The Dark Oak

The Dark Oak

Attention all shiver-seekers! The Dark Oak is a weekly thrill and chill inducing mystery podcast. Every Wednesday, Stefanie and Cynthia will present to you a true tale of the supernatural, the macabre, historical crimes, cryptids, the unexplained and the downright spooky. To help ease your fears, we also include The Branch of Hope Foundation, which connects you to the human side of our cases by giving back to non-profit organizations related to the first episode of the month. If you enjoy guilt free listening and your interest falls somewhere between Bigfoot and Jack the Ripper, The Dark Oak has you covered. Throw in some real time reactions including gasps and laughs and you’ve got the perfect podcast. So grab your coffee, sweet tea or tall glass of wine and settle in for your shadowy adventure. The Dark Oak is waiting!

Episodes

October 2, 2025 69 mins

When faced with an unsolved case, sometimes authorities are willing to think outside of the box.... but consulting a psychic????  While some police agencies and investigators claim to have received valuable information from psychics in real cases, there is a general skepticism within law enforcement and the public due to a lack of concrete evidence and the potential for public ridicule. However, psychic detectives have been feature...

Mark as Played
Tara Leigh Calico, a 19-year-old college student, vanished on September 20, 1988, during a 35-mile bike ride on New Mexico State Road 47. Known for her active and organized nature, she left with her mother’s pink Huffy bike and a Sony Walkman. When she didn’t return by noon, her mother, Patty Doel, found her Boston cassette tape on the roadside and alerted police, who responded swiftly. Scattered Walkman pieces suggested Tara marke...

Mark as Played

Imagine looking at your scuba diving vacation photos and seeing the figure of a woman laying lifeless on the bottom of the ocean floor....

When Gabe and Tina Watson go on their scuba diving honeymoon, Tina drowns and only Gabe comes home.

Was it a tragic accident or did Gabe drown his wife? 

 

Sources:

O’Loughlin, T. (2017, July 15). Husband admits killing wife in scuba death on Great Barrier Reef. The Guardian. https://www.theguar...

Mark as Played
September 10, 2025 80 mins

When a riderless working horse was found frightened and alone on the side of a logging road, the ranching community in Merritt, British Columbia immediately knew that something was very wrong. It was quickly determined that the horse belonged to 32-year-old cowboy, Ben Tyner. A huge search and rescue team immediately went into action but the only clue as to what may have happened was a broken reign. Ben was likeable and had no know...

Mark as Played
September 3, 2025 106 mins
The Galapagos Affair is a gripping tale of idealism, conflict, and mystery set on the remote Floreana Island in the Galapagos during the early 1930s. In 1929, Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch, both disillusioned with modern life, left their spouses in Germany to pursue a solitary, Nietzsche-inspired existence on Floreana, building a home called Friedo and living as vegetarians. Their dream soured as Dore’s multiple sclerosis w...

Mark as Played
August 27, 2025 65 mins

After a night out with friends, 20-year-old Jaleayah Davis is found dead in the middle of a busy highway. A bizarre crime scene, suspicious friendships, a missing key ring and violent injuries that don't add up....was her death the result of a horrific accident or something more sinister? 

 

Sources: Jaleayah Davis - Case Documents and Details - ...

Mark as Played
In 1963 Chatswood, Sydney, Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler, both married to others, were found dead near the Lane Cove River after a New Year's Eve party. Their partially nude bodies suggested a romantic encounter, but no cause of death was found, with poisoning suspected due to purple blood. Despite extensive testing, no toxin was identified. Police ruled out suspects, including Chandler’s husband, and theories of Col...

Mark as Played

When 30 year old Mateusz Kawecki left his home in Germany to witness the birth of his first child, he checked in with his father and advised him he had been delayed due to bad traffic. Unfortunately, days went by and Mateusz never arrived and was never heard from again. Five months after he disappeared a mysterious discovery in the barn of his family home would leave even more questions unanswered. What happened to Mateusz Kawecki?...

Mark as Played

In 2009, 21-year-old Christina Whittaker, a new mother from Hannibal, Missouri, disappeared after a night out with friends on November 13. She was last seen after being escorted out of Rookie’s Sports Bar around 11:45 p.m. for disruptive behavior, having been previously banned from the establishment. Witnesses reported her being heavily intoxicated, and after failing to secure a ride home from two other nearby bars, River City Bill...

