 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Located near Siler City, in the forest of Chatham County, North Carolina, the notorious Devil's Tramping Ground is a circle of barren earth that has inspired fearful myths and frightening legends spanning generations. Believed to be the preferred place for the Lord of Darkness to walk alone and contemplate humanity's demise, stories of the evil energies surrounding the lifeless clearing reach back hundreds of years. While rumors of the Devil's role in the location's origin have persisted for generations, modern times have brought more modern theories to the table. Some believe the ground was cursed by the bloodshed of a Native American conflict. Others think the patch is the result of extraterrestrial UFO radiation. More grounded theories propose the earth remains barren as the result of unusually high levels of salt in the soil. Whatever the theory, plenty of people have added to the area's mythology in recent years. We'll take a look at some creepy stories and legends about the Devil's Tramping Ground that might have you rethinking your late summer camping plans. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. This is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. Coming up in this episode. John George Hague took the plunge into murder when he knocked out his old boss and dumped the body into acid, then set out to kill again. Only 2% of the population can hear it, a persistent, maddening sound that science has no explanation for and the hearers have dubbed it the hum. The Trump family fled their farm in 2016. There is still no explanation as to why, and one police officer calls it the most bizarre case he has ever seen. But first, in Chatham County, North Carolina, there is a 40-foot wide circle in the wilderness where absolutely nothing grows. Not only can scientists not explain it, but some believe Satan himself is responsible. We'll begin with that story. While listening, be sure to check out the Weird Darkness website. At WeirdDarkness.com you can sign up for the newsletter to win monthly prizes. Find paranormal and horror audiobooks I've narrated. Watch old horror movies for free. Listen to my other podcast, The Church of the Yandere. 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. The first letter seemed harmless enough, possibly even just a result of a mistaken delivery. The second one drew concern. And paired with the unexplained visions of something darkly unsettling, Sam Morris finally caves. The everyman, safe world he lives in is about to take a drastic and dark turn. He quickly falls into a world of insanity, the morbid and the macabre. He's drawn into a darkness that is just as deadly as it is mysterious. A darkness that dwells in a house that could only be conjured up by a mad brain. It is a house that calls you, a house that haunts you with its ghosts. They'll scratch and claw through your fragile hide, bringing madness bubbling to the surface. Come see the ghosts for yourself, if you dare. Weird Darkness Publishing presents of A Mad Brain by Scott Donnelly. Now available on paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions through Amazon and WeirdDarkness.com. The Devil's Tramping Ground got its name from its lack of living vegetation within a clearly defined circle. According to the Encyclopedia of North Carolina, normal vegetation surrounds the circle but only a wiry grass grows inside it and no plant life of any kind can be found on the path itself. Additionally, locals have been unsuccessful in trying to transplant that wiry grass to other soils and any living vegetation intentionally planted within the Devil's Tramping Ground withers soon after. As dictated by local legend, any foreign object placed inside the circle and especially within the barren, foot-wide path that encompasses it will disappear from the area by the next day. A similar claim is presented by the website North Carolina Ghosts. If an object is left in the circle before dusk, it will be aggressively moved outside of the circle by dawn. Even people are allegedly ejected from the clearing in the night. According to a legend shared by Tumblr user AllTheStuffILike, Boy Scout troops have tried camping in the circle and have woken up in their tents a few miles away. Some guys tried to stay up all night in a tent on that spot and later reported that a soft, soothing, melodic voice lulled them to sleep and then they too woke up a few miles away. The barren circle and the desolate path that surround it are often attributed to the Devil himself who allegedly walks the circle at night, plotting and scheming. The Coloradan interviewed locals for insight into the infamous area, explaining legend has it the circle is the Devil's playground. Believers say every night when the clock strikes twelve, he comes up one path and stomps around in a circle, eliminating all growth and life before going back down a second path. NorthCarolinaGhosts.com, a website devoted to all the local legends of the Tarheel state, shares, In his tramping ground, the Devil spends his nights pacing around and around in a circle and turning his bitter mind towards ways to bring human souls to damnation. It's the scorching heat of his cloven hoof prints that wither the vegetation and has rendered the soil barren. He angrily brushes aside anything left in his path, his great strength easily able to toss aside even the heaviest