MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories is a true crime and mystery podcast that presents strange, dark and mysterious content delivered in story format. The program is hosted by John Allen a.k.a. MrBallen. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes 7-days early and ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Episodes

January 16, 2026 36 mins

This story is a fan favorite that was previously published as Episode 344.

In 1984, in a small city in northeastern China, a security guard stood outside of a warehouse, working an overnight shift. The guard heard a noise coming from some bushes nearby, but he didn’t think much about it. This was a safe town, and usually the hardest part of his job was staying awake. But suddenly, two thieves in ski masks emerged from the bushes, an...

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Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories about how a single decision changed the lives of the people in these stories, as well as millions of others lives around the world. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

  • #3 -- "One Man’s Trash" -- A woman finds somet...
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Today, I’m going to tell two stories that highlight how the world around us – and even people’s own eyes – can play tricks on them. Sometimes, what people think they see isn't what's really going on at all. But once people have convinced themselves of something, it can be hard for them to change their minds... and that can lead them into deadly situations.

 

You can WATCH all new & exclusive MrBallen podcast episodes on my YouTube ch...

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One night in December of 2009, a man dug through a pile of papers and photo albums inside an RV parked in Texas. This man had recently bought the trailer after its previous owner had died, and it was full of junk that he was now trying to sort. As he rifled through documents, he stumbled on a stack of old notebooks. He opened one, and started reading – and as he did, he felt his heartbeat pick up. Because the notebooks were diaries...

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January 9, 2026 41 mins

This story is a fan favorite that was previously published as Episode 335.

In 2011, a police officer spotted a woman on a busy street in Japan, and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He looked at a photo on his phone, and then back at the woman, it was definitely her. He’d been tasked with finding this woman and bringing her back home, it was a pretty basic task, but he’d managed to complete it way faster than he thought he wou...

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January 8, 2026 31 mins

Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories that sound impossible – moments so unlikely, they shouldn’t exist… yet somehow, they do. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

  • #3 -- "Just a Bit Cramped" -- A horrifying accident that has a very unlikely outcome (Ori...
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January 7, 2026 28 mins

In the early morning hours on a Saturday in 2013, a man dressed all in black hid in the shadows on a side street in downtown Antwerp, Belgium. The man had lost track of how long he’d even been there, but he didn’t care. He’d hide in the shadows for as long as he had to, waiting patiently for the right moment. Finally, he heard stumbling footsteps, and he felt a jolt of energy run through his body, and he crouched down, ready to lun...

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On the afternoon of September 30th, 1991, an investigator in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania walked carefully through a college chemistry lab – that was also a potential crime scene. The room was a complete mess, with construction debris all over the place and lab equipment strewn across the countertops. It was so cluttered that the investigator hardly knew where to begin. But then he noticed something laying on a nearby counter – it wa...

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January 1, 2026 29 mins

Today’s podcast will feature 2 medical horror stories. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

  • #2 -- "Injection Site" --  A man's worst nightmare begins when he experiences severe pain in his shoulder (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/wa...
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On a chilly evening in early February 2010, a group of friends gathered around the table at a restaurant in a French ski resort. They had been out on the slopes all day and were warming up with mulled wine by the fire. A cell phone buzzed, and one of the friends looked down and frowned. They excused themselves and stepped away from the table to talk. When they came back, they were pale and their hands were shaking. The others asked...

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December 25, 2025 28 mins

In today's story, a family uncovers a secret on a laptop. And after that, everything spirals completely out of control.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.co...

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A young man was watching the local news while he ate breakfast one day in 2004, when a story about a savage murder came on. At first, the young man wasn’t paying close attention – the murder happened more than 100 miles away – but then a picture of the victim flashed across the screen. And the young man froze in shock. Slowly, he put down his spoon, abandoned his breakfast, and ran to his computer. He booted it up and started frant...

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December 18, 2025 38 mins

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And today’s podcast features 3 stories that demonstrate that. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

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In the early morning hours of September 21st, 2009, a man woke up in his bed in New Orleans with a start, to the sound of metal clinking in the dark corner of his room. The man’s heart raced as he peered into the shadows. And then he gasped – because there was someone standing in the corner, staring at him. As the figure stepped forward, the clinking sound got louder. And the man realized this person was wrapped in heavy, metal cha...

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December 11, 2025 37 mins

Today’s podcast will feature 2 totally unbelievable stories from the battlefield. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

  • #2 -- "Last Stand" -- If there is the one war story everyone needs to hear at least once, it's this one... it is both absolutely ho...
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December 8, 2025 42 mins

On April 29, 2002, in the small town of Pataskala, Ohio, a social worker sat on the floor with a two-year-old girl. The little girl's mother had been murdered in their kitchen the night before, and police thought she might have witnessed the crime. The girl clutched a stuffed animal to her chest while the social worker asked her if anyone else had been in her house the night before. The girl nodded – and uttered a name that would t...

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December 4, 2025 29 mins

Today’s podcast features 4 stories that involve people who were trapped – with “no way out.” The audio from all four stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

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Around 3:00 AM on September 5th, 1981, a woman drove through a housing development in Lakeland, Florida. She was with two of her friends, who had agreed to spend the night at her duplex. And this was a huge relief to the woman, because yesterday there’d been a violent murder in their neighborhood. So the woman was terrified at the thought of sleeping alone, and was really grateful that her friends were going to keep her company. As...

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November 27, 2025 32 mins

Today’s podcast will feature 3 horror stories that are just pure nightmare fuel. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.

Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:

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November 24, 2025 36 mins

On December 30, 2016, a woman sat down at her computer in her New Mexico home and pulled up the video feed from her surveillance system. Everyone in her neighborhood was terrified. There was a killer on the loose, and the police didn’t seem to have any idea who it could be – or what their motivation was. She scrolled back two days, and then started going through the footage frame by frame, looking for anything suspicious. For a whi...

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