“SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION” and More Terrifying True Stories! #WeirdDarkness
IN THIS EPISODE: Creepy, paranormal encounters sometimes cause people to stop short of committing an action they might regret. (Supernatural Intervention) *** Weird family member Atreada tells of a horrifying series of nights when she and her sister encountered a demon under one of their beds. (Man Beneath The Bed) *** In York County, Pennsylvania a suspected witch is murdered – and thus began the dark story of the Hex House. (Dark Magic in Hex Hollow) *** Was there a conspiracy to murder Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe? We’ll look at the theories and evidence for and against the idea. (Killing Marilyn)
SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Supernatural Intervention” by Anna Lindwasser: http://bit.ly/2IHZl58
“Man Beneath the Bed” by Weirdo family member Atreadia, submitted directly to WeirdDarkness.com
“Dark Magic in Hex Hollow” by Orrin Grey: http://bit.ly/2GD8860
“Killing Marilyn” posted at The Unredacted: http://bit.ly/2GGF7GS
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
= = = = =
(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.)
= = = = =
“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” — John 12:46
= = = = =
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
= = = = =
Originally aired: December 06, 2021
PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:
DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
INTRODUCTION=====
Recently on Reddit, people share stories of supernatural interventions preventing them from going to jail, getting hurt, or doing something illicit in the first place. Personal encounters with ghosts might come in the form of loud noises, mysterious apparitions, ethereal warnings, or just a powerful sense of intuition. Are these reports all true stories of otherworldly assistance? We’ll leave that for you to judge.
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…
Weirdo family member Atreada tells of a horrifying series of nights when she and her sister encountered a demon under one of their beds. (Man Beneath The Bed)
In York County, Pennsylvania a suspected witch is murdered – and thus began the dark story of the Hex House. (Dark Magic in Hex Hollow)
Was there a conspiracy to murder Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe? (Killing Marilyn)
Creepy, paranormal encounters sometimes cause people to stop short of committing an action they might regret. (Supernatural Intervention)
If you’re new here, welcome to the show! While you’re listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, my newsletter, to 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: SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION=====
A Phantom Voice Told These Kids To Stay Out Of The Library
From Redditor /u/adaminc:
Over a couple of weeks one summer, me and some friends (all middle school, grade 7-8) snuck into a nearby school at night and just f*cked around, nothing damaging. Ate candy out of desks, ate ice cream out of the teachers lounge. Wrote notes to teachers and hid them in desks.
The first night we went in I was going to go into the library, had the door open, but a friend said “no, don’t”. He claimed it wasn’t him who said it though, so we didn’t go in. After that night, the library doors were locked, so we couldn’t go in even though we wanted to.
Then one night about 9 days later, our entrance, the roof top hatch, was locked. And we couldn’t get in anymore.
The very next night, some guys got busted after climbing in through the library windows. It seems they had motion detectors inside the library. Pointing away from the door we would have entered, into the main area. Connected to a silent alarm.
We would have been busted if not for whoever said those words.
A Mysterious Voice Saved Them From Falling Off A Roof
From Redditor /u/Merry_Dankmas:
My friends and I used to climb the roof tops of buildings a lot in our early to mid teens. One of our favorite spots was the library by my house. It has a ladder on the back side with a gate blocking off the rungs but you could grab the top of the gate and pull yourself up if you jumped high enough. We’re all pretty tall so this isn’t too much of a challenge for any of us. We got to the top and were about to light our joint when we heard someone say ‘You boys better get down right now.’
We all jumped and turned around but couldn’t see anyone. I hesitantly looked around the AC units and electrical boxes but couldn’t see anyone. I walked to the edge of the roof and looked down to the sidewalk below but couldn’t see anyone either. My friends and I scanned that entire roof top but couldn’t find a single person. It was a roof top so it’s not like they could have that many places to hide in the first place. It startled us enough that we decided to leave and get high somewhere else. I still have no idea who or what told us to get off the roof.
God Didn’t Want Them In Church
From Redditor /u/Tsar_family:
Me and my crime partner did a lot of stuff. Burglaries, robberies, thefts etc for like 5 years.
We’re both Orthodox Christians, so once in a while we would go to church.
Anyway, we’re walking up the stairs and I see people entering the church.
The second we try to open the door, it’s locked. (Tourists around us were taking pictures and we were the only ones trying to get in).
We walk away 20m and see people walking in there.
Guess God didn’t want us in that day.
This is something I’ll never forget.
A Stranger Knew This Person Was A Thief
From Redditor /u/Iusedtostealthings:
So I used to work as a security guard at a large office building. I often stole things like computers, desks, chairs etc from the offices. I was very careful and never took anything during my shift. There were only cameras in the lobby and on the outside of the building, not in any tenant spaces. One day I found a wallet in a desk and it had a few hundred dollars. I took the money and left the wallet. I wasn’t on that night, no one saw me enter or leave the building and I wasn’t on any camera. A few weeks later a lady I’d never seen before came up to the security desk and told me that she saw me take the money and even knew the exact amount. She said that she just wanted me to know that she knew. Then she left and I never saw her again. There is just no possible way she could have seen me.
A Ghost Warned This Burglar To Get Out Of His House
From Redditor /u/LudovicoSpecs:
This one night I was boosting some silverware from this old lady’s house. She was home, but old people are pretty deaf and damn slow, so I didn’t give a shit. I hear this strange sound coming from the room where she’s watching TV (VOLUME WAY LOUD, GRANDMA), so I go look and she’s like having a seizure or some s**t.