objects. According to locals, hunting dogs and pets refused to cross the circle's path and many reportedly bark, growl, snarl and bear their teeth in the direction of the clearing. According to NorthCarolinaGhosts, dogs whimper when they near the circle. Other animals will dig their heels into the sand and refuse to be brought into the circle's bounds. Many supernatural explanations for the tramping ground have been suggested and many of them involve the land's rumored importance to Native American tribes in the area. In Kayla Ambrose's book, Ghost Hunting North Carolina, she recounts local legends claiming that early settlers believed the barren circle was a sacred area belonging to the local tribes. These tribes allegedly use the site for ceremonies and rituals. Local lore collected by the website NorthCarolinaGhosts presents a similar yet more unfortunate tale claiming that the place was the site of a battle between two rival tribes and the blood of the victims soaked the ground so thoroughly that nothing would ever grow there again. The lost colony of Roanoke has sparked some of the most famous outlandish and frightening supernatural theories in the history of the U.S. and some believe that all of these can be tied to the devil's tramping ground. The entire colony of Roanoke Island seemingly disappeared from what is now North Carolina when the colony's leader John White returned to England for supplies. The only remaining clue was the word croa or possibly croatoan carved into a tree. Some local legends suggest that a battle fought by two Native American tribes at the site of the devil's tramping ground scarred the land and the losing tribe eventually fled to the outer banks. There they formed the croatoan tribe and befriended the Roanoke Island colonists who intermarried into the croaton tribe to avoid total starvation. In essence, the legend claims the tramping ground is cursed by the blood of the tribe's fallen warriors. Given the perfectly circular and lifeless patch of earth that makes up the devil's tramping ground and the clearing's supposed similarity to crop circles, modern local legends have begun suggesting the site could be the result of visitors from another world. One of the most prominent theories linking the locale to extraterrestrials addresses the unusual circular pattern of the barren patch. According to more recent lore, the location was possibly the site of a super-advanced UFO which radiated the land and exterminated the grass. One of the most remarkable and unusual aspects of the devil's tramping ground is its unusual geometric shape. The area isn't just a broad path of barren earth, it's nearly a perfect circle measuring between 30 and 40 feet in diameter. Perfect circles, rarely seen in natural formations, are often folklorically connected to supernatural occurrences. For example, circles of mushrooms are widely known as fairy rings. Perhaps stranger than the desolate circle itself is the utterly barren footpath, the one supposedly paced by the devil himself, that surrounds a slightly less scorched central circle. One geometrically perfect circle in the middle of the forest, it is uncommon, but two occurring naturally is extremely rare. Those who originally settled in Chatham County were largely of Scottish, Irish and German descent. They came from an age in Europe in which beliefs in the devil and other supernatural phenomena were very popular. In general, these entities were widely feared. King James IV, also known as King James I, even wrote a book in 1603 about black magic, witches, demons and the Prince of Darkness entitled Daemonology. When the devil-fearing Scotch Irish immigrants began settling in the US, especially in North Carolina, they brought their devout old world beliefs with them. This may be one reason why many geographical oddities and unusual locales, including the Tramping Ground, soon became associated with the Dark Lord. As North Carolina ghosts points out, North Carolina has a devil's rock, a devil's courthouse, seven devils, kill devil hills, devil's branch, devil's chimney, devil's nest, four devil's elbows, two devil's forks, a devil's knob and even the devil's taterpatch. The devil's Tramping Ground is said to be as old as Chatham County itself, which was founded in 1771. The legend of the devil himself pacing Chatham County's forests was allegedly brought over by the Scotch Irish settlers in the 18th century when fear of the devil was extremely widespread. Stories, urban legends and local lore surrounding the strange appearance and unsettling energy of the devil's Tramping Ground have been recorded for nearly three centuries and have been reported by Chatham locals, visitors and passersby. The mystery of the devil's Tramping Ground has been known since Chatham County was founded shortly before the War for Independence, according to North Carolina ghosts. From generation to generation, the story has been passed down. When the location is linked to the actual devil, one recurring suggestion claims that no one can ever spend the night without losing their sanity. This is perhaps due to the rumor that the devil, when pacing the circle, drops the illusions with which he disguises himself when he appears to men. In his natural state, the face of this fallen angel is so horrible that no man can see it and remain sane. The lore surrounding the area stresses that when people have tried to spend the night in the