 This episode is dedicated to the men and women of our armed forces and first responders. Whether you are currently serving or have served in the past, you are appreciated. It is because of your courage and sacrifice that we enjoy the freedoms and liberties we hold dear. And I for one appreciate every single one of you for protecting what many of us take for granted. So thank you. The mystery of Don Kemp has haunted those closest to him since he vanished in 1982. Like many people who perished under bizarre circumstances, there are numerous theories about what happened to Kemp. Some mundane, some supernatural. The tale of Kemp's disappearance is full of twists, turns, and a few concrete explanations. Formerly an executive at an ad agency in New York City, Kemp gave up his job in pursuit of a simpler life. He planned to leave the city and write a book about Abraham Lincoln's slaying. How his body ended up off a rural Wyoming highway still remains a puzzle. Some people speculate his passing was part of a cover-up in a conspiracy theory about Abraham Lincoln. Others say aliens abducted him. Could he have been transported to another dimension? What seemed like a simple case of exposure turned into a disconcerting narrative full of inconsistencies. As is the case with many missing persons cases, we may never know the full story. Welcome, Weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness Radio, where every week you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. Coming up tonight... A hot shot New York advertising executive mysteriously vanished in the middle of Wyoming, leaving his car running and clothes scattered everywhere. What happened to Don Kemp? And later, I'll tell you about the scariest movie I've ever seen. It's not a horror movie, nor is it a psychological thriller. It's a documentary, and the reason it is so horrifying is because it has happened to me. If you're new here, welcome to the show. And if you're already a member of this Weirdo family, please take a moment and invite someone else to listen in with you. Recommending Weird Darkness Radio to others helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. And while you're listening, be sure to follow Weird Darkness on Facebook and Twitter and visit WeirdDarkness.com to find the daily Weird Darkness podcast. Watch streaming B horror movies and horror hosts 24-7 for free. Listen to free audiobooks I've narrated. Send me your own true story of something paranormal that's happened to you or someone you know and more. You can find it all at WeirdDarkness.com. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness. A highway patrol officer found Kemp's car November 16, 1982, two months after Kemp sold his belongings and set out to conduct research for his book. Kemp parked the car on a long stretch of Prairie Highway in rural Wyoming, its engine still running. Kemp had packed his belongings so tightly in the vehicle there was only room for the driver. His clothes were strewn all across the road and the car's doors were left open. In the search that ensued, investigators only found traces of Kemp. They picked up his socks and a barn alongside sticks Kemp likely used to start a fire. Police also discovered a bag filled with a teapot, laundry detergent, and a set of clothes, all belonging to the missing man. A blizzard delayed the search and nobody found additional clues to Kemp's disappearance for four years. Around five months after authorities discovered the vehicle, two people reported seeing Kemp in Casper, Wyoming, about 150 miles away from where he left his car. A bartender claimed he served Kemp. Another witness said he saw Kemp at an Abraham Lincoln exhibit traveling through the area. A friend of Kemp's received a series of eerie phone calls. Five months after his disappearance, Judy Aiello, Kemp's former co-worker, received five calls to her unlisted New York City number. She swore the man on the phone sounded like Kemp. In a message, he said, I'd like to speak to you again, call me. When she called the number back, she asked if the caller was Kemp. The person on the other end of the line initially said yes, but then changed his answer to no. When she asked if the person could pass a message on to Kemp, the man said, yeah, and then hung up the phone. The phone calls to Judy Aiello originated from a trailer in Casper, Wyoming, the same town where two people reported seeing Kemp. Mark Dennis was renting the trailer. He claimed he didn't make the calls and had no idea who did. He said that either somebody used his phone without permission or the phone company made an error. Though initially cooperative with the investigation, Dennis stopped helping police about three weeks after they questioned him for the first time. He abruptly moved away from Casper. Kemp's mother believes Dennis's behaviors assigned of his involvement in her son's passing, saying, God knows what happened to my son in that trailer. It's too horrible to contemplate. I don't know. But I think I deserve an answer. I tried in every way I knew how to contact this young man. I finally spoke with him only one time on the phone. I asked him about my son and he said he knew nothing about Don Kemp. He just paid those phone bills. He didn't look at them. And I told this young man he was lying. Do you know what has happened to my son? And he just hung up on me. Investigators didn't find Don Kemp's body for several years. But that didn't stop them from coming up with a few theories, which we'll look at when Weird Darkness returns. If you're looking for Weird Darkness merchandise, you can find t-shirts, buttons, hoodies, office supplies, clothes for your kids, stickers, magnets, coffee mugs, and more with all of your favorite Weird Darkness designs. You can find something for you or the weirdo in your life by clicking on store at WeirdDarkness.com. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash store. Weird Darkness radio continues in just a moment. Every October, we take the month and raise funds for organizations that help people who struggle with depression. It's called Overcoming the Darkness. AZ wrote in a few years ago talking about our Overcoming the Darkness campaign. I can tell everyone that no matter what you think, there is a way out of depression. This is why our Overcoming the Darkness campaign is so important. It supports organizations that help people who struggle with depression so that they too can start looking forward to tomorrow instead of dreading today. Please donate today, right now if you can. Go to WeirdDarkness.com slash Overcoming. You're listening to Weird Darkness Radio. I'm Darren Marlar. If you have a true paranormal story that's happened to you or someone you know, you can share it and possibly be part of the show. Just click on tell your story at WeirdDarkness.com. We continue now with the story of the mysterious death of Don Kemp. Though investigators didn't find Kemp's body until years after his disappearance, police formulated several theories to explain what happened to him. A traffic accident had previously disabled Kemp and his view of the world significantly changed afterward. His family claimed his personality was different and police believe he may have been taking medication for pain or mental health reasons that impacted his behavior. Some believe his medication may have been in a brief case he forgot at the Cheyenne Museum. It's possible his lack of medication led Kemp to abandon his vehicle and venture into the prairie. About Kemp's mental state, highway patrol officer Randy Teeters said, I have no idea what would inspire anybody to walk through that prairie in the middle of winter. We considered possibly someone under medication that didn't know what they were doing due to the medication or being out of the medication, possibly that would affect him to the point of where they would just walk out into the middle of nowhere. When exactly Kemp went missing remains unclear, but his car was still running when authorities found it November 16, 1982. Police had a very small window of time in which to search because a blizzard rolled in three days later. By the time the weather improved the trail had gone cold. Police found evidence that Kemp stayed in a nearby barn but there were no tracks leading out of the structure. It seems as though Kemp vanished into thin air. Investigators speculate Kemp didn't want to be found. Deputy Ron Johnson, who was responsible for flying over the section of highway where Kemp went missing, said, I felt the guy was disoriented and I