Dawn of Mantis: True Crime, Mysteries and More

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On Halloween Eve of 1938, Orson Welles produced an adaptation of HG Wells' (no relation) literary masterpiece "War of the Worlds" on his theatrical radio show. However, the program seemed so real that many listeners believed Martians really were invading New Jersey, and panic ensued. 

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In this episode, we cover the murder of Maria Marten- a woman who disappeared in the Spring of 1827 after leaving with her fiancé, William Corder, to elope to the nearby town of Ipswich, England. They’d met up at a location known as “The Red Barn”, but after leaving together that day, Maria was never seen again. For months, William insisted she was fine and provided excuses why nobody had seen or heard from her. Her mother Ann began to have dreams that Maria’s body was hidden somewhere in the Red Barn, and when...

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In this smash n grab episode of hilarious historical stories, we spin two yarns involving both the deadly potential and life saving properties of poop, followed by a tale of the inconsolable giggles that nearly ruined a few people's lives. 

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On Easter Sunday of 1963, Geraldine was found dead in the grocery store she owned and operated in West Frankfort, Illinois. Her cause of death? Geraldine's head had been severed from her body by the store's industrial meat saw. Astonishingly, it only took investigators a short time to decide that her manner of death was- suicide. 

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In this episode, we examine the highly suspicious death of Jim Potts- a private investigator who was looking into a series of allegations of misconduct against the Galena, Kansas police department. Jim had expressed concerns for his safety in the months leading up to his death. Then, in the early morning hours of August 26th, 2003, his body was discovered - with a bullet wound to the back of the dead - lying on the side of the road right outside Galena. When police immediately ruled Jim’s death a suicide and closed the ca...

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In 1987, Elaine Dardeen and her two children were savagely beaten to death with a baseball bat. Her husband Keith was initially a suspect, that is, until his mutilated body was found in a nearby field, with three gun shots to the head. To this day, the case remains unsolved. 

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In this mini we discuss what is perhaps the worst music festival ever. From poor planning to over crowding to half the bands bailing last minute, the three day event started out badly and only got worse. By the time it was over, the venue was buried in garbage, the stage was burned, and two people were dead. So buckle up as we dissect the utter failure that was the Eerie Canal Soda Pop Festival. 

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In 2011, police in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, were investigating a disturbing series of desecrated graves. But when investigators finally followed the trail to the apartment of Anatoly Moskvin, a respected historian and linguist with an unusual fascination with cemeteries, they discovered something far more disturbing than anyone could have imagined.
Inside the apartment were life-sized dolls, dressed in children's clothing and carefully arranged throughout the rooms. But these weren't dolls. They were the mummified remains of children whose bodies Moskvin had removed from their graves and brought home.

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In this episode, we cover the strange case of the Eriksson sisters- a pair of identical twins who, after living separate, completely normal lives for years, quickly went insane after reuniting. 

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After years of contention with fellow business men and city officials in Granby Colorado, Marv Heemeyer purchased a Komatsu bull dozer and spent the next two years transforming it into an impenetrable tank. Then, on June 4th, 2004, he used it to destroy several buildings in Granby- each one associated with one of his perceived enemies. When the big dozer finally powered down, Marv took his own life- the only life lost that day. In the decades since, Marv has become either a folk hero or a villain, depending on who you ask. So...

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In this episode, we review the recent Netflix documentary “Maternal Instinct”, which covers the story of a woman named Taylor Parker, and how she deceived and manipulated everyone around her for several months. She faked an 8 million dollar inheritance, she pretended to be several different people through social media, email and text communications, she even faked being pregnant- all seemingly to win over the affections of a man named Wade Griffin and impress his friends and family. But what landed Taylor in prison, and in her own documentary, was her decision to murder Reag...

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In this episode, we sit down with City of Prairie Grove Mayor David Faulk for an amazing conversation. 

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In March of 1998, seventeen year old Jeffery Franklin murdered both of his parents and attacked 3 of his 4 siblings with a hatchet. He'd become obsessed with Satan and the occult, and had developed an addiction to snorting prescription pills. Jeffery soon believed that the devil himself was demanding a blood sacrifice- unfortunately, the blood of his own family.

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In this episode, we’re covering the incredible case of Margot Freshwater- a woman given a 99 year sentence for murder in 1969. But just 18 months into her sentence, she escaped. Decades passed by, and everyone assumed she had likely died while on the run- she was even declared legally dead. However, in the spring of 2002, 32 years after he escape, Margot was found living under an assumed identity in the very same town she’d grown up in.

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In 1990, 21 year old UCLA student Ronald Steven Baker's body was found in a train tunnel near the Manson Family's infamous Spahn Ranch near Los Angeles. His murder was initially believed to be occult related, but investigators would soon discover Ron's death was the result of a botched kidnapping plan carried out by his own roommates. (Subject Matter Begins @ 7:05) 

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From 1976 to 1986, three women were found murdered and dismembered in Oklahoma City. To this day, no one knows exactly who their killer was, but he has since become known as the Oklahoma City Butcher. 

