“SPENDING THE NIGHT WITH LIZZIE BORDEN” and 3 More Terrifying True Stories! #WeirdDarkness

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IN THIS EPISODE: Many years before Adolph Hitler and Germany’s Nazis created Auschwitz, there was another concentration camp that experienced deaths in tens of thousands. But this encampment of turpitude wasn’t located in Germany – or anywhere near Europe. It was located in the land of the free… the home of the brave. The USA. (The Devil’s Punchbowl) *** Several people have returned from their near-death experiences reporting they were briefly in the fiery pits of hell. Is there any truth to their claims? (They Escaped Hell’s Clutches) *** Have you ever seen what appears to be a shadow person or dark figure (stationary or moving) with your own eyes, close up or far away, maybe even in your peripheral vision or dream state? Perhaps you have felt the sensation of someone standing behind you and then you turn around but no one was there? What is it that you are seeing when this happens? (Who Are The Shadow People?) *** She looms large in the annals of American crime lore. A romantic relationship gone awry and troubles at home could explain why many still believe Lizzie Borden killed her parents. (Spending The Night With Lizzie Borden)

SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
“Spending The Night With Lizzie Borden” written by Darren Marlar. Sources = Aliza Polkes: http://bit.ly/2X60g70, Zillow: http://bit.ly/2X6TmOM, Kelly McClure: http://bit.ly/2KDy3hj, Catherine Phelan: http://bit.ly/2xkNsdv, Sarah Mangiola: http://bit.ly/2xdVd55. (Lizzie Borden monologue written by Brandy Purdy: https://amzn.to/2IRCCTb, female narration by voice actor Katrina Carpenter: http://bit.ly/2Jdd8hZ)
“The Devil’s Punchbowl: America’s Concentration Camp” by Claire Bernish: http://bit.ly/2YeAlqd
“They Escaped Hell’s Clutches” posted at Earth Chronicles: http://bit.ly/2xoGl49
“Who Are The Shadow People?” by Natalia Kuna: http://bit.ly/2X10esl

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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 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.)

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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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TRANSCRIPT:

DISCLAIMER: Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.

INTRODUCTION=====
She looms large in the annals of American lore: Lizzie Borden, the woman who “took an axe” to her parents, bestowing “40 whacks” on one and “41” on the other. On August 4, 1892, Abby and Andrew Borden were found hacked to death in their Falls River, Massachusetts home. Lizzie was tried, and acquitted, for their murders, though speculation about her possible guilt continues to this day. For the most part, this is where common knowledge about the enigmatic woman ends. But, of course, there’s more to the mystery.
I’m Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness.

SHOW OPEN=====
Welcome, Weirdos – I’m Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you’ll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained.

Coming up in this episode…

Many years before Adolph Hitler and Germany’s Nazis created Auschwitz, there was another concentration camp that experienced deaths in tens of thousands. But this encampment of turpitude wasn’t located in Germany – or anywhere near Europe. It was located in the land of the free… the home of the brave. The USA. (The Devil’s Punchbowl)

Several people have returned from their near-death experiences reporting they were briefly in the fiery pits of hell. Is there any truth to their claims? (They Escaped Hell’s Clutches)

Have you ever seen what appears to be a shadow person or dark figure (stationary or moving) with your own eyes, close up or far away, maybe even in your peripheral vision or dream state? Perhaps you have felt the sensation of someone standing behind you and then you turn around but no one was there? What is it that you are seeing when this happens? (Who Are The Shadow People?)

But first… she looms large in the annals of American crime lore. A romantic relationship gone awry and troubles at home could explain why many still believe Lizzie Borden killed her parents. We begin with that story. (Spending The Night With Lizzie Borden)

If you’re new here, welcome to the show! While you’re listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, my newsletter, enter contests, to connect with me on social media, plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you’re struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.

Now.. bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness!

