Hard Times and True Crimes

In 1973 a movie opened in theaters that scared the nation - The Exorcist. But you may not be aware that it was based on true events that took place in 1949. Billy Graham urged audiences not to see it due to its depiction of evil, but audiences continued to flock to see it for its scare factor. These are the details of what happened and the truth is scarier than fiction. Intro and Outro Music: Isai...

The trials began in 1692 when a group of young girls in the Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts claimed they were being tormented by local women who were practicing witchcraft. Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Music by Isaiah Hildreth Sources: Killing Witches by Bill O’Riley O'Reilly, B., & Dugard, M. (2023). Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts  https://salemwitchmus...

A rocky marriage, a controlling husband, an estranged wife, and alcohol addiction; a destructive combination that led down a deadly path and ultimately ended in tragedy for several families. Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-4948199 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage_nursing_home_shooting https://www.newspapers.com/image/96098...

In August 1931, police were investigating the disappearances of Asta Eicher and her three children. They found love letters, which led them to a man named Harry Powers in Quiet Dell, West Virginia. Nespresso Vertuo Amazon Link:      https://amzn.to/4eO75xy Music by Isaiah Hildreth Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Sources: newspapers.com findagrave.com wikipedia.com murderpedia.com https://www.wvency...

To retire early and live their days sailing on a yacht is the dream of many a couple. Some actually get to live that dream. Such was the case for Tom and Jackie Hawks until the day another dream came true - a grandbaby was on the way. When the couple decided to sell their yacht and move closer to family, they thought they had found the perfect family to enjoy the Well-Deserved . But something sini...

Marie Dean Arrington was a professional criminal in Florida during the 1960's. After  she committed a brutal murder, Marie became the second woman to be put on the FBI's Most Wanted List.  Male Narrator- Curtis Hildreth Music by Isaiah Hildreth Sources Find a Grave findagrave.com Wikipedia wikipedia.com Murderpedia Southern Mysteries Podcast Amazon Prime Young Adult Offer:   https://amzn...

The murder of a mother of two in a small town in Randolph County has investigators baffled. She had no enemies to speak of. Sometimes an enemy is closer than we think though and is not someone we consider an enemy. One man is arrested and one man turns himself in. The question is did they work together or did one work alone? Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth Sources:...

The 1988 murder of 41 year old Peggy Carr is one of the most bizarre crimes in Polk County Florida history.  Music by Isaiah Hildreth Narrator-Curtis Hildreth Sources newspapers.com Poison Mind : The True Story of the Mensa Murderer and the Policewoman who Risked her Life to Bring Him to Justice By Jeffrey Good and Susan Goreck Justialaw The Murder of Peggy Carr Crime Documentary Send us Fan Mail...

A group of families headed west to California in the spring of 1846 during the Westward Expansion movement. They were well provisioned for the journey that was expected to take them 4-6 months. But one delay after another along with a bad leadership decision turned the trip into a nightmare. Never take a shortcut that has not been proven; it could be deadly. Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth...

In 1894,  poor Ellen Smith was murdered by her ne-er do- well lover, Peter DeGraff in Winston-Salem, NC. This episode will cover a short background,  the murder, trial and execution of Peter DeGraff. The story was made famous by a late nineteenth century murder ballad named Poor Ellen Smith that Peter DeGraff supposedly wrote in prison while awaiting his execution. Music by Isaiah Hildreth  The Sw...

 Edward and Katie Gingerich lived among their people, the Amish, in the early 1990s. When Ed started having various physical ailments and then mental anguish, the church tried to step in but nothing seemed to help; not herbal supplements, prescribed medicines, or hospitalization. This is the story of how Ed became the first Amish person in the US to be tried for murder and the events that led up t...

In the spring of 1856, two brothers, seven year old George and five year old Joseph  wondered off together from  their cabin home in the Alleghenies Mountains of Pennsylvania. Listen to hear their tragic story. Allison Krauss  Music Video Jacob's Dream https://youtu.be/sUtNRK3tYgg?si=TMerX-xqoij1dUGn Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Music by Isaiah Hildreth Sources newspapers.com findagrave.com...

After a harrowing shipwreck at sea, Captain Julian Harvey was rescued just off the coast of the Bahamas in November 1961. He is pulled from a dinghy along with a deceased seven-year-old girl but none of the other passengers are found. Miraculously, four days later another survivor of the nightmare is rescued and she is barely alive. Her story of the event is far different than the one the captain...

