Canadian Creepies
Welcome to Canadian Creepies—the podcast that digs into the dark corners of Canada’s past and present. Your hosts Valerie, Ali, Amanda Joy ( host of Down the Crooked Path), and sometimes Kyle explore the true crime cases that haunt us, the paranormal encounters that make us question what’s real, and the unsettling folklore that lingers just out of sight.From cults to cold cases, ghosts to government cover-ups, we don’t just tell the stories—we ask why they still matter.It’s creepy. It’s Canadian. And it’s probably going to keep you up at night.
The Sixties Scoop - Part 02
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In Part 2 of our four-part series on the Sixties Scoop, Valerie and Amanda examine the devastating conditions inside Canada's Residential School system and the decisions that allowed generations of Indigenous children to suffer.
We explore how overcrowded, poorly ventilated schools became breeding grounds for diseases like tuberculosis and the 1918 Spanish Flu, transforming institutions that claimed to educate children into places where illness spread unchecked. We also examine Dr. Peter Bryce's groundbreaking 1907 report, which warned the federal government that children were dying in staggering numbers, and the...
DTCP 055 - The Mad Trapper
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The frozen wilderness of Canada's North has long been the setting for stories of survival, isolation, and mystery.
In this episode of Down the Crooked Path, Amanda Joy explores the legend of The Mad Trapper of Rat River. What began as a remote trapping dispute quickly escalated into one of the largest and most extraordinary manhunts in Canadian history, drawing law enforcement, Indigenous trackers, and determined search parties deep into the unforgiving northern wilderness.
As the pursuit unfolded, so did the mystery...
The Sixties Scoop - Part 01
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Part 01 of our four-part series on the Sixties Scoop begins by examining the policies and ideology that made the mass removal of Indigenous children possible.
In this episode of Canadian Creepies, Valerie and Amanda trace how Canada's Residential School system evolved from policy into practice. We explore the laws that gave the government the power to forcibly remove children from their families, the role of Duncan Campbell Scott in making attendance compulsory, and the devastating reality faced by parents who could be fined or...
DTCP 054 - The Lost Lemon Mine
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Gold has a way of drawing people into the wilderness... but some treasures are said to demand far more than determination.
In this episode of Down the Crooked Path, Amanda Joy follows the enduring legend of The Lost Lemon Mine, a mysterious gold discovery believed to be hidden somewhere in the Canadian Rockies. According to the story, two prospectors stumbled upon an incredibly rich deposit before betrayal turned their remarkable find into a tale of murder, disappearance, and mystery.
For more than...
DTCP - The Silence of the Woods: Bigfoot Beyond Myth
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Is Bigfoot a legend told around campfires... or something more? "The Silence of the Woods: Bigfoot Beyond Myth" explores the shadowy line between ancient stories and unexplained encounters in the North American wild. From First Nations oral histories to modern-day sightings, we follow the footprints that stretch across centuries.
Join me as we unpack cryptid lore, skeptical science, chilling testimonials—and the eerie silence that falls just before something steps between the trees.
Featuring:
Eyewitness stories and regional legendsTheories that go be...DTCP 053 - The Devils Head
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A hidden face. A national panic. A banknote that became one of Canada's strangest urban legends.
In 1954, the Bank of Canada released a new series of banknotes featuring a redesigned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. It didn't take long for Canadians to notice something unsettling hidden within the curls of the Queen's hair—a shadowy face that many believed resembled the Devil.
Rumours spread quickly. Some refused to accept the bills. Others claimed the image was evidence of occult influence, political sabotage, or a se...
071c Pain for Profit: Canada's Opioid Crisis
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The opioid crisis in Canada didn't end with fentanyl—it evolved.
In the final installment of this series, we examine how fentanyl transformed the illicit drug supply, why substances like xylazine and benzo-dope have made overdoses even more dangerous, and what the latest national data reveals about the crisis today. We also discuss practical ways to protect yourself and your loved ones, from carrying naloxone to recognizing the signs that someone may be struggling.