STORY: LIZZIE BORDEN=====
*****”I had to get out. I was suffocating. I couldn’t breathe in that house! I felt the walls closing in on me. I needed air; I needed to think, to clear my head. Hazy red stars danced maddeningly before my eyes and I felt so hot I thought surely I was going to die if I didn’t get out. As I rushed through the kitchen I shoved my shameful bundle into the fire. Let it burn! Devil take the damning evidence against me straight to Hell! I didn’t want to see it, touch it, or think about it! I just wanted it to disappear! Abby could tell Father whatever she liked, but at least now he couldn’t see the evidence with his own eyes. I ran outside, gasping frantically for air, gulping it in hungrily by the mouthful, but I couldn’t stand the open space of the backyard either. Suddenly I felt so exposed and vulnerable, like a woman about to face a firing squad. I darted desperately into the barn, seeking some sort of haven there, though I knew it would be hotter than an oven inside, and dreadfully dusty, and I hated it now for all the memories it held of David. As I slumped light-headed against the wall, willing myself not to faint, to stay alert and think—Think, Lizzie, think! Find a way to save yourself!—a silver gilt glimmer caught the corner of my eye.
The hatchet! It was practically new. It had been used only once as far as I knew, when Father had killed my pigeons. I took it up. I felt its weight in my hands. In a peculiar, perplexing way I can’t truly explain, it was almost comforting. It gave the illusion of power back to me; it made me feel that I was in control of my own destiny, that it was my own sense of powerlessness that was truly the illusion. The power was in my hands, not theirs; no one else had mastery over me unless I was meek and allowed it! Gripping the handle tight, holding on for dear life, I walked slowly back to the house, with the hatchet’s glistening blade hidden in the folds of my skirt. When I glanced down and saw it nestled against the part that was stained with paint it occurred to me then that the reddish-brown color looked just like dried blood. I went upstairs to my room. I laid the hatchet down reverently upon my bed. I stood and stared at it with heavy, drowsy suddenly very sleepy eyes, swaying like a woman mesmerized. As the sunlight pouring in through the open window played over the silver gilt like sunshine reflecting upon a river, I thought of water and baptism, of being cleansed of my sins, renewed, reborn. I began to take off my clothes. I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep and never wake up, and if God was truly merciful, I thought, that was what would happen. He would gather me to His bosom instead of foisting me into David Anthony’s arms. Through the thin wall I heard Abby singing in the guest room. David’s visit had interrupted her before she had finished tidying it up for Uncle John. That was Abby’s way; I knew she was trying to distract herself and put all the unpleasantness out of her mind until Father came home.”*****
Lizzie’s biological mother, Sarah Borden—also mother to Lizzie’s older sister, Emma—died in 1863. In 1866, Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden, married Abby Durfee Gray. Lizzie and Abby were not close: Lizzie apparently believed that Abby was after her father’s money. According to the Borden’s live-in maid, Lizzie and Emma rarely took meals with their father and stepmother. Furthermore, in the months before the murders, Andrew had been giving away pieces of real estate to Abby’s family, which likely caused a highly tense situation in the Borden home.
Andrew Borden was not a well-liked man. Andrew was a notable penny-pincher: despite his considerable wealth, the Bordens lived in a comparably small home, with no indoor plumbing on the ground and second floors, and only one maid. This frugality apparently also carried over to his business dealings, and he had many enemies: so many, in fact, that Lizzie had once expressed that she feared for his safety, because of how “discourteous” he was.
Despite how she’s been depicted in numerous television shows and movies, as an antisocial recluse, Lizzie was in fact a popular and social young woman prior to the murders. She was involved in many organizations related to her church and social movements of the time, such as the Christian Endeavor Society and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
In August 1892, the bodies of Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby were discovered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Despite the nursery rhyme suggesting Abby suffered 40 blows while Andrew received 41, the victims had actually been bludgeoned 18-19 and 10-11 times, respectively.
Lizzie Borden quickly became the prime suspect. Authorities were suspicious of her seemingly unbothered demeanor, as well as her decision to burn one of her dresses in the days after the murders—Lizzie claimed the dress was stained from housework; police thought otherwise. Lizzie’s sister Emma was out of town at the time of the slayings. Soon, Lizzie was arrested on suspicion of murder.
So what really happened on August 4, 1892 that allegedly made her snap?
Although the murder of Lizzie’s parents has largely remained a mystery, some Borden murder theorists speculate that Lizzie fought with Abby and Andrew over her relationship with a man named David Anthony, a possible out-of-wedlock pregnancy, or the simple fact that she was tired of living frugally under her wealthy father’s thumb.
Most likely, we will never know the whole story, but author Brandy Purdy has compellingly theorized just what might have happened on that fateful day. Blending fact, theory, and historical fiction, Purdy’s absorbing The Secrets of Lizzie Borden places readers into Lizzie’s mind, as well as fills in historically accurate, yet lesser-known details of the life of a woman who was always searching for more.
In the book, Purdy writes that Lizzie flirted with the idea of a relationship with David Anthony, although Abby was convinced he only wanted the Borden fortune. But when David pushed their physical relationship too far, Lizzie began to blame herself–as well as the woman who implied that Lizzie wouldn’t be able to find someone who loved her, regardless of wealth. When Abby found out about the unlawful union, Lizzie knew her stepmother must be silenced before her fate as an unwilling wife and mother was permanently sealed.