circle, possibly to disprove the rumor of the devil's pacing or, alternatively, to meet the devil himself, something they see on their vigils drives them out of their wits never to recover. Reporter Ethan Fine Silver took two dogs and a brave female companion along for a camping trip to the devil's Tramping Ground. They set up their tent in the middle of the circle and spent the night there. None of us woke up outside the circle, Fine Silver wrote. My 1988 Nissan Sentra didn't stall when I drove it over the circle. The dogs roamed happily, no cowering. However, Fine Silver admitted that, likely due to power of suggestion and the prominence of the legend, his adventure wasn't entirely uneventful. I thought I heard footfalls, he said. They weren't nearly loud enough to be someone walking around the tent. They were muffled, sort of ghostly. One of the dogs was staring out the screen window with a dreamy look. North Carolina soil scientist Richard Hayes told the Colorado one that he began testing the soil of the devil's Tramping Ground in the mid-2000s. He studied the area under the hypothesis that there was something inhibiting plant growth. One of the natural things we find in Chatham County is copper. According to the report, the results didn't show any copper, and they didn't prove another of Hayes theories about high salt concentration either. Hayes concluded that he couldn't explain what was happening at the site scientifically. Hayes later said that despite higher concentrations of certain minerals inside the circle than outside of it, none of the readings, none of the data, showed that plants couldn't live there. According to a sign posted along the path leading up to the circle, the area is now additionally known as the Chatham County Vortex, and it's described as a famous energy vortex. A Magdalen crystal column of energy is anchored to this site, the sign declares. This very high vibrating energy helps to balance feminine and masculine energies, strengthens harmony and expands human consciousness. The philosophy of Magdalen crystal columns is rooted in the New Age belief of an invisible network of divine feminine, Maure energy surrounding the planet based on the spiritual power of Mary Magdalene. Personally, I think there's a better chance of the devil doing it than some weird energy force. Up next, John George Haig took the plunge into murder when he knocked out his old boss and dumped the body into acid, and then set out to kill again. But first, only 2% of the population can hear it, a persistent maddening sound that science has no explanation for, and the hearers have dubbed it the hum. That story is up next on Weird Darkness. Are you a member of the Darkness Syndicate? The Darkness Syndicate is a private membership where you receive commercial free episodes of the Weird Darkness podcast and radio show. Behind the scenes video updates about future projects and events I'm working on. You can share your own opinions on ideas to help me decide upon Weird Darkness contests, events, and merchandise. You can download word search puzzles based on episodes of the podcast. You can hear audiobooks I'm narrating before even the publishers or authors get to hear them. You can also hear auditions I've submitted for other voiceover projects and get updates on the progress of those I've been cast in, such as my voice acting roles as Wolverine and J. Jonah Jameson in a couple of Marvel fan series, or as Green Lantern, Hal Jordan in a DC fan project. You get all of these benefits and more Starting at only $5 per month, join the Darkness Syndicate at WeirdDarkness.com slash Syndicate. Some describe it as sounding like an engine idling just outside the house. Others report hearing a low-frequency rumble, but almost everyone who can hear it, 2% of the population by some estimates, agrees on one thing. The hum, as it has been called, is a persistent maddening noise for which the scientific world has no known explanation. Since it was first reported in Bristol, England in 1970, the solusive phenomenon has plagued thousands of people across the globe, slowly eroding their sanity. One of them is Steve Colhase, an industrial facility's mechanical engineer living in Brookfield, Connecticut. In Garrett Harckowick's short documentary, Doom Vibrations, Colhase describes the noise as, Your ears are ringing real bad. If it's a bad day, it feels like your brain is being squeezed, it's nauseating. Colhase says his dog, too, seems to suffer from the noise. Once he started hearing it, the canine became lethargic and has never recovered. In the film, Colhase lays out the extensive evidence he has collected on the unexplained noise pollution. The quest for answers has consumed him. He estimates that he has spent $30,000 on legal fees and equipment related to his independent investigation. The single through-line in all reported cases Colhase has studied is that the locations are along high-pressure gas pipelines, or at least in close proximity to them. The phenomenon has spawned many conspiracy theories. Sufferers known as Hummers have pointed fingers at sources such as electrical power lines, wireless communication devices and low-frequency electromagnetic radiation. For decades, doctors dismissed patients' complaints as tinnitus, an auditory problem that affects 15% of people. But the latest research suggests that the noise is not a hallucination and that many Hummers do not