I might be a thief, but I’m not a bastard, so I call 911. They answer. S**t. I don’t know what to say. “Hi, I was just robbing this old lady’s house and she’s having a seizure,” so I freeze and say nothing. I wait with her, but she stops seizing and then I hear sirens, so I hide in her tiny front hall closet with the foldy doors and shutters.
Before the EMT’s arrive, she stops seizing. So by the time they get to her door, she seems fine, except confused why they’re at her house. They make nice, apologize and leave.
As soon as they’re gone she starts seizing again. Fuck. So I call 911 again, just in case. Really don’t want a dead lady on my conscience. Same thing– sirens, she stops seizing, answers the door. It’s like a comedy at this point with me hiding in the closet, the bad guy with a heart of gold, but I’m not about to pop out and say, “But she was having a seizure!!” So they leave.
Just as they drive away with her waving an old lady good bye, she falls down and starts seizing again. Now it’s just sad/funny. Gotta call 911 again for grandma, but this time I’m thinking about leaving a note or something cause I do want to get the f**k out of there. I call. Wait for the sirens.
Then she stops breathing. F**k. F**K. I’m thinking if I don’t get the fuck out of there, murder charge. I hide as the EMTs come through the door, put an oxygen mask on her and take her away. By this point, my adrenaline is through the roof and f**k it all, I feel like I’ve EARNED the right to take as much shit as I can walk out the door with and since the house is now empty, I can take my time going through her stuff, silverware, jewelry, cash in a shoebox– you name it, if I can find it, it’s mine. A fee for being a good Samaritan.
Fuck if the EMT doesn’t come back – who the f*ck knows why. I hide again. He walks into the living room, turns the TV off and grabs a bag off her chair.
This is the part that f**ks me up.
As he turns to go, an old man just appears OUT OF F**KING NOWHERE, pats him on the back and whispers something to him. But the EMT doesn’t react AT ALL– doesn’t turn around, doesn’t pause, just heads back out the door like the old man isn’t even there. Then the old guy GLIDES to the front window and stands there, waving goodbye.
Then he disappeared.
I’m standing in the closet frozen wondering what the fuck just happened and when I feel it. Somebody’s breathing down my neck.
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.
I started running, praying, crying, right out the f**king front door I didn’t care who saw. I ran like a b**ch.
To this day, whenever someone says “scared straight” I try not to remember the sound of that old man’s voice. But I always do.
Car Trouble Kept Them From Committing Suicide
From Redditor /u/averageuser81:
I was 17. I had decided on the way home from school I was going to slam my car head on into a light pole… Hopefully kill myself. As I rev my car, I hear a loud shotgun sound. My back right tire blew out. My dad came to help me change it shortly thereafter, without me calling anybody. I thought that oddly coincidental.
A Strange Feeling Stopped This Kid From Stealing A Car And Getting Arrested
From Redditor /u/shadowofzero:
When I was 14 (33 now) I used to boost cars for this car theft ring in California. I did it for several months and never got caught. It was more of a thrill and lack of direction from living in a bad area and lack of supervision and authority in my life. I had never been arrested or got caught. I was always a good kid, but I rebelled after my parents split up.
Anyways, there was one car that I needed to pick up and get delivered that day. The boss man was extremely insistent that the order needed to be filled within a few hours. It was another job like any other. But when I was about a mile away from my order, I got a very uneasy and disturbing feeling. Nothing was out of the ordinary or different from the dozens of other jobs I’d done. But I couldn’t shake the feeling. As I got closer to my destination, it was as if it just got noisier and more distracting (in my head). Finally that unsettling feeling overcame me and I bailed out. I saw the car and acted like I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t do the job. I kept going and knew I was in deep shit with the boss guy. I decided to lay low because not filling an order was seriously bad news. That guy was not someone you disappointed or you would feel it. He was wrathful and on drugs. So I knew I had to hide for a while. 2 days of him blowing up my pager (yeah, that’s how long ago it was lol) then the calls and pages it suddenly stopped.
Come to find out, word on the street was that the cops pulled a big sting operation and that car I was supposed to steal was being monitored. My old boss sent some other kid to get the car and they followed the kid back to the scrap yard and did a big bust. That guy got arrested. That kid got arrested. A whole boat load of people got pinched. But no one ever came for me. To this day, I know God was looking out for me. At that moment. At that time. And I listened. Since that incident, I never pulled any shit again. I straightened up, got back into school, and graduated with honors. It was all because of that weird, supernatural moment…
They Were Warned To Get Out
From Redditor /u/Kanaraketti:
Back in high school a group of friends and I would break into recently built houses in our subdivision and use it for small parties/smoking before school. Anyways, one morning I was inside smoking a bowl before my bus arrived and heard someone that sounded like an older lady in one of the front rooms say, “You better get out of here.” I was alone in the house and it was maybe 7:30am, being the little rebel I was and legitimately confused as to who would be in the house so early, I went and checked the rooms. Of course there wasn’t anyone inside and I never went back to that particular house. I’ve lived in the same subdivision for years and multiple families have moved in just to move out months or even weeks later.
Their Spiritual Ex Kept Them From Getting Arrested
From Redditor /u/Mrpig1886:
I was helping move coke (allegedly) to Queens. I was about to get on the subway on 14th street when I bumped into an ex who is into tarot and sprits (long story) etc. After missing a couple trains we parted ways.when I arrived at building in queens the cops raided the room five minutes prior. I bought a pack of tarot cards just out of respect.
This Robber Can Raise The Dead
From Redditor /u/WhyPanicJustChill:
Criminal here.