“Anything’s possible,” Purdy states. “I think there’s a tendency to look for a single major event as the catalyst for the Borden murders, but my personal opinion is that it was just one more frustrating, upsetting thing layered on top of so many others that was the straw that broke the camel’s back and made Lizzie snap that day.”
When police arrived on the scene, Lizzie had no blood spatter on herself or her clothing. Investigators of the murder scene later agreed that whoever killed the Bordens would have been covered in blood after the slaying. If Lizzie was indeed the killer, she would have had to do the following: Kill Abby, change and hide her blood-soaked clothes (no conclusively bloodstained clothes were ever found), go downstairs, talk with the maid for 30 minutes, kill her father, change once again, hide her clothes and the murder weapon (which was also never conclusively identified), and then sound the alarm about the attack.
Needless to say, the timeline is difficult to accept. What’s more, Lizzie would not only have had to change out of her bloody clothes, she would have had to bathe, and scrub her skin clean of blood. Given her father’s cheapness, the family, as previously mentioned, had no indoor plumbing. Taking a bath would not have been a speedy—or simple—process.
In fact, in all truth there is no evidence linking Lizzie to the crime at all. This being said, it’s important to note that while fingerprinting did exist in 1892, it was new, and authorities were reluctant to use it. And in the Borden murder case, they didn’t.
The trial began on June 5, 1893 and ended on June 20. The jury acquitted Lizzie after deliberating for only an hour and a half. Despite being acquitted however, she was shunned by most everyone she knew – and those she didn’t. Public dislike for Lizzie Borden only increased when she made headlines again in 1897. This time, she was accused of shoplifting in Rhode Island.
Despite being ostracized by society at-large, Lizzie and Emma decided to stay in Fall River after the trial ended. They bought a mansion in “The Hill” neighborhood, a posh section of Fall River. Supposedly, there had previously been tension in the Borden household about this very neighborhood. Andrew refused to leave their less fashionable neighborhood and purchase a nicer home, even though the family could easily afford to live elsewhere.
Perhaps buying this house, the Maplecroft Mansion, was Lizzie’s final rebellion against her parents.
Last year the home was listed for sale at almost $850,000. It was sold, but not without the price getting forty whacks and dropping dramatically to just $600,000. It’s now a bed and breakfast you can stay at… if you dare.
Yes… the understatedly beautiful home in Fall River, Massachusetts where this all took place is now a bed and breakfast. For a reasonable price, you can spend the night in the actual room where someone brutally murdered Abby Borden by hitting her in the back of the head with the blade of an axe 19 times. Sound like an exciting thing to do? Believe me, I thought so too … before columnist Kelly McClure tried to make it through a full night in that room, and failed. Here is the story in her own words…
*****There are only two rooms in the Lizzie Borden B&B where actual murders took place, the front parlor room, where Lizzie’s dad Andrew Borden was hacked to death while he slept on the couch, and the room now called the John V. Morse room, where Lizzie’s stepmom was killed. In the early Spring of 2012, I made a reservation to stay in this room with little idea as to what I was actually getting myself into. It’s one thing to hear stories of a murder taking place, and of that place being intensely haunted, and quite a different story to try sleeping in a bed right next to where a woman was killed and died on the floor. To drive this matter home for their guests, the owners of the B&B hung a crime scene photo on the wall over where Mrs. Borden’s dead body was discovered. Which, again, is next to the bed where you may (or, in my case, not) be sleeping. When I arrived at the B&B, after putting my suitcase in the John V. Morse room and taking a quick look around, I was given a tour of the home along with the handful of people who would also be attempting to stay there that night. The tour guide, a retired paramedic and fireman with a heavy Boston accent, told us that almost everyone who stays there experiences ghost activity, and that although he’s seen a lot of horrific things in his past career, he’d rather sleep in a burning building than sleep in that house. Of the many ghost stories he told the most memorable included the fact that Mrs. Borden likes to rip the covers off of people while they sleep, that objects in the home get moved from room to room by unseen forces, and that prior to the family moving in to the home the previous tenant, a distant relative named Eliza Darling Borden, killed two of her three children by dropping them down a well at the back of the property, and then took her own life. Visitors of the B&B often claim to hear the ghosts of these children playing and laughing on the top floor of the house. The many ghost hunters who have visited over the years go to great lengths to capture these ghost children on video, and some have claimed to, like in the following clip. Once settled into the John V. Morse room at around 11:00 P.M. I almost immediately began to feel a sense of gloomy unease wash over me. The whole house, especially that room, is dank with an air of foreboding that makes it feel like you’re walking through a thick, dark fog. There’s no TV in the room so I occupied myself by looking around at all of the antique furniture (some original), and texting friends about how scared I was. After awhile I had no choice but to attempt to go to sleep, but my fear kept waking me up. The longer I stayed the more I felt like the night was ramping up to something. My fear was that if I remained any longer I would definitely experience heavy paranormal activity, and ultimately concluded that I wasn’t mentally or physically prepared for that to happen, so I fled in the middle of the night to stay at a friend’s house—returning to the B&B in the morning for their complimentary breakfast because, hey, I paid good money for this. I’ll definitely be going back at some point as I’d really like to force myself to make it through the night. What do you think? Could you do it? If so, tell Mrs. Borden I said hi and that even though she didn’t get me in 2012, I’ll be back to give her another chance soon.*****

