Monstrous

In the winter of 1897, Elva Zona Heaster Shue—known as Zona—was found dead inside her Greenbrier County, West Virginia, home just months after marrying Edward “Trout” Shue. At first, Zona’s death was treated as natural. But her mother, Mary Jane Heaster, did not believe it. She noticed the strange circumstances around Zona’s body. She questioned Trout’s behavior. And then, according to one of Amer...

A bottle of pain reliever. A familiar brand. A normal morning. In late September 1982, seven people across the Chicago area took Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules for everyday reasons. But within days, all seven were dead. The capsules had been contaminated with potassium cyanide. Mary Kellerman was 12 years old. Adam Janus was 27. Adam’s brother, Stanley Janus, and Stanley’s wife, Theresa, both too...

It’s our first spooky-season bonus episode, and we’re heading into the forests, wetlands, and winding roads of southern New Jersey. For nearly three centuries, people have told stories about a creature said to live in the Pine Barrens. It has been described as a winged beast with hooves, a long tail, glowing eyes, and a horse-like head. Some know it as the Jersey Devil. Others call it the Leeds De...

It’s officially spooky season, and we’re kicking things off with one of the strangest UFO encounters in American history. On the night of August 21, 1955, a group of people near Kelly and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, claimed that their farmhouse was surrounded by small, strange figures. The beings were described as silver or gray, with large heads, long arms, pointed ears, and glowing eyes. According t...

After nearly two decades of fear, missed opportunities, and unanswered questions, the Green River Killer investigation finally reached its breaking point. In the final episode of our Green River Killer series, DNA evidence brings detectives back to a name that had appeared in their files for years: Gary Ridgway. We break down the moments investigators came dangerously close to catching him, includ...

Years into the Green River investigation, detectives still did not know the identity of the man responsible—but the discoveries were far from over. In Part 4, we follow the cases of Tracy Winston, Maureen Feeney, Kimberly Nelson, Cindy Smith, Debra Estes, Andrea Childers, Marta Reeves, Roberta Hayes, Patricia Barczak, and Patricia Yellowrobe. Some were found years after they disappeared. Others we...

Now debuting: “This is Monstrous” — the official theme song for the podcast. Some stories are buried beneath small-town roads, old houses, forgotten headlines, and the silence left behind. But the truth has a way of lingering. “This is Monstrous” is an eerie tribute to the murders, mysteries, disappearances, hauntings, and dark legends explored on this show. It’s for the names that still deserve t...

In Part 3 of our Green River Killer series, the discoveries keep coming—and each one reveals more about the scale of the horror unfolding around Seattle. As investigators search wooded areas, airport-adjacent fields, and remote dump sites, more victims are found. Some are identified quickly. Others remain known only as “Bones” for decades before DNA and forensic genealogy finally give them their n...

The Green River Task Force is reaching a breaking point. As the victim count rises through late 1983, investigators shift from reacting to bodies to flooding Pacific Highway South with undercover surveillance, decoys, and early computer databases. But despite tracking leads on primed pickup trucks and ordinary-looking drivers, the killer manages to blend into the background. In this episode, we tr...

Before the Green River Killer became one of the most infamous serial killers in American history, he was just a name no one suspected — while bodies were already beginning to surface. In Part 1 of our Gary Ridgway series, we trace the terrifying early timeline of the Green River case, from the first victims to the moment investigators realized they were facing something far darker than a string of...

Natalee Holloway was 18 years old when she vanished on a graduation trip to Aruba, and the nightmare that followed would stretch on for nearly two decades. In this episode of Monstrous, we follow the disappearance, the chaos of the early investigation, the endless lies, and the dark trail that finally led back to Joran van der Sloot. Even after the confession, one devastating question still remain...

In this episode of Monstrous, we’re diving into three real cases of mass psychogenic illness that left investigators searching for answers. It starts in 1962, when a laughter outbreak swept through a Tanzanian boarding school and spread into surrounding communities. Then we move to a North Carolina factory, where workers began reporting strange symptoms after fear took hold on the floor. Finally,...

