Not Today

This week we're discussing some truly terrifying reddit stories both criminal and paranormal! Prepared to be unsettled!

On October 31, 1984, 31-year-old Doreen Erbert, who was eight months pregnant, was brutally murdered in her San Jose home by a masked intruder. Doreen's 4-year-old daughter Deanna was the only witness and survivor of the crime, telling investigators the "big bad wolf" had come into her home and hurt her mother. Investigators were at first skeptical of the statement of a child so young, however they would soon find out that Deanna's account wasn't just a product of her imagination. This crime quickly became one of the most shocking and gruesome in California’s history.

In Part 2 we'll discuss each of the cult members' breaking points, how they got away, and how Larry Ray was his own undoing. 

After their freshman year of college, a friend group decided they'd all live together for their sophomore year. Early into the year, one of their roommates, Talia Ray, informed the house that her father was getting out of prison and she was so excited for him to finally visit. When Larry Ray first arrived, it seemed like he made a real positive change in some of their lives with his advice and guidance. However what followed was a decade-long web of conspiracy, emotional turmoil, psychological and physical abuse.

In May 2023, a small plane carrying a mother, her four children (ages 13, 9, 4, and 11 months), and two other adults crashed into the dense Amazon rainforest. The adult passengers didn’t survive the impact, however the children walked away from the crash and survived 40 days in the jungle. An unprecedented rescue mission was launched for the children which combined every tool at the Colombian Military’s disposal and the invaluable tracking skills and ancient knowledge of Indigenous volunteers.

In August of 1981, Tami Ennis believed she’d be spending a relaxing afternoon on a sailboat with friends, however after a few seemingly minor setbacks, Tami and the group were left stranded in the ocean clinging to a sinking boat. After a tense night out on the water, Tami told the group they needed to attempt to swim to shore. Tami not only successfully swam multiple miles back to shore, but also witnessed the terrifying moment her friend was attacked and killed by a shark. 

Daniel Perez, who went by the alias "Lou Castro", claimed to be an immortal, centuries-old angel with supernatural powers. He could predict the future, raise the dead, change the weather and more. His followers believed “Lou” had these supernatural abilities because on more than one occasion, he correctly predicted when a member would pass away. But in reality, the only reason he knew when certain people were going to die was because he was the one responsible.

In this listener episode we discuss a few terrifying uber rides, an attempted abduction, a haunted daycare, and more!

On April 21st 2001, a woman who was covered in blood, burst through the doors of a Kentucky Fried Chicken screaming for someone to call 911. Through her hysterical pleas, employees at the KFC managed to figure out that her name was Melissa Latham and that she was claiming a man and woman had tried to kill her. As paramedics and police arrived and tended to Melissa, a well dressed woman named Tonica Jenkins walked in, urging police to stop Melissa. Tonica claimed Melissa had just stolen $1,000 from her however she had nothing to do with her assault. With both women coming...

In 2006, Karen Kummerer was stepping back into the dating scene after divorcing her husband of 17 years. On a night out with her sister, she met Joseph Scott Freeman and the two began quickly dating. Not long into their relationship, things took a dark turn and after only 7 months with Scott, Karen called things off. Despite the emergency restraining order Karen got, Scott continued stalking Karen until he ambushed and abducted her while she was on her way to work. What followed was a multi-state chase with the police and FBI in pursuit.

For 6 years, FBI Special Agent Joeseph Pistone, worked undercover as a jewel thief named Donnie Brasco in order to infiltrate the biggest mafia families in New York City. Slowly but surely Pistone worked his way up the ranks of primarily the Bonanno Crime family until they asked him to join their family as a “made” man shortly before the FBI ended his assignment. Thanks to the evidence he collected, over 200 mobsters would be convicted and one of the biggest mafia families would be brought down. It was the most successful undercover operation in FBI history. 

In 2000, 15-year-old Heather Robinson learned that her adopted parents were not legally her parents – and her real name wasn't even Heather. The man who facilitated her adoption when she was only 4 months old had actually murdered her biological mother, and that man was still very much a part of her life. Heather’s life was turned upside down when she learned that her Uncle John was a serial killer and had taken the lives of at least 8 women, her mother included.