Partner and I were scouting out a house to rob. Elderly guy, nobody had seen him in a few days, mail over flowing in mailbox, missed a doctor’s appointment, car hasn’t moved, etc. We both know we are about to find a body or empty house which we could easily rob. We arrive on scene, look through the window and sure enough, we can see his foot on the floor in the living room. My partner is a seasoned robber and pulls rank and makes me go first. Door is unlocked and as soon as we open it we smell a mostly fresh dead body. Almost relieved, we both enter and he tells me to check vitals on dead dude. He is obviously dead, with lividity, dried feces on him and dried saliva around his mouth.
So I go to stand over him and see if I can get a pulse at which point he takes a deep breath, rolls over, and asks why we are in his house. At this point we both start screaming oh shits and what the fucks as we both run out of the house. I only managed to grab a silver spoon. I think he died a week later in the hospital. I still get jokes about raising the dead.
Something Stopped This Intoxicated Driver From Hitting Someone With Their Car
From Redditor /u/Badlay:
Used to grow a little weed and party on a plot of farmland in Wisconsin.
We would have friends up every memorial day and would camp off the side of an off road loop where we created a camp spot. Canoeing, partying, binge drinking.
One night I took my 89 Chevy blazer with a carload of people to the river for a swim. On the way back I was driving like an ass hole on the trail sending people bouncing all over. on purpose. And continued to carry on around the loop passed the camp spot when someone from the back grabbed me and pulled me back in my driver seat and yelled “STOP!!” I slammed on the breaks and everyone went flying forward. Threw it in reverse and made a three point turn to pull in and park at the camp spot. The passengers had enough and didn’t want to pass up the tents and fresh beer. All poured out of the car laughing
A few minutes go buy and Mike is yelling at something on the trail. I go over there and in the dirt passed out cold with mud on his face from my front tire was this drunken friend of ours. I immediately started freaking out screaming how if Mike didn’t see him and tell me to stop he would be dead. If I didn’t pull in reverse after stopping he would be dead. I was kicking him and pissed until Mike stopped me to say he did see shit. NOBODY SAW SH*T AND NOBODY GRABBED ME.
But sure as sh*t I swear on my children something grabbed me and yelled at me to stop and saved his life that night.
Was This Really Divine Punishment?
From Redditor /u/RosieRedditor:
I don’t consider myself a criminal, in fact I pride myself in being a very ethical person. But one time I committed a minor crime that led me to think there may be some Supernatural involvement here.
I went to Hobby Lobby, a clearly Christian establishment, buy some balsa wood. I needed four or five pieces, saw a six pack, and picked it up. When I went to the register, I realized that the cashier was charging me for only one piece. I guess it was not a six-pack, it was probably the bulk packaging that came from the manufacturer and the employees just never put them up. When I realized I was getting charged for one oiece only out of the stack of six, I decided to let it slide. I didn’t point it out. I walked out with six pieces for the price of one. Really, I stole five pieces.
Fast forward a few days. I’m using a table saw to cut grooves in the wood to make some small gift boxes. I’m doing a pretty decent job until I stopped to chat with a friend and have a couple of glasses of wine. I don’t know what possessed me, other than boredom, to return to the table saw. The first cut took some skin off the tips of three fingers.
Online, go to the ER for emergency stitching, get my tetanus shot, Etc. Have surgery to reconstruct fingertips, using cadaver skin (shout out to whoevers fingerprint I now have, tganks, man!). Shortly after, surgical wounds become infected with MRSA. More hospitalization and antibiotics.
At this point, I’m starting to feel God’s wrath. Mind you, I’m not Christian, I was only very superficially Catholic long enough to get my first communion and drop the whole idea at bat. But thinking about the chain of events that unfolded from 5 stolen pieces of balsa wood, I could not help but believe that this was a sign from a higher power.
So I went back to Hobby Lobby which one of the pieces of balsa wood. I ask to speak to the manager. I explained the situation to him and told him I went to pay for those other 5 pieces of balsa wood because I really needed to be done with it.
I said it was a real load off my shoulders and I felt better after telling him that. He said it made him feel like a priest receiving confession
That was my first confession. It was not after a series of Catechism classes, nor at the indicated age, but it did happen as a result of learning a lesson. So I guess that counts, even if I am no longer Catholic.
A Demonic Doll Killed Someone After It Was Stolen
From Redditor /u/r3dditor10:
Once I stole this kid’s doll. When I got home, I was bored and thought it would be funny to chant a demonic incantation over it. Suddenly my roommate dropped dead, and the doll actually stood up ran out the door. I didn’t mention anything about the doll to the paramedics, because I didn’t think they would believe me. My roommate’s death was ruled natural causes, but I still can’t help feel responsible that maybe I actually tapped into some sort of spiritual curse.
They Heard A Dead Girl’s Scream
From Redditor /u/Maiq_The_Deciever:
Back in high school me and my friends liked to go places we shouldn’t and smoke pot. So on 4/20 one year we all go to our old elementary school at like 10:30 at night to blaze it. Since it was so late we were kinda trespassing. On the way there my friend, whose mom worked at the school, told us about how one of the old janitors told his mom that a long time ago a girl died in a landslide on the hill behind the school.
So we are walking around the buildings when suddenly we hear a very loud, clear little girl scream coming from the direction of the playground, which would make sense if it wasn’t 10:30 on a school night. It was one of those moments out of a movie, were we all just looked at each other mouth agape, and booked it out of there as fast as possible.