BREAK=====
Up next…
Many years before Adolph Hitler and Germany’s Nazis created Auschwitz, there was another concentration camp that experienced deaths in tens of thousands. But this encampment of turpitude wasn’t located in Germany – or anywhere near Europe. It was located in the land of the free… the home of the brave. The USA.
Several people have returned from their near-death experiences reporting they were briefly in the fiery pits of hell. Is there any truth to their claims?
These stories and more when Weird Darkness returns.

STORY:  THEY ESCAPED HELL’S CLUTCHES=====
In 1992, 28-year-old Matthew Botsford stood near a restaurant in Atlanta. Suddenly there were two shots. A bullet hit Matthew’s head and the man fainted.
Doctors brought a wounded man into an artificial coma, which lasted 27 days. Scary scenes, seen by a man in a coma, probably caused his return.
During the near-death experience, Matthew found himself bound hand and foot and hanging over a huge pit, from which oozed something resembling magma. Looking down, he clearly saw human figures looming back and forth.
But even more frightened Matthew was that at the top of the boiling, black-smoke-wrapped pit, he felt utterly alone and helpless. It seemed to the man that he had heard screams from torture, but he had not seen anyone.
From time to time, demons and evil beings “visited” Matthew. They cut off the meat from his body and ate. The meat grew again, and the demons came again to eat. It was endless torture.
Fortunately, a giant hand emerged from the wall, which helped Matthew free himself from the shackles and brought him out of the place of eternal suffering. Before the man came to himself from the coma, he heard the words: “Your hour has not yet come.”
Some people who experienced near-death experiences were not lucky enough to see Paradise. Unlike the golden gate waiting for righteous and kind people, the gates of Hell are surrounded by an atmosphere of evil and horror, just like the gate to Mordor from the Lord of the Rings.
People who experienced this, told that the closer you are to the gate, the hotter it becomes. When you find yourself in front of the door, it seems that the skin burns.
After the opening of the doors, the helpless and hopeless souls found themselves under the ground and endured endless torments.
In the poem “The Divine Comedy. Hell “Dante writes that on the door is engraved the phrase:” Leave the hope of everyone coming in here. ”
Pastor Howard Storm of the United States was once a convinced atheist, but a coma caused by perforation of a stomach ulcer changed his outlook on life.
After he was taken to the hospital, Howard woke up and wanted to ask a question, but found that people in the room did not hear him. The man wanted to stop the person going to him, but he did not see it and went through the body. Howard became evident that he died and became a spirit.
The priest remembers that he saw a large group of people standing at the door, they beckoned to him to join them. The puzzled Howard did not know what to do, so he decided to follow these people.
Entering, the man found himself in another world, enveloped in a thick fog. These lives hastened him to go faster, because of the humorous behavior of their invitation seemed pleasant.
Howard looked back, and the hospital ward was gradually lost sight of. The farther they went, the more the fog enveloped, and the more the terrible sensation enveloped.
Those who walked alongside soon assumed an animal form, and began to push him to go deep into the corridor. These lives became fierce, began to bite and eat his flesh.
Howard cowered and tried to resist the evil beings. Suddenly, a man heard a voice in his head that ordered him to do something he would never do in life – to pray.
As demons continued to bite him, this “hardened” atheist began shouting out phrases from the “Oath of Faithfulness” and the words from the prayer “Our Father”.
His cries seemed to cause divine intervention. Finally freeing himself from the nightmare, Howard found himself lying on the hospital bed, his body unharmed.
George Ritchie’s story is one of the earliest known “near-death experiences of traveling to Hell.” In 1978, Richie published the book “Return from Tomorrow,” based on his own experiences.
During the Second World War, George was sent from the front line to the army hospital in Virginia, where he was subsequently declared dead.
Marine recalled that his soul left the body and hovered around the city. At this time he met a strange life that led him to another space.
Just as Dante described in The Divine Comedy, this mysterious life showed him various places where people and souls were. In one scene, people at the bar smoked and drank with insanity. Then the pictures changed, becoming even more terrible. In one of them, evil giants fought on the wasteland with each other.
George wrote: “More frightening than bites and strikes, was that many people were torturing others with rapture. Deformation, which I never thought of, happened everywhere. ”
Subsequently, the Marine became a psychiatrist and published several books on the phenomenon of “near-death experience,” which later became an important material for researchers.
German artist of the XV century Hans Memling vividly depicted similar scenes in the film “The Last Judgment”.
The work of Memling conveys the sense of horror that people experienced during the near-death experience.
The work of Memling conveys the sense of horror that people experienced during the near-death experience.
Some people remembered that they begged to return them to their homes, but were immediately tortured. Some told how the devils buried them in a fire pit.
In 1991, Angie Fenimore tried to commit suicide. Although it failed, she felt the taste of death.
The first thing that Angie remembers after losing consciousness is “a review of all life.” All that she did and experienced – all this again was reproduced until the moment when she committed suicide.
