Old-Time Radio Marathon, EPISODE 0221 #RetroRadio #WeirdDarkness

When Rome’s Emperor Valerian fell into Persian hands, his defeat became one of history’s most grotesque legends — a tale of humiliation, torture, and a death said to come by molten gold. | #WDRadio WEEK OF NOV 11, 2025 ========== HOUR ONE: When it comes to receiving the death sentence, history has given us several ways to go about the execution. Hanging, firing squad, gas chamber, being stoned to death or burned at the stake… but you have to be some whole new level of “hated” by the people if your death blow comes by way of molten gold being poured down your throat. (Death By Golden Throat) *** Typically, when you hear the phrase “high speed chase”, you think of law enforcement trying to catch the bad guys who are in a getaway vehicle. Perhaps after a bank robbery, or after blowing a stop sign and simply refusing to pull over. But have you heard about the time that the police were involved in a high-speed chase up to 100-miles-per hour, trying to catch up to a flying saucer? (The 100mph UFO Chase) *** When the Black Plague arrived at their doorsteps, the villagers were forced to choose between life or certain doom. It’s the tragic tale of England’s Plague Village – the village of Eyam. (The Black Death Comes to Eyam) *** In the 1800s, women finding themselves “with child” but unmarried, were treated like second-class citizens or worse. And during a time when birth control was limited or even unavailable outside of the rhythm method, what was a girl to do if she found herself in such dire circumstances? Fortunately, there was a woman there ready to help – to take the baby off their hands and give it a good home. Or so everyone thought. (Minnie, The Baby Farmer) *** On frozen lakes near Manitowish Waters, a hooded figure appears to ice fishermen, silently guiding them to the best spots for a catch before vanishing into the winter air. (The Ice Fisherman Ghost) ========== HOUR TWO: Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray devised a scheme to get rid of Ruth’s husband – and they planned it so well that, okay… actually no. They were so inept they were caught immediately, and even the police publicly called them incompetent. (The Dumb-Bell Murder) *** For over 2,000 years across South and Southeast Asia, trained elephants served as living instruments of execution, crushing condemned prisoners with calculated brutality under the control of their handlers. (Execution By Elephant) *** Before he became a Civil War general, Congressman Dan E. Sickles' scandalous murder trial changed our legal system forever. He said outright that he had killed his wife’s lover. So how did he avoid being found guilty of the crime he admitted to committing? (How A Congressman Got Away With Murder) *** In 1150, two children were found near Woolpit in England – they wore strange clothes, spoke oddly, but the most identifiable characteristic for both children was their skin was green. The children themselves were a mystery – but what happened when they grew up? Did they marry? Did they have children? Could there be decedents of the green children of Woolpit living among us today? (Great Grandkids of Green Children) *** In the summer of 1518, a mysterious dancing plague seized the French town of Strasbourg, compelling hundreds to dance without rest for months—some until they collapsed and died—in a frenzy that baffled authorities and remains unexplained to this day. (Dancing Plague) ========== SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: “Tom" and "Lena" are in a loving relationship and have a young child together. It sounds like the perfect family – except for one tiny detail about their relationship. Tom and Lena are biological brother and sister. (I Fell In Love With My Sister) *** In Norfolk, England the village of Eccles was slowly gobbled by the rising waters of the sea in the early 1600s. But even today, sometimes during a particularly heavy story, you can see St. Mary’s Church mysteriously reappear… bringing with it, the dead buried in the church...

When an old internet friend from the 1990s contacts him after 20 years of silence, a man discovers she's been missing since 1999—and whoever has been emailing him knows far too much about his past. IN THIS EPISODE: A creepypasta from Jared Roberts entitled, “The Hidden Webpage”. SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Hidden Webpage” by Jared Roberts: https://www.creepypasta.com/the-hidden-webpage/ Jared Roberts on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/nazisharks/ =====(Over time links 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 ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: June, 2020 EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/HiddenWebpage ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. #WeirdDarkness #TheHiddenWebpage #CreepypastaStory #1990sInternet #InternetHorror #MissingPerson #TheHole #VintageInternet #TechHorror #DigitalNightmare

When Tony Marvel returns home from an eight-month voyage to discover he's been declared dead and finds his own corpse in his bed, he realizes his brother's perfect murder plot has gone terribly wrong—but the true horror is discovering who has been protecting him all along. IN THIS EPISODE: We dive back into one of the Alfred Hitchcock books I have on my shelves titled, “My Favorites In Suspense.” The story is from Carter Dickson entitled, “New Murders For Old” which is a great macabre mystery. SOURCES and RESOURCES:“New Murders For Old” by Carter Dickson is from the book “Alfred Hitchcock Presents: My Favorites In Suspense”: https://amzn.to/3gTAAFU =====(Over time links 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 ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: June, 2021 EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/NewMurdersForOld ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. #WeirdDarkness #NewMurdersForOld #DoppelgangerMurder #CarterDickson #ImpossibleCrime #LockedRoomMystery #SupernaturalRevenge #PerfectMurder #ClassicMystery #GoldenAgeDetective