The House Made It Clear That The Intruders Weren’t Welcome
From Redditor /u/Sensei10:
I broke into this one abandoned house once. It sat on the edge of the block and was behind a tall white wall, so you only saw what the yard looked like once you climbed over. Old shopping carts, toys, old dog house, kinda dreary. Door of the house had boards on it so had to pry those off with a crowbar. Once on the inside everything was black. It looked like the entire inside had been coated in soot, from the ceiling to the bathtub to the windows. Just all black. Thought that was weird. Anyway i spent a whole week there in the darkest point of winter, and im sure there was more than one reason I never got a night’s sleep.
A Mysterious Phone Call Gave A Squatter An Important Tip
From Redditor /u/YeremyV:
I remember a creepy story with a similar theme like this.
A guy was talking about how he’d squat in a house that had been put on the market. He had a key to get in because he knew the owners, and he’d sleep and shower there after work.
He talked about how one night while he slept, the phone started ringing. He couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, and then he saw police cars pull up in the driveway. He hid while they scanned the windows and doors, and then booked it after they left.
He later came back and said that the locks had been changed. He looked at the whole thing like the house was warning him he’d be kicked out.
They Had An Out Of Body Experience That Stopped Them From Killing Someone
From Redditor /u/hippynoize:
Tried to kill someone and had an out of body experience during it. I’m not exactly faithful but I think something stopped me
A Pickpocket Got Caught By A Warlock
From Redditor /u/DeadPendulum:
I am a pretty talented pickpocket, slight kleptomania. Lifted a wallet from a man as I came up behind him on the street. Almost zero contact, no one should’ve noticed a thing but the man spoke out very calmly as I passed him, “could I have that back please?” Turned around to see he was wearing sunglasses. He lifted them up and revealed that he was blind. I was so completely dumbstruck and baffled that I apologized and gave him back the wallet. Wasn’t too worried about him picking me out of a line-up anyways, and didn’t wanna be that guy that steals from the handicapped.
I guess his sense of touch was sharpened by the loss of sight or something like that. But for a brief second I was sure this man was a warlock.
The Wine Wasn’t Worth It
From Redditor /u/HighDingyDoo:
Something similar happened to a friend of mine.
He worked at an expensive liquor store and decided to steal some bottles of wine one night.
Just a minute or so after opening the back door and walking into the darkness, he claims to have heard a voice say “What are you doing?”
He immediately felt frightened and left without the wine.
A Voice From Above Told This Guy To Run From The Cops
From Redditor /u/jdstorer12:
Wow I’ve never heard another persons story like this. A buddy of mine was driving to college and got group pulled over (mass traffic stop) after just finishing a bowl. (I know, irresponsible and dangerous, we did dumb stuff back then and we all regret it) He pulled up behind another car and stopped, then the cop who was talking to the other car walked past my buddies truck. The car in front starts to pull off, then my buddy says he just hears a voice in his head say “GO!” and he pulled away, just like that.
He spent the remainder of his drive back to school just waiting for the cops to show up on his a**, but they never did. I’m pretty sure that’s when he decided to quit smoking pot. Anyway, it’s crazy hearing something so similar from another person. I always believed him, he’s one of my oldest friends and sitting just about at the top of my list when it comes to godparents for my future kids, and I would trust him with anything. It’s still hard to believe though.
They Didn’t Want To Be Ghost Food
From Redditor /u/spawnofbacon:
One day I went to rob the house of an old lady. Got to the door, thought it was my lucky day- it was unlocked! So I quietly made my way to the living room and almost shit my pants- the old lady was sitting in silence, staring at some unknown presence in the garden, not moving at all. I didn’t want to be ghost food, so I left and now I only rob young ladies. Changed my life, man.
The Sound Came Out Of Nowhere
From Redditor /u/jamesfishingaccount:
I grew up in a small town and me and some friends made it our goal one summer to break into every building possible at night. We didn’t want to steal anything or actually break anything to get in, it was more of a test of our ability to pick locks or create ways during the day that would make it easy to get in at night. We got into the elementary school one night, there was rumors of a bomb shelter in the basement so we had to check it out. It was true, the basement ‘janitor closet’ had a big a** metal door and inside there was some bomb shelter warning and instructional stuff along with regular janitor equipment. Nothing interesting or crazy happened while we were in the school and we left after a short period of time. We hung out on the playground equipment afterword. At around 1 AM while we’re just hanging out there is a tapping sound from the 3rd floor window and we all stopped talking and looked up. I couldn’t see anything in the window and then BAM! BAM! BAM! Three incredibly loud slams against the window. The window was shaking but still nothing to be seen, we ran to the closest friends house because it scared the bejesus out of all of us.
They Could Feel The Building’s Terrifying History
From Redditor /u/Seriousdolla:
We forced an entry into an abandoned and dismantled psychiatric asylum. We wandered the halls and had a look in all the various rooms, some nice and open with windows and bathrooms, some small and cell-like. The rec room had iron bars over the window frames and in the center of the whole building was a quiet little courtyard with a few drill holes where benches used to be.
There wasn’t the sense of being watched or a presence, but somehow I could feel the history of fear and confusion of the place. The urge to leave was strong and I was caught in a weird place of moving fast but remaining consciously calm. I had to keep reminding myself that everything was fine and that I could go outside at any time.
BREAK=====
Up next… Weirdo family member Atreada tells of a horrifying series of nights when she and her sister encountered a demon under one of their beds.