The woman remembered that after the “review of life” ended, she plunged into the endless darkness and felt very alone. Then I heard a voice: “We are suicides”.
Angie realized that these words sounded in her head, and she, too, can communicate in this way. But no matter how hard she tried, no one answered.
Then she was thrown into the field, where lost souls wandered. It seemed that they could communicate freely, but Angie noticed that the suffering had exhausted the spirit of each person, because of what they ignored the surrounding people.
After hearing these stories, I’ll leave it up to you as to whether you choose to believe in Heaven and Hell.

STORY: DEVIL’S PUNCHBOWL=====
Say the words concentration camps, and most will surmise the topic surrounds World War II and the Nazis; but the hard labor, constant threat of death, and barbarism these microcosmic hells presented weren’t unique to Adolf Hitler — in just one year, around 20,000 freed slaves perished in the Devil’s Punchbowl — in Natchez, Mississippi, U.S.A.
After the Civil War, a massive exodus of former slaves from Southern plantations trekked northward in hopes of reaching a location of true freedom; but embittered soldiers, resentful the people considered property were now free, had other plans.
One tiny town’s population mushroomed twelvefold from the influx, as researcher Paula Westbrook, who has extensively studied Devil’s Punchbowl, noted,
“When the slaves were released from the plantations during the occupation they overran Natchez. And the population went from about 10,000 to 120,000 overnight.”
Unable to grapple with an instant population swell, the city turned to Union troops still lingering after the war to devise a merciless, impenitent solution.
“So they decided to build an encampment for ’em at Devil’s Punchbowl which they walled off and wouldn’t let ’em out,” former director of the Natchez City Cemetery, Don Estes, explained.
Devil’s Punchbowl is so named for a cavernous, bowl-shaped gulch walled off by tree-topped cliffs — an area unintentionally made perfect for a hellacious prison by nature, herself.
A tangle of lush green now tops bluffs near the Mississippi River in Natchez, hiding past atrocities that took place when Union Army soldiers corralled and captured those freed slaves — in worse conditions than they’d endured previously as slaves on sprawling plantations.
In the unrelenting heat and humidity of the deep South, African American men toiled at hard labor clearing thickets of brush, while women and children — not seen as a viable workforce for the task — languished without food or water behind the locked concrete walls of the camp to die of starvation.
Barbarous treatment didn’t even end when someone died.
“The Union Army did not allow them to remove the bodies from the camp,” Westbrook explained. “They just gave ’em shovels and said bury ’em where they drop.”
Bleak conditions of being cramped inside locked walls and forced to work until exhaustion or death also led to the spread of disease and illness — a little-discussed but insidious issue for former slaves, killing up to one million individuals following the ostensive emancipation.
“Disease broke out among ’em, smallpox being the main one,” Estes said of the concentration camp prisoners. “And thousands and thousands died. They were begging to get out. ‘Turn me loose and I’ll go home back to the plantation! Anywhere but there.’”
However, a dearth of information about these mostly postbellum camps indeed leaves significant leeway for conjecture, and a smattering of conclusions say those detained preferred the slightly greater freedom compared to brutality found on the plantations. Additional critics dispute Westbrook and Estes, and the number who died in the Natchez camps, saying the number is likely closer to just 1,000 — but without methodical record-keeping, the figure is impossible to verify with certainty. Either way, this black eye on American history is still one of the largest and most brutal acts of state-sanctioned death this country has ever seen.
As the Civil War drew to a close and during the nascent stages of emancipation, those who had been thrust into slavery and putatively freed held a precarious place outside the society of their enslavement. Thus, ‘legitimately’ freed individuals and ‘escapees,’ alike, were captured and held in ‘contraband camps’ — so named because, as commodities, they were considered contraband by Union troops who had no qualms about perpetuating slavery for their own benefit. Three such camps existed in the Devil’s Punchbowl area of Natchez.
Historians’ descriptions of Devil’s Punchbowl have been loosely anecdotally backed by locals, who describe human skeletons occasionally washing free from the location in times of heavy rains and flooding.
Wild peach trees now dot the basin where human beings, who believed they’d finally won freedom from slavery, sweated through work for different captors until death granted the ultimate reprieve — but Mississippians know better than to taste the bitter fruit fertilized with the blood of atrocity.
Like so much about the history of the United States, sadistic acts perpetrated by officials acting on behalf of the government have been criminally downplayed to lessen shame and facilitate collective memory loss. But there can be no doubt — whether unintentionally or by design — thousands succumbed to inhumane conditions at these camps, under added duress of lacking the freedom so basic, it’s called the cornerstone of the nation.
Whatever the full truth about Devil’s Punchbowl, it’s a veritable guarantee no history book will be honest or thorough enough to shed light on the excruciating conditions akin to Nazi concentration camps — or even that forced, slave labor continued while America readjusted its crooked and tarnished halo after the Civil War.

