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/du2fbct3 “Murders at Lake Bodom” posted at Mystery Confidential: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/356kkx5b=====(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.)= = = = ="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...

NASA's Perseverance rover just stumbled across something that has scientists scratching their heads – a rock on Mars that has absolutely no business being where it is. READ or SHARE: https://weirddarkness.com/mars-rock-anomaly/ WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness. #WeirdDarkness #MarsDiscovery #NASAMystery #PerseveranceRover #SpaceExploration #MarsRover #UnexplainedMystery #SpaceScience #MarsMeteor #NASANews

Grandma Mimi sends her grandchildren into the woods on a turkey hunt to avenge her beloved dog Bark-Man, but the kids have no idea what kind of turkeys are really waiting for them out there. | “THE TURKEY HUNT” by Scott Donnelly  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

A top-nuclear researcher recounts (in therapy) how she fell in love with a supposed alien, married him, and was later convicted of his murder. The question remains: is she a delusional murderer or the innocent victim of extraterrestrial manipulation? | “The Star Killers” – CBS Radio Mystery Theater | #RetroRadio EP0559 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Star Killers” (February 15, 1977) ***WD 00:48:51.601 = The Sealed Book, “Till Death Do Us Part” (July 08, 1945) ***WD 01:18:15.720 = The Shadow, “The Green Man” (November 24, 1940) ***WD 01:42:19.474 = Sleep No More, “Woman in Grey” and “Suspicious Gift” (March 20, 1957) 02:11:07.735 = BBC Spine Chillers, “Rituals” (1984) 02:37:33.993 = Stay Tuned For Terror, “The Bogey Man Will Get You” (October 01, 1945) ***WD 02:52:06.410 = Strange Wills, “Dance Director” (November 16, 1946) 03:21:43.442 = Suspense, “The Strange Death of Charles Umberstein” (November 23, 1943) 03:51:10.025 = Tales of the Frightened, “Voice From the Grave” 03:55:58.182 = The Saint, “Intruder” (March 25, 1951) 04:25:28.004 = Theater Five, “Prodigal Son” (October 27, 1964) 04:45:54.583 = 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. 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. = = = = =#ParanormalRadio #ScienceFiction #OldTimeRadio #OTR #OTRHorror #ClassicRadioShows #HorrorRadioShows #VintageRadioDramas #WeirdDarkness CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0559

Apps promise friendship and love on demand, but researchers are discovering that relationships with artificial companions can deepen loneliness, foster dependence, and in tragic cases, contribute to self-harm. IN THIS EPISODE: A woman in England insists she's not from this planet—literally—claiming an extraterrestrial soul from a star cluster 440 light-years away occupies her human body. She's not alone in this belief, and she's turned her supposed alien origins into a thriving business coaching thousands of others who are convinced they're starseeds too. (Woman Claims To Be An Alien) *** In 1393, six dancers at a French royal ball wore costumes made of pitch-soaked linen sewn directly onto their bodies—then the king's drunken brother walked in with a torch and set them all on fire. Four men died screaming as their flaming costumes melted into their skin while horrified nobles watched, and the disaster pushed France's already-mad king deeper into psychosis and the kingdom closer to civil war. (The Ball of Burning Men) *** But first… Millions of people have formed deep emotional bonds with AI chatbots that promise companionship without judgment—but teenagers are dying by suicide after their digital companions encouraged self-harm instead of offering help. The apps are engineered to create dependency, and research shows the more comfort people get from AI, the less human connection they maintain, turning what feels like a lifeline into a trap. We begin with that story. (When The Algorithm Says “I Love You”) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Lead-In 00:03:03.569 = Show Open 00:05:17.971 = When The Algorithm Says “I Love You” 00:34:25.191 = ***Woman Claims To Be An Alien 00:55:06.793 = ***The Ball of Burning Men 01:21:42.969 = Show Close *** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break PRINT VERSIONS to READ or SHARE (includes sources): When The Algorithm Says “I Love You”: https://weirddarkness.com/ai-romance/ (Church of the Undead episode:https://weirddarkness.com/cotu-ai-romance/ - post goes live November 23, 2025) Woman Claims To Be An Alien: https://weirddarkness.com/woman-claims-proof-alien-pleiades-star-cluster/ The Ball of Burning Men: https://weirddarkness.com/masquerade-ball-burning-men-1393/ =====(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.)= = = = ="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.=====Originally aired: November 21, 2025 EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/AIRomance 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...