felt that he didn't want to be found. If he would have wanted to be found he would have heard the aircraft, could have waved his arms, got our attention, gone up to a ridge anywhere and been cited. Kemp's mother, Mary Kemp, wasn't so certain her son's passing was an accident. After police traced the mysterious phone calls Judy Aiello received to a trailer in Casper, Wyoming, Mary was convinced the man who lived there, Mark Dennis, played a role in Kemp's disappearance. Dennis says that he didn't make the calls to Aiello and that he never checked his phone bill to see whether someone else made calls from his line. Mary tried to confront Dennis in person to ask about her son's whereabouts but Dennis moved just three weeks after police initially questioned him. Until her passing Mary maintained that someone took her son's life and she rejected the theory that Kemp perished of exposure. The last time anyone definitively saw Kemp was at a museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he forgot his briefcase. The case contained his driving glasses, which means he drove without them. Kemp allegedly called the museum to tell them that he'd be back to retrieve the briefcase but he never arrived. Kemp visited the museum November 15, 1982, just one day before authorities discovered his car on a rural stretch of highway. A blizzard on November 19 halted search efforts. No new clues appeared in the case until four years later when hunters discovered Kemp's skeletal remains a few miles from where Kemp left his vehicle. Though search teams combed the surrounding area after Kemp's disappearance, they either missed the body or Kemp wandered back towards his vehicle later on. Judy Ayala, who received the phone calls from someone in Casper, Wyoming who claimed to be Kemp, worked with Kemp for approximately 10 years. She believed the calls did come from Kemp himself. If Kemp did make those calls, however, he couldn't have perished in the blizzard. The call came five months after authorities found his car. Around the same time, there were several unconfirmed sightings of Kemp in the Casper, Wyoming area. Hunters found Kemp's body a few miles away from where his abandoned vehicle had been, though. Either someone dumped Kemp's body there or it couldn't have been Kemp who made the calls. The police believe Kemp had trouble with his medication, which may have led to his erratic behavior. They speculate Kemp wandered away from his vehicle and later succumbed to exposure. There have been a few more supernatural and conspiracy-based theories connected to his passing, however. Some alleged Kemp vanished due to UFO activity or fell into another dimension. Because of Kemp's interest in Abraham Lincoln's life, people also hypothesize someone took or burned his research because he discovered something important about the president. A traffic accident disabled Kemp and it took him years to recover from it. According to relatives, the accident caused a change in his behavior and attitudes. He suddenly became interested in shedding his materialistic ideals and desired a simpler life, which represented a complete 180 from his time as an advertising executive at a New York City agency. He soon sold his belongings and set out to research a book on Abraham Lincoln, which placed him on a path to Wyoming and to his disappearance. For some people, getting into bed at night is one of the most frightening things they'll do all day. Individuals who deal with sleep paralysis, which is the temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up risk encountering a host of terrifying creatures and images as soon as their head touches the pillow. And for an unlucky few, this happens to be a nightly occurrence. The documentary, The Nightmare, explores exactly how a disparate group of individuals is affected by what they see playing out in front of them at night and attempts to define what sleep paralysis truly is. The following facts about The Nightmare documentary definitely contain some spoilers, so consider yourself warned. And if you're brave enough to actually watch the documentary after listening to this, you should keep in mind that it's more like a horror movie than something Ken Burns would make. It is a documentary, but the film has everything from jump scares to demons who haunt the corners of the frame, so don't be surprised if you end up with your own personal collection of night terrors haunting your dreams. The Nightmare weaves together the stories of eight individuals into a single narrative that aims to describe just what it's like to experience the hyper-realistic night terrors that often come with sleep paralysis. The film documents people from across the world who have never met one another, who have all experienced eerily similar visions when falling asleep and waking up, including seeing evil black cats with red eyes lurking near them and creatures that stand over them while they lie awake unable to move. The people whose stories are documented in The Nightmare don't know each other, and one woman even goes so far as to say she doesn't want to hear anybody else's sleep paralysis stories because she's been living with one for her entire life and it's too traumatic. As each person describes what they typically see, it becomes apparent that they are all experiencing different versions of the same thing. They all recount seeing a shadow person or a group of shadow people. Some have hats, some have big eyes, but they are all unidentifiable and threatening figures who watch them sleep. On top of seeing the shadow figures, each person describes the feeling of an electric current going through their head just before they wake up, trapped in a dream in which they can't move. No one knows how all these experiences are connected, and the film even discusses how researchers still can't figure out what's happening in the brains of people who experience sleep paralysis. When creating a film about nightmares, how do you actually go about illustrating the horrible things that people are seeing while they sleep? This documentary goes beyond the standard recreation model that you've seen on many paranormal shows and instead makes each dream into its own mini horror film. Sure, there are some very effective jump scares, but rather than rely on those, the nightmare tends to utilize a technique where either something truly creepy is revealed in a long shot or the camera pans through a room to suddenly reveal a shadowy thing that really shouldn't be there. As the film progresses, the audience is forced to lie in wait while these dark figures approach the camera, similar to what the people in the documentary actually describe experiencing. We'll ignore into the sleep paralysis phenomena and the documentary called The Nightmare. I mentioned at the beginning of this hour that this is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen and that's because I have been a victim of sleep paralysis and after dealing with it myself, I'm convinced that there is a demonic aspect to it. With all the stories that I've heard, the ones that I've read, the ones that have been told to me and my own personal experience, the reason I come to the conclusion of a demonic experience is that most times the entity or encounter stops once someone calls upon the name of Jesus. I don't think that's a coincidence. Weird Darkness continues in just a moment. 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 and events. You can hear audiobooks I'm narrating before even the publishers or authors get to hear them. You also receive bonus audio of other projects I'm working on outside of Weird Darkness. You get all of these benefits and more, starting at only $5 per month. I'm Darren Marlar. Welcome back to Weird Darkness Radio. If you'd like to see me in person, I am taking the Weird Darkness Beast all over the nation to conferences, conventions, festivals, expos, and more. You can find out where I'll be in the weeks and months to come by visiting WeirdDarkness.com and then clicking on Road Trip. