Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Award-winning podcast of true stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, true crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained -- seven days a week! Hosted by professional voice actor Darren Marlar, named one of the “Best Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal.
Episodes
December 25, 2025 • 39 mins
Twenty-three days ago, a mysterious advent calendar arrived on Officer Matthew Klein's doorstep — no sender, no return address, just a heavy wooden box with twenty-four numbered doors and a carved face with hollow eyes. Since then, every trinket inside has proven to be an omen of death, each prophecy fulfilled in violence and horror. The entity behind it is Zurvan, an ancient demon from Persian Mithraism — the same demon ten-year-o...
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December 24, 2025 • 56 mins
On Christmas Eve 1642, shepherds witnessed something impossible — two phantom armies fighting a brutal battle in the sky over Edge Hill. When investigators arrived, they saw it too, and testified under oath to the king.
Episode 12 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
IN THIS EPISODE: “Christmas Carols in the Woods”, “St. Mary’s Church”, “The Lady In The Pantry”, “Mrs. Eustace Returns”, “The Phantoms of the Mamie R. Mine”, “The Wr...
Episode 12 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
IN THIS EPISODE: “Christmas Carols in the Woods”, “St. Mary’s Church”, “The Lady In The Pantry”, “Mrs. Eustace Returns”, “The Phantoms of the Mamie R. Mine”, “The Wr...
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December 24, 2025 • 63 mins
When Santa's costume caught fire at a small-town Christmas program in 1924, the crowd rushed to the only door — but it opened inward, and they couldn't escape. One little girl vanished that night, and nearly a century later, two ghost children are still seen at the building where the bodies were taken.
IN THIS EPISODE: “When The Show Didn’t Go On: The Iroquois Theater Fire” *** “A Deadly Christmas: Ghosts of the Babbs Switch School ...
IN THIS EPISODE: “When The Show Didn’t Go On: The Iroquois Theater Fire” *** “A Deadly Christmas: Ghosts of the Babbs Switch School ...
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December 24, 2025 • 57 mins
There's a reason that 100-year-old nutcracker was marked 80% off. And on Christmas Eve, my mom and I found out exactly what it was.
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
The Grither”: https://tinyurl.com/qvkfdtg
“Christmas Tree Decorations”: https://tinyurl.com/rapx4d7
“Die Nutcracker, Die!” by Dax Varley: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Machete Santa” by Medeia Sharif: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Saturn Rising” by Ty Drago: https://tinyurl.com...
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
The Grither”: https://tinyurl.com/qvkfdtg
“Christmas Tree Decorations”: https://tinyurl.com/rapx4d7
“Die Nutcracker, Die!” by Dax Varley: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Machete Santa” by Medeia Sharif: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Saturn Rising” by Ty Drago: https://tinyurl.com...
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December 24, 2025 • 37 mins
On Christmas Eve 1973, a woman hiding from her ex-husband was found — and five children woke up without parents on Christmas morning.
Episode 11 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “The Eternal Beatle”, “Home For The Holidays”, “The Kennedy Road Phantom”, “Santa Stuffs The Stockings”, “Santa And The Elf”, “The Ghost In The Living Room”, “That’s Not Santa!”, “Poe Finds His Inspiration”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LI...
Episode 11 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “The Eternal Beatle”, “Home For The Holidays”, “The Kennedy Road Phantom”, “Santa Stuffs The Stockings”, “Santa And The Elf”, “The Ghost In The Living Room”, “That’s Not Santa!”, “Poe Finds His Inspiration”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LI...
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December 23, 2025 • 68 mins
Over three nights in December 1980, during the Christmas weekend, dozens of military personnel at a British air base witnessed something in the woods that remains officially unexplained.
IN THIS EPISODE: Imagine celebrating the holidays around your Christmas tree – and it begins shaking for no reason! (The Swaying Christmas Tree) *** What dark secret made Charlie Lawson slaughter his family on Christmas Day? (The Murder of the Lawso...