BREAK=====
When Weird Darkness returns…
Have you ever seen what appears to be a shadow person or dark figure (stationary or moving) with your own eyes, close up or far away, maybe even in your peripheral vision or dream state? Perhaps you have felt the sensation of someone standing behind you and then you turn around but no one was there? What is it that you are seeing when this happens? Who Are The Shadow People? That story is up next.

STORY: SHADOW PEOPLE=====
Shadow beings have become a hot topic in the paranormal world. They have actually been a phenomenon since ancient times, yet it is only in recent decades that they have been named ‘shadow beings’.
There were probably different names for them in different cultures in the past, and for the various types shadowy figures and dark beings.
Shadow people are said to be conscious, intelligent, interdimensional beings that can shapeshift into various forms and figurations, and move back and forth between dimensions.
There seems to be a variety of different types of shadow people, as you will see further below.
The majority of shadow figures that people experience seem to be negative, malevolent and parasitic. Some are possibly demonic creatures or even evil spirits or entities.
At the very least, you will see them in a flash of a moment, or will get the sense of being watched or observed.
Some people report the being felt neutral and not harmful. There might also be only so much that they can do. It is possible that some are relatively benevolent or even work with Spirit in general to serve as a kind of guardian or warning system.
At the very worst, one might encounter a being that is extremely evil and predatory and out to take peoples spirits or ultimately, their lives. But I would not focus on that. You can become empowered and learn how to protect yourself and deal with these situations – but more on that further on.
All of this is up for speculation. My tip would be to see how you feel when you see something that looks dark. Do you feel scared, frozen or that its negative or oppressive in any way? If not it might be another kind of spirit.
Classic shadow beings are dark, inorganic, phantom-like bipedal figures that look just like a dark black shadow of a figure, but don’t seem to quite have full human form or facial or bodily delineation. They feel very masculine and oppressive and like something that is beyond human and out of our scope of understanding.
Often people report them as being really tall, about 7 feet in height, though they can configure and transform  into different sizes and shapes. Often their limbs (arms and legs) seem quite long, and occasionally fingers seen.
They kind of look two-dimensional (though sometimes appear sort of 3D) and seem to be made out of some kind of dark, etheric substance. They appear as one mass that is completely black and opaque, but it doesn’t quite look solid in the way that we perceive usual physical form. Hence they are called shadow beings. No light goes through them at all.
They are known to dematerialize very quickly and even shape-shift into other forms such as in the figure of a cat, dog, rodent, oddly-shaped spider, insect or other creature or even formless shape.
It has been suggested that their darkness is a form of camouflage and perhaps they take on a rough humanoid outline in order to mimic and blend with us. Maybe we are not ready to fully understand who or what they are, what they represent and where they are from. Thus appearing as shadow forms is their way to be mysterious and incognito. They might also appear different according to their own stage of development.
We can also speculate that it is possible they are unable to materialize into any other kind of form or colour, like that is all they can muster. You could apply that principle as it is the same with ghosts and spiritual apparitions – they can only use energy to appear certain ways and only for short periods of time, and it does take a lot of energy!
The dark shadow figures that have red or even green eyes (or reddish or greenish hue) are said by some to be an evil spirit. In other words this means that they were extremely evil humans who have passed and transformed into this dark ominous form in order to continue their evil, malevolent ways.
They would be dark force discarnate entities.
Some people have seen shadow figures outdoors or in nature settings like forests. These ones that hang around trees are said to be ‘shadow stalkers.’ Some say that they are protective spirits that guard nature and protect the elementals. They appear as shadow beings but are possibly not actually harmful.
One of the quirks of such shadow stalkers is that some of them mimic people who see them. So when the person moves, they move too, when the person stops, they stop too and so forth.
Another noticeable characteristic is that when they traverse through the woods they do not cause the normal nature sound effects you would hear from an animal or person ( such as leaves rustling and twigs snapping ). This is fascinating to me because it reminds me of what witnesses report about Big Foot, or the Sasquatch. It is believed that they too are able to so this of their inter-dimensionality.
Some people think that shadow figures are ghosts or especially evil spirits, that don’t manifest into a human appearance as sometimes seen in apparitions. I would say that this is indeed possible. But others disagree and instead believe that all shadow beings originate from another dimension or planet all together.
There are various kinds of shadow beings, and one of those is what has come to be known as Hat Man. He is just like the classic shadow figure, but also different in appearance and energy vibe. This one wears what appears to be a cape or trench coat and a hat which can range from a top hat to a fedora or cowboy hat.
The reason for this added attire is unknown. One can only speculate that it is to give a sense of mystery or even intimidation (because he is a dark, intimidating entity), or he has picked a fashion from an era and stuck with it, trying to blend in.
It could be a form of mind control or manipulation, working on our subconscious minds in some way. Perhaps we associate the hat as part of a universal symbol or archetype that conveys a sense of status, influence, power and control. It establishes a stark sense of ‘presence’ and is something you can’t forget.
The hat could be a form of disguise to cover up an unusually shaped head, or the cape could also be a cover up to disguise its body that could be alien, unusual, or non-human in appearance,.
It is also possible that under the ‘costume’ is some kind of otherworldly technology or even protection device. Who knows.
Maybe the black figure and garb is to disguise its origins as we as humans are not ready for the knowledge yet. This would also match some supposition from experts that these beings are visiting us from the future.
The common belief out there in the paranormal community is that hat man is an intelligent consciousness from another dimension or time-space reality, possibly the future, and probably an alien species, possibly the ones known as ‘the greys’.
Like the other shadow beings, this entity could be observing us, collecting data and so on. Interestingly, many report having seeing him when they were very young, such as around 5 years old. He does like to watch and instil terror and give off an extremely scary and intimidating vibe which has been described as evil, terrifying and unforgettable. It is said that he leaves witnesses with a horrible feeling that is haunting and can last for years. He sends a kind of signal and vibe making you feel like he will return.
It is possible that hat man is a leader of the shadow figures, and/or that it is connected to the ‘men in black’, though this is just speculation (see further below).
Next, there are the MIB – the men in black. These are intimidating, sinister humanoid entities said by conspiracy theorists and experiencers to be created by the Government.
They look similar to the movie by the same name, and there is also a connection to them and aliens, cover-ups.
They always appear in a very secretive and intimidating manner and, much like the creepy ‘black-eyed children,’ are said to have an awkward, robotic way of communicating.
They often wear hats and dark glasses that cover their eyes. That is most probably to disguise the fact that they are non human. Their suits seem to be their best effort to blend in with us, but there is indeed something ‘different’ and unapproachable about them!
There are other dark beings. This is now getting into the realm of all that is opposite to God and the light and we enter the dark side and the grand enemy known as Satan, his jinn and minions, and even the entity commonly known as the Grim Reaper.