Plus… in York County, Pennsylvania a suspected witch is murdered – and thus began the dark story of the Hex House. These stories and more when Weird Darkness returns.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
STORY: BENEATH THE BED=====
When I was younger, my sister and I shared a bed and a room. We were generally happy and healthy, with vivid imaginations, despite what happened to us for one solid week in our past.
I was about seven at the time, my sister was nearly ten, and we were just snuggling down to sleep in our new room in the house our parents had just spent the past two days moving us into. We were happy and expecting to make new friends in the quiet community of SunRay, Tx. As we closed our eyes, and drifted off to sleep, something very unnerving happened. The bed began to shake, knocking into the wall of the shared wall between our room and our parents’ room. It was violent, and loud, and knocked my sister and I into each other’s arms. Just as the bed finally stopped shaking, our mother opened the door and turned on the lights.
“Just what are you two up to!” She said it in a very exasperated manner. Apparently our brother had just gotten to sleep, and the shaking bed had woke him and our mother from their sleep, too.
My sister and I both claimed innocence, after all, we had not moved the bed. It was a huge bed, and we barely weighed 100lbs together.
This continued over the next couple of days, always ending with our mother coming in to chide us for being so loud and knocking on the wall. On the fourth day, my sister and I determined not to go to sleep until we saw what was making the bed move. We sat huddled together in the darkness, my sister hoarding the flashlight she had liberated from Da’s toolbox, waiting for the bed to move.
Sometime after Mom went to sleep, we were still watching, even if our eyes were growing heavy with the need to sleep. I was sure that it would not happen that night, mostly because we were waiting for it to happen, but my sister was absolutely sure it would. Just as I was about to give up and turn over for sleep, we heard a knock that came from above our heads.
My sister clicked on the flashlight, aiming it in the direction of the sound upon the headboard, and there we saw the most frightening thing our little brains could have seen at that time. A hand rising up from between the bed and the wall from beneath the bed. We both let out squeals of fright, jumping up and hugging each other as the sound of an evil laugh filled the room. The sound was cut off only by the banging of the bedroom door opening, and Mom turning on our bedroom light. We both jumped up from our bed, and ran into her arms blabbering like babies and scared to death.
Mom took us into the living room, and although she was very irritated by being awakened by her two of her children screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night, she let us sleep in bed with her until Dad came home and carried us back into our bed.
The next night, our parents decided that we were just scaring ourselves silly with telling ghost stories. We were put back in our room, and were both scared to death as the bed began shaking once more. This time, however, my sister did something that is very much not a part of her character… She leaned over the side of the bed, and clicked on the flashlight as the bed began to shake. When she did, I saw the thing that leap up from under the bed, and run out of the room as our mother turned on the light with a very irritated and exasperated look on her face. It is something that I will never forget, nor will my sister, this thing that was beneath our bed.
Looking at each other, we both silently agreed not to mention what we had just seen. Instead, we said it was the bogeyman. The truth, however, was much different. What was beneath that bed was in my sister’s definition, demonic. It was definitely in the guise of an old man, with creepy glowing eyes, and long talon like fingers. He didn’t have hair, but strings of long, nearly transparent locks hung her and there about his shoulders, more corpse like, than bald. His teeth were sharp and broken, and his ears stuck out at odd angles from his head. Besides that, he was dressed in rags, but his feet were bare.
Since that night, my sister has refused to sleep without a light on in the room. She also has refused to speak about it, with the idea that just talking about the demonic beings will bring them into your life. I respect that, even if I believe differently.
I can’t help but wonder if anyone else has been visited by this bogeyman?
STORY: HEX HOLLOW=====
In York County, Pennsylvania there is a place called Spring Valley County Park. Before it was given that benign designation, however, it was known by the ominous name of Hex Hollow.
In 1928, a local man and suspected witch named Nelson Rehmeyer was murdered in his home in an effort by another local man to remove a curse. Though the so-called “hex house” was set on fire in the aftermath of the murder, it survived the blaze, and still stands today. In 2007, Rehmeyer’s descendants opened it to the public as a museum, featuring displays about his life and death.
The killer, a man named John Blymire, believed that Nelson Rehmeyer was a witch who had placed a curse on him. This wasn’t unusual at the time: many people in Central Pennsylvania in the 1920s practiced a kind of folk magic called “Powwow,” which mixed elements of Christianity and European folk remedies. In fact, Blymire himself was a Powwow doctor.
After a string of illnesses and bad luck, Blymire became convinced that he was laboring under a curse. Unable to figure out the source of the curse, he turned to another local witch, Nellie Noll, known as the “Marieta River Witch.” She confirmed his fears, and told him that the author of his misfortune was none other than Nelson Rehmeyer, who had once cured Blymire of a childhood illness using his Powwow magic.
According to some accounts, it was Nellie Noll who told Blymire that in order to break the curse, he needed a lock of Rehmeyer’s hair, which he had to bury six feet into the ground. Then he had to burn Rehmeyer’s copy of The Long Lost Friend, an 1820 book of folk magic written by John George Hohman, and commonly employed by Powwow practitioners.
On November 26, 1928, Blymire and a friend visited Rehmeyer’s house in search of his copy of The Long Lost Friend. The story goes that they spent a peaceful night there, with Blymire holding back on his attack after realizing that it would take more than two men to subdue the witch. The next night, Blymire and his friend returned with another accomplice, and the three of them assaulted Rehmeyer. The struggle is said to have lasted only about a minute, and at the end of it, Rehmeyer was dead.
Perhaps because they were unable to find Rehmeyer’s copy of The Long Lost Friend, the three men attempted to burn down the witch’s house. The fact that the “hex house” survived the blaze was cited as further evidence of Rehmeyer’s supernatural powers. Blymire would later attest that the hex placed upon him was broken the moment that Rehmeyer died.