When a radio horror writer spends seven days obsessing over his most terrifying creation, he discovers too late that some monsters refuse to stay confined to the page. | “The Author And The Thing” from Lights Out | #RetroRadio EP0556 CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)… 00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:01:30.028 = CBS Radio Mystery Theater, “The Recluse” (February 10, 1977) 00:46:45.245 = Lights Out, “The Author And The Thing” (September 28, 1943) 01:09:54.998 = Lux Radio Theater, “Smilin Through” (January 05, 1942) 02:08:20.526 = Macabre, “The Crystalline Man” (January 01, 1962) ***WD 02:36:41.438 = Philip Marlowe, “Tale of the Mermaid” (October 01, 1949) 03:06:02.483 = Have Gun Will Travel, “Monster On Moon Ridge” (March 08, 1959) 03:29:42.282 = The Black Mass, “A Country Doctor” (August 14, 1964) 03:53:41.585 = Beyond Midnight, “A Night In Murders Den” (January 31, 1969) ***WD 04:19:48.070 = MindWebs, “EnPassant” and “DreamWorld” 04:47:14.003 = Show Close (ADU) = Air Date Unknown (LQ) = Low Quality ***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing. Weird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy. = = = = = "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 ©2025, Weird Darkness. = = = = =#ParanormalRadio #ScienceFiction #OldTimeRadio #OTR #OTRHorror #ClassicRadioShows #HorrorRadioShows #VintageRadioDramas #WeirdDarkness CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0556

Clarita Villanueva was orphaned before she was teenager. With no one to care for her, Clarita began living on the streets of Manila, dancing for money and prostituting herself to degenerates. But things were about to get even worse for the poor girl… demonically worse.  IN THIS EPISODE: It’s been said that the average person walks past at least sixteen murderers in their lifetime. A chilling thought. But when you know that a serial killer is on the loose, you look at each stranger you meet as a potentially dangerous encounter. And right now in the UK they have a serial killer still at large targeting easy victims… the country’s elderly. (UK’s Senior Citizen Serial Killer) *** While the Spiritualism Movement caught fire in the 1840’s with the Fox Sisters and stayed fairly strong for some time, after the 1920s most of the teachings and those soaking it in began to dwindle. Strangely though, there seems to be a kind of resurging interest in one particular man’s writings here in the 21st century. Many are intrigued by the “secret teachings” of Manly P. Hall. (The Secret Teachings of Manly P. Hall) *** In May, 1987, Kenneth Parks walked into a police station and confessed, “I just killed two people; I've just killed my mother‑ and father‑in‑law.  I stabbed and beat them to death.  It's all my fault." Case closed, right? Well no… because it appears he might’ve been sleepwalking when he committed the murders. (The Sleepwalker Defense) *** When the body of Elva Shue was found next to her bed, it was assumed to be an accident. But her spirit refused to rest until someone investigated further. Her ghost was crying murder. (The Ghost That Solved a Murder) *** Clarita Villanueva was orphaned before she was teenager. With no one to care for her, Clarita began living on the streets of Manila, dancing for money and prostituting herself to degenerates. But things were about to get even worse for the poor girl… demonically worse. (The Girl Bitten By Devils) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open 00:02:33.534 = The Girl Bitten By Devils 00:15:34.375 = ***UK’s Senior Citizen Serial Killer 00:25:00.892 = Secret Teachings of Manly P. Hall 00:37:27.100 = ***The Sleepwalker Defense 00:45:32.235 = The Ghost That Solved a Murder 00:49:33.781 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break SOURCES and RESOURCES: “The Girl Bitten By Devils” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4n7nmhvb BOOK: “The True Story of Clarita Villanueva” by Les Sumrall: https://amzn.to/3QKDzx4 BOOK” Stranger Than Science” by Frank Edwards: https://amzn.to/3AcNiVH “UK’s Senior Citizen Serial Killer” from LollyTrue Crime for Mystery Confidential: https://tinyurl.com/y4q5u9ga “The Secret Teachings of Manly P. Hall” by Mitch Horowitz for New Dawn Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4bfj8e5j “The Ghost That Solved a Murder” by Doug MacGowan for Paranorms.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ever42yx “The Sleepwalker Defense” by Romeo Vitelli for Providentia: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/76fdt49e=====(Over time links 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...