suffer from impaired hearing. Dr. David Boggley, an audiologist at Adwin Brooks Hospital in Cambridge, estimates that about a third of cases can be attributed to environmental causes such as industrial machinery and a nearby factory. But the majority of the cases still remain unexplained. Boggley himself believes that many of his patients suffer from extreme sensitivity to signals outside the normal range of human hearing. I think most people view the hum as a fringe belief, Harkowicz says, because it is so subjective. People say they hear something that most people can't hear. But when you look at the vast number of people who say they hear it, it is obvious that there is something going on. So does the filmmaker subscribe to Colhase's gas pipeline theory? Some parts are definitely believable, others less so, Harkowicz said. He admits that some of Colhase's wilder extrapolations veer into conspiracy theory territory. I don't think we'll ever know for sure though, he says, since it would require an extraordinary amount of coordination and work to prove it. But Harkowicz was drawn to Colhase's story regardless of the relative plausibility of his claims. When I make something about a person with unusual beliefs, I no longer go into it thinking, what will it be like if they realize they're wrong, he says. I spend more time on how they arrived at their beliefs and what of myself I see in them. In this case, the filmmaker identified with Colhase's obsessive devotion to his project, despite the fact that it had very little broad appeal. The response to his research was underwhelming to him, but the people he has positively impacted keeps him going. Harkowicz said, I often feel the same way about documentary film. I spend years on a project, inevitably feel underwhelmed by the response, but ultimately keep working because one or two people email me to say it meant something to them. I think most creative people would identify with Steve's story. Red wine, ice cream, a warm bath. These are wonderful ways to unwind after a long day at work, but as we've seen time and time again, even the most soothing of activities can be twisted into terror by a madman's dark imagination. Such is the grisly case of John George Hay, a serial killer from England who used bubble baths of acid to dispose of his victims. Born in 1909 to an ultra-religious Plymouth Brethren family, John George Hay was raised in Yorkshire, England. His upbringing was strict, to say the least. His father reportedly constructed a 10-foot fence around their yard as a means of blocking out the neighbors. With no playmates, young John grew up alone. At night, he was haunted by nightmares. The first signs of trouble appeared in his early 20s. After a series of odd office jobs, John was canned on a suspicion that he had stolen company money. His life took a brief turn for the better in 1934 when he married a woman named Betty Hamer, but the marriage fell apart. Soon after, John landed himself in jail for fraud. While behind bars, Betty gave birth to a baby girl whom she put up for adoption. John's conservative parents refused to accept the decision and forever shunned their son from the family. Alone, when released from prison, John moved south to London where he picked up work as a chauffeur for a wealthy businessman named William McSwann in 1936. Yet his criminal ways bubbled back up. For the next seven years, John was in and out of jail for various crimes. It was during this time that he dreamed up the perfect murder. How can one kill and then truly get rid of the body? Sulfuric acid. Of course. To test his plan, John caught mice and submerged their helpless bodies in acid. There, he saw it. The critters were gone within 30 minutes. In 1943, John was freshly released from prison and reconnected with his old boss William McSwann. William invited the freed convict to dinner at his parents' home in celebration. Shortly thereafter, William disappeared. John told William's parents that he'd gone into hiding to avoid being drafted into World War II, but the truth was far grizzlier. John had lured William into his basement where he cracked him on the head, then dumped him into a 40-gallon barrel of sulfuric acid. Within a couple of days, William went from grown man to goop. Afterward, John moved into William's estate, claiming the businessman had asked him to do so. But with World War II drawing to a close, William's parents wondered why their son remained in hiding. They soon voiced their suspicions to John. He knew of one way to quiet the fussy couple, though. Give them an acid bath. With the entire McSwann family now out of the picture, John began cashing William's pension checks. He sold off their belongings for around £8,000 or £300,000 in today's pounds. With money in hand, the killer moved into the Oslo Court Hotel in London's Posh Kensington District. Eventually, however, the funds ran out, especially after John gambled much of it away. While on the hunt for more cash, the killer spotted a promising real estate add in the local paper. He traveled to the home of Dr. Archibald Henderson and his wife Rose. Pretending to be an interested buyer, John soon struck up a relationship with the affluent couple. In February of 1948, John convinced his newfound friends to take a drive into the country and visit his new workshop in West Sussex. Upon arrival, John gunned down the Henderson's and dumped their bodies in the