Horrifying History

In a cramped jail cell in the Philippines, a terrified young woman claimed unseen forces were attacking her.  Prison guards refused to enter her cell alone, and newspapers across the country published sensational headlines.  An American missionary would later claim that he confronted what was said to be truly evil.  

So, settle in, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a young woman who was the subject of one of the most famous alleged exorcisms in modern history. 

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to wat...

There are some moments in life where everything changes in an instant.  A hiker slips from a mountain ledge… a sailor disappears beneath towering waves… an explorer stumbles through an endless frozen wasteland with no strength left to continue.  These are the moments that logic says the story should end.  But for thousands of people throughout history, it doesn’t.  Sometimes there is overwhelming certainty that another person is with you, urging you to keep going.  When you are safe, it’s gone. 

So, pack a bag, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a phenomenon ab...

The American dream paints a picture of sprawling mansions, expensive cars, and families who seem to have everything.  From the outside, the Menendez family appeared to be living that dream, but inside, it was a house of terror. 

So, get ready, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the rest of a case that is considered to be one of the most debated in American criminal history.  But before we start, I want to give you all a heads-up.  In today’s episode, we will be talking about physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as graphic murders...

Before we begin, I have a confession to make. Today is my birthday... and while most people celebrate with cake, candles, and presents, I thought we'd do something a little different.

After all, this is Horrifying History.

Instead of receiving gifts, I wanted to give one to all of you.

Over the years, this podcast has grown into something I never could have imagined. What started as a passion project has become an incredible community of people who are fascinated by the darkest chapters of history and the most haunting stories humanity has...

Some houses hold memories, while others hold secrets.  There is a mansion at 722 North Elm Drive in Beverly Hills that held both.  From the outside, it was the picture of the American Dream, but behind those walls existed anger, fear, and years of silence.  Then, on one warm August evening in 1989, those secrets exploded with shotgun blasts. 

So, put on some sunscreen, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of brothers who have remained two of the most controversial figures in American criminal history.  But before we start, I want to give you all a heads...

Certain stories refuse to disappear.  Some are ghost stories.  Some are unsolved true crime cases and historical mysteries that seem impossible to explain.  Then there are tales like the one you are going to hear about today.  

So, break out your tinfoil, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a woman whose alien abduction was allegedly witnessed by over twenty people.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy...

They say monsters don’t always hide in shadows.  Sometimes they wear expensive suits, carry a doctor’s bag, and charm everyone they meet.  In autumn of 1888, as fear gripped the streets in London’s Whitechapel district and Jack the Ripper terrorized the city, a mysterious American doctor found himself at the center of one of history’s greatest mysteries. 

So, break out your stethoscopes, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of one of history’s strangest medical frauds whose trail of controversy went around the world.

Our website is the spot for everything...

There are moments in history when doing the right thing requires extraordinary courage.  There are moments when doing the right thing is guaranteed death.    

So, get out your wristwatch cameras and lipstick guns, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of some brave teenagers who should have been worried about exams, but instead chose to fight a dictator

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy merch, and join our f...

By the late 1970s, Richard Cottingham had perfected his cover.  To neighbours, he was a devoted husband and father.  To his co-workers, he was quiet but dependable.  To his family, he was a brother, cousin, and friend.  But behind the carefully manufactured facade, a predator lived.  After years of violent fantasies, he decided to make them reality.  

So, grab a slice of New York pizza, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a man who was a serial killer who claimed he committed the “perfect” murders without anyone suspecting a thing. 

Our website is t...

Victorian England is mostly remembered as a time of refinement.  Men wearing top hats, horse-drawn carriages rattling down cobblestone streets, and an empire that stretched across the world.  But beneath the surface lurked a darker reality.  Murderers could disappear into crowded cities, and poison became one of the deadliest weapons imaginable. 

So, break out your stethoscopes, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story about a physician who became one of the most terrifying serial killers of the Victorian era. 

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watc...