Demonic entities are the minions cast by Satan. They cause chaos and fear. They love to break people down and terrorize them.
Psychic Natalia Kuna reported her own occurance of Shadow People, saying… I have  experienced the force, power and threatening nature of these dark entities.
On one occasion while I was going through a negative energy incident involving other people, demonic creatures came into my dreams and gave me nightmares. They came right up to my ears and tried to intimidate me. I recall desperately trying to invoke the protection of Archangel Michael but in typical nightmare style I couldn’t get out a sound from my mouth, I barely managed to whisper his name.
That same night my young children both woke up in the middle of the night crying hysterically. My very intuitive son said that something was trying to touch him and he was absolutely terrified. Though the ones I saw didn’t appear in shadow form, I do know that they can be experienced that way too.
Next is the jinn. It is said that in the beginning, three were created: man made of clay (earth and water), angels made of spiritual light, and a third made of fire. Beings known as ‘Jinn’ are actually not talked about much in the western world as they seem to be more of a middle eastern tradition.
They are said to be created before man, and are mentioned in the Quran as malicious, wicked beings with supernatural powers created by God from a pure, smokeless fire, which would explain why they are often seen with smoke coming out of them:
“The Angels were created from light and the Jinn from smokeless fire.” `~ Saheeh Muslim
They are analogized as genies (and are depicted in hidden ways in stories such as Aladdin) and present themselves in different forms, including humanoid and animal. Hence it is possible that they could appear in a kind of shadowy form too. They dematerialize quickly and are able to appear dark, animalistic, and even in strange contorted figures, vapours mists or cloud-like forms.
It is said that they are created out of free will as we are, and live in a parallel world to ours and in communities (much like humans). Because of their free will, some are good and some are evil. They feel themselves to be superior to humankind, and thus it is said that God cast them out of this world until ‘judgement day.’
These beings have an agenda against us, and cause a lot of chaos and havoc much like demons do, and it is believed that they are a part of the army of S—n. They have shape-shifting abilities and use them in order to create deliberate confusion.
And of course, death himself… the Grim Reaper. This scary figure is the death collector, known in the Cherokee tradition as ‘Stalking Death’. This is the kind of ominous being that will be after a person’s soul, their death being the ultimately dark victory.
But there are other theories about what shadow people might be. For example, astral travelers. Some theorize that shadow beings are the astral beings – the essence of people who are astral projecting, ie: having out of body experiences, and thus unconsciously floating around in their astral bodies.
Or perhaps time travelers: This is the theory that shadow figures are people who are time travelling. There is speculation that they are visiting from a future dimension.
Shadow beings seem to like the dark rather than the light, hence they come more at night or while you are sleeping, or appear in more darker areas of your home or other places. Having said that, they have been reported to have been seen in crowds or other public places too.
It is usually a very silent experience. They do not seem to verbally communicate but they do seem to stare intensely into your eyes like they are reaching your soul and sending a hostile signal that feels like a warning.
A common reaction that people experience in these encounters is that they become absolutely frozen, shocked, and in a state of fear. They feel like they are momentarily paralyzed or can’t move. They have a sense that these entities are triggering immense states of terror and feeding off their energy.
Others report that these entities jump on top of them in bed and try to press on their chest or choke them while they are sleeping. They can come into your dreams or try and break you down during the night hours by tainting you and pulling your energy down. This is their way of infiltrating you so that you become physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually affected and that way they can get into your energy field even more easily.
There are several paranormal experts that believe that shadow beings can make those growling sounds or even intimidating voice phenomenon you hear on EVP sound recordings in paranormal TV shows.
My instincts tells me that some trapped spirits (earthbound ghosts), especially in very active or haunted locations, can also see them (as well as other entities) and are terrified of them. I would not be surprised if shadow beings actually feed off them too and get their kicks out of terrorizing these deceased souls who would be easy targets.
Some people experience these beings only once or perhaps several times over a period of years, while others feel individually targeted and harassed by a countless number of entities or sightings, to the point that it feels like a serial stalking. These multiple experiencers feel that they are being watched, stalked or preyed upon. It is also possible, like many other entities, for these malevolent beings to ‘attach’ to certain people much like a spirit attachment.
You might just see them for a split second either with your ordinary eyes, psychic vision or in the dream-state, they are either stationary, moving, or appear to be tying to approach you.
When it happens, you are not actually seeing them with your normal physical eyes.
The Cherokee elder Thunder Strike believes you are seeing with what he calls the ‘fifth eye” or ‘dream eye,’ which is in the location of the soft spot of a baby’s head when it is born. That’s the eye which gives you extra sensory perception when you dream (during that ‘rapid eye movement in your sleep) .
He claims that according to his wisdom teachings, there is also your 4th eye which is behind the base of the spine, and that is where you get the sensation that you are in danger as animals do, and have the hair stand up or that chilly feeling at the back of your neck. You also have an eye on the palm of each hand, and this has been depicted in many spiritual text, eyes in the soles of your feet and the universal eye which is in your navel / womb area. So we actually have 10 eyes and 5 ears, as we also have internal ears that hear during dream time.
He goes on to explain that at night in your dream-state you have heightened energetic sensitivity and awareness, and therefore you will be more likely to experience supernatural phenomenon (both good and bad) and see such beings. This would explain why many people see them in their dreams while sleeping or as they awaken in the middle of the night.
They are said to be a vampiric energy which feeds off our “emotional chaos and discharge of energy.”
So what happens is that when you see them, you expel a whole lot of shock and fear energy in your straight of being alarmed and momentarily frightened, and that is the energy that they feed off. So you are like an energetic battery or food to them. Just like a vampire sucks blood and then takes off, so too does a shadow person. They never stay around for long.
Paranormal researcher and psychic Natalia Kuna shares her own personal experiences with shadow people. In her own words…
I have experienced shadow people twice in my life. The first time was around 2010 in my dream-state. In the dream, a very tall, large black shadow person was in my vergola. I was with a friend, looking at it from inside. We stood there absolutely frozen, clinging to each other. We were in a momentary state of fear. It was standing there with an intense, foreboding kind of stare, giving the impression that it was going to move towards us and try to get into the house. That is all I remember of that dream. It felt so real and I know as an intuitive person that it was not ‘just ‘ a dream. This was a visitation.
Around that time I was developing spiritually and getting over another negative incident so I am not surprised that it made that unforgettable appearance. It wasn’t until later that I put two and two together. My husband later told me that he had been ‘feeling’ a dark ‘presence’ in the garage (which connects to our vergola) for a while now. He said that he even saw a dark shadow figure. He didn’t initially tell me because he didn’t want to scare me (he now knows to tell me no matter what!). One day after that we were sitting in the vergola and I felt a very intense kind of negative ‘force’ of energy come right up to my back as if in an intimidating manner, and then retreat again. I turned around and nothing was there. My husband said he had been experiencing moments like that too. I gave that my whole house inside an out a good spiritual cleansing and it went away.