IN THIS EPISODE: Imagine celebrating the holidays around your Christmas tree – and it begins shaking for no reason! (The Swaying Christmas Tree) *** What dark secret made Charlie Lawson slaughter his family on Christmas Day? (The Murder of the Lawso...
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December 23, 2025 • 34 mins
In Austria, naughty children don't get coal — they get beaten by a goat-horned demon who might drown them in a river.
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Tradition” by Andrea Stanet: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Girls Night Out”: https://tinyurl.com/u4zjhwu
“Krampus”: https://tinyurl.com/whz5q...
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Tradition” by Andrea Stanet: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Girls Night Out”: https://tinyurl.com/u4zjhwu
“Krampus”: https://tinyurl.com/whz5q...
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December 23, 2025 • 31 mins
Twenty-two days ago, a mysterious advent calendar arrived on Officer Matthew Klein's doorstep — no sender, no explanation, just twenty-four doors and a carved bearded face with hollow eyes. Since then, Marshport has become a graveyard. The entity behind it has a name now: Zurvan, an ancient demon whose mid-winter worship culminates on December 24th — the same demon that ten-year-old Matthew and his seven-year-old brother Steven acc...
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December 23, 2025 • 29 mins
When the Kubis family moved into their Milwaukee home in 1913, they didn't know the previous owner had made a deathbed promise to return—and she was a woman of her word.
Episode 10 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “Mrs Pickman’s Ghost”, “Haunts of Hartland”, “The Things We Do For Love”, “The Christmas Rosebush”, “Please Help”, “Footprints In The Snow”, “The Chicken Ghost”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All st...
Episode 10 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “Mrs Pickman’s Ghost”, “Haunts of Hartland”, “The Things We Do For Love”, “The Christmas Rosebush”, “Please Help”, “Footprints In The Snow”, “The Chicken Ghost”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All st...
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December 22, 2025 • 49 mins
When six of history's most infamous serial killers mysteriously wake up at the North Pole on Christmas Eve, Santa offers them one final chance at redemption—but the Holiday Spirit doesn't work on everyone.
IN THIS EPISODE: It’s an original short holiday horror story from Jon Allen, called “Here Comes Santa’s Claws”. *** (Originally aired December 23, 2021)
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
“Here Comes Santa’s Claws” by Jon Allen, https...
IN THIS EPISODE: It’s an original short holiday horror story from Jon Allen, called “Here Comes Santa’s Claws”. *** (Originally aired December 23, 2021)
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
“Here Comes Santa’s Claws” by Jon Allen, https...
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December 22, 2025 • 24 mins
On Christmas Eve, a teenager shoveling snow beside an abandoned house with a deadly history becomes convinced that Death himself is watching from its darkened windows—and waiting to collect.
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Carol Singers”: https://tinyurl.com/s978sjj
“The Sock Puppet”: http...
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Carol Singers”: https://tinyurl.com/s978sjj
“The Sock Puppet”: http...
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December 22, 2025 • 30 mins
The demon has a name — Zurvan. For thirty years it waited, dormant within the charred fragments of a spirit board, sealed inside an advent calendar built by hands it had already corrupted. Now Detective Davenport lies dead, his head twisted completely around as punishment for a door Matthew failed to open. Logan has been freed from the demon's grip, but Zurvan does not forgive, and it does not forget — Father Olsen warned that when...
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December 22, 2025 • 111 mins
In November 1966, a winged creature with glowing red eyes began terrorizing the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia — and thirteen months later, just ten days before Christmas, the Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour, killing 46 people returning home from holiday shopping. Was the Mothman a harbinger of doom... or something far more sinister? | WEEK OF DECEMBER 21, 2025 #WDRadio
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HOUR ONE: Most all of us think ...
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HOUR ONE: Most all of us think ...
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December 21, 2025 • 21 mins
She asked for a doll, but the gift waiting under the tree had other plans for her — and her sisters.
