Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

On a quiet ER night shift, a badly burned stranger in a strange metallic suit is wheeled in, gasps a warning about a catastrophe that's coming, and then vanishes from the gurney — leaving behind a device counting down to a disaster only one nurse knows is on its way.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/mitm-sixteenhours

SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Time Traveler” by Keith Conrad for Auditory Anthology (https://www.auditoryanthology.com)

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: August 11, 2026

What happens when self-declared prophets, alien messengers, and doomsday fanatics build secret empires in plain sight — and convince others to follow them to the end of the world?

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/cults

READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/utz5hrfd

SOURCES and RESOURCES:
New York Post - “Inside Manhattan’s secret ‘cult’”. *** News.com.au - “Congregation for the Light: Inside New York’s ‘cult next door’” *** Sinisterhood Podcast - Episode 16: “Congregation for the Light” *** The Commentator - “The Cult Around the Corner” *** Brooklyn Magazine - “Murray Hill Has A Secret Homophobic Aryan Doomsday Cult” *** https://yucommentator.org/2018/10/cult-stern-35th-the-light *** https://nypost.com/2014/11/02/the-secret-society-cult-that-operates-out-of-murray-hill/ ***https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381978851_Raelism_An_Unconventional_Religious_Pathway_to_Transhumanism*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%ABlism *** https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/raelism *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonaid *** https://www.bota.org/ ***https://www.botaineurope.org/ *** https://articles.skeptics.nz/2023/04/24/builders-of-the-adytum-the-tarot-cards-and-qabalah-in-naenae *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Builders_of_the_Adytum *** https://ilovehistory.utah.gov/1847-1904-lds-practice-of-polygamy/ *** https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/fldsprofile.pdf ***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-Day_Saints *** https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Hai ***https://www.godsdirectcontact.org/spiritualpractice/Master_Ching_Hai.htm *** https://suprememastertv.com/en1/v/211271952624.html *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Hai *** https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Hai *** https://nypost.com/2018/01/11/the-cult-leader-behind-the-worlds-fast-growing-vegan-chain/ ***https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubccommunityandpartnerspublicati/52387/items/1.0385823 *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Science *** https://eng.the-liberty.com/2016/6323/ *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_Realization_Party *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryuho_Okawa *** https://www.cdamm.org/articles/cut-tsl *** https://summitlighthouse.org/aboutus/church-universal-and-triumphant/ *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Universal_and_Triumphant ***https://articles1.icsahome.com/articles/denouement-of-the-prophets--cult-the-church-universal-and-triumphant-in-decline *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Clare_Prophet *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tribes_communities *** https://people.com/adam-arthur-rosenthal-twelve-tribes-religious-sect-accused-murder-8753907 *** https://nypost.com/2018/06/05/religious-cult-probed-for-child-labor-after-factory-expose/ *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles_of_Infinite_Love *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Gaston_Tremblay *** https://ktxs.com/news/big-country/ktxs-special-report-mystery-still-surrounds-house-of-yahweh-*** https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/houseofyahwehprofile.pdf ***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfulfilled_Watch_Tower_Society_predictions *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Yahweh *** https://www.apologeticsindex.org/316-house-of-yahweh *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuwaubian_Nation *** https://people.com/crime/story-behind-united-nuwaubian-nation-moors-georgia-cult *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_York *** https://www.adl.org/resources/news/leader-anti-government-sect-sentenced-135-years *** https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/nuwaubian-nation-moors/ *** https://billygraham.org/answers/how-is-christianity-different-from-other-religions
(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 28, 2025
Weird Darkness host Darren Marlar pulls back the curtain on modern cults hiding in plain sight, from city apartments to desert compounds to Montana doomsday bunkers. This episode profiles more than a dozen secretive groups, including Manhattan's Congregation for the Light, the alien-worshipping Raëlian Movement and its Clonaid cloning claims, the polygamist FLDS led by imprisoned prophet Warren Jeffs, Supreme Master Ching Hai, Japan's Happy Science, Eckankar, Elizabeth Clare Prophet's Church Universal and Triumphant, the Twelve Tribes, the House of Yahweh, and the pyramid-building Nuwaubian Nation of Malachi Z. York. Along the way, Darren digs into why people get drawn in, the warning signs of a dangerous group, and what sets biblical Christianity apart from them all.