Paul Dennis Reid also known as The Fast Food Killer is Nashville’s most notorious serial Killer. He was convicted and given seven death sentences for murdering seven people from various fast food restaurants in the Nashville area. Sources: Narrator for today’s episode Darlene Hildreth Music Isaiah Hildreth Intro Written by Sherry White Sources: When Nashville Bled: The untold stories of serial kil...

Sometimes a simple "welfare check" for someone's safety turns out to be more than investigators bargained for. For the Houston Police Department in 1965, this was the case when a man called in concerned about his elderly aunt and uncle. What they found when they got inside was a nauseating scene. Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth Sources: Criminal Podc...

On June 1896, Ceely Rose  poisoned her family with arsenic because they wouldn't let her see or speak the name of their neighbor, Guy Berry. Her father, David, died within a week of being poisoned. Walter, her brother, died within two weeks  and Rebecca, her mother, lived for a month before getting a second dose and then dying. Listen to hear the whole story.  Male Narrator-Curtis Hildreth Mu...

Since the 1840s the Stiles family had passed down a rare condition called Ectrodactyly that makes the hands look like lobster claws.  Grady Stiles turned his family's condition into a lucrative business performing in the traveling carnival. The family was one of the main attractions for many years. But after years of dysfunction, the family became known for abuse and murder instead. Intro Mus...

On June 3, 1985,   police cautiously pursued a Chevy Blazer with four passengers. A slow chase had persisted for several miles-- from Greensboro into Summerfield, North Carolina. Suddenly, the Blazer stopped and a bomb was detonated from within.  The vehicle and four bodies exploded into pieces on NC Hwy. 150.  This is the conclusion to the harrowing story of how bitterness and hatred led to the d...

In the years between 1984 and 1985, three intertwined families experienced the murders of close family members.  The murders spanned from Louisville, Kentucky to Winston Salem and Greensboro, NC. Susie Newsome Lynch and Fritz Kenner were first cousins and lovers. They shared grandiose delusions, paranoia, bitterness and a murderous hatred for the people they believed were conspiring to take Susie&...

An episode of America's Most Wanted in 1989 showcased the story of John List who killed his entire family - wife, mother, and three children - leaving them in the ballroom of their 19-room mansion. More than one viewer called in to say that John List looked strikingly like their neighbor, Bob Clark. After fingerprints prove they were one and the same, he was arrested and the details of his ho...

In December 1934, a young missionary couple, John and Betty Stam, were beheaded by Communist soldiers in Anhui Province along with a Chinese Christian brother named Chang Shushing. Listen to their story here. Male Narrator: Curtis Hildreth Music: Sherry White Sources: By Life or By Death : The Life and Legacy of John and Betty Stam   By Andrew Montonera newspapers.com findagrave.com Christianfocus...

As Westward expansion began in the US after the Civil War, homesteaders staked land claims across the plains. One family set up a crude store and Inn along the trail, taking advantage of the location where many a weary traveler would pass by. But many of those travelers began to disappear after stopping at the Bender's place. What searchers found on the property, dubbed "Hell's Half...

Reverend George Washington Carawan was charged and found guilty of the murder of a school teacher named Clement H. Lassiter .  After learning the jury had found him guilty and that he would be hanged for his crime,  Reverend  Carawan pulled a gun and shot the prosecutor and then  himself.  Male Narrator- Curtis Hildreth Music- Isaiah Hildreth Sources newspapers.com murderpedia.com findagrave.com N...

The seaside town of Brighton, England had a string of poisonings in the late 1870's.  The victims became severely sick after eating chocolate cream candies from a local sweet shop owned by J. G. Maynard. Mr. Maynard rid his shop of the chocolate inventory, but townsfolk continued getting sick and one young boy died after eating a piece of the offending candy.   Investigators were stumped unti...

Alma Kellner born in 1901, was the daughter of wealthy brewers in Louisville, Kentucky. On December 8, 1909, Alma disappeared on her way to attend mass at St. John's Roman Catholic Church, not far from her home. At first it was believed she had been kidnapped but no ransom demands were ever made. Approximately six months from the time she went missing, on May 30, 1910, her dismembered body wa...