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Road Trip. We now continue looking at Sleep Paralysis and the documentary, The Nightmare. A few of the stories in The Nightmare describe a creature lurking outside a person's house or apartment and trying to get inside once Sleep Paralysis sets in. In one instance, a creature even calls a man on his phone from inside the dream to tell the man that it wants to come inside. This alone is scary enough, but then one woman goes on to describe how at one point a creature from her dream began targeting her unborn child. She explains that one night, when her sleep paralysis first began to set in, she heard tapping on her window. As the paralysis continued, she noticed that a shadowy figure was standing just outside, looking in on her. The thing then came into her home and tried to remove her unborn daughter from her uterus. Whatever the creature was, it never accomplished its task and her daughter was born without complications. Straight from the opening credit sequence that takes viewers through the set where dream recreations are being filmed to the clapperboard that's used in many of the interviews, The Nightmare consistently blends reality with fantasy, while being sure to remind the audience that they're watching other people at their most vulnerable moments. Throughout the film, the audience is made to feel much like a voyeur who's watching as people describe their most private intimate fears. Taking it one step further and actually watching those fears as they're acted out adds even greater depth to the surreal nature of this film. What are the strangest stories told in The Nightmare involves a man who had never dealt with sleep paralysis before he and his girlfriend moved into an apartment together. He explains how he witnessed his girlfriend go through sleep paralysis for quite a while and that after she took the time to explain to him just what was happening to her, his own paralysis began to take over in a big way. It's unclear in the documentary whether they're suggesting that simply knowing about sleep paralysis can trigger its development in those who are more susceptible or if this man's brain was just triggered by the sudden awareness of what his girlfriend was experiencing. As more has become known about sleep paralysis, the presence of shadow people has become an ever-increasing fear among those who have it. Surely one could argue that people who read stories about shadow people are simply internalizing the imagery, but the fact that the participants in The Nightmare report having such remarkably similar creatures haunt them should make even skeptics wonder if something else might be going on here. Each participant describes their encounters with the shadow creatures differently, but they are all narratively similar. Some of the creatures bring a vibration with them, somewhere a hat, some even arrive in groups, but they all begin their haunting by watching their sleeping target from a distance before finally moving in to harm the person going through sleep paralysis. Not everyone in The Nightmare documentary started out being terrified by their nocturnal experiences. One person explains how he even enjoyed the wildly vivid dreams he found himself in, that is, until something in his dreams started trying to hurt him. He claims that one night he experienced what he describes as a metal claw grabbing him by the crotch which shot very real pain through his body. From then on, his dreams began to take a strangely violent turn. At one point, he even recalls how someone on inline skates charged at him, pulled a gun from their shorts and shot at him. Many of the participants in The Nightmare report that they have been dealing with the horrific side effects of sleep paralysis for their entire lives, but they weren't able to fully understand what was occurring to them until they were older. Multiple participants even describe how some of their first memories are connected to their sleep paralysis. One man remembers his television talking to him when he was just five years old and telling him that they would be back. One of the women recalls that in her first memory, she watched as her night light became red, dousing the room in an eerie glow. These memories may not be as terrifying as what was to come, but they do show that whatever is happening began at a young age. Even though none of the participants in the film know each other, they each describe having a remarkably similar sensation occur in their heads when sleep paralysis sets in. One man describes it as a washing machine sound that rumbles through his head at the onset of paralysis, but he is not the only person who experiences it. One participant refers to the sound as being similar to Bee's buzzing, while one woman says that she hears screaming in her head when paralysis sets in. With this, the film begs the question, is it the increasingly electric current running through their heads that causes the sensation, or is it something else entirely? As if having shadow people watching them sleep isn't bad enough, the participants in the nightmare also have to suffer the indignity of having doctors tell them that there is nothing wrong with the way their brains are working, and nothing can be done about the dreams. It is obvious that something is happening to these people and even the participants acknowledge that it is probably all just in their heads, but what are they supposed to think when they are repeatedly told nothing is wrong? The participants describe their experiences going to various doctors and mental health experts who either don't believe them or simply suggest that a lifestyle change is all they need to stop sleep paralysis. One man even says that after he explained what was happening to a doctor, she responded, that's really messed up. Rather than adopt the archival or still footage methods that many documentaries tend to follow, the nightmare director Rodney Asher chose to give the film a more distinct look. The framing, color palette, and heavy use of contrast all seem to be influenced by still photographer Gregory Crudeson, an artist whose surrealist works also inspire the cinematography of the sleeper horror hit It Follows. Particularly during the recreations, you're likely to forget that you are watching a documentary as the cinematography pulls you right into the world in which these horrifying dreams exist. And now stepping away from the article, this is me, Darren Marlar speaking, and the reason that I decided to share this particular article is because sleep paralysis and what these people describe actually did happen to me once. So what I watched the nightmare for the very first time, it terrified me. It actually brought back the memory of what had happened to me. My personal experience was very similar to what these people have told their own doctors. Fortunately, mine only happened once, but I will remember it the rest of my life. I was in bed, woke up in a dark room, unable to move, unable to scream, the only thing that would move are my eyeballs. And in front of me, at the foot of my bed, leaning over me was the most evil, dark, demonic presence I have ever felt in my life. And it took forever for it to finally go away and only after calling upon Jesus to save me did it disappear. Now, I know that many people think this is something to do with the brain, some type of chemical or whatever, maybe it is some psychological issue, but the evil that I experienced, like I said, I have never felt that before, and I have a hard time believing that Satan or his minions aren't responsible for this in some way. It is just too dark. And to have that many people say that they experienced the very same sensation and the very same type of shadow person entity demon-like beast, I think it is real and it is paranormal, or in this case, supernatural. I actually have a little more time this hour than I had planned for, so I am going to do something a little bit different when we return from the break. I am going to share a story of fiction, but it is a bit personal to me because it is a story that my own father wrote way back when he was in college. He didn't get a very good grade on it because his professor actually marked on the page that it was a bit morbid and I believe he got a C- on it, but once he shared it with me when I was a kid, I just fell in love with the story. I don't know why I just did, especially the very last line of the story. And I do believe we have enough time for me to share it with you when Weird Darkness Radio returns. You might be vulnerable to the creatures who haunt your dreams. That's just one more reason to have Weird Dark Roast Coffee in the cupboard because you just never know when you might need it. Weird Dark Roast Coffee contains deep notes of cocoa, caramel, and a touch of sinister sweetness. Each bag is fresh roasted to order by Evansville Coffee. You can find a link to it at WeirdDarkness.com. Grab a bag before something else grabs you from the dark. And now a short story of creepy fiction written by my own dad