On June 1st, 2001, members of Nepal’s royal family gathered for what should have been a quiet evening dinner.  There was laughter, conversations about politics and the future of the monarchy over drinks.  Within minutes, the king, queen, and other family members were dead.  When the shooting stopped, the murderer became the new king.

So, set the table, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story about a man who fulfilled a curse by killing his own family.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our his...

We here at Horrifying History step into the darkest corners of history, where the line between charm and evil can disappear without warning, and where monsters do not always look like monsters.  Today’s episode is one of those stories.  

The man you are going to hear about did not lurk in the shadows with blood on his hands.  He smiled and flirted.  He joked with television audiences and posed for photographs.  In one of the strangest moments in American true crime, he appeared as an eligible bachelor while he was actively killing women and children.

So, t...

One of the most important figures in Texas’s history never set foot in this American state.  In fact, she was never in the United States at all.  

So, grab your rosary beads, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a woman who spread the gospel in a place she had never been to.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy merch, and join our fan club! If you...

Have you ever wondered what happens after we die? Is there a bright light? Some harp-playing angels? Or do we spend eternity trying to remember why we walked into a room in the first place? Well, if you've got questions about the afterlife, you're in luck... because this week, we're bringing you a special feed drop from our friends at Voices of Misery.

Joining the show is Ericka Bouss-ar-hane, a psychic medium who doesn't just believe in ghosts... she actually talks to them.  And unlike most of us, when Ericka hears strange voices in the middle of t...

Los Angeles in the summer of 1985 was supposed to feel glamorous…palm trees…neon lights…endless highways…and Hollywood dreams.  But while people slept with their windows open in the California heat, someone was moving through the darkness.  He climbed through unlocked windows and walked through unlocked doors.  With him, he carried guns, knives, tire irons, and rage.  

So,  lock your doors, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a serial killer who created a panic that was like nothing police had ever seen before.  But before we get started, I want to give you all a heads...

When I was young, I rode a bus to school that was driven by one of my Aunts.  I would often fall asleep on my way home.  Since my Aunt was used to seeing me, she would forget to drop me off.  When she realized her error, she would have a teenager who lived several stops after mine call my parents to let them know I was ok.

But imagine for a moment that the bus never dropped me off.  Imagine how a parent would feel if their child’s school bus never brought them home.  What if all...

With the emergence of the infamous QAnon conspiracy theory came a new generation of charismatic leaders for this movement.  In Canada, one of the most notable ones is a woman named Romana Didulo, who used the internet to create a following filled with threats, violence, and failed prophecies.  

So, break out your tin foil hats, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of a woman who claimed that she was the Queen of a kingdom that didn’t exist

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to wat...

On April 20, 1914, the wind howled across a barren stretch of land known as Ludlow in Southern Colorado.  It carried with it the scent of ash, and something far worse.  Beneath the blackened earth lie the dead bodies of men, women, and children.  This was not the site of a war or some revolution.  It was the site of a massacre.  

So, get cozy, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the story of the Ludlow Massacre and how this event affected the labour laws of today.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to http...

The airwaves have always carried more than music.
More than late-night callers.
More than static.

Sometimes… they carry fear.

Tonight, the shadows grow deeper as Horrifying History joins forces with some of the most chilling voices in independent podcasting for a collaboration event unlike anything you’ve heard before.

Welcome… to Rogue Darkness, Part 2

Rogue Transmissions: the edgy, semi-annual anthology of indie podcasts is invading your podcast feed with DUNGEONPUNK PART 2 ... a symphony of 80s nostalgia, dystopian cyberpunk, and savage swords drawn against both super sorcery & super science. Featuring an adv...

There are crimes that shock and horrify us, and then, there are crimes that erase. Not just a life or person, but entire families. So, get comfortable, my spooky friends. Today, we are going to talk about entire families who vanished without a trace.  

Our website is the spot for everything spooky! Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy merch, and join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club, you will receive a permanent discount i...

I am breaking into your feed to tell you that Rogue Transmissions has arrived.  It’s a collaboration with me and other top indie podcasts that will drag you deep into the shadows of the 1980s.  Forgotten broadcasts. Dark legends. Disturbing true stories. It’s the kind of tales you won’t hear anywhere else.

