Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, Supernatural, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved Darren Marlar

IN THIS EPISODE: Dawstone Road is where some say the veil between our reality and the unknown is thin. A motorist's brush with death in 1961 sparked a chain of inexplicable events. From encounters with horned entities to unexplained accidents, the road holds secrets that seem to defy rational explanation. (The Demon of Dawstone Road) *** There is a dark history and supernatural secrets at the Manila Film Center. Built as a symbol of power and prestige during the Marcos regime, its construction was rushed, resulting in a catastrophic collapse that claimed numerous lives. But the horror didn't end there. Stories of hauntings, spectral hands reaching out, and cries for help still echo through its halls. (Horrors At Manila Film Center) *** When 19-year-old Kenneka Jenkins vanished during a hotel party, it sparked a viral whirlwind of speculation and suspicion. Despite authorities ruling her death an accident, questions lingered – as they should, seeing as her body was found in the hotel freezer. (Frozen Corpse at Crown Plaza) *** For over a century, these ghostly orbs have captivated and spooked travelers in Queensland, Australia. Are they supernatural spirits or mere mirages? (The Ghostly Orbs of Min Min) *** AND MORE!

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Blowing Smoke Up Your Enema” by Bipin Dimri for Historic Mysteries: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckujv2n
“The Demon of Dawstone Road” by Tom Slemen for Anomalien.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/muvz6wbv
“Horrors At Manila Film Center” by Lucia for TheGhostInMyMachine.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/9es3ka3j
“Frozen Corpse at Crown Plaza” by Amanda Sedlak-Hevener for Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8drf6j
“The Ghostly Orbs of Min Min” by Kimberly Lin for Historic Mysteries: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ea9zway9
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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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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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: April 15, 2024

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/demon-of-dawstone-road/

IN THIS EPISODE: Did a malevolent spirit cause the death of John Bell, or was it something else that brought his demise? (The Death of John Bell) *** A man is awoken in the middle of the night by a piano – being played by no one. (Rock Isn’t Dead) *** Is it possible that ancient human skulls are conscious? (Cult of Human Skulls) *** Did the Watergate scandal hide a secret agenda? (Watergate: Wilderness of Mirrors)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Watergate: Wilderness of Mirrors” posted at The Unredacted: http://bit.ly/2JjZ0pr
“Rock Isn’t Dead” by UnQuiet: http://bit.ly/2HfOZax
“The Death of John Bell” by Troy Taylor: http://bit.ly/2HgkJwq
“Cult of Human Skulls” by A. Sutherland: http://bit.ly/2Q1WbtT
Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library.
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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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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: December, 2021

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/bell-witch-kills-john-bell/

Creepy old-time radio episodes from a variety of different shows! Get full-length pulp audiobooks, pulp eBooks, and old-time radio shows ABSOLUTELY FREE FOR IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD by emailing WeirdDarkness@RadioArchives.com!
00:00:00.000 = INTRODUCTION
00:01:54.632 = Dimension X, “Report On Barnhouse Effect” (April 22, 1950)
00:30:46.076 = Dreadful John At Midnight, “Ghost Hunt” (1963)
00:46:28.009 = Eleventh Hour, “Runaway Kid” (Broadcast Date Unknown)
01:15:57.020 = Escape, “The Vessel of Wrath” (May 10, 1953)
01:45:26.316 = Murder By Experts, “The Big Money” (July 25, 1949)
02:14:52.230 = X-Minus One, “The Convict” (December 11, 1957)
02:32:53.902 = Exploring Tomorrow, “Country Boy” (December 18, 1957)
02:51:19.931 = Five After The Hour, “Man Without a Face” (May 23, 1945)
03:15:32.949 = Hall of Fantasy, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (June 01, 1953)
03:39:26.772 = Haunted, Tales of the Supernatural, “Little Girl Lost” (June 21, 1980)
04:05:59.869 = The Haunting Hour, “Breakdown” (1944)
04:33:01.645 = The Hermit’s Cave, “Notebook on Murder” (March 17, 1947)

SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
This episode is sponsored by http://RadioArchives.com
Weird Darkness Retro Radio theme by Storyblocks.
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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
Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness
WeirdDarkness® - is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness, 2024.
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CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/miscellaneous-marathon-003

PLEASE SHARE THIS EPISODE in your social media so others who love strange and macabre stories can listen too! https://weirddarkness.com/listen
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HOUR ONE: Many tales describe encounters with the devil himself. Yet not all are the same. Sometimes Satan approaches his prey… other times, the lost soul goes seeking Lucifer to make a deal. Either way, the results are never favorable. (Diabolical Dealings With The Devil) *** It wasn’t until recently that I’d even heard of the cryptid, Ahool. In case it’s new to you as well, it’s a winged cryptid that some portray as a giant bat, others claim it’s a flying primate. Personally, I think it looks like a werewolf with bat wings. Whatever it is, we’ll learn a bit more about the Ahool. (The Cry Of The Ahool)
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HOUR TWO: 

Of course a lot of people likely don’t believe in heaven or hell and many will dismiss such things as mythical tales or folklore. However there are places on Earth that could be considered hell – no not Detroit or Wichita. We’re talking about actual places that look like the entrances to purgatory. And perhaps they really are. (Secret Doors to the Underworld) *** A king, a gossoon and a bear walked into a bar. No, this is not the first line of a joke, but a common occurrence in Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California, during the 1880s. The king was Frank McManus, the gossoon was Frank’s baseball-playing brother, Cornelius, and the bear was a large inebriated ursine. (King of the Irish Hill) *** Why are some people suddenly vigorous, alert, and feeling much better shortly before they pass away? It is something that has happened since time began, but medical experts are still baffled by it. (Terminal Lucidity Phenomenon) *** While many say the most haunted hotel is the one in Colorado that was used in the film “The Shining” - there is evidence that one in Eureka Springs, Arkansas deals with even more paranormal activity. (The Crescent Hotel)
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SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: Two men were found dead in the bushes, beheaded… and emasculated. But that was just the beginning of the Mad Butcher’s killing spree. (The Cleveland Torso Murders) *** Seeing reptiles in Oklahoma isn’t all that uncommon – even dinosaur fossils are found in the state. But there have also been reports of something much stranger – a snake/human hybrid creature more terrifying than it sounds. (Oklahoma Snake Man)
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SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW:
“Baba Vanga” from Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.com/magazine
“Diabolical Dealings With The Devil” by Laura for Paranormal Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/y94czoxt,https://tinyurl.com/yc5uy7mj
“The Cry of the Ahool” by Gary Brandt from Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.com/magazine
“Secret Doors To The Underworld”, by Facts Verse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU6-lfWk3Zo
“King of the Irish Hill” by Paul Drexler for Crime Traveller: https://tinyurl.com/y7tmp6lz
“Terminal Lucidity Phenomenon” by Cynthia McKanzie for Message to Eagle: http://ow.ly/5G8W30ocL0Q
“The Cleveland Torso Murders” by Doug MacGowan for Historic Mysteries: a href="https://tinyurl.com/ycwha94c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer...