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Clown Puppet”: https://tinyurl.com/rmzhwoa
“Devil In The Closet”: https://tinyurl.com/rbcqqoo
“The Carol” by Jessica Bayliss: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
All...
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Clown Puppet”: https://tinyurl.com/rmzhwoa
“Devil In The Closet”: https://tinyurl.com/rbcqqoo
“The Carol” by Jessica Bayliss: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
All...
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December 21, 2025 • 38 mins
Long before Santa slid down chimneys, other figures roamed the winter nights — and they weren't bringing presents. They were bringing punishment.
IN THIS EPISODE: ‘Tis the season for not only reindeer, grinches and magical snowmen but also fearless children, negligent parents and dumb thieves. “Home Alone” may be the first Christmas movie that comes to mind upon hearing that description, but it turns out there’s a long and storied t...
IN THIS EPISODE: ‘Tis the season for not only reindeer, grinches and magical snowmen but also fearless children, negligent parents and dumb thieves. “Home Alone” may be the first Christmas movie that comes to mind upon hearing that description, but it turns out there’s a long and storied t...
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December 21, 2025 • 43 mins
Matthew Klein watched his son Logan hold a spirit board—just as Matt himself did thirty years ago—and speak in a voice that didn't belong to a ten-year-old boy. The demon Zurvan has found his new vessel, choosing the cruelest one possible: Matt's own child. For three decades, Zurvan has orchestrated this moment, first possessing the kind neighbor who ran toward the flames to help, then guiding Wilbur Ward's hands as he built the ad...
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December 21, 2025 • 29 mins
When Mrs. Hostutler finally found the perfect Christmas tree, she never stopped to wonder why it was growing out of a grave.
Episode 9 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “The Perfect Christmas Tree”, “A Rose For Her Hair”, “Eternal Love”, “Guides In The Snow”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All stories in this episode are from the book, “The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays” by Sylvia Shults: ...
Episode 9 of 12 in the #12NightmaresOfXmas series!
In this episode: “The Perfect Christmas Tree”, “A Rose For Her Hair”, “Eternal Love”, “Guides In The Snow”
SOURCES AND ESSENTIAL WEB LINKS…
All stories in this episode are from the book, “The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays” by Sylvia Shults: ...
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December 21, 2025 • 178 mins
On Christmas Eve, a bitter old miser receives a terrifying warning from his dead business partner: change your ways or spend eternity in chains. Before morning, three spirits will drag him through his past, present, and future — and what he sees will either save his soul or seal his fate.
IN THIS EPISODE: The holiday classic in its entire audiobook format – “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, narrated by Darren Marlar.
SOURCES AN...
IN THIS EPISODE: The holiday classic in its entire audiobook format – “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, narrated by Darren Marlar.
SOURCES AN...
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December 21, 2025 • 33 mins
Four ghosts, one night, and a transformation so complete it's been pointing people toward a baby in a manger for nearly 200 years.
SERMON TRANSCRIPT…https://weirdddarkness.com/cotu-gospelaccordingtoscrooge
Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2025.
#COTU, #ChurchOfTheUndead, #AChristmasCarol, #CharlesDickens, #EbenezerScrooge, #ChristmasSermon, #ChristianSermon, #GospelMessage, #Redemption, #ChurchOfT...
SERMON TRANSCRIPT…https://weirdddarkness.com/cotu-gospelaccordingtoscrooge
Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2025.
#COTU, #ChurchOfTheUndead, #AChristmasCarol, #CharlesDickens, #EbenezerScrooge, #ChristmasSermon, #ChristianSermon, #GospelMessage, #Redemption, #ChurchOfT...
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December 20, 2025 • 37 mins
Thirty years ago, Matthew Klein escaped a fire that killed his family. He's been running ever since. Now, with five doors left on a cursed advent calendar and a demon named Zurvan orchestrating chaos across Marshport, the flames have finally caught up. His friends are dead. His wife believes him a liar. His son has been poisoned by demonic whispers. And as Christmas Eve draws near—the culmination of Zurvan's ancient celebration—Mat...
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