All three men were captured, and the murder cast national attention upon the area, as papers all over the country ran stories about the “York Hex Slayers.” Blymire and his first accomplice, John Curry, both received life sentences for their roles in the murder, while the other accomplice, Wilbert Hess, was given a sentence of 10-20 years. All three were eventually released without having served out their full sentences.
The region’s strange magical tradition—which some still practice today—as well as the murder partly inspired a series of books by horror author Brian Keene, himself a native of Central Pennsylvania. In 2015, a filmmaker named Shane Free released a feature-length documentary about the murder called Hex Hollow: Witchcraft and Murder in Pennsylvania, which features interviews with surviving relatives of those involved, as well as with folklorists and experts in the Powwow tradition.
BREAK=====
When Weird Darkness returns… was there a conspiracy to murder Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe? That story is up next.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
STORY: KILLING MARILYN=====
In the early hours of Sunday August the 5th 1962, psychiatrist Ralph Greenson broke into a bedroom of a house in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.
On the bed was the body of a lifeless young woman, nude, clutching a telephone. It was Marilyn Monroe.
Greenson immediately phoned for Monroe’s internist Dr. Hyman Engelberg, who, upon his arrival, pronounced her dead. It was 3:50am.
News of the death reverberated around the world. The actress was already, at the age of 36, a Hollywood legend and the most famous and photographed woman in the world.
The official verdict was suicide. An array of empty pill bottles were found on the bedside table. The tabloids reported the suicide story in lurid front page headlines.
So huge was her star, Monroe’s apparent suicide even inspired a wave of copycats across the United States.
The coroner’s report offered an insight into the troubled actresses’ mind — “Miss Monroe has suffered from psychiatric disturbance for a long time. On more than one occasion…when disappointed or depressed, she has made a suicide attempt.
On these occasions, she had been rescued. It is our opinion the same pattern was repeated, except for the rescue”, it concluded.
Some, however, were less sure the tragic star’s death was suicide. Numerous suspicious inconsistencies and contradictory witness testimony have fueled persistent rumors that the star was actually murdered.
The first policeman to arrive — Sergeant Jack Clemmons, wasn’t called until 4:25am, more than 30 minutes after Monroe was pronounced dead. This unexplained delay in calling the police was just the first troubling detail of the crime scene.
Clemmons immediately felt something was wrong — he thought it obvious the body had been moved. And whilst there were empty pill bottles on the bedside table, there was no water or glass with which to take them.
Why too, was there no vomit? Monroe had taken a massive overdose of Nembutal, a barbiturate, that should have caused vomiting.
Most suspiciously of all, Clemmons noticed Monroe’s housekeeper Eunice Murray was washing sheets in another part of the house. Had there been a cleanup of the crime scene? And why?
The autopsy report only added to the confusion, Monroe had taken a massive overdose of drugs, but no trace of the pills were found in her stomach.
By all accounts, the actress was in turmoil at the time of her death. Addicted to drink and drugs, she was unraveling trying to cope with her tangled life — her failed marriages, the Kennedys, the Mafia, her fading Hollywood career.
Perhaps it had all gotten too much for the tragic star. She had a history of suicide attempts, was this just one where she had finally succeeded?
Or, as some suggest, was the overdose accidental and covered up to disguise the gross negligence of her doctors?
Witnesses would later emerge to attest that Monroe had died hours earlier than in the official story, and most sensationally of all, that attorney general Bobby Kennedy and his brother-in-law Peter Lawford, were at the house that night.
Rumour had it that Monroe had been threatening to go to the press with details of her scandalous romantic liaisons with both Bobby and his brother President John F Kennedy.
There were even reports she had kept a red diary which, aside from lurid sexual details of her affairs with the Kennedys, contained incriminating references to the Kennedy’s plots to kill Castro and even their ties to the mafia.
Was Bobby Kennedy there that night to locate the diary? And did he take the most extreme measures to silence her and stop her going to the press?
Was Marilyn Monroe murdered?
Although the official story is that Marilyn Monroe was pronounced dead by her doctor around 3:50am, much evidence exists that she was found dead long before this.
Eunice Murray was Monroe’s housekeeper and had been placed in the actress’ employ by her psychiatrist Robert Greenson. Murray is the main witness to the time of Monroe’s death.
She initially told police that she knocked on Marilyn’s door around midnight but got no reply. Concerned, she alerted Greenson, who arrived at the house shortly followed by Monroe’s internist Dr. Hyman Engelberg.
According to Murray, after breaking through the french windows of Marilyn’s bedroom, Greenson and Murray discovered Marilyn’s dead body laid out on the bed.
After a long, unexplained gap, Greenson, Murray and Engelberg then notified the police at 4:25am.
This timeline is somewhat consistent with the undertaker Guy Hocket, who arrived at the house around 5:40am. From the state of rigor mortis, Hocket estimated the time of death between 9:30 pm and 11:30 pm.
But then it got complicated. Murray, Greenson and Engelberg quickly changed their story. Now, Murray says, she went to bed at 12 and didn’t knock on Monroe’s door until 3am, after noticing the light on in her room.
In this revised timeline, Greenson found Marilyn dead at 3:40am and Engelberg pronounced her dead at 3:50am.
Why the huge disparity in stories? Was it to conceal a cleanup of the crime scene? Or worse?
Sergeant Jack Clemmons, the first policeman at the scene, was called out at 4:25am. He was immediately suspicious that the crime scene had been altered.