A convent in France. Silence, ritual, and devotion. And then, according to later accounts, the sound of cat-like cries breaking through the stillness. In this episode of Monstrous, we unravel the eerie story of the meowing nuns — a medieval tale that lives somewhere between legend, historical memory, and psychological mystery. We explore what people believed was happening, why the story survived,...

In this special bonus episode of Monstrous, Carrie sits down with Simon Michael—a former criminal barrister turned novelist, often called the “British John Grisham”—for a conversation rooted in real cases, courtroom tension, and the darker corners of human nature. After 37 years practicing law in the UK, including at the Old Bailey, Simon has prosecuted and defended some of the most serious crimin...

In 1518, the city of Strasbourg witnessed an event that still defies explanation. A woman known as Frau Troffea began dancing in the street—and continued for days. Within a week, dozens had joined her. Within a month, that number may have reached into the hundreds. There was no music. No clear cause. And no way to stop it. Contemporary records describe people dancing to the point of exhaustion, in...

In Part 2 of our two-part Unabomber series, we continue the story of Ted Kaczynski — the man who terrorized the United States for nearly two decades with a bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 more. From the first bomb at Northwestern University in 1978 to the final fatal attacks in 1995, we walk through every device, every victim, and every mystery that made this one of the lo...

Amy Bradley’s disappearance is one of those cases that never really lets go. Nearly three decades later, the questions are still there. The sightings. The theories. The gaps that don’t quite make sense. And the reality that no one has ever been able to fully explain what happened aboard that cruise ship. In this special bonus episode, I’m joined by Kevin Hall, host of Midnight Mystery Archive, who...

This is the story of how a math prodigy became the Unabomber. Born in Chicago in 1942, Theodore Kaczynski was a brilliant but isolated child who skipped grades, spent months in hospital isolation as an infant, and never learned how to connect with other people. By 16, he was at Harvard studying mathematics. By 25, he was an assistant professor at UC Berkeley—the youngest professor ever hired by th...

Did She Do It? Fall River, Massachusetts. August 4, 1892. A hot summer morning. 69-year-old Andrew Borden and his 64-year-old wife Abby are found dead inside their home at 92 Second Street. Both were struck dozens of times with a hatchet — Abby 19 times, Andrew 10-11 times. Their skulls smashed. Their faces unrecognizable. No forced entry. No intruder. No murder weapon found. The only person in th...

A special bonus episode is coming to Monstrous on June 19th. In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Hall from Midnight Mystery Archive to talk about the Amy Bradley case, a disappearance that has stayed with people for nearly 30 years. We both spent months researching this case at the same time, and this conversation goes beyond the basics to talk about what still holds up, what still feels unansw...

Hey y’all, this week on Monstrous, we’re heading north to one of the most mysterious places on Earth—the Alaskan Triangle. A vast, unofficial region where over 20,000 people have gone missing since the 1970s, and nearly 70% are never found. From planes disappearing without distress calls to hikers vanishing on marked trails, we’re diving deep into the cases, the statistics, and the strange theorie...

In this week’s episode of Monstrous, we cover the heartbreaking murder of 19-year-old Army private Tracie McBride. Stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, Tracie should have been safe on base, but her life was stolen in a case that would lead to a federal trial, years of appeals, and an execution that still leaves a heavy mark. This is a story about violence, loss, and the lif...

A dark, cinematic trailer from Carrie about why Invisawear stood out as a partnership, focusing on timing, instinct, and everyday safety accessories designed to help you stay connected when it matters most. Includes the listener discount and a reminder that sometimes having one more way to be heard can make all the difference. Check out Invisawear and get your 10% off at: https://www.invisawear.co...

In 2003, Hollywood actress Lana Clarkson walked into the Alhambra, California, mansion of music‑industry legend Phil Spector — and never walked out. On this episode of Monstrous, we unravel the story of Lana Clarkson, a woman with her own dreams, career, and family, whose life became forever tangled in one of the most infamous celebrity murder cases of the 21st century. This isn’t just about a fam...

This week on Monstrous, we step away from the usual darkness and into the thin air of the Himalayas for a story about quiet courage, not chaos. We’re telling the life story of Junko Tabei—a Japanese schoolteacher and mother who became the first woman to climb Mount Everest and one of the first women to complete the Seven Summits. Her journey wasn’t just about breaking records; it was about quietly...