This isn’t nostalgia.
This is a transmission from the darker side of history.

Rogue Transmissions: the edgy, semi-annual anthology of indie podcasts--is invading your podcast feed with DUNGEONPUNK PART 1- a symphony of 80s nostalgia, dystopian cyberpunk, and savage swo...

Today, our friends at the podcast Fresh Hell take us back to 19th-century Kentucky to uncover the haunting and tragic story of Oceana Sneed — a woman whose life became tangled in betrayal, violence, and one of the most infamous family murder scandals of the era. What began as whispers of greed and forbidden relationships would soon erupt into a horrifying crime that shocked an entire community and left behind questions that still linger today.

Who was Oceana Sneed really? A devoted wife trapped in impossible circumstances? A calculating conspirator? Or a victim of a much darker family dy...

In 1632, an entire convent of nuns was allegedly possessed by demons.  In the centre of all this was a Mother Superior, an exorcist, and a priest.  By the end of these events, one would become famous, one would go insane, and the last one would be dead. 

So grab a rosary, my spooky friends.  Today, we are going to talk about one of the most famous cases of mass possessions in history.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links...

Imagine leaving your home for a few minutes just long enough to buy a bag of potatoes.  You tell your partner that you will be right back, walk out the front door, and vanish—no phone call, no note, and no trace.  Then, five days later, your body appears in a place no one expected. 

So break out your tin foil hats, my spooky friends.  Today, we are going to talk about a UFO event like no other.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history...

Across history, there have been cases so disturbing that even seasoned investigators struggled to understand them.  Kids who should have been riding bikes, trading baseball cards, or doing homework were leaving behind crime scenes, terrified communities, and questions that still haunt psychologists and criminologists to this day.  Is it pure evil?  A broken mind, or perhaps something more disturbing than we want to admit? 

So break out your notebooks and pens, my spooky friends.  Today, we are going to talk about something deeply unsettling…killers that still had a curfew.  But before we get started, I want to give...

Imagine for a moment a world with future technology that allows the authorities to catch criminals before a crime is even committed.  Sounds like a movie?  That’s because it is. This is the plot for the 2002 movie “Minority Report” starring Tom Cruise.  Cool concept, but pure fiction, right?  Not quite. 

So break out your tin foil hats, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear the tale of a psychiatrist who tried to do just that. 

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our socia...

Deep in the mist-shrouded mountains of Austria is one of the most chilling strongholds in all of Europe.  Moosham Castle is a place where medieval power, brutal justice, and ancient superstition collided…and where echoes of tragedy still linger in its stone corridors and shadowy dungeons.

So get out your hiking boots, my spooky friends.  Today, you are going to hear a tale about a place that feels like creatures of legend walk with you through its halls

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our histo...

Some crimes are forgivable.  Some are not.  Some crimes are not only unforgivable but also change the lives of everyone around them.  

So set the table, my spooky friends.  Today, you are going to hear the tale of a man who redefined evil.  But before we get started, I want to give you all a heads up.  Today we will be talking about sexual violence, graphic murders, child abuse, self-harm, graphic torture and cannibalism.  Listener discretion is advised.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history...

Amelia Earhart was an American aviation pioneer who fundamentally changed things for women.  She shattered gender stereotypes in aviation and fought for equal rights.  She proved that women had the skill, endurance, and expertise that were traditionally reserved for men.  She paved the way for future generations to be part of what used to be male-dominated fields.  But Amelia wasn’t able to enjoy her success for very long.  

So buckle up, my spooky friends.  Today, you are going to hear the tale of a woman who broke the mould and then was never seen again

Our we...

Things in the Pickman’s house quickly ramped up with Tony now being Sallie’s main target.  Then one day, television cameras came into their home, and afterwards the family moved out of the Sallie House.  That doesn’t mean that the Pickmans were free.

So snuggle in, my spooky friends.  Today, you are going to hear the rest of the story about a haunted house that contained a very angry spirit.  But before we get started, I wanted to give you all a little heads up.  We will be talking about violence towards animals and women.  Listener dis...