Finally, we turn to the people demanding accountability. From cl...
DTCP 052 - St. Louis Ghost Light
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On a quiet stretch of abandoned railway near St. Louis, Saskatchewan, a mysterious light has puzzled witnesses for generations.
Some believe it's nothing more than distant vehicle headlights bending through the landscape. Others see it as something far stranger—a modern example of the mysterious lights that have appeared in folklore around the world for centuries. Local legend tells of a headless railway conductor, forever searching the tracks with a lantern in hand.
Is the St. Louis Light a trick of the eye, a na...
071b Pain for Profit: Canada's Opioid Crisis
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Pain for Profit: Canada's Opioid Crisis – Part Two
Who pays the price when healthcare fails the people it's supposed to protect?
In the second half of our investigation into Canada's opioid crisis, we examine the human cost of a system that too often mistakes treatment for a prescription pad. We explore the gender bias that leaves women's pain dismissed, the patients abandoned as prescribing practices suddenly changed, and the lasting trauma created when healthcare turned its back on those it once encouraged to...
DTCP - 051b Beneath the St.Lawrence
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For centuries, something has been reported moving through the waters of the St. Lawrence River.
From Jacques Cartier's 1535 account of a strange white creature near Tadoussac to the famous Lake Ontario serpent, lighthouse keepers, bridge workers, and modern-day witnesses have all described seeing long, serpentine animals gliding through the river's currents. Could these encounters be misidentified wildlife, forgotten folklore, or evidence of something that has remained hidden in the depths for generations?
In Part Two of Beneath the St. Lawrence, we trace nearly 500 years...
071a Pain for Profit: Canada's Opioid Crisis
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This week on Canadian Creepies, we examine one of the deadliest public health disasters in Canadian history: the opioid crisis.
For years, the public narrative focused on addiction, personal responsibility, and the visible consequences on our streets. But behind that story lies another one—of pharmaceutical marketing campaigns, regulatory failures, corporate profits, and a healthcare system that left thousands of Canadians vulnerable.
From the rise of OxyContin and the marketing tactics used to convince doctors that opioids were safe, to the fentanyl-driven overdose crisis th...
DTCP - 051a Beneath the St.Lawrence
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In this first installment of a multi-part series, Down the Crooked Path wades into the deep waters of Indigenous stories about powerful river serpents, mysterious underwater beings, and the dangers that lurk beneath seemingly calm waters.
Across generations, stories have been told of Thunder Beings battling enormous water serpents, of a woman lured beneath the surface by a being wearing a human face, of travelers rescued only to be abandoned to the mercy of a storm, and of fishermen who came face to face with creatures...
070 The Eaton Centre Shooting
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On a busy Saturday afternoon in June 2012, Toronto's Eaton Centre was packed with shoppers, families, tourists, and teenagers grabbing lunch. In just 15 seconds, one of Canada's busiest public spaces became the scene of a mass shooting.
When Christopher Husbands opened fire in the crowded food court, two young men were killed, several bystanders were injured, and thousands fled in panic. But the story didn't begin at the Eaton Centre. Months earlier, Husbands had survived a brutal attack that left him stabbed 36 times, setting in motion a...
DTCP - 050 The Aquarian Foundation
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Welcome to Down the Crooked Path.
Long before modern doomsday preppers and internet conspiracy movements, a self-proclaimed prophet was building his own kingdom on Vancouver Island.
Edward Wilson, founder of the Aquarian Foundation, promised his followers spiritual enlightenment, secret knowledge, and survival through the catastrophes he claimed were coming. As the years passed, the movement became increasingly isolated. Followers devoted their lives, labour, and resources to Wilson's vision while stockpiles of gold, weapons, and supplies grew behind the scenes.
To some, Wilson...
069b Canada's Role in the Genocide of Palestinians: Aid, Arms, and Accountability
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In this episode, we examine Canada's response to the ongoing crisis in Palestine, from military export loopholes and refugee policies to the human cost borne by families both overseas and here at home. We explore the origins of the conflict, the realities of life in Gaza and the West Bank, and the growing gap between Canada's international reputation and its actions.