baths. He then collected their belongings and pawned it off for money. Yes, the acid bath murderer had cooked up quite the chilling racket. Lure wealthy acquaintances out to his workshop of horrors, send them to the vats, then sell off their possessions for cold hard cash. John's next and final victim was Olive Duran Deacon, a wealthy widow living at the Oslo Court Hotel. Of all possible things, Ms. Duran Deacon wanted to meet with John to discuss a brilliant new idea, artificial fingernails. John happily invited her to his West Sussex workshop where he shot her dead and then submerged her body into the acid. This time, however, the acid bath murderer failed to cover his tracks. Detectives soon connected the missing woman to John and began looking into his lengthy record of prior arrests. When authorities searched his West Sussex workshop, they found evidence of Ms. Duran's deacon, plus some papers referring to his earlier victims. As for the body-erasing acid baths, the plan was not as foolproof as John thought. A pathologist identified three gallstones and a piece of a denture amongst the remaining sludge, objects that could withstand a slathering of sulfuric acid. Authorities arrested John and charged him with murder. He soon confessed to the killings. The man pled insanity, claiming he'd been driven mad by a childhood nightmare that returned to him as an adult. I saw before me a forest of crucifixes which gradually turned into trees, he recounted of the dream. At first, there appeared to be dew or rain dripping from the branches, but as I approached, I realized it was blood. The whole forest began to writhe in the trees dark and erect to ooze blood. A man went from each tree catching the blood. When the cup was full, he approached me. Drink, he said, but I was unable to move. The courtroom had little interest in John's strange vision. A guilty verdict was handed down on all counts. In August 1949, John George Hay was put to death by one of England's longest serving executioners, Albert Pierpont. Up next, the Trump family fled their farm in 2016. There's still no explanation as to why, and one police officer calls it the most bizarre case he has ever seen. That story when Weird Darkness returns. In 2019, six teenagers tried to rob a Chicago home and it ended with one dead shot by the homeowner. A Minnesota man is confronted by burglars at his home in 2012 and ends up being charged with murder for killing the intruders. In 2023, a man was killed after he broke into a home and the homeowner is charged with murder. As a listener to Weird Darkness, you know how bad things can go in a crime and even when defending yourself against the criminals. Sometimes, you are the one facing legal problems. That's why you never let the criminals get access to your home to begin with. Home security is no longer recommended. It is essential, and with ADT, it's no longer for the elite. It's for everyone. Right now, you can get a free home security system from ADT to keep burglars from entering your home in the first place. Just visit WeirdDarkness.com slash ADT. ADT is the biggest and most trusted name in home security and has been since 1874. And they are still equipping people like you and me with the newest and best home security technology with 24x7 monitoring and 24x7 customer service. Whether your home is basic or ultra smart, ADT is the best option for your home security. And again, you can get a free custom-built home security system with the latest technology by visiting WeirdDarkness.com slash ADT. In late August of 2016, the Trump family of Sylvan Australia abandoned the family berry farm and successful earth-moving business and went off the grid, albeit briefly. The members of the family left their cell phones, passports and credit cards behind with no explanation or warning that they were leaving town. The family, Mark and Jacoba and their adult children, Rihanna, Mitchell and Ella, drove north. Why did the Trump family leave behind all their possessions? And why would they put on such a bizarre act with everyone they came across? Even after the family returned home after nearly a week, there were no answers. The media and amateur sleuths have speculated about possible reasons, but the speculation remains just that and the family's temporary exodus remains an enigma. On August 29, 2016, members of the Trump family piled into the family car and drove away from their berry farm and their successful business, without so much as a word to their friends or extended family. The family drove nearly a thousand miles across Australia. No one realized the family was missing at first, but it wasn't long before the family of five splintered into individual groups, their erratic behavior finally drawing attention to the situation at hand. When the police were alerted to the family's bizarre disappearance by Rihanna and Ella, the first thing they did was pay a visit to the Trump's abandoned berry farm. Inside the house, the doors were unlocked. Authorities discovered personal possessions left conspicuously out in the open. Passports, cell phones and credit cards, the kinds of items most people in the modern world would take with them on a road trip, they were all left sitting on the table. The abandoned items suggested the Trumps didn't want to be followed. The one member of the family who realized something was off about his parents was their son, Mitchell, who brought along