According to Clemmons, the body looked to be in an unnatural position as if it had been posed, the bedroom was strangely tidy and most mysterious of all, there was no glass.
Monroe had supposedly swallowed upwards of 60 pills, but there was no water or glass in the bedroom. The actress had always had trouble swallowing pills and required copious amounts of water.
And why, Clemmons wondered, was Eunice Murray running the washer and drier in the middle of the night, as her employer lay dead in her bedroom?
There was clearly a problem with the story coming out of the house. And more evidence would emerge to cast doubt on what the trio were saying.
According to Natalie Trundy, she was attending a Hollywood bowl concert with her future husband Arthur Jacobs, who was Monroe’s agent at the time.
Jacob’s received a call from Monroe’s lawyer Mickey Rudin and it was shocking. Marilyn Monroe, Jacobs was told, was dead.
The actor Peter Lawford, Monroe’s friend and the Kennedy’s brother-in-law, was also told by Rudin that Monroe was dead, before her body had supposedly been discovered.
If Monroe’s agent and lawyer already knew she was dead at 10:30pm, then this discredits both stories coming from the house, indicating a cover up was already in action.
The new 10:30 timeline is also most consistent with Guy Hocket’s estimate of the time of death of around 9:30–11:30pm
It was clear, then, that something was very wrong with the official story coming from Monroe’s house. Was there a cover-up, and what was its purpose?
Eunice Murray’s accounts of what happened that night have been contradictory and evasive over the years.
According to author and investigative journalist Anthony Summers, Murray finally came clean to him about what really happened in an interview in 1985.
The reason for the cover story, Murray told Summers, was because Robert Kennedy was at the house that day. And an ambulance had been called much earlier when Marilyn was still alive.
Summers asked her why she had lied. “I told whatever I thought was good to tell”, Murray told him.
Attorney General Robert Kennedy was, officially, In San Francisco on the day of Monroe’s death. But Eunice Murray’s shocking revelation to Summers was not the only evidence that this was a lie.
20th Century Fox publicist Frank Neill saw Kennedy arrive by helicopter at the studio’s heliport near Stage 14 early Saturday afternoon, where he was whisked away in a limousine driven by his brother in law, actor Peter Lawford.
This limousine was later stopped by Beverly Hills traffic policeman Lynn Franklin, who says he observed Lawford at the wheel and Robert Kennedy in the back with a man he later identified as Ralph Greenson.
Whilst these sightings of Kennedy could perhaps be dismissed as hearsay, they were confirmed by LA Police chief Daryl Gates and other senior LA Police Detectives through their surveillance of the airport.
“The truth is, we knew Robert Kennedy was in town on August 4th”, Gates later said. “We always knew when he was in town”.
Kennedy, it seems, was certainly in LA that day and lied about it. Could there be another reason, unrelated to Monroe, for him to be there that he didn’t want to disclose?
Some have speculated that Kennedy may have been meeting with mob bosses and this was his reason for lying. However, there are reasons to doubt this was the case.
Kennedy was seen in the presence of actor Peter Lawford, a friend of Monroe’s. And numerous witnesses place him at her house on the day and even night of her death. Whatever his reason for being there, it seemed to center on the actress.
Aside from Eunice Murray statement to Summers in 1985, there are several other reasons to believe Robert Kennedy visited Marilyn that day.
Murray’s son in law Norman Jefferies confirmed Murray’s story. Kennedy had arrived that afternoon with Peter Lawford and there had been a violent argument between him and Monroe.
According to Jeffries, Kennedy came back with 2 men at around 10pm, a fact confirmed by neighbors opposite who also saw Kennedy enter the property with the 2 men.
This is where the case against Robert Kennedy takes a very dark turn. Jeffries and Murray were ordered out of the house. After Kennedy and the men left, they re-entered the house to find Marilyn comatose in the guest bedroom.
What was the purpose of Robert Kennedy’s visit to Monroe’s house? And was he really responsible for her death?
One obvious motive was Marilyn’s threats to go to the press over her relationship with Bobby and his brother President Kennedy. This could have destroyed both men’s careers.
Even worse was the diary she was said to keep. In it was not only the scandalous details of her sexual adventures with the two men, but incriminating accounts of conversations she had had with them about the plot to murder Castro.
Marilyn had become a security risk. Furthermore, her relationship with a Mexican man who was a suspected communist agent had piqued the interest of the FBI.
One way or the other, the star had become a major security risk. Did Bobby Kennedy take matters in his own hands and attempt to persuade Marilyn to hand over the diary and keep her mouth shut?
Evidence supports this scenario. According to Norman Jeffries, Monroe’s filing cabinet had been broken into on the night of her death. Had Kennedy been searching for the diary?
Private Eye Robert Otash claimed to have bugged Monroe house, probably on behalf of the FBI. Papers that emerged after Otash’s death reveal sensational details about what he had heard.
Recounting Kennedy’s visit to Monroe on the day of the murder, Otash described a violent struggle between the pair. Kennedy was heard to shout ‘where is it?’, whilst Monroe complained about her treatment by him and his brother.
Had Kennedy and the men he was with deliberately murdered Monroe or had an attempt to restrain or sedate her gone badly wrong?
It’s difficult to reconcile the image of the inspiring, progressive Robert Kennedy with a murder so grubby and desperate. But the evidence he was present at her home that fateful day is persuasive.
And soon after, Marilyn Monroe was dead.
The coroner’s report labeled Marilyn Monroe’s death a ‘probable suicide’, indicating even they were not quite sure what had happened.