from Richard A. Marlar. It's the last step. You stupid fool. Don't you know you're just wasting your time. There ain't no lost city around here. It's just some silly legend that the local natives dreamed up. You damn college people are all alike. Think you know everything. As I looked at the storekeeper, I tried desperately to hold back my anger. Look fella, I've come a long way and I'm not turning back just because you say so. I've reason to believe that there is some merit to what these natives say and by God I'm going to find out whether you like it or not. Okay young fella, but you can't say that I didn't warn you. Will you there be anything else for you? Have you got enough food? Yes, I'm sure that's all, except for maybe a small stainless steel mirror. I like to be clean-shaven even when I'm out on expedition. Alright, with the mirror it comes to $37.12. I threw four $10 bills to the old man, picked up my merchandise and walked out. The old boy had really started to get to me. He must have thought I was new at this sort of business. He would think that when a man reaches $35, people would respect him. It took some of the afternoon to get back to camp and when I did get there I was ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a very trying day, but I hoped for it to also be a profitable one. I hardly slept all night. The excitement of the coming day kept creeping into my thoughts. This was the day I had so long waited for, the day that the whole world would be saying the name Alan Richards. At 4.30 I was up, had my breakfast eaten and was almost through shaving. It was a wonderful feeling just to know that I was alive and healthy. If only Alan and Danny were here with me. Oh Alan, why did it have to be you and little Danny that had to die? I couldn't have been someone else's wife and son. Alan, the lonely nights I have spent waiting for you to come to my side, wanting you, but knowing that you could never come to me. I may never see you again, but tomorrow our dream will come true. I'll find the city of Tyra. It was almost five when I walked out and got into my old Jeep. It would still be over an hour before my search could start, for the road was narrow and very curvy. When the jungle finally stopped me from driving any farther, I slipped a pack with three days rations over my shoulder and started walking. The ground was very wet and slimy and felt like a sponge under my weight. I had only walked a few miles when I noticed that the sky was getting darker. The foliage was becoming so dense that it was blocking out the light. It seemed like hours that I walked and cut my way through the thick and entangled undergrowth. My hopes were fading until I heard Alan's voice say, just a little further my love, just a little further. I knew it was only my imagination, yet I pressed on. It was only a few minutes until I saw the first small building of Tyra. It looked very awesome with vines growing from its small windows and trees bending over its small roof. My heart began to pound with joy. I found it. I found it. I started running madly toward the building, not knowing of what might lie before me. I was only a few feet away when the world seemed to explode around me. For a second there was a crashing sound. Then I was falling deeper and deeper. Then I saw a flash of red. I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to, the world was black. I couldn't see anything and my body was engulfed with pain. I started to crawl about, hoping to find out just where I was, but found nothing except a pile of sticks and rocks. Giving up since I couldn't see, I laid my head on one of the large rocks and went to sleep. Maybe in the light, I'd do better. I woke to find the sun shining directly in my eyes and my heads gliding. Looking down with horror, I saw that the sticks I found the night before were bones and the rocks were human skulls. My eyes began searching for an escape from this hell, but I found nothing, for I had fallen into some sort of pit which had steep, sheer vertical walls. Running over to the wall, I found that there were small steps carved into it. I began scrambling towards the top, but after climbing only 15 feet, I realized that the steps ended and that I was still 10 feet short of my goal. With all my might, I jumped, but crashed to the floor of the pit, convulsing with pain. I ran to the wall and attempted it again, but again crashed to its bottom. Aking from head to toe, I dragged myself back to the corner. I now knew how the steps had been carved. The men whose bones were now scattered around me had attempted their escapes by carving small hand holes in the wall. I could see the remnants of what they'd used as tools to do so. Knives, hatches, even nail files had been used, but none had achieved his goal of freedom. Now it was my turn to try for survival. I looked around but couldn't find my pack, so reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my knife and then started back up the wall, scraping and scratching with my knife. I began carving more steps, first one, then two, and finally, number three. It was almost dark then, so my work would have to wait until morning. The next morning I began to carve as soon as it was light. The steps went higher and higher, but as the day began to come to its close, my hopes closed with it. The blades on my knife were worn down until only a part of one blade remained. I sat on the floor in complete despair. My knife was only long enough to carve one more step, but it would take at least four, maybe five steps to get out. I began thinking of the men before me who had fallen into the pit. Each of them must have sat here just as I, knowing that death was coming, but also knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Oh, Ellen, help me, God, please help me. I can't get out. Please help me. My knife is almost gone. I can only carve one more. Please help me. I only sat there for a few more minutes before I realized what I must do. I walked slowly back to the wall and then started climbing up so that I could carve the last step. Maybe, just maybe, the next guy would make it. Also get daily episodes of Weird Darkness as I post seven days per week. Again, you can subscribe to the podcast at WeirdDarkness.com slash listen, or search for Weird Darkness wherever you listen to podcasts. You can follow the show on Facebook and Twitter at Weird Darkness, and please tell others about Weird Darkness Radio who love the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. Doing that helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. If you'd like to be a part of the show, you can send in your own paranormal experiences by clicking on Tell Your Story at WeirdDarkness.com. You can also email me anytime at Darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. 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. The mysterious disappearance of Don Kemp was written by Melissa Brinks, and Nightmare Documentary was written by Jacob Shelton. The fictional story, The Last Step, was written by Richard A. Marlar. Weird Darkness Radio is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. Copyright, Weird Darkness. Now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. James 2, verse 8. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. And a final thought, there are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. C.S. Lewis. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. BILT BAR. This is a seasonal flavor, so I have to stock up on it when it comes out. Bilt bars are not candy bars, they're protein bars. The pumpkin cookie chunk bar has 19g to protein, plus it's low sugar, low carbs, and low calories, but you'd never know it's a protein bar if you just taste it. Bilt bars have become my go-to guilt-free solution for dessert, late afternoon, or even late-night snacks, and often I just grab a Bilt Bar as a full meal because they're filling. You know how everything pumpkin is going to disappear soon, though, so grab your pumpkin cookie chunk Bilt Bar while you can before they sell out. Visit WeirdDarkness.com slash Bilt and look in the limited release section for Pumpkin Cookie Chunk. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Bilt, and use the promo code WeirdDarkness, all one word, to get 10% off your entire purchase. 