Through survivor accounts, government policy, and the experiences of Palestinian-Canadians fighting to bring loved ones to safety, we ask a difficult question: what responsibility does...
DTCP 049 - The Amherst Mystery
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Welcome to Down the Crooked Path.
In 1878, a young woman named Esther Cox became the center of one of Canada's most famous paranormal mysteries. What began after a traumatic event soon escalated into violent disturbances that terrified family, neighbours, and investigators alike.
Strange knocks echoed through the walls. Objects moved on their own. Fires broke out without explanation. Wherever Esther went, the phenomena seemed to follow.
As news of the case spread, investigators attempted to communicate with unseen forces, while actor and...
069a Canada's Role in the Genocide of Palestinians: Aid, Arms, and Accountability
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Canada is often portrayed as a nation of peacekeepers, diplomats, and honest brokers on the world stage. But how much of that image reflects reality?
In this episode, researched by Christine, we examine Canada's historical and modern relationship to Palestine, from the 1947 UN Partition Plan and the legacy of Lester B. Pearson's peacekeeping myth to military exports, refugee policy, and the ongoing debate surrounding Canada's role in one of the most consequential humanitarian crises of our time.
We explore the origins of the conflict...
DTCP 048 - Webs & Wings
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Welcome to Down the Crooked Path.
Canada's wilderness has inspired countless legends, but some of the strangest involve creatures that should never have grown so large. From giant spiders lurking in the forests to monstrous mosquitoes said to haunt the north, these stories have been passed down through generations of campers, hunters, and storytellers.
In this episode, we explore the myths, folklore, and possible origins behind some of Canada's creepiest tales. Are they simply exaggerated encounters with nature, or is there something deeper hiding...
068 Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker Part 02
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Episode Description
In 2013, the internet crowned a new folk hero almost overnight.
A drifter with a hatchet, a viral interview, and a catchphrase that spread across the internet faster than anyone could stop to ask an important question: who was Kai, really?
In Part 02, we follow the collapse of the legend.
Researched by Christine, this episode examines the murder of Joseph Galfy, the investigation that transformed a viral celebrity into a murder suspect, and the courtroom battle that followed. We...
DTCP - Jack the Ripper: Death in White Chapel
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We examine each of the canonical five victims—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—bringing their stories back into the light and honoring their lives beyond the headlines.
But the intrigue doesn’t end there. We tackle the swirling theories and dissect a labyrinth of suspects: was it a doctor with surgical precision, a disgruntled artist, a member of royalty—or someone hiding in plain sight? From contemporary police investigations to modern criminal profiling, we dig into the evidence, contradi...
067 Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker Part 01
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In February 2013, a chaotic series of events unfolded in Fresno, California—an incident that would leave one man seriously injured, another hospitalized, and a third catapulted into viral fame almost overnight.
In this episode, researched by Christine, we examine the moment that introduced the world to Kai, the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker.
What began as a violent and deeply unsettling encounter quickly transformed into something else entirely. Within days, Kai was being celebrated across the internet, his words remixed, his image shared, and his actions reframed in...
DTCP 047 - Giant Worms
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Across oceans, rivers, and remote northern waters, stories have surfaced for generations—stories of something long, powerful, and impossible to fully explain.
From the shifting waters of the Pacific Coast, where early explorers described strange, colour-changing sea worms drifting alongside Velella, to the deep-rooted stories of the Passamaquoddy Wabanaki, where the Weewillmekq is said to grow, change, and move between land and water.
In Saint John, New Brunswick, the creature is tied to the Reversing Falls—horned, watchful, and carrying something lost. On Campobello Isla...
Re Release: 005 Cody Legebokoff
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This week, we’re taking a moment to breathe.
After the weight of the Barbara Stoppel case, it didn’t feel right to jump straight into something new. Some stories stay with you, and we want to give that space the respect it deserves.