On October 11th 2016, Washington detectives received a bizarre call from a man claiming he wanted to report a murder, however it hadn’t happened yet. An old friend from high school had contacted him over facebook and asked him to kill someone. Detectives quickly determined that the threat was real and used the caller as their informant.

While Bernadette Hyde was on a walk in 1996 with her then boyfriend, Besham Sugrim, she learned he had killed someone. Although Bernadette heard what he said, she didn't believe her boyfriend was capable of such a thing and had the strong urge to fix him. After years of abuse, Besham once again shared with Bernadette that he had murdered someone. Even after learning about the second brutal murder it would be years before her husband would face justice. Besham made it clear that if she went to the police, she and her family would be next. 

We'll be discussing more Reddit Creepy Encounters, including someone who got cornered at an abandoned gas station in the middle of the night, a woman who was almost murdered by her boyfriend, a terrifying delivery job, and more! 

Madonna’s most notorious stalker is Robert Dewey Hoskins who broke into her Hollywood home multiple times and terrorized the pop star. Hoskins suffered from erotomania, a delusional disorder where a person falsely believes someone of a higher social status is in love with them, and falsely claimed that he and Madonna were married.

February 20th 2016, Jason Dalton was driving for Uber when he went on a random, deadly shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan, killing six people and critically wounding two others between picking up regular fares. He later blamed mind control for his actions, saying the app took over his body and made him do it.

Both Emma Carey and Johnny Korthuis experienced terrifying accidents while skydiving and BASE jumping and miraculously survived. Emma Carey fell from 14,000 feet, strapped to an instructor who was unconscious before she hit the ground and Johnny Korthuis' parachute malfunctioned after he jumped from a 500 foot bridge over a body of water.

For nearly 400 years, the Colosseum in Rome served as an arena for brutal public spectacles, including deadly gladiator combats, exotic animal hunts, public executions, and even mock naval battles. The arena was a mix of enslaved prisoners of war, condemned criminals, and volunteer fighters hoping to gain fame and fortune. On any given day, 80,000 spectators packed into the stadium to witness the savage behavior as their main form of entertainment.

At 13-years-old Paul Martin Andrews was asked by a man in a van to help him move some furniture, which he happily agreed to do. However when Martin was taken nearly 30 miles away from his home and brought into the woods, he realized something was very wrong. The man had Martin follow him deep into the woods and jump into a small box that was buried underground. After nearly a week in a box Martin was subjected to unimaginable horror, and yet through it all, he refused to give up. 

When C.C. Opanowski was 18-years-old she survived a terrifying attack at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Shawn Doyle. After Shawn was sentenced to only a few years of probation, C.C. moved away hoping to forget the nightmare she lived through, however years later she would get a call that sent chills down her spine. C.C. learned that Shawn had been arrested for the murder of 33-year-old mother of two, Lori Leonard. 

In this episode we'll be discussing three terrifying cave accidents, including the Maldivian cave diving accident that happened only days ago.

On Saturday June 8th 2019, Maike Hohnen took his son, 7 year old Julian Hohnen, and best friend Steven Jaecocke on what was supposed to be an overnight fishing trip off the coast of Queensland Australia. Around 1:30AM Maike was woken up to the boat very swiftly taking on water and within a matter of minutes the boat went down. Maike, Julian, and Stephen were left stranded in the ocean with no lifejackets, floating on a pair of old buckets with no idea what would come next.

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Judy Buenoano was an American serial killer who poisoned two of her husbands with arsenic, attempted to kill her fiancé, and murdered her own son. Driven by greed, she collected substantial life insurance payouts after each murder. She was the first woman executed in Florida in 150 years and the first to die in the state's electric chair.

On September 29th 2016, 45 year old Elizabeth Wettlaufer voluntarily reported herself as a serial killer to Toronto Police. Wettlaufer injected her victims with fatal doses of insulin because she believed God was telling her to. Her victims were elderly and vulnerable, ranging in age from 75 to 96. 

Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escape artist, renowned as the "Handcuff King" for his death-defying escapes. He became world-renowned for escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets, milk cans, and locked chests, often while submerged in water. While his death was not a direct result of his performances, he had a few terrifying brushes with death and another magician who attempted one of his acts did tragically die on stage when something went wrong.