his phone on this impromptu excursion. He realized the family was being delusional and that his phone would be the one lifeline to civilization if things were to go south. When his parents found out about the phone, they made Mitchell throw it out the car window to keep them from being electronically tracked. Once that was out of the equation, the family was truly cut off from civilization. Five hundred miles into the family's thousand mile road trip, Mitchell-Trump had had enough of the family's shenanigans and left them to their own devices. At 7am in Bathurst, west of Sydney, he left the group and took a series of trains back home. After everyone returned home safe and sound, Mitchell expressed regret at leaving his family when he did. He told the press he should have helped his family as things spiraled out of control, but at the time his decision made sense. I thought getting out was the best idea for me at the time. In hindsight, I should have tried to stay with them and try to help them bring them back around and talk to them more, but I got out of the car. No one knew the family was missing until Rihanna and Ella-Trump cut away from their parents while at the General and Caves, a popular tourist destination. The two sisters took possession of a car and drove to Gulburn about two hours south of their departure point. Once they arrived, the girls reported their parents missing, a call that sent the county's authorities on a scramble to find the couple. After regrouping at home, Mitchell and Ella spoke to the press about their parents' odd behavior, saying that they had never acted this way before but insisting that they weren't dangerous. After Ella and Rihanna escaped to Gulburn, they went their separate ways. Ella drove the rest of the way home, while Rihanna, still apparently suffering from some form of psychosis, slipped into the back of a truck. The driver didn't realize Rihanna was hiding in his truck bed until he'd been on the road for about an hour. When he tried to speak to her, she was in a catatonic state and claimed she didn't know who or where she was. It was only after she was taken to a psychiatric hospital that she was identified as Rihanna-Trump. After taking a car in Gulburn, Ella had the wheels to make it back home before the rest of her siblings. After her arrival, Mitchell got back as well, having hopped a few trains in order to make it back to the family farm. The police were already waiting for the siblings. Ella was charged with taking the vehicle while the police continued their search for the parents. However, under Section 33 of the Mental Health Act of New South Wales, the charges were later dropped. Once their children parted ways, the parents didn't stick together for long either. While Jacoba tried to take a bus back home, Mark continued his streak of unsettling behavior. He began tailgating a young couple who eventually stopped their car. Mark responded by getting out of his vehicle, but after standing in the middle of the road and staring at the couple for a brief time, he suddenly ran into the woods. Following his disappearance, Mark was connected with break-ins at Miller's Cottage, a hotel in Wongaratta and the Millawa General Store. Nothing was taken or damaged, so the Wongaratta authorities didn't press charges. As Mark Trump was causing small-scale havoc across the Wongaratta area, his wife was attempting to travel home. However, she was in too much of a state of shock to get further than yes, a little over three hours away from Wongaratta. Once she arrived in yes, she tried to book a hotel room, but didn't have any way of paying. After exhibiting various signs of confusion, she was transported to a hospital by one of the locals. The staff immediately recognized who she was and called the police. She was checked into a psychiatric hospital and placed under observation. One of the strangest details about the Trump's family's disappearance and one that lends itself to many conspiracy theories is the surplus of financial documents the police found when they searched the family's home. In addition to the credit cards, cell phones, and passports found lying around, authorities discovered stacks of the Trump's financial records. From the looks of it, the family had gone through their personal records and placed them all around the house before taking off. When asked to explain the odd behavior, including but not limited to their sudden departure, the Trump family didn't have an answer. The family wasn't on drugs, and nobody was diagnosed with any mental health issues. The police officer who knows the family personally said the Trumps weren't in debt, nor were they part of any fringe religious groups. After leaving the hospital, Rihanna Trump said stress had been building up in the family for years and suggested the incident was simply how the tension finally let itself out. While the Trumps chalk up their inexplicable, if temporary behavior to a build-up of stress, online observers and other amateur sleuths have come up with other theories to explain the family's disappearance. Some people believe the mob was in pursuit, primarily owing to the financial statements stacked up in the Trump's home, but there's no evidence of any involvement with organized crime. Among other suggested possibilities are environmental toxins from the family's farm, although once again the details about what those toxins are and what effect