From a taxidermist who collected human eyes to a killer trying to fill every square on a chessboard with a victim, these twelve serial killers didn’t just murder — they turned their crimes into something far more twisted and personal.
Tag: true crime stories
WEIRD AFTER DARK: “Thanksgiving’s Shadow: True Crime and Terror”
In this episode of Weird After Dark, the Ghost Hosts discuss the Weird Darkness episode “True Thanksgiving Horrors” – with numerous stories surrounding the holiday, such as three young brothers whovanish from their father’s backyard on Thanksgiving Day, a hijacker who parachutes into the night with $200,000 and is never seen again, and a grandfather’s ghost story tat leads to the discovery of a 200-year-old mass murder — just some of the chilling mysteries that have turned America’s day of gratitude into something far more sinister. From unsolved killings and baffling disappearances to haunted hotels and tragic shipwrecks, this episode explores the dark side of Thanksgiving that most families never discuss at the dinner table.
True Thanksgiving Horrors: Unsolved Murders, Cold Case Crimes & Mysterious Disappearances
Three young brothers vanish from their father’s backyard on Thanksgiving Day, a hijacker parachutes into the night with $200,000 and is never seen again, and a grandfather’s ghost story leads to the discovery of a 200-year-old mass murder — these are just some of the chilling mysteries that have turned America’s day of gratitude into something far more sinister. From unsolved killings and baffling disappearances to haunted hotels and tragic shipwrecks, this episode explores the dark side of Thanksgiving that most families never discuss at the dinner table.
MOTHERS WHO MAKE THEIR CHILDREN SICK: The Horrifying Reality of Munchausen by Proxy
From faked cancer diagnoses to deadly poisonings, these are the chilling true stories of caregivers who made their children sick for attention, sympathy, and personal gain.
THE MAN WHO RETURNED FROM HIS OWN MURDER: The Unsolved Mystery of James Eugene Harrison
A Florida businessman vanishes in 1958, a killer confesses to his murder, but then the “victim” shows up alive three months later with no memory of where he’d been.
THE AXEMAN’S JAZZ: A Serial Killer’s Letter That Terrified New Orleans
On March 19, 1919, the entire city of New Orleans threw a massive jazz party to appease a serial killer who promised to spare anyone playing jazz music in their homes that night – or face the blade of his axe.
HOW TO CREATE AN URBAN LEGEND: From Campfire Tales to True Crime, The Psychology Behind Our Terrors
From Slender Man to Bloody Mary, discover the dark psychology behind urban legends and the real murders, sightings, and crimes they’ve inspired.
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER AND HAUNTING: Hollywood’s Most Famous Unsolved True Crime Case
On January 15, 1947, Elizabeth Short’s mutilated body was found severed in half in a vacant Los Angeles lot, launching Hollywood’s most infamous unsolved murder case that would forever brand her as “The Black Dahlia.” Nearly 80 years later, guests at the Biltmore Hotel still report encountering a desperate woman in a black dress on the sixth floor — the last place Elizabeth Short was seen alive, where her ghost may still be searching for someone to finally solve her brutal murder.
THIS COP WAS A SERIAL MURDERER: The Crimes and Trial of the Golden State Killer
After decades of terrorizing California with over 50 rapes and 13 murders, the Golden State Killer was finally caught in 2018 — and the monster behind the mask was Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer who’d been living a quiet suburban life with his family. His wife of 40 years had no idea she was sleeping next to one of America’s most prolific serial killers, a man who used his law enforcement training to evade capture while destroying countless lives.
TRUE KIDNAPPING STORIES: Historic Ransoms, Modern Escapes, and Stockholm Syndrome
From the chilling 1874 case that coined ‘don’t take candy from strangers’ to Patty Hearst’s transformation from heiress to bank robber, journey through true tales of kidnapping where victims outsmarted their captors, others never escaped, and some didn’t want to. These are the abduction stories you’ve never heard—told by the survivors themselves and featuring cases of Stockholm Syndrome that challenge everything we think we know about survival.
ROOM 1046: The Unsolved Murder That Still Haunts Kansas City – Unknown Killer, Unnamed Victim
On January 2, 1935, a young man checked into Kansas City’s Hotel President under a fake name, insisting the maid leave his door unlocked while he sat alone in complete darkness. Three days later, he was found brutally tortured and murdered in Room 1046—and when someone mysteriously paid for his funeral with a note signed “Love forever, Louise,” investigators realized they had no idea who the victim really was or who killed him.
SOMEONE IS LIVING IN YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW (And You Don’t Know It)
A man in Oregon spent months secretly living in a crawl space, complete with a bed, television, and stolen electricity – but this isn’t the first time someone has been discovered hiding where they shouldn’t be.
NEARLY DECAPITATED IN A LOCKED APARTMENT: The Mysterious Murder of Helen Knabe
In 1911, Indianapolis’ pioneering female doctor was found nearly decapitated in her locked apartment with no sign of how the killer entered or escaped—and the murder weapon had vanished without a trace.
WHEN CHILDREN BECOME KILLERS: The Youngest Murderers in Criminal History
A comprehensive examination of juvenile homicide cases that shattered assumptions about childhood innocence
15 KILLER KIDS & MURDEROUS MINORS: Can We Predict Which Kids Will Become Killers?
From an 11-year-old who killed for ‘fun’ to teens who murdered their own families, these 15 shocking cases of killer kids reveal the disturbing truth about whether we can predict which children will become murderers.
THE PLAISTOW HORROR: The Boy Who Slept Next To His Mother’s Corpse After Murdering Her
In the sweltering summer of 1895, two boys lived with their mother’s decomposing corpse for ten days while playing cricket and going to the seaside — a Victorian crime that shocked even the most hardened of London’s East End residents.
HORROR AND HAUNTING IN VILLISCA: Eight Deaths, One Night, Endless Ghosts
In 1912, someone crept through an unlocked door in small-town Iowa with an oil lamp and an axe, leaving eight bodies and a mystery that still haunts the house where they died.
INESCAPABLE ALCATRAZ: 3 Heads, 50 Raincoats, And Evidence The FBI Hid For 40 Years
Three convicts vanished from America’s most secure prison using dummy heads made of toilet paper and hair, leaving behind only pieces of a makeshift raft and a mystery that has haunted investigators for over 60 years – but many don’t know about the evidence that was hidden and suppressed.
Three Heads in the Dark: The Alcatraz Escape That Broke America’s Unbreakable Prison
Three papier-mâché heads stared from prison beds while their creators vanished into the dark waters of San Francisco Bay, leaving behind a mystery that refuses to die.