Did This 1923 Murder Inspire Halloween's Michael Myers?
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2026
⏱️ 111 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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HOUR ONE: Was Stanley Stiers the real-life inspiration for Michael Myers in 1978’s John Carpenter film, “Halloween?” (The Real Michael Myers) *** The last known words of Peter Rugg were “Let the storm increase! I will see home tonight in spite of the last tempest, or I may never see home!" Over two-hundred years later and he has yet to make it home – but that hasn’t stopped his tempest! (The Eternal Ride of Peter Rugg) *** Imagine attending college for several years, only to find out that the whole time you’ve been studying on top of the corpses of thousands of mental patients. That’s exactly what happened in 2013 when The University of Mississippi made plans to expand parking for their students and staff. (The Corpses Under The University of Mississippi) *** Dealing with a ghost or two is awful enough – but what if you’re attacked by a whole gang of ghouls? It was reported as real news in 1889’s Chicago Tribune! (A Whole Gang O’ Ghosts) *** People With Super Powers!
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HOUR TWO: It’s rumored that an arcade game from 1980 might lead to the real death of its players. We’ll look at the death curse of Berzerk. (The Berzerk Death Curse, And The Polybius Urban Legend) *** And another arcade game in the early 80s was surrounded by controversy – because the game never existed, despite so many saying it did. Or did it exist? We’ll look at the urban legend of Polybius. (The Urban Legend of Polybius)
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SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: Michael Bryson disappeared on August 5th, 2020 from Hobo Campground at Umpqua National Forest. He has yet to be found. (The Disappearance of Michael Bryson) *** When it comes to cryptids, you have many to choose from – Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the chupacabra, the list goes on and on. But I’m willing to bet nowhere on the list of your favorite cryptids, or even the cryptids you’ve ever heard of, do you have an entry for “The Belled Buzzard” of Texas. (The Belled Buzzard Legend) *** When the Black Plague arrived at Eyam's doorstep in the 17th century, its villagers were forced to choose between life or certain doom. It’s the tragic tale of England’s Plague Village. (The Black Plague Comes to Eyam)
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SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT’S SHOW:“People with Super Powers” from Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.com/magazine“The Berzerk Death Curse” by Cat DeSpira: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckk96tv
“The Polybius Conspiracy” by Ryan Houlihan for InputMag.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8h6v8z“The Real Michael Myers” from Casper McFadden at TheMorbidLibrary.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yvj6ueze, and from TheScareChamber.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/vmew9uvb; “Halloween” theme piano solo by Noud van Harskamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T9m-fj8K9c, “Halloween Kills | Epic Orchestral Theme” by Mike Chibante: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E82MEfQiffk
“The Disappearance of Michael Bryson” posted at Strange Outdoors: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mwvb3am8 (If you know anything that could help solve Michael Bryson’s disappearance, or if you were at the Hobo Campground around August 3rd, 4th, or 5th of 2020, please reach out to the sheriff’s office at (541) 682-4150, option 1, and reference case No. 20-5286.)
“The Eternal Ride of Peter Rugg” posted at SlightlyOddFitchburg.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3z7pdtzn
“The Corpses Under The University of Mississippi” by Erin Wisti for Ranker.com’s “Graveyard Shift”:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8tdu6k
“A Whole Gang O’ Ghosts” posted from Strange Company: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p9ynpev
“The Belled Buzzard Legend” from Texas Cryptid Hunter: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p875fxv
“The Black Plague Comes to Eyam” by Stephanie Almazan for TheLineUp.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/1aptirxk
==========(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for material I use whenever possible. If I have overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it immediately. Some links may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness®, WeirdDarkness© 2026
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To become a Weird Darkness Radio Show affiliate, contact Radio America at affiliates@radioamerica.com, or call 800-807-4703 (press 2 or dial ext 250).
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#MichaelMyers #Halloween #HorrorMovie #TrueCrime #UrbanLegends #JohnCarpenter #HalloweenMovie #CreepyStories #HorrorHistory #WeirdDarkness
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In 1912, two baby boys were born on the same day. One was to the Steyer's family, |
| 0:17.7 | who named their son, Stanley. The other family is unknown. At the |
| 0:22.9 | hospital, a nurse switched to babies. Some say it was an experiment to see if the families |
| 0:28.7 | would notice. Others say it was just for her own enjoyment. Unfortunately, the unnamed family |
| 0:34.4 | perished in a car accident on their way home from the hospital. |
| 0:44.0 | Soon, the Steyers discovered the baby they came home with was not theirs, and their real son had died in the car accident. |
| 0:46.4 | They became hateful towards Little Stanley. |
| 0:49.4 | They began drinking to numb the pain of this realization and began to abuse the little boy. |
| 0:55.2 | The Steyer's family had a daughter named Susie a few years later. They treated her |
| 0:59.7 | like a precious gift while continuing to abuse Stanley. Eventually, even young Susie contributed |
| 1:07.2 | to the abuse. Around Halloween in 1923, Stanley desperately wanted to go trick-or-treating. |
| 1:13.9 | However, because Susie did not want to go, he was forced to stay home. That night, Susie was |
| 1:20.0 | allowed to go to a party, while Stanley suffered alone in his room. Apparently, Stanley then snapped. He waited for Susie to get home before |
| 1:30.4 | grabbing a butcher knife and stabbing both her and their parents to death. He stayed in the |
| 1:36.1 | house with their dead bodies and went trick-or-treating the next day. While out trick-or-treating, |
| 1:41.0 | he encountered a group of kids that made his life hell at school. |
| 1:45.1 | So he attacked them with the butcher knife as well, killing some and wounding others. |
| 1:50.4 | Someone ran to call the police, and when they finally found Stanley, he was swinging on a swing set, |
| 1:56.1 | eating his trick-or-treat candy. |
| 1:58.5 | Stanley was then set to a psychiatric hospital, though they could find |
| 2:02.2 | nothing wrong with him. He was just evil. Thirteen years after he was admitted to the hospital, |
| 2:09.4 | he escaped by snapping the necks of the orderlies who were in charge of him. At this point, |
... |
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