18 Wheelers, Dead Heads, Yard Dogs, Get Your Ears On! Whatever you call yourselves or whatever call sign or moniker is thrust upon you, this episode is dedicated to all you truckers driving the boulevard, keeping our bellies full, shelves stocked, septics cleaned, and brains entertained with what you're hauling. In the eyes of this ratchet jaw, I'm honored to have you listenin'. Maybe once in a while grab your CB, head to Sesame Street, and tell other drivers how to join this weirdo convoy. Appreciate it. May your brake checks be with you, your shutter trouble be absent, and your bear bites non-existent. Keep it cool on the stool. This is Spooky Santa, and I'm 10 and on the side. Folklore tends to link real-life horrors with eerie paranormal occurrences. Whether it's a cold-blooded murder, a terrible fire, or a tragic suicide that features in these violent stories behind ghosts, they're all said to leave behind some spiritual mark. Even if you don't believe in paranormal activity, these true background stories are sure to send a chill down your spine. Do you know the bloody real-life events that inspired the Amityville horror? Have you ever considered what acts wielding angry spirits might be lurking in Lizzie Borden's home? And why do homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright seem particularly prone to ghostly activity? Listen on to discover the freaky, frightening true stories behind some of the most notorious hauntings of all time. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness Radio. Welcome, weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness Radio, where every week you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up tonight. When a famous person dies, their fans mourn the loss. The news spreads nationwide, sometimes worldwide, depending on the popularity of the performer. But just because they have gone from this mortal coil doesn't mean they won't come back as ghostly entities. And in some cases, their ghosts are just as famous as they were when they were still alive. And later, horrible hauntings are everywhere. But do you know the secret, gruesome, real life stories behind some of the most famous spooky sites? Those stories and more if I have time. If you're new here, welcome to the show. And if you're already a member of this weirdo family, please take a moment and invite someone else to listen in with you. Recommending Weird Darkness Radio to others helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. And while you're listening, be sure to follow Weird Darkness on Facebook and Twitter, and visit WeirdDarkness.com to find the daily Weird Darkness podcast. Watch streaming B horror movies and horror hosts 24-7 for free. Listen to free audiobooks I've narrated. Send me your own true story of something paranormal that's happened to you or someone you know and more. You can find it all at WeirdDarkness.com. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness. Celebrity ghosts. They're just like regular ghosts, and they love a good haunting. Apparently, some of these famous folks still haunt this mortal coil, appearing in mirrors and messing around with household objects, all the usual ghostly stuff. Maybe they have unfinished business, or maybe they just like their fans too much to move on. Whatever the reason, if you hold a seance in the right place at the right time, you may just get your chance encounter with one of the ghostly elite. Many people claim to have felt the presence of a famous phantom. Maybe they're liars, but what a famous ghost want with a regular old non-famous person anyhow? But the places famous ghosts regularly appear vary from hotels that they haunted during their living moments to their old houses. Some of these ghostly celebrities include those who were at the height of fame in the old Hollywood era, to those who perished more recently. Marilyn Monroe was found dead due to a barbituit overdose on August 5, 1962, at her Los Angeles home. Ruber has it that she still haunts the Brentwood home where her body was found, but she also supposedly makes the occasional ghostly appearance at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in her favorite cabana room suite. Monroe is said to haunt the full-length mirror in the hotel's lobby as well, and has been seen dancing in the hotel's ballroom. Musician John Lennon has been spotted by a lot of famous folks, including Paul McCartney, who had been recording one of Lennon's unfinished symphonies at the time, and Oasis member Liam Gallagher. Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, just outside of the Dakota, his New York residence. Apparently this is the place that Lennon's ghost returns to the most. Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, met his untimely end when he died of a heart attack August 16, 1977. Presley was found in the bathroom of his home in Graceland, Tennessee, and reportedly still haunts the property. But Elvis gets around. He's also been spotted by stagehands at the Las Vegas Hilton, wearing his famous white sequined jumpsuit, as well as the old RCA recording studios. Workers at the former musician's recording studio, which is now a TV studio, have reported instances where someone brings up Elvis in conversation and unexplained noises appear on the sound system and the studio lights begin to flicker. Singer Amy Winehouse tragically died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27, becoming a member of the infamous 27 Club. But it seems she hasn't quite left this plane of existence yet. Pete Doherty, a close friend of Winehouse's and the former member of the Libertines, was convinced that Winehouse was haunting his flat, so much so that he fled to Paris to get away from her ghostly presence. Another member of the 27 Club and former lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison, died in a bathtub in Paris on July 3, 1971, from what is widely believed to have been a drug overdose. But his ghost traveled all the way from Paris to Los Angeles, where he has been seen in the bathroom of Mexico restaurant Yabara, which was built where the Doors' preferred recording studio once was. His ghost was also apparently photographed near his grave in Paris, France, in 1997. Former Playboy Playmate Ann Nicole Smith actually told FHM that she hooked up with a ghost in 2004, so maybe she found her former paranormal paramour once she became a ghost herself. Smith died in room 607 of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in 2007, and still haunts its halls, at least according to a guest named Stephanie Ponte, who claims to have seen Smith's spirit roaming around the hotel. When Weird Darkness returns, we'll have more celebrity ghosts, including Harry Houdini, Jean Harlow, Lucille Ball, and more. You can hear the snarls right behind you, the faster you run, the closer the creatures seem to get. How can the undead run this fast, you think to yourself? Now you're drenched in sweat, but your mouth is dry, you need to find somewhere to stop and think about how to survive the next few minutes of your life. Then you see it, and run towards the water station. The zombie fun run will have to wait until you quench your thirst, but bottled water is expensive and you don't even want to know what might be in tap water or much less fresh water. Fortunately, the horde of horror fanatics at this water station planned in advance and brought Patriot pure outdoor filtration water cooler system. It gives you clean, cold water wherever you go. Its five-gallon tank keeps water cold, keeps ice for days on end, reduces the levels of over 200 contaminants with a two-step filtration technology which you can use with tap water, well water, river water, or any water source you find. It's UV resistant, so it works just as well at any time of day, and you're avoiding the cost of bottled water while also avoiding the unnecessary use of plastic, all in one system. It might be the only non-terrifying thing at your Halloween or fall themed activity. Get the Patriot pure outdoor filtration water cooler system at 4patriots.com. That's the number 4patriots.com and use the promo code WEIRD to get 10% off everything you order. That's 4patriots.com, promo code WEIRD. Uh oh, zombies are back. I'm Darren Marlar. Welcome back to Weird Darkness Radio. You can stay up to date on everything Weird Darkness and also maybe win some cool prizes at the same time by signing up for the email newsletter. It's free and every other month I draw one name at random to win a cool creepy prize. Sign up for the Weird Darkness newsletter for free at WeirdDarkness.com. We continue now with real celebrity ghost hauntings. We're now to escape artist Harry Houdini could not escape death's clutches and now he is apparently shackled to this mortal coil. He died from a