In this Listener story episode we discuss almost falling into an upside down volcano, a parent who was held at gunpoint, very creepy characters in Disneyland Paris, and more!

The Word of Life Christian Church began as a tiny bible study led by self proclaimed prophet, Jerry Irwin. Eventually the bible study progressed into a fully fledged cult with around 80 members at its peak. When the paranoid and power-hungry Jerry Irwin suddenly died, his eldest daughter Tiffanie took his place. As the leader, Tiffanie subjected the group to extreme isolation, control, and abuse which ultimately would result in the brutal murder of 19-year-old Lucas Leonard.

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On New Year’s Eve in 2020, Morgan Metzer was woken out of sleep to a masked intruder standing in her bedroom doorway. Morgan’s attacker disguised his voice to sound like Batman, however he seemed to know intimate details about her personal life. After the brutal attack, he left her bound, beaten and terrified on her back porch. 45 minutes after the attack, Morgan’s ex-husband Rodney Metzer was the first to find her, still bound with a pillowcase over her head. Rod immediately sprung into action to save the day, calling 911, however Morgan had a feeling that Rodney wasn’t actual...

In 2003 Ken Jones spent four agonizing days in the frozen wilderness of Romania’s Transylvanian Alps, dragging himself to safety after getting hit by an avalanche that left him with a shattered pelvis and broken femur.

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In 1971, the Stanford Prison Experiment, led by psychologist Phillip Zimbardo, was supposed to be a two week simulation of prison life that aimed to study the psychological effects of power and authority. Student volunteers were randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards and were given instruction by Zimbardo based on their role. Once the experiment began, things very quickly escalated, leading to the study being terminated after only six days. 

In this Reddit episode we discuss some terrifying stories where people were hunted!

Actress Eva LaRue and her daughter, Kaya Callahan, were terrorized for nearly 12 years by a stalker who sent violent, threatening letters detailing every horrific fantasy he had. For over a decade both Eva and Kaya were terrified to go anywhere in public since they had no idea who their stalker could be. He promised not only to make their lives a living hell, but also that he was always watching and he'd be there soon. The ordeal, which forced them to move multiple times, was finally solved using the same technology used to identify the Golden State Killer.

Janie Lynn Ridd and her roommate Rachel Booth had been best friends for 25 years, but when Rachel began getting mysteriously sick leading to multiple hospitalizations, she discovered that Janie allegedly tried to purchase an extremely dangerous strain of anti-biotic resistant bacteria to poison her with. And even worse, that wouldn’t have been Janie’s first attempt at Rachel’s life over the past year. 

In March of 2011, David Cicotello and his brother Louis began what should have been a week-long climbing adventure through No Man's Canyon in southwest Utah. Their journey took an unexpected and tragic turn as a rappelling accident claimed Louis’ life, leaving David stranded on a narrow ledge for 6 days.

On January 6, 1994, U.S. Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, just before the national championships. An unknown assailant attacked Kerrigan as she left skating practice, hitting her with a metal pipe, targeting the knee on her landing leg in an apparent attempt to knock her out of the upcoming Winter Olympics. The event turned into a massive scandal when Nancy’s attacker was linked back to her biggest competitor, Tonya Harding. 

In July of 2013, 19-year-old musician, Jessie Blodgett, was found strangled in her own bed, with no signs of forced entry. Jessie was loved by everyone who knew her, so friends and family had no idea who could have committed this intimate crime. The case took a surprising turn when, soon after Jessie’s murder, detectives got a call from a neighboring town that a man wielding a knife attacked a young woman walking her dog in a park, and a clue found at that scene connected both victims to the same killer.

In this episode we'll be discussing some terrifying phrogging stories including a man hiding in a young girls closet and weird occurrences in a college house that lead the guys living there to believe it may be haunted!

In September of 2015, Isabel Eriksson was drugged, kidnapped, and locked in an inescapable bunker. When she woke up, she found her date, Martin Trenneborg, sitting in the room with her. His plan was to keep her and several other women there for years.

On July 30, 1945, The USS Indianapolis was struck by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine, which took down the ship in only minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen, ~900 entered the water, facing sharks, painful dehydration, and exposure for nearly five days before they were finally rescued. It was the U.S. Navy's single worst loss of life at sea.