Unpacking The Eerie

cw: abuse, terrorism, sexual violence, death 

Our fifth and final segment of our Psychedelic Nightmare series examines the story of a lesser-known Japanese cult that was responsible for the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in March 1995 that killed 14 and injured over 5,000 innocent civilians. Aum Shinrikyo was a cult led by - you guessed it - a malignant narcissist, Shoko Asahara. This episode, we explore Shoko's childhood, the de...

Segment 4 of Psychedelic Nightmare brings us to one of the most well known cult murders in American history. We’re talking about Charles Manson’s racist, LSD fueled doomsday conspiracy and the young people he convinced to execute what we know now as the Tate Murders. Join us as we unpack the evolution of this cult, historical context of the time, the dynamics of grooming, and how mainstream media  consistently positions the murder ...

cw: sexual assault, suicide, child abuse, ritual abuse

In Part 3 of this series, we travel away from MKUltra, to the other side of the globe to unpack Australia’s most notorious cult – “The Family” (aka The Great White Brotherhood). In mid 1960’s Australia, this doomsday cult was formed by Anne Hamilton Byrne, a yoga teacher-turned-cult leader, who believed she was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. This story has eerie ties that li...

content warning: violence, torture, anti-black racism, mention of drugs 

In part two of this series on MKUltra, you’ll learn more about the roll out of these LSD-fueled experiments and how they came to a close. We take a deeper look at its intersections with racism and criminalization as well as the stark contrast between the trauma and dehumanization experienced by unknowing “test subjects,” the most impacted being incarcerated Bla...

content warning: gun violence, torture, homophobia, racism, drugs 

In our second series, we explore our first ever conspiracy theory, that is absolutely wild & incredibly true. Project MKULTRA was a secret CIA project that took place between the early 1950s to the early 1970s, in which hundreds of tortuous experiments were conducted on (mostly) unsuspecting human subjects. The project, Sidney Gottlieb, aimed to develop strategie...

cw: domestic violence, child sexual abuse, incest, graphic violence, animal abuse

We’re back with a horrifying story and, this time, we’re taking you to the small town of Aberdeen in New South Wales Australia. “If I don’t show up to work, it’s because she killed me,” John Price told his co-workers as he prepared to separate from his relationship with Katherine Knight. The next day his neighbors rang the alarm when he never arrived a...

cw: anti-black racism, extreme violence, assault, murder, suicide, child abuse, slavery 

In 1978, over 900 people died at a remote settlement in Guyana after ingesting a poison-laced drink. Their leader, Jim Jones, declared this a “revolutionary suicide.” In our first episode about a cult, we dig into the Jonestown massacre – the event that had the largest number of American civilian casualties due to a non-natural cause, until 9/11...

cw: violence against women, graphic violence, sexual violence, torture

When people hear “witch hunts” and “witch trials”, what often comes to mind are the Salem Witch Trials that occurred in Massachusetts in the 17th century. What people don’t know is that what we know as “witch hunts” have occurred in many other parts of the world, and in some countries, are still happening today. In our second collaborative episode, Bex Carlos*, h...

CW: mutilation of animals 

Since the 17th century, there have been thousands of reported cases of unexplained livestock mutilations across the world. This weird and disturbing phenomena has never been solved and continues to happen on a fairly regular basis in desert climates globally. In this minisode, Akshi gives us a look into this deeply unsettling phenomena and shares potential theories… some that are terrestrial & others t...

Since 2007, at least 21 disembodied human feet have been found along the Strait of Georgia and on the coasts of the Salish Sea. This strange and haunting phenomena continues to shock unsuspecting beach goers in and around Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. In this minisode, Shaena shares about these discoveries and unpacks why the heck there are so many severed feet washing up on the shores of the Pacific Northwest.

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Creepy Inn b...

CW: anti-black racism, genocide, hate crimes, murder, sexual assault

Lake Sidney Lanier is a one of the largest manmade lakes in the US that was built in 1956 for flood control, drinking water and hydroelectric power.  Although this lake has 11 million visitors a year, it also has a dark side. Over 500 people have died or gone missing at this lake since the 1950s, so we wondered, why? Join us as we dig deep into the very dark, raci...

On Thursday, October 21st at 6:00pm PST we did a live recording with the University of Washington School of Social Work, our recent Alma Mater heyooo. Here, we unpack the Fremont Troll in Seattle, WA - its ghost stories,  history, and role in gentrification.⁠ Much gratitude to the folks at the SSW for making this happen & for the generous donation of $500 to the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance in honor of this episode. 

CW: su...

If you take a visit to Ed & Lorraine Warren's  Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, you'll find a seemingly ordinary Raggedy Anne doll encased in a wooden box with a sign that reads "POSITIVELY DO NOT OPEN" on the door. This doll is rumored to be severely haunted, and has even inspired The Conjuring movie franchise. This Halloween, we're talking about the infamous Annabelle doll. Join us for an eerie miniso...

This minisode, Shaena unpacks the bizarre death of Gloria Ramirez, a 31 year old mother of two from Riverside, California. In a strange sequence of events, following Gloria’s arrival at Riverside General Hospital, several hospital workers started to become ill after being exposed to her body and blood. Join us as we explore the theories that have been put forth as explanations to this mystifying unsolved medical mystery. 

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CW: domestic, sexual, physical violence, bodily harm, racism, xenophobia

On June 23, 1993, Lorena Gallo (then, Bobbit) would come to be known as the woman from Manassas, Virginia who, in a rage, severed her husband’s penis and threw it out the window of her car. What was missing from this story, in all of the sensational media coverage, is the extreme abuse she had endured from him the years leading up to this. In our first collabor...

cw: residential schools, bodily harm 

On May 19th 1967, Stefan Michalak was prospecting for rocks when he came across a couple of strange flying objects.  In our first episode featuring a UFO sighting, your hosts dig into the incident, aftermath and investigation of a sighting near Falcon Lake, Manitoba in Canada. Join us as we unpeel the layers of one of the most famous documented UFO sightings in North America while examining the ...

In Japan, houses that have seen unnatural or undignified deaths are legally declared Jiko Bukken or "accident properties" (see episode 12: Richard Energy & Legally Haunted Houses!). Homes are also codified as Jiko Bukken if they are built over a well -- what's that about? In this minisode, Shaena explores this question as she tells us about Okiku's Well (located at Himeji Castle), one of Japan's "big thr...

CW: extreme violence, violence against women, sexual violence, suicide

On December 30th, the Miyazawa family was found brutally murdered in the Setagaya neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. More than twenty years and 12,500 pieces of evidence later, this case remains unsolved to this day. Join us as we unpack this unnerving case and dig into how misogyny and the U.S. military play into this case in addition to learning with us about the ph...

In the depths of national forests/wooded areas all over the world, people report stumbling across mysterious staircases with no destination and the strange circumstances that go along with them. Could it be creepy, unexplained phenomena or is it just popular online fiction?  Decide for yourself in our very first mini-sode! Join us for a quick meander into something light on the unpacking, and heavy on the eerie as we explore this i...