Years later I was preparing for a client to come over for a psychic mediumship reading. I hadn’t done my spiritual protection for the day yet as I had been busy (and that it when they like to catch you unawares). I was in my bathroom and I had this feeling that there was a spirit presence. In this moment of time which felt like a split second, it was like I ‘saw’ a dark shadow figure with my real physical eyes (even though it was standing behind me), and my mind’s eye (my psychic eye). I turned around but nothing was there, even though I clearly both saw and sensed it on some level. I got busy preparing for my reading and put it out of my mind. After the reading I popped out and forgot all about it.
When I returned back to the house my husband was now home. I started to feel randomly over emotional. I intuitively asked my husband if he had sensed anything when he came home. Even though I am a psychic medium I sometimes count on my husband’s natural perception, protection and grounded-ness. He said it was funny that I should ask that. On his say home he felt great anxiety and a sense of pending doom, like something was going on in our home, although he didn’t know what.
As soon as he said that my senses felt an overwhelming sense that there was definitely a presence in the house. I realized I hadn’t cleared enough after my client as I was in a rush and I started to feel more and more emotional. This was a definite sign I was being affected by an unsavoury energy. I immediately saged my family and the whole home and felt much better. It was gone.
So how did shadow people even come to be? Some believe that we created them out of our own fear, over time. In this way, even though God created all things, these beings have not come from God but rather from our own creations. I suppose you could make this analogy, to wrap it around your head. Does God create guns? No, we do. God has provided us with earth, the greater cosmos and many resources. It is up to us how we use them.
Just like there are god creations, there are also man-made creations – some are created consciously, and others sub-consciously or unconsciously. We cant always control our thoughts, feelings and experiences, not to mention know how to utilize or comprehend the full power of our will.
Why Do They Appear? What do they want from us, what draws them to us, and why are we seeing them more now?
Here are some possible reasons:
Why You? Perhaps you are going through a negative cycle, are you down, worried, stressed, angry? Remember, shadow people feed off fear and lower energy. There are some people that just seem to draw in negative energy to them like a magnet. If you have been playing with a oiuji board or involved in some kind of group or magic without good intention or protection, you can be inviting in the unwanted.
Apparently people who use the drug meths have reported seeing them more.  This brings up the issue of whether they are hallucinating or actually able to see between the worlds more in their drug induced state.
Or, perhaps you are opening up spiritually and are an evolved soul shining your light? Perhaps you have some natural or even untapped psychic ability. A shadow being might appear in order to try and bring you down and turn you to the dark side. By this, I do not necessarily mean join the forces of evil and become a sith. This can be as simple as becoming irritated, angry and depressed. Your light becomes dimmed and your energy is brought right down. You start questioning yourself other people, your job and life and you are back in your ego.
The world is in chaos and these hungry interdimensional beings are feeding off of all of our negative energy. They are drawn to negative mental and emotional fear energy. Earth is a smorgasbord for these creatures!
Electromagnetic Energy: We now live in a modern electromagnetic world! (We’ll touch more on that in just a moment.) Perhaps shadow people are drawn to electromagnetic energy. This would explain why many people have seen them while they are watching TV, on their computer, using a device, or around electromagnetic equipment. It also answers for one of the reasons why they’d come into your room at night, apart form the fact that you are more accessible in your dream and sleep state. This also explains why they sometimes come during very bad weather like when there is lightning storms. This is because of the electromagnetic discharge being dispelled.
Thunder Strike believes that they are inorganic forms (ie: not having the structure or organization characteristic of living bodies ) and we are ‘projecting’ and ‘completing’ the shadow people phenomenon out of our soul beings and into the ethers, the universe through the darker energy of our negative emotions – our anger, guilt, greed, jealousy, envy, resentment, blame, shame, possessiveness etc.
In his words: “We are assembling them into our world of perceptual reality. Because they exist in a parallel dimension within the 7 streams … or dimensions of reality. There are actually 72 parallel dimensions to either side… {including] the 5th dimension when you are dreaming at night.”
There is a possibility we can learn something from all of this. Like any paranormal experience, it is important to face your fears and your shadow side, and don’t stay stuck in negativity which will just aggravate things. You have to learn to manage and control your mindset, attitude and approach to life. A shadow person might be coming into your reality in order for you to learn something about yourself, or eve your shadow side. So always take time to think about what the experience might mean for you and whether there are any changes that you need to make.
How do you get rid of shadow people? Well, usually these beings just disappear on their own. Their visitations and movements are extremely fast, quick and fleeting. What you need to remember is that they are only as strong as we allow them to be. You will only be affected as much as you allow yourself to be, so it is up to you to develop your spiritual strength as a counter resistance. However to fully protect yourself and your space, and to avoid them reappearing, there are tools & methods you can use according to Natalia Kuna:
Call upon and invoke the protective powers of God, Jesus Christ, Archangel Michael (Just saying Jesus’s name can be enough! They are instantly repelled and banished. The light is too strong.)
Say protective prayers.
Be very vocal, yell out to them. demand they leave, laugh out loud at it. Put on some loud music, which has been shown to work in some cases – loud noise in general is disliked by them.
In worse cases or if you just feel you want the reassurance, seek an expert in the field such as a religious leader.
And finally… make an effort to watch your thoughts and step out of negative thinking, which is a good thing to do even if you aren’t surrounded by shadows.

SHOW CLOSE=====
Thanks for listening. If you like the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters, or unsolved mysteries like you do! You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren@weirddarkness.com. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find all of my social media, listen to free audiobooks I’ve narrated, visit the store for Weird Darkness t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, phone cases, and more merchandise, sign up for monthly contests, find other podcasts that I host, and find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on TELL YOUR STORY. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.

All stories in Weird Darkness are purported to be true (unless stated otherwise) and you can find source links or links to the authors in the show notes.

“Spending The Night With Lizzie Borden” written by Darren Marlar
Lizzie Borden monologue written by Brandy Purdy; narrated by Katrina Carpenter
“The Devil’s Punchbowl: America’s Concentration Camp” by Claire Bernish
“They Escaped Hell’s Clutches” posted at Earth Chronicles
“Who Are The Shadow People?” by Natalia Kuna

WeirdDarkness® – is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. Copyright, Weird Darkness.

Now that we’re coming out of the dark, I’ll leave you with a little light… “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” — 1 John 3:17

And a final thought… “I only have time for things that will affect my life in a positive way.” – Dylan Smith

I’m Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness.

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