Unpacking The Eerie

Join us for a guest episode and round-table discussion between four Palestinians in the diaspora, Muhamed, Battuul, Firas, Vinny & Michlin. In part one of this two-part conversation, we are given the gift of listening  to our guests talk about Palestine, Palestinian resistance, indigeneity, historical memory, cross-movement solidarity and so much more.  We are honored to offer these folks a platform to share their voices & ...

Ongoing Palestinian Genocide

content warning: extreme violence, genocide 

At the publishing of this episode at least 8,306 Palestinians have been killed and over 21,000 injured in Gaza in the past 3 weeks. The current massacre and ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people has left us heartbroken and called to use our platform to uplift Palestinian voices as well as share resources and calls to action. Please list...

DARK HISTORY: Lake Washington

cw: brief mentions of slavery

Ever wondered what lies beneath the lakes you hang out at? Shaena does! And this week she takes us on an exploration under the depths of Lake Washington.  Join us and learn about the ancient frozen forest that has existed deep under Lake Washington for decades. The eerie sunken dwellings of the largest lake in King County is sure to give you goosebumps. 

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HAUNTING: The Pontianak Legend

CW: sexual and domestic violence

We’re back with another minisode and this time we’ve returned to Malaysia to explore an iconic urban legend and spiritual embodiment of feminine rage, The Pontianak. Join us as Akshi shares about her origin story and how the continuation of her lore offers significant commentary about patriarchal violence and survivor empowerment. She also takes time to discus...

DARK HISTORY: The Weston State Hospital continued
CW: ableism, racism (including eugenics), gender-based violence, psychiatric trauma, abuse

Part 2 of Melancholia, Menstrual Derangement and Bad Whiskey continues deep dive into Weston State Hospital and the history of U.S.-based "mental asylums."  In this episode, we uncover the different “treatments” that  used at these institutions, including the famously horrific “Ic...

DARK HISTORY/HAUNTINGS: Weston State Hospital/History of Asylums
CW: ableism, racism, gender-based violence, psychiatric trauma, abuse

In the late 1800s, America would become home to a new wave of “mental health” institutions we now know as asylums. The Weston State Hospital (aka The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) was one of many of these “state of the art” facilities. This episode Is all about how aspirations for palatial, eli...

DARK HISTORY: The Blue Fugates of Kentucky
cw: incest, childhood sexual abuse, rape, abortion 

After a few months off, we’re back y’all! And this time Shaena takes us down to another small town to learn about a family of blue people. Yes, you read that right - Blue People. Join us as we wander down to Troublesome Creek, Kentucky and learn about the Fugates: aka The Blue Fugates, aka ‘The Blue People of Kentucky’. Why are they bl...

UNSOLVED/CONSPIRACY: Disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370

On March 8th, 2014,  227 passengers and 12 crew members boarded Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 for a 5 hour commute to Beijing, China. The aircraft departed  Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:42 MYT and by 01:19 MYT completely disappeared off the radar -- never to be seen or heard from again. Since then the Flight 370 disappearance has been the subjec...

CULT: Charles Manson

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  cons...

CULT: The Family/The Great White Brotherhood/Anne Hamilton Byrne 
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 w...

DARK HISTORY: MKULTRA continued

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 Black folks, and the bohemian counter-cultur...

  DARK HISTORY: MKULTRA, Intro/History

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 strategies and identify drugs (such a...

TRUE CRIME: Katherine Knight

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 at work without a call — Katherine had murdered….and c...

CULTS: Jim Jones/Jonestown Massacre

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 casu...

TOPIC: Witch Hunts in India & Okinawa, Origins of Brujeria 

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 s...

TOPIC: Lake Lanier

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 a...

DARK HISTORY/HAUNTINGS: The Fremont Troll/Aurora Bridge

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 ...

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 m...

DARK HISTORY/TRUE CRIME: Elizabeth Bathory
Content Warning: anti-asian racism, extreme violence, torture

 OMFG it’s episode ten, and in our humble opinion, it’s our most gruesome and also most hilarious episode. This episode we explore the life of another extremely violent woman (throwback to Linda) who inspired Lady Gaga’s character in AHS Hotel and countless death metal band names. Yes, you guessed it, she’s the Guinness Book ...