Castles & Cryptids

Near death experiences. Are they as life-changing as TV would have us believe? Does everyone that comes close to their demise see a bright light or do they simply survive and live to fight another day? We explore some famous and lesser known brushes with death, as well as some stories of survival to surpass all odds. Meet the man who spent the longest at sea on a tiny boat (over a year!) and find...

Does this ep seem familiar? Well that's because we touched on it a bit with our special Dexter themed ep a long time ago, over 100 eps ago! Can you believe it? This week we revisit the idea by exploring killers who were inspired by others to commit terrible and senseless crimes. Kelsey covers the strange investigation into a shooter who terrorized New York City for many years, keeping its police a...

Ahoy-hoy cryptic mateys, we have sailed back into a podcast harbour near you! That's harbour with a U cause we speak the Queen's English here in Canadaland, dontcha know? It's fitting that Alanna just returned home from the Maritimes in Atlantic Canada, since we are hitting you with more maritime mysteries! We love the ocean, but she scares us a little too, gotta respect that shit, you know what w...

This week's Darkcast takeover episode is brought to you by Disturbing Interests podcast! As the hosts like to say, you may be disturbing, but you are not alone! We've had a Corpse Bride, now it's time for a full-on corpse Queen, better known by her real name, Ines de Castro. Regina brings us this "gruesome love story for their ages", of Ines and King Pedro I, sometimes compared to Romeo and Juliet...

Hiya Cryptic Cuties, we have another special ep for you, this time from the trio over at Paranormal Peeps. Hosts Josh, Jamey, and Aleca cover many haunted locations, as well as cryptids and sometimes even true crime. For their Camp Floyd ep they talk with guest Wendi from Demolished Salt Lake podcast all about the military camp, why it was built and the struggles that the soldiers faced. We hope y...

Welcome back to the Darkcast takeover, this week we have a great ep to share with you. Kelsey has wanted to share this case with everyone since we started, so we were excited to find one of our co-pods had already done it, the lovely Brenda over at Horrifying History. Check out this awesome podcast full of all things paranormal and True Crime, if you like our variety of ep topics then you are sure...

We are on hiatus this month, so please enjoy a spooky story from Misty Mysteries, a Darkcast family podcast featuring host Keely Lopez. Of course this classic tale touches all the great parts of paranormal, folklore, and Halloween, so it's perfect as a pre-spooky season starter! Listen while it's hot out, to keep your bones from being chilled! Then check out the other episodes on the Misty Mysteri...

Most of us can agree that the deep ocean can be scary as hell. There's even a specific word for the phobia of large underwater creatures or objects that I bet lots of us have- it's called megalohydrothalassophobia. But what's even scarier than the water itself, we ask? It's always the bad people who make this such a frightening place to be. Come hop on our lifeboat as we plunge into International...

Hey everyone, for this weeks episode we dove into 2 more cases of bizarre Government conspiracies. Kelsey covers a dark spot in Canada's history, a time when the fear of spies and communists led the Government to funnel thousands into a "Gaydar" to better weed out any Homosexual workers. Targeting and investigating thousands of government, RCMP and Military employees. Alanna shares the story of Pr...

Hey Cryptic Cuties it's crime time again! Remember when Kelsey covered the infamous Moors Murders way back in Episode 22? Neither do we at this point, really! So it's about time for another case of couples who kill (or Moor Murders if you will :P) Kelsey kicks it off with a typically dark case of course, notorious killers Alton Coleman and Debra Brown. They were not your typical serial killers, th...

Summer is hot-t-t and so are these podcasts! But of course these stories are also strange, dark and mysterious! Sure to give you some chills as you chill! Check out Cruel Summer Part 2 for Kelsey and Alanna's cases and many more in our summer collab compilation of spooky stories to tell around the campfire! Grab your smores, it's scary story time! Featured Darkcast Podcasts: @f_thatpod @freakyafpo...

It's a cruel, cruel summer, leaving me here on my own...you know the lyrics, but are you ready for this dark and disturbing summer scream? We got to take part in a major collab featuring some of Darkcast Network's hottest shows, and if you love us you are probably gonna love these guys too! Buckle up, and grab your comfort animals for some creepy, crimey, chill your bones stories to listen to in t...

