Ominous Origins

And he never came out... Or he did? Either way, he was never seen again. Yeah, the story of Brian Shaffer is an interesting one. The story goes (cheat notes version), is that he was a med student who went bar hopping with a couple friends the night before he was meant to leave for a spring break vacation with his girlfriend. However, once the end of the night rolled around, he was nowhere to be se...

Despite sharing 2/3rds of a name with rock legend Gene SImmons, the two couldn't be further apart. One worshipped demons, one was a rock god, and one had a tongue that legends were made of; the other, well, he was a straight up demon, a vessel for pure evil, a man who killed 16 people, including his entire immediate family. Yeah, so buckle up for a fun one this week. I mean, they're all fun, aren'...

Last week we took a short look at Robert Pickton and what he'd done. It was brief, and we didn't cover all the details I wanted to, so this week we spend a little more time on the crimes of Pickton, his trial, and of course, most importantly, his victims. These serial killer episodes are always a bit love hate for me. Sure, like most people I find the topic to be incredibly interesting, but on the...

Yes, when you think of Canada, you probably think of friendly faces, maple syrup, and the phrase "Eh." But what doesn't come to mind is serial killers. Well, I have some news for you, we up here in the great white north have our fair share of bloodthirsty killers, and today we'll be talking about one by the name of Robert "Willy" Pickton. This "human" did some pretty unspeakable stuff, and his lau...

We are back this week with a topic I've wanted to cover for quite sometime; the strange phenomena of the Black Eyed Kids. Back in 1996 a journalist, Brian Bethel, had an encounter that left him with an unsavory taste in his mouth. He couldn't explain what happen, only that it had, but what he could recall was shocking. Bethel's account featured a new type of haunting with a brand new, never before...

I'm back! I know, it's been a while. This episode has been kicking my arse. When I was contacted about my thoughts on the astral planes, I became curious and jumped right in. However, I was a little overwhelmed by how much research there's been on the topic, and so I did my best to take the best bits from a ton of different sources and condense it into a 20 minute episode. So, that was fun. But wh...

Going through some past episodes, I realized that we've covered a lot of beasts. To be fair, the term beast can be attributed to any number of terrifying things, so I don't feel too bad. Nevertheless, this character is a real piece of work. Edward Paisnel has hints of Albert Fish in the sense that he was a disturbed man who preyed on the young, and they both had a crime spree that lasted much long...

... And they all vanished. Hell of a punchline, eh? Well that's exactly what happened in December of 1900, three men were at their lighthouse post on the Flannan Isle, Thomas Marshall, James Ducat and Donald MacArthur, when one stormy night they all mysteriously vanished into thin air. There was never a trace of these men found again. Of course, you might think that they all got swept away in the...

So let's say you live in the 1700's, and let's also say that you live on a farm, or out in the country somewhere, what would be your biggest fear? Well, the city-folk would probably be afraid of muggings and murder, but you, your fears hit a little different. How about being confronted in the middle of the woods in the dead of night by a massive wolf-like beast. It's so ferocious, and it's nothing...

We are back again this week, and we're going old school! Literally, we're looking at a God from one of the oldest schools around: Ancient Mesopotamia, and that god is none other than the god of war, and ruler of the underworld, Nergal! Nergal has a bit of an interesting story to him, from humble beginnings as a lowly god of war, to being recognized as the ruler of the underworld. But how, you migh...

Witches aren't a new thing to this podcast. I've covered the Salem witch trials, and some lesser known witches throughout history, but today we cover the mother of them all; the Baba Yaga. While she's not technically the mother of witches, she has links to various cultures the world over, albeit by different names. The Baba Yaga is of Slavic origins, and she's sort of an anti-hero or villain. She'...

We've made it, we got through another series, and we end our look at the Texarkana Phantom Killer with looking at the suspects. And there were a few, but given when all this took place (1946), pinning anybody to the crimes was tough without a confession, even though they might have had one. The main guy we're looking at here is Youell Swinney, who when confronted by police, told them not to shoot,...

Continuing with our looking into the Phantom Killer that stalked the night of 1940's Texarkana, we look at those involved with attempting to catch this serial madman. From local law enforcement, to the state rangers, this case had it all when it came to the investigators involved.  We have the first responders in local sheriffs, to the Lone Wolf, who stole the show, despite doing nothing. Let's ex...