Get full-length pulp audiobooks, pulp eBooks, and old-time radio shows ABSOLUTELY FREE FOR IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD by emailing WeirdDarkness@RadioArchives.com!
After September 30, 1962, commercial radio drama was as dead as the doornail described in the opening pages of Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843), and everyone understood that television killed it. People who worked in both mediums realized that working in radio was a much better overall experience than television could ever be. Sure, TV had pictures to go along with the stories, but putting those pictures on the air involved a highly technical and expensive technology, and by the time those images reached the audience they were grainy, blurry, and sometimes nearly impossible to see. One actor could play different parts on several different radio programs, even in a single episode, but once they were seen in a TV show their face was recognizable enough that they had a hard time working on another show, and even a twenty-second appearance meant hours in makeup and wardrobe. Appearing in a radio drama required just a couple rehearsals and then remaining as quiet as possible in the studio, following along in the script until time to perform your lines, which you also read from the script. There was one important thing that television could offer over radio work; money. The accounting in TV and radio was fundamentally different. A radio program was usually paid for by a single sponsor while commercial time on TV shows was sold piecemeal, but there was still a phenomenal amount of money involved in TV production and the networks and sponsors were happy to pay it. Unable to compete with the huge amount of money being spread around by TV, after the final broadcasts of Suspense and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1960, the Golden Age of Radio came to an end. Or did it? In the decade after the end of the Golden Age of Radio, TV matured artistically and technically. There had been a rejection by the networks of "rural" programming which helped launch a nostalgia craze. This craze began with the release of George Lucas's American Graffiti (1973), and suddenly everything old seemed new again. One of the genres which were best suited to radio was the horror shows which made listeners sit up in bed and pull the sheets over their heads. This sort of program had been pioneered Wyliss Cooper and Arch Oboler on Lights Out as well as The Whistler, Suspense, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. This was the type of show creators decided upon for his radio nostalgia project, which became The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. They were convinced that there was enough interest from those who had heard similar shows growing up during the Golden Age, but the show built a following of younger fans for whom radio drama was a new and exciting experience. In many ways, CBSRMT was more like a TV program on the radio than a typical Old Time Radio show. The shows were taped rather than broadcast live, which allowed for greater post-production editing and creative control. The scripts generally ran 45 minutes, and the action was broken at points to allow for separately produced commercials and news bulletins to be inserted. The opening featured the "creaking door" effect which had been part of The Inner Sanctum. Host E.G. Marshall was never as campily creepy earlier horror hosts, but his closing, "Until next time, pleasant… dreams?" was sure to inspire nightmares. Production of CBSRMT was efficient almost to the point of cheapness. Creators drew upon radio row veterans working in New York as well as up-and-coming television personalities. The show used original stories from a wide variety of genres as well as literary classics. Writers were paid a flat $350 for each recorded script, and actors received union scale rates of $73.92 per episode. The actors would come into the studio for an initial script reading at 9:00 am,...

IN THIS EPISODE: Although Valak is depicted in the films "The Nun" and in “The Conjuring 2” as a habit-wearing spirit, the real demon appears as a child riding a two-headed dragon — at least according to a 17th-century demon-hunting manual. (The Reality Behind The Demon, Valak) *** The Vatican is one of the most well-guarded areas in the world. But if rumors are to be believed, all that security isn’t only to protect the pontiff… but some dark, disturbing secrets… and a machine that could change everything we know to be true. (The Vatican’s Secret Machine) *** We’ll look at that time a force field was accidentally created at a 3M plant. (3M’s Accidental Force Field) *** In 1872 George Wheeler met and married May Tillson in Boston. He made a home for May and her younger sister Della, first in New York, then in California. Along the way, George fell in love with young Della and when she planned to marry someone else he was faced with a dilemma: he could not marry her himself and he could not bear to see her wed to another. The solution he chose pleased no one. (Thus She Passed Away) *** In the 1800s scientists and doctors needed cadavers to study human anatomy and practice their skills. To help accommodate the need, it was made legal to sell dead bodies. What could possibly go wrong? (The Unsettling Anatomy Act)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“The Reality Behind The Demon, Valak” by Gina Dimuro for All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/43vu356n
“3M’s Accidental Force Field” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3vvnwbpv
“Thus She Passed Away” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder By Gaslight: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yyztmnat
“The Unsettling Anatomy Act” by SM for ListVerse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8vdns9
“The Vatican’s Secret Machine” by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient Pages: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8kxxz8
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, 2021

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.com/true-horror-behind-demon-valak/