Whispers ripple through Pittsburgh’s bars and bridges: a serial killer hiding in plain sight, leaving a smile behind. In this haunting, research-driven episode, Jess Faulkner traces the origins of the Smiley Face Murder Theory—from the 1990s detectives who first connected mysterious drownings to the modern folklore that refuses to fade.
Along the way, she dives into Pennsylvania’s own history of real-world predators, the psychology of serial killers, and the blurred line between coincidence and conspiracy. Between true-crime facts and cinematic storytelling, this episode asks why we crave monsters, what fear does to memory, and how rivers can hold both evidence and ghosts.
Trigger warning: discussion of death, violence, and missing-person cases.
Next week: Monster — The Ed Gein Story.
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