Monstrous

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...

In this episode of Monstrous, we meet Nannie Doss — The Giggling Granny — the sweet, grandmotherly figure who baked cookies, giggled through interrogations, and poisoned everyone who got in the way of her idea of “true love.” She looked like everyone’s favorite grandmother: wire‑rimmed glasses, floral dresses, and a plate of freshly baked cookies. However, behind the kitchen door, she was one of A...

Strap in for our wildest ride yet—Carrie takes you behind the scenes to uncover the dark history of amusement park disasters that turned summer fun into tragedy. From the 1930 Big Dipper derailment at Krug Park that killed four and banned coasters in Omaha, to Action Park’s decade-long reign of terror earning it the nickname “Class Action Park,” we dive deep into what went wrong, who paid the pric...

In this episode of Monstrous, we dive into the terrifying and baffling history of encephalitis lethargica, the mysterious sleeping sickness that swept the world in the early 1900s. What began as flu-like symptoms soon turned into a nightmare of extreme sleepiness, paralysis, violent spasms, and a terrifying aftermath that left many survivors trapped in their own bodies for decades. From World War...

In the conclusion of our series on the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks, the nightmare moves where no one thought it could go: inland. Last week, we saw the terror unfold on the beaches of Beach Haven and Spring Lake. This week, we travel 11 miles away from the ocean to the quiet, murky waters of Matawan Creek. It’s a place where local "wisdom" said a shark could never survive—until July 12th prove...

Before there was Jaws, there was July 1916. In this episode, Carrie and MawMaw take you back to a sweltering summer on the New Jersey coast. While the country is gripped by a polio epidemic and a record-breaking heatwave, thousands of families flee to the "safety" of the ocean. But a deadly predator is lurking in the shallows—and the "experts" refuse to believe it exists. In Part 1, we cover: • Th...

It starts with a flickering light. A misplaced toy. A child’s laughter echoing from an empty nursery. For Tony and Debra Pickman, the haunting of their Atchison, Kansas, home felt like a tragedy—until the mask began to slip. In this episode of Monstrous, Carrie and MawMaw explore the terrifying evolution of the Sallie House. We dig into the brutal history of Dr. Charles Finney, the legend of the "...

On a quiet Saturday in July 2023, in the Victorian town of Leongatha, an invitation to lunch was extended as an olive branch. Erin Patterson—a former air traffic controller—hosted her estranged in-laws and a local pastor’s family for a homemade Beef Wellington. But what was presented as a gesture of reconciliation, baited by a fake terminal cancer diagnosis, turned into a forensic puzzle that woul...

This bonus episode of Monstrous peels back the layers of green glitter to reveal the 1,600-year cold case at the heart of Saint Patrick’s Day. From the teenage kidnapping of Maewyn Succat to the "Triple Death" of the Irish peat bogs, Carrie and MawMaw explore how a holiday of "parades and pints" began as a story of survival, radical transformation, and cultural erasure. We’re diving into the psych...

"I don’t think you’re coming back." Those were the haunting final words Dawn Drexel said to her daughter before Brittanee slipped out of her New York home for a Spring Break trip she wasn’t supposed to be on. In April 2009, 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel vanished into the neon-lit humid air of Myrtle Beach. For thirteen years, her family lived in a state of suspended animation, fueled by horrific ru...

When a college student goes missing, every second counts—but for too long, a legal "gray zone" has treated 18-year-olds like they have no expectation of being looked for. In this high-stakes update, we dive into the breakthrough of Colorado’s Senate Bill 120, better known as the "Megan Alert." Joined by Mawmaw , we break down the emotional and legislative journey that began on February 9th and has...

In March 1876, the residents of Bath County, Kentucky, stepped outside into a cloudless sky only to find it raining raw, red meat. What began as a quiet Friday morning for farmwife Mary Crouch quickly devolved into a global scientific puzzle and a localized nightmare. In this episode of Monstrous, we peel back the layers of the "Kentucky Meat Shower," a case that sits at the intersection of Appala...

In February 2022, the "village" of Whitehaven in Memphis, Tennessee, was shattered by a crime that defied the natural order. When 27-year-old Danielle Hoyle was found in a roadside ditch next to her idling Chevy Cruze, the city's heart stopped—not just for the loss of a devoted mother, but for the 2-day-old infant, Kennedy, who was missing from the backseat. Join Carrie and MawMaw as they dismantl...

How can a woman be in two places at once? For four years, Cari Farver was a ghost. To her mother, she was a series of cruel and erratic text messages. To her boyfriend, she was a voyeuristic nightmare watching from the shadows. To the police, she was a "runaway" whose digital footprint suggested she was alive and well. But Cari Farver wasn't running. She had been erased. In this week’s episode, Ca...