MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Today’s podcast features two separate, unique, stories that are both themed around the same thing, family secrets. The first story you will hear is called, “The Most Terrifying Family You’ve Never Heard Of," and it’s about an obscure cult who admitted to performing a heinous ritual in the 1970's. The second story you will hear is called, “Someone in This Family Has a Secret,” and it’s about a fami...

One September night in 2006, a man left his office in upstate New York and walked across the nearly vacant parking lot to his truck. When he climbed inside the driver’s seat, he instantly noticed that the back left of his vehicle seemed to be sagging slightly. But before he could figure out why that was, he thought he saw something moving in his peripheral vision off to his left. Reflexively, he t...

Today’s podcast features two separate, unique, stories that are both themed around the same thing, deaths that were completely avoidable. The first story you will hear is called, “The Gap," and it is about a terrible, horrible thing that is, amazingly, NOT illegal. The second story you will hear is called, “The Man in Cobb Park,” and it is about a discovery that was made on a park bench in Texas,...

In May of 2009, someone in Guatemala uploaded an 18 minute long video to YouTube titled, “YouTube Murder." Within hours of it being published, the video had gone massively viral to the point where YouTube’s servers began to crash, and in Guatemala, angry crowds of people began forming up in the streets demanding justice. When the president of Guatemala reluctantly authorized an investigation into...

Today’s podcast features two separate, unique, stories that are both themed around the same thing, true crime stories that have big plot twists at the end. The first story you will hear is called, “Basketball With Friends," which is about a secret, forbidden relationship. The second story you will hear is called, “What Happened in Room 348?!,” and it is about a crime, or more specifically a crime...

On December 11th, 2006, in a beautiful little town in Italy, two men were out for a walk when they noticed a fire in a nearby second story apartment window. They quickly ran up the outside stairs to get to that apartment, but when they reached it and looked through the open front door, they froze, because what they saw was nothing short of a nightmare. Today's story is about the "Erba Massacre" an...

Today’s podcast features two separate, unique, stories that are both themed around the same thing, people who suddenly just snapped. The first story you will hear is called, “The Horrifying True Story of Katy Perry’s Ex-Boyfriend." Her ex was a famous actor, and what he did will forever change the way you view the shows and movies that he was in. The second story you will hear is called, “This Dem...

On March 22nd, 2003, a highly intelligent, very successful couple decided to play a strange new game. The game was very involved, and required handcuffs and blindfolds and heavy chairs, but once they were in position, they got the hang of it quickly and thought it was actually pretty fun. But after playing for a little while, something very unexpected happened, and before either of them could comp...

Today’s podcast features two separate, unique stories, that are both themed around the same thing, true Mexican horror. The first story you'll hear is called “The Ritual” and it is about a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time during spring break in Matamoros, Mexico. The second story you'll hear is called, “The most feared girl in Mexico” and it is about the horrible thing that a...

On the morning of March 8, 1961, a 13 year old boy living near Seattle, Washington, walked up the front steps of his house, opened the front door and went inside. He called out to see if anyone was home, but it was silent. He shrugged, then dropped his books and walked straight across the dining room and down a narrow hallway. When he reached the end of that hallway, where it led into the kitchen,...

Located in the northwestern section of Canada lies an 11,000 square mile stretch of untouched wilderness called the "Nahanni Valley" (aka "The Headless Valley"). This area is virtually inaccessible, as there are no roads, trails or other obvious access points. It is full of large dangerous animals, steep cliffs and brutal weather conditions. And it is believed to be haunted. Today's episode is bas...

In 1995, an 18 year old named Reggie was serving a life sentence inside one of the most violent prisons in the USA. Reggie tried to keep his head down to avoid trouble, but at some point he offended an inmate they called “The Devil”… and when you upset The Devil, you’re doomed. But Reggie wasn’t going to just roll over and die. Instead, he made a plan to save himself... What happened next shocked...