ruptured appendix on October 31, 1926. Halloween, what a day to go out. Houdini's ghost is said to haunt the premise of Jackie Goffin's Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada where a Houdini tribute magic show is still hosted today. Many of the hotel's staff members believe that a ghost haunts the dressing rooms and makes its presence known by moving items around. And they believe that this ghost is none other than Houdini himself and that he is hanging around to make sure their magic show tribute is up to his standards. Lucille Ball's ghost likes to party. You could even say she likes to have a ball. The I Love Lucy star died at age 77 from a ruptured aorta following open heart surgery, but nothing keeps a good ghost down. The owners of Lucille Ball's house have complained of party sounds coming from the attic, such as voices that sound as if they are talking over loud music. Sounds as if Lucille has some ghost buddies over that she is having a blast with up there. They have also mentioned supernatural happenings like furniture moving about of its own accord and household items disappearing and reappearing in different places. The phrase Blonde Bombshell was coined to describe Jean Harlow. This girl originated one of the hottest descriptors in the business, but another bombshell broke when she died of kidney failure on June 7, 1937. However, it appears that Harlow has an unfinished business to attend to, as she was reportedly beaten viciously by her then-husband, Paul Byrne, an MGM studio executive. Byrne later killed himself in their home, but Harlow has stuck around. A family who lived in her home in the 1970s described hearing racking sobs, smelling mysterious perfume and hearing a woman's voice whispering, Please help me. Joan Crawford's daughter has claimed that she and her mother lived in a house that was already haunted. So when Crawford died of a heart attack May 10, 1977, it seems as though she joined the ghost party that was already raging. Apparently Joan and the other ghosts spent their time starting fires and trying to burn the house down. An exorcist was even hired to clear the home of malevolent spirits, and she referred to Crawford's home as a place of conspicuous negativity, calling it an astral central. The star of TV's original Superman, George Reeves, now flies around in a more phantasmic sense, haunting his former home where he died from a gunshot wound to the head at the age of 45. Visitors to the home claimed to have heard strange noises coming from Reeves' old bedroom, and once a film crew shooting at the house even saw him appear in full Superman regalia. Orson Welles completely changed the face of cinema and has haunted film students for decades through Citizen Kane film study screenings, though in a far less ghostly sense. But since he died of a heart attack at the age of 70 on October 11, 1985, he now also haunts some of his favorite dining spots as well, specifically a hotspot that used to be the Mameson restaurant, which has since been turned into Sweet Lady Jane Bakery. Customers have reported sightings of Orson Welles at his favorite corner table, noting that he only appears for a few seconds, wearing all black and a wide-brimmed hat. Marilyn Monroe isn't the only celebrity ghost haunting the Roosevelt Hotel. She's in good company, as Montgomery Clift likes to spend his ghostly time there as well. Clift, a four-time Oscar nominee, died at the age of 45 and became a posthumous queer icon as he was revealed to be bisexual by Elizabeth Taylor at the Glad Media Awards in 2000. Clift now haunts the Roosevelt Hotel, specifically Room 928, where unexplained noises can be heard even though the room is empty. Not only that, but the phone is frequently found off the hook and the room is always cold, presumably from a ghostly chill. Now for a change of pace. This one may not be a movie star or a music icon, but he loves a good haunting as much as the next celebrity ghost. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., but some White House staff have reported the occasional appearance of the former president wandering the building. Former First Later Grace Coolidge claimed to have seen him in the Oval Office by the window, and former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill also purported to have seen Abe while staying in the Lincoln bedroom. Churchill emerged from the bathtub with nothing on his person but a lit cigar, when he spotted the president's ghost smirking at him. The Amityville House hosted a mass murder. Immortalized in the hit Amityville horror film franchise, this house in the quiet New York village of the same name supposedly hosts frightening specters. Still standing on Ocean Avenue with its iconic eye-like windows, this home is the site of the infamous mass murder of the DeFeo family. In 1974, Ronald DeFeo, in an alleged state of demonic possession, shot his entire family to death as they slept. In 1976, George and Kathy Lutz, along with their three children, moved in to the house, but they only stayed 28 days before they had enough. Aside from the typical bumps in the night, they encountered flies swarming the home, green slime oozing from the walls and crucifixes turning upside down on their own. The Catholic priest was brought in in an attempt to cleanse the house, but he was told by a disembodied voice to get out. It is impossible to say whether that message was from the spirits of the slain DeFeo's or something more sinister. Regardless, the Lutz family decided to move out immediately. Tortured slaves were imprisoned in LaLaurie House. Located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the 19th century charm of LaLaurie House belies a grim and bloody history. The house was home to Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie, a prominent member of New Orleans High Society. Legend has it that Mrs. LaLaurie's home caught fire in 1834, revealing in its destruction her evil hobbies and pastimes. Local folklore says that the home's attic contained slaves held in small cages or nailed down to tables, shackled prisoners with their eyes and ears removed, fingernails ripped out and mouths sewn shut. People flayed alive with open, festering wounds and victims whose bones had been broken and reset to resemble grotesque, animal-like shapes. Considering the horrible acts that took place in LaLaurie House, it is no wonder the building is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the region. Now, remodeled as luxury apartments, occupants and visitors have reported hearing anguishing screams bouncing off the walls as well as seeing apparitions of slaves walking the balconies and yards. Up next on Weird Darkness Radio, more haunted locations and the backstories behind them, including the Lizzie Bordenholm and the Black Dahlia murder. Coming up! Central Massachusetts is a land of oddities and apparitions. Stories of the strange and paranormal have been passed down from generation to generation, and only the local populace has any idea of just how vast and deep their superstitions run. The world around you is much more than you can touch, taste, smell, see and hear. Some of the stories are funny, some are sad, but all of them give you a taste of what it's like to be from the oddest part of the United States. You can't have a region of the country that has been settled for centuries without getting a few odd tales out of it. Open up a whole new world of fact and fiction that will leave you with a deep appreciation for the strange and bizarre ghosts and heroes await, and the only thing they need to live on is you. Slightly Odd Fitchburg by Ed Sweeney. Now available on Kindle, Paperback and audiobook versions on the audiobook page at WeirdDarkness.com Welcome back to Weird Darkness Radio, I'm Darren Marlar, and if you're a business owner or a marketing manager and you'd like to share your product or service with our Weirdo family listeners, all you need to do is visit WeirdDarkness.com slash Advertise. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Advertise. We continue now with Haunted Locations and the creepy backstories behind those hauntings. The Lizzie Borden home was the site of brutal axe murders. This one is likely not much of a surprise to anyone. There was an incredibly dark nursery rhyme that goes, Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother 40 wax. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41. This grim pair of couplets has been echoed by generations of children and the century-old murders they detail took place in a house that still stands in Fall River, Massachusetts. On August 4, 1892, Lizzie Borden informed her maid of a grisly discovery. Her father, dead on the sofa, bludgeoned and mutilated by hatchet. Her stepmother Abby was found upstairs a victim of the same brutal fate. Since Lizzie was the only person home during the murders, and she reportedly had a rocky relationship with her father and stepmother, she was immediately a suspect in the crime. Evidence however proved scant, and Borden was ultimately acquitted, with no one else ever being charged. The Borden house stands today as a bed and breakfast, where guests can stay in the master bedroom belonging to the slain couple. But they may not be alone. Visitors have reported hearing creaking floors, seeing unexplained shadows and even smelling a faint, floral scent, perhaps the lingering perfume of the late Abby Borden. The Black Dahlia murder might have happened in John Soutenhouse. In the trendy neighborhood of Los Feliz in Los Angeles, looms a hulking, Mayan-inspired building created by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The exterior has a brooding quality to it, but it is the history of the home and what may still be in it that gives passers-by the creeps. Commissioned and built in the 1920s by retired artist John Souten, the house was purchased by Dr. George Hodel in 1945. Hodel was an acclaimed physician in the field of venereal disease, and his practice catered to many of Hollywood's elite. The doctor was also rumored to host hedonistic sex parties in his labyrinth-like home and was said to beat his children in the basement, but that's not the most sinister act rumored to have taken place below ground in the Soutenhouse. In the early 2000s, Hodel's son Steve claimed that his father had been behind the infamous Black Dahlia murder, the unsolved death and mutilation of Elizabeth Short, and that it took place in the basement of the John Souten house. While under investigation for the murder of Elizabeth Short, George Hodel fled the U.S. and spent his remaining days in Asia. Subsequent residents of the Soutenhouse have reported eerie occurrences in the home, including the sound of chains rattling, disembodied voices and apparitions that appear to be Mr. Hodel himself. Tuberculosis patients haunt Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Built in Louisville, Kentucky in 1926 to treat tuberculosis patients, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium saw thousands of deaths during its years of operation. Before medicines were developed to treat the disease, treatments ranged from crude to outright barbaric. With fresh air thought to be an effective remedy, patients were often left out in the elements regardless of the season or else placed in sun rooms where their lungs would be exposed to ultraviolet light. There were bloodier treatments as well. The muscles and ribs of some patients were removed to allow the lungs to expand or balloons were surgically implanted to expand the lungs by force, often with disastrous results. Deaths occurred at a high rate and estimated one per hour at the height of the epidemic. Waverly Hills had to develop an effective method of disposing of the bodies, which they did with a literal body shoot, a tunnel below the grounds that brought the deceased to a nearby railway out of sight of the living. This death tunnel, along with the rest of the hospital, is said to be a hotspot for paranormal activity. Since the hospital was closed in 1982, visitors have reported hearing footsteps and disembodied voices, seeing strange shadows and even encountering a young ghost named Timmy, who is said to roll a ball around on the building's upper floors. A hanged woman appears in Sour Castle. With its towering gothic architecture, complete with a widow's walk, Kansas City's Sour Castle certainly conjures the image of a classic haunted house. This historic structure overlooking the Kansas River is said to be one of the state's most haunted locations. Built by New York businessman Anton Sauer, the castle was home to his wife and 12 children, one of whom died in infancy and was buried on the property. Local rumors suggest the entire Sour family was buried on the property, but that is just one of many bizarre tales attached to the home. It is also said that a woman hanged herself in the castle's tall tower and that it holds buried bodies in a secret tunnel that leads to the river. With a long, dark history, it is no wonder that neighbors of Sour Castle, now fenced off and crumbling, report strange lights and voices coming from the home. But perhaps the spookiest story of all is the local legend that every Halloween, a man and woman can be seen dancing in the tower. The Taliesian massacre destroyed Frank Lloyd Wright's life. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesian is a home he built in Spring Green, Wisconsin, as a personal refuge. Having been exiled professionally from Chicago after fleeing to Europe with his wife of a client, Wright retreated to Spring Green in an effort to re-establish his practice. Taliesian was built in 1909 and Wright's previously wed lover, Martha Mamma Cheney, moved in in 1911. Mrs. Cheney was said to be unusually strong-willed and stubborn, and in August of 1914, she abruptly fired a loyal servant. Julie and Carlton, the disgruntled employee, entered the home and doused gasoline around two rooms where Mrs. Cheney, her children and some guests were having lunch. Surrounding the home's terrified occupants with a literal ring of fire, Carlton then ran into the flames, striking the victims with a hatchet and killing seven. Frank Lloyd Wright was said to never be the same after this terrible event. As the sight of a brutal massacre, it is no surprise that Taliesian is said to be haunted. Visitors have reported windows and doors opening and closing by themselves, along with a vision of Mrs. Cheney herself, though she does not appear angry, just restless and lost. Ghostly children appear in the Velisca Axe Murder House. On June 9, 1912 in Velisca, Iowa, one of the most heinous unsolved crimes in U.S. history unfolded. J.B. Moore, his wife Sarah and six children, four of their own and two of their friends, were brutally murdered. As the family and their guests slept that hot summer evening, an intruder or intruders crept into their home and one by one bludgeoned each victim to death with an axe. There was no shortage of suspects in the Velisca Axe Murders, ranging from a state senator to a railway transient yet nobody was ever convicted. Perhaps it is this injustice that keeps the Moore family around the house today. Now, a tourist attraction, the Velisca Axe Murder House offers guided tours of the historical crime scene, but potential visitors should be aware. Patrons have reported hearing children's voices and seeing falling lamps, moving ladders and flying objects. A mob hit happened at Chrysler Mansion. A New York's Staten Island sits Chrysler Mansion, a stately Gothic structure built by Brickworks magnet Balthazar Chrysler in the 1800s. This sprawling home was actually one of two twin mansions Chrysler built atop Chrysler Hill for his sons. Its mate was torn down during the Great Depression. Balthazar Chrysler passed away just one year after the mansions were built and shortly thereafter the family's factory burned down, causing their fortune to suddenly go up in smoke. Chrysler's elder son, Edward, took his own life in the still remaining mansion with a single bullet to the temple. But the violence in Chrysler Mansion didn't end there. In 2005, a local mafia boss ordered the property's caretaker to carry out a hit at the home, and he did just that. The killer then dismembered the body and burned it in the basement's furnace. Local lore suggests this history of tragedy and bloodshed has left a mark on the mansion. Neighbors have reported strange lights and voices coming from the house, although the ghost of Robert McKelvey, the mansion's mafioso victim, has yet to appear. Lemp Mansion inhabitants committed suicide. In 1838, Johann Adam Lemp, one of the first Americans to develop German logger, settled in St. Louis, Missouri and began building his ill-fated empire. By the late 1800s, his foul staff logger was sold all over the U.S., but then prohibition rolled around and in 1922, the brewery was sold for a fraction of its previous worth. Unspeakable tragedy seemed to follow the Lemp family and by 1950, four different lamp descendants had taken their own lives in the mansion, all succumbing to fatal gunshot wounds. By the 