So today, we’re revisiting Episode 005, where Valerie and Alerie discuss the case of Cody Legebokoff, one of Canada’s youngest serial killers. Convicted in 2014, his crimes between 2009 and 2010 left a lasting impact on the communities affected.
As always...
DTCP 046 - Macloune
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Macloune is not a true historical account.
First published in 1877 by Honoré Beaugrand and later included in his 1904 collection New Studies of Canadian Folk-Lore, the story has endured not because it happened—but because of what it reflects.
Set against the backdrop of rural Quebec, Macloune draws from the cultural and social realities of the time: deeply rooted Catholic authority, close-knit communities, and the quiet but powerful expectations placed on those who lived within them.
Like many pieces of folklore, it exists som...
066 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 07
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In the final chapter of the Barbara Stoppel case, the story doesn’t end with answers.
It ends with impact.
In this episode, researched by Christine, we examine what happens after the trials, the inquiries, and the investigations—when the system has already failed, and the people left behind are forced to carry it.
For Thomas Sophonow, exoneration did not mean freedom. Years after his release, he continued to live with the psychological damage of wrongful imprisonment, public suspicion, and a system that...
DTCP 045 - Old Ned
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For more than two centuries, something has been reported beneath the surface of Lake Utopia in New Brunswick.
Described as long, dark, and moving with a strange, undulating motion, the sightings stretch back to early accounts from Indigenous communities and settlers in the late 1800s. Over time, the story persisted—reappearing in waves throughout the twentieth century, with notable clusters of sightings in 1969, 1982, and 1996.
Witnesses described something that didn’t quite behave like any known animal. Something that moved with intention. Something that seemed to v...
065 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 06
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They finally got their chance.
After months of delays, internal resistance, and missed opportunities, investigators come face to face with the man they believe murdered Barbara Stoppel.
In Part 06 of the Barbara Stoppel case, the long-awaited interview with Terry Arnold begins—but nothing about it goes as planned.
From outright denials to childlike deflection, Arnold resists at every turn. Yet beneath the surface, cracks begin to show. Confronted with mounting evidence, witness accounts, and his own contradictions, he is forced into a po...
DTCP 044 - Little Green Men of Steep Rock Lake
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In the summer of 1950, deep in the remote wilderness near Steep Rock Lake, a quiet evening on the water turned into something far stranger.
A couple claimed they saw a shining object resting on the lake… and small, human-like figures moving around it.
What followed was a story that spread quickly through a mining town, capturing the imagination of a country already looking to the skies in the early days of UFO fascination.
But like many stories that refuse to fade, the tru...
064 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 05
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They knew who he was.
They knew what he had done.
And still… they were told to wait.
In Part 05 of the Barbara Stoppel case, the investigation reaches a breaking point. As the reinvestigation team closes in on their prime suspect, internal politics, missing evidence, and mounting pressure from an impending public inquiry begin to stall everything.
Despite clear recommendations from FBI profilers and their own investigators, the push to conduct a critical interview is repeatedly denied. Instead, the team is...
Bonus Episode - A Ghost in the Room: A Conversation with Ann McDougall
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What happens when you take ghost stories out of the shadows… and place them inside historic homes?
In this special interview, we sit down with Ann McDougall, author of A Ghost in the Room: Supernatural Adventures in Historic Houses, to explore the space where history, belief, and the unexplained collide.
Drawing on her years working in historic house museums, Ann shares the stories that shaped her book—from quiet, unsettling encounters to the broader patterns in how we’ve tried to understand and communicate with t...
DTCP - 043 Old Montreal Hauntings Part 02
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Old Montréal is known for its beauty. Cobblestone streets, historic buildings, a city that feels frozen in time.
But some parts of its past were never laid to rest.
In Part 02 of our Old Montréal hauntings series, we step into places where history still lingers.
At Auberge Saint-Gabriel, the city’s oldest inn, guests have reported piano music with no source and the voice of a child echoing through empty rooms.
In Place Jacques Cartier, once a site of e...
