The Darker Side of Life Podcast

Sixteen year old Karlie Guse  disappeared from her home in October 2018. She had returned to her family home the night before after being out at a house party and her behavior was frantic and erratic. Her dad and stepmom did what they could through the night to keep her calm, but when they woke up the next morning, Karlie was nowhere to be found. 

In 1958, the Hermann family of Seaford, NY, began to experience strange things in their house. It began with bottle lids suddenly and collectively popping off at the same time. What began as a mild annoyance became more extreme, as small objects started moving on their own, and larger pieces of furniture gradually started falling over by themselves. Police, paranormal investigators, priests, frien...

Moll Dyer lived on the outskirts of Leonardtown, Maryland in the late 1600s. Maryland was said to be more tolerant than other neighboring New England states. Many people thought Moll was a witch because of her knowledge of herbalism and ability to heal with her "potions." People in town accepted Moll for who she was as long as it helped them. But in the winter of 1697, the tides turned a...

In summer of 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay went missing. He was playing basketball with some friends, and never returned home. Three years later, his family received a phone call that Nicholas had been finally found - in Europe, as a victim of an international sex trafficking ring.  When Nicholas came home, he was...different. He looked the same, acted the same, and was "glad to have his...

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the world's largest known cave system. It's known for many things: soaring passages, ancient artifacts left behind by its first explorers and some of the most breathtaking underground scenery you could imagine. No one would expect to find a tuberculosis hospital. But for several people in the mid 1800s suffering from tuberculosis, they were willing to try anyt...

In 1987, Ruthie Mae McCoy called 911. She told the dispatcher that someone was "trying to tear the cabinet down" and to please send help. Police came, but left. A few days later she was found dead in her apartment in one of Chicago's ABLA housing projects.  Her murder illustrates a problem that plagued ABLA Homes - that people climbed between apartments and broke into units via tunn...

Hy Brasil: The mysterious island where you can have riches of gold and silver, possible immortality and hang time  with the gods and giant bunnies. All you have to do is find it! Believe us, it's harder than it sounds. 

In 1962, a routine landfill cleanup went underway in Centralia, Penn. Burning trash was a common way of clearing it out, except this time something was different - fire fell into a hole leading to an abandoned coal mine.  What proceeded was decades health issues for the residents, toxic gases in homes and schools, the threat of the ground opening up from underneath their feet, and .... government...

Liz Barraza was a light in the world. She was creative, imaginative and loved getting lost in the world of sci-fi and fantasy with her husband and friends. But in the early morning hours of January 25, 2019, it all ended when someone approached Liz in her driveway and shot her. Who would target someone like Liz Barraza? Why would someone target Liz Barraza? These are questions many are still tryin...

Warning: This episode contains explicit content. Most people remember the trial - it was full of scandalous sexual details, insight into Mormonism, horrifying crime scene photos, and lie after lie after lie told by the woman charged with murder. It was watched by millions as it aired, allowing the public to try and figure out what happened the night of June 4, 2008 when Travis Alexander was killed...

In the famous words of Ross Gellar, "We're going on a break!" Or, something along those lines. But yes, we are briefly hitting the pause button to take care of some exciting changes that are coming the way of one of the Darker Side of Life girls. But don't worry, we will be back in no time with new content for our awesome listeners. You all can't get rid of us that easily....

In late summer 1945, WWII was heating up in the Pacific for a final showdown. The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis suffered an attack by a Japanese bomber, and while undergoing repairs, got orders for a secret cargo mission back to the Pacific front.  With the cargo delivered and mission complete, an enemy submarine fired on the ship, sinking it in 12 minutes. Hundreds of sailors and marines ended u...

Ten year old Kyron Horman was almost finished with school until the summer vacation. He was excited to show off his science fair project on Red Eyed Tree Frogs. According to Kyron's stepmom Terry, she saw Kyron walking down the hallway toward his class as she was leaving the science fair. When Kyron didn't get off the bus that afternoon, the school told his parents that Kyron had never b...

In July 1996, the body of Blair Adams was found in a parking lot of a construction site in Knoxville, Tennessee. Circumstances surrounding his death were already unusual - he was partially clothed, he had severe injuries to his body, and among his pockets and belongings found nearby were thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, platinum and jewelry.  Investigators soon discovered the days before h...

Residents in the South of England woke up the morning of February 9, 1855, to a winter wonderland. A storm the night before had dumped snow over the countryside. But people started to see something different in the snow, something that didn't belong. Footprints. It wasn't only the type of footprint that was confusing, it was where they were. The prints crossed snowy fields, wandered up t...

It wasn't easy being in a position of power in 10th Century Europe. But for Italy and the papacy, it was even worse - for a long period, the pope of the Catholic Church was the only person to have authority to crown the next Holy Roman Emperor. Because this was such a powerful position, many people were willing to kill for it. Sometimes a new pope would pass decrees undoing certain rules of p...

On March 25, 2017,  police in West Palm Beach received a 911 call. The man on the other end confessed to murdering someone and asked for police to come. The caller was Randy Herman Jr., and the victim was Brooke Preston. Not only were Randy and Brooke roommates and close friends for almost a decade, but Randy would have an interesting defense of his crime. He claimed he was sleepwalking. 

In 1900s New York City, two brothers from a well-to-do family found themselves in a bad situation. When one brother went blind, the other quit his job to be able to care for his sick sibling. As time went on, the brothers withdrew from society and ventured outside less and less, and developed a dangerous habit - hoarding. While living among tons of items in their house, one brother began setting b...

Sit back during this holiday season and enjoy some darker tales of Christmastime folklore from around the world. 

In 1929, Netta Fornario came to the small Scottish island of Iona for a break from the hectic pace of London city life. For island residents - most devout Christians - she was an outsider, but a friendly, kind person, who was just a little different. Netta was a practitioner of the occult, believed in fairies, and thought of herself as a healer, even trying to heal people through telepathy.   Howe...

When Selena Not Afraid grew up, she wanted to go to college near her older brother and eventually own her own horse farm. The teenager from Montana had her whole life ahead of her when she disappeared at a rest stop on New Years Day, left behind by the people who were taking her back home after a New Years Eve party. When her body was found days later, the family still didn't have the answers...

It's a story worthy of a modern-day soap opera: Successful millionaires fight for the love of a young, beautiful, popular actress, creating a love triangle filled with luxury, social status (and the occasional meddling mother-in-law.) But it's also a story that we've seen recently, and in real life - wealthy, older men raping and trafficking underage girls, a murder of a ringleader,...

Happy Halloween to all our listeners! Dana and Kristen both have stories to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. 

When the Dandy family wanted to get away from the loud and busy city life of Buffalo, New York, they found what would seem like the perfect place to relocate: a beautiful farmhouse in Hinsdale, New York. But it wasn't long before the family started to experience things they couldn't explain. And for years, a grab bag of unexplainable paranormal activity shadowed their every day life.