All Episodes

May 13, 2025 • 47 mins

Show Notes:

In 1986, Tina and Karen Bowen were just teenage girls when their mother passed away from cancer. Not long after, strange things started happening in their home.

Knocking from inside the walls.

Furniture moved.

Objects disappeared.

Messages scrawled in red across the bedroom walls:

💬 “I’m in your room. Come and find me.”

The girls thought maybe—just maybe—it was their mother trying to reach them from beyond. But what they were dealing with wasn’t a ghost. It was a monster.

Daniel LaPlante was living in their walls. Watching them. Listening. Plotting.

It’s one of the most bizarre and horrifying stories we’ve ever told. And it’ll have you double-checking your attic tonight.

🕳 Featured Crime: The Bowen Family Home Invasion

🔪 Also Covered: The 1987 murders of Priscilla Gustafson and her children, Abigail and William

🧠 Topics: Juvenile crime, mental illness, justice ,  evil and theology


🕯 Sources & Further Reading:


  • Court Records: Commonwealth v. Daniel LaPlante, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
  • “Daniel LaPlante: The Boy Who Hid in the Walls” — All That’s Interesting
  • Boston Globe Archives, 1987–1990
  • “Boy in the Walls” coverage — The Lineup
  • WCVB Boston News: Interviews from initial arrest and trial
  • Parole hearings & psychological evaluations, 2017 & 2019 – public record
  • Discovery+ Very Scary People Season 2, Episode 5: “Daniel LaPlante”


🛍 Support the Show Buy us a coffee or check out our upcoming Southern Gothic merch line.

📲 Let’s Stay Connected:

Instagram | Facebook | TikTok → @HardTimesTrueCrimes

🎧 Subscribe, rate, and leave a review — it helps more than you know!

đź’¬ Tag us and share your thoughts using #BoyInTheWalls and #HardTimesTrueCrimes

Send us a text

Support the show

hardtimesandtruecrimes.com buymeacoffee.com/hardtimesTC


Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.