1970s, the Lemp family had completely died out. According to some, the walls of Lemp Mansion still tell the tragic tales of the family who built it. Said to be one of the most haunted places in America, the mansion now houses a restaurant and bed and breakfast, where guests have reported hearing voices, seeing glasses break and candles light themselves, and hearing a piano in the bar play on its own. The Sally House was the site of surgery gone wrong. By the Missouri River Bluffs in Atchison, Kansas sits the spectacularly haunted Sally House. The house is said to still be occupied by its namesake, a young girl named Sally, who died in the home. Local legend describes a backstory that might explain her lingering presence. Accounts of Sally's death vary but the popular consensus seems to be that in the early 1900s, a young girl came to the home, then occupied by a doctor in his family, seeking treatment for appendicitis. The girl in severe stomach pain panicked when she saw the surgical tools surrounding the operating table and the doctor was forced to hold her down and apply the either necessary for anesthesia. Sally died during surgery and her last memories would be those of sheer terror, believing she was about to be subjected to grisly torture. Sally's imprint of horror is said to still stain this quaint two-story home. Full-bodied apparitions have been reported, along with objects flying through the air. The voice of a young girl thought to be Sally herself has even been recorded by several paranormal investigators. Up next on Weird Darkness Radio, one of you, our Weirdo family of listeners, sent in a story. It's Jason Miller and he talks about what got him interested in the paranormal. As you already know, Built Bar is a sponsor of Weird Darkness. Don't tell them I said this, but I would continue to let them be a sponsor without them paying me at all, so long as they continue to send me these free samples. Today, I received their new cookies and cream chunk. It's like having actual cookies and cream chunks in the candy bar. These are protein bars. These aren't candy bars, so they're low calorie. This has 18 grams of carbs. That's fewer carbs than an average size banana or a honeycrisp apple. This is my lunch, and it feels like I just had dessert. This cookies and cream chunk is just insanely good. You can save 10% off of anything you buy from Built. Just go to WeirdDarkness.com slash Built and use the promo code WeirdDarkness. All one word, you can get 10% off your entire order, including the cookies and cream chunk. Now, the hard part is this actually tastes like dessert, but I want to eat another one. I'm Darren Marlar. Welcome back to Weird Darkness. Remember staying up late on a Friday or Saturday night, either at home or at a friend's house and watching your local TV station's horror host presenting a terrible B movie with aliens, monsters, ghosts, alien monster ghosts, vampires, werewolves and all other kinds of crazy creepy characters. Those were fun nights, weren't they? Well, that is what the Weirdo Watch Party page at WeirdDarkness.com has to offer, all day, every day, thanks to our friends at the Monster Channel. You can visit WeirdDarkness.com watch party right after listening to the show tonight and immediately you'll be entertained by a horror host and horrible movies, or should I say, horrible movies. Get your frights and funnies on the Weirdo Watch Party page at WeirdDarkness.com. Our next story comes from one of you, our Weirdo family of listeners. Jason Miller sent in his story to me about what got him interested in the paranormal. When I was young, my family had moved to West Virginia. My parents had just bought a house and we moved in the summer of 1989. Things were pretty normal there from the start. I met my neighbor who would become my best friend and I was like your normal kid. At the time, we had a natari so I played that like crazy. You know, once a gamer, always a gamer. But I'm getting off topic. My parents had set up my room diagonally from their room. My mother wanted to be able to look across the hallway into my room to make sure I didn't roll out of my bed. This is where things started getting interesting. One night I was asleep and my mother felt the urge to wake up and look into my room. She had told me, not until I was about to graduate high school in 2004, that she had seen a black orb floating over my bed. When she saw it, it was like it noticed her as well and flew towards her and behind the headboard of their bed. After that, only her and I would hear and see things. Fast forward three to six years and my grandmother and aunt had come down from Pennsylvania to visit. In a hospitable fashion, my parents offered to sleep in our family room downstairs and my grandmother took their bedroom with my aunt taking the guest room slash den right next to my room. One night we were all asleep and I had this urge to wake up for some reason. As I opened my eyes, I saw a tall dark silhouette pointing what looked like a pistol at me. I freaked out. I exited the right side of my bed and ran to the farthest corner of my room. Remembering my parents were downstairs, I stomped on the floor screaming at the top of my lungs for help, but nobody came. It felt like as loud as I could scream, no one heard. After some time, I went back to bed. The next morning, I wake up and go to the door of my room. I hear my grandmother, aunt, mother, and father all in the kitchen talking. My grandmother or not asked my parents if they heard me last night and they replied, yes. When my grandmother or not asked why they didn't check on me, my parents simply replied, it happens a lot. In the summer of 2000, we had moved out of that house and into a new one where we had the pastor of our church bless the house. We didn't hear anything or see anything the remainder of the time in West Virginia. I was curious though. Ever since my experience with the shadow person, I had gotten interested in the paranormal and researched why I would see something like that. My mother and I were talking and she said that she didn't want to tell me about the history of the house since I was too young. I said, well, I'm 17 now and can handle what you have to say. She said that a family that used to own the house had been a little abusive with their kids and had used the room I was in as a makeshift holding cell to punish their children. They'd locked their children in there. When I had researched, it said that no one has to die in a place in order for it to be haunted. All a place needs is enough dark energy and boom, it's on it. After my mother told me this, it got me to thinking, was one I witnessed that night years ago a re-enactment of an event? Did whatever was possessing that house want me to know what happened? Thanks for listening. If you missed any part of tonight's show or if you want to hear it again, you can subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcast app at WeirdDarkness.com-listen. Not only will you hear a copy of tonight's show, you'll also get daily episodes of Weird Darkness as I post 7 days per week. Again, you can subscribe to the podcast at WeirdDarkness.com-listen or just search for Weird Darkness wherever you listen to podcasts. You can follow the show on Facebook and Twitter at WeirdDarkness and please tell others about Weird Darkness Radio who love the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. Doing that helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. If you'd like to be a part of the show, you can send in your own paranormal experiences by clicking on Tell Your Story at WeirdDarkness.com and you can also email me anytime at Darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. 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 which I'll be posting on the Weird Darkness website. Living Dead Celebrities was written by Rebecca Schordahl. Factual frights that fueled famous phantoms was written by Harrison Tenpas. What got me interested in the paranormal is by Weirdo family member Jason Miller. Weird Darkness Radio is a production and trademark of Marlar House Productions. Copyright Weird Darkness. Now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. First Peter 3 verse 8. Finally, all of you live in harmony with one another. Be sympathetic. Love as brothers. Be compassionate and humble. In a final thought, God has placed you where you're at in this very moment for a reason. Remember that and trust he is working everything out. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. www.weirddancings.com