A lifelong night owl pushes their sleepless habit a few nights too far, and what starts happening once he finally closes his eyes is the reason he’s now sworn off sleep for the rest of his life.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/mitm-coffeeaddiction

SOURCES and RESOURCES: “I Have a Coffee Addiction” by Ashley Ingraham

WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

Midnight In The Macabre (MITM), originally aired: August 10, 2026

Madame Delphine LaLaurie was one of the most admired socialites in New Orleans, and the Royal Street mansion she left behind is still called the most haunted address in the French Quarter.
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HOUR ONE: 
Winnie had two trunks when she arrived at the train station – trunks that contained the severed body parts of her two best friends. She had murdered them, it seems, all in the name of love. (Winnie Ruth Judd: Trunk Murderess) *** Was British government weapons inspector Dr David Kelly murdered? (Many Dark Actors: Dr. David Kelly) *** Madame Delphine LaLaurie, made popular by Kathy Bates in American Horror Story: Coven, was a first class monster. A figure of high society, she was well known for her mistreatment of slaves. But no one knew just how sick she truly was. (The Monster of Royal Street)
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HOUR TWO: Reddit users share some of the strangest, creepiest, most terrifying phone calls they’ve ever received – many that left the recipient with no explanation as to what just happened. (Creepy Phone Calls) *** Elizabeth Bathory was beautiful – and wanted to stay that way. So determined was her desire for a youthful appearance that she would bathe in the blood of young girls, thinking of it as a macabre fountain of youth. But how much truth is there to this story? And are there ghosts today, haunting their residences thanks to the Blood Countess? 
(Ghosts of the Blood Countess)
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SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: A former schoolhouse has accrued a sinister reputation as one of the most haunted, weirdest places in Japan. (Haunted Schoolhouse In Japan) *** The gold rush brought many to North Carolina – men looking to get rich, and rich men looking to get richer. But the greed also brought cruelty to some mine owners… and that cruelty sometimes brought death… and hauntings. (The Skinflint Mine Entity) *** Was a certain female reporter murdered because she knew too much about the death of John F. Kennedy? (The Dorothy Killgallen Murder) *** Something bizarre and terrifying is living below the streets of London – and there are many theories as to what it might be. (Strange Things Below London)
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SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW:
“The Monster of Royal Street: Delphine LaLaurie”: https://tinyurl.com/ssf9lm3
“Many Dark Actors: Dr. David Kelly”: https://tinyurl.com/uf4jv5m
“Winnie Ruth Judd: Trunk Murderess” by Troy Taylor: http://ow.ly/kpFb30nhABS
“Creepy Phone Calls” by Aaron Edwards for Graveyard Shift: https://tinyurl.com/spnqq2s
“Ghosts of the Blood Countess” by Amy’s Crypt for Paranormal Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/r4lh7rn
“Strange Things Below London” by Nick Redfern for Mysterious Universe: https://tinyurl.com/ulutgp7
“The Murder of Dorothy Kilgallen” by Jessika M. Thomas for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/tjzpaz7
“The Skinflint Mine Entity” from North Carolina Ghosts: https://tinyurl.com/w6ofq7g
“Haunted Schoolhouse In Japan” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://tinyurl.com/w4n98c6
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(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for material I use whenever possible. If I have overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it immediately. Some links may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness®, WeirdDarkness© 2025
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To become a Weird Darkness Radio Show affiliate, contact Radio America at affiliates@radioamerica.com, or call 800-807-4703 (press 2 or dial ext 250).

America’s roads may look empty at night — but behind the headlights and mile markers, restless spirits are still trying to find their way home.

EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/DontStopTheCar

READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y5pypsk7

FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Spooks are known to haunt houses, castles, cemeteries, abandoned hospitals, and even toys or other objects… but somehow, it’s haunted roads that seem the darkest for many. (America’s Haunted Roads) *** A heating engineer working in the Treasurer’s House in York, England is disturbed by music… and then the ghostly presence of at least twenty Roman soldiers walking right past him through the walls! (The Roman Ghosts of York) *** The last man hanged at Bodmin Jail not only still lingers at the location – he has even been caught on camera. (The Haunting of Bodmin Jail) *** We’ll share the true and tragic story of a teenaged girl who’s abnormality landed her on the freak show circuit, with people paying to gawk at “The Camel Girl”. (Ella Harper: The Freak Show Camel Girl)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00.00.000 = The Foreboding
00:01:02.590 = Show Open
00:02:50.575 = America’s Haunted Roads
00:26:45.310 = The Haunting of Bodmin Jail ***
00:35:22.933 = The Roman Ghosts of York
00:39:56.546 = Ella Harper, The Freak Show Camel Girl ***
00:45:55.801 = 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:
“America’s Haunted Roads” sources: RealParanormalExperiences.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ywk5atas, Insider.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8mez23, TravelAndLeisure.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5d8hmyd5, TravelChannel.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8v2d9f, WitteBros.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/598v39hb
“The Haunting of Bodmin Jail” by Melissa Brinks for Ranker’s Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yer4wbnt
“The Roman Ghosts of York” from Anomalien.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mrye36fn
“Ella Harper: The Freak Show Camel Girl” by Bipin Dimri for HistoricMysteries.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8hj3sj
(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, 2022