Dark Asia with Megan is in my regular podcast rotation.  There is something about host Megan Lee’s voice that pulls you in before the story even begins.  It is smooth, haunting, and impossible to ignore.  

Dark Asia with Megan is a podcast that doesn’t just tell stories.  It immerses you in them.  From chilling true crime to unsolved mysteries, Megan brings to light cases from Asia that many would rather leave buried.  

With her unmistakable voice and unique storytelling style, Megan Lee has mastered the art of drawing you into the unknown. Each episode is...

I want you all to picture a quiet, small city in the American Midwest.  Imagine the kind of place where the streets empty early, where porchlights glow like fireflies, and where history lingers, and then becomes violent. So snuggle in, my spooky friends.  Today, you are going to hear the story about a house that many believe is not just haunted, but angry. 

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy merch, and join...

Imagine that your son is going to a college basketball game with his friends.  You tell him to have fun as he walks out the door, and you never see him alive again.

So buckle your seatbelts, my spooky friends.  Today, you are going to hear the tale of the Yuba County Five

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy merch, and join our fan club! If you are a mem...

Some houses are haunted because of what happened inside them.  Others are haunted by what happened long before they were built.  But in Pontefract, England, one house became infamous because the echoes from the past refused to stay buried

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get some great creepy merch, and join our fan club! If you are a member of our fan club, you will receive a permanent discount in our store while you are...

To people in the U.S. state of Georgia, Lake Lanier is a recreation hotspot which is popular for camping, boating, and water sports.  But the supernatural lore that surrounds it should make them think twice before taking a swim in its waters.  

So, pack your camping gear, my spooky friends.  Today, you hear the story about a lake that hides many dark secrets under its waters.

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media links, read our spooky blog, get...

Many people can trust their mothers due to the deep bond that develops between a mother and child.  A mother and child share experiences, and trust is built through mutual empathy, communication, and respect for each other’s boundaries.  But the mothers we are going to talk about today should never have been trusted.  

So, get ready, my spooky friends.  Today, you will be hearing of women who killed those who loved them

Our website is the spot for everything spooky!  Go to https://horrifying-history-shop.fourthwall.com to watch our history videos, find our social media l...

In 2021, the Conjuring Universe released a film that was the seventh installment of the Conjuring series.  It starred Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who reprised their roles as Ed and Lorraine Warren, famed paranormal researchers.  This movie was based on a real murder case that shocked the world when the defence claimed that the killer was innocent due to demonic possession.  

So, settle into your juror chair and listen closely, my spooky friends.  Today, you will be hearing of a tale so strange that most would believe that it was an actual made-up movie plot.

Our...

On a quiet residential street in Gloucester, England, in an ordinary brick house, was one of the most disturbing crime scenes in British history.  For decades, life in the West home appeared perfectly normal, but buried in the basement and back yard was a horror so profound that it would shock the nation and forever change how Britain viewed serial killers.  

So, settle in, my spooky friends.  Today, you will hear about the crimes of Fred and Rose West and the investigation that led to their exposure.  Before we get started, I wanted to give you all a he...

Today’s dark tale is not just about murder.  It is about a quiet street in Gloucester, England, where unimaginable evil hid behind ordinary brick walls.  It is about a couple who, from the outside, looked like everyone else, but were actually one of the most horrifying criminal partnerships in modern British history.  

So, get out your panic buttons, my spooky friends.  Today, you will be hearing about a serial killing couple, but before we get started, I want to give you all a heads-up.  Today, you will be hearing about incest, sexual assault, bestiality, severe child abuse...

Los Angeles is often regarded as a city of dreams, with bright lights and a promise of fame and fortune.  But behind the glamour lives darkness.  Between 2001 and 2008, a man who appeared to his neighbours to be calm, unassuming, and ordinary walked the city streets.  What they didn’t know was that he was a monster.

So, turn down the lights, my spooky friends.  You are about to hear the tale of a serial killer who was brought to justice with the help of a television show and a famous actor.  But before we get started, I want to...