It's ep 111 so we just had to cover numerology, it was a sign. Kelsey shares a brief history of Numerology, or Arithmancy as it was once called. Everything from onomancy, to birthday numbers and life path numbers, we have a lot to discuss (and calculate). Alanna redeems herself with a deep dive into Angel Numbers (briefly mentioned in our 86th ep). If you find that every time you look at the clock...

We start the episode off in true Castles & Cryptids fashion- lots of cat craziness and pet talk, interrupted by sounds of Gordo playing fetch with his bottle cap. Tell us- what's wrong with your pet? Meaning what crazy weirdo things do they do that's unique to them? Please tell us, we're dying to know!! Kelsey breaks down the killing of Marta Russo, but the one major thing this case lacks- is...

That's right, we are finally talking all things dragons, because what goes better with a podcast called castles & cryptids than dragons! Kelsey covers the influence of dragons on Asian culture, focusing on Chinese dragons (Long) and their deep history across many dynasties. We discuss everything from the Chinese zodiac, to the emperor's new clothes and much, much more. Alanna wraps up the ep by te...

We've decided to feature more missing persons and unsolved cases on the pod, to help highlight and bring attention to more cases that could be solved someday. There's unfortunately too many to choose from. Kelsey brings us the tale of Diane Augat, who went missing quite quietly in 1998. Strange clues and traces of her are the only things that have ever been found, and theories include foul play. A...

This week we share a wide variety of stories of close calls and near misses. First, Kelsey focuses on a handful of examples of people trusting their instincts, and dodging some very scary situations. Alanna takes her turn with a few deep dives into harrowing surroundings no one would want to find themselves in. From almost being attacked and murdered, to surviving at sea or in the wilderness, to a...

Some still call this case the best documented UFO sighting ever to happen in Canada, and it occurred way back in the 60's at a place called Falcon Lake, Manitoba. Stefan Michalak was an industrial mechanic and amateur geologist who was exploring around the lake east of Winnipeg when he noticed a gaggle of geese abruptly take off, honking madly. Although Stefan was an educated and multi-lingual man...

Hi everybody, we hope you are prepared for a very dark episode this week. Kelsey dives into the case of Nathon Brooks, who repeatedly shot his parents while they lay sleeping. We discuss everything from possible motivations, to an extremely different version of events provided in a police report, which version is true? We'll let you be the judge. Alanna closes out the episode with the history of C...

Do you know about Walt Disney's supposed cryogenically frozen body or head? What other Disney urban legends have you heard? We have some lesser known ones to cap off our Urban Legend episode, and we think you'll enjoy them as much as we did! And if you are the type to believe that there's a secret dome over Disneyworld to keep out the rain, well sorry to burst your invisible imaginary bubble, bro....

Listen up cryptic cuties, we got a classic horror trope coming at ya! The "call is coming from inside the house" babysitter urban legend! We've all heard the classic lines like-What's your favorite scary movie? from Scream, etc, but did any of that actually ever happen?? Was a babysitter really murdered, or someone ever calling and asking her to check on the children? Kelsey spills the teenage tea...

Ate Alanna and ate Kelsey here, for this special true crime ep focusing on the Philippines! Kelsey shares the story of an unassuming Pastor who was able to kill dozens over the course of 10 years, before finally being caught in an unexpected way. Alanna covers the history and crimes of Nardong Putik, a man famous for being a sort of robin hood type, hiding in puddles and escaping prison multiple t...

Taurus season, you say? It's gonna be May? Just in time for May the 4th/Alanna's sister's birthday, we brought you the paranormal families that really were all about the sisters!! The Bangs sisters' spiritualism shows could have been called the Sisterhood of the Travelling Precipitated Art. Which was only one of the ways they showcased their attunement to the spirit world, but was one of the most...

Sorry for the technical difficulties with last weeks ep, we hope you still enjoyed celebrating our 100th with us. Now, back to our regular scheduled programing, we bring you some strange and also heartbreaking cases of mistaken identity. Kelsey shares the fun fact this week, and then dives into a sudden and seemingly unmotivated murder of a mother of 3. Alanna shares a few stories, including the o...

Pew pew pew, Give us your airhorn sound effects 'cause it's our 100th episode cuties!! We have loved this wild ride so far, and wanted to do something a little different for our 2 year celebration! We've come a long way baby, and yes that's from a cigarette commercial, but I stand by it. 90's child forever. We try our hand at guessing top 10 lists, read a listener story, and reflect on the haunted...