063 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 04
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By the time investigators began to take a closer look, the pattern was impossible to ignore.
In this episode, we examine the escalating violence of Terry Arnold—a man who moved through cities, left behind victims, and repeatedly slipped through the cracks of the system meant to stop him.
From missed opportunities and ignored warning signs to multiple victims across the country, the case reveals just how long this pattern was allowed to continue.
We also revisit the impact on the Stoppel fa...
DTCP 042 - The Witch of Plum Hollow
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In the 1800s, in rural Ontario, one woman became known for what she could see.
Elizabeth “Mother” Barnes—often called the Witch of Plum Hollow—was said to read tea leaves, predict futures, and help locate missing people in her community. Some believed she was gifted. Others weren’t so sure.
Rumoured to be the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, her reputation spread quietly through Leeds County, built on word of mouth, strange accuracy, and stories that lingered long after the moment had passed.
062 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 03
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As the case against Thomas Sophonow begins to unravel, another name comes into focus—one that was present from the very beginning.
In this episode, we examine the man who slipped through the cracks.
From early warning signs and escalating violence to repeated police contact that led nowhere, the pieces were there. They just weren’t put together.
We also explore how investigative tunnel vision, flawed procedures, and missed opportunities allowed the real suspect to remain free—while an innocent man was pursue...
DTCP 041 - The Ghost Ships of the Eastern Shore
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For centuries, people along Canada’s eastern shores have reported the same impossible sight:
A glow on the water.
Fire where there should be none.
A ship appearing… and disappearing just as quickly.
From the Northumberland Strait to Baie des Chaleurs, sightings of burning vessels have been recorded for generations—some vivid, others just a flicker on the horizon.
Explanations range from atmospheric phenomena to stories of curses, pirates, and ships that never made it home.
In this episode...
Re Release: 004 Evelyn Dick
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We are headed back to episode 004 this week. We will return to The Barbara Stoppel Case next week.
This episode Ali & Valerie discuss Evelyn Dick. Evelyn was a Canadian socialite suspected of killing her husband and son. Although she never confessed to either crime.
Evelyn Dick - The Forgotten Rebels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slN2h-afbEI
Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9tfdDQui60
We want t...
DTCP 040 - Valley of Warmth
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Deep in the wilderness of Canada’s North—where the mountains cut through the sky and the land feels untouched by time—there are whispers of something that shouldn’t exist.
A valley hidden within Nahanni National Park Reserve…
A place said to be warm in the dead of winter.
Where snow refuses to settle.
Where green life thrives against all odds.
Prospectors spoke of it in hushed tones.
Indigenous oral histories echo something strange in the land.
And those who have...
061 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 02
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Amanda and Valerie are back again to discuss the absolute trash police work that was conducted throughout this case.
Thank you to our research queen, Christine!
Nominate your Creep of the Week at speakpipe.com/canadiancreepies
✨ This episode also highlights the work of Niagara Reproductive Justice (NRJ)— Learn more or support their work by visiting their social media or emailing niagarareproductivejustice@gmail.com.
Your next creepy obsession starts here.
🖤 Ghoul Gang, we've got double th...
DTCP 039 - Canadian Crawler
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In this episode of Down the Crooked Path, we step into a series of encounters that don’t quite fit within the lines of traditional folklore.
It begins with a report from northern Canada. A man driving a remote highway sees something ahead of him — pale, hairless, and moving low to the ground in a way that doesn’t match anything he knows. What follows isn’t just fear, but obsession. Tracks. Disturbed earth. The sense that whatever he saw didn’t just pass through… it stayed.
<...060 The Barbara Stoppel Case Part 01
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Today we begin The Barbara Stoppel Case.
It’s a story filled with frustration, missteps, and twists that don’t sit right the deeper you go. This is Part 01 of a case that raises a lot of questions and doesn’t offer easy answers.
This week’s Creep of the Week is Bob Gale, following controversy surrounding the ownership of a signed copy of Mein Kampf while serving as Niagara Regional Chair.
And for the first time, this case was...