In 2006 a couple found themselves lost in the rugged San Jacinto mountain range in California. Starving, dehydrated, and desperate, they stumbled upon a campsite tucked away in an isolated ravine. They rushed over to it to see if the owner was nearby, but before they could locate them, the couple saw something hidden inside of the tent. This discovery would change their lives forever. DISCLAIMER:...

In 2010, a young tutor stepped inside of her student's apartment. At first it was quiet, then a terrified voice called to her from the back bedroom... Had she known what was waiting for her inside of that bedroom, she would have turned and ran. For 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen If you want to reach out to...

In 2008 in Canada, a highly controversial movie script found its way into the police’s hands. When they read it, they immediately told the filmmaker that they would not be allowed to produce the script into a movie, and then the police wiped the script from the face of the earth... Except recently I got my hands on an uncensored full version, and I used it, along with several news reports, to tell...

In 2006, an adult son arrived at his parent’s farm to work for the day. When he got there, he expected to see his father out and about doing chores, but when he looked around the property, he didn't see him. The son decided to go inside the farm house (where his parents lived) to see what they were doing. What he saw on the 2nd floor would haunt him for the rest of his life… For 100s more stories...

During World War 2, there was a horrific incident that occurred on a small island in the Pacific Ocean. At the time, the details of exactly what happened on this island were made top secret. But in 2004, the US government decided it was time for the public to know the truth. Not only is the story of the Chichijima Incident unbelievable, but the twist at the end will genuinely shock you, especially...

In 2017, an aspiring teenage artist was invited to come out to an art college in Florida for a personalized tour of their campus. They told him to bring along some of his best artwork to show the staff, and so the teen decided he would make a special papier-mâché mask just for the occasion. After it was complete, he packed it up, along with his other things, and then he got ready to board a bus bo...

In 1999 there was a rash of disappearances inside of the famous Yosemite National Park in California. When the police couldn't figure out where these people had gone, or who (or what ) was behind their disappearances, a rumor started amongst locals that a "monster" must be running loose in the park attacking people. At first, this was just an urban legend, but by the end of the year, police would...

In 2012, a man living in Omaha, Nebraska met a woman on a dating website and after dinner, he invited her into his apartment. As they started getting intimate, they heard a knock on the door. Annoyed, the man got up and went to look through the peep hole, and he couldn’t believe who he saw standing on the other side of the door. This story has one of the strangest endings I’ve ever covered. Let’s...

In 2012, a West Virginia father knocked on his 16 year old daughter's bedroom door, expecting her to open it up and say, "hello." But after knocking, there was only silence in her room. He knocked a few more times, but his daughter still did not emerge, so the father decided he would go inside and make sure she was OK. Little did he know, what he would discover inside of that room would ruin his l...

In 1995, a man was in his basement running on the treadmill when he heard thumping sounds coming from upstairs. He went upstairs to investigate, and at first he didn’t see or hear anything unusual. But when he reached the end of the first floor hallway and looked in the dining room, he saw the source of the sounds and he immediately started screaming. For 100s more stories like this one, check out...

One morning in 1983, a truck driver was driving down a lonely Alaskan highway, when he saw a young girl come bounding out of the forest that butted up against the road. The girl ran out onto the highway, turned toward him, and began sprinting in his direction while screaming and waving her arms in the air. The driver came to a quick stop and as the girl got closer, he saw she had no shoes on and h...

On March 20, 1995, a crumpled up newspaper was spotted lying on the floor of a Tokyo, Japan train car. In Japan, the subways are always immaculately clean, so this newspaper stood out like a sore thumb. As commuters stared at the trash, wondering who would be so inconsiderate to litter, a wet spot began to form at the center of the newspaper, like it was sitting on top of a liquid that was now sta...

Carol and Reggie Sumner were high school sweethearts in the late 1960s, but after graduation they broke up and went their separate ways. 40 years later, after both of their respective marriages ended in divorce, the pair reconnected through a random unintentional phone call. Within days of this chance encounter, the two were happily going on dates again as if they were picking up right where they...