Mark as Played

In 2009, 21-year-old Christina Whittaker, a new mother from Hannibal, Missouri, disappeared after a night out with friends on November 13. She was last seen after being escorted out of Rookie’s Sports Bar around 11:45 p.m. for disruptive behavior, having been previously banned from the establishment. Witnesses reported her being heavily intoxicated, and after failing to secure a ride home from two other nearby bars, River City Bill...

Mark as Played
July 23, 2025 86 mins
Phoenix Coldon, a 23-year-old African American woman, disappeared on December 18, 2011, after driving away from her parents’ home in Spanish Lake, Missouri. Her 1998 black Chevy Blazer was found abandoned two weeks later in East St. Louis, Illinois, but she was never located. Phoenix, an only child, was homeschooled, talented in fencing and piano, and attended the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She moved back home in 2011 after ...

Mark as Played
July 16, 2025 71 mins
The Mandela Effect, named by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome in 2010, refers to collective false memories where groups misremember events or details, like Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s (he died in 2013). Psychological studies, such as Loftus and Palmer’s 1974 experiments, demonstrate how language can distort memories, while Broome suggests alternate realities or timeline shifts as causes, though these lack scientific support...

Mark as Played
July 9, 2025 76 mins

In an effort to reinvigorate interest in the Space program, NASA launched the "Teacher in Space" program, in 1984. The beautiful, brilliant and charismatic high school social studies teacher, Christa McAuliffe, was selected out of 11,000 applicants and the country fell in love with the teacher and the space program once again. Tragically, a well-documented problem with the O-rings on the shuttle's solid rocket booster was compromis...

Mark as Played

After separating from her husband of 15 years, Cindy James, a nurse in Vancouver, Canada, was brutally stalked and harassed. Despite nearly seven years of reported incidents of harassment, threatening calls, physical and sexual assaults, and other forms of abuse, police concluded that her claims were likely fabricated, possibly to gain attention or due to mental health issues. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spent an estim...

Mark as Played

Who killed Athalia Ponsell Lindsley? The logical suspect was a man who had previously threatened her life. A man, that, conveniently, borrowed a machete from the county and never returned it. A man that had been called out by name by the only eyewitness to the murder. A man who lived in the house with a blood trail leading from the crime scene to its front door. Was this simply circumstantial evidence? You tell us.

Sources:

Randall...

Mark as Played
June 18, 2025 104 mins
On May 14, 2008, 19-year-old Brandon Swanson vanished near Canby, Minnesota, after his car got stuck in a ditch on a rural field road. Earlier that night, he had been celebrating the end of his college semester, consuming alcohol at two parties but not appearing heavily intoxicated. Intending to drive home to Marshall, a familiar 30-mile route, Brandon inexplicably took backroads and ended up far from where he thought he was, mista...

Mark as Played

The Town Center at Boca Raton should conjure up images of luxury designers and expensive restaurants but unfortunately for those local to the high-end mall, it is a string of abductions and brutal murders that remains in the forefront of many minds. When women and their children began getting abducted from the mall in 2007, locals to Boca Raton and around the country began asking, is anyone safe? 

Chapt...

Mark as Played
Korrina Malinoski, 26, disappeared from South Carolina’s Mount Holly Plantation on November 21, 1987, after arguing with her abusive husband, Stephen. Her car was found locked on the property, but she was never located. On October 4, 1988, her daughter, Annette Sagers, 11, vanished from a nearby bus shelter, leaving a note claiming she left with her mother, though its authenticity is debated. Stephen, with a history of abuse and ab...

Mark as Played
Shanti Devi’s reincarnation case, one of the most compelling and well-documented in modern studies, unfolded in 1920s and 1930s India, a period of cultural revival and anti-colonial resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. Born in Delhi on December 11, 1926, Shanti began claiming at age four to be Lugdi Devi, a woman from Mathura who died in 1925 after childbirth, about a year before Shanti’s birth. She provided precise details about Math...

Mark as Played
30-year-old Ben McDaniel had been through a lot by the time he reached the age of 30; He had lost his brother, his business and his home. In 2010, Ben was in the middle of a year-long sabbatical when he went scuba diving in a dangerous underwater cave late one afternoon and was never heard from again. It was assumed that Ben had run into trouble and drowned in the cave, but despite numerous searches, Ben's body has never been found...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

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

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.