The toxicology reports finding suggested she had died of a massive overdose of barbiturates. The amount of pentobarbital in her blood was 3 times the fatal dose. There were also large concentrations of the drug in her liver.
It is estimated she would have had to take somewhere between 25–50 of her Nembutal pills to reach these levels. On top of this there were also near lethal levels of Chloral Hydrate in her blood, accounting for almost 20 capsules of the drug.
The enduring medical mystery behind the death of Marilyn Monroe is how these drugs got into her body. At her autopsy, not a trace of the drugs or pill capsules were found in her stomach.
It has been argued that the yellow Nembutal pill wrappings could have broken down and left no trace in the stomach. But Thomas Noguchi, the pathologist, could find no traces of the fine refractive crystals which should also have been present.
In a standard textbook on drug-related deaths, toxicologist Robert H. Cravey studied over 1500 cases. “In every case of a drug overdose through oral entry I have always found drugs in the stomach”, Cravey said.
The findings from the autopsy only echoed odd details from the crime scene. Jack Clemmons, the first police officer to arrive at Monroe’s house, could find no glass or water in her bedroom. How had Monroe swallowed so many pills without water?
The police report also noted the lack of vomit, which would be expected from someone who had orally overdosed on barbiturates. Also missing was the acrid pear-like odor characteristic of Chloral Hydrate overdoses.
With no evidence that Monroe had injected the drugs, this left a real mystery. Clearly, if she hadn’t administered the substances herself, then it could not be suicide.
John W. Miner, former deputy district attorney of LA Country, was present at the autopsy. He believes Marilyn may have been killed by an enema, with 30 or more of the Nembutal dissolved in water and administered anally.
If Miner is right, then whoever administered the enema was Monroe’s killer.
Marilyn Monroe was one of Hollywood’s brightest and most vivacious stars. Few would suspect that beyond the glamor she was plagued by intense feelings of isolation, inadequacy, and loneliness.
She once wrote — “Help help Help I feel life coming closer When all I want is to die”. Playwright Arthur Miller, Monroe’s 3rd husband, once described her as ‘the saddest person I know’.
Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926. She never knew her father, a fact which preoccupied her for much of her life.
Her mother, Gladys, suffered from mental illness and depression which led to the young Marilyn spending much of her early life in foster homes.
In some of these foster homes, Monroe was sexually abused. She was brave enough to tell of the abuse but was not believed by those she trusted. This double trauma had a profound effect on her adult life.
She would continually seek father figures, her 3 marriages were all to older men and Clark Gable, her much older co-star in the Misfits, was someone she clung on to.
Many psychologists think Monroe’s promiscuity and constant search for father figures were down to her traumatic childhood experiences. Her behavior also had classic hallmarks of suicide.
Sexual abuse, abandonment, isolation and a family history of mental health issues are all warning signals. Indeed, Monroe had attempted suicide on numerous occasions when she was younger.
She tried to kill herself twice when she was a teenager during her marriage to James Dougherty. She tried again in 1950 after a failed relationship. Another suicide was attempted during her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller.
Many psychologists today believe Monroe suffered from bipolar disorder — a syndrome characterized by extreme shifts in mood. This, along with her chronic insomnia and drug use are classic risk factors for suicide.
Hollywood columnist James Bacon saw Marilyn just days before her death. “She was drinking champagne and straight vodka and occasionally popping a pill,” Bacon told The LA Times.
“I said, ‘Marilyn, the combination of pills and alcohol will kill you.’ And she said, ‘It hasn’t killed me yet.’ Then she took another drink and popped another pill. I know at night she took barbiturates”.
Even on the night of her death, despite recently receiving a prescription from her doctor, she was phoning friends for more pills.
If we discount the suspicious elements of her death, Monroe’s psychological problems along with her excessive use of prescription drugs, make the official suicide verdict all too plausible.
Whilst it’s fairly certain that Robert Kennedy was in LA and, in all probability, at Monroe’s house the day she died, the idea he killed her is highly problematic.
If Kennedy was behind any kind of premeditated plot to kill the actress, the last place in the world he would be is at her house the day of her murder.
Logic dictates he would ensure there was as much distance, figuratively and literally, between him and Monroe as possible.
The fact he was seen by numerous people at her house that day seriously discounts the possibility that he was involved in any planned operation to murder her.
A recent investigation for Court TV made a convincing case that Monroe’s death was a tragic medical accident.
According to the Court TV, her psychiatrist Ralph Greenson gave the actress a sedative enema of chloral hydrate to help her sleep and to try and wean her off the barbiturate Nembutal.
The programme argues that Greenson was unaware that her internist Dr Hyman Engelberg was continuing to prescribe her Nembutal and the lethal interaction of the drugs caused Monroe’s death.
Monroe’s lawyer Mickey Rudin reportedly heard Greenson say that night: “Gosh darn it! He gave her a prescription I didn’t know about!”
The programme suggests the cover-up and suspicious behaviour of Greenson and Eunice Murray were to cover up what would have been a damaging case of medical negligence for the psychiatrist.
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.
“Supernatural Intervention” by Anna Lindwasser for Ranker
“Man Beneath the Bed” by Atreadia, submitted directly to Weird Darkness
“Dark Magic in Hex Hollow” by Orrin Grey for The Line Up
“Killing Marilyn” posted at The Unredacted
WeirdDarkness® – is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions.
Now that we’re coming out of the dark, I’ll leave you with a little light… “Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.” – Proverbs 10:14
And a final thought… “”Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe
I’m Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness.
Visits: 14