(Bonus Episode) “THE SNOWBALL EFFECT” by Katherine MacLean (Short Sci-Fi Story) #WeirdDarkness

Donate to our October 2024 OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS campaign at https://weirddarkness.com/overcoming. Follow me on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WeirdDarkness. Weird Darkness is narrated by professional full-time voice actor Darren Marlar. No A.I. voices are ever used in the show. IN THIS EPISODE: It’s Thriller Thursday where I bring you a creepypasta, classic horror story, or other frightening fiction! Today I have a story by Tim Sprague called “Polar Night”. SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE… “Polar Night” by Tim Sprague: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3de4hahe Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = = (Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.) = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness. = = = = = Originally aired: June 01, 2022 CUSTOM LANDING PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/PolarNight

Donate to our October 2024 OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS campaign at https://weirddarkness.com/overcoming. Follow me on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WeirdDarkness. Weird Darkness is narrated by professional full-time voice actor Darren Marlar. No A.I. voices are ever used in the show. SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE… “Deadly Contact” written by Paul Spangler: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/434cc7fa “Return To Clover Dale House” by Randy Beasley “Little Girl” by Raven Knight “The Woods Come Alive at Night” by M.J. Hill: http://authormarihill.blogspot.com Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library = = = = = (Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.) = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness. = = = = = Originally aired: April 18, 2017 CUSTOM LANDING PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/DeadlyContact

Donate to our October 2024 OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS campaign at https://weirddarkness.com/overcoming. Weird Darkness is narrated by professional full-time voice actor Darren Marlar. No A.I. voices are ever used in the show. IN THIS EPISODE: Scrying is the act of gazing into a reflective or translucent object to open your intuition. This supposedly allows the scryer to gain information they may not have access to normally inside their conscious mind. Often the object used for this is the often seen, but often misunderstood crystal ball. (Little Known Secrets Of The Crystal Ball) *** 
Five hundred years ago, Europe saw its first rhinoceros in more than a thousand years. Well, sort of. In reality, it was an accidental fake. (Dürer's Rhinoceros) *** A physics paper proposes neither you nor the world around you are real. If that’s true, then does that mean you’re not actually listening to this podcast? (What If I Only Think I’m Real?) *** When it comes to mythical monsters, the dragon seems to have never lost its celebrity. Dragons have always been popular – not just on multi-million-dollar cable channels and blockbuster movies, but in games, posters, artwork, and tales young and old, generation over generation, in just about every culture. (Dragons and Dragon Kings) *** An extra-marital affair in 1812 resulted in a pregnancy, and a murder. And evidence of the term “sins of the father” also comes into play. (A Most Horrible Murder in Hankelow) *** From "The Beast" to "The Red Ripper" to "The Candy Man," child murderers might be the most terrifying people to ever walk the Earth. We’ll look at a few serial killers who thought nothing of murdering the most innocent of humanity. (Killers of Children) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and Cold Open, “Killers of Children, Part 1” 00:04:24.099 = Show Intro 00:07:21.228 = Killers of Children, Part 2 00:15:48.369 = Durer’s Rhinoceros 00:21:29.389 = What If I Only Think I’m Real? 00:28:50.973 = Dragons and Dragon Kings 00:36:04.610 = A Most Horrible Murder in Hankelow 00:43:50.145 = Little Known Secrets of the Crystal Ball 00:54:56.968 = Show Close SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE… ARTICLE: “Self-Simulation Hypothesis...” in the journal Entropy: https://tinyurl.com/ybhulhwx “Killers of Children” by Gabe Poeletti for All That’s Interesting: https://tinyurl.com/yd4dqgdb “Dürer's Rhinoceros” by Kaushik Patowary for Amusing Planet: https://tinyurl.com/y9lytn3a “What If I Only Think I’m Real?” by Paul Ratner for Big Think: https://tinyurl.com/yab3hgx7 “Dragons and Dragon Kings” by A. Sutherland for Ancient Pages: https://tinyurl.com/y9mjx2tf “A Most Horrible Murder in Hankelow” by Sarah Murden for Georgian Era: https://tinyurl.com/yahesdpl “Little Known Secrets Of The Crystal Ball” by Brent Sprecher for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/ybnrrd4n Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = = (Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let...

Donate to our October 2024 OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS campaign at https://weirddarkness.com/overcoming. Weird Darkness is narrated by professional full-time voice actor Darren Marlar. No A.I. voices are ever used in the show. IN THIS EPISODE: Imagine a young mother coming home late one night after a trip to the ER for a minor illness. The next day she is missing. That is just the beginning of the strange and unsettling case of Charlotte Pollis. (The Disappearance of Charlotte Pollis) *** There was a time when people would get married in cemeteries – not because they were goth or because they loved the macabre surroundings, but because they felt it would keep them from getting sick. (Plague Weddings) *** The five pointed star is ubiquitous. We learn to draw it in grade school, teachers draw it on our test papers to show we’ve done a good job – but turn the star upside down and suddenly it becomes mysterious, and strange… it become a pentagram. Why does the pentagram hold so much power over some people? And what are the secrets it holds? (Secrets of the Pentagram) *** It’s a supernatural creature that appears at night to travelers. If you see a white one, it is there to protect you from harm and help you along your journey. If you see a black one, it is there to kill you. We’ll look at the Central American cryptid known as the cadejo. (The Cadejo) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer, Cold Open, and Show Intro 00:05:33.445 = Plague Weddings 00:15:10.760 = Disappearance of Charlotte Pollis 00:34:50.992 = Secrets of the Pentagram 00:42:11.837 = The Cadejo 00:52:19.437 = Show Close and Bloopers SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE… BOOK: “The Power of the Pendulum” by T.C. Lethbridge: https://amzn.to/37WS6QD “The Disappearance of Charlotte Pollis” from Lost & Found Blogs: https://tinyurl.com/y8ckncps “Plague Weddings” by Michele Debczak for Mental Floss: https://tinyurl.com/y9emwvvl “Secrets of the Pentagram” by A. Sutherland for Message to Eagle: https://tinyurl.com/ybua5scx “The Cadejo” by Robert Bitto for Mexico Unexplained: https://tinyurl.com/y7725k8f Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = = (Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.) = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness. = = = = = Originally aired: June 23, 2020 CUSTOM LANDING PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/PlagueWeddings

Donate to our October 2024 OVERCOMING THE DARKNESS campaign at https://weirddarkness.com/overcoming. Weird Darkness is narrated by professional full-time voice actor Darren Marlar. No A.I. voices are ever used in the show. IN THIS EPISODE: Earth could not stop the Enemy's remorseless advance from outer space. Neither could the Enemy! SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM THE EPISODE… “The Snowbank Orbit” by Fritz Leiber: https://amzn.to/3XYKqrx Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. = = = = = (Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.) = = = = = "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46 = = = = = WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2024, Weird Darkness. = = = = = Originally aired: October 17, 2024 CUSTOM LANDING PAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/snowbankorbit