they may have had remain vague. The Australian media has questioned whether carbon monoxide might have been the culprit. The BBC reports Mark was increasingly stressed out and growing paranoid that someone was after his money. The report went on to suggest that his paranoia may have inflicted members of his family, leading to a psychiatric condition known as the folia do, or the madness of two. After six days, the family was finally brought back together when Mark Trump was found walking near the Juan Garada Airport. Police determined he was not a threat and released him into the care of his brother, a police officer. Mark's strange behavior initially continued on the drive home, but he later settled down and even released a statement thanking the authorities who found him and apologized for his actions. An officer in the Sylvan District of Victoria called the Trump disappearance the most bizarre case I've seen in 30 years. After being reunited, the family said they wanted time to process what they had been through and the inherent weirdness of their disappearance. The family members who spoke to the media, especially Mark and his son Mitchell, were quick to apologize for the money spent on the search and the panic they caused. Mark Trump told the Sydney Morning Herald, I'm conscious of the burden these events have placed upon our extended family, friends and the community resources devoted to our aid. Without reservation, I apologize for the hurt and concern caused by these events. But he never did explain what on earth actually happened. Thanks for listening. If you like the podcast, please tell someone about it. Recommend weird darkness to your friends, family and co-workers who love the paranormal, horror stories or true crime like you do. Every time you share the podcast with someone new, it helps spread the word about the show and a growing audience makes it possible for me to keep doing the podcast. Plus, telling others about weird darkness also helps get the word out about resources that are available for those who suffer from depression. So please, share the podcast with someone today. Be sure to join me for a new episode every Sunday at my other podcast, The Church of the Undead, also found at WeirdDarkness.com. Do you have a dark tale to tell of your own? Fact or fiction, click on Tell Your Story on the website and I might use it in a future episode. 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. Acid Bath Murderer was written by Stephen Cassell. The Hum was written by Garrett Harkowick. The Devil's Tramping Ground is by Zach Seymire. And The Fleeing of the Trump Family was written by Jacob Sheldon. Weird Darkness Theme by Alibi Music. And now that we are coming out of the dark, I will leave you with a little light. Isaiah 40 verse 31, But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. And a final thought from Denzel Washington. At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It's about what you've given back. You tell them, Denzel. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. In the film, Legosi plays a scientist who, aided by an old hag and her two sons, kills virginal brides, steals their bodies and extracts fluid to inject into his ancient wife in order to keep her alive and young. Gee, almost like a vampire, Bella. Nice typecasting. From the movie poster it says, kidnapped brides are the victims of his terror. Prepare to shudder when you see the strange practices of this doctor who sacrificed beautiful women for the sake of a mad love. Until death do you part. I do. Shall I telephone for the ambulance? No. The undertaker. She's dead. The Weirdo Watch Party is always free to watch online with everybody, so grab your popcorn, candy and soda and jump into the fun and even get involved in the live chat as we watch the movie. It's The Corpse Vanishes starring Bella Legosi Friday, July 14th. The movie starts at 5.30pm Pacific, 6.30pm Mountain, 7.30pm Central, 8.30pm Eastern. See a trailer for the film and invite your friends to watch along with you on the Weirdo Watch Party page at WeirdDarkness.com. And we'll see you on Friday, July 14th for The Corpse Vanishes. When Salem Roanoke took a job near his family's new home as a hired hand in the Texas Hill Country, he anticipated learning the rancher's trade, but a series of strange events, shocking murders and unholy revelations divert him down another path. This terrifying trajectory puts him directly into the middle of a struggle between monsters, magic and men, armed and backed by a militia of ranchers. Salem attempts to combat the creeping tide of evil that threatens to engulf his new home and destroy the people most important to him. Will Salem manage to save his home or have his actions condemn everyone he hopes to save? The Witch Trials, A Summer of Wolves and Season of the Witch by SR Roanoke, available in paperback, Kindle and audiobook versions. Look for The Witch Trials by SR Roanoke on Amazon or find it on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash audiobooks. Hey Weirdos, be sure to click the like button and subscribe to this channel, and click the notification bell so you don't miss future videos. I post videos 7 days a week, and while you're at it, spread the darkness by sharing this video with someone you know who loves all things strange and macabre. If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it at WeirdDarkness.com slash listen.