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In this episode we cover the mystery of the I-70 Killer- an unidentified man who murdered half a dozen people across several states during a 2 month period in 1992. 

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In this episode, we review the recent Netflix documentary "The Crash", and also do a brief synopsis of the case for those not familiar. 

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In this episode we examine the 1995 disappearance of 62 year wealthy socialite Jackie Levitz, who vanished from Vicksburg, Mississippi just weeks after moving there. 

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In this episode, we cover a few amazing events that have happened during passenger flights, from a boy stowing away in the plane's wheel well, to a passenger quite literally coming back from the dead. 

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When it comes to mobsters and organized crime in the 1920s and 30s, you probably think of cities like New York and Chicago, and gangsters like Al Capone, Bugs Moran and Lucky Luciano. But what if I told you that during that same period there was also an expansive criminal network made up of mobsters every bit as cunning and ruthless, not in the American Midwest or northeast, but in Sydney, Australia. Based on their affinity for carving each other up, this became known as the “razor gang” era. And within this deadly Down...

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In this episode, Paul and Cody from the "Haunted Ozark Theater" podcast stop by to talk about all things horror. 

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In February of 1985, in Yonkers, New York, Alex Mengel quickly escalated a routine traffic stop to the murder of a police officer. Followin that, he engaged in a short lived crime spree that took the life of an innocent woman, and didn't end until he himself was finally killed. (Subject Matter Begins @ 5:37)

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In the summer of 1991, 14 year old Trey Cooley attended a shooting competition with his father at a shooting range in Dallas, Texas. Before the day was over, a freakish series of one in a million incidents would lead to Trey's death. 

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In this episode, we review the recent Netflix documentary on the unsolved disappearance of Amy Bradley.  

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In July of 1984, after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop, Wayne Lee Crossley suddenly pulled a gun and shot the police officer multiple times. Following that, he fled to a nearby Hotel bar called "The Other Place", where began firing indiscriminately at the people inside and in the parking lot. After he believed everyone was dead, Crossley turned the gun on himself and ended his own life. To this day, no one is sure why Crossley snapped that day. (Subject Matter Begins @ 13:18)

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In this episode, we discuss the tragic double homicide that occurred at Devil's Den State Park, in Northwest Arkansas in July on 2025. Clinton and Cristen Brink, who'd just moved to the area, were attacked on the trail by a lunatic named Andrew McGann, who had also just moved to Northwest Arkansas. Thanks to eye witness tips and swift police work, McGann was captured within four days of the incident. 

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On the night of June 15th, 1839, three strangers showed up at the Wright family cabin in Cane Hill, Arkansas. When William Wright opened the door, he was killed where he stood. What followed was a senseless and horrific massacre that resulted in the deaths of five members of the Wright family. In the following months, four men were hanged for the crime, but in the months and years that followed, many began to fear they'd killed the wrong men.

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Its hard to imagine, but there have been several cases in which a person went missing for years, only to discovered to have never left their home. These are two of those cases.

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In this episode, we review the recent Netflix documentary "Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart".

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In this episode, we continue following the investigation, including eliminating several people of interest, and finally, we cover the DNA evidence that "linked" her abductor to the crime decades later. 

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In this episode, we cover Morgan's life, the details of her disappearance,  and the beginning of the investigation. 

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In this episode we bring you a mixed bag of bizarre stories so outlandish that they are hard to believe.  

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In November of 1982, Don Kemp left his fast paced life in the New York advertisement business to take a solo trip across America and work on a book about history he'd deamt of writing for years. Instead, his 1979 Chevy Blazer was found abandoned off highway 80 in Wyoming. It was still running, had half a tank of gas, and there was one set of footprints leading into the frozen prairie. Don was never seen alive again. 

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Teresa Williams, Crystal Parton, Cynthia Mabry, and Julianne Helton were real people with families, futures, and lives abruptly cut short by an inhuman monster. In December 1976, 13-year-olds Teresa and Cynthia and 14-year-old Crystal vanished in rural Arkansas. Years later in Missouri, 25-year-old Julianne Helton’s promising life ended in similarly horrific fashion. It would soon be discovered that all four girls were killed by the same man- James B Grinder. 

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In early December of 1958, Kenneth and Barbara Martin gathered their three children into their Ford station wagon and drove from their Portland home to the Columbia River Gorge to collect greenery for Christmas decorations. At some point during the short trip, the family and their car vanished in the Oregon wilderness, and it would be close to 70 years before the Martin Family Mystery would solved.... at least, partially. 

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On the afternoon of October 5th, 2018, 27 year old television producer Terrence Woods Jr was filming a reality show with a dozen other crew members in the remote Idaho wilderness when he suddenly threw down his equipment and sprinted into the woods. That was the last time he was ever seen. In the years since, many people have put forth their own theories as to what may have happened, including Terrence's parents. Was it a case of someone snapping and running away, or did something nefarious happen?