So we've gone from the Seven Deadly Sins, to... True crime? Yup, that's what you get with this podcast. However, this true crime story involves a phantom, so it might just have a supernatural twist. The story goes that in 1946, over the course of several months a man committed some pretty heinous crimes. In a series of events that precedes the zodiac killer by a good twenty years, a man draped in...

We've made it! You and me, us... We did it, we got through the seven deadly sins, and we did it together, which makes it more special. It's been a long and winding road, but here we are with the final three sins. Greed, Wrath, and Pride. Arguably, they are the three biggest ones, and they all intersect with one another in some way, shape, or form.  Greed is pretty obvious, wanting more than you ha...

Hello there! Long time no see, I hope all is well with you. Sadly, for a long time, not all was well with me. As this episode will explain, I had a rough go of things the last month and a bit, and I was in no shape to live, let alone do this podcast. BUT, things are starting to get better over here, so here's hoping I can stick to a more consistent schedule from here on out. Thank you all for your...

We continue our look into the seven deadly sins, and this week we wade the cute and adorable, tree loving sloths! Wait, no, it's couch loving people, the close relative of the sloth. Yes, this week we discuss one of the lesser sins, the gateway sin I like to call it, sloth. Now, you might just think it's about being lazy, putting things off, not participating, etc... and you'd be right for the mos...

No, this isn't about the Hulk, but something kind of close. Today we're talking about one of of the more severe sins, one of the real bad, or heavy ones. We're talking about Envy, that big ol' monster that has taken each and every one of us at one point or another in life.  As I mentioned, it's one of the more serious ones, only topped by pride - the thing committed by, ya know, Lucifer. However,...

Last episode we talked about the senusal and sexy lust. This week, not so much. Let's face it, we've all seen Seven, and we all know what gluttony looks like, and it's not pretty. Nevertheless, the temptation of being gluttonous is very easy to give into, in fact, I'm certain that most all of us have fallen into the clutches of gluttony at one point or another. Though, gluttony doesn't just mean g...

Oh boy, here's a fun one that's bound to upset a couple religious folk out there. Starting right now I'll be looking at the seven deadly sins, and what they mean to culture, religion, and the demons associated with them. I thought I'd start off with the super fun, lust. Now, lust doesn't necessarily mean sex, though it is often associated most with the want and desire of sexual gratification. The...

We did it, and it took much longer than expected. The finale of the demons of the Ars Goetia is finally here, so sit back and enjoy as we go over the final ranks of Hell: Earls, Knights, and Presidents. Our sponsor:  www.morbidlybeautiful.com Merch:  www.redbubble.com/people/HorrorShots Youtube Twitch:  www.twitch.tv/choppersbadat Website:  www.horrorshots.com Instagram: ominousoriginspod Twitter:...

This week we look at the princes and marquises of hell! How fun. There are quite a few of these guys, and the themes of leading legions of demons, giving answers, and telling the past and future remain. There isn't much else to say on it, but if you listen, you'll notice that common thread pop up quite a bit - that and they're all some crazy amalgamation of beast and man when they're conjured. It'...

We're back, I told you I'd be back with part two of the Ars Goetia and its listing of the demon hierarchy. Last week we looked at the kings of hell, and the next logical step is the next rung down the ladder, which just happens to be... The Dukes of Hazard! I mean, Hell, the Dukes of Hell. Now, there are a lot of these guys. 23 to be exact. It's one of the most populated categories listed, and see...

The Ars Goetia is a fascinating piece of work that features a wealth of information within it, including a list of demons and their abilities. Today, and for the next little while we will be going over the demons listed, their hierarchy, and various traits, and where better to start than with the mighty kings of Hell.  In this list, we have a number of big boy demons, and some you may not have hea...

So let's play a game. It involves you, me, nature, and hidden elves who live in rocks in Iceland. I'm serious, the Huldufolk are a crafty little piece of Icelandic folklore, so you know what that means, me mispronouncing the shit out of every name I come across. But beyond that, anybody who's listened to this podcast for any length of time will know that I have a fondness for fairies and folklore...