Too Close to Home Podcast

Are you marked safe from being in a cult today? If you are unsure, and your access to the outside world (and our sickness!) hasn’t been shut off yet, this information may help save your life! In this episode, we discuss the different cult ideologies, examples of modern active cults, warning signs, as well as a survivor’s story. Everybody, whether they believe it or not, is a potential victim.

You thought she was crazy in part 1 of this series? For better or worse, we are just getting started, and you are along for the ride! We have more bizarre antics, masterclass-level knife work, and an (almost) dinner to never forget. As we look into what makes a Pricey Stew, you will see why her file bears the ominous warning “never to be released”.

We are going to the land down under! Australia is infamously known as the place where everything can kill you, but no animal may be more crazy than Katherine Knight! In Part 1 of this batshit insane series, we look at Katherine’s origins and the increasingly bizarre events which took place prior to her fateful relationship with John Price. This series takes “don’t stick your dick in crazy” to a wh...

The first part may have been heartbreaking, but the conclusion to this series will tear your soul apart. Once confined to the basement, the darkest and final month of horror began. We discuss Sylvia Likens' last days, the brave act of Jenny Likens which led to the arrests and convictions for the Baniszewski family and neighborhood children, and the karmic fates which awaited those who harmed her.

In part 1 of this deeply saddening series, we show how Sylvia Likens and her sister came into the home of deranged mother Gertrude Baniszewski, and an introduction to the torture and horrors that awaited them inside. We are entering into a living nightmare that will forever change you.

After the previous doozy of an episode, it's time for something a little more simple: one of those wholesome stories of boy meets girl, boy marries girl, and boy murders girl. David Stewart was convicted of his wife Debbie's 1984 murder in Decatur, AL. From expensive home remodeling projects to questionably installed fish ponds, we look at how financial woes may have led to the birth of a murderer...

Guten Tag! Today we are traveling to the beautiful land of beer, brats, schnitzel, and… vampires? This dastardly man, infamously known as the Vampire of Düsseldorf, is one of the most revolting serial killers in history. We bid you welcome, but you better prepare yourself.. this is about to get nasty.

Just imagine The Avengers theme song playing for this one, because we ain’t messing with the Disney beast. We explore the tragic past of Jason Vukovich who, after his own experiences as a victim, became an avenging angel and brought vigilante justice to registered pedophiles in Alaska. How can a man's actions be wrong, yet at the same time oh so right?

That sweet-looking old woman couldn’t possibly hurt you, right? Right…? Meet habitual liar and convicted serial killer Dorothea Puente, who preyed upon the elderly and disabled tenants of her boarding house for those sweet, sweet social security checks.

Everybody has heard of the Bermuda Triangle.. but have you ever heard of its obtuse cousin? This vast region between Anchorage, Juneau, and Barrow (now called Utqiagvik) is known for missing airplanes and up to tens of thousands of disappearances. The only things more wild than the incredible amount of vanishings are the theories which attempt to explain them. Don your tinfoil hats, because we dis...

What could possibly be more American than our prison system? It's time to receive a history lesson on the world's very first penitentiary, where the goal was for prisoners to receive their penance (spoiler alert: hence the name!). From escapes to famous residents, from dubious practices to paranormal soup, we explore how this now preserved ruin came to be, and why it is considered one of the most...

It doesn't get any easier to swallow. With little justice against the perpetrators, and up to dozens of bodies lost in the unknown, this unsatisfying conclusion to David Parker Ray's story will be sure to cause some heartache.

You may have heard of toys in the attic, but how about toys in the torture trailer? Here in part 1 we introduce David Parker Ray, a real-life Jigsaw with less morality and even more sadism. Live or die… the choice is not yours.

We finish out our series on Ed Gein, the Butcher of Plainfield, WI. You will learn all about the potential grave robbing, his house of horrors and flesh artisanry, and actual confession transcripts which have inspired (for better or worse) countless songs, games, and movies. Don your finest skin, and enter at your own peril.

Let's tell you a story about a man named Ed... who looked like everybody's grandpa, only much more stinky and with an Oedipus complex. In part 1 of this very midwestern series, you will find out all about his family and upbringing, mama's favorite bible verses, and the events which led to his initial arrest. It's time to take a trip to Wis-CAN-sin.

It's time to churn butter and build barns with swole Jebediah and his godly bunch, which is all the more fun because they can’t listen to it anyway! After a quick background on Amish and Mennonite history and practices, we will be looking at some of the only recorded murders ever perpetrated by those from and within these oft misunderstood communities.

Sometimes the actions of one person can make the difference between life and death. In this episode, we shed light on a quick-thinking mother whose tragic murder helped institute real change in the 911 dispatch operations in Florida and maybe even nationwide.

Private prostitution suites, incest, and basement graves... their depravity knew no bounds. Find out the fate of the murderous lady and the tramp in this disgusting conclusion of the Fred and Rosemary West series.

He was a boy, she was a girl… can we make it any more revolting? In part 1, we look at the disturbing upbringing of Fred West and Rosemary Letts, and the circumstances that allowed these two to come together in the unholiest of matrimony’s.

He was a small town boy with a dream; a dream of playing in the NFL. We have heard stories like this many times before, but maybe not any that go quite like it did for Randall Woodfield: (Temporary) Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver, purveyor of indecent exposure and athletic tape... oh and of course deadly rapist and serial killer! The I-5 was this receiver's favored route; enter the I-5 Killer!

Glad to be back after a short break, and we are coming at you with a super-sized Mind Bleach episode filled with some ectoplasm! We talk about the Crescent Hotel of Eureka Springs, AR; an elegant yet spooky destination filled with disturbing history, as well as the infamous Devil’s Den from the Battle of Gettysburg, where soldiers may still be present over 150 years later. Stick around after the m...

Trailer

This is the conclusion to our 3-episode arc on the Lake Waco Murders. As we wrap a messy bow on this twisty series, you will learn a few things: Know that being a public servant doesn't automatically make you a paragon of ethics, and that quite possibly.. the true killer is still out there.

In part 2 of our series on Lake Waco, we discuss how Simons and Feazell turned into rock stars overnight… but were they truly deserving of the big heads they gave themselves?

This saga has more twists than a pig's tail, and it's beginning now with part 1 of our arc on the 1982 Lake Waco Murders. We explore the tragic murder of 3 Waxahachie teenagers, how Simons was a budget-bin Columbo, and why odontology is simply the coolest word. Special thanks to Ian for the topic. Check out his twitch stream OaksAide Gaming!