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May 20, 2025 39 mins
A man is found dead in a Missouri cornfield — and in his pocket, a mysterious handwritten cipher so baffling that even the FBI still can’t crack it.

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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.
IN THIS EPISODE: We explore the unsolved murder of Ricky McCormick, and the mysterious pages of code found in the dead man’s pocket after his body was discovered in St. Charles County, Missouri, in 1999. The FBI’s top cryptanalysts have appealed to the public for help deciphering the enigmatic scribbles—and you may hold the key.

SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Cipher In The Corn” written by Stu Wahlin for Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/hstndhs
If you have info that could help solve the Ricky McCormick case, visit https://forms.fbi.gov/code; you can also write to: FBI Laboratory Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records, Unit 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico VA 22135 - Attention: Ricky McCormick Case
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: November, 2016
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/CipherInTheCorn
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